Conference and crystals

With General Conference this weekend, we weren't sure if we would be able to speak with Rachel since Saturday is her P-day, which, as Phoebe described it fairly accurately, is "the day that missionaries don't have to do any very much work and can just do things like laundry." It's also the day missionaries are allowed to write their correspondence and—in this day and age—call home. 

But she managed to arrange a time to call us between her breakfast and the beginning of conference, right around 5:00 for us. I had just taken the kids for a pre-conference stroll...

Alexander, A Valiant Servant

We are busy getting settled in our new apartment, figuring out all the ins and outs of everything, unpacking, and so forth. 

The island itself has an electronic "access card" that we can use for island amenities, such as entering certain beaches, but also just for entering our block of apartments. Currently I think Andrew, Miriam, Benjamin, and I have that card.

There's also a separate app for our front door. We have a couple of actual keys (made of metal and everything) but we can open the door remotely as well. Andrew was getting that set up this morning before we left for church and he mentioned to the kids that "everyone down to Alex" should have access to the door from their phones/devices.

We didn't get everyone's devices set up with this app, however, because we had to leave for church.

Choir was pretty cool! We love meeting with the Tagalog Ward! 

Slow down! You're moving too fast...

Happy Last Day of September to all who celebrate!

In our family we apparently celebrate by...moving...because today was the day we moved out of the hotel (more or less) and into our apartment and today was the day that Rachel moved into the MTC (missionary training center).

What did you do to celebrate? (If you didn't move, it doesn't count.)

Andrew, Miriam, and I stayed up far too late packing up virtually everything in our hotel room and getting it ready to cart downstairs. Here's a shot Miriam took of our things in the hotel room:

Rachel's mission farewell

Rachel didn't know this (per se), but she was in charge of the FHE lesson on Sunday night (which is when we do FHE now, I guess) because that's when she was scheduled to give her farewell talk!

Phoebe was so excited to see Rachel on the stand. She waved and waved and waved and waved and then said, "Why won't Rachel wave back to me?"

"Because she can't see us," I explained. "We can see her but she can't see us."

"Oh, fine!" Phoebe huffed, throwing herself backwards against the couch to pout.

Zoë's first primary talk in Doha

Zoë was asked to give a talk this past Friday. She wrote a first draft all on her own but grew frustrated when she felt that she hadn't covered anything very well (though she had covered many things and still felt like she had more things to cover). Honestly, the topic "God promised to send Jesus Christ to be my Savior" is rather expansive and open-ended, so we read through her talk and I helped her identify some threads she could pull at. She spent quite a lot of time rewriting her talk and then spent even more time rehearsing her talk to an audience of stuffed animals (and then delivered the talk to us during our evening scripture study) before finally feeling like she was ready. 

Here she is standing in front of the primary room delivering her talk:

Alive and Well: A Banner Day in the Heiss Household

When our house went under contract, the closing date was set to September 26 (the day before we're set to get the keys to our new apartment), but then the buyers asked if they could move that up to September 15, so we very quickly made arrangements for that. 

This was mostly fine because selling our house was rather passive for us. We had given our neighbours power of attorney, so they went to sign the documents in our place. We just had to help arrange things and be present for an "alive and well" call with the lawyer (who we'd met previously). 

Because of the time difference, this happened right during the dinner rush before mutual. Andrew was just getting out of class, I was in the middle of making dinner, and we were trying to figure out how everyone was going to get to mutual (Andrew was recently called as a teacher's quorum leader so now he goes to mutual as well). Still, we found a few minutes to sit down and hop on a call with the lawyer, verify all our information as correct (for money transfers and taxes and so forth), and then we went on our merry way. 

Alive and well, having made it through most of September 15. 

Rachel, meanwhile, had been having a rough morning and still had much of September 15 ahead of her.

She had gone to get a few vaccines the day before and woke up feeling very sore and rather overwhelmed. 

Andrew and the kids came home from mutual, we put the little kids to bed, and then Benjamin and Miriam settled in to watch Inception (for Miriam's propaganda class) while Andrew and I sat down to hype up Rachel. We talked with her for a while, did our best to make her laugh, and motivated her to do a few of the "adulting" things she still needed to do before her mission started. 

And then we had to get ready for bed because her 7-hour countdown to being set apart for a missionary was also our 7-hour countdown of how long we could possibly sleep before getting up to be present for her setting part (9 PM for her, 6 AM for us). 

We did not get 7 hours of sleep...but we did eventually go to bed.

And we mostly got up to watch Rachel be set apart. 

We decided to not wake Phoebe up, in part because...she's just a force to be reckoned with and once she's up, she's up. It seemed silly to wake her up for this when we could just...leave her sleeping. So we...didn't wake her up. 

Falling down and standing up

Last weekend when the other kids were all off at various activities, Andrew, Phoebe and I went to the mall to look for a few specific things...but we also stopped by Max and Phoebe and I saw some cute dresses on the sales rack that we liked, so we got them—my dress was only 40 QAR and Phoebe's was 20 QAR. We were the fanciest gals on the block!

Look! A diversion!

Last week we were on our way to church, all piled into one large Uber, when we saw a big sign with flashing lights proclaiming: DIVERSION!! →

"Look!" I whispered to Miriam. "A diversion!"

"Where?!" she gasped, playing along.

One of the oldest tropes in the book. Unfortunately, I was too slow to take a picture.

What it really was doing, of course, was pointing out a detour route.

*****

Miriam was called as the ward pianist on Friday morning. She's the first one in the family with a calling! 

And it's pretty good timing, too, because we just got Miriam's organ manuals set up! Her pedalboard will soon be on its way from Germany. We shipped them to our friend's house because...we don't have a permanent address yet...and they brought them along with them when they dropped Zoë and Alexander off after their sleepover (Wednesday to Thursday). They arrived a lot sooner than I thought they would, all things considered.

Here's Phoebe helping to open the box:

Benjamin's very churchy weekend

Benjamin was asked to give a talk on July 12—the Sunday we were busy at county—so I asked if there was another week he could possibly speak. We only have 10 youth speakers (on a good year) and 52 weeks in a year, so it's pretty easy to find an open week...but although I was told they'd try to rearrange things, we never heard back. He wasn't on the schedule the following week (which was good because we ended up going to Sam's homecoming instead of attending our own ward) and then we just didn't hear and didn't hear and didn't hear about anything this week, so we figured Benjamin was off the hook (since next week is fast and testimony meeting, which has no assigned speakers). 

But then the ward bulletin was sent out on Friday and, lo, Benjamin was on the intended program. 

So he got to work writing and came up with a decent draft. I read that draft and discussed it with him, noting areas he needed to explain things better, craft some segues between ideas, and more clearly develop the theme running through his talk. He was miffed, but sat down to write a second draft, which was much better than the first. I read that draft and discussed it with him, noting areas where he needed to back up huge claims (such as "the phrase 'fear not' can be found in every book of scripture"—do you know that? Or are you just saying it? You're just saying it...okay...perhaps do a little more research before saying it) and tell enough of a story that people can understand what's going on and glean the message from it, but without reading the whole thing verbatim. He was quite upset about this feedback but agreed to give his talk another round of edits. 

You can imagine how he felt when I sent him back for a third round of edits. Pretty darn frustrated, that's what! Let's not even talk about the fourth...

Miriam's last Sunday

 

Today was Miriam's last week at our ward. Technically she still has one more Sunday left in Georgia, but we aren't going to our ward next week. So this was it for her. 

Miriam's Organ Recital

Our stake (largely through the efforts of Sister Hammond) arranged a farewell organ recital for Miriam this past Sunday. Miriam has played for stake conferences, our ward, the Magnolia (Spanish) ward, stake Easter events, stake Christmas events, and so forth. She has loved getting to use her talents in this way. Sister Hammond keeps a little sign with (a paraphrase) 1 Corinthians 10:31 on the organ, "Do everything for the glory of God" to help remind her while she plays the organ that...that's why she's sitting there. 

Miriam also feels that music contributes to worship, with variations and flourishes helping people listening to the same old song feel something new and different and—God willing—divine. She has, at times, received pushback for playing classical music during postlude, which she thinks is rather funny because much classical music was written for worship. Our current bishop more or less gives her free reign but that doesn't mean everyone in the congregation approved of her choices (and, boy, did she hear about it...but she's pretty good at ignoring superfluous advice). 

One of Miriam's favourite composers is Bach (despite her program last night being full of French composers). He began most compositions with the inscription J.J. (for Jesu, Juva, meaning Jesus, help) and ended them with S.D.G. (for soli Deo gloria meaning glory to God alone), indicating that his music was his worship. It sounds like he was a fan of 1 Corinthians 10:31!

Two times I cried yesterday

I'm sitting alone in what has been dubbed The Boat Room with 51.86666667% of our allotted shipment. I know this because we have been weighing each box and recording its weight in a spreadsheet because we don't know how else we're supposed to know what 5700 lbs of stuff looks like. I'm alone because Rachel is now in Utah, Miriam and Benjamin have left for FSY, Zoë is in Tennessee, and Andrew took Alexander and Phoebe to swim practice. 

I haven't been alone in the house in ages. 

I may have never been alone in this particular house. 

It's quiet and I could be getting stuff done, but instead I'm blogging (which one could argue is getting stuff done). We do need to decide what else needs to come into The Boat Room, but really our rooms are starting to look rather bare. 

Last night I was working in Miriam and Zoë's room, which was very nearly finished (but not quite) and I came across a handful of paper-and-ribbon Olympic medals the kids made for their Kids' Olympics a few summers ago and it made me feel so happy-sad.

Our cul-de-sac has been an oasis for my little kids—they have made such good friends with our neighbourhood kids! I'm so grateful for our wonderful neighbours, who have truly been a village. It's been such a privilege to raise my children alongside these families. Thinking about that made me tear up a bit (and I think that's why packing takes me so much longer than Andrew, who is much more pragmatic about things). 

And then last night I also got to "attend" my cousin's son's baptism (between packing boxes), which was a wonderful surprise! 

Rachel's mission pictures

This morning was so terribly rainy that swim practice was cancelled for both Alexander and Phoebe—if you can't see the bottom of the pool, that's cause to shut down the pool, and it was just that rainy. 

Rachel and I had planned to go take her mission photos today as well, but that had to wait until after the rain had stopped because we wanted to take them at the temple. I'm not an exceptional photographer, but I have found that if I take several hundred photographs there are usually a handful of keepers...

We wanted to take a picture with a Vietnamese Book of Mormon, but they don't sell those at our distribution center and we forgot to order one early enough to take photos with it. She'll have plenty of opportunity for such photos in the future, I suppose. 

For now we were just happy we got a good window of sunshine to take some pictures in this afternoon:

Rachel's mission call!

At 4:00 this afternoon (2:00 MST), we were in the process of chucking our couch off our second storey deck (for not the first time—that thing is sturdy) when Rachel suddenly exclaimed, "I got my mission call! My mission call is here! I have an email with my mission call in it! What do I do?! Guys! What do I do?!"

"Well, first I guess we'll finish pushing this couch off the deck that we have balanced on the railing and then you'll open your mission call."

Listen...

I have tried to give these couches away on multiple occasions on multiple platforms. No one wants them. They're a little scratched up (thanks, Waffles) and definitely not trendy. Our local Goodwill didn't want them. So they were destined for the landfill one way or another. 

We could have kept them to sit on for the next little while, but Andrew started this project with Miriam and Benjamin while I was in a meeting and by the time I came out they had already taken a saw and crowbar to it and were working on the first deck-chuck. So we were pretty committed to the destruction path at that point. 

He figures that this way we can sneak bits of the couch into the garbage can every week and save on the cost of disposing it. 

Anyway, we threw the couch off the balcony for the second time and then gathered around to watch Rachel open her mission call. She didn't want a big to-do about it (and even told me that if came while she was in Florida—she drove down to Florida for Corbin's mission farewell...he's off to Argentina soon—that she would just open it there and text me about it so I guess we're lucky it arrived the day after she got home from Florida), but we did take a minute to have everyone make a quick guess about where she might go.

Zoë: Tanzania or France

Alexander: Utah
Miriam: Berlin

Benjamin: Stockholm

Dad: Pennsylvania

Mom: Spanish Speaking or Canada

Phoebe: California

Atlanta Georgia Temple

Rachel began working on her mission papers shortly before the semester ended. She had decided to maybe go on a mission...in December. After talking about the pros and cons for a long time she decided that she should finish and submit her papers. But then after having made the decision to, yes, go...she felt like waiting until December was silly. 

Waiting is the worst.

So she decided to put her availability date in August (after the summer term ends). That doesn't mean she'll leave in August (she could still leave in December for all we know), but it does at least mean she won't have to wait to know when she'll be leaving and can make plans accordingly. 

She submitted her papers on Monday (after going to the doctor for the third time in a week because the doctor/nurse couldn't figure out how to fill out the form properly) and she went through the temple this morning!

You can read more about the endowment ceremony here, if you're interested!

Saying Goodby to Grandpa and Darla

Grandpa spent his first day of retirement taking the kids bowling. It was the first time for several of the children because we haven't gone bowling here. I honestly couldn't remember why we hadn't just taken the kids bowling...until Reid told us how much it cost. Let's just say "Private Equity Bowlero Ruining Bowling" isn't a sensational title. I was fully expecting the fees to be around $5 per person per game...maybe even $10 (it's been a while since we've been bowling). I was not expecting round $30 per person—talk about exorbitant! 

But the kids had fun. 

And we remembered why we have never gone bowling here. 

Miriam finished with her finals on Wednesday, so she was available to go bowling with everyone. I asked her to be my photographer (Andrew and I stayed home to work). 

Here's Benjamin:

Just another (manic) Palm Sunday!

Palm Sunday was a doozy of a day! 

• Miriam played a special musical number in the Johns Creek ward
• Miriam played prelude, postlude, and congregational hymns in our ward
• Miriam, Benjamin, Zoë, Alexander, and I sang two choir songs in our ward
• Miriam played a special musical number in the Magnolia ward...as well as the prelude, postlude, and congregational hymns, and also filled in for a sick pianist (getting a 12-page score the afternoon before and practicing until she felt confident enough to accompany a soloist)
• Miriam played a special musical number in Grandpa and Darla's ward
• Grandpa and Darla gave their "farewell" talks before leaving on their mission and they served a lovely little lunch at their house after, which was good because we were all hungry
• Miriam played an organ piano duet for the stake Palm Sunday event, as well as the prelude, postlude, and congregational hymns
• Miriam and Benjamin participated in the youth choir for the Palm Sunday event
• Zoë, Alexander, and Phoebe participated in the children's choir for the Palm Sunday event

It was...a lot...but it was mostly wonderful! I especially loved getting to sing congregational hymns with big congregations (our own little ward is so tiny).

Easter Egg Hunt

This morning I took the kids to the ward Easter egg hunt, which they didn't want to miss...so they skipped out on the second practice for the big stake Easter fireside tomorrow night. It's cool that the stake puts this on, but it does limit when we can do an Easter activity as a primary (though one might wonder whether that's necessary—I don't remember attending many church-sponsored Easter egg hunts growing up and I survived just fine). So, anyway, the little kids skipped the rehearsal, the big kids attended the rehearsal, and Daddy went grocery shopping.

Who's to say had more fun, really?

Here's Phoebe collecting some eggs from the bushes:

Andrew's Talk: God will bless me for my faith and righteous desires, even if it doesn't seem like things will work out

When I was in primary and in young men's, the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price was my favorite book in the scriptures. I didn't like it necessarily because of any of the specific scriptures or teachings in it—though there are some good ones in there! We learn about foreordination, the premortal life, the council in heaven, and lots of other fundamental doctrines.

I liked it because it has neat pictures.

I've long been interested in Egypt—while some kids love dinosaurs, or trains, or Greek mythology, I was an Ancient Egypt kid. There are three facsimiles from Egyptian papyri included in the Book of Abraham, and I would pore over the symbols and little interpretations during boring talks and lessons. I would try to replicate the little pictures and include different hieroglyphics in doodles. I just thought they were cool. They made the Pearl of Great Price feel ancient and special.

As an undergraduate student at BYU, I majored in Arabic, which meant that we lived in Jordan for a summer to study Arabic in the Middle East. During our time there, we got to visit Egypt for a week, and I loved it. We got to see the pyramids in Cairo, of course, as well as a bunch of ancient temples and other religious and royal complexes in Luxor. There's a modern Egyptian saying that once you've metaphorically "drunk from the Nile," or been to the country, you're hooked and have to get back to Egypt. After graduating from BYU, we did just that—we moved to Egypt for two years for graduate school.

During our time in Cairo, we traveled all over the country and visited as many ancient sites as possible. I particularly loved going to the different ancient temples and looking for temple symbolism in the architecture and art. During one trip, we rode on a rickety little minibus for an hour up the Nile to visit Dandarah, one of the best-preserved ancient temples in Egypt. The art still has bright colors and most of the buildings are intact. Surprisingly for me, one of the Dandarah temples has a large mural that—with some differences—is essentially Facsimile 1 from the Book of Abraham, which Joseph Smith interprets as the story of Abraham almost getting sacrificed to heathen gods in Babylon. I was so excited to see it!

Nancy's Talk: Of Wells and Arks

Here is the talk that I gave in sacrament meeting:

Of Wells and Arks: Doing the Next and Necessary Thing

Since I’m speaking first, I’ll take a few minutes to introduce our family. We moved here in July of 2019, so we’re coming up on seven full years here, which is the longest that I have ever lived anywhere in my entire life—and by extension it’s also the longest my children have lived anywhere. Although I’m sure many of our children—particularly our youngest few—feel as if we’ve been here a lifetime, I don’t actually feel like we’ve been here very long at all. I’ve just never felt very settled here. Perhaps I don’t know how to settle. I don’t know…

But, here we are! We’re the Heisses. We have six kids. Our oldest Rachel is a freshman at BYU. Then there’s Miriam, who you hear at the organ each Sunday. Next is Benjamin, who made a goal this year to bake bread whenever he’s assigned to bring bread for the sacrament. Zoë is enjoying her last year of primary; she’s very excited to enter the Young Women program next year. Alexander was baptized this past November. And Phoebe is four and…we just…celebrate…that we’ve been able to get her to attend her own class. She’s very clingy. 

She describes herself as “snuggly,” but she’s clingy.