Come in, MTC, do you copy?

It was radio silence for seven days.

I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't a teensy bit anxious about hearing from Sweet Mesquite--my mother heart needed confirmation in the affirmative that the eagle had not only landed, but that she was settling comfortably into her new routine.

I'm happy to report that I received the big 10-4 yesterday afternoon. Not only is there no need for a distress signal, the eagle is SOARING.

 Our little missionary sent several emails full of happy details and pictures about her days in training. She has been assigned to a district of eight new missionaries, and has been paired up with a companion from the local area, Sister Carlson. They became fast friends. During their second (and final) week in the training center, they will serve as the leaders of the sister zone. She said it's been exhilarating to walk around and say "Welcome to the MTC!" to all of the missionaries with orange dots on their tags, indicating new arrivals.

 They will both be headed to San Diego next Tuesday, along with three others. The remaining three of the group of eight have been assigned to the Washington D.C. mission. (not to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as the next picture might lead you to believe)

She spends hours and hours in a classroom, but she assures us that time flies by. She reports that the food is good, gym time is fun, and she has even bumped into a friend from home.

 I know the relationships she is forming with these young adults who are commissioned and committed to the same ideals and beliefs she holds so dear will be forever friendships.

Mesquite was excited to report that as of yesterday, for the first time in the history of the Provo MTC, there were 52% sister missionaries, and 48% elders. Girl power!

Her next email will come from San Diego.

Signal is clear. Roger that.

XOXO

we won the lottery, basically

I keep telling everyone that about our new daughter-in-law...

WE WON!!

Teeny is WAY better than we would ever have imagined the perfect companion for our son would be.  I mean it. 

She's the BEST.

 AND she brings out the best in Yonder.

We feel LUCKY!

-and-

We feel surreptitiously lucky for Teeny's family.

They're FUN too!

(borrowed photo from FB--thanks NJ!)

and they've now gained another FUN family member in Yonder. See how that works?

Having children get married is an experience about which I was feeling a bit of trepidation... but it's now something I highly recommend.  As long as there are FUN feelings.

-

Christmas Eve

One of my very favorite Christmas traditions is our annual home made gift exchange on Christmas Eve. Each year at Thanksgiving, we draw names and work for the next month thinking about/making a thoughtful gift for the person who's name we've drawn. I love the ideas that are generated, and the love and thought that is put into each gift. Thanks to the magnificence of modern technology and the miracle that is overnight shipping, we were even able to include our remote family members.

This kind of giving is a favorite.

And we always follow up our gift exchange by watching Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in

It's A Wonderful Life together.

Despite it all, it IS a wonderful life.

being thankful

Just in case my blog posts were leading you to believe a wedding was all we were thankful for this year, we DID manage to gather, and share a Thanksgiving feast. 

Although there were many extended family members who were able to come, there were at least as many who could not be there. We were thoughtful of those not with us, and grateful for those who could be. We were not few in numbers, so we met at my parents' church.

 There were some greeting rituals unfamiliar to me.

 It was good to be together, and it was good to hear laughter.

 There was much hugging.

And, in a family who does not drink, there was a Druncle who liked to stir things up, I suppose to keep the young adults guessing.

 Thanksgiving duck-duck-goose

 and of course the FOOD:

 There were a few games after dinner; my personal favorite was Moriah's "boom-boom-pop."

 It was fun to be together.

 I am thankful for gatherings.

 And for family.

 And fun.

wedding + cousins = antics

Thank you, Columbus.

Columbus Day is that holiday Monday in October that just cannot be ignored in Massachusetts. Even if it's cloudy. 

Mid October = PEAK foliage.

On Columbus Day, there's NO excuse for staying put.

You must drive. And LOOK all around you.

But, as the woman who said the prayer at church this week put it when she sent her words Heavenward, "Thank you, God, for this beautiful Fall Foliage. BUT. I would ask all the drivers: PLEASE. Keep your eyes on the road. AMEN."

Yes. AMEN. But DO look. Safely.

If you haven't visited our neck of the woods this time of year, put it on your bucket list. NOW. And call ahead for reservations. Or you might have to settle for the overflow guest accommodations in the basement. I'll be HAPPY to host a Fall foliage tour!

As we were running errands (ALL.DAY.), I would look out the window and gasp, and point, and find myself saying things like "Who gets to drive around in this colorful place doing mundane things?--Oh right.  WE DO."

And so we did.

Taxiing students, shopping for wedding apparel, repairing eye glasses, picking up contacts, visiting the barber shop and BEST of all, delivering our UMass student Enrique, back to his place in Amherst; with clean laundry, some honey crisp apples and a few tupperware containers of food.

He hadn't been home since this summer.

We love him!

 And we love his wheels.

We also love his taste in food...

He introduced us to some Syrian Falafel sandwiches.

Falafels are a traditional Middle Eastern food--they looked like mini donuts, but are deep fried balls of ground chick peas.  The man who ran the shop gave us the FULL verbal history of the Falafel, and insisted that the Syrian version is the best. He kept giving us samples with his signature cucumber yogurt dressing (with mint) that was DELICIOUS.  The Falafels were then wrapped in Syrian bread (YUM) with a choice of fresh ingredients inside.  DOUBLE YUM. If you haven't tried a Falafel, I am happy to heartily recommend the Syrian version.

 I am also happy to heartily recommend the drive home from Amherst. We stopped no less than six times to take pictures.

 And, as a reward for his patience, I took my traveling companion to Kimball's, where we purchased our LAST ice creams of the season. They always close up shop on Columbus Day. For that one tiny thing I am not so grateful, however, the whole Columbus Day package in this area is pretty fantastic.

Come SEE!!

October Photo Walk

I love my walks.

October has sure come into herself... showy bursts of color every where you turn. I'd love to have you alongside me so I could point and exclaim "Oh look! Isn't it beautiful?!?"

Yesterday I took my camera with me to preserve some of my favorite colorful spots.

 Even the poison ivy looks good in October.

 It will be good to look back at the glorious departure from summer when we're enduring the long cold winter ahead.

 Fall in Massachusetts is just stepping off.

The days are filled with mostly mundane (although important) tasks, but we can perform them for the next two months in the most glorious of settings.

 I'm grateful for the awareness that it's good to pause and acknowledge the beauty all around.