A Walk in the (Palmetto State) Park...

As we get ready for another big winter storm here in Iowa (5-8 inches forecast--we'll see what actually shows up), I've been enjoying looking back at the photos Adam took while we vacationed in Texas.

It seems like such a long time ago!  How nice it felt to be able to just walk outdoors without having to put on boots, coat, mittens, scarf and ear muffs (and still feel cold!).  Catherine and Aaron always come up with great things to entertain us. This one was about an hour's drive from their home-- Palmetto State Park, a location where Aaron had gone camping with the 11-year-old Scouts.  There was a nice winding, 4-mile trail, with a small section of palmettos (hence the name), and Texas woodlands--no leaves on the trees, but the grass was green!

Elley and Alice did their own version of the "Sisters" fan dance and had more fun than Bing Crosby & Danny Kaye.  My favorite moment was provided by Alastair.  He came running back to where I was walking, zigzagging around aunts and an uncle to race into my arms and give me a big hug.
Then he was off again, looking at FIRE ant hills, or trying to keep up with Connor and Brenna.

We found all sorts of ways to liven up the walk. 

Kevin found a prickly pear cactus with a fruit on it, and ate it.  

Yes.  He is still alive.

We all had a great time, walking off some of the Christmas goodies we'd all been consuming!

Oh, the chocolates and the cheeses!

And Lily thought it was heaven--a whole world of new smells.  She's actually a pretty good traveler, as long as she can be in my lap or by my feet. 

Can you spot who took the second family photo?

Thanks again, Sullivans, for such a fun time!

January in Iowa...

January is such a time of cocooning--cold weather outside, cozy home inside--time to read a book, watch a movie, start a new cross-stitch project, work on church callings (organize the materials) or do some home-updating.

All good things, just not exciting to write about or show.

So I'll  show the weather first.  Yes, we have plenty of snow. And cold.

And I'm happy with my new camera--nothing fancy, just an updated point-and-shoot Canon A3100.  More compact.  MUCH better battery!

And it even did a good job with a night-time photo.  

(I liked the pattern the landscape lights made on the snow).

 

We had a missionary transfer, with our fun Sister Whitbeck leaving us, but before going, she had to show what happens when you mention to the people writing you that Iowa is cold and you wear scarves a lot--with Christmas coming up.  

Be careful what you ask for--27 scarves!

And finally, some home redecorating.  We got a new sofa-sleeper for the family room downstairs (with memory foam on the mattress--very comfortable), so we moved the old one to the fireplace room...

...added a bookcase, scrounged up some lighting, and now we have "The Library".  

It's a place to escape to--to read a book by the fire, or just sit and enjoy some solitude.

(Special thanks to Lily for modeling).

It is a room that now has a purpose instead of being a room you just walk through.

We love it!

4 inches of snow...

Kevin and I were joking this morning, 

when he called from China, 

about his great ability to be out of town 

whenever we have a snow storm.  

He has been able to miss out on 

almost every snow-shovel opportunity.  

Since December was the second snowiest month 

on record, that's saying something.

Of course, I got to miss one of those storms as well 

(we were in San Antonio)

and the missionaries got to do all the shoveling.

This snow is very small, dry flakes.  

As I was cleaning off the deck,

I bumped one of the stair railings, 

and the snow just slid down and off the end. 

Snowman-making snow this isn't!  

It's a good thing we don't have mountains here to have 

to worry about avalanches.

Much to Elizabeth's dismay, school was not 

even delayed this morning.  

After all the days out last year, 

most of which were unnecessary, 

it seems that a higher standard is being applied 

as to when school is called off.  

Sounds good to me.

I was wondering...

Yesterday I actually got the Sunday School lesson reading done before church (thank you afternoon meeting time!).  I found myself more deeply engrossed in the story of Luke Chapter 1 than I can remember ever being.  With Christmas just over, and with 50+ Christmases behind me, I HAVE heard this story before.  

So maybe it is because of my experience in being an older mom, but I began to wonder, 

why was it necessary for Elisabeth to be old, and previously barren.  

What influences would that bring to the rearing of the prophet, John the Baptist?

Would she be more tender?  More pragmatic?  Would she be able to set aside, because of her wisdom, the worldly conventions that sometimes press upon us in the rearing of children?  What am I not understanding here?

And then we have Mary.

Obviously, since she needed to be a virgin, having a young woman for her role as mother of the Savior sounds right.  But if having the wisdom of advancing years was a benefit for raising John, why not have a woman who was an "old maid"?  Yet here she was, probably around 16 or 17, untainted (or naive--in the eyes of the world), and pure.

In my limited understanding, it makes sense for Mary to be young, in the same way it was necessary for Joseph Smith, the prophet of the Restoration, to be young--she was unspoiled by the world and open to being taught from On High.  And I would have to assume that she was tutored, either by the Spirit, or with heavenly messengers, to prepare her, teach her, and support her through all the coming trials.

So why wasn't Elisabeth a young woman as well!

I would love to hear any insights you might have!

Ah! Christmas Memories!

I'm having a hard time readjusting to "normal" life.  Yes, our Christmas vacation was that good.  We ended up leaving a day earlier than planned to miss a monster storm moving across the U.S. (and we're glad we did), although that meant arriving in San Antonio in the middle of the night, or rather, early in the morning (3 a.m.).

Somehow, once we were up and enjoying everyone, we weren't too tired.

Deborah and Adam arrived from NYC about noon that same day, and the party was on.

Christmas brings out all the excesses, and sugar is definitely one of them!  Grandma Mildred sent us some of her candy rope, which we used to decorate a 3-tiered silver serving dish Catherine received as a wedding gift  11 years ago, but had never used.  As soon as one candy or cookie disappeared, there was more to take its place.

And now we're all swearing off sugar.  Excess leads to that!

Being with the grandkids was a great part of the week.  Putting together puzzles, small and large,

playing games like Mexican Train, Deborah's special version of Rummy, Rock Band, or other video games, going to movies, and even some shopping were all enjoyable.  

We found out that Adam is great at puzzles--must be his artistic training in photography.  

And we enjoyed putting together the nativity story.  Some participants were more willing than others.   Alastair was having none of being a wise man, until Grandpa became one too.  Brenna was thrilled to be the obvious choice for Mary.

 And Aaron was a good sport as always and played Joseph.  Even Lily got a part--as a lamb brought by the shepherds. Alice was an angel.  Elley was the innkeeper, complete with turban.

 There was also a lot of music.  We brought Deborah's old violin and the girls' violas, and there was often someone playing Christmas carols or preparing for Connor's baptism.

One of my favorite times was Adam on the violin, Deborah playing harmony on a viola, Alice or Elley on the other viola for a lower harmony, and Kevin improvising on the piano as they played through Christmas carols.l

 The other excess we indulged in was cheese.  There were some specialty cheeses Aaron had purchased at Thanksgiving that hadn't been opened so we brought them along.  I also found some great English, Irish and Danish cheeses at Aldi .  Deborah & Adam brought an aged goat cheese from Brooklyn.  It became the nightly tradition to have a bedtime snack of cheese and crackers as we stood around the island in the kitchen, laughing and enjoying the witticisms of Aaron, Adam, Deborah, and Catherine.

It made for some strange dreams, but a great memory!  

The "blizzard" finally hit, and church is cancelled

For several days the forecast was for a big blizzard to hit us on Saturday.  I didn't schedule anything and looked forward to a day of cocooning.   Only, it didn't come.

Instead of snowing, it rained all morning long (which was fine with me--you don't have to shovel rain!).  Then just before noon, the rain turned white and before long the grass was getting covered with the snow. 

Finally, just before dark, the winds arrived.  They howled all night, whipping the 3-4 inches of snow we got into drifts.  The lawns and fields are all bare.  The roads have drifts.  The wind chills are bout -20.  There is ice under the snow.  And we have the entire day to ourselves.  Our ward was cancelled.  The afternoon ward cancelled as well.  So I think we'll engage in a musical "fireside" with the sister missionaries, playing the piano and violas and violins.  This will also be a good time to finish up my Christmas cards.  Except I keep doing things like catching up on my blog. 

In reality, I'm just postponing the moment when I get all bundled up like Nanook of the North and go shovel the drift in the driveway. The worst part is what the snowplow left at the end of the driveway.  Happy Holidays!

So what if Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago?

 Just a few pictures to remember the crazy fun time we had at Thanksgiving!

We pretended we were in a canoe on the ocean on Grandma's bed, (which bought me some more time before I had to get up.  Did I ever tell you that I don't see myself as a morning person?).

We tried something new and went to an indoor water park, were we hung out... 

 and found it to be fun mostly because the rules were quite relaxed as far as the kids went.  Brenna was able to go down slides by herself.  Alastair was allowed to ride with an adult.

I lost count early on as to how many times we climbed the stairs for yet another run.

The parents even caught some slow time in the hot tub.

We had to show the new generation the Fenelon Place "Elevator", which is the world's shortest & steepest railway.

They assured us it has never killed anyone.  But it does cause a bit on anxiety as it moves up the hill on the cables.

 We all made it to the top (it took two trips), so we could see Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin all at the same time as we looked out over the Mississippi river.

We visited it 20 years ago--in 1990.  The benches are the same.  The house in back looks just about the same.  It's only the faces that look different.  (Well, I guess all the coats and winter wear are different as well.)

 There was a lot of silliness...

 a lot of games...

 a lot of eating...

 and even more silliness.

What a great holiday!

Let's do it again next year!

A Mother's Dilemma...

I have come to an interesting situation.  When my children were young, I had no qualms about sharing pictures of them and telling of the things they are doing--some cute, some funny, some otherwise.

Lately though, my teenage daughters have decided they should get to have final say as to what pictures are used and what is shared.  And I guess I would have to agree.

To a point. 

The problem comes with the definition of what is embarrassing, and that definition is different for each of us.  And sometimes, any picture at all is "embarrassing".  I would have to say that I would NEVER want to go through my teenage years again with all the insecurity I felt!

***

Anyway, with all that said, I'm hoping that Alice won't mind my sharing a couple of things about her.

For Halloween, Alice decided that since we'd all forgotten to carve the pumpkin, she'd paint it instead.  She found a picture online on Tom & Jerry, and since I never knew which one was Tom and which was Jerry, I'll just have to say that she painted the cat.

I was impressed, especially when I realized she didn't have any black paint to mix in to shade things.

***

I also wanted to share how self-disciplined Alice is. 

(I feel like a slacker next to her!)

She has decided that she needs more exercise, so she got up this morning at 5:45, did 30 minutes on the treadmill, showered, read her scriptures, then did her piano practicing

before eating breakfast at 7:30.     Me? 

I had managed to read my scriptures before rolling out of bed at 7:10. 

See what I mean?

She always (and this is one time I can accurately use the term "always") does her homework when she first gets home from school.  She's so adamant about it that even when we want her to do it later (for a family purpose), she just can't put it off. 

I could share a number of other things, but since my purpose isn't to embarrass her, I'll stop here.

Raising each child is such a wonderful adventure!

I'm so happy to be a mother.

More sights and tastes of NYC

 Day #3--And we were off to Manhattan to attend the temple, which was a very enjoyable experience.  It's a small temple, but beautiful.  And I can't describe the joy of being in such a place with family.  It is also amazing how quiet it is inside.  You can truly leave the world behind.  

    Afterwards, we took advantage of a farmer's market in the square in front of the temple, picking up some cider donuts, rosemary bread and home-made cheese (called "frolic" because their cows can frolic in their grassy pasture!)

With our picnic in hand, we jumped on the subway and headed for upper Manhattan--for a park on the site of a Revolutionary War fort overlooking the Hudson River.

The large granite outcroppings were very interesting.  I kept wanting to grab my athletic shoes and go scrambling over them!

We also visited The Cloisters--a museum constructed around pieces of medieval architecture, like an arch taken from a castle in England, or windows from someplace in Italy or France.

 So it was fun to see.  It even had a medieval garden.  With a plant called rampion!  I always thought that was just made up for the story of Rapunzel.

 On the way back, we were intrigued by the black squirrels.  Here in Iowa, we have grayish ones with some chestnut brown.  And I didn't even bother taking out the red eyes, because it looks even more like it belongs on Halloween. 

On the way home, we got off the subway in downtown Brooklyn to find this bakery that is supposedly one of the best (as described by Tito--one of Deborah's neighbors).

With lots more walking, and the aid of the GPS on Kevin's phone, we finally found it, and I have to admit, it was worth it!

 These three pastries weighed a couple of pounds.  The lobster-looking one was filled with a delicious whipped cream.  The others had a nutmeg-flavored cream.  We split them four-ways and had dessert for two different meals.  Amazing!  (And probably tons of calories--good thing we were doing so much walking.)

Day #4 and we were off to church.  The Bensonhurst ward, which is a very diverse congregation.  Russian, Japanese, Puerto Rican, Liberian, and so on.  We were lucky in that the subway stop is right in front of the chapel.

In the afternoon, we took advantage of the wonderful weather and walked to the Greenwood Cemetery, only a couple of blocks from the apt. 

But first,their apt. is very identifiable.  Pink shingles on the outside.

 The fall colors were just coming into their height of color, and the cemetery was beautiful.  It was huge, and with such diversity of "residents", from the founder of Steinway piano, Pres. Grant, and Leonard Bernstein, to a regular people.  It was established in 1838, as an alternative to church graveyards.

 Some had such touching poems.  Others were touching because of the date.  Like the fireman who died on Sept. 11, 2001.

Some were simple.  Some were amazingly ornate.  One looked like it belonged to Sleeping Beauty.  But when we went to look, it was for a man.  I didn't recognize the name, but someone wanted to memorialize him!  With a carved man on a pedestal-bed, covered with the huge roof. 

Then we ended the day with a video chat with A & E.  They did very well in our absence. 

 Day #5, we were up early and off, back home to Iowa.  And it's good we traveled on the day we did, because the next day brought canceled flights at Chicago with severe winds. 

All along we felt we were blessed with the right help at the right time,

and the whole visit was wonderful.

I couldn't have asked for a better October trip!

So We Went to the Big Apple!

With our anniversary in October, (#33 this year!), we have a tradition of taking a trip or doing something special at this time of year.  Some years it is just an overnight trip to the temple.

Other years it has been more elaborate, like going to Hawaii, or while we lived in France, going to Switzerland or the French Alps.

This year, it seemed the perfect time to go see where Deborah and Adam are living and what they are experiencing.  And, in true Bailey family style, we really packed in the experiences--with miles of walking and lots of subway rides--it's good we bought the 7-day unlimited pass.  It was "paid" for in 2 days.

 

We arrived in NYC on noon, Day #1.  It took a couple of hours to get to Deborah's apt to shed our luggage, but then we were off to see the sights.  We grabbed a hot sandwich at a deli, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, dodging bicyclists and runners, and then walked all over lower Manhattan to see the World Trade Center site and Wall Street.

 As the day closed, we rode the Statten Island ferry by the Statue of Liberty.  On the return ride, we watched the sun set right behind the Statue.  Memorable!!  With a subway ride back to the apt, we arrived just before Deborah did (she had late parent-teacher conferences).  Adam cooked a delicious soup, we had a great time conversing, and Day #1 came to an end.

 Day #2, Friday, Kevin and I were still on our own for the morning, so we rode the subway to downtown and did the "Top of the Rock" experience--going on top of the Rockefeller Center.  We were blessed with a clear, brisk day and a great view.  We saw the buildings with TV studios (NBC, Fox News, ESPN), the ice skaters (even in the Fall!), and all the people.  There is such energy and life in the city.  So many people going so many places.  It was invigorating, probably because it was taken in such a small dose. 

 Walking along 5th Avenue, there were vendors with cashmere scarves.  I wanted one to help ward off the cold wind, and decided it was the perfect gift for A&E.  The hard part was picking out just three out of all the beautiful colors.  We met Deborah and Adam for a late lunch (her school day was finished early and Adam's work is very flexible),

and thoroughly enjoyed Lombardi's pizza. 

 Then, it was more walking, and more sights.  Chinatown.

 Central Park.

We rented a row boat and took turns rowing, with lots of laughter.

We even fit in an hour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  (Elley, doesn't Deborah look good in your scarf?  She was certainly glad to have the use of it for the day!) 

 After a quick "Subway" sandwich, we were off to Broadway to see "Mary Poppins".

For some background, I'm not usually thrilled with live productions, probably because most that I've seen are of the high school or ward variety.  I have never longed to see a Broadway show but that might be because most that are talked about are "edgy",  That's not me. 

The show was sold out, with some patrons in evening dress, and others, (us!) in street clothing.

The theatre was the first great experience--ornate and classical, with beautiful curtains, boxes, lobby, etc.  The second great experience was the show itself.  It followed the books more than the Disney movie did.  Mary Poppins wasn't quite the cheerful Julie Andrews version.  Some songs were familiar but with updated lyrics and accompaniements.  Some songs were new.  Some songs were left out.  The scenery was amazing!  The singing was superb.  It was so fun to hear live pit musicians.  Even the wonderful Nauvoo pageant uses recorded music but miked singers.

I would have to say that Mary Poppins was a highlight of our visit to NYC.

General Conference

I'm always a little sad when General Conference is over.  For the past month I've looked forward to this--to the messages from our prophet and the apostles, and for the time to just sit and relax in my own home.  We recently switched to a cable company bundle (phone, internet and TV), and the deciding factor was the inclusion of BYU TV.  

Sorry, no pictures to post today. 

I should have taken a picture of Elizabeth bent over a water color painting she worked on during the sessions.

Or of Alice as she embroidered a pillowcase.  (Working on a project for her future home also qualifies as a Personal Progress project).  I was proud of her for also taking notes.

I worked on cross-stitch and some other little projects that didn't take much thought--just something to keep my hands busy when I wasn't taking notes.  I find I'm able to listen better when I have some thing to do.

In talking with Catherine, she had a cross-stitch project,

and Deborah worked on a cross-stitch project she started years ago.

As Brigham Young was quoted as saying, "Never do something you don't want your children to do."  

My favorite talks?  Pres. Uchtdorf's talk on focusing on the most important things.

Elder Holland's talk about all the faithful people everywhere.  Made me wonder if I'm observant enough of the needs around me.

I appreciated Elder Scott's talk about building character.  I can see areas in my life where I have grown, and areas where I still need attention..

I enjoyed the validation of what Kevin and I are doing as parents in Elder Lawrence's talk. 

Pres. Monson's talk on gratitude was certainly on target.  There's a lot there that I need to remember.

Don't focus on what we lack, focus on what we have.

I've found Grandma Bailey to be a good example of this.  Instead of focusing on the trials of widow-hood, she gets busy.  She's indexed over 50,000 names since Christmas.

She plants a garden that feeds half the ward.

She focuses on the small miracles that were evident when her husband passed away.

She lives a life of gratitude.

Once again, she is my example.