Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

Weakness to strength

One of the things I did in 2013 was play in the stake musical production. Here I am with Tevye playing Tradition! from Fiddler on the Roof. 🔥

As I paged through a journal I wrote in 2013, I was amazed at the things I did that year. All of our children were still living at home, so beyond the things I recorded in the journal, there were so many meals, so much laundry, and so much driving. One line stands out to me from this journal,

“My favorite sin right now is haste.”

By “haste” I meant that I didn’t take enough time to be still.

In 2025, haste is no longer a favorite sin. I have been given the gift to be still. True, I have less laundry and cooking to do now, but there are a few more dominant forces during the last 12 years that taught me to slow down.

Saying goodbye to Tim, 2021

First, the years of decision arrived for our children with college, missions, marriage, and beyond. I realized that the most important thing I can do for my children is to pray for them. And when they ask for advice, I need an arsenal of inspired wisdom. I choose stillness for the sake of my children.

In the hospital, 2020

Second, I had poor health for an extended time which taught me to slow down. I was forced to stop filling my life with non-essentials. I learned to sit on the couch and listen to my family. I didn’t miss being busy, so as my health returned, I remained more present and unhurried.

The women who served with me 2019-2024

Third, I had church callings that stretched me to study deeply. We had unprecedented and perplexing issues to handle, so I had to be still so I could see the path forward. I was perplexed so often that stillness became a habit.

This exercise of looking back over 12 years of personal growth shows me that my Father in Heaven works through many means to help me to change.

Unlikely Texas souvenirs

Richard and I made a trip to Texas a few years ago to visit our old home. Poor weather and sad news hounded us in many places we went. Defeated, we stopped in Georgetown during a deluge of rain and I waded into an antique shop, my feet soaking wet through my shoes. I was pretty down, and made myself buy something I would want if I were feeling happier. I chose three framed Currier and Ives prints of winter scenes. Perhaps the snow, which I don’t associate with Texas, was the reason I bought them. Our forever home is a snowy place.

We loved our years in Texas, but on this trip especially, it was clear that you can never recreate the past. And like these sentimental prints, my memories of Austin are a little idealized, preserved in a few printed images, and the people bring them to life!

Something to last a long time

This is one of the baby quilts I am working on. The flowers are hand stitched (English paper piecing method) and appliqued by hand to the white fabric. This probably represents 35-40 hours of work so far.

The past couple of weeks, I have spent more time than usual working on quilts. I have a monthly meeting of friends where we sew (and talk!) through the afternoon, and normally, this is the only time I give to sewing. This month, being more confined indoors, I have pushed forward with my work on 3 baby quilts in my free hours.

The work that goes into most quilts is significant, so they are gifts from the heart. Jenny Doan wrote this about the journey that a quilt will make in its lifetime,

Quilts have the potential to outlive you by generations. You don’t have to worry about the life they live, or what you planned for them. They’ll find their way. Quilts, like children, may not lead the life you intended, but trust me, they will find a path–and chances are, they’ll change lives as they do.

-Jenny Doan, How to Stitch an American Dream

I enjoyed Jenny Doan’s book. She is the queen of quite an empire and she has a great story.

The Lord’s wisdom is greater

I taught my gospel doctrine lesson on Sunday. I think the discussion was good, but I was prepared to discuss more. This calling at church requires me to let go of plans because class members are so eager to contribute ideas that we don’t have time to talk about every principle in the reading. It’s a good problem to have, right?

Here are a couple of concepts that we didn’t have time to discuss.

First, Satan’s tactics:

Cunning: the use of artifice to accomplish a purpose, rather than open, candid, or direct means; fraudulent skill or dexterity.

Flatter: to soothe by praise; to gratify self-love by praise…or by anything that exalts him in his own estimation or confirms his good opinion of himself.

Stir: to agitate, bring to debate; to instigate by inflaming passions.

-Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

And, God’s wisdom:

I really wanted to talk about the ways the Lord’s wisdom has blessed the lives of our class members. For me, His wisdom is most evident in His timing of friendships, knowledge, and experiences. How has the Lord’s wisdom been evident in your life?

Hand out of water

A friend asked me recently if I am keeping busy these days. She said that it’s funny how you can be so busy raising children, and just like lifting a hand from a bucket of water, immediately the gap gets filled when they are gone.

It was a good analogy, a hand lifted from water. Things just slide in to take over the days. This is not to say that the transition is easy or without complexity, and I think the process has aged me. The process is also transforming me. There are many things to do in life, and they come rushing at me each morning in ripples of ideas and possibilities. So, I keep sloshing along, not in a hurry, but finding meaning in a few new things. Fluid is my favorite metaphor for life right now.

My letter to Mark this week

Dear Mark,

The day that you got hurt, you were probably in shock for many hours afterwards, dulling the reality of what you experienced. Perhaps there was some pain as the anesthetic wore off, and the reality of dealing with a cast is really a challenge. I know that it is no fun to have an illness or injury away from home. I remember being alone in the hospital in 2020 for many days. During that isolating and painful time, I came to hear God’s voice better than if I had spent those days happily at home. It was worth the pain to know the Lord better.

I hope that you feel our prayers for you and that the healing process is uncomplicated. I hope that you are able to manage any pain that you have. I hope that you will know God better through this experience. I think you were protected from worse injury. I think that you are going to be just fine. Before I knew that you were hurt, I experienced a really calm feeling that morning, and I knew it was a spiritual impression. I think the Lord was preparing me. As I looked back on the day, I realized that the Lord really did “speak peace to my mind” to let me know that you were being cared for … even before I knew what happened.

Here are some things I observed about you as we interacted that day that make me proud of you.

  • Your first concern was my experience saying goodbye to the McLaughlins.
  • You were upbeat.
  • You were anxious to tell us about the baptism and confirmation. What a gift you provided through your righteous exercise of priesthood authority.
  • You are loved by the missionaries who know you.
  • You were concerned about the cost of medical care for us, and didn’t dwell on the negative part of your day. You were selfless and brave. I am proud of you.

Sending hugs,

Mom 

Best in Show

The youth activity this week was a baking challenge. Each group was given a mango and told to make something with it, and they raced off to leaders’ homes to bake.

Richard’s group made mango tarts with a baked graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, and piped cream. I am glad that we just happened to have graham crackers, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream in our house. We had to adapt the recipe a little for the things we didn’t have, but that was fun, and each kid was invested in the project. The tarts really tasted good, and they looked amazing.

They won Best in Show.