Category Archives: People

Airplane!

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Paul did not cry or fuss very much during his first 24 hours of airplane travel, much to his parents’ delight. He slept a lot. A fellow traveler congratulated us on having such a “good baby.” Does that mean that he would have been a “bad” baby had he cried? Would that have meant that we are “bad” parents?

After day one in his home country, Paul has met 2 of 5 grandparents/great-grandparents, 2 of 11 aunts/uncles, and 2 of 8 cousins.

We’ll make sure to take pictures (I haven’t really done so yet). I’ll post them when I get a chance to do so!

The Opposite of an Epiphany

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Epiphany, noun; 3 a (1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b: a revealing scene or moment

When I was a young girl, my family went to Nauvoo at least once a year. I was very familiar with the shops and houses and streets, and every visit, a little bit more was developed to be like Old Nauvoo. I enjoyed those visits.

We always started at the Visitors’ Center. We’d watch the orientation video and we’d go on a tour. I was always impressed by a particular display stand. It was a display of the golden plates underneath some glass. A plaque next to the display said something like this:

The Golden Plates: Joseph Smith translated the writings on the golden plates into what became the Book of Mormon.

When I was 14 or 15, I was sitting in a Sunday school class. We were talking about church history. I don’t recall what the subject was on that particular day, but it occurred to me: the plates in the Nauvoo Visitors’ Center were not the real golden plates. It was a moment of realization: “I can’t believe I just figured that out.”

I can’t bring myself to call it an epiphany because the result was realizing how ridiculous my prior understanding had been. It wasn’t an “intuitive grasp”; it was a “wow, I’m slow” moment. So I’ll call it an “opposite of an epiphany.”

I had another “opposite of an epiphany” the other day. I was singing Paul a song about Noah and telling him about all the animals he put on the ark. When I got to kangaroos, I stopped.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “Kangaroos are native to Australia alone. How did Noah get kangaroos in the Middle East?”

My husband Looked at me. “What do you think? Do you really think Noah took two of every single species of animal on the ark?”

And then I had the same feeling as when I realized the golden plates aren’t in the Visitors’ Center: Noah’s story, and the entire Bible, is of one people in one nation. We don’t really have to take it completely literally.

Of course, it doesn’t matter where the real golden plates are. My testimony of the translation doesn’t depend on the physical plates. It’s the same thing with Noah. Did Noah take kangaroos on the ark? Did the Lord cover 197 million square miles (the entire surface of the earth) with water? I don’t know. Yes, it’s true that “With God, nothing shall be is impossible” (Luke 1:37), but in this particular story, I don’t think it happened literally and it really doesn’t matter if it did or not. My testimony doesn’t depend on it.

On my last visit to Nauvoo, I didn’t see the golden plates display; the Visitors’ Center has been completely reorganized since I was a young girl.

But these “opposite of an epiphany” moments are reminding me that I have a lot of growing up to do: Was I really an adult before I realized that? What other things am I not realizing?

Have you had any “opposite of an epiphany” moments?

Dreaming and Singing

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Some times when Paul is asleep, his mouth opens in a wide smile and he giggles to himself. He stays asleep.

Some times when Paul is sad, I sing him a song. The other day he was wearing a Noah’s ark outfit, with animals on it. As I was changing his diaper, he was very cranky. I began to sing “Rise and Shine”.

Paul stopped crying and smiled at me. I sang it to him a number of times through the day and he always seemed happy to hear it.

Ever since he was born, I’ve developed the habit of singing him “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” and “Jesus Said Love Everyone” and “I am a Child of God” at least once a day. Even though I don’t have an incredibly beautiful voice and I’m probably off key, he usually calms down when I begin to sing.

Ryan thinks babies dream in colors and faces. They don’t have words, but they have colors. I like to think that Paul dreams in song as well. He may not have the words, but the sounds and the love behind them are pleasant to him. I like to think that he smiles in his sleep because he’s thinking of music.

How do you think a baby dreams?

Australia Christmas 2007: High Country, Victoria

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On Boxing Day 2007, we drove up the mountain and entered the high country, which essentially is the plateau on top of the mountain. There, the trees were naked. At first glance, I thought it was still too cold for leaves; it was the beginning of summer, but maybe at such a “high” altitude, it was still early spring. The trees still had to bud.

But the further we drove in the high country, the more I realized that these naked-looking white-barked trees were the famous snow gums I had heard so much about. They were supposed to be undressed.

In August, we visited the Dandenong Ranges, and I mentioned how much I liked the naked trees. I liked these even more.

When I first moved to Australia, I asked some Relief Society sisters what it is that Victoria, Australia is famous for:

“What do you have a lot of? When you think ‘Victoria,’ what do you think of?” I asked.

“Well, we have a lot of gum trees,” one sister said.

“And we have koalas,” another answered.

I mentioned kangaroos, surprised no one had mentioned them.

“Well, yes, those too.”

I guess Victoria is to kangaroo the way Illinois is to deer: there are lots of them, but that’s not what they want to be “known” for.

Gum trees are another name for eucalyptus trees.

While I really don’t know anything more about these plants, I found them incredibly fascinating.

I like viewing my pictures in black and white because that is the general mood I had looking at these trees: since the trees themselves were only black and white, color didn’t seem to add anything to the composition. Rather, the contrast between the black and the white provided most of the interest.

The one color exception in this batch is the moment, during the sunset, when the light rested on a tree across a small valley. I didn’t have an appropriate zoom lens (so it’s probably out of focus), but I took the shot anyway.

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Australia Christmas 2007: Craigs Hut

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“The Man from Snowy River” is a well-known Australian poem. In the 1980s, the story from the poem was made into a movie. I admit, the movie is cheesy and the special effects say “low budget,” but it is definitively Australian.

When we first decided to come to Australia, my husband and I watched the movie. As I watched it, I awed at the beautiful landscapes. The main character, Jim Craig, has a house that overlooks a beautiful range of mountains. Part of the story is that the other mountainmen won’t let Jim, who is still a teenager, stay in his mountain house after his father died: only men who have earned it can live in the mountains. (Spoiler alert! By the end, he’s earned the right to live there.)

As I watched the first time, I felt sad that we would be so far south in Australia: if only we were going to Brisbane, we’d be near to where this movie was filmed and we’d be able to see the beautiful mountainscapes.

To my surprise, at the end of the movie, a note told us that this was filmed in Merrijig, Victoria. I told my husband we were going to see the mountains.

The house that Jim Craig lived in was built as a prop on the side of Mt. Stirling. Many people visited it to see the same view that is seen in the movie. Unfortunately, it burnt down a few years ago (there are often brush fires in the area, especially during droughts). But because so many people wanted to visit the place, the hut was rebuilt. Last January, it burnt down again in a more serious brush fire.

I was sad that we wouldn’t be able to visit it — until my husband found out that they are rebuilding it once again! The hut that we visited December 24 is still under construction; in fact, standing right in front of it is a huge dumpster. Because one side of the house has been completed, we could still take some nice pictures. I could avoid the dumpster, but I was unable to get an extra wide view.

To get to Craigs Hut, we drove on a washboard road winding up and down the mountains for about 1½ hours. Our Toyota Corolla did not like it! Then we walked 2 km up and down a very rutted path (we could have driven if we had 4-wheel drive). Finally, we arrived at the scenic overlook where Craigs Hut has been built.

It was a chilly night. Paul was fussy in the carrier until we put the snow suit on him. I carried him and finally he fell asleep just as we arrived. (My husband was the trooper that carried both of our cameras and both tripods.) The wind on the top of the mountain was horrendous.

It was so windy and I was so chilled that I only really took pictures for about 10 minutes. I was afraid that none of them would turn out, but with a little bit of adjustment to the exposures, I think I got some good shots.

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News Flash!

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Paul has found his wings! He is going to visit his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins!

We’re flying from Melbourne to Chicago on Friday, February 1 (evening), and flying out again on Sunday, February 17 (morning). We’ll also visit Utah during those weeks. More details to come.

We look forward to seeing all of you (and Paul is eager to meet you)!

Popularity

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Tuesday I made cookies for my New Mum’s Group. I’d never tried this recipe before, so it was a risk to make them for strangers.

(“You never make cookies just for me!” said my husband. “It’s a new recipe. They might be horrible,” I reply. “OK, let them be the guinea pigs,” he conceded.)

I was the most popular girl in class:

“Did you get them from the American food store in ____?”

“No, I made them.”

“But did you get the mix from the American store?”

“No, I made them with sugar and flour.”

“You had time to bake?!”

“It took less than half an hour to mix and less than half an hour to bake.”

“Wow, they’re good!”

My husband says they taste dry. I don’t think they are the best cookies ever, but they are addicting. And they are so very easy to make.

I think the fact that they are still popular here reflects on the fact that all Australian “biscuits” are hard and dry. No moist cookies in the entire country.

I made the chocolate chip option and the orange-cranberry option. Which option would you like? (See the recipe and more options in the comments section to the post of this recipe at Smitten Kitchen.)

Two Videos

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Don’t get excited about these two videos. Here’s why:

  • The videos are large files and so will take a long time to load.
  • Paul doesn’t smile or do anything cute, other than look at the camera.
  • Mommy gets distracted because Paul isn’t smiling and she looks at the camera and talks to the cameraman.
  • The cameraman tries to be funny and gets the viewer all dizzy.
  • Nothing happens in these videos, but the cameraman didn’t want to try again, so this is what you get.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!