Prom

The LDS Prom, hosted by the Indianpolis North Stake was held two weeks ago. As a member of the Stake Young Women Presidency in the Indianapolis West Stake I seized the opportunity to chaperone and arranged for a babysitter so that Jeremy could go with me.

A friend from our ward called Jeremy and offered to make a corsage for him to give to me. So, all dressed up and with corsage on wrist, I was escorted to dinner and prom by my handsome husband.

Flashback about 15 years ago (okay, 19, but who's counting?!), a couple of weeks before my junior prom

I am not really interested in any boys at school right now, and I'm pretty certain that there aren't any boys that will ask me to prom (at least not any that I want to go to prom with). I have started crushing a little bit on George, a guy at church. Maybe I should ask him to be my date to prom.

A couple of weeks minus one day before my junior prom

Oh my gosh! I was totally nervous, but tonight at mutual I got up the nerve to ask George to prom. He said yes! It will be so cool having a date that nobody knows! He'll be...like...the mysterious guy that came to prom with Tricia.

About a week before my junior prom

Okay, I am really head over heels for this guy, Rich. He just came into my life out of nowhere and I am so in love! I so wish that I was going to prom with him. Of course, he has a date, but they are just friends. If I were going stag to prom I could totally hang out with Rich all night! Why did I have to ask George!

The day of my junior prom

George is such a dork! I wish there was some way that I could get out of going to prom with him! But that would be so rude. So I'll just have to deal with it. Maybe I can make Rich jealous by being with another date. That would be cool.

The night of my junior prom

This is humiliating! I never realized before what a geek George is! Because I asked him to prom I think he thinks that I really like him and he keeps holding my hand and stuff! And, because he doesn't know anyone but me he is following me around like a lost puppy! So much for getting to hang out with Rich. I even asked my mom and dad, who are here as chaperones, if there is some way that I can get out of spending the rest of the night with George, but they told me "no way"! Oh man! Maybe I can ditch him before post prom...tell him that I am sick or something.

Later that night

Okay, I couldn't ditch George, so we went to post prom. Missy was able to talk her date, Stephen, into babysitting him for a while so that I could try to have some fun, but it didn't last nearly long enough. When we got home, I really thought that he was going to kiss me! I would have died. What was I thinking to ever have a crush on him?! On a positive note, Steph, Chris, Rich and I are going to Eagle Creek tomorrow for a picnic and to hang out. This will totally make up for the nightmare that was tonight. Oh Rich, I love you!

Flash forward to May 24, 2008

Going to LDS Prom tonight really brought back a lot of memories. I can't believe what a dork I was! How could I have been so rude to George. Poor guy. He was just trying to be a good date and I completely blew him off.

It was really fun getting to go to prom with Jeremy. Wow! Dating really wasn't fun. I really like going on dates with someone who already knows and loves me. What a blessing.

Flash forward to today, June 9, 2008

I just had to share this. It has been really fun to think about my memories of junior prom, even though I have had to face the harsh reality that I really was a fickle, silly, and yes, a little rude, girl.

By the way, the names here were not changed to protect the innocent, so if any of the people mentioned in this story happen, by some strange twist of fate, to read this post...

George, I'm sorry. You really were very sweet...

Steph and Chris, thanks for inviting me and Rich to go to Eagle Creek with you the day after prom. It was definitely the highlight of my junior prom experience...

Rich, so you ended up dating one of my best friends instead of me. It all worked out for the best...

Missy, thanks for helping me through one of the most horrible nights of my high school career. You were and are a true friend indeed.

Stephen, thanks for hanging out with some guy you didn't know so that I could fawn all over some other guy. In other words, thanks for facilitating my misconduct. I really appreciated it at the time....

mom and dad, thanks for being my conscience. No matter how mortifying it may have been at the time, I'm glad that you were at my junior prom.

Jeremy, thanks for being my date to the LDS Prom. It was unforgettable, but in a much nicer way than my junior prom.

Blog readers, thanks for letting me reminisce. If you are still reading, you too are true friends indeed.

This past Friday Jeremy was commissioned into the Air Force.

His dad was able to commission him.

Jeremy taking the oath

Lieutenant Matis saluting Colonel Matis

The plaque (no pun intended) handed down from father to son
Jeremy with Sgt. Potts, the Air Force recruiter who has held our hand throughout this process

Jeremy signing his life away
Jeremy with mom and dad
Our family
Jer with his best dental school buds, Adam and Dave (plus Dave's wife, Nicole)

Thanks to all of the family and friends who were there to support Jeremy. We are excited about this step that we have taken in our lives!

We did it again!

Jeremy and I walked in the mini-marathon again this year! We finished in 12 minutes less than we did last year. That doesn't seem like that much of an improvement, but we feel good about it. The fact is that our time is kind of embarrassing when compared to the times of friends and family who participated in the mini also, but when I consider my progress over the past year and a half, I am proud of myself.

Now Jeremy, on the other hand, could probably finish much quicker than I do, but he stays with me to provide moral support, which I appreciate. He also provides much entertainment as he joins the groups that are there to entertain in clogging, chearleading, dancing, etc. As with most things in my life, he makes walking 13.1 miles a lot more fun!

In addition to an improved finishing time I was amazed at how much easier this half marathon was for me than the two I did last year. I maintained a good energy level throughout the race, finished strong, didn't feel like I needed to immediately pass out afterward, and recovered much more quickly!

Can't wait until the Indianapolis Half Marathon in October! Who wants to join us? We won't even have our feelings hurt if you finish before us...it's not too hard to do!

You don't have to be doing what you love to love what you are doing.

Every once in a while I get a glimpse into the lives of people that I went to school with who are following their dreams as singers, actors, performers. It always leaves me with a lump in my throat as I realize that the only singing I do on a daily basis is in the car (where I am promptly told by my kids to stop singing because they want to sing), and when I tuck the kids in bed (where they do allow me to sing, but only to delay going to sleep).

My recent acting experience is limited to making up silly voices for The Cat in the Hat, Goldilocks and various other children’s book characters. The things that were once so much a part of my life have been replaced with much less interesting things like washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning toilets, picking up toys and changing diapers.

I sometimes long for the feeling of fulfillment that came from doing the things that I love to do every day. At those times I ask myself if being a mom is worth the sacrifices that I make. The answer comes when…

• Becca gets up in the morning looking beautiful with her tousled hair and sleepy eyes
• I hear the pitter patter of Isak’s little feet as he runs through the house
• Becca rides her princess bike around the neighborhood (complete with princess elbow pads, knee pads and helmet)
• Isak asks me what time it is (even though he really has no idea what “10:30” means)
• I watch Becca dancing in her ballet class
• Isak sings
• Becca sings
• Isak laughs
• Becca laughs
• Isak prays
• Becca prays
• Becca “reads” books to Isak
• Becca wants me to hold her because she is frightened by the scary character in a movie
• Isak wants me to hold him just because
• we walk through the grocery store saying “I want the tiger book. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha (like Dracula) because the kids think it’s funny…
  

All of these moments remind me that the satisfaction of doing the things that I personally love to do is far overpowered by the fulfillment of using my skills and talents to shape the lives of the two little people who rely primarily on me to show them the way in this world.

So, while washing dishes may not be on my list of things that I love to do, it’s okay because I do love being a mom who washes dishes.

(I posted this on a family blog last fall. I have been thinking about it a lot lately and decided to share it once again. Sometimes I just need these little reminders of how blessed I am to be a mom. It's not easy, but it's worth it.)

American Girls

Twice a year we take a trip to Chicago with our friends, Mark and Kami Starnes. We love these trips! We go every spring and every fall. It has become a tradition that we won't easily break.

This year for our spring trip we decided to take all of our kids with us and take the girls to the American Girl Place. It was amazing! First we went to the little stage production that they do. In the show they introduce the "American Girls" through music and dance. I loved the show because it promoted values that are important to me and that I hope someday will be important to my little girl. I actually cried! I sat there thinking, "Am I the only dork crying?" Of course, I can always count on Kami to get weepy with me. Thanks, Kami!

Of course we did some shopping and Becca picked out a ballerina dress for herself and her Bitty Baby. I had a hard time getting her to settle on what she wanted. She walked into the Bitty Baby section and just started grabbing boxes. I said, "Now Becca, you are going to have to choose just one thing, so why don't you just look at everything there is and then make a decision." With each item we looked at she announced, " I want that!" She even wanted the things that she already has! She was just completely overwhelmed! So much like her mother.
For lunch we had made reservations at the American Girl Cafe. No detail was overlooked in the decorating, service, menu, etc. We felt very special.

Every few minutes Becca would reach over and offer her doll a bite or a drink. I was so darned cute!
We really weren't celebrating a birthday, but we wanted this day to be extra special, so we just pretended. We ordered the birthday package for both girls. It was only a few dollars more and we got a birthday cake and gifts. Very fun! In our defense, Makara's birthday was only a couple of weeks away, so we justified it.
It was such a great day! I loved getting to do this with Becca. Adding to my list of things that I would do if I were rich, I would give as many little girls as possible the opportunity to spend a day at American Girl Place with their moms.
While we were at American Girl, the boys all went to Shedd Aquarium. We met back up in Schaumburg to go to IKEA (of course!) and then we headed home.

After spending a weekend with almost-nine-year-old Makara, Becca is now 5 going on 12. Makara is so good to her. Aren't friends great!

Easter

On the Saturday of Easter weekend there was an Easter egg hunt at the church building. It was snowing outside, so the hunt was moved into the cultural hall. There aren't a lot of strategic hiding places in a cultural hall, so the eggs were strewn about on the floor. Here are Becca, Isak and the other children from church waiting for the big race for candy to begin!
Isak was so excited to dig into his candy that once he had a few eggs he just stopped in the middle of everything and started cracking open eggs. As you can see, there were still plenty of eggs to be gathered, but he was more interested in the instant gratification of eating the candy!Becca got run over by a couple of older, over zealous girls right when the egg hunt started and spent most of the time crying. She ended up with very few eggs as a result. As an apology, one of the girls that had been involved in the mishap shared some of her eggs with Becca, so she ended up coming out pretty well. Isak had a nearly empty basket, but a full mouth. He was happy.We have church at 9:00, and the Easter Bunny was thoughtful enough to wait until we were at church to come deliver baskets. When we came home we found Becca and Isak's baskets in the sunroom. They received basketballs, movies, sunglasses and more candy.
The Easter Bunny even remembered mommy and daddy this year! We were surprised to find (well, at least daddy was) a new garage door opener in our garage. The Easter Bunny must have noticed that ours has been broken for the past couple of years and that we have just been too cheap to buy one! One of my favorite parts of our Easter tradition is buying new spring Sunday clothes for everyone. Becca was beautiful and Isak was so handsome. Unfortunately we didn't capture any good pictures of them before we went to church.

Even more wonderful than getting new toys, candy and new clothes was when Becca asked if she could give the family home evening lesson and proceded to tell the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. She had every detail just right. She was certainly taught well in Primary that day!

Spring Break

For Jeremy's spring break we had made plans to return to Williamsburg, VA (we were there last summer for a Matis family reunion) with Jeremy's brother, Jason, and his family. The Jason Matis family ended up not being able to go, but we love to travel, so we decided to make a go of it anyway. Any doubts that we should follow through with the trip left when I realized that it would be sunny and in the 60's in Virginia the week of spring break and still cold and snowy here in Indianapolis.

Becca and Isak love to take trips as much as Jeremy and I do and behave amazingly well in the car. Of course sometimes you have to get a little creative to make a 12 hour drive fun, but they have no problem with that!
Although we had spent a couple of days at Colonial Williamsburg over the summer, we wanted to return and check out a couple of things that we had missed before. Jeremy got to be on the jury of a mock trial at the courthouse, which was very interesting. One case in particular really made us appreciate the religious freedom that we now enjoy.
I wanted to check out the Yankee Candle store in Williamsburg, which is Yankee's flagship store. The rest of the family wasn't extremely excited about going, but it turned out to be way cool. There was like a little world inside the store with blue sky, fountains, shops, etc. This clock tower opened up every half hour and the mice inside put on a little musical show.

The part that I liked best was the Holiday store where it is perpetually Christmas. It even snows!

We spent one day visiting Jamestown and Yorktown. I'm ashamed to admit that we didn't really know the significance that either one of these places played in the history of our country. It was very enlightening to visit and learn about these important historical landmarks. Both of these pictures were taken at Jamestown. We ended up not getting any pictures at Yorktown, but there was a great self guided driving tour in Yorktown that we loved!

The highlights of the trip for the kids, although not pictured, were swimming and going to the indoor jumping place. It was great to have our family together for so much time! It made it really tough to send Jeremy out the door to school again the next week, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to get away and have fun.