Morning in Paradise...

Morning in Paradise...  We “slept in” until 3 am this morning – Mo'i didn't wake us up (first time in weeks), and we weren't worried about little Maka Lea, as he looked great last night.  So we got up and checked on Mo'i, and took him for a walk – and to my surprise, his behavior was back to his pre-urination-problems norm.  I don't know if it was an anomaly from this morning, or if it's the new normal ... but I sure hope it's the latter, as we'll get some more sleep.  We also checked on Maka Lea, and he's looking great – all the symptoms that so worried us earlier this week are gone, with no indication that they're coming back.  We have no idea why.  That's ok.

The weather outside this morning was spring-like: 52°F, downright balmy.  We're supposed to get some rain today, too.  It's hard to believe it's winter.

Debbie and I are doing something very unusual for us today: we're attending the baptism of Nicolas (Nic) L., one of our neighbor's kids.  It's going to be held at the Hyrum Stake Center, just a few miles from our house.  Afterwards we'll be going to a celebratory lunch at our neighbor's home, which is just a few hundred feet from ours.  These folks (like nearly everyone around here) were very welcoming and helpful to me when I first moved in and started remodeling our new home.  Their kids play in our “pine forest”, and we often hear them as they tear around their yard (and ours!) yelling, screaming, and having a grand time.  Nic is probably the quietest kid of the bunch, but he's got a smile that just doesn't quit, and he employs it often.  This will be an interesting experience for us, the first LDS function we'll see in person.  I've been told by another neighbor that I should expect to encounter some well-meaning Mormons looking for a “missionary moment” – a chance to get us committed to listening to an LDS pitch.  I was also told to expect that upon moving into the neighborhood, but I managed to defuse all of that by having a frank conversation (about my disinterest) anytime someone wandered close to the topic.  In general, the Mormons I've met and come to know are far too polite to impose when it's clear there's no interest – unlike some very persistent members of other faiths that I've encountered over the years (yes, Jehovah's Witnesses, I'm looking at you)...