There is Beauty All Around...

What a fun week it's been! It was Loren's spring break and Lydia and I loved having him home. Lydia got a lot of daddy-daughter time, especially in the early hours of the morning so I could get a little more sleep. Best week ever! Can it be spring break every day??

Loren had a lot of studying and preparing for finals to do so we just hung around home most of the time. We took lots of walks to the school and library. Lydia loves all the attention she gets from random strangers on these excursions. She makes many friends everywhere we go. Silly girl!

Friday we went to a little cafe in downtown Lexington called Blue Sky for lunch. I just love all the cafés and bakeries they have here. The atmosphere is really laid back and everyone is super friendly. Plus, the food is amazing! Mouth watering sandwiches and steamy, hot soups. Yum! Afterwords we stopped by the games store on our way home. Games are totally our weakness and it took every bit of self control we had not to get one. Board games, card games, any kind you can think of they have. There's so many fun and unique shops here, you could spend hours exploring them all.

When we first moved to Lexington, I was enthralled with everything. We would visit the historic places like Lee Chapel, Stonewall Jackson's home, and VMI all the time and I was constantly in awe of the architecture of the city. As time has gone by, the historic landmarks have lost a little of their previous splendor and I walk down the colonial brick sidewalks without a second thought of how they came to be. Everything that used to stop me in my tracks to take a picture of, has slowly faded into the background of my daily life and routine. So yesterday, we decided to take a walk to the law school to return some books Loren had checked out. On the way home I decided to run to the VMI campus since Lydia was enjoying being out. On the way I had to pass Lee Chapel. As I sprinted (sprinted is a loose term for "huffed and puffed") past the chapel, I noticed an older man sitting on a bench outside the front doors. He was just staring at the building, taking it all in. As I came closer, he looked at me and acted like he was going to say something. I knew what was coming- the inevitable "looks like that baby is giving you a work out!" or "don't blink, she'll be twenty before you know it then she'll be pushing you- but in a wheelchair!" I had heard it all before and didn't want to laugh politely or have to say anything that would slow me down. I breezed by without much of a glance in his direction and continued to the campus. I reached my destination and then started my way back home. I had to pass Lee Chapel again and secretly hoped the man had left. To my dismay, he was still sitting on the same bench. He flagged me down as I ran closer and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but could you tell me where Travellers grave is?" Relieved, I explained where Robert Lee's trusted horse was buried.

"Thank you," he said, "I'm from Georgia and have waited ten years to see all the history here in Lexington. You're very lucky to live here."

Wow, ten years? I started to realize how much i was taking for granted living in this beautiful, historic town.

After some small talk he said, "I couldn't help but notice the words LDS Institute on your shirt. I sure respect you Mormons family values. I just have a lot of respect for you. I'm baptist myself but if i were to change religions, I'd chose the Mormons."

I hadn't even noticed what shirt I was wearing and was totally shocked at what he just said. To think I had almost breezed right by him without a friendly nod or even a smile. I felt ashamed and instantly promised myself right then and there to be more Christlike. Sometimes we get so caught up in daily living, our schedules and routine that we forget about the most important way we can spend our time- bringing others to Christ! Emulating Him in every way will help our focus stay on those things which are most important. I had such a nice talk with that man and left feeling so happy to have met him. You never know what amazing things will happen when we chose to slow down and look outside of ourselves. It was a humbling experience.

Congrats to Cam and Mary on their little BOY!! We're so excited to get two nephews in July! No, they're not having twins, Chris and Kristen are having a boy as we'll :)

Well, Loren will hit the books hard again this week. He's on the downhill though as he starts preparing more for finals. Yikes! He's doing so well though, I'm so very proud of him. Happy birthday to dad peck on Thursday! Hope it's a fantastic day, we love you very much! Hope everyone else has a wonderful week!