A Pile of Pictures (with a few words)

Abe and three of his buddies went backpacking in the Uintas again this year. They had never been on the trail and it turned out to be about a million times longer and harder than they had anticipated. So I think it was somewhat miserable for some of them. Hahah. But Abe appreciates a good, miserable experience just about as well as a non-miserable one, so it was still a good adventure!

This is kind of a fun thing--and gives you a good feel for the area we've moved to. Our old ward has typically sold potatoes or hosted an auction for their yearly youth fundraiser. But do you know what our ward up here always does? They ask people from the ward to bring their ponies to the Cache County fair, and then they have the youth sign up for shifts to come walk kids around on five-dollar pony rides. (I let the little kids each go for a ride during Penny, Jesse and Anders' shift.)

Hi, Rental.

Apparently some of the nation's best-known climbing routes actually reside in Logan Canyon! Now that we are up here, Abe figured it was time to try some out. So he and one of his best-climbing buddies from BYU came up and tried some routes.

My mom often tells about making the plans for our Polk's End house--how she wanted the kitchen to be situated in such a way that she could see people coming and going from the front or back door, and how she wanted her sink to look over the back yard to keep an eye on the kids while doing dishes, etc. Whenever my kids happen to be outside while I am doing dishes, I think of that.

Someone taking a picture of me while I work on Starling's hair (when clearly I should have been working on my own.)

Hansie with his blankie and his Ellie. (He needed this photo for an "about me" poster he was making for school.)

Little friend sleeping on me. She has been particularly clingy lately. I don't know if it is the move or what, but it's hard for me to ever even leave her behind for an errand without her slipping into panic.

Here she is asleep on me again. :)

I don't know what they are watching. It just was a sight that made me happy. 

The house with carpet freshly torn out. (Getting worse before it gets better.)

And with all the carpet and the last bits of furniture (that we had left for Abe and Dais when we moved) being hauled off. 

And this made us laugh. Mike and Daisy came back up to the rental after that last big haul of furniture and carpet. But Abe had a reception to go to and wanted to stick around for one last time at his ward in Pleasant View before BYU. He sent us this lonesome picture late at night with him on the one plastic chair left in the house (with the caption: "A fun and relaxing evening at home".)

Then Daisy sent it back like this. (Which is funny if you've ever watched the survival show Alone.)

A few pictures by ... I forget the name of the place, but you can load canoes here and then go forever in twists and turns of the Logan river.)

Mette got sick just a day or two after school started (she still is, actually) which is a shame when she should be figuring out new routines and friends. But what can you do? (And here Starling has also fallen asleep on me again.)

One of my crummiest lenses gets the best crazy flares. (Good lenses probably try to stop that from happening so much, but I think it's magical.)

I used to do a lot more black and white. I love the color of things so much that I rarely think to anymore, but I ought, because black and white does feel timeless. 

The school bus is so different out in the county. The bus picks everyone up right in front of their house! Except ... it's pretty near impossible to turn around on our road, so our kids walk down to the end of the street and pick the bus up there. I talked to the bus driver about how my kids would be driving to the high school a fair amount, but how I hoped he would still keep an eye out for them in case it was a snowy morning and I didn't want Penny driving, or the car was not available, etc. And he immediately gave me his number to text or call any time I need to let him know they will be there, etc. Haha. It's kind of dear having even the bus driver's looking after your kids. Here was the view walking back after walking down with them to the end of the street for the bus this morning. I think this place just feels more and more beautiful to me every day.

Mette, who, as I mentioned is spending her third and fourth days of a new school ... sick on the couch at home. :(

And this. For no particular reason. Abe, Daisy and Goldie as little people. For a very brief time we had some variety in our family. Blonde, red, and brown little heads of hair! When I see pictures from those years of just these first few kids, I always feel a bit of nostalgia over how sweet and simple our little lives were then!

 

Stepping More Fully Into all of the New

I remember the day I told our kids that our dog Tess—with arthritis and blindness setting in—would need to be put to sleep. Abe was about as torn up as I’ve ever seen him. And the other kids were all in various stages of rejection of the idea (ranging from loud tears, to whimpering, to silent withdrawal). Everywhere I turned there was a child needing consoled in a way unique to their temperament. It felt as though I was trying to hold a waterfall of everyone’s emotions in my arms without so much as a bucket to help hold it.

I’ve felt a little of that same sensation off and on these last few months. Just … so many kids affected by this move and all the accompanying change and upheaval. And affected in different ways. And responding to that in different ways. I don't think they know I hold it all with them, and I don't know even if I should hold it—surely that's what Christ is for. I know that, and I hope my urging that they turn to Him in every aspect of this for the strength and wisdom they need is being heard. Even so, it's in our baptism covenant, and I couldn't escape it with these kids I love even if it wasn't. I'm desperately trying to bear their burdens with them in hopes that I can make them light. (And I alternate between being completely overwhelmed by that job, and overwhelmingly grateful that I am here and that I get to provide a place of comfort as they live life's troubles.)

And, overall, things have been going about as well as one could hope for a time of so much change. Things are settling in. Things are being tolerated. Things that were unnecessarily clung to are being let go. And some few things are even going better than one would hope!

The kids all started school last week. With further away schools and bus rides to get there, it's longer days, but the elementary kids seem to like their teachers and feel hopeful about small, developing friendships. The high school kids aren't coming home raving about how great it is, and I don't know how long before they will make meaningful connections here, but they seem to be tolerating and accepting the change better than they might have guessed back when it was all just a looming and terrifying unknown. And, while I know the phrase, "You can do hard things," gets a bit overused, it is, in fact, quite miraculous to look back with them—at the dread they felt over leaving comfortable and known, and over stepping into so many new situations, and to see that they have stepped into them, they've taken the plunge, they've done the scary parts of: being dropped off at a youth activity knowing no one, finding their way around big new schools, and adjusting to new jobs (Penny). Those things are no longer just black voids they can't see into; they have been faced! They've walked to the edge of the high dive, jumped, and discovered that they can actually swim, and that, as we talked about all last week as they prepared for school, "the tender mercies of the Lord" are over them as they experience all this growth. And there's some satisfaction, if not yet for them, for me, in seeing them make their way through a time that I can clearly see is shaping their character and confidence (in themselves, in our family, and in their Heavenly Father).

Penny--11th grade.

Jesse--9th grade. (Back in Pleasant View that would have been junior high still, but here he is already up at the high school with Penny.)

Anders--6th grade.

Summer--4th grade.

Mette--3rd grade.

Hans--1st grade (and a bonus picture of how he looked after he learned Mette had been behind the door making bunny ears on him through the glass during one of his pictures).

How could she?

AND, on this same exact day, we got texted this photo of Goldie having arrived in Arkansas! (And that is all we know! We are still waiting anxiously for her p-day to know more!)

 

Dream Homes

Summer, Mette and Hans drew out their future homes the other day.

As I washed the dishes and tidied the kitchen I listened to their chatter--occasionally commenting on some of the more extraordinary home additions.

A few snippets I paused to jot down:

Me (as they discussed the various children they would have in these dream homes): I'm glad you guys want to have a family. That makes me really happy. Satan is trying hard to make people not want families anymore because he knows how important they are.

Hans: I will always want a family! I'm not letting Satan get away with that!

Mette: Mom, can you live with me when I'm married?

Me: Maybe, if I need some help.

Summer, interjecting: Mette! Make a room for old people!

(Those old people she is referring to were clearly me and Mike, but I'm not complaining. Mette did make a room for "old people" in her house. It had a massage chair for me. One for Mike. And a closetful of "fancy chocolates".)

Summer: And this is my candy room.

Me: A candy room?

Summer: Well, my kids can't just eat it all the time. (Turning to Mette and Hans) It will be kind of like how mom has candy everywhere but we can't just always eat it.

(Rather telling. I do often have "candy everywhere". [Face palm.] I am my Grandma Wallace’s granddaughter.)

Summer: And if my kids ever have a messy room, I'll just tell them, "A messy room is a sign of creativity."

(Hans tried to agree, but faltered. Too much of me in him. "Yah," he said. "Well ... they need to keep these areas clean, but they can sometimes get their rooms messy. ... A litte bit. ... If they clean it up.")

Hans (showing me his picture): Here's my wife turning on some water to fill up the hot tub, and here I am looking stressed because I'm tired (where would he have ever learned that [face palm again]?), and I'm walking into the kitchen to get some candy.

And that's all for now. (Though I did think Summer's bathroom full of stalls was pretty clever. We do often have trouble with people in bathrooms when other people need them around here!)