Mother/Daughter/New York

Saying yes to one thing means saying no to another.

I think I first read that quote in one of Elisabeth Elliot's books. I've been applying that quote to my blogging life for most of March. I've been saying yes to planning and going on a mother/daughter trip to New York with our 18 year old, Faith.  So, I've been saying no to blogging. As much as I love to blog, even that enjoyable pastime has to be put on the back burner when it butts up against time with a beloved daughter. Daughters always trump time with Wilson (my mac).

We are home now, and it's time to document some of the adventures of that fun trip. One interesting difference between this trip and a similar trip I took with my oldest daughter back in 2009 (another amazing time!), is that the pictures were all taken with my cell phone! The technology at my finger tips still boggles my mind.

With that said, time to say yes to reading about our trip.

Being Lou-less for a span of time is often the hardest part of any trip I take without him. Snapped this before I left just so I could look at it some while I was gone.

Once at the airport, and because we had no luggage to check, Faith and I were able to print our boarding passes at this kiosk. Neither of us had ever done it without Lou there, so we were way more than proud of ourselves that we did this!

When we landed at La Guardia airport in NYC, we deplaned to this gate area. There is no question in my mind that this is the future of all public spaces.

Wall-e

From our hotel in Midtown, we jumped on the subway and headed downtown.

Obviously, it's cold

 The 9-11 Memorial is still a work in progress, but is moving and beautiful.

All those names...all those souls.

At St. Paul's Chapel, where 9/11 relief workers received round the clock care, we saw this clock. It gave us shivers.

Inside that chapel, was this plaque (which obviously, had no connection to 9/11). I appreciated the description "in the midst of his usefulness." It's a good thing to be useful. I want to be useful.

After the memorial, we braved the cold and wind (!) and ventured out on the Brooklyn Bridge. Quite the impressive structure, it's hard to believe that it was completed over a 100 yrs ago in 1883.

Building being built in background is the new Freedom Tower at the 9/11 Memorial

As we left the bridge, this interestingly strange building came into view. I couldn't stop staring at it.

Wanting to get the scoop on it when I got home, I googled, "weird building near the Brooklyn Bridge."
The first hit called it Beekman Tower. A little more digging, and I discovered that that name is so last year. It's now known as 8 Spruce Street and/or New York by Gehry. (Can we please pick a name and stick with it?) The Gehry in that last name refers to architect Frank Gehry, who designed this tallest residential building in NYC.

You can't miss it if you are in lower Manhattan. So very interesting.

A perfect end to our first day in NY was attending the musical "Once." Go see it if you get the chance.

Because our traveling buddies, dear friends, Louise and Heide Forrister, knew the aunt of the Tony nominated supporting actress, we got to go backstage and meet her.

Very cool.

Heide, Elizabeth Davis, Faith

Another perk I had on this trip that I didn't have in 2009, was this:

We still used our paper map most of the time, (because Louise and I both love seeing the big picture and find reading maps really fun), but when our eyes wouldn't focus well on some of those little streets, this came in mighty handy.

The next day, we hit the iconic Empire State Building. The skyscraper in the background will, at completion later this year, be the tallest building in the western hemisphere. It's the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center Complex. To the right of it on that island in the harbor, you can also see the outline of the Statue of Liberty.

Whenever I'm in a city where there's an Anthropologie, I always make a point to visit. The one in NYC  is huge, which means there's lots of beauty to behold. This display of "flowers" draped over the lattice work was gorgeous. The flowers were pompoms!

If you want my autograph next time you see me, I'll completely understand. I've now graced the screens in Times Square.  Faith, Heide, and I are front and center. Very Fun!

Times Square at night is pretty much sensory overload.

Also not to be missed in NYC is a trip to the restaurant, Serendipity, famous for their frozen hot chocolate and the movie by the same name.

Sunday, on our way to worship at Tim Keller's church, Redeemer Presbyterian, we happened to walk by this restaurant. Recognize it?

It was in the movie You've Got Mail. The banter between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in this restaurant is one of my favorites scenes of the movie.

Sunday afternoon we visited one of my favorite places in NYC - The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since it is massive, you have to pick and choose where you're gonna spend the bulk of your time. We enjoyed the European paintings and the American Wing before viewing their special exhibit, Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity. Simply Amazing.

From there, a stroll through and some pictures in Central Park...

before Tea Time at Sarabeth's. Delightful!!

Although our week there was colder than any of us would have liked, it couldn't have been any warmer on the inside. My history with my dear friend, Louise, goes back to 1987 when we first met in Tulsa, OK. Faith and Heide have literally been friends since birth. Our families have vacationed together many times. What a rare and beautiful gift they are to us!

What a rare and beautiful time I enjoyed with my Faith.

Grateful to God for her. Excited to see what the next chapter of her life holds.

Much love.

InstaFriday...and a 2,013 in 2013 Update

This week, I've been watching some goals and continuing to work on some goals.

The goals I've been watching surround our youngest, Mary Grace. Let me just say that indoor soccer is the bomb! You are elevated above the playing field, so you can see what's going on. The bounce of the ball off the wall is a fun strategy to watch teams use, and the game is fast and exciting. It's the way all soccer should be played.

Excellent view of Mary Grace's pony tail

For an excellent view of this lovely heart on one of the window panes of our front door, let me tell you what to do.

1. Whistle for Kiowa and walk toward the front door.
2. Open door for her to go out.
3. Look through the panes of the front door to watch Kiowa sniff around the yard.
4. See something blurry between you and her.
5. Back up, so blurry image comes into focus.
6. Smile, because you know immediately which one of your offspring would draw that.

I love these kind of surprises - even if it does mean a messy window.

Look through the panes of the windows facing the back of the house and you have an excellent view of our wind ravaged play place. North Wind* can pack a punch. I actually heard this happen. There was a loud thunk, and I went outside to check to see if a branch had fallen on the roof. With nothing there, I went back in a smidge confused. A few minutes later, I saw this.

I've always liked that our playplace sported Bolivar colors.

The wind was a harbinger of bigger and better things.

Like big, wet snow.

It was magical to wake up to such a landscape.

Another snow day and perfect snowman snow meant people got busy being creative. I've driven by this gigantic snowman just off Locust Street here in Bolivar every day since the storm. So cool!

A friend and I were talking about Instagram this week, and I sent her a picture of the Christmas present my Hannah gave me this year. She had this made from some of my Instagrams. Lots of pictures of people I care about in one convenient location = love.

Speaking of love, I am loving decluttering! It has been incredibly freeing already, and I'm only 2 months into it. I have met my goal (and then some) of at least 40 items per week leaving my house and finding new digs. For a list of those items, click here.

Sorting through old purses this week, I came across this little gem neatly folded inside one. When Mary Grace was little, she was constantly setting up a Pet Store in the basement which I liked to frequent. :) As you can see, one day I snagged a frog for an incredibly low price.

That's a completely random phone # btw

I finish my InstaFriday with a picture that fits under what my friend, Trina Banner, refers to on her blog as For Real?. I had to include it because I know so many of you, especially you that have daughters, can totally relate.

Yesterday, while vacuuming, a headband got tangled in the carpet part of the vacuum. When I turned it over to get the headband out, I saw that (ahem) the vacuuming apparatus was being impeded from working at its maximum efficiency. With the help of some scissors and some pulling and tugging, I was finally able to clear the rotating brush of this:

For Real

Good grief.

As you might guess, our vacuum suction is much better now. Consider this your friendly reminder to check your vacuum's "mouth."

As I type, I'm in a waiting room anticipating being called back to check on our David. It's wisdom teeth extraction day for him.

My goal for the weekend is to feed him lots of soft foods and needed pain meds. Actually, that's more my hubby's goal. I'm heading to the University of Arkansas this afternoon to hang with our Hannah - it's her sorority's Mom's Weekend. (Fun!)

I told my husband that the only way I would leave David in such a state is if somebody more qualified than me could stay with him this weekend - you know, like a doctor or something.

Hope you have a weekend where you make one of your goals some sweet time of rest and relaxation with God and with those you love.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings!

*Reference to The Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald, one of my favorite stories.

3 Pics 1 Word

My girls have been enjoying an online game of late called "4 Pics 1 Word." It's a rather addicting game where you're given four pictures and a group of letters. From those, you decide what one word those pictures all have in common. Here's an example:

Since it's popular right now, I thought I'd try something similar, except mine is called 3 Pics 1 Word and is much easier than the real one. (My thanks to offspring #5, Elizabeth, for making the next picture happen).

Ready?

Go.

Got it?

I know you do.

I first noticed this word about 10 years ago when our family decided to memorize Psalm 19 together. You start to notice things you'd never notice otherwise when you memorize, and I was struck by what the second half of verse 8 said:

The precepts of the Lord are right,

  giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,

    giving light to the eyes.

I think I must have just looked in the mirror, seen some dark circles under the old eyes and been feeling especially haggard when this thought occurred to me, but I remember thinking, "Wow, the commands are radiant and will give light to my eyes! That is some kind of effective beauty treatment!"

My radar has been up concerning the word "radiant" ever since.

So the other day, when this flyer came in the mail, my radiant radar detector went off.

Obviously, if I'm getting this flyer in the mail, I appreciate the role beauty essentials play in our lives. But when I saw those words, "Be Radiant," I immediately thought of what really can make us radiant.

The flyer was my first reminder of this word, but it hasn't been my last.

In preparation for an event I'm teaching at in April, I've been spending some extended time in Psalm 34. As you might expect, I've paused at verse 5.

There it is again! Isn't that a glorious promise to us?

On the heels of such promises and pictures, it makes perfect sense now to refer to...a pig. More specifically, Wilbur, of Charlotte's Web fame.

I love this pig story. Wilbur and his dear friend, Charlotte, have so much to teach about what is good and true and lasting. (I've already told a couple of my kids that they are not allowed to read Charlotte's Web to their kids - I'm calling dibs on that honor. ;)

Charlotte saves Wilbur's life by weaving words about him in her web.

Somewhere in the middle of pondering Psalm 34:5, I was back in the barn on Zuckerman's farm remembering one of the words used to describe Wilbur - one of the words that saved his life: Radiant.

"Actually," said Wilbur, "I feel radiant."

Of course he feels radiant. He's loved by a dear friend. He's being rescued by the words of a dear friend. How could that not make you feel radiant?

He's still 100% porcine, but he's radiantly porcine - and it shows. What's happening on the inside can't help but come out.

This time of year, when outwardly, this girl is feeling pasty and dull, it will do wonders for me to take time to remember this 3 Pics 1 Word and the truths God showed me in it.

As I look to Him and believe what He says about Himself and about me,  He'll do big, brightening work on the inside, where it really matters. Where it will last for ever and ever.

When that happens on the inside, it can't help but come out.

And what will show can be described with one word: Radiant.

InstaFriday: Short and Sweet

It's a short and sweet InstaFriday.

I have more pictures on my phone than are on today's InstaFriday, but since I post quite a few of them on Instagram, (you can follow me @shelleymarea), sometimes it feels a bit redundant to post some of those same pictures again on my blog. I'm trying to figure out exactly how I want to handle all that, so we'll see how/if my InstaFriday morphs in any way. For this week, however, it's the same, just a bit shorter.

Something warm and fuzzy to start things off

Growing up, I saw my share of barbed wire, since my physician father was also a gentleman farmer. However, it's been a few years since I had the opportunity to be this up close and personal to some. On my walk on Sunday afternoon, I passed this new stretch of fencing as I walked down the sidewalks on Division. I've always thought barbed wire looked menacing, but it's left that tiddlywink category, and is now downright wicked. When did they start painting those barbs red? Blood red...

Sunday was also the day that season 12 of The Amazing Race began. Yay! Yay! Yay! I've blogged about how much I love the Amazing Race and you can read about that here. Sunday, we celebrated with carrot cake!

I guess I was in a baking mood this week, because we celebrated again. This time we celebrated a snow day by eating the stickiest, gooiest, yummiest Monkey Bread you've ever eaten. No kidding.

It's low in calories too.

Kidding.

Snow day or not, we did manage to get a few chores done. Guess what Elizabeth had to do...

Today, I got to eat something I didn't bake! Shout out to Connie Tweedy and all you guys out at The Hangar Cafe.  Yummy!

I think this is the first time I've ever had gooseberry pie. It was yummy! 

Now shout out to you.

"Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderfully, winning weekend!"

And finally, a shout out to Lou.


"Hey babe! I'm done with my InstaFriday. Time to catch a few zzzz's!"

;)

David's Christmas in February

Wednesday is a big day for our 19 year old son, David. Finally, finally, after 3 1/2 years of hardship and deprivation, he will join the smartphone world.

He has been living in the barren wasteland of non-smartphone land since he was 16. We can only wonder at how he's been able to cope all this time with such an archaic instrument. The one positive to having such an antique is that, at least as far as he has been concerned, it was free.

All that is about to change.

For Christmas this year, David asked for the iPhone 5. We already had that in mind for him because he's in college now. College has been our "you're ready for a smart phone" barometer with the two kiddos that have preceded him, and so we were prepared for such a request. (And we were prepared for the monetary contribution dependent smartphone owners in the Harris family make to our monthly phone bill). The only drawback to his request was timing. David's contract didn't end at Christmas, but February 20, 2013. Well, we love the boy, but we didn't want to pay for a new phone out of contract. So, he received one of those Christmas presents that everybody loves to get. They open a package that is basically is an I.O.U. You're getting a phone, but not until February!

David was very gracious and very excited. He knew it would be worth the wait.

He's so ready that he's already bought a case. I got this text from him on the 15th where he was responding to something I said and informing me of his new purchase.

"I already bought a phone case."

Those words spoke volumes to me immediately. He already bought a case because he knew his dad and me and he trusted that we were people of our word. He completely trusted us - so much so that he spent his money for something promised, not something he already had in hand.

I immediately thought of God. He's more trustworthy than Lou and me. He always keeps his promises.

Always.

So, never one for missing an opportunity to share an insight I'm excited about, I texted the following back to David.

I always love it when God surprises me with thoughts about himself - who He is and what He does - in the most unexpected ways and at the most unexpected times.

Kind of doubly nice that this little spiritual insight is so closely connected to someone I love...

I'm super excited for our David as we get to put that highly anticipated item in his hands on Wednesday.

The calendar will read February 20, 2013, but we'll be saying, "Merry Christmas!"

Sunday Cells

I'm a bit out of sync this week with my blogging. I have no really good reason why. It was a busy week, but then again, so is every week.

Blessedly busy.

Since I missed the whole InstaFriday scene, I had to come up with something somewhat catchy for the same thing, except on Sunday.

"Sunday Cells." That works. My Sunday version of InstaFriday. Those pictures where I grab my phone and make everybody stop what they're doing so I can record a moment for all of time and eternity!

And speaking of time, some of us Bolivar Family Care Center folks had a great time at the Chili Cook-Off last Saturday. My main man, Lou, made his famous Chili Blanco, which is good and healthy. We had a blast serving up our good stuff, and tasting all the others that were there.

My apologies to Bill for making it look like he has a stoplight for a beard.

A stop by Academy Sports this week means a stop in front of this mirror near the shoe department. Alway good for a chuckle.

And I always, always...I'm not kidding here...I always buy this gum when I go to Academy. Love, love, love its sourly goodness!

You know what else I love?

Food. Pretty much all types of food.

And guess what?

Food loves me.

Back in July 2012, I decided to get ahold of my food loving ways so that I could get rid of some of the food that had decided to plant itself permanently on my body. A friend recommended an app called "myfitnesspal." Since then, I've been a calorie counting fool. I have a love/hate relationship with it, but it's done some good work in my life.

I had to laugh when I looked at my numbers after I went to Classical Conversations on Monday. (Cue some beautiful classical music). We had our Valentine's Day party that day, and as you will soon see, I partied!

The day started out well....(beautiful music continues to play)

When we have B&Gs, I put 1 tablespoon of gravy on my 1/2 biscuit. It's really plenty, and I haven't blown my calories.

My sister gave me a scale for Christmas, so I love being able to accurately measure just how much meat I eat. This is one of my favorite lunches...and, believe it or not, I am surprisingly satisfied after this. (Beautiful music is building, about to reach a crescendo).

Then, I went to the party. (Screech!!!!!!)

Pretty amazing how those little "fun" and "snack" size candies pack a pretty good caloric punch!

And speaking of punch, that's what I'll do to anyone who says they want to put my picture on this wall in Wood's. Any joy I had over saving money would be lost over my "celebratory" mug shot.

But joy is exactly what I experience every time I see this picture of my sweet girls. Since this poster size photo hangs right outside his office door, I see it when I visit my man at work.

Faith, toothless Elizabeth, Hannah, and Mary Grace

Another smile producer: these mugs at Caribou Coffee. They were part of their Valentine promotion.

So true

If my friend, Marla, goes out of town, we invite her husband, Wes, over for some of Lou's famous pasta. We take a picture of the whole scene, send it to Marla, and tell her we missed her.

She went out of town. We took a picture. Sent it. And, we definitely missed her.

Today was an absolutely beautiful, sunny day here in the Ozarks. After lunch, our Faith picked the spot we all like to go for that lovely Sunday afternoon nap. Glorious!

I hope your weekend was restful and glorious! Maybe you're like me, and have an extended weekend with President's Day tomorrow. If you do, enjoy! If not, still enjoy!

God's got good work for us to do!

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings!