MaeLyn's Musings

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early. Too early, really. The house was still quiet and still, but that wasn't surprising because the only other person at home was Hannah, and she could sleep until noon. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but after a half hour or so I surrendered to the day. I showered and dressed and went to the kitchen and made muffins. Just about the time that the sweet aroma of muffins was filling the house, Steven and the boys arrived home from the father's and son's campout they had been on. It had rained during the night, and they had forgotten to bring the fly from their tent, so a lot of their stuff was damp and muddy. Josh and Peter had been buried in sand (why???), so they came home with a fine coating of sand and dirt on their necks, in their ears, on their clothes, inside their sopping wet shoes. I directed them to take their wet clothes and things straight to the laundry room, and then listened to them tell me about their ca...

In institute this morning we discussed more of the book of Mosiah, particularly chapters 7-17. These chapters mostly talk about the people of Zeniff, who went back to the land of Nephi to live in the land they had first settled, which had been taken over by Lamanites. Much of our class time was used in making sure we understood when and where the various events here took place. In summary: This is the institute picture... Click on it to see it larger. My numbering isn't quite the same as theirs, since I include Amulon's group, and my list is in chronological order. 1. In approximately 200 B.C., Zeniff is a spy for a group of Nephites who journey from Zarahemla to the land of Nephi. Zeniff sees good among the people and doesn't want to destroy them, but the leader of this expedition is bloodthirsty and commands that Zeniff be slain. Family members fight, most of their army is destroyed, they return to Zarahemla. (Omni 1:27-28; Mosiah 9:1-2) 2. Zeniff really, really w...

As I've mentioned before, Steven has been searching for a job for the last couple months. Over the last couple weeks, he has interviewed with a company called MC Dean, located in Dulles, Virginia. Yesterday morning, Steven received a phone call from them with a preliminary job offer. Steven accepted the offer, and now he is working to complete the drug tests, background checks, etc, after which the company will fly him out to Virginia to meet the big-wigs. (His interviews with this company were done via video chat.) After that, if there are no hiccups, we will move our family there and he will begin work. Life has suddenly become a whirlwind of thoughts, emotions, to-do lists, and wonder. I am tremendously grateful that Steven has found a job. He feels less stressed and worried, I feel less stressed and worried. Soon, we will have money coming in again. This is a very, very good thing. I wonder why it had to be Virginia. I'm a California girl who has spent the last ten ...

Steven left for Europe last Friday. Ever since he started looking into this MBA program, I think this international trip has been what he was most excited about. He has been looking forward to it for over a year, and now he is finally there! He has suffered some jet lag and difficulty sleeping, but he has enjoyed the tours of businesses and monasteries, banks and cities. He landed in Frankfurt, Germany, but has also seen Rüdesheim, Mannheim, and Heidelberg. He has seen the European Central Bank, the Deutsche Bank, a John Deere factory and a BASF plant the size of a city. Today I believe he is traveling to Strasbourg, France. He has the camera so I hope he is taking lots of pictures. From his emails, it sounds like he is having fun. Meanwhile, I am essentially a single parent. I've attempted to keep the routines as close to normal as possible, and besides acting up a little, the kids haven't talked much about his being gone. I miss Steven though. I miss the things he does to h...

California - Born and Raised Oregon - Visited on vacation as a child.  I remember visiting Crater Lake . Washington - I think I visited as a child on vacation. I believe an uncle lived there. Nevada - I drove through many times on the way to Utah. Utah - Frequent vacation destination, attended BYU and MTC . Idaho - vacation destination, including a family reunion at Bear Lake Arizona - Served 2 months of my mission for LDS church New Mexico - Visited Carlsbad Caverns on a vacation as a child. Colorado - Current home sweet home. Wyoming - Drove through on the way to Utah, visited Yellowstone Park . South Dakota - Visited Mount Rushmore Nebraska - passed through on way home from Mount Rushmore. Florida - saw interior of Orlando Airport on way home from mission. Georgia - saw interior of Atlanta airport for 6 hours on way home from mission. To get your own map, click here . (Thanks Becca for the link!)