For Easter, I made these for our landlord and a few friends and coworkers. They took a lot longer to decorate than I thought, but it was a nice break to just exercise the right side of my brain for a little while. The colors I chose kind of reminded me of my high school colors. Bright and cheery!
Charlottesville, VA: Skeens and RunningAfter a few months of training, I finally made the trek down to Charlottesville, VA to run the Marathon. It turned out to be a heavenly weekend in many ways. To name a few...
1. Friday afternoon I sped down (literally) to Charlottesville just in time to hit "traffic" (I never thought I'd see traffic like this outside of DC!? But I was very fortunate to still catch a ride with two very patient ladies down to Buena Vista to meet up with my cousin, Tanya Skeen, for a RS combined meeting.
Sister Susan B. Beck came to speak to the women of stakes in the region. It was an edifying meeting, and some prayers I'd been seeking answers to were answered as a result. I learned about priorities in a way I had never considered them before, and my courage to stand firm as a "woman who knows" and one who has made sacred covenants with the Lord has increased.
2. Friday evening, as I drove for an hour home with Tanya, our conversation built on the lessons shared by Sister Beck, and Tanya taught me much about the reality of prophesies made in the scriptures by ancient prophets as well as warnings we've been given in recent past by the living prophets in the
Proclamation to the World on the Family. There is no doubt that Satan, the father of all lies, has great hold upon the hearts of many men, and if we are not careful and watchful, our families will weaken and soon break. HOWEVER, there are likewise small and simple measures we can take to strengthen homes and families regardless of our marital status or social prominence. We can stand for families by not only supplying love within our own homes, but by actively serving in our communities and upholding the value of families in the way we vote and communicate with others. When it is within our means, we can be advocates on public boards or in community meetings. I have yet to determine what it is that I can do right now to best support the family unit, but I am currently grateful for the opportunities I have had to share what I've learned with a few people in my circle of influence.
An additional source, from which I have found greater understanding of what's happening on a worldwide scale, is this transcript of
Bruce C. Hafen's address at the 2nd World Congress of Families in 1999.
I am convinced that the family is central to God's plan for our happiness on this earth, so it's well worth the seemingly uphill battle, to support and defend the family with whatever means I can.
3. Saturday morning, I arose early to get ready for the run.
Rachel, my coworker and fearless running friend, came down with her husband and one-year-old, just to do a "training run" with me, as she had a pending race in two weeks. She ran with me for 21 miles!!! It was SO awesome. I have never run a race with someone for that long, and it was so nice since we run similar paces. It was a beautiful course in the country parts of Charlottesville and around through University of Virginia (UVA) campus as well as along a river trail. Nonetheless, the hills got the best of me. Additionally, the "best of me" was really not my best this spring having been sick (to a degree) again for about 3 weeks prior to the race. Let's just say, I was so happy to complete this marathon and happy to have done it rather than dropping out this... better races can only be ahead :)
4. Back to the Skeen home with Jim, Tanya and Tara, we had lunch and talked. Much of our conversation was about our family history and heritage. I learned a lot and grew to have an even greater love for the Skeen name. Perhaps I will later make a post solely on little facts of the name and fame of the original Skenes of Scotland (yes, it was initially spelled "ene" before they immigrated to the U.S. and changed the spelling to "een"). While Jim is my third cousin-once removed, it was as if he was just one of my uncles whom I have know for years. Taryn has such a love for Skeen history even though it's her married name, it was as if I was talking to a close aunt. And, I am grateful likewise to have spent time with Tara, and to be building friendships with their older daughters, Merry Brooke and Katrina up in Northern Virginia.
What a great weekend with family and in a beautiful place. Charlottesville was truly a breath of fresh air, literally in the physical sense as well as spiritually. I will return again before I leave this part of the country.
In the 1700's, Robert Harper was given 125 acres of land, which he made accessible for people to live on with a ferry across the Potomac. Since that time, this landing at merging of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and the states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, has become more know for the 1839 John Brown's raid at the armory during the American Civil War.
Saturday, a few friends (old and new) and I drove up to Harper's Ferry, which only amounted to about 1 hour. We were greeted by two kind park rangers who helped us choose a couple of hikes to fill our day. The weather was beautiful, the crowds were under peak, the sites were gorgeous, and the hikes were pleasantly hilly (that's not real common in these parts).
