Day Two in New York City

The only craziness today was the heat. Thank goodness we spent most of
the day inside at the Museum of Modern Art. I was in heaven looking at
all the amazing art by Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Dali,
Matisse, Mondrian and others.

The MoMA has a lovely sculpture garden where I saw this piece by Joan
Miro. This is the view from the back so you can see the garden too.

In the evening we went to see Mamma Mia. I'm glad we only paid half
price, because I felt like we only got half a show. The music was
great, but the play was mediocre. Actually, the best part of the show
was the 3 song "concert" after the final bows.

I recommend getting the soundtrack or listening to ABBA's greatest hits.

After the show we made our way through Times Square. The crowds and
lights kind of stress me out, but it was fun to go and especially to
see the huge billboard for mormon.org

Day One in New York

We survived the crazy people in the subway station, found our hotel
and had a fabulous dinner at an Italian restaurant in SoHo. John had a
salad that had squid and octopus in it and he loved it.

The best part of dinner was being with my brother Scott who works in Manhattan. Thanks for a great evening Scott!

Excuses

Dear Blog,

I know I haven't spent much time with you lately.

I've been spending time with my sweetheart, touring the rainforest,
strolling on the beach, eating fancy desserts nearly every night,
exploring Old San Juan and enjoying views like this.

Talk to you soon!

Love,
Melanie

After nearly 4 weeks of waiting . . .

Aaron has received his mission call!


He has been called to labor in the Canada Toronto Mission. He reports to the MTC in Provo on October 19th and will be speaking Korean!

아론 축하

(Congratulations Aaron!)

It looks like David was the closest with his guess of New York since New York borders the mission.  Let me know what type of gift card you want David.

I Can Vacuum!

BUT, I don't do it very often. Why else would I have four children?

This morning I decided that I needed to turn all the cushions on my sofa and loveseat.  It seemed like a good time to clean out the pencils and wrappers that breed under there and vacuum up the crumbs and lint.  Aaron came downstairs on his way to work and asked, "Did you lose something Mom?"  Then he hesitantly added, "Or are you just vacuuming?"

Despite my son's doubt, I finished the task and (since no one else was home to accept the chore assignment) decided to start on the carpet.  The vacuum cleaner began making one of those funny noises and I realized it was time to empty the canister.  Unfortunately, I've never emptied it before.  I am a pro at the old-school vacuum bag, but I once I removed the canister, I couldn't figure out how to open it.  Surely it couldn't be that difficult.  Then  I broke off the handle.  Now I have a broken vacuum and a dirty carpet.

How dare my kids head off to work, EFY and scout camp at a time like this!

Give it to me straight

* Did you make your guess as to where Aaron will serve his mission?  If not, join the fun by going HERE to leave a comment.*

How many times have you been to "The Happiest Place on Earth?"  One trip to Disneyland always stands out in my mind.  We were there to visit with John's Dad who happened to be in town.  We took our little boys swimming in the hotel pool and were chatting out in the courtyard.  Just then a man approached us asking for help.  He said that his family had come on a trip to Disneyland and had spent most of their money on tickets etc.  They were just getting ready for their trip home when their car broke down.  He said he could make the repair, but didn't have the cash for the needed part.  He showed John a price list from a local auto parts store.  It had the necessary part circled with the price underlined.

I was busy holding my baby and watching my toddler son, but something struck me as false about the man's story.  Then I noticed that he had four Disneyland tickets in his shirt pocket.  The tickets were arranged very carefully so that you could see 2 adult tickets and 2 child tickets.  Tickets don't arrange themselves like that. I suspected that the tickets were taped together and carefully placed to give credence to the man's story.

John's Dad must have doubted the man's story, but he still wanted to help.  He offered to go with the man to the auto parts store and buy the part.  The man refused his offer and only wanted cash.  Then he started to get angry and finally left.

It really bothered me that the man was trying to scam us.  Likely, John or his Dad would have given him a few dollars if he had just asked for money, but no one likes to be lied to or manipulated.

A few weeks ago, I saw a thirtysomething man near a freeway entrance.  He appeared to be in good health and was holding a sign that said:

 SUFFERS MENTAL ABUSE.   PLEASE GIVE

 What exactly did he mean?  I wanted to roll down my window and ask him a few questions.  Who was abusing him?  Did he really mean "mental illness" or did he just choose these words thinking they would evoke sympathy? I got my answer a week later when I saw the same man at the same corner.  This time he had a different sign:

OUT OF WORK.  PLEASE GIVE.

 I still had questions, but the light turned green before I could ask or give.

Later that day I was in a different part of town and I saw another thirtysomething, healthy looking man holding a sign.  His read:

WILL WORK FOR BEER.  PLEASE GIVE.

I laughed out loud.  If I had been the driver, I might have stopped to "give."  I appreciate honesty and a good laugh!

My question for you is:  How do you handle people looking for a handout?  When do you give?

Sweet Sunday - Father's Day

Today is one of a very few Father's Days I have spent away from my father. He is visiting two of my brothers this weekend and I am grateful they will be able to spend time together. Two of my brothers are loving and dedicated fathers and I know my youngest brother (who already has a special gift with children) will be an amazing father in the future.

Part of the reason my brothers are such fine fathers is because of the example of our own father. He always worked hard to provide well for our family. Dad lived much of his life without a father in his home, so he lacked the example of a strong father. Yet Dad always made his family a priority and strove to be a righteous father. Dad has never been perfect, but he has asked for forgiveness when he has made mistakes. I have been touched many times by his efforts to constantly improve and strengthen his weaknesses.

I have learned many important lessons from my father, but the most important lesson is to be a good judge. What exactly does that mean? Elder Dallin Oaks explained it perfectly in this talk when he said:

There are two kinds of judging: final judgments, which we are forbidden to make, and intermediate judgments, which we are directed to make, but upon righteous principles.

We must, of course, make judgments every day in the exercise of our moral agency, but we must be careful that our judgments of people are intermediate and not final. Thus, our Savior’s teachings contain many commandments we cannot keep without making intermediate judgments of people.

We all make judgments in choosing our friends, in choosing how we will spend our time and our money, and, of course, in choosing an eternal companion. Some of these intermediate judgments are surely among those the Savior referenced when He taught that “the weightier matters of the law” include judgment (Matthew 23:23)

My dad always taught us to make wise choices, especially when it really counted! He encouraged us to seek out "quality" friends and spouses. I have always tried to be thoughtful in making important decisions and I believe my siblings are all wise judges.

Thanks Dad for teaching me this lesson! I love you and will be eternally grateful for your guidance and example. Happy Father's Day!

Dad holding me as a newborn.
I love the smile on his face. It is the same today!
I also love the full bookshelf behind him.
I have clearly inherited my parents' love of books.