Hot Topic: Octuplets

By now I'm sure everyone has heard of the mother who recently gave birth to octuplets. As you also probably know, she already had 6 children, two of whom had special needs (autism).

Saturday afternoon I watched a "Dateline" program interviewing this woman. I have to say, I think the general public is being a little hard on this woman. I have a hard time judging a person I've never met. That being said - I'm way too aware of the limits of my sanity to have eight children at once (much less 14 total).

This mother claims that the only help they've accepted from the government is approximately $400 a month in food stamps, and that that help is only temporary. She plans to support her children herself after she graduates from school and becomes a counselor. (Except who will watch the children while she works? Her parents? Can she afford childcare for that many kids?)

What are your feelings? Thoughts? Or is this topic really just lukewarm?

Hunter Speaks!

For the past year, we've been waiting for Hunter to have his "language explosion." He's been saying "Mommy" and "Guggy" (Daddy) for a long time, plus a few scattered words here and there. But in the past two weeks we've compiled the following list of words and phrases that Hunter can say:

kitty
baby
duck
bye bye
OK
uh-oh
coat
hungry
car
bottle
thank you
binky
dance (and he shows you how!)
all right
eat
night night
love you
wow!
meow (this also means cat)
shoe
hug
baby
amen
no-no-no (with accompanying shake of the head)
Mickey
A-Na (Helena)
Pooh
Ga-ga
more please
Yee-haw!
Pa-pa
hat

We're relieved. We've always known Hunter had a lot to say!

Christmas Tag

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, always. Occasionally tasty with peppermint or raspberry flavoring, always better with whipped cream. The best I've ever had was the kind Grandma made in a saucepan on the stove with actual cocoa powder and whole milk. Mmmm.

2. Wrap presents or bag them? I do both. It depends on the shape of the gift.

3. Colored lights or white? We have white lights on our tree and colored lights outside. I like both, but I'm still on the fence about the new LED lights - their colors seem a little vibrant.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but not for any real reason. Where would I get mistletoe, anyway?

5. When do you decorate? Usually right after Thanksgiving. The day after is best because Dan's home from work to drag everything upstairs.

6. Favorite holiday dish? This is tough...I like plum pudding, but miss Grandma's candies. I make pepperkakor cookies (which are a kind of Swedish ginger cookie), and they're a decent stand-in.

7. When and how did you learn about Santa? No idea. I'm sure that Andrea probably told me - or maybe it was Jen?

8. How do you decorate your tree? When we were first married, we used the "purple" theme leftover from our wedding reception. Now we have enough unique ornaments that it's a more eclectic, non-themed tree. It's more special this way.

9. Snow - love it or dread it? I love it in the abstract, and from underneath several blankets on the couch, but dread it the rest of the time. It is such a mess, it gets everything wet, and there is NOTHING worse than stepping in an unexpected cold puddle.

10. Can you ice skate? Yes. Not very well, which is too bad considering the lessons I took with my friend Renee. I even had professionally made skates, which (2 babies and a few pounds later) are now too small. Some of it has to do with my gimpy feet.

11. Do you remember your favorite gift? I think the most memorable gift I received was the Samantha doll I got when I was about 9 years old. (She's one of the American Girl dolls, and is being retired this year.)

12. What is the most important part of the holidays? Remembering - and acting like - the Savior.

13. Favorite holiday dessert? See above.

14. Favorite memory? I loved Christmas with Andrea when we were little. I liked that we always had a fire in the fireplace. It was also one of the few times during the year that I'd usually see Uncle Fuzz. Looking back, I remember Uncle Elwood calling me "Betsy" and giving me $5, and then he'd tell me to go to McDonald's with it.

15. Do you have a special ornament? Well, I have lots of them for my kids, and they mean a lot to me. There was one that Merilee Otto gave us when we were married with our names on it...that was sweet, too.

16. What do you do on Christmas Eve? As Andrea mentioned, we usually go to my Mom's house and do a big Mexican dinner. To celebrate our Northern European heritage. It is universally tasty.

17. If you could have anything for Christmas what would it be? All of my family and friends here at the same time.

18. What do you do for your friends/neighbors for Christmas? It's usually an assortment of cookies. Once in a while I will put in an extra - an ornament, towels, etc. I know, time to get off the Creativity Train!

I tag...umm...well, if you haven't done this yet, then post now!

Tag 8!

Thanks Nikki!

I hereby tag anyone interested in completing a blog without having to think up a snazzy topic.

8 TV Shows I Watch:
1. The Office
2. Jon and Kate Plus 8
3. The Duggars (17 and Counting!)
4. Half Ton Dad
5. Half Ton Mom
6. Everest (a seasonal program...it's not on right now)
7. Supernanny
8. WZZM13 - for the weather

(Sorry, I don't watch much TV - and mostly I'm just dedicated to "The Office".)

8 Things That Happened Yesterday
1. I took Helena to preschool.
2. We had family home evening.
3. I made grilled cheese sandwiches and applesauce muffins.
4. I wrote out some notes to my visiting teachees.
5. I sent out umpteen emails
6. I stayed home and played with Hunter while Dan took Helena to gymnastics.
7. Helena and I read chapter 2 of "Kirsten Learns a Lesson"
8. I walked on the treadmill and sang at the same time. (Yep, I was strolling, more than walking.)

8 Favorite Places to Eat
1. The Hearthstone
2. Chili's
3. Main Street Pub and Eatery
4. Brooklyn Bagel
5. Los Hermanos (too bad it's in Provo, UT)
6. Sunshine Seasons (too bad it's in Epcot)
7. G & L - when my digestive system's feeling optimistic
8. Olive Garden - I guess. Depends on the service. Salad's wicked good.

8 Things to Look Forward To
1. Christmas
2. Disney World
3. Thanksgiving
4. My children becoming adults...
5. My children being kids
6. Helena's preschool party tomorrow
7. Being old enough to not care two pennies how my hair looks
8. Singing in the shower tomorrow morning

8 Things on My Wish List
1. A DVC membership
2. Single-digit pants
3. Raspberry cheesecake - which doesn't help number 2
4. a mission when Dan and I are Oldies But Goodies
5. the opportunity to do some family history work
6. a lengthy visit to Europe
7. to share the joy!
8. warm feet

Not so exciting, but done!

Helena asked Dan and I, out of the clear blue sky, if we'd voted for "The Rock Obama." We responded that no, we hadn't, but how did she know who that was? She said "The Rock Obama is going to be our next president. We talked about it at school." Hey, a preschool that teaches current events? Very forward curriculum, no? It was hilarious the way she kept pronouncing the poor man's name!

Later that day we were asked to put in only "cool, snazzy music, not boring stuff."

Whew!

Cooling Off

No, I don't mean the weather, although check it out - winter is here, in a very nasty and not-too-picturesque way. Forget about soft blankets of snow - try hideously wet leaves clogging every possible grate, sleet and hail in the same day, and cold soaking through to your bones.

I titled this post "Cooling Off" because I've noticed my blog has been politically-focused for the last few weeks, probably because of the election and the attention to politics that naturally engenders.

So here are a few utterly random and hopefully amusing pictures!


Probably the most creative thing I've ever done (outside of bear children): Followed directions not quite exactly, but close enough. Very time-consuming. Happy 2nd Birthday Helena!



We've made good use of our Kelty backpack. Usually we head out to the state park and walk on the cross-country ski trails. Note that the kids are wrapped in blankets or other winter gear. Why don't we just wait until it's warmer???




These photos are recent; probably from a couple of weeks ago. The kids LOVE to play in the leaves. We also have some cute video from this day, but I was shaking like a drunken sailor, so it's not so fun to watch.



Maybe these photos belong on the other blog - I don't know. This picture was taken at the Restaurant Akershus in Epcot's Norway pavilion. One is from 2005, when Helena was almost 1 1/2 years old. The other was taken in Feb. 2008, shortly before she turned 4. Notice, if you will, the change in attitude. (Holly's already seen these but they're worth a look and a laugh.)

SO - There you go! No politics here!

Blogs of Note

Here are just a few that I enjoy and look at every so often:

Crockpot 365

Filling Your Ark

Kinghorn's Called to Serve

The Simple Dollar


Enjoy!

Primary Program and Young Women in Excellence

Today was our ward Primary Program. The kids (and their leaders!) did a wonderful job. It was a shame that we couldn't videotape it today...too many cute moments to describe. Let me just say that Helena has not one WHIT of shyness in her. She grabbed that mike and took charge! There was also some beautiful "interpretive dancing" going on with Jaleigh and Helena, and lots of "hiding behind the stand" games with Emma, Jaleigh, and Helena.

My heart was bursting, so full of pride and love and amazement that four years of my daughter's life have passed so quickly.

Then tonight we had our YWIE program, my first as YW president. I worried, of course, but for no reason: the girls sang better than they ever have, the Spirit was poured out on everyone, and my counselors and co-leaders lightened my burden in ways that can't be described. Some of the girls who I was convinced would not come showed up. I asked my mom and another good friend in the ward to create flower centerpieces and corsages out of fresh flowers, and they were absolutely lovely. I was so proud of the girls! How do they not get nervous? They are so talented! I love them!

The worst part was that I kept wanting to cry, both from the Spirit and just from being a little emotional, but because I had to play several songs on the piano I knew I couldn't see if I cried. I managed to hold it in until the last hymn, "I Believe in Christ," which (fortunately) I know pretty well.

All in all, a very good Sabbath Day.

Proposition 8 and President Monson

At 2pm this afternoon (Pacific time), a press conference was held at the LDS Temple in Los Angeles, where a protest had been organized by opponents of CA Proposition 8. To the media present, the woman speaking (Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center) made the following announcement:

Today we have decided to include the President of the Mormon Church in a campaign that is more productive for our community. We are going to raise money to support the effort to repeal Proposition 8, and we are encouraging people to make donations on our new website: www.invalidateprop8.org. For every donor who makes a donation, a postcard in the name of that donor will be sent to Pres. Thomas Monson of the LDS Church, and I want to read what it says:

“Dear President Monson:

A donation has been made in your name by _________________ to “invalidateprop8.org” to overturn California’s Proposition 8 and restore fundamental civil rights to all citizens of California. The money will be donated to legal organizations fighting the case and to support grass-roots activities in support of full marriage equality. Although we decry the reprehensible role the Church of Latter Day Saints [sic] leadership played in denying all Californians equal rights under the law, we are pleased a donation has been made on your behalf in the effort to overturn the discrimination your church members helped enshrine in the California Constitution. Given that throughout its history the Mormon Church has been subjected to bigotry, we hope you appreciate the donation in your name to fight religious bigotry here in California.

*For the record: I do support Prop 8, although I'm not a citizen of California. I think an attack on the Church will do nothing to change the LDS Church's position on gay marriage. Showing disrespect for LDS temples, as sacred structures, is uncalled for. If the voters of California support another ballot initiative then that is fine - but I think all sides should accept the result of that vote. It's much better for voters to decide such an important question than for four judges to make that determination. Additionally, I want everyone to know of my love and respect for my many homosexual friends. At this time California gives the same legal rights to same-sex couples as it does to heterosexual couples, with the exclusion of the word "marriage" to describe lasting relationships.

"Small Doses of Socialism"

Dwight Eisenhower's Secretary of Agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson met with USSR's Nikita Khrushchev and related:

“I have talked face to face with the godless communist leaders. It may surprise you to learn that I was host to Mr. Khrushchev for a half day when he visited the United States, not that I’m proud of it. I opposed his coming then, and I still feel it was a mistake to welcome this atheistic murderer as a state visitor. But, according to President Eisenhower, Khrushchev had expressed a desire to learn something of American Agriculture — and after seeing Russian agriculture I can understand why. As we talked face to face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his and all other grandchildren will live under freedom he arrogantly declared in substance:

“ ‘You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like overripe fruit into our hands.’

“And they’re ahead of schedule in their devilish scheme.” (Ezra Taft Benson “Our Immediate Responsibility.” Devotional Address at Brigham Young University. circa 1968.”)

VOTE!

Whether you think your vote matters or not, VOTE.

Even if you believe the race is won, VOTE.

Make the drive, wait in the line - VOTE.

Female suffragettes died so women could - VOTE.

You are an American citizen and you must VOTE.

Follow your conscience and VOTE.

Happy Election Day!

The Truth About the Mortgage Crisis

From www.rushlimbaugh.com:

(Note: Orson Scott Card is an LDS Democrat and author of many best-selling books.)

RUSH: Now, I mentioned in the previous hour a piece that I saw yesterday by Orson Scott Card. Now, this was originally published in the Rhinoceros Times of Greensboro, North Carolina, but now it has spread throughout the Internet. I looked him up on the Internet. He is a Democrat. The editor's note here says, "Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and newspaper columnist." He is a full-fledged Democrat. He is pro-gun control. He thinks that the Republican Party in the South is still very racist. But this piece... It's nothing you haven't heard before on this program. It's about the mortgage crisis, but Mr. Card here takes a shot at the media.

"Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights? -- An open letter to the local daily paper -- almost every local daily paper in America: I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know. This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration. It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans. What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.

"The goal of this rule change was to help the poor -- which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house -- along with their credit rating. They end up worse off than before. This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them. Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans.

"(Though why quasi-federal agencies were allowed to do so baffles me. It's as if the Pentagon were allowed to contribute to the political campaigns of Congressmen who support increasing their budget.) Isn't there a story here? Doesn't journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefiting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending? I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you would be treating it as a vast scandal. 'Housing-gate,' no doubt. Or 'Fannie-gate.'

"Instead, it was Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting sub-prime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed. As Thomas Sowell points out in a TownHall.com essay ... 'Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President. So did Bush's Secretary of the Treasury.' These are facts. This financial crisis was completely preventable. The party that blocked any attempt to prevent it was the Democratic Party.

"The party that tried to prevent it was the Republican Party. Yet when Nancy Pelosi accused the Bush administration and Republican deregulation of causing the crisis, you in the press did not hold her to account for her lie. Instead, you criticized Republicans who took offense at this lie and refused to vote for the bailout! What? It's not the liar, but the victims of the lie who are to blame? Now let's follow the money right to the presidential candidate who is the number-two recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae. And after Freddie Raines, the CEO of Fannie Mae who made $90 million while running it into the ground, was fired for his incompetence, one presidential candidate's campaign actually consulted him for advice on housing.

"If that presidential candidate had been John McCain, you would have called it a major scandal and we would be getting stories in your paper every day about how incompetent and corrupt he was. But instead, that candidate was Barack Obama, and so you have buried this story, and when the McCain campaign dared to call Raines an 'adviser' to the Obama campaign -- because that campaign had sought his advice -- you actually let Obama's people get away with accusing McCain of lying, merely because Raines wasn't listed as an official adviser to the Obama campaign. You would never tolerate such weasely nit-picking from a Republican. If you who produce our local daily paper actually had any principles, you would be pounding this story, because the prosperity of all Americans was put at risk by the foolish, short-sighted, politically selfish, and possibly corrupt actions of leading Democrats, including Obama.

"If you who produce our local daily paper had any personal honor, you would find it unbearable to let the American people believe that somehow Republicans were to blame for this crisis. There are precedents. Even though President Bush and his administration never said that Iraq sponsored or was linked to 9/11, you could not stand the fact that Americans had that misapprehension -- so you pounded us with the fact that there was no such link. (Along the way, you created the false impression that Bush had lied to them and said that there was a connection.) If you had any principles, then surely right now, when the American people are set to blame President Bush and John McCain for a crisis they tried to prevent, and are actually shifting to approve of Barack Obama because of a crisis he helped cause, you would be laboring at least as hard to correct that false impression.

"Your job, as journalists, is to tell the truth. That's what you claim you do, when you accept people's money to buy or subscribe to your paper. But right now, you are consenting to or actively promoting a big fat lie -- that the housing crisis should somehow be blamed on Bush, McCain, and the Republicans. You have trained the American people to blame everything bad -- even bad weather -- on Bush, and they are responding as you have taught them to. If you had any personal honor, each reporter and editor would be insisting on telling the truth -- even if it hurts the election chances of your favorite candidate. Because that's what honorable people do. Honest people tell the truth even when they don't like the probable consequences. That's what honesty means. That's how trust is earned.

"Barack Obama is just another politician, and not a very wise one. He has revealed his ignorance and naivete time after time -- and you have swept it under the rug, treated it as nothing. Meanwhile, you have participated in the borking of Sarah Palin, reporting savage attacks on her for the pregnancy of her unmarried daughter -- while you ignored the story of John Edwards's own adultery for many months. So I ask you now: Do you have any standards at all," in journalism, left? "Do you even know what honesty means? Is getting people to vote for Barack Obama so important that you will throw away everything that journalism is supposed to stand for? You might want to remember the way the National Organization of Women threw away their integrity by supporting Bill Clinton despite his well-known pattern of sexual exploitation of powerless women.

"Who listens to NOW anymore? We know they stand for nothing; they have no principles. That's where you are right now. It's not too late. You know that if the situation were reversed, and the truth would damage McCain and help Obama, you would be moving heaven and earth to get the true story out there. If you want to redeem your honor, you will swallow hard and make a list of all the stories you would print if it were McCain who had been getting money from Fannie Mae, McCain whose campaign had consulted with its discredited former CEO, McCain who had voted against tightening its lending practices. Then you will print them, even though every one of those true stories will point the finger of blame at the reckless Democratic Party, which put our nation's prosperity at risk so they could feel good about helping the poor, and lay a fair share of the blame at Obama's door.

"You will also tell the truth about John McCain: that he tried, as a Senator, to do what it took to prevent this crisis. You will tell the truth about President Bush: that his administration tried more than once to get Congress to regulate lending in a responsible way. This was a Congress-caused crisis, beginning during the Clinton administration, with Democrats leading the way into the crisis and blocking every effort to get out of it in a timely fashion. If you at our local daily newspaper continue to let Americans believe -- and vote as if -- President Bush and the Republicans caused the crisis, then you are joining in that lie. ... You're just the public relations machine of the Democratic Party, and it's time you were all fired and real journalists brought in, so that we can actually have a news paper in our city." That's Orson Scott Card, a card-carrying Democrat writing in the Rhinoceros Times in Greensboro, North Carolina.

What a kid!

I haven't had much going on in my "real" life, but you can find a few new posts on my Disney blog.

Still, a couple of days ago I came into the room where Helena was coloring, and I found this:



She can be so imaginative - amazingly so. Here's another example - a car she built from Legos, with no help from me and no pictures to work from:



My favorite part is the associated "senior picture pose" going on behind the car.

In other news: 1)Helena's started gymnastics and is so excited she can barely pay attention to her teacher 2)Hunter and Helena both have nasty colds, complete with fevers 3)Dan finally finished three (or was it four?) freelance websites and feels free enough that 4) we are going on a mini-vacation this weekend!, and 5)I'm halfway done with my D&C class and more than halfway done with my ever-present Chinese history course!

Remember, "Ignore adversity." Wash and repeat.

Fall Festivities - and Frustrations

Today Dan and I took the kids up to New Era to enjoy some fall festivities. We started at Country Dairy, where we had a delicious meal (I think that the kind of sandwich I ate is what made America great) and unlimited refills on chocolate milk. The kids were restless and little crabby, but we were rewarded with Hunter's enthusiastic calls of "COW! COW!" After that we headed to the Lewis Farm Market, where they had every sort of Halloween-themed amusement known to man (for the preschool set): a miniature "train" hauled by a little tractor, hayrides, a bouncy thing in the shape of a "ginormous pumpkin" (as Helena put it), playground equipment, petting farm-type animals, and a pumpkin patch. This is where things went south.

I really, really hate crowds. I think most of Muskegon and Oceana counties were in attendance at this place. It was hideous. Also, I am coming down with a cold and am in the unpleasant dry-throat-and-headache portion of that illness. Helena was touchy and easily upset. Dan and I had no idea what was available, or where to buy tickets, or what to do first. I think Helena fell down three times. Hunter was blessedly unaware of anything wrong, and was happy the whole time.

Once again, I felt like the Biggest Loser Parent of the Year. What was supposed to be a loving family outing became a day I'd very much like to redo.

When we got home, I laid down in my room and sort of slept for about an hour. Dan took the kids outside, and they played out there until at least 6:30pm. They had so much fun. In the yard. For free. For several hours. And at the end of the day, Helena only had good memories of her experiences this morning.

All told, things turned out well. But I re-learned that eternal lesson: When Mom's not happy, nobody's happy.

One funny thing: When Helena's realized that she's been naughty, but decides to try and be good, she'll say, "Yes, Mother." "MOTHER?" I've never referred to myself that way...

Wisdom From Wong Foo

1. Let good thoughts be your sword and your shield.

2. Ignore adversity!

3. Abide by the rules of love.

4. Larger than life is just the right size!

The Lovers, The Dreamers, and YOU!

"Life's like a movie,
Write your own ending!
Keep believing!
Keep pretending!"

-The Muppets

It's Up!

The World With Beth

Honest opinions and helpful suggestions, please!

Frugality, Part Three

Well -

After that last post drew an enormous response (!) I thought I'd offer the thoughts of a few people besides me.

"Frugality is about getting the maximum value for your dollar while living squarely withing your means." Trent at www.thesimpledollar.com

"Practice thrift and frugality." Elder James E. Faust

"God recognizes only one justification for seeking wealth, and that is with the express intent of helping the poor." Hugh Nibley

"It has seemed that one of the inevitable side effects that occurs as people apply gospel principles in their lives is that their material circumstances also improve...The Lord has made it clear, however, that when his people are obedient, he desires to bless them with the necessities and comforts of life so that none should live in want...Historically, the abundance with which the Lord has blessed his people has proved to be one of their greatest tests." Elder Dean L. Larsen

"Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments...Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth forever." Psalms 112

Frugality, Part Two

"I am a Protestant Baptist. I believe that frugality is the only way of life that the Lord meant for us to live."

I found the above comment on a frugality website. The lady who said this is 38 years old. Her husband serves in the military, and she is a foster mom to six children. She sells Avon on the side.

Do you think her statement is correct? IS frugality the only way God wants us to live?

Comments are welcome!

Message Board

Here, finally, is the long-awaited (by whom, again?) picture of the message board I made. I borrowed the idea from another blog, but chose everything from the pan to the quote myself. It was actually easy and inexpensive to make.



If you can believe it - it's hard, but try! - I think I'm going to attend the Needlework Night at church! Yep. I'll learn from the experts.

And what of this banking/economic mess? It's had very little effect on me so far, but will that last? Where exactly is the bailout money coming from? Is my food storage extremely well-stocked?

Have you listened to Amy Winehouse yet? I admit, she looks a fright, and acts even worse. Hard to deny her musical talent, though...if you're a fan of Motown, you'll go for this. It's modern, but with classical Detroit touches (from a British girl?!). Skip anything with naughtiness, obviously...discretion needed!

Additionally, if you haven't watched "Rat Race" yet, rush to your local VideoMart and pick it up! Be prepared to laugh hard enough that you may snort food or beverages out of your nose. Maybe just avoid snacks altogether while viewing.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." - Albert Einstein

Let the Good Times Roll!

Another busy week at the Big Blue House!

Helena started preschool. This is her first year, and it will be her last, as she will enter (full-day!) kindergarten next year. She has fallen in love with school and found a new school friend named Lola. We have a play date for Friday! I'm excited to see them play together and to meet Lola's mom, who sounds like a really neat person. Here's your mandatory First Day of School photograph.



Hunter's also had a fairly good week, except for Monday - he had to have his blood drawn to test for anemia and lead poisoning. (I was supposed to have this done months ago...yet another Mother of the Year award lost.) Poor thing. Here's how he looked later that day.



So, no lasting trauma.

We're all trembling with excitement over this Thursday's "The Office" season premiere. I've missed it, especially since last season was so short with the writers' strike interruption. I'm making (or buying?) a cake to celebrate. This is a nod to the "E.R." parties we used to have in college.

Dan's starting to lose his sanity over "The Wiggles." The thing is, Hunter wakes up early every morning and neither Dan nor I are really ready, so "The Wiggles" help make up the difference. Unfortunately, Dan finds the "Where's Jeff?" song echoing through his brain at home, at work, in the car...anywhere he's alive and breathing. (My favorite thing was hearing him sing the song. Good money can't buy that kind of humor).

I love my YW calling. There are some serious problems right now, but I'm overcome by the love, maturity, spirituality, and friendliness of the young women I now refer to as "my girls." I'm also fortunate to have six of the ward's best women serving with and supporting me (the ward's other best women are busy staffing the Primary and Relief Society!). I thought that this would overwhelm me, particularly in terms of how much time it takes, but so far I've been blessed to just appreciate this call.

More random stuff: We had a turtle visit our house about two weeks ago! This was no ordinary turtle. I saw it through the kitchen window while washing dishes. It had been very rainy for several days, and I guess he was out hunting for worms.




He was lovely, as you can see, although Bennie was a little too interested for my tastes. Not for long, though - he quickly retreated to the plants and bushes separating our yard from our neighbors' yard.



This week I took my copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" off the shelf to find a reference that I couldn't remember, and I read the funny, sweet, brilliant inscription on the inside cover that Rachel wrote to me. This book has a history: Rachel and I had discussed how and where we would purchase the book the day it was released. She had planned to go to a store (can't remember which one!) and agreed to purchase a copy for me. I was so excited about the book release that I couldn't sleep, and when I heard her put the book in my mudroom at 1:00am, I ran downstairs and read the whole book through that night and into the next day. And I cried a little at the inscription, particularly because I knew she would be leaving MI soon. It means so much to me, Rachel, and I wanted you to know that.

One last thing: I noticed that my early posts - 2005 and 2006 especially - seem to have so much more meaning and feeling than my posts do now. I wonder why that is. Perhaps it's because I know more people are reading my blog, and I'm more conscious of what I write. Maybe my kids are sapping my creativity, and I have nothing good to say (or can't say it with an appreciably unique turn of phrase). However, I am thrilled that they exist. It's the only journal I have.


"I have learned to love the fallow way." - Judy Collins