Category: BYU

A tender day

Today I have some tender feelings about Tim leaving home again. This morning I helped him carry out a couple of boxes and a duffel bag he is taking to his new apartment and we said goodbye in the dark street before he left for work. I’ve had some tears throughout the day, but I’ve also felt gratitude for the tender mercies that led to this moment.

We’ve loved reconnecting with Tim these past 3 months since he returned from his mission. He is delightful company, so funny and musical and capable, so we will miss him. But hello, since we live close to Provo we will see him soon.

For the first couple of months after his mission he worked some odd jobs, including raking leaves, moving furniture, building shelves, building and selling Christmas trees, and shoveling snow. Since early January he has worked full-time in a cabinetry shop in Provo. He builds custom cabinet doors. This move to an apartment in Provo is more progress in his search for the next right step after his mission.

Tim will attend BYU in the fall, but since he would like a career in cabinetry, he is taking time to explore that career before he launches into college. Tim thinks through decisions thoroughly and chooses his own sequence and pace. This has been his pattern since he was a little boy, and he is a remarkable person because of it.

I am so proud of our Tim.

Update on our grown children

Child is a word that applies to any age when a person is linked to a parent. Even though they are independent and strong, I am glad that I am still allowed to think of Paige, Daniel, and Timothy as my children.

I haven’t written about our older kids in a long time because they are living their own lives, very independent from us. But in my journal of tender mercies, any day that I get to talk to one of them, it makes the list of blessings for the day.

Paige and I have a phone appointment each Wednesday morning. It is something I look forward to each week.

Paige and Mike bought a house in Alabama this spring.

They both work from home. Michael is an accountant, and Paige works as an illustrator, and she has done a lot of digital art for the online Investopedia magazine. She mostly illustrates financial concepts, but she has also done some medical illustrations and more. This summer, her work was featured in a printed version of Investopedia magazine. She also did an illustration for the January 2023 Friend magazine.

Paige and Michael serve in the Primary organization at church. We will visit them later this fall, and it will be our first trip to Alabama.

Daniel lives nearby, and he begins his senior year at BYU this week, studying electrical engineering. He did an internship at L3 Harris (Richard’s company) this summer, so Richard talked to him quite a bit during the past several months.

After graduation next spring, Daniel will pursue a masters degree, and L3 Harris has offered him a job. Daniel and McKenna are quick to serve wherever they are needed. Daniel plays the organ in sacrament meeting and piano for choir, plus he serves in the elders quorum as service coordinator. McKenna served as assistant girls camp director this summer. Both of them help their local grandparents with all their hearts.

Timothy, our missionary, is on a new island, Saipan, a Northern Mariana island. This is country #4 where he has served during his mission, so I bought a new flag to display in the yard. He is excited to be on Saipan, and he and his companion are very busy teaching people. He is happy, as you can see.

He alternates with other missionaries to fly to a small island called Tinian on weekends to support a tiny group of members for church services. Here is a picture of their sacrament meeting last Sunday on Tinian. Oh, my! ❤️

We have a video call with Elder Ross each Sunday in the late afternoon, which is Monday morning for him. I have a hug scheduled with him on November 1 when he arrives home.

A glimpse of Mark’s FSY conference at BYU

Mark came home really happy from the For the Strength of Youth conference. Registering for this event was a challenge, until suddenly it wasn’t. I really think the Lord directed us to a great session that Mark would love.

Mark met an institute teacher that inspired him. He had good times with new friends, and roomed with his friend Jack. I am glad that Mark was able to do this!

A book for the desk and a book for the nightstand

This is volume 2. I am working on volume 3, and have loved each one.

My books from this New Testament series are so full of personal marginalia that they are probably ruined for anyone else’s use.

I like to leave helpful notes to my future self in the Table of Contents and throughout the book.

I like having different kinds of books in different places in the house, and save lighter reading for the bedside table. Light fiction at bedtime is a wonderful idea.

My current light reading? 😂

I had forgotten how funny this book is. I laugh every day.

Surprise!

For my Christmas gift, Richard secured a ticket to an Itzhak Perlman concert that was supposed to be tonight. There weren’t two seats available, just one, so he bought the ticket for me. He also insisted on driving me to and from the concert, despite not being able to attend. I filled my pockets with tissues so I could cry as I heard Mr. Perlman play the violin.

But I didn’t meet my violin hero tonight; I met a religious hero instead.

There were a few of us who didn’t get the memo that the concert had been rescheduled, and we congregated at the doors of the music hall in our fine clothes, each showing disbelief in our own way. One of the people was Jean Bingham, former Relief Society General President. Her presence is beautiful and so bright. My interaction with her made me feel that the night wasn’t a loss.

This is my favorite image of Sister Bingham during her presidency. It shows her cheering for missionaries who came home during the early days of 2020. She was a light to me during this confusing time, and I took this screenshot to remember the impact she made on my heart and mind. In many instances, she showed she was a worthy hero during the pandemic.

Painting from life

Paige and Michael are moving out of state in a few weeks, and we have spent some time sorting her college art projects to consolidate the things she wants to take or leave behind. She is a skilled illustrator, and she also has a healthy collection of portraits and figure drawings that I admire. She agreed to let me keep some of these. But how do I choose?

I will always be thrilled to display my children’s work, no matter their age.