China sites and sights- Beijing

So much to see.

We were out of the hotel before 8am most days, and did not return until after dinner, well into the evening. Full days! And even so, that does not even scratch the surface of all to see in China. But here's a try...


The Temple of Heaven in Beijing- constructed in the 1400's, during the Ming dynasty, without nails! Beautiful in intricacy, detailed and ornate.








A drive-by of the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium, still under construction, and next to it, the "Water Cube," the National Aquatics Stadium. Very cool modern architecture. It will be fun to see them on tv this summer!

The Great Wall! Whoa! Just a small section of the 6000 miles, but still- wow! J and Papa climbed up to that highest house you can see in the photo. Steep!
















The Forbidden City. HUGE! 9999 rooms. We saw about 1%.

Tian'anmen Square. It was crowded, even at dusk, because the Chinese Parliament (hmmm... Parliament? I'm not sure that's correct, but anyway, some sort of national government meeting...) was taking place that day. While we were standing there, the lights went on, all around.

(grrr... photos and text placement aren't exactly working the way I would like, but alas, time to move on to other things, like getting dressed, and school, and....)

Real China

We traveled to China as part of a business delegation from the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, so our day was tightly orchestrated by the Chinese travel group. But, we were allowed opportunity to meet and mix with "real" Chinese folks. These are some pictures from those experiences.

J was definitely our group ambassador and go-to-guy. If we needed a volunteer, he was the guy. He made friends everywhere we went. The picture at the top was the first morning in Beijing, at a park where many retired Chinese would gather for morning exercises. He picked J out of the crowd to play the ring game with- and managed to ask us, without a word of English, to send him a picture of them together once we got home.

One stop was at Buddhist temple in Hangzhou. I missed the shot of a monk talking on his cell phone. Really, why shouldn't a monk talk on his cell phone, and yet it seemed like a strange juxtapostion...

Joe was our tour guide in south China. Great guy! He has seen so much change in China in his lifetime. He tells us that in 5 more years, China will be yet even more different than what we experienced now.

We saw many examples of Chinese culture, arts and crafts. Imagine sitting at a silk carpet loom all day, tying knots. They tell us that a room sized rug can take up to a year to weave. A year! We often heard that women do the detail work in art work, because "they are more patient." Technically, that cross-stitch that I started when I was pregnant in 1993 has taken me 15 years to complete, but not because I am patient...

Nearly every public place we went was exceedingly clean. And rarely a trash can in sight. We theorize that is because there are so many public workers, sweeping up after the masses.

The man "writing" on the sidewalk was doing calligraphy with water. Of course, we had no idea WHAT he was writing. But, we know it didn't last long.

Chinese toddlers! So very cute. Nearly always with their very proud grandparents, always very eager to allow us to dote.

Food! The fruit picture was taken at a street market, where booth after booth offered delicacies, most unrecognizable to our American eyes.

We saw the silk making process from worm to finished comforter. To start to unravel silk thread, they soak the silk cocoon in warm water to find the end of the thread. What an undesirable job that would be, with your hands in warm pupa water all day...

Want fresh chicken? Pick your bird, and the guy will take it to the back, kill it and pluck it for you. Tired of chicken tonight? The outdoor market in Suzhou also offered fresh turtles, frogs, snails, and snakes. And, almost any thing else you can think of- a regular open air WalMart, well, of sorts.

And this doesn't include the sights that break a piece of your heart, moms begging for money with their babies or toddlers in tow. Or the MANY street merchants, referred to as "mosquitos" by the tour guides, because of how they swarm tourists. Or those that stared at us- especially the blond ladies in the group. Real China.

China notes

We're back. LOOONNNNGGGG trip home. Monday, March 10, 2008 lasted about 32 hours, Shanghai to Omaha. So thankful to travel. So thankful to be home. That is always me.

In our 10 days of travel, we visited 4 cities. We ate A LOT of rice! Drank a lot of tea! We saw temples and Ming architecture and modern skyscrapers still in progress. We saw street musicians, Chinese acrobatics and a Cirque d'Solei like show. We traveled by airplane, bus, boat, and MagLev train.

So much to tell.
In a few posts, hopefully, I can share some of it all.
With pictures.

stay tuned...

Beijing

Chinese saying: It is destiny for everyone to be together.

And so, here we are in China!

We have been busy, from sunrise to sunset. The last couple of days have been spent in Beijing. We have seen all the highlights of Beijing:
--the Temple of Heaven, where the emperor would pray for the harvest (hmm... we call that "church," right Joetta? :-) )
-- the Ming Tombs, where we saw amazing examples of artifacts from the Ming dynasty
-- The Great Wall, STEEP, LONG, one of those "I really can hardly believe that I'm standing here right now" moments
-- the Summer Palace (seen in the photo above), where the emperors would vacation
-- the Forbidden City- though only a small fraction of the 9999 rooms...
--Tian'anmen Square- with no absolutely no comment from our guide on the scene that enters all of our minds when thinking of the site

We've shopped at:
-- a Jade Factory
-- a Cloisonne Factory
-- a Pearl Market
-- street vendors (though only a couple of the many that have approached us!)

We've eaten:
--Chinese food and more Chinese food, including Peking roast duck

We've been diagnosed by:
-- TCM- a professor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (my kidney is not in yinyang and taking two herbal supplements for $163 American dollars would have helped...)

Highlights:
--surviving trip over! so very long!
--meeting the Chinese folks
--James playing with older man at park outside Temple of Heaven
--Keilah and James interacting with others, both the Chinese we meet and others on the tour
--driving by Olympic venues, still under construction
--walking the Wall
--lunch in family home

The internet connection here is iffy, at best. I can receive email but not send it. grrrr. Right now I can't download any other photos. I'll figure out some sort of slide show when we are back home.

Tomorrow we are off to Shanghai and surrounding areas, including Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Blessings!

Friday Five- 5 US places...

A day late on the Friday Five... ooops.

Since K, J, and I are traveling in the week ahead, to CHINA! China?!?! wow. go figure. On Tuesday, which might be Monday for those of you in US time zones, I can't really get my head around that time exchange..., we'll visit the Great Wall of China. Stand on it. Our 6 little ol' feet. wow. (that is not a "eh, no big deal" little w wow. It is a "we sit here in awe and don't know what else to say" little w wow.)

So in anticipation of that event, I've been thinking of some of the really cool places, this time, all in the National Park system, that I've been able to visit right here in the USA. If I had done this earlier, I'd have photos of all these places. Alas. This time, all credit goes to the National Park Service.

So, this week's Friday Five, in no particular order, I think...

5. Muir Woods National Monument: My favorite spot of serenity in the Bay Area. A hidden jewel. You can't help but whisper standing under those giants. I immediately realized how small I am in this Creation.





4. Devil's Tower National Monument: This is a place that we would have never gone if we didn't just happen to be driving by. (well, "driving by" as in it was less than 100 miles, maybe less?, off the path of the highway we were on) But it is cool. And, the first National Monument, from back in 1906. I am not putting on it's photo because blogger isn't cooperating. But you know Devil's Tower. Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind...

3. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park: Truth, we spooked ourselves in the DARKEST night we have ever before or since seen, and we never made it even close to flowing lava. But we picked up lava rocks. (some of us might have done more than pick up rocks, but that can be a confession for him, not me... :-) ) The very good restaurant looks over the edge of a crater. How many places can you dine at and say that?


2. Bandelier National Monument: Maybe the first national park I ever knew. (hmmm... that or Carlsbad Caverns...). This picture with the ladder is exactly how I think of Bandelier. Climbing ladders! I remember wondering how real families lived in those little apartments...








1. Mount Rushmore: I adore Mount Rushmore. Most spectacular, when you round that one curve in the road and there is Mr. Washington's profile, staring down at you! In my mind's map, Mount Rushmore is on the way anywhere from east to west. Ask my husband about that... At any rate, never ever pass an opportunity to stop at Mount Rushmore. Never.

-5R + 85 = 12R

Said to daughter working on algebra homework,
"well, it's always easier to keep it positive if you can..."

hmmm...
now there's a rule for life...

"A Musical Burst of Diplomacy"

J. and I think this is a neat story!

Skyping

I confess, I am typically slow to embrace new technology. I have heard about the video camera for the computer for ages, and absolutely refused. I think of how I typically look while in front of the computer (like right now, in a sweatshirt and pajama bottoms..., or at early am hours, me and my bible and my online concordance and commentary...). But, I have had a change of heart.

Today we had our first Skype video call with friends Beth and Harold in Australia. What a treat! Go figure! We are half the world away from them. We were in the middle of a midwest Saturday afternoon and they were dressed and ready for church in Melbourne. And we each sat in front of our computers and had a chat. We saw Harold's new beard! We laughed with one another. We caught up.

It's the Jetsons in real life!
I'm sold.
Sign up.
We'll chat.

Warning to the Bibliophile...

"Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge."

John Wesley (1703-91)

Friday Five- art

Today's Friday Five is actually the Friday 6- 6 pieces of art. The artists? Grown in-house.

My kids are MUCH (that is purposely in CAPS and in bold) more artistic than their mom or their dad. (maybe their dad would argue, but I don't think so...) Today's Five was inspired by S., who before 8 this morning, was working on yet another craft- a space helmet. These guys are always doodling and creating, and even though that can be messy at times, and even though it means that I am forever in search of my scissors and tape, it is a joy to me.

Here's Five (well, Six) Pieces of Art from artists I enjoy:

The stained glass sunflower is from our Su. girl. It was her second solo glass piece- pretty neat, no? It hangs over my sink, so I look at it frequently. And enjoy it always.

The modern Jackson Pollack-esque work is by J. He created it in art class a few years back. J has always been an artist. He has been creating incredibly detailed military battle scenes since he could hold a pencil. His rendition of Captain Hook, from an age 4 perspective, still makes me and his dad smile.

The vase was created by K. when she was 12. I especially love it's colors and angles. I didn't know that you couldn't actually put water in it at first, and boy was that a mess! Now it holds paper flowers that she and Su created. (they happen to be the only flowers thriving in our house...) K is also known to create neat jewelry pieces, and shares them with her friends.

L.'s little piece was created in the style of Monet, when she was 6. It didn't photograph well, so you'll have to believe me on that one. She describes it as "stripes," but it looks like a landscape to me. It reminds me of the sea.

The space helmet. S might best be described as a folk artist. She uses any and all materials around her. She can make a box into a work of art. All the better if the project requires a roll of tape, hot glue and glitter. She says that the space helmet really should have glitter on it, but the foil is sparkly enough. You should see this girl's paper doll wardrobe!

Finally, the heart prints. A. gave that to us when she was in, oh, 3rd or 4th grade. It was done with potato prints and I have had it hanging since the beginning. I love it. You can't really see in the photo, but she signed it, and I love that part about it, too. A. is still an artist and has given us really neat creations since, but this was the first, and so it's special to me for that alone.

So, yes, other artists I enjoy, but none as much as those that are home-grown!

"Tozier's Legacy"

from the introduction to The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer:
"Quietness of soul, the fruit of truly seeking God, is seldom found in twentieth-century Christians. Far too many have come to accept turbulence of soul as the norm and have ceased to seek God with their whole hearts. Some have fled the cities to cloistered retreats in the hope of finding this quietness, only to discover their hearts still restless."

and then from Tozer:
"Come near to the holy men and women of the past and you will soon feel the heat of their desire after God. They mourned for Him, they prayed and wrestled and sought for Him day and night, in season and out, and when they had found Him the finding was all the sweeter for the long seeking."

"I pray Thee, show me Thy glory," said Moses. (Ex. 33:18)
My petition is the same...

Austen INTJ?

Thanks to friend Julie for this quiz...

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep emotional side that few people often see.

Take the Quiz here!

Colder than...

I don't know if this link to weather.com will update during the day, or if it will always show the snapshot of our weather at 8:27 am on Wednesday, February 20...

Omaha Weather Forecast and Conditions Nebraska

Just in case...
lets sum it up as COLD!!!

One child just walked past our thermometer and asked, "does that say negative seventy six?" HA! No, but negative 7.6 is cold enough for me.

Plus the wind.
Brrrrr.

But, better to be hot or cold than lukewarm, right?

For the piano students...

FoxTrot by Bill Amend

Enough

Psalm 36
Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.

1Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2For it flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
3The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4He plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not despise evil.

5Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Your judgments are like a great deep
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
7How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;
And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.
9For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

10O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11Let not the foot of pride come upon me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12There the doers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been thrust down and cannot rise.

From Matthew Henry's commentary on Psalm 36:
"Gracious souls, though still desiring more of God, never desire more than God."

He is enough.

How many?

Look at that- 7 other me's in the US!
How 'bout you? :-)

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 7 people with my name in the U.S.A. http://howmanyofme.com">How many have your name?

Friday Five #1

Today begins a new "regular" feature in Prone to Wander... The Friday Five.

I am inspired by a semi-regular feature in the World Herald on Thursdays, My Five, where folks play show & tell with five of their favorite things. I thought, it's pretty easy to come up with lists of five, and hence, the Friday Five.

So today,
Five Things That Make My Kids Laugh at Their Mom:

5. When I play my ITunes play list, or the discs I've made from it, I am constantly saying, "OH! This is one of my favorite songs!" HA! As they have pointed out, of course it is one of my favorite songs! I'm the one that put it there!

4. I talk to my dogs in the same voice I talk to my children. Yes, I know they don't answer. Don't worry, I know they don't understand. (well, Dillon doesn't understand. He's a terrier. Deakin, I think he understands, but that's a conversation for a different post...)

3. I wave at cars, thinking that I know the person driving, and 9 times out of 10, not only is it a complete stranger, it is the farthest person possible from who I think it was going to be. One time I thought I was waving at my daughter's beautiful petite Indian friend, and when I got closer, realized that it was a teenage African American boy. With an afro. OOPS! This week I managed to wave at someone I actually knew and my kids cheered, out loud!

2. Every winter, I fall down. It's never graceful. This winter, it was coming out of church. Left a big ol' bottom print on the sidewalk snow. Even threw my glasses off. Come on- admit it! Who doesn't laugh at physical humor? I even had to laugh at myself.

1. Now they are laughing because I came up with the idea for the "Friday Five" and I can only think of four things... alas...

stay tuned for next week... :-)

But the greatest of these...

"All things are possible to him who believes, they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are easier to him who loves, and still more easy to him who practices and perseveres in these three virtues."
Brother Lawrence, from The Practice of the Presence of God

dirty laundry

It never ends.

(but, if you are looking to avoid it, this will amuse you for another minute or so...)

Yes we can

For the record, this in no way constitutes an endorsement.

But, I do appreciate this rhetoric. It is from Barack Obama's speech after the New Hampshire primary. It even inspired a music video.

For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.
It was the call of workers who organized, women who reached for the ballot, a president who chose the moon as our new frontier, and a king who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land: Yes, we can, to justice and equality.
Yes, we can, to opportunity and prosperity. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can repair this world. Yes, we can.
And so, tomorrow, as we take the campaign south and west, as we learn that the struggles of the textile workers in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas, that the hopes of the little girl who goes to the crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of L.A., we will remember that there is something happening in America, that we are not as divided as our politics suggest, that we are one people, we are one nation.
And, together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story, with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea: Yes, we can.

I wish the Republican candidates could give better speeches...

not for the kids

Adults only!
Hot chocolate fans.

This is not your ordinary cocoa.

yum!

Created to know Him...

from our family devotional this morning...

Westminister Shorter Catechism question 46.- What is required in the First Commandment?
A.The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly.

from Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade:

"Do you remember the very first question and answer of this catechism? 'What is the primary purpose of man?' 'The primary purpose of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.' God designed us to know Him, to enjoy Him, and to glorify Him. This first commandment tells us to have no gods but God. This is not at all an unreasonable command. It simply commands us to do what God created us to do. Because we were designed to enjoy and to glorify God, we will be the most satisfied and the most joyful when we are enjoying and glorifying God. So this first commandment requires us to do that which will make us the happiest.


Many people choose to serve other gods. They live to make money and have nice things or they live to have power or to have pleasure. They think they are doing what will make them happy, but they will finally discover that these things cannot satisfy them. God did not create people for these things. He created us to know Him."


Read Jeremiah 9:23-24

Snow Day

Snow days do not come often in the life of a home school family. We do our work and then enjoy the snow. The good side, no pesky snow days to "make up" at the tail end of the semester. But, we don't get too excited to wake up and see snow, thinking, "no school today!" Today, perhaps, is the closest we've come to a snow day in a long while.


We had a full day planned, and as the snow fell, and falls, every event began to fall away. No Latin class. No trio rehearsal. No road trip basketball game. And the best part? We didn't know to expect it when we began the day, so the work was in the process of being complete. The afternoon suddenly was wide open in front of us.


An entire day at home! Spicy Indian chicken in the crockpot. And now, laundry complete, floors vacuumned, dust off the sills, too?


Oh yes- and snow play! The girls concocted some colored liquids to make "snow kabobs" with. They sled. Now everyone warms with popcorn and a movie. I have two new magazines to enjoy. Yay for a snow day!

When the saints...

This weekend, a friend introduced me to a new disc, and I bought it that night. Lyrics that compel and a beautiful voice besides.
When the Saints sums up so much that cannot be easily put into words...
I want to be one of them.

Lord I have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know
It's more than I can handle
But your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones
and I cannot let it go

And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

Lord it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind
but your word has compelled me
when I think of all who've gone before me and lived the faithful life

And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

I see the shepherd Moses in the Pharohs court
I hear his call of freedom for the people of the Lord

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

I see the long quiet walk along the Underground Railroad
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul

I see the young missionary and the end of the spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear

I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sisters standing by the lepers side

I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come and kicking down the door

I see the man of sorrows and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

--When the Saints by Sara Groves

cold

I've tried all day to think of something else to write about, but it can't be avoided.

COLD!
When I woke up this morning, it was a reasonable 36 degrees. And it fell from there. And fell. And fell. And snowed. And the wind blew. And now, it is 7 degrees. And the wind is still blowing- 25 mph.
COLD!

It's warmer in other places. We'll think about that.

And have another cup of coffee...

You Have Loved Us First

A prayer from The Prayers of Kierkegaard, by Soren Kierkegaard:

Father in Heaven! You have loved us first, help us never to forget that You are love so that this sure conviction might triumph in our hearts
over the seduction of the world,
over the inquietude of the soul,
over the anxiety for the future,
over the fright of the past,
over the distress of the moment.
But grant also that this conviction might discipline our soul so that our heart might remain faithful and sincere in the love which we bear to all those whom You have commanded us to love as we love ourselves.

You have loved us first, O God, alas! We speak of it in terms of history as if You have only loved us first but a single time, rather than that without ceasing.
You have loved us first many times and every day and our whole life through.
When we wake up in the morning and turn our soul toward You- You are the first- You have loved us first;
if I rise at dawn and at the same second turn my soul toward You in prayer, You are there ahead of me, You have loved me first.
When I withdraw from the distractions of the day and turn my soul toward You, You are the first and thus forever.
And yet we always speak ungratefully as if You have loved us first only once.

Children's Museum

Dilligent workers finished ahead of schedule this week, so we decided to take a mid-week visit to the Children's Museum, accompanied by two friends. Fun! The latest special exhibit is "FORE! The Planet," which was a good excuse to play some putt-putt golf. (Quote of the round- "Look! A hole in 15!" :-) )

Of course, there were all the usual favorite stops- the building, the balls, the market. Lots of art work, lots of tape, lots of glitter. A special Bubble lab show- even flaming! and floating! bubbles. They made Slime, a polymer you know..., in bright blue and green and red and pink.

To end the afternoon, and since we were already that close anyway, we had to stop at Ted & Wally's for ice cream. (who doesn't need ice cream when it's a whopping 14 degrees outside, right?) Strawberry, cinnamon, rootbeer, chocolate peanut butter cookie dough, and a chocolate shake make a sweet finish to a very sweet afternoon.

Basketball

Action shots from J (#55) playing basketball this week. Go Roadrunners!

If by Kipling

We are in the process of memorizing Rudyard Kipling's If. A great poem, If- it examines character and decision making and practical life application. Kipling composed If in language that even 3rd grade girls can understand, though I rather doubt that was his intent, and included examples that cause one to think, "yeah, that's happened to me, too!" And, Kipling wrote If in stanza easy to commit to memory, which we particulary appreciate.

Perhaps you haven't looked at If since you were a schoolchild. Look again! :-)

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,

If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools.

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Sunday Night Theater

Iron Chef America, watch out! There's competition from over the Pond!

The ladies of the household gathered together tonight, all in one very cozy bed, I might add, to watch this week's installment of PBS' Masterpiece Theater, The Complete Jane Austin. Tonight introduced us to Catherine Morland and Northanger Abbey. We especially delighted in the ending, and I believe that at least some of us will be back for Mansfield Park next week.

Father Tim on love

Wisdom from Father Tim, to son Dooley, on love:

"Love each other," he said. "Whatever you decide to do with your lives, love each other.

"Loving can be hard. Sometimes we don't feel loving, but it isn't all about feeling. Very often it's about will. Practice that if you can." He thought he may have said too much, but he looked him in the eyes, and knew he had not.

A request

Love through me, Love of God;
Make me like Thy clear air
Through which, unhindered, colors pass
As though it were not there.

Powers of the love of God,
Depths of the heart Divine,
O Love that faileth not, break forth,
And flood this world of Thine.

-Amy Carmichael, from If

So sad...

I remember the wedding, so beautiful, the bride in black and white. (Spiderman wasn't in color in my newspaper back then...)

But, in a tragic turn of events, it looks like Spiderman and MaryJane are no longer married.
Sigh.

Spidey! What about the vows?

Obviously the students need more work to do...

These are the photos that appeared on my camera today.

It doesn't seem fair that the most annoying member of our household is getting more blog time than anyone...

Happy Mail!

Once the Christmas flurry of packages and greetings finishes, our mail tends to be the necessary and tedious things of life- income tax statements, notices for fees and licensing to the city, reminders of to-do's...

Until Saturday!
When, much to my surprise, I received a package labeled "Happy Mail!"
And it was!

My good friend Julie in Washington is perhaps the craftiest person I know. I mean that "crafty" in the nicest possible sense! :-) She recently started a new blog. And by some unexpected and unplanned turn of events, I happened to be the first to comment on her new blog, and she sent me a prize- a very cute little journal, that she created especially for me, thinking of the upcoming travel I'll be doing.

Happy mail, indeed!! I was delighted! What a perfect little gift. And she handcrafted it herself! It has lined paper for notes, tabs for photos, even a little pocket for tickets and momentos.

I am eager to put it to use, friend. You blessed me. And even more, reminded me that I should send some happy mail out. This could be a new trend... (just don't expect handmade craftiness from this address... :-) )

Not the world's view...

from The Valley of Vision:

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to posess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.

"The Hairy Dog"

Here's a poem we read in school today- and we couldn't help but think of a dog WE know...

My dog's so furry, I've not seen

His face for years and years:

His eyes are buried out of sight,

I only guess his ears.

When people ask me for his breed,

I do not know or care:

He has the beauty of them all

Hidden beneath his hair.

(don't worry, Dillon; we'll get you a haircut when it warms up a bit...)

"Spirituality for ordinary folk"

Let us unceasingly impress upon every soul that the invitation of this gentle, loving Savior expects nothing difficult or extraordinary of them. Indeed, God is only asking for your heart. Everyone can aspire to the same love, the same surrender, the same God and his work."

- from Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751), The Sacrament of the Present Moment