Category: Motherhood

Sure things

There is nothing unique about my experience during this past week of cancellations due to COVID-19. I have watched my email folder fill up with messages from schools and church and made necessary adaptations. The boys are home, except when they go out to work or walk. My life stays largely the same, including my level of fear. During most of my adult life, I have regularly expected to catch each illness, die of sepsis from an abscessed tooth, or choke to death all alone… if a car accident didn’t take me first. I have similar fears for each family member. In other words, welcome to my world, world. The real weight of this time for me rests in the reality that Daniel is thousands of miles away, on another continent.

A few sure things to which I cling:

Our Father in Heaven knows where we are and exactly what we need.

Our Savior Jesus Christ knows the depth and breadth of our feeling.

The Father’s plan is never frustrated.

Angels minister to us.

The Holy Ghost never misspeaks or offends. He brings comfort, power, and direction. What an amazing friend and companion.

The Book of Mormon is dear and true. It has helped me through every challenge, my whole life, and it continues to help me now.

No one is unique in their struggles, and my struggles are not more valid than yours. But Sure Beings and the true things carry every one of us through, whether we have eyes to see or not. This I know.

Some Things I Love

I finished assembling the quilt top, thanks to the gift of an extra day.
ski trip
Tim broke the family speed record for skiing. I wish I didn’t know this.
Tim’s band visited Mark’s band.
Birthday dinner
After 11 years of searching, then waiting for a sale, I bought a piano lamp.
Richard and I spent about 5 hours preparing French food yesterday, and it was really disappointing how awful it tasted. Ours actually looked like this photo. pc: tablespoon.com
Mark at Youth Conference.

This week, as I ran errands and shopped, I was asked a few times if I was planning to do something fun. Yes! We celebrated Richard’s birthday with food, food, presents, food, and desserts. At Costco, someone asked if the next big birthday was the big 4-0, and since the scales have tipped toward 50 for me, this miscalculation has embedded itself in my heart and grown into many private smiles. I love celebrations with family, the preparation, anticipation, and the memories.

And, if you want to see Paige’s 8 beautiful paintings inspired by The Secret Garden, her show is coming up soon. I love seeing Paige’s illustrations.

As for the Daniel, he had the opportunity to meet Elder Uchtdorf and shake his hand last week, and he was invited to share his testimony in Stake conference. He is moving to a new apartment that has hot water. He has been busy assembling emergency kits for each companionship in the mission. With summer holidays coming to an end, they expect more protests and violence in his area, but the kits are more in preparation for earthquakes. He is teaching Rosa and others with his companion who is from Canada. I had my first bad dream about his safety, and I can’t hear The Prayer (Bring Him Home from Les Miserables) or Danny Boy without tears. Still, I love being part of a missionary family.

One thing I do for my calling at church is teach Primary children during ward conferences. I made this visual aid for last Sunday to teach about Isaiah’s “Mountain of the Lord’s House” and it was a lot of work, but the kids really loved the doors and windows. They also loved talking about how temples are like mountains, places to feel peace, quiet, and see beauty and light. I also loved the comment about mountains being places of adventure. I think learning of God’s ways is one of the great adventures of life. I love what I learn as I serve in Primary.

Small Plates

The Come Follow Me curriculum with teens has taught me the power of one or two insights each week. My job is not to cover everything, but to help them identify and remember the insights that come to their minds as they read. These insights and feelings are personal revelation, or what the Lord wants them to learn individually.

I had some wooden books and rings left over from a girls camp and our family used them to make “small plates”. We found art from the Come Follow Me manual to paste on the covers. As you see, not everyone participated in this craft activity. Typical! I could have just as easily bought simple notebooks. The papers are small, just a quarter sheet. As we read a chapter of the Book of Mormon aloud, we focus our attention on a topic from the manual and write down what we learn from reading. If our sons write one insight a week, this adds up to more than 50 insights a year for each of them. 50 pieces of instruction from the Holy Ghost. 50 helps from heaven. If we each write down one insight a week, we will have over 200 lessons gained as a family. Not that I am counting, or even looking at what they write. These are their sacred, small plates.

Reading as a family is a challenge. When we finally sit down to read after all kinds of contortions to make it happen, the family seems to lose all energy, and the dog becomes extra needy, distracting, and playful. It is during these times I call the little dog Satan and wish the teen years weren’t so tricky. But when I listen to the boys pray after we read, I hear their words of thanks for the time spent as a family. The sweetest advice I have been given is to LISTEN to what your teens say in their prayers. This is how they really feel.

This year we’re keeping our study small (focused) and simple (personal, in few words), trusting that great things will come of it. (Alma 37:6)

Thoughts on a Snow Day

The snow day, and its limitations and opportunities, has brought out different things in each of us. I pull into my familiar routines of comfort, warmth, and words. Richard makes gallant efforts every few hours to push the next 8-12″ off the driveway since the last pass. Tim has been gone since 5:45, earning money shoveling snow. Mark, feeling caged and frustrated, made toffee, then a gourmet lunch, and settled in for an afternoon of television. Whenever he surfaces, it is to complain how snow days seem like they will be great until they happen. Tim is driving our best snow vehicle, but we have no plans to go anywhere in this weather. I just watched the mail carrier’s truck fishtail out of the circle, despite chains on his wheels. No mail today. When storms like this come, it is often 24 hours before the plows can reach our home. 18″ of snow fell today. I will feel better when Tim makes it safely back to the driveway. I will make warm, starchy comfort food and keep alternating between two delicious books.

We had a video call with Daniel today, in a new area with a friend assigned as his new companion. Challenges include crime, no hot water, very high temperatures and no wind, and an empty area book. He smiles and smiles while telling me this, and I know he’s having the best time.

Paige and Michael’s Wedding Day in Pictures

Good job if you made it to the end of this post. Most pictures are by our niece Rachel (Rachel Angela Photography). Most of my memories, thoughts, and feelings are recorded in my journal, where they will stay. If you were there, I hope you found your face in a photo or two. We are very grateful to all who came and all who showed their support in any way. It really was the very best day.

Testimony

I didn’t realize this is how grown up our family looks. I’ve had lots of moments to reflect on life and our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness in the past few weeks. This picture (even the absence of our adored missionary) represents all that the Savior has given us: absolutely everything that brings us joy. Here are just a few things this photo represents to me, made possible by our Savior:

repentance and forgiveness

the Gospel of Jesus Christ

covenants and ordinances

marriage

sacrifice

missionary work

miracles of healing and understanding

children

hope

testimony

faith in Christ

obedience to commandments

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

patience

love

Biggest Week So Far

Paige and Michael were married on December 27 in the Salt Lake Temple. Photo by Rachel Angela Photography

Richard and I came away from Paige’s wedding day without a single picture, which tells you what a great time we had. We will post more another day. These are snapshots from family and friends who have taken the time to share with us. Thank you!

Leading up to the wedding, we had a big week, including Timothy’s 17th birthday and Christmas, and a hundred other interactions and lots of music. We saw Star Wars and decorated candy houses, turned in two Eagle Scout applications, and finalized special gifts. I am very happy.

Timothy’s birthday included two trips to Star Wars and gingerbread houses.
My favorite photo from the Sanchez family Christmas pageant
Christmas Day conversation
photo by Rachel Angela Photography

Eagle project and Piano competition

By definition, milestones are evenly spaced, but sometimes we can’t pace and space events. Milestones hurl past Richard and me as we careen towards the end of the 2019. This decade is ending in a whirl of notes, color, celebrations, and plans. I don’t just want to keep up. I want to enjoy each step.

Hopefully these pictures will help me relive these moments when I have more time, and experience the things I had to miss while I chased a milestone down a different road.