halloween

HONG KONG CHINA

Last night at Olive Garden in the presence of four out of five of their children and spouses, my parents, (the conservative, thrifty and not-so-adventurous people who raised me), announced with giant smiles that they have been called to serve an 18 month mission in HONG KONG CHINA. I might have guessed Salt Lake City, Canada, or even Mexico if I was feeling a little daring, but never in 1 million years would I have guessed China. Dad will be serving as a mental health specialist for the Asia East area and Mom will be his assistant and secretary. My parent's coolness factor has sky rocketed. They are the first couple missionaries to leave the Spokane Stake in 4 years and are going to be major trend setters. This is the best gift they could ever give their children and grandchildren and we are so excited and proud of them.


On a less dramatic note, Grandma Sue came down two Wednesdays in a row for Grandparents day in St John and Endicott. It meant a lot to the kids and me. Last Sunday was the primary program. Poor Max was nearly comotose with anxiety. Tony sat with him on the stand and he used every ounce of courage to say his three word part. Marcos kept us entertained with his funny faces and valiant efforts to sing the songs. Both Eliza and Cooper did a nice job as well.




I felt strongly that Monday night for FHE we should have a full-on Thanksgiving feast. Everyone had an assignment. I did the turkey (my first ever). Marcos provided the jello, Wilson made mashed potatoes, Cooper offered stuffing, Max made the rolls and Eliza made the pumpkin pie. We set a pretty table and expressed gratitude. It was good timing because Tony was just coming off of a hard call weekend and needed good food and a warm and yummy smelling kitchen. I've never had a spiritual prompting to make a big ol dinner before, but it was truly a bonding activity and exactly what our family needed that night.

Halloween is this weekend. No trick or treating this year as it falls on a Sunday, but that doesn't mean we can't party Saturday night, decorate pumpkins and make ourselves sick on chocolate.

I had an amazing class yesterday on dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. It was invigorating and made me anxious to go back to work.

Mt Rainier

I spent sacrament meeting today thinking about The Parable of Mt Rainier. This weekend we took the kids to this amazing place. We spent Friday hiking and following the trails and saw some of the most beautiful things: mushrooms, waterfalls, animals. We enjoyed being together and were genuinely happy. We drove to Paradise, where the Visitor Center was. It was cloudy and we knew from the map where the mountain was, but couldn't see it. Everything around us was so breathtakingly beautiful, we didn't feel like we were missing anything. Suddenly, the sun came out, the clouds parted and the mountain stood majestic in front of us. With the mountain in view, the greater purpose of our whole trip became obvious. We had enjoyed our surroundings and hiking, but when we looked up to see the glory of Rainier, our trip had increased purpose and payoff.

Thus it is in my life. I go about my day following the path, enjoying the beauty around me, enjoying being with my family. I am content. Suddenly, the clouds part for a while, the Son shines, and I catch a glimpse of the "mountain"-- how it will feel to be with Heavenly Father again. This new knowledge gives greater meaning to my mortal experience.
I am enjoying life so much. I like the hike I'm on with my family and my surroundings couldn't be more beautiful. I am content. I know the mountain is there because it says so on my map, my plan of salvation. However, if I will look up when the clouds part, I will get a glimpse that will give eternal definition to my life. I've got to look up more!

Enough with the parables. Vacations are simply a really needed change to my routine. It is on vacation that I remember why I like my kids. Why I can't like them at home, I don't know, sad but true. Our cozy cabin was cute, but very distant, so we drove that crazy mountain in the dead of night and arrived well after midnight. The weather on Friday was perfect and we wore the kids out hiking the Trail of the Shadows. After lunch we spent the afternoon at Paradise and were spoiled with sunshine and glorious views. We headed back to the cottage and had naps and hot tubs. The bonus of the cottage was no TV which meant little kids in bed by 7:30 and Tony Wilson Cooper and I popping popcorn and showing our true selves in Monopoly. Saturday was pouring rain, but it didn't stop us from hiking the beautiful Grove of the Patriarchs and Silver Falls. Wilson was the family photographer and took millions of pictures and video on his itouch. Visiting Rainier in the Fall meant fewer people, fantastic colors and lots of my new favorite thing: mushrooms. I may be a budding mycologist.

Wilson's Football Experience

We were at Wilson's football game Thursday night on September 30th. We were all watching the Human Torpedo go at it. Grandma and Grandpa were even there. The other team decided to sweep on Wilson's side of the ball (He plays outside linebacker). Bad choice. The speedy little 90lb boy was trying to run around the end when Wilson's 160lbs hit him. They both spun in the air 360 degrees, and Wilson landed on top of him. It took the breath right out of the boy. His father was two yards from the tackle watching- and went ballistic. He said, "you can't tackle like that, beep, beep, beep, beep." He looked right at Wilson and then looked at the referee. The referee through a flag and said, "you are out of here!" His face turned bright red- and then he was joined by the boy's grandparents - who out of fear for their child - blew up also. The referee through the flag again and kicked the grandpa off the field. Wilson stood there - like he had been beat up. The verbal assault had obviously taken its tole. To Wilson's credit- immediately after he tackled the boy he turned to help him up. The ball had been popped lose- a fumble- but Wilson turned to make sure the boy was OK instead of diving for the fumble-- The ball slowly rolled out of bounds. That is when the onslaught of words began.

Wilson was not quite the same for the rest of the game- although he did make the game saving tackle. Score 26-25. At the end of the game the man stood up and walked toward Wilson's coach. Words were said. The coach then called the team together, and they all knelt down. The man, teary eyed, apologized. He said he was sorry and that what he did was unacceptable. He looked Wilson right in the eye twice as he was saying his apology. As the man walked away Wilson caught up to him, and also apologized. I was so grateful that that man had the strength to swollow his pride. It made a huge impression on the team.

Depression, X-boxes and Conference

I do not make a very good depressed person. Instead of just being morose and gloomy, I get meaner than spit. Instead of sulking in bed, I turn into a drill sargent and heaven help the person who doesn't jump when I say frog. Last week was like that. It may have been extra adversarial attention as we prepared for General Conference or the "I'm turning 39 blues", but whatever it was the Lundberg house was pretty miserable.

Fortunately my depressive episodes are fairly short lived. My antidote this time was to cry myself to sleep, buy a new washer and dryer, and plan a family vacation to Mt Rainier for this upcoming weekend. Plus I talk to my friends who validate my discouragement instead of telling me how pathetic I am.

The video game problem at our house became unbearable for me. The Xbox felt like my enemy and even Wilson admitted that he was addicted to the games. It was all Max ever wanted to do with his friends. It was often a source of contention since Cooper owned the game and Wilson owned the Xbox. I know that video games, like money, are amoral, but they sure seemed to be an evil influence in our home. I felt trapped since the kids had purchased these items with their own money and with our permission. On my birthday bikeride the idea came to me to buy the xbox from the kids. It cost me several hundred dollars and has been worth every penny. The peace has returned. I guess I'm glad for the experience and now we know, but it was a painful 6 months.

General Conference was the most validating conference I've ever heard. All my insecurities about being too strict of a parent, too uptight about paying off our house and too rigid about trying to follow the prophet, were obliterated. I have now heard over the pulpit validation for not having sleepovers, not having video games, paying off a house, and preparing for a mission. I was validated in motherhood when Pres Uchdorf reminded us to slow down and acknowledged that some labor is "planning wholesome recreational activities."

I am 39. The weather was very cooperative and I spent my birthday with Tony , Callie and Amy at Rock Lake waterskiing. Audrey made me the world's best chocolate cake and Mom brought me two pumpkin pies. Tony bought me a docking station for my ipod so I can soak in the tub and listen to music. Over three days I got a bike ride, long run, canoe trip and roller blading time on the Fish Lake trail. I missed my usual birthday temple trip, but other than that, I felt pretty spoiled.