Happy endings and beginnings

 “I don’t know how to speak about heaven in the traditional, lovely, paradisiacal, beauty that we speak of heaven – I wouldn’t know how to speak of heaven without my wife, my children. It would, it would not be heaven for me.” 

-- Elder Jeffrey Holland

These past couple of weeks have been pure bliss.

We prepared our home for Erik's return.

Kiersten came home with baby Oliver from Denver, and then we picked up Erik from the airport late one night. There is nothing that quite prepares you for welcoming home a child who's been away for a time. I imagine this is what leaving this world might be like.

Oh, how we missed that boy of ours. This was the last photo I took of him as we dropped him off at the MTC 2 years ago,

and this is one I snapped of him returning. Looks like same suit with a few more wrinkles and a bit more faded.

Bright and early the next morning we met at the stake president's office to release Erik and set apart Nate as a missionary before Nate entered home-MTC later that day. President Child commented how this was a first for him . . . having two missionary brothers coming and going on the same day.

Nate's P-day happened to coincide with Tyler's birthday later that week where we spent the morning at the zoo with ALL our children.

Sunday was Erik's homecoming talk and Oliver's baby blessing with family photos afterwards.

Photo courtesy Brian Leary

Photo courtesy Brian Leary

Photo courtesy Air and Ember Photography

Photo courtesy Air and Ember Photography

My heart has been so full. There are still good things to come.

Updates

Good grief! What happened to January? It just sorta mushed into February.

Alex
He's been thick in the middle of basketball practices and games.

How many basketballs can you spot? Did you get 'em all? Are you sure? This year we tried out the Stansbury basketball league instead of Jr. Jazz in Grantsville.

He's getting taller, but I don't think he'll catch his friend Chris anytime soon.

At the beginning of January he took his Hoop Shoot free throw skills to the next level in Heber. Watching those young kids warm up set my nerves on fire for him. They were good and they weren't missing.

But . . . 

Hold on . . . 

They didn't have nerves of steel. And Alex did.

He ended up taking 2nd class place, making 21 out of 25 free throws. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Unfortunately, the first place winner made 22 and he got to go on to Provo. Alex still came home with a trophy (that we have yet to see since they forgot them) and a free lunch out of the deal.

Clutch. That's what we call him now.

Ashlyn
Ahhh Ash. Just livin' the dream of hangin' with friends just about every night and trying to pass biology tests and dancin' her feet away in ballroom class and splitting knees open in gym class

and studyin' for her learner's permit.

Nate
Wait! I have a son Nathan? Are you sure? I know someone sleeps in his bed and the truck is gone most days, but . . . Hmmmm?

Nate is home long enough to shower and sleep. He has mostly college classes during the day, comes home to McDonalds, basketball or tennis after that.

The kid is rarely home. He did get asked to Winter Ball by cute Hannah.

Sunday mornings are mission prep and then straight to our ward to play prelude or postlude on the organ. Monday nights he teaches a few piano lessons.

Erik
Elder Leary is just doin' his thang, teachin' and preachin' and hangin' with celebrities like Alex Boye.


He's had some great experiences, great companions, played a little tennis and will be home in September.

We even made sure he got in on the yearly height check-in. I'm pretty sure he hasn't grown much this year.

Kiersten
Soon she'll be able to add UVU alumni to her list of accomplishments. Wahoo!! Once a week she travels out here to teach piano lessons.

She still works at Curves in Lehi, tries to keep up Grandma Ellis who had part of the driveway already shoveled, 

incubates baby Oliver for a few more months,

and finds time to be in an institute choir . . . once in awhile . . . like when they have a devotional broadcast to the world.

She and Jason are doing well.

Tyler and I have started a Master Gardener's class that is 12 weeks long and something that has been on our bucket list for a number of years.

Week one was about plants.

This past week was about soils. On our daily walk around the block I was so excited to see the layers of soil. What a nerdy thing to get excited about (and don't ask about the straw in that hole. We have no idea why and have never seen anything like it.)

Yes, we walk just about every day. January has been such a dichotomous month in regards to the weather. You'd expect cold and snow, but it's been quite the opposite. My daily routine is a walk around one block at 6:30 in the morning. I call it my daily walk with God and takes me 11 minutes. After work and school, Tyler and I usually take another walk around a different block to catch up on the day. And Saturday mornings are a 5 mile run at 6:30 in the morning and then off to a basketball game. Boy do I catch some beautiful sunsets and moon settings. Watching the world wake up and drift off is quite spectatular.

My friend Claudia took this on our walk.

The start of February was another beautifully warm day. So much so that we took advantage and biked and bladed the Jordan River Parkway.

Monday we woke up to this. Our second major storm of the year.

Luckily it was just delayed start for school (so no make up) AND I got to try my snowblower again on our driveway and the neighbors.

Our dishwasher also bit the dust taking me back to my childhood when we had five dishwashers. Yeah, that's right 5. Five kids who washed and dried by hand. So this week I've gone from 1 dishwasher to at least 2 or 3. How lucky am I :)

Our quasi snow day also meant more people on Erik's weekly call home.


And like Porky Pig always said at the end of every Looney Tunes show "That's all folks!"

Anticipation, Isolation, Waiting, Bunkering, and a Birthday

What. A. Week!!

When Erik got his mission call to Florida, he told me that all he wanted was to experience a hurricane (because missionary sleepovers and lots of service). Last Wednesday I got "wind" that a hurricane was brewing in the Atlantic. The projected path at that time was that it was going to slam into Central Florida as a cat 3 hurricane . . . Exactly where Elder Leary was camping out in Rockledge, a mere 25 minutes from the coast.

But as you know, these things have an unpredictable mind of their own. For the next two days Erik helped people get ready and board up their homes. And on Saturday he was evacuated to St. Cloud, a town more inland to hang with a couple of other missionaries.

And they sat.

And waited.

And anticipated.

And waited even more as Hurricane Dorian stalled out over the Bahamas as a Cat 5 storm and then gradually inched it's way north and west.

They played games.

Ate a lot of food.

And even got permission to watch some movies that they deemed appropriate.

In the meantime, our mountain was burning down at home. While Erik was in isolation and bunkering down, I was racing home to see what was going on behind my house.

Our mountain was on fire and has been for two days now.

Tyler's birthday seems to always bring out the worst in Mother Nature,

the worst being a micro wind that took down a tree and fencing at our Stansbury home.

Hurricane Dorian decided to play nice and remained off the coast of Florida which also meant no big service opportunities for Erik. He called us on Ty's birthday to let us know he was back "home" in Rockledge.

Tyler celebrated his birthday with dinner downtown. We almost decided to be spontaneous and get last hour tickets to the Elton John concert happening right across the street from where we were . . . and then we didn't and went to the DI instead.


Like Erik said in his last email, this week has been quite an adventure as we've witnessed Mother Nature try to take over the world.