Happy Anniversary Aaron and Nickell

Happy Anniversary to Aaron and Nickell. It is their 4th anniversary today! Congratulations!

The Earthquake

I guess you all probably know by now that we had a fairly good shake Tuesday Southern California. The epicenter of the magnitude 5.4 earthquake was in Chino Hills, approximately 70 miles from where we live. There was no loss of life or serious damage caused by the quake, which was felt for hundreds of miles around. Nonetheless, it was the largest earthquake we have experienced and it was frightening to everyone in different places when it happened.

The telephone lines were all out of order, for whatever reason. So I was unable to call home to see if the kids were all right. So of course my only option was email. I hope Becca is not too scared to remember she can send me an email. Well, as soon as I got my email opened there was an email from her already waiting for me! “Mom, did you feel that earthquake?” Well normally I would have said “No, was there an earthquake?” You know me! But I was concerned about them so I asked if they were scared and was everything ok and the next email I got let me know that we have another mother in the house. “Yes, it was scary but now I know what I would do in a real emergency. I got the dogs, checked the bedrooms to make sure everything was ok then went to see if Brock was scared (he was at his friend’s house). Do you know where Dad is [side note for those of you who don’t know, Lloyd is the Regional Manager for T-Mobile and Becca knows that one of his stores is in Grenada Hills which is closer to Chino Hills since she had already checked a map, of course], how is Kelsey, have you heard from Jordan?”

It was just a few minutes later that the phones started to work and I was able to talk to the kids but I thought it was cute that they were so level headed.

This email is true. Confirmation is here:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/sendler.asp

Have you heard the story about the runner-up for the Nobel Peace Prize?

Irena Sendlerowa
1910-2008

May 12 marked the death of a 98-year-old lady named Irena.

During WWII, Irena received permission from the Nazis to work in the Warsaw ghetto as a plumbing/sewer specialist.

She had an ulterior motive...

Being German, she knew the Nazis' plans for the Jews and smuggled infants out in the bottom of the large tool box she carried. Larger children were placed in a burlap sack in the back of her truck. Also in the back was a dog that she had trained to bark each time the Nazi guards allowed her out of the ghetto and back in.

The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog, and its barking covered any noise made by the infants and small children Irena managed to smuggle out approximately 2,500 children before she was finally caught. When she was captured, the Nazis beat her severely, breaking both her arms and her legs.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the children she smuggled out of that Warsaw ghetto and kept them in a glass jar buried under a tree in her back yard.

After the war, she tried to locate any parents who may have survived so she might reunite the child with its family. Most, of course, did not survive the Holocaust, and the vast majority of the surviving children were placed in foster homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, but she lost to Al Gore, who won the award for presenting a slide show on Global Warming.

Jeny's Favorite Food

My favorite place to eat is no surprise to anyone – Tepanyaki! Yummy! (Mark hates when I say yummy) I love their vegetables, and now their vegetable dinner is just the regular vegetables you get with any other dinner, so I order that and then pick chicken, steak and salmon off everyone else’s plate. Every time I go there I think of Lloyd, because he laughed at the guy’s jokes no matter how many times he heard them. I love that! I also love Outback’s coconut shrimp, Panera’s French onion soup in a bread bowl and Carabas everything. But my favorite of all is eating at home when Amy is here cooking for me!!

J.D.

Here is J.D. with his new latest and (not-so) "greatest" acquisition. Mom, the ER nurse, is not happy about it at all. There's a reason we call these "donor-cycles", but he's one happy camper. He came home the other day just beaming that he filled up his tank with just $12! I guess that's one bright side of it -- that he's finally learning the value of money! Ha, Ha!

Brown Family Update

My in laws were here from Thursday afternoon until very early this
morning. They brought the rest of our stuff up. It's good to have it
all here and be done with the storage unit thing, but it's kind of a
bummer too, because we were all done unpacking and now the living room is
full of stuff again. They also brought some windows with them which
Dennis had found really cheap. They were misordered windows or
something. Jason and Dennis went around to window places here and found
a couple more. They installed them Friday and Saturday. So Yay! We
have 5 new windows. There's still a lot of cleaning up, trimming, and
caulking to do on them, which is my job. They look great. Laurie is
doing surprisingly well. She's had 3 rounds of chemo and one week off.
The main lump has shrunk 2 centimeters, and the doctor couldn't even feel
the swellings in her lymph nodes anymore. She's much more comfortable as
far as the cancer goes. The chemo makes her very tired for about a day
and a half. Other than that she's doing very well. Her doctor says he
doesn't think they can cure it, but will probably be able to maintain it
with a good degree of comfort. Her hair was coming out enough that she
asked me to shave her head while she was here. I didn't shave it, just
did a half inch buzz. Her head isn't patchy or funny looking yet, so we
left it at that. I also was able to make her some hats to take home.
Jason bought all his books. Ouch. He's so excited to start. He even
started reading one of the books. Only 3 more weeks. We better get lots
of fun in while the kids still recognize their dad.
Now that I've taken up a whole page with my post, I think I'm done
ranting.

Mindy's Food of Choice

Ok, this week's question won't take as long to answer. My favorite
restaurant is Olive Garden. I love the chicken fettucini alfredo,
chicken con broccoli, and there's something else with bow tie pasta and a
garlic sauce and sun dried tomatoes that I can't remember what it's
called. We didn't have an Olive Garden around for the longest time.
Then one was built in Idaho Falls about 2 years ago, so that became our
temple date fare. Now we don't have one close again here. I don't know
if there's one in Spokane, which is where we'll be going to the temple
now if we ever dare leave our kids alone for 6 hours. I'll have to check
on that. Texas Roadhouse is probably my second favorite. They have the
best steak. And bloomin' onion. I also love the Bourbon Street Chicken
at Golden Corral. Yum! I must be hungry. Speaking of food, does anyone
have David's recipe for salsa. I know he doesn't use a recipe, but
ingredients and approximate amounts would be great. I love his salsa.
Usually when we go out we go to Quizno's. We love their chicken
carbonara. If you haven't ever tried it, TRY IT. It's so good.

Question of the Week!

What an amazing response we had last week. Wow! That question about children was a hit!
Here is the new question of the week and I hope we have the same amount of responses, but lets get the grandkids involved. I want to hear everyone's answers!

Where do you like to go out to eat? What do you order?

Mom and Dad's Kids

Believe me, Mom and I undertake this challenge with fear and trembling, because there is always the possibility that someone will take offense at what your rather dogmatic Dad has to say, or will snicker and laugh out loud at what we have to say about you or your siblings. Be advised, Mom is sitting here beside me, and we are doing this as a collaborative effort:

Lori- Born on the day before our first wedding anniversary. No child has ever been more eagerly awaited than was she. She brought light into our life from the first moment. Lori has proven she can be very single minded, concentrating all her enviable talents toward whatever she truly wants in life. She (with Kristi) composed our family song. It will probably never make the hit parade, but we always enjoyed singing it and were openly proud of our girls for that effort. She is very musical, loves being the center of attention, and has a "take charge" attitude. She has raised some very personable and bright children. We love them.

Kristi- The girl who was a mother before she was a woman. She was always the caretaker. She struggled with a variety of childhood injuries that kept us always on our toes. Kristi has a talent for research. She seems to find answers to lots of questions that trouble the rest of us. She has been particularly lovable, as evidenced by her being Auntie Ray's favorite. She also seems to have inherited her grandmother's talent for "candid" evaluations. That ain't all bad. She has raised the most of our grandchildren and has done a wonderful job of evaluating their talents and potential, and has done a great job of encouraging them in the right things. Kristi is just bubbling over with creativity. But, she resents any of us getting together and laughing without her.

Jenylyn- A very practical and bright girl, always. She has two beautiful children, and would have loved to have more. That, however, was not in God's plan for her for whatever reason. She had the good sense to marry a particularly jocular man with whom all of us have a lot of fun. She is a very capable gardener and a no-nonsense supervisor at her place of employment. She is soft-hearted. Otherwise, she would have gotten rid of those two white cats a long time ago. And who else could tolerate a dragon in their sons room. To our knowledge, she is the only one who ever sneaked her boyfriend into her bedroom through the basement window. All our children are cheerful, but we think Jeny is our happiest.

Amy- Born with tons of black hair, Amy was a beautiful baby. As you all know, she has taken her vocal abilities to a much more active level than any of the rest of our children. We love seeing her CD for sale in the local LDS bookstore. Amy has truly undergone a change of heart in her life. She has gone from no domesticity at all to being a true domestic. She gardens, bakes, sews and does handiwork that are all the envy of those around her. And, she manages to keep Emma's hair under control every day and laughs with Joshua in his interesting reactions to life. She loves her family fiercely, both her children and her siblings.

David- Surprises us in many ways. Starting with being born on my birthday. Who would have ever thought he would become a chiropractor? Who would have thought he would become a golf addict? Who would have thought he would brainwash all of his nieces and nephews into believing that "Uncle Dave" is their favorite. And, where does this fascination with jiu jitsu come from? He is as deeply involved in his commitment to the church as any of us -- something for which we are very grateful. He is a man with remarkable integrity which is reflected in his business. And, he has lost a lot of his reluctance to sing. He is a member of a men's quartet that is very good. If only he enjoyed reading and writing more! And, who does he think he is that he can ride a motorbike after all the threats we made to all of you about those things.

Mindy- The gentle one. The peacemaker. What an accomplished seamstress she has become. Ladies with much more experience learn from her. And can you picture Mindy as the PTA president? She is a devoted mother with more patience than most people I know. But, she probably learned that patience from me. If anything needs to be done with an artistic touch, contact Mindy. She is equally at home with crafts and with drywall mud. And, I don't know if any of you can make a dollar stretch as far as Mindy does. She is a marvel at that. How courageous to undertake three years of law school for Jason with no income except what she may be able to make from sewing, and four kids to feed.

Heidi- Very determined to support her husband in his chosen field of career study. She keeps a remarkably clean house and finds time for those four girls of hers every day. She is a capable leader, having served as President of her ward Primary, and is a very competitive gamer. Don't ever let her draw you into playing "Settlers of Cataan" (I hope that's spelled right). If you do, you may not get to bed that night. She and Jason are also bloodthirsty pinochle players. But, the Gospel is the center of their lives. She also makes a great blueberry pie. Yum! Wish I could have some right now. She is right now experiencing great pleasure from fixing up her new home the way she wants it to be. I get a lot of "How To" calls. Don't always have the answers she wants.

Holly- We are excited to greet the new baby in November. Is it possible that Holly will be able to love that new little girl as much as she loves Shannon? We're sure she will. Potty training is commencing. Remember that? She loves to swim in their apartment complex pool. She has accomplished a lot in her life thus far. The tales of floating down the Snake River at night in the wintertime or rappelling over a cliff as she was pursuing her EMT certificate have often led me to wonder, "Who are you, and what did you do with Holly". She loves the Gospel and learned so much from her mission experience. She loves to read and try new things. She also loves orchids. What a varied set of interests she has.

Matthew- When young, Matt was always very lively. He and Holly loved baseball and tried to start their own team. He was also one of the members of the "Earth" club. Matt has had to cope with some very limiting medical problems for most of his life, and lately he seems to get better at that coping each day. He has a beautiful family, and finds time to study interesting things, like whatever is on the History Channel. He still sings whenever the opportunity arises. Musical skills and talents are being shared with his children, too. He appears to have finally realized the necessity for a college education, and is planning to start on that this fall with an emphasis on History with the objective of becoming a teacher. Matt has always been much more free to show his love by hugging than any of our other children. Thankfully, he seems to be rubbing off on some of you, at last.

Of course, all of our children are exceptionally intelligent, exceptionally musically talented, devoted, committed, and practically perfect in every way. We consider ourselves to be especially blessed to have been allowed to be the parents of these nine super heroes.

Dave and Tricia' Kids

I know Dave is never going to sit down and do this so I figured I better take a shot at it. He's just not one to really write anything, reading is bad enough. :)

Courtney is our oldest and she is 12 but turns 13 in less than a month. She is my peacemaker in the home. She doesn't like for anyone to be upset or feel bad so she is constantly giving something up for someone else or doing something for someone. It is a wonderful quality but sometimes I worry people will take advantage of it. Courtney is tall like her Dad with beautiful big blue eyes. She is going to be in the 8th grade and is very excited. She is in the beginning of the "teenage drama years" She's always "hanging out" or strolling the mall with friends. She has quite a few friends who are all very different. At school she is part of the "goodie goodie group" which I LOVE. She is very sure of herself and her testimony and doesn't have any trouble standing up for what she knows is right. Court is a very talented artist and loves to draw and create things. Court also plays the piano and the trombone. She is VERY good at the trombone. She tried out for and made the Jazz Band at school. She was the only girl trombone player and also the only 7th grader to make the band. She played a solo with Grandpa Lauritzen that Dave played his senior year. They both thought that was pretty cool.

Dayna is 9 and heading into the fourth grade. Dayna is my blonde fair skinned little one. Dayna loves to sing and dance and is very active. Sports seem to come naturally to Dayna and she excels at whatever she tries. Dayna is quite creative and likes to do crafts and make things. She still loves barbies and can entertain herself for hours. Dayna takes piano lessons and has done really well skipping several levels last year. Dayna is a bit of a diva and brings some drama with her. She likes to know what is going on and why it is happening and what it all means. Dayna auditioned for Oliver last year and was cast as an orphan. She had two small solos and got to sing and dance. She absolutely loved participating in this and can't wait until she can try out for another play.

Austin is a mini Dave. I am not exaggerating at all. Not only is he the spitting image of him but his mannerisms, remarks and attitude are all Dave. Sometimes it freaks me out a little when he gives me a look just like his dad. He is pretty handsome though and I think he probably gets away with way more than he should just because he is so darn cute. AJ does really well in school. He seems to grasp the concepts very quickly and has advanced fast. His teacher tells me he is the class clown always having something to say for everything. He keeps us laughing at home all the time as well. Austin is currently into skateboarding and playing the Wii. He pretty much entertains himself and doesn't ever really cause any trouble. He is currently in gymnastics and also takes capoeria from Aaron Lauritzen.

Grierson Hawaii Trip

Here are more fun pictures from Hawaii! Click here for photo gallery!

Kristi and Lloyd's Kids

OK If I put mine in last that means it will be at the top the longest! See, there is a method to my …..whatever, I just have too many kids. It will take forever to write everything! And I’m afraid it may take up the entire page. So the short version-

Oldest is Nickell,22, who is married to Aaron. They, of course, just had our first grandson who is probably reading and walking by now. Nickell is my artistic child. As I’m sure you all know because you have all been able to enjoy a bit of her talent on this blog, she has an amazing talent for photography. She has always been creative and it is fun to see her making a business out of the talent she has. Nickell has always been my crafty companion. I’m so glad I got one! She is also such a cute mom and absolutely loves playing with her beautiful little boy. She married a man that is just as creative as she is although his talents lie in a different area. Aaron’s talents as videographer compliment perfectly what Nickell does with her wedding photography. Aaron is the only reason we moved to California (according to Nickell). Now Nickell, Aaron and Kade live in Pleasant Grove, Ut which is much too far away from us!

Kelsey, 21, is the energy of the family. She always has been and I think she always will be. Even now she will go to work for 11 hours and come home long enough to change her clothes then go out with her friends until midnight! Kelsey loves boys, babies/children, boys and she loves to play any sport but the only sport she will sit still long enough to watch is baseball (Dodgers!) She will finally get her associates degree after she finishes 1 more math class this fall. Right now she is working at American Craftsman –with me = ) But I’m sure she will be back in childcare before long. She has talked of going on a mission but right now her only plan is to prepare for a mission and if she makes it to her 21^st birthday (which is in less than 1 month) and still feels like she should go then she will take the necessary steps. Kelsey loves music and can sing alto better than anyone ever but she doesn’t believe me so she doesn’t. Kelsey has a dog named Molly, a Brittany Spaniel, 5 months old. Very active puppy that all the kids have fallen in love with. Kelsey has her moments but always seems to make the right decision in the end.

Jordan is 19 and is working at a company called Fastenal while he is preparing for his mission. He will be enrolling in school this fall and has kept himself busy with a city league softball team he organized over the summer. Jordan is probably my quietest child. He never complains about anything. If he is sick he has to be bleeding out his eyes or convulsing (which has happened actually!) before I find out about it. I haven’t really figured out yet if he doesn’t like the attention or if he doesn’t want anyone to worry about him. I think I can safely assume that he doesn’t like the attention that comes his way when he is sick or injured since I tend to be the same way. It seems like he asked for help the least, so far, with his homework. He would just rather cruise by unnoticed most of the time. I guess you have figured out that we don’t ever let that happen in this family (now make that evil laughing sound because that’s what I’m doing)!!! Jordan really is a male form of me. So imagine me as a teenage boy…..well I guess that’s not too hard since I wanted to be a boy! OK I must say that he is not 100% like me because he loves Molly (the dog) and running (for exercise…like 10 miles at a time…weirdo!!)

Kylee is 16 and is the happiness in our house. There is never a day that she doesn’t smile! She really has to be the happiest child in the world. Everywhere she goes there is just pure sunshine! Don’t worry, she has still mastered the teenage eye roll but she makes fun out of everything. And she has more friends than anyone could ever imagine! We call her our blonde in a brunette body. She is very smart and has always done very well in school but sometimes she makes comments that only make sense in her head. She is always the first one to apologize when there is a fight because she can’t stand for anyone to feel bad. And she tries to do whatever she can to make everyone happy. Kylee loves the dog Molly, too. She sleeps with her, ewww! I can’t forget to tell you that Kylee has an absolutely amazing singing voice! She has an ability beyond anything I have ever heard to hear music and memorize what she has heard. She’s just too shy to sing in public.

Becca just turned 13 and will start 8^th grade this year. She happens to be my brain child. I love having a child that loves math as much as I do. I’m pretty sure she loves math more than I did at her age but it’s still fun to help her with homework. Even in elementary school she used to ask me every year to write a note to her teacher to ask for extra homework and when I said no she asked me to make her math worksheets after she finished her homework! (She doesn’t do that anymore!) She is learning to enjoy her summer vacation but I think she is still anxious to get back to school. Becca and Brock are best friends, though neither of them will admit it. They love to play together and tease each other. Becca also LOVES reading anything she gets her hands on. I better say, though that her greatest love is babies! She would babysit every minute of every day for the rest of her life if she had that choice. She would have to take the dogs with her though. Are you feeling the common theme here? All the kids love Molly except Nickell. Well Nickell hasn’t met Molly yet so we will let you know but….I can’t imagine.

Brock is our little vegetable baby! He is 11, for those of you who don’t know, when he was born I wanted to name him Brock and Lloyd said only if his middle name is Lee. His middle name is Austin but we have always called him our vegetable. He is such a good little boy. That sounds so cheesy but he really is. Every night he reads his scriptures before he goes to sleep no matter where he is sleeping. He even went to his non member friend the other night and he was hoping I would let him sleep over (I am mean so I didn’t) but after he came home his friend knocked on the door a few minutes later and said “you forgot your Book of Mormon”. It made me so happy to know that even when he is away from home he is doing the right thing and he is not embarrassed. He has always had a soft heart and I hope it is a long, long time before he loses that, like never! He’s always more concerned about everyone else’s feelings than his own. What a sweet boy to have for my youngest little vegetable! Oh and he is obsessed with both the dogs!

Well there you have it! All 6+1 and the grandbaby. I love them all to the moon and back forever!

Matt and Amanda's Kids

Ella is 7. We call her Barbie, because she is blonde, tall and beautiful. She has her Dad's golden skin and my brown eyes. She loves to dance and do art. She is very smart, but she has absolutely no ambition. We are just now fighting with her to read more and harder books. Just like all of my children she loves music and loves to sing. She got the Lauritzen talent of picking up words to songs really quickly. She and the rest of the kids love HSM, HSM2, Camp Rock, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Hairspray. She is incredibly social. It is ridiculous. She brought home a test that she got a not perfect score on and we asked her why she didn't finish the last page. She told us she got distracted by the other kids in class. Her teacher was always telling us how she is a social butterfly. I tease that she is 7 going on 17. She loves to talk on the phone and her artistic side makes her very into fashion. She is growing up in personality and working harder to be helpful and kind. She has some very good friends that she is always doing stuff with. Her favorite part of her phone is the camera. As with all of my children she loves the beach. I think they would all be happy if we set up a shack on the beach and lived their. She does miss the mountains though. Which brings me to the fact that she is a huge daddy's girl. And I do mean huge.

Lydia will be 6 on September 8th. She is the smallest of the girls, but the oldest of the twins. She has this tight little body that I thought would make her a great little gymnast or cheerleader, but she is terrified of heights. She hates roller coasters and rock walls. She is not my risk taker. We haven't discovered her passion yet. She likes music like all of the others, but she isn't quite the performer as all of the others. She does like to play pretend. She and Miles are becoming more of a terrible twosome. They are both a little hyper and always busy getting into trouble. Neither one can sit still for 10 seconds. Lydia always has this look of mischief in her beautiful eyes. She reminds me of a little pixie or imp. She got her Dad's golden skin, my brown eyes and brown hair. She got someones curly hair. She has this incredible temper. Sometimes I don't know how to pull her back in and sometimes I don't even try. She is my most motherly one. She loves babies and she will always love on them. She takes care of everyone. She is a very good worker and she is my most helpful and in some ways my most independent. She is the one that struggles a little more in school, but I think she is getting it. She doesn't really love the learning part like Katrina does. Oh and Lydia is 100% girl. She is the girliest of all of my girls. I thought she would be my daredevil tomboy, but she is exactly the opposite. All girl with a mean streak. She is easy to sway as long as you give a little time and attention. She responds really well to attention and affection.

Katrina will be 6 on September 8th as well. She is about an inch taller than Lydia and she is built like a Lauritzen. She has thick Lauritzen hair, but it is brown like mine. She has bluish eyes, but they are shaped like your Grandma Lauritzen's. She has my fair skin, but she has a long loose body like her dad's. She definitely looks like a Lauritzen. She is my most interesting child in some respects. She loves acting, music and learning. She is a little performer. She really tried me when she was little because she has a hard time making good choices sometimes. She is easily heartbroken and she is very dramatic. She does very well in school, but I won't lie she is my beat of a different drummer child. She never hurries. She drives us nuts when it comes time to get ready for something or to try and head out the door. Just walking in the park takes twice as long with her because she is in her own world. It frustrates me, but I can't say that is bad. She is very smart and she likes to read. She does push herself. She is easy to love on. She is the one that will actually try harder in the sports she plays. She doesn't work in the boundaries of others, which is hard when she disappears from a place she is supposed to be in. She could watch movies and TV all day and I don't think she likes to be outside as much as the others. This will be interesting when the reading really kicks in. She likes praise a lot. She plays by herself a lot and she is content in this, but she does get along well with others. She is the one you really have to meet to understand.

Miles is 3 1/2. He is really tall for his age and their is no doubt he is Matt's child. His blonde hair and blue eyes are nothing in comparison to the face that looks just like his father's. He did get my fair skin though. He loves music just like all of the others. He dances and sings as much as the rest of them and he learns words really really well. Last year he learned and sang regularly The Star Spangled Banner. He really likes Hannah Montana and all of the usual suspects. He is a little flirt and and prefers blonde's, this is no joke. His first word was ball and he used to sleep with a basketball like most children sleep with a stuffed animal. He loves balls and cars. He is all boy except for his musical streak and fear of bugs. Like I said before he and Lydia are trying Matt and I both because they are always moving. We joke that they are ADHD. Lately he is literally bouncing off the walls. My mom's couch is constantly his mat for flips. He is incredibly observant and smart. He won't get to start school for two more years, but I think he will be reading by the end of this next year. He gets to go to preschool this fall and his social behavior can use this. He is my only one at home anymore. The others are at school and activities. He does get to start soccer this fall and I'm sure this will just be the beginning. He loves all sports, especially things with balls. It will be soccer, then basketball, then t-ball and when he gets old enough football and lacrosse will be in there. We have to work on his attitude though because he knows he is cute.

Mindy and Jason's Kids

Dylan is 12 and is such a great kid. I couldn't have asked for a better
oldest child. He's such a good brother and a good example for his
siblings. In the past year or so he's become a big tease, but he usually
knows when to quit and be serious. He's very sensitive to the feelings
of others. He knows when I need a hug and doesn't mind giving me one,
though he doesn't kiss anymore. Maybe that's not such a bad thing for a
growing boy! He's always asking me how he can help. He's also very
sensitive to the Holy Ghost. He's the one who asked if I thought
something was missing just before I got pregnant with Jonah. He's trying
to read the Book of Mormon this year, as he was challenged to do by his
previous primary teacher, and reads 3 pages a day fairly regularly. It's
so much fun to overhear when Jonah is sitting with him and Dylan is
describing what's going on in the scriptures at whatever point he is in
his reading. He makes it sound so exciting and Jonah really gets into
his stories. Dylan is very easy going, easy to like, and gets along well
with everyone. He looks out for the underdog. He likes to read, play
computer and video games, play with Legos and with his little brother,
explore, take things apart to see how they work, and he and I have had a
lot of fun playing badminton since we moved here.
Megan is 10. She is a true mother. She has always loved taking care of
people. She likes when someone is sick so she can wait on them. She is
so eager for a baby sitting job. She takes it very seriously. One time
I left her to watch Kate and Jonah while I went to an evening meeting. I
came home and Jonah and Kate bounced in the room to tell me hi and
bounced off again, just as happy as could be, and Megan came dragging
into the room saying she was worn out. She had played school with them,
read to them, colored with them. She'd been right there entertaining
them the whole time I was gone. She's very good at including everyone
and making new people feel comfortable. The secretary at their last
school told me about one day when she was in first grade. There was a
new kid who was crying in the office, and she happened to go in there,
couldn't help seeing him, asked him what was wrong, and she was able to
comfort him and make friends with him. She's such a sweetheart. There
was an autistic boy in our Pocatello ward, who is a senior in high school
this year. He loved her, and his mom would get teary eyed every time she
talked about Megan because she so appreciated that Megan would be his
friend and seek him out to say hi and play his word games and singing
games with him. She loves to get dirty. Dirt, tree sap, bugs, whatever.
One thing she doesn't like here is that she can't dig holes in the yard.
She also likes to draw and watch movies.
Kate, 8, is such a little fireball. She is so fun and loving most of the
time. She loves to laugh, and she actually enjoys Dylan's teasing most
of the time. When she is crossed, she lets everyone know, very loudly.
She tends to be a little accident prone. She broke her wrist last winter
at a roller skating party, and after we moved in here she sliced her foot
open on a file cabinet drawer that was on the floor. It's almost healed
and she's very excited that we can all go swimming tomorrow at the
aquatic park in town. Last week she tripped and fell on the same foot
and bruised her heel. Kate is so quick at learning. Her teachers have
had to give her extra work to keep her occupied. In first grade she
completed an entire workbook by February that was supposed to have lasted
the whole year. Last year she was almost always the first one done with
assignments, and I often found her drawing at her desk in her classroom
because she had finished all her work. She's different from all the
other kids that way. She's very speedy with most jobs, and still manages
to do them well. Kate loves to draw and color, play video and computer
games, horse around with her big brother, and ride her bike. Jeny, Tara,
Spencer, and Mark -- thank you so much for remembering Kate while you
were in Hawaii. She was SO excited to get the card. She opened it and
shouted, "She remembered!!" and showed everyone, "Look, this is the note
I gave Tara and she remembered to send it to me!"
Jonah is 5 and is my little buddy. We've had so much fun together,
especially the past couple of years, baking together, going shopping, to
the library, and to school and everywhere together. I'm going to be so
sad to send him to school this year without me, though he's very ready.
He's such a smart little man. He loves to hug as hard as he can and give
me kisses. He loves to play with his Duplo blocks for hours, building
towers, space stations, and "guys". He plays make believe while he's
building, and makes lots of sound effect noises, usually car noises or
shooting or blowing up sounds. He's such a boy. He's shy when you first
meet him, but once he knows you he's a chatter box, and when we go out he
starts every sentence with, "Mom," just so I say, "What," so he knows I'm
listening to him. He likes to listen to stories and books, play with
play dough, play computer games, dig, wrestle with his siblings, and play
with his dinosaurs, cars, and jets. He's so excited to start school this
fall.

Nickell and Aaron's Kid

Kade is my only one so far but he's great! His personality is starting to show more and more. Before he was really boring and just slept a lot. But now he smiles at us and it's very fun. He's a little stinker though. He will fall asleep, so we put him in his crib. Then he will cry (which is more like he is just yelling at us. It's very funny.) When we go in to check on him after a few minutes of him yelling at us. He just smiles. He knows we can't resist that. He pulls a lot of faces, and scowles just like I do. He is such a good baby, he is very very mellow. We got so lucky to have such a perfect little baby! Here is a video of his smile! I will try and post one tomorrow of the yell/cry! I decided on video to change it up, so it isn't always text!

Jeny and Mark's Kids

My children are the best. That’s all. All your children are pretty great, but mine win. After all, how many of you still say, “I thmell a thmell” ? See? They really do win!

Tara is my happy (but not too happy, that wouldn’t be cool) artistic historian. She loves to learn new things and read, and she is always humming or singing. She hates melted cheese and yard work. She wants to learn to cook without doing it. She is very sensitive, but hates to let anyone know. She cries in sad movies, and not so sad movies (remember Rigoletto?) and has this great ability to not have a pink, soggy face when she’s finished crying. Tara plans on becoming a historical fiction author who illustrates her own books. She likes everyone and gets along with everyone, but is super shy and doesn’t go out of her way to be with people she doesn’t know. I have often stomped up to her bedroom door with the intent of yelling at her to put down the book and turn off the light, only to see that she was reading her scriptures, and how can you yell at a child for that? She’s just a really good person.

Spencer, on the other hand . . . no he’s a good person, too! He just turned 18 and hasn’t done anything old, so he says. He likes to have a big group of friends around all the time, and when they aren’t around he likes to bang – I mean play – the piano or read a book. He’s a lot like me so we often get on each other’s nerves. He has very strong opinions and loves to garden and read. He likes to play hockey, but doesn’t get the chance very often, and I just learned that he’s a pretty good surfer. No big waves yet, but he looks great! He loves all living things – especially creepy crawly things. If something moves outside he starts after it with the intention of catching it. (remember t-ball and the bugs in the field?) He has been bitten by snakes, cicadas (I know they don’t bite, but they do stick their sucky thing in you if they think you’re a stick), spiders, a lizard, Spot (again and again, but not anymore), cats, etc. Right now he plans on a career in architecture or something medical. He has time to figure it out, so we just encourage all of his choices.

Lori's Cool Crew

My children are the easiest things for me to talk about...so here, at 3am (yes, I leave for work at 6:15), I'll add my two cents.

Teresa Bruce, 23, is probably the most social of my bunch. She almost always has a smile on her face and there's not much she comes up against that bothers her. She is happy-go-lucky and wise beyond her years. She's one of the best, most involved and in-the-moment mothers I've ever come across. She's very artistic - has an eye for color and space - and she is the "elegant" woman I've always wished I could be.
April Reiff, 20, introverted unless you cross her. She is very opinionated and it's no-holds-barred if someone thinks differently. She's fierce when it comes to sticking to a goal and is fiercely loyal to those she loves. She has a soft spot for kittens and baby birds. Her favorite things to do are work out and watch good movies with an ice cream sundae!
J.D., 18, is about as easy-going as his sister Tere. Not much ruffles his feathers unless he feels someone he loves is in danger or being put down. He yearned for a brother for years, and yet when he got one of the most talkative, annoying, pester-you-'til-you cry little brothers he still treats him lovingly, with sternness, but great care. He's one of the most thoughtful and empathetic young men I've ever known (and yes, we all know I've known alot!!). He is very good at taking things apart and figuring out how to put them back together - whether it's electronic or machine - and there's not been any teaching in his home about ANYTHING like that!
Nico, 7, is my fuss-budget. If he was a girl we'd call him a princess, but since he's not a girl...Ooooo, he'd be hot if he heard that one! He is his father's child in so many ways. He gets his nose all bent out of joint if anything goes any differently than the way he imagined it should. He likes things done "on schedule" and without deviation. His very unscheduled, spontaneous mother is just about to drive him mad! He's unbelieveably witty and remembers just about everything he's ever heard - and believe me, he'll use it on you at the most inopportune times. He can listen to you, sing, and play Naruto cards all while watching cartoons, and still tell you what's going on outside the window. The kid is a whirlwind. Just watching him go for a few moments is exhausting, but he makes me laugh all the time, and laughter is a very good thing!

Holly and Matt's Kids

I only have one and a half kids, so this is an easy question. Shannon is one of the happiest, most sociable kids I know. In Wal-mart she will go up to anyone, reach for them, and say, "Want me?" One of these days she will learn stranger danger, but she doesn't get it yet. She is almost always singing. Just last Sunday in church she grabbed the hymn book from me so that she could hold it herself, and she started belting out her own tune during the opening hymn. She still uses a lot of gibberish when she talks, but she sure knows what she's saying! The only bad part of her personality that I can find so far is that she is VERY sensitive. She has a melt down if I tell her not to do something, and if her dad is the one to tell her no, the world has ended!
Our other girl, as of yet unnamed, is very wiggly, just like Shannon was. Hopefully she will be as happy and fun.

Heidi and Jason's Kids

It never ceases to amaze me how very different each child is. Ashley will be ten soon. She is very responsible and loves to be in charge. When Jason's on call at the hospital all night she and I enjoy watching "To Kill a Mockingbird" or any other movie Jason won't watch with me. Around others she is very shy, but once she gets back in her comfort zone, she'll make up for it by talking your ear off.

Melissa, 7, is definitely our extravert. She will talk to anyone in any place and loves making new friends. She doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. Her favorite things to do now are to read Junie B. Jones books and watch any Barbie movie pretending that she is the main character.

Rachel, 5, is our happy kid. Happy all the time. She sings church songs on our 15 minute drive to church, and every other day she sings Kids Bop songs. She is a singer!!

Sara is 21 months old and is a snuggler! Every morning after breakfast she has to have me hold her and sing to her. She lays her head on my shoulder and just curls right up against me. I love that! I've never had a kid this old let me hold them so long. She also sings a lot. When she plays Polly Pocket, she sings the wedding march.

Amy and T's Kids

My kids are my favorite thing to talk about cause they are so awesome. Sometimes I watch the things they do and can't believe Heavenly Father trusts me with such amazingly strong spirits. I just pray that I can give them what they need to continue to succeed in everything. Let's see, Alex is now 11 and starting middle school in 2 weeks. I'm not sure I'm ready for that (I HATED junior high) but he is so different than I am. He's very protective of those he loves. He's not afraid to stand up to his friends if they are being mean to a sibling or saying something about his parents. He loves music and history and mythology and basketball. He complains about his piano lessons but he's really good! He is very sensitive and tenderhearted. He helps me with whatever I need and rarely complains about it. He loves church and boy scouts and he bore his testimony for the first time this week at a scout campout. He always shows respect to adults and treats everyone well.

Joshua - what can I say about Joshua. He is so different that his brother - than anyone I know, really. He has so much energy all the time! He talks non-stop cause his brain never slows down. He even talks in his sleep. His first-grade teacher recommended that he skip 2nd grade and start 3rd this year because he is so far ahead of everyone else (we decided against it, this is the Kentucky school system after all), he loves to sing and can memorize faster than any kid his age. He can mimic almost any sound, he'll be great with foreign languages. He and Emma are best friends, most of the time. He is not afraid of anything, even changing a diaper. And I can always count on him to make me smile.

Emma is all girl! she is turning 5 in October but too late to enter Kindergarten so she may just start 1st grade next year since she is already starting to read. She loves anything pink and she loves princess movies. Her favorite things to do are color and paint and dance. She likes to play "mother" to Zachary but she doesn't play with dolls very much. If there is a baby around she will not leave it's side. She also loves to eat! She likes any fruit and almost any vegetable and she will try anything once. She is beautiful and bright and so cheerful and easy-going and I'm glad to have her home for another year.

Zachary is just a genius. We got him magnetic letters for his 2nd birthday and he pulled them out of the box and starting naming all the letters. I don't know how he learned them but he knows them all. He sings all the time and plays on the piano. Our piano has buttons and he knows how to turn it on and turn it down and which of the demo songs are his favorite and how to turn them on. He is one smart cookie. But he still doesn't know how to take his diaper off (yea!!!) and I'm not going to show him.

Teresa and Keith's

Ha so this is something I could talk your ears off about. To me, my kids are the coolest people on the planet. I'll try to shorten it a bit for you guys.

MaKayla is my stepdaughter and she just turned 11. She has had type 1 diabetes since 2005. She is such a girl who really enjoys indulging in the latest trends and fashions. Right now she loves Hannah Montana. She also loves people, especially her baby sister. She is very outgoing once she gets to know you and loves the computer. You can definitely tell she's the oldest when they all play school or house haha (reminds me of me). She could shop anyone under the table.

Meaghan is my 8 year old stepdaughter. She is my catch-on-quick child. She can pick up on anything and do it very well, especially sports. She loves animals alot and loves to play games. She is more independant than her other sisters and enjoys her alone time. Fashion is not as important as fun and she is not terribly worried about the trends. She enjoys anything that includes movement i.e. dancing and sports and loves anything involving animals. I see her being a vet or being in animal protection when she grows up.

Derek is 4 and our only boy. He enjoys everything about being a boy. He likes harrassing his sisters, everything with wheels, and dirt. He loves the dirt. He loves to drive his vehicles through the dirt and bury them while he lays in the dirt. Hiking and camping rank very high on his list (because he gets to be dirty, he says). He hates being still and loves being around people. He likes to make people laugh. He is happiest when he is with other people and makes it a point to include everyone in his games and adventures.

Cassie is just beginning to really show her own persona. She is very reserved and doesn't like anything new. She is very serious and laughs and giggles only when she is sure there isn't trouble lurking in every corner. The only thing that can override her uneasiness is her big bo-bo. As long as her brother is with her, she usually does okay... usually. She idolizes her brother and is just fine without mommy and daddy when she is playing with him. She is so much like daddy in looks and personality it cracks me up. She is a food fanatic and loves all and any food she can get ahold of. I think her favorite thing she's ever had is a powdered donut Derek snuck to her while mommy was driving. Every time she sees him with donuts, she starts "jumping" and hollering. Unlike her brother, she does not like being dirty.

Holly's Answers

I am also happiest when I spend time with my family. I love it when we go to the park or go swimming together. It makes me very happy to see Shannon learn new things. I consider myself good company when I am alone as well. Like most of you, I really enjoy reading a good book and/or taking a bath. I love gardening (though I don't get the opportunity to do much right now) and just having the birds chirping at me.
I do enjoy the theater and the opera. I haven't had the chance to see a whole lot of either, but I think the theater production that I have enjoyed the most so far was "the Phantom of the Opera," and the opera that I liked most was "Suor Angelica."

Question of the Week

Tell something about each of your children: their personalities, their
talents, traits that make them different and special.

News

Hi, everyone:

Just a quick note to let you know that Mom and I have received a surprise new calling this morning. We have been called on a 2-yr service mission to serve as the Directors of the Church Employment Office in Colorado Springs. We start Aug. 11, and will be working Mon thru Thurs., 9:00 to 4:30 each day.

That means we will have to ask to be released from the temple, but it is quite satisfying to know that there is a mission that we can serve with a minimum of disruption to our lives.

Keep us in your prayers. We will need them.

Dad

Hawaii....

We’ve been in Hawaii now since Tuesday night, and have had several memories already. When we got here on Tuesday, Tara decided to put in her contacts and immediately started complaining about them burning her eyes. We (I) told her to rinse them off and hurry so we could go to the beach, and we walked around for a while in the sand and the ocean. When we got back to the hotel, she took the contacts out and started howling (really, she did). We irrigated her eyes as best we could, but at 1:00am (that’s 5:00am in Utah) the poison control lady said to just take her to a hospital. She has a “pretty severe” burn on her cornea from something that spilled in her makeup bag and got into her contact case, but it’s getting better quickly. Here she is on Wednesday the morning after the hospital fun. I didn’t’ get any pics at the hospital

This is her sultry look.

Spencer had his birthday here which was really fun, and today we went to the Polynesian cultural center, which was also very fun. It rained on us and we got soaked, so it was a memory, too. Tara asked why all the bad things that happen are called memories. Here are a few other pics.


This is my favorite! Aloha!

Heidi's Thoughts

Dad seemed to focus on the love part of this book. The things that stood out for me were more simple. I guess I'm not anywhere near Dad's level yet. The way he showed of studying the scriptures, looking for parallels between prophet's lives and Christ's, was great! I had never seen any of that before. Also the way he broke down the sacrament prayers made them make so much more sense to me. It will help me in my own study to be able to recognize those things now.
In response to the surprise post we got from Kristi (that was great to hear from you!!) and what Dad has been saying, what if everyone started thinking of the word "love" as a verb rather than a noun? To love someone is to want to find ways of serving them. To love the temple is to do our best to get there as often as possible and put ourselves completely into the work. We're actively doing something when we love, so it is an action. Just a thought.

From Dad

Reaching Out in Love

Posted: 16 Jul 2008 02:00 AM CDT

"In 1840 the Prophet Joseph sent an epistle to the Twelve wherein he taught that 'love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race' (History of the Church, 5: 227)."As we reach out in love to those around us, we fulfill the other half of the great commandment to 'love thy neighbour as thyself' (Galatians 5:14)."

Joseph B Wirthlin, "The Great Commandment," Ensign, Nov. 2007, 28

Topics: Discipleship, Serving Others

Kristi's Thoughts

I have given serious thought to your “epistle”. I want you to know that I truly appreciate your challenge to read this book. I have thoroughly benefitted from reading it to this point. I have found it to be extremely thought provoking and that is exactly the kind of book I enjoy.

I don’t know what kinds of responses you would like from us but I did have one thought as I read your first reflection. We often think of the word love as meaning “to feel desire or strong affection for somebody or something”. I wonder if it is sometimes helpful, when thinking of having a love for the scriptures for example, to expand the meaning of the word a little bit. I believe another definition of the word is “to need or require or to benefit greatly from”. Perhaps it’s all the same but using this definition of the word love, if I want to develop a love of the scriptures I must search for the benefit in my life so that I will be able to feel the need every single day. I guess my point is that if we look for the places in our lives where the “holy” things are necessary and required and beneficial for our growth and happiness (“… men are that they might have joy”) then we will not be able to contain the affection we feel for such holy things.

To most of us it is no secret that the things that are holy are required in our lives and will be beneficial. The question is, do we actively seek to find a place for them in our lives? They ARE required for our progression, they ARE necessary for our happiness and they WILL benefit us in more ways than our mortal minds can imagine. But, I ask again do we search to find a place for them? The answer is the difference between having a testimony and being converted. The change of heart that comes when we are ready to be wholly committed.

Maybe I’m way off base. But that’s how I feel. That’s my response to your epistle.

That sounds like I think I’m perfect at all of it. I’m not perfect at any of it. I have just been thinking about it this week.

I love you too,

Two Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Spencer and Happy Birthday Becca. Spencer turns 18 today and Becca turns 13! We hope you two have a good day! We love you!

Nickell is Catching Up...

I have been way behind on the questions of the week. I will just answer the last two I remember....

My happiness is my family. I am also very happy when I am taking pictures. I love having a hobby that can also be a profession. I love being with my little boy. He is such a blessing and I love him so much. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who shares the parenthood responsibilities with me very well. He wakes up in the night when Kade wakes up and lets me sleep.

I prefer theater, mostly because I have never been to the opera so I don't know what to compare. Anyway, I have only seen Phantom of the Opera and Wicked, but thoroughly enjoyed both!

Amy Prefers....

I guess I'm a little behind so let me catch up. Opera is definitely more enjoyable for me IF the singers are good. Otherwise I spend the whole show criticizing. And for me the same is usually true in the theater. I don't like to see a play without music but most of the singing talent used these days in theater productions lacks substance and I can't stand it. My favorite Opera that I've seen would have to be Lucia di Lamermoor. Great music and the staging was wonderful!

By the way, for those of you who don't know, I am officially a college student again. I am starting in August with College Algebra and General Psychology. Right now I am taking the classes online but next semester I will have to be in the classroom for A&P. It's kind of scary but I'm also excited.

Last night we all auditioned for a local production of The Music Man. Well, all but Payne. They decided Zack was too young after about 5 minutes (or less) and Alex got stuck in with the teenagers cause they lost his form. Josh didn't even get to try for Winthrop-I guess they thought he was too young. Anyway, we got a call today that they don't want to use any of the kids. I'm disappointed because I know how talented they are and I feel like they didn't get a chance to really show it because they did everything in groups. But the only one that was really disappointed was Josh. He was looking forward to it. They asked my barbershop quartet to play the pick-a-little ladies and they asked me to understudy Marian. It will be fun, but I wish I were doing it with my family. Well, that's all from here. I hope everyone has a good week!

I Have Started....

I've started doing baby portraits and I couldn't be more excited. -Nickell

Mindy's Thoughts

Dad,

I read your thoughts. I don't really know what kind of response you're
looking for. These are thoughts I've had before. It's one reason I have
such a hard time understanding the cheering that went on in the streets
of the middle eastern countries after 9-11. I don't understand that kind
of hatred. There have been people I've disliked in my life, but I think
I can honestly say that I don't hate anyone. I can see that we're all
God's children. But loving someone doesn't necessarily mean liking them.
I can love someone as a child of God but still not want to be around
them because of the way they act. It's hard to treat everyone like a
child of God. That's where selfishness comes in. I do what's best for
me and mine. But I also try hard to see the other person's side of
things and try to be fair. Love does take effort. But first there has
to be a desire to love. You have to want to love people before the
effort does any good. Sometimes a little effort will spark the desire
too.

So there are my thoughts. Have a nice day! Love, Mindy

The Holy Secret

Dearest Family:

Here is my first set of observations regarding the book and the challenge given to each of you.

Bro. Ferrell starts off by challenging us to think about what we truly love -- particularly in a Gospel sense. We probably all agree that if our hearts are right, we should love the scriptures, love the temple, love church meetings, love missionary work, etc. Sadly, this is usually not the case. We tend to take these things for granted. That is one of the signal reasons that love dies – taking something or someone for granted.

I will address some of the reasons why it is so.

Love is an interesting concept. What most of us don’t consider is that love – if it is to grow and flourish -- requires a LOT of work. We have a tendency to assume that love just happens. Not so! Consider love at several levels.

A parent loves a child because of all the work they have given to that child’s welfare. It starts that way, because during pregnancy there is a lot of dedication on the part of both parents – especially the mother – toward the welfare of that child-to-be. It continues to grow because of the efforts that are made to feed, clothe, teach, and nurture that child in the ways that the parents consider to be critical to their future welfare.

You can probably all cite instances from your own experience where a parent no longer loves a child. It is almost always because that parent has been disappointed in the child (usually during the teenage years) and the parent has stopped putting any effort into loving him or her. It is much easier to just give up. Take it from me, you can NEVER give up. Giving up destroys you!

The same is true for the love between husband and wife. When one or the other becomes disappointed by the other, if effort stops then love begins to die. It is at times like this that greater effort is required. Same rationale as above.

In Ether 12:35, the Lord tells us that we need to love everyone even as Jesus loves everyone. That is His definition of Charity. And, he states emphatically that if we do not have that kind of love, we cannot enter the Celestial kingdom. Read that and ponder. We must love Hitler, Stalin, Bill and Hillary Clinton (Sorry! I probably shouldn’t have allowed a bit of light-heartedness to enter this rather sober discussion, but I couldn’t help it), etc., etc. We are justified in condemning the choices they have made, and their actions, but we must learn to love them as children of God and as literally our brothers or sisters. Have any of you considered that as a commandment? It seems to go contrary to our “natural man” natures. We expect that love just “happens”. That is what most of our literature would have us to believe. I say again, love requires a LOT of work.

So, what do we do when love is not where it should be? We need to individually and as couples create a plan of work that will cause that love to develop as it should.

If it is love of the temple we want, we need to attend more frequently and with a dedicated commitment to not only learn something new each time, but to feel the Spirit of the Lord that is there (fasting and prayer would certainly help) and to focus on the person for whom we are vicariously performing ordinances that they cannot perform for themselves. Try to “feel” their presence.

If it is love of the scriptures that we are trying to foster, we need a plan for regular personal and companion study of the scriptures and for what we intend to study. There has to be more involved than just “reading”. And it must be constant!

If it is love for a family member for whom we do not feel “love” as we know we should feel it, we need to create a plan for serving that person in some way that may help to initiate love. It is interesting! Kind of like starting a fire. When the initial sparks are struck, there is often a responsive spark and the two combine to start a flame. I think this is true at any level. This is perhaps the most challenging of all, and is especially difficult when we feel that we have been offended by that person. Remember, the command to love all men is without exception.

So, you have some of my thoughts. I don’t for a second pretend to be an example of all of these principles, but maybe becoming more aware of them is the beginning of something better. I certainly hope so. For myself as well as for you! I believe with all my heart that being better at “loving” is essential to my happiness and eternal welfare. I believe the same is true for each of you.

Your comments are eagerly solicited.

Dad

Whatever....

So I have to go to Hawaii this morning, so I'll make this short. Spencer got to open his pig yesterday because he turns 18 tomorrow and we will be in Hawaii (remember, I'm going there?). Here are pictures. Oh, and if you care, here is the website for the webcams in Honolulu:

http://www.honolulu.gov/multimed/waikiki.asp
http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/multimed/wme.asp

These are 2 different webcams. We'll call when we are near one. Probably Friday morning around 10am Hawaii time.

ALOHA!

-Jeny

Amy's Happiness

I don't really have one specific secret for happiness, there are so many things that make me happy. The first thing that comes to mind is my children. They make me happy every day. I love to see them smiling and belly-laughing. And, like Mindy, I am happy to tears when my children make the right choice all on their own, especially when it's something difficult. I am happiest when my marriage relationship is good, and right now it's really good. I have found that my level of happiness will increase or decrease according to how often I read my scriptures. When I read every day, even if it's 5 minutes, I am much more patient and even-tempered. That makes the whole house happy!

I love to be alone! I think that's why I stay up so late at night. I love to read and go out to lunch alone and shop without kids. I guess I am good company for myself. If I weren't I would never be alone cause it would be miserable. I am also a closet eater -- when I am alone I can eat anything I want and no one will think anything about it or ask me to share because they don't know about it. I know you are all nodding right now - you know who you are. I also have to wait until just before I go to bed to read scriptures because I get absolutely nothing out of it if the kids are awake. If I'm alone I can take time to re-read things and really think about them. It makes them much easier to read and understand. As much as I like to be alone, I much prefer to spend time with my family. We can have such a great time together!

Mindy Prefers......

I prefer the theater over opera. I like to sing opera MUCH more than I like to watch it. My favorite production overall is Les Miserables. I love most of the music, the story, the staging. The book is even better. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen or read it.

We're finding there's a lot of artistic culture here that we didn't have in Pocatello, and I'm excited to expose the kids to more of that. There are free concerts in the park, lots of community and University productions available, and the University stake even does some. We host the Renaissance Festival, the Lionel Hampton Music Festival, and the All State Choir every other year. I really think we'll enjoy living here.

Question of the week:

Do you like to go to the theater? the opera? Which do you like best?
What production did you like best and why?

Happy Birthday MaKayla!

Happy Birthday MaKayla! MaKayla turns 11 today! We are so happy you are part of our family and hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Mom's Happiness

I'm happiest when all my kids and families are happy and doing what's right and I don't have to worry about them. I know that doesn't do any good but it's always there in your head and heart if they are not. I'm happiest when we are all together and getting along. It is so much fun. I love to hear you all sing together too. That brings me joy.

I enjoy being alone and doing exactly what I want too. I love to read a good book and I'd love the bathtub if I could get out of it. I used to love it. I like my own company. Some people don't like to be alone and I wouldn't like it all the time but I do like it occasionally. I love to spend time with Dad too, and with my family. I am glad David lives here with his family. I am really looking forward to seeing some of you at the end of the month. I love you all, each and every one of you . Love Grandma

Jeny's Happiness

I just told Mindy I was surprised that others don't look at the blog very often, which I do. But I don't submit entries very often, so I'm going to try now. This is my first question of the week answer ever.

Having all my family home and near me makes me happy. I love to have people visit, and I love to have the house clean after they have left. I am always happy in the garden, especially when there are peas and raspberries to pick, and when I can dig up potatoes and there really are potatoes that grew.

I love the beach and wish I could be there now. Oh, yeah, I will be there next week. I guess I can wait. I am super happy when I can see my nieces and nephews smile at me (which means that you are visiting me, or I am visiting you), and I love when I'm sleeping in Austin's bed. I am happy knowing that my children are growing up and learning to be adults and doing a good job at this learning process. I'm happy when I think of Mark. I'm most happy every day when I get to walk out of the office and head home!!

Heidi's Happiness

Exercise!!! Exercise is my key to happiness. I love walking more than anything in the world. I HATE aerobics, but after a workout, I feel so good that it makes it all worth it. When I get depressed, I go for a walk and immediately feel better. Walking for me is a time to help my body feel healthy and strong, and time to really meditate. I can do a lot of thinking, even if I'm pushing a stroller. I love it.

I don't know how I am when I'm alone, because there's no one there to tell me, and I can't trust my own opinion. I really enjoy being alone just because of how rare it is. I read and love watching movies that Jason won't watch with me like "An Affair to Remember" or "To Kill a Mockingbird", two of my favorites.

Happy Birthday Dan!

Welcome to the family! We hope you have a wonderful birthday! Happy Birthday!

Teresa's Happiness

Almost everything one the planet and beyond makes me happy. I am very seldom upset. My kids being individuals make me happy. Taking a picture differently than other people makes me happy. Nature makes me really happy. The spontaneous order of nature in this world absolutely awes me, and that makes me happy. The only time I'm not "happy" is when my brain is twittling it's fingers. I love thinking and pondering things. Even when my kids misbehave, I'm happy (on some level) because I am trying to figure out the reason they are behaving that way. I know that keeping things positive in my mind has made life in general alot happier.

When I'm alone, I can be 2 different people. I love reading and I love loud music, but they don't mesh well. So I am usually doing one or the other. You'll find me reading on my deck or listening to music while I clean my house, dance or be creative (draw, paint, scrapbook etc). That's me in a nutshell.