ONE

The Big # One.

Yes baby dean is now Dean a one year-old. So we all converged on Watertown for the celebration. First there was a great spread of food; then a one-man one-year old birthday cake, then outdoors for a game of bags, the back indoors, where even parker joined us for presents. We so enjoy being able to drop in after church for the afternoon.

Rock For Socks

Tonight was “Rock For Socks”. Not to be confused with Rock my socks, which as defined in the urban dictionary , means- you're cool you're awesome it's cool or awesome. Tonight was an eagle project for Scott B sponsoring a sock drive for the organization Socks and Undies. http://www.socksnundies.org/

Their mission - Helping provide basic dignity through comfort and warmth.

Multiple bands played for an hour and half , Admission was a new pair of socks or undies to help the homeless; somewhere around 120 people attended and hundreds of socks were gathered. A great Eagle scout project – a great contribution to the community. Participating in meaningful service links you to the community, lifts you and the community, makes the community a community.These are the bridges we need to build.

Actuary actualizing

David Sandberg is a gracious friend. He changed his schedule so he could stop by and visit a night with us on a trip to Chicago. We stayed up late and enjoyed catching up on friends and family; and importantly David is one of our favorite people to ponder with. He thinks, he ponders, he shares and we are the richer for it. I thought new thoughts and stretched a little. We truly appreciate those who come and spend a night with us on their travels.

There is always a bed, a shower, food – we’ll leave the light on for you.

(sorry dave, I forgot to take a picture and had to grab this from the internet)

Volley For The Cure

The story: Volley for the cure was created as a way to honor and celebrate the heroic fight against breast cancer. The promotion is dedicated to all the men and women who have been touched by breast cancer with the hopes that this devastating disease will one day be cured. Contact your local Susan G Komen Foundation for educational material. The state of Illinois girls volleyball association sponsors the program and our conference embraces it. On Tuesday both teams had their pink jerseys on and they held a great fundraiser. I appreciate a community that teaches its young women to support meaningful causes and people in meaningful ways.

(Oh and yes she played well)

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

What a great night. Tonight we went with dear friends the Petersons and the Watsons downtown Chicago to enjoy the Civic Orchestra of Chicago with Cliff Colnot conductor. The program was comprised of two works: Sibelius Symphony No. 4 and Ravel Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé. Both were delightful, adding to the enjoyment of our first time at the symphony hall in Chicago – mom and dad would have loved it.

Of Translation and Bridge-building

Not only is Chicago the cross-roads for our friends to visit, for book signing visits to indie-stores, but also BYU lecturers. Tonight our stake fireside featured Daniel C. Peterson a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University and currently serves as editor-in-chief of BYU's Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. He is a member of the executive council of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University He has spearheaded the taking of major Islamic literature and allowing them to have voice in English, for prominent Muslims of the past to come forward and add once again to our community of thought.

It was an interesting lecture and sparked interest in me to re-read the F.A.R.M.S text Mormons and Muslims; and to find one or two of these Arabic texts, recently translated to read; thinking I'll start with the "Incoherence of the philosophers". Let me know if you have read it.

Some interesting comments:
* he spoke of his ability to be glib : to talk learnedly upon things which he knows nothing
* The importance of knowledge is stressed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad - "Knowledge is the stray camel of the believer; it benefits him regardless from where he takes it"
* western and Islamic conflict has been rooted in a shared geography, philosophy and values where those same overlappings haven't occurred in sino-relationships

Too late to expound more but an enjoyable presentation and some bridge-building that the world could use more of

Jamie Lee Curtis and Julie Andrews

Last night Rindy and I decided to take a stroll the few blocks to downtown naperville after dinner, while Mackey was at the football game. We walked past the booths being site up for the Fine Art Fair



going on along the River walk, played with I Pads at the Apple Store


and dropped in at Anderson's Books the local Indie Bookstore.

The Apple store is always hopping with traffic any day any time and to a lesser extent the bookstore, but this night was different - Anderson's was packed, The reason: Jamie Lee Curtis. She was doing a book signing, I walked up to her at the table dodging the long line but just to see if it was really her. It was. Glanced at the book but didn't feel compelled to buy it.


This coming week Julie Andrews comes to town. Loved her in Sound of Music but not my list of authors to buy either, but maybe will go peak at her.


Its fun to have a bustle downtown just a few blocks from home with a variety of interesting activities to do. Maybe come next week and visit for the Independent Film Festival.

Parenting

Parenting, I have always said is the ultimate learning laboratory and refiners fire. The kids arrive without a handbook and your challenge from day one is how to optimize them, how to create an environment where they can flourish, how to imbue them with a set of values and skills that will see them through their life; all without doing it for them, all without squashing their initiative; all without taking away their moral agency to become who they should become. It is the ultimate learning experience – learning to be a parent.

As such, it was with interest that I read in the NYTimes, Living to be a parent, a recent article describing a reconfiguration of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid being updated by Kenrick to embrace a view of parenting as a desired skill set aspiration. In the words of ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2010) — If you have ever felt that your children are your life's work, then you may in fact be recognizing a high-level psychological need. Caring for your children, feeding them, nurturing them, educating them and making sure they get off on the right foot in life -- all of the things that make parenting successful -- may actually be deep rooted psychological urges that we fulfill as part of being human.









Lisa Belkin, the NYTimmes author is concerned about “the tendency to delay our children from reaching independent adulthood, which is, on any pyramid, the entire point.” Independent children but eternal relationships that is the fine balancing act and challenge to it all. Regardless, of if you aspire to be a parent or not; I am grateful for the opportunity to be a parent, to learn from being a parent, to develop the relationships that uniquely spring forth from parenthood, and to have a great partner in parenting. Parenting at the end does have everything to do with the heart.

Standards Week

Our Ward does many a good thing and this annual event is one of them. Early in the school year for all the youth 12 and over the focus for one week is the For Strength of Youth Pamphlet. The standards are something we have taught in Family Home Evening, made the subject of dinner table discussion, shared with friends at work and neighbors, carry in my wallet and brief case; and would make a huge difference if everyone in the world would live by them.

Knowing the standards is good - living them is better. Two stories shared at this evening's fireside launch; both with a different twist on learning to stand for the right.


The first was a story by NBC Sport's writer Shaun Powell on Decade’s dominant force wasn’t athlete or team - no not Kobe - Shaq - Tiger but:

1. Temptation. The undisputed force of the decade. It's not even close. Her perfume filled the air. Her stiletto footprints were everywhere. Too many in sports couldn't resist her. How many lives did she professionally and/or personally damage?

Temptation seduced many into taking drugs and brought down Clemens, Bonds, A-Rod, Canseco, the facade over the great home run chase and also broke into the home shared by the fastest man and woman in the world and brought down Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, too.

Temptation also took others from their wives/significant others/baby mamas because they just had to flirt with a skirt. She saved her biggest name for last, whipping Tiger with a month to spare. But she also shook up Kobe, Barkley, Shaq, Jordan, Brady, Pitino, Brodeur, Steve Phillips (twice!), Pokey Chatman, Dwyane Wade and Matt Leinart. And those are just the ones we know about.

The next story was an excerpt from a Clayton Christensen Harvard business review article entitled: how will you measure your life ( which Brigham cited over a month ago and I am just catching up.) The key take away for Standards Week being the impact of just letting your standards slip once - does it matter.

"Clayton Christensen has a very interesting article in the HBR from his commencement address to this year's MBA students. You can read it here: http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/1"

Then there was a cheesy poem about becoming a chocolate cupcake and the need to live within rules (the paper cup) in order to take form when heat is applied as you form - but I can't find a reference for it.

Anyhow, in summary, the standards follow:

Dating
• Prepare now for temple marriage.
• Begin dating only after you are sixteen.
• When you begin dating, go in groups or double date.
• Date only those with high standards.
• Avoid temptation.

Dress and Appearance
• Dress modestly to show respect for God and yourself.
• Avoid extremes in your clothing and appearance.
• Dress appropriately for all Church meetings and activities.

Friendshipping
• Choose good friends with whom you share common high standards.
• Go out of your way to help shy friends.
• Treat everyone with kindness and dignity.
• Invite your nonmember friends to Church activities.

Honesty
• Be honest with yourself.
• Be honest with others.
• Be honest with Lord.

Language
• Use language to build up and inspire others.
• Do not use profane, vulgar, or crude language.
• Never take the name of Deity in vain.
• Do not gossip.

Media
• Use only good media that will uplift and inspire yourself and others.
• Avoid pornography in all forms.
• Do not see vulgar movies or videos.
• Leave or change any immoral or suggestive situation.

Mental and Physical Health
• Keep your body, mind, and spirit healthy.
• Do not use drugs, alcohol, coffee, tea, or tobacco products.
• Remember your body is a temple of God where the Holy Spirit can dwell.

Music and Dancing
• Use good music to help you draw closer to Heavenly Father.
• Do not listen to music that encourages immorality, uses offensive language, or drives the Spirit away.
• When dancing, avoid full body contact or intimate positions with your partner.
• Plan and attend dances where the Spirit of the Lord may be present.

Sexual Purity
• Treat your date with respect, and expect respect in return.
• Abstain from premarital sex, petting, necking, sex perversion, masturbation, and preoccupation with sex in thought, speech, and action.
• Reserve sexual intimacy for marriage.
• Refrain from homosexual and lesbian activities.
• Seek help and counseling if you become a victim of rape, incest, or other sexual abuse.

Sunday Behavior
• Use the Sabbath to worship the Lord, strengthen family relationships, help others, and draw close to the Lord.
• Avoid seeking entertainment or spending money on the Sabbath.
• When possible, avoid working on Sunday.

Repentance
• If you have made mistakes, you can be cleansed through proper repentance.

Spiritual Help
• You are never alone. Rely on the Holy Ghost. Knowing what is right and wrong is always possible.

Feed My Starving Children

It seems like we just went a few weeks ago; but today found us there once again. This time not as a young men Young Woman's activity but as a Ward activity. Feed My Starving Children is a great place to serve. With around 120 Ward members in attendance it was great fun to pack and seal and box up meals.

Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals formulated specially for starving children, and we ship the meals to nearly 70 countries around the world

They are located in Minnesota, Illinois, and now Arizona.

In candor, this time it was fun to see how much progress I have made physically in the past two months and noticeably being able to do more.

And She's Only A Sophomore

High School athletics are interesting.
Given politics, evolution of skills and interest, competition you never know from one year to the next exactly what activities your student will want to be in or will be able to be in - so you live in the moment and enjoy what is happening as it happens. Such is the state of volleyball at Naperville North this year. We are enjoying it.

Mackey's got game. She is playing well and plays outside hitter. Tuesday was the first home game and the first game of the season I've been able to attend. It was fun hearing her name called out over the loud speaker as they introduced the team and again when she did a key play. She made the JV squad and is doing well. They won and she contributed. It's fun.

Games are Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Labor Day

You have to love Naperville community parades.

The route is literally, one block from our front door. Out front street Franklin was blockaded and a policeman was out front all morning. (Rindy treated him with some fresh Zucchini bread.) And our side street Eagle was lined with cars. We hosted an impromptu party and watched the parade, while Mackey was at volleyball practice. Five of the local high school bands marched and they were our favorite. We knew a city councilman, a motorcycle riding couple, a gymnast group mother, a drum major, and a drummer. The weather was perfect - kinda cloudy, kinda cool, not quite hot. A great day for a parade. After the parade we sat on the porch ate zucchini bread and chatted.
The rest of the day was light chores, working out, and then over to some friends for dinner. A great day.

Back to School

So the question is:
- do you stay true to your standards, principals and heritage and potentially subject your child to ridicule and mockery by the locals.

OR

- do you fold and compromise and try to blend in with the crowd, but clearly make a wrong choice

We ran up to Blair & Julie's for Sunday dinner and a few games ( yes I rule in croquet in Wisconsin as well); and it was encouraging to see them making good parenting decisions - nice back to school backpack

Cantigny

Just down the road about 8 minutes from our home is Cantigny. We have been to the WW1 museum before and enjoyed the experience; and Saturday Rindy and I went to the McCormick mansion and formal gardens
McCormick was the head of the Chicago Tribune, WGN radio & TV and made clearly, an awful lot of money in his day. Graciously, upon his death he donated much of his wealth to the community and his foundation.

The grounds are beautiful and expansive. The gardens by them-self would be worth the trip. We enjoyed a fall day stroll. We highly recommend it; and the cost is for parking and we had that waived.

New Driver

Yes, YES, YES
That is Mackenzie with car keys in hand.
On Friday, the permit arrived in the mail and she is now behind the wheel.
The longest drive to date has been to church but she has been doing well.
Prayers, as always, are appreciated.