MaeLyn's Musings

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!