"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

- Paulo Coelho

more shots from boston

hanging out with the cousins

hanging out with the old canine.

My weakness. There are no dunkin donuts on the west coast. People are too pompous to eat donuts. Our loss.

You just gained 2 pounds looking at these donuts.

Haggling to delay her bedtime. Her cousins taught her the phrase, "just 5 more minutes." Grrr.

boston acquarium

Madison working hard at finding nemo.

Madison was bothered by the fact that seals eat cute fish.

She made friends with a turtle.

She was into the starfish.

This stingray and blowfish hung out together the whole time. They were the only fish to swim clockwise. I was told the stingray's popularity took a dive after the steve irwin incident. The blowfish's stock was never high to begin with.

Why do they all swim counter-clockwise?

day trip to downtown boston

On our first full day in Boston, it was bitterly cold. This was going to be Madison's first time on a train. Ok, it was only the metro. Here is what we saw as we awaited the train to take us downtown.




Catching a transfer in downtown boston.

The sights and sounds of the metro were exhilirating.

travels with madison, day 1

Maddy's been wanting to visit her cousins on the east coast. Budget-wise, that meant we had to take a divide and conquer approach.

Brenda and Scotty held up the fort in LA.

Maddy and I jetblued it to boston on day 1.

my utmost for his highest, sept 19

"The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow- but only a voice saying, "Follow Me."

-oswald chambers

genesis 28:16

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it."

travels on the east coast

Boston. New York. These places are so un-LA, and so refreshing to my spirit. Standby for some photos when we get home. I pulled these pictures off the web - 'snapshots', if you will, of some sights we saw.




Madison's first train ride was on the Boston metro.








John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
Sobering.
And inspiring.





The Charles River.
I wanted to run the banks. It was 15 degrees. I couldn't bring myself to do it and wussed out.




the big apple. This city has a groove all it's own.









I went to a conference.

Dr King's last sermon, the night before his assassination

"Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator — that something we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. Every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning.
If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards, that's not important. Tell him not to mention where I went to school.

I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness."

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

a place for everything, and everything in it's place.

Madison enjoys arranging things. Here she has carefully set up her Pooh guys to watch over her as she sleeps.

It took her about 7 minutes to get the characters and blocks just so.

She also enjoys arranging the fridge magnets.

Some more orderings...

Something about the way she hung these purses sums up Maddy in a nutshell. I can't explain why, but this picture is all Madison.

And here she is getting her ducks in a row.

tour de school track.

During halftime of the Giants/Eagles game, Madison and I went to the nearby track to put her tricycling skills to the test.

It wasn't easy pedalling in the dirt, but the little one was a trooper.

When she tired of pedalling, she went to tricycling freddy flintstone style.

Then she went to what she loves, which is running.

She always laughs when she runs.

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'"

- Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian and Sub-2:12 marathoner

happy new year