Blessings

Cori's work. It was a completely crazy week for Cori at work--and consequently, a bit of a crazy week at home. The plant's labor union contract expires soon and they had negotiations to settle the new contract. This was pretty much the big highlighting opportunity for Cori in this position. Things went amazingly well. They were ramped to spend as much as 3 weeks on the project and got it wrapped up in three (very long) days. I'm so proud of him, and so grateful for his job and all his hard work.

Our Branch President and his wife who saved my can. Thursday night we had the missionaries scheduled for dinner as usual. Cori was entrenched at work and didn't think he'd be able to get away. I needed another priesthood holder in the house to be able to have the Elders and their Zone leaders over. I called the Branch President's wife to invite them to join us. She had to be at the Family History Library that night, but thought they could work something out. The happy ending to the story was me packing dinner up for Sis. C* to take to the church with her and President C* joining me, the kids and all the missionaries.

A piece of potty training progress. Gracie FINALLY used her potty chair this week. She got to wear her princess panties for a few hours. And then asked me to change her diaper every 20 minutes throughout the rest of the day.

My parents and sister who are making preparations to visit in a week. I simply cannot wait to have them here!

Sledding

Last Saturday we made the most of a sunny hour and our mountainous snow drift. It was just the right size for Gracie.

Snow more...I mean no more!

It has finally happened. I'm starting to feel sick of the snow. We woke up this morning to another couple of inches. Hello out there? It's March! The temperature high predicted for the day: 24 degrees. I don't need the whole state of Michigan to say 'I told you so,' because I was not in denial as to the reality of the winter situation here. It was just a little disheartening to look out the window and to know that I'd have to get the snow blower out before I'd be able to go do anything today.

That being said, I want to throw some positive things out into the world about the snow. (Partly because it will make me feel better, and also because Oprah tells me that everything I send out into the universe will come back to me for good or for bad) You know how the Eskimos have something like 100 different words for snow? Living in a place like this, I understand how that could be useful and relevant. It really is beautiful and can be so different with every storm.

For example, the other morning as the sun was rising, there was just the lightest flurry of individual snowflakes falling. The temp. was super cold outside. It was amazing. When the snowflakes caught the sunlight, they were like little pieces of metallic confetti. You can almost see them here.

Then they sat on the snow like mountains of sugar crystals. Remember in White Christmas when they are on the train on the way to Vermont and they sing the song about snow? Its the part where Danny Kaye (whom I adore, by the way) makes the embarrassing diorama of a snowy mountain scape in the dining car. Rosemary Clooney has a line in the song where she sings about wanting to wash her hair in snow. If it wasn't so freezing outside, I wouldn't mind swimming around in the stuff either.

The skies have been clearing more and more and we're getting some of our famous sunsets again. This is my Ansel Adams tree that lives across the street. I love her so much. One afternoon while I was nursing Grant, I sat by the window and watched her toss aside her autumn leaves for nearly an hour. She's just as magnificent without them. This isn't about snow, but was in all the snow pictures so I put it in.

It is really hard to take good pictures of the snow when the sun is out. There just isn't enough contrast to give any definition to the landscape. But late in the day the sun casts long shadows across the field behind our house. It reminds me of the ocean.

I'm not so sick of the snow anymore. Oprah was right.

Wordless Wednesday: Under the Boardwalk, Spring 2007

Dear Journal

I had an instructive episode with Grace that got me thinking. I was vacuuming and though the vacuum doesn't usually bother her, Grace decided that it was just too loud. She insisted on standing right at my leg, probably where the vacuum was the loudest. She put her fingers in her ears and started yelling that it was too loud. This continued for about a minute until she started crying about it. I turned off the vacuum and told her that she should go play in her room until I was finished. The vacuum wouldn't be as loud in there. Still sniffling and upset, she stomped off to her room. When I finished I could hear her laughing and playing happily on the other side of the house. "Silly girl. What a funny thing to do. Standing behind a vacuum and complaining about it being to loud." Into my mind came all the ways that I show similar folly. How often do I stubbornly plant my feet in my problems, stick my fingers in my ears and cry for someone else to make it better? I know that most of the time, I have the power to make any situation better for myself. Even if my only choice is my attitude, I can still choose happiness over broodiness. It was a timely reminder as things have been a little crazy around here. Thinking about this over the last few days has helped me to smile more, to think of others more, to be a little more patient, and best of all, to be happy.

In our curio

I wasn't sure where to begin, so I just started pulling things out of the hutch and taking pictures of them. The first stops on our traveling tour: Haiti and Puerto Rico. The summer before I went to London my family went on a Caribbean cruise. Cruise vacations are so very relaxing. (Although we recently watched a disturbing documentary about modern piracy that is giving us second thoughts about ever cruising near the Mediterranean or the Philippines) Our ports of call were Nassau, Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Labadee, Haiti--on the north coast of Hispaniola. Sadly, my late-teenaged self was not yet in the business of collecting little treasures everywhere I went. So I only have souvenirs for half of our stops.

Haiti The soapstone statuettes were bought in Labadee. Royal Caribbean actually owns a private chunk of land there. There is a gorgeous beach with a few sheltered pavilions where they serve food and have local artisans sell their wares. At the time, I wasn't at all familiar with the social or political situations in Haiti. But 5 seconds in the vendor's pavilion made one thing clear. Poverty. Tens of men, women and children calling out to tourists with expressionless faces, haggling prices with empty eyes, getting up close and personal with anyone who stopped walking. It was the first time I had really been around anything like that. I was uncomfortable. I had a $20, a $10 and a $5. In my first attempts to haggle prices (something else that made me quite uncomfortable, though I've learned since that it is a perfectly businesslike way to get things done, even in America. On my mission I had a Russian companion. We were outside the Smithsonian Museum of American History and she stopped at a vendor's wagon on the sidewalk. She pointed at 4 items she wanted and held up $15. The vendor frowned, agreed, and bagged everything up. Neither of them said a word. I was so amazed. But I digress...) I realized that my soft heart would lead to an empty wallet fast if I didn't get smart. So I put the $20 in one purse pocket, the $10 in another purse pocket and the $5 in my hand. When I found what I wanted, I offered $5. When the vendor laughed and said $30, I told him I only had $15 pulling the $10 out of my purse (not out of a wallet). When he said no, I walked away. That's when he offered the white statue and the green one together for $20. So I magically made my $20 bill appear and high-tailed it outta there.

Puerto Rico The butterflies are from Puerto Rico. Old San Juan is such a neat city. It is the picture of old-Europe-meets-Caribbean beauty. Close-quartered shops line cobble stone streets. One of these great shops sells mosaic-style artwork made from butterflies. It was the most amazing thing. This frame wasn't purchased on that cruise. My parents made a trip back there a couple of years ago. My mom asked me if I wanted anything, and I asked if they could get us something from the butterfly shop. So beautiful.

Bahamas I remember being really surprised at the look of Nassau. It is very flat and sandy. I think I was imagining that it would be similar to Hawaii's lush volcanic mountains. It was very different but still beautiful. We swam with sting rays and got to feed them squid. We also went to a lovely park that was on the ocean. I loved this little stop. Nothing but sand, ocean, palm trees, hammocks and a steel drum band.

U.S. Virgin Islands I think St. Thomas was my favorite port of call. I really want to go back there with Cori. We took a tour of the island which included a stop at the governor's mansion. Very Pirates of the Caribbean. The mansion was at the top of a hill overlooking a large bay. Its decor was in the Dutch style: simply furnished open tasteful spaces. Beethoven's clarinet concerto was playing in the back somewhere. There was a visual flood of tropical scenery out of every open window. It really seemed like paradise to me. This is also where Sara, Jared and I ventured on a SCUBA trip with the company unwittingly named 'Divin' me Crazy.' We collaboratively purchased the underwater video that was made of us on the experience and laugh our heads off every time we watch it. This is due mostly to the gentleman who made the fourth member of our party. The method of swimming with fins was apparently too complicated a task for him. There are several shots of him attempting to walk on the ocean floor, not an easy thing to do strapped with SCUBA apparati. (Sara, stop laughing. He was trying really hard.)

Blessings

• A very busy week. Between his business trip in the beginning of the week, and his scouting camp out Friday night, Cori was away more than he was home this week. It was nice to be busy. It kept me on track.
  
  
• My sleeping babies who did so well while their dad was away. I always have a hard time sleeping when Cori's not home. It was nice not having to get up tons once I was finally asleep.
  
  
• My sweet man. We had a really good talk last night. He knows me, loves me, and accepts me inside and out. Somehow this is more amazing to me the longer we're married. It gets better all the time. I'm reminded of a quote Elder Oaks cited in the adult leadership training a little while ago, "Love is what you go through together." The more we face, the better it gets.
  
  
• Sunny weather. More sunshine this week! The 2 inch thick sheet of ice is almost gone from our driveway. Of course, its just making a river that runs down the driveway and pools by the sidewalk thus creating a skating rink in the morning when its frozen. But its progress.