Notes
on an Epic September
Dear Loved
Ones,
You can tell by the fact that this
letter is a monthly one, not a weekly one, that this month has been EPIC! It
has been a true test of our abilities to coordinate schedules, organize
supplies and meals, eat super-fast or subsist on trail mix and Gatorade, and love
one another in the process. Way back on September 3rd, we celebrated
Labor Day with a yummy BBQ at the ranch and a float down the river with our
Melin cousins and the Smith Family. It
seems ages ago, as the temperatures that day hit 100* and we enjoyed spending
the hottest hours out on the water, and today
it is SNOWING. It was a great day, cut
short by evening practices for football, cross country and soccer players. The
next day we dove into the second week of school still fumbling around trying to
get into the groove. Wednesday 9/5 Sweet
Baby James’ 12th birthday!!! Poor guy had to squeeze in celebrations
between school and practices and YM/YW activities. We had his favorite biscuits
and gravy for breakfast and he opened some gifts. I had promised to take him to
lunch, but I also had promised to be a substitute driver for Meals On Wheels,
so I bought him a Taco Bell lunch and he drove around with me for an hour and a
half delivering lunches to shut-ins and listening to the “Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” sound track, hahaha. That night he mostly
celebrated with the Deacons at an activity/party at the park and had an ice
cream cake with his buddies.
On Friday 9/7, my mom and Mark arrived for James’ ordination weekend.
We let them sleep in on Saturday 9/8
and we went at 8am to THREE soccer games on opening day—James & cousin
Matthew played on one field, Niles and cousin Simon played on another field,
and cousin Lexi played on yet another field, so we all sat right in the middle
and tried to spin around and watch all three games, hahaha. Addie also left at
8am for a cross country meet in Pony where she placed 8th in her
heat and hit a personal best sub-7-minute mile—I’m so dang proud of her because
running doesn’t come easy and she never gives up. Cousin Summer had a game at
the high school at 10am, but I had to run some errands in Bozeman so we went
and did that and came back to hang out with Nana and Papa. We had Papa Murphy’s
pizzas for dinner and got ready for church and James’ ordination on Sunday 9/9. Jessi Tyner subbed my
Primary class so I could attend the ordination and Relief Society with my mom,
but my mom was sick all day Sunday, bless her heart! Mark was able to be there
in the circle and that was special for James. Later that afternoon we had a big
Ravioli dinner at James’ request, plus a yummy chocolate birthday cake and rice
krispy treats from Aunt Kelli. Uncle Jess had to fly out for work after church,
the grandparents were at a temple training, and
Nana was sick downstairs, and then all the youth and parents had to head
to Stake Standards night in Bozeman at 5:20. So it was just me and the little
guys and Kristina left to clean up. So we did, and then enjoyed the amazing
Church History broadcast from Nauvoo introducing the new “Saints” series. We
looked for Eden Jones (a Nauvoo missionary from our ward) the whole time but
didn’t see her. The meeting was beautiful nonetheless! We had to say good bye
to Nana and Papa on Monday as they
headed back to Utah. The following week is a busy blur of practices and open
houses and homework and housework, but Tuesday
9/11 stands out as a great memory because we got to take James to the
temple. Grandpa and Grandma Melin met us in the baptistery and James was
baptized for several German ancestors of President Hetherington of our Stake.
Grandpa and Grandma read scriptures with James and gave him lots of hugs and
showed us some of the gorgeous new art in the temple. James chose Golden Corral
for his dinner date because he loves the chocolate fountain. We were happy to
come home and find the girls had done a wonderful job serving and cleaning up
dinner and getting their little brothers to bed.
Saturday the 15th
was the busiest day ever. We had about 8 things on our calendar and had to pare
it down to two. Rich and the 3 bigs went to Billlings at 6am with the youth to
do baptisms with the youth at 8am. Then they met me and Kristina and the little
boys at River Front park in Billings for a Youth For Understanding Family BBQ.
All the families in southwestern Montana who are hosting YFU foreign exchange
students got together for some more training and bonding from 11am-3pm. We met
girls from Thailand, Kyrgystan, and Mongolia, and boys from Germany and Denmark
and their families. It was a lot of fun. Afterward, we stopped at Scheel’s
because Rich wanted to show Kristina the biggest store in the world. She said
it looks like a mall with one store. I think she is right! We ate a quick
dinner at Café Rio and headed home. I had to take Addie directly to the Shane
Center so she could see the Lip Synch Battle. It would have been so fun for all
of us to go, but we were BEAT!
Sunday 9/16 Heidi was set apart as the Mia Maid president
with Summer and Kara Allen as her couselors—super excited for her to practice
leadership skills. That night we had a lovely potluck dinner at Joneses’ with
Smiths and the Jelli Melins to celebrate the 8th birthday of
Beatrice and Rex Jones. It was such a nice night! We love our friends that feel
like family and family who are best friends. On Monday 9/17 we had the Jefferys and Adair Peacock and her son
Antonio over for FHE. We had a short lesson followed by ice cream and some
visits so Jefferys could meet Kristina and speak some German with her. The rest
of the week is a bit of a blur. The kids did not have school Friday 9/20, so James had a sleep over
with Charlie Vermillion and spent most of Friday with him. Heidi hung out with Sophie and Ilana and
Kristina for part of the day. Saturday was busy with soccer games and canning.
On Friday and Saturday (9/21) we
made 12 pints of salsa (roasted blender and peach salsas) and 10 quarts of
apple sauce. Saturday night we all went to Summer’s PHS soccer game and had
some Mark’s In & Out for dinner. I was so wracked with joint pain from the
cold air and gallbladder pain from eating junk, I thought I wasn’t going to be
able to get up on Sunday.
BUT I DID! I went down to the High
school at 9am and met up with another mom to decorate lockers for the Choir
kids. I ran to church and made it just in time for the sacrament, and a fun
lesson on baptism for my primary class—3 out of 5 of them were baptized this
week! Sunday night all the Melin guys went over to Bozeman together for
priesthood meeting. I stayed home and watched “Cinema Paradiso” with the girls
(they humored me as a Birthday –eve gift, hahaha). Monday 9/24 I turned 47! My body feels 67 and my heart feels 27, so
I’ll take it. I spent the day finishing laundry while watching “The Kindness
Diaries” on Netflix (highly recommend) and talking on the phone to
well-wishers, including my cute bro William with whom I rarely get to chat
these days. All day I’d intended and nice hot bath for myself, but school pick
ups snuck up on me. However, after pickups and afterschool snack, I remembered
that my in-laws were bringing dinner over after soccer practice, so I sent to
boys off to practices with Rich and snuck my bath in between 5:30 and 7pm. At
7, all the Jellis were here; Rich and Jess were grilling steaks and German
franks; Kelli had made yummy ranch potatoes and a chocolate quinoa birthday
cake---SO DELICIOUS! We had such a fun time together. The food was great and so
were all the gifts I received, especially THE HUGS and selfies with the fam. I
sure do love my people and our sweet life!
Celebrations continued Tuesday as Addie and I went to a Relief
Society Ice Cream Social (Heidi and Kristina stayed home to study) and then out
for birthday tea at Gil’s with Robyn and Rebecca, Robyn’s treat. Addie and
Jeanette were with us, but they got cheesy fries and studied together at
another table, hahaha. Addie is stretched really thin lately with school work, seminary,
student council/homecoming duties, XC, and college prep, but she is hanging in
there. She is learning to make hard choices when she needs to take a break and
take care of herself. Heidi is also learning to navigate high school and speak
up for her needs as well. Hard life lessons, but that’s what we are here for,
and I am proud of all of them—Kristina, too—for the ways they are learning to
manage their time and energy and new environments. Wednesday 9/26, Addie played defense on the junior powder puff
football team. It was so dang fun to watch her and her friends (and the boys
cheerleading). Thursday night was a
late night for the kids since there was no school Friday. I had to go to
Bozeman for Stake Public Affairs Meeting and Addie went to the Iron Man
volleyball game (where the football team is coached by the girls’ volleyball
team; the opposite of powder puff fb).
Friday morning 9/28, I woke up to Summer coming over after early morning soccer practice. A
cold, dark snow cloud had settled over Livingston and the stormy howling wind
from the night before had stopped. I heard Summer on the phone with her mom
talking about putting together a Freshman Float for the Homecoming Parade at
4pm, since nobody else had volunteered. With that, we all sprang into action.
Kelli was in Bozeman, so she went to a few stores and grabbed some purple and
gold supplies, Summer and Heidi texted their friends to meet at the school at
1pm to make decorations for the Ranch truck and trailer. I helped them make a
few decorations here, then started shuttling people all over creation at noon
(Addie went to work on the junior float). I finally got the boys and Kristina
bundled up and headed out to the Homecoming parade at 3:40 and we headed
downtown to watch the fun. As we were settling into our spot, Kristina got a
call from her friend Katerina (the other exchange student at PHS; she’s from
Austria) asking her to ride on the sophomore float. So Kristina ran around the
block and hopped on the float and got to ride in her first and last American
high school homecoming parade. We met back at home and Rich took Addie,
Kristina, and James to the game while I stayed home with Heidi and her friends
and Niles and Ammon to get ready for our alternative Homecoming celebration,
aka “Alt HoCo” (we do this because the homecoming dance is a very casual affair
right after the game at which the student behavior is questionable at best, so
my kids and their friends have their own celebration here; this is the 3rd
year). I fed the boys some pizza and
bathed them and got them to sleep before the onslaught after the game. Heidi
and her friends helped me heat up some taquitos and jalapeno poppers and nacho
cheese. We put out chips and sodas and fruit trays and salsas and guacamole,
too. I had some reading to do on my phone, so I cuddled up on the chaise in the
living room for the next three hours and chaperoned the hullaballoo. There were
24 kids here for most of that time and they all seemed to have a good time. I
got to meet some new friends and some I haven’t seen in a long time showed up
and it was a really fun time.
Saturday 9/29
Niles had an 8am soccer game. Valiant Richard got up early and made a few
thermoses full of hot chocolate and took him to warm up at 7:40am. I could not
bring myself to sit out in that 35* cold, so I stayed home with the other
wimps. We all got ready to attend the baptism of Porter Tyner, Rex Jones, and
Beatrice Jones—three of Niles’ closest friends. The service was absolutely
beautiful. The opening talk about baptism was given by Tiffany Parsons, a good friend
of the Tyner’s and recently returned missionary. So of course it was simple,
direct and powerful. Rich got to witness for and help confirm Rex and Bea. It
was just the sweetest thing. Then they got to play a talk about the Holy Ghost
that Sister Eden Jones of the IL Nauvoo mission recorded for Rex and Bea in
Brigham Young’s house in Nauvoo! Her talk was also simple, direct, and
powerful. I just kept thinking what a precious treasure that will be forever
for the whole family! I was so proud of
those sweet kids, so excited for their futures, and so grateful I get to teach
seven-turning-eight-year-olds in Primary. After the baptisms, we hurried to
watch James and Matthew play their soccer game at 12:30. When we came home,
Addie helped me in the kitchen making chicken gnocchi soup and apple tarts. It
made my heart both happy and achy to be in the kitchen on a cold cloudy day with
her again after having her gone so much this past year between work, school,
church, and athletic activities. I know this is how it goes—I know I see less
and less of her until she flies the coop and starts her own life, capable and
gifted as she is, but it doesn’t make it any easier. My mom showed no signs of
this nostalgia when we left, only relief, so in some ways I was completely unprepared
for how personally painful it would be to see a child go and do and become all
the things we raised her to be. How can getting what you always wanted feel so
achy? UGH. Anyway—I am grateful for those times when they come, and I always
will be, because my kids are cool humans who I enjoy being with. After cooking
with Addie and doing a little sewing, I felt my sinuses and throat and ears
swelling up and getting sore, so I chugged emergen-C and took a nap from 5-6. I
was supposed to go to Summer’s soccer game, but didn’t dare aggravate my cold
(or Ammon’s hacking cough), so I kept the boys home and sent everyone else off
to the game. I bathed the boys and got them in jammies and took them to deliver
some little pillows to the Jones kids as baptism gifts. I got to visit with
Robyn and her mom (Mama Brown), then brought the boys home for bed. Heidi had
dinner and a movie at Ilana’s and Addie had a movie night with Clara. I tried
to wait up for them, but I crashed hard. I am still under the weather today (Sunday 9/30), but I took some meds and
slept while the family went to church, so I should be better to start this
coming busy week (we are headed down to Utah for my mission reunion 10/5-6—quick
trip) and be ready to FEAST on General Conference broadcasts! Just what the
doctor ordered!
We love and miss you all so much! We
wish you all a great week and hope you will carve out at least a little time to
enjoy conference…and share! Tell us your favorite parts and let us know how you’re
doing!
Love, Jamie and
Rich and Family
PS: When I think about endings and good-byes
(which are not my forte), I think of these words:
“In light of what we know about our eternal destiny,
is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem
unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists
endings.Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are
eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless …ENDINGS
ARE NOT OUR DESTINY…How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan
there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings.”- Elder Uchtdorf
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We failed to mention in our last letter that Mom and Dad Melin
celebrated their 52nd Anniversary on 9/1/18. They have ONE MONTH
left of their 3-year service in the Billings Temple Presidency. We love
them and feel so grateful for the blessings their service brings our family. |
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| 9/3 LABOR DAY BBQ: Uncle Jess, grill master |
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| Addie with Kristina |
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| Heidi |
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| Uncle Jess and Cousin Summer 9/3 |
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| Kristina 9/3 |
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| Heidi 9/3 |
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| TJay & Lexi 9/3 |
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| TJay 9/3 |
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| Ammon 9/3 |
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| James 9/3 |
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| Lexi 9/3 |
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| Niles 9/3 |
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| Floatin' the River 9/3 |
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| These hippies and their cool van 9/3 |
And now...James Through the Years
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| James 3 weeks |
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| James 5 mos |
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| James 6 mos |
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| James 6 yrs |
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| James 5 yrs |
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| James 8yrs |
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James 9/5/18- 12 years old!
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| Ammon helping with Meals on Wheels 9/7 |
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9/8- SOCCER OPENING DAY-8am Games
James and Matthew's team |
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| James on the bench |
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| Simon, Winston, and Niles |
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| Simon, Winston, Niles |
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9/8 Addie with her 8th place ribbon after running her personal best
in the Pony meet. |
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9/9 JAMES' ORDINATION
Matt Johnson, Trevor Strupp, Dad and Papa Drews |
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| James' ordination: Cousin Summer, Kristina, Addie, Heidi, and Mom |
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| Happy Deacon 9/9 |
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| 9/9 Family Dinner |
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| TJay, Addie, Lexi, and Summer with Papa in back |
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| Matthew and Rich |
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| Kristina laughing at Heidi |
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| James and Ammon |
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| Summer and Simon |
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| Lexi-Lou |
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| Kelli and Kristina |
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9/11 TEMPLE DAY for JAMES
with mom and dad (and Grandpa and Grandma inside) |
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9/15 YOUTH FOR UNDERSTANDING BBQ
Betty, Addie, Kristina, and Heidi |
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| Sebastian, Heidi and Mrs. Larsen |
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| Heidi and Addie |
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| Niles |
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| Ammon and Niles |
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| Heidi, Kristina, Mrs. Larsen and other exchange families |
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| Add caption |
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| Addie, Niles, and James with other exchange families |
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9/15 VISIT TO SCHEELS
Addie, Kristina, and Heidi at the aquarium |
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| Girls "Fishing" |
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| Addie and Kristina on the Ferris Wheel |
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| Boys 4-wheelin |
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| Girls 4-wheelin |
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9/16 NEW MIA MAIDS PRESIDENCY
Kara Allen 2nd couselor, Heidi Melin President, Summer Melin 1st couselor |
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9/16 THREE FAMILY POTLUCK at JONSES Rex & Bea's Birthday
Rex and Ammon in diguise |
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| Little Buddies: Bea, Niles, Rex, and Ammon |
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| Elanor and Jeanette |
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| 9/21 HARVESTING |
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| 9/21 my Peach Salsa Sweat Shop |
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Niles and Ammon helping with apple sauce
(aka experimenting with the thermometer) |
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| 9/22: Playing at the park between soccer games |
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| Simon and Niles |
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| Ammon |
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| Ammon |
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| Niles |
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| 9/22 Beautiful night for a soccer game |
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| Summer in the center in purple 9/22 |
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| Me: in a meme |
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| 9/24 BIRTHDAY DINNER delivered by the Jelli Melins |
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| James & Kristina |
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| Selfies with Matthew, Lexi, James, and Kelli |
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| James, Simon, and Niles |
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| Matthew, Lexi, and Ammon |
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| Heidi, Addie, Summer, Kristina |
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| Summer and Heidi and James |
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| Gifts from Rich...plus a HUGE Insta Pot |
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| Sweet Birthday poem/letter from Kristina |
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9/26 POWDER PUFF FOOTBALL GAME
Let's Go Rangers! #12 |
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| Football Player Cheerleaders |
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| Niles and Simon cheering for Addie |
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| Addie on defense, wearing TJay's jersey |
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| Cousin Pals- TJay and Addie |
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9/28: HOMECOMING PARADE
Ammon, James, and Niles throwing leaves |
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| Ammon ready for candy |
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Here comes the band!
A few years ago we didn't even have a marching band
Look at them now! |
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| Football float- Cousin TJay #12 |
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| Kristina on her first and last Homecoming Float |
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The junior float-- you can see Addie's hat
and leg behind Erin' orange sign, class of 2020 |
