Family Reunions!

 

Yesterday was an amazing meeting!  We had to pick up 4 of them and gave another one a ride home, but they all came!

These are our 9 new TREK children:  Kevin who got baptized yesterday is standing next to me.  We just found out that Felix, wearing striped tie next to Kevin, is getting baptized in 2 weeks!  Exciting, joyful news!  That will be the next time we will hopefully all see each other.

Recent Projects

Crocheted-edge 2 flannel receiving blanket gift, in a toy bag with clear pocket changeable label.

Burp cloths, for all the new baby boys of girlfriends in our Church congregation!

Zig-zags on other side of kitchen to match.  Contact paper, so easy to put up.

 

White towel with brown & white trim from "Tuesday Morning" store, brown iron-on applique.

We sat in a circle, on a tarp and on a quilt (my $1.00 thrift store treasure).  John & I explained our family motto:  "Murmur not," and encouraged each of our 9 children (ha!) to think of the phrase with a comma and add something to it, something they wanted to learn or feel or do during Trek (3 days of wearing pioneer clothing, eating out of Dutch ovens, and pushing handcarts loaded with our bedding, clothing, food...).

I started, and said, "Murmur not, be cheerful"
"Have fun"
"Ignore pain"
John said, "Don't quit"
"Be strong"
"Be confident"
"Enjoy it"
"Be thankful"
"Carry on"
"Be faithful"
"Remember"

Unknown to us, two of our "sons" were not members of the Church.  As we walked, talked, and had family prayers, devotionals, read scriptures together, shared stories, son "Be confident" was amazing as he confidently called us "Ma" and "Pa" and encouraged his trek family siblings.  He told us he had been taking lessons from the missionaries, and was thinking of getting baptized at the end of July...but Sunday John got a text from this son who told us he had decided to get baptized this Saturday!

Hard to think that it has only been a week ago that we got home!  It feels like it lasted months and that it has been a lifetime ago already, since coming back to our busy, modern lives.  And tomorrow is our first family reunion!  All our Brown Bandana family will be there to support him!

I have this towel gift for him, inspired by the cool CTR applique towels the Primary president makes for the children in our congregation, but his is with a handcart/wagon wheel.  And pillowcases for all 8 of the rest of the children with the list of "Murmur not," add-ons.

I want them to remember what they contributed.  I want them to feel loved, appreciated.  I want them to never forget Trek, always remember...

I am not sure how to talk about this, yet, without getting weepy.

 

Theme for the whole company was "Courage to Stand."  World-wide Church theme for the LDS youth this year has been "Stand in Holy Places."

The leaders gave brown bandanas to each of our little family group.  We knew 2 of the youth assigned to us, one was in my seminary Bible study class last year, the other, our bishop's daughter.  Imagine walking, eating, sleeping, playing games, singing, sharing personal stories, encouraging, complementing, serving complete strangers for 52 hours and think of how close you can become in that short amount of time.  No longer strangers, but family.

John and I after a particularly hard pull up a mountain, without each other...

John pulling next to our new-to-us-forever-in-our-hearts sons!

Me on far, far left, encouraging my family and trying to not gasp in fear as they negotiated boulders in the path.  PA has ROCKS!  Big rocks.  And we went up and over them.

 

And through water & mud.  Sam in center, maroon shirt.  Cheerful Suzanna below, on right.  Sam and Suzu were assigned different families.  Their Ma's and Pa's reported to us that they were hard working, helpful, good children on the trek.

Photo credit Tara Long and last one Donya Harvey.

It was emotional, physically hard, spiritually powerful.  If you ever get the chance to participate in Trek, I hope you jump at the chance.  It was amazing.  Wonderful.  Faith-growing.   Life changing!

Our motto was "Murmur Not" with a comma after it.  Each of our 5 sons and 4 daughters added a phrase with us Ma & Pa to "Murmur not, be cheerful, have fun, ignore pain, don't quit, be strong, be confident, be thankful, enjoy it, carry on, be faithful, and remember."

Trek Prep

There is a great Church program for the youth, ages 14-18, called TREK.  If you have seen any historical reinactments, that will help you understand what it is.  In order to help these teenagers understand and put them in the right frame of mind for the experience, NO electronics allowed, no cameras, music ipods, etc.  And we dress in period clothing, 1850's style.  Long skirts, bonnets, bloomers, aprons for the girls; long pants, long sleeve shirts (no t-shirts or baseball caps) suspenders, Western hat for the boys.  Mess kits.  Water bottles required.  This is the reason John and I have been walking, getting ready for this event!

Three days in the PA mountains, up near Gettysburg.  Pulling/pushing handcarts.  Grouped in "families" with a married couple in charge of 4 young women and 4 young men.  Bathroom rules:  ladies to the right, gents to the left, and take a shovel and your own toilet paper.  Everything gets buried.

Hoe Down  (dance) outfit.

Suzanna is wardrobe ready!
More photos to come....

Meanwhile, checking out pioneer games, my favorite so far:  Mancala!  Here is an electronic version to help you learn the strategy and rules.

If you stand back far enough, you can see the big picture...

Never before seen photo, pixelated for a quilt pattern.

Thanks to sister Luanna, for sending the sweet photo from many years ago, our trip to Statue of Liberty when she was a young teenager living with us one summer...

Happy Fathers

Non-denominational video here!

I have a garden, because my dad believed in gardening, and insisted we children did our share of weeding and harvesting.

I love music, because my dad loves to sing, sings REALLY well, he funded piano lessons, was encouraging, and played records for us.

I love the scriptures, because my dad read them aloud in a sober, soothing, awed and reverent authoritative voice.

I love Star Trek, because I watched original TV episodes with him!

I love my mom because my dad loved her first, and best!  He taught me what a good man does, how he is polite, a gentleman, a hard worker, a friend.

I wish I had a picture of my husband at age 18 sitting at a BYU science fiction con banquet table (featuring Scott Card) with my dad, talking about me.  Defining historical moments, right there.  John feels like that was when he clearly let my dad know that he was interested in me, in a very serious, permanent kind of way (before we started dating!).  It was important to me that my dad approved of my boyfriend/fiance/husband.

My children are funny, because their dad is FUNNY!
My children are tall, with good strong fingernails (most of them) and good teeth, because of the genetic code from their dad.

My children are articulate & word-powerful, because of their dad.

My children are nurturers, care-givers, sensitive to others, service-oriented, loving, kind, because of their dad.

My children have computer skills because of their dad.

My children are amazing and growing up and out of the house quickly, and that is ok...

...since I will be happy hanging out with their dad!

Thank you to all the dads in my life!  Love you!  Honor to you, and your fathers...

Happy Father's Day 2013

School Mural

"Before" pictures are important, to give you an idea of the dramatic change a mural can make...

Kind of cute, not very scary.

It was an early dismissal day for elementary students, so I didn't have the traffic flow through the lobby.  Except for curious teachers coming to admire my progress and comment.  I had a grimmace smile going, trying to not mind the interruptions and be pleasant.  Sometimes I hear someone has said something to me but it doesn't register or connect with my mouth to be social back in time.  Painting changes time, changes how I listen to people.  Hard to start talking when working intensely.  I started at 1:30, left the school at 6:30 pm, after applying 2 coats of sealer.  (Read my Ender's lost years book and ate cheesecake while I waited for coats to dry.) 

Most time consuming was prepping the wall that had been destroyed by duct tape. Not a plesant thing to discover sticky residue, paint pulled from wall in spots, down to wallboard cardboard unprimed yucky.

My favorite part:  on the far left are front paw prints, BIG, bigger than my hands-silly.  THAT would be a squirrel to fear!

Amazing Bible Study Students

Class ended a week ago.  All of these 8 students ( + 1 that had to leave early before photo) received credit for the year, New Testament. 

I had 3 seniors graduate from our class. We will miss them next year--at least 3 new students in the fall.  Sleeping in until 6 am is luxurious!

Congratulations!

Our family meeting spot:  Grandpa's picture.  He was inducted into the Aberdeen High alumni Hall of Fame.  You can't see it very well, but his Atomic Buttercup truck is on the rifht side, under the drape.

THIS was the moment, seeing Stewart, Max, Roxie (her head is just behind Stewart's neck) and knowing Suzanna was coming down the hall any moment--that I intensely missed our daughter, Emmalyn, and her sweetie.  Wished they were here with us.   Nostalgia, memories, repeated graduations (this was our 4th one)...that brought all the tears for me.

 

Grandpa John PHOTO-BOMB!

Lots of hugs.

One of the funniest things Suzanna did this week was Monday night, before graduation.  We were trying to family schedule-counsel, and she would insert at every pause, "Back to me" and talk about something else she needed.  Better than a birthday?  She was clear in her communication that she really would like us to get her flowers.  And we went to Johnny's Sushi after the ceremony, across the river and got their biggest Love Boat entre (that we consumed in minutes-wonderful stuff!)  For the record, Sam loves sushi.

Hair

Hair for under the cap!  Braided crown.

Bright fun cousin hair!

Billie got a haircut!

Three Johns with various beard lengths.  John-Dad's trimmed, J. Stewart's 3 day work growth, Johnny's longest it has been getting longer for authentic Pioneer Trek look...

Short buzz Max hair and Stewart hat hair...

LONG Roxie hair!

More cousin TALL hair!

Learning from My Children

Thank you, Emmalyn+Dean for an amazing mixer attatchment, the spatula mixer blade.  I just made the best frosting I have ever, ever made, using this cool tool and the recipe from May 2013 House Beautiful Coconut Cake, (okay, well I tweaked it, added cocoa powder for the birthday boy, but did everything else, buttermilk, heavy whipping cream, coconut milk, etc) letting cream cheese & butter mix for 5 minutes made super fluffy, wonderful, light frosting.  Adding salt was interesting addition, plus the 3 TBSP vanilla--thanks, too, for the Kirkland good stuff!

Happy Birthday celebrating John-Dad's birthday today with this 4 layer creation!  (recipe suggested 6 layers!  All the better to taste more of this great frosting!)

Meanwhile, as I let the cake cool, I finished up Suzanna's graduation white shoes.  The girls have to wear white dresses and white shoes.  Suzanna showed me some pictures on line of oxford bootie shoes, costing more than I have budgeted for this month.  Found a $5.00 thrift store bargain, spray painted white and then decopauged white& gray patterned tissue paper from Emmalyn+Dean's wedding.  Looks lacy.  Highly textured.  Hopefully she will be happy with them.

She was a great sport this morning as we walked 3 miles, up and down the big hill on the way to Church, from Herb's on the Curb to the sign on top.  Super steep.  Feeling the pain in my thighs as I go up and down stairs today.  All for Trek training. We have 2 weeks left to get ready!  Suzanna even took off running down the hill.