In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

I am so grateful for gratitude. Gratitude has the power to life, inspire, unite, and spread love.
After watching this In the Spirit of Thanksgiving clip, that is how I felt.
I am grateful for:

- Greg
- My Family
- My Savior, Jesus Christ
-The Atonement
-The Book of Mormon
- A living prophet
- The commandments
- Temples
- White
- Family History
- Friends who point me to Christ (that means you!)
- Diabetes
- Eyes to see
- Ears to hear
- Health Insurance
- The Holy Ghost
- Prayer
- Love
- Faith
- Rain
-Peace
- Food
-Shelter
- Flowers

What are You grateful for?

Our ABQ Apartment

 I think it is fun to see where people are living, as so much of life is spent at a "home base." Seeing parts of that "home base" can also help one to understand what type of people live there. It is an interesting way to get to know people. So, I thought that I would give you a look at our ABQ apartment, and show you where we have been for the past 9 weeks. You might discover some things about us too :)

Greg is wonderful. That is what I am so grateful to know every day.

He is preparing his Sunday School lesson in this picture - he is such a good teacher!

You can also see on the table our water pitcher - c'est absolument essentielle here in New Mexico!

My CGM is also on the table - a note that I look at it often, and sometimes leave it out after looking at it can be construed from that fact.

Next is our kitchen - what do you spy here? I see a small, but comfortable space where we have had some good meals, some overdone meals, some good experiments, some bad experiments in cooking, and  a nice stack of books to read, and music to listen to while I cook or clean. And of course, my kit. :)

Here, you can see I was more interested in taking pictures than doing dishes at the time. He he he....he... Moving on!

This is our pleasant little corner - where we would put a couch if we had one, but we have learned to be happy sitting on the floor. You might also spy a dried leaves, flowers, etc. creation on the wall opposite the Minerva Teichert painting of Christ - I chose to try and do something with all the beautiful things I have been collecting in my scriptures for years...I am not sure of this was an improvement, but I like it for now:)

This is the wall opposite our pleasant little corner - and a testament to cleverness, if we do say so ourselves. The table you see with our wedding pictures on them - doubles as a seat in times of guests, and suitcases in times of travel :) What else do you see? I choose to see that we like to read, and we really like wood, and I have played the violin more this summer than I did last summer. 

Now, on to the other side of our apartment!

This is our bedroom - note the beautiful blanket Aunt Janet gave us for a wedding present last year!

We have really liked our walk-in closet here - it comes in handy as we did not bring a dresser :)

This view shows that Greg is very orderly :)

 Across the little hall from the bedroom door is the door to the bathroom area, which has a sink outside of the main bathroom area, which we really like as well.

The painting on the right is done by Greg! It is a beautiful seascape  of Portugal, with the original picture taken by Greg, and this watercolor rendition done very well I think! Did you know that Greg really likes to paint, and is quite good at it? 

And of course, the bathroom. We are grateful for indoor plumbing that works :)

And back to Greg :)

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Albuquerque Adventure Part 4: Bear Canyon and Santo Domingo Pueblo

For our part 4 adventure, we didn't take many pictures ( for several reasons) - so I am grateful to Google and others for the pictures they have taken of the places we got to visit!

We started this last Saturday morning off by going on a hike up Bear Canyon (for which Bear Canyon Ward is named). It was so green compared to other places we have seen here in Albuquerque!

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYR-G2r2txwMWIpKnEJBWMFu817kkBFUrFX4_od2wvzdhroB8&t=1&usg=__f8GWUx7JsGnbqvGX5pgbNzBQlP4=

This is a drier picture of Bear Canyon - but it was great hiking, and a place where you could leave the trail and just clamber up the mountain if you wanted to. There were lots of mountain bikers, runners, dogs, etc. We were really glad to be there with our good friends, the Fords. There will be an update on them soon!

It was so fun to go hiking - I loved the clear blue sky, and the green of the sagebrush and cactus, and all the beautiful desert flowers.

What I did not like so much is incidentally something that I will not post a picture of - the Bull snake that the Fords and Greg saw (I closed my eyes while Greg led me away and around it). Yikes! If it weren't for all the snakes and snake warnings here in ABQ, I would enjoy it even more.

After hiking and showers, we decided we had to see a Pueblo before we left. We researched several, and  found one that was advertised to have many makers of jewelry and craft making persons in the settlement, and there wasn't a $40 fee to get into it ($20 per person was the fee to another place), so we decided to go!

Nestled in the valleys of the nearby mountains, and with a river running through it, we found a dusty, lonely settlement, with hundreds of adobe houses, trailers, and the like.  It looked almost abandoned - we saw less than 25 people in total while we were there, but signs of life were all around. Most interesting to me was the contrast: seeing trailers, trucks, and people in modern attire with these in their yards:

Once we arrived in the center of the settlement, we parked outside a sign saying "No picture taking allowed," and thus didn't take a single picture. 

We did visit the old Mission church, which was over 400 years old! It was beautiful - brightly painted in blue and yellow, and simple, but with dark wooden ceiling beams and lovingly decorated walls, etc. It was striking to think of the hundreds of years of devotion and prayer that the walls had experienced.

When we asked the caretaker if there were other places strangers might visit in his town, he mentioned the trading posts down the street, and the silversmith next door.

The silversmith wasn't at home, so we walked down the dusty dry street, past the community center with ambulances and vans, and tried the door of one of the bigger shops. Unfortunately, no one was home, so we went across the street to a smaller trading post which had an "OPEN" sign tilted in its window. 

Wow! Alongside the pop, white bread, candy, and flashlights, were pottery, moccasins, jewelry,  a collection of large and small ornate spurs, a child's winter coat made from some animal's pelt, baby carriers, japanese figurines, antique coca-cola bottle knick knacks, Indian rugs, pelts, stuffed animal heads, arrows, and WOW!

This was real - this was amazing!  

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRoesUXk9qA-ufnvaQVO1Y3sMhdgxXFfISgR1wicYBEO9gTc4w&t=1&usg=__Te2oo_hUpCxy7Knf2jhfiNJFrMQ=

http://www.trespueblosturquoise.com/images/Santo%20domingo%20jewelry.jpg

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We also saw signs like these:

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcRw197Prc2rGUytoBEloBTqFPWVo8t4hEXxwv0oRyoZA6DsM&t=1&usg=__ScGz236cGJS0o9MIbFm5_kWPvQo=

The Santo Domingo Pueblo Indians are known for their work with jewelry and pottery - we are sad that we did not get to see any of them at work. After seeing the trading post, and deciding not to purchase a pair of children's moccasins that cost $60, we decided to leave. It kind of felt like we were intruding.

I certainly learned alot from this trip. Though it wasn't the New Mexican Pueblo discovery trip we had hoped for, I feel like I have learned more about the people who live here. Specifically, I feel I have learned how much I don't know, and can't yet appreciate about the people here, and the history they have with this part of the country. I want to learn more - I feel incredibly ignorant. 

On our way home, we stopped for a treat: Real Navajo fry bread! There were vendors selling it on the side of the road - so we stopped and enjoyed some with honey and powdered sugar. Yum!

And the day was even better when looking out the window at the beautiful Sandia mountains on our way home:

Thus ends our adventuring time in New Mexico.

Albuquerque Adventure Part 3: Santa Fe

 This is a tale recounting our trip to Santa Fe.

 Caution - this blog post is really long - so you might want to take it in a bit at a time!

Theme song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaNQ0vnLtDY

We miss our family and friends! We are really excited to be back in Utah, where we will be closer to many of them. 

So, the song "Santa Fe" from Newsies did not have alot of meaning for me when I was younger (it was one I skipped sometimes) but now that we have been to Santa Fe, it makes more sense!

Who wouldn't want to live in a city that has hundreds of years of history, has belonged to atleast two countries (Mexico and the USA), was figured in the Spanish-American War, was part of what was won from Mexico with help from the Mormon Battalion (though I'm not sure if the Mormon Battalion helped take Santa Fe - but on our way to Santa Fe, we passed a monument to the Mormon Battalion...), has beautiful southwestern architecture (which I am growing to love) and a diverse and vibrant mix of cultures, and has a trading post from 1605?

Well, to tell the truth, I am not sure we would want to live there - but it surely was nice to visit :)

We set out with a plan at about 10am in the morning on a Saturday, and drove the hour or so up to Santa Fe. Our plan was to visit an old Catholic Mission church which was built in the 1700s I believe. Santuario Guadalupe was the name of it, and a beautiful church it was. Yet, we discovered alot more along the way. We really enjoyed the sight we came upon after we walked out of the parking garage. We stumbled into the Santa Fe Farmer's Market! It made me think of Katy and Aaron, and all of our familygoing to the pumpkin patch and smelling the good earth smell of produce.

 The Farmer's Market was held in the train yard of Santa Fe, and the smells of homemade bread and goods and home grown vegetables and stalls of furniture and baskets and wool and herbs were inspiring. It makes one want to be a farmer, and/or more self sufficient.

http://santafe.org/images/Links/7/1207-Santa_Fe_Farmers_Market.jpg

After walking through the Farmer's Market, we found our way to the church of Santuario Gaudalupe - and a marriage had just finished! It is a beautiful little church - with simple, but beautiful decorations which bespoke the devotion of the people to the saint they worship there.

In the front here, they had a courtyard which inspired peace and calm - filled with roses and brick and places to sit and gaze at the church steeple. 

The architecture and distinct southwestern feel was evident in the woodwork - simple, but done with care on the beams supporting the roof and on the door as well. Strong, dark, and a nice contrast with the adobe. We couldn't take flash pictures inside, so we didn't take any pictures. There was a feeling of quiet reverence we felt there - I think it was because the priest was also there - and seeing his obvious goodness of character, and the respect which he showed to the patron saint inspired us to respect it to some degree as well.

To the side of the church was a beautiful shrine to Mary, mother of Jesus. Roses, prayers, etc. were tucked into her alcove, and a small spring of water bubbled up nearby. There were several places for sitting and contemplating there also. Beautiful - but sad too - sad that people do not really know who is the Father and giver of life, and who hears and answers every yearning of the heart. 

We are so grateful that we know of our Savior, and of His infinite sacrifice. We are so grateful that we know it is to Him we owe our praise and devotion forever, and that it is He who answers our prayers.

This is a more comprehensive view of the chapel. 

Next, we walked to a nearby park through the rain that had started. We got fairly wet - and walked downtown for a while before we came to a commercial district. How delightful it was! With two story buildings on either side of a narrow avenue, offering , and many shops in the lower levels, etc. We were glad to get to a covered area! 

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This is actually a picture of the trading post - but the walkways nearby were similarly covered. It was like stepping back in time to step in here - the rafters and floor looked like they were atleast 100 years old, and the smell was of rawhide and leather and dry goods. 

I thought of Joel and cowboys and Indians when we went in here - though, in addition to drums, baskets, dresses, jewelry etc. you would expect to find in a trading post, there was alos pottery from Turkey and baskets woven in Pakistan. Yessir, this trading post is up on the times - even to the extent of global trading. 

Inside, they also had toy guns, bows and arrows, knives, and more, but the thing the trading post did not have was umbrellas. So, apparently, they are not quite up for the weather. So, we went to the local five and dime store and joined the line of fellow adventurers getting umbrellas.

After the umbrella was got, we ventured out into the rain and down the street to the cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. This was one of the most interesting parts of our trip to us I think. First, pictures of the beautiful facade:

This church was built in the 1700's I think - and looks like a cathedral taken from Spain and put into the Spanish southwest. This is what it looks like inside:

 

Greg and I really like rose windows.

(Note the bottom of this above picture for a story below)

The overlay and colors inside were exquisite, and the light and shining ornamentation inside was a beautiful contrast to the grey of the outdoors 

This is the front (knapse I think it is called):

http://www.ursulinesmsj.org/_images/santafecathedral.jpg

Now, look at the very bottom of the picture that you noted a moment ago (the one above the note) - do you see the lines of colors that look like people's heads? Those are actually these:

http://assets.mediaspanonline.com/prod/4802884/11657195_w650.jpg

When we walked in, they were having this "fabric of faith" exhibit. I thought at first that these were outfits for babies to be baptized in, but when we came around the corner and saw this:

I understood. Dozens of ornate, rich, satin, silk, brocade, cloth, lace, yarn, linen, embroidered, bedecked, colorful, amazing, intricate costumes, all about the same size, and each with a note of dedication or purpose for the costumes creation such as "for family's health" or "for daughter" etc. Faithful members of the Catholic church made these costumes for this statue of Mary. I think the statue of Mary has enough clothes to wear a different dress atleast every week, and possibly enough to have her dress changed twice a week. It was beautiful - to see the care, the expense, the toil that many have gone through to make this special offering to Mary. Others have left jewels on the altar for her - such that Mary has a collection of gold and bejeweled crowns that fit her, as well as several varieties of jeweled crosses to wear, including a sapphire and diamond one that was an anonymous offering on the altar.

I was amazed. It is beautiful, and stirring to see the devotion of people to Mary the mother of Christ, but it also seemed a little bit like idolatry- and thus it was disturbing. 

Christ was also displayed in the cathedral - shown anguishing on the cross, so pained in expression and posture that it communicated that pain and anguish clearly to me, and thus is a remarkable work of art - but it was off to the side and by a plant near a pillar.  

We came away with a desire to help more people knew of the goodness and true nature of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and that they are the ones who have power to answer prayers and hopes and desires, and that they are the givers of life and salvation. 

After the cathedral, we went to two more churches!

One was the chapel of Loretta, which was figured in the TV show "unsolved mysteries." Apparently, the chapel was built for the sisters (nuns) of the Loretta order (I think), and it is beautiful, and small. 

This is the outside of it - we took this picture just a short time before a bride was due to walk through here for a wedding! Happy day :)

(This is the front knapse)

Yet, there was a difficulty in the performance of worship for the sisters in the choir - they had no way to ascend to the choir loft in a respectable manner. 

Stairs would have to be built. 

As the legend goes, while searching for the funds or resources to have this done, one day, a quiet man appeared at the chapel, offering his services as a carpenter who could build the needed stairs. He set to work, quickly, masterfully, and with very few tools, of the simplest nature. The result is a masterpiece of engineering and architecture, and it still defies all attempts to understand how it stands.

 At the end of his work, the quiet carpenter left, not accepting payment, and with no one knowing his name. It is regarded as a miracle to this day, and is now known as "The miraculous Staircase." As you can see, it has no central support, and it is not attached to the wall at all!

Isn't it beautiful?

This was the the most beautiful, familiar, and comforting part, though - 

Next we headed off to see what we could see of the - oh dear! I forgot the name of it! And, we don't have pictures of it - hmmm....well, be it known to all the family - we went to a church that was one of the very first of the Catholic mission churches! It was under construction, as its adobe was wearing away, but in its simplicity and stoic stability in the midst of downtown Santa Fe was a testament to the service it had seen and lives changed for the better in its couple hundred years standing there.

On our way back to the rail yard, we walked through the Spanish Market!

We saw wood carvings, rugs woven by a man who is the fifth generation weaver in his family, we heard music, and saw carvings and paintings and jewelry - it was quite a feast for the eyes (but not for the pocketbook :)

http://santafenmliving.com/files/2010/03/Spanish-Market-furniture.gif

http://spanishmkt-sf.nm-unlimited.net/SpanishMarketGraphics/selling_market.jpg

http://santafe.org/images/Links/3/1303-SFIndianTradingCo.JPG

As we meandered through the market, we eventually found ourselves at a convention center where there was some sort of dance festival going on, celebrating all the different cultures that are present in New Mexico. We saw dancers in Indian, Mexican, and Spanish costumes, as well as kids in glittery hats and stilts doing a dance when we arrived (I suppose that was the American contribution - I am not sure :)

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z242/flamencovivo/CShawl.jpg

We got to see almost all of a flamingo dance demonstration! 

It was fiery, smooth, and moving - very impressive.

After that, we went to the rail yard to end our adventure

And what an adventure it was! 

Love, 

Greg and Michelle

Albuquerque Adventure Part 2: We went to the Zoo!

It was a warm Saturday, with wind fresh from the desert. We packed up our lunch, got in the car, and headed down south towards Albuquerque downtown. This was our theme song (Peter Paul and Mary "Going to the Zoo"). And we went! Wish you could have come too!

Greg with some tortoises

Greg and I with beautiful tropical birds exhibit 

This is a better picture of the gorgeous birds

Here is a picture of  some tiny monkeys who were animated and interesting. Their features are so well defined - they look like tiny, wise, ancient, guardians of their nest. Greg really liked these monkeys.

Guess what we didn't see? Snakes. Snakes are what I am most afraid of in the world - but we did take a picture outside their house, just before we headed to see the alligators.

Isn't this alligator amazing? They can stay submerged for hours on end in the water, waiting to strike their prey. They are huge too - this one was atleast 7 feet long. I felt so bad though, as they were housed in a cement building, and in a solitary cell with sand, a small pool of water, and cinderblock walls. Then again, where would you keep an alligator?

This is us in front of the bald eagle's cage ( the bald eagles are behind us here)

And here they are! Magnificent creatures - and symbol of our country. Aren't they astounding?

This is a picture of Greg with the Polar bear. Seeing these real life large and stunning creatures was one of my favorite parts of going to the zoo.

This reminds me of the large and cuddly polar bear that Gma and Gpa Cummings gave me for my birthday once - and how I loved having such a big warm cuddly bear. Recently, I think my polar bear has been used for giving rides through the air to adventurous nephews and nieces ;)

This polar bear is not quite so cuddly - but still amazing.

This is the lazy king of the jungle - I don't blame him for being lazy - it was hot! I think we just caught him in the middle of his afternoon nap.

This is a kangaroo (in the shadow).

Sleepy mountain lions - guess how close they were to the exhibit window?

This close! We were excited to be that close to these impressive animals. 

We were trying to get some beautiful small, Australian green birds in the picture too (thus Greg's concerned look :)

Here they are!

"If you stray, on one fine day, to a warm and sunny place" - don't sit down, instead stand up! "If you look with all your might, and squint your eyes so very tight," you'll see the koala in this picture with me :) (Do you remember where those phrases are from?) !

I thought of Aaron who served his mission in Australia as we looked at these animals. We also saw a kookaburra! "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, eating all the gumdrops he can see..."

I think this is a wallaby in the picture with Greg - I am not sure - I am sure that Greg is handsome :)

Trying to get pictures with the giraffe :)

Did you know that the tallest giraffe recorded was over 19 feet tall? 

The elephants had the nicest exhibit I think - with a nice big pool for cooling off. The trees were protected against being torn or picked up by these great animals.  We really liked seeing them.

Hippos! Seeing these made me think of Kristan L. These guys undoubtedly had the best swimming pool - deep and cool and big. We walked on a bridge right over it! They shared their pool space with the warthogs nearby.

Greg with the gorillas! These are amazing animals - it is easy to see a resemblance between mankind and apes - their fingers and feet are nimble and they use them like we do. You might not be able to see, but there was a gorilla nearby playing with a newspaper - it looked like he was reading it! Greg wanted to get a picture with the gorilla reading the newspaper, but I wasn't quite quick enough. These primates move fast!

That was our trip to the zoo. We saw many wondrous creations of God. Beautiful plants, stunning animals, and a best friend to see it with. We had a great time!