Charm and Grace

Lauren Ann & I have played the part of tourists while waiting for little Jonathan to arrive.  We've walked nearly every day.  Here's a photojournal of our travels:  Storm in the Distance, View from Lookout  View from Blue Ridge Parkway Buena Vista in the Valley Below  View Looking Down at Panther Creek Falls  Pool to the Right of the Falls  View Donward from the Falls  Collapsed Rock Bridge at the Falls  Rock Carving of an Outcrop to the Right of the Falls Lovely Wildflower with Intricate Chevron Patterned Petals Beautiful Winged Insect that Resembles a Dragonfly Stonewall Jackson's Family Plot, Lexington Virginia

 Maury River  Chestee Trail  Due Date Tomorrow  Buena Vista Resident  Stonewall Jackson's Pew   I arrived in Buena Vista, Virginia on Wednesday, June 8, 2011. Lauren & David are completely prepared to receive Jonathan, who is due on the 11th.  Lauren began to have contractions spaced 12 minutes apart yesterday evening, but they subsided around 9 PM. We've walked 4 miles along the the flood wall that borders the river running through the town on Thursday morning.  This morning we walked along the Chestee Trail that cuts through pasture land winding along the river.  Lauren took a nap until lunchtime.  We drove into Lexington and visited a museum at VMI, walked downtown, and browsed in local shops. There are several galleries, antique shops, eateries, and churches downtown. We went in the old Monmouth Church, now the 1st Presbyterian Church, where Stonewall Jackson had pew.

Several of my children are at a crossroad. I can picture you looking to the left and right, measuring the distance of each path as well as it can be known, and puzzling over which path to take. I realized a few years ago that my parenting days were not over. It's still my duty to provide an assist without overstepping my boundaries. Several scripture stories about decision making immediately came to mind. Q: Does the Lord mind if we ask Him a specific question? A: No, not at all.  He stands at the door waiting to reveal His mind to us. Laman and Lemuel frequently used the excuses that the Lord made no such thing (fill-in-the-blanks) known unto us. While the ever faithful Nephi reminded them of the possibility of having certain knowledge.  "Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known ...

There was a time when I could bicycle for miles, hike the Appalachians, scale vertical cliffs, and swim several miles each week in the college pool. I know that person was me. What happened to her?????? I'm not going to make excuses...life happened!  Anyways, I get a glimpse of her during spinning class. The guy next to me said, "Way to go, I was trying to keep up with you."  I was surprised by his comment. I said thanks & that I really love spinning class. I just get into some zone & pedal as fast/hard as I can back to a time when I weighed 114 pounds. Even if I weighed 114 pounds now, I would still have gray hair, and wrinkles around the eyes.  I suppose I would be a very fit grandmother.  That would be a very good thing. I think that youth is wasted on young people. They don't appreciate it! Oh well, the girl is still in here somewhere, spinning to get out...

Mother's Day keeps getting better and better. Growing older has its perks, namely grandchildren.  My lovely children are having children of their own. Lauren Ann and David are expecting Jonathan in early June, and Jimmy & Bradie are expecting their second baby in mid-November. I've been blessed with wonderful children whose good lives fill me with joy. Eleanor Marie & me, Mother's Day, 2011  Bradie, Ellie, Ashlyn, 2011 

Several years ago Jimmy asked me if I was trying to make my yard and home look like a Thomas Kinkade painting.  I told him, "Yes." It may take awhile, but it will happen, one planting at a time.

I teach Physics in a public high school in the Atlanta suburbs. I've worked in three counties in the course of my twenty-two years of teaching, and consider myself fortunate to work in my present school. Yet, as anyone that interacts directly with the public knows, keeping students, parents, colleagues, and administrators content can be challenging. I am aware of the need of help beyond myself! Oddly enough, I had never prayed for the gift of discernment before this week. It just never occurred to me to do so. I've prayed for help with specific situations, but never for the broad ability to understand all the interactions among competing and sometimes contentious parties. I didn't think more about it until I began to recollect things that I've said, or done, for which I had failed to comprehend their import. I began to feel very crummy! Then I remembered my prayer. Discernment! What an eye-opener! I'm going to continue to pray for this gift. Maybe the Lord can do so...