Wednesday, May 13, 2026

     May has felt like one giant emotional roller coaster—complete with airport cowbells, volleyball ricochets, raccoons with egg addictions, and Tim transforming into a human fitness commercial.

     The month started with a heartbreaking phone call from Jacinda. She had been struggling to stay awake and the long distance to her doctors in West Virginia was becoming too much. After lots of prayer and discussion, it was decided she would transfer to a Salt Lake service mission while she works with doctors to figure out what’s going on. Right now, it appears she may have a form of narcolepsy.

     Naturally, we welcomed her home in the most subtle way possible: homemade banners and me enthusiastically ringing a cowbell at the airport like I was greeting a championship sports team. Nothing says “welcome home” quite like public noise-making.

     Since returning, Jacinda has been adjusting to home life and learning how different a service mission is from a proselyting mission. She set up her desk and jumped right into a demanding schedule that includes serving at the temple, the food bank, a call center, and helping with tabernacle productions. By the end of the day, she is exhausted. She mentioned that a service mission can actually be harder because missionaries have to build their own schedules based on what they are physically capable of doing. On a proselyting mission, the structure is already there. Now she has to figure out how to balance service, health, and rest—a challenge that takes a lot of maturity.

     Meanwhile, McCabe is thriving in school and has apparently decided that accounting is exciting. Truly one of the great plot twists of parenthood. He asks Tim and me lots of questions about accounting and finance, and he genuinely enjoys learning about money. I love helping him with schoolwork because I can connect it to real-life situations instead of just textbook problems.

     He’s also become quite the videographer. His latest masterpiece featured his cousin Kade knee boarding in a dyke during one final adventure before leaving on his mission to Montevideo, Uruguay. It had all the ingredients of a classic teenage video: questionable safety decisions, lots of water, and dramatic “last hurrah” energy.

      Tim, meanwhile, has entered what I can only describe as his Rocky Balboa era. Over the last two years, he has transformed his health habits entirely. His diet now consists mainly of cabbage salad, tilapia, and squash—a menu that sounds suspiciously like something a very disciplined rabbit would eat. He started by doing 100 push-ups a day, but because apparently that wasn’t enough, his May goal became 300 push-ups a day. He also bought a jungle gym so he can work out while watching the sunset like the star of an inspirational sports documentary. The hard work has absolutely paid off. He now has a six-pack and muscles that feel carved out of granite. I’m incredibly proud of the dedication he’s shown.

     Tim also took me, McCabe, and Emily Stockton to see Michael McLean in concert. It was an amazing experience—uplifting, spiritual, and deeply moving. Music has such a unique ability to unlock emotions and memories all at once. Tim loved the concert so much he actually went twice: once with Xadia and once with me. Afterward, we got to meet Michael, and Tim handed him a $50 bill as repayment for all the years people copied cassette tapes of his music instead of buying them. Michael had shared a story about music piracy during the concert, and Tim apparently decided to settle old societal debts personally.

     Xadia wrapped up volleyball season with her final tournament, and she played so well. One particular moment became instant comedy gold. A teammate spiked the ball directly into Xadia’s shoulder, and instead of ending in disaster, the ball ricocheted perfectly over the net for a point. Nobody had time to react before the entire team burst out laughing. Honestly, if volleyball had trick-shot highlights, that play would make the reel. Naturally, the team celebrated afterward with boba.

Teagan had his final choir concert of the year, and I loved every minute of it. One of the highlights was hearing him sing “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman. Watching him perform, you could tell he genuinely loved being on stage. He currently takes both regular choir and theatrical choir, and it’s been wonderful watching his confidence and musical ability grow. As the kids get older, they all seem to be developing more musical interests. McCabe and Xadia have both started enjoying the piano, which makes me ridiculously happy as a mom.

     The warmer weather has also brought wildlife activity to our yard. Unfortunately, the wildlife believes our chicken scraps are part of an all-you-can-eat buffet. We set traps and caught both a raccoon and a squirrel. The raccoon had even broken into the chicken coop earlier—but surprisingly, it behaved more like a breakfast thief than a serial killer. It ignored the chickens completely and just stole the eggs.

     Mother’s Day this year felt especially meaningful. I truly love being a mom and feel incredibly grateful for my children. But I also know that so much of the goodness in our family comes from Tim’s love, support, and steady friendship. He makes parenting fun, and he gave me the sweetest Mother’s Day letter—thoughtful, tender, and deeply heartfelt. Out of all the gifts I’ve received over the years, that letter may have been one of the very best.