I went to the Gray berns fun run. I ran a 5 k.  Dad did that to. And I saw my techr .I felt tird aftr that. Not my hol famly did this. this was satrday (October 28, 2006). my time was 45 minis and 43.25 sekins.  by Ariana

Have you ever met someone and immediately known that there’s something extra special about them . . . something so divinely good that just being in their presence helps confirm your belief in angels?  I have–Yunhi Nesmith.

To me, Yunhi is a perfect example of FAITH, HOPE and especially CHARITY.

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. . .and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

I am grateful for special friends like Yunhi that are gentle reminders of the kind of person I should aspire to be.

I was so excited to receive this voicemail from my mom yesterday:

[audio:http://tolberts.org/lori/Audio/Mom Texas Message.mp3]

Using frequent flyer points, she was able to book an award ticket for the day after Thanksgiving.  She’ll accompany us to historic downtown Granbury for their annual day-after-Thanksgiving Country Christmas Celebration: Lighted float parade, holiday carol sing-a-long, candle lighting, and a visit from Santa.  The next day, we’ll head to Homestead Heritage for their Thanksgiving Craft and Children’s Fair (http://www.homesteadcraftfair.com/).

Guppy . . . Gupster . . . Guppy girl.  This nickname was given to Ariana a couple of summers ago when we (and she) discovered that she really liked swimming and was actually quite good at it.  But it was not always so . . .

“You’re going to drown me!  You’re going to drown me!”  Ariana SCREAMED when we took her into the deeper (4 1/2 feet) waters of our community pool.  Bryan and I soon realized that the crowd that was at the pool when we got there quickly thinned out after our arrival. It was THAT bad.

In his ever-patient way, Bryan ascertained that Ariana meant “You’re going to dunk me!” and not “You’re going to drown me!” So, once he got the semantics squared away and addressed her fears, we went to work and taught Ariana how to swim. In short order, she became a little fish, and the nickname “Guppy” stuck.

I was excited when Ariana showed an aptitude and an interest in swimming because swimming is in my blood. I swam competitively on the San Dimas Aquatics USA team from age 10-18; Breaststroke and Butterfly were my events.  Although by no stretch of the imagination could I be considered Olympic material, swimming on the team taught me so many wonderful skills and lessons–hard work, goal setting, team work, time management, the importance of exercise, etc. By working summers as a lifeguard and swim instructor, I earned a good wage which helped with my college expenses. Because of the positive experience I had with this sport, I’ve looked forward to the day when my own kids would participate in competitive swimming.

Yesterday, as Ariana practiced for the first time with the Frisco Aquatics year-round team, I couldn’t have been more impressed with her.  She worked so hard and was very attentive to Coach Jackie.  I hope that this will be the start of a life-long love for her and a means of learning so many important life skills.

Conversation with 6-year-old Ariana last week on our way home from school . . .
Ariana: “Mom, do you know what ‘photo spores’ are?”

Lori: “Uh . . . no.”

Ariana: “I’ll give you a clue: They are responsible for an organism’s bioluminescence.  Do you know what ‘bioluminescence’ is?”

Mom: “Uh . . . no.”

Ariana: <patient sigh!> “I’ll give you an example: Jellyfish are bioluminescent because they have photo spores.  It’s kind of like glowing in the dark.”

And I thought that parents only become “dumb” during their children’s teenage years.

Highlights from last week’s fabulous Southern California vacation . . .

Attending Eva’s baptism and Logan’s baby blessing

Spending time with Gran, Uncle Matthew, Aunt Eva, Dilon and Logan

Sea World (Because Ariana is studying about the ocean at school).

Ariana and Bryan sitting in the SOAK ZONE. (They don’t call it the “soak zone” for nothing!)

Ariana riding her first (and maybe last?) roller coaster–Atlantis!

Mom chickening out of riding the roller coaster

The mother’s rooms–GREAT idea!

Mom and Eva getting SOAKED on the river raft ride and sitting in the SOAK ZONE at the Shamu Show.

The Beach

Searching for the perfect sea shells

Getting WET! (Next time, I’ll bring a change of clothes for everyone).

This was the first time I’ve been back to California since my family moved away, and it surprised me how melancholy I was.  But even though so much about my childhood home has changed, Southern California, with all of the wonderful memories it conjures up, will always be one of my favorite places to visit.

Where we love is home.
Home is where our feet may leave
but not our hearts.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes