Bloom!

Last year I noticed tiny pansies blooming in the concrete and asphalt seam in the driveway into our parking garage. I marveled that these tiny pieces of life and beauty could bloom in such difficult spots. They bloomed most of the summer. I wondered if they would come up this year. They did. They're in a spot where they are walked on and driven over. But they keep popping back up and blooming. The one in the bottom picture is a bit more protected from traffic.

I took these pictures on Joe's birthday. I thought of his resilience and his positive attitude in the midst of the challenge of Parkinson's. He continues to bless people's lives. 

Hallelujah

"From around the world they came—some 2,500 individually submitted videos of singers to be combined with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in history’s largest virtual performance of “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah.

… The “Virtual Hallelujah Chorus,” as it has been dubbed, features the choir and Orchestra at Temple Square being led by music director Mack Wilberg. By means of digital wizardry, a mosaic composed of hundreds of video boxes of varying sizes appears near the ceiling above the choir seats and, as the camera pans to the right, along the balcony of the Tabernacle, each box featuring one of the singers who submitted his or her video file.

Some singers actually appear among the choir members in the choir seats. …

“Our goal for this virtual choir was to bring together voices from all over the world and demonstrate the power music has to cross cultural and generational boundaries,” said Scott Barrick, the choir’s general manager. “The ‘Hallelujah’ chorus is iconic, and we are elated that so many people wanted to join us for this amazing experience to celebrate the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Click March 2016 for more

Wind Boisterous

Sometimes it's windy at the lake and the waves crash against the rocks. 

I am reminded of the "wind boisterous" that caused Peter to fear and falter when he tried to walk on the water towards Jesus. 

"But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Matthew 14: 29-30

Dad used to say "O ye of little faith," to assure us things would work out. 

When I think of "wind boisterous," it's often followed by thoughts of the scripture and hymn, "Master, the Tempest Is Raging." 

     

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Master, the Tempest Is Raging

      The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:


Peace, be still.


Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea


Or demons or men or whatever it be,


No waters can swallow the ship where lies


The Master of ocean and earth and skies.


They all shall sweetly obey thy will:


Peace, be still; peace, be still.


They all shall sweetly obey thy will:


Peace, peace, be still.

*********

It's interesting to me that peace doesn't necessarily mean an absence of "wind boisterous." It has more to do with the condition of my heart and soul. I can feel peace, and "be still" even when the waves and winds are whipping up things around me. Christ and His gospel are the source of that peace. 

                        

1919 Traveler

In 1919, at age 14, Joe's mother, Mary Elizabeth Neely, traveled to Havana, Cuba with her mother's sisters, Dorothy & Mary Frances Gilmore, and John M. Atherton of Louisville, Kentucky. We think the photo above is the same one on her passport application. 

She applied for the passport in Dade County, Florida. She states she was born in Bogota, Texas April 11, 1905. Leaving from Key West, Florida, she's going to Cuba for "recreation" and expects to stay a month. Her plan is to leave on the "first vessel after receiving passport." 

Stature 5'4" tall, high forehead, brown eyes, straight nose, medium mouth, round chin, brown hair, fair complexion, and an oval face. 

Her aunts, Mary Frances Gilmore, "graduate nurse," and Dorothy F. Gilmore confirm Mary is a citizen of the United States. 

The passenger manifest shows that Mary and her party were on the ship Governor Cobb from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida, arriving in Florida December 15, 1919. 

Happy Birthday Joe!

April 24

1934 We have a shoe and silk stocking that 

appear to be the same ones Joe wore in this picture

1937 at Pentwater, Michigan

Joe & his family vacationed there several times

1938 Joe remembers that his mother liked this clown outfit better than he did. 

We have many pictures of him in this clown suit.

ca 1943

February 2017

With Love

Because Of Him

It was unthinkable, impossible, unfathomable, unprecedented

A single act, that changed history, possibility, destiny

He was a carpenter, a teacher, an outcast, a leader

Yet he did

What no carpenter, teacher, outcast, leader had ever done

Like all who preceded him

He lived and he died

But unlike all who preceded him  

He rose from the dead

He lived again

He lives

And because he lives

You, you, and she and he and they and we

All will live again

Because of him

Death has no sting

The grave no victory

We can start again

And again

Because of him

Guilt becomes peace

Regret becomes relief

Despair becomes hope

Because of him

We have second chances, clean slates, new beginnings

There’s no such thing as the end

Because of Him

College Life

Mary Floyd, sorority girl

 both photos - ca 1943 or 1944 - probably at Chi Omega House at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

Mary Floyd

Mom wrote "1944 Chi Omega" on this photo

*********

After Mom's death, Dad shared the following story.

The first girl he seriously dated was Edith VonThiel (sp?), who was also a student at Northwestern. She and Dad were "pinned." Edith went to London in 1941 or 1942 to meet Dad's parents, Celia and Caryl. At some point Edith returned Dad's Theta Xi fraternity pin.

Then Dad met and started dating Mom. Dad told me he was unaware that both Mom and Edith were Chi Omegas. He said that "wasn't too smart of me. I don't know if I was just struggling to stay afloat and that's why I wasn't paying attention." 

Edith told Mom to stay away from Dad because of his close relationship with his mother. Dad smiled as he told me this story and didn't comment any further on it. Over the years, Mom had told us about the warning. Mom obviously didn't heed the Edith's counsel. The rest is history!

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Look Again

This little yellow house sits between taller structures on one of Kirkland's main streets. 

It's easy to miss or ignore it while driving or walking by. 

Look at the little yellow house from a different angle. It's a beautiful. 

There's much more to it than first meets the eye. 

*******************

So it is with each of us. 

Click here for interesting thoughts on "Seeing with New Eyes"

How Did I Miss This?

My morning walks often take me down this street. It was months before I noticed the HUGE tree in a small piece of land between buildings.

When I became aware of it, I was struck by its beauty. I wondered about its age. Lake Washington used to come up to this street so the tree must have been on the shoreline of the lake for centuries. 

I wondered how I could have walked by this HUGE trunk and never noticed it. Why didn't I ever look up? I don't pay attention to my phone when I'm walking so I wasn't distracted in that way. I tend to notice flowers, why didn't I see what was right in front of me?

Now that I know it's there, I am very aware of the tree, its size, its beauty.

Look up!

Open My Eyes!

Behold!

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And their eyes were opened, and they knew him (Luke 24: 31)

Look Up

For Time and Eternity

We were married "til death do you part" in June 1976

In April 1983 (above) we were married for time and all eternity in the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington DC. At the time it was the closest place for us to receive this eternal ordinance.

April 2014

For time and eternity - Our relationship will continue beyond this life. 

Christ spoke of this with Peter

 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16: 15-19

December 2016

Here & There

Light on the water in the evening - so peaceful, so beautiful

Flowers bring peace and beauty into our home. I often buy yellow flowers because yellow is Joe's favorite color.

Back here I wrote about the flowers put on this table and wondered if it was in memory of the person named on the plaque, Mac Graham. The other day I noticed new flowers were placed in the table. I looked online and found an obituary for Mac Graham. He grew up in Kirkland and died at age 21. This lakeside table is a beautiful spot to sit and remember a loved one.

 Back here I posted about this beautiful plant. These photos show the new leaves coming in red. This pieris, lily-of-the-valley shrub, changes colors almost year round.

He Lives!

He Lives!

Wherever he walked

Wherever he taught

Wherever he healed

He changed everything

Then everything changed

The man they called Master, Messiah, friend

was gone

but the greatest miracle was yet to come

He is not here

He is risen

He lives

And because he lives

If you reach out, call out, cry out

He is here

Then, now, always

He is here

During the good, the bad, the in-between

He is here

No matter who you are

Or where you are

He is here

no exceptions, no lost causes

At all times in all places

He is here

He rose on the third day

He lives today

Gladdened Heart

"... all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart"  Doctrine and Covenants 59:18

I love Spring. I often feel God and His love for us when I see the beauty of Spring flowers and trees. My heart is indeed gladdened.

Happy Birthday Mary Elizabeth Neely Todd Pepper

June 11

Mary Elizabeth Neely, Joe's mother, graduated from Indiana University June 11, 1928 with a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages (French). 

1927 Indiana University yearbook

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Her diploma is about 15" x 19"

Spring Firsts

Spring is now everywhere. It's glorious!

rhododendron provide vivid color through July

planters in downtown Kirkland herald the arrival of Spring

dandelions have already bloomed

 camellias

 This is the Pieris or Lily-of-the-Valley bush. In the Spring it's covered with these tiny, beautiful bells. After the flowers quit blooming, the new foliage appears in bronze, pink, or scarlet colors. Later it turns dark green.  

On a morning walk I was delighted to see the Centennial Fountain was turned on. That's Seattle on the far side of Lake Washington.

The cover is off the community swimming pool 

For me, the surest sign of Spring is blooming forsythia. We don't see much of that out here. A friend sent this picture of forsythia in their windowsill. It's from a cutting taken from Mom and Dad's forsythia at Oak Street. 

Prince of Peace

He was the world's greatest conqueror

Yet He ruled no nations, led no armies

Never raised a sword, took no spoils

His only crown was made of thorns

He won victories no one else could

He defeated death, He conquered sin and offers peace 

to all who follow Him

He can calm troubled seas and troubled souls

He can heal broken lives and broken bonds

He can turn water into wine and heartache into hope

He lived, died, and lived again so we will all live again

His resurrection brings us peace now and forever

He is Jesus Christ

King of Kings

Lord of Lords

Behold

I deliberately tried to get a blurred car in the picture with these beautiful Spring blossoms. It's too easy for me to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and walk right past the beauty. 

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"Be still and know that I am God."

Doctrine & Covenants 101: 16