Happy Anniversary to us!

(We have dubbed this picture the "halo picture" - isn't it great?!)

October 22, 2017. That was the day we all showed up in the Washington DC branch for permanent. We'd known what was going to happen for 3 weeks. We'd studied ASL as hard as we could for those 3 weeks. We were so nervous! I saw a friend in the hall. Her husband was one of the new counselors in the Branch Presidency, so she knew what was coming. As soon as I saw her, I started crying, and she gave me a big hug.

I worked for days to prepare to share my testimony. When I was called on, I got up and stumbled out one sentence. The interpreter said something different than what I'd thought I'd said. My nerves just about won the battle right there, but I managed to stay and say some things, though certainly not all the things that were in my heart - I didn't have the vocabulary to even try that.

Our kids struggled with Sacrament meeting for months. I still remember the Sacrament meeting when 5 out of 6 kids left Sacrament meeting for misbehaving :) Two of them were banished from the chapel for the rest of the day.

I remember my first Primary presidency meeting. Everyone signed really slowly, and I repeated back everything as I understood it. At the end of the meeting, I repeated my assignments again, to make sure I'd understood correctly. They were so patient. I was assigned to bring the star for the Nativity pageant at the branch Christmas party and lead the Nativity Song and Silent Night. The Primary president spent an hour helping me translate the Nativity Song, and I spent days learning it.

There was a little loneliness at first. I'd left behind old friends, but making new friends takes time, especially with a language barrier. And especially when your eyes and hands have to keep track of kids!

I don't think most people appreciate what a huge life change it was for us. Our casual academic hobby of learning ASL suddenly became an urgent matter. Our kids have made some significant sacrifices, from giving up free time and relaxation to learn ASL to leaving friends. My kids have always been a little weird, but now they're even weirder - for good and for bad! In the hearing ward, I always felt very competent at whatever I did. Now I give all my service with a perfect knowledge that I'm really not very good at it. It's tiring sometimes.

But even with acknowledging all the messy realities of it, that's not what's first in my mind. The first thing I think of when I look back at the beginning is all the sweet people who loved us without reason. Every week, all the smiles and expressions of welcome. All the people who signed slowly and patiently (and who still are!) just so I could be included in the conversation. All the times people have forgiven me for my faux pas. 'Cuz you know what, there have been a ton of those :) All of the Christ-like examples that I hope to emulate.

In addition, my mind and heart are full of recognition of the goodness of God. We see His hand in our lives so often now. I see how much better I can understand people when it's important - the gift of tongues is in our lives frequently! I see me being supported through the times when Dad is gone a lot. I see my kids rising to their challenges instead of crumbling into a ball of frustration. It's real and it's present in our lives, even though it's hard to describe. We've walked to the edge of our capabilities and trusted the Savior to carry us from there, and He has.

One thing I'm proud of throughout this last year is that I consistently wrote about my experiences for a FULL YEAR! I actually have over 100 blog posts! I feel like a hard-core blogger now :) I have no idea how many people read them (nobody ever comments, cough, cough) but I hope (in addition to keeping these memories for me and my children) that a few people have learned some things about ASL and Deaf culture. I hope your testimony has been fortified a bit. And I hope you've had fun laughing at my funny kids. Because that's my favorite part to write about :)

So, it's been a great year. I hope the next one is just as great. And maybe a little less adventurous. :)