Presidents' Week: Thoughts from the mother

Hope you enjoyed the last post. As you can see, Nate provides sufficient humor in our relationship...for the both of us . . . for which I am always grateful. Especially since I tend to get my head up in the clouds too often like a balloon, or down in the dumps and way too serious about life. He's good at keeping me right down the middle...or at least trying to :).

Here's our week (at least my perspective on it):

Monday February 20th: Presidents' Day. It was a beautiful day filled with lots of sunshine. Since it was Presidents' Day, Nate thought it the perfect idea to go to 'Welfare Square' . . . since that is what many of the recent presidents have done on their visits to Salt Lake City and the Church headquarters. Two sister missionaires (one from Sweden and one from Arizona) gave us a wonderful tour. Just last year was the 75th Anniversary of the Church Welfare Program.

In a brief video that they shared at the beginning, they showed how when a disaster happens, they are organized enough to have relief to those people within a week. Incredible! Thousands of pounds of food, clothing, and other supplies. One 90 year old woman made quilts for empoverished families in Guatemala, whose babies were being sent home in newspapers. I love being a member of this Church! I'm always so proud of what good leadership, and charitable hearts and willing hands are able to accomplish. As a recent editor of a famous newspaper said lately . . .  Mitt Romney should use the example of the Church Welfare program, as to how our Country should organize relief systems for others in the world.

When we got to the graineries, the sister missionaries told us when it was built, how, and then reminded us of the story of Joseph in Egypt. They also walked us through the Bishop's Storehouse, Deseret Industries sorting place and store (where they give away 95% of what they receive there to people around the world, the rest goes to the store). 100% of the employees there are recommended there by their Bishops. These are people who are given an opportunity to work and learn skills that could make them more marketable. Then they showed us huge machines that make butter, cheese, and purify milk. They also have a bakery, and the wonderful smell of fresh bread filled the air. The sister missionaries explained to us, that we all have gifts given to us from God that we can share with others. Sometimes it's even just a smile.

Amazingly those graineries were built in 1940 in only 9 Days!

Bishop's Storehouse

Nate if our food storage looked like that, then you might have something to defend! :)

I think the main reason Nate wanted to take Mason here, is because we have plans for Mason to become a future President of the United States. I think he wanted him to get a good idea as to how to give tours to other Presidents who come to our Country :).



They gave us a sample of the milk, cheese, and bread at the end of the tour. I had to take a picture of Nate eating cheese, since I almost never see him doing that (he doesn't usually like eating plain cheese).



That was our Family Home Afternoon, as he calls it, since we both had separate places to go that evening. Nate got to go to a special dinner with Elder Hinckley and Czech delegates, where a former mission president of the CR was given the highest honor the Czechs can give a foreigner. This was done for his work in building relations between the US and CR after the end of the 'Cold War'. I got to spend the evening with my family . . . which I loved. Dad made his famous 'fried chicken', and Mom made her famous biscuits. It was the quintessential Southern American Meal. Afterwards Mom shared some very touching remarks about how inspired our current President is (just kidding Mom!). Actually, she spoke about George Washington and what a great Leader he was. The nieces and nephews did a play about him, which was pretty cute! I got to ride with Jenet, Mike, and little LaDawn which was also so much fun for me.

This week, Mason has been rolling over a lot (a new trick he learned). He uses it when he protests having to go to bed early, while Mom and Dad get to stay up and have fun.

This is a picture of Mason rolled over in his crib. I confess I couldn't help but just love that he did that! Everything seems so adorable at this age.

He has also gotten quite close to the little lamb that we put in his crib

Mason also tried to whistle with me this week. I wish I knew how to upload the video here. Hmm. 

Thoughts from the father

So, I've decided to contribute to this blog, for better or for worse.  I feel it is part of my calling as patriarch of the home (I think they forgot to include that in the Family Proclamation).  I had the pleasure to fulfil one of those roles as patriarch by giving my son Mason a father's blessing as part of his "welcome to Earth" rewards program.  It was a neat experience seeing into our boy's life and getting a peek at God's plan for Him.  He is setting out on an incredible journey, no doubt filled with the ups and downs that we each experience, and we're grateful to be his fellow travelers.

As this is my first post, I thought I should catch up on the many months we've had this blog running.  I'm guessing Joanna informed you that Mason was born, which makes sense since I gave him a blessing.  He has been a pretty good boy, namely in the sleep department, which is foundational to the happiness of his parents.  I am especially grateful for Joanna's sake, as she is the one who wakes up in the nights to help the boy out because I head out early for work. 

Sleep Mason sleep baby! 

Oh, and I also might mention that Joanna and I got married, which is why we also had a baby.  Between Feb. 5 (date of our marriage sealing) and Nov. 12 (Mason's birth--okay you can do the math :)) we partied like CRAZY!  We had fun going on dates just about everyday, including a 2 week date to Europe, which was oodles of fun.  I loved meeting Joanna's friends in the Netherlands, where she studied violin.  Joanna was able to visit my mission country, the Czech Republic, and meet my dear friends there.  We also visited England, France, Switzerland, and Austria.  We both have donated part of our hearts to Europe, in a figurative sense, and are grateful we were able to take that trip.  Thanks to Dan Kim, Bethany Wilkins, Stanislav Juricek, Alex Bararian, and Arto and Femke for helping make our trip memorable and enjoyable. 

Considering Joanna was 7 months pregnant during the trip,
she probably wishes we would have taken the bus more often

Other fun included a family reunion in St. George with the Jacobs, and another trip to St. George to visit grandparents.  We like St. George a lot--who's going to retire down there with us?  The sun is good for the soul!  Actually, during our trip for the reunion I contracted pneumonia (woe is me!) for the 17th time in my blessed life.  I've told Joanna that when I die it will be at the hands of pneumonia, and I hope she puts it on my grave with "I told you so!" on the tombstone.

My deranged, hopeless state

We were set to go to Europe right after that trip.  We were thinking about cancelling it, but after consulting our doctor and literally coming to my senses, we made a last minute decision to go through with the trip.  Thank goodness that worked out!

An uncanny resemblance to Saddam Hussein
post capture

An uncanny resemblance to me

We've had many other occasions/milestones/experiences in this past year.  For starters, I gained about 30 pounds soon after getting married.  Joanna also gained a few pounds, granted she had an excuse, and that motivated us to begin a friendly competition of the Biggest Loser, which I will win.  Coincidentally, I ran into a lady just last week whose mom won the nationwide contest and $100,000 to boot, and I think that's a sign that I've got this contest in the bag.  I try to go to the gym a few times a week and we've got a cool jogging stroller for Joanna and Mason to share, so the game is on!  I went skiing for the first time in my life this winter (I know you're perplexed--15 years living in Utah having never skied?!) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The scenery at Snowbird, the exhilaration of acceleration, the challenge of keeping balance...I'm looking forward to learning more!  After all, I almost killed a snowboarder on the way down as I was still learning to stop.  It was more difficult than I anticipated.

I'm a quick learner

Joanna and I have become expert connoisseurs in Salt Lake City cuisine, visiting restaurants of the Greek, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, and Italian variety.  After all, how can you be CULtured without an appreciation of the CULinary arts :)  Joanna has also cooked some amazing meals here at the Love Lodge, so we might be opening up Joanna's Diner soon.  It might work, because we just learned that the Osmonds lived here in our apartment decades ago.  How cool is that?!

The future performing group at 'Joanna's Diner'

What else did we do with our spare time this past year?  As freelance film critics, we've been watching a lot of the AFI's top 100 films (hurray for Netflix!).  Ever true to our alma mater, we make a point to attend BYU basketball (Jimmermania, anyone?) and football games.  It's always a joy to visit our families in Utah County, go on picnics, play tennis, and attend Utah Symphony concerts. We had a pleasant holiday season, threw snowballs, watched lots of the Republican primary debates, campaigned for Mason to come on 11/11/11 (and failed despite the spicy/garlic food, long walks, etc.), attended the temple, and had a generally wonderful time!  As we say in the Freeman home, we work hard, play hard, and pray hard!  Joanna continues to perform for the Orchestra at Temple Square and teaches violin lessons to her prodigious students every Saturday morning, while Mason and I protect the food storage at home.

Butch Cassidy (me) and the Salt Lake kid (Mason)

For most of my waking hours you'll find me at Goldman Sachs.  I work at the office on Chipeta Way, and it has been a learning experience as I test my toe in the finance industry.  I consider it a privilege to work there with capable, intelligent people who have taught me a lot about the corporate world.  I think it's about as well managed as any company, and I hope to use the professional skills I've developed there throughout my life.  One of the professional skills I've developed in particular is..

...
...
...EATING!

At Goldman, we're definitely a serious business and we work hard, but we eat well, too.  As I developed a reputation for taking that last slice of pizza and never refusing that bagel I love so very, very much, a couple managers took note and placed a bet as to how many Chick Fil A chicken nuggets I could eat in an hour.  Any guesses as to how many I ate?

20?
30?
40?
50?
60?



Nope, I ate 76.  I won $60, so it was worth it.  I had to ask for Joanna's forgiveness as I told her about a year before I wouldn't enter eating contests after I finished that 4 pound burrito at Blue Iguana.  She forgave me.  She's such a sweetheart! 

I also had the opportunity to attend training in New York City for my job, and that was an excellent experience!  It was lots of work, but I loved exploring the city during my offtime.  What a vibrant city!

It's fun to reflect on a year of myriad activities and opportunities to learn.  Hopefully this overly lengthy post will teach me a lesson to write more frequently.  I'll end this post where I started: it was a wonderful day for our family to give Mason his blessing.  To have so many wonderful family and friends in his life both present and not present is the greatest blessing he could have.  Mason--you've got a great life ahead of you, and we'll do our best to help you along the way.  I'll never forget the day you were born.  It was like the world stopped as you came from heaven to earth in Riverton Hospital.  The few days following were among the most peaceful and wonderful of my life, and you've brought a lot of happiness since then.  We have great hopes for you, but our greatest hope is that you will find happiness through following the Savior.  Welcome to the family buddy!