Live- from Krakow!

After a wonderful day touring the almost thousand year old village of, um, well....it starts with a K...Kasamiraz? Something like that, we've just arrived for a two-day adventure in Krakow. We took a high-speed train that took us in two hours what it would take 5 to drive. We don't have laptop access, so pictures will have to wait for a day or so. The village was amazing! We walked the cobblestone streets that used to be teeming with Jews before the war. I could almost hear their footsteps, their talking, laughing and singing in happier days. I could vividly imagine the day they were herded up like cattle with children crying and scared. They're all gone now, and the village looks so peaceful and tranquil. We ate at a former Jewish barbershop, and the walls were plaster with straw sticking out! I couldn't help but run my fingers over it. We went to a cloister that was built in the 1600s and is still in use. The walls were feet thick, and the threshold of the door was worn down a few inches by centuries of Sunday footsteps. We saw the ruins of a castle Napolean laid waste to, and climbed the guard tower that was there since around 1100 ad. I can't wait to post the pictures, they're unbelievable. We're off in a few minutes to a four hour tour of the salt mines, one of the wonders of the world. You'll read all about it tomorrow! Until then, CZESC! That means bye.

Live- from Warsaw!

Hello my friends, we made it safely over the ocean and arrived in Warsaw yesterday morning. We had some really long flights, but the one from Chicago to Warsaw was the most fun. People were festive and chatty, excited to be going home. When we finally touched down, everyone broke into applause.

Anna and Marek, Kuba's parents were waiting for us as we emerged from customs. The coolest thing, is that I now have a stamp on my brand new passport! We nervously greeted each other, and they took us to our hotel. After we crashed for a few hours, they came with Kuba to collect us and take us to their house for an authentic Polish dinner. Their flat was so cool. They have it painted in vibrant colors with original art hanging all over the walls. They've travelled everywhere, and there are books from all over crammed in shelves. Lewis and I were practically salivating to just touch them all and look inside.
I got to help Anna make, count them, FOUR different kinds of pirogi! They were incredible: mushroom and cabbage, potato and cheese, meat, and sweet cheese. All but the sweet pirogi were topped by one of the seven deadly sins, succulent and flavorful bacon grease. I loved it, and I'm really glad I've had the chance to do a lot of walking. I think I'm going to need to run all the way home to work off all the Polish love I've been tasting. We got a chance to catch up with Kuba and really appreciate his hard work cleaning his room just for us. We knew what a sacrifice that was for him, and were very grateful.

During WW2, Warsaw was 80% destroyed. That's such a tragedy, because their architecture is stunning. Anna and Marek took us to the old town, surrounded by an ancient castle wall, where the buildings had been rebuilt to close to their former splendor. The wind was bitingly cold, but I was so transported by what I saw, I hardly noticed it.

Walking down the cobblestone streets, you feel like you've stepped back in time, hundreds of years. Every other building or so has a plaque on it memorializing the violent deaths of Poles the Nazis killed at that location. War memorials are everywhere. It made me feel so grateful that although America payed a heavy price during WW2, it was nothing to the suffering of each and every Pole. This morning, after a wild ride, we made it to the one LDS chapel in Warsaw. Lewis was beyond excited to be back where he'd spent so much of his mission. He saw all kinds of people he knew, even one man he'd been a missionary with. The Polish members have to be so strong, I really admire their courage.

Here we are with a ton of missionaries serving in Warsaw. Lewis had a ball telling his stories of when the mission had barely opened.

After church, we made it back to the center of town, where of all the luck, they were celebrating their independence day. We loved meandering through the crowds, drawing funny looks because we look WAY American.
We had some more Polish food, that is beginning to stage a protest somewhere in the vicinity of my vitals. Not serious yet, mind you, but there is a vague ominous feeling of an impending digestive doom. We came back to the hotel, where we promptly fell deeply unconscious and woke up ready to take on the day at 10pm! We're having a fantastic time, and I can't wait for tomorrow's adventures!

Gaaa! I've been tagged!

Allison got me, I knew it was going around, but didn't think I'd catch it. Okay, six things about me; six dirty secrets that I hide from the world. That's pretty tough, because I'm a bigmouth, and have a hard time keeping anything to myself. Here goes:

1. This one is bad, it's really bad. Every night, I go downstairs to exercise, right? That's only partly true. I'm actually having an affair. I'm slavishly devoted to a little man named Dr. Mario. Isn't that an old video game from 20 years ago, you ask? Yes, yes it is. One day I was getting ready for my workout, rolling up a stray controller that was strewn across the floor. I noticed how long the cord was. It was almost long enough to reach the treadmill! I lugged my treadmill within Xbox controller range, I step on it, crank it up, and I go into Dr. Mario dreamland. My husband couldn't believe it when he first came down and saw me. Let me tell you girls, I've got some serious skills. I can beat the computer now at level 13! I'm even way cool in my kids eyes. They sit down with me when they're supposed to be in bed. If they're really quiet, I'll let them watch me work and cheer me on when I win. I can go for almost an hour without even looking down at the console. I still end up dripping with sweat, but I don't even feel it. I go into the zen state. It's tacky, it's immature, I know. But I don't care.

2. This one is even worse. You know that movie that's coming out in Dec., The Golden Compass? You know the one, because you've gotten the same warning emails I have.Well, I've read the book. I LOVED the book. I was 3/4 through the second book unable to put it down when I got the infamous email. At first I thought it was put out by the same people who think Harry Potter is satanic. I did some independent checking and found out that yes, the books were written with the intent to sour kids on organized religion. Having been a Lit major, I'm not horrified or offended by anyone's ideas, but I put the books down. I don't have a lot of free reading time, and I'd rather fill it with books that enrich me. But this series is terribly exciting and intriguing on a philosophical level. There. Now you know.

3. I've known for a long time that Snape was in love with Lilly. It was my pet theory. When we got to that chapter, I was crowing like a rooster in triumph.

4. Jane Austen is very clever, J.K. Rowling is a genius, but in my book, .......
No one beats Leo Tolstoy. No one. Ever. There's a reason his stories are at the top of the list for the best novel ever written. He can paint a picture with words so clearly that you'd swear you were there. Whether it's the way a girl feels at her first dance, or a new mom's first attempt at breastfeeding, he describes them in a way that leaves you convinced he's seen your soul. I actually don't have the words to describe his depth of insight into the human heart. All I can say is that I see myself in almost every character, I learn from every character. I'm his number one fan! If anyone else says they are, they're wrong, WRONG I TELL YOU!

moving on.....

5. It's my dream to live in another country. I don't know when it will happen, but it will. I want to live in Mexico, not just because I could have a maid. When Lewis and I were there, I was literally blinking away tears of happiness the entire time. I want to live in Russia. The grocery store I shop at has people there from all over the world. I have a hard time concentrating on what I'm doing because I'm so intensely curious about the people I see there. I want to know where they've come from, what they think of living here. What food they eat. What stories they have to tell. I'm either too polite or too shy to accost them, but one day.....one day.

6. I can eat an entire huge bowl of popcorn by myself. I do, on a pretty regular basis. When I was a kid, my parents would ground me from popcorn as a punishment. I have this rule- no one is allowed to touch it before it's properly buttered and seasoned. Preferably, no one will touch it until my stomach is unable hold any more. I'm willing to share, but it's still tough.

Alright, all my dirty laundry is hanging on the line. My problem now is finding anyone to tag that hasn't been already. Hmmm.

Ask Missy

My friend Shannon had some questions about some things I've discussed here, and I thought there might be others who have wondered the same things. I'll do my best to address her questions and maybe clear some things up for a lot of people.

• "Your oldest son had become a deacon, what does that mean?" Good question. A deacon is an office in the Priesthood. The Priesthood is the authority to act in God's name. All men who are worthy in our church hold the Priesthood. To act in God's name, they have to be living a clean life. A deacon is the very first, beginner office in the priesthood. He gets to pass the sacrament on Sundays, and collect offerings. What it means for me, is that I get to watch my son's first steps to becoming a man worthy of the name. I actually have to be tethered down with ropes during the sacrament to keep from floating up to the ceiling with happiness. By the time he's around 19, he'll be ready to be ordained an Elder. That is a huge increase in authority and responsibility. He'll be able to heal the sick, give blessings, and go on a mission. He'll spend two years away from us serving and helping others, and come home a man ready to be a husband and father. That is the plan, and I work hard every day to see to it he's prepared.

• Here's one about our trip to Utah: "What was it your son was doing when he was speaking at the podium?" My son inherited the smart alek gene from me. He's an absolute punk, and I get a kick out of him. We were at a museum, and that was a display of a historical church pulpit. I didn't even post the best picture:
  

He has a razor-sharp wit and a wicked sense of humor. We crack each other up a lot.

• You asked about the meeting we attended there. It was not a regular church service. Every six months, we have General Conference. Our Prophet, and other church leaders speak in five different sessions broadcast all over the world during the weekend. We usually watch it at my grandma's, surrounded by family all snuggled up on the couch together. We have a huge dinner in between sessions, it's one of my favorite "holidays" of the year.
  Here are my parents, holding my baby, with my brother and his wife watching conference. The meeting is held in a huge conference center across from the Salt Lake temple. None of us had been to the actual meeting before, so this was huge for us. To see the Prophet in person is something you never forget.

• You asked about the difference between a regular church and a temple. A regular church has a chapel, classrooms, a kitchen and a gym. We have Sunday services there, dinners, dances and parties. Anyone can come, member or not. Temples are literally the house of God. Only members recommended by their church leaders can go inside. Sacred ordinances like marriages are performed there, not worship services. L. and I were married in the Seattle temple, and we have one close by. We got to take our oldest there after he was ordained to do baptisms for people who never got the chance when they were alive. It was probably one of my happiest days to be there with him. It's the biggest dream of my life to have all my boys in the temple with us. That would be my measure of success as a parent.
  

You asked how we were able to make that long trip alone, and how I was able to still look good. Ahem, another good question. Here's my answer: You only got to see the good pictures! I thought about posting a bad picture of me to prove it, but decided against it. The rest, was a miracle. Seriously, we prayed about this trip for weeks. We fasted about it. Because my husband holds the priesthood, I was able to ask him for a blessing to help me on the way and I got some valuable counsel through that blessing that made all the difference. We took this trip very seriously, we only listened to uplifting things all the way there and back so we would be ready to learn and feel everything that was there for us to learn. The trip didn't feel long, I didn't feel the burden of caring for the boys on my own. It was a miracle.

I'm glad you can tell from my posts how happy we are. Sometimes I have a hard time believing that there can really be such a deep peace and joy as what we have. I mean, yeah, we do have our moments like yesterday when my husband was working late. I go outside and find that my above-pictured oldest son has built a full-on campfire on the sidewalk beside the street, for the whole neighborhood to see! I feel really sad for a lot of my kid's friends whose home lives are so hard. It makes me want to adopt them all, and during the day, we try to take them into our 'cocoon'. We have this foundation that keeps us strong and doing what will keep us happy and bring us more happiness. In our church, families are everything, and we have clear direction to help us keep the most important things first. That's probably our secret formula. We're definitely NOT perfect, we're plenty crazy, tetchy and immature, but we don't have to be perfect to be happy.

So there you go, it's probably more than you ever wanted to know, but I hope that covers it for you.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

We're due for a hard freeze soon, and I had this thought: does anyone want some fresh herbs? I have a HUGE sage bush, TONS of rosemary, and best of all, a nice amount of tarragon- the spice of the gods. Can you think of anything better than fresh, pungent rosemary inside a roasting chicken and worked between the skin and meat? Or tarragon in scrambled eggs, or mixed in with the ricotta in the very best lasagna? So, if anyone's interested, please PUH-LEESE come by my house and snip, snip all you want. Herb-infused vinegar in cute bottles for Christmas presents? Hung on the walls of your kitchen with ribbon to dry? You'll find my herb garden right outside my kitchen door. Seriously, don't even call. You can come in the dead of night, dressed in black if you don't want me to see you. The first really hard freeze will kill most of it so run, don't walk to my kitchen door and take all you want!

Carving Pumpkins Earl Style

I have just one question for you: how do normal families carve their pumpkins? I really want to know, because what you're about to see is definitely NOT normal.

It starts off innocently enough, children roaming a pumpkin field.

"Eew, there's slime on my hand! What kind of sick American custom is this?" Still pretty normal, but wait......

They break out the power tools. Pumpkin flesh and gore are flying.

We've got some inappropriate enthusiasm going on here.


I don't even know what to say about this one. Definitely inappropriate enthusiasm.

Is that his head in the pumpkin, you ask? Why, yes, yes it is.

There is just no explanation for this one. I guess it's a pumpkin swirley.

There was a method to their madness after all. Pretty impressive, eh?

We end our Family Home Evening with a nice, reverent family prayer. What this photo doesn't show is the pitched battle that's occurring on my lap. Elbows are jabbing, heads are jostling to claim prime real estate. All five are fighting, go ahead and count them!

My Sisters- I miss 'em

This is my oldest sister. I miss her. I don't get to see her or talk to her enough. We're only 18 months apart, so we spent a lot of years in the same Young Women's groups, Sunday school classes, and overlapping groups of friends. We had long, really long, drives to seminary every morning, and equally long drives back home from school. We had this one tape, Milli Vanilli, (anyone remember them?) that we would sing at the top of our lungs. "Girl you know it's true, Ooo Ooo Ooo, I love You!" In the summers we tackled crossing the wake together, dropping a ski, then finally getting up on one ski. We would sit beside each other in church the next morning, with sunburns and whip lash, unable to turn and look at each other. We got into a lot of trouble together, like when she decided it was time I learned how to drive. It was on one of those long drives home from school, and my dad's pristine truck was a stick shift. I wasn't going to make the turn, so she helped me out a bit too much, into a barbed wire fence!
She's very different from me. She's driven, focused, and really good at what she does. She was a CPS worker, and now she's a mom. She's always learning new parenting techniques, and man, she's got skills. She pushes her body by running and lifting weights. She's got some serious guns!
My kids love to spend time with her because when she's with them, she's really present in their world. She clues in really quickly to what interests them. Here she's making a little drawing game for boy #3. She drew one picture that changed into a different one when you folded the paper and held it up to the light. He was amazed!



Here's my little sister. Everyone should have a little sister like her. She's cheerful and puts up with all kinds of bossiness, meddling and abuse. She's a gatherer of people, a shepherdess of sorts. She always has a group of girls she's taken under her wing. She's always organizing group sport, some clothing exchange, some club or other.

My, she was fun to raise. My husband was actually her first dance. Our rooms were next to each other's and during any emotional trauma, all we'd have to do is leave our door cracked open and let it all out. Quick as a flash, we'd be in each other's bed to talk it out and give comfort. We both are book worms, and we spent hours laying in bed with our feet at each other's heads plowing through our books. We shared a bathroom, and I really miss getting ready, putting on makeup and doing our hair together. Outside the temple on my wedding day, she cried because she knew she was losing me. I was so happy and excited, I thought she was just being silly. It was hard to imagine that part of life ending.
We still get to visit, and talk occasionally but it's never the same, is it?