My Mother~In~Law

A few minutes ago I got off a telephone call with Karen, my mother-in-law.  We had a great talk and spent nearly an hour and a half discussing, laughing, and sharing thoughts.  I appreciate her.  There are many things I enjoy and admire, some of which are...

~ She's funny, and loves a good laugh.

~ She likes Cheerios (Perhaps I should put love in there, too).

~ She is a doer!  When something needs to be done, she doesn't wait for the calvary, she just does it.  (Sometimes she needs to wait for the calvery...wink, wink.)

~ She has great affection for her family & friends, and loves to tell stories about them.

~ She signs everything, "Jomama"

~ She loves to read, and I knew I would like her as soon as I saw "Mrs. Mike" on her bookshelf.

~ The first time I met her I was in her apartment with Kip waiting for her to return home from wal-mart.  She came through the door, and excitedly said, "Oh, you're so pretty!" and then spilled her diet coke (or is it pepsie?) all over the floor.  We had a good laugh.

~ She likes to point out "Heavenly Father things" and recognize his had in her life.

~ Paperwork and Red Tape don't stop her at all.  She plows right through it.  I greatly admire this ability.

~ She raised a wonderful son.

Thanks, Karen/Jo, for who you are.  

Holdaway Rd.

I am very fond of the road I live on.  It's beautiful.  The above photo is one particular view I enjoy.  Last night I spent some time talking to the town mayor and we shared the woes of development; fields and open spaces, leading down to the lake, being sold so more houses could be built.  I do realize that houses must be built sometime, somewhere, but my little town's history and charm lie in it's agriculture history.  Why would we be so quick to throw that away?  

I've Been Thinking

How many times am I my own stumbling block?

How often am I the very swine to trample my own pearls?

How come I tend to place the pricks before kicking against them?

I guess there are two great comforts in these realizations.  

1st ~ I have the freedom to choose.  "Wherefore, men are free...they are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil." (2 Nephi 2:27)

2nd ~ I have a beloved Savior.  "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

The beauty of being your own stumbling block is that you can choose to remove it and then as for help in doing so.  

 

Red Tailed Shark & Other Tails

When I was younger the entire family made an exciting journey to Animal Ark.  We stood in front of the dozens of tanks that filled the entire wall and each choose a fish for the newly established family aquarium.  I got a red tailed shark and we enjoyed a rather full aquarium until they all passed on to a watery grave one at a time.   

Later my younger sister and I kept a fish tank in our bed room and would turn on the florescent lights of the tank and sit on our beds listening to the Deep Forrest CD and watching our myriad of goldfish.  The actually cleaning of the fish tank was what eventually did us in.  

Last night I spoke at a Young Women's meeting, and was given two of the fish that were purchased for the center pieces.  I brought them home, not realizing that they were probably having a hard time with the chlorine, water temp, etc.  The smaller one perished in a jar on my kitchen table.  

This morning Kip and I went to Wal-mart, left quickly, went to Animal Ark, and purchased a one gallon bowl, two gold fish, food, etc., and a small $1 castle.  I always wanted a castle.  We assembled everything and after a few traumatic moments (dead fish in toilet, almost dead but still alive fish getting dropped in the sink, etc.) we're able to get all three fish in.  It's still a little cliquish, and I've been asking the two larger, better looking, stronger fish to please go talk to this third little guy who has just been through a great loss.  Names pending.  

Day Two

We slept in, but made it to the Temple by 10:30 to do an endowment session.  (Picture off church website.)

Jumped on the subway and walked down to South Street Sea Port...

Walking up Maiden Lane (Lane?) to find Zeytunas (lunch). 

Trinity Church graveyard.

Wall Street

One of Kip's favorite streets in Greenwich Village.

After dinner at Tre Giovani's we headed back up towards our hotel, and wandered around the Rockerfeller Center before heading home. 

"When we understand the character of God, and know how to come to Him, he begins to unfold the heavens to us, and to tell us all about it.  When we are ready to come to him, he is ready to come to us."

~ Joseph Smith

I was thinking about this quote the other day, and found myself running into an interesting and companionable idea to it on the wall of a school library, next to a picture of a monarch butterfly.  

"How does one become a butterfly?", she asked. 

"You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar." 

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

In the process of coming to a greater understanding of deity we have to want the spiritual progress more than we want certain aspects of our current situation.  And as hard as these steps are to take, I have found that after my own chrysalis' of life, when I am that much more a loft, that letting go of the caterpillar was more rewarding than I ever could have imagined. 

Day One

We land just after dawn in New York

Both of us were very tired, because we didn't sleep, just stayed up all night watching a movie.  Okay, I think I got about twenty minutes.  We were on the plane with the Murry High School Band...you can imagine the noise. 

We took the air train and subway into the city, dropped our luggage off at the hotel, and wandered around for a few hours until we could check in.  We walked from 48th down to 42 (Kip's first time at Grand Central) and headed back up 5th to one of the many Starbucks.   After a cup of hot chocolate we ambled around central park.  

This was the view from our hotel room.  19th floor.  

We took a nap (oh so tired!) and then headed down the street to Ray's Pizza for lunch. 

After lunch we wandered around the streets around the hotel (5th, Park, Lexington, & all the side streets in between. ) and ended up in central park again.  I had always wanted to find the castle, and never did while I was living there, so we found it! 

On the Bow bridge.

It was a beautiful afternoon.  We did a lot of walking and siting, walking and sitting. 

After stopping by the hotel room quickly, and falling asleep for an hour, we got up, headed down to broadway and ate at Stardust (a 50's diner where aspiring actors sing and dance) which was fun.  Afterward we walked on home and hit the sack.  

Stay tuned for Day Two...dun dun dun!