Finally - A Wedding Reception

Last fall our family grew by one - a fun-loving young man by the name of Josh. He is perfect for our daughter and we were excited even when they eloped. I mean, who can blame them? The restrictions made gathering for a wedding nearly impossible... however, all this time we have been waiting for an opportunity to celebrate with them in a more public way... A date was chosen, the day after they would go to the temple and have their marriage sealed [preserved for not just time but also for eternity by the power of God which is on the earth]. The plan was for a drive-by reception to follow in Josh's hometown.

The week prior was filled with lots of preparations and planning, lots of phone calls and pictures, and it was so fun to have that common goal drawing family members together. Friday night we had 9 people gather at the temple for the preparatory teaching and sealing ordinances. It was so wonderful to be in the Holy House of the Lord once again. It is a place of love and peace and I have missed it so much [it has been closed for much of the pandemic]. It was extra special to be there surrounded by beloved family members. Melodee was beautiful and Josh radiant. I was delighted beyond expression when I realized that it would be light enough outside still for photos of all who had attended and then add to that delight, a surprise visit from another daughter and her husband and children. They had made the one-hour drive after their children's bedtimes just so that they could be there when Josh and Melodee came out of the temple. What a joy it was to have them there and since the restrictions had lifted to 20 outdoors, we never went over the limit. So many blessings in such a short period of time.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, but it was still chilly and there was a wind that made decorating the arch a little complicated... however, we persevered as the parents, and we got it looking beautiful. Chad helped me secure the wisteria across the arch as a finishing touch. When the appointed time arrived we were basically ready. Flowers were distributed, and boutonnieres pinned on the men. What a good-looking bunch of young people. Melodee had her aunt and her sister stand with her. One special part of the day was the arrival of Melodee's grandma, who, because of health, doesn't get out much anymore. She was so thrilled to be there. It was a great morning, topped off with a carriage ride for the newlyweds through town. Josh's family then gathered for a meal. [The family dinner was done in two parts to stay within the allotted numbers currently outlined.] Later that evening, Melodee's side gathered for a meal at her grandparents' farm. It was another nice evening and an added blessing was the easing of the wind as the day progressed. They got lots of pictures and it feels like we at least had an appropriate celebration in their honour. 

 

 

 

It is hard getting married during a pandemic! It has been a process of over 6 months, but they no longer have to hold space for some unknown date to celebrate with their loved ones. It has been a complete joy to meet and associate with Josh's family a little more - they are such good people - and to feel the energy of the newlyweds as they embrace life with enthusiasm and eagerness.

So Many Little Things

 So... here I am once again... life has been so busy that blogging has all but stopped which is obvious in the frequency of my posts as of late.... but there is still joy, through it all and it is time to share it again. Publicly for the world if they care to know, for the skeptic and the supporter alike, this blog is a place of unguarded truth, joy and love... yes, love for every person in my life, and you my reader, whether a spectator or participant are invited into my life. I love your presence and the quality it offers to me and the world around me.

So much has happened since my last post - a worldwide pandemic stretching into years rather than just months, graduations, weddings, family celebrations all being affected by the careful considerations of those monitoring the situation - and we trust that they have been acting in our best interest. I have had lots of doubts through it all, but in the end I found that the conspiracy theories, and doubt-sayers actually contribute far too much to fear, building it and feeding it.  I will NOT live in fear... so I have chosen to try FAITH as an antidote to the fears that surfaced initially. It has been a great blessing, and peace has been restored to my soul. But it has still been hard.

Let me back up to the beginning... when the pandemic was first declared it was only weeks following the funeral of my younger sister who died unexpectedly and suddenly. She and I had mended fences and were beginning to make plans to do great things together, so the loss was especially hard to bear. Even now, over a year later, I can’t help but selfishly wish she were still with us. I am certain though that those great things we were going to engage in together, will still occur at some point in the future because of the glorious plan of our Father in Heaven, God over the earth. He is my purest source of joy. 

Anyway, 10 days after her funeral the world stopped in its tracks, ground to a halt by the COVID pandemic. At first I felt fear. It was portrayed as extremely deadly and contagious. Work changed - suddenly there were no students left in the schools, the hallways echoed and there was nobody left to clean up behind. It felt like the Pied Piper had come and played his magical flute and taken them all away. It was eerie, but the numbers began to show truth... perhaps, though contagious, it wasn’t deadly for as many as it was initially thought. But through it all I have been overwhelmingly blessed... I have had consistent work with no interruptions.

My son returned home from serving a 2 year mission in England 2 months after we were shut down. I consider it a great blessing that he was able to get home without complication. The airport was hauntingly empty when we picked him up. We quarantined with him for the required two weeks and enjoyed a building project together in our back yard. He painted with the air sprayer and shared his stories and experiences with us. It was a sweet time - one of those blessings amidst a storm. Life was quieter, and lent to sweeter experiences with family.

One particularly wonderful experience was the graduation of my second youngest daughter. With school shut down, graduation as we knew it in previous years was not happening. Outdoor gatherings were still permitted and so the then 12 of us gathered for a graduation celebration. We had a banquet in the back yard in formal attire followed by the graduation ceremonies complete with a guest speaker, MC, class history, prediction, and a valedictory speech. Every person present had a part in the program and it was fun, and light and a joy to pull together at such a time as this. I never realized just how much fun such a small, intimate gathering could be. It was by far, the best graduation ceremony I have ever attended.

The pandemic continued, at alarming rates around the world, but in our little rural community we were largely untouched. July brought a new addition to the family, a wee baby girl came to the home of our Naomi. I was blessed to spend some time helping out and bonding with this special spirit that has joined our family. As she has grown, one of her greatest gifts is an extra ready big smile. Now, I know, most babies smile but this little one, since she was 4 months old, has been separated from us personally by the measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus. So we have had many video calls, and every single time we visit with her, she has a smile - she lights up - and it is a joy to see. I am so thankful for the technology that has fostered in person relationships to grow and continue during this time of separateness we have endured (and continue to endure).

In the fall of 2020 our family grew again. This time a new son-in-law joined us. The restrictions then in place made wedding gatherings nearly impossible, and so they eloped. We were permitted a 10 person wedding reception - which was essentially a family dinner with the bride and groom, their parents, one set of grandparents and an aunt who doubled as the photographer. But is was a sweet relaxed gathering. A welcoming and connecting we might have missed out on in a larger setting. Life does indeed go on, even in a pandemic.

Christmas was shadowed with even stronger restrictions, and simply wasn’t what we had anticipated but we did what we could to pull together. We had a family Kahoot game which was actually a lot of fun when it worked, but we had to give up on it Christmas Day because the program would not run - apparently many families were thinking along the same lines as we had been. We did it on boxing day with great success. We also had a family gingerbread house decorating contest. Submissions were done by zoom and I loved how creative everybody got. There were good memories, even though it wasn’t what we had originally hoped for.

The new year brought hope. Hope that life can resume, but also anticipation for the blessings and opportunities that would surface in the months ahead. First of all we had yet another addition to our family. Another sweet granddaughter. I was thankful to be able to spend a couple of days helping as mom and babe adjusted to a newborn schedule. One morning, early, I heard my grandson wake up. He and I played together in the dark before the sun rose making shadow puppets on the wall, looking at pictures on the iPad, and playing finger games. It was a blessing to have that time together - especially in a time of separation imposed upon us.

In February the temple opened a crack... meaning, it was open on a very limited basis to a very small number of people. My nearly 19 year old daughter was in the midst of missionary preparation. She had received her call to the Canada Montreal Mission and was to report to the MTC the first week of April. When we received word that the temple had opened for first time patrons, we jumped at the opportunity to go. Nearly 1 year to the day, Chad and I and several of our children were able to return to the temple with our missionary daughter. The temple is a sacred place - a house dedicated to God himself - where we go for instruction. We are taught about the great plan of our Father in Heaven to save His precious children - all of them if they will let Him. We are given opportunities to make commitments to Him to assist Him in His work and to improve ourselves. As such, the temple is a very important part of our lives, a place to reconnect with heaven on a higher level. I am so thankful for the temple. That experience was so special as we went together as a family of 12 (that was the maximum we were allowed). It was so sweet to be there in the temple surrounded by loved ones, as we learned about being a truly forever family.

Only two weeks after that sweet family experience we lost my father-in-law. It was a hard time as COVID pretty much eliminated the possibility of a funeral. Twenty people were permitted to gather at the funeral home to bid their last respects. That is a hard thing to manage. To keep the numbers within the limits when there are so many family members that NEED to say goodbye, and to feel support and love from one another, not to mention longtime friends and extended family.

About that same time my back went out - bad! It hurt to walk. I had pain shooting up and down my leg, and I couldn’t sit with my legs crossed or lay on either side. I got help, but still struggled and it has taken a couple of months to finally be able to sit cross legged again! There are still days that it hurts. Only a couple of weeks ago my metatarsal arch fell - again, very painful... but the BLESSINGS!!! We were once again shut down by COVID restrictions, and my co-worker went out of her way to help me and lighten my load. I have had an opportunity to return the favor when she hurt herself and worked with a great deal of rib pain. I am so grateful for my health - even when it would seem age is beginning to have an impact on my activities.

In April my daughter had her mission training via zoom in our home. It was a special time as she shared with us at the end of each day the things she was learning. It strengthened us all I think and it was a blessing to be there with her in the Missionary Training Center online - an opportunity and a privilege not granted to many parents of missionaries in the past. She flew out to Montreal April 27 and is filled with enthusiasm for the gospel of Jesus Christ which she is sharing with anyone who is interested in learning more. It is a great source of JOY. I see it in her face each week since then as we visit with her. The blessing of coming the Jesus Christ is peace, joy, love and so much more. He can make us into so much more than we can make ourselves.

And so here we are... 14 months into a global pandemic. Has it been awful? I suppose in some ways, but it has been good in so many other ways. We have become more creative in our interactions with others - particularly family. We have found ways to build and strengthen each other that are different from what we used todo. We have begun what I believe will become new traditions. We have had an opportunity to slow down and reprioritize. We are learning to worship from home - a gift for the troubling times we live in as it may be in the future that we will not be able to easily gather in houses of worship... plus, as we worship from home, our homes are viewed differently - they become more holy. That brings joy every day because we are holier, in a holier place.

God is so good. He has blessed us so abundantly in so many little ways on top of the highlights I have shared. I have found Him in every single day of my life, and it amazed me and fills me with great joy.

It's so Clean!

I am a the type of person who is most comfortable indoors without my shoes on. I never wear shoes in the house unless I'm canning and can't keep the floor clean during the process.. and even then.. I am more prone to simply washing my feet a dozen times rather than putting on shoes. If I'm outside that is a different story, but indoors I go barefoot. Because of this habit, I tend to notice when the floors are getting dirty when they have very little dirt showing. Over the last little bit, sweeping just wasn't doing the job and I knew I needed to mop to take care of those fine dust particles that the broom wasn't getting. I spent the whole afternoon sweeping and mopping. There were a few items that I had to put away, but I didn't do much more than just sweep and mop. I did 8 rooms in total and when my children got home from work, the first thing I heard they say was, "It's so clean!"

I've been thinking about this, because, like I said, I didn't do much to change the look of the rooms, I just swept and mopped. There wasn't garbage or debris laying around to start with and maybe only a couple of out of place items, and yet, with the floors mopped, there was a very noticeable clean feeling in the house. In my musing I have concluded that dirt isn't always visible to the eye, but perhaps our spirits sense it so when a room is cleaned of even the invisible stuff, it FEELS clean. Our spirits are very perceptive and they like to feel clean. I know that sometimes we engage in less than Christ-like habits or practices and I know that these things dull our happiness and joy in life. The more Christ-like we work on becoming, the more 'dirt and dust' we remove from our 'rooms' and our Spirit begins to effuse joy until it fills us up. I know that the more like Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, that we can become in action and word, the more radiant joy and light will fill our lives. The removal of dirt lets in light. The removal of sin, lets in joy. What a joy it is to be clean!!!

Finished or Not

Finished! What a wonderful word! In the past number of months I have looked for things in my life and projects around my house that I can finish. I have finished a blanket that took two years to crochet. I have started and finished a baby afghan for my daughter. I have set goals in doing genealogy and I'm beginning to see those completed. I have finished teaching most of the lessons in seminary, with only two weeks left to go. I have finished two rugs in the last week. I have finished another year of art classes and the associated projects. I have even completed three of our family year books already this year! That has been on my list for a long, long time.Yes to be finished a project or complete a goal brings with it a wonderful feeling.

There are other things that fill my time, that though I diligently work at them, they may never be finished. Working in my yard, doing laundry, caring for my children, cooking meals, baking bread, and the list goes on and on and on. However, with each of these things on my list, there is still a sense of satisfaction as I work on them. I especially love it when I see progress or when I see the lives of those I love enriched or blessed in someway. It is the little daily acts of caring that bring meaning into my life. Some might call these things menial and drudgery. But I find great satisfaction in performing the small acts of service for my family and those I care about.

In addition to things that I can finish, and things that might at some point in time be considered finished though they recur, there are also things that I will never consider finished. Probably raising my family is the top thing on that list. I once heard someone say that, "once a mother, always a mother". I believe that that is true. Half of my children have left home, and yet, I think I worry about them more than I ever did when they were here in our home with us. I don't get to talk to them as often and I don't see them every day anymore. But my heart and my thoughts are very much focussed on them regularly. Another thing that I will never be finished is my scripture study. While I may finish a book of scripture every year, maybe even more, I will always immediately begin another. I love to learn the Gospel and I don't think I will ever be able to learn it all. For this reason I study the Scriptures, conference messages, and seek out uplifting reading material. This has proved to be such a great blessing, and it helps me immensely as I care for my family.

With Mother's Day only a few days away, I can't help but reflect upon the things that fill my time, my thoughts, and my heart. Most of the tasks that I perform are done with my family, or those that I love in mind. I am so grateful to my good husband who works so hard, providing for our family, allowing me to be able to be in our home taking care of these things. I love being a mother! I love having my children visit, share their thoughts, tell me what they're excited about, or even share concerns. I love those moments we have together to play, to counsel, to laugh, to visit, to share, and to teach. Motherhood brings me more joy than any other thing I have ever done in this life. I am so thankful for the privilege and blessing it is to be a mother.

Fake Treats

With one of my children being grade 11 this year we are involved in the annual production of the grade 11 play. As parents we always help out. In addition to helping with the meal, this year I also accepted the assignment to make fake baked goods which will be used as props on the set. This has been a project that was more challenging than I had anticipated. Making fake food takes way longer than just making up a batch of goodies. Being a crafty sort of thing, I have had the participation and help of some of my children in this endeavor. Together we have made cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and donuts. The cupcakes are made out of plaster-of-paris with half a styrofoam ball glued on top and then iced with royal icing which turns rock-hard. The brownies are made out of sponges painted brown and then iced with brown royal icing. The cookies and donuts were made out of salt dough, baked until they were completely dry, and then painted and frosted. Everything looked very real and quite delicious. If you hadn't known what the ingredients were you might be tempted to sample something.

I found it ironic that we finished making all these sweet confections just before April Fools' Day. We never thought to use them as a joke, but afterwards the kids couldn't help but think what a great joke it would have been! We had a few people that saw the treats and if we had not told them that they were fake they were pretty convinced that they were real. I even had one person who when they saw them, they said, "it looks like you've been doing some baking!" Had she actually sampled one of them I think she would have been very disappointed.

Because I know what these foods are made from, it doesn't matter that they sat for a week waiting to be taken to the school. It doesn't matter that I see them more than once a day. There is no desire in me to eat or sample what their appearance suggests that they are. One of the hardest things in life is to discern the difference between a deception and a truth. We live in a world that is filled with deceptions and falsehoods. So how do you tell the difference? Recognizing the reason for deceptions and lies is a big help. All these things come from the great imitator, our mortal adversary, even Lucifer himself. He imitates good things all the time. He whispers lies into our ears and tells us that to partake of these things will be wonderful and satisfying - they will enrich our lives. He seeks to convince us that happiness is an equivalent of a momentary pleasure. He would have us believe that to give into selfish desires will make us feel whole and complete. He even tries to convince us that religion is outmoded or "old-fashioned". He would have us believe that we do not need God. He is very good at making these things look real and sound appealing.

Would you like to sample a cupcake or perhaps bite into a brownie? When you know that it is false the whole feeling of desire for that treat is lost. As we learn to discern between between good and evil that same thing happens. As we desire goodness, anything that we can recognize as being from the adversary loses its appeal completely. As we engage in actions and habits that lift, it becomes easier to discern between the two. We have scriptures and modern-day prophets that speak to us the words of Christ and testify of where happiness comes from. As we pray upon these things our hearts are quickened and discernment comes. Our Sunday meetings and worthily partaking of the sacrament also increase our ability to discern between good and evil. These things represent real food that is satisfying and enjoyable. It is the food of the spirit which sustains us and gives us hope and joy and happiness. 

Fake food, no matter how good it looks, is of no value to us. There is no nourishment. All things that come from the adversary are designed to sap our spiritual energy and offer us nothing in return. Let us seek for the genuine thing, found through the Saviour Jesus Christ, bringing joy and peace and happiness in its wake. The truth of goodness and righteousness is found in the living of a Christ-like life.