Two weeks ago Grace officially graduated from Utah Valley University with a degree in communications. Her college graduation celebration was unconventional because not a single one of us was there to see it — including Grace herself. When Life Doesn’t Pause for the Big Moments You see, we had planned a trip over a year…
I want to take you on a little visit to Sydney, Australia. The land where Claire lived and served an LDS mission for eighteen months. It is the land where she learned Mandarin, Chinese and served in areas predominantly filled with people relocated from China. And the land where these people became “family.” Claire fell…
Over the years, our traditional Jerusalem Supper has always been part of my Christmas Eve recaps. But I feel like there needs to be one post highlighting this favorite tradition. And also the ways we have changed it to work for our family through the years. I don’t know that there has been a year…
Little did we know when we spent our first summer in China all those years ago that we would be back. We ended up getting to live in China as a family for a full semester when Max was a senior and Elle was a junior. Still all these years later, it’s one of the…
As my kids have grown older I often look back and wonder: Did we push for the extraordinary too much? Did we not push enough? What is the balance on that push? Yes, my kids are now all “adults,” and my hands-on parenting has grown up along with them. But as I’ve said before, parenting…
Welp, today is the day. The day that my middle child turns twenty-three. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE JAM!! I feel so lucky not only that I get to be her mother (she has brought so much joy to our family for all these years)… …but also I feel so lucky that I got to spend all…
I haven’t posted about some pretty big business around here as Claire has started her missionary service: what Home MTC is and how it works. As I type, Claire is en route to her next adventure: the official Missionary Training Center. She will be in rigorous classes for eight more weeks from there, learning more…
Dave and I had to talk the big talk to perk Claire’s interest to do summer school at BYU right after she graduated from high school. I mean, there was a lot on her plate with signing on to play college volleyball, adjusting to college life, leaving beloved high school behind. But although this option…
The summer semester ended for Grace and for Claire. Grace’s ended earlier than Claire’s, and she’s been working double shifts up there, sometimes with fun visitors: (Mini cousins Moses and Gabe.) Also reunions with dear mission friends and fun adventures with new friends: Claire’s semester ended with a bang, trying to balance so many things…