A Near Perfect Summer Evening

I've made some wonderful friends over the last 5+ years I have been involved in the Power of Moms organization. These three ladies, have been my friends from the beginning. I love so much about them.

Saren Loosli, Koni Smith, me, Allyson Reynolds

(This is a picture of a cell phone picture. Somehow whoever got the "original" on their phone didn't send it to me! I'm quite certain it was Saren or Allyson-so it serves them right for being sort of cut of!)

I've individually spent hours with each of these ladies outside of Power of Moms stuff, but we've never spent time all together... Until this summer!  A few weeks ago we had a glorious summer evening together with our husbands and families. The children got along wonderfully, and the adults of course did too.

I had no idea the animals were going to be as big of a hit as they were

(I'm quite certain Megan is retrieving hay from her shirt, furthermore, I'm quite certain she'd be appalled I'm posting this photo!)

Much to my chagrin, even the adults ended up admiring the animals! I'm not quite sure how I feel about attempted dinner parties of mine turning into livestock admiring events. But such is my life now. I must get used to it.

 Our human sling-shot provided lots of fun! Even the moms and dads took a turn participating in the risky fun. Such a fun homemade investment I made 6+ summers ago!

 Before too long, an impromptu talent show occurred in my music room! Guitar solos, harp solos, some piano and even a little singing! Loved it!!!

Great evening! Definitely on all of our to-do lists to be repeated.

A near perfect summer evening.

Good Women in a Matter of Days

Wow! What a wonderful few days I have had. I am quite in awe at the quality conversations, moments and time I have spent with some of the best women life has to offer.

Back in November, my dear friend Koni asked me if I would be her assistant for a hospitality committee for the annual BYU Women's Conference. I've never attended the conference before, but after a couple of weeks of really thinking about it, I accepted her offer. Last week, all the trainings and meetings regarding our hospitality roles were put to the test. I've opted to leave my conference experiences to my personal journal instead of here, but suffice it to say, it was an amazing two days.

(We were soooo busy on Thursday. We were responsible for the guests at the Marriott Center, which is a LARGE venue. We spent the whole day on our feet running from here to there, and this was the only shot we got of us looking official in our "uniform." Too bad Koni's eyes are closed.)

I loved spending time with two dear friends, Koni and Allyson. Our paths met through Power of Moms, but it was fun to work with them in an entirely different women's venue.

(I think this is a picture of a picture--thus the blurriness.)

I LOVED running into this friend of mine from high school. Sharie was my best friend during much of my 10th grade year. I have fond memories of countless hours spent at her house. Sadly, as high school girls sometimes do, our friendship sort of fizzled at the beginning of 11th grade. I'm not sure I've seen her in person since high school, but when I looked over and saw her and her sister at a nearby photo booth, I couldn't contain my excitement. Loved seeing her!!

(Sharie and Tiffany)

This is a dear friend of Koni's. She is originally from Spain, and now lives in Washington. She came to Utah to help with the conference, and slept at Koni's house the same night as I did. Koni fell asleep early, and Mayte and I were left to visit with each other. I'm so grateful for the few hours of conversation with this lady. Wow! Truly, a woman of faith. We woke up on Friday morning, and each went into a different bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. When we met for breakfast, we were dressed as twins!

Friday night was the Power of Moms board meeting in Park City. I love the opportunity I have to work with so many top notch ladies. I will be forever grateful for my association with Power of Moms and the friendships it has given me.

(This is by no means all of the board--just the ones in attendance on Friday night.)

Not sure I could even begin to describe my feelings for these four ladies. I'll just say I love them. Truly, and deeply I love them. There are some lives whose paths are just meant to cross. These are some of them for me.

I have no idea why my face is tilted the way it is, and with a fake-looking smile. Rest assured, everyone laughed at me (with me?) when Rachelle showed it to us on her camera. We got NOWHERE near enough sleep on Friday night, but our time together laughing until our bellies hurt was well worth the hangover the next day.

(Koni, Rachelle, Allyson, Alisha, Tiffany)

(Shout out to my friend, Cheryl who took the above photo. She's one of my favorite women too, I just didn't get a photo with her THIS time.)

Proof we didn't get enough sleep on Friday night. Why yes, these naps just may happened to have occurred while speakers were speaking on Saturday.

Completely separate from my time at Women's Conference or at the Power of Moms retreat, was the lunch I had with this friend on Monday. In full honesty here, for a few specific reasons, I have never been a big fan of the visiting teaching program in the LDS church. But I think my opinion of it is slowly changing. If it wasn't for that program, my life would never have intersected with this dear friend.

My friendship with Breeanne began just shy of a year ago. Our lives are so very different, yet so strikingly similar. When I think of the time I have spent with Breeanne, our conversations and our text exchanges, I think of two women navigating through life, and the importance of women supporting and loving each other. Breeanne no longer lives in my neighborhood, but when we met up for lunch on Monday, I was reminded what a blessing she is in my life.

(Breeanne and Tiffany)

As much as I would love to do a great blog post about the influential women and friends in my life, I likely never will. But believe me, my personal journal and my gratitude journal are filled often with  mention of women that I feel blessed to know and love. I'm really not much of a chit-chatter. I'm not as friendly as I should be with those I don't know well, but I'm trying to do better at that. The older I get, and the more women I meet, I realize how true it is that everyone of us has our own story. Our own paths, our own lives, our own challenges and joys. And what a true blessing it is when those things are shared with another.

“We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another, and gain instruction that we may all sit down in heaven together.

~Lucy Mack Smith

Old School Friends

It is hard to put into words the experience of moving to a new country as a teenager. There are so frequently times when I am with my peers and friends now when things from childhood are brought up and I have no idea what they are talking about. There are also times I try explaining parts of my childhood to my friends or even Mike and my children, and they have no reference point to understand my story or experience.

So it was quite joyous to sit down in a pub on the evening of my first day in England with 2 friends from "elementary" school and talk about things we all could relate to from our childhood!We attended Cheam Park Farm Infant and Junior school together for many years. Our classes stayed the same from 2nd-6th grade, and so the friendships formed were fairly consistent over the school years.

Of course we all went our different ways, but with Facebook, I reconnected with many of these friends several years ago and I have loved Facebook for that very reason since I joined in 2008! Two of my favorite Facebook friends from my younger days are Wayne Boys and Clair Layton. I had not seen Wayne since July 1986 when we left the junior school to start "high school". I did see Clair during a visit to England in 1991, but that's still a long time ago!

When I walked into the pub and saw those two standing there, I think I almost ran into their arms! Oh my goodness! I wish more of the "old gang" could have come, but these two were a delight to be with!

We sat around that table talking about just about everything! There was NEVER an awkward moment of "What shall we talk about?" or "What do we have in common?" My life is as different as night and day from their daily lives, but our childhood commonalities have united us in a way that brings tears to my eyes just thinking about.

(Wayne, Tiffany, Clair)

For all the slack social media gets, I love that Facebook has reconnected me with so many people I would otherwise have absolutely no contact with, especially old friends from England.

After Cheam Park Farm Junior school, I attended Nonsuch High School. (I left towards the end of the 2nd year/@8th grade.) For several years now, I have been friends on Facebook with a friend Anne (Dinsdale) from my Nonsuch. I wasn't quite sure if we really would meet up while I was in England, but I did mention to her that I would be there. She immediately replied that she would love to meet up with me, and a few days later she sent me an invitation to join her on an Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. She insisted on treating me to such an extravagance. Tuesday afternoon, as I sat at the base of the London Eye to meet her (having not seen her since March of 1988), I could not believe I was there having this opportunity. Sometimes, my life in England seems like it wasn't really real because of the stark contrast to the life I have now and the experiences of my children's schooling. (It's very hard to explain, I'm not going to try.)

Anne and I spent just about 2 hours together, and it was a definite treat to reminisce about some fond memories of my time at Nonsuch, although for the most part, my time and experience at Nonsuch was anything but fond. (Which is interesting to note, Anne said that not long after I left, dynamics, attitudes and behaviors really changed there. (Not anything to do with me leaving, simply the timing of it.) I have found myself several times since returning home from my trip to England, filled with a tremendous amount of gratitude that I didn't have to attend that school for any longer than I did.)

It is hard for me to look at this photo and really think that I had a whole different life from my life now. Yet from the wonders of Facebook, I feel as though I have a "new friend" when really, she is an old friend. Our lives are very different. She is very intelligent,  has a fancy job, and 2 young children (and a husband) living in a London zip code. I have little intelligence, no fancy job, 5 children and enough animals in my backyard  that would make living in a London zip code impossible. Yet, we both have strong, opinionated minds, tender mother hearts, and I thoroughly enjoy my Facebook friendship with this friend.

Sorry-I got off subject--back to the Bus Ride...

Charming!
English!
Beautiful!
Delicious!

A perfect way to spend a sunny London afternoon.
Much obliged Anne. Thank you.

Sarah and Susie

Back in February, when I first began considering adding London to my Paris trip, there were a few friends I sent a message to, to see if seeing them would be a possibility. As much as I love London and England, I knew in my heart the reason I wanted to go was to see people, not places.

Sarah and Susie were among some of the first I emailed. I mainly communicated with Sarah, and couldn't believe at one point that Susie may not be able to join us. You see, Sarah and Susie or Susie and Sarah, just kind of go together. They are two sisters, whom I have known since I was a young child. We attended church together throughout our childhood, and many fond memories of Epsom Ward (our LDS church congregation) include them.

(My 8th birthday and baptism day, October 1982. Sarah and Susie are to the right of the photo. Aren't they darling? They look the exact same still today. And just so happens the girl next to me is my friend Karen who I will be writing about soon too.)

Back to 2014. It just so happens the stars aligned, and Sarah and Susie were the first familiar faces I saw when I arrived via train in London on Monday, May 5th. Within 15 minutes of each other, my train from Paris arrived at the same station their train from up north arrived.

I can not describe the happiness and joy I felt as I hugged each of those girls. I've seen them a handful of times over the years since our youth, but sitting and eating lunch with them at a pub across from King's Cross Station was absolutely delightful.

We sat at our table visiting for almost 3 hours, chatting about everything and anything. It was as though having lunch together was the most normal thing in the world. At one point during the lunch, I excused myself to use the bathroom. While I was in the bathroom washing my hands, I could NOT believe I was really with Sarah and Susie. It was one of those surreal moments I really felt as though I had to pinch myself, it truly felt as though I were dreaming.

Sarah and Susie are some seriously top-notch ladies! Although we keep in touch a fair amount via social-media, being able to sit and talk in person with them is hard to put into words. Those ladies are some deliberate, strong, faithful mothers! I meet a lot of mothers and women in the stuff I am involved in, but these two are truly some of the best!

Who knows exactly when we will see each other again, especially just the three of us alone eating lunch in an English pub talking about everything from motherhood to childhood memories. What a fantastic afternoon! I count eating lunch with some of my dearest friends almost 5000 miles away from my home a definite blessing. The thought that our lunch can't and won't be duplicated anytime soon, causes a small pang in my heart, but these ladies are friends for far more than this life while we're separated by an ocean.

Love, love, love Sarah and Susie.

(Tiffany, Sarah, Susie-May, 2014)

Going Home

When I have had to tell people I'll be out of town for a while and can't commit to a particular event or task, they naturally ask where I'm going. Saying 'Paris' and 'London' receives a strong reaction--especially when they ask who I am going with, and it doesn't include Mike!

My mother-in-law has spent many of her adult years traveling the country and world. You name the place, she has likely been there at least once! After going to Paris last September, she decided she wanted to go once again with her daughter, Kristin (who has traveled quite extensively with Laurie over the years). Having been deemed a decent travel companion myself last spring in Boston, I was invited to go along with them to Paris. Thanks to our Skymiles and a very kind husband who said, "Why wouldn't you take this opportunity to go?" I'm off to Paris.

As for London...

I'm simply "going home" for a few days while "in the neighborhood." It just so happens returning to the place of my childhood sounds fancy, but it really is no different than if I were visiting a small town in Nebraska or a city in Texas.

It's hard to describe my feelings as I anticipate returning to England. It's been 10 1/2 years since I was last there. (I moved in 1988, visited in 1991, 1996, 2000, and 2003.) I unequivocally call Utah home now. It's the life I know filled with the people I love and where I have lived the majority of my life. But where I lived for the majority of my childhood, the first 13 1/2 years of my life will always be a part of me.

Sometimes in groups of peers, I have no idea what childhood cultural things they are talking about. There are few things and places I can replicate or show my children from my own childhood. Few of my peers and certainly my children can relate to the experiences of my youth... street games in alley ways, the tastes and colors of Battenburg cake, not being allowed to wear jewelry or even nail polish to school, going to church with only 2 other young women, or attending school on grounds that once belonged to Henry VIII.

A part of my heart and life will always be in England. I feel blessed to return and walk the streets of my youth, to sit down and visit with dear friends with whom I have the longest friendships. I will feel even more blessed when I return to my family awaiting my return at home.

Home is as much a piece of our hearts as it is a place.

Dinner Parties

This year as December crept in, for a variety of reasons I wasn't feeling very excited about the impending Christmas season. In my mind, I began creating all sorts of new scenarios instead of our familiar traditions. The first Sunday in December our Home Teachers (2 men assigned to us from our church congregation to visit with us each month or so to make sure we are doing well and share with us an important message) visited us. I can't even remember what their lesson/message was about, but I do remember one of them asking each of our family members in turn, "What is your favorite Christmas tradition?"

Luke's reply with no hesitation was, "All the dinner parties we have."

I changed my attitude right then and there and realized my personal feelings didn't have to spill out onto my children, especially my 12 year old's favorite tradition.

So...
Just like we do every year, we had our traditional dinner parties with families that we love and enjoy. (With one exception--our dinner with the Tingeys and their extended family wasn't able to happen this year. We were all very disappointed.)

I love that with each dinner party, the personalities and people differ so each activity and evening is varied and unique.

Love that.

Love that dinner with the Freys always includes a game, entertained children, and good conversation. Definitely some of my favorite people to come to dinner. It needs to be more than an annual event.
This year the evening included a candy cane relay that lasted about 10 seconds, but the candy canes were enjoyed for days later. Well, those that weren't immediately consumed that evening. Luke entertained us with a repeat of his match-NFL team names-with-the-right-picture-of-their-helmets game. Kari and Kellen were a good match for this. They know their NFL teams well.

Fun night!

Of course I love when the Wielands come to dinner. They are our only friends we "sing with." Although singing is a frequent event when we are together with these friends, it usually is impromptu and mainly the girls. But at Christmas, it is a more "formal" sit down and have a sing-a-long. I.LOVE.IT. I would incorporate it into more dinner parties, but I fear some friends wouldn't enjoy it.

 I wasn't too thrilled that Mike was laying down singing like this. But at least he was still singing.

 But then he began to do a little more of this. The flash awoke him enough to smile...

Luke on the other hand didn't sing at all. But that's okay. He sat quietly and respectfully observing.

Everyone else on the other hand participated well.

Our dinner party with my BFF's family didn't result in a single photo.
Oops.

What a wonderful time of year!
 

Going Hungry

Megan went on a science field trip the other day. The 9th graders were to leave the school about 9am and due to return about 2pm, when they would then eat lunch. Megan was worried she would get hungry. Duh! Yes, she likely would, so I suggested she take a snack to eat on the bus.

An hour or so after leaving home, I received this picture text from Megan:

Not only had she grabbed a couple of snacks from home, she made a visit to the school office to procure a couple of safety pins.

Despite the text coming through in the middle of the chaos of getting 3 other children out the door for school, I laughed out loud when I saw it. I responded simply, "You are your mother's daughter."

In the chaos of the morning I forgot to forward the text to my BFF. She too would have laughed out loud. You see, she and I made sure we never went hungry while in high school/college.

We have recollections of snacks pinned to our gowns during high school graduation.
We have memories of warm brownies smuggled into the Salt Lake Tabernacle for a fireside. (Our dates were quite embarrassed when the brownies emerged from our pockets and heads started to turn, wondering how and why the smell of fresh brownies was suddenly permeating the air.)

We took a loaf of French bread into a concert.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream was often a must-have at the movie theatre.

And a loaf of left-over bread from Spaghetti Factory was consumed while studying at the Marriott Library at the University of Utah.

Far be it from me to question Megan's need to have food pinned to the inside of her coat for a field trip during 9th grade.

Although, I'm quite certain had I known for the rest of the day she was carrying around an empty plastic sandwich bag filled only with the sugar remains from the Sour Patch candies pinned to the inside of her coat, I may have asked her to remove it. It looked mildly suspicious when I picked her up from school that afternoon.

Love Megan
Love Me
Love food.

Arizona Mothers

Sometimes motherhood seems hard. Some days I wonder what in the world I can possibly do to help one of my children through an issue, or other days I wonder how I can feel more peace in my day-to-day life. Some days I want to curl up in a hole and hibernate for a season.

Other days, motherhood seems like an absolute dream job. Hand-written notes show up on my pillow, slobbery kisses grace my cheek, a teenager tells me she thinks I'm a "dang good parent", and general feelings of peace and joy fill our home.

Too often there are weeks where the hard days outweigh the dream days. Last week was a little bit like that for me, and so a Power of Moms retreat in Phoenix, AZ was a near perfect way to end the week.

So often during the hard days of motherhood, when I feel discouraged and allow myself to think I'm the only one in the world who ever feels that way, I remember I am not. I KNOW all over the world there are mothers who at times feel the exact same way.

That's what I love about what I get to do as a Power of Moms trainer... I absolutely LOVE the opportunity I have to meet so many other mothers and learn together with them. These mothers love their children. They love motherhood despite the difficult days. They can laugh, they can cry, they can learn and they can teach.
I feel beyond blessed to have spent a day learning from them.

Jonelle Hughes was a dream to present with. What a great lady. She has such a clamness and peace about her that I want to incorporate more into my own life.

One day I will have a photo of me presenting without using my hands!

What a thrill to have had my cousins in attendance!

Actually, my father-in-law and her dad are cousins, and so who knows what that makes us exactly, but LOVE dear Jennifer.

My favorite parts of the retreats is seeing women together in small groups discussing motherhood. The feeling in that room is indescribable as I take a few moments to stand back and simply observe.

Not sure why Jonelle, Maurie and I didn't get a better photo together, but these ladies? A definite MUST for a future trip together. Love them.

When I think about the time I spent in Phoenix the last couple of days, I am reminded of a quote by Helen Keller, "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." A group of mothers sitting together in a room together, is a powerful, powerful thing.

(photo courtesy of Jonelle Hughes)

Love these opportunities!