Catching up on life

I haven't written a blog for almost a year. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's being too busy. Maybe it's just that I'm facing some hard things right now. Whatever the reason, I shouldn't neglect getting feelings down on paper. Or screen. I do write in a journal every day so it's not like I'm not listing life's events. But it's cathartic to write for a blog, even if very few people see my words.

The year 2014 was remarkable for several reasons - two are named Wolfgang Winston and Astrid Josephine, our newest grand babies. The joy that our three little people, including my birthday grand baby Artemis Valborg, bring to our family is immeasurable! If I could do nothing but hold, rock, sing to, read to, play with and snuggle these three wee folks, I'd be content. I'm blessed to have WW in town (most of the time) so I get to see him a lot. I have way better upper body strength these days from hefting this guy around - 30 pounds at 8 months old!! But what a sweetheart. And I've been blessed to be able to fly to Phoenix pretty often (not as often as I'd like) to see the girls. Life is good and Heavenly Father has richly blessed our family with happy, healthy, adorable (I'm not partial) babies.

It was a crazy time at the end of May and through the month of June! Amy and Todd decided to move from my mom's small studio apartment to a bigger one in Provo, anticipating the birth of Wolfie. Another set of renters also decided to move. When I looked at the condition of both apartments I saw the daunting task of how much work needed to be done before they could be rented. I didn't have Riley to help as he was teaching his spring course away from town for six weeks. I really didn't have Amy, at least for a week or so, since she was giving birth and learning how to be a new mom! So I launched into the renovations myself and asked Tam Ah Sha (one of mom's new caregivers) to help rebuild many things in those apartments. He had a friend from Tahiti who helped, as well as his friend's wife. It would take too long to list what was done in both apartments but after 100 hours of my time and time from family and friends, they were ready to rent. I thought of my dad often as I worked on things he originally built. There were times I was completely exhausted, highly frustrated, in tears and in pain but I knew my dad would have been proud of me for doing the things he or Riley taught me to do or I figured out by myself. Brett and Kelly each flew in from out of state and did some of the things I wasn't comfortable doing - like plumbing and electricity. Brett and I used a jackhammer for the first time in our lives! We chipped out the cement floor of the shower we had to tear out. It was cathartic for me to use a hammer to rip out all the sheet rock in that thing but it was also tiring! I had to hire two men to rework the plumbing in the downstairs shower and then to tile it and the bathroom floor. My good friend Jera made and hung curtains, stained wood, painted walls and cleaned. Amy cleaned and hammered, finished trim and did other things, all with a week-old baby strapped in a carrier! Jan helped clean kitchen cupboards, drawers and doors. It was a huge much-needed effort and one I was trying to accomplish quickly so we wouldn't lose too much rent. They each rented easily by the first of July. Prayers were answered.

In June of 2014 I was hired as a freelance web writer and editor for Heritage School. It has been a joy to be a part of campus life where teens are getting help to change their lives for the better. My "other" son Ben Parker suggested me as a journalist/editor when they were looking to hire and it's been a great fit for all of us. I wrote all they asked me to and they continue to send projects my way including blog posts and bios to edit and writing articles about events. I can work in my jammies in the middle of the night if I want! But I love visiting campus and interviewing people there so I make sure I visit often.

Riley and I had a wonderful experience in Germany and Austria last summer. We flew to Munich and spent several days in the Bavaria region, climbing and picnicking in the Alps (after some pretty cool tram rides), seeing castles and lakes and eating delicious food. We ventured into Austria twice but traffic kept us from visiting Innsbruck so we just saw the back roads sites of mountains and lakes. We also visited Dachau, a concentration camp north of Munich. It's sobering and puzzling how evil people have power over others on this earth. Made me sad but the place has a beautiful spirit now as if all the evil has been driven away and the spirits of those who died there are exuding peace.

We drove north and stayed in Rothenburg for the night by sheer luck (and a quick, heartfelt prayer) since our room had been given away. In Europe it doesn't mean the same thing as in the U.S. when your itinerary says, "Guaranteed Late Arrival." Some sweet women helped us find a hotel near the one that shut us out. We missed the Night Watchman tour but wandered the quaint little village and climbed the wall the next morning. It's one of the last walled cities in Europe. We headed north to Schlitz and stayed with a colleague of Riley's - Peter and his wife Heida Zwick. It's always a pleasure to stay with locals in a foreign country. I love to see how people live, shop and what their houses are like. I also love to ask questions about holidays, traditions, favorite hobbies, etc. It makes it more meaningful to go a country when you can live, at least for a short time, with natives. Peter and Heida were wonderful, happy hosts.

We traveled the first week in a rental car on back roads and the Autobahn. I love the Autobahn! People actually respect others on this roadway. If you are slower than other drivers, you drive in the right lane. If you want to pass, you pass but quickly get back over to the right because a Ferrrari or Porsche might be bearing down on you at 180 km! I loved that driving is on the RIGHT side of the road, not the left - way better than England!!

We continued to Freiberg and visited the LDS temple. From the beginning we had asked various people for directions and info and they all spoke English well enough to tell us. When we got to Freiberg we couldn't easily find the temple. We pulled into a parking lot and asked a man if he knew where the Mormon kirsche (church) was, making steeple hand motions. He didn't speak English and tried to motion where to go, then motioned for us to follow him. We did and he drove us across town and pointed to the temple and the spire with Moroni on it. We waved and motioned a thank you to him. I wonder if this small interaction will spur him to wonder about that "kirsche" and why we were so determined to find it. Maybe we've been missionaries in a very small way. I hope so!

Our evening was to be spent in Dresden but we decided we had enough time to go into the Czech Republic. We crossed the border and stopped in a small town and got out for a few pictures.  Riley is never really nervous about anything but he didn't like being there so we left fairly quickly. So we can say we've been in the CR but we really only dipped a toenail in.

On the way back to Dresden we saw the Konigstein fortress and drove around to look at it. We didn't go in but made the decision to go there the next morning - it was not highly touted in travel materials (Rick Steve's book doesn't even list it) but it turned out to be one of our favorite places! We spent a good part of a day there, wandering the castle rooms and the outer edge of the wall and gardens. Riley water colored while I read a book. We sat on a grassy hill overlooking the river Elbe. We ate snacks and relaxed. In fact, we relaxed a lot on this trip. We've traveled a lot the past 15 years and we have generally packed each day with so many things to see and do that we are exhausted at the end of each day. This was a lovely trip because we chose not to do that. We skipped some things on our itinerary and spent longer time at others - a nice change from a hurried pace!

We ventured north to Berlin, making a brief solemn visit to the Berlin Wall, or remnants of the wall. There's a lot to see in Berlin but this was really all either of us wanted to see. There is something about seeing a structure that first embodied evil then, over time, switched to a symbol of perseverance and freedom. We each touched the wall to feel the cool cement and imagine the stories of those who died trying to cross it. It was a wonderful day in 1989 when the wall finally began to come down, reuniting family and friends who had been unjustly separated for many years. 

We stayed in a hotel in Berlin and ate at a Spanish restaurant next door. Another thing that is different about European restaurants as opposed to U.S. ones is there is no rush in a European (or South American or Tahitian or Taiwanese ...) restaurant. You "buy" your table for the evening. If you're in a hurry, tough luck. It took about three hours for us to order and finally eat a nice pan of paella.

Driving west to Potsdam we dropped our car off at the rental company then figured out how to take the tram to church. It was Sunday morning and we wanted to attend sacrament meeting. We made it just as the sacrament was finished but we could feel the spirit of this wonderful little branch. And they invited us to stay for a potluck lunch, which they have once a month and we lucked (or were blessed) into. No buying groceries on Sunday! We found our hotel across town and settled in for five days. It was a huge hotel but with tiny rooms, tiny beds and very little air. We did fine though. Riley attended his Dipterist Congress meetings and I wandered town with some of the wives and by myself. Jan Fisher (about 70 years old) and I logged about 17,000 steps one day on a trip around the town and parks. Riley joined me one day for a look at some palaces. While they are nice, we just aren't all that enthusiastic about palaces or the trappings! We'd rather wander trails and parks.

We had one more visit in Berlin near the end of our stay to the Natural History museum. Riley was excited to see the "Berlin Specimen" - the most famous fossil in the world. He took many pictures. We flew to Munich the next day and spent a night in a hotel near the airport, too far out and too costly to go into town to sightsee. We took a long walk and found a nice Italian restaurant and had a lovely dinner. We had eaten many kinds of food and I had said earlier I wanted to eat Italian food in Germany! It was the only restaurant around for miles! I love traveling, exploring and making new memories with my sweetheart.

I got home from Europe, lived at my mom's for a week while the caregivers were away, then packed and flew to Arizona, arriving just an hour after Astrid was born! I love spending time with my kids, helping when a new baby has arrived.

I'm glad we haven't let worries stop us from traveling. My mom has been in poor health for more than six years now. If we had thought she might die every time we were planning a trip and canceled plans, we would have missed out on so much! And I know she wouldn't have wanted us to miss seeing the world either. We had hired a seventh set of caregivers in May of 2014 and mom was settling in with them. They were from Tahiti - Tam and Tofea Ah Sha. Tofaea was pregnant and while we'd only had one other couple with a baby in mom's house, we hired them and they had a darling baby girl in June. They were happy, sweet, helpful and attentive. They had fun with mom and made her laugh. And Tam was a wonderful chef - it was always a bonus when anyone wandered in during a mealtime!

And since this is so long already, I'll write about November and December's events in a different blog post.  (And I should include some photos too!)

The one thing I have to maintain about life is that there is more good than bad. Heavenly Father is mindful of each of us and is helping us through even the most difficult trials. And I love that He is.