The Mergenthaler Family

We're approaching the one year anniversary of the death of a family friend. He was young. His passing was sudden and heartbreaking. I often find myself thinking about his family. How are they doing today? What was hard for them today? How have they felt peace? What would they want me or others to know about them and their son? This loss happened during a time that was very challenging for our own family for different reasons. When things are hard for me, I'm more likely to become quiet, withdrawn, introspective. I don't know if our kids sensed the stress, but I did notice a change in our family prayers--especially Gavin's. What could a five-year old understand about such a loss? I tried not to be too surprised by his intuitiveness. Brooklyn too, who had just been baptized and made that beautiful promise in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah . They seemed to instinctively understand what it was to mourn with those that mourn. Every time Gavin was called upon to pray, morning, ni...

I usually include the web address to our family blog with our Christmas cards not because I want to increase traffic on the site because, duh, people don’t read blogs anymore, but because I’m insecure about writing a Christmas letter. I read them and enjoy them and want to share our family’s news too, but where do I start? What can I say? Should I make it funny like the time I wrote the Deck the Halls parody? Or should I share sincere gratitude for our blessings? What if the kids don’t like what I say about them in their allotted two sentences? I have the same problem with the pictures attached with the card or letter. I just know that somebody will be embarrassed with the pictures I choose.  This year, my conundrum is exacerbated by the fact that we have been remodeling and moving and remodeling and not unpacking. We don’t have a recent family picture and time is short.  But I still value the connection. Christmas cards and letters are the best part of getting the mail betwee...

Guess what? I write things sometimes. You already know that. You probably also already know that I have been wanting to do more professional work in the field of writing or editing for quite some time, but raising a big family, Covid-19, moving across the country, and other priorities have pushed my skill development and practice to the background. But I still try. Last summer, I learned of another author seeking stories of modern day miracles for an anthology he wanted to compile and sell to benefit families who need financial assistance in receiving fertility treatments. His family had benefited from another person's generous donations and their youngest daughter was the miracle result. His desire to pay it forward was inspiring to me, and I found myself reflecting on all of the miracles our family has experienced over the years. Some of our miracles are recorded on this blog. Some are in my journal. I'm sure I have completely forgotten about others. This submission request g...

 I had a goal to post something here once a month. A reminder came up on my phone. I ignored it. The reminder sat for days, then weeks. I didn't upload pictures or write. Maybe it's because we have been very busy. I think both Rick and I are wondering when life will get a little easier. We live in chaos. Aside from the remodeling work we're are doing on the house, other things have come up--mold and dry rot around the front door, delayed appliances, a failed well pump, then a failed septic pump. Work is demanding for Rick, and he's having to adjust his schedule to accommodate getting kids to school in the morning while I'm at seminary. Each of our seven children need our attention and love in different ways. And we also are working hard all the while to strengthen our marriage and develop ourselves individually. We had a temporary, but stressful Covid scare that required communications with the school and work and quarantines. Often, I feel spread too thin and I kno...

I made a goal a while ago to update the blog once a month. I hoped to have something interesting to share—some deep thought or funny story or inspiring lesson. Sometimes I can write those things, but lately it’s all I can do to throw some pictures on. We are still in survival mode here—have been for over a year. Still have contractors at our house every day. Still not making significant progress unpacking because every day life isn’t providing time to do the extra stuff. But we still have some good times. Gavin did a good job helping me clean paint dust off windows.  I got a few kids to join me on a Sunday morning walk. Klaus is healthy and growing and settling in well.  The big kitty who came with our house is learning to trust us. We can pet him now when he’s eating. He’s very old and very rough looking but nice and gentle with the kids.  We have plenty of wildlife sightings here—just not as dangerous as Arizona’s rattlesnakes, Javelina, or scorpions.  This is a sp...

Progress doesn’t come from stasis, and things here are far from steady. At the end of July, we moved into our house—a house that had one full working bathroom in the basement, no functioning laundry, no countertops or sinks or appliances. We had a microwave and a refrigerator in the garage. The first weeks were rough. We used a ton of paper plates, plastic utensils, and plastic water bottles. We carried in boxes that we couldn’t unpack because we didn’t have cabinets. We slept on mattresses on the floor. But as the weeks went by, things got a little better. A couple more toilets were installed. Then countertops and sinks and cabinetry. We now have three working showers. Each week we make a little more progress, but it’s slow.  As if moving in to a partially remodeled house wasn’t enough the second week of August tested our limits. While I was out of town with Makayla, Rick came down with a horrible cold. (Not Covid—just Misery). He struggled to keep the kids alive and fed while als...