The Center of the Ondricek Home

The week of Mom O's funeral this puzzle took center stage of the living room. It served as a constant reminder that He was with us and at the center of the home; the home Mom and Dad O created around Christ. Mom O couldn't have chosen a better puzzle herself. Piece by piece and day after day, friends and family contributed to its completion. By the end of the week when everyone returned home, He was complete.

My relationship with Jesus Christ has been much like this puzzle. He awaits on a table in the center of the home, ready to give me His attention. Sometimes I tidy the room around Him. At times I rush into the house without even stopping in the living room. Sometimes I sit at His table alone in focused silence. Other times I work with a loved one and we grow together. No matter how slow the pieces come together or who puts them there, each piece is still very important to the puzzle. They build on one another and it's frustrating when even one piece is missing. With patient effort and the help of dear ones all the pieces are found and carefully put together over time. HE is the magnificent result that is the center of my home and heart.

Celebrating Family

Isn't my family so beautiful? This month I have enjoyed so much family time through multiple types of family reunions in several different states. We've had so many adventures! Here are just a few highlights.

Thank heaven for my family & in-laws and all the good people God gave me in my own family.

Stu and his aunt Sara on a hike to Stewart Falls

Stuart & Great grandpa at the Goodell reunion

During the week-long Goodell reunion the family completed at least 4 large puzzles like this

Sara said this is where Mom O. was sitting during our reunion. She was definitely there with us.

Tinae helped with Stu so much! We owe all our happiness to Tinae because she set up me and Jared on our blind date.

Great G-ma and G-pa

beautiful aunt Rach

We love the Porter's

Stewart Falls hike

The ropes course - Jared ROCKED

Stephenson family reunion

LOVE my sisters & grandparents

Aren't my sisters beautiful!? Lucky Stu has so many cousins his age too.

Thank you to all the family that made this month a memorable, enjoyable, and shaping experience.

Our Mother & Grandmother

One month ago today Ann Marie Ondricek passed beyond the veil of mortality and joined the multitude of angels on the other side. After a courageous fight against a vicious cancer, she let go and went home to her heavenly Parents.

I haven't posted since then because I don't have accurate words to describe what this month has included. A good beginning, at least, would include these words from Gordon B. Hinckley. These words were chosen by Mom O. herself to be sung at her funeral. Jonnie sung them ever so beautifully, too:

What is this thing that men call death?

This quiet passing in the night?

'Tis not the end but genesis

Of better worlds and greater light

O God, touch Thou my aching heart

And calm my troubled, haunting fears

Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure

Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is not death, but only change

With recompense for vict'ry won

The gift of Him who loved all men

The Son of God, the Holy One.

My heart aches and I still cry often in my moments alone: pondering, praying, remembering. But Jared and I both are at peace with our loss because we know it is temporary. Our Savior overcame death and the grave through His resurrection, and gives us all that gift of life again.

Ann Marie is an outstanding mother, grandmother, wife, friend, sister and daughter. She will continue to be such to all those in her life, but her role will be fulfilled from a distance. She always was an extraordinary pen pal! I have absolute confidence that she is enjoying the company of loved ones and heroes who have gone before her. She works hard to serve and lift and love from where she now resides. In comparison to the eternities, it will be but a moment until we are united again. Thank God for His Son and for the temple ordinances that have welded our families together for eternity.

Here are just some of the many memories with Mom O:

Our wedding, with her AMAZING quilt in the background

Mom being a mom and combing Jared's hair on his wedding day

just perfect.

2009 family reunion

one of the quilts she helped me make

another masterpiece quilt she made for Nutmeg's wedding

she couldn't be happier: doing a service with someone she loves

she brought the family across the country to see us!

when Jared and I were dating, she welcomed me and my family to her family

when she met Stuart for the first time. she cried with joy.

4 generations of outstanding people

in awe

she sure knew how to enjoy making and eating food :)

a rendezvous at the temple. she was certainly a temple-going woman

the last picture she let me take of her: crying with gratitude for our regular visits to her

Stu - the highlight of many of her days. I am SO glad we didn't wait longer to have kids so that she and he could have each other for a time.

Czechs & Ondricek's

A few weeks ago I invited our pool lifeguard over for dinner so we could be friendly and learn more about his country, the Czech Republic. He, his girlfriend, and several other college students are here for the summer to work as lifeguards and learn English.

Their country is of interest to us because the Ondricek family hails from Prague about 4 generations back. So he and his girlfriend came for dinner last night and prepared a wonderful lesson on the Czech Republic. They brought printouts of their flag, first democratic president, political maps of CR and all of Europe. We learned about their political history, language, and even got a geography lesson. Jared and I tried to fill in all the European nations from memory and did OK until we got to all the countries between Hungary and Greece. I'm sorry Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Albania, etc... You're still important.

They were great company and even brought us gifts!!

They really wanted to bring us something Czech, but the only thing they could find was beer. We don't drink alcohol but they said we could keep it anyway.

Funny enough, our neighbor, Ivana, is Czech so after the lifeguards left, we offered the beer to her and her husband, Anthony. They accepted and we had a FABULOUS TIME with them learning even more about Czech culture. We were there late (while Stu peacefully slept) hearing the best stories we're heard in a long time!

Like did you know that Czechs have a special way to celebrate Easter? Anthony learned all about it when he spent Easter there for the first time. In Czech they drink lots of alcohol, so Anthony spent most of his time there either hung over or drunk, he said. After drinking late into the night the evening before, his in-laws got him up at 7:00 Easter morning to celebrate Czech style. All the men and young boys go from house to house, like we go trick-or-treating, to playfully whip the women and girls with their lucky homemade switch sticks.

Anthony even had one to show us! The sticks are believed to give the ladies youth and in return the boys receive candy and eggs, and the men get a shot of alcohol, often brandy. They do this all throughout town from 7 til noon! The ladies often run off to make the men earn their reward and so all morning you find inebriated men chasing stranger women in the streets. Happy Easter!

So, imagine poor Anthony, this African American who doesn't speak a lick of Czech. He is hung over. All the women in town are strangers. And he is whipping their behinds just so he can get more drunk! He didn't make it past 9.

You should have heard him tell the story. It was hilarious. All the while Ivana is going on about how every women who got a whip from him had the best Easter ever because they were whipped by "Vin Diesel." Maybe you had to be there, but I am still laughing thinking about it. It was an entertaining and educational evening!

Note to self: avoid being in the Czech Republic on Easter. :)

Graduate School Squared

The next phase of higher education is about to begin. Jared starts his graduate program this fall and I am currently applying. I might be crazy, but I want to go back to school for my Masters of Social Work.

These are my reasons:

• I am only going to get busier with more kids
• My BSW allows me to apply for advanced standing MSW programs but only for a limited time
• I want to have the option to be employed outside the home
• MSW allows me to earn more money while working part-time
• I want to contribute both to our finances and to the larger community through employment
• Working in my kids' schools in the future will allow me to keep in touch with the challenges they might face
• I love to learn and I like school

Depending on where I get in, I could do one of two programs:

1) online, part-time MSW for 2 years, or

2) on campus, full-time MSW for 1 year

What do you think?

Any moms who are currently in school with babies at home?

Anyone who succeeded in it?

What advice, warnings, or encouragement do you have?

PS. Thank you, Leah, for your comment. You make an excellent point I'd like to address. I am aware of the many contributions stay-at-home mothers give to the community but I failed to acknowledge them. Many mothers in my life, including my own, have contributed countless services to the world; certainly not limited to the contribution of their beautiful families. Women serve in the PTA, at church, as civil servants, teachers, entrepreneurs, friends, mentors, gardeners, keepers of the peace, artists, creators, and many more. As I expressed to my mom yesterday, I plan to contribute in lots of ways, I just want to get payed for some of the service I'm most passionate about. Many women I know contribute to the family finances by saving coupons, making and selling crafts, reselling used items like clothes, or taking on a part-time job. All are fulfilling and productive. Social work is the best way for me right now.

Crawling

Just for you Gma Bev. Here is Stuart's progress with crawling.

I have been SO excited to post this because he's made lots of progress very quickly. At his 10 month check up, the pediatrician expressed concern that he was too little for his age and should be gaining more weight. He seems perfectly healthy to me. He is a little man, but he's growing, not losing weight, and DOING all the activities he should. We took him back to the MD at 11 months so she could see his growth and he gained 12 oz in just 4 weeks. And in those four weeks he mastered crawling and is pulling himself up on his knees and feet. We are so happy!!

Two weeks ago:

This afternoon:

Stu kisses

Geocaching

My husband loves to geocache. He enjoys the outdoors, the hunt, and of course the company. :) We enjoyed this treasure hunt with Uncle Matt. Or, as Stuart calls him, "Att". It was a beautiful day.

Curious Kid

A couple weeks ago we visited the in-laws in Jersey. We completely forgot to take our port-a-crib for Stu, so we improvised by creating a soft corner in Aunt Mary's room. For his afternoon nap, he laid on a futon with lots of stacked pillows on 2 sides and the walls and a dresser on the other. He was quiet and assumed sleeping. When I checked on him 40 minutes later he was in the center of the room, on his belly under the legs of a music stand, playing with pens and paper. Silly kid.

Plan B. We put the futon in the guest bedroom corner where the bed, bookshelves, and a bench on it's side were supposed to keep him safe. They did, but he still explored his new territory. I later checked to see if he was sleeping. I found this delightful sight:

"But mom, I just wanted to crochet like you and daddy."

Pool Time

We love having a pool and we are there every week. I love this float and Stu enjoys just hanging out. It makes him giggle when I go under the water and reappear on his other side. We especially love it when his cousins come swimming with us! Thanks for joining us lately!

Just Because

Just because we have one of the happiest babies on earth