Baby James is turning 9!

I am really excited because tonight I am picking up Nita and James from the airport. They are coming to town to meet baby Gus and to attend Elin and Hans' wedding. James was my first nephew and I adore him. I cannot believe he is about to turn 9!! He was born while I was a missionary but because I served on Temple Square, I was able to meet him! I didn't appreciated enough what Nita did by coming to Salt Lake 4 days after he was born until I experienced labour and delivery! She was so selfless and kind to trek out and let me meet him. Both my parents were in town and I remember seeing my mom on the square and getting a big hug and us both crying. And then having to go inside the empty theater in the North Visitor's center before I could hold James, as it was against mission rules for us to hold babies (except in this type of circumstance:). Here are some of my favourite pictures of James from a few years back when he, Finny and I had a little date at A&W.

Tapestry

Listened to a fantastic podcast on CBC's "Tapestry" today while I was folding laundry. It is an interview with Richard Holloway, the former Bishop of Edinburgh. I really liked his insight into how cruel our obsession with revealing the sins of celebrities and politicians is. The entire discussion, however, is based around exploring the idea of what it means to be human.

I really like what he has to say about both extreme ends of theists and atheists as not recognizing how little is actually KNOWN on the subject they debate over. His plea for humility and understanding is inspiring.

Baby Gus Gus joins our family!!

I haven't posted in a very long time but wanted a place to record my memories and experiences as a new mother. On the first day of spring this year, we welcomed our amazing baby boy, Augustus Greene Kenley, into the world. He was so excited to meet us that he came all on his own exactly two weeks ahead of schedule. His first name comes from the character, Gus McCrae, in Lonesome Dove which is one of Calvin's favourite books and mini-series of ALL time! His middle name was my Grandpa Harker's middle name and my grandpa's mum's maiden name. And Kenley is pretty obvious. What is noteworthy though is that Gus is Chuck and Carol's first grandchild to carry on the Kenley name! So he is to be commended on that. Here is a photo that my mom took of him while she was visiting and helping us all get adjusted in the first few weeks of his life.

Been a long time!

Calvin and I have both been loving this song from Bat For Lashes: We listened to it as we road tripped to Washington State this past Christmas and then listened to it some more as we road tripped home since Lindsay made me a mix tape that included it!

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Calvin suggested I read this book because I was complaining about what a tough time I was having getting through "Crime and Punishment". It was the perfect "palette cleanser" of a book in between some heavy reads. It is light and quick and poetic. The book was authored by a man completely paralyzed who had learned to communicate by blinking his eye. He wrote the memoir with assistance by blinking each letter to form each word and sentence.

One of the strangest things about the copy of the book I have is that it is second hand and full of pencil notes in the margins. The notes are banal and inane. After a paragraph describing how torturous Sundays are to him in the hospital, she writes "Sun- no one comes to read him books." The scribbler writes down the most obvious insights. The scribbler also censored three words. The sentence "She bit nurses, seized male orderlies by their genitals" had the last three words furiously penciled out.

Loved the book.

The Arbinger Institute

So my friend Jessee told me about the Arbinger Institute (a consulting firm) and I was so impressed with this video that I found on their website:



So on Saturday morning I went to the library and checked out their book "Leadership and Self Deception". It was so insightful and I can't think of another book I would recommend more right now.

Reading Goal 01/2012

I finished the Quiet American

and The Great Divorce

Enjoyed both books. Both were very quick and easy reads but have deep messages that require reflection. I liked Greene's ability to show the complexity of war, the complexity of the human experience. I liked Lewis' allegory for the after life.