Tuesday, September 27, 2011

rain, apples and tradition

We abruptly found ourselves rained-out of THREE soccer games on Saturday morning, and our newly acquired free time coincided with the arrival of  Mr. Dub!
(who had been away on business all week)
We loaded up and headed quickly north to our FAVORITE September place.













thank goodness for the rain,
spontaneity,
and Fall traditions!
(eleven years at this same spot--we LOVE it)

it's been ONE YEAR


Saturday, September 24, 2011

I love my new book!

"The world's greatest champion of woman and womanhood is Jesus the Christ."
-James E. Talmage
The motto of the Relief Society is
Charity Never Faileth.
I love being a member of such an amazing worldwide organization for women.
My first glimpse into the new book involved a flipping of the pages, and opening randomly to page 100, where I read
 "Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down.  It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily.  It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings.  It is accepting people as they truly are.  It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time.  It is resisting the impulse to categorize others."
Perfect.
This book, The History and Work of Relief Society is a gift to all women.  It is a history of the organization of The Relief Society, but also a history of the role that women have played in Christ's church since he walked the earth.  I'm excited about owning this personal study guide that can also be used as a reference, and for teaching lessons.  
We're giving one to every woman who comes to the General Relief Society Women's Broadcast tonight.
Do you have access to a copy?
Would you like one?

Friday, September 23, 2011

Dog sitting

Gracie is back. She's here for a visit.  She knows the drill.  I'm pretty sure she thinks she's one of the kids. She runs eagerly to the end of the driveway each morning, and waits for the big yellow bus to appear.  Then she tries desperately to climb up the steps after all the kids get on.




Gracie is SO very happy when they return in the afternoon, that her little bum wags back and forth in excitement.

My bum probably wags a little, too.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

the blessing of little boy stuff

Last night on the way home from soccer practice, we found this official business going on adjacent to our neighborhood:
so of course I felt it my duty to ask morning boy if he wanted to walk over and check it out.  (I was so happy he said YES!)
 There, on top of engine 3, was Peter, a friend who graduated from High School with Yonder, all grown up and being a fireman.  It made me realize that it really did feel like just yesterday, I was holding Yonder's hand and walking down Page Street to watch the bulldozer doing some official work in someone's yard.  Time flies on wings of lightning; you can not call it back... but I'm grateful for the gift of recall, AND for being lucky enough to have another chance to share my love of boy stuff with another son.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

GREEN ...with SPIN-vy...

 We spent a day at Canobie Lake Park earlier this month, and started our fun with a ride on their newest roller coaster:  Untamed.
It was AWESOME!
The kids got back in line several times.  Once was enough for me--I liked it, but I know my limits.
Later in the afternoon, one of the kids talked me in to riding the X-treme Frisbee.  I guess I thought I knew my limits...
note to self:
I should have quit at Untamed.
I felt *ill* for the better part of the afternoon.
(thank you to Mesquite, my sweet and thoughtful fan of preserving-the-moment who clearly was feeling a blog coming on, when she used my cell phone camera to record history)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Saturday, September 17, 2011

this makes me HAPPY

Happy, because I have daughters (and a silly niece) who still weave bits of nature into crowns.
Also happy, because they look like sweet forest pixies to me.
And that middle one?
She just cut all her hair off (freedom!) and I think she's ADORABLE.
(and boys are JUST as precious when coronated)
XO

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Monday, September 12, 2011

heard this morning

Rooney: "It's weird!  Today's my last day of being twelve.  I don't know what I'm going to do..."

Sunday, September 11, 2011

September 11th, 2001

I remember.
I was 36 years old, mother to five young kids and hosting my mother and father-in-law in our home for a week.  My father in law had gone out for some coffee and the paper, and was just returning to the neighborhood, when I slowed down to pass him, going in the opposite direction (to shop for a washer).  He told me some news that he had heard on the car radio, and suggested that I might want to turn around and go back home.  I ran in the door, turned on the television set, realized (in horror) that what he told me was accurate, and ran to the bottom of the stairs to shout up to my mother in law (who was ironing) to come downstairs.  I also called my husband at work, and tried desperately to reach my brother on his cell phone, as he commuted from Long Island to the City.
I remember wanting to rush to the schools to scoop up my children, and gather my family into the safe haven of our home.  I remember crying on the couch, as we watched the two towers collapse.  I remember walking around in a stupor, doing the normal things like dishes and diapers and laundry, and wondered why any of those things mattered, really.  But they did.  Because asking my children about their day (and learning that they were mercifully shielded from the horrific exposure of the tragedy) and fixing dinner and feeling grateful for the mundane routine of my life became important; the diapers and toys strewn about and playing charades and going to church even though there was so much to feel angst about were what helped me to relax and feel safe again, as the days and weeks and months went by.
The secretary at the High School lost her son in one of the towers that day.  A friend made a decision not to work (as a flight attendant out of Boston) that day.  My brother sat across the bridge from the city in stopped traffic for seven hours that day, never making it to his appointment.  We all have connections and memories to September 11th.  May we continue to live in a nation where we recognize that good will always over power evil.  May we forever live up to the motto of our country, and demonstrate that, truly, In God We Trust.
It's hard to believe that ten years have gone by.
May we never forget.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

They're GOLDEN

"Evidence from a wide variety of sources supports the truth that marriage shaped by eternal principles is the path to greatest happiness and well-being in this life."
-Elizabeth Vandenberghe
photos courtesy of Bel Monte Photography
They take eternal principles seriously, and they're celebrating their
50th wedding anniversary
TODAY!!
Having them as my parents makes me feel like I won the golden ticket.  They're over-the-top phenomenal.
Happy Fifty, Mom and Dad!  You're just getting started.

XOXO