I realized that I haven’t really said anything about what it was like for Sam to receive his mission call! His mission application was completed on Sunday, August 4th and he received his call to serve on the 13th of August! It was such an exciting time of expectation and suspense! Nine days of wondering where the next two years of his life would be spent. Sam really wanted to serve a foreign mission where he would experience a new culture and learn a new language. I think his first choice would have been to go back to Ghana but he was willing to serve anywhere the Lord sent him. He was a little nervous about being called to a nearby state or somewhere that was tropical. (Although he is an incredible outdoors-man, he isn’t crazy about tropical bugs!) He wanted to open his mission call when it arrived with just our family. I think he was afraid he might cry if he was called to Arizona or somewhere like that and didn’t want to cry in front of his friends. And so, I noticed in the morning of the 13th that on his missionary portal his call was ready and so I called Grant who rushed home from work. Anna was in Florida at my mom’s house with Rebecca and so we had them on a video call. When he opened his call to serve in the Cali, Colombia mission we all felt a confirmation that this was THE PERFECT place for him to serve. Here are the reasons I feel it is perfect for him (despite the bugs and humidity): no suits except for zone conference and other special occasions, mountains, ocean, danger, and the nicest, most humble people in the world who want to learn more about their Savior. The only downside is that he doesn’t report the the MTC until December 4th. This waiting is killing both of us. He misses his friends and it is enough time for him to procrastinate preparing. However it does give us time to do some activities and trips together! He is even hoping to fit in 10 days of skiing before he leaves (I’m not sure who is going to pay for that!) Sam can’t wait to get out there and get going. Sam’s mission call

I am so excited for Sam to have the unparalleled experience of serving the Lord for two years as a full time missionary. A mission is filled with amazing lessons to be learned, people to love,  immense moments of joy in serving, hardships to endure, and a strengthening of testimony that fills a soul and changes hearts forever. I am so grateful that he is blazing the way and setting the example for his younger siblings, all of which want to serve a mission as well. What a privilege and honor!

I also know that I will miss this boy like crazy! This last week was his 18th birthday. I said our family prayer that night and as I was thanking God for the chance to spend 18 years with Sam I started to cry and couldn’t really finish the prayer with any kind of eloquence. This kids just grow up so darn fast!

I have such a complicated idea of food and the place food has in our culture. I have been striving for a long time to win a battle I am losing regarding sweets and treats. In our culture, we reward good behavior with sweets. We celebrate together with sweets. We entertain ourselves with sweets, “Let’s go get ice cream together for Family Home Evening!” Even my pediatrician offers a sucker as kids walk out (this is the strangest of all). I feel like there needs to be fundamental changes in the way we approach sweet things. I found this little gem of a quote on one of the many food blogs I read. I feel like Michael Pollan, food writer and activist hit the nail on the head:

“There is nothing wrong with special occasion foods, as long as every day is not a special occasion. Special occasion foods offer some of the great pleasures of life, so we shouldn’t deprive ourselves of them, but the sense of occasion needs to be restored.”

I may have expressed my thoughts on this topic before but for me food is an experience, a way to show love, a way to nurture. Food is also a memory. I can remember just about anything if there is food involved. I will reminisce with my sweet husband about a specific date in the distant past and will almost always be able to relate what we ate on that date or in that particular memory. I think it is no coincidence that on my church’s family history database (an incredible resource available to anyone), there is a section where people can share their family’s recipes and food memories. This is the quote on the site:

“Did you realize that you’re creating family history every day just by preparing food and eating it together? Good food has a way of bringing families together, and anytime families gather—even to eat—family history is made.”

I believe it, and rejoice in it! Bon Appetite!

In the last post I included Anna’s cute google search. Yesterday I was trying to deal with an abundance of garden produce and meant to google, “how to freeze greens” (as in chard, kale etc.) instead I googled this:I love the image of frozen jeans and I still haven’t figured out how to freeze greens.

Another funny thing I never want to forget happened last Saturday Anna was talking to me on the phone. She was at my mom’s house for a week and had a wonderful time. She was anticipating going to church in a different congregation and didn’t really want to go to the children’s class all by herself. She said that going to the children’s Sunday school class in a new congregation was “nerve-wrecking”.  I know it is a little nerve-wracking trying out new words! In fact, it makes some people a nervous wreck!

She does. She really loves shopping, in stores or Amazon. I love that she loves to go shopping because I can always count on her being my errands buddy. She makes Costco, or the grocery store, or Home Depot so much more fun! In June she really wanted a Threads wrist or neck lanyards. They have been popular with Lizzie’s group for about a year. She had been using my laptop and when I got it back I found this search: I think her spelling is the best. It makes me happy every time I get a note from her. I don’t know that I will find it quite so charming if it doesn’t get better as she ages but for now, in her 9-year-old world, I think it is adorable.

What a time this has been for our family! Mostly because we are at the cusp of a new phase in our lives as parents and as a family. Our oldest child, Sam (17 yrs) graduated two months ago and within the next couple of months he will be gone, starting the migration of children. How is this possible? I remember him so distinctly as a baby, a toddler, a child and now he is becoming a man. It causes me to cherish our other children more, knowing that they soon will follow, sooner even than I ever thought possible. Graduation was a dream. As a mother I didn’t really feel like I was a part of the proceedings but rather an observer. I thought I would be emotional but instead, I felt no feelings. The finality and permanence of having a child pass into adulthood has hit me little by little this summer. For example, I went on the school website to look at the kids’ grades and noticed that we only had three kids at the school. Sam wasn’t even there! Sam has been longing for more freedom and a later curfew and we have been trying hard to loosen up a little and acknowledge his passage into adulthood. He is almost finished with his mission application which is SO EXCITING! Both Sam and Lizzie have been working hard this summer. Sam was doing landscaping and Lizzie has been making pizzas at Blaze restaurant. This is the first summer that they have had jobs and I miss having them around!

Anna said this to me tonight while working on her math: “I decided to make a goal to stay close to Heavenly Father and Jesus in every way. For the rest of my life.” I love how much my children teach me about how to be a good person. She is nine!

Sam was on his phone and I said, “Stop wasting time, go get something done!” He replied, “I’m working on my playlist, this ISN’T wasting time!”

Last Saturday
William was on the phone with his best friend Matthew and playing Minecraft together at the same time. (Matthew at his house around the corner and William at our house) and had this brief exchange:
Matthew: It’s raining
William: Outside? Or in the game? (He was sitting facing a window)

August 17, 2018
Our kids, (and my husband) go to this wonderful K-12 private school called American Heritage School. We have a dress code and an honor code. Part of both is the requirement that boys and girls have conservative hairstyles. Sam really, really, really loves having longer, moppish hair and does not want to have to cut it before school starts. Especially because he has been growing it out all summer. Grant and Sam were having the following debate shortly before he finally cut it:
Grant: I think you’ll be surprised by how much your shorter hair will help your interaction with teachers and in interviews.
Sam: I don’t care about teachers and interviews. I just care about my interactions with girls!

December 12, 2018
During a discussion about the riots in Paris I said, “These are tenuous times.” Sam, in the midst of his senior year and college applications, agreed, “Ya, I’m just waiting for the world to blow up so I don’t have to finish my college applications.”

The same evening brought this priceless gem:
Sam: I’m going to miss high school!
Mom: Oh, it only gets better. High school is so full of immaturity.
Sam: I thrive in immaturity! I won’t know what to do with myself without immaturity!

December 19, 2018
Lizzie (who goes by Lizi this year) commented on the dating scene and her role in it now that she is sixteen, “I’m not very good at flirting but I am good at treating guys like normal human beings”

July 26th, 2018
After I offered Anna some food she said, “I’m not hungry. I’ve been snacking on starbursts and crickets! (Anna meant grasshopper cookies). For the record, Anna went sugar free shortly after this for six months. She had so much more strength and resolve than I do when trying to kick the sugar habit. She was an inspiration!