Number 28 and A Knight In New York

Not that anyone has noticed, but I haven't blogged since Mid-March.  I am in a continual quandary as to what this blog should be about, and who actually might read it.  For posterity's sake, I shall blog today about two important events over the past 10 days.  So, Posterity, Pay attention!!

Event # 1:  Last weekend, on the 25th, Hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary.  I know - That. Is. Old.  (Has anyone seen "The Kid"?  Classic line from that great movie).  I digress.

Hubby planned a weekend getaway to Winchester, Virginia.  We stayed in a lovely hotel and enjoyed lots of walking and window shopping, talking, visiting some historic museums, and reconnecting.

We visited the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley which was actually a really well-done museum and was very interesting!  The main house was closed due to restoration work, but the gardens were absolutely beautiful to walk in.

We also went to the Family Drive-in Theatre!  What a hoot!  I haven't been to one of those since I was a kid.  This is a wonderful place, and seriously is almost worth the drive as a family just to experience it.  The family who owns it has done a wonderful job preserving the heritage of a drive-in, and keeping it (generally) family friendly.  Since it was Memorial Day weekend, my favorite part was the Patriotic pre-show.  They played memorable America-loving songs and showed scenes on the big screens about our wonderful country, saluting those who have died in serving our country.  I loved it.  Thank you, Family Drive In!!

Oh, and we did watch a fun movie - Men in Black 3.

L stayed home and enjoyed 2 1/2 days of alone-time bliss.

Event #2:  Hubby had to fly far away out of town this past Friday, so L and I took a little road trip to upstate New York to reconnect with our roots and a little church history.  You see, I am a descendant of Joseph Knight, through his son Newel Knight, who are prominent people in the beginnings of my church.  They were by the side of Joseph Smith during the early days of the restoration.   They are both mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants, one of our books of scripture.

Well, about 3 weeks ago, I found out that the Knight Farm was being restored by some wonderful people, and they were dedicating a statue at this farm and opening up the home for all to see.  They were hoping to have some descendants to come and attend, in addition to local church members. I never even knew that the house still stood.  Most Knight descendants reside on the west side of the country - a few of us are transplanted back here in the East!  I stewed and pondered, and finally decided that I would probably kick myself if I didn't go on this little adventure with L and drive up there.  So, we did.

The farm is located in Nineveh, New York.  The first congregation of the church was established here by Joseph Smith and called the Colesville Branch.  Hyrum Smith, brother of Joseph, was the first leader of this congregation.  Newel Knight, my great-great-times-a-bunch grandfather was the second.  Many of the very first baptisms, including Joseph's wife, Emma, took place in the Susquehanna River just beyond the house and across a field.  This is sacred ground to members of my church.

The main purpose of this Open House was to dedicate a statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  A little meeting  which included history, singing, and tears began the event.  I met a few distant relatives and enjoyed visiting with members of the church who live in the area and are so proud to be a part of this history now.  I was called "a Knight", which I have never been called in my lifetime.  But, I suppose I am and what an overwhelming thought that is!  To me, it is a legacy to live up to, and to cherish.  I am grateful for it and I am blessed.  It adds to my testimony of the restoration of the gospel and of the church.

I could write a great deal more about the history of this place, and all the wonderful things my ancestors did to support Joseph Smith in his mission to perform a most important work.  I won't - but if you want more information, I can recommend some great books!

Instead of writing, I will share a few photos of our experience in Colesville, New York:

View from the street

The Porch

A little history

Testimony of Newel Knight, hanging right in the front door

fireplace

A room upstairs being renovated - original floors

More original floors - imagine whose feet walked here

View from the back yard

The part of this well below ground is the original well, built by Joseph Smith and Joseph Knight (or at least that is my understanding)

Us - beyond the line of trees is the part of the river where baptisms had taken place

It was a wonderful couple of weekends.  I am blessed.  I wonder when I'll get another trip this summer?

Well, a great one is coming up in August, but I'll just have to WAIT a little while.....

25 on the 25th!

It's early in the morning on May 25th as I write this post. Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. Today I have been married for longer than I was single. Today.... I am not with Hubby, though, because he had a stinkin' work emergency. But that's ok - we planned ahead and celebrated by taking a trip away together last weekend (I'll post about that, too). I can deal.

We have spent a great deal of time, individually and together, reflecting on the last 25 years of our lives together. My main thoughts are simple-how very blessed I feel to have a solid marriage rooted in love and in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the knowledge that marriage IS eternal. As I approach the "second half" - or more likely, the last third of my life, appreciation and longing for an eternal marriage with this man I love have deepened greatly.Although I may had already been introduced to Richard, I first really noticed him in a Testimony Meeting during Spring Semester at BYU in 1983. He had just been through a very challenging time - the rawness of the situation was reflected in his words and his tears. I knew that man had an unwavering testimony. I was deeply touched. I looked forward to seeing him in Sunday School where he immediately found ways to tease me and to make me laugh. More opportunities to laugh, share testimony, dance, and to play Midnight Frisbee came over the next few months and it gradually became very clear that he was the one for me! I always cringe (only because I feel embarrassed) a little when he publicly "waxes mushy" so I won't go into that too much more. However, as is traditional in the blogging world to make lists, would it not be tragic if I did not make a TOP 25 THINGS I LOVE about HUBBY on this great day of days??

I must comply. Here it is.

Top 25 Reasons to Love Richie

1. Honors the Priesthood of God, which he holds

2. Complete unselfishness

3. Vast gospel knowledge and understanding

4. Daily Bed Head – photo-worthy, actually

5. Sparkly blue eyes

6. Complete support to me in anything I attempt, ever

7. Dedication to me and to the kids

8. Love of little children

9. Deep love for the Savior

10. For not driving in neutral when I’m in the car

11. Lack of guile

12. SOO smart!

13. Cute ski nose

14. Silver Fox hair

15. Hobby is family

16. Desires to get better at home improvement – and he is!

17. Trusts in my decisions

18. NOT a clean freak (I didn’t used to like this….. I do now)

19. Only took 7 years to get garbage night right

20. King of being flexible

21. Always values my opinion

22. Lets me hog the remote

23. Sense of humor – there, I admitted it.

24. Taste in music – except for Joe Jackson

25. Constant, dedicated and unconditional love, every day, for all these years

Here's to 25 more, Rich!

It's Birthday Time!

Today is my dear hubby’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY dearest! Wish The Mormon Third Eye a little birthday wish on his blog if you get a sec. He is out of town right now, sadly, so we celebrated last week. There is no other man on earth that I know of who loves chocolate more than I do. So, for his birthday cake, I tried something new! I made a LAVA CAKE!! You know, like the ones at Chili’s? We love those. I found a recipe that was sooo easy and DEElish. They turned out great!! I am not a big fan of bittersweet chocolate, but Richie is so I made them that way. I may experiment next time, though, and try a different type of Ghirardelli chocolate and maybe make a big one instead of 6 individual ones. Try them, you’ll like them!!

Flowers from Out of Town

When my sweet hubby goes out of town, he sends me flowers. I adore that about him. What is so funny though is that I forget about it almost every time he goes, and so I am always surprised when the flowers show up!! Is that old age?? I suppose it is. Lately he has used Pro Flowers, which delivers gorgeous flowers. They last a very long time. Here is the kind I got this time:

LOVE them. LOVE him.

Hubbies, ponder that the next time you go out of town….. it is worth it!!

(OH and if you click on the photo, you will see it says "Bagels". That is a post for another time. Remind me on Valentine's Day.)

a little bit of the 4th

We rarely have 4th of July barbecues, but this year we decided to have one kind of at the last minute. Every time we have planned one over the years, it has rained. This year was no exception. We are grateful for old friends, and new ones, who decided to join our small gathering. (I did miss photographing a few partiers - sorry!!)

Long-time friend Pamela and husband, Bill

The "Man Room" - no game playing goin' on here!

Did I get anyone with his eyes open??

What do you do in Maryland when it's too rainy to go outside and swim or do anything else?
Play wii!!

A few girls just chattin' and munchin' - Carrie, Laura, Kaylene and Krysta

BBQ Man Richie - yes, he finally has a GAS grill!!

A lovely rainy 4th of July.

Happy Anniversary to US!

Twenty-four years ago today at 10:30 a.m., with 113° heat outside, we were married in the Mesa, Arizona LDS temple. Here is the checklist from my journal listing the qualities I was looking for in the man I hoped to find and marry:

January 23, 1983 (4 months before meeting him!)

Eternal Companion Check List

~honors priesthood

~has leadership qualities

~Returned Missionary (espanol??)

~my best friend

~sense of humor

~treats me like a queen and with respect

~wants to understand me and DOES

~interested in other people’s welfare – sincere

~has knowledge of the gospel

~ambitious

~honest

Except for speaking Spanish, my sweet eternal companion hits every mark, and more. I am “Richly” blessed. I love you, Richie!

Sweetheart Tag

Due to a very complicated week, my goals written below are not finished and will be extended through THIS week. I wanted to post something anyway, so for fun, here we go (thanks to Christine!).
What's his name? Richard, Richie, Richiepoooo (not really)

How long have you been married? 24 years in May (and as he says, it's been the best 20 years of our lives)
How long did you date? 6 months face to face, 6 months long-distance
How old is he? Older than dirt – and I am 3 months older than that
Who eats more? He eats more real food, I eat more junque
Who is taller? He is
Who said 'I love you' first? Richard
Who does the laundry? I wash and dry, he helps to fold and put away
Who does the dishes? We both do
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does
Who cooks dinner? I cook during the week, he often cooks on the weekends
Who sings better? I have more musical experience, but Rich sings great, too
Who drives when you are together? We trade off – if we don’t want to argue, then I drive - hahahaha
Who is more stubborn? See above answer – I am, definitely
Who is smarter? Richard, no question
Who kissed who first? He kissed me, finally
Who asked who out first? He asked me, officially, but our first fun time together was playing Frisbee with all our roommates at the park near BYU at one minute after Midnight on Memorial Day, so we would NOT break the Sabbath…. Twisted thinking, I know
Who proposed? He did
Who is more sensitive? I am, definitely
Who has more friends? I do
Who has more siblings? He does – 6 in all
Who wears the pants in the family? I like the way Ashley put it – we both have one leg in. No major decisions are made without discussion, but he leads our family

I am adding this:

What is your favorite thing about him? See the photo with his great-nephew, Jackson. He loves children so very much. He has a loving and kind heart. (I know, that is two, but they go together)

I tag Lindsay S (if you didn’t’ do it already…), Amanda C, Emily P. and…any of you who haven’t done this yet!

It's Valentine's Week!

Richard is now calling himself “the third man” in my life since I posted about two others first on here, so I had better fix that...poor thing.

I love Valentine’s Day. It is my second favorite holiday, after Christmas. I did NOT like it when I was a teenager, nor when I was single, until I met Richard. We started dating seriously in January of “that” year, and got engaged a few days after Valentine’s Day (ok, yes, it was at BYU, but we had known each other many months by then…!). So, Valentine’s Day was coming up and since we were not engaged yet, I wondered and wondered what should I do for him? Anything? Would it be too soon or two forward? Would he be doing anything for me? Such a quandary…

I was doing my student teaching at the time, and wanted to make something for my 5^th graders. I opted for large heart-shaped cookies with each one’s name on them. OH, wait! I could make some for Richard that look like those conversation heart candies! I could put messages on them – hmmm… what messages should I put? Do I DARE put “Love U”, or should it be "Love Ya"…?? Such decisions.

I made several for him, and opted for “Love YA”. He brought me flowers, and a heart-shaped pizza (only in Provo, right?) . We had a fun evening together… studying and taking breaks here and there. It must have worked – we got engaged 5 days later.

As we married and started life together, Valentines Day has always been significant. Richard is quite a romantic (refer to his blog – it may be hidden in there somewhere). During one of our first years of marriage he started “Valentine’s Week” (sometimes followed by “Birth Week”) and I would get sweet little surprises and tokens from him every day. I continued to make heart-shaped cookies with names on them for students when I was a teacher. When our kids were little, we made them for other people in our neighborhood or ward and delivered them to visiting teachees, the kids’ friends, or people we thought might need our attention. We still do it (ok, if you are reading this and you are in our ward now, DON’T be upset at me if you don’t get any!!).

So, friends – It’s Valentine’s Week!! What are you planning for your sweetie? Who is WAITING for you to give them a little “lift”? I promise it will “lift” you, too.