Pride and the Prophet

We had a diverse Sunday. After teaching Sunday School, Araceli, Freestone and I made a spur-of-the moment jaunt into Salt Lake to the Pride Parade. It was a happy, festive event.

Then lunch at Coco and Bill's. I love seeing my family.

Everyone fights over Escher and Iver.

Our friend from Ballet West, Lucas Horns, was in charge of the flag project this year, so we ordered a flag for a $15 donation to be placed in our yard for Pride Week.  I admit, I was a little apprehensive, mostly at having someone make a comment that I didn't like and then having bad feelings towards that person. But I think with all the teen suicide and just trouble so many teens go through, that we wanted everyone to know that our home is safe, like I wrote on my Instagram. I was happily surprised at all the positive comments from friends. I think everyone just wants to get along and be happy.

That evening, Scott took these beautiful people to the conference center to hear President and Sister Nelson speak. I watched it live on Facebook with all the comments streaming in from all over the world. The thing I loved about this Sunday was witnessing and being a part of two radically different events that were both so full of and about love. We were all inspired by the devotional. President Nelson cautioned us about social media and encouraged the youth to "take a break from fake" and step back from social media for a week. Being cognizant of the effect it has on your life is important.

All in all, I went to bed at the end of a beautiful day fully inspired and grateful.

A Letter to Golda March 26, 2017 About Women's Conference

Hi Golda! We went to the women's broadcast last night at the conference center with Grandma and Izzy, and me, Ruby, Xanthe, Abbi Wagstaff and her mom. (Dad and Araceli went to Vegas to see a concert.) Grandma had 7 tickets, and she thought she gave me 5, but she only gave me 4, so we kinda had to smuggle one of us in. We told them out other ticket was inside. Meanwhile, Grandma had seen a group of Latina women outside who needed just one more ticket and given them the extra ticket, thinking we had enough. It all just worked out seamlessly, despite the fact that we were fretting a little bit. It was a good reminder that HF is always working in our lives to smooth things over and facilitate us coming closer to Him.

There were some good messages. My favorite was Elder During. He said he was frustrated at his seven year old son for jumping on the bed and he picked him up and was holding him by the shoulders. He heard a voice saying, "You're holding a great person." Elder Eyring is funny, and he said, "I gently set him down." The crowd laughed. His point was to see people as God sees them, and he related it back to being how the YW should treat each other, and how they should be unified in charity towards one another.

I'm sending some pictures. We all made hearts with our hands just for you. When we came out of the conference center, the light was liquid gold on the temple. 

So, who are you training?!?! We've been watching for video, but haven't seen anything.

Ruby is speaking in church today, and Xanthe is giving a talk in primary. Xanthe said, "I'll just write it tomorrow. It's not a big deal. It's not like I'm speaking in front of the whole world." She's so funny!

Grandpa had all the boys (except Freestone who was at Capitol theater all day for 10 hours for class, then little Mermaid run throughs, with hanging out at City Creek with his ballet friends I'm between) over to his house to make fidget spinners. They're these little things with ball bearings in the center that spin. The kids all got to go in grandpa's workshop. Ptolemy had a ball. 

I let Xanthe buy a ukulele yesterday so I could make my sales goal. Ha ha. She's taking the ukulele class at my store in June. I still have to get that erhu class going! Oh my gosh, that reminds me, I forgot to go to that homecoming last week! This is the first time it's dawned on me. Oh wait, it's today!!! I can go! I'm glad I got up early! 

We love you and miss you. Oh, I met a missionary at Temple square from HK. She said PFL is in her old stake.

Love you! Mom

New Beginnings

I thought this picture and excerpt from Golda's letter were timely this year, as we're hitting milestones and having new beginnings:  "Even though I'm more grown up, I think growing up is kind of a cycle.  Some of the things I become or want to become are just more reminsicent of who I was as a child.  It was easier to have unconditional love, to not judge, to know what was important, to have joy in others' success, to love the simple things. I think all kids are like that.  That is why Christ commands us to become as little children. We just have to find those intrinsic Christ-like attributes that we are born with as children of God, and decide to cultivate them amidst change, adversity and sorrow as we grow."  Wise girl, beautiful writer.

Little Tziporah gave a talk in church. I didn't get to hear it because I was at an audition for Freestone, but Scott helped her read it. I had typed it up and sent a screenshot to everyone in the family, knowing that the hard copy, which Tziporah had decorated with pictures of flowers, would get left home on the kitchen counter. Sure enough...

 That same night, Ptolemy had his baptism preview! He turns 8 in July, but he's opted to wait for Golda to get home from her mission and Ruby to return from Miami for Christmas, and get baptized in January. That could change... We'll see. He loved the preview. He wanted to go back to the church and do it again the next day. Maybe it was the chocolate milk, or having Scott conducting the meeting. The kids love having their dad involved in every church activity. Scott got another chance to give a little talk at New Beginnings.

It's great to have letters from Golda, because we can just quote her whenever we have to teach a lesson or give a talk. In talking about the growth the girls experience in the Young Women's program, Scott read from Golda's letter the excerpt I put at the top of the post. See why we always quote Sister Dopp?:)
 Xanthe was introduced as a new Beehive. She turns 12 in April. She was nervous about the night, not knowing what to expect. I kept telling her that Esmae would be there too, and it wouldn't be scary. Well, Esmae was sick and couldn't come, so that threw her off. When I walked in late from teaching, Xanthe was sitting perfectly still and stone-faced, one of her go-to coping mechanisms. She carried that through Ruby's entire introduction, which Araceli had written up. She only cracked a smile when Ruby presented her with a Twix, her favorite candy bar.  She ended up thinking that Young Womens is going to be fun, especially after there was a table full of treats at the end of the night!

These three could not be more different, and they're all perfect.

Al Fox Carraway

Ruby and this girl in plaid were on the committee for a youth fireside.  They pulled off a coup and got the Mormon minor celebrity, Al Fox Carraway, to be the speaker.  Ruby was in charge of the musical number, and her people backed out last minute.  Teenagers.  Fortunately, we have willing talent in our ward, and one of our opera singers stepped up and did beautifully.  Al Fox was a dynamic and captivating speaker.  Her message is one of inclusion and faith. I'm so glad I got these pictures of Ruby with her afterward.  Ha ha ha.  Move over, Plaidie!  Ruby also put together a cute little gift bag for the speaker.  She has learned well from my gifty friends, and it was darling.  I'm proud of her for putting so much time into this project and making it really, really good.

Turning the Page

What a fun weekend!  Scott took Tziporah to Park City Friday night for a special date. Meanwhile, Ruby and I had a recital of our students, and there was some Nutcracker and ballet classes until late, and a wild and crazy school carnival. Saturday morning, Nutcracker pictures started at 7 am and continued, with each kid having a different time slot throughout the day, interspersed with ballet classes and whatnot.  Frank was laughing at me as I walked in and out of the house, dropping off one kid and getting another one prepped for pics.  With Ruby and Araceli at the studio, I had to do Xanthe's French twist all by myself.  Wah!  I'm so spoiled, having all these helpers. Speaking of which, with Scott gone, I had to scrap Araceli's youth symphony rehearsal. She would have been an hour late because of pictures, and I wouldn't have had time to get home in time to turn around and leave again for Freestone's rehearsal. So she was able to not worry about rushing through fun Nutcracker pictures. Bernstein and Brahms will have to wait until next week.

 My class, the Chinese.

 Cute little Page.

I peeked in at Freestone in class.

Scott and Tziporah had driven to Springville to visit a pumpkin patch. Tizzy was in heaven having her favorite parent all to herself!  Scott and I were sending pictures back and forth of our respective activities and talking about what to do next.  Our tentative plan was for me and Freestone to meet Scott and Tizzy back in PC after Freestone's Nutcracker practice in Salt Lake.  Then Scott texted me, "Change of plans.  Call me."

Little did I know, that was the understatement of the year.  Scott told me, "I got a call from the stake president and he wants us to come in at 3:30."  I held my phone away from my ear so I could glower at it and shouted, "WHAT?!?"  Knowing we were getting a new bishopric the next day, we both knew what this meant. Scott drove home, and when I got home from Salt Lake, he was getting his white shirt and tie on.  I dressed up and we went.  The first thing President Mellor did was to invite me into his office.  He said, "First off, we need your permission and blessing to extend this call to your husband."  He explained that it would be difficult for me as well as Scott.  I had no hesitation saying yes.  I knew it was right.  That didn't stop my internal voice from bawling, "How are we going to do this??"

They called Scott in, and then informed us that the rest of the bishopric was waiting for us in the next room.  Surreal! We walked through the door, anxious to see who was in there! I was so happy when I saw Jerry and Sally Taylor. I love them. Bishop Wuthrich was just beaming, and Maria. It was a neat moment. I have never experienced anything like it. They said that we all might be asked to bear our testimonies or just speak for a few minutes in sacrament meeting the next day. I am a terrible public speaker, and I didn't want to babble if I had to say a few words, so I wrote something down. Here it is:

I was standing at a crosswalk Saturday and out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw a man lunge forward and snatch his little boy out of the path of an oncoming car. With one swift, decisive yank, he had pulled the boy to safety.  Holding the boy close, he said, "Are you kidding me?  I JUST told you not to do that!"

The little boy started sobbing, "Leave me alone!  Leave me alone!" He was scared. The dad set him down and knelt by his side.  He set the boy against a wall and put his hand on his back, heavily, firmly, patiently, holding him there and keeping him safe until the boy stopped crying, and until the dad recovered his breath.

Seeing this near-miss play out was jarring.  It wasn't a big leap to make an analogy to myself, and maybe to all of us at some point in our lives.  Our Father in Heaven is always standing right by us.  Rescuing us, sometimes without our consent.  Sometimes we don't necessarily want to be rescued.  We - or at least I - want to say, "Leave me alone!  I'm doing just fine.  I don't want to improve." Because I'm scared.

And then our Father in Heaven puts His hand on us and holds us, waiting for us to see the wisdom in His plan.  In fact, he has made us a promise that He will do just that.  Isaiah 46:4 says,"I have made you; I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

 Our Father in Heaven has seven billion individual rescue plans in play right now, all made possible by the atonement of Jesus Christ. One of those rescue plans is yours.  One of them is mine. When President Mellor extended this call to Scott, he said of the calling, "The Lord knows everything about you and he still wants you."

That is true of each one of us.  The Lord knows everything about us and he still wants us. That will always be true.

Sunday, we felt so weird getting ready for church.  Scott's mom and dad and Nikki and Ryan were all there in sacrament meeting, so anyone who noticed would have guessed that Scott would be called, so I felt totally self-conscious.  When they announced the new bishopric, the three men went up on the stand and were asked to speak briefly, along with the outgoing gentlemen, Brother Knight, Brother Conrad and Bishop Adams.  Scott gave a great talk, like he always does.  He is good at speaking and weaving a story.  I ended up not having to speak, and I kinda wished I had had the opportunity, to thank the ward.  I also wanted to hear from the other wives, but time was short.

Immediately after the meeting, we all went to the stake center.  None of the three men were high priests yet; they were all elders, so they had to be ordained.  It was really neat because all three of their fathers were there to do that for them. Bishop Wuthrich's dad is quite elderly and could barely stand to lay his hands on his son's head and ordain him.  It was s tender moment.  All three were also set apart for their callings.  Bruce, Ryan and Josh were all in the circle of men.  My heart was so full.  I wish my dad could have been there, but he and my mom are in Paris.

I still haven't processed all the feelings.  First, I am so proud of Scott.  That seems like a given, but even that is conflicted because he didn't necessarily do anything to strive for this calling.  Who would?  In fact, I joked, "I though we had done everything we could to AVOID this!"  Ha ha.  So it's not that Scott "earned" this.  But I'm proud of him for being such a good man, and someone who always rises to the occasion.  Above all, we both know that Heavenly Father has been preparing our hearts for this for several weeks.  Months, maybe.  Perhaps since the moment Golda opened her mission call and we felt a whoosh of the spirit sweep through the room. We see His hand in the details of our lives, and we marvel at how everything fits together.  That doesn't mean I feel adequate to shoulder the burden, even though I know Scott will do a wonderful job.

Sunday morning, I was showing Scott my calendar.  In our shock, we were trying to figure out where this new responsibility would fit in.  Playfully, I said, "Look.  On November 1st, I teach all night and you have Ptolemy's basketball coach meeting, but Freestone has to be in Salt Lake for Nutcracker after his ballet class, and Ruby and Xanthe have dance too, so Ruby can't drive him.  Araceli has Young Womens, so Tizzy will be home alone. And now there's Young Men's, which you're supposed to be at."  I got to church and opened the program and there were our names an the church cleaning schedule.  November 1st. Seriously, does God have a sense of humor?!  Because that is funny. Each family only cleans the church once a year!

We were so excited to tell Golda about this!  All three of the men have missionaries out.  Isn't that cool?  So Scott sent her a clever email that said, "The new bishop has a missionary out in New York.  The first counselor has one out in Cincinnati.  And the new second counselor has a missionary in Hong Kong."

Golda wrote back and was so, so happy.  She said that she had thought about our new bishopric earlier that week, and had had the distinct impression that her dad would be part of it.  Like I said in my notes for the talk, I am like the little boy who was mad at his dad for saving him.  I told Scott, "I never asked for a new chapter."  I was pretty comfortable without the growth, thank you.  Scott, in his wisdom, had the perfect response: "It would be a boring book if there were no new chapters."  So we're turning the page.

Conference Weekend

Saturday, I was home most of the day making soup and puttering around the kitchen listening to conference.  Between sessions, Scott and I took the kids to Petco to get a new light for the iguana cage.  These are the types of errands you never thought you would have to face.  Petco is fun, though.  The kids love it.  On the way, Tizzy said the funniest thing.  "Sometimes my eyebrows hurt because I had a dream that a boy lit them of fire."  Okaaay...

Scott recently repainted and redecorated the TV room.  It was sorely needed, and he did a fabulous job.  He even lit a "manly indulgence" candle.

Tziporah's primary teacher was so thoughtful to bring coloring supplies for Conference.

Saturday night, the men went to the Priesthood session while I ran Araceli in to SLC for her Hands Free performance.  Taking this picture, I felt so much affection and love towards these guys.  Frank had heard about the meeting in seminary and asked me if he could go.  Sure!  I don't know if her knew it was going to be just like church.  I think it's neat to see all the men dressed up.  Araceli's performance ended just as the Priesthood session did, and suddenly, downtown Salt Lake was flooded with hoardes of men in suits, many with their young sons, dressed up and participating with their dads.

Whe we got home, the guys had enjoyed the soup and goodies I had made, and were watching the Utah game in Scott's new and improved TV room.  Araceli had friends over, and Xanthe had Esmae and Izzy here for a sleepover.  The house was full and merry, and so was my heart.

Sunday, Nikki and Clint had us over for Conference breakfast.  Their new house lends itself so well to large gatherings. Everyone was comfortable eating and listening all day.  We had breakfast, then conference, then lunch, then conference.

When I saw this display of Nikki's thoughtfulness, my heart melted.  I sent Golda a picture of it that night, and she wrote, "I literally got teary eyed seeing that picture.  She will never know how much that means to me.  Tell her thank you so much!"  Now I have a stack of letters to send Golda in a package we are shipping off with a friend to HK this week.

Grandma had all kinds of activities for the kids, including their traditional notebooks.  This group got to make blankets for the homeless shelter.

Jenny, baby Indy and Jean, Clint's family.

At one point, it was like Pier 49 with all the sleeping sea lions!

Cade was our only October kid birthday.  He and I share a birthday October 24. So he's my fave. :)

Freestone has taken on the responibility of being more annoying than his dad was at his age. Most of it is directed at Scott.  Karma.  Bruce laughs.

After a day of relaxing with the Dopps, we came home and relaxed with the Kings.  Soup and bread bowls for dinner, and lots of desserts.  Conference weekend really is renewing and reviving.  I love the chance to reflect and decompress with my people.