Apple Picking

Fall in New England is something to behold. For me it's the most wonderful time of the year. The crisp air is so refreshing after a hot, humid summer. We try to pack every weekend full of fun stuff. Last Saturday was apple picking.

Originally our plan was to go for a bit of a drive up through the white mountains of New Hampshire. That way we could kill two birds with one stone: leaf peeping and apple picking all in one! We left early hoping to beat any traffic, but within five miles away from our house we were stuck. And it got worse. And worse. Stop and go. Our 2 hour trip was turning into 4-5 hours. Gag.

We changed plans. I looked up the closest apple farm: Mack's Apples in Londonderry, New Hampshire. We took the next exit and were on our way.

Macks' Apples is family owned and operated since 1732. That blows my mind. There was an old barn converted into a store and four apple orchards to choose from. We picked our favorites, Cortland and Macintosh, and a few other varieties. We finished the trip with donuts and fresh apple cider. Yum!

Monday the girls were out of school for Columbus Day, so we made applesauce. They were great helpers. And the applesauce is amazing. The trick will be to not eat it all right away!

New England Fall: may you linger as long as possible!

The Long Drive Home

Our 3-month stint in Albuquerque gradually came to an end. Some days we loved it there. Some days we really missed Massachusetts. Homeschooling went better than any of us could have expected. We made some great friends (the Smiths). And what really made it hard to leave was the pool outside our apartment. We went swimming every single day. It was glorious.

But we didn't miss the tiny apartment or Brad's hours at work. By the time it came to leave, we were all ready.

Fun side note: a month before his rotation ended, Brad broke his hand while rock climbing. Yeah. Not good. He had to wear a big cast up to his elbow. He booked an appointment with a hand specialist the morning we planned to start our drive back to Massachusetts. We were crossing our fingers that it was healing well.

The kids and I packed while Brad went to his appointment. He came back with no cast! It looked like it was healing great. Relief!

So, with our cars packed to the brim, we started our cross country trek.

We had to make the drive in 3 days. Ugh. Brad couldn't take any time off for travel and his graduation from residency was Friday, June 24. We left Tuesday, June 21, and planned 10 hour driving days with sleeping stops in Missouri and Pennsylvania.

It was such a long drive. Oh my goodness, it was long. Looking back, I can't believe we did it with two cars, three small kids, and me 12 weeks pregnant. It was a whirlwind.

Everything was going according to plan until Wednesday. Our path was taking us straight through some severe weather in Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio. Severe weather meaning tornados. Tornados?! I don't even know what to do if you're driving through a tornado. We prayed really hard that everything would be ok and that we'd miss the storms.

For most of the day we miraculously stayed ahead of the storms. Thinking the worst was behind us, we stopped outside of Indianapolis and ate a Little Ceasar's Hot 'n Ready pizza in a parking lot. Classy. We took out time and stretched our legs. The kids fell asleep when we got back in the car.

Our goal was to make it to Pennsylvania. Around 10:00pm it started raining. By 11:00 it was a downpour and we could see lightning in the distance. Then the wind started blowing like crazy and lightning was striking all around us. Brad's little car was having trouble with the rain. We had to stop.

We were somewhere in Ohio. The hotels were all full except a little Motel 6. It was not ideal, but we were grateful for a safe place to stop for the night.

The wind and rain pounded all night. In the morning some trees around the hotel were down. Crazy!

We decided to drive through New York since the storms were predicted to go through Pennsylvania. New York is annoying to drive through. It was a two lane road which was packed with traffic and every time you exited you had to pay a toll. So annoying.

That last day was the longest. My body was aching. Somehow, the kids were all doing amazing.

Around 7pm we passed into Massachusetts! Yay!

We arrived home after 11pm. Brad's parents had beaten us to our house (they'd come to attend Brad's graduation). Our house looked so big and clean and nice. And our bed had never felt so good!

Brad graduated from residency the next day. I couldn't have been more proud of him.

Adjusting and Belonging

Our church meetings are at 1:00 now. It's been surprisingly hard to adjust to the change. For the past three years church has been at 9:00 (we're the only congregation to meet in our building in Massachusetts). That's pretty much all my kids remember. So 1:00 is different.

Leah wakes up at 7:30am every Sunday and gets herself dressed in her Sunday best: dress, shoes, hair and all. She's always done this. But now she just...waits longer for the actual event. (And maybe looks a little more rumpled for the wait?)

Lainy is the last to get dressed (she likes her pajamas too much), but the first to organize her church bag. She carefully packs her scriptures, a little notebook, some crayons, and always something small for Samuel (usually a car). But once it's packed, she's the one asking for something to do.  "Is it time yet?" she asks  over and over.

Samuel, my reluctant napper, has reached zombie-like state by the time church is over at 4:00. I worry about him in Nursery... he can get loud and aggressive when he's tired.

Brad is usually at the hospital early Sunday morning trying to see his patients so he can make it to Sacrament Meeting. He's made it every week except one, sometimes still wearing his scrubs (they are an unfortunate bright teal color). Our first week in the Albuquerque ward, Brad came in wearing his scrubs and a jacket. After the meeting someone commented on his pants. "That must be the style in Boston!" she said. Brad tried to hide his horror by laughing it off, "Sorry, no. I just came from work!".

For me, even though the mornings are long and the afternoons too short, and even though getting three kids out the door by myself isn't my favorite, church is home. We walk into the chapel to the soft tune of familiar hymns and I take a deep breathe of belonging. It's amazing to me that we can go pretty much anywhere in this world and find a home and a family in the Church. Brad and I have seen it over and over. In Moscow, in Seattle, in Spokane, in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. It's the one constant in our world of change. With our faith in common, friends become family and strange places feel more like home. And, in this desert place, far away from everything familiar, that has been an incredible blessing. Again.


"That the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm." Doctrine and Covenants 115:6

School

Summer was too short. Last week my little girls went to school. Lainy to 3rd grade, a pro at elementary school by now. Leah a brand-new kindergartener. She was excited and nervous and sad and happy - a whole bundle of emotions. I told her it was okay to have all those feelings; I had them too.

But after leaving my little girl in a big classroom for the day, I was mostly just sad. Strains of "Slipping through my fingers" and "Turn around" were floating through my mind. Do you know those old songs?

"School bag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile.
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while.
The feeling that I'm losing her forever.
And without really entering her world.
I'm proud whenever I could share her laughter
That funny little girl..."


"Where are you going, my little one, little one?
Where are you going, my baby, my own?
Turn around and you're two
Turn around and you're four
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of the door..."


Am I dramatic, or what? How do parents do it?!

Samuel didn't let me cry for too long. We passed a fire truck on the way home and he was all chatter and bright eyes. And I had a whole new surge of gratitude for my sunshine boy.

 So far school is a success for both girls. They have young, pretty, fun teachers who they already love, and new friendships forming.

Samuel and I are getting used to our new normal. We feel a new sense of freedom that is fun and exciting. At least until 2:30 when we anxiously race to the school to hug and kiss our girls and remember how much we miss them.

Parenting can rip your heart out sometimes. But then it gets put back together in the most beautiful ways.

Happy back to school.

Patriot's Day

If I were to recommend a time to visit Boston, it would be the third week in April. Patriot's Day. There is the Boston Marathon on Monday (A must see! So inspiring!), and a whole bunch of Revolutionary War re-enactments.

This year we went to a battle re-enactment in Lexington, where the first shots of the war were fired on April 19, 1775. Like most of the town squares in Massacusetts, Lexington's original homes from the 1700's are still standing (and occupied!) along with the taverns and old rock walls. It is one of my most favorite things about Massachusetts.

The battle was to be held along an undeveloped park with trees and wooded areas. We picked a spot and watched it all unfold.

First the British solders advanced on the green in their flashy uniforms and tight formation. Then, colonists came running from the tavern and from homes around the park to resist them. There was a moment of tense silence...Then shots were fired, a canon boomed, and the battle began!

The colonists broke off into groups: some of them staying in formation on the green, some of them running to the trees to reform and fire behind coverage. At first the Redcoats outnumbered the colonists, but more and more colonists kept coming to join the battle. They fought their way across the whole park. Two generals on horses organized their strategy from behind the line. The air was full of musket smoke and yells. "Make ready! Fire!" It was seriously awesome.

They fought for about 45 minutes. So cool! At one point a British soldier "died" in front of us, but then we saw him slowly pull out his cell phone and take a selfie. Ha ha! It was determined that the colonists won! Huzzah!

It might have the best thing we've done in Boston so far. Definitely one of my favorites. I have never seen anything like it before. It was so exciting and inspiring. If I think about it too hard, I get choked up. The way this country came to be is truly miraculous. I wish more Americans today could remember that.

Here is something Patrick Henry said as events in Boston turned violent.  I love his words:

"They tell us Sir, that we are weak -- unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature has placed in our power...The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable; and let it come! I repeat, Sir, let it come!"