the question list

I did fill out our census form and Adam mailed it back in. Apparently we were not "quick enough" (even though we were before the deadline) because we got another form in the mail with a stern letter that IT'S THE LAW to fill it out! So I MUST do so! It was April 2 when we got this letter. How about you finish going through the mail, Census people, before you start throwing people off by sending duplicate forms, huh? (And no, Tawnia, I do not include you in the generic "Census people.")

My exciting thing to share is that I'm leaving in about 3 1/2 hours to go to Memphis with two other ladies in my ward for the weekend, to go to Time Out For Women (put on by Deseret Book). I've heard of it, so this should be interesting. The theme is "Infinite Hope." Speakers: John Bytheway (as a replacement for Sheri Dew - I wish it were still Sister Dew), some people I've never heard of but apparently have published books through Deseret, and the incomparable Mary Ellen Edmunds. Musicians: Jenny Oaks Baker (who lives in DC but I never got to one of her performances at the DC Temple Visitors Center) and Hillary Weeks.

Mom, if you could get into that box of my mission binders, there is a picture of me and Sister Edmunds in the MTC section. Could you scan and email it to me? I'd love to do a comparison shot this weekend with her.

I think I go left-then-right with my socks and shoes. But I don't know - never paid attention. And I haven't worn socks and shoes for weeks, even for church. Pregnancy feet have forced me to go entirely with flip-flops for over a month now.

My thoughts about cheese:
1. Wow, we eat a lot of it around here! We can go through a 2-pound block of cheddar (or Colby Jack - those are the most common) in less than a week.
2. Sheesh, it can get kind of expensive to eat that much cheese!
3. Especially since Adam has decided that parmesan cheese in the green can is no longer good enough, and we now get REAL parmesan cheese. Fortunately that block of cheese lasts much longer than a week, because you use only a tiny bit at a time.
4. We have four cheese graters.
5. It's yummy if you toast an English muffin, and as soon as it comes out of the toaster, butter it very quickly and put a very thin slice of cheese on it. Let it sit for a minute so the heat from the muffin softens the cheese, and then eat it. If we had any English muffins, that's what I would have for breakfast today.

That's probably enough thoughts about cheese. Huh. Never knew I had so many.

Random Questions

Ummm.... so.... has everyone filled out their census forms and turned them back in?

Does anyone have anything exciting that they would like to share with their family via the family blog?

When you put your socks on do you start with your right or left foot? What about when you put your shoes on?

What are your thoughts about cheese?

Changes to my schedule

So, when I got to work, I heard the manager, Maddy, wanted to talk to me. It turns out that the girl she hired at the same time as me (who got the evening shift) didn't work out. So I got offered the evening position. This makes me feel very happy, because I'd been scheduled to work on Sundays, and I didn't want to work on Sundays. And now I don't have to, because the evening shift is Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. So this has made me feel very happy. The shifts are a bit shorter, but I'll have more of them. (And I don't mind the shorter shifts, because my feet are tired at the end of the day.) I am very thankful for this change. I'll start on evenings next week.

My Testimony for My Children and Grandchildren

As I was listening to the final session of conference and heard the remark that parents should bare their testimonies to their children I felt the need to do that. Even though the comment was made to parents of youth I felt it applied to me, too.

I want you all to know that I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. I know that he lives, that he is my personal Savior, that he loves me and each of you. I loved the comment that every individual is a VIP in our Heavenly Father's eyes. I know that Christ visited the people on this hemisphere and shared his gospel with them and that he restored his church to the earth in these days through Joseph Smith. I know that the way you can know these things is to study ponder and pray. As one of the speakers said - archealogy or even miracles can't give you a testimony - it comes through the witness of the Holy Ghost and that only comes from our seeking and asking.

I hope you will each take the time to reread the talks and apply them in your lives. One of the things I heard over and over was the importance of families and of teaching our little ones, even as infants they can feel the spirit through scriptures and prayer. We also need to set our standards high as an example for our children. They are so precious and special.

I know I can do better at studying the scriptures, using my time wisely, serving others and in lots of other ways. May we all work together to be a foreer family. I love you all so much.

MOM

this is (hopefully) the month

No April foolin' - I'm really hoping this baby does not wait until May to make the Grand Entrance. Like I said on my personal blog, the doctor said on Monday that her head is in a good position but not engaged yet. No dilation yet - that would be too soon if it was happening, since I'm still 5 weeks from the actual due date. Adam's "watermelon test" is just about there - yes, he really taps on my stomach and listens to the sound like you do with a watermelon to check for ripeness. I still have plenty of things to do to keep me occupied for the next 3-4 weeks - it's just becoming more difficult to actually DO those things.

Anyway, I am now taking submissions to guess the birthdate and whatever other guesses you want to list. I'll copy Nathan and Amanda's prize - whoever is closest will get the first phone call after she's born. My guess (hope, dream, wish, prayer ...) is April 22 - 3 weeks from today. 

The front page

Have you noticed this about the headlines on the front page? Except for Salem and Lafayette, none of the other locations are current! Funny. And Nathan/Amanda will be moving before too long (right?). I'm not mad about this, I just think it's interesting how much we've moved around recently.

Happy Birthday to Tawnie Pooh!

Hi Tawnia! Happy Birthday! We hope you have a great day!

Love, Eric, Laurel, Stevie, and Allie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAWNIA

You asked how I've seen the hand of the Lord in my life. One very special way is through you. You always set such a fine example for me by being so faithful. I loved what you told BYU when you turned down their offer for grad school. The reason was prayer. That's the way you live your life and I'm so proud of you for it.

May this new year of your life bring many exciting adventures. I'm glad you've had this time to be home but I know that it's time for you to leave again. Remember that we're always here for you.

Love always,
MOM

A job

Yes, I finally have a JOB! An actual job!

So today, while I was baby-sitting a couple of girls for a sister from the ward, Mom came in with the phone. I'd been interviewed for this housekeeping position on Monday, and I so hoped to get a job. (Seriously, I even applied for the position of sign post . . . er, holder.) It was getting frustrating. (I apologize to those who had to put up with me.)

Anyway, the woman on the other end didn't say I got the job; she just wanted to see me this afternoon. Actually, she called in two of us. Originally she was going to hire only one part-time evening housekeeper, but she couldn't decide between me and another candidate, so she decided to hire us both. Only I have a day position instead of evening. I'm very happy. Relieved.

Think what I can do with all that money. Pay off student loans. Get a library card (where I could check out more than one book at a time). Give Mom and Dad some money to pay for the roof over my head (literally). Buy me some chocolate. Go splurge at the bookstore.

Hand of God in my life...

Thanks Tawnia for the great reminder of Pres. Eyring's talk, and the invitation to share a recent miracle or two.

I've seen the hand of God in my life a few times in recent days. One that I'm willing to share has to do with the Project Management Professional exam that I took last Friday. I went into the test a little shakey. They say to get a good night's sleep, etc. and I tried, I really did, but it didn't happen. So the test started around nine thirty, and I had four hours, including fifteen minutes for a test tutorial at the beginning. So I had until one forty five. But I thought (originally) it would only take me three hours to take the test. I was wrong.

When I had a little over an hour to go I was hungry and tired and sure I was going to fail the test. I started to think about what I would tell my boss and how I would study differently for the retake.

Then I prayed. I had the thought enter my mind that I should just do my best and keep working on the test and not give up. And so I did. I used every last minute of that test (I think I stopped it with 17 seconds left).

And I passed.

New Question

Since no one else is putting up questions to try and keep the blog going I guess I will.

Here's a question for the week.

How have you seen the hand of the Lord in your life lately?

And if you haven't then start looking!

Love,
T

Accepted

Now I've been accepted to two of the three schools I applied to. Should make the decision interesting. For more perspective on this please read my personal blog. I hope you've all been invited!

for old times' sake

With the sudden explosion of spring here (it seriously seemed like it was overnight), I've been going around singing, "Spring is here, spring is here, life is skittles and life is beer. I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring! I do! Don't you? 'Course you do ... "

So for old times' sake, here are a couple of videos of those Dr. Demento show performances we all thought were so hilarious ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TytGOeiW0aE

Call me juvenile, but these still crack me up!

Things I'm proud of...

Well, I'm proud that I graduated college, that I married a pretty stinking awesome fellow, that I have two stinking amazing babies, and that I'm posting on this blog. And my playhouse - I'm proud of how things are coming, and that I went and re-did like half the stuff I'd already done.

I'm Happy to Report

I've been exercising 30 minutes every morning. For Christmas, Aaron brought the girls a Disney DDR that plugs directly into the DVD player. I've been using that nearly every day for the past month or so. I don't know if I've lost any weight to speak of but I'm working on it. And, of course, my best accomplishment is my beautiful children and my beautiful grandchildren.

what makes me proud

Good question Tawnia. I think it's a good thing to get my mind off what makes me worried. It's a lot like counting my blessings actually, and since I didn't really do any of these things without help (divine and other), it's the same thing. So these are what I'm proud of right now...

- Being the father of two beautiful children
- Buying a house
- Conducting a ten minute meeting this afternoon (short and sweet. oh yeah)
- Reading War and Peace, Ulysses, and Infinite Jest (long, complex, and long AND complex respectively)
- Laurel wants me to help with dinner so I'd better go...

Wahoo!

I got accepted to BYU. Hopefully I'll hear back from USU by Monday. Then comes the fun of deciding where to actually attend.

And that is what I did that I'm proud of this week (the getting into BYU part.)

Emily's plan

Hi, family. Well, it looks like going directly to a publisher isn't going to work, but at least that pushed me to hurry and finish a decent manuscript. So now my plan is to look for an agent to sell my book. I did an initial search on Saturday and made up a list of possible agents, particularly those with a strong interest in fantasy and young adult books. I have ten on my list. Next, I prioritized them and figured out what each one wanted (a query letter only, or if they want the first five pages -- it varies a lot). I've also written a rough draft of a query letter.

I still need to go over my novel yet again and polish up a few points.

Wish me luck.

recently

I finally baked bread by myself.

 

I cut Summer's hair. 

 

Marnie needs her first major haircut pretty badly, but she's tough to get to hold still to even trim her bangs (which also needs to be done). We'll see how that one goes.

my special thing

I posted on this blog. Now I can smile and say, "I did that."