Listen, sister

 Yesterday morning I started seeing auras.  This is sometimes a harbinger of a migraine, sometimes not.  I ended up with a headache.  Thankfully it wasn't a full on migraine.

I talked to Braeden in the late morning.  I told him that I had an ambitious to do list and I was trying to struggle through despite my headache. 

He said, "Maybe you should listen to your body.  Maybe your headache is saying, 'Listen, sister, you need to take it easy.'"

I sat in my chair for 30 minutes and read.  It made a difference!  My headache was lessened and I was able to get almost everything done on my list--at least the most important things.

Braeden is pretty smart.  

Mother Nature's April Fool's trick was we woke up to snow this morning.  Spring isn't uniform.  Also today, we're going to Starr Valley.  I'm looking forward to the drive (on the road with Adam is my favorite) and spending time with my parents and a few small projects I have planned.

Mostly, I'm glad to have lots of time with Adam.  It's nice to have little breaks from busy-ness.

Coming to an end

 It's been a break, but a break I feel like I need a break from.  I'm just so tired!

Stella and Ardi left yesterday morning, and Braeden and QE leave today.  I'm back at school.  Time change + I had a sub + I'm super tired. 

Should be an exciting day.

Yesterday Braeden treated us to lunch and then we went to a park.  It was sunny, but a little breezy and I wanted to just sit in the warm car.  (I did for a while.)

We came home and just kind of relaxed and played with QE and then Adam went and got tacos and Mark came for dinner and Emma came a little later.  I was the least fun person in the group (so often the case) and took myself to bed early.

It has been a wonderful week.  I've loved time to play with and talk to QE.  I've loved doing family history with Braeden.  That kid had a bee in his bonnet to find some family on Geri's side.  I loved watching Braeden parent.  He is enthusiastic and loving and good.

It makes me feel grateful to witness how Braeden and Anna are raising her.  Last night when Emma was here, they were playing on the floor with the Little People.  There's a Santa, so they were chatting about that.

Emma said, "Do you know the next holiday?  It's Easter."

QE said, "When Jesus was resurrected!"

Then, she said, "I wish I could be resurrected!"

Emma said, "You will someday."

Overhearing sweet conversations like that fill me up.

My boy

Today is Braeden's birthday and I am not over it yet.  I still want to make him a cake and watch him make a wish and blow out the candles.  I want to watch him open gifts and let him pick what is for dinner.

Sigh.

Children grow up and that is all.

I told him on the phone the other day that I was sad not to be making him a cake and he said to make one anyway, because it was the birthday of me being a mom.

Not the same.

Between Christmas and reading the New Testament this year, I've had Mary on my mind.  In Luke 2:51, it says, "but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart."

That is what mothers do.  They keep it all in their heart.

He is grown and flown, but I remember my little birthday boy:

I remember my boy who loves water.

I remember my boy who loves to dress up:

I remember the gift of an older brother he is:

I remember this valiant missionary:

And righteous man:

Devoted grandson:

And loving husband (and father!):

He is sunshine and goodness and I keep him in my heart.  Happy birthday Braeden!

Grateful Friday

I have so much to feel grateful about today.  I love spending time with family and Adam and the Christmas season. We went to Nevada and had a great time!

Eleanor was pretty much a champ in the car.  We were going to take two cars, but decided that we could pare down what we were taking and squish into one car and I'm glad we did.  It was fun to be together.  

First, we went to Olivia and Edgar's for a surprise graduation party for Edgar.  He is a very hard worker and besides his full time job and being father to five children he has graduated from Pathways.  It was worth the celebration.

My favorite part of the event was when Edgar's mother beat almost all her grandsons arm wrestling.  Grandma goals.

We went to Marianne and Robert's to show Braeden and Anna their new sunroom and visited briefly, which is always great.  Then we went to our house.  We got moved in (the process is getting more seamless all the time) and Eleanor napped and then we went to my parents' house for dinner. 

Marianne and Olivia and their group of carolers came.  It has long been a source of discussion that I don't like caroling or having carolers come.  It's just awkward to be sung to.  My sisters think that is a terrible sentiment.  So they enthusiastically caroled to me.

And I liked it.  They're my sisters so it wasn't all that awkward.

We went back to our house to put Eleanor to sleep and my parents came over to visit.  Since we don't have furniture besides a table and chairs and since Emma left a puzzle on the table the last time we visited, everyone sat around working on the puzzle.

My dad and I started talking about school and how it was like when he went there.  He was explaining the old grammar school and the new grammar school (which is actually also the old school that was torn down before I attended there) and we got all discombobulated about it so I found a box and he drew a diagram.  We argued about where the trailers were where I attended first grade while they were building the new school.  We went on a whole journey, but figured it out in the end.

They left and we were starting to get ready for bed.  Braeden locked the back door.  I said, "You don't need to lock the door."

He said, "Some of my most precious possessions are in here."

Anna came into our room and said, "There's someone knocking on the door." You can't hear anything from our room.

It was Marianne and Robert.  We were happy to see them and sat around the table for more puzzling.  Olivia and Edgar and Omar came and Omar is a whiz at puzzles so we'll have to have him over again if we ever want to use the table again.

Earlier in the day, the garage door had broken.  At least only one thing breaks each time we're there.  Adam and Braeden went out to get Robert and Edgar's opinion on the door.  

I went into the bathroom and was washing my face.  Anna was asleep and her phone rang.  It was Braeden.  She sleepily thought, "This house isn't that big.  Why is he calling me?" and went back to sleep.

I went back into the bedroom and heard the distant pinging of my phone.  It was in the kitchen so I went to get it before it woke up Eleanor.  

Adam and Braeden had been outside for about ten minutes knocking on the door.  They'd tried calling us and Anna and I had been completely oblivious.

"That's why we don't lock the door," I told Braeden.

The next morning we did various projects.  One was move the rat couches off the porch.  We've decided against them and don't want them to attract more rodents.  Before asking Braeden to help, I asked him if he would like a service opportunity.  He said yes like I knew he would.

Then I asked him to help us move the rat couches.  His expression said no way, but I reminded him he had already said yes.  He said we needed to rebrand them and not call them rat couches.

I also traversed the knee deep snow to check the propane gauge.  My boots filled with snow.

It is always an adventure.

Adam and Braeden got the garage door closed.  Adam said it was because Braeden is so strong.  All the food paid off.

We went to visit my parents and my mom gave Braeden and Anna and Eleanor bingo prizes.  You don't have to be present to win.

After lunch, we got everything ready to leave and hit the road.  Eleanor slept for a good part of the trip.  When she woke up, she wasn't happy to be in the carseat, like every baby ever on a road trip.  She was grumpy for a little while, then pretty soon started screaming.  I think it was incomprehensible that her parents were right there next to her and not getting her.  

She started screaming and there wasn't much we could do, like every baby ever on a road trip.  I got the idea to play Baby Beluga by Raffi.  I've read the book to her a lot and she likes it.

She stopped crying.

The song ended and she started crying again.

Adam's car delightfully picks random pictures sometimes to go with songs.

Braeden said, "All rise for the national anthem of the water nation."

We played the song on a loop for about an hour and she didn't cry.  She didn't sleep, she just sat there, listening.  If she started to fuss a little, Braeden would sing along to Raffi and it was like magic.

If you don't mind Baby Beluga by Raffi on repeat, and we didn't, it was pretty amazing.

I would listen to whatever that little angel wants.  

I mean, look at her.

A cup of good cheer

Yesterday we visited my grandma.  

The whole great great grandma thing is kind of astounding.  I can't imagine Eleanor bringing her granddaughter to visit me someday....

Sweet Ella was as good as gold.  She slept in the car, a shorter than usual nap, but she woke up happy just like her dad always did.  She was friendly and busy, but didn't touch all the things she was not supposed to touch, but wanted to.

Grace under pressure.

We hurried home to get ready for our dinner party.  Clarissa (Timeon had to work), Liberty and Nikki, Shuyan and Carolina came over for dinner.

Also, the most bizarre thing happened while we were scrambling to get ready.  I had just wrangled Mark to help me move furniture to set up the tables and there was a knock on the door.  It was a girl about Mark's age, wearing a dress and high heeled strappy sandals.  It was not exactly the weather for that outfit.  She was visibly shaken and said, "Is Mark here?  It is an emergency."

I got Mark and she said, "John was in a car accident and I can't drive."

Mark looked a little taken aback, but said, "OK," and left immediately with her.

Anna and Braeden and I puzzled about the whole situation.  Who was John and who was this girl and how did she get to our house in the first place?

Mark called a bit later.  He had as many questions as we did.  He met John a few weeks ago, playing Magic with his friends.  He had invited the whole gang to his birthday dinner so John and his girlfriend had come.  The girlfriend had the address of our house since Mark had texted the group the address.  He's known both of them for about two weeks.  He never got much more of the story.  He took the girl home and I'm glad he was ready and able to be a helper.

But it was bizarre.

Our guests arrived and it was so fun to see them all!

I regret that I didn't take a picture.

We had dinner and Braeden asked Clarissa all about the Tabernacle Choir, which that amazing girl is now a part of.  He talked German politics with Shuyan.  She delighted and charmed us like she does.  Liberty and I chatted a bit about school and Carolina and I a bit about The Home Edit, of which we're both fans.  After dinner, Eleanor went to bed and the rest of us went to the basement to visit.  We talked about books and the cosmos and lego sets and Braeden shared a brief FHE lesson (it included the cosmos).  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Adult nieces and nephews are every bit as fun as adult children (Carolina is not quite an adult, but she's fabulous).

Grateful Friday

Yesterday there was a lot of snow.  I slid right through an intersection by our house on the way to school.  Luckily no one was around to crash into.  No lanes were visible on State Street and everyone was driving around 20 mph.  I don't know which thing was more unusual.

I also don't know what it takes to get a snow day around here.

It just kept snowing and snowing.  We had both recesses inside.  

We had both Christmas sing performances and despite the weather, both were packed houses.  The kids were nervous beforehand and then really happy when they saw their parents or grandparents.  I love that.

I didn't love how naughty all my students were all the live long day.  Christmas sing + inside recess + Christmas in general + their personalities in general.

It was a whole day.

One student got a really significant bloody nose.  Not the same student as last time.  What gives?!?  He was walking around in a panic, splattering blood all over the floor.  I told him to sit down while I grabbed kleenex.  I meant the nearest possible chair.  He walked back to his own chair, splattering more blood.  I pinched his nose and walked with him that way down to the office, while he was holding kleenex to his nose.  The secretary chided me for not putting on gloves.

It had not occurred to me.

I left him in her care and went back to the zoo that sort of looked like a crime scene until the custodians could get there.

As the bell was about to ring for the blessed end of the day, the announcement was made that the district "had not expected so much snow" (you think?) so they needed the teachers to leave as soon as the students did so that the district could plow all the parking lots.

I was hurrying around gathering up things and preparing hastily for the next day.  Braeden called.

He said that Anna's mom had tested positive for Covid.  Braeden, Anna and Eleanor all had Covid a few weeks ago, so they were not worried about getting it, but they wanted to come to our house early (they were going to come Sunday) so Amy could recover.

I'm sad for the Carlsons but happy for us, and also, I wasn't even a little bit ready.  Despite my proclivity to plan, I have 100% been living only day to day.

I was driving home and my mind was spinning about what I could make for dinner.  The day before, Clarissa and I had walked and I told her that I wanted to make good meals when they were visiting, but I wasn't all that great at that.

She said, "You know who is really good at that?  My mom."

Clarissa is not wrong.  I quickly called Marianne for help.  When you need to send a distress call, Marianne is a really good choice.

She said, "OK, will Mark be there?"  I said yes.  "So no gluten....it's too late for a slow cooker....how about a simmer sauce?  Cook chicken thighs and rice and get butter sauce or tikka masala."

I said, "We usually do chicken tikka masala on Christmas Eve.  What else have you got?"

She thought for a few seconds.  "Taco soup."

Yes!

I'm telling you, call Marianne.

I went to the grocery store for taco soup stuff and a whole cart full of other stuff.  I considered my cart looked like Braeden was visiting.  It made me happy.

I hurried home and changed sheets in the guest bedroom, pulled out the baby toys and baby books and high chair.  I cleaned the kitchen and made the soup and got everything ready.

I'm so grateful for have them with us.

This sweet little girl was very tired by the time they got there, but I am so looking forward to time with her!

I'm grateful to have Marianne to tell me what to do.

I'm grateful I had to leave school early (I needed the time!).

I'm grateful for this wonderful season of light.  I'm grateful that we take a little time off from regular life and enjoy each other and holly jolly music and treats.  Mostly, I'm grateful for the birth and life of Jesus Christ.  When I hold that little baby in my arms and know that she's mine forever, I feel such gratitude for our Savior and Heavenly Father.  They make everything that matters to me better.

Labor Day weekend

I am here with two purposes:  one to record our trip to CA and one to avoid getting another text from Marianne that begins, "OK sister..."

We went to California on Friday night.  We had an 11:00 PM flight.  I may never recover.  I'm a toddler who needs her bedtime preserved.

Security isn't terrible that time of night.  Also, it always feels like insult to injury that Mark is met with such suspicion at the airport.  He can't go through the scanner with his pump, so it feels like the logical conclusion is that he must be a terrorist.  He is patted down very thoroughly and they even swab his hands to see if they are covered in explosives.  

I always just bite my tongue even though I want to say something snarky.

Braeden picked us up at the airport and it was so good to see him.  He swoops me up in the tightest hugs and I forget how much I need those hugs.

We stayed at a hotel and Braeden retrieved us again the next morning to take us to the airport to get the rental car.  We went to their apartment and enjoyed getting acquainted with Eleanor.  We went to the Davis Farmer's Market and a great used book store.

I had brought a stack of books for Eleanor and had put some in everyone's suitcase:

Some of them were surplus from school and some of them were gifted to me by a kindergarten teacher.

At the bookstore, I said, "Hey, we have room for more books since we brought those for Eleanor."

Adam amended my statement, "You have room for books."  Apparently he wasn't willing to be an accomplice to a book buying spree.

I bought some books anyway.

(And fit them all in my suitcase, so there.)

I had a flare up of my eye disease (because that's always fun).  I didn't bring enough medicine (I'm supposed to take 5 pills per day when I have a flare up), so I called my doctor and had a prescription sent and it was a whole ordeal and Adam took over getting it accomplished.  He even drove to the Walgreens in Sacramento where the prescription was sent.

He's always the MVP (even when he won't take extra books in his suitcase).

We had lunch at Black Bear Diner and Eleanor was masterfully handled by her parents.  She is busy and loves to stand and just pitches her body toward anything she wants.  Here she wanted a glass of water so she just flung herself on the table.  

She is tenacious, that one!  She is also incredibly darling and I love watching Braeden and Anna team up to provide an idyllic life for her.

We spent the rest of the day in their air conditioned apartment.  I read to Eleanor.

She loved this book and would get really excited and bounce up and down and grab at the pictures.  Other books she would just grab and chew on them.  

I miss her.

In the evening, Eleanor went to sleep and Braeden went with us back to our hotel to swim.  He was jumping in his car and I said, "Don't you need a swimsuit?"  

He said, "I keep one in my car."  Like you do....

Adam and the boys swam and I read my book.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Sunday we went to church with Braeden and Anna and Eleanor.  Eleanor was really and truly comfortable around us by then and Adam or I held her during sacrament meeting.  I loved their diverse little ward.  The sacrament was blessed in Mandarin.  Braeden and Anna have a friend named George who was recently baptized.  (Braeden was supposed to baptize him, but it was on the day Anna was giving birth.)  George is in his 80s and is blind.  Braeden and Anna pick him up for church and love him.  He was sitting behind us in the chapel and I overheard a young man, who was passing the sacrament whisper, "George, would you like the sacrament?"  "Give me your hand and I'll guide you."

It warmed my heart.

I got Eleanor duty during Sunday School which is the best kind of duty.  After church, George came over to their apartment too and we had homemade pizza.  Braeden had me sit and chat with George while he worked on the pizza.  George is completely personable and has clearly had a rough life.  He's lived here there and everywhere and doesn't have any family.  When he found out I'd grown up in Nevada, he told me that he'd lived in Winnemucca awhile.  He had been hitchhiking through and had stopped and worked washing dishes at a casino for several months.

He would ask me about my family and my childhood and my siblings and my children and my parents and he kept marveling at how fortunate I was.  "What a good life!" he said, over and over.  "What a good life!"

I had to agree with him.

Monday, everyone (except me) went swimming at the hotel.  I declared myself there to take care of Eleanor when she was tired of swimming.

But it was hot.  So I changed into my swimsuit and went swimming too.  For me, it has to be really hot to make swimming worth it.  For the rest of my family, there needs to be a body of water available.

I think Eleanor falls in line with the rest of them.  She was a little unsure of the cool water at first:

But soon, she was a happy little fish:

When Braeden was 5, we made a deal with him that he would get a Happy Meal if he would go off the diving board at the pool at Forest Park.  It was a big deal because we were poor and Happy Meals were few and far between.

He was doing underwater somersaults in the pool like his Grandpa Linn taught him.  I said if he could do five in a row I would buy him a Happy Meal.  He did six.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out in the apartment with the AC, lunch at Red Robin, where Eleanor was angelic, and a visit to Target.  My grandma sent them money for clothes and they were thrilled to buy Eleanor some cooler weather clothes for their trip to Washington.  

The Happy Meal wasn't the only childhood throwback.  Earlier they had been talking about how Braeden would never forgive me for getting rid of his Yu-gi-oh Duel Disc Launcher.  (You devote your life to your children and they fixate on the junky toy you threw away....)  It put them in a Yu-gi-oh mood apparently because Mark bought some cards at Target (Braeden already had some--at least I hadn't thrown them away.)  They played Yu-gi-oh.

Adam and I took turns cuddling Eleanor.  I loved how she would nudge her head up to Adam for a kiss.  She is 100% a keeper and it broke my heart to leave her behind.  I told her maybe her parents wouldn't notice if she came home with us.

Anna told me they'd notice.

All too soon we headed to the airport.  I realized on my boarding pass that we were in first class.  Adam is the guy who just quietly does stuff like that to make life better.

I asked him, "Why are you so good to me?"

He smiled and asked, "Why are you so needy?"

We walked and walked and walked in the new and unimproved Salt Lake airport after we landed.  I was SO tired and I just wanted to go to bed and I knew I'd have an early morning.  The airport is all about the hike now.

We got to the curb and there was a huge (think Space Mountain at Disneyland) line for the parking shuttle.  Adam led us on another LONG walk to the parking lot.  We had no idea if it was faster or not and we decided that since we were already doing it, we'd just assume it was faster.  

In for a penny, in for a pound.

Mark was incredibly upbeat the entire walk and kept encouraging us and it was disarming and out of character and needed.

In the car, he played just the music we needed to get us home.  That was very much in character.  We made it home!

I'm still tired.

It was so worth it.

I love Braeden and Anna and Eleanor.

As George proclaimed, "What a good life!"

Happiest of weekends

Saturday we went to the Mt. Timpanogos temple with Emma.  I have thought about Emma every time I've been in the temple since she was born.  I loved being there with her and was grateful for all of our family that came to share the day with us.  It felt like pure joy.

Mason, Desi, Marianne, Clarissa, my mom, my dad, Geri, Braeden, Anna, Adam, Emma, Me, Vanessa (Emma's friend), Olivia, Lili and Edgar.  Clarissa's husband, Timeon, was there too, but he left before the picture.

It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many people who show us such love.  Firm as the mountains around us, stalwart and brave (they) stand.

Afterward we went to Black Bear Diner for a very slow dinner.  We took a picture of my mom with her girls and their girls.

Desi, Marianne, Clarissa, Olivia, Lili, me, Emma and my mom.  Missing are Marianne's girls: Liberty and Carolina.  These women are my everything.

Sunday after church, we hustled our food prep and then went to the Carlsons' for Eleanor's blessing.  Another joyful time!  We love Anna's family completely and it is wonderful that we share our deep affection for these three:

Eleanor's dress was brought back from Belgium where Mark Carlson served his mission.  Anna and her sister wore it for their blessings too.  Eleanor looks a little stressed in this picture, but she was a champion considering how many people were there, wanting to admire her.

Braeden blessed his sweet baby and it was a time when my joy leaked out my eyes a little.

Here is who help bless Eleanor:  Braeden, Adam and the Marks

This boy has been the sun and I've been a planet basking in his light ever since he was born.

We took a four generation picture:

And a five generation picture:

All the best days in my life have been surrounded by my family and usually part of making covenants or participating in ordinances in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is easy to feel loved by my Heavenly Father when I consider these happy happy days!

Family FaceTime

 Sunday afternoon, Adam and I took a drive to check on the progress of the Saratoga Springs and Orem temples.  I think they can manage building them without our oversight, but we like to go take a look.  While we were out and about, we had our family FaceTime call.

Everyone's a little blurry and mid expressions, but it's always a happy time.  As you can see, Emma and Mark were showing off their new lights in their rooms.   We all talk over each other and laugh a lot. Also, everyone makes fun of me for only showing my forehead at times like that but it's tiresome to keep my phone held so my face is perfectly framed.  Adam was driving but occasionally I would point the phone his way and he would say, "You're pointing it at the ceiling."

I think the takeaway is that I won't ever have a career as a cameraman.

Emma is planning a trip to California to see Braeden and Anna.  Braeden said, "We'll talk to you more when we get off the phone with everyone, Emma."

I said, "You guys go ahead and go and I want to talk to Mark more."

Braeden and Mark instantly got nervous looks on their faces.  "What?"  I said.  "You're not in trouble.  I just want to talk to you."

Braeden texted me this:

And Mark texted me this:

I said, "But I'm the nicest person in the world."

Emma isn't afraid of me at all.  I don't know if that is better or worse.

(A little healthy fear in sons isn't terrible.)

On the other hand

My students sat with rapt attention yesterday when I had a globe and was telling them about Columbus arriving at America accidentally.  It was alluded to in what we were reading in literacy.  I said, "You know the story of Columbus, right?"

They all said no.

(Granted the students being tested for accelerated learning were not there, plus I had 6 students absent.)

Still.

I told them all about it and they were simply amazed.  It's moments like that where I would do this job for free.

On the other hand, teaching them how to figure out area on a composite shape is not going well.  At all.  They just start adding and multiplying numbers haphazardly and one girl just writes on her paper.  "I'm tired and don't get this."

I tell her to erase that and keep trying.

***

I have started a new, pretty low key, exercise routine with the aim of not feeling like everything hurts and I'm dying.  I have small expectations.  It is making a difference in my life!  Most days I don't take Advil and it used to be the opposite of that.   I have so many neck and back troubles--shared by my siblings--but it feels like I have a strategy that is working.

On the other hand, I'm not a very good health nut.  When Jamie passed around cookies at the faculty meeting, I took one.

***

After the faculty meeting, I had Jami (the principal) sign my relicensing papers.  He called everyone back to attention and said, "Thelma wins a prize!  She is the first one to be done with her relicensing."

Janelle rolled her eyes and said, "Of course she did.  Thelma is a pre-crastinator."

On the other hand, there was no actual prize and when I went to the website to complete the last step, it said, "Try again later.  This website is down for scheduled maintenance."

I hate that.  Loose ends are a pre-crastinator's kryptonite.

***

I felt a jolt of happiness yesterday when I remembered that it was just Adam and me last night.  Every night is date night!

On the other hand, we both cried on Friday night when we were talking about our kids leaving.  How did it take us so unawares?

Also:  today is Braeden's birthday!  He is 25.  How lucky am I to have 25 years being mother to that stellar boy?  After he was born, Adam and I both noticed the quality of light in our little apartment felt different.  He's been bringing light ever since.  I would love to make him a cake (chocolate, with mint frosting), but I know he will be well celebrated by dear Anna.  Someday soon, when he has children of his own, I hope he understands how we feel about him.  Happy birthday to the bringer of sunshine and joy.

Adam:  teacher of dental hygiene and all good things

Jamming

I don't mean music--although I have some good Christmas playlists.

Adam bought a jam advent calendar.  We are days behind and this is what our fridge looks like:

On the left there is some homemade raspberry jam our neighbors brought.  They said, "Put it in the fridge because the lid isn't sealed."

Sunday night I pulled out some gluten free rice crackers and the jam for a taste test.  

Mark said, "OK, but not the honey.  We need that for our movie."

Emma and Mark are planning to film a heist movie with the Christmas bears.  They have a plot and all the bears cast in their roles.  There are a lot of plays on words.  Mark discussed it with Braeden when we had our FaceTime call.  Braeden said he wanted editorial rights.  Mark vaguely agreed and it was clear to me that meant probably not. 

In the same way Adam bringing home cookies so I don't have to make them sums him up, that paragraph is maybe the most descriptive paragraph I've ever written about our children.  That is them in six sentences.  

Home for the holidays

We packed a lot into a few days, evidenced by how much I was dragging on Saturday night.  It was a wonderful time though.

On Thanksgiving we prepared our feast and sat at a pretty table.

the little rosemary plant in our kitchen window is the gift that keeps on giving

Adam asked me to say the prayer and I said no.  He asked, "Because you'll cry?"

I said, "Yes."

So he said the prayer and I cried anyway.

In an extreme departure from the other women in my family, we did not have a ton of leftovers.  All the kids said that Thanksgiving leftovers are overrated, so I guess we all stood in the correct line in heaven.

In the late afternoon, we went to a movie. (King Richard, we all loved it!)

We came home for pie, which is always a good thing to come home for.

Friday, after doing my part for the economy on Amazon, we decorated for Christmas.  Those boys make quick work of carrying boxes. 

The highlight of decorating is opening the box of Christmas bears.  Anna sat in a chair and was bombarded with both stories about the bears and actual bears.

Each bear is loved and stories are told about them all.  It is the weirdest scrapbook in the world, but it's ours.

They put them in chronological order, Braeden at the helm

Adam and Mark set up the new big tree that is on wheels and lives in Adam's office closet.  It is slick and easy and when they were done, they commented that no one was even mad after the task.  Winning.  Adam and Braeden set up the other tree and no one got mad there either.  We're all growing up so nicely.

Mark has long been my sidekick decorator and he was up on a ladder and arranging things to my specifications and he said, "I think we need a third thing up here," and I couldn't have been more proud.  Emma and Anna helped with the arranging as well and we soon had the house looking festive.  We realized next year at this time, we will have a little one crawling around.  Hurray and also, that will change the decorating situation around here.

We watched the Great British Baking Show finale which had been highly anticipated by all of us (except Mark, he hasn't been watching, plus he said since he can't eat gluten, it's not fun to watch).  Mark hung out with his friends instead.

After, we had more pie and then watched A Mighty Wind.  Anna had never seen it and we all wanted her to watch.

Actually, I told her it wasn't a want, it was a need.

She complied like the sweet girl she is.

Saturday was another pack-a-lot-in sort of day.  I made cookies for pikkujoulu.  They were gluten free and also sort of unrecognizable as their former gluten selves.  Let's just say Paul would not have been handing out a handshake.  I still have lots of Christmases to figure out how to make them though.

We went to lunch and then to BYU for nostalgia for our BYU alumni kids.  Mark walked around in his Utah State sweatshirt which he was wearing coincidentally.  I told him I loved him anyway and I would love him even more if he would drop out of college and stay in my basement forever.

He said no.

When we got home, I folded mountains of laundry (dishes and laundry don't take vacations) and we sat around the fire pit briefly because it works now and it was a sputtering mess when Braeden and Anna were last here.  We brought in the couch cushions (the boys and Adam had moved all the deck furniture earlier in the day. And we decorated the big tree.  

Adam made clam chowder while we did that, because we were also going to have pikkujoulu.

The marathon continued.

We had a lovely meal, sans the bread bowls, but I think they weren't missed (plus I told Emma and Braeden that if anyone mentioned regret that we weren't having bread bowls, they wouldn't get Christmas presents).

The kids opened their new ornaments and Braeden and Anna opened a few presents and we sampled some treats (mostly gluten free, from Trader Joe's).   Everyone gamely ate the gluten free disasters I had made and told me they were delicious.

That's why they are all getting Christmas presents.

So happy together

Everyone together is my favorite.  

Mark and I picked Braeden and Anna up from the airport.  We stopped at WGU to see Emma and Adam, at their request/begging  (from Emma).  They didn't respond to our texts (they were, you know working) so we were stuck in the lobby, which is beautiful, but not the point.

We gave up and went and got breakfast.

Then we circled back and got to see them.  

Everyone except the workers went to my classroom and we decorated for Christmas.  I want my students to walk in and be sort of blown away by the Christmas decorations.  I haven't quite achieved that, but I think I am getting closer.

Emma and Adam came home a little early.  Anna took a nap (they'd been up since 3:30 AM) and I walked downstairs and saw this:

They are playing Mario Kart.  It's just about perfect, down to the messy boxes in the background.  I like our house lived in better than empty.

Anna has a little baby bump and it is adorable.  She cried when she saw Mark because she was so happy to see him.  She cheerfully wants to help with everything and anything and I couldn't love that girl more.

I made macaroni and cheese for dinner and a lot was riding on it.  That is one of Mark's favorite foods.  I selected the gluten free pasta that I thought would work best and I studied a few recipes to get the white sauce right with no flour.

It was good!

Mark was happy and I think I was happier.

After dinner, Adam and I went on a quest for pancetta, like you do.  After three stores, we finally found some.  When we got home, we were sitting at the kitchen table, reading different recipes in preparation for the big day.

Mark wanted us to go downstairs and play Quiplash.  He said, "What are you doing?"

I said, "Preparing.  Thanksgiving dinner doesn't make itself."

Mark said, "Hmmm.  That's always been my experience."

This morning I am the only one awake and I am enjoying the quiet until everyone bursts on the scene (actually Braeden is probably the only one who bursts scenes.  Everyone else will be more sleepy and slow moving).  I am planning some gluten free oatmeal apple muffins for breakfast and then that Thanksgiving dinner that doesn't make itself. (At least not for me.)