Firm as the mountains around us

 Today is Pioneer Day around here.  It's a day I honor my pioneer forbearers and consider the blessing it is to me and to generations because of their decisions and faithfulness and sacrifices.  It was meaningful to see where some of them came from and what they left behind.  Do they know that the barren valleys they settled in are now dotted with temples?

I'm thinking about others who are firm as the mountains around us today.  Tabor's wife Katie and their daughter Olivia were in a pretty serious car accident on Tuesday night.  Tabor managed it all alone through the night, the ambulance rides and the life flights to Salt Lake City, but eventually, in the morning, he said, "I activated my team."

Olivia (my sister) drove to Lund to get their other girls, Ruby and Charlotte.  Ruby and Charlotte packed bags of necessities and handled the entire thing with aplomb.  My parents waited for the bag from Olivia and then drove it to Salt Lake.  Marianne rented a multi-day AirBnB near the hospitals (they're in different ones). Ammon and Melanee and Braeden (I picked him up at Anna's parents' house) and I went to the hospital for varying amounts of time.  Enoch called from Oregon.  Our children prayed.  (Emma called me and said, "What can I do?!?"  I said, "At the risk of sounding like a broken record, pray.) Mark was working on his schoolwork when I left and before I left, I said, "Get out your notebook.  I need you to do some things."

As I spent the hours with Tabor, I tried to get him to sleep (he'd been up over 36 hours by then) and he said he couldn't if he tried.

Adrenaline and the grit of my little brother are real.

We talked a lot, punctuated by people calling and texting him.  His team is a wider net than just our family.  

We talked about our grandparents.  We talked about how they made us feel and the examples they left.  

Our team is a wider net than just the people around us.  It extends beyond the veil.

Life can change on a dime, but sweet Katie and Olivia are in the best of hands.  Everyone we interacted with at the hospital was kind and efficient and capable seeming.  I think they will make full recoveries for which we are all so grateful.  I wish we could spare them the pain and frustration of the road to recovery ahead of them, but I know that in the individualized curriculum each of us walk in this life, there are pain and frustration at times.

There are also teams of people that love us and support us.

Firm as the mountains around us.

Weird time

 Yesterday I went to the doctor and got an antibiotic for an ear/sinus infection.  I was grateful for the antibiotic, because I am a fan of taking medicine when I'm sick, but I have certainly had a lot worse ear/sinus infections.

I don't know what's happening in my body.

I have guesses and ill-formed google searches.

And another doctor appointment next week.

I'm happy to be home.  Mark and Adam are the absolute best.  They take care of me and take care of things.  I appreciate my sisters and mom and Adam's mom and Braeden and Emma and their supportive phone calls.

I feel a little overwhelmed at times because I am a person who thrives knowing what is coming.  I want to be prepared.  I want plans.

What soothes my swirling brain is what has always soothed me and that is faith in Jesus Christ.  The scriptures are replete with promises that even when things feel out of control, they really aren't.  The Creator of the universe is at the helm and we really don't need to worry.  

I didn't really write about it, but we had a great time in Seattle.  On Friday, Janet and I had a five hour lunch at Kafe Neo.  It's one of our places.  We sat at a table outside and laughed and cried and laughed some more.  Janet has cancer and she is somehow more beautiful with her headscarf.  She has been refined and it did me so much good just to be in her presence.

Adam and I went to dinner with his boss and his boss's wife and Caden. (He works at WGU and has been on these trips with us before.  I feel motherly toward Caden.)  I was mostly really tired and feeling awful.

We enjoyed our time with Geri.  Some of Adam's co-workers joined us and we went to Mukilteo together.  We ate at The Diamond Knot and walked along the beach.  I sat on some driftwood and took this picture.

The PNW in the summer is divine.  They earn it the rest of the year, but summer is divine.

On Sunday we went to church with Geri and then the family all came over.  It was great to see everyone and I was feeling pretty sick so I bowed out of a lot of it, but I was still happy to see them.  Family time is great time.

Monday, Adam and Geri planned a perfect Thelma day for me.  We went to Joyworks in Snohomish, which makes my heart sing.  We drove down Grand Avenue and sat on a park bench overlooking the Everett Marina.  It was beautiful.

The world is still beautiful, people are still loving, families are still game changers and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is still true.

Even when you're having a weird time.

Grateful Friday

 Good morning from the PNW, which was showing off shamelessly when I took this picture from our hotel last night.

I am grateful to be tagging along on this trip with Adam.  We stayed with Geri on Wednesday night and enjoyed visiting with her.  She gave us her bedroom, which is so kind of her.  Adam took some meetings on his laptop on the deck and Geri and I visited.  

I appreciate Geri's life experience that has given her wisdom and empathy, which is all a blessing to me.

After lunch, I met Stephanie (oops, she thought we were meeting for a late lunch and I ate a sandwich at Geri's, but Stephanie is the opposite of me and the very definition of chill so she didn't mind at all).

We sat on Stephanie's couch and caught up on everything.  Stephanie is a gem in my life.  Braeden called on FaceTime while we were chatting and QE performed some somersaults and belly flops off the couch onto the cushions for our benefit.  

I told QE that Stephanie is a dancer and Stephanie gave some appreciative comments on QE's form.

Then Dillon called on FaceTime and we got to talk to him for a minute--unfortunately, his little girl wasn't there for us to admire, but believe me when I say that Stephanie had shown me pictures and videos of her grandchildren.  They are the best.  

An award winning invention!

Braeden and Dillon used to get together almost every day and they'd go on glorious adventures, like one time they rode their bikes to Costco and bought a chocolate cake and rode home with it balanced on handlebars.  And now they're both dads and FaceTiming to their mothers' delight.

I drove to Seattle, which was harrowing because my phone had me avoid the nightmare traffic and get off and drive these crooked narrow streets with nary a sightline to oncoming traffic.  (Also, my sense of direction and driving skills are not what anyone would call top notch.) I met Adam at Duke's Seafood on Lake Union.  It was beautiful.  We watched sailboats and seaplanes and paddle boarders.  I had already met a lot of the people we were eating with and I regaled them with stories of Adam duct taping his backpack.  Mostly, I sat and quietly ate my delicious food because I was tired.

My health is still wonky and I am waiting for more answers (but, you know, I'm super patient, so no problem).

I went to our hotel and Adam still had some work stuff to do.

I was happy to be in a quiet and cool little room to rest.  (AC for the win and that view!)

Today I'm meeting Janet for lunch and visiting.  I'm looking forward to that.  Tonight we'll have more work stuff.  I may bow out of some of it, but participate in some (the advantage of being the wife and not the employee).  Tomorrow we will go back to Geri's and spend a few days enjoying family time.

I'm grateful for my life.  I'm grateful for Adam.  I'm grateful for our kids and families.  I'm grateful for old and new friends and the ways they enrich me.  Even for this confirmed introvert, people I love matter so much.  They buoy me and support me and are a blessing in my life.

I'm also grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the anchor that you can rely on in stormy weather.  

My grandma's hands

 Yesterday I had a 90 minute FaceTime call with my cousin, Molly.  Molly is a teacher and author and yoga instructor and is training to be a yoga therapist.  I didn't know it was a thing, but a yoga therapist uses yoga principles to help address health concerns and improve overall well-being.  (Yep, googled it.) Marianne told me about it and said she was going to meet with Molly.

I wanted in.

So we're going to have three 90 minute sessions. They will help her fulfill her training hours, but I can already tell they will help me too.

We talked about my neck/shoulder/back nonsense and she gave me some stretches to try.  We talked about healthy eating and stress management.  

She showed me some things I could do with my students to help them focus and that would also help my finger joints.

She was holding her hands up in front of the camera and I said, "Your hands are like Grandma's."

She said, "Really?  I guess I don't know what Grandma's hands were like."

I said, "I don't know what it is about them, but they remind me of hers."

It all reminded me of 26 years ago when I was up in the middle of the night with Emma.  I was rocking her and holding her tiny rosebud hand in mine.  I thought about my mom's hands caring for me and both my grandma's hands care for my parents and on and on up the matriarchal lines of women's hands.

It made me feel supported somehow.

Today, in a segue that has nothing to do with hands, we are going to Seattle.  I'm looking forward to traveling with Adam again.  I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends and spending time among the trees.  I'll breathe in all of that extra oxygen and I think it will do me good.

Safety nets

I read on Clarissa's blog yesterday where she quoted me as saying my safety nets have safety nets.  I'm so grateful they do.

It was an unusual day yesterday and I talked to my mom, Braeden, both sisters (conference call--why didn't we do that years ago?!?), Emma and Geri on the phone.

My safety nets have safety nets.

Weekend

 My kids always want me to tell them the bad news first and then cheer them up with the good news.

The bad news is that I am kind of sick.  Or just actually sick.  I don't know.

Ever since our trip, I have been tired and run down feeling.  I 100% chalked it up to jet lag and being 52.  But it has been increasing.  I took a Covid test Wednesday and then another one Friday (both negative) because I was going to see my mom and I don't want to be the one that is going to give her Covid.

Even though I felt wonky, I went to the wedding.  It was tiring.

Even though I felt spent on Saturday, I went with Adam to a primary activity.

It was a mistake.

I was basically worthless the rest of the day.  I took three naps in the afternoon and did nothing except loll around.

I got a sub for primary music.  I decided to just be sick.  I was less sleepy on Sunday so maybe I am recovering? I have an appointment with my doctor today.  

So all of that isn't very fun.

Here's what was great though (the good news!): Liliana and Josh's wedding.

It was in the Layton temple and I loved being there and seeing so many people I love.  Being inside the temple with people you love just seems to amplify that love.  Family is a gift and the temple makes that gift sweeter.

Before the wedding, I greeted Edgar and he said, "Hi Hannah. Oh, sorry!  I mean, Thelma."

I assured him it was OK.  I asked, "Are you nervous?"

He said, "A little."

When you are knocking around adversarially with your siblings in the backseat of a car on a long hot road trip, I think someone should tell you that not only will your siblings someday be best friend material, but they'll marry these wonderful people who you will also love.

I cried during the wedding.  (I made the mistake of looking over at my beautiful mother of the bride sister and also I was holding Adam's hand and pondering on the blessing it is to have him for eternity). Morgan was on my other side and after the wedding, he looked at me and said, "You're crying?!?"

I said, "Yes, Morgan."

He said, "It must be all the dust in this room."

Because there is a lot of dust in a pristine sealing room of the temple....

I said, "I have a lot of water in my head."

He said, "Like Grandpa!"

And he was not wrong because my dad was sitting exactly in front of me and wiping his tears.

There were a lot of pictures taken after the wedding and I stole some of my favorites from Olivia.  I love this one of my mom handing Liliana her bouquet.  So much joy and love!

I sent this to my kids and said that if it didn't melt their heart, did they even have a heart?

After pictures, we went to Ogden and visited the cemetery where Adam's grandparents are buried and where his great-grandparents are buried.  

Emma gets a commendation for stellar posture!

Adam had been to his grandparents' grave, but at the cemetery where his great-grandparents were buried, we were clueless and it was a huge cemetery.  

Mark got out of the car and just started walking around and Emma marched into the office and came back with a map.

They are a good duo for cemeteries.

I told the headstones that we had been to Denmark and seen where they are from.  Because that's a normal thing to do....

I know they aren't there, but I wanted to tell someone (something).

Then, we went to Kaysville.  Since none of Edgar's family could go inside the temple, Lili and Josh had a ring ceremony.  Edgar officiated and it was in Spanish.  It was beautiful although I understood very little.

I did understand the love and the inclusivity and the desire of every single person there for the happiness of Lili and Josh.

The reception was held in Josh's parents' beautiful yard.  I enjoyed visiting with my parents and Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve and siblings and all.

For a little while, Adam and I sat at the up and comers cool kids table and visited with Desi and Mason and Nikki and Liberty.  Then Lili and Josh sat next to us to eat.  We were in a prime spot I tell you!

I love how everyone in our family keeps marrying people I like so much!

Aren't these two beautiful?

I love time spent with these people.

I love every big milestone that I get to share with my two sisters.

Here we are all admiring the young prince, Parley.  He is Liberty and Nikki's adored and adorable baby.  Marianne was sporting a burp cloth on her shoulder like the doting and capable grandmother she is.

Sisters.  I love my girls.

Grateful Friday

 Last night, Mark and I made dinner before Adam got home because Mark was going to institute.

I put meatballs in the air fryer and Mark started water boiling for pasta.  I pulled Olivia's ragu sauce out of the pantry.  It is so good and I've been saving it.  I don't know what I was saving it for, but I guess a Thursday in July.

While we were waiting for the meatballs to cook and the water to boil, we sat at the table and played golf with Star Wars cards.  

He won the first round and then the second round and we tried to remember the points so we could keep a running tally.  Mark said, "We aren't actually competitive."

I said, "I don't care about the score."

So we kept playing, getting up occasionally to check on things.

At one point, Mark got up to make a salad (Caesar, from a kit, sans croutons) and commented that he is more competitive when it is a contest of skill.  And I agreed.  I care much more about word games.

When the meatballs were cooked and the gluten free pasta was al dente as the package encouraged, we poured over the ragu sauce.  It was delicious!

I told Mark that was the taste of my childhood.  My mom and grandma made the same sauce.

When Adam got home, he had some dinner too.  He said, "What's in the sauce?"

I didn't know.

I've helped make it and I have a recipe somewhere, but I don't know what alchemy makes it so good.

It was a simple summer evening, a slice of this life we are sharing together.  Nothing really happened. It's the kind of evening that makes me grateful for what I have and who I share it with.

Today something is happening.  Liliana and Josh are getting married!  A new eternal family is being created.  I am looking forward to celebrating with them.  It's the kind of day that makes me grateful for what I have and who I share it with.

Lessons from nature

 I got a moth orchid last year on the last day of school from a student.  I thought it was beautiful and I enjoyed the pretty flowers.  I had never had a moth orchid before so I researched a bit how to take care of it.

The blossoms eventually fell off and I was left with two sticks above some greenery.  One of them shriveled and died.

I watered it very minimally (following my research) and kept it in the kitchen window, where it seemed happy.  I didn't know if it would ever bloom again.

Sometime in early May, it got buds on the stick!  It was going to bloom again!

Except it didn't.

The buds got fatter and fatter, but they didn't bloom.  Another small shoot started up and it had some tiny buds on it.  Things were happening.

Except they weren't.

The buds did nothing for about 6 weeks.

They finally bloomed mid June!

This is how it looked after our trip:

And this is how it looked yesterday:

I was telling Braeden about it (he is after all my shaman and we talk about things like this) and I told him that I couldn't rush it.  It bloomed when it was ready.  He said I could have killed it trying to make it bloom faster.  He said, "You could have given it too much water or plant food."

It reminded me of this quote I have on my desk by Beth Moore:

Give it time.  God is at work underground. Quit trying to force fruit that is not yet due.

I am no one's idea of a patient person so I appreciate my moth orchid teaching me to wait. 

Aarhus and home

 

I took this picture while we were eating our hotel breakfast.  I loved the aesthetic of everywhere we went in Scandinavia.  

We explored a bit in Aarhus.  I had seen a record somewhere that Adam's great grandparents got married in the Aarhus parish (Domsogn).  When I googled that, I got this building.

It was beautiful and had the most amazing doors:

I have no idea if they got married there or in the church across the way or what, but the building was pretty.

After that we went to the infinity bridge.  They rebuild it every April and take it down every October.  (I don't know whose basement they store it in!  It's pretty big.)

It is this big continuous circle out over the water and the water was completely clear.

I found some pretty rocks and sat down on these rocks to write in my little notebook.

I wouldn't even include these pictures because I look goofy, but it was so funny.  The ferry arrived across the bay and a big wave came along and soaked me.  I made a run for it!

I was soaked from my knees down and Adam thought it was hilarious and I thought it was slightly less hilarious, but still pretty funny.  It was very surprising.  Of course then I had the story to tell our children about the rogue wave that almost killed me.

From there (after I changed my shoes) we went to a big department store, Salling, which has a rooftop garden.  I think rooftop garden doesn't quite capture it though.  It has a skywalk and lots of little paths and ambient music and it was just beautiful.

different shoes, but pants were definitely still wet....

We took the ferry back to Zealand and drove to Copenhagen and bid Denmark a fond farewell.

This little guy was directing traffic at the security checkpoint in the Copenhagen airport.

We flew to London, stayed at a hotel right by the Gatwick Airport.  The only thing we did in London that time was go to Mark's and Spencer's.  (Adam bought me some chocolate pudding on the sly.  It was the same thing he always used to bring home from London for me and I was thrilled when he produced it in Los Angeles).

Yum!

We flew to Los Angeles the next day.  We stayed in this cute retro hotel in Long Beach.

We walked to California Pizza Kitchen for an early (late? our bodies didn't know what time it was) dinner and friends, I was flagging.  It was well WELL past my bedtime.  I went to bed around 6:00 PM and Adam went to the pool.

I woke up VERY early and in the 6:00 hour, Adam and I took a walk along the beach.

The waterfront was empty and we had the beach to ourselves (besides the homeless people still sleeping).  

We went to Newport Beach and had amazing fish tacos and ice cream at Salt and Straw.

It felt kind of like we were re-toxing rather than detoxing from our trip.  There were homeless people and litter and lots of marijuana smoke in LA.  Also, so much gum on the sidewalks.  Do Americans just walk around spitting out their gum and leaving it?  Still, it was nice to be home where we understood everything.

We flew back to Provo that afternoon and Mark picked us up at the airport and it was great to see him and great to be home.

It was a trip of a lifetime and I'm so grateful that I got to do it with my husband of a lifetime (and beyond)!

Roskilde and Danish roots

Mark and I have been having an enjoyable time together.  Yesterday we weeded at Olivia's a little (our tiny contribution to her beautiful yard for the upcoming wedding). Then, we stopped at my parents' house and helped pick cherries.

What an aesthetically pleasing fruit cherries are to pick!

After picking about three buckets, we sat in the sunroom and visited and pitted the cherries.  My mom was closest with her estimate.  She guessed we had 30 cups and we had 29.  My mom overpaid Mark for helping with the cherries then she fed us lunch.

So it was a pretty good deal for us. (Also we will get some of the cherry pie!)

We came home and Mark cut the grass along the brook and I raked it out of the water, which was a satisfying job.  

Today we will go back to Utah.  It's been so nice being here.  All good things come to an end.

Back to the travelogue:

June 23

Roskilde

We left Copenhagen and drove to Roskilde to visit the Viking Museum.  It was fascinating.  Over 1000 years ago, five Viking ships were sunk in the harbor to better control the seas.  More recently (I think in the 1960s), they were discovered and excavated.  Once the wood dried, it crumbled so they had to keep it wet for years before they came up with a solution (the injected it with something to protect the wood).

Rebuilding the ship fragments into the five ships, gave a lot of information about how the ships were built.

Looking at a map of where the Vikings were, they were in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Normandy, Scotland, Ireland and England.  My places!

I've learned about other ancient cultures, but this is the first time I've learned about my very own ancient culture.

They had a workshop where they were working on boats, plus a finished replica.

On our boat tour in Copenhagen, the guide commented that the weather was going to turn and we were going to experience "Viking Summer."

If by Viking Summer, he meant rain, we did indeed get that.

It was such enthusiastic rain, the cars on the road pulled over for a few minutes.

We took a ferry from Zealand (the island Copenhagen is on) to Jutland (the peninsula Aarhus is on).  It was a 90 minute ferry and very pleasant.  When it was raining so hard, I asked Adam, are we going to capsize on that ferry?  (I am never dramatic.)

He pointed out what we had just learned at the Viking Museum about how long they'd been sailing in those waters.  He said, "I think they have the kinks worked out."

They have indeed been at it for a while.

While we were waiting for the ferry, I sketched pictures of some of the houses we were looking for where Adam's people had lived.  

I texted a picture of my sketches to our kids and said we were ready.  They were, of course, very supportive of my efforts.

I had them on my phone, I just had time on my hands and a notebook so I sketched them.

We went to Vinkel, where I think Adam's grandma's family lived right before emigrating.

Adam's great grandpa, Simon Simonsen was christened and his great great grandparents are buried at this church in Vester Velling.

The grounds were beautiful!  Some of the best we saw (and all of the churchyards were very nice.)

The Simonsens worked at cutting peat moss in Denmark and here's a picture of the family in the peat bog.

Less than a ten minute drive from Vester Velling was Øster Velling.  Vester = west, Øster = east.

Karoline Lang was christened there.

Down the road was Helstrup, where Karoline was born.

Despite all my doubters, my little sketch helped me find the house.  (Sketching helped me pay attention to the details.)

(Besides my sketch), these are the pictures of Karoline's house that were on Family Search.  And I think this is the house!  The windows in the roof are different, but I'm calling it the same.

So that was exciting.

We went back to Aarhus from there.  

We had zero expectations, but ended up loving it.  We went to a pita restaurant for dinner (delicious!) and the bishop used google translate before drinking this so he could make sure he wasn't about to drink alcohol.