Son With a Heart...

It is with a great deal of humility and pride that I post the achievements of this remarkable young man.  I first "experienced" Eliot when his dad and I remarried after an eleven year separation.  Eliot was barely 8 years old.  He had a tremendous amount of energy and kept me on my toes just keeping up with him.  I remember watching him with his dad on many occasions and was smitten with his charm and devotion to his father.  I wrote the following on one of those occasions:

One Small Boy

If Jesus is mindful of every drop of rain that falls,

Every grain of sand on the seashore,

And every little bird that falls out of the nest,

Then surely he is mindful of one small boy.

One tow-headed, blue-eyed innocent child

Who can capture your heart with his little boy hugs.

One look at that face and I know he is loved--

Not only by me, but by his Savior as well.

God, watch over this precious, innocent child

Who has captured my heart

And brought his little bit of sunshine

 Into its windows.

Eliot has been spending the past four years at Adam's State College in Alamosa, Colorado, where he is concentrating on his studies to graduate May 12th with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Composition.  This past April 14th, he held his Senior Composition Recital.  His father (who is gifted in music), his mother, Laurie Hill Phelps (an artist in her own right), and his brother, Billy (also a musician) were all in attendance.  I was not able to attend.

Eliot's entire program consisted of the music he has composed over the past four years.  Dean reported that it was a phenomenal concert.  He brought the program home with him for me to peruse.  As I was reading through the accomplishments and his written explanation of how each came about, my eye caught one piece, in particular.  It is called, "The Road."  In Eliot's words: "'The Road' was written specifically with one person in mind.  (He mentioned another artist, Madison Cawein, who wrote the poem, 'Lonely Road' and compared the poem to) "the road that this man wanders every day.  He is a vagabond with a mission that is seemingly guided by the stars.  Above all, this man has helped me to pursue a unique nuance in all things, especially the desperate ones."

I was moved to tears as I read those words, because I knew exactly who "this man" was.  I am his mother!  And Eliot is his brother.  What a joy it was to read of the tremendous influence Billy has had on his little brother.  These are treasured words from brother to brother.

These are the participants who performed the choral music.

I was just recovering from the emotional feelings of the depth of this boy, when we received the news just this morning that Eliot is graduating Summa Cum Laude, which is the highest honor a college student can achieve on graduation.  It puts him in the top 5% of his class.  Needless to say, we are totally blown away with this latest achievement.

Yes, that little tow-headed boy who came into my life 14 years ago, certainly has walked a path that has been watched over by the special mercies of a loving God.  He still continues to bring sunshine into the windows of my heart!

A wonderful picture of Eliot with his mom, Laurie

Eliot and his dad, making rosettes for the Concert

Friends...

Visiting with friends is always a treat, but when you are fortunate enough to visit not only with one friend in a day, but two...well, that is called a double hot fudge sundae kind of a day!

During our recent (September) visit to Solvang, and our visit to the Reagan Library, we were invited to my life-long friend, Joan (Tommasino) Trent's home to share a bowl of delicious homemade soup, salad and delicious bread.  I have known Joan since before kindergarten...that's a friendship of more than 65 yeas!  We first met when we were 3 years old.  My family had just purchased their first home in California and moved in across the street from Joan and her family.  It didn't take two 3-year-olds long to become BFF.

Good friends, good food and good company combined to put the whipped cream on that "hot fudge sundae" of a perfect day.

Whle we were visiting with Joan and Bruce, I lucked out and found another childhood friend's phone number and, as luck would have it, she was home.  The hour was late, but she insisted that we come by for a visit.  She gave me directions to her house, which was only 15 minutes away.

My friend, Suzanne (Klein) Gallo, lives wth her husband, Lew in a lovely community of town homes.  I haven't seen Suzie for probably more than 30 years, but we do keep in touch with cards and email.  I first met Suzie when I lived on Ashland Avenue in Santa Monica (across the street from Joan).  Her Auntie Ann lived 2 doors up the street from us.  Her cousin, Lanny, was my brother's best friend.  Another Aunt of Suzie's was Auntie Mahri, who was my dance teacher.

One summer, Suzie and her family came to visit Auntie Ann from Ohio.  That is when I met her.  We became fast friends.  She also was a dancer, and her family decided they would move to Santa Monica.  Suzie and I were delighted.  We danced together, we played together and we grew to love each other.

Suzie and I had a wonderful reunion that evening, reminiscing about the good old days in Santa Monica.  She is so beautiful and believe it or not, she still teaches dance.  Auntie Mahri taught dancing well into her 80's.  I find that so amazing.  I didn't want this evening to end.  Seeing Suzie again, was like adding the cherry on top of the hot fudge sundae.

But, like the hot fudge sundae that has satisfied the tummies of these grown-ups, the time to leave came all too soon.

Seeing two friends from my childhood in one evening was the best treat and one that I shall not soon forget.  These are moments to treasure.

A Visit to the Castle in the Sky...

When I was a little gil, I heard fairy tale stories about castles and princesses and magic spells and Prince Charming.  But I never even thought about any of these things beig true.  Castles were filled with fairy dust and sat on top of a hill somewhere in a country made up of flat pages in a book.

Then, I got to travel to Scotland and England and saw up close and pesonal, some amazing ancient castles.  Some of them are still inhabited, but most are either in a stae of ruin or preserved only for tours.  OK, there really are castles, and perhaps some of those fairy tales were based on actual stories, spiced with a little bit of whimsy to entice a small girl to close her eyes tight and try to believe.  But certainly there are no castles in the United States, a very young country compared to any in Europe.  Surely there are no castles here.

Wrong again!  There's a Castle in California that I love.  It is located high atop a hill in the San Simeon region of the California coast.  It is called HEARST CASTLE.  Dean and I visited it last September and I am sill in awe that a man of vision even took on the project of building this castle.  He built it (1) because he could, and (2) because it fulfilled a dream for him...a dream of a vast empire  The story of William Randolph Hearst reads much like "The Great Gatsby."  He was a playboy and a prankster at Harvard, while his father's newspaper, the Examiner, in San Francisco was floundering.

Will seemed to have a knack for writing and publishing and started a magazine in college that began to consume his life.  That was the beginning of his publishing career.  His student days at Harvard were difficult, as he just didn't quite measure up to the Dean's standards for how a serious student who wanted a degree should behave.  He tried other things, but in the end washed up as a student.  He said, "everything worth learning can be learned outside the walls of academe...It takes a good mind to resist education."

His father purchased the land in San Simeon,  Will inherited it, and the rest is history.  William Randolph Hearst, the Newspaper giant of his day, built an empire there.

I first visited the Castle in 1989, on a trip with JerriAnne and Heather.  We were on a journey from San Franisco to Laguna Niguel to stay with Kim for a few days.  We decided to stop and visit the castle.  We were enthralled, though much of it was still a work in progress.  There were many areas of the castle that we could not go into because they weren't finished.

This trip with Dean was amazing.  The State of California has acquired the property and turned it into a wonderland with restoration of much of the unfinished areas.  Still, it is not complete.  Dean and I actually took two tours and spent the better part of the entire day exploring the castle and the grounds.

The grounds are phenominal...a real work of art.  I loved to just walk around and enjoy the beauty of the place.  My favorite part was the huge Greecian pool, which is still used today for certain events at the castle.  It is pristine and amazingly beautiful.

There were also a lot of beautiful flower gardens and, it being September and not the hottest part of the year, they were absolutely gorgeous to behold.

As I was meandering through and around the castle, I couldn't help contemplate the castles that we build for ourselves.  Ours may not be as elegant or built for "show," but they are our castles, none-the-less!  I have had many "castles" in my life, and the family that I have shared them with were the jewels that adorned my crown.  A castle is only a building, consisting of walls and a collection of furniture, but add the family into the mix, and that castle becomes a "home," the greatest place on earth to be.

The Hearst castle is beautiful, yes, but amazingly enough, it did not bring William Randolph Hearst a great deal of happiness.  His family was fractured!

I have to say, though, Dean and I enjoyed our visit to that Castle on the Hill.

A Journey Continues...

A VISIT TO RONALD REAGAN LIBRARY

SIMI VALEY, CALIFORNIA

One of the highlights of our vacation  to So. California last September, was the visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California.  It was a day well spent with friends, emblazoning in our hearts unforgettable memories; and it was a step back in history.

Simi Valley is about an hour and a half drive from our Time Share in Solvang to where the Library is.  We left very early in the morning and arrived about 9:00 a.m. to meet with Joan and Bruce Trent.  That was a real treat to see my dear friend for a second time on this vacation.  This day was a day to visit history and what better way to enjoy the atmosphere here than with good friends. 

We learned about Reagan's early life from football star, to motion picture star, to Governor of California to President of the United States.  His life was built one step at a time, and if you follow the events of his life carefully, I believe it was no accident that this man was prepared very early in his life to arrive at his destiny as our beloved President.  He was a man of many strengths and moral convictions about the future of this great country.

At the end of a very enlightening tour through his journey, we ended up in a huge rotunda, where Air Force 1 is located and we were able to walk through that amazing "White House in the sky."  I was amazed at how the inside was fitted with sleeping quarters, dining areas, office areas, and luxury seating for not only the President and his First Lady, but security and dignitaries who might have flown with him.  We were also treated with a view of the helicopter, Marine 1, which transported the President back and forth from airports to his White House residence or his California ranch residence.

After the tour, we met the Trent's for lunch at the cafeteria in this huge space.  After lunch, the Trent's left to go home to prepare dinner, where we would join them later.  We stayed and went through the Bookstore and ventured out on the garden area where Reagan is buried, with his site overlooking a western view, which (on a clear day) looks out to the great Pacific.

Standing before a great man's final resting place was very touching to both Dean and I, and we lingered there for a very long time, contemplating all tha we had seen this day.  Our visit to the Reagan Library was a rewarding day, indeed.

At the end of our day, we were in store for an unexpected treat...one that did not come to pass, however.  We heard that Vice President Dick Cheney was going to be there to sign copies of his new book.  We stood in a very long line (at least 500 people long) and visited with folks around us, waiting to be let in the door for the signing.  This is where it turned sour...as we neared the door to be let in "next," a lady came out and announced that Mr. Cheney was "done" signing books.  Anyone who wanted to trade in their unsigned copies for a pre-signed copy were invited to do so.  Oh, there were some very angry people in that line...many unpleasant exchanges took place between them and that poor lady, who was just "the messenger!"  We kept our cool, though disappointed, and traded our book for the pre-signed ones and went our merry way.

Our next stop was to the home of our dear friends, Joan and Bruce for a wonderful homemade soup dinner. 



A NEW YEAR, A CLEAN SLATE

For the life of me, I never imagined that I would live so long as to be living in the 21st Century, let alone to see the year 2012 arrive.  I guess I thought I would be ancient at the age of 72!

With the dawning of each new year, comes a time to clear off the old slate and start with a clean, new one.  For this year's contribution to my New Year's writing, I will concentrate on REFLECTION, INSPECTION, AND RESOLUTION.

REFLECTION

The year of 2011 was our year of amazing vacations, wonderful concerts a wedding, a Mission call, and a new baby.  All of these events give me pause and a store of memories.

Two Thousand Eleven also brought some troubling changes in our country, as our economy reached an all-time low with unemployment and housing markets the hardest hit.  Faith and prayer have kept our family going.  We have focused on the possibilities of hard times to come and did some preparedness planning with food storage, debt lowering and preparing for uneventful intrusions into our lives.

The past year also brought health issues for me, although not the life-threatening kind.  I was plagued with skin cancers which required three surgeries, two of which had to have skin grafts applied.  I have come out of this ordeal in a positive way and hope for no more in the future.  I also experienced an increase in my Macular Degeneration in my right eye (the already nearly blind one) and opted to try a couple of shots directly into the eye to try and stop the area from growing.  I do believe they did some good, but will find out more at my next visit in February.

INSPECTION

As I contemplate my strengths and weaknesses throughout 2011, I am amazed that yes, I have moved forward Spiritually this year.  I have increased my activity in my home Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I have shared my testimony in many ways with my grandchildren and friends.  I have felt the Scriptures talking "only to me" as I re-read passages that I have read many times before.

I have cultivated within me a love for my country, as I watch much of what  have loved all of my life disintegrate before my eyes.  Our Constitution is truly being threatened from all sides and it troubles my soul deeply.  I find myself wondering, "What would my father or my mother or my grandparents or my late husband, Gerry, think of what is happening?"  I love my country and it hurts me to see those within tear it apart.

My body is telling me to slow down.  I have more aches and pains than I used to have.  It takes me longer and longer to get going in the mornings.  Though my weight is where my doctor says it probably should be for a woman my age, I feel "lumpy!" 

RESOLUTIONS

I prefer to set GOALS, rather than make resolutions.  It seems to me that resolutions end up getting forgotten, whereas goals give us challenges to work toward.

I have set as my goal for the coming year is to get closer and closer to getting completely out of debt, AND STAYING THERE!  I need to change many of my spending habits.  I have to re-teach myself about what is a "need" VS what is a "want." 

I have vowed to include daily prayer (on my knees) to my list of goals.  Though I pray always in my heart, I very seldom get down on my knees and pray.  I need to include the Lord in all of my decision making, taking it to Him in prayer, and then following up with the question, "How am I doing?"

I have a new calling in the Church that is going to stretch me.  I have been called t teach the 2nd Sunday lesson in Relief Society.  Teaching (no greater calling) is my first love and I will need to rely heavily on the Lord to get me back into the groove.

We have set a goal in Relief Society to complete the Young Women's Values program over the next two years, and I have committed to earnestly work toward that accomplishment.  I am looking forward to this new challenge.

The New Year promises only one thing...it IS a New Year!  Twenty-eleven is behind us and our eyes look forward to beginning new challenges.  There is nothing wondrous on the horizon.  Babies will be born, loved ones will pass away, and couples will commit their lives to each other, much like they have in years past.  In November, we will elect a new President...or keep the old one!  More changes will come upon the face of the land and perhaps through trials, we will come closer together.  It all remains to be seen.

I will grow yet another year older, meaner, or not.  My children will grow stronger through their trials, and more loving with each accomplishment. My grandchildren will face challenges which no generation before them has ever faced, but because they have been "taught in the ways of the Lord," they will come through those challenges stronger for the struggle.  My little great-grandchildren will grow a little and still amaze and bring joy to us all.  They are wondrous creatures and the hope for our future.



Merry Christmas~2011

For my last post of the year, I wish to post the story that I wrote for my Christmas letter.  The title is "What Do You Want For Christmas, Johnny?"

It was December 15th and my thoughts were all a jumble as I contemplated the many names on my Christmas list.  There was Grandma Georgia, who lived with us since Grandpa Henry had passed away last year.  She didn't get around like she used to.  She had arthritis pretty bad and a hip that pained her something fierce.  What should I get her?

And there was Carol, our oldest who was coming home from her third year at college with a broken heart. The “love of her life” had recently told her she was not the one for him and that she should move on and find someone else. She surely has many needs.


Next, there was Steven, who was only 19 and so far away from home. He was deployed to Afghanistan nearly a year ago and there is a hole in my heart. I sent him a care package a month ago, but surely there must be more that he needs.

My husband works night and day to keep this family afloat. He gets home late most nights and hardly has time to share any family fun. He’s so tired all the time, it makes him grumpy. I’m sure there are a great many things he could use.

And then there is Johnny. He is our 11-year-old who suffers nearly every day of the fall, winter and spring season with asthma. Breathing is a huge priority for him. And yet he takes it all in his stride, hardly ever complains and is just one great big magnet of love. Finding just the right gift for him is always the hardest.

I was not finding solutions to my dilemma, so I went to Johnny’s room, knocked quietly on the door and entered when he said, “It’s OK, Mom, you don’t have to knock.”

“Johnny, I have been trying to come up with a gift list for Christmas and decided to come ask you. What do you want?”

Johnny got that really serious, thoughtful look on his face…the one he gets just before he’s about to say something profound. “I want a baseball game,” he said. I was confused.

“Do you mean you want a new glove, or a ball, or a bat? Or do you want tickets to a baseball game? How does one give a baseball game?”

I should have known this was going to be a lesson for me on how an 11-year-old’s brain works. “Well, here’s the thing. Think of LOVE as home plate. All of us are the team players and each one of us has to come up to bat and make it around the bases to home, ‘cuz that’s where LOVE is.

“When Grandma comes up to the plate, I want her to be pain free and maybe have a new hip so she can walk around the bases like she used to. And when she crosses home plate, she can hug everybody without pain.

“I want Carol to hit a home run, instead of striking out like she did last time she was up to bat. And I want her to run home with a big smile on her face, because that’s where LOVE really is.

“I want Steven to fly to home plate from Afghanistan, after touching each and every base safely. I know we will all be there to hug and congratulate him and thank him for his service.

“I want dad to take a day off and just throw the ball to me and spend a day NOT being so grumpy, because he’s so overworked and tired. And when he crosses home plate, I want to see the look on his face when he realizes how much we all LOVE him.

“And I want you to take a vacation from housework and cooking and have a pinch-hitter to do all the work for you. You’ll be standing on home plate, because you are the LOVE in our home.

“That’s all I want for Christmas.”

I was speechless. I knew out of the mouth of this child something profound would come forth

“What do you want, Mom?” He wasn’t done yet.

I searched my soul and remembered the story of a far off land. “I want to see the brightest star in the heavens and hear angels singing. I want to look into the faces of the Holy Family and feel the LOVE that lives there. I want to wrap my arms and my heart around that tiny little baby boy and be a witness to the first gift of Christmas. I want what you want…LOVE."

And as we end one year and begin thinking about wiping our slate clean and turning the page into a New Year, my wish for each and every one of my family and friends is that the LOVE of Christ, which was the first gift of Christmas, surround you in everything you do throughout 2012.


Two Unbelievable Days Visiting Ronald Reagan's Past...

Ronald and Nancy Reagan's Ranch Address

On the morning of Monday, September 19th, Dean and I drove into Santa Barbara where we picked up our friend Peter.  He had arranged a private tour of the Reagan Ranch, high up in the Santa Ynez mountains.  It was a bit of a drive, up a winding canyon road (that Reagan used sparingly!). 

We were met at the main gate by the Ranch Caretaker, George Thompson.  He was such a kind man who took his time to show us nearly every inch of the 680 acres.  As soon as we left the main road, we were on "Pennsylvaia Avenue," and the Reagan's address (as it ws in Washinton DC) was "1600."

We loved the ranch, "Rancho Del Cielo," immediately.  The Reagan's chose to keep the original adobe house and just add to it.  It is so quaint and unpretentious.  The pig-skin chair Dean is sitting in and the table is where President signed into law his Tax-Cut Bill.  Everything is as he left it.

An interesting anecdote, was told by his personal body guard on the ranch, John Barletta.  Sam Donaldson was at the Tax Bill signing and asked President Reagan if he was going to sell the ranch any time soon.  The President replied, "You can't sell heaven!"  He loved his ranch.

Inside, the decor and furnishings spoke so much about who the man and his lady were.  Reagan loved the west and he loved his horses.  And the western style of his ranch told the story.  I loved it.

There was such a calm inside the house  as we walked from room to room.  Every nook and crany said, This is where Reagan lived.  This is the story of the man.

On the mantel in what appeared to be their family room, is a Seal of the President of The United States,

 which is done completely with nails on a polished wood circle.  It was quite a center piece for the fireplace.

The outside of the ranch was totally awesome and blew my mind completely.  Alongside of he house are two other small buildings, used to house guests and workers on the ranch.  All of the fencing around the house was done by Reagan.  He cut the wood, hauled it to the site, and built the fences.  He was not afraid of hard work. 

Reagan even built Nancy's "First Ladies Park."  It was a quiet, sweet place to walk.  Our tour was so amazing, and we have a wonderful caretaker to thank for it.  It was about 1/2 way through our tour, after we looked at the old cars and saddles, etc.that were part of Reagan's belongings, I discovered

that George Thompson was a Santa Monica High School Alumni.  We were nearly classmates.  He graduated the year before I did, and as we were naming friends from Samohi, we found that we knew a lot of the same people.  Then, I threw out the name of my dad's restarant, "Pickle Bill's" and I wish I had taken a picture of George's face.  He worked for my dad as a bus boy for a couple of years!  Oh my goodness, talk about a small world!

Reagan loved to ride, and he rode his horse every day that he was on the ranch.  His personal Secret Service body guard, John Barletta, rode with him, too.  He was selected because he knew how to ride a horse.  Reagan loved his horses and his animals.  There is a special burrial site on the property where all of the animals that died while Reagan lived on the ranch are burried.  We got to visit some of the horses--and feed them carrots!

I thought it was interesting that the original brand for the ranch (before Reagan bought it) was an arrow pointing up and down (for "Tip-Top Ranch").  Reagan changed it to a double sided arrow pointing left and right for "Dos Vistas."  When you stand up on the highest point of the ranch, where the heli-pad was for Marine One to land on, and the place where Reagan bought the ranch because he loved the view, you can see the ocean to the west and the beautiful Santa Ynez valley to the east.  Breath-taking country.

I will continue our Reagan adventure with my next post, as we visit the amazing Reagan Library in Simi Valley.