for the love of letters

every week, i look forward to a letter from my granddad. he updates the family on his and grandma's adventures. he recently retired so it's fun to learn how he occupies his time. he's quite the craftsman and woodworker! with many tools he builds. he's a great teacher too! from him, i learned how to properly crack an egg, a very important skill, i may add. his letters are like reading a blog, but more tangible. most of all, they remind me of the pacific northwest, the home i love.

values incorporated

this design makes me want to live the young women values!

love it!

click here to see...

coolest thing...today's gonna be a good day

click here to see a better quality version, and to find out more details about the event!
i'm not a die-hard Oprah fan, but this is awesome!

priceless

 

i'm in love with this mother-daughter photo.

okay, that probably has something to do with the fact that i'm related to these lovelies.

but, even if i wasn't related...i've got to admit this is heart-melting!!!!

i don't think i'll be able to love my children as much as this one!

omg, she lights up the world!!!

Three Cups of Tea Author Greg Mortenson Spoke at BYU

Incredible!  Profound!  Motivational!

 I took notes because I was so moved...Enjoy some tidbits!

Greg said the title is in honor of Korphe Village Chief Haji Ali. Ali taught the importance of building relationships.

Three Cups of Tea

The 1st Cup means you're a stranger

2nd Cup means you're a friend 

3rd Cup means you're family 

A mere 25% of American children talk with their elders about history.

An astounding 90-95% of Pakistani children talk history with their elders.

Interesting...

 African Proverb

If you educate a boy,

You educate an individual.

If you educate a girl,

You educate a community.

The 1st chapter is titled "Failure" because we all fail, we all make mistakes.

Persian Proverb

When it is dark

You can see the stars.

To solve poverty we must

taste it

smell it

be it

touch it
(The only way to make a change)

Good News: 8.5 children attend school (2.5 million females)

Bad News: In the last two years, the Taliban has bombed over 800 schools

The ink of a scholar is more powerful than the blood of a sword.

Chief had two books: Pakistan Poetry and the Koran.

Greg asked Chief why he cried when he read.

"My life's greatest sadness is never learning to read or write," Chief said.
Chief's greatest wish was for all children to be taught to read and write.

When Greg worked to sell/hook Middle Eastern leaders into the schools and curriculum,

all they wanted was to play on the playgrounds. They put down their weapons and went on to play.

Greg said "Don't you want to see the school and curriculum?"

They replied, "No, you can have your school."

They were gypped as kids!

the colors of fall...

i love the colors of fall and this picture captures them well.

lazy meditation vs. meditaiton

“There are different species of laziness: Eastern and Western. The Eastern style is like the one practised in India. It consists of hanging out all day in the sun, doing nothing, avoiding any kind of work or useful activity, drinking cups of tea, listening to Hindi film music blaring on the radio, and gossiping with friends.

Western laziness is quite different. It consists of cramming our lives with compulsive activity, so there is no time at all to confront the real issues. This form of laziness lies in our failure to choose worthwhile applications for our energy.”

– Sogyal Rinpiche

Amen Sogyal! Even if this doesn't describe the East versus West, it sure describes two kinds of people!

Rather thought-provoking, don't you think?