Things in Central Park

An adorable couple smooching on a park bench.

Gwyneth Paltrow's tribute to her father on another park bench. It perfectly describes how our family feels about Joey.

Mellow dogs in Obedience School. Very chill, boys.

A cheerful baby blue horse and carriage.

An almost secret path running under an arch made of tree boughs. Cozy.

What an amazing place!

A Cosmopolitan, New York Style

Tavern on the Green

More gorgeous chandeliers.
They were everywhere!

In the dining room.
The ceiling looks like a wedding cake.
The plasterwork is intricate and this picture doesn't do it justice.

Joe and the pink Cosmopolitan...Yum!

Cheers to you, my wonderful hubby!

May I take your order sir?

Yes, I'll take the indescribably delicious lettuce wedge with creamy garlic-y Maytag Blue Cheese dressing, croutons and cucumber spirals. Oh so, so, so deliciously delectable!

Me and King Kong at Tavern on the Green

Central Park.

Lush greenery and welcoming sanctuary from the noisy city.

I love these cobblestones.

Maui slippers, the only comfortable way to sight-see for miles.

A King Kong topiary in the park next to my new favorite spot: Tavern on the Green.
This place is a feast for the senses. Not only is the food scrumptious, the decor is a rainbow of visual delights.

Look at this gorgeous door.

Oh, the brickwork, the potted flowers, the ivy and the slate roof! Delightful!

Multi-colored Japanese lanterns hang in all the trees.

This is my new favorite place to be seen eating in NYC!

The fountain in the garden at the entrance to Tavern on the Green.

They have the most beautiful glass here... just one of dozens of chandeliers.

Hall of mirrors and beautiful lights.

Magnificent!

Coming next: the Cosmopolitan that put me in the best mood!

The World Famous Carnegie Deli

Across the street from Carnegie Hall, this deli is the ultimate NY deli. It's packed with people craving mile high piles of meat.

Of course, I'm drawn to the gorgeous dessert case.

Just one sandwich here, believe it or not! We had a Reuben with so much delicious sauer kraut, it would make Chase and Sean salivate uncontrollably!

Carnegie Deli Close-up!

It's Up to You, New York, New York

Our very lovely and luxurious room at The Michelangelo. The recession made this all possible. Room rates have plummeted in NYC.

Check out the tv in the bathroom--also a great big wide soaking tub. Joe's in hot tub heaven.

The lobby..very grand and gorgeous...very velvet and marble. Doormen in red suits and caps. Security guards in 3-piece suits. Next door to Broadway and Rockefeller Center.

Don't you just want to cozy down with a glass of wine and chat?

From here to the Carnegie Deli for lunch and then the Top of the Rock to see the city.

Surviving a Storm

I saw this poem on a wonderful creative blog called Artsyville.

It spoke to me. It gave me hope.

I can't see the way out right now, but our friends have been sparks of sunshine as we try to reassemble our scattered lives.

Thank you one and all for every lovely word, every act of generosity, every kindness to us.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:22

A Maui Gathering in Honor of Joey

Thank you Maui Friends
We Love All You Beautiful People So Much.


Bill hugs Maisha who just lost her own dear daddy...we miss you Beloved Kit.

Flowers laid at "Joey's Wall"

A Circle of Love

We are so blessed by you all.

Thank you for taking time out of your own lives to comfort us. Thank you for remembering us and our son. We miss you all so much. You are unbelievably wonderful to do this for us and we will never forget the love you have poured on us over and over again.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. I John 4:7

Joey's Guitar with Leis

Steve and Elis sent this canvas to us for Joey's anniversary. It is a giclee they had made from a picture Elis took at Joey's Memorial service in Maui last year. Our Hope Chapel Hula Halau danced to "Jesus Bring the Rain". As each graceful dancer finished, she laid her lei over Joey's Martin guitar.

It was an absolutely beautiful moment, and now it is memorialized here in this canvas which will hang in our new home here in Virginia. It is fitting because Steve and Joey played guitar together and shared in common a love of music. Thank you Steve and Elis. We love you and miss you and are so touched by this beautiful memorial to our son.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

We Remember You

A memorial stone under a tree in JoAnne's backyard.

John 6:39-40 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

"In Blackwater Woods" ~ A Poem

Look, the trees

are turning

their own bodies

into pillars

of light,

are giving off the rich

fragrance of cinnamon

and fulfillment,

the long tapers

of cattails

are bursting and floating away over

the blue shoulders

of the ponds,

and every pond,

no matter what its

name is, is



nameless now.

Every year

everything

I have ever learned



in my lifetime

leads back to this: the fires

and the black river of loss

whose other side



is salvation,

whose meaning

none of us will ever know.

To live in this world



you must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it



against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.



“In Blackwater Woods” by Mary Oliver, from American Primitive. © Back Bay Books, 1983.

Coldplay Concert in Honor of Joey

Viva La Vida

"For some reason I can't explain
I know St. Peter will call my name. "

Rachel, Jaime, JoAnne, Stephanie, me, and Joe before the concert. Joey loved music, promoted music, made music. He also loved all of us. This was Jaime's great idea-- to honor Joey by attending a concert given by a group he liked. Coldplay was at the Virginia Beach Amphitheatre last night. Perfect.

Yellow

"Look at the stars,

Look how they shine for you,

And everything you do,

Yeah, they were all yellow.

I came along,

I wrote a song for you,

And all the things you do,

And it was called yellow."

Chris Martin and the band.

We love you Joey. We miss you. Viva la vida.

John 10:10
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Heaven is Our Hope

This is the third book that has helped me over the last year, and it has provided another essential type of comfort. The previous two books validated my pain and hurt. They have been my compassionate companions, guides that have led me carefully through a rocky field littered with hidden land mines. Those two books tell me secrets known only by those who've travelled the road. This one, Heaven, has helped me to stop on the way, to look up, and to see the stars shining over my head. It has given me hope that there is something good beyond heartbreak and loss.

I never gave much thought to Heaven before Joey went. I don't know why. I was so busy with this life that I thought very little about the next. But when my son left, it took on urgent importance. Where was he? What was he doing? Did he miss us? Did he have regrets? Was he okay?

I immediately began searching my Bible for answers. I found, that though the Bible gives very little concrete description of Heaven, it never, never stops talking about eternal life. It simply promises us that it will be more than we can imagine. It finally dawned on me that Heaven is what we have here, every good and glorious thing, love and truth and beauty, without the evil, pain and suffering--- and it goes on forever. And that's just the best news.

Jesus' promise that my son would be with Him in Paradise tells me that Joey is flourishing, and that helps me beyond anything else. Randy Alcorn sees it the same way, and in this book he gives us the details. It's comforting and it's exciting, and there will be a day of reunion. That's a great source of hope that helps me see past the pain.

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.