Author: lilydarais

I am assuming we made a Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving dinner this day:

Tonight Abe was reading scriptures with the girls while I was doing my online writing class. They happened to be on the BOM scripture about how the Lamanites’ skin turned “fair” (historically the word was “white”) when they became righteous. Lydia, alarmed, said “Should I tell Mom we read this? She’d be so mad!” Abe said she could come tell me. Gleeful at the thought of what kind of scene would ensue, she giggled and said, “I’m going to tell Mom!” That’s my girl.

Abe went on to say that this scripture was wrong but that there were other valuable passages in their reading that he liked. He re-read a verse about calling on God when you’re scared and told the girls they could find value in that one instead. At the end, he asked the girls why he reads scriptures with them. Mary responded, “So we can take away the good things!” That made Abe happy–and honestly, me too.

I am SO proud that Lydia immediately recognized that this passage was racist. It is such a relief to know she is applying critical thinking to scripture. That is something I never did when I was younger, and I am so, so proud of them for developing these mental habits.

The other notable thing about today was that we did a Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving for dinner. I tried out all of their short-cut Thanksgiving foods and had a whole Thanksgiving dinner on the table in one hour. It was so yummy, and we loved it all (except the stuffing, which was just mush.)

I woke up early today and did a hiit workout on my bike. I love that bike so much. But after the hiit work out at 5:30 am, I hardly moved for the rest of the day. And now it’s almost bed time and I won’t even close the activity loop on my watch. That is pathetic.

On the other hand, I have had a lot of great Marco Polo interactions with friends, I took Clarissa to Qualtrics, I read to Clarissa, I wrote for my faith transition book, I facilitated a play date for Lydia with a girl from her school, and I cleaned the house (a couple of times).

Abe and his team are killing it at work. They might get close to tripling their quota this quarter. He so deserves this, and I am sooooo happy for him.

Here are some darling pictures Emily took of my kids while they played at her house. She told me that Ammon wandered into her house and declared his love for her. “I love you, Emily!” I melted upon receiving that report.

We are buying a new house! We decided this over a week ago. I will have to type the story when I back blog for that day. For now, here is the link to our new home. 

I have spent waaaaay too much time ever since online looking at online design thinking about how I will finish the basement.

But today I took the kids to the library. Of course Ammon asked for a picture of himself and Clarissa by the statue:

On Sunday the Miners had a birthday party. Clarissa, Ammon, and Mary were all included and they were all so thrilled. Clarissa blew out her candles as soon as they were lit, so she blew hers out three times in the course of her “Happy Birthday” song. Ammon was practically jumping out of his chair for joy the whole time and grinned at everyone constantly. And Mary was so sweet and shy. She was thrilled on the inside.

In the morning we went to Center Point church. It was at 11:15 am and we were still late. But the kids call that one “the fun church.” I worked out before that on the bike and almost passed out, so I was really tired at the “fun” church. But it’s close, convenient, and the sermon was fine. So we’ll probably keep it in the rounds.

This entry is obviously not chronological. After the Miners we went to Larry Perkins’ house–our old G Street Avenues house!! He and Gayle showed us the addition, which is stunning. Gayle watched the kids while Larry showed us around. He has priceless objects everywhere, so that was a little harrowing. Thankfully the older girls could just sit at a counter and color. Here are their pictures. Also, check out the marble counter they are on. Have you ever seen marble like that before??? The whole counter looked like waves. We almost couldn’t believe it.:

On Halloween the babies went trick or treating four or five times(Clarissa=4, Ammon =5). The older girls went three times. Everyone got lots of candy.

Round one at the Provo Mall with Blair, James, Hannah and their friends:

Then after naps I picked the kids up early from school and took them to Qualtrics. Abe arrived fresh from the airport and met us in the parking lot. He took the kids in while I rested in the car.

Then we all drove to Provo’s downtown and trick or treated there before getting pizza from one of the restaurants on Center Street.

Then Eliza met us at home and joined us for the pizza. After she took the oldest three kids trick or treating in the neighborhood while Abe hung out on the lawn with Clarissa. I went inside after a short while because I got cold. Clarissa busied herself unwrapping twenty lollipops while Abe chatted with the neighbors and trick or treaters.

Then we put Clarissa down and took the older kids and Eli trick or treating in our new neighborhood. That was truly fun. Abe and I were so happy and Eli made all of our kids laugh and laugh and laugh. It was seriously so, so fun.

Happy Halloween!

On Sunday I checked out St. Mary’s Episcopal church in Provo. My friend, Michaelann, told me about it. I have long loved its red door and traditional architecture. It’s right across the street from the church Lydia’s homeschool co-op used. I absolutely loved my experience there, and it was so fun to have Abe and the kids join in for the last bit. The church ordained its new priest–a woman!–and I felt like I was breathing oxygen every time I looked to the front and saw women leading the congregation.

At the same time, a lot of the text is still biblical and patriarchal, so I have to translate the pronouns in my head and do some acrobatics to make the wording kind of work for me right now. But I loved the community and will definitely visit this church again.

We took it really easy in the afternoon. We had braised brisket, lentil salad, squash, and peach cobbler for dinner. Abe started a great family discussion from Come Follow Me, and Lydia told us how she deals with gossip. She will say something nice about the person being talked about or just say, “Let’s change the subject!” That warmed my heart.

And she also told us one of her biggest fears is being different from everyone else. I feel so much respect for that girl’s propensity to introspect. Ever since she could talk, she has been able to tell us when and why she feels jealousy, fear, anger, joy, delight, or emotion of any kind. It’s amazing.

After that discussion, Clarissa threw a tantrum (she threw tantrums all day long) and we let the kids melt their brains to puddles in front of the television while the adults worked on a puzzle. It took us about three hours, but Abe and I finished it by 10:30.

In the morning we went to Richard Rohr’s church and heard him preach. He gave an amazing homily that addressed humility, immigration, and perspective. Abe and I were wowed. I spent the rest of the day considering converting to Catholicism, despite the fact that I don’t believe in it at all and it has an even longer history of corruption than Mormonism. But I just love Richard Rohr so much. Maybe I will enroll in his living school.

As we left we saw the international balloon festival balloons floating all around the sky. It felt like New Mexico was sending us back home with a colorful party. We loved this trip so much.

We hardly stopped at all on the way home, although we did have dinner at Pasta Jay’s in Moab. We adore Moab and have so many memories at Pasta Jay’s. It was delightful.

When we got home, we hung our chili pepper wreath on the door. We brought New Mexico home with us!

In the morning we went to Carlsbad Caverns where the girls did the junior ranger program and we explored the incredible caves.

Then we drove a couple hours to White Sands National Monument, and on the way Abe took this picture:

At White Sands National Monument we slid down the sand dunes and played in the sand. The sand is white because it’s made out of gypsum. I think this might have been one of our favorite experiences on the trip.

After White Sands, we drove to Albequerque and found a hotel near the church where Richard Rohr preaches.

On Friday morning we had breakfast at Pasqual’s Cafe. The wait was super long so we took a stroll to the basilica nearby.

I don’t know how I feel about this statue. On one hand, I appreciate the representation of a Native American woman, but on the other hand I am kind of distressed that she’s taken on the religion of her oppressors.

Then we were soooo ready to eat. The food at Pasqual’s was AMAZING.

After breakfast we drove up through Taos to the Taos Pueblo, which is a world heritage site. It has been continually inhabited for 1,000 years. It was so wonderful to explore and admire it with a sense of humility and respect for its inhabitants. In my Mormon days, I believed Native Americans were the descendants of Lamanites who lost their land because God punished them for wickedness. Up until 2010, the Book of Mormon described the Lamanites as “dark, filthy, and loathesome” people. If I had visited this pueblo during those days, I would have probably had the idea that I knew the true spiritual story of the people I was meeting, and that would have colored the way I viewed them. As it is, I was in awe of their kindness and resilience in the face of so much heartbreak, tragedy and oppression. And I found value in the way one of them described his spiritual tradition to me. It did not seem degraded at all, and in fact, because he was describing a connection to the earth, it struck me that much of what he was saying would exactly remedy the spiritual and environmental ills of today.

After the pueblo, we stopped by the church that Georgia O’Keefe painted.

Then we drove all the way to Carlsbad. On the way we passed through Roswell. All of the museums were closed, but there were still alien statues by the road, and those were fun for all of us to point out. We also saw some gorgeous scenery that we could not capture in photographs, but here are some attempts: