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...