The Gifts of Friendship and Family
December 30, 2007|Comments (none)
Aunt Julie and Uncle Raul came to visit this weekend and left today. We miss them already! We enjoyed chatting and learned a great deal about Josh’s heritage. Josh’s ancestors were Irish farmers and Native Americans. He holds the values of the Native Americans very dear to his heart. He is very kind to animals and respectful of the world around him. He also looks Irish and is obviously into farming! This explains a lot! Thank you, Aunt Julie, and be sure to keep us posted as you make more discoveries!
During lunch on Saturday, our dear friends (owners of Elvis) stopped by and gave us the most wonderful gift bag of goodies from north Georgia! We couldn’t resist trying the Apple Spice Pecan Honey Butter with some homemade bread:
All we can say is YUMMY!! Thank you! You are too good to us!
I am rediscovering knitting and have a little scarf project made with scrap yarn. Now that I’ve remembered how to do the basics, I’ll finish out this scarf (and give it to Goodwill) and start on some fun projects.
We are also planning our garden this month and are so excited!!! We can’t wait until we can plant!
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I’m so glad you guys are interested in family ancestry! I collect material on my own whenever I can. I took a course on Native American spirituality last winter and it was deeply meaningful. The reason the Indians resisted the government’s removal of them westward (among others) was that they had the profound sense that the Great Spirit had placed them on that land for a reason. They were part of the land and had an affinity with it. They reverenced the land and did not want to be separated from it. As for the Irish, well…
“And don’t you be forgetting, Katie Scarlett O’Hara, that you’re half Irish too, and for anyone with an ounce of Irish blood in them, their land is like their mother. Ah, but you’re just a child! It’ll come to you, this love of the land…there’s no getting away from it if you’re Irish.”
-sentimental line from…from…Darn! What
was the name of that movie?
I hope you both have a very happy new year!
Monday, December 31st 2007 @ 8:17 AM
Landon, what a great quote!!! I would love to hear more about the course you took! Thank you for the wonderful comment! Happy New Year to you, too. I seem to recall a fabulous New Year’s celebration when you came to visit me at work and we raced around on that adult tricycle with its squeaking wheels and faulty steering. What better way to welcome the new year? You are the best!:)
Visiting with our nephew and his wife was a great ending to 2007. Meeting Lacy was a heart warming experience as we witnessed the way she compliments Joshua in Life and Love. We wish you both much happiness as you build your marriage together while building a farm on your own piece of land. Keeping your focus on God will bring you many blessings.
Landon, I appreciate your awesome comments and I, like Lacy would like to know more about the Native American Spirituality class you mentioned. As I am getting older I am noticing even the smallest of characteristics passed down through our lineage.
Julie, what beautiful and thoughtful words! We loved our time with you and Raul (The two of you should teach classes on how to have a happy marriage!). You gave us great advice and much needed support. We thank you and look forward to many more visits.
Wednesday, January 2nd 2008 @ 2:24 PM
Julie, thank you for your kind words. I too am happy for Josh and Lacy. Lacy is a very dear friend, and I want very much to meet the young man who has made her so happy. Someday I will.
The Native American spirituality class I took had as its most important theme getting back in touch with our natural roots. The modern age, with its quickly moving, constantly changing distractions and mesmerizing desires, has convinced a lot of people that they can live outside the laws of nature, exploiting the Earth’s resources for short term profit and convenience, and without regard for the consequences our actions will have on our own lives and those of future generations. The point was that we need to reexamine our values and drastically change our attitudes and lifestyles.
We studied the words and experiences of Native American leaders like Black Elk, Handsome Lake, and Chief Seattle. We listened to the stories of Native American folklore and read the (often tragic) history of the interactions between the European settlers and the Native Americans. We came away with a deep sense that by teaching survival skills, and cultivating respect for the earth and understanding the connectedness of all life, we can comprehend that nature is something to be cooperated with, not conquered and subdued. Learning the skills of survival and awareness can lead us back into true balance with the Earth.
That’s a brief summary of what the course was about. I’m sure Lacy would have enjoyed it. But in a very real sense, I don’t think she really needs to take such a course. I think she and Josh understand these things intuitively already.
Thursday, January 3rd 2008 @ 9:37 AM
Landon, I truly appreciate your comments on the modern age… My husband and I are really feeling that mind-set from the society that surrounds us and since we have moved to the “country” ourselves are seeking a slower more appreciative lifestyle. The commercialization that is occurring in the US is disheartening. I feel my need to slow down is coming from my Natve American roots. With my husband I am sure it is coming from his growing older :), afterall he grew up a big city boy.
Lacy, I forgot to mention how wonderful the bread was. What a wonderful treat to have homemade bread again. Also the Pecan Honey Butter was yummy that your friends brought back. Please let them know I enjoyed it too.
Landon and Julie,
How fortunate we are to have such wonderful friends and family!
Landon, I need to send you one of my favorite books about the Trail of Tears, Chief Joseph, and the ways of the Native American peoples. I can’t wait for you to meet Josh!
Julie, I think that you and Josh should plan to go to a pow-wow weekend retreat together sometime. They have them from time to time in North Georgia. While that tribe is very different from the Sioux, it would be a great way for you to touch base with such a huge part of your family’s history.
I love and miss you both.
Lacy
Thursday, January 3rd 2008 @ 1:50 PM