MaeLyn's Musings

Abish has vanished.  She left home a week ago Oh, we will miss her! I wake in the morning and stumble out to the living room for family scripture reading. As the family assembles, Abish joins us in our circle. Sometimes I grab a knit mouse toy while the children are gathering and Abish swats and pounces, leaping high in the air. She is our expert hunter, occasionally bringing us birds, mice, katydids, and grasshoppers. As we read the scriptures, she lays happily on the sofa next to Steven. It was a tradition. she will be missed. I sit at the table with my Frosted Mini-Wheats and my Honey-Nut Cheerios. Abish sits near by and watches as I eat. I must be careful if I become distracted or leave the table before I'm done - Abish will swoop in like a vulture to drink the milk from my bowl. When I'm finished, I take my bowl to the sink, and dump most of any remaining milk, but Abish races over and licks my bowl anyway. She loves the milk, but if she gets too much, she t...

I made the mistake of writing about my Mother's Day before it was done. I thought they had given me all their gifts, and all that was left was dinner... but I was wrong. Dinner was ready and I was waiting to be called to the table to eat, but instead I was asked to sit at the table while the rest of the family hid behind the living room sofa, and out came the puppets. Did you see Steven's puppet show from our last family reunion? (If not, see here !) Anyway, same characters. In this episode, Lehi was talking with his boys about what they were going to do for Sariah for Mother's Day. Suggestions ranged from a cruise (Nephi and his boats...) to making breakfast in bed, and then the day arrived and some some of the gifts turned out better than others. In the end, Sam made a card and they all signed it, and Sariah was happy. I wish I had filmed it... but maybe I can get them to perform it again. Following the puppet show, I received a beautiful hand made pop-up card from the ...

Hannah made me this Mother's Day card today.  My family gave me breakfast in bed this morning. We chatted about dreams while I ate. I got to read the comics first. Steven hid Kit Kats in the bathroom for me to find after my shower. I feel loved. In Sacrament Meeting today, they had all the priesthood brethren come to the stand to sing "Love at Home". John played the piano and Joshua directed the music, as he does in Priesthood meeting each week. It touched my heart to watch them. I'm grateful that my sons have opportunities to learn skills and share them with others in the ward. I'm grateful for their willingness to serve. I'm grateful for my mother. I'm grateful for the righteous example she has always set, and continues to set for me. I'm grateful that she and my dad are serving a mission, and teaching me and my children about service and sacrifice. Mom, I love you! Happy Mother's Day!!!

On April 14th, Steven and I left the boys and drove to Idaho to pick up Hannah from BYU-I where she has gone to school the last couple semesters. ( see here .) We took her out to dinner that evening, toured the BYU-I campus (with a more knowledgeable guide this time) and then left her at her dorm one last night while Steven and I went to our hotel in Idaho Falls for the night. The next morning, Steven and I took a walk along the river behind the hotel, enjoying the wildlife and the scenery, including the Idaho Falls temple, located just across the river. There were also some really cool benches along the path. Eventually Hannah let us know she was ready and we headed back to Rexburg where we loaded her things into the car and then we set off to visit my sister Lindy in South Jordan, Utah. We enjoyed a nice quiet stay with her and Jessica that evening and then returned home the following day.  I have really enjoyed having Hannah home the last few weeks. The first co...

Northglenn High School presented "Les Miserables" on March 1-3. It was absolutely amazing, especially for a high school production. John and Joshua both participated, growing out their hair to unprecedented lengths. (Pictures below were taken by Anton Mayer, and were copied from his  Facebook page ) Josh leads the chain gang.  John had the role of the bishop who changed Jean Valjean's life. John also had the misfortune of being run over by a loaded wagon John is just to the right of center, as one of the revolutionary leaders. Josh is on the far right, wearing a red scarf. Josh is the dead french soldier lying on the top of the barricade in this image. Josh liked to tell people that he played 2/3 of the French army. In another scene he played a French sniper who was shot, so he got to die twice. (Another actor played a French commander, the other 1/3 of the French army.) We bought a DVD of the musical so if anyone is in the area and want...