SO CUTE!!!!

Man, I just watched the Stevie video twice in a row because that baby is so stinkin' cute!! I am about ready to buy myself a plane ticket and fly out to Cali for a weekend... I can't wait until this summer!!

It's amazing how much a person can love another person that they've never even seen. (Though I do see Stevie everyday... he's on my computer screen at work and I change which picture it is as he grows.) So Eric and Laurel... don't be to shocked if I just happen to show up on your doorstep one day.

Love,
Aunt Tawnia

Updates

Mom is correct. I have updated my page. There's a new baby picture, a new chicken picture, and a new movie... about the baby. But not a new chicken movie, for which I apologize.

I don't know about you, but I just watched the president's speech on TV and I thought it was pretty darn good if you ask me.

I'm also curious about what Jared's up to on the website. You may also have noticed that all of the Family Movie material has been removed from the site. I'm interested in seeing what he's cooking up both for his own page and for the movie page. Maybe he'll tell me if I ask...

Anyway, I had a pretty good day at work today. Right now Laurel and Stevie are at YW and I am about to go to the laundromat.

I hope you all have a good night. I love you all.

Eric

What's Up?

I can only guess that Jared is waiting for someone to mention that they've noticed his page is practically missing. I noticed it yesterday, (or was it the day before) but I wanted to get some of my updates finished for my page before I posted. Where did everything go, Jared? Are you putting it back? I really enjoyed the things you had on there. I also want Eric to know that I look almost every day for new pictures of Stevie and I really appreciate that you're keeping us supplied with a new one nearly every day. Mindy, I noticed that you have a calendar on your page but you can't enlarge the ones on the bottom. I was hoping those were links. Nate, I'm still waiting for the next part of your story, since you've only got part one. Everyone else could do some upgrading, too. I'll work on getting more pictures up soon. I've mostly been working on my 100 list page and adding a few links there. I hope you like what I've come up with,

Love ya,
MOM

good stuff!

Thanks for your FHE posts, everyone! Nathan and Clarissa can still make a comment ... This is good stuff. It will be good to go through all of these articles more thoroughly. I'm happy with getting my Parenting Instruction Book started.

Baby news: this morning, Summer got the hiccups for the first time that I could feel. I'm pretty sure it was the hiccups - it was little bubble type pulses about 10 times in just a few minutes. I could also feel it from the outside when I put my hand on my stomach. It was kinda fun. She's been hassling me all day - resting really low in my pelvic area and pushing out so I can't sit up straight. I have to shlump down in my chair (or stand up, but that's difficult when I'm working) to straighten out through the waist/hip area and give her the room she wants. She's done this before but not with such frequency. It's totally wiped me out and I'm exhausted now that I'm home from work, but I have to clean the kitchen and make dinner because Adam is working late tonight. So off I go ...

More on FHE

http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,161-1-11-1,00.html

This link leads to The Proclamation on the Family. I don't think any manual we make on how to care for children should be without it.

For my FHE, we played miniature baseball. You play baseball on your knees. I will NEVER play it again. My knees are now covered with bruises from scrambling around on the hard floor. And the bases were duct tape put on a gray floor, so it was almost impossible to see them. It was the stupidest thing I've ever done at an FHE activity.

FHE Take 2

http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1989.htm/ensign%20october%201989.htm/teaching%20children%20to%20keep%20the%20sabbath.htm?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0

Maybe that will work??

I think I'm insane now.

Today I got another job. I'm now a preschool teacher! My friend/neighbor Natalie's aunt's friend or something owns it, and so she got the connection, and now we both have jobs there. I went and filled out an application on Friday, and 15 minutes after I left they called me up and set up an interview time (for today). The lady said I answered all the questions exactly like she wanted to hear them in the interview, and had my timecard and training packet all ready for me, since Natalie was there to start her training anyway. So I'll be training every day this week, and then working 12 hours one week and 8 hours the next. I'll keep working at Subway for the next while, since they're firing two of the guys, and are in the process of training a lot of new people, and it would just be mean to quit now. I'm hoping to be able to keep them all, so I can get lots of paychecks, and get out of debt, so we'll see how this next month goes. It will be a good lesson in prioritizing, staying positive, and finding out just how much energy eating regularly and working out will give me.

As for our FHE, I was unable to really take the time and find any articles, but I do have a bit of advice. Although I obviously don't have any children, I work with children a lot (and even more now), and something that I've learned is that children need structure. Even when I was a nursery assistant, and we had the kids for less than two hours, we had everything very structered and organized - toys, table time, music, lesson, snack, etc. When children have schedules, they know what to expect. They learn not to be hungry, because they know when the food is coming. They focus better, and work better, and it's just better. I hope to have some more information for next month, because I should be reading articles and such for preschool anyway, and it'll be good to share.

A quick question about the reunion - so when exactly should we be in Oregon. I need to figure out with Tawnia (and she needs to figure out with Nathan and Amanda) when we'll drive out to Oregon, and come back, so I can be sure that I have the time off from preschool.

FHE

Awhile back I started thinking about some of the more important things I want to teach my children. Keeping the sabbath holy is one of those things. I found this article (from lds.org of course) and skimmed it. It is similar to one that I remember reading about four years ago.
http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates$fn=default.htm

Hopefully that link works. Other than being a good thing to teach your children, it's a good thing for everyone to remember to do.

Love,
T

To the Fathers in Israel

Well, this is another link from lds.org, and I'm sorry the link is so long. It's a good article by President Benson on fatherhood. I think it's also very good for husbands, so Nathan can get something out of it too.

http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1987.htm/ensign%20november%201987.htm/to%20the%20fathers%20in%20israel.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0

Thanks for a good idea Trina!

Eric

FHE

Yesterday, at church, I was thinking about what I should post about families. Your original post had this in it. "Adam commented recently that he wished there was an instruction book for parenting. My response was that we do have one - it's called the Ensign and the scriptures." Those are both excellent sources for answers. I'd like to add another one: http://www.lds.org/youthresources/pdf/ForStrengYouth36550.pdf This is an excellent source for some of the basics. I know it's written for teenagers but you have to start teaching these things long before the teenage years. Each topic in the booklet can be a mini lesson.

It's also important that we, as adults, exemplify the standards we want our children to have. If you expect them to show gratitude or to repent or any of the other standards show them how. If you don't want them to use inappropriate language, be careful what you say. If you don't want them to watch R-rated movies don't have them around and don't watch them yourself. Kids are great imitators and they'll pick up our worst habits more often than our best ones.

So that's the advice from dear old Mom for the first Palmer Clan Blog FHE.

Blog FHE article

http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,538-1-2946-1,00.html

I found this in the "Recent Addresses" section of the Gospel Library. It was a talk by Russell M. Nelson at a CES Young Adult broadcast in Feb. 2005, titled "Faith and Families." I have no comments because I haven't read it yet - just skimmed so far. This will be what Adam and I read and discuss for our FHE this week (along with going to Toys R Us tonight because my boss told me about a monster sale they're having because they're closing the store. I want to at least look, particularly since we have to get stuff anyway.)

Anyone else have anything to contribute today?

some more reunion comments/questions

I'll get to the Blog FHE stuff in another post later today, and no Jared, I did not think you were dissing the idea of having the parenting articles posted. That kind of advice/story post - I'm going to compile those in a Word doc and print it out at the end of the year for inclusion in my binder with all the articles. I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone else on this as well. TODAY. Because TODAY is the Palmer Clan Blog FHE for January!

Anyway - reunion stuff:

1 - Sounds like Tuesday will be Movie Day. Cool.

2 - When I mentioned the temple, I was thinking another temple day with everyone where we live like we did last March. (Which I think we should do again this spring or fall, separate from the reunion.) Then Mom said we should all go to the temple together at the reunion, and I felt dumb for totally missing that. YES! Absolutely - we should go to the temple on Wed. of the reunion. Question - if Emily and Clarissa are doing baptisms, so that ALL of us are in the temple together (which would be great!!), where are the 4 grandbabies? Summer would still be little enough that I would be more comfortable with someone taking care of her AT the temple, than leaving her at someone's house. (And we could do a family portrait on the temple grounds, which would also be cool.)

3 - Jared mentioned a video scavenger hunt day in the comments on one of the other posts ... what video scavenger hunt? This is news to me.

4 - And that brings me to my next question - how structured are we going to map out the activities of the reunion? Everyone is expected to participate in the movie and temple and whenever we do the big family portrait (which has not happened since 2000 so it's about time), but what about everything else? What exactly IS the "everything else"? Since I obviously don't know what Summer's schedule will be yet, I hesitate to commit to much more than we've already got lined up. But I'm happy to hear the ideas and suggestions and stuff.

New Calling

Today I got a new calling at church. I was called to be the ward choir pianist. It will be interesting. I will have to practice A LOT! Annie was called as the new ward music coordinator (which is the calling I was just released from.)

Other than that I don't have much news. Mindy and I are making fruit salad to go with our dinner... because I bought all the fixin's for it awhile ago. I think we should make more than just that for dinner though... but we'll have to do that later because our home teachers are coming over any minute now.

Asta
-T

Last Monday of the Month

Well, since tomorrow is the last Monday of the month, here is my bit of parenting advice for all of you. Everything you think you "know" about raising children will suddenly not work at any given time. And if you try something and it does work, that doesn't mean it will work on a different child, or even on the same child. For all the good advice and good help there is out there, it all still boils down into a long process of trial and error.

Now please don't take this as my shooting down Trina's idea for this whole FHE thing. That's not my intention. Just the opposite, in fact. I'm just saying that all the help and advice you hear is not the final answer, no matter who says it. It's just something else to try. And the more tricks you have to try, the better. If something works for you, great. If it doesn't, don't throw it out. Try it next year or on the next child.

I think the main thing I'm trying to warn against is saying, "This is THE WAY to put kids to sleep" or "This is THE WAY to get kids to eat vegetables." Just say, "This worked for me," and let everyone else try it or not for themselves.

Happy Birthday Mozart!

Yes, today is the big two-five-oh for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arguably the greatest composer who ever lived, born January 27, 1756.

There's been concerts being performed all over the world today for it. But of course you already knew about that... Right?

A more serious note...

Had anyone else heard about President Hinckley? I was looking up lesson materials for the Primary class I'm teaching on Sunday, and I noticed the news reports. Apparently, President Hinckley had surgery earlier this week to remove a cancerous growth from his large intestine.

The holiday for today is more serious as well. Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. I wasn't able to find any holidays listed for tomorrow, but I heard that it will be the 20th anniversary of the Challenger launch (and I did confirm that information before sharing it with you all).

Today

Hello, family.

I would have posted yesterday, but the Internet was down. This was rather frustrating. I wanted to tell you that I'd been working on the movie script, in particular the chase scene. I told a couple of people about my idea, so I suppose I should make it common knowledge. The chase begins, and then we see everyone drop out of it -- too tired, car runs out of gas, more interested in swing set, catnip . . . It should be good. I still haven't worked out all the details, and I'll be consulting my assistant before the next draft comes out.

Classes are going well. We're starting to study classical music in music history, I'm doing okay in math, and writing is wonderful, if only I could decide which project to focus on for more than forty-eight hours. And then something comes up and I change my mind again. I think I've narrowed it down to three.
1. The third draft of "One-Winged Dragon."
2. A story I'm calling "Shieldguard" (for now -- it was "Knights of Terror"), which plot I already described. It has my most developed villain ever, but there are a few problems in the story structure that need to be worked out.
3. "Aurora," which takes place five years before "Elfmarked." I had come up with a couple of minor characters, Hadrian Porter, the Captain of the Guard, and Jeremy Thane, the leader of the runaways. I wrote one little scene where they interact; they clearly know each other and are even friends in a way. I started to wonder what would spark such an unlikely friendship, why this ditiful captain would turn a blind eye to his activities. And the answer . . . is going to take about 110,000 words to explain.

I have done it...

First of all, I would like to thank those who responded so quickly to my email. I think mostly I just wanted to have something in my inbox.
Second of all, I am really looking forward to all of this crazy family stuff that we are planning this summer (i.e. the movie, Trina, Adam, Trina and Adam's baby, Eric, Laurel, Sir Stevie, Jared, Michelle, Princess Brooke, Torpedo Boy, Tawnia, Emily, Mindy, Clarissa, Ma, Pa, SkipBo, Pit, Phase 10... etc.)
Third of all, what I have done. I have joined a sports team again. Of course you don't have to try out to be on it, and they encourage those that don't even know how to play to join in on the fun. Yes I am talking about intramural sports. I was also allowed on the team because it is a team of one. I am playing IM Racquetball. I played an actual game (at least as actual as we knew) against Amanda the other day, and she won part of it. A game is winning two out of three rounds, and she won the first round of the second game. She not only won, but slaughtered me that round. I have also only played a total of six or seven times, so I hope to at least have fun.

ok bye

Nathan

summary

1 - Yep, Adam was sure mad. And he doesn't really get mad. Ever. I was a bit shocked by how vicious he was. Wow! I share his sentiments of being in a work situation where you want to do something and you can't. You're under some weird gag order, or there really is just nothing you can do. It happens to me all the time and it's absolutely infuriating. But we stick it out and keep trying for this reason (and some days, like yesterday, it's the ONLY reason): "The way for evil to win is for good men to do nothing."

2 - The 2 latest Sunday pictures of Stevie in those adorable suits - Adam and I got those for him. I was pretty proud of our selection, and by golly if he isn't just the cutest little baby boy!! (Bryan is the other cutest boy in the world but he's not the baby anymore. Likewise with Brooke and Summer, even though I include Brooke and Bryan when I say "the babies".)

3 - I think Movie Day at the reunion should be Tuesday. That will give us the weekend and Monday to get any last minute things figured out. Also, if you have friends in the area that you want to visit but your time will be limited, try to schedule it for Sunday or Monday. Tuesday, we film and edit. And that still gives us Wednesday to finish any editing or post-production that may take longer than anticipated. Does that work?

4 - Mom asked if our Blog FHE should have a specific topic each month ... isn't "parenting" enough of a topic? Parenting, or strengthening families, or something along those lines. For the whole year. This keeps it open for people to share what sticks out to them that month. If Nathan posts an article about X and I post a scripture about Y the same day, well, it's all useful. When we print things out for our individual Family Instruction Books, we can sub-sort things however we want. No one else has commented on the idea, so unless I hear otherwise, I'm going to figure that people are okay with it. I'll start the ball rolling next Monday, the 30th. It will be cool, like our big Family Temple day last March when we were all in the temple at THE SAME TIME. We should do that again this year. I'll look up temple schedules and post some suggestions.

5 - I'm going to have lunch with Adam now. It's warm enough so we're going to sit outside.

My Day was Terrible and Awesome

First, the good:

Wednesday night, Trina & I were able to feel Summer's elbow/knee sticking out. It was kinda cool. Same thing yesterday morning. Last night, as I had my head down on Trina's belly talking to the baby, she (Summer) kicked me in the face. While it was a solid kick, it was pretty cool.

Now, the bad:

Wednesday day, I had to sit for two hours and listen to two Assistant Attorneys General (two steps down from the Attorney General) lie, mislead, refuse to answer and otherwise obstruct Congress's legitimate inquiry into the legality of the National Security Agency's electronic surveillance program. How do I know that they were doing this? Aside from major contradictions and whatnot in what they were saying, I had written statements in front on me from President Bush, Attorney General Gonzalez and General Hayden (former Director of the NSA) that contradicted what they were saying. So either Bush & co. were lying or the two AAGs were lying. Take your pick. Listening to them for two hours straight really got under my skin. I wanted to nail them to the wall (in very un-gentleman-like terms). As I raise my hand to start asking questions to show their inconsistentsies and flat-out lies, my boss sends our intern over to tell me not to ask any questions. Period. Why? Because of a cock-and-bull story that he feeds me about how he's playing both sides of the aisle on this one and didn't want either the Republicans or Dems to know how we felt about it. (I personally want to hammer the Administration on this one.) I think that my boss is playing both sides because he keeps getting swayed by one side or the other and can't make up his mind (and has indicated such to me over the past few weeks). I also think that he lacks the intestinal fortitude to stand up to the administration (as he consistently and inevitably kowtows to them on everything that we do). Maybe it's just that our boss is unwilling to stand up to the Administration. Considering that he's one of the most independent members of Congress, that's really bad. No wonder that the Administration ignores Congress on everything. Congress deserves to be ignored. (Two federal mine safety administrations walked out in the middle of a hearing because they felt that it wasn't worth their time. That's quite typical of this Administration's behavior). So I listened for two hours to these two AAGs spewing forth their *&&##*%!#$@$#* and I can't do a thing about it. Afterwards, I storm out of the meeting and go take a long walk and call Trina. She said that she's never seen me more angry in the entire time that she's known me. It really got under my skin. So, yeah. That was my day. Force to listen to two liars from the government and my boss doesn't have the guts to nail them to the wall where they belong. Unless he's willing to nail them to the wall in the smaller meetings, he'll never make a dent in the hearings, as they're very scripted.

New Stevie Pictures

There are new pictures of Stevie that you may not have seen on the calendar.

He sure is a sweet boy.

I already told Uncle Max we'll be okay camping. We don't have a tent though and I'm not sure what we'll be doing about that. The plan for Oregon sounds okay. My only concern is having everybody up and ready for movie day (whichever day it's going to be). Speaking of which, which day do you think we should make the movie?

Mike Wazowski

Well, I have managed to kill a second Beta. I just don't think the environment of my classroom is conducive to keeping fish. It gets really cold in there in the evenings and on the weekends. My first beta was named fudge, the second was named Mike Wazowski (thus the title.) My mice (Ginger, Energizer, and Chocolate) are all doing fine.

I will be down to 22 students after Friday. One of my kids is moving to California... another one (that had just moved in in January) moved to Florida a week ago. It makes me sad to lose them.

Anyway, I think I'm going to go to bed now. I'm extremely tired.

Love,
T

It works!

Well the blog is working for me now. I don't get this technology thing sometimes.
I think that taday is wear pjs to Winco day because there were three different ladies wearing pajamas. One was definatley a younger person (probably young teens) but the other two I am not sure how old they are. So, if any of you are going to Winco later today... be sure to wear your pjs.

Nathan

Reunion

Amanda and I have been talking about the bed situation. Mostly about when everyone is going to be here in Oregon. I guess first off, Jared we have a few extra pillows. Well we have extra a total of two regular pillows and two body pillows. The other thing that we were talking about was that if a few people wanted to stay down here they are welcome to. We have a couch and if they brought an air mattress, the floor won't be too bad. There is also a possibility that we could get a few rooms here in one of the dorms to rent (but we are not entirely sure how that works). They are all single beds and we would have to get bedding from Mom and Dad.

For Washington, we have a tent, sleeping bags, mats, and hot dog roasting sticks. We've been camping once since we've been married, so camping would be ok. But I guess by then we will have gone to Yellowstone, and Arches, and a number of other places, so maybe we won't want to camp. I don't know.

Anyhoo... I have to go to math now.

Love,
Nathan Andrew Palmer

an FHE idea for all of us to do together

Two background points: 1 - Adam and I are trying to get into the habit of having FHE every week. 2 - Adam commented recently that he wished there was an instruction book for parenting. My response was that we do have one - it's called the Ensign and the scriptures.

So here's my idea: the 2006 Palmer Clan Blog FHE, and we make our own parenting handbooks. Even all the girls who are not married yet, so they have it when they do have kids. Or it can be used in Church callings or with working with kids at work or whatever.

Since we're at the end of the month, let's go with the last Monday of the month ... That day, we all post a link to an article (from lds.org or wherever you find it) about parenting or family or something along those lines to share with everyone else. Or post a personal experience of "I learned this about parenting through this experience" if you want to. Then at our various homes, we can print them out and discuss things in our individual FHE (or personal scripture study) and put everything in a binder. So at the end of the year, we have all these articles and stories and voila! A parenting handbook!

So what do you all think?

Happy Birthday

I meant to post a nice big long thing last night fro Compliment Day, but I didn't have time. Well, just know that I love and admire you all for various reasons. Today I was considering celebrating Australia Day, but then I found out that today is Karen Traviss's birthday! I know it's not a holiday, but it is a celebration! (No, I don't know her personally, she's just one of my favorite celebrities. One of those rare famous people who are actually nice.)

Reunions!!!

To answer Trina's questions about our plans. Let's start with dates first. The Palmer Reunion will be before the Beers one. It's really going to be crazy but this is the way we have it worked out. Dad and I will be flying in from Washington DC on Saturday, July 8th at 12:30 p.m. You are all welcome any time after that, or before that if you choose. Nathan has a key and we can leave one with Deb if we need to. I'm not certain where Clarissa will be staying. Dad was basically planning the reunion for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the 10th thru the 12th but whenever you come is fine. The Beers reunion is July 13-15. This is Thursday thru Saturday. On Thursday the, sometime, we'll leave for Max's. The only plans for that day are to get there and get settled. For transportation we'll have our van, Nathan's car, Tawnia's car(?) and Eric's car(?). That should be plenty for all of us.

If you all want me to coordinate what everyone needs as far as housing at Max's, that's fine. We may need to borrow some air beds or mats from people around here so that we have enough. And I'm pretty sure we can use Deb's port-a-crib for Summer.

Trina, it's possible to sleep in a tent with an infant but I wouldn't recommend it. I think it would be better if you had a private room. My concern is that it gets quite cold at night and I don't want the baby getting sick. It's also much more comfortable to have a chair to sit in when you feed the baby, but it's up to you. I was thinking of putting, tent as worst case and private room as best and group room as not a possibility. What do you think?

Eric, will you please be sure to bring your air mattress? We'll probably need it here as well as at Max's. We also have a few extra sleeping bags, if any of you have them or tents, please let me know and I'll add them to the count. We have one large tent that can sleep 4 to 6 people comfortably and a small dome tent that you can't even fit the airbed in. We used to have a couple of little pup tents but I'm not sure if they're any good or not.

I sent you all an email with the phone numbers. So check there for the updates. I need to run now to get ready for YW. We're having "New Beginnings" tonight.


Any more questions - give me a call, an email, or post it here.

Love ya,
MOM

family reunion stuff that is NOT the movie

Everyone should have gotten an email from Uncle Max today asking about "housing" needs during the Beers reunion up in Washington. My thought is that we all tell Mom here on the blog what we do/don't want for that, and Mom can send to Uncle Max one big Palmer response instead of him getting it in bits and pieces. We can coordinate among ourselves without burdening him with various details that we can probably resolve here.

For the 3 of us - me, Adam and Summer - we obviously would be a hassle in a "group room" of people sleeping on the floor lined up like cordwood, because of Summer needing to be fed in the middle of the night. I don't have a problem with camping at Max's - I think it would be kinda fun, even with a newborn (unless Mom knows something about feeding a baby in the middle of the night that I don't, that requires us to be indoors). We have NO camping equipment, and we wouldn't be able to fly it back and forth cross country even if we did. So we need bedding provided either way - inside or outside. Yes, I absolutely require an air mattress - my back wouldn't last 5 minutes on a floor or the ground, and who knows what state of birthing recovery I'll be in at that point anyway.

Also, WHEN is the Palmer reunion? No one has ever said. The Washington reunion is July 14-16, a Fri-Sun, if I remember right. Is our reunion before that, or after it? What are recommended dates of when should we be flying out there to Oregon? Should Adam and I fly into Portland or Seattle? If we fly into Portland, are there going to be enough cars to get everyone up to Uncle Max's? Jared/Michelle/Brooke/Bryan would also need transportation because of flying up to the Northwest.

Working on the movie is all well and good, but let's get some logistics hammered out here so we know what we're working with. Muchas gracias.

New phone

Dad and I went to Costco tonight and he decided to update my phone. It took a while to get everything done but now I have a new phone and a new number, sort of. Because the phone I was using is so old that it isn't completely 911 compatible they wouldn't update it with a different number. That's the phone Clarissa will be using for a while. So my new phone will have Tawnia's old number, which I'll email or call you for anyone who needs it. Clarissa will have my number and Dad's doesn't change. I hope that makes sense to everyone. I'm tired so I'm not sure.

Love ya,
MOM

Lyrics

Okay, I've got the first draft of the Girl Power song posted now. I've never written a song with outside input before, so we'll see how this goes. I'm starting to understand a little better how Emily's been feeling. I'm not completely satisfied with what I've got, but it's the general idea of the direction I'm going. I hope I can make it sound good in time. I'm planning to set up a prodution schedule of my own, so that there's time for Nate to digitize the music, and for everyone to learn the song. I'm already getting some of Emily's criticisms as I type this.

5 months

Can you believe that Stevie is 5 months old today? I can't. It seems like he was just born. I've literally counted it up on my fingers about 3 times in the last couple of minutes to make sure I got all the months in there. It's the 24th, yes? I didn't screw THAT up, did I? One more month and it's his half-birthday. That went quick!

Speak up!

Today it took me a while to figure out what "Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day" is. Apparently it's when snowplows drive around and knock down mailboxes. Glad we don't have snow around here. For that matter, since we're in an apartment, we don't really have mailboxes either (at least not that a snowplow could knock down). So instead of celebrating Snowplow mailbox Hockey Day, we celebrated Family Home Evening Day with pizza and Parcheesi. Tomorrow (the 24th) is National "Speak Up and Succeed" Day.

About the cast

So, we now have the cast finalized for the movie. Don't we? Is there anyone who has a major complaint about their part? Does someone want a bigger part, smaller part, or another part?
I am glad that I now have some characters to work with, but there is one small issue.

I don't speak Japanese, so I can't write in it. The rest of this post is directed to my co-writer and Neko. The rest of you can stop reading.

Neko, how do you propose this be written? Trina suggested just having you say some random things in Japanese and people respond with a stupid answer, but you didn't like that. How are people supposed to understand what is happening? Do tell us what you have in mind.

And as I mentioned in my comment on the other blog, you were the one who suggested going after the Righter. You were going to say that line, but you can't if it's in Japanese, unless you suddenly switch to English. Of course, everyone would have to notice that.

I'm not saying that it isn't possible for you to speak only Japanese. I'm just saying that it will have to be worked carefully, unless you want to be mute for the entire film. We could work it in that no one does understand what Neko is saying. We could have only one other character understand what she's saying and translate for the others. Perhaps Psy-chic could read the subtitles as well as hearing the background music. We do have options.

I hope this hasn't upset you. Catnip?

does water have a taste?

The stuff I'm drinking from our break room "filter" sure has a taste, and it's not a good one. "Metallic" and "burnt" are descriptions that come to mind.

The good news of the weekend is that Rachel Marie Scott has arrived in the world! Sarah Scott (the blond Sarah from California in my wedding party, and her little girl Alice was the flower girl with Brooke) had her 2nd daughter Saturday morning. Yay! She was 8 lb. 3 oz. and 20 inches long, and came without a hitch. Sarah didn't give me much optimism for the last month of pregnancy - she had perpetual back and hip pain to the point that she couldn't sleep. I'm not to the point that I can't sleep yet, but my current back/hip pain already wakes me up at night sometimes and I'm very very stiff when I move. The last couple of days have been worse than usual. My next doctor appointment is a week from today, and I intend to ask the doctor if there's anything I can do about it. I really don't want to be dealing with this for the next 3 1/2 months.

Hello

This weekend is Bald Eagle Appreciation Days. It's a good day to feel pariotic. I've found that you really can feel proud to be an American, regardless of whether you agree with the current President, or support the U.S.'s foreign policy. None of that should stop the stirrings when you see the flag, or sing the National Anthem. Or appreciate the noble eagle.

Project Wild

This weekend I spent going to a workshop called "Project Wild." I'd actually been to it before, back when I was in college at USU... but at the time most of the stuff wasn't completely pertinent to my life. NOW it was almost ALL pertinent to my life (because I have to teach all about Utah animals and plants.) It was a lot of information and the best part was we got tons of posters and lesson plans and a CD of lesson plans and I bought a few other cool books to help out in my classroom.
So that is where I was all Friday evening and Saturday.

Then last night I came up with my superhero name.

Oh and Mindy and I are signed up for a beginning ballet class. It is going to be Thursday evenings starting the first week in February (that's less then two weeks). We're so excited!

Love,
T

New characters

Let's all give a big Chaos welcome to our three newest minions, Anime Neko Shojo, Psy-chic, and Psy-chic's Sidechic.

Anime Neko Shojo (Little Anime Cat Girl) (Clarissa) is an anime fanatic who has convinced herself that she is part cat, including superior night vision and cat-like reflexes. Her weakness is catnip. She only speaks Japanese (with subtitles).

Psy-chic (pronounced p-SIGH-chick) (Tawnia) can predict the future and read people's thoughts - but only when it's obvious. She also has the strange ability to hear the background music.

Psy-chic's Sidechic (Mindy) hangs out with Psy-chic. She sometimes tells Psy-chic what she's about to do, which Psy-chic then repeats as a "prediction." She may be refered to as "Sidechic" for short.

Big Hug!

I expect everyone's participation in National Hugging Day today! I have already hugged Michelle, Brooke, and Bryan.

My legs are doing better now. I was able to walk around without the crutches a bit yesterday, so today I'm going to try and do without them today. Our big plans for today include cleaning the house (since I haven't been much help all week) and preparing lessons for church tomorrow. Michelle has her moonbeams class (that's the nursery kids who are already three), and I'll be teaching Elders' Quorum.

Trivia question

Rather than tell you all straight up what I'll be celebrating on January 20, here's a little trivia to see if anyone can figure it out. Your first clue is: They Might Be Giants, 1988. Use the comments to make your guesses on this one, and I'll provide more clues there throughout the day as necessary (and as time permits).

Writing class

I hope you don't get tired of hearing about my writing class, but it is a lot more exciting than math homework. And today, my piece was finally read. We were exploring third-person limited viewpoint, with characters and experiences based on our own lives. And there were no flaws in how it was written. We ended up discussing different types of characters, the outgoing ones and shy ones. A couple other people also had their papers read -- someone else in the class reads the work aloud and then we all talk about it.

Snow snow snow

It must have snowed a lot last night, because it wasn't snowing when we went to bed, and when we woke up there was at least a good foot of snow on the ground. The kids at school were very excited to go outside. The snow was perfect for snowballs, and luckily we didn't have anybody attempting to throw them, instead we had lots of snowmen, and even more big massive snowballs at least 3 feet high. I was out there too, after lunch, and I helped a couple of my first graders make a huge snowball .. in the end there were about 8 of us around it, trying to push it around. We could have kept going, but it was time to go inside. Hopefully the snow won't all melt tonight, so we can make them even bigger tomorrow!

The Bean Museum

Today I went to the Bean Museum at BYU. No, this is not a museum of beans. It's actually named after some guy whose last name happens to be Bean. Anyway, the museum is full of animals. Ones that used to be alive but are now stuffed, or as I put it, taxidermed. I was there in order to check it out and decide if I should take my class there for a field trip. My answer is a definite yes. That place is cool. There were animals there I had never seen before or even heard of... and they do shows where you can see the real live animals too. I am excited to take my kids there. And it ties in great with the state core, we have to cover Utah animals and they have an entire floor devoted just to Utah animals.

On the politics issue. Well, I happen to work for a government entity (ie a public school, yes, charter school are public schools.) I was talking today with the Special Ed teacher about legislation and such. I made mention that it would be nice to have a former educator in a political office, because no one honestly knows what education is like until they have been there. I think my views on politics have been limited up to this point because I haven't been passionate about any of the issues. Now I have an issue I care about and know about and so I will be a much more informed voter from now on. Anyway, I, as Mindy put it, am non-confrontational. I don't plan on spouting off my political ideals or opinions, but don't worry... I have them.

Love,
T

that's more like it

I was wondering when Mom would finally get around to posting ... And considering the number of posts that have popped up since yesterday, I was actually thinking I'd lost an entire day on the blog. (This is all part of my Master Plan to get people to post again already. Mwa ha ha!!)

But to respond seriously ... yes, Eric, Adam and I have talked about me starting a political blog. Looks kinda like it would just be me and you and Adam anyway, since Jared just observes and Mindy doesn't care and no one else even said anything. (I'm also curious as to what Jared thinks "ultra right wing" is, and I'd be willing to bet that the working definition in DC has changed in the last few years. So - Jared - spill!) Thing is, I just haven't had time to start it. I have a whole list of thoughts and theories that I'd like to pontificate upon but that's as far as it's gotten so far.

Besides, remember my "ideal" - that YOU (that's universal) come to ME with the questions and I answer them, not just me rambling about the latest Congressional scandal. There are enough blogs in this world that already do that. And then there's the deal that really, I don't have this burning desire to suddenly starting clogging the family blog with political conversations ALL the time. Just when something pops up that's of huge impact, or that I think is interesting (like attending the Supreme Court hearing). We have a few posts and then move on to something else, just like with any other conversation. Ya know? So I don't entirely agree with Mom and Eric's urgency that I rush off and start another blog solely for politics - sometimes I just want to come here, say my piece, hear what others have to say about it, and move on.

Moving on ... Mom, I'll have to think about motivating the 14/15 year olds on Personal Progress, because really - I've never worked with that age group. When I was in Salem, we had a whole bunch of Beehives who were enthused because they were new, and we had some Laurels who just wanted to get it done and out of the way before they graduated from high school. There were NO Mia-maids in the ward. So nothing is coming to mind off the top of my head.

And on top of EVERYTHING else that I'm doing - working full time, working a couple of hours every night (and more on the weekend) on my medical transcription studying, getting ready for the baby, keeping Adam organized, etc ... I've been summoned for jury duty. I have no problem with jury duty - civic responsibility and all. But good heck - the TIMING sure sucks!!

Pooh day?

I am not so sure that's the appropriate spelling of Pooh. See, when I saw that it was pooh day I thought maybe it could be poo day. then I read mom's post, because I go from bottom to top, and it really was poo day.

Anyways, the holiday thing was starting to bug me, but now that it is down to one a day... I think I will be ok.

Sincerely,
Nathan

A word or two from Mom

I just figured out what frustrates me about comments - there's no spellcheck. I posted a comment on Eric's post and it had some pretty dumb spelling mistakes in it. Anyway - I agree with Eric that there should probably be another blog for political discussion. Mainly, because it can be kind of awkward to interject something trivial into a serious discussion.

I came home from work early today because there was no water pressure in the town of Amity and we couldn't flush toilets or anything. So they sent all the kids and the staff home at noon. I'm not sure if they'll be open tomorrow or not. I wouldn't mind an extra day off.

Trina - I could use your help on another topic - Personal Progress. How do you get the Young Women motivated to work on it? How do you convince 14 and 15 year olds that this is something they really want to do? That's what I'm struggling with right now. If you have any brilliant brainstorms, or if anyone else does, let me know.

It's late and I'd better get to bed.

Love ya,
MOM

Happy Pooh Day

I have a question too. Does my holiday cheer annoy you all to no end? I don't want to pester people, I just think this is a fun, harmless hobby. And it can help keep me in a good mood when things go wrong, like when my legs still hurt. If I'm annoying anyone, let me know. I may not stop, but at least you won't be bottling it in anymore.

Also, I've decided to limit myself to one observance per day. There are often several to choose from, but if I try to honor all of them I'll just start annoying myself. For January 18th, we shall celebrate Pooh Day!

Format Change Suggestion

Trina and Adam:

First of all, I agree with all the points you make about being active and informed citizens.

I also agree with the benefits of Trina's "ideal" scenario. I think that you should create a blog where you can discuss issues of significance that you're dealing with or that you're concerned with. You can also answer questions that are brought up by different members of the family.

The ONLY reason I think this should be done on another blog is that it would keep this one free for family news and other frivolous things.

This blog could be just like this one (or BBC, or Daily Eric). That is, it's hosted by blogger.com and linked on the menu page. You could keep control of it yourselves, and open it up for comments (if you like).

I know I've suggested something like this before, and I hope you won't take offense at my strongly suggesting it again. I think that this is a way we can all be happy. If you need any help setting it up, let me know, though I'm sure Trina could figure it out and I'd put money on Adam already knowing how to do it.

Doing something about politics

How to do something about changing politics; but first, why should you care.

Politics have a great impact on your life. For example, the price of gas, your interest rate on your car loan/house, your tax rate, your Social Security payments and other very real issues are directly influenced by political decisions. So please care about what goes on. Those are simply the national issues. On a more local level, your city services (sidewalks, schools, etc) and state stuff (see Trina) are also political, like educational policies. So please be aware of what's happening so that you don't wind up with really stupid people in charge doing really stupid stuff (like the major corruption scandals that have erupted in Chicago and New Orleans this year). If you don't believe that can happen in your town, here's a fact. There were over 2,300 ongoing FBI investigations into public corruption at the end of 2005. That's about fifty cases per state. When you consider that number is cases, not individuals, the number of people involved goes up substantially (it takes at least two people to have corruption).

On to changing the world.
1. Your phone call/email really does count. I work in the Senate; I know. Some intern/staffer counts the number of emails/phone calls received every day and on what side of the issue that they're on. Your email/phone call could be one of them. Politicians really do care about those numbers. If a lot of angry people call/email about something, you get listened to. This holds true for local politics, except attending city council meetings are an easier way to make the point.
2. Your vote counts. Please make informed decisions about who you're voting for. Trina can help you on this issue by pointing out where to go to get information. If you don't vote, please begin the habit this year. How you vote really does affect the election.
3. When you become aware of what's happening, you can hold an intelligent and informed conversation with other people, thus helping them make better decisions.
4. Find a group that you agree with politically. It doesn't have to be a party. It can be an interest group, politician or anything really. If you're so inclined and able, donate time/money to help them out. They will pay attention to either of those. If neither of those options are avialable, at least let them know that you support them. It does matter.
5. If you really want to have fun, run for office. We love elections in America and a lot of them are uncontested. If not, just vote for me when I run for office.

not in the comments!

Har har, Emily. I don't mind the comments section, but if a post gets down a ways on the page, I'd rather just start a new string. But to respond to your answer to Adam's question ...

That's just it. People are "blissfully ignorant and would not care to know more." That's BAD. It leads to something called blind partisanship, which means that once you've decided which political party you belong to, you come to think that your party's leaders can do no wrong, and the other party's leaders are evil. Last time I checked, the only assurance we have of a person being somewhat infallible is the Lord's promise that the prophet will never lead us astray, and that's President Hinckley, not President Bush. A healthy dose of skepticism toward ALL elected officials is highly recommended.

Yes, Adam and I are here in DC, working in politics and government every single day ... and it's this very reason that it frustrates us so much that our own families are so apathetic towards what we do. The whole reason I came to DC in the first place was to help inform people (particularly my own family) on the bigger picture. Here's what I see as an ideal situation:

Family Member X posts on the blog or emails me about a subject. X says "I've heard these things about it on the news. What else can you tell me about it?" Adam or I post/email back: here's what the people in favor say, here's what the people opposed say, and here are some links to read. Because of our jobs, we've likely already gone through all the junk and picked out the good information, and so you get only the good information. If X asked specifically, we would share our personal opinion on the subject. We could discuss pro's and con's, and share our thoughts on the blog and it would be cool because maybe X would have a perspective that I hadn't thought of before and we would both be learning. Then X would come up with their OWN opinion. Whether or not they agree with us is entirely irrelevant. But I would LOVE that, because it would be an INFORMED opinion.

As for caring about politics or liking it or whatever - here's the honest truth - I hate politics. It's the most totally frustrating thing I've ever come across. But I CARE about it, because after being sorta on the "inside" for 5 years, I've seen first hand at both the state and national level how badly these yahoos can screw things up for every single person in the entire country.

I'll take

You know, I find it somewhat ironic that there are currently five posts under the post entitled "why I'm not a fan of the 'comments' option."

Anyway, why is politics a subject to be avoided? In the past, when Trina would mention something about it, the whole blog for the next week was devoted to a debate which resulted in tempers flaring. Since then, I guess we've just considered it too hot to handle.

On the other hand, Trina lives in D.C., and her daily activities revolve around these issues. Most Americans are blissfully ignorant of politics, and they would not care to know more.

Anyway, I'm doing well. Philosophy and history reading can be very time-consuming. I'm considering writing a different novel, this one involving a couple of side-characters I had in the Elfmarked trilogy and their unusual relationship. I mean, how could a captain of the guard and a leader of a group devoted to smuggling runaways out of the city become friends? Well, that's going to be a very long story. And I might change my project again in the near future, especially with this latest assignment. We have to write down plot outlines on a little card, and we have to come up with them by researching a topic in the library, getting sidetracked onto a different topic, and wandering around Buena Vista, searching for inspiration. And one from interviewing someone. And I have a week to do this.

There was a forum/devotional today. It was the first time they had one this year. It was about Joseph Smith and the impact he made. It was big. But perhaps the most important doctrines include the blending freedom and religion, the relationship between God and man, and men with each other, and personal revelation.

A Question for a New Year

If I may be so bold to ask, would y'all mind explaining why politics is a taboo discussion here? While I understand and respect that the rest of the country has very little need to be experts on any particular area, I'm rather concerned about the apathy towards that entire subject. Any takers?

why I'm not a fan of the "comments" option

I have no idea when Eric posted his comment on the "Supreme Court: continued" post, but Adam and I just came across it last night. Adam added another comment to that post. I would just like to clarify a couple of things regarding the wiretapping issue -

1 - I never said I was opposed to wiretapping. I merely said that I would prefer that sort of debate - constitutional powers, and the balance between the executive and the legislative - instead of the dead-horse-abortion hysteria that permeates all confirmation hearings. For the record, I have not come to a conclusion about wiretapping. There are far too many factors involved for me to just assign altruistic motives to the President and leave it at that.

2 - Adam neglected to tell you what his job has been since the wiretapping story broke. He has spent every waking minute at work and at home researching Presidential wiretapping - every related law, court case, and Congressional hearing transcript since the 1970s that he can get his hands on. He has also been doing a lot of reading on the difference between foreign and domestic affairs, and how the line between the two has become increasingly blurred in the last 2 decades because of technology. That comes into play as well. Also, the Chief Counsel that Adam works for on the Senate Judiciary Committee is one of the country's leading experts on the 4th Amendment - unlawful search and seizure. I've not seen them, but Adam tells me that Mike has sent out some lengthy internal memos with all kinds of interesting analysis in them.

3 - Before you assign Adam to the ultra-left anti-Bush camp, may I remind you that he works for the REPUBLICANS.

I'm just sayin' ... so you know the context we're working within at this end.

new Joseph Smith movie

For FHE tonight, we went to the temple visitor's center to watch the new Joseph Smith movie. As far as I know, Tawnia and Mindy are the only others close enough to see it (the Legacy Theater at the JS Memorial Bldg). I don't know what to say about it. I've now sat here for about 5 minutes and I'm still speechless. (And my head hurts because yes, I cried multiple times during it. So did Adam.) So I won't say anything. Just - we watched it, and if you have the chance, you should watch it too. But not Brooke and Bryan until Jared and Michelle have seen it first and can judge whether they should at their age. It might be a bit much for them. And take kleenex when you go.

Yes, we'll take Mom and Dad and Emily to see it when they're here.

P.S. Happy birthday, Nathan!

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Now there's a holiday worth celebrating! (For some other things to celebrate today, see my comments under Eric's post.)

Wilford Woodruff Recording

If you had Lesson 2 in the Wilford Woodruff manual yesterday, you may have noticed a reference to an audio recording made by President Woodruff in 1897. I looked it up on the internet and found a link to it (along with the text, which is helpful in listening to it) at the BYU library.

For me, this is very interesting for a few reasons. Wilford Woodruff was a witness to many of the pivotal events of the restoration. He knew Joseph Smith personally.

Another reason this is interesting is the way he talks. His accent is something very different from the contemporary actors who portray him in church movies. It's just really cool to hear his voice, even if the recording instruments of the time weren't exactly high fidelity.

But enough of me. Enjoy the clip!

http://www.lib.byu.edu/multimedia/woodruf.html

Happy World Religion Day!

I think this observance is appropriate for a Sunday. So don't just think about Christians today; let's remember all the Jews, Muslims, Bhuddists, Krishnas, and everyone else. I find it interesting that nearly all of the non-Christian religions still recognize Christ as a major prophet, even if they don't realize he is in fact the Savior. Of course, there are lots of really good people in every religion, just the same as there are unbelievers in every church - even the true one.

Quack quack quack

Happy Penguin Awareness Day!

Go hug a penguin today!

Oh, and happy birthday to Clarissa as well. But I did already call and leave a special birthday message on the answering machine for you. Have you hugged your penguin today?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARISSA!

Well, good morning Clarissa, and Happy Birthday. Wow, the big two-oh. This means you're in your twenties. That's cool. Have a fantastic decade. I hope you have a fun birthday weekend with cake and friends and family and all good things.

I read about your goals, and I think going to BYU would be great for you. It's a great school and you can learn a lot there. There are a lot of great resources in a large number of fields.

Keep us posted on all your plans and progress.

Talk to you later!

Eric

What's going on

Well, first let me tell you what's going on. That skinned knee I got from the accident got infected, so now I'm on crutches and taking antibiotics and painkillers. I still need to get the moped repaired. I looked into getting all the parts online and doing it myself, but tomorrow I plan to take it to a mechanic to get an estimate. I'll do whichever is cheaper. We thought we were going to have to take our computer in too, but we did manage to fix that ourselves. Turns out Bryan had stuck a bead into the fan, so the power supply was overheating and shutting the computer down. That's why I haven't been able to post all week.

my eyes!

Ack! Too much orange! I can't see! Put it back to ... whatever it was, just not that orange!!

(Plus, it is not a nice shade of orange.)

Supreme Court hearing: continued

Eric, on the previous post/comments, I didn't take offense at anything - I was just continuing the conversation. And so we (meaning I) don't have to keep scrolling down to see if there are more comments on that post, I'm starting a new post. Very clever of me, huh?

So to continue: what's your comment about Roe? My opinion of the abortion issue in the confirmation of judges - to any court, not just the Supreme Court - is that it's something that gets in the way of vastly more important issues. Abortion is an emotional point that gets people on both sides all in a lather and there goes any semblance of logic out the window, and totally distracts from legitimate debate on anything else. The hot topic right now is what EXACTLY are the President's executive powers in a time of war, and what is Congress's role in the smackdown when he gets overzealous in throwing his weight around.

(Short version for anyone who doesn't know: President Bush is openly admitting - and defending his decision - to intercept phone calls and emails and other communication within the US with no warrant, and he is ignoring the applicable laws which give him pretty wide latitude in getting that type of warrant. He says that Congress's resolution about Iraq implies that he can do this. Congress - both sides - is saying "Excuse me? No. We didn't say that." There will be hearings in Congress next month.)

Anyway, the balance of powers between the various branches of government would be an excellent debate on interpretation of the Constitution, intent by the Founding Fathers, and other fun things, particularly between people who have spent their entire lives studying and interpreting the Constitution. But no. Instead we talk about abortion ad nauseum.

I didn't go back for any more of the hearings - I was there at the end of the questions on Wed. night. Thursday was more pontificating by the Democrats, and then panels of people to testify in support of or in opposition to Alito's confirmation (which are continuing today). I'm only interested in the hearings when the nominee is making his/her statement and answering questions - that's the important part, and I don't have time to listen any further.

P.S. When Adam and I were leaving the building Wed. night, we about whacked Ted Kennedy with a door. He was standing just outside waiting for his car or something, and blocking the doorway. We didn't see him until we were opening the door and coming out. Oops. Another claim to fame for me - I have now been glared at by Ted Kennedy. Wooo! No, we did not stop to say hello or get an autograph.

I'm changing my project

Okay, I had thought about rewriting "The One-Winged Dragon" for my novel writing class, but now I'm thinking about doing a different story.

Right now, I'm calling it "The Knights of Terror" but that could change . . . maybe I'll call it "Duel Focus." It's about a knight and sorcerer named Bryan. At this time, raiders are attacking the settlements in the highlands so much that the two usually warring kingdoms are uniting to go against them. The raiders also have a sorcerer in their midst -- Roger -- and he and Bryan are both determined to beat each other.

At the same time, the highlanders have the support of two sorceresses, Jolene and Rachelle. Rachelle seems to know a lot about the raiding Knights, and she thinks that Bryan can beat Roger and wants him to defeat him. But at the same time, she doesn't want Roger getting hurt; she just wants to get him away from those Knights. It turns out that Roger is her twin brother. And twins can read each other's thoughts, feelings, and memories, so this makes things very complicated.

Brother Card spent a lot of time talking about motive today, after he spent an hour talking about the ins and outs of the publishing industry. It was a good class.

So, you can expect this to show up on the webpage as story number seventeen.

interesting who knows who...

Trina,
You mentioned that Barr knew went on the same mission as someone Scott. Well I have a weird story about someone knowing someone or something like that. Well last night the missionaries came over and shared a DVD with us and chatted for a bit, and then I drove them home. Elder Anderson mentioned living in dorms when he went to school. I asked where he went and he said SUU. His companion also went there, but the year before. Well for New Years, Amanda and I want to Otis, Oregon, and spent a few nights at Andy Kartchner's grandparents with a group of old church/HS friends. Andy had his girlfriend there who went to the same mission Andy did and she is now going to SUU. So I asked the missionaries if they knew a Kyra Cox. Elder Shamo did know her, and not only that, but sang at her farewell. Then he told me that he was in Hope Choir at SUU (whatever that it) and that the next year his current companion was in it and that the first elder went and watched the latter. I hope that made sense.

Nathan

2 years

Today is the 2-year anniversary of when Adam and I got engaged. Awwwwww ... We didn't tell anyone for a week because we both needed time for it to absorb into our heads, and because I went on a work trip for 4 days at that same time. It's a little odd to think that we're now into the plural on "yearS" of being a couple - it still feels so new.

I'm looking forward to the 3-day weekend. Saturday will pretty much be a work day - chores and errands, and I'm going to make a good sized dent in my studying. For FHE on Monday, we're going to be tourists. If the weather is nice, I want to go to Fort McHenry up in Baltimore. If it's icky, we'll go to the American History museum. If Adam ends up having to work (small chance, but still a chance), I'll stay home and do a marathon study day.

12 days into the new year, and we're going strong on our new reading of the Book of Mormon (that actually started around Christmas). We're on 2nd Nephi 9. We need to make sure we don't slip up on it, and to beef up our personal study. I'm still in the D&C (after 2 years of VERY sporadic reading - shame on me), and Adam just started the Book of Mormon at the beginning. I want to finish the D&C and then do the Old Testament with the Gospel Doctrine study guide, since I don't go to Gospel Doctrine. AND ... I should read the Relief Society lessons since I don't go to that either. (My calling is now in Primary, remember?) Boy, I have a lot of reading to do on Sundays!!!

good morning

I just did Yoga this morning, so I'm in a good mood, and thought I'd do something else to lift my spirit (as well as others'). I have also been very busy lately, working both jobs for the last several days, as well as today. It is the end of the term (as Tawnia said), and although I'm the assistant, I've been bringing home work too, so I don't have to go in tomorrow. And after working a couple 10+ hour days in a row, I'm excited for the four day weekend. I'm going to take the time to really think and write out what I learned in 2005, because I sure learned a lot, and it's worth the time and energy to figure out exactly how I want to say it. I've really enjoyed reading everyone else's lists, and I especially like the way they are presented.

Supreme Court hearing

At the end of work today, I went over to the Senate because the Supreme Court hearings were still going on. Adam talked to Barr, who is the head of all the logistics for any hearing by the Judiciary Committee, and Barr cleared me to go in with no ticket. (And Barr is LDS, who served his mission with Sarah Scott's husband - how weird!) Adam still had to walk me in because we had to go past 3 sets of security guards. You'd think this hearing was ... important! Or something. Anyway, I was in there for about 45 minutes and heard just a couple sets of questions. One of them was from the Good Senator from Texas, who didn't so much ask questions as he did praise Judge Alito. (I thought this was supposed to be the Judge kissing up, not the other way around.) The other Senator we listened to is the Minority Whip (2nd in command for the Democrats) who asked some good questions about the Establishment Cause, which is the separation of church and state. The focus of the questions were two cases which had extremely similar circumstances but received opposite verdicts, so the Senator was asking for the logic behind the different rulings.

The word of the day for Adam and me is "bloviate": to discourse at length in a pompous and boastful manner. Many (all?) Senators bloviate, and the Supreme Court confirmation is prime time for them. Oh brother. I got lucky in the time I was there - not much of that.

Title

So, I probably shouldn't have typed the "What I learned in 2005" post after working so much this weekend. I was rather grouchy. But, I truly have learned that prayer works. I keep praying that I can have enjoyable, relaxing evenings... and they keep happening. It's nice.

Today I am feeling pretty good. I am actually caught up on grading papers. I don't think I've been caught up since the first day I asked for assignments to be turned in. This is miraculous. I also am all set for teaching school tomorrow. That means I can just enjoy the next three hours before bedtime and not stress about anything.

I'm going to go eat my dinner now.

Love,
T

ouch

As I was driving home from work today, I lost control of my moped and hit a curb. I'm okay, and I think the moped is reparable. It may possibly be expensive to fix (mostly body work) but I'm sure it will still be cheaper than buying another one and certainly less than buying a second car to replace it. I'm sore and I have a little less skin than I did this morning, but no permanent damage.

I also finished crafting my answer to Mom's question What did you learn in 2005?

Jared asked me to tell you.

Tomorrow, Jan 9th is National Clean Off Your Desk Day so send us pictures of your nice clean desks.

Balloon Ascension Day!

January 9 is Balloon Ascension Day!

I don't know about you, but it is a little too cold to go outside to float a balloon. So why do we have a balloon day in the middle of winter? You see, George Washington (the first president of the USA) liked balloons, who doesn't? But he liked them so much that he helped a French guy named Blanchard float a very large balloon, a hot air balloon. It was America's first historical balloon ascension dated to 1793. They went all the way from Philadelphia to New Jersey.

(info courtesy of www.praize.com)

por favor

Nathan - HAR! Sounds like something I'd do ...

Eric, I realize you're being a smart aleck with your "nyah nyah" page, and ha ha, you're very funny ... If you're not posting new pictures of Stevie yet, would you puh-leeeeeeeeeze put the old pictures of Stevie back up? The picture of him on Thanksgiving Day on your calendar is the best, and sometimes when I have a really crappy day at work, that picture helps cheer me up. Seriously. And the next 2 or 3 months downtown are looking to be pretty tough all the way around, so please don't deprive me of what little smile I can acquire during the day!!

Also, speaking of work, if you watch the Supreme Court confirmation hearings on C-SPAN or see something on the news, look for Adam. He's running the time clock in the hearing for part of the day on Tuesday and Thursday.

New Story

I have added a new story.

Love,
Everybody's favorite Nathan
Nathan

Happy Jackson Day!

Today is Jackson Day! On January 8, 1815 New Orleans was under attack by the British. Andrew Jackson called for reinforcements, and Lafitte's pirates RAN 5.6 miles to come to his aid.

Today is also Elvis Presley's birthday, incidentally. But I think the Battle of New Orleans history is much cooler. I guess that comes from never being a big Elvis fan, but I do like the song Battle of New Orleans by Jimmy Driftwood.

A few words from Jared

Hey, thanks for sending me the copy of that online chat this morning. Oh wait... nobody did. I guess it doesn't matter. This project is doomed to failure anyway. May I offer a quote from the Original Proposal:

The mission is to enjoy our time together as a family.

That doesn't appear to be happening. People are stepping on each others toes right and left (myself included) and most don't seem to be doing very much "enjoy(ing) our time together as a family" so far.

I really was serious when I suggested a video scavenger hunt or something instead of this for the reunion.

2005

Well, 2005 was an interesting year. I had my first major heartbreak to start off the year. Then Uncle Bruce died and I got my teaching position all in the same week. Then everything happened with Mindy. Now I'm teaching fourth grade, currently stressing out of my mind, and trying to pull things together for an amazing year.

What have I learned: 1. Prayer works. I pray, several times a day, out of need, not habit. I have seen daily that prayers are answered.
2. Good News can be hard. And Bad news can be good. Teaching Job = good news = hard; Mindy divorce = bad news = good things!
3. Heavenly Father has a plan for my life. I know that I'm where I need to be, doing the things I need to be doing, even if it isn't where I wanted to be or what I wanted to be doing.
4. Teaching is a lot harder than anyone (other than teachers) realizes.

I probably shouldn't have written this today. I'm trying to put all of my grades together.... was at the school for 12 hours yesterday (only 6.5 hours with kids), and have been here today for six hours so far.... and I still have tons more to do.

-T

new pets

Well, Fido the Fabulous Fighting Fish was looking a little ill, so Michelle took advantage of the 14-day guarantee to return him. She got another frog and a snail to join Hoppy. Brooke decided to call the newcomers Leapy and Slidey.

What Trina learned in 2005

- I learned that my personal political beliefs, which I call "true conservative" because I have no other way to phrase it, do not align with any political party in this country. No, this is not something I learned prior to this year - I was infinitely more occupied with other things in 2004. 2005 was the eye opener. In a big, big, big way.

- I learned that people outside of DC, even those heavily involved in their local politics (I'm particularly thinking of a friend at the Oregon legislature here), don't have a CLUE about the federal government and obliviously support the party of their choice because the other party is "bad." I also learned that those same people get mad when I disturb their political slumber by trying to fill them in on the rest of the details, and I learned that this frustrates me immensely.

- I learned that when life gets hard, going to the temple a lot will help you deal with it.

- I learned to call people more often instead of relying on e-mail and the blogs for all of the communication.

- I learned that becoming a Domestic Goddess Housewife is going to be a lot harder and take a lot longer than originally anticipated.

- I learned that you can eat pickles with darn near anything.

After all the changes in 2003 and 2004, 2005 was EASY. Nothing really happened. Adam went to class and to his internship. I went to work. That's it. Occasionally we shook out of our routine for a few days (Florida and Seattle trips) but those were breaks in which we relaxed and didn't have anything "new" besides the food we were eating. Lots of things happened AROUND us, like all the Supreme Court stuff, but it didn't happen TO us. Sure, being pregnant has made Adam and me think a lot more in depth about many things, but the only thing that has actually changed so far is what clothes I can wear.

It's 2006, with the early kick off of Adam finishing his undergrad on Dec. 19, that's going to be the Year of the Change. Adam graduating, working at the Senate, and starting law school. Summer. Having extra family members in our home for a few months (even though it's a happy thing, it's still going to be different). New apartment and new car. My current job has taken a major shift in the last couple of weeks to be more focused, and I also have the training course and job switch later this year. I definitely need to keep up on the journal writing.

Writing the Popular Novel

This class is designed for serious novelists. No, we don't have to write the entire thing, just about fifty pages and a synopsis. This is to be a new story, one that we feel we can allow to change and be ripped apart by our classmates. The readers are not to be cruel, but honest about when they're confused or bored.

Orson Scott Card is a good teacher. He said that writers must know everything about everything, so the best major would be history. Then he taught us about third-person limited viewpoint, the ideal viewpoint for a novel. Most of what he said I already knew, but I hadn't put it into those words. He then gave us an assignment to practice this viewpoint. I wrote it after dinner.

A new question

I pulled a new question from my jar but I decided to save it for another day, instead I'd like to ask one of my own. What did you learn during 2005? I'd like us to each share a summary of this very busy year and some of the ups and downs we've had but most importantly what did these experiences bring to your life. Have you learned anything? After all that's what we're here for - to learn and grow. There have been lots of changes during this year and I'm sure everyone can think of something they've learned from them.

Love ya,
MOM

My Turn

I've added our latest trip to California on my travel page. These things do take time you know. I can't do it all at once. I've also updated my 100 list and have a few other ideas in mind. Tell me what you think.

As for the movie, Eric is the producer so he'll need to write the schedule. He wasn't making any big changes in the story, just fattening up the script a little. Dad and I are going to do some filming ahead of time for the scenes that we're in together. I'm going to be the archivist so we can got that part done ahead. We have some crazy ideas about how and where to film but we should probably bounce them off the director before we start filming. The main thing is to have fun doing this. The more we talk about it the crazier the ideas get. I think it's about time for another big powwow. Now that Christmas is come and gone perhaps we'll have more time??? Let's see if we can all get together next Saturday for a little while.

updates

I've updated my page now .. not only did I put up the calender, but I changed the page behind the handprints .. it's fun! I've got a few more additions within that section, but you get the idea. I hope you enjoy it all. I'd like to add a few more pictures to the Nekoshi section, but first I need a couple of pictures from Mom - the two of Nekoshi hiding under the tree. Could you email those to me soon?

So now do I get to bug Eric about updating the Stevie pictures?

Emily's report on the first day of classes

Today, I got up at seven in the morning, showered, ate breakfast, and then headed off to classes. My first class was philosophy. He explained the policies and then he told us what this class will be covering. And then there was my music history class, in which we were handed the syllabus, signed the roll, and the teacher's husband explained that she was stranded in Philadelphia. Math was just as long -- roughly ten minutes. However, I do have homework for all my classes. I'm going to go to the library to read Plato before Institute.

a couple of comments for Eric

Pictures and webpage updates: No sympathy for Eric from this corner! YOU are the one with the new baby, who we all sent lovely gifts to and we'd like to see pictures of Stevie with his gifts from us, and other Christmas and blessing pictures. At least I would. I also know full well that starting in May, everyone will be pestering ME for new pictures of Summer on at least a weekly basis and leave you alone ... so double that "no sympathy" thing from me. And cough up the pictures. (And post on this blog when they're up, please, so I don't have to keep clicking on 5 different links to see if the pictures are there.)

The movie: I'M the assistant script writer, not Eric. We're already on multiple drafts and I've barely seen the darn thing. And any minimal input I've given thus far certainly isn't in it. I didn't even know there was a 3rd draft until I stumbled across it on the movie section. I haven't read it yet because I can never find it unless I go through all the dancing letters again (S is for SCRIPT, Jared. At least until we're done making this thing.), and now Eric is taking it upon himself to write version 4. And wasn't Jared asking for the final casting call the other day, or something like that, so he could write some final version of music? Hello? Are we THAT far along already? The movie isn't until JULY, people. And it's January 4th. 6 or 7 months to go.

So SLOW DOWN. The rush to have everything ready to go NOW is turning this into Eric and Jared's movie, not a family movie. I realize you're excited, and I'm preoccupied with other things. But I'd like to take a crack at the script with Emily before I miss out entirely on the whole thing. To reach some middle ground - to slow Eric and Jared down, and speed everyone else up - could our producers please come up with a production schedule with deadlines of when things should be done in the next few months. (S is for SCHEDULE - that could go on the S page too.)

For the schedule, Emily and I will go over the script on email and IM in the next few weeks, and could do the FINAL version when she's here for spring break (March 5-12). Eric, email both of us your suggestions or participate in an IM with us, but please don't do it FOR us this far in advance. If we miss the deadline and other people need a finished product to do their jobs, then you can have it. Thank you.

P.S. Emily, looks like we'd better get crackin'. When do you want to get on IM?

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, school started today. I was up long before the crack of dawn, was at the school before the crack of dawn even. It doesn't help that dawn cracks sometime after 7 a.m. I was very well prepped for today, but it was tiring. I am exhausted.

But last night I prepped all the stuff for Cha Siu.... and now it's cooking. My first attempt ever and it smells delicious, hopefully it will turn out well. I'm really hungry, so hopefully it will be done sooner, rather than later.

I want to know WHEN the pictures of Stevie are going to be posted!!! Mom and Dad have been in Oregon for two days now and had plenty of time yesterday to put pictures on-line... so where are they. And we didn't hear any report about his blessing from Eric or Laurel.

Love,
T

SVU

I'm home.

We left D.C. around 10 in the morning, and around 2, we reached Buena Vista (pronounced Boona Vista). I'm so excited. Everyone here is so friendly. When we were trying to get my luggage into the elevator, five people helped us and then carried it down the hall. I'm in Main Hall, and I have a roommate, who is not here. I did see Emilie Ann Fienaur, which was great. I unpacked, and Adam set up my computer, and we ran to the store for a few things I needed. Then Trina and Adam joined me for dinner in the dining hall -- they were serving lasagna. Not a lot of people were there, but I expect it will be busier tomorrow.

Right now, I am very happy.

Welcome Hoppy

Michelle just brought home Fido's new tankmate, an African dwarf frog that the kids have named Hoppy.

I have a request to make. I know Eric is getting ready to post an updated script. I need to know everyone's character names and descriptions. This is not just for the website (though I will put them there as well). I need to write a song for these characters to sing, arrange it, get the music to Nathan for digitalization, and let the choreographer have her way with it. This all takes time. So as soon as possible I'll need names, descriptions of any applicable superpowers, and what part you sing (soprano, alto, etc.). Please.

Anyway, congratulations and good luck Emily on a new semester and a new school. Good luck Mom on scripture masteries and hiking; good luck Mindy on your drawing projects; good luck Amanda on your picture books; good luck Tawnia on keeping your kiddies happy for another semester, and congrats to everyone who finished the Book of Mormon. Michelle and I finished together at about 10:30 pm (Central) on Saturday night.

Happy New Year

And good morning everyone,

Amanda asked if we had any cool resolutions for the new year. I started out last year with 5 or 6 and I accomplished a couple of them. I read all of the Standard Works and I did 25 endowment sessions. I also worked on a couple of other things on my 100 list like visiting a few more temples and making Stevie's blessing outfit. I'm going back to my 100 list to pick out some goals for this year. I want to (1) read the Ensign cover to cover every month; (2) memorize the scripture masteries; (3) write in my journal at least once a week; (4) hike on a different trail each month. I hope to do a few other things from my list but these are the ones I'm writing as goals. I also want to work on earning my YW Medallion, and to make a more in depth study of the Book of Mormon. We'll see how I do this time.

Last year had some ups and downs, more ups than downs fortunately. I wonder what this new year will bring. I hope you are all healthy and happy and that it is a fantastic year for everyone. Most of all I hope that your testimonies continue to grow as you face the challenges and opportunities of 2006.

I love you all,
MOM

Happy New Year!

Last night Tawnia, Amy and I went to Eileen's house (Eileen being the teacher Tawnia worked for last year, and now works next to this year.) for a New Year's party. There were supposed to be more people, but it turned out to be a cozy group of six - Eileen, her two BYU-student kids, and the three of us. After a tour of the house, we played games - lots of rounds of Boggle, and then some Scattergories after midnight. It was actually a lot of fun, and we were all glad that we went. Besides, if we hadn't gone, we all would have done basically the same thing at our apartment, with fewer people.

I'm looking forward to the new year, hoping very much that it goes tons better than 2005. I want to read the entire Standard Works in a year, and make it to the temple at least every other month. I want to start drawing on a regular basis - I have the Dickson portraits to do, and I hope that's just a jumping off point. I'd also like to be lighter - in weight, and debt. To start things off, I'm going to finish my ironing, so I'm not late for church.