Renaissance Man

I going to brag on my boy a bit.
Tomorrow is graduation day, and there has been a lot of activity going on in Eric's life associated with the end of his high school career.

In March, he played with the Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall:

Here's prom:

With KT

At the Senior Awards night, he was given a scholarship for his Wood Technology skills:

Eric, along with the winners for music and art

An assortment of some recent projects

Pens made from ebony and holly, cherry and walnut

Of course, there was the band banquet:

With Mr. Myer and Trenton

He's recently acquired some new skills at his first official job:

With Grandma Nadene

And we're oh, so excited and proud of his scholarship to his first-choice school:

As you can see, he's been a fan for many years

  There are good-byes ahead, along with big changes and new adventures, but tomorrow is just going to be about remembering the good times and celebrating with friends.

Love you, Eric!

Catching Up With Elder Stone

Fun Times

This picture showed up on Facebook the other day. My friend, whose son is serving in the same mission as Neil, posted it because her son sent it to her. I was thrilled to see a familiar face kicking up his heels in the center of the lineup! He looks happy, doesn't he?

Today was the day we missionary moms look forward to--we get to talk to our missionaries on the phone! It was great to hear his voice and talk freely with him for our allotted 50 minutes. (When you've got 70+ young Elders and a limited number of phones, you can't talk all day!) 

On the Way to a Lunch Invitation

This has been a challenging opportunity for our young man. He works very hard at having a good attitude, but frankly, he struggles. 

We have seen tremendous growth in him over these past several months. He is learning to manage his day-to-day living. His emails home indicate he is making progress in his ability to communicate and express himself. Even though his ability to process his thoughts might be slow, when he takes his time, his letters can be quite inspiring. Here's a short quote from a recent email to his grandparents:

 "...life without challenges is life without growth. We need challenges to learn all we can while were here. I hate saying I like challenges, but as I said above idol minds are the devil’s toy."  

So there's a couple of misspelled words, but it's usually spot on. 

Anyway, There are many days when the mission is too much for him. He wants very much to give up and come home. Then, in the next email he sends, he tells us he wants to keep trying. It's a bit of a roller coaster experience for both him and us. Thanks to all who have written him and showed your support. I know he doesn't often write back because he can't address the envelopes, but your letters help. In fact that's what keeps him going the most--knowing how many people are praying for him and watching him.

Neil hits his one year mark in July. Even though this is a two year mission, it may end up being a one year mission for Neil. We have let him know that that's okay. We love him and support him no matter what, and we've let him know that his friends and family will understand and love him whether he stays or comes home. You will, won't you? Maybe he'll choose to continue. He'll reassess in July. 

I'm so proud of him for his perseverance and willingness to work hard in spite of his disabilities. Thank you for your concern and for your prayers. He's a very special young man.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Lori, Sherri, Jill, and Cameron

With all the work and stress involved with our upcoming move to the South, I needed a little time in the city with the girls. I didn't even know that was what I needed until my dear friend invited me to come. I'm still not sure why that bustling city is balm for the soul, but yesterday, that's exactly what it was.

So after a fun lunch at a cafe in Chelsea we ended up here:

That's Rachael Ray with Isaboo sitting on the steps. My friends and I are on the left about four rows up. Watch her show this Friday, March 15 and see us clap and holler with enthusiasm as we watch a celebrity we didn't know promote a TV show we don't watch. We were not there for her other, more famous celebrity of the show. We were there, however, for her delicious smelling cooking segment--a recipe I am looking forward to trying!

For dinner we took a taxi (hey, it was raining!) the few miles to the East Village to hit an old favorite. 

I'm going to miss this place. I'm going to miss my friends.

I guess it's time for a new adventure.

There are nine (count 'em--nine) links in this post. Did you find them all?

Well, It's About Time!

I think this is the longest I've gone without posting. I don't have a good excuse, but some interesting things have happened since December 14, so I'll fill you in.

Neil sent us a calendar for Christmas. Guess who is featured on every month. That's right--our favorite missionary! He has begun taking his medication again, and is feeling much better about things. We got to speak with him on the phone on Christmas Day and it was wonderful! The four year anniversary of Neil's accident came and went without our hardly noticing it. He's come so far; so have we.

We spent New Years with this adorable boy and his family:

Unfortunately, he was a little under the weather, but he was cute as can be none the less. Sure do love that little family!

Eric played his first improve solo in a jazz concert:

He loves to play. I love to hear him play. It's a win-win!

Scott took a job in South Carolina, so we're getting the house ready to sell. It's kind of a big deal. I'm trying not to freak out. We'll be fine. We'll be just fine.

Welcome to the Library

Neil sent this picture and entitled it "Secret Door." Because he works in the vaults of the Church History Library, he has an access card that allows him to be in the more secure areas. There's a feeling of authority and importance that goes along with having that card. He likes it. I like it for him.

Elder Stone has multiple jobs with different responsibilities. I'm not sure what they all are. They seem to change from time to time. I think he inputs new library acquisitions into the computer system. He also works in the basement. Part of that job involves breaking down the cardboard boxes that the books come in. He tells us that another part of that job requires him to be a daredevil on a ladder, reaching for boxes up high. I'm not sure exactly what that means and it makes me nervous, but it makes him happy, so it's okay... He started a new job this week, as well. I'm sure we'll hear more about it in his email tomorrow.

Looks like he was well fed for Thanksgiving. He had dinner on Thanksgiving Day with the other missionaries, and another party with a group that he works with. I'm sure he'll be taken care of for Christmas, as well. Speaking of Christmas, we'll finally get to talk to him on the phone!

Two more things I need to mention. We've been asked to please advise family and friends not to visit. I guess it's kind of a distraction for him and the other missionaries. We keep reminding Neil to follow the mission rules. That's good advice for us as well.

The other thing:  Once again, he could use your prayers. In the spirit of independence, Neil has decided to stop taking his medication. He has been on Ritalin since the accident to help him cope with the effects of the injury, and things are not going so well without them. Unfortunately, without the medicine he is a bit harder to reason with. He doesn't seem to grasp how much he needs them and he won't admit that so much of what he finds difficult, could be made easier.

We love him, we miss him, and we're so proud of him.

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!