Trip to the Mother Land!

 Once upon a time, when we young and freshly graduated from BYU, we decided to move to Baltimore for a cool job opportunity for Glen.  We had one toddler and were 32 weeks pregnant with our second  baby when we moved.    This picture was taken within a couple weeks of moving in. 

 We liked Baltimore okay and enjoyed living and exploring  there for a couple years, then ultimately decided that that was not the place we wanted to raise our family.   When an opportunity arose for a 2-year rotation at the DC office of the  company Glen was working for, we assumed that we'd live in DC for 2 years then be onto our "forever" home...wherever that might be....however, that plan didn't pan out, because we  liked DC way more than we expected and decided to stay.  We bought a house and ended up staying for nearly 20 years.  In the process we attracted every single one of my siblings (but one) to do a stint living in DC.   Three of my brothers and a sister still live there, not to mention countless friends.  
 

When we sold our house and moved away from Northern Virginia in 2019, we did it with sad, but hopeful hearts.  We knew we'd miss so many people that we'd grown to love over the years, but we also were excited to get a fresh start somewhere new and have the opportunity to make a difference in a new place.  

We enjoyed Pennsylvania, but it did not turn out like we expected.  We met many wonderful people there that hold a special place in our hearts, but Glen's job opportunity, though great for his career path, fizzled out more quickly than expected and we also got blindsided when COVID came and shut down the world.  I think we would have certainly struggled with COVID in Virginia as well, but being newbie homeschoolers in a place that shut down hardcore was not fun.   There were people we met that I never saw the unmasked faces of the entire time we lived there and awkward situations that never got to be resolved, because of how everything went down.  Overall we 100% know that we were supposed to live in PA for the two years we were there, but, with as shallow as our roots were,  it  honestly wasn't that hard to leave when a new opportunity arose.  Sadly, I don't believe anyone there misses us a bit.  

Then we moved to Utah.  Once again, we know we are where we are supposed to be right now.   I believe that Ellie needed to attend American Heritage School and it's felt like a gift to be close to my Mom while my Dad's health was declining so quickly and even more so now that he's gone.  Having said that though....Utah is kind of a wild place!   We knew Utah culture would be different than what we were used to, but I was unprepared for the complete lack of interest from people around us.  They're the nicest people in the world (literally), but don't seem super interested in getting to know us on a deeper level than just "Hey, we're nice.  See you next Sunday."    Granted, I admit that Glen and I are both pretty introverted and a little on the awkward side, so we don't make for the easiest people to get to know, but it has been a bit discouraging how little effort anyone has put into it.   Even my own efforts to reach out have fallen pretty flat.  The book group I started as a deliberate act to find some friends has resulted in a great small group of women who meet at my house monthly, chat about the book, then go on their merry ways.   They don't want refreshments, they don't want conversations that drag on into the evening, and they don't want to hang out outside of book group.   It's okay.    As I mentioned previously, I am pretty introverted and have low social needs, so I stopped taking it personally pretty quickly after moving here and now just accept that my close friends live in faraway places.   It's all good.  

So, why all the pontificating and recapping about our moving adventures and sorry social lives?   

I guess it's to bring me to the heart of the  reason for this blogpost.   Ellie and I flew back to Virginia right after her graduation and spent a week visiting family and friends!!!!    The visit was good for our souls and it felt so good to be somewhere where we felt known, loved, and missed!     

Here's a little recap of our time there: 

Speaking of book groups....these are my book group besties right here! I was sooooooo excited (like over the moon excited) when I found out that I was going to be in town while book group was meeting.  I even hurried up and  read the book during our travel time, so I could be a part of the discussion.  As always, the discussion was in-depth and interesting and I relished in conversations and friendships like I haven't had in 4 years.    Every single one of these women are intelligent and faithful and being there that night was one of the highlights of my trip.   Truly when I think of "my people" (outside of my family), these are them.  

One of the first people I called when I knew I was coming to town was Kelly!   She's been the best kind of friend you could ask for and I was delighted that she had a little sliver of time before heading out of town for Memorial Day weekend.   

Kim was also on my short list of people to visit and it was fun to go on a morning walk one day with her and Kelly.  They are both down-to-earth and good listeners.  I treasure my friendship with both of them and I was glad they had time for me.  

We also spent some of the time visiting with my brother, Peter, and his family.  They lead very busy lives, but I loved having a day to hang out and catch up with them.   The girl cousins were verrrrrrry excited to spend time with Ellie and it was fun to attend one of Davin's baseball games.   I was also able to go on a walk with McKenzie and take her on an outing to see another of my brother's families up in Maryland.  

I love that I still have young children in my life through my siblings.   I don't see them often enough, but we also  loved visiting with Matt's family while we were there.   Sadly we didn't get to see Matt, as he was on a business trip, but his kiddos are as fun and adorable as ever and we love his wife, Karey!  Just in case you're wondering how cute my 5-year-old niece Anna is...she's 104 cute...as compared to her cat which is only 2 cute.   😂

We also spent some time with our beloved homeschooling friends, the S family, the P family,  and the V.D. family.  These are friends that have been a wonderful support through our 11ish years of homeschooling and I can honestly say that I couldn't have done homeschooling without them.    They not only were practical support, being an integral part of a co-op that covered challenging topics for the kids, but they were also dear and supportive friends that felt the same call to pull their kids out of school.    It's not an easy club to be a part of, but it sure helps when you've got great people on your team!    Ellie was also very happy to spend some time with Joseph, Hannah, and Miriam!   

My sister, AnnaLisa, was out of town for a Memorial Day beach weekend with friends for a good portion of the time we were in Virginia, but I was grateful that she was able to set aside some time to explore DC with us before she left.   We introduced her to Magnolia Dessert Bar, traipsed around downtown with her (see more pics below), and, in general, just enjoyed spending the day with her.  

We also hit up the Hirshhorn Museum, which was full of funky artwork--including a room filled with phallic symbols (the room with mirrors and red and white objects), a room filled with random stream of consciousness quotes from the artist, and a giant spotted pumpkin.   Definitely not your typical art museum, but  fun to see some off-the-wall stuff!  

AnnaLisa also brought us to the Hillwood Estate and Gardens--a place we'd never been before.  It was the home of Marjorie Meriweather Post (heir to the Post Cereal fortune) and it was quite grand.  I loved touring the gardens and seeing a glimpse at her myriad of collections and how organized she kept them.   You can have quite the array of interests when you're the heir to a giant fortune!  

I attended church on Sunday, but knew I wouldn't get enough time to talk with people there, so I put it out on the ward email group to meet me at Nottoway Park on Sunday afternoon.   We kept it super casual and it was so fun to have some uninterrupted time to visit with some more friends.   I enjoyed the conversations I had, even if it did  make me really miss being somewhere where people know and love us.   

The first few days I was in town, I used Tim's apartment as a homebase.   He introduced me to Big Buns and the new Amazon Fresh Grocery Store and I brought him to Taco Bamba!   Tim's a pretty quiet guy, so it was fun to have a good excuse to hang out with him for  a few days!   

One of the activities we added into our schedule last minute was a trip to the Marine Corps Band Memorial Day concert at Wolf Trap!    We'd been several times over the years we'd lived there and it was a great place to see more long-lost friends.   The music was fantastic, the night beautiful (only a little rainy), and the company excellent.  

I had met with Mary early in our trip (another person on my short list of people to visit), but never got a picture, so I was grateful to see her at the concert again and at least get a quick snapshot together.   Adam and her son are good friends!  

When Ellie wasn't hanging out with me, she was having her own fun with her own friends {collage created by her}.  Most of her friends also had plans for Memorial Day weekend, but she spent as much  time as she could with Kelsey, Emilia, and others.  

 

Okay, so this next photo collage wasn't actually taken in  Virginia, but it did occur shortly after returning home from Virginia and involved more Virginia friends, so I'm including it here in this blogpost.  Cami's sister-in-law is expecting a baby next month, so she had a baby shower that included a lot of people we know and love from Virginia as well!     We are excited for Ashley and loved the opportunity to see more dear friends! 💖

On the same vein, here's another Virginia face we know and love and saw at Walmart last week....Elder Perkins!   Of course, he hasn't been known as "Elder" in several years, but he was one of our very favorite missionaries (and he had a special bond with Ellie back in the day) and it was a delight to see him again!   

So....there you have it.   I do have friends.   They're wonderful, thoughtful, caring, and amazing and mostly live across the country from me.    That's okay.   I can visit.  

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Emma in Alabama!

Cami, Garrett, and Lucie have been living a crazy life since Cami started working as a full-time nurse in a local NICU a few months ago.  Her hours are all over the place, with a mix of day and night shifts, and Garrett's hours as a first year medical resident are also intense and variable.   It makes for an exhausting schedule and creates a bit of a juggling act trying to make sure Lucie's needs are met too.  Thankfully Lucie has a super easy-going personality that makes going with the flow a bit easier. 

Up to this point, they've mostly had their childcare needs met through a babysitting exchange they have with Garrett's brother and sister-in-law who live nearby and have a daughter close in age to Lucie.   It's been a huge blessing for both of their families, but, even with this nice arrangement, with their crazy all-over-the-place hours, it still often proves challenging for them...especially when both Cami and Garrett are on night shifts at the same time or when the sister-in-law is out of town.   

One of those extra crazy weeks popped up last month, so we flew Emma out to be their helper for the week (much like when Glen flew out there in April to help)!   I think Emma enjoyed being there, as much as Cami enjoyed having stress-free childcare for the week!   Here are a few pictures from her time there:   

Lucie really really enjoys the one-on-one bonus attention that comes from an extra undistracted adult in the house.   She knows she rules the roost and loves to plan her own days--bringing books when she wants to read books, bringing her shoes when she wants to go outside, and signing for food when she gets hungry.  

Emma thoroughly enjoyed being Lucie's indentured servant for the week, as well as the sister time she got with Cami. 

 I sure do love little Lucie (and her parents) and  am grateful to live in a day and time of electronic communication, because we definitely don't see her in person as often as we'd like.    I look forward to Facetiming with her whenever they have time and I love that she now recognizes us and calls us by name when she sees us on the phone.    She can say Gigi, Papa, Ellie, Emma, and Adam.  Spencer's name has some complicated consonant blending, but she's working on his name too!   :)

As sad as this picture is, I think it's sweet that she gets so sad when her special people leave.   She had been perfectly happy up to that point and got very upset when Emma started saying goodbye when dropping her off at the airport.  

I'm very much looking forward to my next visit...coming up very soon!  

And be sure to stay tuned for a crazy summer of many adventures also coming soon. 

Graduation Time!

My baby has graduated from high school and seminary!     

Here's what I wrote about this milestone on Facebook (the first time I've posted since Christmastime):   

We called Ellie our "bonus baby" when she arrived at the end of our five kids. She was our easiest going baby by a mile and she really did feel like a sweet gift to round out our family perfectly. She's had a bit of a rocky road in her life including a seizure disorder that started right at the beginning of her kindergarten year. Despite visiting several doctors over the years and trying countless medications (and natural approaches), she never has had perfect seizure control (even now), she has faced fear and ignorance from her peers, can’t get a driver’s license, and ended up in a school situation that became untenable when she did not qualify for an IEP and the 504 plan the school came up with was completely worthless. So her education has included 3 years of public school, 8 years of homeschool, and 2 years at a private school....plus 3 moves in the last 4 years. Yet she’s still a rockstar! She has found wonderfully supportive friends, has an optimistic attitude, is thoughtful and empathetic, and has grand plans for the future. We are so proud of all she’s overcome to get here and we are excited for her to start at BYU-Idaho this fall. Happy Graduation (from high school and seminary), Ellie! We love you!

 Here's a little glimpse of some of her graduation events:   

First, there was a senior dinner at her school.  We enjoyed a delicious meal together...

While we ate, teachers read a 3-5 minute tribute for each of the graduating seniors.  Ellie's graduating class was about 60 kids, so it was doable for one night, but a little long.   Ellie's tribute was sweet and meaningful and  read by Mr. H--one of her favorite teachers.  

 It was a long night, but a wonderful thing to be a part of.  Ellie attending American Heritage School is absolutely one of the reasons why we needed to live in Utah and I love, love, love that she got to attend there for the past 2 years. It's a truly special place and was the perfect step away from homeschooling that we were looking for when we moved here.   

Next on the graduation docket was seminary graduation! 

 This age got a rough road with seminary because COVID made things difficult right when they were just starting out as freshman.  As such, it definitely took an extra bit of tenacity to be able to finish all 4 years and we are proud of her for this accomplishment.  This picture is with a couple of the seminary graduates from our ward.  There were a couple more that we couldn't track down for the picture.    

During her high school years, this girl has lived in 3 different houses, 4 wards, had 2 of those years marred by COVID, and she is still smiling!  

We are so proud of her hard work, positive attitude, and ability to go with the flow.   

Her future is bright and we are grateful for the light she brings to  our family and to the world! 

Mother's Day Reflections

Being a mother is a profound and transformative experience that has shaped my life in countless ways. For nearly three decades, I have been blessed with the privilege and responsibility of raising the five kiddos that have come to our family.  This role has taken me on an incredible journey of love, growth, and self-discovery. Through the joys and challenges, I have learned invaluable lessons that have shaped my perspective and enriched my life.

 From the moment each of my children was placed in my arms, an unbreakable bond was formed and my life has never been the same.   During the last 30ish years since becoming a mother, I've been pregnant 5 times, breastfed for over 6 years, taken my kids to countless medical specialists {neurologists, ophthalmologists, orthodontists, hematologists, oncologists, cardiologists, pulmonologist, epileptologist, neuropsychologist, orthopedists, etc}, cried through their surgeries (4 that I can remember), taken care of 4 broken bones (that's probably not that bad for having 5 kids), wiped away many tears, cooked thousands of meals, homeschooled for 11 years, sent 3 kids on missions, driven them to countless activities, planned one wedding,  welcomed a new grandbaby, and had my heart filled to overflowing again and again and again.   

Motherhood is by far the hardest thing I've ever done, yet I would do it all again in a heartbeat  and feel so grateful to have these 5 kids {who are now all adults} be a part of my story.  

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AND on a very different, but related note, here's a glimpse at my Mother's Day this year!  

I talked to my sweet Elder!  I've been missing him extra much lately and I loved the chance to have a bonus call with him without feeling guilty for not making it a group call with the whole family, as we always do on his p-day calls. 

Glen made the most epic dinner ever.  Smoked steak (I don't even usually like steak, but this steak was out-of-this-world good!), plus steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes, and some sourdough bread (I had made the day before).   Then Ellie made GF cinnamon rolls for dessert. 

It was all delicious and very nice not to have to cook myself!  

We also enjoyed Emma, Heather, and my Nana who came for the occasion.  My mom is out of town, otherwise it would have been fun to have her there as well!  

I thought it was cute that my 3 kiddos who were there all matched each other (2 accidentally, 1 on purpose)...

It was fun to have my grandmother there as well...

Also, I know I'm excessively weird, but I am really happy to be back to making weekly programs for church again (even if I did have to beg).   For whatever reason, I find making them to be a creative outlet for me and I loved this Mother's Day picture from a neighbor so much, I decided to print them in color for Mother's Day!   No one else probably cared a bit, but I smiled every time I caught a glimpse of one. 

It's a little crazy to me that my stage of life with kids at home  is coming to an end, but it's been a good 28 years and definitely worth celebrating.  

💗💗💗💗💗

Surefire Cure for Insomnia

Life update taken straight from a letter written to our missionary.  I like crossing two things off my list in one fell swoop, so it's a tradition I've kept up  since my first one left on a mission. 
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5/8/2023

Hello dear Missionary!  
How has your week gone?   Has Springtime arrived there in the great state of Oregon yet?    Does Springtime mean copious amounts of rain?   Or are you just basking in sunlight and flower blossoms?  Actually...HOLY MOLY...I just checked the weather app that said Portland will be up in the 90's by the end of the week!   What the heck?!    That's a whole lot warmer than here, but what's new?!   We've still got our heater on over here and I just checked and confirmed that Minnesota is, indeed, also warmer than here,  so I'm not imagining things. 😶 

Oh, FYI, I should probably let you know now that this week was exceedingly not exciting, which means that this letter will probably show up in future textbooks as the surefire cure for insomnia.   In fact, I've already put the two dogs to sleep and I'm yawning, so the effects are kicking in already.  😴

So....what was the super non-exciting happenings of the week here in the G. home?  

Emma ate dinner with some people. Who?   Probably people from her mission, but who knows? 

I challenged the girls to try to stump me with a topic for sending them postcards.   Cami was easy peasy with a request for "exotic animals"...

Ellie wanted "gremlin", so I found her the ugliest most gremliny card I have, put a stamp on it, and actually sent it to her in the mail (of course I did).

  I'll send you a picture of Emma's request and actual postcard once she receives it.  She is only one who came close to stumping me.     Do you have a postcard request?    I'm ready!

Then I saw some pretty trees today.   We are about 2 months behind the blossoming trees in Virginia, but they made me very happy.  

Ellie has a bloodshot eye for no apparent reason.  I think she'd really like you to see this picture.   Please make sure you tell her that I showed it to you. 

Also, Emma does her hair purty and takes selfies.  You should for sure mention this picture to her as well....

You'll be happy to know that Rocky is still kicking.   He may be 101 in dog years, but he's also still annoying as heck--barking for no reason, peeing/pooping on the floor randomly, and getting stuck in the laying position when he's on hardwood floors.  But he's still surviving for now.  

We found this place for Ellie to take her senior pics.  We just need to go back with her cap and gown and make it official. 

I decided to try my hand at sourdough bread again.   I took a class from my neighbor and learned some tips and tricks.  I didn't eat any myself, but reports are very enthusiastic from the gluten eating members of the family. 

The mountains looked really cool the other evening.  Also, check out the behemoth house behind us.   It's massive and not very attractive looking, but they hired some people to help build it and it's  made more progress in the last few months than they had in the previous 1-1/2 years since we moved in.  

You probably thought I forgot....or more appropriately....you probably HOPED I forgot, but I didn't.   Here's your dam humor for the week.   I love you. 

  

ON a less sleepy note, here's a spiritual thought that popped out to me this week from the most recent General Conference....

“...the pure love of Christ is the answer to the contention that ails us
today. Charity propels us “to bear one another’s burdens” rather than heap burdens upon each other. The pure love of Christ allows us “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things”—especially in tense
situations. Charity allows us to demonstrate how men and women of Christ speak and act—especially when under fire. .”

Russell M. Nelson, “Peacemakers Needed,” April 2023

 So, what do you think?   Are you sleeping yet?   Don't worry, I'll try and have a more exciting week next week.    I LOVE YOU LIKE CRAZY!!!!! 

Love,
Yo Momma
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PS  Here's a glimpse of our family phone call from his p-day last week: