Letters from Home – Page 147 – A blog by Angela Ross

We need a little…

1979 Christmas — Sanchez kids Christmas 1979

Will Thanksgiving ever arrive? I’m impatient to see Richard again. Perhaps if we put up the Christmas tree early this year, it will seem like his homecoming will be sooner.

I bought a new tree last weekend. I placed the big box in the living room for a few days and stirred up all kinds of anticipation. We’re big Thanksgiving enthusiasts, but we are breaking all of the rules and decorating for Christmas early. There might be pilgrims and nativities, and pumpkins and stockings adorning the shelves and mantels for a week. We’ll do whatever inspires a pull of family connection and memory.

An Evening of Excellence

The Young Women came together to display some of the goals that they have been working on this year. We served a nice dinner for them and their parents. The evening was full of sweet moments as the girls shared honest, real experiences and accomplishments.

I keep smiling as I recollect their words, their courage, and the things they chose to display. Striking themes were the lifeline of scripture study in their lives and the huge opposition they feel to gospel living. There were talents shared, such as piano pieces and crafts, and each girl was given the chance to speak. I felt happy when one of the young women stood up and talked about the experiences she and I have shared this year working on her project to make soft and cute hats for cancer patients. She keeps mentioning how much fun she had doing it. Hooray!

Paige was there and she displayed her concerto music and her scriptures. She has done so many incredible things this year, from ballet to piano, and academics to painting. I am proud of her for playing the organ at church. I am proud of her for working so hard in school. I am proud of her because she studies the scriptures carefully and keeps a journal of her thoughts. She sacrifices a lot to study; she is a great help to our family.

It was a beautiful evening to celebrate the lives of our Young Women.

Los Alamos

Dear Richard,

We were darling in 1995 and living in Los Alamos, NM. When was the last time we reminisced about that lovely place and time?

The canyon views as we drove to work each morning were gorgeous. Remember meeting for lunch at the lake and reading that silly book Heaven Only Knows aloud? Remember how we would hike a new trail every weekend? The Red Dot trail was unforgettable for lots of reasons, and it was on the Pipeline Trail that we decided that we’d spend our wedding money to buy a computer… I think it had 75 megabytes of RAM and a 1 gigabyte hard drive?! We had a goal to play tennis on Wednesday nights and each evening after making dinner we’d sit down together and watch Coach. I tried to watch an episode of that a few years ago and I couldn’t remember why we liked that show so much.

One day we traveled to Santa Fe so you could take the GRE and I locked the keys in the car and we had to use a hanger to unlock the door. Gasoline cost $1.30 at the station all summer long. One of my favorite memories is the time we drove to Santa Fe to buy a piece of strawberry pie.

Remember when we played violin and piano duets at the Chamberlain’s house all evening while they were away? What about that camping trip in the thunderstorm when everything got drenched and we huddled together on the small island in the center of the tent through the night?

My memories of that time feel like mountain air, mixed with a bit of sunlight from our window on Sunday afternoons after church and the swell of grandeur in those views of the Rio Grande and mountain trails.

Those were sweet days. I thought I loved you then, but that was just the beginning.

Love,

Some unexpected opportunities

I’m in my 40th year! I don’t care who knows it. Remember in Sunday School when you learned that when Joseph Smith wrote that he was in his fifteenth year, it really meant he was only 14? Let’s be clear: my 40th birthday is next year. I am 39.

Here are some things that happened in my 39th year… when I was 38… are you following me?

T his year I learned

H ow to make a quilt and

I learned that I could play the fiddle on stage while balancing on a block high in the air. I

R ead several books of religious philosophy. I

T aught the Mia Maids in Young Women, and didn’t get heat stroke at

Y outh Conference! My

–

N eighbors had quadruplets and they let me come help,

I wrote my grandmother’s history and

N ervously watched my children leave for school each morning. I spent many

E venings driving to piano, ballet, baseball, and youth activities.

I’m most happy about the violin performances and writing. I’m not sure what big projects I will do in the upcoming year.

Most of the things from last year that I am proud of were unexpected opportunities. I just went with my whims or said yes when someone asked me to do something. Is this how it works for you?

Why is it that only a few of my well-planned goals brought me the same joy as the unexpected opportunities? It’s certainly not because I love spontaneity. Perhaps it’s because God had bigger plans for me than I had for myself.

My buddy

Here is Mark in his new suit and fresh haircut. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of him. At church this week I let him skip Primary and come to class with me. In the hallway someone reminded me that it’s good for kids to face their troubles, which is a good insight… but not for us today. I have learned that sometimes a child just needs a little break and he can face his troubles better next time. Also, I can’t discount the effect that Richard’s absence is having on the little hearts in our family, and I think that extra love is needed.

Color

This was a quick phone shot on our way home from school one day last month. I love the reds, but those yellow aspens up high on the mountains are spectacular.

I get to see this view of the mountain every day as I drive home. When we drove to the house for the first time, the realtor mentioned that it felt like we were driving right into the mountain. It still holds my wonder each time I approach it. Right now it’s blanketed in some white. It’s always beautiful.

Tonight the street lights are reflecting off the black pavement after a day of slushy rain. The sunset was blue and deep gray. I spend a lot of time marveling over sunsets, leaves, and snow, don’t I?

Some of the best women I know

I went to lunch this week with my mom, sisters, and a sister-in-law (not pictured). They are smart, spiritual, tender, and industrious. I can guarantee that each of them is working on one or more of the following things today: Graphic design, music, sewing, quilting, refinishing, remodeling, building furniture, nurturing children, photography, rescuing someone, or party planning… They inspire me.

Family Home Evening

Mark taught our Family Home Evening lesson this week about the Armor of God. He gave each person a piece of armor and asked us to look up the scripture in Ephesians and explain how each piece of armor represented something spiritual we can do to be protected from evil. We placed the armor on a disproportionate picture of a little man. We called him Pippin.

The next morning I found our visual aid thus arrayed:

I’ve had to trust that our armor, however hastily or incompletely placed, will be enough this week because I can’t do any more than I’m doing. I have felt lifted physically and mentally even though I’ve fallen asleep every time I’ve tried to read the scriptures this week. I’ve felt like I’ve been carried. The grace of God is amazing like that. We turn to our Father in Heaven in our weakness, and that act of turning (however incomplete or imperfect) puts us in a position to receive great blessings.

Things I have found during the past few days

There has been an unperceived threat. Lego armies are assembling in many corners of the house.

Here is a small paragraph written by Timothy at school that I discovered this morning. I think it is marvelous.

          Space World
Setting: A black starry planet
   with dark lurking creatures

I have just lamented over the loss
of my space ship to take me home.
I am currently on the dark planet
Catoure. There haven't been any
signs of life forms. Yet. Thank
goodness too, because I don't want
to bump into the star dragon. This
planet conceals many things. One
thing is a sea urchin like creature
who grabs your feet with
tweezer-like pincers. I just hope 
I can repair my ship and sleep in
my hammock.

Preparation

The little boys spent the weekend dressing up in layers of superhero awesomeness and throwing glow sticks in the dark.

Paige worked on a painting and performed her concerto for some judges (amazing!). She and Richard stayed up late working on math, much to Richard’s delight.

Daniel showed off his web design skills for his dad and helped clean out the gutters.

Richard worked on the leaves (a never-ending project) until he stepped on a rusty nail in the garden. Boo!

My dad took us out to dinner for my birthday. I chose Los Hermanos in downtown Provo as the restaurant, of course.

I played the violin in church with Paige as my accompanist. People loved seeing Paige up there with me. A good friend reminded me that we have a year and a half left to play together and that we need to cherish it.

I spent last night preparing mentally for the week ahead. I took Richard to the airport and then drove home without the radio and let the silence seep into my soul. I read to the boys from The Two Towers until Mark fell asleep nestled up beside me. After the bedtime routines, I made lists and menus, looked up maps and recipes, and searched for library books that are due. I made play dough for the second graders. I went to sleep listening to the Mormon Tablernacle Choir and then Alfie Boe.

It was a good weekend. I think I’m ready to face the week.