Peaches and Memories for Lunch

Isn't it weird how an everyday object can illicit a sweet memory of something seemingly unrelated?! That's what happened to me when I chose to eat a peach for lunch today. As I washed and peeled my peach I immediately thought of Grandpa Adelman who in his lifetime had lovingly cared for, picked and peeled thousands of peaches from the huge peach trees growing in his backyard in Sunnyvale, CA.
That peach took me back to the first time I met Grandpa and Grandma Adelman when Scott and I were newly married. From the minute I walked into their home I felt so welcomed and so loved! I'm sure they must have had the San Francisco Giants game on tv; if the Giants were playing, they were watching! I loved listening as Scott and his grandparents would talk about the Giants and their current record or what kind of a season this player or that was having. I can still picture grandpa sitting in his easy chair next to the corner windows of the family room; remote control and the daily newspaper sitting on the tv tray nearby.
That peach took me back to the times Scott would quietly walk through their house each time we visited, soaking up thirty or forty years worth of memories. I loved listening when he would say, "I remember when....". Having grown up in the same home for twenty years, I could relate in my own way to the connection one feels to a home.
That peach took me back to grandma's pink and grey bathroom! Totally the lastest colors back in the 1950's when their home was built. I loved that bathroom because it reminded me of my Grandma Foltz's bathroom back in Iowa. Same colors and same sweet grandma smells! I hope Grandma Adelman doesn't mind if I admit to opening her linen closet just to take in that sweet smell of grandmas!
And, of course, that peach reminded me of Grandpa's delicious peaches! Peaches lovingly prepared each morning for breakfast and each evening as a topping for vanilla ice cream. I never noticed him preparing those peaches for us but they were always on the counter, sweet and juicy just waiting to be eaten by those he loved. And, I think that's what made those peaches sweeter than any I've had since...it was the love he sprinkled on top!

Growing Up

First day of school 2008-2009

I had a little reality check this week when Brooklynn told me that it was college night on Thursday. She was hoping to go to gather information about potential college choices. Could it be that we really have a child old enough to be researching colleges?!? I remember just a few years ago when my days were filled with play groups, peanut butter and jelly, story time, preschool, and pbskids. It was in the midst of those preschool years, that a good friend of mine, Cynthia told me to enjoy every single day because sooner than I thought, I would be sending my babies off to school. Honestly, I couldn't even imagine! Well...here I am with not one, but two high school age daughters (both of whom, are taller than me!) one daughter in junior high and two sons in elementary school and I'm seriously wondering where the years went.

Now our days are filled with marching practice and football games, oboe lessons, orchestra and band rehearsals and concerts, swim practice and swim meets, ballet rehearsals, piano lessons and practice, elementary percussion rehearsals, cub scouts, and young women activities. Soon we will add basketball coaching, practice and games to the list.

I still keep in mind the wise words from my friend Cynthia. I continue to find joy along the way and make the most of every single day, because it's true, they really do grow up way too fast.

A Chance to Serve in Galveston

My brother Mark went with us to help. He was the expert at measuring where to cut the sheet rock. It was fun having him work with us for the day.

As we drove in to Galveston, it was really weird to see boats laying on their sides along the main roads of the city.

At our second stop we helped four different families. At the first house we moved all their appliances out to the street. I have a great stinky fridge story to tell! At two other houses we cut sheet rock above the water line. Scott did a great job on the baseboards and I helped pull away sheet rock.

Sacrament meeting was held outside of the Galveston building at 8:30 before we received our work assignments for the day. It was quite an inspiring sight...all of us in yellow helping hands shirts. There had been another group of the same size that had sacrament meeting at 7:30!

The first house we went to was near a bayou and had had five feet of water in the house. We basically just shoveled the contents of the house into wheelbarrows and trash cans and dumped it out on the front yard for collection by trash crews.

This post is not organized how I had hoped, but I am learning! Brooklynn was willing to teach me how to add photos to my blog tonight. Next tutorial will be how to get the photos in the order I would like. I would have liked the boat photo first, sacrament meeting second, trash in street third and photos of me, Scott and Mark last...in order of how our day took place...oh well.

What an amazing, exhausting and very smelly day! I can't stop thinking about what the people in Galveston are waking up to each day...it was overwhelming to see the amount of work needed to restore the island. We were able to help some really amazing people. They even called us angels! I know our stake is already organizing work crews to go to Port Arthur, TX for work assignments on both Saturday and Sunday this week. There is much to be done.