The Sorenson Time Capsule

At the family luncheon after Grandpa's funeral yesterday, Uncle Nile announced that we were going to open the Sorenson Family time capsule.

Back in the year 2000, Grandma and Grandpa asked us to each put something meaningful in a special box that would be locked up until 2025.  Uncle Nile reasoned that this funeral might be the last time we all get together, so it made sense to open the box now and review its contents together.  He added that Grandpa himself had opened it and sneaked a peak sometime in the last year or two, so he probably wouldn't mind us opening it ahead of schedule.

Some of the items brought back tender memories, like the baby rattle of Aunt Lisa's son Owen (who is now a missionary serving in Mexico).  My contribution was a heartfelt letter about what I was learning about faith while serving as a missionary in Uruguay.

Other items were hilarious, like my cousin Emily's photo of the boyfriend she hoped to be married to in the future.  Let's just say the picture was NOT of Ryan, the man she ended up marrying (who is seated next to her with a smug look on his face).

One of items was a small medal that left us all mystified.  No one recognized it, so Uncle Nile set it aside and went through the rest of the box.  He eventually pulled out a letter he had written 19 years ago, identifying the medal as a high honor he had received from some dental society.  We all laughed as he read how meaningful the award had been to him at the time.  Funny how some things matter a lot to us in the moment, but are forgotten years later.

Once we had gone through the entire time capsule, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the after-party party.  While the adults looked through all the dishes and took turns choosing items they wanted to take home (we agreed that it was better that things go to family than to Goodwill), the great-grandsons had a blast playing with Grandma and Grandpa's big collection of canes.  At one point I heard a loud crash, and I thought one of the boys had accidentally knocked over a lamp while cane-swordfighting or something.  It turned out that one of their parents had dropped their newly-acquired glass serving bowl on the hearth, shattering it into tiny pieces.  Easy come, easy go.

Farewell to Our Patriarch

I'm in California again for my third funeral in three months.  It was wonderful to see my extended family again, but I hope this will be my last funeral for a while.

I didn't expect to cry at this funeral.  I loved Grandpa, but he had lived a full life and I'm glad he's now in heaven with Grandma and the God he loved so much.  I still cried like a river today, though.  I think it was because it was such an emotional experience bidding farewell to the patriarch of our family.  He laid such a firm foundation of character and faith for us all to build on.

Grandpa was an officer in the Air Force, so he had an honor guard at his internment.  They performed a nine-gun salute, played taps on a bugle, and folded Grandpa's flag with the kind of slow, deliberate precision you might see at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Grandpa also served in the Marine Corps during World War II, so he received a flag from that branch of the military as well.  Each presenter asked us to accept the flag on behalf of a grateful nation.  It was a tender reminder of the debt we owe to every veteran who has faithfully served and defended our country.

Sledding for Donuts

We got several inches of snow yesterday, and it was 3 degrees outside on this cold, windy morning--a perfect day to stay indoors wrapped up in a blanket.

That is, unless you're an adventurous Hendrickson girl eager to ride the slopes piled up by our apartment complex's snowplows.  (The sleds were gifts from Joy's new math teacher, because her kids had outgrown them.  Thanks, Mrs. Dery!)

Daniel wanted to stay inside all day, but I thought he could use some fresh air and fun childhood memories . . . so I bribed him.  With donuts.  I told him we were going on a sledding outing, and I would buy donuts at the end for everyone who sledded down a little snowplow hill . . .

. . . then sledded down the big hill by the library.  Daniel and I went down each hill exactly once, then retreated to our warm minivan to watch the girls sled the rest of the time.  A few of their schoolmates were sledding at the library hill too, and it was fun to see them recognize my kids even though we've only been here for a few weeks.

Near the donut shop, we saw a six-foot-tall snow drift that a snowplow had piled up on a corner. Someone had carved a pathway through it, creating a small snow canyon.  We took advantage of the New England photo op . . .

. . . then went home to enjoy our donuts.

Todd did absolutely no sledding today, but I bought him a donut anyway because he's little and we don't have snow pants or boots for him yet.  I'm sure he'll learn to love sledding when he's got warm gear and the weather isn't so bitterly cold.  I'm finding that even temperatures in the 30s are pretty comfortable, if you have a warm coat and there's no wind.  Let's hope the weather warms up soon ("warm" is such a relative term!).

Checker Flick

When Phillip and I awoke this morning, we heard the unmistakable sound of Connect Four checkers clinking against each other.  I assumed the kids had dusted off our old Connect Four set for some classic fun.

Nope.  They had set up the vertical board as one of many obstacles on the table, and they were flicking checkers against each other to knock their opponent's checkers off onto the carpet.

The kids persuaded us to join them for a few rounds of "Checker Flick," and we had a lot of fun. 

Someone quickly figured out that they could hide several of their checkers safely behind a box, then call in reinforcements when their ranks got thin on the front lines.

After they got tired of Checker Flick, Todd and Anna found yet another unique use for our bean bags: they used them as ingredients in chair-and-kid sandwiches.

And I'm just including this picture because it's fun. 

The End. :)

Our In-Home Flight Simulator

Joy found an interesting new use for our two beanbags.

Pile them up . . .

. . . get a running start . . .

. . . take flight . . .

. . . stick your landing.

(Sometimes.)

Of course, her siblings wanted to try their hand at flying, too.

Bunny ears make every picture better, right?

Or how about moose antlers?  Those are funny too!

A Restful Sabbath in Our New Home

This is the first Sunday in a while that hasn't been busy and stressful.  Our big move is over, many of our boxes are unpacked, and we can just relax and enjoy a restful Sabbath in our new home.

Daddy studied the scriptures using the new Come Follow Me manual.

Anna played the piano (I'm not sure whether it seemed like too much work to pull the bench out, or she just felt like playing standing up).

Daniel and Joy played chess.  They enjoyed their first game, but Joy ran out of steam halfway through the second one . . .

. . . so Anna agreed to finish the game in Joy's place.  She started off with a big lead, but Daniel still managed to beat her.  It's tough to defeat an older sibling when you're in second grade.

After the final chess match, Daddy and Joy decided to make peanut butter cookies to give to some neighbors.

Meanwhile, my little "garden" is growing and even blooming next to our family room window.  It currently includes three African violets, a Christmas cactus, and a little cutting of a hardy peppermint plant that I hope to plant in an outdoor garden someday.  I'm trying to follow my violets' example and bloom where I'm planted, even if that place is new and unfamiliar.

Friday in the Apartment

Life is full of trade offs.  We have to get up much earlier for school now, but the kids have more free time when they get home.  Our apartment is much cozier than our chilly townhouse, but it's also much smaller and we get a little stir crazy sometimes.  So how do the kids stay occupied on a Friday afternoon when it's below freezing outside?

Anna likes to play the piano.  She practices the Suzuki songs she has been learning, then she plays variations of them in different keys.

Joy has been reading novels, including a little storybook written in Latin, which she borrowed from the World Languages teacher at school.  I don't quite get the appeal of learning a dead language, but Joy is pretty excited to study Latin next year.

Todd's new favorite thing is to bounce on a big ball some friends from church gave him because their son had outgrown it.  He's still getting the hang of it, and sometimes he falls off, but it's so much fun that he gets right back on and tries again.

Daniel has been making up games for his siblings and playing with our card games, but somehow I didn't get a picture of that.  Maybe next Friday.

A Snow Day in New England

Today was the kids' second day of school in Massachusetts, and when we woke up . . .

. . . the weather looked like this.  In Maryland, they cancel school at the first hint of snow . . .

. . . but here in Massachusetts they just salt the roads and carry on.  Here's the snowy view from our van as I waited in line to drop Daniel off at school.  I wasn't too concerned about the roads, because driving in snow was one of many valuable things I learned at BYU . . .

. . . but Daniel thought it was weird that snowflakes were falling outside as we drove to his elementary school.  Welcome to "The Frigid North," Daniel!

Happy New Year 2019

Happy New Year!  Our apartment is looking more like a home and less like a storage unit . . .

. . . and Daniel is taking his piano teaching job very seriously.