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!!