Thanksgiving in Chicago



Took a little trip to the Windy City to spend Thanksgiving with Family---that has such a nice ring to it...Thanksgiving with Family!! It is such a treat when we get to spend the holidays with family.




Freezing in Chicago! I think it is colder than Ohio...is that humanly possible?

We had a tasty traditional Thanksgiving feast (with a little Japanese flair), did a little Black Friday shopping and Harry Potter, walked the Miracle Mile and Christkindl Market, went to a real Japanese grocery store, ( I'm stocked with goodies for a few months!), made mochi, and played lots of games!  Thanks Jason and Risa--it was soooo much fun!  

Jason and Risa



Jason and Jake...Grandmas's oldest and youngest grands








  

Dinner at Francescas...GREAT pizza!



This is Scott...unplugged.  Such a nice holiday!



Check out these pigeons warming themselves by the fire! Smart pigeons!

Moms and Missionaries



I asked him to "Smile"...he tells me he will do GQ

 We have a missionary..it’s been official for nearly two months! I’ve concluded that life snowballs once your kids reach high school. They start out as freshman and the next thing you know, you are ordering graduation announcements and taking senior pictures.



Preparing a missionary is not for the faint-hearted. There are suits to buy, pants to tailor, books to be read, doctors visits to make. All of this is so carefully outlined in the Missionary guidebook, but it says nothing (let me repeat… “NOTHING”) about preparing moms to say goodbye to their sons for two years. I’m not going to sugarcoat it and tell you that it was a wonderful, peaceful, and spiritual experience. In reality, It was hard and gut-wrenching watching him walk away knowing that we wouldn’t have the regular phone calls and texts and our weekly Skype sessions. So why do we do this??!! I have had many friends ask how we can do this! Some of the more common and highly-rational questions are: 


I couldn't get them to give me a great pose!!

“Can you go visit him on his mission?” “You mean that you can’t talk to him on the phone except for twice a year??!!” OR “ He does get to come home for the holidays, right??” Um that is a “No”, “No”, and “No”.


Zach pretending to not love his sister...



I think that the best answer to these questions came when I read the letter that came from the Missionary Training Center for our Church. To paraphrase, it said that missions are a sacrifice for both missionaries and their families. Complete sacrifice means that missionaries leave routines behind and devote their full energy to service. Families help missionaries to focus on service when they provide support through positive and encouraging letters. In this way, their lives become immersed in serving and not distracted with routines from home. So…this is both Zach’s sacrifice and MY sacrifice!



I am so happy to report that in these two short months while he has been serving in Colorado, it has already been life changing for him and for our family. I miss him every day-- he is never far from my thoughts, and I look forward to my Wednesday morning email--- BUT I also know that I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is making him into the man I know he can become.



These are some memories that we made just before he left. He is now serving in Eagle, Colorado teaching and helping the Latino people in that beautiful part of the country!

One last one..."See You in Two"!











Goblin Valley

I have been a delinquent blogger for a while now!  I counted and I think I attended 45 soccer games in about 8 weeks! I'm also busy savoring a Senior year...AGAIN! (Didn't I just do this with Zach?)

But just for memories, I am going to post some pictures of our Goblin Valley trip this past summer.  I lived in Utah for 10 years and only remotely remember hearing about Goblin Valley--it is only a 4 hour drive from Provo!  But after visiting I think it is a "Day Trip Must" and a "highly recommend" for the Utah traveler!  The only thing I should prepare you for is the accommodations--or lack of--in Green River, Utah.  I recommend the Holiday Inn Express--the other hotels look like set scenery from an old western, ghost town movie...the big question being flush toliets or outhouses?

Check Out These Rock Formations!

Looks Prehistoric!

My Family near the Geiser

Seth on a rock plateau--a very nice climb!

The Three Amigos..the 4th was working in Ohio!



The Spring near Goblin Valley





One of the caves that we explored...



BYU Police Blotter

BYU is in a world of its own--I think that is what makes it unique.  While on campus this summer, I picked up a campus newspaper (remember, The Daily Universe??!)  I found a very funny column called "Police Beat"..and for posterity, I am going to share a few snip-its. 

PUBLIC PEACE
July 9: A person was reported sneaking around Wymount Park, throwing pebbles at a window and knocking on doors and running away.  An officer searched the area but could not find the person. 

July 12: Students were reported yelling outside Wyview Park. An officer asked them to be quiet.

SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR
July 7: A man was reported drawing circles on the ground and throwing balls into the circles. The man was gone when police arrived.

July 8: A student reported a sex offense occurring at Wyview Park. When an officer arrived, he found a male and a female making out. Both parties were clothed. The officer suggested they find another location to continue such activities.

July 9: A woman at Wymount Terrace reported hearing noises coming from a vacant apartment.  When police arrived, the found the noise was wind blowing a door open and shut because a window was left open.

July 9: A man was reported running outside in army fatigues, holding a gun. When police arrived, they found the man was an ROTC student and the gun was a replica.

AND FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE BYU POLICE BLOTTER...

July 4: A man was reported making a suspicious phone call to a female in Helaman Halls in which he claimed he was doing a psychology project and then proceeded to hypnotize the female student on the other end of the line. The roommate of the female came home to find her asleep on the floor. The female is reported of reacting strangely when certain words are spoken. Incidents of a similar nature have occurred about two dozen times in the past. There are no suspects, but the incident is still under investigation.



July 6: BYU police were called out to assist Provo police who had pulled over a man for a traffic offense who did not speak English. Upon arrival of the Spanish-speaking officer, the man realized he was getting a ticket despite the language barrier and was able to speak English fluently.

In contrast, I work at the University of Akron and just last semester I received a text message from campus police notifying and students/staff of a shooter at large on campus. We were to be on the watch and report any suspicious activity. Scary!! I'll take "Ding Dong Ditching" any day of the week. Heres to the idiosyncrasies of BYU!

My Summer Picks

This summer has been my reading BLISS…

I was thinking back and wondering… “When was the last time I have actually read a book for fun…for me…for no reason at all??” It has literally been YEARS! During graduate school, my textbooks were my best friends. Then I started teaching and the faculty members who choose textbooks for instruction played cruel jokes on us lowly part-time faculty and changed textbooks EVERY semester. Translated, that means that I have officially utilized six new texts over three years! For me, that is like reinventing the class—complete with new lecture notes, presentations, handouts—the whole time-consuming enchilada.

But this summer??...No new books, no changes in Fall classes and that means I am reading for PLEASURE! What a thought! Since my perusal time is limited, I waited for BYU Management Society’s Summer Reading List. I have not been disappointed. The list is chosen by BYU Management Faculty, Staff, and Students—most of which are much more well-read than me. I am grateful for their insights.

I now have a new “Top Ten” book that I LOVED READING-- “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It is a well-written, easy read book that follows a series of pen-pal relationships in post-Nazi times. The stories take place between London and the Guernsey Islands and they give a wonderful human look into the lives of people from the villages of Guernsey. This book has a new space on my top shelf! I also enjoyed“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak—a book that was released a few years ago. It is the story of a young girl growing up in Germany during wartime and her adventures of book thievery that helps her cope with her changing world. It is worth the read. My last book to read before school starts will be “From Poverty to Power” by Duncan Green. It was marketed as a book that helps people to view themselves as powerful agents that can initiate and inspire personal change and make the world a better place.

One final note: I did come across a bit of a dud this summer…and I hesitate to ever discount a book, for fear that it might hold some great benefit or insight for someone. But I did read “Eat, Pray, Love” and found it to be dull and a little annoying! In a nutshell, it is the story of a woman—thirty-ish-- who sets out alone on a one year quest to find herself. She leaves behind husband, family, friends and travels to Italy (to “Eat”), India (to “Pray”), and Indonesia (to “Love”) in hopes of discovering who she is. She walks away from her home and her relationships in her quest for self-discovery. As alluring as it may sound to travel unaccompanied and eat your way through Italy, I found myself thinking of the great women in my life and their path to self-discovery. The women I know have a pretty clear sense of “who they are”. They didn’t need to abandon their home or their husband or their jobs to find an inner peace—quite the contrary. It was their families, their friends, their service, their faith that helped them to discover their potential. And they most certainly did NOT need to travel to Italy, India, or Indonesia to figure it out…their life’s lessons came closer to home through, what I am sure, were less-than-exotic experiences. (For me, it has been cleaning the bathroom for three boys...)

“Eat, Pray, Love” was not on the Management Society list, for obvious reasons! And, yes I probably will go to see the movie just in case I missed the point!

Spring Snip Its

Spring Tulips by Carly Hunter

It seems that we wait all winter long for Spring Break--then it comes, and before you know it...school's out! The kids tell me there is 9 days of school left this year. Time flies when you're having fun!

For Spring Break, we visited Baltimore. What a great city... I recommend it, highly! Very family-friendly, easy to drive, lots to see--a great weekend get away. We also visited Rehoboth Beach, bought a beach kite, flew it in 45 degree weather in 45 mph winds! It was freezing, but it was a beach. We saw the famous Washington cherry blossoms--they are as beautiful as the tour books describe! Zach came home, celebrated his 19th birthday, opened his mission call, and we accompanied him to the temple--it's been a whirl.

All-in-all a great Spring.

Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Kite Flying in Rehoboth Beach, Maryland.

Did I mention it was COLD??!!

Japanese Cherry Blossoms on the Mall, Washington D.C.

"The Mission Call"--live and in stereo via cell phones and Skype!


Jake caught the garter at a wedding we attended.

We tried to explain that it should really be for "eligible bachelors". He felt eligible.

Zach and his good friend Kristin, Medina Prom.
Check out her corsage. I painstakingly helped the florist find just the right color match...
pretty sweet, eh??


Jake and Dandelion

A summer now to look forward to...a missionary ready to serve, soccer camps, campfires, grandma and cousins and friends to see. I feel very blessed!

Denver

Zach has been called to serve in the Denver, Colorado South mission--Spanish-speaking! He reports to the Missionary Training Center on June 23 to begin this wonderful adventure! We learned that 34% of the population of Denver is Hispanic, so we have great hopes that he will be able to use his Spanish daily! However, my sweet Argentine friend Silvia reminded me that he will not be speaking "real Spanish", but probably more of a "Mexican-Spanish". Among the latinos in South America, there are great debates about who speaks "real Spanish" (My vote? ?The most beautiful and understandable Spanish belongs to the Columbians!)

Zach's mission covers the south area of Denver, goes south to the New Mexico stateline, west to the Utah stateline, and north to the Wyoming stateline--even taking in a bit of Wyoming! It's funny, because I would never have thought Zach would go to a place like Denver, but I feel that he will do really well in Colorado and will have the opportunity to work with the Latino people--whom he has a great love and affinity for.

Now the fun begins--two months and lots of preparation, prayer and planning! He is thrilled to be serving and is really looking forward to going!

Blink

Life is a blink…
It just wasn’t that long ago that we all said our sad “goodbyes” to Zach at the airport as he started off to BYU. That was last August—it is now April! And now I am preparing for another quick hello as he returns home from school and a long goodbye as we await his mission call. It’s quite an experience---these mission calls! Paper work and doctor’s visits, shots, buying suits, white shirts, ties—all the preparations needed to put your “personal life” on hold for the next two years.

I recently listened to a talk by Elder Ronald Rasband, a leader in our church who talked about how missionaries are “called” or assigned to different areas of the world. (I've included the 11 minute video below) It’s truly an inspired process, with each missionary going to the place chosen just for them! Zach has kept us updated on all of his freshman buddies who recently submitted their mission papers and have received their assignments—he has friends going to London, Jamaica, Oklahoma City, and Long Beach, California—Cambodian-speaking! In our family alone, we have had missionaries serve in Tokyo and Nagoya, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, France, Chile, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, and Australia!

We are anxiously waiting and waiting for his mission call to come…currently at 13 days and counting! It’s been an exciting time for our family as we race to the mailbox daily, place bets (in a very non-gambling sort-of-way) on where he’s going—Scott and I even bet “dishes for a week” if it arrives before Friday! (Scott later withdrew his “bet”—for fear he’d actually have to do these dishes ALONE for a whole week...lame, I know.)

I am thrilled Zach is coming home from BYU--I've missed him a bunch! I think it was the experience for him that we hoped it might be. But here he goes again, on what I think will be one of the great experiences of his life…more to come soon—hopefully an announcement!

Kid Pix

I've been working on a little scrapbooking project for my sister’s family. And while I was in Utah a couple of weeks ago, I went through a few of my Mom’s pictures to include in this scrapbook. It took me a while to go through everything, but it was fun to go back in time... I think my Mom has saved every picture, school paper, and art project she received from her kids and grandkids throughout the years. Maybe that’s part of the fun of going back home—so many things are EXACTLY the same way they were when you left. In some ways it is like you never left home… and for my Mom she seems really “o.k.” about keeping it that way!

So as I was searching for pictures, I came across these few that caught my attention. I now see that some things never change and other things will never be the same…

This is Carly when she was probably five...and this is why she earned her nickname “Mop Top”—she had this crazy, curly, long hair--but she liked it that way and we kept it! This picture is what I remember of her as a little girl--always smiling, usually with a ring of chocolate around her mouth--chocolate was her 5th food group. No chocolate here, but the hair, the smile, the jacket is vintage Carly. These days she would rather die than leave the house with curly hair and she is up at 5:15 a.m. every morning to make sure it doesn't happen.

Here is Josh hugging Carly—one of those things that are not quite the same these days. I need to show Josh this picture as I think he has forgotten completely how to give people hugs. I look at this picture and I think he really seems to be sincerely giving her an “I Love You” kind of hug. These days, Josh just kind of bumps my shoulder as a hug—almost like a mini body slam. Scott tries to coach him and give him hugging lessons--you can imagine how excited Josh is about that... Obviously hugging your mom is part of the “I’m kind of embarrassed to know you ” phase.

These last two made me laugh out loud. Check out Zach and Josh in their argyle and stripes… and the last is Josh (as a blonde) when we lived in California. Look at that bulging belly and diaper bottom—Funny, eh...the only time this shape is en vogue is when your two... Oh, I miss our “beach days”!

So...moral of my post? Hug those little ones while they still hug you back and no matter how hip you think you dress your kids, they will someday laugh at your fashion choices!

Hay Balls

On my way to school each day, I pass a Mennonite Farm owned by the “Miller Family”—in fact it is called the “Miller Dairy Farm”. We’ve visited several times with preschool and Scout groups and it is great fun. Mr. Miller has cows that you can milk, chickens to feed, little black pigs, ostriches, alpacas, and even some skunks. You cap your visit off with a real-live hay ride. (So much fun if you are riding, but a little slow if you are following behind in a car…)

Mr. and Mrs. Miller dress the part—the Mennonite suspenders, hat, haircut—its all very cool and they are so, so nice. Of course now in the winter, things are slower on the farm. But, this is the picture I saw last week as I passed the farm. And then I realized that Mr. Miller has it all figured out when it comes to feeding the “farm family”. He just throws a big ball of hay into the field and let them have at it. They sit around the ball and eat and eat down to the last straw—(it takes them days to finish!)

When the hay ball is gone, he throws another ball out there and they start all over again. Those farmers know how to streamline chores! They’ve got it all figured out in my opinion.

I told my kids I needed a hay ball for them. They just laughed at me and rolled their eyes.

Outside my Kitchen Window

Looking outside my kitchen window, I realize it is another day in Winter Paradise. The weather forecast says a high of 18, a low of 14. Hmmm. I think it sounds ironic—all of this reporting of “highs” and “lows”… I mean-- "Really? A high of “18”?? In my mid-winter mind, there is nothing high about “18”.

So many decisions to make…should I wear my brown parka, with matching Sorel snowboots, brown scarf, gloves, snowmask and ear muffs or should I wear my down ski vest, five layers of thermals, leather gloves, and snowpants? These are the thoughts that occupy my mind E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y.

My favorite TV channel since moving to the Midwest has been The Weather Channel. My kids laugh and are slightly embarrassed for me, but it helps me cope, mostly in the winter. If Carl Parker tells me that it will be 35 degrees and sunny on Wednesday, I count on it—I live for it! Sun is a rare commodity in January in Ohio.

Canela trying to catch some winter rays...where are her paws and I think her bottom must freeze??!

This winter I’m hoping to change my attitude and look for the virtues of my cold-weather climate. As I have looked, I realize there are a few. First, snow is really beautiful—it makes our trees white and puffy and our yard is like a thick cotton blanket. Snow is also fun—sledding, snowmen, snow angels. Done that and made a few this winter; now we need to find a hill so we can ski! Snow slows things down a little bit too. We drive slower; occasionally, we even have a “Snow Day” and school is cancelled and we play games in our pajamas or go to movies. And, then I remind myself that all of this snow, and sleet, and ice will eventually melt and then come the beautiful trees and green hills and grass—all of the things I really love about the Ohio countryside. So I will impatiently wait to thaw and count the days until Spring!

Shopping in NYC...a balmy 19 degrees. Don't you love the 10-layer look?

My Sis

For five years my sister Linda has battled cancer. She has been an amazing survivor, enduring rounds of radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She has been an optimist with an enviable attitude—I’ve often wondered that if I were in her situation, would I have been so positive? Maybe not.

On Christmas afternoon her husband called to tell me that she had passed away. I can’t really explain how it feels to lose a sister. It’s harder than I thought it would be. I think in life that we just expect our parents to go first. I think our parents expect to die before their children, and for that, my heart aches for my mom who has now lost a child.

I believe that there are two things we can take with when we die—our relationships and the things that we know. I will forever be grateful to Linda for making the trip to Utah this past July when I was visiting with the kids. We spent two good weeks playing, taking walks, eating, and laughing. My kids love their Aunt Linda. Every birthday there was a package with a homemade card waiting at the doorstep. We laughed because it would take at least 15 minutes to open her presents—cutting through the multiple layers of 3M packing tape. Her favorite story to retell to me was when she tried to negotiate adopting Carly with Zach. Carly was about 1 and Zach was 5 or so. She told Zach she would trade Blade (their Golden Retriever) for Carly and Zach said “OK”!! I think he was ready to sign on the dotted line! (It took me an hour to convince Zach that we would NOT be trading Carly). Another time she took the boys on a walk in her neighborhood in Reno. They were climbing a large hill and were out of eye-shot of her home. Zach and Josh were about 3 and 4 years old. Jokingly, she said: “I think we’re lost. I don’t know how to get home!” Josh runs over to a little boulder, climbs it, and starts yelling: “Hellllp…Helllp!” I love her humor; that was just her way and I love her for it. I will miss that so much.

As for the things that she knows, she knows a lot about being a good wife and mother. She was a great mom to two wonderful boys, Jason and Matt. She knows how to be a good friend. The best thing about sisters is that you can be both sisters and great friends. I will miss my sister and my friend. Over the past few years, I have seen her renewed belief in the power of faith and prayer. I know that it was her faith that sustained her during these last few months because she told me so. Those are the things that she knows and will take with her.

I am happy to know that this life is just a step in a great plan. It’s really the only way to get through a loss. And I am comforted to know that families can be eternal. I believe this, I hope for it, and I am banking on it!