I Still Love Frog and Toad

You may recall that over the past year, Nathan has had the opportunity to interpret for several stage productions. First, Elephant and Piggie, a children’s show based on a popular children’s book series. Then a high school level production of Les Miserable, also based on a book. Nathan has absolutely loved these opportunities as they are a blend of several things he loves-ASL and theater. Although we have seen videos and pictures of Nathan in this type of work, we had not seen him in action in person. So, when he told us that he would be interpreting for “A Year with Frog and Toad,” another children’s production based on another book series, we took the opportunity to drive up to Logan to see him. 

While the Elephant and Piggie books are fairly new in the sense that they were published when my kids were young, the Frog and Toad books were published when I was young. In fact, they are a book series that we owned, and I read them over and over. They were some of my childhood favorites. Some years ago, someone wrote a musical based on the characters from the Frog and Toad book series. The boys and I saw a production of the show many years back when my sister Patti was in a community theater production, and it was loads of fun. We bought the soundtrack and it is one they listened to a lot for a while and that I revisit from time to time. In fact, the “Cookies” song pops up in my head on a fairly regular basis. I mean, I do love cookies and it is a super catchy number. So, in addition to getting to see Nathan interpret, we had the chance to see a fun show!

Kevin, Malia and I drove up and picked up Nathan, and then Daniel and Tawni joined us for lunch and the show. There weren’t any Deaf youngsters at this performance, which is a shame, but Nathan worked and got paid regardless. And he is likely going to be interpreting for more shows over the coming months. The Utah Festival Opera is highly interested in continuing to provide opportunities to make theater accessible for the Deaf. And they have been so pleased with Nathan’s work. He is, of course, tickled pink that they want him to keep coming back.

Nathan was just full of enthusiasm and joy as he worked, and it was so fun to see that! He let his liaison at the theater know we were family, and they even gave us permission to take pictures of him, something that is generally a big no-no in the world of live theater. So, family time, theater time, ASL time…it was a great way to spend a day. Add to that revisiting a childhood favorite, and it’s a win all around. And now I’m not the only one who has the “Cookies” song stuck in my head. 😉

I’ll end with one funny anecdote from the show. At one point, one of the shrink-wrapped cookies they were using as props fell out of a pocket, rolled across the stage, and bopped Nathan right in the back of the head. The entire audience could see that cookie rolling, but Nathan had no idea why suddenly, all eyes were on him. Of course, it was only a matter of time before he felt that cookie tap his noggin, and even then, he didn’t know what it was until he had a chance to glance down at the floor and spotted the offending dessert. All the kids in the audience thought it was hilarious!

The Man Behind the Curtain

Due to a law that went into effect last year, Nathan’s opportunities for paid ASL interpreting work have been nearly non-existent of late. Basically, the law states that only someone with a professional level certification can be hired as an interpreter. That seems all good on the surface, but what it means in the real world is that those who have an intermediate level certification can’t be hired thereby not getting any more experience which greatly hinders their ability to get enough real work practice to pass the professional certification test. And the Utah ASL professional test is extremely difficult to pass. Nathan has taken it three or four times and has passed everything except one area each time. But the area that he doesn’t pass isn’t the same each time. It is different. And he has really struggled getting detailed feedback about his test results which means that he really doesn’t know what he needs to do to improve. The whole thing has actually been very frustrating and discouraging for him.

From many of his contacts in the ASL interpreting world, he has heard that the Utah professional test is much harder to pass than the national level cert test and the national test supersedes the state one so if he passes that, he won’t need to pass the Utah professional test to gain professional level certification. But he needs to have a bachelor’s degree before he can qualify to take the national test, so he is going to start practicing for the national test in the spring so that he can take it sometime after he graduates in early May next year. In the meantime, he is still looking for opportunities to interpret wherever he can. He interprets for classes at the university when there is a need and it fits in his schedule, has interpreted for firesides, MTC devotionals, etc.

While he hasn’t been offered any jobs through the two interpreting agencies he is employed by, Nathan has applied and been hired by the church to work as an interpreter. His ultimate goal is to be able to interpret for general conference, but of course, he has to work his way up through the ranks of church-employed interpreters. He isn’t bothered by that though and was super excited for his first paid church job this morning. He had the opportunity to be part of the team of interpreters for two temple ground breakings, the Tampa Florida temple and the Vancouver Washington temple. While the actual events were in different states, the interpreting and broadcasting teams work here in Salt Lake. Nathan got to take a tour of the behind-the-scenes areas of the church broadcasting system at the conference center and thought the entire thing was super cool. He was impressed by just how many people it takes to make all the broadcasts run smoothly and was pleased as punch to be able to participate. 

Kevin and I were both just a little bit proud to see him interpreting in an official church capacity. 😉

Full Circle

Although Nathan has not had a lot of ASL interpreting jobs lately due to a change in laws concerning what level of certification is required to be hired, he has been working with the Utah Festival Opera this summer to provide interpreting for several shows. A few months ago, he interpreted for a children’s production based on the extremely popular Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willams. He had a ball doing that one and absolutely loved seeing little faces light up when Deaf children were able to experience live theater for the first time.

Over the past several months, he has been preparing to interpret for a production of the high school version of Les Misérables. He works with a team of interpreters, and they have been practicing and planning for quite a while. One member of the team is an official interpreter employed by the Disney company and Nathan thought it was pretty neat to be able to work with an obviously highly skilled and experienced interpreter. He took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and get some insights into being a professional interpreter.

One of the things that Les Mis has that Elephant and Piggie does not is a good smattering of cuss words and quite a bit of inuendo. Interpreting is all about conveying the ideas and words given and editing or changing words is not the name of the game, so Nathan has actually had some conundrums about how to interpret some of those things that are not taught in the classroom. But he knew he needed to be able to appropriately interpret whatever a client might throw his way. To that end, he recently went to a weekend workshop about swearing in ASL and let me tell you, he learned some extremely colorful new signs. I think he told me the included vocab list was seventeen pages, and included multiple words and phrases he had never been exposed to before, either in sign or spoken English. LAUGHING WITH TEARS SMILEY And even those this production was the slightly tamed high school version, he still had plenty of opportunities to use his newly gained knowledge!

One of the things Nathan loves about this type of performance interpreting is seeing the reactions of those for whom he is interpreting. One of his highlights for this show was seeing one Deaf audience member moved to tears by the action onstage and the accompanying interpreting gave them everything they needed to be emotionally engaged in the story. Another of his highlights was meeting Millicent Simmonds, a Deaf actress who starred in the movie “A Quiet Place.” Apparently, she lives in the area, and Nathan was a little bit starstruck. He wanted to ask for a selfie with her but thought it would be unprofessional. As such, he opted not to. But he was excited to meet her and to have her tell their interpreting team that they did a great job!

Some of his friends attended the performance today so they could show their support. At some point I’d like to be able to attend one of these performances as well. But as you all well know, our lives are just a little bit busy right now. He really enjoys these theatrical interpreting gigs though, so I suspect there will be more opportunities in the future! 

Nathan told us that interpreting for this particular show was kind of a full circle moment for him. A few years ago, when we all went to see the Broadway Across America production of Les Misérables, we happened to be at one of the performances where ASL interpretation was offered. It was the first time Nathan had been exposed to interpreting for a theatrical production, and he was absolutely mesmerized. He spent equal time watching the stage and watching the interpreters. After the show, he was totally excited about the possibility of combining several of his passions and interpreting for a show. And now, he can say that he has done so!

Y’all Come Back and See Us Now!

Today was the day that Nathan scheduled visits with some of the folks he met and served with while he was in Texas. Since this was one of the big reasons we are in Texas, we told him to arrange visits with as many people as he wanted, and he opted to make multiple visits throughout the day. There were many offers for meals, which Nathan says is totally normal, so we started off our day with breakfast in Denton. Two of the families he worked closely with, hosted us and it was so good to put faces to a few of the names he mentioned on his calls home. They fed us well with waffles, eggs, biscuits and gravy and as had been requested in advance, Nathan had some piano music on hand and played several things for them. And since he isn’t an official missionary anymore, he was able to play something other than hymns!

One really good thing that came from this morning’s visit, other than just meeting some really great families, is the fact that they passed on to Nathan that the work he and his companion did in Denton has continued. When Nathan first arrived in Denton, the ward there had requested no more missionaries be assigned to them due to the huge problems they had with previous missionaries. So, Nathan knew, and I remember him telling us, that they had their work cut out for them and would need to regain the trust of the ward before they could do much work. Well, they did just that and ended up being greatly loved and appreciated in Denton. They worked hard and did good and apparently the current missionaries are still building on the work Nathan and his comp did. Their names are still in the documentation that the current missionaries are using and when new missionaries arrive, they end up asking who these elders are. For Nathan, hearing that was one of those moments that confirmed to him that although his time in Texas was short, the work he did made a difference.

While we were in Denton, we knew we needed to make a stop at Buc-ee’s, a gas station chain that originated in Texas and, as we’ve been told, puts all other gas stations to shame. While the internet tells me it is no longer so, when the Buc-ee’s in Denton was built, it was the biggest one in the world. And the Denton-ites are proud of that! In fact, the street that the gas station is on is named Buc-ee’s Boulevard and the one of the cross streets is Beaver Nuggets Lane. Kevin says Buc-ee’s is a lifestyle, not a gas station, and Nathan felt like that was an apt description! Now that I have experienced Buc-ee’s for myself, I completely agree. It is a gas station and really only carries the things any gas station would, but it has a bigger than normal selection. For instance, there is a whole wall of jerky. And a section where you can buy jerky by the pound as well. You can buy a small selection of hot food like many gas stations carry, but instead of hot dogs and nachos, they have fresh BBQ brisket sandwiches and such. There is a large assortment of Texas and Buc-ee’s themed tourist memorabilia rather than just a rack or two of keychains and magnets. And rather than half a dozen gas pumps, there are ninety-two. And a goodly number of them were in use when we were there. The place was seriously busy.

As we left Buc-ee’s with beaver nuggets, t-shirts, socks, jerky and several Baby Buc-ee keychains, I saw something that not only made me work really hard to stifle a laugh, but fully supports the “Bec-ee’s is a lifestyle” claim. As we crossed the parking lot, I happened to notice a ground of men gathered around several trucks that fit the stereotype of a Texan’s truck to a T. They were all wearing camouflage and one of them was wearing a white hat that looked just like a sea captain’s hat. Embroidered on the front was the word “Groom.” It was a bachelor party…at Buc-ee’s. 😂

Now let me talk about beaver nuggets for a minute. When I first heard the term, my mind immediately landed on cow patties and assumed beaver nuggets were similar. However, Nathan was quick to inform me that beaver nuggets are in fact a kind of snack food. Since one of my goals for this trip was to experience Texas, I knew that beaver nuggets needed to be on the list of things to try. They come in several flavors, but as a first timer I opted for the original ones. They are a kind of cornmeal crunchy bite size snack, and they are kind of weird. They taste like caramel popcorn with a hint of cornbread and while the shape and size are reminiscent of Corn Pops cereal, they are far crunchier than the cereal. And like I said before, a bit on the weird side. But they weren’t disgusting or anything. Probably not worth the calories, but now I can truthfully say that I’ve eaten beaver nuggets. Kevin declined the opportunity to try them, and I honestly can’t say that I blame him.

After our adventure at Buc-ee’s, we ate lunch at Razzoo’s Cajun Café, a Texas restaurant chain that Nathan ate at once on his mission and really enjoyed. Part of experiencing Texas is sampling some of the quintessential local cuisine. We started with Southern food based on Nathan’s recommendation and the fact that alligator was on the menu. That’s most definitely something we can’t get at home, so we knew he had to give it a try! When we drove up to the building, we were uncertain about whether or not the place was still operational since it looked pretty sketchy, but we discovered that not only was the restaurant still open, but the food was also absolutely fabulous. We had just arrived a bit before the restaurant opened for the day, which explained the lack of cars in the parking lot.  

We started our meal by sharing an order of fried gator. I went in with pretty much no expectations as I have absolutely no frame of reference for what gator should taste like but let me tell you that it was delicious. It was tender, and mild flavored, breaded in a slightly spicy coating and deep fried. I think we could easily have consumed another plate of gator, but there were so many tasty options on the menu that we opted for variety. We also shared some jambalaya pasta, which was amazing, and a catfish po boy which was also super tasty. I think I might have to see about adding a few Cajun classics to our menu rotation once we get home.

During lunch, I also got my first glimpse of what I could term southern gentility. When we eat out around here, the server usually starts at one side of the table and takes orders in whichever order we are seated. I was sitting in between Kevin and Nathan and rather than starting the orders with either of them, our charming server asked me what I wanted first accompanied by a very polite, “Ma’am.” While folks around here may get offended by that term feeling like it refers to their progressing age, in southern culture it is a title of respect and I felt exactly like that is how it was used. He was so friendly and polite, and I find that I love the easy way people converse, even with strangers. We saw a bit more southern hospitality when Nathan asked about purchasing a Razzoo’s t-shirt, all of which were hilarious and were on sale per the sign posted. However, his inquiry was met with the response that that don’t actually sell t-shirts anymore and didn’t have anything except the standard black T-shirt the servers all wore. But the manager grabbed one of those and handed it to Nathan free of charge. Nathan was most gracious, of course, and we proceeded to have a nice chat with the manager before we went on our way. 

After lunch, we drove a couple of hours to get to Canton, which is in east Texas. It is actually two missions away from Fort Worth, where Nathan was serving, but as an ASL missionary, he covered more area than just his mission. He had worked with Susie and Ann, two deaf ladies, while he was in Texas and has actually been in touch from time to time since then. These sisters are roommates and while it is just the two of them now, Erin, a third deaf sister and her son, were living with them up until recently. Nathan was very excited to get a chance to catch up with these ladies, and I got to experience several things. First, I was in a situation where I could understand very little of what was going on. ASL is very pictural in some instances so I would catch things here and there, but for most of the time I had no idea what they were talking about. Nathan interpreted for Kevin and me some of the time, but we told him before going in that interpreting was secondary, the important part being his chance to visit with these sisters. I have rarely been in situations where I don’t understand the language, so it was an interesting thing. Second, I got to experience Deaf culture a bit. We met one of Nathan’s deaf teachers when he spoke in sacrament meeting before leaving for his mission, and we have seen Nathan interpreting from time to time, but this was the first time we were actually in the home of a Deaf person. Over the years Nathan has shared with us bits about Deaf culture and it was really interesting to me to see it in person. They even got Erin on FaceTime, so Nathan was able to catch up with her too.

I want to share a little bit about Ann, one of the sisters we visited. She is originally from Hungary so while she signs, it is not ASL. She uses Hungarian sign language which means that Nathan can’t understand large portions of what she signs. Susie understands though, so she acts as interpreter between Ann and those who use ASL. Ann also vocalizes which some deaf do and some do not. What was super interesting to me was that while she is deaf, she vocalizes with a Hungarian accent! Ann, who is quite elderly, shared with us some experiences she had as a little girl living in Hungary during the German occupation in WW II. She shared with us a few of the difficulties they faced living in occupied territory, how her father was taken (to prison, I think), the time she and her mother were forced to feed some soldiers and the fear that such experiences brought, etc. With Susie and then Nathan acting as interpreters, Ann shared with us these little bits of her life story and it was so humbling to me to think about all the trials she has faced compared to the relative ease with which I live my life. Yes, I have challenges, but I don’t have to worry that each knock on the door is going to mean death for me or a loved one. I don’t have to feed foreign soldiers while slowing starving to death myself. My family has not been torn apart by war. Honestly, I came away with an enormous amount of respect for this amazing sister. And her troubles aren’t over. She is a convert and has been working towards going to the temple. She is worthy, has her recommend, and is ready to go. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, they are having a very hard time finding an endowed member who knows Hungarian sign language who can act as interpreter for her. So, she patiently waits. And after that one short hour, she earned an enormous amount of respect from me. Honestly, what an amazing lady.

After our visit with Susie and Ann, we headed to Arlington for dinner with another family. They are a couple that Nathan worked with while serving in that part of the mission. They fed Nathan and his companion on multiple occasions and the sister is actually the Texas friend of my cousin who helped me find a neurologist for Nathan to see while he was down there. I got my first taste of Texas BBQ for dinner that night, along with potato salad, rolls, cookies, and the only available in Texas Blue Bell ice cream. We had a lovely chat with them, and Nathan was able to play piano for them as well, for which they were very appreciative.

After dinner, we drove past the apartment where Nathan lived while he was in Arlington and stopped at a park across the street from the apartment where he and Elder Brown spent a lot of time. It is bluebonnet season in Texas, and while we have seen many from the car while driving down the freeway, we were finally able to see some close up!

Today has been a long day of visiting, but it has been great to meet so many faithful saints. It has also been fun to get a dose of Texas culture. However, I suspect that I’m going to have a very serious veggie deficiency by the time we get home. It seems that potato salad and baked beans often pass as vegetables around here. 😂

For the Love of the Deaf Community

After his first week as an FSY counselor and even though he had a tough group of kids who gave him a run for his money and left him seriously sleep deprived, Nathan was perfectly willing to do it all again. That is a good thing since this past week was his week as a counselor for FSDY-For the Strength of Deaf Youth. It was a full weekly session held entirely in ASL and designed to allow the deaf and hard of hearing kids an opportunity to have the same amazing experiences their hearing counterparts have. Youth from all over the country were invited to participate. Nathan came away tired in a completely different way as thinking in ASL 24-7 takes a lot of brain power. And native signers, like native speakers of any language, sign with some serious speed. Nathan told us that by the time they got to the end of the day, one of the kids would sign something and while he knew he should be able to understand, his brain just couldn’t process any more. 😂

For many of these kids, they are the only deaf person in their families and wards and often, there is no interpretation available so while they may go to church, they really can’t access what happens there. Yes, there are some that lip read, but even with good lip-reading skills there is only so much they can understand. As such, having the gospel presented to them in their own language is life changing for many. It allows them, some for the very first time, to understand the sweet simplicity of the gospel and hearts were touched. Nathan loved being a part of that. There were a few kids that he wished he could encourage to look up from their phones and participate so they could fill their spiritual Dixie cups with the wealth of knowledge available to them, but as a counselor, that was not his job. So as much as he would have liked to, there were times when he had to remain silent knowing that if this or that youth would just engage in what was going on they might find exactly what they needed. That was hard for him. But overall, the experience was an amazing one. And within a few days of the session, new videos hit social media and I had all kinds of people from the ward sending me messages telling me they saw him on Instagram or Facebook. That was fun! 

Nathan has developed a great love for the Deaf community. As he spends more and more time with them, he has a greater desire to serve them and help them to progress along the covenant path. I feel like he has been given a gift in his ability to learn ASL and become fluent so quickly, and he is using it to help move the work of the gospel forward for a group of people who have limited access to the many programs and resources that most of us take for granted in the church. Because the Deaf and interpreting communities are small, he has met a lot of people who work in leadership positions high up in the church and they are encouraging him and looking forward to him joining their ranks. He has hopes to interpret for General Conference at some point, and considering the new connections he has made this week, I suspect that sooner or later we will see his face on the ASL feed.

For now, he is taking a much-needed rest. He is mentally and physically tired but elated as well. He feels like he is making a difference. 

Eternal Laughter

Malia is the youngest of my children by a fairly sizable margin. She is 11 years younger than Daniel and 4 ½ younger than Matthew. As such, she often feels like she’s being left behind. And that’s a valid feeling. Daniel and Nathan no longer live at home and are only around for occasional visits. Now that Matthew is in high school, he is gone more and more often and when he gets his driver’s license next month, I fully expect his time away to increase. So she’s completely justified in feeling like she’s the lone child at home. There are advantages to that, but it also means that she spends a lot of time waiting to catch up with her brothers. 

Today was one of those days when she finally caught up. After years of patiently waiting, today was the first time she was able to go into the temple with us. We scheduled far in advance so that Daniel and Nathan were able to come down, and all six of us went to the baptistry together. I’ve said many times that I love being in the temple with my family, and today was very sweet indeed. All of my children together with Kev and I in the temple. We had expected to wait another year for this event since Nathan was originally slated to be in Texas until next year, but another tender mercy of his early homecoming was the fact that we were all together for Malia’s very first temple trip. It was a day of pure joy.

As a side note, today was also Nathan’s first meeting with the ASL Institute Council. As I mentioned before, the members are scattered all over the U.S., so the meetings are held via Zoom. Also remember that only two or three of the council are hearing. All the rest are deaf. The rest of us were working on our Saturday jobs while Nathan was having his meeting. It was Matthew’s turn to vacuum, but he was web browsing instead of vacuuming so like a diligent mother, I asked him why his job wasn’t done yet. He told me that he was waiting to do the vacuuming so he wouldn’t disrupt Nathan’s meeting. While that was thoughtful and all, my response was, “Ummm, Matthew, the meeting is in ASL. Running the vacuum won’t matter.” There was a huge “duh” moment and then he got out the vacuum. And I laughed. 😂

My family laughs kind of a lot. We chuckle, we giggle, we snicker, we chortle, and sometimes we outright guffaw. We honestly enjoy being together and that is reflected in the way we interact with one another. As such, it seems oddly appropriate that this post has ended up being a combination of a glorious afternoon spent in the temple with my eternal family and an occurrence at home that made me laugh. I know a lot of the world thinks of heaven as being a peaceful, serene place where we float around on clouds all day playing harps. But not me. My version of heaven is a joyful, happy place where my family and I are engaged in a rousing game of Phase 10 or And It Came to Pass. There will be laughter, and light, and endless quality family time. I hope to see you all there. And bring your favorite game. We’ll have lots of time to play!

He Thinks (and Sleeps) in ASL

Nathan has been dreaming in ASL periodically for months now. But last night, his subconscious brain took things one step further. He came awake during the night and realized that he was talking in his sleep…in ASL. That means he woke up and realized that he was signing while he was snoozing. 😂

The Spirit Speaks in Every Language

Today was the day that Nathan spoke in sacrament meeting in preparation for leaving on his mission. His college ASL teacher, who is deaf, was on his invite list and as such, he arranged for friends from Logan to help him interpret into ASL. Nathan signed all the hymns and I learned that the ASL community does what is called “copy signing” for the hymns. Each person copies the signing of the interpreter, thus “singing” without voices. They pray by closing their eyes, bowing their heads and then opening their eyes so they can watch the person signing or interpreting the prayer. I did the same so that I could experience just a bit of the deaf community Nathan has learned to love and I know there were others doing the same. Nathan had a friend interpret into ASL for the bulk of his talk and had another voice for him as he bore his final testimony in ASL. 

Kevin and I were sitting right behind Nathan’s professor and I have to say that I found the experience quite amazing. Nathan slips into ASL incredibly smoothly. He doesn’t struggle to remember signs and signs with ease and fluency. Facial expression is a big part of the language as it conveys meaning and Nathan is a pro at that part. As I’ve shared with him, I feel like this is what the gift of tongues looks like. He has been signing for less than three years and has shown such a natural affinity for the language that there is no doubt in my mind that he has been given a spiritual gift. 

Nathan spoke about the atonement, repentance, and testimony and how learning the signs for them has increased his understanding of each gospel principle. His understanding and love of the gospel and his desire to share it with other people and help them find the joy he finds in the gospel is the reason he is serving a mission. The way he spoke about the gospel basics and the testimony of Jesus Christ that he shared showed evidence that he is spiritually ready to serve. And his love for the deaf community is evident in his passion for their language and their way of life. The Spirit was undeniably present in the meeting. Many people commented that he already speaks like a missionary.

Nathan still has a month at home because his start date was pushed back when he passed his language evaluation with flying colors, but he opted to keep his original speaking date since he had invited people from college, his pre-college job at Harmon’s, etc. As the time drew near, he was actually really glad he would still have a month to go because it gives him time to finish his mission prep, pack up his room and visit family and friends before he goes without the added stress of needing to write a talk and speak in sacrament meeting. In addition, he felt like speaking in sacrament meeting, having one last visit with all his important people, and being set apart all in one day would be pretty overwhelming. I completely agree with him. I know he was nervous about both speaking and interpreting, but he did a fantastic job. I am incredibly proud of him, his desire to serve, his passion and excitement for the gospel, and the love he has for those around him. 

I’m glad he still has a month at home. It gives us a chance to spend a bit more time with him before he goes. I know the next four weeks will fly by, but hopefully we can have some quality family time between now and then. And maybe by then my mama heart will be prepared to lend him to the Lord and the people of Texas for a little while.

Nathan’s Reflections on the Day:

This Sunday the 30th of January I was able to speak in church as part of preparing to leave for my mission.  It was wonderful to see so many good friends and family. We all felt the Spirit in that meeting, and I personally felt fulfilled and so much peace concerning the start of my mission coming up soon!

The cool part for me, though, was bringing a bit of the Deaf Culture into our little ward meeting. My USU ASL Professor Brian Burns came down to see me speak, so a few of my friends and I (Kobe, Tait, Chelsey, and I) all worked together to ASL interpret the meeting for him. He was beaming from ear to ear at the end of the meeting and was very proud of all the work my friends and I have put in. A lot of people were fascinated seeing how the interpreting worked and seeing people sign. I signed my testimony and had a friend voice for me. I’m so grateful to have met some other awesome signers and improved my ASL skills so much before my mission. It means that I can focus on the teaching skills and teaching the gospel instead of trying to learn a language in under 2 months. I’m so excited to go serve the people in Fort Worth Texas with the wonderful language of American Sign Language! 

C is for Cookie

And when I say cookie, I mean cookies. Plural. So. Many. Cookies. 

Today was cookie baking day in preparation for hosting friends and family when Nathan speaks in sacrament meeting in a couple of weeks. In honor of where he will serve his mission as well as his mission language, we have Texas shaped cookies and hand cookies forming a variety of common hand gestures and ASL letters. I made all the cookie dough in advance, so our four hours in the kitchen today was cutting and baking time. Now we have a couple of hundred cookies that will get tossed in the freezer for now. I don’t usually do labor intensive cut out cookies when I’m baking for this many people, but Nathan and I had a fantastic time creating all these goodies. And the cookies turned out super cute. It was well worth the effort.

As a side note, Nathan is my Sesame Street kid. When the cookie dough was mixed and colored, it reminded him of Cookie Monster and Elmo. It might be a bit morbid to say it looked like a couple of bowls full of Muppets, but I think he’s right. 😂

Righteous Desires

Nathan’s mission call came today. These crazy kids of the technology age have discovered that if they login to the missionary web portal and their mission email is set up their call is imminent, so we were fairly certain today would be the day. Nathan has been anxiously waiting and was more than ready to know where he has been assigned to serve. When I say anxious, I mean impatient though, not the super stressed out kind of anxious. In these times when temple appointments are rather hard to come by, he has been able to go to the temple every weekend for the past month. He has participated in all the ordinances and his time in the temple has left him with a feeling of calm. He has been calling it “still,” as in “be still and know that I am God.” (D&C 101:16) As soon as the stake president hit “submit” on Nathan’s mission papers, Nathan felt at peace and knew that he was doing exactly what the Lord wanted him to exactly at the right time. And all the time he has spent in the temple has helped him hold onto the stillness. I have been feeling less still, but I’ve had some tender mercies that have been perfectly timed and most gratefully received, so even I have been a lot less crazy the past few days than I would have expected.

One of Nathan’s greatest desires over the past year has been to serve an ASL (American Sign Language) mission. He didn’t care where he was sent, but he really wanted to “speak” ASL. I’ve already written about his accomplishment in earning the seal of biliteracy at the time of his graduation, so you already know that he picked up ASL amazingly fast. As he prepared for his first semester at USU, he took an ASL placement exam through the university so he would know which class to take. He tested into ASL 3 on the college level. On his first day of class, he discovered that he is the only freshman in ASL 3, one of only three men in his class, and the only one who got the jokes his instructor, who is deaf, tossed at them at the end of class. Nathan was laughing his head off and everyone else was looking at him like he was crazy. Immediately following class, he had a rash of requests for his contact info so that he could help people by being in study groups with them. Overall, he made a fantastic first impression on both his professor and his classmates.

As I’ve said before, this skill has come incredibly easily to him. He has gotten to the point where he doesn’t have to translate in his head anymore. He just thinks in ASL. He has always talked with his hands and lately there are times when he’s talking and signing at the same time without realizing it. He has even had dreams that were in ASL. So when I say this has become a living language for him, I’m not exaggerating. I have come to see it as a gift that he has been given. I was talking to my sister Rachael a couple weeks ago and she described it as the gift of tongues. I had not thought of it under that moniker, but when she said it, it felt completely accurate.

A few days ago, Nathan told me that he felt bad about wanting to serve an ASL mission so much. In all my motherly wisdom, I assured him that his desire to use the gift the Lord has given him to serve others is a righteous desire and that he should not feel bad about it. In fact, his great desire to serve is a good thing. As for whether or not the Lord would ask Nathan to use the ASL now or if it would come at some point in the future, we would have to wait and see. The Lord knows what is best for Nathan and “all things shall work together for good to them who stand uprightly.” (D&C 100:15) I have been praying that Nathan would have an opportunity to use his ASL but would never presume to know all and left things in the Lord’s hands. It’s not like I could do otherwise, but I knew that wherever the Lord sent Nathan would be the exact right place and expressing that trust in the Lord was what I needed to do to bring peace to my own heart. And honestly, I was kind of afraid to hope that Nathan would be called to serve in ASL. He wanted it so much that my mama heart was afraid that there would be some disappointment for both of us if his desire was not realized. Disappointment for Nathan about not being able to use this gift he has been given and disappointment for me because it would be so hard to see him deal with yet another disappointment after all those he has weathered in the past three years.

Nathan and four of his five roommates drove down this evening so he could read his call at home with his family. Daniel made a mad dash homeward as soon as marching band was over so he could be here as well. My parents and Kevin’s parents were here as was Nathan’s high school friend Blake. We had numerous friends and family join us via three different live streams. Gotta love technology and the ease we all have with live streaming events. That’s a COVID side effect for sure! Anyway, we had Zoom, Facebook and Instagram running on three different devices so everyone who desired could participate in the event while we were doing what we could to stop the spread of the virus and protect our loved ones. I was actually feeling pretty calm all things considered, which I firmly attribute to the Lord. Some of Nathan’s “still” had crept into my heart and I didn’t even start to feel the least bit anxious until Nathan started reading.

When Nathan read that he was being called to serve in the Texas Fort Worth mission there was dead silence. And then he continued to read that he would be teaching in American Sign Language and the room erupted. Bless his dear roommates for their support of him. They let out a roar of excitement and the rest of us were not far behind. I only cried a little, which is a huge accomplishment for me, and Nathan’s grin lit the entire room. As he traveled back to school later this evening, he told me via text that he felt like he was on top of the world. He just knew that everything was working out just right. I’m so proud of him for the faith and trust he has placed in the Lord. He has been blessed. The Lord has given him the righteous desires of his heart.

My heart is full to bursting with gratitude tonight.

Finding the Good

Due to COVID, a lot of normal school events were cancelled last year. And since last year was the first year our high school was open, this second year has held a lot of firsts for the school. Among those was this evening’s Principal’s Reception. The event was basically the invitation only awards ceremony for those seniors who have earned top honors in a variety of different ways during the school year. The original plan was to hold a nice dinner like our principal did at his last school, but the district wouldn’t allow that due to COVID. They did get permission to do refreshments though, and they got some fancy ones, so it was still a nice event.

Nathan was selected as the math sterling scholar earlier this year so when we received an invitation, he assumed that would be the only honor he received. However, he was completely wrong in that assumption. He actually ended up being one of the students who was called to the front most often. He was recognized for being the math sterling scholar, a student who excelled in both academics and the arts, the senior who was the top in the math department, and a student who had a 4.0 gpa as well as an ACT score 30 or higher (Nathan got a 31 on the ACT). The school gifted each one of the top award-winning students with a blanket bearing the school mascot/slash logo and when Nathan got called up for his second award that came with a blanket, they joked about there being only one blanket for student. If they had given one per award, I think Nathan might have come home with three…

It ended up being a very nice evening, one that Nathan enjoyed far more than he thought he would. Kev and I were finally able to meet his physics, math and ASL teachers and although Nathan has had a rough year (or three) in high school, the reception helped him recognize that there has been a lot of good as well. He just found the good in different places than he expected. He has loved his physics and math classes and has made some friends there. He helped create an end of year escape room activity for the statistics classes which he loved. His teachers loved it too. It’s not often that you get a student who understands the material so easily and gets so excited about it that he goes home and uses his mom’s white board to explain the newest cool thing he learned in school. He started learning ASL during his time on stage crew in middle school, but I don’t think any of us were expecting him to pick it up so quickly and to love it as much as he does. He took ASL 1 as a junior, skipped right to ASL 3 as a senior, and ended up being at the student at the top of the class. He has stood out as a positive influence and a good example in the school as a whole, something that the admin made sure to point out. Apparently, he has been optimistic and upbeat, something that the school has sorely needed this year, and people have noticed. I don’t think he had any idea how much of a difference he has made, but he has been a source of good in his sphere of influence.

So yes, this has been an extremely difficult year for him. It has held challenges that none of us could have predicted a year and a half ago. He has dealt with a lot of disappointment and discouragement along the way, as well as a good amount of frustration and stress. But he not only survived, he managed to thrive in adversity (though he may not have been aware of it) and has made a difference for those around him. And he has learned a lot both in the classroom and out. Adversity makes us stronger, and I hope that Nathan will be able to see the strength he has gained as he finishes a chapter in his life and prepares to move on to the next one.

 

Shhhh!

While most of the activities and events the kids had scheduled have simply been cancelled, one of Nathan’s did some finagling and instead of a live event, they went digital. I have mentioned in the past that Nathan is taking ASL (American Sign Language) as his foreign language. He absolutely loves it and is picking it up enormously quickly. Each year there is a statewide high school ASL competition. The kids choose one of a variety of events in which to participate-finger spelling, debating, expressive storytelling, etc. Nathan chose to do an expressive story and has been working on his entry all year. When the organizers opted to go digital rather than cancel the event, Nathan recorded his story and submitted the video.

This evening they held a series of Zoom conference calls to hold the awards ceremony. Nathan was super jazzed because Marlee Matlin, the first deaf actor to ever win an Emmy, was one of the judges. She recorded a message for all the kids and Nathan thought that was super cool. He made sure to point out that her Emmy was clearly visible in the background. Anyway, Nathan did really well. In fact, he won first place in his event! I’m so proud of him! It seems that being an actor is of great benefit for those learning ASL since so much is conveyed with facial expressions. Due to the nature of this year’s event, he will have to wait for his medal to arrive in the mail before I can post the “this is my kid, isn’t he amazing” picture, but it will be coming. Stay tuned. 😉

A Heart-y Day

While we’re not a family who goes whole hog for Valentine’s Day, this year we did have a delightful themed breakfast.

Yesterday at her primary activity, Malia made me a Valentine craft. Her leader told me that she liked it so much that she was debating about giving it to me or keeping it for herself, but she opted to gift it and now I have a lovely piece of art to display.

And for the first time ever, I had a high school aged child make a Valentine in class. Can you guess which class?

Nathan does love ASL and apparently, he loves me too.😂

Blind Dates and Deaf Conversations

Last night was the Sweetheart’s Dance at the High School. After all the creative asking and answering of last week, I suspected it would be a fun group. Since Nathan is the only one who lives in close proximity to the high school, the plan was to gather up all the kids and spend the day date and dinner portion of the event at our house. The two kids that live in West Jordan drove down to our place and then Nathan drove all of them to Cedar Hills to pick up the other three. He said the drive back to our house a bit awkward which doesn’t surprise me. Blind dates are like that. The afternoon was spent playing board games and at some point, it was discovered that the two Cedar Hills kids that my nephew Jacob recruited for this adventure are both taking ASL (American Sign Language). Nathan is also taking ASL and absolutely loves it. With a common interest discovered, things relaxed a bunch.

Dinner was homemade pizza and that was an activity in and of itself. There were pizza faces, braided breadsticks, and lots of laugher. The official photos were fast and few because it was cold outside, and then there were more games played until it was time to go to the actual dance. As expected, the dance was loud and chaotic, but the reward for successfully navigating the main event was chocolate fondue.

I think Nathan had a good time. It was a low key, relaxing event that was lacking much of the drama that has been prevalent in his social circle of late. He told me that he ran into a couple of other madrigal men at the dance and they liked the whole planned blind group date thing that they are considering following suit for a later dance.