Mark’s junior year will bring less time at the high school, more time at home doing online classes, a new piano teacher, and longer hours at the piano. He has a calling to serve the special needs youth in the area as a counselor/companion/ “buddy” to someone during weekly church activities. It is a very different formula than we could have predicted for his school year, but we will trust the Lord.
Mark’s screen print T-shirt collection from his travels is refreshed, his maroon shoes match his school colors, and he remembered to get a photo before he left for school.
Richard gave Mark a priesthood blessing last night and I “covered him in prayer” this morning. Let’s go!
Our family story is punctuated by late summer adventures, year after year. Summer 2022 was important, so we ended it big. Seven of us traveled to Yellowstone in my brother’s 10-passenger van. We stopped short of ordering matching T-shirts, but we were pretty much a tour bus with people that poured out of the doors at each stop.
My heart dwells in so many memories of Yellowstone. But this time, I was a mother of adults and a junior in high school, which is a very different experience.
We are in the final week of summer break. This morning I took some time to look over some snapshots and screenshots from the last few months, and chose a few to share. These are some of people and places I want to remember. Two really good friends passed away. We have been really focused on wedding preparations. Mark was gone a lot, and his social connections got stronger. Richard worked from home. I lived my own version of The Secret Garden, increasing my strength. We planted a lot of flowers, and I am especially proud of reclaiming my favorite corner of the yard, the one that feels like a forest. We sat beneath outdoor lights on many nights. Paige and Michael were especially helpful hanging the lights. Tim made it to Guam. We said goodbye to friends who are going on a mission. Lots of lasts and firsts this summer. This means growth.
We changed the flag in front of our house as our missionary flew from Vancouver to his original mission assignment in Guam this week. It is a time of competing feelings, and we are thankful for the kindness of so many people in Vancouver, and look forward to hearing about Tim’s mission experiences in Guam.9 pmaround 10 pm1:30 am3 am
Because of an email error, when Daniel arrived at his mission, I didn’t hear from him for a week. I just wanted to know he had arrived safely.
This time, Google automatically added Tim’s itinerary to my calendar, so I had updates on my phone for the 27 hours he traveled. I could also check the progress of the flights on a website. Don’t judge me, I was desperate for news last time. I didn’t want the same story this time.
On this wedding week, there is no such thing as the single kindest thing someone has done, but this story ranks near the top.
This is the Hernandez family. They live near Vancouver, British Columbia, and they love missionaries. They consistently and lovingly invite our missionary and his companions into their home to feed them dinner and offer support. Bishop and Sister Hernandez recently welcomed home both of their sons from missions, and they are enjoying a road trip in the western U.S.
Tim is flying to Guam on Monday night, experiencing the biggest transfer of his mission, and has a lot of winter gear for Canada that he will not need in the South Pacific. The Hernandez family arranged to drive his and another elder’s extra clothing to Utah.
They drive a sedan and there are four of them, so there was not a lot of room, yet they took Tim’s Blundstone boots and two bags of clothing, plus a similar amount for the other elder. Sister Hernandez reassured Tim that she wouldn’t mind holding a bag on her lap if there wasn’t enough of room in the car.
So, I met these lovely people at the Payson temple. They carried his bags to my car for me, smiling, and then we took pictures. I consider them instant and forever friends.
I asked my sister Susan to take photos with my phone so we could have some candid shots of the wedding day. I think these photos can be more fun and can tell a story better than professional photos.
Eventually we will see the professional photos, but the day after a wedding, I am anxious to relive the day in my mind. These candid snapshots are a blessing to me. Thank you, Susan!
Another reality about the day after a wedding is that I awoke this morning on the couch where I had collapsed the night before. But look! My hairstyle was still intact!
Instead of, “Bow to your partner,” my brother Paul the caller said, “Pose for the camera.” 😂
Our family reunions are over, there is one week until the wedding (pray!), Mark is on Pioneer Trek (pray!), and Timothy flies to Guam in two weeks to begin his missionary work there (pray!). I have exerted so much mental labor over Mark’s piano teacher dilemma and school schedule dilemma that I must have burned some calories with those mighty thoughts. Also, I am laboring to find a new counselor in the stake Primary after Susan’s passing. This is difficult spiritual work.
I have been reading in 2 Chronicles this week. I am trying not to be overly worried or stressed about all that is going on, but sometimes I just swim in concerns. When I read these scripture verses, the words center me a little.
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect [completely] toward him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
“For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15
We had one last goodbye and thank you to our piano teacher who moved away this month. Mark is the only one still taking lessons, but Paige and Daniel joined us to say goodbye. Natalie was an incredible teacher for our kids.
A reunion of Young Women leaders to bid farewell to Deor who is going on a mission.
GARTH BROOKS CONCERT Our tickets were not together, but we rode together on the train into Ute territory. (Note Richard Jaussi’s t-shirt.)
waiting for the wind to die down
We loved the concert. Once Mark graduates from high school I will be auditioning as a fiddler for Garth’s band. 😉
Art like this brings back memories of hearing these stories for the first time in the 1970’s from records and my mom reading from the illustrated Children’s Bible.
The story of Gideon is my favorite in the book of Judges. When I taught seminary, I remember shocking my early morning students by smashing a clay pot in my living room where we met, just like Gideon’s army smashed their pitchers. With trumpets, shattering pottery, lights, and voices, Gideon’s 300-man army surprised the host of sleeping enemies, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” and their enemy was destroyed. This might have been the only day my students left seminary more awake than when they arrived, except maybe the day we cast “stones” at a life-sized mural of Goliath.
This week as I studied Gideon’s story, I focused on two contrasting verses during the exchange between the angel of the Lord and Gideon about his call to deliver Israel, verses 12 and 15.
The Lord sees Gideon as a mighty man of valor, while Gideon sees himself as poor and unimportant. Pretty much my only takeaway this week from Bible study is enough: God knows who we truly are, who we were before we came to earth, and who we can become. He sends messengers to remind us that He is with us.
I have had a few messengers in my life who have helped me live with courage. One was a friend named Jody who told me that I had the capacity to homeschool my kids. Bishops and stake presidencies have also been messengers of the Lord’s confidence in me, and reminded me that the Lord would be with me. Perhaps the most common messengers are the people who trust me to listen to them and help them. When a friend opens her heart to me, I see this is as a call to valor. Today, we help rescue Israel one by one
