When Richard goes off on adventures, I stay home to fluff the flowers and pillows. This was our weekend.
This week, I am working on finishing a quilt and scanning certificates and awards for Timothy’s Sterling Scholar application. Most of us here are outmatched by assignments and work and concerns, but thankfully, Mark is not. I need to be more like Mark.
There aren’t enough batteries at our house. Maybe you can relate to that stalled little black car, just as I do this week.
This was a hike from Alta to Brighton, with encounters with high mountain lakes and spectacular views… or so these photos indicate. I dropped the family off in one canyon and picked them up in the other. They were smiling as I picked them up.
Seven months ago, before the pandemic impacted our lives, I had an idea to create an emotional tool kit, with physical objects to inspire and comfort. I wrote down a list on a post-it note, and began to move the note in my day planner, putting it off for another time. Maybe I was in denial. “Oh, I won’t need this,” or, “If I make it, something will happen that will make me need this.”
Then came new levels of isolation, earthquakes, uncertainty about the evacuation of missionaries, challenges from distance learning in schools, canceled plans, discomfort and disfigurement from abdominal surgery, and the secluded hospital stay. And so on.
I have been comforted, even without my little tool kit, no doubt about that. Still, this week, I remembered that I hadn’t compiled it, and decided it was time. It wasn’t difficult. I gathered things into an old hat box and slid it beneath my bed. Who knows if I will ever use it as I envision I might. If nothing else, it is a time capsule, and a reminder of my faith that comfort can be found in Christ, always.
The objects are small and have personal meaning. Some things are soft; others spur memories; on the bottom of the box are the scripture notes I have taken this year, which follow my 2020 spiritual journey even better than my journal. I tucked in a Michael Buble album that I love.
At times, everyone needs reminders that things are going to be okay.
If you are doing well, share your energy with others. If you are doing poorly, consider handling some physical reminders that Heavenly Father loves you and sent His Son for you. Allow the Spirit to bring joyful things to your remembrance. (John 14:26)
When Paige was young, we would often do crafts to celebrate her birthday. I thought it would be fun to do something like that again. Mark and I set up an array of succulent plants and ordered lots of little woodland animals and buildings to populate the pots.
Squee! So cute.
And then Paige and I watched this movie. Happy day!
Marysvale
Sevier River
Paiute County
Panguitch
Bryce Canyon National Park
All of our children at the cabin (first time since 2017)✔️ River runs✔️ Wildlife✔️ Wildflowers✔️ Extended family ( ) Memories and thoughts of extended family✔️✔️
Our 2020 Sanchez family reunion is being done in shifts, with each sibling and my parents invited to take a day at the cabin. Memories and traditions fill voids when we can’t be together. This year is just a blip in a very long story.
This is the usual crowd at the cabin each year:
What did we do with our 24 hours at the cabin this year? We read, played a couple of games, went on walks, collected rocks, and went tubing!
My friend shared this, and whether the quote and citation are perfect, I do not know, but I like these ideas from C.S. Lewis. Just read Covid-19 in the place of Atomic Age and there you go. We have permission to live joyfully.
I’ve been focusing on preparing food, really good food, to serve my family. It’s gone almost this quickly, so I keep cooking nearly every day, every day, every day. It’s a big part of my life. Good job, me.
This post is brought to you today by Daniel. The 4-wheelers, planning, and execution of this trip were by Richard.
I have kept the twinkle lights in our windows since Christmas time, one of the best purchases I ever made. Slowly, I pick up projects again, and watch some movies in the long afternoons. Embroidery, simple coloring projects, and reading are also ways I pass the time, and it’s better when someone plays the piano in the background. The pianist in the video is Timothy. This scene is one of my versions of heaven.
I awake to morning light dancing through the leaves of trees. I end the day with small lights against dark sky, all good things.