The family gathered together at our house to celebrate Rondi's 28th birthday on Saturday - two days early. Her actual birthday is TODAY! Happy Birthday, Rondi!
We all love you, and hope you are having a great day! We pray God grant you many more wonderful birthdays!
Misha showed Great Grandpa her creation.Today marks the 500th visit to my blog since I started keeping track of everyone visiting, beginning on 2/4/08. Thank you! Please feel free to share this blog with whomever you wish. My next goal is to hit the 1000th visit mark.
In celebration, I'm sharing one of my favorite inspirational stories. I hope it inspires you as it has me. Enjoy!
THE DAFFODIL PRINCIPLE
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come see the daf
fodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday," I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."
"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her. "I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car. How far will we have to drive?" "Just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this." After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!" "We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils." "Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. "It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."
There it was, The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was a life changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun one bulb at a time to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world.
This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable (indescribable) magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time - often just one baby step at a time - and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.
"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn, “what might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.
It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"
Author Unknown
born - the Japanese nurses said we were very blessed to have a son, and especially a boy with two dimples! Extra special! Kissed by angels, they said!
Step Two - Understand the Surf/Prioritize
Ok! You've slowed down and your ready to assess the situation. The first lesson in wave navigation begins on the beach. Never venture into the surf without first checking conditions for at least 15 minutes. It is not that uncommon to arrive at a beach and find it devoid of waves, only to swim out and be confronted by a "set" (sequence of three or four larger waves). I can't even begin to count how many times this has happened to me! The conditions on any given day will be governed by wind direction and velocity, swell direction and size, tides and bottom conditions - good grief!
Got a tough day ahead of you? Never venture back into the craziness without first checking the conditions.
Here's what to do:
Make a list of items that you need to accomplish and list them in order of importance. Putting your thoughts down on paper will help clear your mind. Let's face it, there are some days that ocean seems just too rough to go out on. If the waves are over 2 to 3 feet you may want to consider waiting for a better day. But, if you do decide to brave the surf, it is a good idea to study the wave pattern before you go. The breaking waves almost always come in sets of 6 to 8 followed by a calmer period. This is when you want to make your break for it.
Are you "braving the surf" today? Give some considerable thought to the day ahead. . . find the calm . . .take a deep breath. . . and go for it!
In today's hectic and fast-paced way of life, wouldn't you agree that it sure is easy to become overwhelmed? Let’s face it—most of us are trying to squeeze in something in our lives.
For those of us in the military we are usually juggling our normal family commitments on top of all the military ones, and very often filling in the gap left by a deployed spouse. Most experts will tell us that the best thing we can do for ourselves and everyone around us is to just slow down! Sounds simple, right? Ha! It’s not unlike the experience of having a big wave completely engulf you while playing in the surf at the beach.
When I was a young girl living in San Diego, I learned by trial and error to float in the calm water beyond the breakers and body surf on Southern California beaches. But getting to the calm water on the other side of the waves was tricky part! Surfing skill comes first from watching and understanding a wave as it breaks, so you are able to position yourself in the perfect spot to catch the wave or dodge it - whatever the case may be. After endless weekends, with hours and hours of observation and treacherous practice, I began to understand the power of the ocean. After many years, I found a rhythm. Not going against it – but working with the wave– it all became so much less overwhelming!
The dictionary defines “overwhelm” as “to become overwhelmed by a superior force.” Without a doubt, the point at which we become so overwhelmed by the heavy demands of life that we want to scream, cry with frustration or give up, comes from the buildup of pressure. How do we reduce this anxiety level? With a few simple steps:
Step One - Slow Down
This is the most important step of all. When stress crashes down on you like a wave, walk away from it to a place of safety, get your breath and assess the situation. Just getting out of the water can quickly calm you down and help you to get your thoughts in order so that you can start fresh. Away from the beach? Take a walk, meditate, or simply shut your door for a few minutes and listen to soothing music. At work? Sit in your car and do the same thing.
log on again in a few days (while I think about what to write) to read the next installment
14th of February. He was probably martyred on that date, but nothing else is known of him. (A Valentine, priest of Rome, and a Valentine, bishop of Ternia (Interamna), are both commemorated on 14 February, and now generally assumed to be the same person.) In many parts of Europe, it was once said that birds began to pair off for the nesting season in mid-February. Since our forebears often spoke of a given day by naming a saint connected with it rather than by giving the month and the number of the day, we find them saying that birds choose their mates on St. Valentine's day.Beloved, the goal of our lives, believe it or not is to burn! Yes, burn, you heard me! Now I know that’s kind of weird because the preacher is supposed to teach you how “not” to burn. What I’m getting at is that we want to be “burning” with the fire of the Holy Spirit, but not be consumed in the process!
Resistance is what causes the heat to overwhelm us. Like the little electronic component of the same name, resistance brings overheating and “consumption;” …a “burned out circuit.” That’s what we don’t want. But if we’ll give ourselves to Him, without reservation, we’ll instead be like the three Hebrews who gave themselves to God in the face of evil Nebuchadnezzar, and were thrown into the fiery furnace for it. They so completely trusted God in obedience and utter submission, that instead of a place of pain and torment, the furnace became a comfort to them! They became like that bush, “burning, but not consumed.”
This is the reality of our calling. We have been called to receive Christ into our hearts, minds, souls, and into every aspect of or very being, and to actually “participate” in His divine life. Doing that as we pray, worship, and partake of the sacraments ignites a flame in us that burns so brightly that it actually begins to show on our faces, and unlike Moses, nothing can extinguish it. It will not fade away! In fact nothing can obscure it. Nor does He want us to obscure it, but rather wants us to let it shine to all those around us. We’re not to hide it under a bushel basket, but are to be as a shining city on a hillside, much like that burning bush, so that all who pass by, who turn aside to see this great thing, will come into contact with God Himself in us, and hopefully begin to see the possibility of they themselves being transformed as well!
(Part of a message from Fr. Philip last August)
I read an article recently that explored how family traditions cultivate the connection between immediate family members and between generations. It talked about the “we always" of families, like "we always make Spaghetti on Valentines Day" or "we always have games and popcorn on Saturday night." Because such traditions have special meaning to the family unit, they create feelings of warmth and closeness. 
By spending time together in a fun and special setting, family members grow closer.
The gaggle got together last Saturday night for a big spaghetti dinner at John & Rondi’s house (which for those of you who may not know is directly behind our house. We share the same back fence as you can see in the picture. . . our deck looking at John & Rondi's house) 13 of us all-together: Jesse & Elina, Misha, Elijjah, Gami & Grandpa, Papa & Mimi, Rondi & Karis, and just-arrived-back-from-a-two-and-a-half-month-vacation, Stephanie, Gabriel & Michael (who live in the same neighborhood a block away). In a few short months the family will be complete when daddy's Johnny and Brad come back home from Afghanistan. As the family has moved close to each other for the first time in many years, we are looking forward to establishing “we always” traditions of our own; traditions and practices that we repeat regularly with the intention of encouraging feelings of deep happiness and family unity. These will be more than run of the mill routines - everyday activities that require no special behavior and involve little emotion - I’m talking about the kind of traditions that are handed down from one generation to the next and that cultivate feelings of emotional closeness because the family isn’t neglecting one another.
Do you think it’s even possible to have too many family traditions? Is it possible to say “too often we do this or that?” I don’t really think so! But I guess if there were too many traditions it could water down the importance of each one; although, I think I might like to tackle such a problem as “You know those Pelikans? They have TOO MANY FAMILY TRADITIONS!” Ha!
I know that establishing new traditions will take preparation and effort, but I’m so glad to even have the opportunity of being able to try it. I’m especially interested in “Orthodox” family traditions that bring our family closer to God.
Please share some of your favorite family traditions with me in the comment box. I look forward to writing more about them in the near future.
I recieved this in an email from Maureen today, and it did exactly what it was supposed to - it put a smile on my face! Hope it does the same for you.
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Since my husband's ordination, I'm having a difficult time finding words to express my feelings. Until I find words again, (at least for today) I offer these lyrics instead.
Can't Take It In (From Chronicles of Narnia)
"Can't close my eyes
I'm wide awake
Every hair on my body
Has got a thing for this place
Oh, empty my heart
I've got to make room for this feeling
It's so much bigger than me
[Chorus:]It couldn't be anymore beautiful
I can't take it in
Weightless in love...unraveling
For all that's to come
And all that's ever been
We're back to the board
With every shade under the sun
Let's make it a good one
[Chorus:]It couldn't be anymore beautiful
It couldn't be anymore beautiful
I can't take it in
Laaaaaaaa . . . ohhhhhhh I can't take it in
Laaaaaaaaa. . . ohhhhhh I can't take it in
Woahhhhhhh . . . It couldn't be anymore beautiful
It couldn't be anymore beautiful
I can't take it in
More that I wonder . . . More than I ever needed
Woahhhhhh . . . More that I wonder . . . Oooooohhhhhh
Hello Everyone!
I'm glad you've logged onto my blog to check on the Pelikans and all that's been going on in our lives lately.
Jesse, Elina, Misha, Elijah, Gami & Grandpa caravaned across the country together and arrived on Sunday evening, January 20th. The Jesse Pelikan family has settled in nicely with Rondi and Karis, where they will be living for the next few months. There is a lovely house very near us that is coming availiable to rent this summer, so Jesse and Elina are holding out for that one to be their new home. Gami & Grandpa stayed with us for the first week, while they sorted through their household goods, mail, bought food, etc. and then moved into their new home a few miles from us all. They even watched Sherman, Libby and Yuki for us while the entire gaggle of Pelikans (minus Johnny, sadly) made our way down to Florida for "Papa's" Ordination. We were joined by Jim, Tina and Matt Cuthbertson, as well as Archbishop Doug, Pam and Mary Elizabeth Woodall.
Fr Nicholas, our priest from All Saint's Orthodox Church in Raliegh, is wonderful and he took
very good care of (the now) Fr. Philip. He is a gentle and wise man, and we love him and Kh. Barbara dearly.
Below is my entry from yesterday - a slide show of the ordination! I have even figured out how to have music playing while you peruse. (or with just a click you can turn it off)
To read Fr Philip's thoughts: http://frphil.blogspot.com/
This particular blog is to share with you that this past Sunday, January 13th, was a very significant day in our lives. Philip became Deacon Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Virginia. He will be ordained to the Priesthood on the 27th of this month ... this was the most significant step toward the completion of that dream.
begin.
knelt before the Bishop and had hands laid upon him to be made a subdeacon. His first duty was to wash the Bishop's hands and have the towel of service placed upon his head which the Bishop had just used to dry his own hands.
and towel ... only to return to his place, now before the icon of the Theotokos (Mary) where he continued his motionless stance for what he says "felt like another hour."
(the little area just in front of the center doors). 
