Tiny Miracles

Dec 16
A once in a lifetime kind of day. Aaron Cummings, Marie's brother who is a speech writer for Pres. Bush for a few more weeks, was able to get us tickets to go through the White House to see the Christmas decorations. What a beautiful building; it reminded me so much of the Palacio Real in Madrid. Adam, Marie, Spencer, Emma, Valerie, Laura and our friends, the Coxes, were able to see the beautiful decorations at the White House, and then even though it was cold and rainy, we walked around the elipse near the White House to see the National Christmas tree and trees decorated with decorations from each state. Mexican food for lunch, and then home to crash in front of a warm fire with a cup of hot chocolate. Life is good.
Dec 17
This afternoon I went to see the school concert of my one little cello student. It went very well, and the other little cellist in the group might become my student as well. I'm glad I went.
Tonight I made dinner for the quartet that I play with on occasion, then we played Christmas quartets, and some Beethoven to celebrate his birthday yesterday. Laura went with the youth to see the temple lights; they were asked to bring a friend. She brought Francesca, her friend since kindergarten. Another girl brought a friend who was very interested in the church, and they spent the night teaching the gospel to her. Laura was so excited when she came home!
Dec 18
Many tiny miracles happened today. My visiting teachers came early: 9 AM. One of them happened to mention a store that I went to as soon as they left, where I was able to find the perfect gift for someone. I came home, did some gift wrapping and box-labeling, then headed out for the afternoon marathon errands: Costco, post office, jiffy lube, safety and emission inspections on the car. I thought it would take hours, but I was back home after 1 hr 15 minutes. Incredible! The tiny miracles didn't end there; Brad arrived at Reagan Airport in downtown DC at 4 pm, took a cab home, and made it in time to have dinner with us and go to Laura's winter concert. She is in the Woman's Chorale and sang some fun songs and sounded great. I have to say that I think the tiny miracles happened because I prayed throughout the day, which is one of my goals, but I forget. This day, however, I remembered, and asked for help constantly as the day progressed. The Lord truly loves us and takes care of us when we remember Him.
Dec 20
Happy birthday to Shauna yesterday! Laura's Chorale sang two concerts at middle schools today, so I met her for lunch and did some shopping. Great deals in the outlet malls!
Movie night last night~ ahhh! Nothing better after a long, crazy week that lighting a fire, popping some popcorn and settling down to watch "It's a Wonderful Life". We didn't quite make it to the end. That's a long movie....
Kate finally made it back to VA after a redeye from SLC to NYC, then a four hour delay, but she finally made it and we're so happy to have her back. Today was a nice, Christmassy day with some early shopping, putzing around the house, and our weekly trip to Panera. Yum!
Dec 22
Yesterday we had a wonderful Christmas program at church with lots of music. Laura, Adam and Marie sang in the ward choir, while K8, Brad and I had Spencer and Emma in the congregation. After one beautiful choir song, Emma applauded, which produced chuckles from all around. This child has been to many concerts lately and knows what to do when you like what you hear! Last night we went to Pres. and Hazie Brown's home. They have a Dicken's Christmas village from Dept 56 (if it means anything to anyone). It takes up one side of the dining room and is absolutely amazing. This may have to become a Christmas tradition....

Guess who?

It's mid-December and I forgot to blog about the child of the month. I didn't forget HER, just to blog about her. She is adorable, and fun, and growing and learning new words every day, and makes the most wonderful facial expressions. Yes, it is our own EMMA!!

December update

December 12
Today was the first day in a long time that I was able to stay home for most of the day. I cleaned a little, ordered lots of goodies online, practiced a little, caught up on laundry. It feels good to get my house back - a little. In the evening, Brad, Laura, Adam, Marie and I went to the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center. Usually we go to the local Loudoun Ballet performance, and they do a wonderful job; Kate and Laura have always had friends in it, but this year the Joffrey Ballet was in town, and we didn't want to pass it up. What a spectacular, wonderful, Christmassy experience. We walked out of the theater feeling like magical things were about to happen around the next turn.
December 13
Happy Birthday Kate!! Who told her that she could turn 21 years old?? We're sure glad that she was born :o). Brad and I just returned from my Loudoun Symphony holiday concert. The Christmas concert is always a very fun concert and this was one of the best yet. This morning I went to a three hour Messiah rehearsal, so my arm is about ready to fall off, but I'm having a great time! The Messiah music and words are some of the most glorious things ever written. What a privilege to be part of it.
December 15
Happy Birthday Peter! Half a century today. Somebody is getting old.....
We had a great musical weekend. Yesterday's concerts went well also. Loudoun Symphony in the afternoon, and our stake sing-along Messiah performance in the evening. This is only the second time that our stake has attempted it; the first was while we were in Spain. It turned out beautifully; definitely a highlight of the season.
I just took Brad to the airport; he is headed for Ecuador, even Guayaquil!! He has a few small packages to give to Tyler; he will probably stop by the mission home and drop them off tomorrow.
Yesterday the Sacrament song was "God loved us so He sent his Son". I started thinking, "I know God loves us because He is our parent. But how did Christ gain enough love to do what He did for us?" He wasn't our "parent" until after the atonement, when we became His children of the rebirth. I know that love is a spiritual gift; maybe He was blessed with that love as a gift so that He could carry out the plan. Any ideas about that?

Christmas Wish Lists

To be updated as new info is received....

Brad: 

brad; rolling carry-on suitcase, http://www.priesthoodline.com, tommy bahama shirts, desk, flat screen plasma TV (HD)
movie tickets, weight lifting gloves, Old Navy white dress shirt, Thomas Kinkade painting of Salt Lake City

white dress shirt 17"neck, 34/35 sleeves
dark socks
cool ties
Tshirts for gym (the kind that wick away moisture)

Valerie:

Em and fam:

Jorge Luis:
a temple bag
church clothes
sweaters

Emily:
Janeen Brady CD "Songs for a Mormon child" (Deseret Book)
Gospel Art Kit
rice cooker
swiffer
clothes from Down East Basics
new coat
apron

for JL and Em:
new sheets for our bed
renewel of Costco membership

Maddie:
bare book -blank cover (sonsanddaughtersinc.com) or (rompbklyn.com)
anything princess
Tinkerbell movie
Wall-E movie
bike
tea set
sacrament time activities book (from ldsgrand.com)
digital camera

Daniel and Ryan:
anything Cars
anything Dora/Diego
books
puzzles
bike

family:
renewal of zoo membership

Adam and fam:

ADAM - http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/GG0D1LEQ4RK/ref=cm_wl_sortbar_v_page_2?ie=UTF8&page=2 (see link for amazon wishlist), Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, Wii, tripod, good negative scanner, wallet size pics of kids, nice jeans (35x32), Airport extreme (a Mac thing) running shoes (size 11)

MARIE - shirts that could go casual w/ jeans or formal/church (S/M), pants (6/8), shoes (8.5-9 need casual shoes and just can't decide what to get), running shoes (put a lot of miles on mine this year), metronome, electronic violin tuner, violin dust cloth (so I can stop using my small portion of an old 101 Dalmations towel to get the rosin off the strings), Crockpot (gotta wean myself off the back-up kitchen), pizza cutter

SPENCER - doctor kit, Thomas the tank engine movie, legos (knights - like Uncle Joel) Thomas train, crazy hair for Halloween, race track with cars that you shake, gum Diego stuff (He is also asking for everything he sees in a TV commercial..."Mommy, quick...I want that for Christmas. Disclaimer: he may not remember that he asked for any of these things, so go with your best judgment. He'll love anything). Clothing size: 4T

EMMA - baby doll stroller, babies, kitchen/toy food items (such a girl!), hair stuff, clothing size: 2T

Peter and fam:

Harrison
Loves anything that has to do with balls, cars, trucks, planes, and trains. He's all boy, and would be thrilled to have anything that has anything to do with any of those items.
Shelcore Shake 'N Bobble Hazard Highway. He would love it, not to mention the track is wide enough that his other cars can fit on it too. 
He would also like...
some big fat building blocks
Any Leap Frog toys
Tonka cars (they make little and big ones - he would love either)
BOOKS. Cannot stress how much he loves any and all books. Board books with pages that can't rip are best! (both Mommy and Daddy are REALLY tired of reading the books we have now... this would be a good one!!)
He is wearing size 18 month clothes.
Puzzles, shape sorters, or anything that has to do with putting things in the right place. He's all about that kind of stuff.
DISNEY MOVIES! We hardly have any, and he's just getting old enough that he'll watch them.

Peter

Watch (would like a really nice self winding one, but needs a cool casual one too)
Brown belt
Suit (grey or green or dark blue pinstripe)
Play station 3 (with NCAA football)
BYU polo
BYU hat
Tennis racket
Gym membership
Season football tickets
Casual shoes
Work shirts
Slacks for work
Jeans
BYU golf head covers
GPS
Shaver
Digital picture frame
Scarf
Swimming suit
Golf shoes

Leslie

Rectangular crafting table (like a folding table)
Earrings
Cute necklaces
Winter coat
External hard drive
Cricut EXPRESSION machine
VACUUM (for reals)
Any TiVo or DVR that will record the shows we watch
Casual shoes
Jeans
Willow Tree figurine: “Our Gift” or “Angel of Mine”
More pieces to my nativity set (Peter can tell you what I'm missing)
Dishes
Bedding
Gift certificate to JoAnne’s
Firewire cable (or whatever you need to attach the video camera to the computer)

Kate:

-iTunes card
-money
-clothes
-movies: anastasia, aladdin, sandlot, elf, finding nemo, that thing you do, vantage point, 3 amigos, across the universe, the prestige, oceans 11, national treasure, a beautiful mind, father of the bride 1,2...sleepless in seattle, mulan, runaway bride
-ticket to scotland
-memory card (2 G would be awesome....)
-CS4
-backup hard drive

shoes i love:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MINNETONKA-MOCCASINS-BOOTS-8-1-2-BLACK_W0QQitemZ290277708020QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Women_s_Shoes?hash=item290277708020&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/MINNETONKA-MOCCASIN-SHOE-ANKLE-BOOT-SUEDE-SZ-8-5-BROWN_W0QQitemZ130270251245QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Women_s_Shoes?hash=item130270251245&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

i like the styles, i want some flat boots to wear to school in black or brown (or both :)) i like the ankle height, slouchyness and/or fringe. be creative ;)
i really would love to have a recipe holder/book/anything. right now i have a pile on my desk of recipes that i've printed out or copied

Laura

Winter Sunday dress

clothes: shirts old navy, gap

shoes and kind

bags

itunes card

nano holder for exercise (armband for third generation nano)

earrings (little)

earphones for iPod

Creating a safe home

(I saved this article from LDS Living Jan/Feb 03. I realized while I was reading it that I wasn't reared this way, nor did I rear my children this way, but the principles taught in the article ring very true to my heart. I must apologize to my children for all the cross looks and words that I gave to them, and hope that they can learn a better way. I love you guys to pieces!)

Learning to rise above the temptation to show our disapproval leads to higher ground.

by Dr. Glenn I. Latham

Everyone wants to be safe. When floodwaters rise, people seek higher ground. When gunshots ring out, people run for cover. And when parents are harsh and abrasive, children desperately try to remain out of sight.

A safe home is the sweetest place of all.

There's no higher ground above life's raging flood of problems, no cover more secure from society's inevitable assaults than a safe home  provides.  A safe home is where your children and grandchildren want to be.

Unhappily, many homes are unsafe. While parents may think they're providing their children safety and security from an uncertain world, they may be unwittingly creating a home environment that isn't safe for the very children they are trying to protect.

Frowns and scowls are sure tip-offs to an unsafe home. A parent's face etched with displeasure is an early warning sign. An angry expression allows a mother or father to convey displeasure and unhappiness without saying  a word. Such unspoken communication is devastating to a child.

In my doctor's office waiting room, I was recently amused by a small boy's efforts to entertain his little brother while their mother spoke with the receptionist. He was wheeling the toddler's stroller back and forth, making him squeal with delight. It was a precious scene. Suddenly the mother snapped, "Stop that right now! Stand here! Settle down!"  How much better it would have been if that mother had tenderly smiled and softly said, "I"m glad you're trying to make your brother happy, but we must be careful here. Please stand over here by me: we'll be going soon."

Parents persist in harsh, contentious behavior because they mistakenly believe it to be an efficient way to keep children in line. In  the long run, this never works - it only makes matters worse. The more parents frown and scowl, the more their children are likely to misbehave.

Try this experiment in the coming week. Whenever your children behave well, reward them with a smile. Give them a wink. Blow them a kiss. Give them a high-five, or simply pass along a gentle touch or tender word of appreciation. 

When they do annoying, but harmless things that don't hurt anyone or damage anything, simply look away and say nothing. When they begin behaving once again, acknowledge this with a warm look or smile.

In unsafe homes, parents are heavily inclined to communicate disapproval. Safe home parents take a moment- just a second or two- to convey approval an average of 30 times an hour. Think about it. It takes no more than a minute and a half to have 30 positve, pleasant "safe home" interactions with your children in just a single hour. 

Try it! Beware of the message - both silent and spoken - you send your children. Practice positive communication. The rewards are great, and you  have absolutely nothing to lose- but an unsafe home.

Let the Chocolate Days begin...

I can't let last weekend fade away into history without documenting it. We (Brad, Valerie, Laura, Emily, Maddie, Daniel, Ryan, Adam, Marie, Spencer, and Emma) all descended on the Coxes for "Chocolate Day". Can you believe our chutzpah?!!! They have a beautiful home in rural northern Pennsylvania, and I can pretty much say that their home was made just for Chocolate Day.  The kitchen is large; big enough to hold an massive granite island at which four people can work with room to spare.  We left VA on Saturday, 1 November, at about noon. We arrived at their home at about 4:30, and started to work. Maddie and Brad made a gazillion hershey kiss mice, while Laura and I whipped up truffle centers, almond joys, and orange/raspberry jellies. Adam, Marie and family arrived later in the evening. Sunday we went to church with them, then came home to a Thanksgiving dinner. They spoil us!! After that came some fun Halloween pix out in the yard, then a bonfire and s'mores (did you know you can make s'mores with chocolate-covered graham crackers? It was yummy!). Once the fire started dying down, we came in and played with the wii fit for a while. Laura blew us out of the water with her bowling skills.  

Monday was back to chocolates....for some of us. Brad, Darwin, and whoever else was so inclined headed outdoors to play and play and play: in the leaves (they made a leaf maze, and piled up leaves to jump in), they went for  walks with

 all the kids piled in the wagon, they jumped on the trampoline. No wonder that when Emily left in the afternoon, and arrived back in NYC, Daniel threw a fit. "NO 

HOME! NO HOME!! Baby! Grandpa! Baby! Grandpa!!" (

Daniel and Ryan love baby Emma)

Happy Novemberyan!

Ryan the contented skunk
Originally uploaded by ValerieBW

It's the month of Ryan! I love his smile; it lights up the room. He loves Lightning McQueen, trains, his mom, and Lightning McQueen. He also loves jumping in autumn leaves, jumping on the trampoline, jumping on the bed, jumping on the floor. And he can do somersaults! Real heels-over-head somersaults. Did I mention that he loves Lightning McQueen?

Yay for Daniel!

This is the month to celebrate Daniel! What do I love about Daniel? Those eyes that melt your heart, the smile (even or maybe especially when covered in blueberries), his love of puzzles, books and Lightning McQueen.  It would be so easy to do a Daniel/Ryan month, but I need to get to know them and think about them as individuals, which they very much are! We love you Daniel!!

Nature's miracle: please work!

A few weeks back, I promised myself that I would blog three minutes per day. That seems so do-able. Still, I don't get it done. Why? Well, for instance, last week Brad was in Panama and Nicaragua. Usually we hold it all together pretty well while he was gone, but not this time. The washing machine died, the kitchen sink plugged up, the guest toilet handle broke, and Mack peed on the dining room  rug. Everything has been rectified except for the rug. So far I have spent $75 on "Nature's Miracle" solution, which usually takes care of the odor. I think I am going to have to spend more this time...Argh.

My last lecture revisited

I'm reading Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" book, and find it quite interesting. At the same time, it generally strikes me as being "worldly". He seems to be a great guy; successful, happy, loving husband and father. Yet....it feels strangely empty.  

This led me to think: what would I want to include in MY last lecture?  I'll have to think about that....stay tuned.

Edit: I want to revise my earlier opinion. There are many people in this world who do their very, very best with what they have been given. Randy Pausch http://www.postgazette.com/pg/08267/914333-298.stm   was one of those people.  I'm pretty sure he faced his Maker with the words, "I have not a single bit of talent left; I used everything you gave me." (paraphrased from Erma Bombeck, humor writer that also died of cancer).  

Those of us who have been given the fullness of the gospel have an even greater motivation to live life to the fullest, to live a life filled with gratitude.

Another of those people that I have always thought did their very, very best with what he was given was Peter Popov, Adam's trombone teacher when we lived in the Dominican Republic.  He had faced tremendous problems in his life: he grew up in Communist Bulgaria, was in a plane crash where he lost the sight in one eye, he suffered the death of his wife. He came to the DR as a professional trombonist with the Dominican National Symphony, seeking a better life for him and his daughters.  When we met him, he had saved for a couple of years to get enough money to bring them to the DR to be with him. I'll never forget how excited he was when the day came that they were to arrive; he was just beside himself. We were able to meet them right away, and they were BEAUTIFUL girls: Vessela, age 19 and Jivka, age 15.

And then tragedy struck.  Just a week after they had been in country, the girls went to a disco. Some men followed them home, and when Peter tried to defend his daughters, he was stabbed to death.  

It was such a terrible catastrophe, but through it all, I couldn't help but reflect on what I knew of his life, and I just knew that he was received into the Savior's arms, with the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Hello? Hello? Is anyone home?

Nope. 

Brad is in Honduras, Adam, Marie, Spencer and Emma are at the Cummings playing Mom and Dad while Mom and Dad Cummings are away.  That leaves lil' ol' Laura and Valerie at home. Just two people.  This house isn't used to that!

Celebrating Spencer!

sweet boy
Originally uploaded by katie_wride

This is the month of Spencer, as celebrated by Valerie and anyone else who wants to join in. This is one sweet boy, topped off by his never-ending curiosity. As he told his dad, "I want to learn EVERYTHING!"

32 years ago...

Brad and Valerie Wride September 3, 1976
Originally uploaded by ValerieBW

Look at those baby faces! I wonder what we would have thought that day if we had seen where our lives were going to take us. I think we would have been pretty excited!

September already?!

Lucketts  Fair, Grandpa left (waaah!), Busch Gardens, Katie left (boo hoo!), school supply shopping, gym workouts. Ok, now I'm caught up; I can move on.

Laura started tenth grade today. Does that seem weird to anyone besides me? She was nervous of course, but came home saying it was "Fine". Whew! Fine is good.
Here is our sophomore beauty: (she was thrilled that I was taking the traditional first day of school picture)

News Flash!!

They said it would never happen...but it did! Yesterday at 9:42 AM, Katherine Wride became the newest Virginia driver; that is to say, she got her driver's license! 

The White House!

Last night we had an amazing experience. Aaron, Marie's brother, works as a speech writer/researcher for President Bush. As part of the perks, he is able to give after-hour tours of the West Wing of the White House. We were hoping to go on a tour while Grandpa B is here, but it didn't look like it was going to happen until yesterday morning. Suddenly there was an opening, so we gathered Social Security numbers and our photo IDs and six of us (Brad, Valerie, Kate, Adam, Marie and Grandpa B) met Aaron outside of the White House at 7 PM last night. My photos will speak more details than my words. Suffice it to say that Aaron was a well-read, articulate host and made it a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us! (I wish I could figure out how to label the pictures. Help me out, somebody!)

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

Harper's Ferry is a fun place to visit, when the temperature hovers in the low 80's, the ice cream store is open, and three trains roar through the town, to Spencer's delight. All these stars came together last night as we visited this little town in West Virginia. We were there for a wedding reception (Alyssa Jones), and decided to make a little day trip of it. Now Grandpa can say that he has hiked part of the Appalachian Trail!

Calling all editors!

The following is the first draft of my ward conference talk to the Relief Society sisters. I will be giving it over and over and over again. I would love it if you would read it, and make comments. Editorialize, as it were....Tell me what parts don't really make sense; don't flow together. You can tell me good things too :o)

It is great to be here with you beautiful sisters today and I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say about our topic today. What a great topic we have: happiness and rejoicing.
I brought one of my very best friends with me today. Since I met her, my life has changed so much for the better. She has given me insights and directions that keep me going on the right path, and believe me, that makes me very happy. I would like to introduce you to Gia the Guia. (Bring out GPS) I spent a good deal of my life very lost until Santa gave Gia to me a couple of years ago, and I could get really sappy about how happy I am that I have her with me now.
Just as Gia is my tool that points the way as I drive, The Book of Mormon can be an even better friend and tool, that Christ Himself has given us, to point us to Him and the way to be happy.
Not long ago, as I was reading in 2 Nephi chapter 5, verse 27 caught my attention: “And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.” The manner of happiness. “What is the manner of happiness, and am I living after the manner of happiness?” I asked myself.
Joseph Smith said, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence”. We all want to be happy, right?
I would like to try an experiment with you. I would like to put this little scripture under the microscope and examine it together. I’ll say each word and I would like you to call our synonyms or phrases that come to your mind when you hear the word. In the interest of time, we’re not going to raise hands; just speak up. We’re going to skip over “And it came to pass” and start with

We – (all of us, together)
Lived – (spent our lives, our days, our hours, with friends, family, co-workers)
After – (object of action, following, characteristic manner of, obeying)
The - (only)
Manner – (style, custom, HABIT, behavior, method, pattern)
Of
Happiness (good feeling, joy, contentment, blessed, delight, cheerful

Let’s see what else the Book of Mormon teaches us about happiness. We’ve all seen visual interpretations of Lehi’s dream. Let’s look at it this time through the eyes of “searching for happiness”. We see the traveler (us) holding on the Iron Rod (word of God), wading through the wilderness (the world; our lives) to reach something that seems far away (the tree with fruit). Let’s read again about the tree and the fruit (1 Nephi 8:10): “And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.”
This fruit will make us happy! And we want to be happy, right? Let’s find out more about this fruit. (2 Nephi 2:9) “Wherefore, he (meaning Christ) is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men.” Christ and His atonement is THE fruit that will make us happy. Nothing else will take us there.
A young man was employed by a farmer, who asked the young man to open the headgate for the irrigation water at a specific time: 2 PM. This was a contraption, that included a wheel that looked similar to a steering wheel; all he had to do was turn the wheel, the gears would shift, and the gates would open up to let the water into the irrigation ditches, and send water to the thirsty crops. The young man arrived at the headgate at the appointed time, and went to turn the wheel, but it wouldn’t turn. He pulled and strained, and heaved and huffed, and it would not budge. Time went by; it was now 2:15. The water should have been flowing for 15 minutes by now. He tried everything he could think of. He pounded on it, and eventually ran to get a crowbar and started beating on it, breaking off some of the spokes. It still would not turn. At about 2:45 PM, the farmer drove up to find this young man furious and sweating, and no water in the ditches. “What’s going on?” he asked. “The headgate’s broken. Won’t turn! It’s broken!” “It’s not broken!” the farmer said. He walked over and started turning the wheel, which turned very easily. The young man had been turning it the wrong way! It hadn’t once occurred to him that he was turning it wrong. How long would he have to turn the wheel the wrong way before the water would go through the gates? Forever! It never would have turned. It’s the same thing with happiness. We need to point ourselves to the truth about Christ, His atonement, and God’s laws to get the promised blessings of happiness.
In Mosiah 2: 41 we read: “I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” Did you notice that he repeated the word “remember”? That is how we develop those the habits that we talked about earlier.
What are some righteous, obedient habits that we can live that will bring us happiness?
1. Family – father at tree of life, beckoning to fruit
2. Scriptures – help us understand plan of happiness; we don’t know everything, but we know a lot; Sister Beck – we are half of the plan.
3. Prophets – ancient and modern; what are modern prophets telling us?
4. Preparedness: (2 Nephi 5:14) – spiritual, education, cooking, sewing, gardening, reading, music, fun, financial
5. Work: manual labor, sense of accomplishment
6. Temple: teaches of His plan- provides ordinances essential to obtain promised blessings.
7. (Church) service – inside and out of church; look after one another
8. Prayer: President Hunter quoted the Psalmist saying “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Good habit; to look up every morning, in our joys as well as afflictions.

All these habits are easy to acquire and practice, right? They are if we have the desire.
Some of you might know that I play the cello; I’m a cellist with the Loudoun Symphony. Some years ago I was taking a lesson, and having trouble staying in tune. Intonation is a big problem for players of stringed instruments. You have the find the note every time; you can’t just play a key and the note sounds. My teacher was getting a little frustrated with me, and he said, “It’s easy to play in tune; you just have to have the desire.” My first instinct was to say “Yeah, right”. But the more I thought about it, he was absolutely right. If you really want something badly enough, you will do anything to get it. Christ helps us understand what our ultimate desire should be: in 3 Nephi 11:11, He says, "I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." The desire to obey and submit our will to the Lord's will makes all the difference. Alma shares his testimony of this to us in Alma 32:27: “If ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” And then the promise in verse 42: “And because of your diligence and your faith, and your patience…by and by ye shall pluck the fruit …which is most precious, which I sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure about all that is pure, and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.”
I love the Book of Mormon. I testify that it will point us to that most pure fruit, which is Christ, and that knowing the truth about Christ and His atonement makes us happy.

An experiment...

Many times I'll go into a store and see something that one of my grandchildren would like, but I don't buy it. Typical thought process: "Wouldn't Spencer love this?!! But if I get it for him, I should get something for Emma and Maddie and Daniel and Ryan and Harrison too." So I don't buy it.

But recently I had a brilliant idea. I'll assign each grandchild a month. When I see something during the month that the child of the month would like, I'll buy it with delight, knowing that the other grandchildren will have his/her turn soon. What do you think?

This month is the month of Maddie. Here is one of my fave pix of her. Isn't she beautiful?!!!

 

Parents are so misunderstood!

Grandpa B found this among my files that he is organizing; it's definitely worth passing along. We, as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, have such an impact in the "small and simple things" of our daily lives.

 Read on...


You thought you were happily smiling at your child from a hard stadium seat or a hot packed auditorium,
But your child looked at your face and saw approval of him and joy in what he was doing.

You thought that you were just patting him on the back or on the head, or just ruffling his hair,
But your child cherished the warm loving touch and his heart was brightened.

You thought you were reading a bedtime story with all the funny and scary voices,
But your child enjoyed the fact that you read every word even though he had heard them a hundred times before.

You thought you were letting your child help paint the house even though the paint got kind of runny and drippy in places.
But your child knew that you were working together as a family and felt a sense of accomplishment as a family.

You thought you were singing silly songs or counting the cows on a long boring trip.
But your child learned that it was fun being together no matter where you were.

You thought you were spending a few minutes of your time by throwing a ball in the backyard or baking some cookies,
But your child, who realized that your time is precious, knew you were investing it in him.

You thought that you asked your child's opinion about something that wasn't too important,
But your child thought you asked because his opinions and thought were important.

You thought you were being a good host by inviting your child's friends in for a cool snack on a warm summer day,
But your child knew that his friends were important to you and always welcome in your home.

You thought the tears in your eyes went unnoticed when your child accomplished an important goal in his life,
But your child knew that he was deeply embedded in your heart and you sensed his accomplishment.

You thought that the refrigerator was a s good of a place as any for hanging all the art work and "well done" papers that came home from school,
But your child felt important when he came home from school each day with something to show you and tack up n his personal hall of fame.

You thought you gave your child some simple chore or job to do and told him, "Well done", with a smile when he did it,
But your child learned responsibility and began to realize that he could tackle even tougher things.

You thought you were helping a troubled, restless child get some sleep by fixing a cup of warm milk,
But your child felt that you were opening your heart around a kitchen table and making all the problems a lot smaller.

You thought the vacation wasn't much of a success because the fish didn't bite and the sun didn't shine,
but your child still remembers everything that happened and still laughs at all of the funny parts.

You thought you were just pointing out the words in the hymn book with your child's finger as he tried to sing along,
But your child learned that singing praises to God in worship was important.

You thought you were just giving him a quick hug at a special moment or "just because",
But your child carried it with him for a long time because what you really said was "I'm proud of you" and "I love you".

You thought you were just giving him a little kiss on the cheek to tell him good bye as he left for school,
But your child felt warm and loved because he knew there would be another one waiting for him when he got home.

Come to think of it, there are a lot of times when parents really are misunderstood!

True Confessions/True Principles

General Conference time is coming. Ok, it’s still two months away, but I really look forward to conference weekend. Before it comes around again, I want to share my thoughts on a couple of April conference talks made an impression on me, and changed me. The two talks dovetailed together, the impressions rumbled around in my brain and heart for a while, and then I finally decided to make a change. I had been drinking caffeinated drinks for quite a while to get more energy during the day. My rationalization: I take Tylenol if I have a headache; why not take something to give me more energy? Still, I had a nagging feeling that I wasn’t really taking good care of myself, and may even be falling into an addictive habit. Conference time came around. This is what I heard:

Elder Wirthlin: “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. With all the pressures and demands on our time and the stress we face each day, it’s little wonder we get tired. Many feel discouraged because they have not measured up to their potential. Others simply feel too weak to contribute...
Everyone has felt tired and weary at one time or another. I seem to feel more so now than I did when I was younger. Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, even Jesus Christ knew what it meant to be tired. I do not wish to underestimate the weight that members of the Church bear upon their shoulders, nor do I minimize the emotional and spiritual trials they face. These can be heavy and often difficult to bear.
I do, however, have a testimony of the renewing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that the Lord “giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” 

Ok, so instead of getting my strength from a can, I’ll go to the Lord and pray for energy and stamina?

Then the straw-breaker from Elder Ballard: “Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more.”

Gulp. Are you talking to me? Yup, I think you are talking to me.

So on May 17th, I stopped drinking and taking caffeine. (Well, I’ll have a sip every now and then, but no longer is it a regular drink.) You can see that it rumbled around in my brain and heart for a while, since the talks were given the first week of April! I’m here to testify that my strength and energy are just fine, and my daily headaches have disappeared. I have gained a stronger testimony of the renewing power of Jesus Christ; I had seen it in our prophets and apostles and the energetic lives that they lead, and now I have felt it in my own life.

P. S. Elder Ballard's talk is a MUST READ (again and again) for we mothers, and especially you young mothers. 

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-851-37,00.html

Yippee! Yahoo! Yay!

Peter, Leslie and cutie-patootie Harrison are coming for Thanksgiving!! The reservations were just finalized. They arrive at 2:40 pm on Thanksgiving Day (hmm...maybe we will celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday...) They leave on Tuesday at 4:20 pm. Very short but at least we get them for a little while!!! Yippee!

A day in DC

Yay! We have our girls back!  BoltBus brought them back to DC this afternoon. Grandpa B and I spent some time at the Heritage Foundation headquarters in the morning, before picking up the girls. Grandpa is a faithful financial contributor to the Heritage Foundation, and wanted to see where his money was going. We were given a tour of the building by a very impressive young man, Anthony Campau, who works in Donor Relations. It's late. I just played a wedding gig. I can't think of anything else to say, except that Gpa had a great time.

Crackin' the whip

Grandpa likes to do projects when he is here, and this morning I brought out the mother of all projects.  I have 10+ boxes of "files" that used to serve me very well, but in recent years, they became so disorganized that I didn't, couldn't, use them anymore. I brought them upstairs from their basement storage one by one; after about box #6, Gpa was saying, "Mercy! Give me mercy!"

I'll keep you updated on our progress...

Grandpa B

  We have Grandpa B here with us for a few weeks.  We're so happy to have him here. We "interviewed" him for FHE, and heard about his chosen profession.  He was one of the first to bring the Nuk to the United States. In the early 60's, he worked for Rocky Mountain Dental Products. They had just bought the patent  for the Nuk Sauger out of Germany.  Dad was employed in the marketing division and traveled the country, touting the benefits of this new appliance. He must have done a great job, judging from its popularity nowadays.

NYC!!

We had a very fun and "adventurous" (Grandpa's words) weekend. Gpa arrived at JFK airport at 6:30 PM on Friday, Emily picked him up and brought him to her apartment, then Brad and I took him later to a hotel where we stayed. Emily doesn't have enough room for all of us to sleep. Adam and Marie and family had their spare bedroom, and Katie and Laura had the living room. Saturday morning we got up early and headed out sight-seeing. I have to tell a little funny about Gpa. He was so tired on Friday night after a day of flying. I told him what everyone else was planning to do on Saturday morning, which was drive into Manhattan, see the temple and Central Park. We chatted about it and decided that the Yankee game on Saturday afternoon was probably going to be big enough. About five minutes later he came to me and said, "You know, I might never get another chance like this". So off we went early Saturday morning to see the sights of NYC. We were able to walk into the front entry of the temple. The brother at the recommend desk invited us to come in and look at the lobby area. Straight ahead you see a beautiful stained-glass picture of Christ and his apostles on the road to Emmaus. And of course, the entry and doors themselves are exquisite. I love it when the temple construction shows the most beautiful handwork that man can provide. It shows such reverence for the Lord. I'm so glad we were able to at least step inside and feel that we were already away from the world. Perhaps there are very few places on earth where the contrast is so great, because the temple sits right on the very busy NYC streets.
It is right across the street from the Lincoln Center, one of the most important performing arts centers in the country. Lincoln Center is also right next door to the Metropolitan Opera and Julliard School of Music. What an amazing location for a temple! If you are a passer-by, you might not even notice that it is a temple, because you have to crane your neck pretty hard to look up to see the Moroni Angel on top. Nevertheless, there it is and I would say that it is in the "heart" of NYC, meaning, it is right there across the street from where wonderful music is played and sung and studied. I wonder if the musicians recognize the power of the Spirit from across the street. :0)
After that we walked in Central Park for a while; met up with Jeff, Karen, Holly and Mike, AJ and Matt, who were there visiting. It was so fun to see them! Pretty soon the clouds came rolling in and we dashed for the cars. Gpa had asked me if it knows how to rain in NYC. I think he was impressed.
Saturday afternoon was the Yankee game against the Angels. The Yankees won so I guess we were good luck. It was fun to be there together; the weather was hot but not unbearably so; we sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch, and cheered for all the home runs. There were a bunch of them!
Sunday we had a Latino experience!!! We went to Emily and Jorge Luis's ward which is Spanish-speaking and it felt good to be back. We all thought about Elder Tyler and felt closer to him somehow, knowing that we were experiencing a similar church meeting to him. Gpa, of course, couldn't understand the words but felt the Spirit and the spirit of the people. Many, many people came up to him to say hello and welcome him and the rest of us.
Most of us came back home last night. Kate and Laura stayed in NYC to play for a couple of days. They are in Coney Island today and tomorrow night they go to the American Idol on Tour concert. Say hi to David Archuleta for me!!

Oh oh....

Now starts the trial of our faith. Laura woke up this morning very nauseated and throwing up. I'm a bit woozy myself. I have been reading about "perfect faith" in the Book of Mormon, which after some study I have concluded means whole or complete faith. We have had priesthood blessings and now we can exercise complete faith that we will be healed...in time to go to New York City tomorrow. As soon as I can get off the couch, I am going to start packing. Isn't that what Elder Bednar talked about in his conference talk? He said that after the prayer of faith, we act with intent. I intend to go to NYC tomorrow!

Seamos serviciales

I'm three days into my commitment to blog every day, and I'm already one day behind. (I blogged on Day #2 on my Cellomom5 blog.) Yesterday I spent being Florence Nightengale to poor Kate. I've never seen somebody so sick with the flu in my life. I wanted to take her to the emergency room more than once. Thank goodness she is feeling better today;she is in the shower as I write. We are hoping that the rest of us stay healthy so we can carry out our long-planned weekend to NYC and the Yankee game.

I took Laura and some other young women to the Bishop's Storehouse this morning at 7:30 AM, about a 1 1/2 hour drive at that hour. I was supposed to stay and help too, but decided my service needed to be to my still very weak daughter here at home. Laura wasn't very anxious to go, but I could tell that the spirit of service was perking her up very quickly once she arrived there.
Later: Looks like she had a great time!

Back to blogging

My goal is to update for three minutes every day. That should be do-able, right?

It's a rainy Sunday in Virginia.  I stayed home with Katie, who had an excruciating migraine during the night. Who did we get this migraine thing from anyhow? Everyone who gets migraines, please come forward and tell your story. We need to track down the family history of this nasty, nasty problem.

Anyway, yesterday Laura arrived home from EFY, walking in the clouds. She had a fantastic group, and terrific counselors and it was everything EFY could be.  In the afternoon, we all went to the temple visitors center, where there was a reception for photographers who had photos hanging in the "Monuments of Faith" exhibit. Yes, Kate had a photo in the exhibit!!! You can see it from now until the middle of September in the Washington DC temple visitors center, or you can see it here:

Brad is home for at least the next week. On Friday we head to New York City where we will meet up with Grandpa. He will be going with us on Saturday to the "Old Timers" game at Yankee Stadium. Jorge Luis, the ultimate Yankee fan, has heightened our baseball awareness. We thought it would be fun to attend a Yankee game in this last season of Yankee stadium as it stands now. So wish us luck and good weather! 

Ok, that took longer than three minutes...

Chocolates that we made for Christmas 2007:

Truffles: mint, lemon, orange, Mayan
Almond Joy
Cherry cordials
Peanut butter cups
toffee
orange jellies
raspberry jellies
sandwich mints
haystacks
clusters: raisin, almond, peanut
dried cherry in buttercream fondant
caramels
buttercreams
Hershey's kiss mice

Mmmmmmmm!!!!

Hi from VA!

January 24
Still working on getting a venue for our March 8th concert. This is a volunteer position that was supposed to have been finished in September. In fact it was finished, until one of the high schools came back and said, "Oh sorry, we changed our mind." This has left us in such a bind! I have been calling every church and large space in the county. We finally have some pretty good possibilities, but it has taken so many hours. Time that I should have been practicing, or cleaning, or doing laundry, or ....anything else!!
Whine, whine, whine...
The stake Relief Society is doing a service project at our stake enrichment night on Feb. 23rd. We are going to assemble care kits for the people in our stake that are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. I'm in charge. Woohoo!
Laura auditioned last Friday night to be in a community production of "Little Women; the musical" and she was accepted!!! This is the same company that did "High School Musical" last year, so we know it will be a great experience for her.
January 25
We have gotten hooked on a game called "Ticket to Ride". Just today the "Ticket to Ride - Europe" arrived in the mail. We're so excited! Game night! after Movie night, probably :o) We are such party animals....right.
January 27
I played with my quartet yesterday morning. The rest of the house woke up to Shostakovich #1, which isn't exactly a lullaby ;o)
Laura had her first rehearsal for Little Women; Brad and I watched Emma and Spencer while Marie and Adam went to the temple. When they got home, we went back where they had come from. It was stake temple night, and we were able to meet in the assembly room as a stake. What a sight that is to see all of our friends in white; just add in our family and you have a preview of heaven! This is a big week for our family, with Brett's surgery coming up on Wednesday. We'll be fasting and praying for you and sending mountains of love your way, Brett and fam!

Christmas 2007

Family pix
Originally uploaded by ValerieBW

Boy, did we have a good ol' time! Here we are at the end of almost three weeks living in the same house together, and we still like each other! ('Course, as you can see from the picture, some of us went a little crazy!) There was lots of good food, games, Christmas-ing, and noise :o)
Katie, Peter, Leslie and Harrison came from Utah; Jorge Luis (for one day) Emily, Maddie, Daniel, and Ryan came from New York. As Brad said, "In the scriptures it says that our Father has prepared many mansions for us. I sure hope so, because we don't fit in our house anymore!"