One Fine Morning...

It's the last day of the year. For the first time in 20 days (or more) the sun is shining outside my window. This makes me happy. But the lack of sunshine in my days has been vexing. In speaking with my dad it, he finally gave me the word to describe the effect that no sunshine has on the soul...it makes one disconsolate . Of course, there are advantages to a lack of sunshine. For example, while riding in the car yesterday Lillian said, 'Mine eyes hurt, mom. What is that?" "That's the sun, honey," I responded.  Then I thought, oh, my. Has it really been so long that she doesn't even know what the sun is anymore? Obviously, when you have no sun shining in your face, you don't know how to squint. Well, maybe that's not a bad thing, you know. So I started thinking of all the blessings that come with a lack of sunshine.Think of the wrinkle lines we're missing by the lack of sunshine! Think of the savings on sunglasses! Think of the damage...

Image from www.city-data.com  This afternoon while driving home from a friend's house, I noticed an old building I'd never noticed before. It was small, square, and made of red brick. Engraved in white stone on the front of the building were the words, "School house no. 22." Probably because I haven't seen sunshine for about ten days, I felt a little crusty about seeing that old school house. Ugh, I actually thought. I wish they'd just tear it down. Now, I'm all for the charm of history, but it seems like every place I turn in this old town there is an historic building that has been "preserved." That's when my more utilitarian side takes over and thinks, maybe we should tear down the old building that has ceased to be useful and build something practical (like, oh, I don't know, another lane for the road so we don't sit at this very busy traffic light for ten minutes) .Like I said, I haven't seen the sunshine for a long ti...

December has blown in with gusts of white, billowing snow, keeping us inside, snuggling down for a warm winter's nap. With winter solstice so close, it's dark by 4:15. By 6:00 p.m., we feel ready for bed. We haven't spent all of our time sleeping, or wanting sleep, however. About a week ago, we joined some friends for a Christmas moment that I've dreamed about for a long time: we went to a Christmas Tree Farm (because they exist here. Do they exist where you live?) and we cut down our own tree. And to think, all that charm and beauty (and a lovely tree besides), and only one major melt down from a little two year old who does not like being cold. After the trip to the Christmas Tree Farm, we realized Lillian needed some serious snow gear. Once we hooked our girl up with some snow pants and other stuff, we decided it was time to help her build her first snowman. It was cold, but it was magical. Evidenced by the look of awe captured here: No matter how dar...

Exactly one year ago yesterday I experienced my first Stake Conference as a mother with a toddler. The results were spectacular--both in the sense of failure I felt and in the way I felt motivated to reframe the way I handle church meetings. As the months have passed, I'd like to say I've learned a thing or two about how to keep children entertained during long hours of church meetings. We have flannel boards and story books and magnets and polly pockets. We have goldfish and fruit snacks and string cheese. We have learned the fine art of the tag team: you take her for one talk, I'll take her for the next talk. Sometimes we actually leave church meetings feeling uplifted and inspired. Ah-ha! We have done a good job! I decided that all of that work was really in preparation for yesterday, round two of  fall Stake Conference with Lillian. Stake Conference is like the Olympics of church meetings. As such, we called in all of our preparation from the previous year and by S...

When I say we've spent some time out of town lately, I mean we have spent some time out of town . From the Adirondacks to Miami, from New York City to Salt Lake City, we've criss-crossed this fine country. Now, everyone knows I do love to travel. I lurrrrve it. But, even at the risk of sounding a teensy bit spoiled or snotty or self-absorbed (perhaps I am, at times, all of these things), I'm tired of planes. And shuttle buses. And rental cars. And most of all I'm tired of lugging Lillian's car seat through the airport at 5:00 a.m. after a red-eye flight. So, I'm staying home for a little while. Lillian's staying home, too. We've almost talked Trent into our plan as well. Here's just a few views of our travels. Enjoy. October begins with our annual trip to the Apple Festival. Just a few of the members of the fabulous Sutton clan, in Colorado while Thad was hospitalized. A brief stop at home for some pumpkin painting with our very favo...

On our second date, Trent took me home to meet his family. We walked in the front door and found his mom in the kitchen, busily attending to Trent's younger brother, Thad. To that point in my life, I was wholly unexperienced with physically and mentally disabled people. Upon my first meeting of Thad, who has been handicapped since birth, I felt a little uncomfortable. I didn't want to stare; I didn't know how not to stare; I didn't know how to react. Then I paused, and watched how all of Trent's family interacted around Thad. They rubbed his head, they kissed his cheek, they talked to him about where they were going and how they were feeling, they told him that they loved him. Their total acceptance and adoration of Thad made it possible for others to feel comfortable, too. And so, within a few moments of meeting Thad, I relaxed. *** In the long years leading up to meeting and marrying Trent, I was given a lot of promises about my future spouse by means of pri...

Dear Lady Who Just Yelled at Lillian in the Bagel Store, To give you the benefit of the doubt, maybe you forgot what it is like to be two years old--how difficult it is to stay in your seat and how tempting it is to run and scamper and dance merrily, even in bagel stores. Or, maybe you forgot what it's like to be the mother of a two year old--how difficult it is to help these little ones stay in their seat; how teaching and learning is most certainly a process that requires patience, repetition, as well as the support and encouragement of loving adults who have compassion, empathy, and humor. But really, I should thank you for helping me discover that there are certain types of confrontation that I am actually not afraid of.  Thank you for helping me realize that there is, in fact, a mother bear that lives inside of me and that I will confront anyone who talks to or treats my daughter inappropriately. My friends who were with me said I didn't actually yell at you, and tha...

Once, in the midst of my illustrious teaching years in Provo, a simply marvelous new teacher joined the English department. I knew she was marvelous from the moment I met her: she laughed easily, she worked hard, she loved literature passionately, and she was cute, too (because cute matters in teaching, it really does). Her name was Anne (with an "e", which matters to literature lovers) and we quickly became friends.  As a friend and as a teacher, Anne has been witty, wise, and wonderful. A blog I wrote about a conversation I had with her reveals her to be this way. Remember this ? Halfway through her second year of teaching, Anne had a little baby boy. Like me, she's taken a teaching sabbatical to stay home and raise him and the two little boys who followed him. Over the years, we've stayed in touch. When I lived in Utah we'd intermittently meet for lunch or talk on the phone. I even went on a date with her older brother. Things with him didn't progress pas...

One of my favorite topics of study during my ten year stint as a public high school teacher was Transcendentalism. Explaining Transcendentalism in a sentence or two isn't easy; nevertheless--and at the risk of boring you to tears--here I go: Transcendentalism is a philosophy loosely tied together by some general beliefs regarding God, nature and intuition. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau get most of the credit for articulating the Transcendentalist philosophy back in the 1830s in New England. Thoreau was more radical than Emerson and even spent two years living in a small cabin on Walden Pond in Massachusetts (the very pond that Amy falls into while ice skating in Little Women . Who doesn't love a good literary connection?). Whew. Are you still with me? I loved chatting with my students about Transcendental philosphy. I liked spending days discussing the merits and disadvantages of Civil Disobedience and loved it even more when kids talked animatedly about st...

If you should ever come to visit, I suggest a day trip With Trent, Liz, and Lillian as your tour guides. We'll begin with a beautiful drive through the Fingerlakes region The changing colors of the leaves will delight you almost as much as Lillian serenading you with Disney hits on the way Until we arrive at a lovely little town called Naples. First, we'll hike Grimes Glen You can feel the crystal clear water run across your feet You'll marvel at the sunlight shining through the trees that overarch the path You'll giggle with delight at the giant waterfall cascading down the limestone precipice And like a little child, you'll scramble up its face and dance in its gentle spray. Next, a stop at Cindy's house. You'll taste your very first bite of Concord Grape Pie. Cindy sells her pies from her front door. We'll eat the pie right in the car, because it's just that tasty . And you'll realize that grape juice is not the only Nor the greatest gift ...

When Trent's identical twin brother, Troy, got married, Trent actually bemoaned it more than once. Why did Troy have to go off and settle down, he wondered, when things were just getting fun? Unlike many young men and young women in their early twenties, Trent wanted nothing to do with settling down. He wanted adventure and fun and education and travel all without--what he then perceived to be--the fetters of family life. Trent whined to Troy how Troy could leave him and marry so quickly - couldn't he wait a little while so they could have a double wedding?  Troy's response was more prophetic than he realized:  "No way, man. You won't get married for at least ten years!" While others around him married, had children, and settled into a life of domestic bliss, Trent finished college degree after degree, took part in every possible internship and study abroad available to him, took exciting vacations, and dated every girl that he could. Yes, the stories of Tre...

Last night as the summer sun slid once again into its perfect place, just resting in the western third of the sky, casting a golden glow over the trees, we went a Sunday evening walk. There is nothing better than a late Sunday summer walk after a good meal and a restful afternoon. Our darling girl paused for a photograph at the edge of our driveway, ready to go.  Doesn't just the sight of her in those boots make you want to eat her with a spoon?  Those boots are made for walkin', yes sir. We call them her Jessie Boots. We'll tell you more about that, later. We made our way to a park located at one of the locks of the Erie Canal (do you know what a canal lock is? Shall I regale you with interesting facts and trivia about the lock system of the canal--a feat of engineering? Wait, are you sleeping?...). We only walked about 10 feet when we had to surrender ourselves to the demands of Lillian's latest favoriate pasttime--throwing rocks in the water.  We col...

Classic moment with my husband, the extrovert. Let me tell you a little secret: I am an introvert. Does that surprise you? It surprised me, too. I discovered this little nugget of extremely salient information one day when I was 47 weeks pregnant and Trent invited a family over for Sunday dinner and I burst into tears. Follow the line of logic here from an extrovert's (TRENT) point of view: Liz is pregnant. She is sick of being pregnant. She needs to get her mind off of that. I will give her the GIFT of a lot of people here at the house playing games and laughing. We will enjoy their company. This will totally re-energize her. This will be great. Now follow the line of logic from an introvert's (LIZ) point of view:  If there are all those people at the house I will have to entertain them. I will feel totally drained of any energy I have left since right now I don't have the energy to even smile. All I want to do is talk to Trent about the baby or read...

Saturday morning we packed up the car and headed north once again. This time our destination was for here: This is a park out in the middle of nowhere Toronto that transports you beyond the regular zoo experience. It is, in a word, incredible. In addition to seeing things like this all through out the park, there is also a safari adventure that you can experience in the comfort of your own car. The animals--lions, cheetahs, rhinos, giraffes, baboons, just to name a few--are in natural habitats right in front of you. And when I say right in front of you, I mean the baboons jump onto your car and the rhinos bigger than a mini-van cross the street in front of you and the giraffe leans his head into your sunroof to take a bite of the pretzel you're holding. I'm really not kidding. Our friend Mike encouraged us to go before, in his words, "some national company or government group finds out about this place and shuts them down or puts all those animals in cages." Now that ...

Reason #456 Why I Love Summer: Two little girls on a summer evening, off to enjoy a walk together in their little red wagon. Sometimes you gotta take a pause in the middle of the road . And sometimes you gotta just lay right down in the middle of the driveway and giggle. Nothing could be sweeter. (except, possibly, those curls on Lillian's head. Or Mary's smile)

This last weekend we went to Toronto. Trent had some business meetings there, and we decided to make it a family trip. Because it was, first and foremost, a business trip, Trent's firm selected our hotel. We thought that would be absolutely fabulous. And it was. Absolutely. Fabulous. The overwhelming fabulousness of this hotel is what quickly became a problem. From the moment we walked into the hotel, I knew we were in trouble. The lobby was all black with contemporary furniture done in black velvet. There were giant mirrors and equally giant lamp shades. A little further down from the front desk, I could see a giant bar with chic chairs and glasses fashionably displayed on large glass shelves. The entire place smelled of fresh paint. The bell hop, the concierge, and the front desk ladies--also dressed, fittingly enough--in all black, looked at us with strange expressions on their faces. When I paused to see our little family from their perspective, it wasn't hard to see why we...

So, I've been working on some much needed projects in my basement. Since I'm really not a do-it-yourself-er, and since Trent won't touch a power tool with a ten foot pole, I look for people who will help me on the bigger projects I can't figure out (a shout out now to my brother-in-law, Alfer, who thought he was coming for a vacation and ended up doing three or four "projects" for me--woo hooo Alfer!); then once I've exhausted all those options, I figure it out myself. Of course, that means I'm spending a lot of quality time of late at the Home Depot. And because I spend a lot of time at the HD, I seem to run into the same HD workers on an almost weekly basis. I would think they'd remember me, because I remember them, but I never get a flicker of recognition from their happy, helpful faces. I've run into one guy in particular about five times this month. He always asks me if I'm interested in some sort of water program they've got going...

A couple of months ago I introduced Lillian to the Disney classic movie Sleeping Beauty . It is safe to say, without hyperbole, her life has never been the same. She has, in fact, walked around in a sort of Sleeping Beauty intoxication ever since (By the way, Lillian calls Sleeping Beauty "Dream." She calls her Dream because of the song, "I know you/I walked with you once upon a dream.") . Since seeing Dream for the first time, Lillian spends her days asking to watch "Dream show" or asking Trent or me to "Sing Dream" or singing the song herself whilst dancing with various stuffed animals. Yes. It is awesome. It is awesome because, among other hilarious things she does, Lillian will come running in to wherever I'm hanging out, holding aloft her Polly Pocket Sleeping Beauty, yelling in a very loud voice, "I GOT A DREAM MOM, I GOT A DREAM!" That's when my sardonic self takes over and I fight the urge to say, "Yes, honey, so d...

All the family--then--at the first annual Pearson Family Reunion. My Aunt Kathryn is second from the right, standing up. I'm either the girl with her hand on her heart or the one at the end with her hand on her chin...I think. Sometime in the early 1980s, we got a letter in the mail from my Aunt Kathryn. I still remember the wording, since it was posted on the corkboard in our kitchen for months. In Aunt Kathryn's very cool writing it said, "Here Ye Here Ye, Announcing the First Annual Pearson Family Reunion at Timp Lodge..." or something to that effect. This was very big news. Very big. We were going to have a family reunion! At Timp Lodge! Where was Timp Lodge? I didn't know and I didn't care. It was going to be a big awesome vacation and all my cousins were going to be there! We were going to be sleeping over! And there was going to be a talent show! The reunion was everything we hoped and dreamed it could be. Timp Lodge was fantastic: giant bedrooms awaite...

It's time once again for the Top Ten Events/Moments/Memories of my trip to Utah. Are you ready to read how awesome it was? #10 Getting my hair done. I got off the plane at 11:15 p.m. By 7:30 a.m. the next morning I was in the chair at the hair stylists. And just so you know ( just so you know ), when I got back to New York, a friend looked at my hair and said, "That's a Utah highlight, isn't it." I said, "why yes. Yes it is." This is proof that there is a difference . Perhaps if you haven't been out east long-term, you might not know what I'm talking about. Just believe me on this: when it comes to hair, Utah wins hands down. And remember when I said I wouldn't write any more about my hair? I lied. #9 Photo shoot with Sara. Um, the real question is, why would anyone NOT want this woman as a photographer? It's just a bonus that she's my sister. She's awesome. Check out our photo shoot here . Awwwww. #8 Hiking Rock Canyon The thing ...