Quorum plus one

Let me state this
Plain and simple
You are never lost
When you have the temple

Lift your thoughts
And be a light
Offering hope
That's forever bright


Gary E. Stevenson

Cool Visitors

Earlier the question was posed as to which was the true girls camp experience; while today we ask- which was the coolest visitor?

Coming from east to west Rindy's cousin Launa's son Cameron stopped by for a few nights as he heads back home for the summer. He was able to do Chicago with Jacob, Brigham and Evan for Saturday - seeing much and walking miles; eat some great Lou Malnatis pizza with us, have a cake shake, and play a few games. We enjoyed getting to know him better.

Coming from northwest to Illinois Jacob who just missed his mother and sister's visit by a few weeks. Jacob is a delight to catch back up with whether it is discussing homes, cars, singles, technology and gizmos, life in general or who will win Wits and Wagers (thank-you very much). Hard to quantify but easy to remember all the shared memories and experiences; and of course we appreciate being able to build them anew.

Coming from Hyde Park, Brigham came out to the burbs to host.
Coming on pull-along bike trailer Kate Jaynes, Sporting the summer look of the Naperville under 2 set and arriving in time to share fresh from the oven zucchini bread. Asking who looks the coolest really is rhetorical

Girls Camp

Two worlds


Someone went to girls camp in Minnesota -did a two-day backpack hike along the Superior Hiking Trail ( the Bean Lake segment) with the fourth- year group; then went to Laurentian with the rest of the girls.


Someone went to girls camp in Missouri as a chaperon and clearly dressed for success.

Hartranft Women

Julie and Emily dropped by on their way to render service on a farm in Ohio. Fortunately we were on the pathway there and so they dropped in for a visit. They visited in early June, but i forgot to post - my bad. Great friends - great visit. I love being at the cross roads.

Youngest Visitor

Could be that the handsome, happy, baby Joseph - son of Michael and Marie - weighs in as our youngest and smallest visitor to date. They arrived last night and were able to share a meal with us tonight. He truly is a good-looking baby with a nice disposition. It will be fun having them so close for the summer.

more visitors

Father’s Day was grand Monday a nice follow up.

Brigham stayed overnight and cooked a wonderful dinner for our guest or the night – David & Eliza and clan; and guest for dinner Michael. After dinner a bit of porch time, a bit of game time, a bit of dessert time.

At late at night Rindy returned from a trip out west.

It’s all good.

Perfect for me

This is my first Father's Day where I am unable to visit with my Father.
I miss my father.
I miss him at odd times.
Sometimes, I miss him logically, for instance at the Temple, when I play tennis with the boys, playing quiddler, reading a good paragraph in a book that he would like to discuss, or driving home from work when i would normally call him just to chat.
Sometimes, I miss him illogically, a random thought, a passing phrase, a written word will trigger an unrelated memory of Dad.
Dad who was my friend, my confidant, my advisor, my counsellor, my example, my father.
My father would never claim to be perfect, nor was he; however he like mary poppins (or my rindy) was practically perfect in every way. Most importantly, at least in my eyes - he was, he is the perfect father for me.

I love you Dad -Happy Father's Day

(prize to the first person who identifies the photo)

World Cup

I love the World Cup

Trends

Trends are interesting to spot, identify, catch, watch, miss and create. In today’s rapid pace world trends happen and go in a fleeting moment. Nonetheless, there is merit in stopping a moment to capture what is happening in the world. Perhaps that is the first trend we will note:

• people not noticing the richness of life around them: case study 2009 – Joshua Bell http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/bell.asp

• Puma’s clever little bag - be green in a big way – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OybIOIsrL0

• Trunk club – men’s dislike for shopping rewarded, shop from home- try it on at home - http://www.trunkclub.com/

• Crowdsourcing –fashion inspiration from real people - http://lookbook.nu/

• The Uniform project ( droog nyc) – one dress with a cause - http://www.theuniformproject.com/home/trailer.html

• The dealmap – how close is the next great deal to you - http://www.thedealmap.com

• Create news not ads by creating news with Yellow pages ads – hidden restaurant promotion -

• LeWhif – breathable chocolate – If dad were only still alive he’d be in heaven with this stuff – as sweet as chocolate as light as air - http://www.lewhif.com/

• Timebanks – I do good to you, you do good for someone, they do good for me and the circle goes on - Time Banks Weave Community One Hour at a Time - http://www.timebanks.org

• VOOK – mashing videos and books in an app – http://vook.com/

• Blippy – what are your friends buying – do you really care - http://blippy.com/

• Foursquare – too much sharing about too much - http://foursquare.com/

• While you read listen to the music of Broken Bells - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124018401

Mini cousins

Sunday dinner we were delighted to be graciously hosted and fed by Mari-Lynn and EBW. The food was great, the game fun and my oh my they have incredibly cute grand children. ---Lucy - Adam - Aaron - Ella - Adele - were the ones in attendance.


In the meantime back in Illinois another cousin gathering was happening

Weekend Visit

Mac, Parker and i had a great roadtrip to Minnesota this weekend. Parker attended a plenitude of 2010 High School graduation parties - fortunately i attended Henstrom's , lovely affair, with everyone I could hope to see and visit with. But best of all I spent a lot of time with Mom. Thankfully, she has an extra room and a refrigerator full of chocolate milk. She and i went out to eat Friday night and spent around 3 hrs out of the walls of Summerwood. A great visit then and Saturday and Sunday.

Vortex

The newest family member to come to Naperville

we welcome Michael and eagerly await Marie & Joseph

Newly Engaged

Congratulations to Katie Bond and Kenneth Bennion

Hanging Around This Weekend

We had some fun downtime just sitting around as well as all the hustle and bustle.

Temple Day

So today was family Temple Day. We gathered together and spent a couple of hours in the Temple as a family. Great activity to do together. Everyone participated at their level. A bonus today was having Rindy's brother John in town to be with us for the weekend and join us at the Temple.


Dean and Eden hug out with the baby sitter

Happy Birthday

here's to Mom and her day

The Blessing

Over the weekend in cleaning up papers I found a poem written by my father, Paul W Wilson Sr in the winter of 1990 - 91. I hear my Dad's voice as I read these words. And I share these words with my children - I am your father

THE BLESSING

I am your father!
Yes, a fragile struggling mortal filled with weakness
Ah, but I am your father
I love you and with my hands on your head I will bless you
I am your father
My child - yes, you are mine, I knew you before, I know you now and I will know you forever
I am your father
I loved you then and our love brought us together here and will bind us together forever
I am your father
The soaring spires of the Temple, the hand of your Mother across the alter in mine fulfilled our promise of eons ago
Yes, I am your father
I have been called and ordained and sealed for all eternity to be your Father
I am your father
I bless you my child with that which you have, and with that which has been yours and with that which is yours time out of mind - my
I am your father
I bless you with discernment that your spirit may see and your heart may feel the glowing love of God
I am your father
I am His son endowed with His power to bless and thus I bless you with joy, honor, righteousness and with my name
I am your father, and He is your Father. Go with our love.
I am your father