2022- Week 16(Apr 18- Apr 24)

Ethan is working on his mission papers. Here is the picture he submitted. He is so handsome.

Melinda brought her kids up to the park for the day. It was right as I was getting off work so I went and hung out with them. 

Ethan and I took Mike Shepherd to lunch for his birthday that was back in March. It was good to catch up with him.

It is Spring break this week so Brody and Brooklyn and Bronson requested a sleepover with Ethan. Bronson didn't stay the night. We love to go get Slurpees but it was raining really hard and I didn't have a car seat for Bronson. I asked Brooklyn Barney to come sit with him and when she walked in he said "Are you here to play with me?" He is such a friendly little child. One of the kids usually wakes up early but not this time. I was up making breakfast before they got up. Brooklyn always requests pancakes for breakfast. She keeps a diary and I was telling her how I kept a journal when I was her age and she asked to see it. I ran across this entry about the band The Monkees. Ha Ha- how does an eight year old know how much a forty year old man weighs? Brody and Ethan worked a ton on their video game they are designing and Brooklyn tried to teach me to play Minecraft- I am terrible at it. 

I heard this quote in my Inklings study this week. I have been watching Inklings with Emily Belle Freeman. No one can open my eyes to the scriptures like her. This quote is probably why she has so much insight because she is always in the scriptures. 

Monday will be Bronson's birthday so Melinda invited everyone over for ribs on Sunday. Danielle was there with her kids and Archer also has a birthday on Monday so we sang to him too. She just redid her house and it looks so good. This was Ashtyn's first time meeting Jenafae. They were excited that they are cousins now. 

2022- Week 15(Apr 11= Apr 17)

I had to take the Hylander to get a few things fixed on it that the dealership had promised to do. They needed to keep the car for a few days so I called Liz who lives right by the dealership in Woods Cross and she picked me up and took me to the Front Runner station. I was feeling so thankful for public transportation- that is until two stops later when a group of people attacked two older gentleman on the platform and they got onto my train car. I didn't see it happen, but I heard yelling and people saying to not let them(meaning the attackers) on the train. The two men that got beat up got on. One of them had a bloody lip- but other than being shaken up they didn't look too hurt. The one man was yelling for someone to call the cops. The car attendant radioed the police and then the driver of the train came back and told them that the police would meet us at the next stop. We ended up being delayed by about twenty minutes while the police interviewed the men and took photos. It was a little scary and I just stayed in my seat so I wouldn't be in the way. The man with the bloody lip asked me if he was bleeding before the police got there. That may be the last time I take the train alone again.

I took this picture right before I got on the train because I was thinking how thankful I am for public transit- not sure I will ride it ever again by myself.

Whitney made homemade lemonaid and served me a glass of it with a sugared rim. It was so so good.

Kristy and Miles invited all the family to come to their church one night and play pickleball. I have been dying to learn to play. It seems like we are the only ones that don't play. They had two courts set up in their gym. Miles taught me and Ethan how to play. It was pretty fun. He was really patient and helped us. He is a great teacher. We also played lightning- where you stand in a line and two people have the ball and the person behind tries to get the first person out by making a basket before them. I swear Jeff or one of his brothers won every time. I was super impressed that Corban kept up with the adults and held his own playing. It was a really fun night and we plan to do it again soon.

I  worked four days this week and boy was I tired at the end. Meier's meats brought lunch in for everyone to thank all their clients and that was the best. I got to see Lisa and Melissa and Chris who were working for their dad. I was sitting with some co-workers and Jerome our CEO had his twin brother there. His name is Trevor. I asked him why Jerome got such a cool name and he got such an ordinary name. Now I can never live that down. I was totally joking but he might have gotten a little offended. Jerome loved it and thought it was so funny. Everyone brings it up now and it's pretty embarrassing ha ha.

I helped my mom get her new guest bed all set up. She still needs to have Melinda build her a headboard.

I love when I find my kids asleep on my bed. I love that our room is the gathering place for everyone.

We did sealings at the Jordan River Temple this week with Ashtyn. We took some of my Uncle Bob and Aunt Kara's names. Bob set up a family history group and we can go on and grab names if we need. Since Kara's names are my descendants too it makes it so easy. Did you know you can do ordinances out of order- they won't be valid until the previous ordinances are completed but that makes it easier to find the ones you are going to do. It was so fun to have Ashtyn with us. The sealer asked if she was a missionary and when she said she just got back everyone had all kinds of questions for her. It turns out she served with one of the woman's grandsons. 

Sunday was Easter. We didn't do egg hunts or a big fan fair this year. In fact I only did one basket for the family. We didn't dye eggs but we did do resurrection rolls with peeps because I forgot to buy marshmallows. They didn't turn out as great- peeps made them a lot stickier and a bit gritty from the sugary coating. Our ward did a special Easter program. Ethan was one of the narrators. He studied his part and memorized a lot of it so that he could look at the audience and make eye contact and that was really great. The other narrator was Makayla Cowley who is Ethan's age. There were musical numbers and one speaker. It was wonderful. That morning Jeff spoke in the Beehive Home so I went with him and he asked me to bare my testimony on the fly. I didn't mind and I talked about a painting I like by Brian Kershisnik. It shows them taking Christ down off the cross. It is a pretty grim painting. Everyone is so forlorn but what I like about it is what the artist said. “It is very hard for us now to read about the events surrounding Jesus’ torture and death without the pain of it being diluted by the universal spoiler alert of the fabulous conclusion of the gospel narrative. But they who went through it didn’t know it would turn out, not just “ok”, but unspeakably gloriously. They labored over his lifeless body with no notion at all that this was going to work out well. Their hopes were dashed and there was nothing for it but to provide as appropriate a burial as could be arranged. There was sad work to be done and endured.

“This moment in the narrative is important because of the time we ourselves spend on the “Friday” of our experience with no notion of how the “Sunday” ever can break through it.” I just love that. I love that in the middle of our darkest hours there is something good waiting just around the corner because of Christ.

We didn't get an Easter outfit picture because of a disagreement we had earlier in the day. I wasn't happy about one of my children's outfit choices and I should have just kept my mouth shut but I couldn't. I have some pretty strong opinions about what we wear to certain functions but now that my kids are all adults my opinion isn't the one that matters. It took all day for us to get over our feelings and move on and I am bummed about that but we live and we learn and we try again. Isn't that the very essence of the atonement- to get a fresh start, to begin again and to strive to rise above the petty things of the world.

Tom and Sharon invited us over for Easter dinner. They asked us to bring dessert and I got a chocolate cake from Costco per Whitney's request. I shared a thought that Brooke Romney, a popular LDS writer shared about redemption and we had a good discussion. My favorite thing she said was when she asked the question "Is it possible to over celebrate redemption stories?" and her answer was "NO, If you believe in Jesus, redemption is the only story" I love that. Sometimes we get hung up on the mistakes we or someone we love has made. Mistakes that can hurt so deeply- but that is exactly where the savior comes in. There is always a way back, there is always second chances and we can all be redeemed through his blood.  Dinner made Jeff and I sick but we were able to play cards and have a fun night anyways. The girls were obsessed with trying on Sharon's wedding rings

2022- Week 14(Apr 4- Apr 10)

 I went to lunch with Amee Rock this week- She is one of my February birthday friends I go out with each year but we had to wait because there was too much going on the last few months and Grace our other friend was out of town. Grace ended up being sick so Amee and I still went. We talked about missionaries, Chinese and college applications. She has some kids in the same stage of life as me so it's always fun to catch up with her and bounce ideas off of each other.

Jeff's epic Masters trip continued this week. Their tickets were for Monday for one of the practice rounds. They ended up getting exactly one hour of sleep before they had to head to Augusta. I really should have him write this post to get all the amazing details. He said it was better than they even hoped. The grass was so pristine it looked fake. They saw several of their favorite golfers up close-Tiger Woods, Tony Finau, Dustin Thomas, Jon Rahm. The weather was perfect. The food was surprisingly cheap.

Grandpa and Gonghee sent Ethan this cool ring for his 18th birthday. They sent the girls something similar. It is engraved on the inside with a line from his favorite scripture which is D&C 127:2. The line is "I shall triumph over all my enemies." They wanted to get him a birthstone ring. I told them he would love that because his birthstone is blue and he always calls himself "Blue Star" so then Yvonne suggested they do a blue star sapphire instead. Ethan has used the name Blue Star for so many things over the years. It is a character in a book he is writing. It was what he called himself in video games. I thought that would be so perfect. 

We did math games for Activity Days. Shanni use to teach school so I let her be in charge. The boys loved it. They are so darn smart and could think of the answer in seconds.

Tom and Sharon's anniversary fell on one of our Shaw Sundays so Kristy and I put together a little marriage quiz that we had everyone take to see what the kids knew about their love story. It was so fun. There were answers that I had totally forgotten. She also had Phoebe make cupcakes and we put them on my cake stands to look like a wedding cake. I brought salad and tried a new dressing that I learned from Tried and True Moms on Instagram. Malia turned me onto them and now I am obsessed with everything they recommend. The dressing was pretty good but I will tweak it a bit next time I make it- it was a bit to bitter for my liking. It did taste great with the sweeter elements of the salad though.

Ashtyn drove to California with her companion Brynn Castillo so they could be bridesmaids in their other companion Makell's wedding. I'm so glad for the friendships Ashtyn made on her mission. I know they will be some that last a lifetime.

Our fridge finally bit the dust and we had to get a new one. We decided to also get a new dryer at the same time because we would have free delivery for a year because of the fridge. Our dryer has not worked properly for months. Well the day they were suppose to be delivered we got a call that the couches we ordered back in October were here and would be delivered the same day- this also meant we would have to pay for them all on this day. Boy has March and April been expensive months for us. I love how they all look.

Easter shelves

We stocked up Jeff's office at the church with new candy

 

2022- Week 13(Mar 28- Apr 3)

This week was Ethan's 18th birthday. I really don't have any words to describe how I feel about my last baby becoming a man. He has been a man for a long time but now he is officially an adult in the eyes of the world. He can serve a mission. He can be drafted. He can vote. Unlike the girls he didn't want fanfare and fancy dinners. He wanted a Chick Fil A 30 count nugget meal all to himself. He doesn't want to go and do anything big. He wanted money and he got that and some clothes that he can take on his mission. My dad and Yvonne sent him a beautiful star sapphire ring with a line from his favorite scripture engraved on it. D&C 127:2. "I shall triumph over all my enemies". Ethan has always used the name Blue Star in everything he does and in stories he writes so it was perfect. This is so him. He is so laid back, unassuming, non judgmental, grateful for everything- wants nothing and would do anything for anyone. In fact Ethan is the best son a mother could ask for. He has always been so good to me. He very rarely pushes back when I ask him to do things. He works hard in school. Teachers love him. He is responsible, hard working, super smart, kind, adventurous, funny, a gifted writer, a spiritual giant compared to me and one of the best human beings on earth. I pretty much won the lottery in the kid department because all my kids are amazing and while they aren't perfect they have taught me so much over the years. I feel like I am graduating from the school of motherhood because while I will always be their mother and be here any time they need advice or a shoulder to cry on- I will no longer be in charge of their lives. I really haven't been for a while now because they are all very independent people. I learned to be a mother because of them. I made mistakes on them. I taught them all I knew and then they filled in the gaps where I was lacking. This blog has been the best thing I ever could have done. I have captured my children's childhood within my posts and that is something I will cherish forever. When I miss those little faces I can look back on them and read the things they said or did any time I want.  Malia asked me how I feel about having all adult kids and the Joni Mitchell Circle Game song came to mind. Here are the lyrics:

Yesterday a child came out to wonder

Caught a dragonfly inside a jar

Fearful when the sky was full of thunder

And tearful at the falling of a star

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons

Skated over ten clear frozen streams

Words like when you're older must appease him

And promises of someday make his dreams

And the seasons they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We're captive on the carousel of time

We can't return we can only look

Behind from where we came

And go round and round and round

In the circle game

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now

Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town

And they tell him take your time it won't be long now

Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down

And the seasons they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We're captive on the carousel of time

We can't return we can only look

Behind from where we came

And go round and round and round

In the circle game

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty

Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true

There'll be new dreams maybe better dreams and plenty

Before the last revolving year is through

And the seasons they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We're captive on the carousel of time

We can't return we can only look

Behind from where we came

And go round and round and round

In the circle game

© March 22, 1966; R. Joan Mitchell, then August 22, 1966; Gandalf Pub Co

That pretty much sums it up. We can look back but we can't go back and one day you are someone's child and then the next someone is yours and that is how it has always been. My next season in life is here and it will be followed by another. They are short and go by fast and just when you think you can't handle the stage of life you are in it get grows beautiful and deep and you stand in wonder and then it slips away into another. Always up and down and around and around just like the song says. I am grateful for the good, the bad, in mundane and the sublime. I made so many mistakes but also laughed and smiled and loved often. Knowing all I know now I would do it all over because it was perfect for me. I became a different and better person through the humans I have been privileged to be surrounded by the last 44 years- especially the ones I call Jeff, Ashtyn, Whitney and Ethan.

Reading a great book that I knew nothing about but bought because it was on clearance for $5. Great insight!

I went to our Relief Society Birthday social. We helped make Easter baskets for kids at a woman's shelter. We also did a favorite things party. I brought the Walmart sweatshirt I wear all the time and I took home a Swig card and some kettle corn. 

General Conference was this week. Oh how I look forward to these talks. There were so many wonderful messages. Some of my favorites were by: Amy Wright about broken things, Elder Christofferson about how life is not a vending machine where we put in the good things we do and then get to pick the blessings we want. Sister Porter- Be salt, leaven and light. Holland- stay for the whole feast. Kacher- aligning our will with God.

There was also a Woman's Session on Saturday and Malia invited Kristy and I and our girls to go to dinner with her and then we came back to my house and watched the session. They stayed and we talked till late and I loved that so much. They are such great women and I learn so much from them. 

Jeff flew out to Georgia for his long awaited Master's trip on Sunday afternoon after a harrowing night before trying to scramble and change their plans when their flight got cancelled. They ended up having to fly into a totally different airport and rent a car and drive two hours to get to Augusta. They had a layover in Dallas and the crew was MIA so they nearly had to come home due to another cancelled flight. Thankfully they made it to Georgia with one hour to spare. Got absolutely no sleep and I will talk more about it next week.