A little time home

A couple months ago, I got word that my mom was diagnosed with dementia and was declining quickly. My dad reached out to us and suggested we come soon for a visit. Heeding the call, a few weeks ago I booked tickets and my son, his wife, and the rest of the family made the journey to Pennsylvania. While there, we took in the requisite foods (cheesesteaks, Sicilian pizza, hoagies and treats from Wawa, Yum Yum donuts, and ice cream at Friendly's) and scheduled family pictures. My youngest son was ordained an elder at the hands of his grandfather and assisted by numerous family members. Something my mom always does is to make sure people include their name on items that are part of their will. While this may seem morbid and worldly, it gave my kids the opportunity to talk to her about some of her possessions and find out why they were important to her and the family. As we were looking through a cedar chest at a Mongolian hat, I came upon this colorized photo of her. My mom struggled with horrible acne as a teenager and never felt pretty. This picture was the first time she saw herself as anything but a scarred woman. It reminds me we are not always what we appear; instead we are stronger and more beautiful. While this wasn't how my mom saw herself, this is how I've always seen her. She is my hero, my role model, my inspiration.

It's been a while

As you can see by my last post, it's been a while since I added anything to the blog. Thanks to the ease of Facebook, the blog was pushed aside. Stories, pictures, and videos could be uploaded in seconds rather than taking hours. But times have most certainly changed. My oldest child, Ian, has served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and last year married Adrienne. They now live in Des Moines, Washington, where she is a special education teacher and he is finishing his Pathway experience. Maggie is a talented dancer and choreographer who helped with numerous Westmore productions and plans on becoming a makeup artist. While some pets have come and gone, her Goldendoodle service dog, Ophelia, is a cherished addition to the family and her life. Ellie is a college student alongside me, and produces the most beautiful typographic works of art. She recently met the man of her dreams and together, they work at doTerra and do homework. Griffin graduated from high school in the spring and works at the elementary school he attended. All my kids are adults, the last one entering his final year as a teenager just two days ago. John and I are coming up on our 29th year of marriage and work together at Pure Storage. I went back to school to finish my degree and am in my senior year at BYU-Idaho. While this reads like a Christmas letter, there are other events that aren't quite as picturesque. My father-in-law, Malcolm, passed suddenly in February after a fall and in the past month, I received word that my mother is declining mentally and may not remember things much longer. She mentioned to my sister a desire to see me walk and receive my diploma at my college graduation; with four semesters to go, I don't know that her wish will come true. Most of my children (and husband) struggle with near-crippling anxiety and depression or other special needs, including autism. I watch as my children struggle through emotional and physical pain, wondering if their burdens will be made light. I, myself, am in physical pain most of the time and doubt I will find relief. And yet, there are small glimpses of eternity. For example, as one of my children shared their sorrows in a public forum, the others carefully crafted and shared their testimonies, testimonies I didn't realize they had. Almost every member of my extended family participated in a group chat in anticipation of General Conference and, upon its completion, decided to make it a place for scripture study. As I read their insights into the scriptures, I sat back and asked myself how I could be so blessed. With two new toilets, two new furnaces and air conditioning, a freshly-painted living room, a new job, a family--both immediate and extended--that surrounds one another with love, friends, and the restored gospel, life is good. God is good.

Retro Relief Society (March 10, 2011)

A week or so ago, Ellie tried out for the spring production at the junior high: Once Upon a Mattress. After eagerly awaiting the results, she found out that she was initially part of the chorus. Since rehearsals have started, she has been cast additionally as one of the 12 princesses that didn't pass the queen's test.

She is so excited to be part of the musical and we look forward to seeing her performance. (Let's just hope it doesn't clash too much with softball!)

Sweethearts Dance

One of the last dances of the school year is Sweethearts. Maggie was asked by a boy in our ward, Korey Williams. To help out, one of the other boys in our ward, Lance Elliott, put together a small group. I agreed to host the dinner and evening "festivities" (just some board games) and chauffeur them to and from so they could all ride in the same car.

Maggie had been quite sick leading up to it, so it was a minor miracle that she was able to go at all. For dinner, I made butter chicken with raita and basmati rice and Cherise provided the naan. For dessert, I made another batch of that delicious chocolate mousse that we had had for Valentine's Day. Lance's brother, Selleck, served a mission in India so was willing to be the server. He even gave me a burka to wear, but I wouldn't wear the full hood, just the dress and scarf. There aren't any pictures because I was too busy in the kitchen--and snapping pictures of my own!

They seemed to have a good time eating and playing Curses and Apples to Apples before going to the dance. It was great to have them here as one of the benefits was getting the house cleaned top to bottom.

Maggie Being Cast-ed

I was able to find the pictures.

On to the Next Round! (February 18, 2011)

Woo-hoo! Griffin (and Erik) are going to the next round. I had been told in advance since we had to finish up some paperwork that added Erik, so brought a camera to capture the moment. (I didn't want it to be too obvious, though, so I just brought a little pocket camera.) The kids reading the list of winners were really struggling with the names, so it was kind of hard to understand who was who. Griffin was the last of the fifth graders read and it took a moment to let it sink in. Even funnier, though, was about 30 seconds later, Griffin said, "Erik, we won!" To which Erik responded with a resounding, "All that hard work paid off!" I had to chuckle since, well, he was in on name only, but it was great to see the enthusiasm on his face when he has struggled so much with so many things.

Anyway, because the reactions were so delayed, the pictures don't capture the excitement of the moment. Now on to districts which may be a challenge for them since they need to sit at their table for four hours answering questions.