Blessings of Family

I hate missing a week in writing my blog.  So much happens that I feel I will bore you with it all but this is my way of journaling so please bear with me for two weeks of activities and experiences.

Monday, the 22th of May, prior to her departure the following week on Tuesday, I took Sister Castaneda to lunch at her choice of a Mexican food restaurant.  During the conversation, I mentioned pizza.  She wanted a good Brooklyn pizza one more time so we went to Roberta's on Friday.  It is fun to watch these sisters enjoy things and to reminisce before they leave the mission.

Sisters Ashford and Castañeda

Sisters Castañeda and Ashford in front of Roberta's.  The red carbuncle is the
entrance to this funky pizza place in Bushwick. Good pizza!!

Wall art

Monday evening our FHE group bid farewell to Sister and Elder Johnson as their mission had come to an end.  Seeing dear friends leave is always difficult.  Sister and Elder Johnson were the housing coordinators.  They did a spectacular job in the 18 months they were here.  They upgrade and provided better housing for over half of the mission.  They worked hard to improve the living conditions and to educate the missionaries about house cleaning and care of their apartments.  They will be missed.

FHE group: Elder/Sister Adams, Sister/Elder Williams, Sister/Elder Shapiro,
(standing) Sister/Elder Johnson, Sister/Elder Openshaw

Tuesday was the departing temple trip for the missionaries leaving the mission the next week.  We had 6 sisters and one elder leave.  I was delighted to spend the day with the companions of the sisters attending the temple.

Roses from my morning walk

Sisters Brinton, Ashford, Persinger, Hilliard

Wednesday I went to lunch with Anthea whom I hadn't seen for a long time.  Fun to catch up on family news and happenings.  She is going to have another grandchild this November.  I am excited for her.

Anthea Pierre

I had grilled shrimp with grilled vegetables in top pic. Anthea had fish and chips.

Wednesday evening I joined Sisters Krause (who will be departing) and Hilliard for sushi.  Can't ever pass up that opportunity.  And then to top off a day of eating, we had frozen yogurt.

Sisters Hilliard and Krause

Thursday I did some grocery shopping and house cleaning. I am also trying to prepare for Sister Reynolds, the mission president's wife, to fill in until the new nurse arrives at the end of September.  I am making the first aid kits we give to the new missionaries.  We have around 50 new missionaries coming in the next few months so I thought it would be helpful for Sister Reynolds and the new nurse and not to have to worry about making these as soon as she arrives.  I set up an assembly line in my kitchen.

Friday after lunch at Roberta's I finished my weekly report.  Honestly, I won't miss the reports.  I try to keep up a running report through the week so that on Friday I can just make sure I haven't missed anything.  When I get a call/text or anything that I need to report through the week, I add it to the Excel document report and it makes it easier to finish on Friday.  I know as I tell you about my week, it must seem that I do nothing but eat. However, I do work wherever I go because I always have my phone and can be reached wherever I am.  I love helping the missionaries.  The major thing this week is the continuation of colds.  Some allergies as the pollen count has been high.  No new tick bites or poison ivy although we are still treating one person who 3 weeks later is still fighting the rash of the ivy.  Some people are more sensitive to the oil and so it is difficult to get it to heal.  We are making progress though!!

Saturday is the day that new trainers are called.  The companions of the trainers came to spend a few hours with me.  We did silly things. (I know!  Hard to see me doing silly things.)  Because I live in the "ice palace" I keep blankets for people to wrap in when they come to visit.  The sisters were all sitting around wrapped up.  One of them put a fireplace video on her iPad, propped it on a chair and put her feet in front of it.  We all giggled.  This started a conversation about sitting around the campfire. 

I told them that my children used to play "camping" by building a blanket fort and sitting in it.  Next thing I know we are sitting in a blanket fort with the iPad fire crackling and playing games.  Adults we are????

Tent and clean up

Late Saturday night, the 27th of May, David and Brianna and their two children, Zolee and Reed, arrived. Brianna's parents, Chad and Jeannine Briggs came too.  What a fun adventure we began that late night.  It was about 1:30 A.M. before we arrived back to my apartment.  The Briggs were in a nearby hotel.

My Sacrament Meeting/block time is at 1:00 P.M. which was great because it took us a while to get going after our late night. After church was had pulled pork sandwiches and then went for a walk to the park so Zolee could play for a while.  Had so much fun watching her on the slides.

Sliding fun

Making a new friend, Wendy and Grandma and Grandpa Briggs

Brianna, David and Reed

The children were most curious about Brianna's prosthetic leg/foot. She was kind enough
to teach them about it. She had a a good group of interested students.

Monday we went to my ward's Memorial Day BBQ.  The ward provided hamburgers and hot dogs.  The rest was potluck   I took a coleslaw salad with fresh corn cut from the cob added from Sunday's dinner and David made a snickers salad.  Bet I make that snickers salad again!  Thanks Dave for teaching me about it.

Chad carrying the salads to the BBQ

After food basketball.

Tula will be 93 on the 18th. She just returned from 2 weeks in Peru. She leaves this week to spend
2 weeks and her birthday in California with her daughter. She attributes her long life to eating a
healthy diet and taking good care of herself. She attributes her happiness to knowing the Savior
and finding the true Gospel  70+ years ago.

The grill masters

Sapna Kapoor was in love with this blond dude.

Ruma Kapoor with her mother and husband, Atul

Monday evening we took the subway into Manhattan for pizza at John's of Bleecker Street.

Zolee loved riding the train

Tuesday Chad Briggs had to do some work at his company's office in Manhattan so the rest of us went into the city later and walked around a bit ending up at Serendipity for lunch and frozen mint hot chocolate and frozen salted caramel hot chocolate.

Unusual fountain

Looking into Rockefeller Plaza

Serendipity mirrors and Tiffany chandeliers

My cup runneth over!

Jeannine and Chad had dinner and theater plans.  David and Brianna and I went back to Queens and rented a minivan at LaGuardia so that we could all go out to Montauk in one car.

Wednesday and Thursday we spent on Long Island. Before we returned the car, we made a stop at The French Workshop Bakery for a duke and a few other goodies!!

It was foggy and misty/raining for our visit to Montauk Point Lighthouse but beautiful none-the-less.

My treasures from the rocky beach below the Lighthouse.

We stopped at Cupsogue Beach on the way back to Rego Park so we could dip our toes in the Atlantic.
Zolee loved it and cried when we left. She was soaked but didn't care.

Zolee was not happy that we were taking so long to get to the beach!! 
Flowers along the boardwalk to the lighthouse.

Beach fun

Deer on Fire Island and riding the horse near the French Workshop!!

Friday we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and then to the Freedom Tower Observatory.

Miss Liberty and skyline from the Ferry

From Freedom Tower Observatory

Inside Ellis Island Museum

Marine carousel in Battery Park

Flowers in Battery Park

Saturday we visited the 9/11 Memorial and then to the Temple and Central Park.

Last column

Many people in a large area but reverence and solemnity are most evident.

Eating bagels standing in front of The Manhattan Temple. 
Angel Moroni Spire is difficult to see but it is there.

Police horse in Central Park

Bath time in the kitchen sink

Cute dude leaning out of the sling toward Mom

Sunday after church, it was time to take the family back to JFK for their departure home.  It is always sad to have them leave but I thoroughly enjoyed having them here for the week.

Makes me realize the blessing of our Heavenly Father's plan that allows us to be here on this earth to start our eternal families.  The family is the most important unit in all of eternity.  I love and value my family.  It makes me hurt to watch them suffer the trials of this earthly existence whether it is a trial of spirit, health, work, finance, relationships, etc. But as a blessing,  I see them grow and develop and gain strength with each trial.  I know that the Lord has made a way through His sacrifice and love for us that we may be resurrected and live on through eternity as a family if we follow the plan and live our lives in such a way that we allow the atonement to work in our lives.

I love you my family and friends.

I saw a picture of this carving this week and found it interesting.

The weeping Buddha is a wood-carved Buddha depicted in the fetal position.

Based on one legend, two masked warriors fought each other in many battles with neither defeating the other until the older warrior killed the younger warrior. When the older warrior removed his opponent's mask, he was confronted with the face of his only son. The torment and misery of having fought and killed his own son forced him to the ground, and he cried tears of anguish and buried his face in his hands to hide the truth of what he had done. This signifies that the weeping Buddha is crying for the suffering of the world and internalizes the angst to lessen the sorrow of others. Some believe that the Buddha gives peace and strength to those who rub or oil its back.

Others believe that the legend of the weeping Buddha was created as a training challenge for new wood carvers. According to this belief, apprentice wood carvers would learn to carve the intricate posture of the weeping Buddha before carving the human face. In Metaphysics, it is believed the weeping Buddha’s fetal position and pressing his forehead to his hands is a meditative posture used to awaken the third eye.