Place of Love and Beauty

Two days before Thanksgiving, Mary and Chief were sealed in the Washington DC temple. It was a memorable and wonderful day filled with family and treasured moments.

Later in the day, we gathered at the old Seneca Schoolhouse for a fun night of delicious food, family trivia and a few surprises.

We were hoping for a huge family photo, and despite the rain--we got plenty!

Chief felt quite at home in the school marms post

19 grandkids with two on the way

(just kidding!)

One of the best parts of ALL was having all the Sedgwicks in town

Candles were lit, and there was a cozy fire in the pot belly stove, while Chief "schooled" us all with family trivia. When things got loud, he went ballistic with that bell. Honestly, my ears are still ringing from it!

As usual--fierce competition during the

"how well do you know your ancestors" game

Boxed dinners with "just married" favor

AMAZING food! gourmet all the way--WOW!

(roast beef sandwich, honey crisp apples, individual pumpkin pie with gingersnap crust, mix of nuts and dried fruit, turkey sugar cookies etc etc)

Chief surprised Mary with a new diamond ring and the kids

surprised them both with a trip to Isreal. Double wow!

Much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Loser Pie?

So the missionaries were scheduled to eat with us last Monday. Nick called and said he really needed to stay late and keep working on the Haunted Forest but that why don't I ask an extra family over so we can still have the missionaries? You know--token male so I don't spontaneously plant a kiss on an unassuming elder! (it could happen) Well... being that dinner guests and entertaining aren't my strong suit, I saw Nick's stress as my way out and well, you know, cancelled. But considering they are LITERALLY the nicest missionaries I've ever talked to I felt really guilty and like a loser when they said "It's totally fine! We LOVE Meatlovers pizza!" Dial it up. Done.

Last night there was a knock at the door and I hear the cheery (x10) voices of the missionaries talking to the kids. I'm not exaggerating how cute, upbeat and smiley they are. "Hey!! Sister Markoff! We just wanted to bring you a thank you note for the pizza (whaaat?!) and tell you that it was such a good thing you cancelled. Can we tell you what happened with the pizza guy?"

Pull up a chair, Elders! Actually, stay on the stoop. No man on the premises.

So in the words of E. Thompson (reinforced by affirmative nods and smiles from E. Vea), the story unfolded like this:

Well it's kinda hard to find us down in the basement of the church but he did find us eventually and we were so happy! We noticed his pizza shirt said "Elder" embroidered on his chest and we thought that was cool! He was also sooo excited that we had on our tags that said "Elder." He was a Spanish speaker and told us he was from Guatemala. We were wondering why he was so interested in our name tags. Even though his English wasn't too good, it was obvious he was really happy about our tags. As it turns out he was born in a little village in Guatemala where there was very little medical care--if any at all. His mom ended up having a very terrible birth with him and it looked like both she and her newborn were probably going to die. His father was very upset and didn't know what to do so he went for the religious men in the town who wore white shirts and badges to see if they could help his family. The Elders returned with him and blessed his wife and baby. Both lived as a result of their prayers. To show his gratitude, the father decided they should call their son after the two men-- with the same name-- who saved his life... Elder is now taking the discussions from the Spanish speaking missionaries. How about that Sister Markoff!! Isn't it great you bought us that pizza?!

I do what I can, boys.... I do what I can.

City of Joseph

So this summer I did something very uncharacteristic. I went on a vacation without homeboy by my side. Big deal you're probably thinking--and yes.. BIG DEAL, indeed! Its me we're talking about, and I dear reader, get lost on my very own street.

Natalie and her family, along with Mary and Chief, got accepted to the Nauvoo Pageant and I thought it would be cool to go see them perform. Nick and Nicholas, however, had a kayaking trip that week so I was pretty much resigned that we wouldn't get to do it after all.

Then lo and behold, a week before the performances, I grew some guts and booked our flights. I drove us to the airport, parked the car, landed in St. Louis, rented a car, and followed my mapquest paper till I turned the bend on Parley Street-- or something like that. I don't know who was in more shock that I made it.. Me or Matt Hanson! I think my little adventure sincerely surprised him and he doesn't strike me as a guy who gets surprised by much!

I had never been to Nauvoo before. Little Natalie had gone the year before with Mary and Chief and had been seriously BEGGING me the entire year to sign up for the pageant. I applied and we didn't get in...so I figured this might be the next best thing. I really went up in her eyes after telling her we were going!

It turned out to be so much more than I expected. The whole town has an incredible energy and we all loved being there--such a small town, inviting feeling. Every night before the show, they have a few hours of pioneer activities set up that ends in a small parade that begins the pageant. The kids loved seeing all the cast and of course their cousins dressed from the past.

The pageant itself, was so much better than I had imagined it. I loved how they told the story of Nauvoo. The music, set and acting was all incredibly beautiful. We saw it three nights in a row and the kids never tired of it.

I learned a lot about church history and of course walked away with a much deeper appreciation for what the early saints had to endure. It was all pretty remarkable.

Being with family was best of all!

Nauvoo really is a beautiful spot. I just kept thinking about how unbelievable it was that those early church members created this amazing community, built such a beautiful temple only to have to close their doors, turn their backs and leave. It was the first time I truly "got the picture" I think. Really sad.

the end of the street where they crossed the icy river

(kill me now)

swamp where they all got malaria

(kill me now)

We took a little ride to Carthage jail. That was also very cool. Again, pretty sobering to be in the real place. The kids were really affected by the tour and asked lots of questions. They could hardly believe they were sitting in the room in which Joseph Smith was killed.

Something set him off. I probably said no to another gun or Davy Crockett hat or canteen...

I have never been so affected by someone's speaking voice as I was by this guy's--it was endearing, resonant, and powerful. He played Joseph Smith and was such an incredible representation. He was an excellent actor and really made the entire experience come to life for me. I was completely drawn to his voice. I am so glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone.. this is certainly a week I will never forget.

Savior of the World

The Resurrection

May 7 & 8, 2010

So I guess you could say I'm in my post-show funk. Actually, I'm doing better now, but last week I was big-time depressed it was over. I really can't say enough about how much I loved the whole experience. I enjoyed it on so many levels. The picture above is the gift we gave our bishop at our cast party. I had it printed on canvas and framed like a painting. It was bittersweet, since they released him as our bishop, the Sunday after our final performance. Nick was also released as his counselor. It was sad timing, considering the experience we had just shared. He is an amazing man and will really be missed. What a wonderful gift he gave us. He really believed our ward could produce this play on our own and I think we did a great job.

We performed it at our church building and opened it to the public. We had close to 200 people for each of the three shows, so that was exciting.

Nick and his crew did a great job on the set. He made it out of foam then used a blow torch to carve out the stones. It really looked authentic when the lights were turned low. My kids all asked "Where are the skeletons?!" since it reminded them of all the Haunted Forest stuff he's built. Not this time... resurrected folks only!

Jill as Mary Magdalene

It was so fun to have three sisters, two kids, two nephews, a brother, a sister in law and brother in law all in the show. Kinda crazy...when does something like that ever happen? Jill and John both had to really step outside of their comfort zone. They each sang more than one solo which neither of them has ever done before. They did such an awesome job and it was really gratifying to hear over and over, "I had no idea Jill and John could sing!" I'm sure the anxiety lobbed off a few years from their lives but I've no doubt it was worth it.

Jon Layne portrayed the Savior

My friend Kristi, came to our dress rehearsal and took tons of pictures. Of course the lighting was low, so they aren't perfectly crisp, but I am so happy to have them. She got some really fantastic shots. The one above is my favorite. Kristi's husband played Peter who is also pictured in the photo.

John as Thomas

When the bishop asked me direct this I was a little worried that I wouldn't end up liking the play or the songs. I was totally unfamiliar with it. I thought it would be cheesy or overly sentimental etc. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of modern church music, so I was sort of apprehensive. Anyway, I was very surprised by how beautiful the music is. It has more of a classical sound and the words are based on scripture which I like.

so proud of my peeps

Like Jill and John, most people in the play had never done much of anything in theater before. I loved watching everyone stretch themselves and get over their insecurities and just go for it. It was really rewarding to witness. Everyone was so encouraging and positive and I know it was so fun for them to do something so entirely different. When we were first considering doing the show, one of the big questions was whether or not we could get enough men to take part. There were about 15 parts for men--mostly apostles. It was super cool to see so many willing men take time from their lives and careers, and sign on to this project. I'm going to miss them.

One of the best parts of the experience, was watching my brother in law, Jon. When he agreed to play the part of Christ, we told him that we would be using a voice-over from Salt Lake, since that's how many performances are done. About a month into it, we felt like he so "fit" the part that we decided to have him perform live. With a beard, Jon looks so much like many of the paintings of Jesus. His voice was beautiful and he spent so much time getting it just right. I am so happy we went with his voice. He was an amazing likeness in every way.

I have to say that more than anything else, the best part of doing this show was all the friendships that were made. I am so lucky to have so many family living nearby but sometimes it keeps us from getting to know other people. I absolutely LOVED working with so many cool people. We had such great times at the rehearsals and shows... it really is such a bummer not to see everyone regularly anymore.

I have the best memories of being in ward and stake productions when I was young. We did so much more of this type of stuff when I was little, so I'm really glad my kids got to experience it. Even Mitchell was feeling the love by the end of it and asked, "Can I be in it next time?"

One thing I'll say for our ward is that it is filled with overachievers. I mean that in a good way. Every person does their very best. My friend Terry was in charge of the costumes and they turned out amazing. The costumes and the set really made such a difference--visually, everything looked fantastic.

Lots of men grew beards for the event. It was crazy seeing them all shorn and buzzed last Sunday after months of the Grizzly Adams look.

SOTW

Cast and Crew

I've had little else going on the past few months besides this show and it has been a highlight of my life for sure. I thought I would be disappointed not being in it, but it was really gratifying and fun trying my hand at directing. I'm so glad the Bishop took a chance on me and that I got to work with so many awesome people. This is an experience I'll remember for a long, long time.