If you've ever met my youngest daughter, you'll know she is very shy and quiet at first. However, I have been amazed at the bravery she finds in helping those in need and sharing our faith.
BuBu (Boo Boo), a nickname my husband gave her at birth that we all later adopted, has a great love for creatures great and small. A few years ago when she was really little, she went outside after it rained only to rescue a worm from the driveway. She did not want it to get run over by the car! As I am a wuss when it comes to creepy, crawly things, she is the complete opposite. She ran inside to get a tupperware container, filled it with leaves and a stick and then gently placed the worm inside. Ironically, the worm died anyway when she left the container in the sun too long.
During her third grade year, she had a teacher who often took the kids outside to explore nature for their science portion of the day. One day I thought it was funny when BuBu came home excited that she had gotten to hold a frog! Because of that teacher, she learned more about amphibians and reptiles. I had to try not to laugh when she recently said, "Mom, reptiles are my favorite animals!"
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she is developing a great love for our faith. BuBu grew to love that third grade teacher so much that at Christmastime, she wanted to give him something special. She found an extra copy of The Book of Mormon, a companion scripture to the Bible, that our family holds dear. She wrote an inscription on the inside, wrapped it up and gave it to her teacher. She continued to share CTR (Choose the Right) rings from church with her friends and invites her friends to church youth activities. She even got up to share her feelings about the gospel with the whole congregation during a Mormon testimony meeting.
She has inspired me and those in my family to share the light and knowledge that we have with our friends and neighbors and to respect the life of all creatures. BuBu reminds me of our Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, who would not let men kill a snake because it was one of God's creatures nor would he ever deny his faith or his testimony of The Book of Mormon.
Now when I see any bothersome creature, I think twice about taking its life and am learning to adopt her desire to share our faith with others. Though she is still young and very quiet, her actions have spoken volumes that motivate me to be a better person.
August 27, 2011
August 20, 2011
Meister the Maestro
As a kid, I grew up in a musical family. Out of five children, we had two pianists, a singer, a guitarist, and a violinist. My parents also loved to sing together and my mom was a dancer. I cherish the memories of the many Sundays where we all gathered around the piano and had a sing-a-long or danced around the house together. The music always brought great joy to my soul.
Now as a mother with my own family, I had the same desire for my children: to feel the joy that music brings and to develop a great love for music. I know that it was divine intervention that brought my daughter's violin to her.
From the time she was very small, my daughter, who we affectionately call Meister (MY Ster), always wanted to be like her Uncle Cameron. Cameron, my youngest brother, is only eight years older than Meister. When he was five, he started playing the violin and now is quite a virtuoso. Meister grew up hearing him practice and when she was little, she got a toy violin that she played until it broke.
As she started school, I had an inkling that she would be a violinist. I always yearned to get her a violin, but since my husband was in school, we never could afford it. So, I waited.
Then, about a year and a half ago, just before her eleventh birthday, we acquired a free violin. A lady from church happened to be a violin teacher and had an extra violin, just the right size. We started lessons and Meister had great success. It brought such joy to my heart when one day she said, "Mom, playing the violin just makes me so happy!"
As my Meister started middle school in the fall of 2010, we gave her teacher back the small violin and rented a bigger size which she used in her school orchestra. Because she had practiced so hard all summer, the director moved her from the beginning orchestra to the intermediate orchestra where she was fourth chair. Since many of the best musicians are Asian, there were many oriental kids in her orchestra. She was one of two non-Asian kids in the whole orchestra!
When school ended for the year, the music store wanted the violin rental back and we could not afford to buy her a violin since they are usually thousands of dollars. I prayed that Meister would have a violin and that the Lord would help her find a way to continue her talent. Meister and I looked online and on Craig's List to look for an affordable instrument. One day she came across one on Amazon straight from a violin shop that was only $100. It was a discontinued model and was made with great care and quality. While our funding was limited, some relatives happened to send the exact amount of money for my birthday which we used to buy the violin. The music she has played since is a gift that we both can enjoy for the rest of our lives.
Now as a mother with my own family, I had the same desire for my children: to feel the joy that music brings and to develop a great love for music. I know that it was divine intervention that brought my daughter's violin to her.
From the time she was very small, my daughter, who we affectionately call Meister (MY Ster), always wanted to be like her Uncle Cameron. Cameron, my youngest brother, is only eight years older than Meister. When he was five, he started playing the violin and now is quite a virtuoso. Meister grew up hearing him practice and when she was little, she got a toy violin that she played until it broke.
As she started school, I had an inkling that she would be a violinist. I always yearned to get her a violin, but since my husband was in school, we never could afford it. So, I waited.
Then, about a year and a half ago, just before her eleventh birthday, we acquired a free violin. A lady from church happened to be a violin teacher and had an extra violin, just the right size. We started lessons and Meister had great success. It brought such joy to my heart when one day she said, "Mom, playing the violin just makes me so happy!"
As my Meister started middle school in the fall of 2010, we gave her teacher back the small violin and rented a bigger size which she used in her school orchestra. Because she had practiced so hard all summer, the director moved her from the beginning orchestra to the intermediate orchestra where she was fourth chair. Since many of the best musicians are Asian, there were many oriental kids in her orchestra. She was one of two non-Asian kids in the whole orchestra!
When school ended for the year, the music store wanted the violin rental back and we could not afford to buy her a violin since they are usually thousands of dollars. I prayed that Meister would have a violin and that the Lord would help her find a way to continue her talent. Meister and I looked online and on Craig's List to look for an affordable instrument. One day she came across one on Amazon straight from a violin shop that was only $100. It was a discontinued model and was made with great care and quality. While our funding was limited, some relatives happened to send the exact amount of money for my birthday which we used to buy the violin. The music she has played since is a gift that we both can enjoy for the rest of our lives.
August 13, 2011
Super Zanman's Adventures in Gardening
Have you ever heard of a six-year-old who likes plants more than toys? I have.
When we first moved to Texas, my son, who we affectionately call Zanman, was two. He was often my little helper as we planted flowers each season. We had come from an apartment and were excited to plant flowers and palm plants in our flower beds. Besides digging for worms, Zanman loved to dig the hole in the flower bed for the flowers to go in. As he got older his gardening interest increased. His favorite library book was an A to Z book of flowers. He memorized all their names and he and his older sister, BooBoo, would have races to see who could name the flowers the fastest.
My husband was surprised when he took Zanman to the store one time and he begged and pleaded for Brandon to buy him a plant. When Brandon offered to buy him a toy instead, Zanman insisted on the plant. It was a small pine tree that we kept indoors all winter. Later in the spring, we planted it outside. When it died in the summer due to the lack of rain, Zanman was so sad that we hadn't taken better care of it.
Now that he is six, my Zanman has quite a collection of plants both inside and outside of the house. He knows how to repot plants and waters them religiously every day with his sister's old pink watering can. For his sixth birthday, all he wanted was plants and gardening tools. He was so excited when he got a little greenhouse for growing vegetables, a grow-your-own strawberries kit, and gardening gloves. The kid definitely has a green thumb!
His room itself is a greenhouse, sheltering many plants that friends give us or that he takes from outdoors. Our front porch is full of four or five potted plants that he has collected. His favorite Texas plant that has been thriving are his Impatiens, a tall, bushy plant with purple or white pansy-like flowers. He is learning through trial and error which plants grow best in our tropical climate.
One Monday night during our weekly Family Home Evening lesson, we were reading scriptures and talking about the Parable of the Sower from the Bible. The story is about seeds planted in different places and how it affected their growth or their decline and represented people's spiritual growth or spiritual death. When Zanman realized it was a story about plants, his little ears perked up and he listened very intently. Then I got a mustard seed to demonstrate Christ's teaching that all we need is a small amount of faith to do great things. Zanman got so excited and I was pleased that he understood the message. Following the lesson, he planted, and watered the mustard seed, taking care of it and watching it grow.
While I do not know if his green thumb will develop into a future profession, I am learning many life lessons through my son and his gardening. First and foremost, I am learning that as we nurture our children and their talents, they bloom into the people they were meant to become.
When we first moved to Texas, my son, who we affectionately call Zanman, was two. He was often my little helper as we planted flowers each season. We had come from an apartment and were excited to plant flowers and palm plants in our flower beds. Besides digging for worms, Zanman loved to dig the hole in the flower bed for the flowers to go in. As he got older his gardening interest increased. His favorite library book was an A to Z book of flowers. He memorized all their names and he and his older sister, BooBoo, would have races to see who could name the flowers the fastest.
My husband was surprised when he took Zanman to the store one time and he begged and pleaded for Brandon to buy him a plant. When Brandon offered to buy him a toy instead, Zanman insisted on the plant. It was a small pine tree that we kept indoors all winter. Later in the spring, we planted it outside. When it died in the summer due to the lack of rain, Zanman was so sad that we hadn't taken better care of it.
Now that he is six, my Zanman has quite a collection of plants both inside and outside of the house. He knows how to repot plants and waters them religiously every day with his sister's old pink watering can. For his sixth birthday, all he wanted was plants and gardening tools. He was so excited when he got a little greenhouse for growing vegetables, a grow-your-own strawberries kit, and gardening gloves. The kid definitely has a green thumb!
His room itself is a greenhouse, sheltering many plants that friends give us or that he takes from outdoors. Our front porch is full of four or five potted plants that he has collected. His favorite Texas plant that has been thriving are his Impatiens, a tall, bushy plant with purple or white pansy-like flowers. He is learning through trial and error which plants grow best in our tropical climate.
One Monday night during our weekly Family Home Evening lesson, we were reading scriptures and talking about the Parable of the Sower from the Bible. The story is about seeds planted in different places and how it affected their growth or their decline and represented people's spiritual growth or spiritual death. When Zanman realized it was a story about plants, his little ears perked up and he listened very intently. Then I got a mustard seed to demonstrate Christ's teaching that all we need is a small amount of faith to do great things. Zanman got so excited and I was pleased that he understood the message. Following the lesson, he planted, and watered the mustard seed, taking care of it and watching it grow.
While I do not know if his green thumb will develop into a future profession, I am learning many life lessons through my son and his gardening. First and foremost, I am learning that as we nurture our children and their talents, they bloom into the people they were meant to become.
August 6, 2011
Unwrapped Gifts
It is completely true that Texans are some of the most friendly and helpful people you will ever meet. When we first came to Texas, my husband was starting law school and we knew no one. People went out of their way to help my family by assisting with car trouble, car pooling kids to school and youth activities, and babysitting. And it didn't stop there. We had friends who gave us bags of clothes that their kids had outgrown and others who gave us their old minivan just because they knew we needed a second car! December 2010 was no exception.
In early December our washer started making a strange grrring sound and I noticed how the agitator was not moving. When I had someone look at it, he said it was the motor and the washer was shot. I had three growing children--one who happened to be a five-year-old boy--and knew I was in trouble. It was too close to Christmas and we were financially strapped. I thought about washing the laundry by hand as my progenitors had once done, but then I realized all I had to do was ask for help. Quickly I emailed all my local friends explaining my situation and asking if anyone had an extra washer.While I had many responses in my behalf, I found a local lady who had recently moved overseas, but was in town to help her daughter. She happened to have a 16-yr-old washer that she said we could have. The next day, my sister's husband and his brother took their truck out to pick it up for us.
Ironically, I used that old washer for one day when someone from church called and said they wanted to buy us a new washer. When I explained that someone had already given us an old one, they still insisted on helping. Our church friends delivered the washer that very night with the the biggest smiles on their faces. We were so grateful and felt so loved by those sweet people.
The following Sunday, we were suprised when the LDS missionaries were at our door. They handed us a small gift-wrapped box and said, "We were asked to deliver this to you." As they left, we stood wondering who the Secret Santa could be. The anticipation of the contents of the box soon caught up with my children and before I knew it, they had snatched up the box, tearing off the ribbon and lifting off the lid of the small box. Inside we found a poem and Wal-Mart gift card with a substantial sum of money.
Although I cannot remember what the poem said, I do remember having a deep love in my heart for that anonymous do-gooder. Thanks to their contribution, my children had an extra wonderful Christmas. It warmed my heart on Christmas morning when my nine-year-old daughter exclaimed, "Mom this is the BEST Christmas!" My Christmas present that year was seeing how happy my family was and feeling the pure love of Christ through all those who had helped us.
I have come a long way from the wide-eyed little girl wondering what Santa brought for Christmas. Today I realize that it is always the gifts you cannot wrap that mean the most.
In early December our washer started making a strange grrring sound and I noticed how the agitator was not moving. When I had someone look at it, he said it was the motor and the washer was shot. I had three growing children--one who happened to be a five-year-old boy--and knew I was in trouble. It was too close to Christmas and we were financially strapped. I thought about washing the laundry by hand as my progenitors had once done, but then I realized all I had to do was ask for help. Quickly I emailed all my local friends explaining my situation and asking if anyone had an extra washer.While I had many responses in my behalf, I found a local lady who had recently moved overseas, but was in town to help her daughter. She happened to have a 16-yr-old washer that she said we could have. The next day, my sister's husband and his brother took their truck out to pick it up for us.
Ironically, I used that old washer for one day when someone from church called and said they wanted to buy us a new washer. When I explained that someone had already given us an old one, they still insisted on helping. Our church friends delivered the washer that very night with the the biggest smiles on their faces. We were so grateful and felt so loved by those sweet people.
The following Sunday, we were suprised when the LDS missionaries were at our door. They handed us a small gift-wrapped box and said, "We were asked to deliver this to you." As they left, we stood wondering who the Secret Santa could be. The anticipation of the contents of the box soon caught up with my children and before I knew it, they had snatched up the box, tearing off the ribbon and lifting off the lid of the small box. Inside we found a poem and Wal-Mart gift card with a substantial sum of money.
Although I cannot remember what the poem said, I do remember having a deep love in my heart for that anonymous do-gooder. Thanks to their contribution, my children had an extra wonderful Christmas. It warmed my heart on Christmas morning when my nine-year-old daughter exclaimed, "Mom this is the BEST Christmas!" My Christmas present that year was seeing how happy my family was and feeling the pure love of Christ through all those who had helped us.
I have come a long way from the wide-eyed little girl wondering what Santa brought for Christmas. Today I realize that it is always the gifts you cannot wrap that mean the most.
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