To Chelsea

Chelsea- in light of your recent major life change of going off to college (and your comments on my blog posts) I wanted to dedicate this post to you!  

Based on my EXPERIENCE I thought I'd give you a few tips! Do with it what you like.  I thought if anyone else had any advice for a college freshman this would be a good non-confrontational place to share it! 

DON'T:

1. Buy a big bag of powdered sugar doughnuts every saturday and wonder why you are getting fat!

2. Hang out with people that put hot dogs in your interior light fixtures and in your bed.

3. Work at Taco Bell.

4. Allow your roommates to rent embarrassingly rated "R" movies and leave them out for your home teachers to see.

5. Develop a huge crush on a guy that plays guitar and happens to have a serious girlfriend back home.

6. Grow dreadlocks (I didn't actually do this but sometimes it looked like it!!!)

Do:

Well, I'm embarrassed to even say these things because I'm sure you are already doing them. But, get involved, try new things, be open minded, go to church and read your scriptures and pray (must, must, must), please be careful, exercise, eat healthy, keep your eye on your goals but don't be afraid to adjust them to new desires.  We love you, we miss you, and we're so proud of you! Come see us soon!

Misc. Pictures

Here are some more wainscoting pictures- we are very happy with it. I still need to hang something on our dining room wall.

Can a 16 month old be potty trained? Just kidding- she just wanted to do what her brother has been doing.
Joseph started Joy School (preschool out of a friend's home) and LOVES it.  It is nice to give Millie more one-on-one time as well.
This girl is so awesome- she definitely holds her own with her brother- she is tough and feisty and so fun.  She seems to understand everything we say and of course only obeys when she feels like it.  She can be challenging but we wouldn't have her any other way!

Summer Highlights

This summer I had some amazing and frankly, surreal experiences.  (Sorry about the underline, I can't figure out how to get rid of it). I can't find the time to dedicate to each one so I thought I would briefly touch on some of them, all in one post.  This is by no means all that happened to us or all of the important people in our lives, but it is a few.

The summer began and ended with a trip to California. The one at the beginning of the summer was with the husband and the kids. The one at the end was without.  They were both very rewarding and despite the quickness to the latter trip it was extremely fulfilling.  There is too much to say here about my mom and sisters.  I really love them.

Saying goodbye to Kira was totally unreal.  It was painful and sweet to watch her just be herself and cry herself silly in the line to go through security.  I would have waited until nobody was watching, but not Kira. She is always exactly who she is. It is refreshing. 
We miss you Kira!

My kids at the beach, and their cousins. So fun and cute and effortless.

Papa Joe seemed to have a lot of fun with the kids at the beach this summer.  He is so proud to be attached to these little ones.

Joe finished the wainscoting project that he and Paul started months ago.  He finished sanding and painting it and it looks fantastic! What a labor or love! Thanks Joe- you are amazing!

Joseph's Third Birthday was perfect. We were at the beach and he was so happy to have all the attention, balloons and a Cars cake. I can't believe we have a three year old. He really has grown up so fast.  Some of his favorite expressions right now, "Are you kidding? That's crazy!" "Can you please stop talking?!" " That is so awesome!" He is very enthusiastic and excited for anything.  He is so affectionate and loving with his sister, dad, mom ... everyone, really. We love him so much!

My second trip out to California was for my oldest friend Monica Haynes' wedding.  She looked like a queen sitting on a throne during the mass.  It was a very special experience to see her and her family and to witness that event.  It was also a  time to see some other great friends from High School- Katie and Abbey.

Sadness & Hope

I've been contemplating this post for a few days and I'm not sure how to go about writing it.  I guess this time, less is more.  Last week the small child of a friend of mine drowned in a pool.  It was such shocking and tragic news- my first reaction was to turn off the Olympics and say a prayer.  Over the last 9 days since it occurred a lot has happened and little else has occupied my thoughts.  I was able to attend the viewing and the funeral and give the family a few words of love and encouragement.  My thoughts keep coming back to how grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who provide us with an eternal perspective on life and death.  I feel like watching his family cope with Evan's death, and watching their extended family and members of the church support them with pure and true religion, has helped me understand how God can allow such tragedies to occur.  I believe that it is His goal to help us all return to live with Him. I truly believe that this little boy's death has inspired Christlike service out of so many people. His parents provide such a strong and stalwart example to those around them.  They seem to possess a spiritual "gift" (as one friend put it) of maintaining that eternal perspective.  The perspective that this life is but a moment, that Evan is with Heavenly Father and happy, and that they will be reunited with him again.  I don't believe that Heavenly Father wanted Evan to die.  But I am grateful that if we follow the Savior and believe what He teaches us, be it through the scriptures or the Holy Ghost, we can survive mortal tragedies and come out closer to what Heavenly Father wants us to be. 

At the funeral both Evan's mother and father spoke.  At the end of his talk his father encouraged all of those present to commit to being better mothers and fathers, friends and neighbors, etc.  In parenthood he encouraged us to focus on the blessings of everyday. Instead of being bitter or annoyed that our baby wakes us up at night, just focus on the gratitude  that he/she is even there to hold close.  Instead of feeling frustrated with a "strong-willed" child, be grateful that he has energy and enthusiasm for life. The list continues of things that go on in my house (at least) that test us.  Upon hearing his talk I have felt a new kind of gratitude for the time I have with my children.  I find more joy in the mundane tasks of motherhood and I think I have changed a little.  I am so grateful for this family and their example of bearing this trial so well.  I know their reward will be great in Heaven.  

Beachin' Photos

This is Joe, blogging on Lacy's behalf as she is without computer in beautiful Marco Island, FL. Incidentally, the photo in her header is of a sunset in Marco Island in 2007. Since she can't be on the U.S. West Coast all year, she gets to go to Florida's West Coast for a month. Some photos:

Lacy and Millie in the calm, beautiful, 4th of July waters.
Millie's favorite place to be on the beach- on a chair, eating. She eats all day.
A completely different day, on a chair also, maybe eating.
Definitely eating.

Looking cool...
Storm rolling in...
Beauty after the storm:
Chelsea, Irene, & Walmir (not pictured) came for a visit:

Irene walking off...how artsy a photo Lacy took!

Joseph finished his first real puzzle! He worked on it so quietly, and didn't smile or celebrate until he was finished.
We had a few rainy days last week. We took advantage of a break one morning to take a nice little walk.
Another beautiful afternoon.
Day 1 of my excellent castle. It's being guarded by a crab.
Joseph is a swimming madman. And yes, he is almost jumping right on the stairs. Cool picture, but not something we want to see again.

Sunset on my parents' 33rd anniversary.
Joseph and Millie, tired and happy after a day in the sun.
Mom & Dad- 33 years!
Day 2 of the castle. Notice the two large castle areas, abundance of bridges and portcullis, village with surrounding wall. I was very happy with this. People could be seen stopping to take pictures of and with it. It surived over 3 days. Pretty tough in Florida.

Rotary

On Wednesday night Joe was installed as his Rotary Club's (the Rotary Club of Downtown Gainesville) new President. It was a very special evening for our little family. Before the formal "installation" we had dinner with the group and Leslie, the previous President shared her thanks for the board that she had worked with through her presidency and handed out various plaques of recognition for those who served. Then she came to her last item to hand out. The "Rotarian of the Year" award was chosen by nominations by club members. Her words were..."We got many nominations. But there was one name that kept popping up... Joe Lowry Jr." I can't tell you how proud I was of Joe at that moment. I knew how dedicated he was to serving Rotary and to serving the community. But it was very special to see that so many other people not even in our circle of family or close friends saw that, too. It was a special moment and if anyone was looking at me they would have seen me beaming with pride. (Joe's mom was standing right behind me and I'm sure she was beaming just as much!) I am usually very private during moments of crisis or celebration- I know that is weird- but I didn't care if everyone saw how happy I was for my husband and how happy I am that HE is mine. He was so humble and sincere when he accepted the award. He remarked that there were others in the group to whom he would have given the award before giving it to himself.

The evening just got better as he was named the new President. He was asked to give a few remarks, and of course he was prepared. I know that every president or anyone in any kind of leadership has their own gifts to offer those they serve. But I really think that Joe has some gifts that are especially suited for good leadership. He is humble yet extremely confident- he is very well spoken and eloquent on his worst day- and of course he is smart and funny, too! Oh and he is great to look at! Anyway, way to go Joe! You are so amazing- I am so proud of you and I promise to try not to be annoyed when you are gone so much due to Rotary this next year! I love you!

The Mother Land

When I left California for school in Utah and people asked where I was from they often smiled upon hearing my answer and said, "Oh, really ... no one is FROM there." Meaning, they don't usually hear of people growing up there- more likely they fell in love with the place on some fantastic vacation and never went home. For all you skeptics out there (like you Joe) just ask Melisa. She has "many" friends that told her this was how they came to live there. That said, I can't say we would be spending the money on airfare even half as much as we do now if we didn't have such amazing family spread throughout the region. This trip we flew into Palm Springs and out of LAX with visits to my sister's homes and a trip to San Diego to be with my mom sandwiched in between. We couldn't have coaxed more fun out of any second. It was truly great. As always my family was above the mark for fun activity, meaningful conversation and gestures of love and kindness towards our little family and to each other. As a child I felt very proud to be a Frisch, and I still love the name and miss seeing it attached to my first name. Today, I feel it again, very strongly that I am so lucky to be connected to these people.
We started off the festivities with an early Father's Day celebration to celebrate my sweet dad. He is always so much fun to be around and full of hugs and kisses and praises of all kinds. We had a wonderful dinner. Hopefully next time we can see him even more!

Lillie keeps me sane and teaches me so many things just by being that thing. No preaching, just living.