"Mom, is Santa real?"

"Mom, is Santa real?"

My hand immediately stopped stirring the potatoes for dinner and my mouth gaped open in surprise. I stared at my 7-year-old who asked this point-blank question for the first time ever.

"Of course Santa's real, we see him at the mall!" Graham exclaimed.

RJ didn't even look at Graham, he was staring at me. I realized my reaction was telling more than anything else, so I quickly came up with, "It sounds like you have some grown-up questions about Santa that you and I should discuss alone sometime."

"Okay," he said.

I've been expecting this question for a couple of years. In fact, I had just talked to my sister earlier that day asking how her kids found out about Santa. And RJ's been asking lots of tough questions about the big guy for a while, such as "How does Santa live at the North Pole when it melts during the summer?" and "Does the North Pole Express really go all the way to the North Pole, or do they just pretend like it?"

I thought I would be relieved when he found out because then I wouldn't have to work so hard to cover it up. But I wasn't. I was surprised at how disappointed I felt when I heard that question. I wish I had gotten one last Christmas in before he found out.

That night (before RJ and I were able to talk) I asked Rubin what I should say.

"Just lie to him," he said. I really don't know why I ask his advice sometimes.

The next day RJ asked me to talk. When we were alone I asked him why he wondered if Santa was real. He said he's been wondering for a while and then Enoch at school told him Santa was fake (the next time I see that Enoch kid...). I then asked what he thought.

"Well I want him to be real, but I don't think he is," he said.

We talked about how it's fun to believe there is magic in the world and how that meant he needed to let his brothers and other kids at school keep believing in that magic until they were ready to know the truth.

So far this talk was kind of a downer, but then I was touched to say something else.

"Well, maybe Santa isn't real, but Jesus Christ is. And there are still miracles (what some people might call magic) happening all the time! Jesus Christ walked on water, healed the sick, and rose from the dead. An uneducated 14-year-old boy prayed and saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in a forest. Miracles and magic are still alive through the gospel."

We talked about a few of the miracles we knew about from the scriptures, prophets, and our own lives. It was a good talk and left me feeling happy. I was glad for this discussion to remind me that magic is real and to recognize the miracles in our own lives.

But I'm still gonna punch that Enoch kid in the nose the next time I see him!

The Passing of a Hero

I just want to say that I hit the jackpot with my in-laws. Rubin's family truly feels like my own family. I even have two brothers-in-law who tease me as they would a real sister. My sister-in-law Tara feels just like a sister to me too. As an added bonus, Tara married Chad, one of my friends from high school.

I met Chad my first year of high school when I joined the cross country team. The team was extremely small that year, so we were all pretty close friends. Chad was always laughing and joking around. And boy did he have a lot of energy! Our coach would have us go on a long run and Chad would want us all to climb fences or do other things along the way, just for fun. I remember feeling like my legs were made of lead during one particular run, but ahead of me, Chad was busy finding different obstacles to leap over while he was running. I'm pretty sure his boundless energy contributed to my exhaustion!

I also remember how determined he was. Our coach had us do this mental exercise where we would all stand in a circle, close our eyes, and be completely still while he said things to try to make us laugh or move. The last one who stood motionless won. You would think with Chad's love of fun and laughter that he would be the first one out, but that was not the case. In fact, I don't remember anyone but Chad winning that exercise. He was so focused when he put his mind to something.

Chad showing me the ropes of flying a Blackhawk helicopter.

Chad, Tara, Rubin, and I at the base in Alabama.

Chad joined the army before marrying Tara. After they got married, they were stationed in Alabama while he trained to be a Blackhawk helicopter pilot. Rubin and I took baby RJ on a trip to Alabama to visit them just after they had their first baby. We decided to take a driving trip to Louisiana with all six of us. Luckily Tara and Chad had a car with a front bench seat, so we could fit 3 in the front and 3 in the back. The two babies needed to be in the back seat and one of the adults had to sit between them. Chad volunteered for this spot and spent the trip entertaining the babies, replacing binkies, and alerting us when one needed a diaper change. He was so easy-going and didn't get tired of it at all!

On that same Alabama trip, we spent Thanksgiving with Tara and Chad. Rubin's mom and dad and his two brothers flew in as well. Rubin's family has this strange tradition of making Indian food (but not the American Indian variety!) instead of turkey for Thanksgiving. To make matters worse, Rubin was determined to cook up some alligator he purchased at the local Walmart! So, facing a Thanksgiving full of strange and exotic foods, Chad and I decided that, as the in-laws, we would just have to cook our own turkey. Neither of us had ever cooked a turkey on our own, so as I recall there were more than a few phone calls made to our mothers that day! But we worked together in Chad and Tara's small kitchen making mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and of course, the turkey. We were able to have our traditional Thanksgiving meal along with the Indian food and alligator stew.

Together for Thanksgiving in Alabama.

Twice Chad was deployed to Afghanistan for a year. During those times Tara would move to Utah until Chad's deployment was over. I was always happy and sad that Chad was deployed. I was sad for Tara because I knew how much she missed him, but selfishly it was fun to have a year where I saw Tara a lot. But I was always relieved to have Chad come home safe at the end of the year.

Chad was able to come home for 2 weeks during his deployments. During one of these, I enlisted his help with RJ's birthday party. I needed someone to run around with the piñata as soon as the candy started coming out and Chad was the perfect person for the job!

After his second deployment, Chad was diagnosed with leukemia. They moved their family out to Utah to get treatment. Just under a year later, Chad passed away on Sunday, September 1st.

Chad really was a hero, but not just for the obvious reasons. Yes, he was brave enough to join the army where he knew he would be deployed to a dangerous location multiple times. And yes, he kept an extremely cheerful and positive attitude despite having a terrible illness inside him. But I think the real reason he was a hero was because of the person he was everyday. He was kind, dependable, and energetic. He was also a good father, husband, and friend. I think his seemingly insignificant, day to day actions made him a hero just as much as the big ones did.

I pray for his wife, Tara, and their four children everyday. It feels like the world should have stopped, at least for a little while, after such a big loss, but it didn't. School still starts 5 days a week, soccer games are still played, and dinners have to be made. We will all miss Chad so very much, but we know he is anxiously engaged in a great work on the other side and we know someday we will see him again!

Goodbye for now Chad.

I Amsterdam!

Remember how I mentioned that I had big plans for the summer? That's right, we went to Europe! Rubin's dad works in Amsterdam, so we went to visit him there and also saw many other places. You might be thinking that we were crazy to take three small children on long plane rides to the crowded cities of Europe. Well, you might be right, but we still did it! And all those nightmares about losing one of the children (usually Uriah) in a foreign country proved not to be prophetic!

I decided to do this post as a photo essay instead of a boring travel log. You're welcome.

GETTING READY

The boys were crazy excited about the trip!

Uriah was tuckered out by the preparations.

On our way!

This is where the boys discovered they had their own tvs!

ADJUSTING

Traveling wears you out!

At first we all pretty much felt like we could fall asleep anywhere.

We saw lots of COOL THINGS

The canals of Amsterdam

Tower Bridge in London

Stonehenge

Grandpa keeping Uriah in the boat during a canal ride.

Eiffel Tower

Omaha Beach - it was so beautiful and peaceful that it was hard to imagine that such a hard-fought battle took place here.

Omaha Beach

Holland's windmills

In case you're wondering, Uriah was dead set on wearing his Mickey pajamas this day!

Luxembourg City

A market in the city of Gouda, Holland.

That's a lot of cheese! (Gouda)

 

And we saw some WEIRD THINGS



This really needs no caption!




Might I ask where the collar of torment for husbands is?!

"Honey, did you just hear that strange growling?"

Coolest Burger King ever!

I don't know if that netting will hold him for long...

 

We saw a few CASTLES

Our French favorite - Chateau de Chenonceau

 

Mont St. Michel (also in France, but technically an abbey)

Castle #5 of the "Valley of the 7 Castles" in Luxembourg

Schloss Lichtenstein (in Germany)

Neuschwanstein (German favorite)

Sleeping Beauty Castle in Euro Disneyland. Okay, maybe this wasn't a real castle, but I think it still counts.

We did some EXPLORING

Ramparts of Schloss Lichtenstein

Schloss Lichtenstein again

Chenonceau garden maze

A maze in the "Valley of the 7 Castles"

 

We had a lot of LAUGHS

Rubin and Uriah at the park in Amsterdam.

Platform 9 3/4 in London (you won't believe how long the line was to get into Hogwarts!)

Tower Bridge looks pretty good on Rubin!

The beach in Holland

Graham's sand angel

Uriah on a car ride at Euro Disneyland.

 

RJ and Graham on the Small World ride.

 

Uriah and I in the Alice in Wonderland maze.

 

First Graham tried his strength with the Sword in the Stone.

 

RJ really wanted to get that sword out!

 

Last Uriah pulled at it. (Graham is busy making sure the other kids give his brother a turn!)

Carriage ride in Germany (Uriah would not take his eyes of the horses for anything!)

Our favorite train station in Holland. We always said going to "Murderport" was a one-way ticket!

 

And we had a few TANTRUMS

Uriah broke the stillness in Our Lord in the Attic Church (Holland)

Trying to stop Uriah from falling down the 8-foot drop to his right.

I honestly can't remember what Graham was even mad about on this bus ride.

Uriah fell asleep during this particular tantrum.

 

But we had some GOOD FOOD

Ice cream at Mont St. Michel

Great pizza in Antwerp!

Belgian chocolate!

Belgian chocolate!

 

And we made some NEW FRIENDS

This guard was a little standoffish.

A knight at Mont St. Michel

Snapping turtles at a Chinese restaurant in Germany. (We ate the one in front . . . just kidding!)

A tiny frog friend we found in Germany.



My friend, Duchess Kate, waited until I was in London to have her baby! This pub named a sandwich after the royal prince.

 

My London friends wouldn't join me in a chant of "Give us the baby!" outside Buckingham Palace!

All that's left to be said is that we made it back alive! It was a crazy 3 weeks filled with all the things mentioned above and much, much more! You might ask if we will attempt another international trip with little kids in the future. To that I say, "Ha!"

And "No."