"If Your Irish..."

This is me in June 1975 in front of the home in Belfast where I lived as a child. I don't know that guy behind me... but I think he's enjoying being in my picture.

My parents emigrated to the United States in 1964 when I was just a four-year-old. I've written about that experience on my blog before so I won't review the details now, but I will say that coming to live in America has truly blessed my life.

I love the verses of scripture found in 2 Nephi 1:5-7. Part of it reads "... the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord."

I know that my family was led to this country by the hand of the Lord, I even inserted the words October 1962 next to this scripture so that I will always be reminded of that when I read those verses.

Next month I will have the opportunity to visit the land of my birth for the first time in nearly 38 years. My memories of my early childhood in Ireland are very dim; but I feel gratitude that I do actually have my own memories and not just the stories that my parents share with me.

I am so grateful that I live in this promised land. But I am also grateful that I was privileged to be born on a beautiful emerald isle across the sea, and I am very much looking forward to being there again.

When We Obey, We're Happy All Day

We have always been very fortunate to have faithful hometeachers visit our family. When our boys were little we had a particular companionship of hometeachers that the boys loved. They came diligently each month and were prepared with lessons that were specifically catered to our sons.

One month our hometeachers shared a lesson on obedience. They began the lesson with this little motto: "When we obey, we're happy all day". It left an impression on our family because not only did we add to it... "when we did not, we were sad we forgot"; but this motto has been repeated many times in our home through the years.

Whenever I hear a lesson or a talk on obedience, I can't help but remember a time that I wasn't obedient and was very sad that "I forgot".

As mentioned in a previous post, I had the opportunity to spend a great deal of my summer vacation between my junior and senior years in Great Britain. My trip was divided between my mother's sister in Northern Ireland, my dad's two brothers and my Grandma in England. My mother's uncle and aunt lived in London. Because I was flying in and out of London she arranged for me to stay with them for a few days upon my arrival and the last few days before I returned home.

Of course we didn't have "on-line" anything back then, so I had to make all of my travel arrangements from England to Ireland and then back to England, after I arrived in Britain. My mom took great care in "tutoring" me to ensure that I reached each destination safely and without incident. She provided me with a notebook where she had written all of my relatives names, addresses and phone numbers. I had been given instructions as to when I should arrive at each relatives house and how long I should stay there.

I was booked on a chartered flight which meant that all of the same people were on the flight to and from Britain. Consequently, I knew some of those people. My mom had arranged for me to sit with the George Allan family from Bountiful on the flight over. Upon our arrival in London, the Allan's would be traveling to Scotland, so my mom had asked Maureen Scott, an Irish friend, to accompany me from Gatwick Airport to Victoria Station in London where my mom's Uncle Harry would pick me up. Because I did not know Uncle Harry, nor he me, my mom had told him that I would be wearing a green ribbon pinned to my clothes so that he could identify who I was. With all of those plans and instructions given; off I went.

Now, my mom had given me a shiny piece of green ribbon attached to a safety pin and rehearsed to me that I must wear it. I nodded my head, signifying to my mom, that of course I would wear it... I had not the slightest intention of pinning that green ribbon to my shirt. What teenager would do anything so humiliating?  No, I had a better plan... I would wear a green shirt.

I traveled with the Allan's to England as planned, I then traveled to Victoria Station in London with Maureen Scott, we then parted and I stood against a wall and waited... and waited, for Uncle Harry. I was sixteen years old, and alone in LONDON!!!

I had departed from SLC at 10 pm the night before, and it was now quite late in London. I don't remember how long I waited, but I know it was a long time as I stood against the wall with a suitcase on either side of me. I was SCARED.TO.DEATH; so what do you think I did? I started to cry. I had never heard the term "the ugly cry" until recent years, but I am sure it originated from someone walking through Victoria Station on the night of June 4, 1975 who happened to see a young girl (in a lovely green shirt) sobbing uncontrollably.

Eventually, an older gentleman who appeared to be very concerned, approached me, and in a frustrated voice said, "Lesley????" I could only nod through my sobs. Although I heard several references to the green ribbon, it was happy ending, or... beginning to my trip.

I have never forgotten that experience. How much better things would have been for me had I just obeyed.

I have been to England twice since, and am now embarking on that journey again. For almost a year I have been planning and scheduling; and in recent months, arranging and reserving. A few days ago I was having some difficulty with making on-line reservations for my hotel in London and in purchasing some theatre tickets, so I went to my parents house to arrange for those details over the phone (they have a good phone plan for Britain calls).

I know that this is a wonderful opportunity for me and my daughter to go on this trip; but for me it hasn't been without some stress, anxiety, and yes I will admit... some fear. As I sat at my parents kitchen table and finished these final details over the phone (and I was writing down every detail), I felt such a relief that it was all taken care of, but then the anxieties overcame me and I got emotional. As my tears flowed my parents both assured me that everything would be fine. As I looked at all of the details that I had just written, I couldn't help but laugh through my tears as I said pointing to my notes, "I'm wearing my 'green ribbon' this time." And I am.

It's Time For Favorites

I have a few of these sweaters from Lands End. I LOVE them. They are excellent quality and often go on sale (I never pay full price for anything, well... hardly ever).

I went to a Miche party last fall and purchased their Demi bag and two shells. You can change purses simply by replacing a shell over the existing bag. You can change straps and hardware too. I have two shells including the one in the picture. I would like to buy a red one.

I love Mrs. Cavanaugh's Mindy Mints. This year I received a heart like this one for Valentines Day. How many of you know that the color of the flower signifies what the center of the chocolate is? White flower = Mindy Mint. They have Easter eggs too! Mike... are you reading this?

What can I say... I love chocolate and Hershey Kisses are a fav. I love the holiday colors, especially the Christmas ones. I love them in my glass candy jars. I'm sure everyone reading this will disagree, but I don't care for all of the new varieties of Kisses... you don't mess with classics. Just my opinion. 

I am obsessed with California grapefruit lately. I eat them almost everyday and I eat them just like an orange.

I received this David Yurman bracelet as a gift from a former employer 4 years ago. It fit snuggly so I tucked it away and never wore it. I finally took it to OC Tanner (where it was purchased) to see if they could add some links to it, and I got it back just a few days ago. I loved it before, but after receiving more information about it from the OC Tanner company, I love it even more. Isn't it beautiful!?!

I discovered Pinterest last year. I love browsing and pinning. If I pin it, it means I really like it. It's a fun way to collect ideas. I am sometimes amazed at how clever people are. I wish that I could come up with something wonderfully creative. In the meantime, I will enjoy the benefits of the creativity of others. 

Yabba, Dabba, Doo and a... Thank You!!

Tuesday night Mike and I went to Pack Meeting to see Adam receive his Arrow of Light award and Zach receive his Wolf. Boy, was it deja vu!! There was a "cheer" box full of cheers (hence this post title), cub scout skits and songs, pinning pins on moms, hugging moms and being embarrassed (one boy even grimaced when his mom kissed him), and lots of gold and silver arrow points. Andy did a fabulous job as Cub master and Zach led the flag ceremony; Mike was there dressed in his mountain man clothes helping with the presentation to Adam. It was awesome!! It brought back memories of having three sons in cub scouts and the many, many MANY Pack Meetings we attended. I loved seeing my two oldest grandsons decked out from the top of their heads to their toes in cub scout uniforms. I was reminded of a snowy day a few weeks ago when I picked up Adam and Zach from school. I told the boys that they needed to get ready for scouts as soon as they got home. Adam was very excited because his den was going to the local high school's science lab where they would be setting their hands on fire. WHAT!! But get this... he didn't want to wear his scout shirt because he didn't want his sleeves to catch fire and ruin his shirt. Better the hands than the sleeves; I guess... not! 

Creating A Memory

During the summer of my seventeenth birthday my parents sent me on a 5-week trip to Great Britain to visit my relatives. Before I left my Mom gave me a bar of Yardley English Lavender soap. I was thrilled to have the beautiful lavender bar of smelly soap, up until that day all I had ever used was Dial soap. My Mom explained that by using this special soap on my trip, that forevermore whenever I smelled it, it would bring back memories of my trip. At our Favorites Party last October someone brought Yardley English Lavender soap as their favorite. Immediately remembering my Mother's theory, I hoped that my name would be picked out of the bowl. It wasn't, but I did get a chance to smell the box and immediately the memories flooded my mind, suddenly I was back in England in 1975 at my Uncle Derek's house. My Mom was right!!! So, today I bought a bar of Yardley English Lavender soap for my daughter... 'cause guess where she's going in a few weeks; AND guess who is going with her!!!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!!

I'm Proud To Be An American

Two weeks ago our family commemorated our 50th anniversary of coming to America. To celebrate this important milestone, about two-thirds of the family gathered at my home and we listened to/recorded Granpa and Granma as they shared their story with us. Although the younger children don't yet understand, I don't think that there is an adult in the family who doesn't realize that each and every member of our families lives have been affected because of our parents/grandparents decision to come here. I am so grateful for my parents faith and obedience.

We had been in the country just less than seven years when my parents became United States citizens. This was another wonderful thing that they did for me and my two brothers. We became citizens automatically as our parents received their citizenship. I can remember going to the courthouse in Ogden and watching this solemn ceremony take place. Again, I am grateful to my parents.

Today is an important day for our country. As citizens we have the responsibility and the privilege of voting for a President. I voted last week, and as I returned to my car after casting my ballot I was overcome with emotion as I contemplated what I had just taken the opportunity to do. I hope that I never take that for granted. I will never forget the election of 1980. We had a young family then and were living in a rural community. Mike and I drove several miles to a different town where we were to vote; it was late in the evening and the line was long, by the time I actually voted I knew that Ronald Reagan had already won the election, but I was so proud and excited to cast my vote for him. I also remember the election of 1968 when I was in the 5th grade. Our teacher held an election in our class. I remember proudly voting for Richard M. Nixon. He won in a landslide in Mr. Christensen's class that year... as he did in the real election.

As citizens we have the right to vote for the person of our choice. Some people are very private about their choice while others seem to be campaigning for theirs. I feel that I have paid close attention to the issues during this election, and I felt prepared to cast my vote. After voting last week I proudly wore my 'I Voted' sticker all day. I was surprised when a customer at the deli asked me who I voted for. There were a few people in the vicinity whose attention immediately turned to me and to see what my reaction was. I can proudly say that I spoke without hesitation, and with kindness, as I answered... "hopefully the winner."