Category: Life according to Angela

Sweet Happy MOM♥️

The beads of my friendship bracelet from Mark

Is there anything more affirming than a friendship bracelet with your name on it?

Mark made this friendship bracelet for me when he was five years old, I am sure with help from Paige. I have worn it through the years when I need a reminder of who I am or when I need courage. I have hidden it within a pocket when facing personal challenges, and it broke last month inside my pocket.

I can fix it, and I am grateful it wasn’t lost. The loose beads remind me how different it looks to be a mother now, and how this year, in particular, has felt like a scattering of all known things. I will fix the bracelet and keep it as it was, but this experience also reminds me that when something breaks, it’s an opportunity to fit in some new letters.

G A – M A

W R I T E R

D I S C I P L E

H O S T

W H O L E

Tim & Richard and the big game

These two are a set each football season, usually in our living room. Tim got tickets from work to the BYU v Utah game last weekend and invited Richard.

Richard sent me this photo and said to notice the prominent Provo Rock Canyon temple under construction above the stands.

I know football pretty well. I hear the games and the podcasts and analysis, but it’s usually while I do some hand sewing or reading. I didn’t watch at home, but monitored the score to know how happy or disappointed Richard would be, and I smiled when BYU won.

See you in a few weeks

Illustration by Paige 😍

I am taking a break from updating my blog during the next few weeks. Weddings call forth many private emotions and so many errands. You can picture me in the aisles of Hobby Lobby on (another) “last trip for the wedding,” running errands, facilitating a big luncheon for family and friends, and preparing church lessons, etc. It’s a time to celebrate Tim and Queenie and to cherish the covenants of the temple sealing. While I am busy, I know that no detail of the wedding matters more than those few minutes in the temple being sealed as husband and wife for eternity.

Repeat

I didn’t thin the sunflowers this year as they popped up in a great company of heart-shaped leaves. They continued to grow and blossom through the summer, and now the flowers begin to fade. The bees that collected nectar begin to close out their shift as small birds come to snack on sunflower seeds.

As I have mentioned before, I interpret these unintended sunflowers as the Lord’s cheer and encouragement to me as he cares for my missionaries. To me, quite literally, they are my “son-flowers.”

They bloom in my backyard, but I see them everywhere this time of year. Looking through photographs, I find them in the background of Daniel’s wedding pictures, and now, Tim’s. I collected the round, burr-like remnants of Mark’s first-year missionary sunflowers last winter to keep in a glass box on a shelf.

We need the rhythm of seasons and the predictability of daylight and sunset. Yet with all this predictability, there awaits a perpetual wonder inspired by the beautiful creations of God. I smile almost every day when I see how that one little sunflower that appeared while Daniel served his mission has become this array, reminding me of a glorious God, who blesses us with a “multiplicity of blessings.” (See Doctrine and Covenants 104:2.)

Studying about this lately

This month, I have some opportunities to teach about the trials of the early Latter-day Saints. As part of my preparation, I compiled my highlights from general conferences and church magazines on the subject of trials. Perhaps there is something in this document that would be helpful to you.

trials quotesDownload

Many treasures, hidden riches, and even my knowledge of God have been gained during difficult times.

And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

Isaiah 45:3

A new season

The tang of cool evening air has signaled to my brain that summer is coming to an end. I have taken down the summer decor and replaced it with some autumn things. It always makes family members sad when I pack up two seasons, summer and Christmas, so I try to make the changes when when no one is looking.

This will be the season that Tim gets married. We moved furniture to his new apartment this weekend and seeing his room at our house without a bed was jarring. There are many endings in life. The children leave for college and they leave for missions, but when they get married, we experience a more definitive end to the years of being together. He won’t sleep under our roof many more nights.

I don’t mind decor changing, in fact, I welcome it. But it really makes me pause when I see those empty rooms once inhabited by our children.

Directed

I made it out for a walk last night, but I decided to veer off my usual route and wander onto Charlene’s street. She was visible through her open gate to the backyard, watering her tomatoes. When I waved, she invited me back to see her yard, cared for by her wonderful children in honor of her late husband who always kept things beautiful. We shared an important conversation, and as I walked home, I realized that the Lord had steered me to just the person I needed. His timing was perfect.

Women in the house

Tim and Queenie had some early wedding photos taken last week, and I was surprised and honored that Queenie chose to get ready at our house. She asked McKenna to do her hair and makeup, so our dining room became a salon for a few hours. I was occupied with preparing food for the family reunion the next day, so I enjoyed the company while I worked. Daniel and Tim were there, too, Tim trying to tie a bowtie for a lot of the time.

As I’ve said before, this phase of life is either eerily still or bursting with activity. Observing McKenna and Queenie, I felt deep gratitude for these two women.