Concerts

 What a busy week.  On Friday and Saturday we had the Christmas festival which was amazing.  Thursday B and lP had a concert.  Tonight M had a concert.  Christmas is busy with concerts but I love the music.

Blowing gum

 For FHE we had a combo activity/treat blowing bubble gum.

B struggled which was good because he is used to doing everything so easily.

Christmas break

 I am finished with finals.  I'm pretty sure I got all A's but the university online system was having a lot of issues so grades aren't in.  I took my finals last week before things crashed.  Yay!  Doing assignments early has been a super power for me this semester.  I do much better when I'm not under a deadline.  It feels good to get things done a week early.  When I get close to a due date, I stress instead of getting things done. 
I know that working under pressure is considered a virtue.  I have lived under pressure for so long with raising kids and all the crisis that happen day by day.  I'd rather be like the farm hand that can sleep when the winds blow, because they did all the work before the storm arrived.

One of my professors is a real educator.  She has a larger vision for the students we need to become.  I have learned the most about myself as a learner, and how to study effectively because of the assignments she gave us.  She had us write papers, outlines, video presentations and oral presentations.  I'm so grateful for her.

My strategy for getting ahead on the content is to look through each chapter and make an outline before the lecture.  I add the lecture topics to my outline and fill in other material from the book as I have time to.  While I am off for the next month, I plan to have all the outlines for 2 of my classes before the first day off classes. One of the classes even has a bulleted list in each chapter of "Main points".  Nice!  I use a paper planner to assign myself tasks to stay on top of these non-graded learning strategies. 

Christmas Festival

 This year P, M and I are playing brass in the Christmas Festival Orchestra.  I love this group.  It is wonderful to put this together in a month of rehearsals.  The choir is very good and the instrumentalists pull it off.  The combined 2 stakes put on this amazing festival with rooms decorated like Bethlehem.  It is really beautiful.  I'm so glad we got to do this together.

Thanksgiving 2024

the kids stayed healthy and we were able to visit family and friends in Florida. We spent a day in St Augustine visiting downtown, beach and having a meet-up at the park.

We had so much fun in Gainesville with family.  We played solitaire, hiked for shark teeth and saw the botanical garden.  We did a park meet up with AL and his kids.  Thanksgiving was delicious.  Grandma C had the kids help cooking and prepping.  It was a great visit.

Busy Week with lots of band

 This week lP had a football game to play trombone in the pep band on Thursday. M had a football game to play at Friday.  Saturday was the marching band competition that the high school puts on.  I volunteered at M's game Friday and at the competition doing concessions.  Today we had a rehearsal for the Christmas orchestra and I got to play baritone next to M.  M also received her patriarchal blessing today.  It was a very busy week.

L has a persistent cough.  I really don't like it.  I don't know what to do about it.

Epiphany on working under pressure

 I have been studying since May for my classes in speech pathology.  Now that I am in the classes I work ahead to avoid ever having to get in a procrastination loop of unproductively.  I have had to work in pressure situations for so long that I possibly thought that I work well under pressure.  The pressure situation is met with all the skill and reservoirs of sleep that I have.  So I have done well in pressure.  But if I can avoid pressure by doing the work early that is so much better.

"Working well under pressure" is often held up as a virtue and people don't prepare appropriately believing that they work better under pressure.  It is important to be able to function under pressure and not give up.  But it is crucial to do everything you can to avoid creating pressure when we could have prevented crisis.

Another week doing good

 This week we participated in the national day of service.  L, B and I raked mulch at the park.  M, lP and P did a youth activity project at another church.  M and I did a self defense class.  lP and I helped out at M's football game with the band.  

G was in St. Augustine visiting friends and church family.  He gave a talk in the deaf branch and got to have a welcome home that was missed in the difficult past 6 months.  I'm so grateful for good people who help my children feel loved.  

Another weeks starts.  Grad school is going so well.  I feel on top of my class work and looking forward to future opportunities.  Speech Therapy suits me.  I like helping and I have a hard time with the comparing that comes from being a music teacher.  You're always performing and that's difficult for me.  I love rehearsals.

Primary is going well.  It is so fun working with the kids and doing activities to engage and challenge them.

Kayaking in a long lake

 

The first hour was cool and lovely.  I read the map wrong and thought we were 2/3 done.  Apparently when you are kayaking with no current it takes 3 hours to go 5.5 miles.

The kids did a good job of not crying.  I’m so proud of them.  It really was beautiful.

Ambitious

 I recently visited with my relief society president and another sister from the ward.  They are each similar in age and life situation to me.  They have school aged children, husbands, and they both work.  They described how women of our age have so much experience running a family and managing so many projects at once.  This is an important asset for the work place.  One described herself as ambitious, knowing that she was capabple and worth more than she is currently paid because of her long time out of the work place.  I think I must also be ambitious.  Whatever I do, I want to be really good at it.  I don't bother being good at everything.  But I do make really good bread, live on a frugal budget, keep a blog, line dry my clothes often and teach singing time really well.  I intend to be an excellent speech therapist.  I am an excellent student.  I don't care to make a lot of money or be famous, but I do want to be excellent at everything I do.

coupons

 I love saving money and being frugal.  Recently I had a few opportunities to use coupons.  I felt really silly for not using them.  But at the same time, I saved more money by not going to the store.  When you find yourself trying to figure out what you can buy to spend $25 to save $5, maybe you don't need that stuff.  But saving money is great and I love it when a coupon helps me save on something I was going to buy anyway.

We haven't been able to pay tithing for a few months and have been giving a generous fast offering.  This week P did get some funds and it feels great to pay tithing.  We have been so blessed through this difficult time.  We had support and funds for everything we needed.

Tomorrow we hope to go kayaking!  The kids don't actually enjoy it but that's OK with me.

School is going well, and there were some people sick

 L threw up on the first day of my classes so we got to experiment real fast on how it would go if I had to leave him home.  Class has been not too challenging and sometimes even fun.  The women in my classes are really fun.  On Friday I had asynchronous class and didn't have to go to campus.  I did have to write a 2-3 page paper though using citations.  

I got to volunteer at the kids schools a lot.  Monday and Wednesday I worked with the beginning tubas.  Tuesday I shelved books at the elementary school.  Thursday I volunteered with the HS band for a football game.  They have middle school kids come and help out.  This is brilliant recruiting.  I was supervising the middle school kids and enjoying the event with all the band moms.

P got sick on Wednesday but felt well enough Friday to be a 2nd staff member to accompany the band to the football game.  He's still recovering.  

I'm really looking forward to going to class this week.  I have a study method figured out for Anatomy and Physiology.  I use the end of chapter quiz to make flash cards.  After I have chewed on these new words and ideas a little I watch the Anaquest chapters and videos.  Finally I read as much of the chapter as I can.  It is a lot to absorb.

It has been hot and dry for a few weeks.  The coming week is forecast to be even hotter.  I watered the lawn today to give the grass a little sustenance to beat the heat.

Your mom goes to college

 I started classes on Thursday and Friday.  Each class had an intro and read the syllabus class.  I'm encouraged that I'll do ok in this cohort of students.  I know so much more about how to study and make flash cards.  

I bought books over the summer and read several chapters and read all the chapter summaries.  I'm surprised at how much I learned so far.

independant bike rider

 L started riding his bike to school alone this week.  It's hard to let him do that but it is also awesome that he wants to and can.  I will be leaving for school tomorrow morning.  Knowing L can get himself to school makes it easier for me to leave when I need to for classes.  I'm grateful for his big heart.

Grief and relief

 I saw on FB a post about someone sending groceries instead of flowers.  It reminded me of Sister Harrell who filled up our freezer when G was sick.  That reminded me of Kathy M who came to the hospital and force P and I to go home for a few hours.  When my sister has a baby I send snacks in bulk.

Last night for FHE I gave a lesson on behalf of G.  I told the family about Tracie S who is amazing.  We all know she is amazing.  I told them about how she has a sister with severe disabilities and how that impacted who Tracie became.  She became a helper.  Another siblings response have been to disconnect from the family.  “We always have choices, so I’ll choose Him.”

fall 2024 when we all went to school

The 4 younger kids started school on August 1st.  L is alone at the elementary school.  B and lP are at the middle school together.  It's nice to see B growing as the little brother.  He's been looking out for L for the past 10 years!  The next time they will be in school together will be B's senior year when L will be a freshman.  M is a senior.  Amazing.

P started at a new school on the 2nd.  This school has a much higher achieving population.  It is also just 12 minutes from our house in the opposite direction from usual rush hour traffic.  He's had a great first week of classes.  Even though he is having to write his classes from scratch, he has such an easy population to teach.  He is loving it.

P is driving G to Gtowne today.  He'll start classes on the 19th.   We have worked with G to get the FAFSA paperwork and have left a lot of details up to him.  He hopefully will be able to find a place to stay.  It's so hard to let kids go and do things themselves.

I'm starting a graduate degree program for Speech Therapy on Thursday!  I'm really excited about this field and the potential to have a career from age 50-65.  I'd enjoy doing home health.  I'd enjoy working with kids.  I'd like to do telehealth as I age and hope to be available to visit my kids and their future families.

We've had a really crazy year.  Things were really horrible in February and then they stayed not good for many months.  In July we finally got some movement toward a positive family future.  Here we are in August and so much has been resolved.  I'm so grateful for our strong marriage and how we've been able to be kind and loving to each other in these adverse times.  God did not lead us here to "abandon us in the wilderness."  We have been so blessed.

family fun

 G got the kids set up with 4 player mariokart.  I love it when they are all doing something together.

G also taught L how to make PB candy. 

G will go to Gtowne in a week to start college.  This has been a hard season for him but I hope he has a good start in Gtowne.

Broken desserts

 I made a dessert to celebrate P’s first day at his new school.  L, M and I didn’t eat any.  It is weird that we’re a family of 7 and can’t/don’t finish a small pan of  brownies.

Also, M asked for a haircut not done by a family member.  The stylist did a lovely job.

Remember Ricki Lake?

 When I was a kid there were shows like "Ricky Lake" and "Dr. Phil".  These shows interviewed regular people who had something terrible happen to them.  This interview was choreographed to be super emotional and often involved the person who hurt them showing up mid-interview for more shame and emotional manipulation.  

One of our kids got into instagram without permission and keeps fighting us to get back on.  They had multiple instances of posting inappropriate things.  They act like it is a privilege that was taken away.  They never had permission.

With instagram you can put yourself on the "Ricky Lake Show".  Tell people inappropriate, embarrassing things.  Make allegations.  Get a lot of sympathy and negative mental health hits.  Ohh.  Yay.

Werewolf

 We took care of my niece B last week.  Spending time with her, without the people who usually spend time with her, was eye-opening.  She hasn't spent her whole life getting me to buy treats, so when I say "no" for the 5th time, she stops.  I'm not having conversations with her family so she's not interrupting my conversations with those family members.  I got used to her sense of humor and could appreciate or ignore things like her pretending to want to do something dangerous, or touching wine bottles at the store.  In many ways she seems cognitively like a 5 year old.  Once I made that mental shift it didn't bother me when she asked questions like a 5 year old, or needed help like a 5 year old, or got into things like a 5 year old.  It helped my children to be warned to ignore her vocalizations during scripture and prayer.  They could understand she was just trying to get a reaction.

She missed her family a lot and called them every day.  She started spending more and more time in the beanbag bed before her dad came.  Then she perked right back up.

I've often wondered what is God's plan for people with disabilities?  How is this just?  It's not.  It's not supposed to be.  We are all different, and born into different circumstances that largely dictate what choices we have in this life.  But what choices remain, we are accountable for.  

The kids like to play a game called Werewolf which is a lot like mafia.  I don't like the game because the Werewolf is supposed to lie and say they are not the werewolf.  But that is the game.  That is life.  

We all have different roles that we play during the very brief mortal life.  We close our eyes, and open them not knowing what roles others have, not even knowing what role we have sometimes.  But we are to do the best we can during this life and not be jerks.

In the next life there will be no disability.  We will all be more glorious than we were here.  But we will have to rely on the Savior to atone for the mistakes we made here.

Road trip with M

 M and I did her highway driving road trip.  She chose Chicago and we didn't know until 1 day before we left if she would have her permit back and could go at all.  She had forgotten her wallet on the bus home from FSY and it took a while to get it back.  She drove up to Indianapolis where we car camped outside the city at a hipcamp location.  

We visitited a sculpture garden in Indianapolis and went to walmart to stock up on food before going into Chicago.  M drove us to south Chicago and I switched drivers at the most sketchy gas station I've ever visited.  We went to the zoo and walked out to enjoy the waterfront.  We drove to our city camp location then rode the train back into the city to enjoy the evening. We saw the bean and other city sights along with lots of other tourists.

Tuesday we rode the train and bus down to the University of Chicago and M signed up to do a campus tour.  We were trying to visit a free art space and got onto a train based on Google Map instructions.  It turns out the train wasn't part of our $5 all day pass.  Live and learn.  The train was just $3.50 and took us all the way up to the Millenial Park area.  We got back on the CTA and took a bus to the art place.  After the art place (with very cool fabric arts) we planned to ride a bus to campus for the tour.  The buses for that area were not running because of a nascar race the previous weekend so we had to walk a few miles.  We did get back in time for the tour but it was a haul.

We left Chicago as it was lightly raining.  As we navigated to our hipcamp for the night it was almost like we were driving through a hurricane.  In fact it was Tropical Storm Beryl.  The gps took us on small roads with construction so we didn't arrive until almost midnight.  The camp gps pin is off so it took us to the neighbors driveway.  Unable to find the camp, and so late at night, I decided to go and park at a repair shop I'd seen on the way in.  As we leaned our chairs back, ready for a long night, a car pulled up.  The camp host had been prompted to go see if his cab windows were open and he'd seen us in the neighbors driveway and come to bring us in.  He literally took pity on us and let us use the cabin lodging for no extra fee.  It was raining torrentially at this point.  The cabin was so nice and had a bathroom inside.  So nice.

We went to DC through more Tropical Storm weather and arrived at 9:30.  Cousin B was there and we all went to bed.  Thursday morning Cousin B went to her program and M and I went to visit my dad.  He offered to drive us in to DC and pick us up to save us time and money.  We got to see museums and monuments for 8 hours!  You can see a lot when it's just 2 adultish people able to walk a lot.

Friday we went thrift storing and had lunch at the Green Olive with my dad and his wife Janette.  Afterward we played Scrabble.  M wanted to go to the botanical garden so we headed to at 4 hoping to get a street parking spot.  Our plan worked!  The botanical garden was awesome.  Like a zoo but plants.  We went to pick up cousin B and then went back to the thrift store and shopping for milk.

Saturday we went to the zoo and then started our trip home with cousin B. 

Last kickball game

 Last night we were at a ward party and after enjoying a hike and dinner I joined the kickball game.  15 boys with a median age of 16 against 7 girls with a median age of 12.  When the boys were up they all got to kick and I called switch when it came around to the first boy again.  The girls were up and got 3 outs in 3 kickers.  I told the missionaries to pick teams.  I'm not anybody's favorite adult.  Yay.  G and I caught a lot of fly balls, and I twisted my knee kicking the ball.  

July 4th

 We joined some other families for a ton of fun today.  Swimming at one families house.  Dinner and games at another.  Fireworks at the third.  At the house with fireworks there was another 3-4 families and tons of fireworks.  My kids have never had a box of pop-its and only 1 or 2 sparklers.  They were amazed to have access to a table full of these small fireworks.  

We have had a lot of varied and awesome 4th of July activities.  P has played in the community band and we watched fireworks at the park.  We have gone to DC to watch a parade, visit museums and watch fireworks at the national mall.  We have stood on the lions bridge and watched the fireworks launched in the intercoastal waterway.  We have had a BBQ and swimming at a friends house and walked over to see the fireworks.  We have driven up I-15 and seen firework shows going off left and right up the valley.

I'm grateful for my family and the blessing it is to share these times together.  

Imperfection

 I've tried watching videos of a speaker/author but I didn't like her mannerisms so I dismissed her message.  I recently got a book by them and it is so nice.  I'm not distracted by her accent or hand movements.

We started doing Sign Language Book or Mormon today.  I love helping the kids build fluency.  

We also talked about taking responsibility for our emotions and using "When you ______ I feel ______." statements.  lP has a friend who was harassed for a year about something by a boy who liked her.  lP teases this friend about the same thing but they take that interaction as a sign of friendship.   So we went around the room getting hypothetical peanut butter sandwiches thrown at us and describing our feelings.

Swimming Hole

 We had a nice adventure on Saturday swimming in a local creek.  I love learning of new adventures right here in this town.

As Bread is Broken

 Our family sang one of the new hymns in church today as a special musical number.  "As Bread is Broken" is a new sacrament hymn.  It has grown on me and I really love it.  

M and lP went to FSY in Kentucky this past week.  I love that the church has made that available to everyone.  I'm grateful for programs that help children and youth feel loved and feel the spirit regardless of income.  

I went to a painting meet up yesterday with sister from the ward.  It was so lovely.  We followed a youtube tutorial with palettes prepared by the host.  There was a lot of self deprication but I really appreciated the chance to paint in a social situation. I haven't painted in a long time and don't usually finish something.  This guided painting was very nice.  I'd like to do this with the children.

Girls camp

  This year I was serving as a YCL specialist.  I met with 15 girls (never all at once) to plan Wednesday of girls camp.  This stake is serious about youth leadership.  They had 3 meetings with everyone who could come and encouraged us to have 2 meetings with just our day group.  The girls decided what, when, how long, and who of their day.  

Wednesday did 4 short lessons in rotation so 8 girls were involved in that planning and teaching.  Later in the day they did 3 activities in rotation, another 6 girls, with some overlap.  They planned and administered a Q&A session with 4 YCLs and 1 adult.  They had a songfest, faith walk, and testimony meeting.  All of this was planned and carried out by the girls.  They asked adults they wanted to be involved.  They decided what songs to sing.  A young woman started and ended testimony meeting.  The adults did get the blindfolds and set up the tree for testimony meeting.  But there was incredibly minimal adults talking, all day, all camp.  I'm so grateful I got to support them and that my girls got to be a part of it.

4 agreements

 Our book club today was on the" 4 agreements".  I served themed refreshments.

Be impeccable with the word: Pickles

Take nothing personally: Fruits and vegetables.  That's how they are.

Assume nothing: Cheese Ball.  What's in it?

Do your best: P Breads.

In our discussions I gained more appreciation for my mom.  She was criticized a lot as a child.  In her marriage she was criticized a lot and abused.  But she didn't pass that on to me.  She told me stories of people being mean to her and I developed an internal dialog that it was wrong for people to treat her that way.  She supported me in pursuing sports and music.  She advocated for me to be included in the classes for smart kids even though I wasn't the smartest kid.  So many people are torn down by their parents but she always built me up.  I wish I had appreciated her more in this life.

P took me to see a concert where I heard this piece.  The words are not so poignant, but the music is so heart breaking.  Morten Lauridsen is my favorite composer.  We went to hear another piece, O Magnum Mysterium, which was very nice, but "Prayer" was so beautiful I just lay my head on P's shoulder and sobbed.

P finished the book shelves!  We also replaced the sink in the kids bathroom and framed the mirror with trim.  It looks great.  I love our home.

sacrifice and consecration

Last week at the temple my mind was very drawn to the law of consecration.  We consecrate everything we have been blessed with our which we may be blessed with to building up God's kingdom here on earth.  It is eternal going into the past and future.  I am already consecrating my speech therapy classes, knowledge, future job to the Lord. 

Sacrifice is letting things go.  What do I let go?  Expectations, anger, pride and sometimes comfort.  I give up my will to let God prevail.  To let his plan be the plan I love, I give up my plan in favor of a better one.

Consecration is letting things grow.  So you find yourself in a situation you didn't anticipate, expect or wish for.  In the words of "Cruz" in "Cars 3" "Use that!"  All God's creatures have a place in the choir.  Some sing low, some sing higher, some sing out loudly on the telephone wire and some just clap their hands or paws or anything they've got.  Yeah.

Life is so beautiful.

Family Retreat

 Friday night we went to a family retreat for families with deaf kids.  This group has state and commercial sponsors so it only cost$50 for our family.  It was incredibly nice and the kids had a great time.  Many of the people there had small children with implants.  The mission of this organization is "If it works for the child it is the right decision."   Some signed, a lot did not.  But it was really nice for that to be a non-issue.  We all got along and enjoyed the common struggle like IEP meetings.  There was a formal interpreter and captions for sessions and farm tour.  But it was more chill, like our old home ward.  The camp where it was held was so nice.  Our family had a large room in a house with a common room.  We took a really nice hike on Saturday including a swinging bridge that lP triumphed over.  I love our family.

Books, books, books!

 

P bolt these beautiful shelves.  We haven’t had our books for over a year since packing to sell the house in February.

He designed them including the nice base that fits over the floorboards.  It is built onto the wall and the shelves are only 8 inches deep to conserve floor space.  Beautiful!

Creating is its own reward

 I like to write blogs, music, stories, journals, make movies etc...  While there are some people who make money doing these things, it's OK that I get to enjoy doing them.  P enjoys the things I create.  I recently submitted some pieces to a competition and did not get chosen.  That's OK.  This is the great lesson I learned from Group Solitaire "It is enough to play."  Don't expect to win.  Do your best and have a good time.

Trip to see family

 This weekend we got to visit my brother for my niece's baptism.  It was so nice to see them and support them on this special day.  They took us out to lunch afterward.  So nice!

On the way home we stopped by Mardis Falls which was a short hike for such an amazing waterfall.  It was a beautiful day.

Conference Weekend

 M is at a band trip for Indoor Winds in Kentucky.  P and I enjoyed watching the National Brass Band competition this weekend.  We took the boys to the natural history museum while lP did a duet at Solo and Ensemble.  We've been enjoying conference between these activities.  The inclusion of new music has been very nice.

I love our new home.  It is quiet as we hoped to find.  I like the features that are more updated than our previous home.  We live in such convenient proximity to schools and shopping.  The yard is beautiful.  

General Authorities often tell cute stories from their early days of courtship or marriage.  P and I have some good stories and I hope that we can see the Lord's hand in our lives.

Easter feast

 We don’t celebrate holidays as big as some do but we do some special things.  When we have a holiday meal I like to have the kids sign up to bring something.  G chose to bring hamburgers.  M brought strawberries and crepes.  Penny brought green bean casserole.  B brought pickles and flat bread.  L brought ice cream.  P brought carrots.  I helped make and buy many of these things. LP and I made sugar cookies with m&m bunny faces.  I also made French toast.

We go to the ward party and community events but don’t do baskets at home.   I feel like they already get so much candy at these community events that we don’t need to do more.

I do love a family meal.  Maybe we’ll start doing this monthly.

Apple tree

I pruned the apple tree.  Maybe too much.

This is our beautiful flowering cherry tree!

This is our peach tree.

The giant tree behind our house is a Bradford pear.
 I love our house so much.  We have amazing trees.

Alabama Kayaking

M gathered treasures from the river.  One of our first kayak experiences 8 years ago was a river clean up with the county naturalist.

We went kayaking for the first time in Alabama and the first time in about a year.

Last year at this time we were so busy preparing the house for sale and showing it that we didn't go kayaking.

This river flows to the Tennessee river.  We thought there would be current but there wasn't much of one.

The weather was cool and sunny.  Perfect weather to wrangle everyone out on the water. 
 

Holy Week good

 

G and I got to attend a session today.  He had to ask over and over for the ASL video.  The temple worker kept whispering that there was captioning for the video.  I’m proud of G’s persistence.  I was so tempted to get up and mama bear, but he prevailed.

Singing Time Leader

 Around Halloween our Primary President asked me to cover singing time.  The Leader had had a baby and would be out for a couple of months.  When the leader moved at the end of the year I was called.  Once I had the official calling I got serious about cultivating a culture of movement and engaged singing times.  I joined the Sharla Dance facebook group.  I bought the book "To teach a child a song"  After deep diving on the methods I got 10 months planned out go teach all program songs using techniques that appeal to different intelligence.  She has the techniques spelled out in the book and the facebook group (started by fans of her methods) has great discussions and ideas.  It is a joy to prepare the materials.  Melody map, bell charts, patterns to beat sticks with a song, that we use just one Sunday.  Knowing I am just using it one week, I am able to plan exactly that much effort.  Sometimes it does take an hour to make a melody map or a couple of hours to make a bell chart.  It's fun though.  And the children are so engaged. 

Pride and Prejudice

 Our book club read a Jane Austin book, "Persuasion", my first.  I read the wiki summary so I could know what was happening before I began.  Afterward I watched 3 film adaptations.  It was fascinating.

I decided to finally read "Pride and Prejudice" and watched the Kiera Knightly version.  The BBC version had old feelings for me.  I'd first seen it as a Jr. high kid tagging along with my older sisters at their friends house.  Being 13, it seemed really long and confusing.  Over the subsequent 30 years I never did watch the whole thing contiguously.  Even after I had borrowed it from the library, it sat unwatched for a long time.  I watched it this week and really enjoyed it.  

Everyone was so young!  In previous exposures to the film I was 12, or college age.  But now, as I'm the age of the parents in the film it is so amusing.  Now, married for 24 years I watch things differently.  I see the contrast in the actors expressions.  I see the awe and joy when they marry.  It really is a masterpiece.

light and the love of God

 Today I bore my testimony to the primary about light and rainbows.  The rain does not make the colors.  The full spectrum of colors is always there.  Under special circumstances, we are able to see them.

The love of God is that way.  It is always there but sometimes we are able to see it.

Beautiful visit