Packing Our Bags for Mecca

We're headed up to SLC for General Conference, Chaplains' Conference, a speaking assignment at BYU, and our last chance to visit family for quite awhile. I probably won't be blogging while we are up there, but stay tuned for the report on our adventures when we return...and then the heat will really be on for our moving preparations!

A Magical Day

Saturday, Coree and I had the pleasure of attending an event straight out of a story book. Some wonderful and generous friends of ours invited us to a Doll Fair. Eight American Girl dolls, five girls, four moms and one fabulous grandma all gathered in one beautiful backyard for a day full of refinement, homemaking skills, creativity and doll-sized fun!

Aside from the poetry recitations, etiquette tips, cooking and canning lessons, there were several shops full of fine goods. The currency, you might ask? Buttons. That's right, buttons. Each girl was sent a small organza bag in her invitation to fill with buttons for spending.

We were instructed to start at the Post Office, where we found a package addressed to each of us.
(Postage due: 5 buttons)
Inside each of our packages we found:

Matching mother/daughter aprons!

We made our own cinnamon rolls and canned our own plums to take home with us.


We ate an elegant lunch using our best table manners.


The girls shopped till they dropped. There were exactly FIVE party dresses for FIVE American Girl dolls belonging to each of the girls. If you can believe it, each girl had her eye on a different dress...there were NO arguments! Same went for the hats at the millinery, the baskets at the general store...NO drama! I think that was the most exquisite part...


There were even matching DOLL aprons to go with each mom and daughter's!


We rounded out the afternoon by reciting the poems we had prepared. Some girls even wrote their own! Coree chose "I Eat My Peas With Honey" and I chose "The Girl in the Glass". They are both special to us because they come from my great grandma and her great grandma. (They both would have LOVED this day!)


There was even an art lesson:



Believe it or not, I actually kept it together the whole time! Although I was so overwhelmed with gratitude, at times it was not easy. This was the most magical day. You might wonder why someone would go to so much time, effort, expense, etc. to put on a show like this. I can tell you why, because I know the hostess, and she is one of the kindest women I know, and one of the most generous with her talents. She did this because she has a desire for all young girls to use their creative gifts, and to grow up with a desire to mother and nurture.


I think I probably learned more than Coree did. I am so grateful to have been given this reminder of how wonderful it is to be a mother, and that each of us is given creative gifts...not the same gifts...but each of us is given special talents that will feed our souls if we express them and share them with others.



"Pleased to meet you."


Just a sampling of the almost 200 pictures I took:

Jake's Japan

This is Jake's interpretation of Japan...

And WHY exactly is he so excited to move there?!?
Hmmm...

God Bless America!

This was pretty cool. Friday, Cliff was surprised with a Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal (Gold star in lieu of 4th award) for his MCA Navy Chaplain of the Year award back in April. So basically...he got an award for getting an award. Hmmm.....I guess they know what they are doing. Anyway, it was a lovely ceremony, and I'm glad that I was there for it.

After leaving the base theater, we hung out and chatted with folks for a bit, and then headed over to the cyber cafe for a cocoa. Colors started playing, but there were a lot of us milling about, chatting...so several people yelled above us "COLORS!" since we were too loud to hear the music playing. It was instantly silent, as we all faced the appropriate direction (toward flag circle...even though we couldn't actually see it) and saluted or put our hands over our hearts while the National Anthem played and the flag was run up the pole. The music sounded like it played in a tin can, but aside from a few birds chirping, it was all you could hear.

Maybe it was because I don't get "stuck" outside (as some say) for Colors very often, or maybe I was still in Pomp and Circumstance mode from the awards ceremony...but for whatever reason, I just welled up with emotion and tears streamed down my face. I felt like a dork, honestly. This little evolution has been part of my entire adult life (seriously...since boot camp 20 years ago!) but it still gets me a little every time...this time a LOT!

It reminded me of another one of my favorite memories about being a military family. When we were stationed at Miramar, we used to go to the base theater for the kid's matinee every Thursday (it was minimum day for school). It was an enormous theater, and it would be packed with kids (the child to adult ratio was very high because all of the after school programs and daycares brought their kids, too). You had to get there early to get a decent seat, and then you'd just have to sit and listen to this loud roar of all these kids chattering until the movie started...actually, until the National Anthem started...and it was like clockwork. It would go from deafening roar to complete silence (other than a collective whoosh of theater seats collapsing as each child rose to his or her feet and placed hand over heart) as soon as that giant, waving flag filled the screen and the anthem blared through the speakers. It nearly brought me to tears every time. John McCain's mom said it well..."A [military] family is a wonderful thing!"

I love that my children are growing up surrounded by patriotism and personal sacrifice for our country...but I am just as grateful that I am surrounded by those things. I'm so grateful to be a part of a military family...to know in a very personal way that freedom isn't free. (ONE percent. That's how many people serve our country in the military these days...ONE percent!) I will always be a sucker for a uniform, a waving flag, or a band playing something Sousa. I guess it's just in my blood...and connected somehow to my tear ducts!

Flashback Friday! Theme-Metamorphosis of a Mom

I have so many ideas for
Flashback Friday...
it's hard to know where to start! Today's feature is all about ME! I'm putting this one out early, since I'll be gone all day Friday. Enjoy...

Patrick's mind was blown looking at these pictures. He said, "Mom! You're like two different people!" My kids have always known that I served in the military...but I guess they were only aware of it in some abstract way. It was kind of fun sharing these stories with them. Even though I LOVE being a mom and I was SO happy to get out of the military so I could stay at home with my children, I am VERY proud of my service. I'm especially proud to have carried on the Parks' family tradition of military service. (Isn't it sweetly ironic that it was carried on by the only GIRL in the family, too?) So far, all of our kids want to join the military. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

So...let's get this party started! Let's start with a photo from my graduation trip. This was my last big hurrah between high school and boot camp. There's a reason I start with this photo. Notice the lovely locks? My friends could not bee-leeve I was going to cut my hair for boot camp. Let's face it...they couldn't bee-leeve I was joining the military, period! One of my friends (not pictured here) even said that only ugly girls join the military! (What up wit dat? I have met many hotties in the military, trust me! Sheesh!) Anyway, let's just say that the military was not a real popular choice for girls graduating high school in Whitebread, Utah...but I've never been one to go with the flow.




I probably could have gotten in trouble for this one (or the guy that let me do it) but what are they going to do to me? At least I'm not including ANY of the photographic evidence of any hazing incidents of which I have knowledge! They'll have to subpoena me!




This is how I landed my husband! NO, I did not hold a gun to his head...he just thought this was pretty hot. Did I mention that he was an armorer? Guns were his specialty...and now he's not allowed to carry one (it's a Geneva Convention thing).




Yes, this is really Gerald McRaney. This was during "Major Dad's" heyday. This was also my first Marine Corps Ball. Cliff and I were newly married.




When Troy was about 6 months old, I got an all-expense-paid trip to Camp Pendelton for Field Medical Service School. For almost 3 months (except weekends, when I came home to visit), Cliff got to play Mr. Mom while I did stuff like this:

Who needs expensive teeth whiteners? Just cammie up your face, and those pearly whites will sparkle!



Don't I look fab? This is after a sixteen mile "hump".
In an effort to put a positive spin on the torture, my Aunt Sue referred to my little vacation at Field Medical School as "the spa".
It was a great workout, that's for sure!



These are my instructors...Sgt Erickson and HM1 Carter. They look nice...looks can be deceiving!

Graduation morning Summer 1993


This picture cracks me up! Someone didn't get the memo, I guess!

Look closely at this photo. Click on it to enlarge. Now scan the whole thing. Imagine that old Sesame Street song playing in your mind ("One of these things is not like the other...")
If you can figure it out, leave the answer in the comments...I'll send you a prize!


Even though I loved my time in the Navy, THIS is the best.

Sweet Baby Jake

The people that joined at the same time I did are retiring now (and the kids that are joining are young enough to be my children). I am regularly asked if I wish I would have stayed in. Not a chance. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve my country. It was the best thing for me at the time. I learned so many important lessons that have helped me in life...but if I had stayed, I certainly wouldn't have had these four amazing children...and there is no other joy or satisfaction that can top that which they have brought into my life.

(Lisa...can we still be friends if I grow my hair out again?)

Guitar Hero zzz....

We snapped this photo of Jake the other day...

Which reminded me of this photo I took a couple of years ago:

He's always been one for spontaneous naps (like father like son)...but just as he traded his light saber for a guitar...he's constantly growing and changing...and our opportunities to capture these cute, little-boy moments are slipping away.

The Truth about Cats and Dogs

This is how Charlotte spends most of her day...so she can be fresh when it's time to chase crickets and imaginary prey around our house at night. There are dozens of places that Charlotte could sleep in the house...but apparently none are as attractive as this one...



Just one more thing that endears Brownie to us.
She could floss her teeth with this cat...but does she?
No.
Brownie has almost 10 years on this cat...she's got tired, old bones...and yet the cat sleeps blissfully in Brownie's bed...unaware of the poor dog's suffering or sacrifice.

Brownie, you really are uberdog!

Great News!

I never thought I'd say "great news" in reference to cancer...but I just got off of the phone with my brother, and Baylee's cancer is "best case" of those they suspected. She has "Medulla Blastoma" and they will begin radiation and chemo right away. There is an 80%, 5-yr. cure rate.

I know this is going to be a rough road for them...but the news is still so encouraging.

Thanks again for all of your prayers!

Love,

Carrie

Singing for Their Supper

We had the Elders over for dinner last night.
On the menu...teriyaki glazed salmon (Cliff broiled to perfection) yummy green salad (with cranberries, almonds and feta cheese), garlic mashed potatoes and pink lemonade.
For dessert...apple cobbler ala mode.
The entertainment...THE funniest elders we have had grace our home to date.

We were laughing almost from the time they got there until they left. One of them did an impersonation of a blogger that had me totally pegged. I even snorted at one point!

They loved our kids...and we think we have even converted them to home schooling! (That wasn't our intent...but I sure hope they find those special ladies that are willing to give it a whirl...)

Cliff was the one that made them sing...but first he made them leave with us the obligatory spiritual message. No worries, Mission President...I insisted they do a religious number...it's never too early for Christmas music!

"Thank you, thank you...we'll be here all week!"

We were still talking about them tonight at dinner. Coree wants to invite them to dinner every night.

Patrick said, "Isn't it cool how we get the missionaries we need? We got Elder Richardson and Elder Bunn when we were doing the back yard..." (they were very handy, hard-working guys) "and now when we REALLY needed to laugh, we got these guys."

Great observation, Patrick...they really were a tender mercy.