Meeting Marmee

One of Grace's favorite books last summer was Little Women, and since then the girls and I have watched Little Women (1949 & 1994) more times than I can count. We rewind the Alcott sisters' play in the parlor..."Rodrigo, Rodrigo, Save me!" ....over and over and over.

Such a great story.

So...on this beautiful 72 degree, sunny spring day, Caroline and Grace rode along with me to Concord to visit the Louisa May Alcott Orchard House. It's open for tours during it's current restoration.

We took the last "Live History Tour" of the day. Marmee Alcott met us at the door and took us through the house while sharing stories of her family. They moved 29 times before settling in Concord! I was so impressed with how much of the Orchard house is original from the Alcott family. Marmee told us of parallels and differences between the Alcott family and the March family Louisa wrote about in Little Women (for example: names were changed, Louisa--aka. "Jo" never married, and Laurie was fictitious as well). We walked through the parlor where the March/Alcott sisters did their fun plays written by Louisa/Jo. We loved May's blue bedroom with her sketches on the walls. I was impressed with how hands-on Mr. Amos Alcott was with his girls' education. He was unusual for his time. Each of the Alcott daughters were encouraged to embrace and develop their unique talents. May's artwork was displayed all through the house as were Louisa's books. Anna was involved in theatre & Beth played the piano. Each member of the family worked hard and contributed to the family's well-being.

Learning from Marmee was a treat and the hour seemed to fly by. There were about 6 kids around Grace & Caroline's ages and they all were asking & answering questions and enjoyed the tour from start to finish. This was a truly enjoyable historical tour.

Some Louisa May Alcott quotes....

• Help one another is part of the religion of our sisterhood.
• Many argue; not many converse.
• Let my name stand among those who are willing to bear ridicule and reproach for the truth's sake, and so earn some right to rejoice when the victory is won.

Concord is such a nice New England town. Going 30 mph, I snapped some pictures of gorgeous Concord architecture as we drove home.

FUN day!

Look who's on a bike!

Wayne brought this Craigslist bike home to Wesley's delight. Wes hopped on and worked hard to figure out how to make a go of it. The next morning I went to wake him and the first thing he said was, "Bike..." He wanted to hop back on first thing in the morning.

Go, Wesley!

Texas Fort Worth Mission reunion

About a year ago I committed to throw a mission reunion for those who served in the Texas Fort Worth Mission under my mission president, Ray L. White & his wife, Mary. Last Thursday as Wayne drove me to the airport, my MTC roomie, Leilani called to say that our flight had been cancelled. It was the last flight of the day, so we picked up Leilani & headed to Logan airport to sort out travel plans. At the terminal, Wayne asked if we wanted him to park and come in or what.... I said, "Honey, if there's one thing I've learned from the Amazing Race it's that you NEVER let your cab driver leave you stranded. You're coming in with us!" Friday a.m. Leilani and I flew to SLC via Minneapolis and silently laughed, cried & held hands through the worst turbulent flight ever! Crazy traveling and all, it was so, so great catching up with Lei.

Leilani and I arrived at the Halversens at 3pm and the reunion started at 6:30. It was a super busy 3.5 hours, but Cherie and Juli came early and Leilani's husband, Greg was there to pitch in. The Halversens had an oven full of briskets....oh my, it smelled SO good! I'm thankful for all who came to our aid and made this reunion a success.

At 6:30, the Whites arrived and it was amazing seeing them after so many years. Mary and I hugged and teared up. I love the Whites!

About 20+ missionaries and their spouses showed up. We visited, ate, visited, and visited some more. We gathered in the living room to hear the Whites talk about their 4 temple missions since our Texas Fort Worth Mission. They offered words of encouragement. I loved it when Pres. said, "I don't have to ask how you are doing, I can see it in your faces and countenances." Brad suggested that we all introduce ourselves and that turned into a testimony meeting filled with the Spirit of gratitude and love. I will never forget some of the things shared and how I felt. Afterward, we had dessert and visited some more. People lingered and mingled until about 10pm. It was hard to say good-bye, but that didn't happen before President White asked if we could do this again next year. It's on the calendar!

Left to Right: Mary White, me, Heidi, Karen, Cherie, Juli, Leilani, Kristen & Pres. White

I was reminded of Alma 17: 1-5, 10

I've applied it to my reunion weekend.....

1 And now it came to pass that as Rebecca & Leilani were journeying from the land of Boston westward, away to the land of Utah, behold, to their delight, they met with Cherie, Heidi, Juli, Pres & Sis. White, and friends from the TFWM.

2 Now these friends were with Rebecca while she served for 18 difficult, wonderful months sharing the gospel of Christ in Texas; therefore Rebecca did rejoice exceedingly to see her sisters & brethren; and what added more to her joy, they were still her sisters and brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were women & men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.

4 And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of about 19 years within their families and among their fellow Saints and communities.

5 Now these are the circumstances which attended them in their journeyings, for they had many afflictions; they did suffer much, both in body and in mind, such as childbirth, heartache, financial loss, unemployment, divorce, sickness, family challenges, death of loved ones, fatigue, and also much labor in the spirit.

10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be ccomforted. And they were comforted.

Saturday night I met Lei, Heidi & Cherie for dinner. We rarely see each other, but it's always easy and amazing catching up when we do reconnect. We stayed for hours talking and learning from each other. I'm not surprised by my friends' lives, but I'm in awe and simply love being with them. Wonderfully wise, supportive, funny, honest, faithful, and courageous {in a word, inspiring} friends are the VERY best. I'll forever be grateful that our paths crossed in TX nearly 20 years ago. I couldn't have asked for a better reunion!

The rest of my Reunion weekend...

Saturday I got to spend the day with my brother, Jon and his family---Ange, Mia, Claire & Owen. Holding Owen was dreamy and those little girls were so much fun, just like my Grace & Caroline. We had a fun Easter egg hunt, the confetti filled eggs were a huge hit.

Ange is the funnest mom I've ever met. She didn't blink an eye when Mia dipped her elbows in the Easter egg dye. Mia ended up making colorful egg soup.

I'll never forget Claire's joyful squeal every time she found an easter egg. SUCH a doll.

...and Owen, I let my arms get tired holding him. I fed him a bottle and he spent half the time smiling at me. I'm so glad I got to meet him while he's baby size!

Sunday I went to General Conference & then to my sister, Sara's house. My sister, Julie's family, and Jon & Ange's family joined us for Easter dinner. It was so great to see everyone. I met my sister's daughter, Yadia for the first time. She was adopted into the family a few years ago. It was so fun meeting her! My niece, Lauren and her roomies from BYU showed up too...yeah! Sara did a great job with grandma's rolls & Peepshi's were a hit.

Homebase for me was the Halversens' home. Ann is one of the great, loving influences in my life. She, Gary & I had wonderful visits when I wasn't running around everywhere else.

Monday, Wayne's mom & her hubby, Kelly picked me up for an afternoon of power shopping, mostly girl talk, and Cafe Rio.....icing on the cake for me.

As Leilani and I sat next to each other on the flight back to Boston we both felt recharged and ready to get back to work in our everyday lives.

Lesson to my kids: I've had a lot of different influences in my life. The best relationships I've ever had are ones where after spending time together I leave feeling better off than when I arrived.

To Do List...

Tonight I came across this "to do" list my dad scribed for my mom 2 short months before she passed away. There were check marks on everything except the last 2, but I know she did those too....

Late February, 1992

Things I want to do with my extra time:

Write my life's history

Keep reading the scriptures

Have fun things with the kids

Help Ben and Jonathan on their Eagle Scout awards

Finish needle point

Do something for each of the kids so they have something to remember me by

Do things/talk with Tom

Go to the temple

Develop nice relationships with the kids

Tell kids I love them every day

Help kids to have their testimonies grow

Dump Olds. (the Oldsmobile had been "dumped" for years)

Register VW

Adam licensed

Go to family reunion

Read to family (together & individual)

Bear testimony

Things I won't need to do:

No Deeds (mom ran a deed transfer document service)

Worry about finances

Travel, go places

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Thank you, mom for the beautiful trail you blazed. Just a few days ago I was talking with dear friends about how I was sure I am the mom I am largely because of you, and reading your "to do list" supports my thoughts. I love you!