I {heart} Faces Photo Contest

Here's my entry for the Beach theme photo contest at I {Heart} Faces.

Have you taken a beach photo you LOVE? Join in the contest. It'll be fun!

That we may be filled....

July 29, 1979

Another rough Sunday. I have trouble with Sundays in they're more work than ever. Things have been creeping in on me for some time now. I keep finding myself wishing I were alone away somewhere for a long time. It's hard for me to actually face up to and admit to the fact that I'm only me and not Deanne, Jeanine, Chris Cottam, Jeri Edwards, etc. It seems all I can do physically, mentally, spiritually, etc. is to take care of my family and home - just the routine chores and daily demands. Pres. Munns described it once as feeling like a rubber band, stretched to capacity, unable to stretch further without breaking; needing to ease up a bit before trudging on....

[I] read a couple of excellent articles in the August issue of the Ensign. One on dealing with ambiguity and the other on family planning. Just what I've been groping for. The Lord is so helpful to me. He must love me to keep working with me as He does.

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My mom wrote this journal entry when I was 9 years old and we had 8 children in our home (or maybe it was 9 kids- what year were you born, Jon? :)). We went to church each Sunday and I remember the Sunday Morning Hustle...."I can't find my other shoe!" "Do you have a slip I can borrow?" "You spilled your breakfast on your Sunday shirt!" "Where's your belt?" Add to this nursing babies, changing diapers, bottles, church talks and lessons, and meals. I know my mom was sharing her honest self in her journal. Most moms know exactly how she felt. I do.

Last Sunday our family attended the missionary "farewell" of a young man, Kyle, who Wayne taught in the Young Mens program in our former ward/congregation. The meeting started at 8:30am, so we had nearly everyone showered, and clothes ready the night before so we could get up, throw ourselves together and head out the door by 7:30. Had to stop for gas, but hey, we were out the door by 7:39 A.M...fully dressed- all 7 of us!

We arrived a few minutes early and had the chance to say hi to dear friends. Kyle's sister, Erin gave the opening prayer, and expressed gratitude for eternal families. Their dad passed away when Kyle was just 5 years old. In her beautiful prayer, Erin prayed that "we might be filled." Sacrament started and our little Wesley piped in, so I took him for a walk up to the temple which is next door to the chapel, and then we walked back to the church to the nursery so Wes could play while I listened to Kyle's talk.

Kyle felt impressed to talk about his dad; how after his dad died for a long time he felt like God owed him a vision of his dad, but he has come to realize that his testimony of eternal families is more important. He graciously acknowledged the impact his leaders had on his life; his YM leaders who showed him how to honor his priesthood and respect a wife. He acknowledged his family; brothers who served missions before him, and beautiful sister who has always been a good example. He praised his mom as an angel on earth and said he knew that his Heavenly Father's love must be incredible because he can't imagine love greater than his mom has for him. She never remarried and has raised her 4 children on a school teachers' salary, always faithful in paying tithing. Kyle's talk should be in the Ensign; it was so heartfelt and profound. He'll make an amazing missionary! I sat in the nursery with a tissue box in my lap, overjoyed for the Kyle & his family, & with a heart FILLED & determined....

After all of the rush, struggle, and craziness that happens in the 24 hours leading up to entering the chapel, I want to enter the chapel doors with an honest, broken heart, (even if I'm 5 minutes late) ready and expecting to feel the Lord's love and truths in my heart. I have yet to meet a mom who doesn't know the "Sunday Morning Hustle," and even wonder if all of the effort is worth it. It absolutely IS worth it. I'm o.k. with Wesley having to leave sacrament meeting because he wants to talk rather than be still, and I'll continue to work with my kids who turn around and whisper to a friend, get restless, or fight over a pen during sacrament meeting, but I'll also strive to nourish my own spirit each Sunday, even if it's just a key sentence or two I hear from a talk. I need that.

Beyond nourishing my soul, I find that connecting with others and nourishing one another makes up for the Sunday Morning Hustle. I seek out friends and people to talk with. The support is essential.

I love that my mom acknowledged finding answers and guidance in the Ensign on a particularly rough Sunday. I too am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who offers nourishment without price. He his there to feed our spirits and nourish our souls when we come to Him with a broken heart, seeking to be filled.

Signing off now....it's time for the Sunday Morning Hustle!

With love,

Celebrating 15 Years Together

Reminiscing....

For our honeymoon we drove up the coast of CA. (Funny note: We chose this honeymoon thinking that whether we were rich or poor we'd be able to come back anytime, as opposed to say, Hawaii. Fast forward 15 years...other than an unplanned overnight layover in SF on our way to HI, we haven't been back to No. CA, but have been to HI twice). We stopped in beautiful Big Sur, Monterey, Carmel, San Fransisco, Salsalito, & Yosemite. We took in the beautiful coastline, yummy chowder on the SF wharf, didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or scream (speaking for myself- I did all of the above) while driving 5 miles/hr down the hills on the streets of San Fran while Wayne LAUGHED & recorded this scene from the passenger seat, ...& we hiked Half Dome...

For the family journal....I thought we were at the top of Half Dome about 1/2 way into the hike....Not so! When we finally got to the face of the mountain the last leg was straight up with metal rods connecting a rope for us to pull ourselves up to the top (click HERE & scroll down for a visual). I knew I was going to die and never have children. As I stood staring at the last climb/pull/death, I saw some women in long dresses coming down and thought that maybe, just maybe I had a slim chance of survival. If they could do this, I could, right? Well, we made it to the top, and I told Wayne to never let me do that again! It was hands down one of the scariest (but admittedly most amazing) experiences of my life. The view from the top is breathtaking!

We've had our share of frustration, heartache, uncertainty, tears & loss....but JOY has outscored those moments with many more days of peace, kindness, respect, fun & beautiful memories. A blessing fulfilled.

Discovering Hawaii together ('08)

Hyannis Sprint Tri - We each have completed 1 & for our 15th anniversary we'll compete together in September...can't wait! (Don't you love dragging out celebrations?)

Summer '06 - one of our many cross-country excursions...together!

Grace graduating from CICU 8/02. Making it through...together.

Our FULL hearts welcoming Wesley & closing a chapter.

All of the moments, big and small from "I do" through today.

15 years ago as we left the temple (and before a stop at Tito's), going forward with faith hand in hand felt new & exciting. I love who Wayne & I are individually more today than I did back then. It feels good to progress on our own and still be the love of each other's life. Our marriage is no longer new, but I feel that same feeling of moving forward with faith. I feel that same excitement for what lies ahead for us. Together.

Happy Anniversary, love.

xo,

becca

Summer reading update....

We're half-way through summer vacation and we're more than half-way to our goal!

What are we reading now?

Wayne: Huckleberry Finn. Wayne had Caroline laughing hysterically last night as he read aloud a snippet from Huck Finn in his best Huck Finn voice. Classic!

Rebecca: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Christina: The Thief Lord

Thomas: Sea of Monsters (both Christina & Thomas have enjoyed the Percy Jackson series)

Grace: Scat

I've read more this summer than I did all last year. Sad, but true! It's been great flipping through pages, traveling through time, meeting new characters, solving mysteries, laughing, crying, discovering, learning, hanging out at the library with friends & family, reading together, & having book chats...(they're so much better than quarrels!).

What's been your favorite summer read so far?

Happy Reading,

Rebecca

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

It's just past 1 a.m. & I'm happy to jot down a few thoughts about the unique mystery I just finished; Alan Bradley's, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I hope whoever bought the rights to this book does the story justice and makes the movie version as delightful as the book. What a fun read! Eleven year old, Flavia de Luce will be a young British version of Nancy Drew, and this girl has spunk! Her cleverness & whit won me over. When she pried off one of her braces and using the brace and the wire from her mouth, picked a lock to get herself out of a jam, I knew she was a hit. It was easy to imagine her whizzing around 1950's Bishops Lacey on her bike named Gladys, putting pieces of the mystery of who murdered the man she found near death in her family's cucumber patch. And when she wasn't en route, she could be found in her lab furthering her scientific research using her sister's lipstick.

If you love a good, FUN mystery where a brave AND clever young girl outsmarts the town's chief detective....If you like stamp collecting, British humor, suspense, sisterly pranks, dabbling in chemistry, bikes named Gladys, or any of the above....I think you'll enjoy Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I'd be happy to loan my copy (after now that Christina's done with it).

I can't wait for Flavia's next adventure!

Independence Day '09

July 4th was gorgeous! We had my brother, Adam, his wife, Mari & their son, Des in town...so nice to visit, play & give our kids cousin time.

We played at the park....

We walked to the town common, had cannolis at the Modern, walked part of the Freedom trail, and saw the best fireworks show to date in Boston. The crowd was nuts, but we loved the show.

Some fun notes from our weekend....

• Des was in the portacrib & wasn't going to sleep. Wesley went in with his blanket, saw Des' predicament & tossed Des one end of his blanket. Wes held on to one end of the blanket, but Wes couldn't quite muster up the strength to pull Des out, so they just sat there, each holding on to the blanket. On the other hand, maybe this was an act of offering comfort rather than escape. I wish I had my camera for that, but you can imagine.
• Dancing & singing "Sweet Caroline" on Memorial Dr. with all of Boston. Caroline was in heaven hearing "her" song!
• The boys' fort.
• Mari bombarded by little kids....they adore her! Des shared his mom's lap more than once.
• Des bombarded by adoring cousins. Our kids think Des is irresistible & they're right.
• Being together.
• Adam reminds me....we had a couple record breaking, rip-roaring jam sessions on Rock Band. Look out Jonas Brothers, our family band is up and coming & we love featured artists such as "ACE." We can't wait for The Beatles music for Rock Band! 9.9.09!

Thanks for making the drive north, Adam & Mari! We love you & can't wait for our next get together. Wesley has some breakdancing moves to teach Des.

The Midwife's Apprentice

The Midwife's Apprentice is on Christina's summer reading list and she brought it home from the library last week. She passed it on to me after she read it and I found it very interesting. I read the reviews on Amazon and several reviewers found the book to be inappropriate for youth. That it is considered children's lit. is misleading in that I don't think my early elementary children who are capable of reading The Midwife's Apprentice would get nearly as much from the story as say Christina did. I would suggest this book for ages 10+ (depending on your child's maturity), but when in doubt, I would suggest reading the book before your child does.

Obviously, childbirth is part of the story, but there was nothing graphic in this element. The book takes place in medieval times and so life is naturally primitive and childbearing is portrayed in a primitive way with the midwife yelling at the mother-to-be, slapping one out of her hysteria, etc. The midwife is all business, not always moral (she's an adulterer), and crass. Her tactics are crude and unsophisticated illustrating how in medieval times "midwifery was a combination of common sense, herbal knowledge, and superstition." (pg. 119, Author's Note)

The apprentice, a young girl, goes from being homeless and finding warmth in a dung heap bed to getting a sense of self confidence through life experience. As a reader looking in on her life, it is apparent that she is quite clever and bright (even outwitting the more respected villagers) long before she believes this truth for herself.

The author tells the story in a descriptive way with many lessons appropriate and important for youth on up. For example, I enjoyed the lesson of the significance of a name. The apprentice went from being called "Brat" to demanding she be addressed by her self-given name, Alyce. Later she offered a royal name to a homeless friend. This got me thinking...What does my name mean to me? I have pretty thick skin, but naturally in my youth being called by my name felt better than being called something less than kind. I'm going to use the lesson of Brat vs. Alyce with my children in an effort to bring kinder conversations in our home.

Christina pointed out the lesson of persistence..."If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," or as Alyce comes to voice, "I know how to try and risk and fail and try again and not give up." (pg. 117) It was better that Alyce forge ahead learning from mistakes and failure rather than quit when things didn't go as hoped. We can always learn from each experience.

At just 122 pages, this is a short book, easily read in a portion of a day. I would suggest this book for a mother/daughter or womens' book group. Go HERE & HERE for ideas for The Midwife's Apprentice discussion questions.

We {heart} Grandpa Gary

In June we had a wonderful visit with Grandpa Gary who drove from Cooperstown where he was on an extended business trip to visit us. It meant a lot to us that he would make the drive, and we enjoyed catching up. Wayne came to and from Youth Conference, joining us when he was able.

We toured the Artemus Ward House in Shrewsbury, MA.

(Photo by Allison B)

The contents of the home were all left or donated by the Ward family. Grace liked the farm, Thomas liked the crooked ceiling, Christina liked the secret compartment above one of the doors (Thomas liked that too), and Caroline liked the "fedder" on the desk that you use to write with. This photo was taken in front of the barn.

Wesley didn't last, so I snapped some photos of my little handsome while we waited for the rest of the crew to finish touring the house.

We finished off the outing with some pizza and lemonade at Dean Park Pizza.

Thank you, Gary for dropping by. We hope to meet up again before too long!

Book Recommendation: The Amaranth Enchantment

I purposefully ignored my bedside clock last night as I became engrossed in Julie Berry's debut novel, The Amaranth Enchantment. This book fits in the young adult fantasy fiction genre. Although this has never been a genre I've sought out, I found this story to flow beautifully with interesting characters, themes of love and forgiveness and surprises along the way. I love 15 year old Lucinda's self discovery and personal development. Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Christina enjoyed it as well. I shared The Amaranth Enchantment with my friend who is a sophomore in college and when I went to pick it up she asked if she could keep it a little longer because her grandmother was reading it; truly a delight for pre-teens on up.

My favorite part of the Amaranth Enchantment is found in Chapters 28 & 29 when Beryl and Lucinda walk through the beautiful garden of Lucinda's childhood. Lucinda sees her parents, who have since passed away, sitting as they so often did on the garden bench, talking & reading. It was a beautiful memory for Lucinda, and Julie's descriptive writing brought me to tears as my mind wondered to my beautiful memories of my own parents.....

• The evening I happened to be near the entry of our home when my parents came home from an evening at the LA temple. I knew they had a lot of stress they were dealing with. Watching them walk in the door I sensed a peaceful aura about them. They seemed stronger as a couple, and happier than when they left that evening; not giddy happy, but peacefully happy. I noted that the temple made a difference in their marriage.
• On several occasions I saw my parents sitting in the car talking after a date night. This wasn't as appealing as the garden bench of Lucinda's home, but with 10 kids in the house, sitting inside the car was sometimes the only private, quiet place they could talk. Seeing them talk in the car let me know they were working on their marriage and worked as a team raising us kids.
• Many times in the morning I'd walk by my parents room and find them kneeling in prayer; a beautiful image in my mind.

Further, this tender garden scene made me reflect on the images of marriage that Wayne & I are offering our children. Will they see our work, faith, sacrifice, love, devotion, (& rated G PDA)? I hope so. Will they have memories of kind, supportive, and humble forgiving conversations? I hope so.

For more on Julie Berry and The Amaranth Enchantment, you can go HERE to Julie's website. You can find book group discussion questions HERE. I think this book would be perfect for a mother-daughter book group, but like I said, it appeals to all ages pre-teen on up.

Go grab a copy & ENJOY!

Happy Independence Day!

Boston 7/4/07

I've got lots of catching up to do....my random hiatus will come to an end on Monday. There's a lot to tell...luncheons, Cubs, fishing, KY, Grandpa Gary, Independence Day in Boston & exploring with Adam, Mari & Des. Come back and visit.