MaeLyn's Musings

I just got home from dropping Hannah off at the airport. She is flying to Salt Lake, where my sister Lindy will pick her up and take her to the MTC in Provo. She enters the MTC at 12:30 this afternoon, and will officially be Sister Hiatt, missionary. I don't know how I feel about this yet. It doesn't seem real that I'm not going to see her for eighteen months, that she'll spend most of that time *hopefully* on the other side of the world. I am grateful that she made the decision to serve a mission, and I think she will be amazing. She seems so self-confident and grown up - much more so than I felt when I left to serve, and I was a couple years older than she is now. Last Friday, we received an email from our stake president to inform us that Hannah's visa hadn't arrived yet, so she was being reassigned to the Provo MTC. It was a bit disappointing that she wasn't heading to Brazil immediately, but this gives her a little more time to learn some Portuguese...

Josh worked at a scout camp this last summer. He would go up on Sunday after church and come home Saturday morning. One Saturday he came home with a scab on his forehead and the news that one day that week, he had fallen asleep and fallen off the bench he had been sitting on and hit his head. He had been up late the night before and nodded off during one of the classes. One day in mid-September, I received a phone call from the school nurse to tell me that Josh had fallen asleep during class, and again fell off his chair and hit his head on the ground. At first I thought it was a recurrence of what had happened at scout camp, but when I asked him about it after school, I became a little suspicious. He said this time he hadn't been feeling particularly sleepy. He had gotten a feeling of  déjà vu and a headache before falling asleep suddenly. That sounded remarkably like how I feel when I have a seizure. At 6:21 AM  yesterday morning I received a text from John, who was at s...

Hannah got to speak in church this last Sunday. Here is her talk: I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus As I’m sure you know, I’m serving a mission soon. I’m going to the Brazil, Sao Paulo South mission and I leave on November 7th (9 days!). And naturally, there’ve been a lot of things I’ve needed to do to prepare. Now, what everyone asks is, “do you speak Portuguese yet?” And in the four months since I got my call, I’ve been working hard on it. So now, a week and a half away, I can now say with confidence, “Eu nao falo Portuguese.” ...I’m very grateful for the MTC. No, but I have been preparing, not just over the last few months but through my whole life. Since I was a little kid in primary, I’ve tried to become more like Christ. I loved to sing “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus,” and especially now that I’m older I absolutely love that song because of of the pure, simple way it invites us to become better. It’s got everything laid out in those two short verses we learn as children. Now I know tha...

The first weekends in April and October are always times that I look forward to. They are the times when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds world-wide conferences, and we get to hear the words of living prophets and apostles. I always come away from these conferences feeling inspired to be a better person. This year, our local bishop wanted Hannah to experience conference in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah before she leaves on her mission, and so our family was provided with tickets to both the Saturday evening General Women's session (the first time it was ever held conference weekend! Before it was always held the preceding Saturday.) for Hannah and me, as well as tickets to the Sunday morning session for the entire family. Friday, October 5th was our stake temple day, so Hannah and I decided that while Steven was at work and the boys were at school, we would go up to the Fort Collins temple for a session that morning. The temple was busy, and...

I don't know how much longer I can stay on this seizure medication. At first I just felt kind of "spacey", like my thoughts were floating "out there", a little disjointed and haphazard. It was difficult to focus, to concentrate on anything for very long, and it was hard to articulate what I wanted to say sometimes. I still feel that way, but I realize that it's more than that. I feel disconnected on a deeper level. I feel like I've lost my grounding, my foundation that gives me support when life throws challenges my way. I can't roll with the punches right now, I get knocked out and I feel stunned and out for the count for way too long. I can't deal with the little setbacks that come my way. I've always been a person who likes to know what to expect, and I don't like surprises. But now, any time I'm facing anything that is even the slightest out of the ordinary, I find myself plagued by the "what-ifs" and stressing abo...

Note: This is a generic white '07 Toyota Highlander...  I don't have an actual picture of Scottie yet. On Saturday, September 22nd, we welcomed an addition to our family. Meet "Scottie", a 2007 Toyota Highlander. Steven and I found it at a dealership in Longmont, Colorado, and it was the very first car we test drove. We did look at another car, but came back to this one in the end. Although it does have some hail damage on the outside, the inside is comfortable and clean and the car has been well maintained and it is a pleasure to drive. Welcome to our household Scottie!

How would you define the word "strong"? Look it up in a dictionary, or just Google it and see how many definitions there are, how many different kinds of strength there can be. Synonyms include powerful, athletic, tough, intense, forceful, compelling, influential, passionate, deep-seated, secure, indestructible, tenacious, vivid, concentrated, and extreme. In general we associate strength with muscles. Muscles are strengthened as muscle fibers that are damaged through use are fused together to form new, thicker strands. In other words, muscles are strengthened when they are used and challenged. When muscles are not used for extended periods of time, they atrophy, or waste away. The mind, like a muscle, must also be used to be strengthened and to avoid atrophy. Peter at 3 months People need to be strong physically and mentally to survive all the challenges we face in this life. Luckily, we seem to be born knowing this instinctively. As infants we kick and squirm a...

I was a passenger on a bus in an underground warren of streets in what reminded me of an airport terminal. The bus driver had been commissioned to deliver us to a particular gate, but didn't know how to get there. Another passenger had a map, but since none of the gates were labelled in any way, it was impossible to tell where we were or which of the gates we saw was the one we wanted to reach. I had a strangely familiar feeling like I'd been there before - not familiar in the sense that I knew the way to where we were going, more in the sense that I'd been in that same situation before, that we were going around in endless circles. Steven's alarm clock went off. It was 5:30am, and time to get up for family scripture reading before the boys went off to seminary. We gathered the kids, and it took repeated knocks at Hannah's door before she awoke- she'd had a late night and was in no condition to drive the boys to seminary. After our family scripture reading, I ...

I called my neurologist's office this morning and asked if they could change my prescription to something different. I haven't broken out into a horribly deadly rash. I haven't been contemplating suicide. I haven't even had a seizure recently. But life has been hard for me these last three weeks. At first I wasn't sure if I wasn't just coming down with a cold or something. But day after day, I've felt tired and drained... and a bit spacey.  I felt like I would on a fast Sunday when I've gone without food and water for 24 hours, except that I've been eating and drinking normally. I've felt like I do when I'm sleep deprived, but I've been getting the same amount of sleep as I normally do, if not a bit more because I've been so tired. A few days ago it occurred to me that the seizures I am experiencing are a symptom of some condition of which the doctors don't have a clue, and that I am taking a medication daily that is having a ...

Small and useful gifts. All must fit in the suitcase Destined for Brazil.

If you see this (It's called "ring around the collar") ,  Then do this:  Add a bit of this (Dawn dish soap - look for it around the kitchen sink) to a splash of this (Hydrogen Peroxide - look in the medicine cabinet) so it looks like this:  Rub in gently.  Note this is an old toothbrush! Let sit for a few minutes...  ...then wash normally. Tada!

Somehow along the line, I neglected to teach my youngest child how to load a dishwasher, in spite of the fact that it has been his chore for a week, every four or five weeks for the last several years. I knew he didn't like to do it, but this morning he complained that one of the reasons he doesn't like to is because he doesn't know how. Well, I've been thinking about posting instructions in the kitchen by the sink for a while anyway, (I think he isn't the only child confused about what can and what cannot go into the dishwasher) so I guess it is time. I'm typing this up for me, but I'm posting it here just in case it helps any one else. 1. What CAN NOT go into the dishwasher: WOOD - Chopsticks, Wood handled knife, potato masher, wooden spoons, wooden cutting board, don't put it in the dishwasher CAST IRON - Don't even think about it. This needs to be scraped/ wiped out WITHOUT soap, dried thoroughly and lightly oiled so it doesn't rust.  ...

Have you ever felt fear? I had been in Brazil for a few months and was just beginning to feel comfortable with the strange culture when my missionary companion and I arrived home late one evening. My companion was getting some food in the kitchen when I went up the dark stairs alone. It was when I reached the hall at the top of the stairs that I sensed something rushing towards my head in the darkness, fast. I was overwhelmed with terror - not a roller coaster adrenaline rush type of fear, or the kind of fear from which you can run away screaming. The only sound I could get out was a strangled gasp. I never thought to wonder if it was a panther pouncing or a maniac swinging an ax. This was a mind numbing, body paralyzing kind of fear. I was petrified. It wasn't until after it swooped past my ear and out the open window behind me that I was able to turn around and see the bat winging off into the night and then make my shaky way back down the stairs to the comfort of a lighted roo...

This morning I was reading some of the mass of new information that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has put out regarding church history in the last year or so, and I wondered why church leaders felt it so important to clarify so much information about the history of the church just now. In Relief Society on Sunday, our counsel was about getting the most out of General Conference, and the discussion evolved to why General Conference is important, and why we should pay attention to the things our prophet and church leaders are telling us. An example that was brought up was the The Family: A Proclamation to the World that was issued by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1995. At the time, many of the statements in the proclamation seemed obvious to us. It didn't seem like a big deal. This was issued before governments started feeling the need to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. This was before there was so much confusion ab...

How are the spirit and the body connected? I'm trying to ponder this, but I'm afraid the anti-seizure medication I'm on has fried my brain and it is making it very hard to think. I'm hoping writing out what I know here will help... I know that death is the separation of body and spirit. (See Eccl 12:7 ) I know that body and spirit together make a soul. (See D&C 88:15 ) I know that God created man's spirits. (See  Moses 6:36 ) Doctrine and Covenants 93:29-36 says: Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the lig...

Years ago, I learned a song at church. It went: I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know who I am. I know God's plan. I'll follow him in faith. I believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ. I'll honor his name. I'll do what is right; I'll follow his light. His truth I will proclaim. ( Words by Janice Kapp Perry C. 1989 ) In a recent statement , President Russell M. Nelson emphasized the importance of using the full name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are not the LDS church. We are not the Mormon church. This church was given its name by revelation 180 or so years ago, and that is the name that we should be using.  I was walking several days ago and pondering about the name of the Church and what it means to me. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ... This is the same church that Jesus Christ established when he lived on the earth. He is the central figure, with a complement of apostles, prophets, pasto...

When I go to a doctor, in my head, the scenario goes something like this: Me: Doctor, I have this problem. Doctor: Oh? Tell me about it. What are you experiencing? Me: Well, I have this symptom, and I feel this way and then this happens. Doctor: Hmmm. Well that sounds like _____________. It is caused by ________________. All you need to do is ________________________ and you will be healed. Me: Thanks! Doctor: You're welcome. You don't have to see me again until you have another problem. In reality, doctor appointments go rather differently. As a missionary, I once saw a doctor. That discussion went more like this: Me: Doctor, I have this weird itchy rash on my hands. Doctor: Oh? (Looking at it) Hmmm. That's weird. Tell me about it. Me: It showed up a few weeks ago and won't go away. It itches like crazy. Hot water seems to make it itch worse. It is spreading from my pointer fingers to the rest of my fingers and hands. It seems centered around my knuckles. ...

At the very beginning of the first episode of BBC's television series, Sherlock , John Watson's therapist tells him, "You're a soldier and it's going to take you a while to adjust to civilian life and writing a blog about everything that happens to you will honestly help you." John's miserable answer is, "Nothing happens to me." I enjoy watching Sherlock . I love the plot twists and the irony, the puzzles and the British humour. I love that there are different ways to understand so many things. In the scene I just described, does the therapist believe that he was traumatized by his time in the war, and that writing about what happens to him as a civilian will help him put the war behind him and focus on better things in the present? Or does she understand that John misses the war, that he is bored with civilian life, and that writing a blog about every little event will help him appreciate that things do actually happen to him? The irony, ...

Our vacation started on Wednesday, August 8th, when we attended a Rockies game compliments of Steven's work. The Colorado Rockies played the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates won. The food was good. After the game we headed out of town for the real adventure. We went to YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain Ranch . Awesome place, lots of fun. You should go there sometime. The YMCA has lodging for every type of outdoor enthusiast. They have a lodge (think motel) for those who need room service. They have cabins. They have yurts. They even have campsites for those who don't mind dirt under our feet. We set up our tent in the HOPI campground. That first evening we explored a bit, played miniature golf and did some stargazing. Thursday, August 9th, we woke up. Steven cooked breakfast in the dutch oven...  ....then we set out to find things to do.  Our first stop was at the program center where we were able to sign up for register for several different activities. Ou...