Two Feasts and a Visit from Grandma

Scott's mother came for Thanksgiving, and to make for a less stressful holiday, we made reservations to eat out for our Thanksgiving dinner. The Olde Mill Inn was lovely and even kind of homey. We were seated upstairs in the library. It felt a little like we were sitting at the children's table--far away from the adult hubbub and chatter. We took the elevator downstairs and wormed our way through the crowded dinning room to get to the bountiful buffet. The food was fine, but not amazing. When we got home there were no smells of roasted turkey and stuffing, and no leftovers to nibble on. But there were gluten free pies and homemade ice cream that I had made earlier, so it wasn't all bad.

Two days later, it was my shift to help with Mormon Helping Hands. When I got home, I found Grandma in the midst of making a real Thanksgiving meal! We had turkey breast with all the trimmings and her delicious candied yams--the dish I had missed most from the restaurant dinner! There was even some pie left over from the first go-round. It was wonderful to have our traditional dinner, the way it's supposed to be. Thank you, Nadene!

P.S.  I know I am way overdue to post some news from Neil. We exchange emails faithfully every Saturday, and he's having a wonderful experience--working hard and overcoming challenges. I promise the next post will be updates on our faithful missionary! Meanwhile, here's this:

Cast Your Vote

I'm trying to choose which of Eric's many wonderful senior portraits to frame for my entryway. Here's my favorite:

Here's another:

Scott likes this one:

I think Eric likes this one:

But this one probably best represents Eric's current state right now:

The band just got back from a weekend trip to a national championship where they placed 18th out of 87 terrific bands from around the country, only to report back to the school three hours later to compete in the state championships where they won first place! I think he deserves a nap.

Thanks for the great pictures, Amy!

Hello Again

So, thank you to all the friends and family who have inquired after our well-being. We were without power for a week and lost one tree in the back yard. That's it. No damage to our home. No power lines across the driveway. No storm surge up in our neck of the woods. Scott was able to get us a generator, and gas was easy enough to purchase down in South Jersey where he works. We were safe, and we are grateful.

Like you, our prayers have been pouring out in behalf of the many who are struggling. We have friends who are still waiting for lights, heat, and power, and some have lost homes. You have, no doubt, seen lots of pictures and footage of the devastation. Probably saw it before we did, cut off as we were from TV and Internet. But here are a couple of shots from our neighborhood:

School is finally in session for most of the district after a week and a half. Some roads are still impassable, as you can imagine with all the trees down. It will take a while for this part of the country to recover. We are expecting to be involved with some clean-up efforts that our church is organizing. Many have already been out there working on it. It will surely last a long time.

My biggest personal complaint is that I missed the chance to visit with Emerson the Adorable this weekend, due to cancelled flights. Here is a taste of what I didn't get to witness personally:

I'll survive, but only if I can have a few extra Skyping dates!

Emerson at One

Some of my favorite shots of Mr. One-Year-Old:

And if that's not enough cuteness, HERE'S a link to a charming little video Grandpa Carl made of Emerson getting his first haircut. I just gotta say, it's torture living so far away from this little sweetie!

Near and Far

Photo by Harry Brochinsky

Last Friday night I had a charming escort as I was led to center field during half time at the high school football game. The tradition at BRHS on Senior Night is that each of the band and color guard seniors get to honor their parents and supportive family members with a flower and a photo. You may ask why I am all alone with my tall and handsome second son in this photo. Well, you see, his dad was busy doing this:

Shh--don't tell!

So what if Scott happened to be in Utah and happened to be attending Music and the Spoken Word at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City at the same time that Elder Stone happened to be there! It's open to the public, right? Scott's report is that Elder Stone looked great and sounded very happy!

Needless to say, we are very proud parents and feel so privileged to be associated with these two wonderful young men.

Click HERE to read about Eric's satisfying win at the recent Yamaha Cup competition!

Inspiration

This picture of Neil is fresh--just taken yesterday!* It was sent to us by the young man standing next to him who, only months before, was a missionary himself, serving in New Jersey. He ran into Neil on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, recognized him, and snapped a picture for us, knowing how much the parents of a missionary son relish these things! Thank you, Elder Steele Skylar!

The reason they both happened to be in that particular spot is that they both were attending General Conference. Mormons around the globe look forward to the two weekends each year when the Prophet and General Authorities from the Church share inspiration and counsel that is broadcast worldwide. After two full days of wonderful messages, I feel very full indeed.  Here's a link to just a sampling of what we heard:   President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

How fun to know that Neil Elder Stone was listening to the same messages at the same time that we were!


*If you aren't able to view the picture, please let me know in the comments. I changed the format to make it work better, but I can change it back.

Family Tree

I have hesitated writing about this because it has been such a personal and poignant experience, but I had posted earlier that Neil would be looking to connect with his birth parents. It's only fair that I follow through and report back. 

Literally, days before Neil reported to his mission, he was able to make contact with both sides of his biological family. We were filled with a jumble of emotions as we pushed our way into the lives of these unsuspecting people. All were caught off guard as you might imagine, but they each opened their hearts to Neil. I'm so glad he was able to leave for his mission with some questions answered, and to feel the support of so many people.

Personally, this has been one of the most moving experiences of my life. For one thing, it has given me a glimpse into why Neil is Neil. His caring nature, his passion for adventure, his fun-loving attitude, his kind heart, his devotion to family--all these characteristics and more are evident in his new extended family. Though our relationships are awkward and new, the admiration and love I had for them before I knew who they were has grown. I've come to realize what I should have thought about before--It wasn't just his birth parents that were involved with the heartache and struggles that surrounded his adoption. There were supportive grandparents, siblings, and eventually, spouses and children who would be affected by the event. I love them all for opening up their lives to Neil and to us. I feel very blessed to be connected in some small way to such amazing and strong people who have been through so much. My heart is full.