November 10, 2017

This morning, I woke up at 6:30 and stumbled to the kitchen, thinking about how I didn't want to get up, nor complete any of the thousand tasks that would start in T-minus 5 seconds. I thought about repeating this routine every day for the next decade: taking kids to school, loading the dishwasher, all of it. Impossible drudgery.

Then I looked up, and every window was ablaze with glowing amber light. Most of the leaves are gone off the trees now, yet somehow each tree was glowing. I remarked to Araceli, "Look at the light!" She smiled and said, "I know. I noticed that." We stood in awe for a brief moment, then walked outside, where the sky was rippled with pink and orange clouds, impossibly magnificent.

By the time we got to Davis High, the light was dead again, the sky a milky white. I said as much to Araceli. "What happened to the light?"

I felt differently than I had when I woke up, as Araceli hopped out of the driver's seat and I slipped in to drive home. I noticed beautiful things, like Celi holding a gift for a friend's birthday. High school students carefully pulling into parking spots. Leaves raked neatly into piles.  Yes, everything was grey and brown, but I knew that if I peeked just under the surface, I would see the divinity of all of it. I envisioned a warm, amber glow just under the skin of monotony on the surface of our day. I knew that glow was there because God created a glimpse of it just for me and Araceli to share this morning.

Araceli's Sweet Sixteen

Little Araceli Circe. She was so full of love as a baby and a little girl, and she still is. Look at that face!  She turned 16, and now she's even more beautiful and more spunky than the little 4-year-old who gave herself a haircut. She didin't want to go on a trip for her birthday. She didn't want to have a big party. She certainly didn't want to go out to a stuffy dinner with Mom and Dad. She wanted to get her hair done. Her appointment was at 6:30 in the morning, which turned out to be good, because it left time open for lots of other fun things.  The gorgeous hair, by Hair in the 801, Andrea Gibson, whom I've known since she was born. She was a fun person for Araceli to spend that much time with on her birthday. I love Andrea! This gorgeous hair cost more than a trip. ;) Hard for me to swallow, but that's what Araceli wanted for her big day, and she was happy! And it looks so pretty.

Celi did her traditional lunch at Orlando's (formerly Pepperbelly's) with Scott. He sent me pictures of all their lunches through the years. Celi really holds that tradition dear. PT and TZ wanted to go, and Araceli graciously invited them.

2016

2015

2014

2012

2011

After Scott's allotted time slot of lunch, Araceli worked at my store a little, then went home to get ready for dinner with Kayden. Our family tends to have scheduling worked out to the minute, and we run very on time. Kayden was 45 minutes late, and Araceli was mad. He did bring her thoughtful gifts of a watch and some lavender syrup to make Italian soda, so he redeemed himself somewhat. He was terribly excited about the gifts, so Araceli tried not to be upset. I picked her up at Kayden's house at 8:56 for my time slot. (I really did tell her 8:56. I love how my GPS tells me exactly when I'll be everywhere.) We went to a chick flick at the Kaysville Theater, Home Again, which was cute and funny. I love Araceli. There isn't a single person on earth who is anything like her. It will take me a lifetime to figure her out, and it may take her a lifetime to figure herself out. In some ways, she is supremely confident, though. It actually scares me. With Araceli, you live in the moment. You don't worry about the future. You're just grateful for the moment you have with this remarkable girl, and you sit back and feel the love. Because let's be real. Nobody can handle more Celi than what the present gives you. We'll let the future unfold in the future.

Dopp November Birthdays

Dopp November birthdays are Grandpa, Nikki, Araceli and Vilina. We used our new ovens to make lasagne and had the family over. I love having everyone over, just relaxing and chatting. It was fun making the lasagne before church, too. Did you know we didn't have an oven for three years?

Araceli requested Grandma's coconut cake for her birthday. There were plenty of desserts! And all of them were so good.

We realized that there are suddenly a ton of teenagers in the family! Like 13 of them or something. We couldn't count. What a fun time with all of them.

And then there are Tizzy and Jersey, the babies. Thank heavens for them!

Vilina's 11th Birthday

I still can't believe a girl as young as ten would be brave enough to go to a foreign country to live with a family of strangers. Vilina is truly a remarkable spirit. She has done well here, and we love having her. I know her parents miss her terribly, but they know she is happy, and is gaining English skills that will serve her very well. Vilina's aunt and uncle live in Boston and sent her a package to open on her birthday, so she got off to a fun start!

Vilina worked for over a week on party decorations and invitations. She kept asking me for more invitations. I think she invited 50 kids, and about 30 came. Always over-invite. That's my rule. And don't leave anyone out. Vilina is a girl after my own heart on that one! She even invited Mrs. Kunz, her 5th grade teacher. :)

I think Vilina had visions of a princess palace for her party, in terms of decorations. We did the best we could, and I think it looked darling.

Before the party, I gathered up all available kids and we had dinner at Mandarin Cafe in Kaysville. The owner is from Canton (Guongdong), and was a friend to Frank when he was here. He would come home with stacks of to-go boxes. He missed his native food! She was nice to Vilina, speaking to her in Mandarin. The owner's native language is Cantonese, so I cna't wait for Golda to meet her!

Yummy food!

Strategic angles to make the docor look more impressive!

So many presents!

Hazel Ramsdell, on the right, and her friends from Creekside.

Most of the gang.

The kids played night games outside for an hour while I cleaned and picked up people from ballet. Then they stormed the house, popping all the balloons that Vilina had laboriously filled with hand made confetti for just that purpose. It was such a mess! Thankfully, Scott had gone to Park City, kindof on my orders, so he wouldn't have to witness the chaos. It's just easier with one parent. :) Plus, I had Araceli to help me once she got home, and she is a calming presence. Well, she CAN be.  ha ha. The kids were great. I loved the energy, and I loved that they all came to be friends with Vilina. Kids are so accepting. There was one girl at the party who was annoying right from the start. There's always that ONE kid who just wants to talk to the mom and not participate with the kids. I have learned from teaching ballet, to NEVER give off the vibe that any child is less-than or annoying or strage. The kids look to the teacher or adult for cues on that sort of stuff, and boy do they pick it up. By the same token, kids are generally accepting of whatever differences they see in their friends. This group already "Got" the annoying girl, and she was just one of them. By the end of the night, I "got" her too. She ended up being really helpful, and I was thankful for her. Anyway...it's just neat to see a whole community taking in every child, differences and all, including our Vilina, whose inability to speak English is no barrier at all. I love kids!

And here is Vilina making lip gloss with one of her birthday gifts, and filming it to post on musical.ly. She is a sweetheart!