First Summer Together

Dancing through a honeymoon summer
Working part-time BYU Evening Classes
Walking wherever we went

Taking a dance class together
Never allowing my husband to lead,
Dancing fine with the other changing partners

Sounds Easy Video for pizza and a movie
Ice cream every night (after burnt dinners)
Learning to relax to be content just being together

Married on faith, getting to know each other at last
Daily fights and make-ups, finding realistic expectations
Walking to the laundry mat together, budgeting, working together

Walking everywhere: temple, store, classes, work
Having family and friends over at our little apartment
4 " shag carpet, golden chair, bar table, afghan couch

Learning to live on our own as a couple
Trying to find and define ourselves as a couple
Discussing, praying for, relating as a couple

A time of challenges, learning and togetherness

Softness

Softly falls the snow outside
Warm you are in your blanket
Rock gently in my arms sweet one
Falling, fall to sleep
Softly you close your blinking eyes
Wamr is the fire burning
Rocking you to dreamland tonight
Fall, fall to sleep

The Wind

I'd love to ride the wind all day
To roll push, whistle and play
I'd travel to distances twice untold
Be so brave and all so bold

Among the mountains I'd find a way
To secret passages I would lay
Then blow with the wind to great escapes
Fly up the hill to the open capes

What adventures we would have
The wind and I in exotic lands
Storming upon the ocean brave
So I'll pretend and blow away

Webs

Spiders crawl upon the wall
I don't mind them not at all
They spin their webs and catch their flies
They hide and slink, but don't mind me
Just spin that web but instead of flies
Catch my dreams and let me keep
Some memory of the one I seek

Fly away

Fly away small little bird
Fly away to your home
Fly away to shelter and peace
Please leave my head alone

May

A brand new world is waiting for me
As I climb this old oak tree
There are spiders, beetles and bugs galore
Chipmunk, squirrels and birds no more
They fly away as I come their way
Don't you love this month of May?

Up and Down

Up and down the waves do go
Up and down the roaring
Up and down with forward thrust
Up and down we're rowing

I know a spot

I know a little spot
Where pheasants like to nest
Deep inside the grass
Peep, peep, peep

I know a little hill
Where ponies like to play
Galloping, galloping, galloping
Neigh, neigh, neigh

I know a little plain
Where cattle like to graze
Far into the glen
Moo, moo, moo

I know a little bush
Up beside the hill
Where bunnies like to hide
Hop, hop, hop

Lullaby

Little one so soft in my arms
Let me hold you and make you my own
Little one I sing sweetly to you
Let me protect and comfort you

Little one be strong and brave
Let me guide you in the way
Little one so dear to my heart
Let me bring you peace

Childhood

Jumping, sliding, hanging, falling
The swingset rolls and falls
Brightness allures, sweetness invites
Spring has filled my child heart

I laugh, I sing I turn and turn and turn
Till dizziness overtakes me and I fall wonderingly on the ground
I feel the rotation of this whole earth beneath my back
Once I have breath I flee away trying to catch up with this ever moving world

Animal Winter

The spider dances a web all night, in the corner of a quiet house
Gophers are borrowing their earthen beds
Deer in the mountains are stripping the trees
Bats are silently hunting
Little birds cuddle up in their nest
Bears are deeply sleeping
Squirrels are eating their nut supply
Fish swim circles under the ice
All in an animal winter

Pet Friend

Little puppy so fun to play
Jumping toward me with happy eyes
Lay your head upon my lap
I'll sing to you some lullabies

We'll walk and play and have such fun
Then together we'll go as one
Eating and singing the whole night through
Then bed for me and bed for you

Imagination

Sing me of bears and happy things
with butterflies I'll take my wings
off we'll fly to wondrous lands
Finding candies in the sands

We'll roam the sea and ocean deep
In rosebud petals we shall sleep
Wake up to dragon's fire
Then go hide inside the brier

Where bunny rabbits will sniff our feet
Together we will eat lettuce, cabbage and carrot treats
Then back home we'll go again to find myself snug in bed
Where I will wake, stretch and yawn

All happy for a brand-new dawn

Maren Novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2
As Maren emerged from the hall there were kids running all over, Maren caught her friend, Shirley Smith, the vice principal by the arm. "Shirley, I know this seems strange, but just get the kids some place safe, I have a bad feeling about this." Shirley looked at her strange but nodded as she directed the kids in a loud voice to the lunch room.

Maren caught sight of Mary Kyro outside the glass front doors going the wrong direction, turning towards her home across the street, you could see the leaves blowing and Mary whipping her hair out of her face.

Maren ran out the door yelling for Mary, but felt the words blown back into her throat in the raging wind. Maren started chasing Mary who was already half-way across the street. The Kyro’s yellow house looked sickly and blanched, the chainlink fence around it looked particularly imposing. Mary was running towards her little toddler bother who was crying on the porch. While Maren was focused on this drama she didn’t notice the change in the helicopter humming, she had just reached Mary when the sound became deafening. Maren looked back, there must be 20 helicopters starting to land on the school’s field. Knocking on the door, then opening it, she yelled to Mrs. Kyro

" Mrs. Kyro come quickly," Mrs. Kyro ran to the door worried and wiping her hands on her apron, "I need you to come the children are in danger." , then Maren lifted Mary and her little brother and started walk half- run towards to school, Mrs. Kyro running to catch up behind. Mary struggled at first then stiffened. Maren looked across the field and saw men in full black gear: helmets, automatic guns, vests, boots, just like you see on the movies. "Mary I have you and your little brother, don’t worry we’re going to the school, to a safe place. Is your mom following?" Mary nodded. Maren was about six foot tall and stronger then most women, long brown hair, olive skin and was o.k. carrying the two children for a short time. Mrs. Kyro came quickly up to her side, a little out of breath and opened the school doors for her as they all hurried to the class room.

Maren put the children down soon as they got in the door and motioned urgently to the shelter door and put her fingers to her lips. Mrs. Kyro quickly lead the children down the cement stairs and shut the door. Maren knelt down next to the window to see if she could see what was happening.

She had been hearing some commotion, but as they neared her outside window she could hear the voices clearly Chinese it sounded like, she couldn’t understand what they were saying, except one word, INTRANET over and over again, Greg’s company.

Obviously they were some military based organization. Usually Maren didn’t pay much attention as Greg and his brothers talked business it was too technical, not her interest or field of expertise, but now she needed to remember. She quietly arranged some wall hangings to cover part of the bomb shelter door and slipped inside, locking the door from the inside. With a deep breath she proceeded down the stairs to her class and Mrs. Kyro, all the time racking her brains to figure out what these guys were after. What where an army of Chinese soldiers doing in their valley? What did they want with Greg’s company and what was she going to do to protect these kids?

Maren Novel Chapter 1

Maren’s shoes clicked down the wooden stairs as she hurried out the door and down the empty street towards the school. The warm wind blowing leaves and dust across her path and the graying blue of the storm clouds didn’t help her anxiety this morning. That obnoxious, always accurate, feeling that something terrible was going to happen had been nagging her since 4 a.m. Thoughts of what might be happening whizzed through her head as she walked faster trying to block her fears. No, she wasn’t physic or anything, but it was like she was ultra sensitive to terrible things just before they happened.

September 11th , she had turned on CNN and watched live as the second tower was hit, the feeling had been extra strong that day, turning on the news was automatic as the feeling was shouting at her something terrible was happening. Sometimes it wasn’t CNN worthy like when her favorite cousin, Charles was hit by a semi, or when her mother was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. This was her second week of teaching and needed to be at her class early to prepare for the twenty-five students in the class, but this feeling was stronger and more intense then anything she had ever felt so far, like this was going to be more personal then anything she had experienced. One more block to go, Maren looked around the streets expecting something horrible to be around every corner. Everything but the wind and her moving feet were still this morning. "Well, you know that how restless animals get just before a storm, that’s all" Maren thought as she looked up at the brewing sky, but she knew inside that wasn’t all. The yellow house on the corner next to the school that she passed today looked particularly empty, where the Kyro kids lived. These two students of her’s lived there with their six other siblings. These kids weren’t even twins just born 9 months apart and timed so they were in the same grade as well, crazy.

Maren blushed then, of course that might be her having those kids in a year or two, with her new husband. Boy did she love Greg and she just knew they would have the cutest kids, she’d want as many darling children with his beautiful eyes that she could get. She had to take her thoughts off him or she’d never make it to school. As she cuddled in his arms this morning he just pulled her closer as it got time for her to go and it was so hard to wiggle her way out of his arms and quietly get dressed, she never felt so comforted like nothing bad could happen as when she had her head on his chest.

As she got to Suffix Elementary, the glass doors, black and empty, opened hesitantly with her key. As she clicked her way to room 220, turned on the light and looked around her brightly decorated classroom, she felt better. But, that feeling just wouldn’t go away.... what was going to happen? Looking at the clock 6:45 she knew she’d slowly start hearing sounds outside to bring her back to reality and out of this anxious emptiness she had experienced so far today.
Surry was a quiet little town, a nestled in a circle of mountains in Wyoming, only containing one pass out of the valley. It was big enough though, even had a small community college, 2 elementary schools, 1 small highschool a few bigger businesses, a hospital but it was almost like you could forget about the rest of the world here. There were some bigger cities on either side of the ridges, you’d see helicopters and jets occasionally zoom across the sky above, but Surry prided itself in its solitude and peaceful environment. It was a quiet, secret haven tucked away in the mountains. There were even rumors the city counsel had bribed a few magazines to take them off of the ideal cities to live in lists so they wouldn’t be flooded by new comers, or people just passing through.

Maren had meet Gregory at University of Southern California two years ago in a general Biology course. They had connected immediately and spent almost every day together since. It only made sense when they got married after they both graduated last June. Gregory had come back to this little valley to work with the family business, some sort of electronics company and Maren had been trilled, she hated the big cities where she had lived in all her life, mostly different areas of Southern California and loved the neighborly feel here in Surry. Of course, Greg’s mother was on the school board here and helped her get her teaching job right out of college.

Teaching could never be easier. During her student teaching in California there were parents on drugs, kids who had been neglected or the opposite completely spoiled. First graders and even second graders were still learning the basics of school behavior and the idea of homework and fifth and sixth graders were turning into teenagers too early, yes third grade was ideal. She had a small class, only fifteen students and Maren had fallen in love with their questions, funny comments, enthusiasm and curiosity. She had been a little hyperactive as a child and loved the spotlight then, so she could relate to the more active children, she just wanted to hug and smoother the quiet little shy children and help them bring out their qualities too. None seemed real defiant or acted out too much, maybe her standards weren’t as high as some stricter teachers (since she could remember what she was like as a child), but she loved teaching them, and yes there were always challenges. Each child had their own special needs, her class was small enough she was even able to spend a few minuets one on one with each child and it is amazing what that attention can do to having a good relationship with the children.

Maren paused, what if that feeling today had to do with one of her students. Maren felt sick, so sick. It was near 8:00 now and she could hear the early students making their way to the lunchroom for school breakfast, they never had that option when she was growing up, it would have been nice since her mom was always rushing off to work and it was usually toast and a glass of juice when she was growing up. Maren couldn’t help it, she walked over to look around the lunchroom just to make sure the kids seemed o.k., a scream outside and made her heart stop a moment, then laughter, ‘oh, they were just having fun’ she sighed with relief.
‘I can not live this way, I almost wish whatever is going to happen, would happen now if I can’t do anything’, Maren thought as she chalked in the homework assignment in the right hand corner of the board. Jaren and Ephraim came galloping into the room, her earliest students, followed by Jayden, Savanna, Terry, Rudolf, and Lee. Jessica and Becka had just scurried in when she heard a humming growing steadily louder. Maren knew in her heart this was the source of the dreadful feeling she had had all morning. Springing into action she herded the students already there to the back door of the classroom which lead to a bomb shelter which had been built under this building, back during the cold war. Ignoring their questions and comments and putting a finger to her lips, she grabbed a flashlight from her desk and lead the students down the cement stairs to the furthest hall and to the furthest corner of the cement room underneath. She pulled on the dim lights and silently pointed out the rustic bathroom, that she prayed still worked, and continued on to the large cement room where she handed the flashlight to Jaren, the oldest and largest kid there.

She turned around and announced, "We are trying a little experiment on following directions, it will be part of your grade and I expect everyone to participate. I will try to get the rest of the class I need you to stay quiet as possible only talk or play in whispers and do not go upstairs no matter what you hear above you and I will come back when I can." As a second thought she told Jaren to hold onto the flashlight in case they needed it and showed him the military food packs in the opposite corner, but only if they were still waiting and it was lunch time. She had to force a reassuring simile and returned up the stairs to get the other five children given to her care, they had to be her first priority, then she would just pray her husband Greg could take care of himself.

As Maren hurried up the basement stairs she heard more voices in the classroom:
"Christine look, just over the top of Glacier mountain, are those black helicopters?"

" Yea, I think so, it looks like tons of helicopters, what are they doing here?" Christine asked to Sandra as Maren heard Pablo run into the room.

" I heard them as I was running to class, am I late? Where is everyone?"
Maren emerged from the unused classroom door and all three kids spun around surprised. "Hey, what’s going on Mrs. M? " Queintin Kyro asked as he moseyed into class, he was one of her harder ones, insisting on doing things always his own way and his own time, he was often one of the last ones to class. Quickly calculating all the kids, Maren realized she was missing Mary Kyro, Quintin’s sister a bit of an absent-minded girl who was probably in the hall. Maren instructed the children to meet the rest of the kids in the bomb shelter through the door, for now the lights were on and they would find their way, she had to go after Mary. The sinking dread almost paralyzed her as the fear went to her heart, the rumble of the helicopters were becoming deafening, they were very close and she knew that something awful was going to happen when they got here.

Understanding in disguise

Lately my son has been having a hard time. He’s been more defiant, ignoring us, hurting his sisters, yelling, refusing to sit or be quiet in situations where it is needed. He does seem to do much better if we completely smother him with praise for anything he does do to be helpful or kind, if we give him a lot of one on one active attention. It is hard when he seems to do much better with his preschool teacher or others then he does with us, his parents.

Last night though, I realized something wonderful and special. I love him just as much when he is giving us a hard time as when he is cuddling and sweet and obedient. It is a nicer time with him, but I love him just as much either way. Parenting opened my eyes to how much more and even more perfect my Heavenly Father’s love is for me even when I’m hard to be with and being difficult. It gives me courage to continue to work with him, to have patience and try many ideas that I and others have thought of that might help.

I do think the extra praise and attention will be a key factor, along with the being consistent and following through. Right now he is playing at being a little doggie with his sisters and being so sweet, it is always easier at home, where I can control the environment more. It’s harder when you are at Church, a friends, or at a store. My husband and I will just have to work together to help him know how to be polite, appropriate and be the little boy I know his is and can be, four is such a hard age and we are learning how to be the parents he needs.

Sometimes it's the storm before the calm

I completely was unaware that school started today. My neighbor came over and knocked hard on the door and let me know my phones weren't working (the children had taken the phone off the hook) and my husband wanted to let me know school had started (now why didn't he turn the car around and told me?). I felt so embarrassed, school had already been in session for a half-hour and my daughter was dressed in a strange combination of skirts and shorts, black rock boots and a dirty shirt.Quickly this slow morning turned into frantic chaos: changing clothes, combing hair, thinking if she had enough lunch money left, adding up reading minutes, finding a coat and backpack, then running with her out the door so I could make sure she crossed the street safely. I sighed with relief when I walked back in the door, I called my mom to tell her of the adventure and she asked if my son had school today too (luckily it's afternoon preschool), and yes he did too though not quite so frantic.It was quieter even to have only two children home, I had my brother and his little girl over to make a gingerbread house while my baby took a nap. I'm realizing I have to get to know him again, he is actually an adult not my little brother anymore and finishing up the first four years of med school. It is interesting sometimes it takes a little time to reconnect with family when you have been living away from each other and when you feel more connected then it seems like they have to go home.My son got off on the bus by 12:35 and I had almost three hours with just the baby. I was able to run errands to Costco, pharmacy and the library including taking the time to select carefully books, computer games and videos that were just right for the kids instead of just putting in the basket everything they wanted and finding half of the materials were too advanced for the children, it was so wonderful and my baby loves the time driving about, getting in and out, and seeing new things when she is with me.When I got home I had at least a half hour before the rush of the coming home and I knew I had so many phone calls to make lists to do and a house to clean, but for a moment I was just stunned, not knowing where to begin when I actually had some time on my hands, even the baby was asleep, it was such a peaceful calm. The calm after the storm.