Mother's Day and Other Things

May is a lovely time this year.  Our English and singing commitments are over.  That brings a little more relaxing time.  A little.  The end of the school year brings lots of kid events.  Seth and Angelica sang in their last concert of the year this past week.  It was great.  As usual, at the end of the performance we waited...and waited...and waited while the kids bonded and said their goodbyes for the year.  I'm working on being patient with such things.  But it doesn't come easily.  Layne, on the other hand, is patient with waiting, and other things too.  I love that about him.

Here's Seth and Angelica, dressed in informal concert wear.  Seth's expression is the closest he will come to a smile for the camera. 

This coming week there will be a dance and piano recital for Angelica.  Then I think we will be through with kid's events for the school year.  In two weeks Seth and Angelica fly home for the summer.  The time has rushed by but with that time the kids have changed quite a bit.  They are becoming more independent, mature and comfortable with American ways.  I will miss them this summer even though their absence will give us more opportunities to do things on our own. 

Audrey and Allegra drove here for Mother's Day weekend.  It was lovely to have them here.  I love to have family with me.  My secret fantasy is to have them all living around me in a big circle, with the middle yard being full of all sorts of pleasures.  Perhaps that is what heaven will be like.  We celebrated Mother's Day with Audrey, Allegra, Dorothy, Bruce and Dorothy's mom, Linda.  It was fun to be together.  Soon Reed will be here too with the boys.  So now there is a little taste of family here in Idaho with us.   Here's Allegra, Audrey and Angelica in back, with Dorothy, Linda and me in front.  Linda has a hard time smiling now.

Here's my sweet guy Layne doing dishes for me on Mom's Day.  It is only fair since, this year, I cooked my own Mother's Day dinner!

Our little great-granddaughter, Hazel, is doing very well at last.  After a rough start, she is approaching newborn size and finally thriving with her Mom, Dad and big brother, Hunter, at home.  She's pretty cute!

I spoke in Sacrament meeting today.  I was surprised to be asked as we haven't been involved in the ward for a few years.  We've been doing local missions instead.  It seems to me that older folk are not used much in wards.  Perhaps that is a good thing as it gives younger people opportunities to learn and grow.  But without missions I would feel pretty un-useful.  So speaking in Sacrament meeting was an unusual opportunity.  I spoke on repentance.  I was worried about it right up to the presentation, but I got lots of compliments afterward so now I feel good about it.  Public speaking is fun if I can get excited about the material.  I worked at this one until I did.

Layne is swallowed up in yard work these days.  The long, warm days are coming upon us and he is coming alive with outdoor projects.  Nature nurtures you know.  He feels it and so do I. 

Easter and Beyond

I was so excited about Easter this year.  Maybe because I read the Bible story a little more carefully.  Or maybe because I decided to set aside a wall space to feature the Savior.  Or maybe because I was just thinking about it more.  So I put up pictures and scriptures for each day of Christ's last week and we read about what He did each day.  Were the kids excited about it?  Was Layne?  Well...not as much as I was hoping for.  Definitely not that.  But I was excited and that should count for something.  Of course some people would say that I am the excitable kind and need to make space for others not to be so.  OK.  I'll try for that, but I always picture excitement somehow.

Our Treble Clef singing marathon began right after Easter.  We sang in 18 different retirement homes over three weeks.  It was exhausting but so uplifting too.  We are paid for singing.  So it has become a cycle of sweet things.  We have the fun of forming friendships, singing together, bringing pleasure to many audiences and donating money earned to a wonderful cause--fixing cleft palates in struggling countries.  It is a win-win-win.  Layne sang with us after all.  In case you may not recall, he vowed not to sing with us again after our last concert series.  Our leader, Bonnie, insists that we memorize all songs and Layne has a hard time with that.  He wants his music in front of him.  Bonnie relented and begged his return, promising him his music.  So he is back with us.  He has a great bass voice that brings much pleasure to those who hear him.  We just finished our last performance last night, to friends and family.  Of course the only family we have here at the moment is Seth and Angelica who successfully found reasons not to go.  But we have enough friends here now to make the connections last night very fun indeed.

Here I am with Cheole.  We shared narration.

Here's Layne, happy to have his music!

Reed and Dorothy bought a home about 12 minutes from our house!  I believe I mentioned this earlier.  Layne and I have been trying to get some things in order there for their arrival.  Things like installing a garage heater (for Idaho winters), a washer and dryer, special locks and other errands Dorothy needed done from here.  As of yesterday afternoon, Dorothy, son Bruce and mom Linda are moved into the house.  Well, they are physically there.  We are excited!  There is family here!  Reed and boys will follow after school is out in June.  Family in Idaho.  Imagine it!

Our English teaching is ended for the summer.  We had a fun last meeting with our refugees.  They are such lovely people; we have fallen totally in love with them.  In spite of all they have been through, they are happy optimistic people.  They are affectionate too.  Almost all of them hugged me on their way home from class.  I will miss them, as classes will not start again until September.  That's four months without English.  We challenged all of them to listen to English for an hour a day until we meet again.  I wonder how many will actually do that.

So Singing and Teaching are now over for awhile.  I feel a little relieved and excited about the time that will now open up for me.  I've got plans!  Yes indeed, plans.

Layne is a new man now that Spring is here.  He spends most of his days outside.  There is a garden to plant, weeds to conquer and lawn to once again mow.  With spring rains, all is lovely and full of life outside.  It is good for the soul to be amidst it all and feel the exploding life that fills our sight. There is such a smell of life in abundance.

For our kitty, Cherry, Layne is her man.  Here she is, seeking a little attention from her favorite human.

The kids have one more month of school, then home to Taiwan for the summer.  Here is Angelica, all decked out in her ballet recital costume.  It is that time of year.

 

Life is about to change for us quite dramatically.  Kids soon gone, Reed's family here,  summer warmth, singing and teaching over.  What summer adventures await?

Running

We had a sweet last week with Gerald and Frances.  They left on a Friday.  Frances is a picture-taking girl.  Here she is with Gerald.

Her photos of Seth and Angelica are lovely, I think.

The following Saturday, last weekend, Chris and Jessica and two of the kids arrived for a few days of bonding and fun.  They arrived Saturday night of last week.  It was Conference weekend.  We watched all but one session.  On Monday we kept Seth and Angelica home from school and went on a local hike.  Layne stayed home but I gave it a shot.  I was at the back of the line but I made it! 

Here is most of our hiking gang:  Peyton, Miles, Jessica, Angelica and Seth.  Missing:  Chris and I.

Chris and Jessica are very good company.  Chris is getting back into photography, which he has a gift for.  He took photos of most of us, which he is going to share with us.  As soon as I can access them I'll post them here.  We had fun visiting and catching up on their doings, especially their recent trip to Europe.  I love having them in my space!

They left for home last Tuesday morning.  Very early that same morning I left home for Logan, Utah, to attend a memorial service for the son of our very good friends, Chris and Hedy Eyre.  Their son, Aaron, died of anorexia.  He fought it for a very long time and was unable to overcome it.  He was handsome, smart and kind.  It is a great loss for his family and all those who knew and loved him.  I drove 5 hours to be there for an 11 AM service.  It was so worth being there.  Not only was it sweet to support Chris and Hedy, but there were many there who we knew in Fremont.  It was a joyful reunion with so many dear friends.  There was a peace and sweetness at the memorial.  Aaron is no longer struggling.  His family no longer have to worry about him.  That is some small comfort to mix into the loss of a treasured son.

Here is Aaron Eyre.

Later in the day I drove to Draper, to spend some time with Bob and Maryanne.  It is always so nice to be there.  It was a short visit as I drove back home on Thursday.  We had a sweet bond and inspiring spiritual discussion which I especially enjoyed.  It was sunny and spring-like when I arrived.  But it snowed Tuesday night.  It looked like winter again!  That made me quite nervous as the drive down their hill on snowy roads without snow tires scared me.  But it didn't snow Wednesday night and I awoke to clear roads on top of their mountain; such a blessing and an answer to my prayers.  The drive home was sweet and friendly. 

Friday morning Layne and I drove to Rexburg, with a stop off in Pocatello so visit Chase and Morgan and our newest great-grandchild, Hazel.  She was born very early so has been in the hospital for weeks and weeks.  She is finally home and such a lovely little thing. 

Here she is with her Daddy, Chase.

We met up with Audrey, Cliff and Isaiah there too.  Along with them, we drove on to Rexburg to attend granddaughter Allegra's college graduation.  She is always such a pleasant little gal.  It was good to see her.  She plans to return home with her folks and begin her job search with a future plan to get a master's degree.  It will be fun to see what she winds up doing and where.  We had a brief visit with Rayne and Dominic too.  There wasn't much time for lengthy bonding as we all headed back home Saturday morning.  Our good friend Kallee Rodriquez stayed with Seth and Angelica and that worked out nicely. 

Here's Allegra on her graduation day with her Grandpa, Layne.

So things are back to normal for awhile it seems.  This coming week is Easter week.  I have a plan for doing a little something each day all week to focus us on Christ.  I feel so inspired about it and hope the kids will benefit.  Us too.  Of course things always go especially well in my mind!  Somehow reality never quite matches my vision. 

Happy Easter!

The Busy-ness of Home

There were worms all over our driveway this morning.  It rained a lot last night, so they were looking for a dry escape.  They find that all right but dry out to crusty critters, only to be swept away as lawn fertilizer.  I wonder why they make the same mistake over and over again.  I also wonder why the many birds that live here don't feast upon the banquet they offer every time it rains.

I returned from Seattle on March 19th, a Monday night.  All seemed well on the home front.  Layne took care of dinners by taking the kids out almost every night to eat.  Wow.  I thought they would be a little sad to see me back home, but they said they actually missed eating at home.  So good!

Daughter-in-law Dorothy arrived Tuesday evening.  She and I have been running every day since then going through her new home (just 12 minutes from us!) and getting all that is associated with a new home taken care of.  It has been a very busy time.  She goes home tomorrow after spending 10 days with us.  Dorothy is one of those people that is so very easy to have around.  We've had fun.
Here she is, in her new kitchen.

Gerald brought Frances with him last week, on Wednesday.  They will be with us for yet another week.  It is a joy to have them here with us too.  Seth has been dreading their visit as he knew his long hair would get the chop once his mom was here.  And he was right.  In spite of our efforts at trying to talk her into preserving his flowing locks, she would not have it and cut it herself.  Sad day.  Poor boy. 

Otherwise I think the kids have enjoyed having the folks here.  Between shopping with Frances and shopping and errand running with Dorothy there has been little time for anything else.  But it is Spring Break, so it is a good time for not worrying about my own stuff.  Responsibilities are suspended, for now.

Our natural world is changing.  The neighborhood is beginning to blossom forth, beginning with daffodils.  Spring is on its way and the magical transition from dead looking stuff to a beautiful resurrection, turning our world into green, has begun.  Life springs forth.  It takes me in.

 

A Seattle Escape

Some months ago daughter Jessica asked if I could stay with their kids for 2 1/2 weeks while they went to Europe, to celebrate her 50th birthday.  Hum.  2 1/2 weeks seemed like such a long time.  Would Layne be OK handling the kids without me?  Would the English program work OK without me?  I put off committing to the whole time but finally agreed to do it.  Jessica shortened the time to two weeks and that clinched it.

So I came, over a week ago now.  As it turns out, Layne is having a fine time with the kids.  He transports them to their various activities just fine and has been taking them out to dinner just about every night!  I wonder how happy they will be to see me back home again with that kind of thing going on!  The English program is doing fine without me too. 

It was snowing when I got here...in Seattle!  Apparently they've received an unusual amount of snow this year.  It has warmed up since, but it is still cold.  I layer to keep warm and sometimes sit in front of the fireplace to thaw out!  Here's how the front yard looked when I was first here.

Being here has turned out to be a very pleasant respite from my usual busy routine at home.  I am alone almost all of the time as the kids are in school, sports, and Miles works most nights.  I am loving so much time all to myself.  It is restful, meditative and productive.  Even when the kids are home, they prefer their devices to visiting.  I've had a couple of sweet conversations with them, but they are not prone to give them out routinely. 

Miles and Peyton "devicing" and doing homework.

Audrey visited this past weekend.  What a pleasant thing to have her gift for visiting.  We had a lovely time.  Gemma also came home from college for the weekend.  So it was filled with plenty of chatter and bonding.

Chris and Jessica text often and include pictures of their adventures.  It's pretty wonderful to be able to communicate so well from so far away.  Here they are in front of the Roman made aqua duct, that after hundreds and hundreds of years, still works.  I'd love to see that in person!

The time is passing quickly.  I'm surprised by how much I am enjoying it.  I like the kids, I like the place and I like the time that has opened up to me.  What fun to awaken each morning, get the kids off to school and have the whole day before me with no demands.  I can decide how to use each minute!  Its a gift.

English and Ordinary Things

In January Layne and I were asked to take over an English as a Second Language class for a group of refugees.  We have been teaching there and now we are in charge of what is being taught.  That has taken over our lives for now.  There is English....and more English...and even more as we work to organize the mountain of material we've inherited and write up a curriculum through the end of April, when we will stop for the summer.  Gerald helped clear my mind regarding curriculum.  I've decided that the thing to do is concentrate on conversation rather than grammar.  Understanding and speaking are the most important things I think, and the first language skills to acquire.  So I've come up with an outline of conversations to take us to May.  We teach at an apartment complex that rents mostly to refugees.  We have up to 15 students and I love them all!  I want very much to give them the best possible experience with English.

I can hardly think of anything else.

Here is a shot of the apartment complex where we teach. You can see Layne unloading some of our English materials.

Seth and Angelica just get more and more involved with things.  Seth is on a community basketball team now.  Here he is at one of his games.  Practices and games means lots of driving.  He's got his learners permit but not his license so Layne keeps busy transporting him.

Angelica is involved with even more things; piano, dancing and now track.  Getting her to events means even more driving. Wow, keeping up with kids takes some doing.  But we enjoy them and feel grateful to have them in our lives. 

Angelica performed in a piano recital this past week.  She did a great job.

Having the kids with us brings lots more activity and upkeep.  But they are pretty good at helping.  Here's Angelica busy with dish duty and Seth enjoying the happy task of dumping the garbage on the compost pile, in the cold and snow.  Note his bare feet!  Notice also how straight Angelica's hair is.  She's having fun flat ironing her lovely curvy hair into stick straight.  

And so there are no great adventures of late, just ordinary, challenging but rewarding life.

California, Again

Grandson Bruce (son of Reed and Dorothy) turned the magical age of 8 in January.  His baptism was scheduled for the first weekend of February.  It was not to be missed, so off Layne and I went on another trip.  We flew to California this time, on confirmed seats.  That's always a special treat after years of flying standby.  It was heavily compromised however by a 4 HOUR delay!  We arrived very much later than planned.  But we did get there.  Sometimes I forget what a blessed thing it is to have things so conveniently arranged.  When an occasional inconvenience arises it is easy to overreact with a bit too much annoyance.  So with calmness I will tell you that we still kept our appointment to meet up with our very good friend, Beverly Trutner.  She had arranged to provide us with lunch but by the time we got there it became dinner.  Beverly was our neighbor in Sunol.  She and her husband, Ernie, sold us our property there and became very dear to us.  Ernie died of cancer last October.  It was such a loss as he was a fine man and bigger than life.  We were anxious to spend some time with Beverly.  She is such a bright, lovely woman, adjusting to life without her love is, of course, so difficult.  We had a sweet time with her.

We headed to Audrey and Cliff's after that.  They just about always have some space we can fit into.  Every other family household is filled up.  I headed to Palo Alto very early the next morning to paint a mural for Ben and Jessica's youngest three.  They had a picture all picked out, of a sort of crystal city.  I hoped to get it done by 1:30 so as to give myself time to drive back to Brentwood and the baptism.  Of course I had lots of company as some of the kids hung out with me.  Sadly, by 2:00 I still had a way to go.  Disappointed, I headed back to the AH's and got quickly ready for the baptism.  

It was a stake baptism so wasn't as personal as those done just for one candidate.  But it was nice.  Bruce seemed very pleased.  We headed back to Reed and Dorothy's after that and were treated to a catered dinner.  So good.  We gave Bruce our collection of family stories, which I save for all the younger grandchildren for their 8th birthdays.  Bruce seemed quite pleased to have the stories.  I was happy about that.  Here is Bruce with his folks, Dorothy and Reed.

Here is most of the family gathered that night.

I love this picture of grandson Isaiah, his dad Cliff and Rayne's husband, Dominic.

I just could not bring myself to leave without finishing the mural.  So, right after Sacrament meeting on Sunday, I headed back to Palo Alto to finish the mural.  This time my goal was to be finished by 2:30.  By 3:00 it was essentially finished.  So, weary of it all, I headed back to the AHs, where Dominic provided an amazing dinner.  Reed and Dorothy and family joined us and it was a lovely time.

We headed home on Monday and I'm happy to say that the flight was on time. Still, we didn't arrive until 8PM.  It as good to be back as there was English classes to prepare for.

Our stake sponsors English classes for a group of refugees that live in an apartment complex in Boise.  Layne and I were recently asked to take over the program.  Monday was our first day in charge.  I think it went OK.  I love our refugees.  They are almost all women as the men are working at various jobs.  They have been through some horrible experiences, yet are cheerful and positive.  We laugh together as we work on English.  I hope we can do the right job for them.  I've decided that we need to concentrate on conversation rather than grammar, which they have had lots of already.  

I spent most of the rest of the week working out a curriculum through the month of April, when we will stop for the summer.  It feels good to have a plan written up.  Now to make it all work and sort out all of the materials we were given.  It is quite a job.  I'm determined to organize it well enough to make the implementation relatively easy.  Layne is my organization man.  He has already charted the classes, students and teachers.  We do opposite things.  In this case it works out quite well.

Gerald has been here for two weeks.  He goes home on Monday.  I will miss him so very much.