Time Experience Thoughts

With wisdom beyond their years   They were trusted by us -- and their peers. Their beauty was apparent, inside and out;   As to their faith, there was never a doubt. The light of eternal truth fills up their minds   While the warmth of their love spreads through all time... Scott L. Vanatter, 27/28 November 2010 (Poem for Carrie and Sydney, sisters, for their birthdays).

Sydney's new website ( http://www.sydneykearnsphotography.com/ ) is now up and running. She has quite an eye. Check out her fine art shot of the Lincoln Memorial, her black and white photo of the DC Temple, her close up of some dogwoods, and . . .  well, you get the idea. Good work Sydney!

After church meetings on the day Cade was blessed, Kyle took off his shoes and walked along the curb which rings the planter area outside in the front of the chapel. He walked back and forth singing "Chim Chiminey Row." (His own version of the song, with special voice inflection. His father and mother had recently attended a Halloween party dressed as Mary Poppins and Bert. Kyle heard them sing the songs from the movie and this is how he remembered the song.)

http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/2011-fine-art-calendar/13622003   Vibrant colors, beautiful images, interesting composition. Good eye Sydney!

Cade's three older brothers, Ryan, Sean, and Kyle being silly. Ryan squishing his neck. Sean making a funny face/mouth. Kyle doing his grinning Winston Churchill. Sean acting surprised, Kyle sticking out his tongue, Ryan slouching. 

Our project this trip was to design and create three paper airplanes from the Star Wars saga, a Tie Fighter, an X-Wing fighter, and the Millennial Falcon. Sean and Ryan came up with these three. We researched online double-checking the coloring and physical form of the three. We experimented with multiple designs. On his own, Sean made (based on my previous design), then painted Super Sonic paper airplane red and blue. Sean had also stumbled upon a way to make a Tie-Fighter, taping two other planes together. I thought we might try the same tactic in creating an X-Wing (taping two "wings" together onto a fuselage). Ryan liked my idea of how to proceed, but said that if it failed he had a backup plan. My plan failed. We had previously acknowledged that, like Edison, there may be successes and/or failures. (We knew that some designs which LOOKED good, might not fly, and vice versa.) We would build upon any "failures" to adjust to some other potential design. Turns ...

One Waiting, longing,   Searching for that one. Finding, discovering,   Yearning to become. Seeing, loving,   Becoming at last One. Scott L. Vanatter, 1 October 2010 (Poem in honor of Mike and Sydney. What a wonderful, special, beautiful couple.)

Again He sighs   And comforts our very soul. His eyes   Reveal our every goal. Then he testifies   And now we really know. Again. Scott L. Vanatter, 30 September 2010 (This poem, in honor of Cade, can be read in at least a couple ways. First, when we encounter him -- taking care of him when he is 4 weeks, or 4 months old, etc. Second is when he is forty or fifty years old – when he might be caring for us.)

Becky and I will be in Utah this weekend. I’ve been invited to speak at a conference: “Discoveries in Chiasmus.”* See conference website, http://discoveriesinchiasmus.com. The conference is being held Saturday, September 18, 2010 at the American Heritage School, 736 North 1100 East, American Fork, UT from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Tickets are $35; I’ve got a handful of complimentary tickets for the conference and a few more for the concert that night.) The conference concludes with a concert that evening at 7:00 p.m. We’ll be arriving in SLC late Friday night from So Cal. (We’ll be in the LA area for my Aunt’s funeral). We’re returning home to Virginia Sunday evening. Wish we could stay longer in So Cal and in Utah, to visit with friends and family. *I’ll be speaking on the topic of Davidic Chiasmus and Parallelisms. See my website, www.davidicchiasmus.com, which I created I collaboration with Jared Demke (1957-2006).

Another science experiment/project. Mentos in Diet Coke. Carrie built a delivery mechanism for the Mentos (a curled up piece of paper to fit inside an open soda bottle top). The boys carefully placed the Mentos in the ammunition cartridge, then dropped the charges into the soda. The blast of fizzing soda went about 6-10 feet in the air. Over my head, and way over the boys heads. Note the boys faces. See movie below.

We did a thoudand things. One was to draw the gold plates on the computer. Ryan entitled his, Gold Plates in the Dark. Sean's is the colorful one on the bottom.

Ryan chose the following images to draw on this Sunday afternoon. First, he drew a picture of the actual sword that George Washington used in the Revolutionary War. We visited Mt. Vernon again a few days ago, and Ryan saw the sword in a glass case. His picture below shows the sword resting in the display case. The second picture is of the Declaration of Independence. The initial R and D stand for Ryan and Declaration. He chose all by himself, the yellow background to look like the actual paper, and he chose the caligraphy pen to represent the words of the Declaration. The third picture is of a Revolutionary War pistol. The fourth picture he called Heart Lightsaber and sent to his Dad for Father's Day.

A collection of Sean's art work on the computer. He is an artist! He did the design and chose the colors all by himself. The first one is a Fish in a Dirty Green River. The second one is a boat in a storm on the ocean. The third one is a cow. The last one is a Happy Father's Day card to his dear Dad.

This picture was taken at the Clum-Kennedy Gardens (a small local park) bear the Washington DC Temple in Kensigton, MD. We were sitting at a picnic table there in the gardens, after having gone to the temple, eating some soup and a sandwich from a local deli. A young father was walking by as his young daughter was riding her bike. I asked him to take our picture. 

A couple of Sundays ago, Becky & I drove out to Bull Run Park with Sydney & Mike to walk through the Bluebells.

This week I have been in San Francisco at the RSA Conference. At the conference I got this caricature done by Zach ( www.caricaturesbyzach.com ). He asked me if I was a retired military colonel. Told him I wasn't, but that I used to be a wrestler and a football player.

This afternoon, Becky and I got all bundled up and took a trek around our back yard where the boys (Ryan, Sean, and Kyle) would run and play. In many places the snow was up past our knees. We enjoyed exploring the deep, white snow drifts right in our own backyard.

"This Bird Has Flown" Freckles, our beautiful and personable cockatiel, passed away last night or early this morning. Sad day. However, as she was pretty old in bird years (approx 14 years), this was not so unexpected. Really, she gave us so much pleasure and joy over the years. While sad, I have such fond memories of how fun, loving, and yes, sometimes ornery, she was. (Well, she was not that ornery with Becky!) She was so sweet (at times), so teeny tiny, delicate, and with SUCH personality! The past night or two, she spent some extra fun time boxing a leather toy Becky gave her -- and ringing the little bell connected to it. Over the past couple days and nights, she seemed to spend some extra time sitting on the floor of her cage resting. In years past, this meant she was getting ready to lay some eggs. Not this time. When I opened her cage today, she was sitting peacefully there on the floor of her cage, with her head elegantly dipped down, and her chin gently tucked under...

Becky was sitting at her desk. She glanced outside and knew that, as the sky was of a certain hue and contrast, there would be a rainbow. Sure enough. She called out to me, and we found this rainbow on our street. It was dusk, with a high level of contrast and color. Rainbows remind me of one of my favorite songwriters, and one of his best songs. See below. # Ribbon in the Sky (Stevie Wonder) Oh so long for this night I prayed That a star would guide you my way To share with me this special day Where a ribbon's in the sky for our love. If allowed may I touch your hand And if pleased may I once again So that you too will understand There's a ribbon in the sky for our love. Do...do... Do do do do do... Hmm hmm... This is not a coincidence And far more than a lucky chance But what is that was always meant Is our ribbon in the sky for our love, love . We can't lose with God on our side We'll find strength in each tear we cry From now on it will be you and I And our ri...

~ Grandma's Christmas Thoughts ~ Someone recently said that in the doldrums of winter while all the earth goes to sleep and the gardens die and the trees go bare (at least here in Virginia) that this is truly the best season of the year… There is a spirit that permeates the world. Imagine a world without Thanksgiving and Christmas. To me, as the years roll by, the two holidays become inseparably connected. Thankfulness turns to honor and worship of that One Sacred Life that gave us ALL. It is a season in which we celebrate new life… the birth of our Savior… the hope of the world. It was also in this season of the year that new life came to our family—twice. Every year, I remember rocking my tiny little infants in front of the Christmas tree, gazing into the sparkling lights, and singing Silent Night as a lullaby. Imagine a new mother, holding her infants in her arms, and deeply contemplating the layers of meaning in that song not only for the world, but for our family. To me, they ...

Scott Serves now as first counselor in the bishopric. Works for a competitor to his last company. Finalized move of three wards into a new chapel—including ours. Drove to Kansas to spend Christmas with mother and sister—just got home. http://scottvanatter.blogspot.com/ Becky Serves as the shift coordinator every Thursday evening at the Washington D.C. Temple (with President and Sister Tingey—Scott’s former mission president!). Teaches the Adult Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class. 8th year working for BYU—Coordinating the Washington D.C. Student Teaching Program. Sydney Moved to Arlington (Crystal City) this year. Now in the Colonial Ward. Works in the Washington D.C. Temple on Thursday evenings on Becky’s shift. Traveled to Greece this fall. Is dating Mike! (“Love is in the air!”) http://photogal98.blogspot.com/ Carrie and Scott (along with Ryan, Sean, and Kyle) Summer and Thanksgiving in Virginia. Bough...