Winter Blues
I went to check on Ava one evening while she was sick. It was late and she was propped up in bed coloring with a blue crayon on her art project. Her wrist was all bent and she just looked like she needed help! I took the project and finished coloring the blue since she just seemed too blue to finish it.I started to take down the Christmas decorations and like always, suddenly the house felt very empty. I kept the living room tree up for a lot longer though because it looked so pretty, and I paid a lot of money for it! Besides, I am used to keeping the tree up through Jan 6th. Growing up, Sadie always wanted us to leave our tree up for her birthday. ALSO, that is when some of the world actually celebrates Christmas, or Three Kings Day,
Dia de los tres Reyes!
Since everyone was home on a Friday night, (which Matt and I love!) I said, "We had a party when we put up the downstairs tree and tonight, we are going to have a tree-take-down party." Callie said, "Noooo, I like you to do it while we are gone because it is too sad." But nope, after we finished our delicious Kamut pizza, we all headed downstairs to un-do the tree while we watched Spidey.
January was the last month I had to write to Mal. Writing a weekly letter sure makes journaling easy. I am including many of the things I shared with her:
Yesterday a line from
the opening Hymn stuck out to me: "Trials make our faith grow
stronger...truth is nobler than a crown." I am so grateful for that truth. I am grateful for President Nelson and his inspired challenges to us like
reading the B of M by the end of the year. Yesterday we were asked to include in
our fast, a prayer for moisture. We awoke yesterday to a blanket of fresh snow.
That same morning, I was reading in Helaman about how the people were wicked and
subsequently were suffering from a famine in the land. They asked Nephi to
petition the Lord for rain. He did so and his prayer was answered. It is these
two examples that serve as a reminder to me that the Lord does hear our
prayers. I am also grateful for the challenge from President Nelson to attend
the temple more regularly. As Matt and I counseled as to what was realistic for
us (once a week...Temple Tuesday) my love for the Temple has grown to where I
have a real tender spot in my heart for the Temple. I am grateful for the
covenants I have made there. I am grateful for the B of M and that I have a
place I can go to receive personal revelation anytime. Inspiration comes not
necessarily by what is on the page but by the thoughts and impressions that
come to me as I read. Because of this knowledge everything else in the gospel
falls into place. This was the testimony yesterday.
Matt and I
attended a Priesthood Preview/Temple Prep evening with Graham. The day before, Tina had texted me to ask what Graham's favorite candy was (the box kind that
you get at movie theaters). I had no idea so I asked, "Hey Graham, if you
were going to the theater what kind of candy would you choose?" He said,
"Either Red Vines or Milk Duds." I texted those two options back to
Tina. Later on Saturday night Graham asked, "Mom why did you want to know
my favorite candy?" I said, "You will know within 24-hours."
This piqued his curiosity. Then at dinner he asked, "Hey mom,
you said you would tell my why you asked that question about the candy." I
corrected him, "No, I just said that you will know within 24-hours." He
and Callie were SO confused. Haha. SO, at the Temple Prep class when Tina called
the graduating Primary kids up and handed them all candy, Graham was holding
back a laugh when she handed him Milk Duds.
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| The table set for Sundee dindin |
Come, Follow Me
We are so enjoying the
new Come, Follow Me at home! The first week Matt led a great
discussion and I took a turn the next week. I had assignments for all of the kids to
read different parts of the lesson. As Grayson came into the living room, I
handed him a piece of paper and whispered in his ear, "When I ask if
anyone has any questions you are going to ask this." So, when I
asked, "Does anyone have any questions about why Jesus needed to born the
way he was?" Grayson asked, "Why did the Savior need to born of a
mortal mother and an immortal Father?"
At the end of the
lesson I asked, "What messages can learn from the story of Zacharias and
Elizabeth?" Ava gave the thoughtful answer that even though our beliefs
might seem foolish to some we should stick to our values and have faith.
We also talked about
the importance of Christ's ancestry and then Callie shared a story from G-ma
Donna from our own family's ancestry. The artwork alone is so beautiful in the
new Come, Follow Me book. Two-hour church made it nice
because I was not focusing on my YW lesson and all that comes with having YW
right after Sunday School. I could just focus on Sunday school. Ava is excited
about having a new group in her class that hour and happily scooted
off to class.
Happy Birthday Grandma Donna!
January 3rd was Grandma Donna's birthday so Matt treated us all to a nice dinner at the Olive Garden, which is Grandma's favorite. She remembers that I introduced her to the restaurant while shopping for a baby stroller back in 1996! I got a darling photo of Grandma as the staff sang, "Happy Birthday." I was touched at all the phone calls she received just while we were with her from various grandchildren calling to wish her well and express their love. Grandpa was a crack-up as always. On the way to the Olive Garden Grandpa was confused as to where we were going and wondered if he would get to eat an Olive. Then he asked Grayson if he had a job. Grayson said, "Yes, I work at Papa Murphy's." Grandpa asked what he did at work." Gray answered, "I put olives on the pizzas." Ha, that kid is quick.
I write all these
little tidbits of home-life so that I can later print my blog into a book. The kiddos sure enjoy pulling out the blog books on Sunday night and reading
the funny things they have said and done during the years. It is funny to hear
Graham chuckling away and then hardly being able to re-count what he read
because he is laughing so hard.
Our Favorite Dish
Just this week Graham
said he was busy every day of the week because he now has Scouts and YM
for a while (on Monday and Wednesday). I asked, "So what do you have on
Tuesday?" He said, "That is my dish night!" Now the kids joke
that they are busy if it is their dish night. On Thursday I asked Ava what she
had going on that night. She said, "It's my dish night!" I said,
"No it isn't, we are taking Grandma to the Olive Garden for dinner!"
The next day (Friday) I said to Callie, "I don't think we have anything
going on tonight." She said, "Well I do, it's my dish
night."
Don't be a Chicken
January 14th, we
went to our friend, Sheriff Jared Rigby's swearing in ceremony. The
ceremony was held at the Daughters of the Utah Pioneer Museum. It was very
serious ceremony (as it should be), but I am not a serious
person. I always seem to find ways to amuse myself. As Jared swore in his
deputies, then officers and the search and rescue they repeated the oath, which
started out with, "I solemnly swear..." and I would finish the
sentence in my head, "...that I am up to no good." Oh man, we are
just way too obsessed with Harry Potter in this family!
Mischief Managed
On a Monday when Matt was out of town, I threw some tomato soup ingredients in the crock-pot for an easy
dinner. After Callie's violin lesson the kids wanted to go sledding in all the
fresh snow we received over the weekend (thanks to all of the saints fasting
and prayers;) We filled the van with friends and headed to Eagle Park. I
decided to stay and watch from the van. It gave me an opportunity to read my
book club book An Invisible Thread. I was so engrossed I
couldn't put it down. I love non-fiction and this book is a cross between The
Glass Castle and The Blind Side. It is a tough read but I
really like learning from other people's experiences, good or bad. The kids kept sledding till the sun set. Graham and Callie both brought friends named Logan. A he and a she.
(Callie is in hot pink from head to toe, Graham is in blue).
(Callie is in hot pink from head to toe, Graham is in blue).
HomeMAID
I came home to blend
up my soup in the Bledtec to puree it. So much for my easy dinner. While it was blending
Callie called out, "Uh Mooooom." I had left the kitchen for a sec and
she was trying to turn off the blender. The lid had come loose
and it was spraying everywhere! To clean up red soup from the cupboards, walls,
counters and floor did not make for an easy dinner after all. Sigh. BUT I
was so glad that I had made the soup because the next day I took an elderly
lady in the ward to a tooth extraction apt. After we picked up her
prescriptions and I helped her into her house. I brought in the container of
homemade tomato soup and noticed that she had a can of Campbells tomato soup on
the counter. I said, "Anna Jean, I made you some homemade tomato
soup instead."
Matt and I went to the
temple on Wednesday that week because I didn't have mutual. I have this real
snazzy system that gets me out the door super fast. I just put a knit skirt on
over whatever I am wearing and then slip on my boots and coat. I really don't
like shimming into tights, and pants are much warmer while walking into the
Temple. We went to Village Inn afterwards I easily slipped out of my knit skirt
and had a regular outfit on underneath. Matt said, "So now I am the only
one dressed up?" I said, "Figure out a system that works for you!"
Ava and I went to Clarice's house on Thursday for a ministering visit. I made
bread that day and brought her a mini loaf. She could not believe that I made
it. She asked in disbelief, "Are you domestic????" She asked it like three more times during our conversation, "I can't believe you are
domestic, that really surprises me." I asked Ava afterwards, "Hey,
why is it such a shock that I am domestic?" We had to chuckle that Clarice
already knew all about my outing with Anna Jean and even about the tomato soup. I made
sure to tell Clarice, "The soup was HOMEMADE."
For our Friday night
date we did a Sam's run. The next day I finished up my
grocery list at Smith's. When Matt and I were leaving to the Adult Session of
Stake Conference on Saturday night Graham suggested that we leave some money
for them to go to Wendy's. After spending $400 on groceries though I suggested
they just find something to eat at home. They chose instead to use their own
money to go to three different eating establishments to satisfy each of their wants.
It was good they
stocked up on what they love to eat on Saturday night because our Sunday dinner
was no good! I have been following TheFoodNanny and decided to try a chicken dish. Matt must have been really nervous when he read over
the recipe because he fried up his own BBQ chicken and potatoes instead, which
turned into a competition around the dinner table as to whose chicken was
better. In the end we rated the whole meal and agreed we don't ever want any of
it again!
Ava saved the night by
making some brownies. They took a long time to bake and still were not done
when Matt started our Come, Follow Me lesson. Ava was getting nervous that her
brownies were going to burn but Matt was not excusing anybody early.... He passed
out some papers for us to write on so I cleverly suggested, "Ava why
don't you go get us so me writing utensils (wink wink)." She hopped up
lickety-split to check on the brownies.
Soldier Hollow
Saturday the 12th was a big
family adventure for us. We all went Cross-Country Skiing at Soldier Hollow
with the youth. Well, not Gray. He broke his 800-day-streak and threw up during the
night so he stayed home to rest. We went through our winter gear that morning
to make sure we all had enough warm things. The kids found the Spidey mask and
insisted that Matt try it on. I said, "Well, you don't look exactly like
Andrew Garfield."
When I woke up that morning, I remembered that the last time Mallerie went with the youth she got sunburned to a crisp. I texted the YW to make sure they lathered on sunscreen and brought sunglasses. The snow was so bright that I was glad I had done so. The day was perfect! However, I thought we would be skiing on the golf course not through the running hills, which made it rather challenging. We all made it back to the clubhouse in one piece though and I had cocoa and granola bars for all. It was a good day.
When I woke up that morning, I remembered that the last time Mallerie went with the youth she got sunburned to a crisp. I texted the YW to make sure they lathered on sunscreen and brought sunglasses. The snow was so bright that I was glad I had done so. The day was perfect! However, I thought we would be skiing on the golf course not through the running hills, which made it rather challenging. We all made it back to the clubhouse in one piece though and I had cocoa and granola bars for all. It was a good day.
Never Ending Conference Story
Our Stake Conference sure was great. President Brown said he saw a bumper sticker recently that said, "I survived the three-hour block." We had a Leadership meeting on Sunday morning at 7 am that went almost two hours. Then Matt had to be at the Stake Center an hour early to be an usher. He then had Youth Committee meeting later that day (with Ava). Add in the adult session and I told him, "I am going to make you a bumper sticker that reads: I survived the eight-hour block."
Nothing is too much to
give to for gospel though right? I sure have felt the blessing in our home as
Matt and I have increased our Temple attendance. I also attribute the sweet spirit in
our home to the new Come, Follow Me Curriculum. Obedience brings blessings. I
said to Matt as we were climbing into bed one night, "I don't remember a
time when home life and the kids have been so pleasant." He
concurred.
I Love You
January 21, 2019
We have a new Rocky
Mountain Care Center in Heber. It is very fancy! I went over on a Tuesday morning
to teach Relief Society. I noted that even though the facility is new, the
residents are old. Ha-ha. Of course, they are the same patients that were at the previous facility but it was just weird seeing them in a fancy place. I said hello to an elderly lady and told her how beautiful I thought the building is. She responded,
“Yeah but the help is terrible!” I made them each a
felt heart to go along with my lesson that introduced the new YW theme: If ye
love me, Keep my commandments. -John 14:15
John 14:15 was also our theme for New Beginnings the following night. The Young Women did it all and it sort of
felt like an unscripted testimony meeting at girl's camp; sometimes it made
sense, sometimes it was awkward, but it was all from the girl’s hearts. I told
them that I too wanted to give them something ”heartfelt.” All the hearts I
made were hanging from a little light up tree. Ava made sugar cookies (6x the recipe!) The Laurels introduced the new theme and taught us that when the Lord
gives us a commandment it is like he is saying, “I love you”, and when we obey
that commandment it is like we are saying, “I love you,” back. It was a simple
night and showcased the girls so I was happy with it. I figured out how to make
a highlight slideshow of the year. I went over to the church two-hours early to get all my tech stuff set up. I
had cords, a blue tooth speaker and two devices to play music or videos on that
I needed to make sure all worked in unison. I pulled it off! I earned my Honor Bee
that night so now I have that cute little dangle on my medallion necklace as
well. 
This Ones for the Girls
I attended book group
on Thursday night at the library for some stimulating conversation
with other women sharing opinions. There was such a snowstorm that evening that
a lot of people just stayed home. The snow continued through the weekend. Poor Matt couldn't get the snow blower started:/
I, however got to get
out of the snow and enjoy some warmer weather with my sisters in...
Hurricane, UT.
We got to attend the St. George Temple. I am so glad that we did because it is going to close now for three years. On Monday there was a huge snowstorm. A power line went down on the freeway, which caused it to close till about 4 pm in southern Utah. We had to figure out what to do while we waited for it to re-open. We all agreed we did not want to just sit on the freeway. We went to the movie theater to see what was playing and saw that Aquaman would be our only option. We could not decide WHAT to do as we sat in the car in front of the theatre. Finally, they all just said, "You decide Abby, you are the driver." I turned down a row of cars, they didn't know if I was going to park or drive on through. There was a gold Subaru pulling out in front of us so we had to wait. The suspense was killing them. Then at the last moment I turned and parked. We all started roaring with laughter.
Sadie treated us all to the movie and snacks, "Happy Birthday to you all this year," she said. I joked, “Can I have a different gift instead?” Oh my, we laughed so much during the movie (though it is not a comedy). We laughed because it seemed to be written by a 7th grader but cast by a mom. It was freakishly similar to the cartoon, "Little Mermaid." At different parts of the movie Sadie would sing songs from Little Mermaid, "Look at this stuff, isn't it neat..." or “Sha-la-la-la-la-la my oh my go on and kiss the girl...”
I white-knuckled the trip home and was glad to finally be back in Heber. It was an adventure; as all sister trips are! I can literally smell TJMaxx when I look at this picture.
I white-knuckled the trip home and was glad to finally be back in Heber. It was an adventure; as all sister trips are! I can literally smell TJMaxx when I look at this picture.
Matt sent me a photo of the blood sky. A good storm was brewing.... I sent back the same sky!
#Bittersweet
January 28, 2019
Oh my goodness! I have such mixed feelings
about sitting down to type my last email to you in the mission field! As a
mother I am feeling all the feels for you. I thought of you yesterday and
wondered how you were doing the last Sunday in your ward, of all the
lasts that will be this week. I prayed that you will know in your heart that
you have given enough. That you have given your all: In heart, mind, body and
soul. You truly have!
I mourn for myself
because I LOVE being a missionary mom! I love your weekly emails and will miss
them so much! AlsoLindsey Geertsen said,
"We are going to miss her fun letters but can't wait to see our Mal
Mal!" Sadie said, "We are SO excited to see her face."
When I think about
Thursday, I get so excited to see you! It is a general understanding
that moms get the first hug right?!? The kids are as GIDDY as Dad and
me are.
What a blessing it
will be to have a returned missionary in our family! You will forever have
such a connection to Colorado and the people you have served, and served
alongside with. The gospel has a way of unifying souls in a way that nothing
else can, forever!
Please know that in
addition to the lives that have been blessed in Colorado, lives back home have
been blessed as well. We are deeply grateful for your dedicated service, as we
are to all missionaries who put their lives on hold to consecrate it to the
Lord. HE is the reason for everything! This experience of you being a
missionary and us having a missionary is truly #becauseofhim.
Meanwhile Back at Home
Graham continues to delight us with his trombone.
Ava has started early
morning ACT Prep at the school. She is dedicated to get up and at it to be at the school by
7 am so I take Grayson now when I drop off Graham. I was dropping off Graham
one morning and as he got out of the car, we exchanged good-bye's,
"Bye, have a nice day." "Bye mom, see you later." Then he
said, "Bye Grayson." Grayson barely turned his head, "Get
out." That kid is always joking around! Even Graham laughed
at that. The next day Grayson added, "You're letting in cold air..."
Friday night was our
youth temple trip. We had SO many youth show up! With the leaders there were 37
of us. The Provo temple is busy anyway and so with our group there was a 2-hour
wait. It was Graham's first temple trip. As we got in the car I said,
"Make sure you have your recommend!" Graham said, "Oh
wait! I need to grab mine." Grayson mumbled, "Rookie...." Graham
was antsy with the long wait at the temple. It was so cute to see him in his
whites sitting in the chapel. Then what was really cool was to see GRAYSON
baptize Graham and Ava. They brought family names. One name was Jesus
(pronounced hey-sus). We went over the correct pronunciation with Grayson
before leaving. When I showed him the name, Jesus Z. Zepeda
Alanis, he said, "Whoa, I get to baptize him? I thought he was
already baptized!" Gray! But when he got in the font, he overthought it. He
kept saying Jose instead of Jesus. When I talked to him about it later I said,
"It's okay! Just remember that when you bless the sacrament for the first
time on Sunday it is also OKAY if you have to say it more than once." He
ended up doing a great job but he ate the bread right before giving
the prayer on the water so he couldn't talk very well.
After church yesterday my counselors were chatting with me so I got home a little late. When I walked into the kitchen, I learned that Graham was waiting to have lunch till I got home. He said, "The conversation will be better." Ahhhh Graham, what a sweetie. For some reason we were talking about butterflies. Ava said, "I am scared of those!" I explained, "It is the last part that she is afraid of. Ava is afraid of anything that flies." Grayson said, "Well she isn't afraid of butter...."
I cleaned up lunch and
then started preparing a meatloaf to put in the fridge for dinner. As soon as I
smelled the sauce, I realized how hungry I was! I wondered why that was when I
had barely cleaned up lunch. Then I realized that I never actually ATE lunch, I
just chatted away and then cleaned it up.
I related this
to the gospel. You can go through the motions in the church without ever being
nourished by the gospel. I feel like the new Come, Follow Me is for
us to be nourished by the gospel to the point that we are truly converted. The
gospel is what feeds our souls, not just church.
Note Below: Mallerie for your first package we sent you OCPs! And now for your last, more OCPs. These were made with love by Binnie! The other kids did not feel the love however, because she said, "None for you!" So, we hope you enjoy each and every one of them. Wow - I just wrote a whole page about OCPs...yeah you know me! ONE WEEK, Love from all!
Note Below: Mallerie for your first package we sent you OCPs! And now for your last, more OCPs. These were made with love by Binnie! The other kids did not feel the love however, because she said, "None for you!" So, we hope you enjoy each and every one of them. Wow - I just wrote a whole page about OCPs...yeah you know me! ONE WEEK, Love from all!
I love that Callie accidentally calls Oatmeal Cream Pies BLT's. It's the initial thing I suppose!
One More Day!
My secretary and Adviser were sweet to take over the Wednesday Activity so I could focus on Mal coming home the NEXT DAY!
I think it is good for the girls to get to do some things that I would probably never think of doing with them. 
That same evening a friend called me to see if she could rent our flags for her husband who was coming home from deployment the next day. There was no way I was going to charge her. Instead the boys got up bright and early and placed flags all around the horseshoe where they live. It looked spectacular.
Room Re-Do
My January project was a room re-do for Mal. She hinted in one of her letters home that she had been pretty young when she chose the bright turquoise and I was welcome to change it.... hint hint. I have put off re-doing this room because I know the amount of work that went into those squares 6 1/2 years ago.
I was trying to decide on a color for the accent wall while at the Home Depot and saw that the color of the year was a beautiful deep green called Night Watch. I asked, "Do a lot of people get this paint?" The gal answered, "Nope." I liked it even better, "Night Watch it is!" I put the same Touch of Almond that is in most of the rest of the house on the other walls. Ava was a great helper and kept me chuckling, which was a good thing because I could NOT get myself in gear to even start on this project. One day I walked past my bed, laid down, pulled on a soft blanket and just wanted to stay there! Instead I threw it off, went downstairs and got to work.
And, Ta-Da!
The print of Pikes Peak that I ordered hadn't arrived yet, but when I hung it above the bed it really tied all of the colors together. Pikes Peak is the beloved mountain Mallerie in Colorado. She also had a view of it from the window in her apartment. The print arrived the same day Mallerie got home. I said, "Look, Pikes Peak!" She said, "That view must be from the back of the mountain."
We were excited to show Mallerie her new room AND the new bathrooms. After seeing them and being asked what she thought, she responded, "I can't really remember what they were like before." MAL!
