For most people, fall is football season. Around here, it is marching band season. Ok, so maybe it’s marching band season for Daniel, football season for Kevin, and a lively combination of the two for Matthew. But whichever comes first in each person’s mind, this year we have two sons marching. Daniel is glad to be back, and Matthew is super excited about his first marching season!
Last week Rachael asked me if Malia was interested in doing a mud run with Kate. Rachael’s men folk were going to do a terrain run which is basically a 5k mashed up with an obstacle course and liberally coated in mud. There was a shorter kids’ version for kids up to age 10 and Kate really wanted to do it but wanted someone to do it with her. I asked Malia if she was interested expecting her to say no due to the running and mud and general outdoors in the blazing heat elements, but she surprised me by saying yes. I suspect the lure of time spent with Kate outweighed any reservations. So we got her all registered, figured out what she could wear that could be thrown out if it never came clean and she was psyched to go.
The run was this morning and unfortunately, it was a huge let down. The scaled down version was more appropriate for 3–4-year-olds…and there was no mud. At all. Malia described it as a lot of standing around with a little running. She was actually really disappointed. I made sure to tell her that I was really proud of her for trying something new and I hope that she will continue to be willing to try new things.
The full terrain run had mud, and more mud, and then a little mud. Rachael and her older crew got completely filthy and had a fantastic time. I don’t think Malia would be able to actually do the full 5k at this point, but perhaps in the future we can find another opportunity for her to expand her experiences and get really, really dirty.
One of the tender mercies associated with being the mother of a missionary is the intense gratitude I feel for all the people who are taking care of my son. He has been fed, watched over, and loved by two mission presidents and the rest of the presidency, two mission nurses and two mission doctors, the senior missionaries who work in the mission office, his trainer, his companions, the people in the wards where he serves, the people he meets as he proselytes, the other missionaries, the extended family he has met, etc. Although he is far from home, I know that he is being watched over by the Lord in addition to the many earthly angels he has encountered.
This past week has been hard for a number of reasons, but that stress has been tempered a bit by the fact that two of those blessedly kind angels from Texas reached out to me to share a picture of my son in their homes and to tell me what a difference he has made in the lives of those he has worked with. Nathan is not one to blow his own horn, so these little tidbits are things he will never send in an email or tell us himself. But they warm my heart and show me that not only is he using his spiritual gifts, but they have been magnified as he has grown to love and serve the people in Texas. He has a tender heart, always has, and his innate empathy and kindness have been a blessing for many.
I received the first set of messages on Friday evening from the relief society president in the ward in which Nathan is currently serving. He had the opportunity to do an exchange with his trainer, and this sister fed them dinner. She sent me this message:
“We had these wonderful Elders over for dinner tonight. We’re so grateful Elder **** is in our ward! He is full of goodness and is wise and kind.
He’s just wonderful and has a very loving way about him-I went with him and Elder **** to meet with a lady who basically just needed money (and we all knew that).
He was so gentle and sympathetic to her-he was kind and gave her a list of resources and truly was so mature in his sympathy. I was touched and impressed-this is why the Lord sends these amazing young men out-because their hearts are so tender and gentle.”
Yesterday I got another message, this time from the bishop’s wife:
“Bishop and I were so grateful to have your son and his companion in our home today on their P. Day for lunch. How blessed we were to hear their testimonies and share a meal with them. Thank you for all you have done to raise such an incredible young man to strengthen the testimonies of the Saints in our congregation and to love, share and invite non-members in our community to engage in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
I think all my kids are amazing. Yes, I know I’m biased, but that is one of the rights of motherhood. But when I know that others see my children’s best qualities as well, it is a confirmation that they really are good kids. It is also so good to know that my kiddos are out in the world, using their many spiritual gifts to make a difference in the lives of others and that others are watching out for them when I can’t. My heart is full tonight with conflicting emotions-sorrow and gratitude, worry and relief, distress and peace. But despite the conflagration of feelings, I know for a fact that my second son has touched the lives of many over the past six months and that he has been changed in the process. His heart has become even more tender. His testimony has been strengthened. He has developed a deep love of the scriptures. He has learned beyond a doubt that the Lord knows him and has a plan for him. In his own words, Nathan has become a lifelong convert. And the people he has met and taught and served with can see that changed heart. In fact, they have been an important part of his spiritual progression. He will never forget them. And I will always be grateful for the part they have played in his life…and the unexpected tender mercy that a picture and a word of thanks for my child have been.
Years ago, when I first heard the term “tween,” I thought it was stupid. Children were kids and then they were teenagers. That was really all the terminology I needed. Of course, at that point I had never had a girl child who was in the age range of a tween. The boys were little boys and then big boys and then teenagers and that was all the age labeling they needed. But as I have watched Malia over the past six months, it has become abundantly clear that the “tween” moniker is wildly appropriate for 10- to 12-year-old girls. Malia was a little girl and then a big girl, but now she is something entirely different although she is not yet a teenager.
The past two and a half years have seen Malia grow up faster than I would have liked. Living through a pandemic will do that to a child. We are also living in the last days and as the standards of the world have deviated increasingly from the gospel standards in which we believe, we have had to be very open and have some extremely frank conversations with all our children about the state of the world and the attitudes of many of the people in it. Add to that the fact that she is the youngest in our family by a fairly large margin and as such spends much of her time conversing with teens and adults, and she has naturally gained some early maturity in attitudes, ideas and conversational skills just by interacting with her family.
But the past six months have held some additional changes in her interests and behaviors, the way she interacts with friends, the things that she gets excited about, etc. For instance, she is no longer playing with friends. They are hanging out. She has become much more interested in listening to music of her own choosing, mostly pop music. She is planning a group Halloween costume with her friends. She is comfortable being dropped off with her friends at a public location without having an adult act as supervisor and safety net. And as proven by her reactions at the OneRepublic concert last weekend, she has reached the “fangirling” stage. She’s eleven, so not a teen, but definitely giving me teenage girl vibes. And now I totally understand the relevance of the term “tween.”
As usual, birthdays are a multi celebration event over here and Malia’s eleventh was no exception. Post Covid we moved to a once-a-month dinner at my parents’ house, so last week Sunday was the day we frosted the cake and lit the candles for our extended family. Kevin’s mom joined us as well, which I loved. Malia chose LPS (Littlest Pet Shop) as the theme for her cake. Now you might be thinking that toys like that are definitely in the little/big girl stage but let me assure you that Malia’s love of LPS is not just as a toy. She uses “blanks,” LPS figures that have no paint, and customizes them. She sculpts additions to the blanks using an epoxy clay and then paints her new characters according to her liking. She has mainly focused on creating dragons from her favorite book series, Wings of Fire, and cats from her other favorite book series, Warrior Cats. She still enjoys the purchased animals and plays with all the purchased and created ones, but she spends far more time creating than she does just playing. AND she has taken a page out Matthew’s book and has discovered that she likes taking pictures of her creations.
Unlike last year, Malia’s friend party was not postponed because she was in quarantine. On Saturday, her friends arrived as planned and the fun ensued. We had LPS blanks and all the supplies needed to paint them and let the kids create their own animal. We played a “Who Knows the Birthday Girl the Best” test and Acie, Malia’s best friend, took high honors. We played “Name That Tune” and Kate was the maestro of that activity. There were cupcakes to be had, topped with LPS, of course. And Malia’s friends, who all know her well, were incredibly generous with their gifts. She ended up with markers, paints, sculpting clay, sketchbooks…basically a big pile of art supplies. And she was very enthusiastic about that! One additional comment, Malia was in completely in charge of creating the birthday party invitation. It definitely gives you a glimpse at her personality!
Her real birthday was today. Since today was only the third day of the school year, Malia was the very first person to celebrate a birthday in her class. As such, she was this week’s spotlight person and had only two days to create her “All About Me” poster instead of a week or more. But she rose to the challenge, and I love how it turned out. It definitely reflects her interests, her talents, and who she is.
Matthew had marching band rehearsal this evening, so Kevin and I took Malia out to dinner. She chose the Olive Garden, one of her favorite safe eateries. She has always kind of been in a food rut when we eat out, ordering either chicken fingers, spaghetti, or whatever noodle comes topped with red sauce, but this time she opted for the cheese stuffed jumbo shells and loved it. Woohoo for expanding her food choices! When I asked her what treat she wanted for her actual birthday, she asked if I would make cheesecake. Due to her peanut allergy and the propensity for purchased cheesecake to have cross contact issues, the only time she can eat cheesecake is if it is homemade, so I was happy to oblige. Besides, I’m always looking for a good excuse to make cheesecake. Yum!
Malia had originally planned to create a tiny happy birthday banner to do on her LPS cake, but she ran out of time. This morning she drew a mockup of what her original banner was going to look like and when she showed it to me, I decided a banner for the cheesecake was in order. A couple of dollars spent on Etsy.com and the use of my Silhouette craft cutter made creating one a fast and easy task, and she was mighty pleased with the results. She was also mighty pleased to eat the cheesecake as it was absolutely delicious. I have a cookbook called “The Cheesecake Bible” and I have never had a recipe from that cookbook disappoint.
In terms of presents, Malia’s big gift from Kevin and I was her adventure to see OneRepublic a week ago. We wanted her to have a couple small things to open on her birthday though, so we got her an airtight paint palette to help extend the usability of her custom colors and a keychain she has been wanting that features one of the characters from the Warrior Cats book series. Matthew gave her a book about how to draw anything (literally, it says so in the title) and Kevin’s mom gave her some books from her wish list.
As I mentioned previously, Malia has grown up a lot in the past year. She is intelligent and curious and loves to learn. She is always asking questions and her sense of humor is on par with the rest of my children. She is the one who always knows the answers in her primary class and when they gloss over the surface and she doesn’t get to share her knowledge or pronounce names like “Ahazerus” she generally comes home with an eye roll or two. Speaking of eye rolling, she is a pro as would be expected of any good tween. She loves to draw and has a tendency to carry a sketchpad and pencil nearly everywhere she goes. She is stubborn, which has its pros and cons, and her room is still a certified disaster area. She thinks like an artist, not like her OCD mom, which also has its pros and cons. There are days when she makes me so frustrated and days when she makes me laugh and I am grateful for all of it. I feel very blessed to have her in my family.
In my explorations into cuisine of the world, I have discovered that there are some foods that are universal. Pretty much every culture has some kind of a pancake. Sandwiches are another food that appears in countless regional variations. And people around the globe, regardless of nationality, have a love of gravy. Seriously, who doesn’t love gravy? And whether it is served with rice, noodles, dumplings or mashed potatoes, those gravy-based dishes are often described as home style or comfort food.
When Scotland was mentioned during our initial discussion about cultural foods we wanted to try, the only food I could think of was haggis. And there was no way I was going to make my family eat that. In fact, there is no way I was going to make myself eat that. Scottish shortbread came to mind as well, but I was trying to focus on meals rather than just desserts, so I knew some research was in order. I came across a number of recipes that looked tasty, sausage rolls for one, oatcakes, steak pie, but I when I came across a number of recipes for mince and tatties, I thought it would be a good option. In Scotland ground beef is called mince and tatties are potatoes, so the main ingredients were things I knew my family would eat. Add to that the fact that the mince is cooked in a lovely gravy, and I was pretty sure I had a winner.
We ate our mince and tatties this evening and as predicted, it was a hit. Gravy. Yum. Mashed potatoes. Yum. Carrots. Yum. It definitely fit the comfort food profile. And everybody liked it. It reminded Matthew of a family favorite, green beans and hamburger gravy minus the rice, but Malia loathes green beans, so the inclusion of carrots instead was a plus for her. The only alteration I needed to make to the recipe was the fact that peas are generally included in the gravy or served on the side. Matthew is allergic peas, so I left those out and served our meal with asparagus instead.
I suspect that mince and tatties will be appearing on our menu again. It was a simple to make variation on the theme of gravy.
Mince and Tatties: 4 forks
Over the past year or so, Malia has begun to really enjoy the current pop music. One of her favorite bands is OneRepublic. Earlier this year while listening to the radio, she learned that they would be coming in concert this month. She got really excited about that, and when she mentioned it to Kevin and I we thought it would make a great experience gift. The concert happened to be about a week before her birthday, so we decided tickets to the concert for her and a guest of her choice would make a fantastic birthday present. A third ticket was purchased as well since she is a little too young to go to a rock concert without adult supervision. Since the venue was outdoors and August is hot, Kevin was the parent tagged to act as chaperone.
Malia was extremely excited when we told her she would be going to the concert and her first job was to choose who to invite. She thought through her options and decided to invite her cousin Kate. Due to the late night associated with the concert, plans were made for Kate to sleep over afterwards. We would feed her waffles on Sunday morning and take her to church with us. Family dinner with my folks and sibs happened to be the day after the concert, so all parties involved thought it would be fun for her to spend Sunday with us and meet back up with her parents at dinner.
The plan in place, the waiting began. And six weeks is a long time when you are ten. But Malia survived the wait and as the big day approached, she got more and more excited. Daniel was down for a couple of nights a week before the concert and when he heard about it, he was actually a little jealous. That got Malia thinking and the possibility of Daniel taking the two girls to the concert instead of Kevin taking them arose. We left the decision in Malia’s hands, assuring her that whatever she decided was fine. She decided she wanted Daniel to take them, and he was most definitely happy to do so. Jacob and Drew, Kate’s two older brothers, were pretty jealous when they found out she was going to see OneRepublic, so they ended up buying tickets as well.
Last night was the big event, and all the kids were hyped up. Jacob drove Kate up to our house in time for her to join us for dinner (An invite to eat with us was extended to Jacob and Drew as well, but Kate nixed that idea as she didn’t want them horning in on her adventure. I don’t blame her one bit, but I do think it is funny!) and we headed off to the Olive Garden which was where Malia had chosen to eat. We hit a bit of a snag though, as the wait time was too long to allow us to eat and still get the kids to the concert on time. Malia was really disappointed, and I think that feeling was magnified by how often she has dealt with disappointments over the past few years, but we switched gears, ate at Raising Cane’s, and had her on the way to the concert in good time. Daniel was the designated driver for all five cousins. Although Kate didn’t want her brothers to join us for dinner, she was ok with them traveling to the concert in the same car. WINKY SMILIE
From what I hear, the concert was amazing. But since I wasn’t there, Malia has agreed to be my guest blogger:
When we got there, we got out of the car. Naturally. We climbed a short fence… crossed a couple of roads… We got to the actual amphitheater and sat down. I got thirsty so we got water. I finished it before the concert started. :l (I seriously regretted it.) We stopped by the merch place, and I got a hoodie. *SHOCKER SHOCKER* The first opener was an artist named Brynn Cartelli. She sang a few songs, and then left. Then the whole artist transition happened. Needtobreathe came on next. Their music kind of gave off the vibe of country rock. It was really loud. Really really loud. REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. loud. When OneRepublic really came out, and it was actually their turn, everyone stood up and started waving phone cameras. Everybody stayed up too. Ryan Tedder, the lead singer, has a pretty good sense of humor. “Get the internet. Get it. Download it on whatever you have!” That is just one example. “I need water. It’s not humid here.” It still wasn’t, even though it was raining. (Hence me putting on my new hoodie and putting the hood up.) “I wish we could airdrop you all awards! Turn on bluetooth. Drain some battery.” They opened with Kids, then sung in this order following kids, Good life, Stop and stare, Rescue me, Secrets, Wherever I go, Love runs out, (He sung snippets of these songs because he helped write them) Bleeding love, Burn, Rumor has it by Adele Maps and Love somebody by Maroon 5, and That’s what I want by Lil Nas X. He also helped write Sucker, by the Jonus Brothers. Instead of just a snippet of that song, he sang the whole thing. Afterwards he sang West coast, I ain’t worried, Apologize, to which he made us a 20,000 person choir. At the end he made us sing the line :”It’s too late to apologi-ize, it’s too late!” It was really cool. He said it was a miracle that he was there because he had lost his voice two days prior. His singing was still really good for losing his voice that close to the concert. After Apologize, he sang I lived, Counting stars, and the finale was If I lose myself. Most of the songs had really long intros, so nobody knew what song they would play. Once you found out, everyone started singing along. Daniel said he felt bad for the cellist because the weather wasn’t really ideal. But he still did great. Daniel said Kate and I screamed our heads off. I’m not even surprised. My head hurt after. Again, I’m not even surprised. It probably took us 30 minutes to an hour to get out of the parking lot. We had just barely gotten out of a OneRepublic concert, and yet we listened to OneRepublic on the way home anyway. Mwahaha. We got home and I built a nest to sleep in downstairs. Kate slept on the couch. We only got roughly 7 hours of sleep. We probably fell asleep around 1:15, or 1:20. We woke up at 8:15. I do very much plan to wear my hoodie on the first day of school. I think my favorite of all the songs they sang was…oh… how do I narrow it down… were probably If I lose myself, and Apologize, and Counting stars, and and and… AND ALL OF THEM. I could never decide on just one. There was someone behind us that’s scream sounded like HayHay on the boat in the ocean from Moana. It was kind of entertaining. Also, they did things in the songs that weren't in the actual recording. In Good Life, they replace L.A. with Salt Lake. It’s originally “Well my friends in New York, I say hello. My friends in L.A they don't know where I’ve been for the past few years or so.” Instead it was “My friends in Salt Lake, they don't know where I've been for the past few years or so.” It was really fun. There was an interesting solo section in counting stars. Ryan said that he gave his song to his boss or something and they said it wasn’t very good, and that he could just keep it. Pretty soon after, that song became like number one or something like that. Then he said with a chuckle that he got fired soon after it went from not even charted to the at very least top 10. I don’t think the rain ruined a thing about the concert. If anything, it made it even a little better. Lots of people just sat there and enjoyed the concert and the rain. Wait. Stood there. As far as I know not very many people were sitting down. “There're probably 13 or 14 people that thought that they were going to a OneDirection concert, but we’ll welcome you anyway.”-Ryan tedder, August 13, 2022. Some people probably had to miss the finale of If I lose myself just to get out of the parking lot. How very sad. We stayed the whole time. Even with the price of being one of the last ones out. We got to listen to more OneRepublic, so I think I would have chosen to be the last one out that miss the finale. In conclusion, I really enjoyed it. Mwahaha.
I love that Kate was Malia’s first choice as a companion. I love that Malia wanted her big brother to take her. I love that Daniel felt like watching the girls have an amazing experience was just as fun as the concert itself. I love that my kids love their family, immediate and extended. And I love that Malia felt like this adventure totally made up for missing our Cedar City trip. I think this is one of those experiences that Malia and Daniel will remember for years to come.
When my fam told me they wanted to sample food from Poland, stuffed cabbage rolls were the first thing that came to mind. However, my family is not crazy about cabbage. In fact, most of them avoid it in most forms. They’ll eat it if it is hidden in something like the filling of potstickers and some of them will happy consume it as part of a hearty minestrone soup, but overall, they either avoid it like the plague (Malia), pick around it when it’s noticeable (Matthew), or eat it as a part of a meal but not select it if given a choice (Kevin-unless it’s something like okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake that includes a hearty helping of cabbage). I like cabbage, but I figured that there was not going to be much hope of my family liking a traditional Polish food if it had cabbage right in the name.
I went trolling on Pinterest to see what else I could find and discovered several recipes for Polish beans and sausage. It was described as Polish comfort food, something that someone’s Polish mama or grandmama would make as a hearty meal to fill the bellies of their loved ones. The ingredients were simple, the flavors basic, and it looked like something even my pickiest eater might enjoy. So I decided to give it a try.
The results of this sampling were positive. As I expected, the flavors were basic but as Matthew says, sometimes basic is really good. I agree with him as does Malia, who had two servings. Kev enjoyed it as well and as for its heartiness factor, no one went away hungry. It was very filling. It may not have the visual appeal of some of our other experiments, but it certainly tasted good!
Sausage and Beans Rating: 4 forks
Last night Matthew and I had the pleasure of seeing the national tour production of the Broadway show “Hadestown.” There have been relatively few shows recently that interest us, but this one was on Matthew’s definitely want to see list. Other than the fact that the show was based on Greek mythology, I didn’t know anything about this particular show. Matthew has been listening to the soundtrack regularly since about January, but I opted to go in blind. Seeing a show without any idea of what to expect is a rarity to me, and I thought it would be fun. And it was.
The story is based on the myth of Orpheus and Euridice with Hades, Persephone, Hermes and the Fates as characters as well. In terms of musical style, the music had the feel of southern folk music with a good portion of jazz mixed in. The instrumentation was quite unique. There was a violin, cello, string bass, guitar, piano, percussionist, and a trombone. The musicians for the show (except for the drummer) were onstage for the entire show and I loved that. Normally they are in the pit but having them on stage really made the music part of the story and allowed me to enjoy the musicians’ performances in a different way than I normally do when watching a musical. In addition, a handful of the actors played instruments which was great. It’s not every day that you get to see a Fate sing, dance, act, and play accordion all at the same time!
Now for the story. The plot of the show started off slowly. So slowly, in fact, that for a while in act one I wasn’t sure I was going to like it because nothing happened. On the upside, I was able to focus on the musicians for most of the first act. Having said that, once the story really got started, it never stopped, and I got caught up in the flow of the tale. In fact, I have never in all my life wanted a Greek myth to end differently more than I did. I knew what was going to happen and I still found myself hoping it would end well. But alas, there was no softening of the ending.
This is the first time that I have attended a musical with just Matthew. Going with just Nathan was a pretty normal occurrence, but Matthew is enough younger that there was always another person with us. But with both Daniel and Nathan living away from home, we finally got to have a Matthew/Mom night on the town. Matthew and I have never really communicated well because we think so differently that I can’t wrap my brain around why he does things. Our best conversations have been about food because I’m always his touch point for food allergies. But all the other stuff? Kev has always done better there. But lately things have been different. Matthew has been sharing more. And it was nice to hear all about band and how he misses theater and what he’d like to do in regard to future school musicals and community theater. Basically, we can have a good conversation now and it is nice. Definitely a step forward in our relationship.
As I mentioned before, Matthew has been listening to the soundtrack for months and has loved the music. The actual production did not disappoint, and he says “Hadestown” is now his favorite musical. So a good show and some good conversation. All around a good evening.
