When I was 16 my parents took us on a vacation to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I fell in love with Valentina. She was ten. We were kindred spirits. This girl left a mark on my heart that never ever went away. We communicated for years....then lost touch.

I found her on facebook a few months ago. Just as the Lord would have it.....she is here in town..... all the way from Monaco....with her beautiful children and came to dinner last night....along with her friend Barbara....and Barbara's beautiful children. What a lovely evening! I cannot believe how small this great big world is and I am so grateful for Facebook.

Get this...she is a photographer. You can see her work here:

http://www.studioevents.eu/

Tea Party

Whenever things get hairey...my dad always advises..."Sit tight. Darkeness will be exposed."

I believe this is true in governments. In relationships. In business. In churches.

Darkness will be exposed.

Eventually.

Sit tight.

Sometimes I resemble Alice though. White knuckling the sitting tight part....ready to stand and SCREAM!

Tonight I want to SCREEEEAAAAMMMMMMMMMM, "NO UNFAIR TAXES!!!!!!!!"

The girls are at an age now....where they have much "independent" free time. Where I do not have to be in the same room....supervising. I love seeing what they come up with to occupy their time during "playdates." Here's a twist on the good ole standby known to all little girls as "Dressup."

I laughed out loud when I saw these photos on Jemima's camera. Look how seriously they are taking themselves!

Seeds of creativity taking root and growing sprouts. I love it!

That's sweet Lizzy posing right alongside them :)

The Scarlet Thread

I liked it. Not more than Redeeming Love or The Mark of The Lion trilogy....but I liked it.

"Nellie said we are wandering like the Israelites in the desert. The land is cruel and the heat unrelenting. We are pulling out with first light and stopping when the sun is high. We wait a couple of hours in whatever shade we can find and then go on until sunset. But even then the going is so hard I sometimes want to lay down and die and have done with it.

Maybe we are like the Israelites. God watched them die on the edge of the Promised Land."

Aunt Florence just had her 93rd birthday. She has the most beautiful skin. Cocoa butter....that's her secret.

After Bradley's family broke apart....he and Damon were latch key kids. Anita and Robaire were the loving couple a few doors down who cared for them. Meals before and after school...little league coaching, sleep overs etc. Brad remembers them sitting up with him during the worst of his migraines......taking turns rubbing his temples....trying to provide comfort....as if he were one of their own. He's never had anything but a kind word to
say about them and they.....well, they claim him.

We were in the mood for a Pinkberry so we walked. I had forgotten about the beauty of this building on the corner of Wilshire & Beverly and about the height and lankiness of L.A. palms.


Willie's eyes caught my attention right away. The are a beautiful grey blue and I told him so. I think he was a little embarrassed by the compliment. I asked him if he was hungry and he said that he was. He likes Subway's tuna melts on flat bread....so that's what I got him. With mayo, mustard, pickles and a little bit of lettuce. He got a bag of chips and a Sprite too....along with a request. "I am a photographer, Willie and I do not want to offend you in anyway. Would it be dishonoring if I snapped a photo of those eyes of yours?"

Again, he chuckled shyly and said, "That would be alright."

He wanted to know what color I saw.

"Grey blue."

"But they are yellow all around,"...he said puzzled by my admiration.

"I don't see yellow. Just greyblue."

What a lovely, lovely man.

Anette Benning was in the crosswalk. She looks great! Naturally beautiful.

And then we walked home...stopping to admire things we don't normally see.

Resurrection Sunday

He is risen!

Maranatha!

Do you see it? Do you see the cross?


For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

Passover

Hoshana!

Galilee awoke early Wednesday morning to watch quietly from the window as the neighbor family prayed in their backyard. According to Galilee....they were speaking in a strange language and burning something on the ground. And the boys were wearing those little hats.

An hour or so later all the kids were playing out there together. Sarah explained that they were a "rabbi family" and that they couldn't listen to her ipod that day because it was considered "electronics."

That led to a long discussion of Pharaoh and Moses during our walk over to Beverly for lunch. 100's of Jews were in the streets.


Hear Oh Israel...the Lord our God is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart....with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

See (Mark 12:29, John 10:30, 1 Corinthians 8:6)

The building with the Star of David....used to be a furniture store owned by the brother of Bradley's grandfather....Uncle Louie Spiegleman.

I love the details in the architecture of this temple. I was snapping away as we passed...but was told to "Stop!" by an offended gentleman in a prayer shawl. Taken aback....and not sure if he was serious or not...I said, "But the building is so beautiful. I want to remember it." "No pictures! This is a temple!"


The guy was completely serious. Not kidding one little bit...and not all too pleased with me.

So I put lowered my camera and we continued on our way.


Do you not know that you are God's temple

and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him,

For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are. -- 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Is that a choir of angels I hear??????????????????????

Mad photo skills courtesy of Jemima Bakytgul (Happy Flower)Gregg.

Brad and I used to hang out w/the Chili Peppers. In Flea's home...w/our dear friend who lost his life to deeply carried wounds, pitfalls, pain and drugs. Bradley's brother is currently living under an L.A. bridge...a lost little boy surviving? in a grown man's ravaged old body. This song spoke to us then ....and it speaks to us now. Haunting and apropos.

Here I am w/Ricky and our tutor, Francine Gigante in the Blue Mountains (due to the eucalyptus leaves) of Australia. We were there to film The Earthling. William Holden was the nicest man. He gave up his rented home and lived in a trailer so that we (a family) could be more comfortable. He would sit and needlepoint between takes....during the long hours of waiting.... and waiting.... and waiting....which come with the film making territory. I remember beautiful stitched floral scenes. Ultra feminine....very delicate and intricate. Interesting hobby for a man's man. A hunter.

What a gentleman.

Check out that umbrella!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here I am on the set of Jaws2 in Martha's Vineyard with our tutor, Donna Sanders. We called her "Jugs" for two reasons :)

The production made everybody affiliated w/the film take a swimming test. We had to jump in off the end of a pier and swim to safety for insurance purposes. I was dreadfully afraid of open water because I had already seen Jaws. The fact that I was hanging out next to mechanical fake puppet sharks all day long made no difference to me. Petrified!!!!!!!! To this day....I hate swimming in the ocean. What an impression that film made!

Possibly the only thing Michelle Obama and I have in common?

Alright....alright....alright....we are women, wives, mothers and Americans. I'm being sassy, huh?

Next time someone asks, "Where do the boys get their red hair from?"....I will direct them to this photo of Brad's cousin, Brett. He's a comic and was in town to do a show. We got to catch up after too many years. It was fun to squeeze in a date night.

How interesting to be the fly on the wall wife....hearing all the melancholy childhood memories come flooding back.

Oh...Lord....please restore the years eaten by the locusts.
Joel 2:25