Back to Church

We are lucky to have two wards to go to, and JB's young single adults ward where he serves went back to church first, early in June. 

I cried a little to hear the organ again and see people and be together. And crying in a mask gets foggy.

Here's the picture I took on our pew.

Here's the picture JB took from the stand.

They meet every other week under this plan and we went with him again on Father's Day.

Then this Sunday our ward went back for the first time. And I got teary-eyed again. I love this ward. It's a big part of the reason why we have never moved.

The ward council decided to have two sessions, by street address, so only about 25-30 people were with us at our assigned time, and everyone was super spread out, and we didn't even sing, though I hope we sing in two weeks through our masks. It was short, only one speaker, then everyone left quickly.

So on the one hand, it is SUPER safe. I hope to tell others who have been worried that honestly Church feels safer than anything else you might be doing right now.  On the other hand, I got sad. Sad there weren't more people with us and sad it was so short and sad that we have to take these precautions (I keep praying for the pandemic to improve soon).

There is a power in worshiping together. I feel a strength in singing with others and learn so much hearing their testimonies and talks and lessons.  I walked back into my house Sunday and faced another day of my children fighting, when I wished they were in primary and Young Mens. I compared myself to other families who have posted glowing reports of their amazing home church experiences and made-from-scratch primary lessons, etc.

I know Heavenly Father blesses our efforts. And I know he is aware of everyone's hopes and fears and prayers and faith right now. So I can just doing my best and keep on keeping on.

Kind of quarantined recommendations

Books

A Curse So Dark and Lonely -- A loose adaptation or retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I could not put this down. I pretty much read all day and let the kids wander. It's that good.

A Heart So Fierce and Broken -- the sequel to above, and middle of a trilogy (I can't wait for part 3). A page turner as well. I am reminded of Shannon Hale's writing, where she takes fairy tales and turns them into much more in enchanted lands.

Keep Me Posted -- two sisters write personal letters to each other, and the letters accidentally go viral. I was worried for them!

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter -- it jumps back and forth between several people's perspectives across a century of time, so just pay attention to that. Going to a lighthouse in Washington State last summer helped me really appreciate this more.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down -- we read this for book group in May. I was haunted. It's the story of a Hmong family and all the misunderstandings with their doctors over a girl's care.

Miss Buncle's Book -- witty, written in the 1920s. A woman writes a book about her neighbors and they are outraged (but don't suspect her).

The Giver of Stars -- very close to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which I recommended last year. It's about a woman finding who she is after becoming a pack horse librarian in Kentucky.

Star Wars Aftermath -- I checked out this ebook for Ben. He liked it. He says there are lots more.


Movies


Love by the Book - Hallmark (you know me), a nice little story of a book store owner who thinks prince charming has come but he's a dud. She should look at the guy helping her save her business.

Journey Back to Christmas - a nurse in the 1940s travels forward in time because of a comet. This was not formulaic at all for Hallmark, and it had some nice messages of how tiny acts of kindness have ripple effects through time.

Just in Time for Christmas - little touches of It's a Wonderful Life and a nod to Back to the Future (Christopher Lloyd and William Shatner are in it). Not very Christmasy and I would have changed things but I may watch it again, I don't know.

The Perfect Date -- Netflix; same guy from "To All the Boys I've Loved Before." I thought it was funny and cute. He creates an app to be whatever you need him to be on a date so he can save for college.

The Book of Life -- this has been on demand and my kids have watched it over and over. Clever, great soundtrack, good message.


Podcasts

YReligion -- BYU religion professors discuss fascinating topics, from dreams to women in the scriptures to dark tourism.

All In -- Morgan Jones (we work in the same building but have never met) hosts this and interviews people about what it means to be all in the gospel. Five stars.

Stories -- I just learned about this one (I'm so late to the game) and I'm going to see if I can start listening to it with the kids.


Past recommendations can be found here https://jbandmaryrichards.blogspot.com/search?q=recommendations

Escalante water play

We got some water play in over the weekend. A little at Wide Hollow Reservoir before it got too windy and smoky, and also at a neighbor's pond below the property.


(Max couldn't get in the water with that hand)

Here we are at Wide Hollow

Then at the pond, there's a jumping spot for braver folks than me

Many thanks to Jeff for having fun toys!

Andrew had a turn for an adventure. He was on one of those blue floaties, and drifted over into the corner of the pond, when a group of cows came down the hill for a drink. One with horns stuck her nose right into the water next to him, and he jumped right off the floatie and started doggy paddling back to us. I didn't see him until I heard his little voice coming from the weeds and reeds. He said he felt fine because he had a life jacket, but did NOT like that cow.

Speaking of Andrew, he and James get cold easily in the water

And it reminds me of 5 years ago from Bear Lake when they fit more easily together on my lap.

The weekend went so fast, and I can't wait to go back. The rest of this week has dragged being back at home and work.

Escalante working (and a scare)

There's always something to do to improve the cabin.  This weekend, Papa needed gravel laid down to help with drainage on the west side,.

Max and Ben worked on it Friday afternoon but it got pretty hot. On the cooler Saturday morning, the little kids were pitching in with buckets and shovels. It kept them busy and not fighting!

The kids especially loved riding up and down the hill during the gravel deliveries.

Then JB took the side-by-side for a drive

Then it was lunchtime, and my sweet first baby-now-tall-teenager Maxwell was helping Nona prepare hamburgers. He picked up an avacado to try to get out the pit, and the recently-sharpened knife went right through and sliced the base of his finger.

I can't think about this without getting teary-eyed again. So many thanks to my prayerful and helpful family. Pauline grabbed Max's hand and immediately wrapped it and put pressure on it. She called the Escalante clinic and found out it was closed on Saturday which meant we had to go to the ER in Panguitch an hour away. Suzanne ran out and gave me a bag of ice and some water. I held the ice and paper towels on Max's hand in the back seat while Pauline drove on windy Highway 12.  I was in and out of service on the way and texted my siblings and kept JB posted on how Max was doing.

At the ER, they only let me in with him. (Tender mercy, Pauline's oil was surprisingly low/gone and she was able to get that changed in town while she waited for us and not have any car problems).

The nurse got Max stabilized and then we waited for the doctor to take care of the man on the other side of the curtain. The waiting was the worst part, but Max was such a trooper. The doctor said it was his second avacado slicing accident that week.

Text me if you want the gruesome pictures, but it looked so bad. I thought for sure he had cut a tendon or damaged nerves. But that doctor was amazing, and stitched around his finger (I counted 14 visible stitches), then Max was bandaged up and ready to drive back.

We've had instacare visits in the past, but this is the worst one. I am so thankful it wasn't worse!

Escalante trip

Nona and Papa said there was an open weekend at the cabin. I quickly got Friday and Monday off work, and we drove down Thursday afternoon. Cousins came, too!  We were there with JB's brother Jeff and his sister Suzanne.



(notice the pink bandaging on Max's hand -- more on that later)

There's room to eat inside and out and it was beautiful weather.

Friday morning we went on a hike. The Escalante Bridge trail is a good one for kids, because it's flat and pretty fun because you go in and out of the water. But it is around 4 miles and your feet get wet and sandy. Not that this is a trails review site, but just so you know if you go.

Those cousins are such troopers and great hikers! And it was such a good idea to bring Phin's walkie-talkies. James talked into one almost the whole time. We left Millie Grace with Nona because I didn't have a carrier for her, and she's big for one anyway but wouldn't be able to walk the whole time. 

Look at Max and Ben holding hands with younger cousins. They were so cute with each other the whole weekend, and very patient.

I should have purchased a carrier like this years ago. JB took a turn carrying Carver 

Next up, we had some work to do at the cabin! And a scary time for Max.

James is 7

It took FOREVER for his birthday to arrive. So he got his presents in the morning.

Ever since James saw an Imaginext Dinosaur at his cousin's house, he wanted one too. I found one for sale on the classifieds in another city and took a drive for my son.

His brothers pitched in to give him more dinosaurs

All day he was happy with the Spider-Man Legos he got, but lately he's been telling me he actually wanted the more expensive Venom Mech Lego set and has gotten grumpy about it. I work so hard every day to be patient with this boy's big emotions and big feelings. I praise his curiosity and creativity for building new accessories and creations from the Lego bin that can go with his current sets.

We got to celebrate with Phin at the Richards house.

(If you want to see cute pictures of them as babies together, go back into the June 2013 archives on the right).

James gives great hugs and can go go all day then fall asleep as soon as I can get Andrew to be quiet. He can be so cute with Millie and also try to squeeze her cheeks the next moment.

He likes to think he's the same age as the older boys and therefore differences are "not fair!" He has specific foods he loves and many he hates. We had been telling him he needed to try new foods because he would be eating all kinds of things on his mission, and he wailed, "Then I don't wanna go on a mission!" So we are working on making meal times less of a battle as we encourage him to grow with confidence.

He's pretty much the same size as Andrew. I'm giving away clothes super fast as he grows out of them. And his toes were poking out of one pair of shoes. Ride hard, play hard!

Here's our kissing picture, taken by Max. With a photo bomber.

Getting out

JB has been doing all the grocery shopping and errand running. We both have been working at home and we have been schooling our children at home since March 16.  

The only times I left the house include: going to cover the earthquake damage in March, being live on the scene of an apartment fire in April, a business fire in May, and a couple days in the newsroom where I filled in for someone else.  I did run into a store once for more hair dye. Oh, and we went to Escalante. 

We do go on walks and talk to neighbors in their yards, and we FaceTime/Zoom with people. But it has been jarring.  This week we got to go on a date to a place that opened up nearby.

And on Saturday, we went to get hamburgers to eat outside and found a playground in the county that was not blocked off any more.

Max has been getting out more than any of us. Every day he rides his bike to the tennis courts and practices. He's turning tan from the sun.  And just this past week some high school sports were given the ok to return, so now he has official practice.