YELLOWSTONE!

Yellowstone was amazing! Our family was joined by My Love's parents, his sister and her daughter, his brother and wife with their 5 grown children, a son-in-law, 3 granddaughters and a soon-to-be daughter-in-law. It was a great group and we had tons of fun. We saw lots of wildlife including 10 different bears. We also saw elk, buffalo, deer, mountain goats, osprey, eagle, coyote and wolf. I would recommend to anyone planning a trip to Yellowstone to go during this time of year. We saw many babies, the waterfalls and other water features were full, it wasn't too hot but still plenty of daylight and the sheer number of animals we saw all made so wonderful. I'm sharing only a fraction of the pictures (they're posted at the bottom)--it was truly amazing.

Beat L.A.!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have done good, Daniel-Son!



Danny Ainge is channeling the spirit of Red Auerbach, I just know it. Okay, so maybe he's not quite as cranky and certainly no cigars for Danny but he's got that crazy-tradin', build a big three, passionate coach, work as a team thang going on.



For me, personally, it's gratifying to see one of my all time favorite players (the other being Reggie Lewis) back with the Celtics. Danny Ainge is the player who got me interested in watching basketball 21 years ago, and is the same man who got me watching this playoff series, after an 11 year hiatus. I just got sick of over-paid athletes with big heads and bigger egos who felt they were all that with chips on the side--even if they'd never won! I got tired of the "the world owes me, I'm a superstar, gimme, gimme, gimme" mentality. What happened to the players who play because they love the game. The ones who bring passion and excitement and good ole fashioned team basketball to each and every game. What happened to diving for the ball, energizer legs playing the passing lanes, and fierce rebound grabbing "this is OUR ball" play? I dropped out of the NBA fanship. I quit watching. Then Danny Ainge took over as GM and I really still wasn't interested. Then my Mom, the consumate hang-in-there through thick and thin fan said, "Danny's making some trades." and "The Celts got Kevin Garnett" and "I love their little point guard" and "This team is GOOD" and "They're leading the East" and "They swept their west coast swing" and "They're leading the league." So I finally started watching and what's this...? Team Basketball? Steals, blocks, rebounds? WHAT'S THIS? Flying into the stands? Diving for loose balls? Keving Garnett, snarling face, mouth wide open, AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! Oh yeah, I'm down with that!! Chest bumping, fist pumping? Uh huh! I'm there! And dang it all if they didn't win! Whoops, hollering, trophy raising, champagne bursting kind of win. Number 17 is....in....the.........house! I just can't believe it.

You have done good, Daniel-Son.

Search, ponder, pray

I'm trying to teach my 3 yr old to be more self sufficient. She's always wanted to be independent, wanting to do things for herself. In fact, her nickname is 'little miss independent.' But she's going through a phase all 3 yr olds go through where they want everything done for them. For instance, the other day she couldn't find her 'Dora' shoes. There's a plastic tote under the bunkbed for each of my girls to keep their shoes so I said, "Did you look in your tote?"

"No. You do it."

"Bean, you can go look in your tote." She goes running off then comes back crying, "Mommy, they're not in my tote."

"Well, did you look on the floor in your room?"

"No. You do it."

"Bean, you need to look around the house. You need to put forth the effort first and then if you cannot find them, Mommy will help you."

"Mommy, will you help me now?"

"Bean, I need you to go look first."

In a very whiny, dramatic voice she says, "But it's too hard!"

Now, we were standing about 2 feet from her shoes. I was looking right at them. But, had I gone and gotten them, she wouldn't be learning anything other than that she doesn't have to do anything for herself. I had had her go to her tote first because that is where they are supposed to be and I want to help her establish a habit of checking there first (we're also working on the habit of putting them there!). But then, when they aren't there, she needs to look elsewhere. The important thing is the effort.

So I got down to her level and said calmly, "Bean, please go around the house and look for your shoes. If you look carefully, I'm sure you'll find them." "Okay Mommy," she said in a sad little voice.

I took her by the shoulders and gently turned her around in the direction of where her shoes lay. She took a few sad steps then her face lit up and she exclaimed, "Mommy I found them!" Oh what joy! No one felt such joy as that 3 yr old when she found her shoes.

Now to the moral of the story. I often see parallels between my interaction with my kids and how our Father in Heaven interacts with us. I firmly believe this Earth and our earthly experience has a purpose. That purpose is for us to learn, grow and become stronger. Each of my children is born unique with their own set of talents and abilities, as well as their own weaknesses and shortcomings, yet they are all my children. So too, are we all children of a Heavenly Father and Mother. My husband and I love our children but sometimes we chasten or reprove them. We desire to help them in every way possible and sometimes that means that we don't help them, as in the interaction above with my little bean.

I see so many people that want to know their Father in Heaven but they either don't want to put forth the effort or don't know how. Sometimes it's both. Sometimes, it's easier to not know because knowing would require constant effort. But, just as my little bean had to do the work herself, so do we all. Our 'tote', the place where the answers should be, are the Scriptures. But if we are unable to find our answer there (perhaps because we aren't familiar with the scriptures and they can be hard to read at first) it doesn't mean we stop. We keep looking. We keep putting forth the effort. Because only when we put forth an honest effort, can our Father in Heaven show us the way. We are learning to be self sufficient and while He can and will help us, we must put forth the effort.

SEARCH, PONDER, PRAY. He IS there, He WILL help you, He DOES love you.