The Mergenthaler Family

In an effort to have more intentional time together on Sundays, Rick and I have instituted a family time in the afternoon before dinner.  How did our first Sunday go? I'm glad you asked. We had a coloring page competition. Brooklyn and Makayla chose two coloring pages for us to interpret as we would. We colored to our hearts' content and then presented our pieces to Rick and Andrew. I thought these beauties should be saved on the blog for our future family to admire and wonder about. First, the pigs: By Makayla By Brooklyn By Gavin By Ricky By Bonni Now, the bananas: By Gavin By Brooklyn By Sean By Ricky By Bonni What fun family activity shall we do next week?

 Letters From the Nest, December 20, 2024 https://lettersfromthenest.substack.com/p/gathering-expectations A big aspect of the holiday season is gathering—visiting family, work and school parties, church events, concerts, caroling. For those who love a packed social calendar, it’s literally “the most wonderful time of year.” For the more reclusive types (me), it’s a season of careful planning. I saw a T-shirt that said, “Of course, I want to be invited. I just won’t show up.” Our large family is automatically at odds with my introverted nature. When we’re all together, I wonder how I managed the years with the constant noise and interaction of crying babies, busy toddlers, active grade schoolers, and teens. Add different social needs and maturity levels to the mix, and it’s no surprise that walk-in closets and parked cars became my secret sanctuaries. (Although, not so secret because you guys always manage to find me and my hidden white chocolate-dipped Oreos.) With more than half ...

Like this little pile of "things" I found under the washing machine a couple of months ago, we have a lot of little things going on in our life. Some of the things are annoying or unwanted--viruses, traffic, misunderstood communications. Some things we're happy about--Christmas music (even in October), the smell of wood-burning fireplaces, tidy spaces, clean clothes. Some things are delightful surprises--special gifts from thoughtful friends, unexpected book or movie endings, school delays for winter weather. Some things we didn't know we were missing until they appeared in our midst--the Merg clan being all together for Thanksgiving. (Okay, actually, we have been missing these kids all along, but the missing is magnified the day after everybody catches flights back west, and our once full house echoes with the sound of the appliances resetting spaces for the next gathering. We had a lovely fall. The weather was sunny and warm most days. We had time to prep the garden...

Letters from the Nest, November 15, 2024 https://lettersfromthenest.substack.com/p/trying I’m trying. I tried. I will try. Get ready for a bit of cynicism. Do you know what I expect to hear after those phrases? But, when, or if. Qualifiers. Excuses. You know me as a fairly positive person. I mostly assume the best, look on the bright side, and attribute altruistic motives. (You see, I’m not above using qualifiers). But I have a hard time believing the word try. Why do you have to try? Why not just do the thing you set out to do? Are you already feeling a knot in your gut? Are you thinking me callous and unloving? Do you think I don’t see your legitimate reasons for failing to meet expectations? Give me a chance. I’ll come around to a more positive and encouraging perspective, but I want to get this part out first. Here’s what I don’t like about trying : it sounds like you expect to fail or that you believe you already have failed. It’s a way of shifting blame and perpetuating a ...

 I have been taking pictures of brightly colored leaves all over town, including our own yard. Pretty, right? But now I'm distracted by the phrase, "taking pictures." It sounds violent. So, I'm thinking of other ways to say it, "capturing photos?" nope. "Snapping pictures?" nah. "Catching memories," isn't so bad, but it kind of makes me sad to think that whatever I preserve in a picture will never that exact same way again. Well, that's enough deep thinking from me. Back to work.

 Letters From the Nest, October 18, 2024 https://lettersfromthenest.substack.com/p/im-trying-to-see-like-jesus      Fiddlesticks. I can’t remember if I have already written about this thing I’m thinking about today. I guess it’s okay if I write about it more than once. I say the same things repeatedly, don’t I? Might as well write them too. That way, when I’m long gone, and you’re all sitting around telling stories about me because I  know  you will, and somebody gets something wrong, because I  know  you will, one of you can say, “We don’t have to argue about this. She wrote about it right here!”  Disclaimer #1: Just because I write about something doesn’t mean my opinion won’t evolve with time and experience. Disclaimer #2: Just because I write about my core beliefs on acting/reacting/living a certain way doesn’t mean you’ll always observe a perfect replication of the righteous sentiment in my daily behavior. Like you, I get mad, tired, and...

If you asked me when I was a child about my favorite season, I would have answered Fall because of school and my birthday. I was a nerd. I continued to like fall when we moved from California to Wyoming because I thought snowy winters were really neat. You could build forts, go for snowmobile rides, sled. You could gather icicles. My biggest winter challenge was not slipping on the sidewalk as I walked to the seminary building from the high school. I graduated from high school in Wyoming and then spent a couple of years in Siberia (i.e., Rexburg, Idaho) and then Utah. The cold became less glamorous to this California girl. Our move to Washington state brought a different kind of winter weather--not freezing, but gray and rainy with early sunsets. Still, it was alright. And, of course, I still had my birthday. The big change from love to hate happened during our nine years in Iowa. My fond fall feelings declined to disgust and dread. It's not actually pretty in Eastern Iowa in ...