Saludos y Amor de Mexico

Josh wrote his dad a sweet Father's Day Letter and sent him some pictures. Mail between the U.S. and Mexico being what it is, the letter finally arrived a few days ago (about two months after it was mailed).  Josh offered no description of explanation of where the pictures were taken, so we can only assume these are some of the places he has visited during his time in Monterrey. What matters to me is the happy smile on his face because I know that he is having a good experience serving God and the people in this area of Mexico. Here are some of the pictures he sent on his SD card.

Seeing that big missionary smile on Josh's face and reading the weekly emails he sends home describing his excitement and joy at serving faithfully and honorably, makes me as a parent happy, and reminds me that....

Ronald McDonald House

My posts this summer have become few and far between. That is not what I intended, but my priority is helping my daughter with her little ones as six-year-old Thomas undergoes treatment for brain cancer in Philadelphia at this place:

I have been spending a lot of time here with at least one and sometimes two appointments every week day.

This is where my grandson goes every day for his Proton therapy.

Although no one wants to be there, the staff is kind and friendly and place is "kid friendly" and welcoming. Here is my daughter and grandson playing Wii before one of his appointments.

We are staying at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, which, I am told, is the first and original Ronald McDonald House which was started 42 years ago. The original house is a beautiful old mansion built in the 1800s. It belonged to the owner of a Philadelphia newspaper and became the Ronald McDonald house back in the 1970s.

Not only does the Ronald McDonald House provide free or very low cost housing to the families it sick kids, it provides free food - three meals a day to families staying there. There are toys, playrooms, games and even activities like art and pet therapy to help keep residents positive during challenging times. My grandson misses his dog and so he loves it when the pet therapy providers bring puppies for him to love and play with.

 This is one of the playrooms my grandson has been enjoying.

Here is the dining room, where three healthy meals a day are provided without any charge. The food is pretty good too. Volunteer guest chefs come in at least once a day to cook and prepare the food.

 There is another playroom...

...and a living room where families can hang out and relax after a long and tiring day at the hospital.

Underground, secured parking is provided for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House. There is even a beautiful mural on the wall of the parking garage wit the message, "Love Takes Flight."  

I love these works of art that are on and in so many buildings here.  They are incredible works of art.

This mural of an apple tree in the main living room shows some of the individuals, families, businesses, churches and other organizations that support and make the good work of the Ronald McDonald House possible.

To me, this scripture in Matthew really describes the philosophy of the Ronald McDonald House and those who support this place and help the families here.  If you read the verses just before this scripture, Jesus is talking about visiting the sick, taking in the "homeless" stranger, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.  In a very real sense, that is what the Ronald McDonald House their caring staff does for the families of children who are sick and have serious medical issues. I am grateful for this place and all it is providing for my family and many others during a very difficult and challenging time.

Catching up in Philadelphia

I was in Maryland most of last week, spending time with these grand children, helping out their mom and dad while little Thomas is undergoing cancer treatment, with all that entails.  It was great to be able to be with my daughter, son-in-law and their family.

 We had an enjoyable time together.  We played at home...

...and at the playground.

It seemed like we were always on the go.

We met superheroes...

...and minions, at a fun picnic for kids fighting cancer.

We went to a great children's museum called Port Discovery in Baltimore.

There were a lot of fun things to do there...

...and we all had a great time.

 There was a little something for everyone.

A few days later, my daughter and I left Maryland for Philadelphia where Thomas is now getting proton radiation treatments.

Thomas' radiation treatments don't take that long, so we have been exploring the city whenever we have time and Thomas and his baby sister are up to the challenge (Thomas' other two sisters stayed in Maryland with their dad).

We are finding Philadelphia to be a very interesting city.  One of the things that my grandson has found most interesting is the very cool murals painted on the sides of buildings.

The murals are beautiful and all of them tell an important story. This one is the story of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.

There are also many amazingly beautiful old churches in Philadelphia.  I would truly like to take one day and just go in each of these wonderful buildings, built to honor God.

Saturday, Thomas didn't have any treatments, because it was a weekend, so we went to the Franklin Institute, a historic science museum in the heart of downtown Philadelphia.

 We enjoyed seeing and posing with some of our favorite movie characters...

...at the Pixar exhibit. 

It was a lot of fun.

A big bonus for me was getting to see the brand new Philadelphia Temple which is located right in the downtown historical district of Philadelphia. It will be open to the public beginning in August and all will be welcome to come and see the inside of a beautiful Mormon temple!  It will be dedicated a few weeks later.  I am glad I got to see it, even if it was just the view from the Franklin Institute. Perhaps we can go back and get a closer look another day!

Sunday,  we were able to go to church here at the Philadelphia 1st Ward - a well attended inner-city congregation filled with friendly, caring people who made us feel very welcome. 

After church, a prayer was answered when my daughter received word that a room had become available at the Ronald McDonald House, and we were able to move from a cramped kid-unfriendly hotel room to an amazing place specifically designed to give sick kids and their families a safe and economical place to rest, relax, regroup and regain the strength to go on another day.  

More about the Ronald McDonald House in my next post.  Until then, I will leave with this scripture which has become a daily motto for me, especially during trying times.

Happy Birthday Elder Jones

I am bit late in posting this, because the day is almost over, but today is Elder Jones' 20th Birthday!

Although we won't be seeing him in person until September, we wish him a wonderful birthday and amazing year of much happiness.

This is a picture I received a few days ago, of him with some of the other missionaries he works with.  I love his big missionary smile!  He loves what he is doing now - serving God by helping others! He is very happy and his mom and dad are "over the moon" proud of him!

Twenty years ago, this very minute, Elder Jones was about fifteen minutes away from making his grand entrance into this world.  He was born at 9:30 p.m. Daylight Central Time. As I go to sleep tonight, I will think of you, Elder Jones, and how much I love you.  You will always be my baby son and have that special place in my heart.  I am so proud of the man you have become!

Risen - A Book Review

Risen by Angela Hunt is a novelization of the recent movie by the same name.  The story is of Clavius,  a  Roman Soldier  and Tribune who is present at the crucifixion of Jesus and then is task with ensuring that the body is not stolen by Jesus' by his disciples so that they could say He was "risen" as he had foretold.  When, despite surely sealing the tomb and posting guards, Jesus' body is gone from the tomb on the third day, Clavius undertakes an exhaustive investigation of what happens and vows to find the body of the crucified "Nazarene."  As he searches for answers, Clavius interviews anyone who came into contact with Jesus or His followers and eventually he interviews Mary of Magdala who leads him to others of the early disciples. Faced with his own increasing doubts about his service to the Roman Empire, questions about his own life as well as the loss two people he holds close, Clavius' search for the truth about "Yeshua" (Jesus) eventually brings him face-to-face with the risen Lord.

In all honesty, I don't usually enjoy fiction based Biblical stories, because I don't like the insertion of fiction into what I consider truth, however, Risen caught my interest and I had heard good things about the movie of the same name.  I was planning to read book around Easter, but life got in the way, and I just finished it.  The story is still relevant, no matter what time of year and I am glad I read it.  It was interesting and well-written.  It kept me turning the pages and wanting to know what happened next.  The author seemed to have researched biblical events thoroughly and authoritatively, yet she did not confuse actual biblical persons with fictional characters.  For those who have already seen the movie, there is at least one major character in the book who does not appear in the movie. The book was definitely worth reading and thinking about.  I am glad that I did. I hope to see the movie soon.

I give this book four stars **** out of five.  Bethany House Publishers sent me a complimentary copy of the book, in exchange for my honest and truthful review.

Summertime ~ Part I

As soon as school was out in our district, Charly and I left Arizona and drove to Utah.

We were there in time for Memorial Day weekend, so we did something we had not done in a long time ~ visited family graves.  This is where Charly's maternal grandparents are buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

This is the grave of Charly paternal grandma who died in the 1980s.

Charly and his sister, Jacque at their parent's grave early on the Sunday morning before Memorial Day. 

This is my parents' grave ~ located in the same cemetery not far from where Charly's parents are.

On Memorial Day itself, our awesome son-in-law brought four of our grandchildren for a visit.  (Our daughter, mom of these kids, was out of town in Maryland, helping her sister whose son is battling cancer).  We all went to see the fun new Disney movie, "Zootopia."

        

After the movie, my grandchildren had fun playing with some "Polly Pockets" that belonged to their mom when she was little.  I saved them aside and gave them to my grand daughter, but you can see that the boys liked them too!

Grandpa enjoyed holding the youngest on his lap, while the other kids played.

We spent most of the rest of the week of Memorial Day working on our "new" house, getting it ready to rent. 

Although the house was well-cared for, and is in pretty good shape, the yard was overgrown and needed some work. We trimmed bushes, dug up weeds and planted flowers.

Charly has been hard at work doing additional work this week, to get the house ready for renters, although I left Utah last Saturday and flew out here to Eastern Maryland where I am staying with my oldest daughter and her family. I will do another post soon, to update what I have been doing here this past week.

I will leave this post with this thought for the week, which is a variation of what my mom and told me many times growing up.  I think my children heard this a fair amount in our home too, and am sure my grandchildren will also be hearing it as they continue to grow up and get older.  Seems like more people in our society,  especially many of our leaders, need to memorize this quote and engrave it on their hearts.  :-) 

Until next time, enjoy what is left of this week, and have a great weekend!