You know things are okay when . . . . .

your adult children CHOOSE to spend time together. Julia had a week off for Thanksgiving so she went down to Salt Lake City to spend it with Hillary and their friends. They had a great time. I was a little worried about how their big Thanksgiving meal would turn out, but it sounds like it went great. Their cousin Karen who is also going to school in Utah joined them as well. From all accounts, they cooked a great meal and had a very successful shopping trip the next day. We can't wait for them to come home in 2 weeks!

a nice, loud Thanksgiving

Well, we had a great Thanksgiving this year, full of family: totaling 20 for dinner, 17 of which stayed for a 2 day slumber party. My brother Tom and his family, my nephew Jared and his family, us and of course my parents. It is amazing when we reflect that this was my Dad's 90th Thanksgiving. This is the first time I can remember that Reggie had the day after Thanksgiving off, so he joined me for the early morning shopping. We were in line at Kohl's at 3:40 am because they opened at 4. After 20 minutes in Kohl's (they were very effecient and prepared for the crowds) we went to stand in line at Target which opened at 6. The standing in line was actually fun. Not only was it time that we spent together, but Reggie's outgoing personality had us talking and laughing with the other people in line. Target also had a good handle on crowd control, and everyone was very pleasant and calm. Most of the family left this morning, but some plans have drastically changed. My nephew (who is in the military) and his family were just passing through on their way to being stationed in San Diego. But, he just found out that he will be deployed very soon, for about a year. So instead of his wife and kids going to San Diego to be alone, they are getting an apartment here, only about 5 miles away from us; the military gives great housing allowance for the bay area and this way she and the babies will be near family. We are excited to have them so close. I do feel guilty that I will get to spend more time with my sister's grandchildren than she will. But we have a deal: someday one of my daughters will have to settle with her family near my sister, in Texas. So, it has been a great Thanksgiving, and we have much to be thankful for.

after The Crucible

So Mariah's play is over, and life is getting somewhat back to normal. She was always gone to her rehersals. It was fun, and sometimes hard, to watch her in her part. She played a "villain" who almost changed her ways, but then went back to being bad again. It was hard to watch her be evil, and it was also hard to watch when she was being mistreated by people. She had a very emotional part - entailed alot of screaming and crying. Now I know why she came home with a sore throat every night. It was quite a serious play, but she and her fellow cast members had a ball putting it together. She is now looking forward to the spring production, and so are we. We did not get any pictures of her in the play, but the above are some recent pictures we have of our young thespian.

Ant and Bee

Over the years it has been difficult deciding which toys, books, etc. that the children have "outgrown" that we should give away, and which we should keep. Usually I feel that I am being silly holding on to old things that they "might" care about in 20 years. But there have been a couple of times now that I have really regretted getting rid of things. For example, my earliest Christmas memory is a set of books that I received when I was about 4 years old, titled "Ant and Bee". I even remember being intrigued by the wrapping all December long, and tried to tear at it when my parents weren't looking. I loved these books, learned to ready by these books, and enjoyed them for many years. I even saved them until about the time that Mariah was born. Julia and Hillary liked them, but for some reason I decided that we had too many books and I might as well get rid of them. So I did; all but one. Then a little while ago, since I still so fondly remember these books, I decided that maybe I ought to look into buying them again for Luke, and for me. So I went on Amazon.com and realized that they were out of print. I then went on ebay and was shocked because they are selling for between $50 and $1000 each! I am kicking myself! Not because I could have sold them now and made money, but because I realize how much I loved them and how ridiculous it would be to try to by them now, at those prices. I wish so much that I had saved these cute, little books. So think hard when you are trying to decide which of your children's things to get rid of and which to keep. You just never know.

Old Joe

We have a wonderful neighbor named Joe. He is an elderly man, with a thick Louisiana accent, who has lived in his house alone for years. It is not the nicest house on the block, but he is the nicest person on the block. He does not work, but keeps himself busy all day helping the rest of us. He is usually up before we all head out the door, and has his hose out, rinsing off any cars that it will reach. He has saved us many parking tickets by knocking on the door reminding us that it is street cleaning day. One morning I awoke to the sounds of someone behind our porch. I realized it was Joe, doing us the favor of "stomping" all of the snails that were out that day. He is definately quirky, but we really do feel safe with him around. Last Christmas Eve we made him a coffee cake and delivered it. He was so happy and grateful. Today we were baking cookies and Luke and Samantha brought him some. A half an hour later, Joe was at our door with a 10 pound turkey. Here we were trying to show our appreciation, and he just gave more. What would the world be like without "quirky" people like old Joe.

The Crucible

For months now Mariah and her fellow cast members (including Jeremy Wells from our ward) have been rehersing, building sets, etc. for their school production of "The Crucible". It's been a lot of long, hard work, which Mariah has thouroughly enjoyed. The timing is great, with it's colonial theme, considering it is right before Thanksgiving. The play is about the Salem Witch hunts during the colonial days of America. Mariah plays Mary, the teenage girl who goes along with the others in accusing people of witchcraft, but then tries to change her mind. It is an interesting yet intense story line, (not for children) but really makes you think. The play opens today, and runs every night through the weekend. I think the tickets are $7 at the door. So if you're looking for something interesting to do, this might be a good idea. Anyway, we're pretty happy that the schools are still providing extra-curricular activities like this. I think that teenagers are much happier when they're busy rather than bored. (Which brings up the subject of how happy we are for all of the activities that the church provides for the teenagers. We can't even begin to thank all of the leaders for their long, hard work on behalf of the youth. But that will be another post for another day.)

Another Big Date

So Reggie has a very busy social calendar. As I mentioned in other posts, he was the highlight of Luke's birthday party, as all the boys attacked him with their lightsabers. (He is "Luke's father" you know). And then he had a big date with Samantha to see High School Musical 3 a couple of weeks ago. Well today, after a full day of work (hurray for overtime!) he took Mariah and a friend to see Carrie Underwood in concert. His brother bought the tickets and couldn't use them, so he offered them to us. I just have to say, Reggie is the best father in the world. And if he plays his cards right, he might get lucky enough to watch some Anne of Green Gables with me tomorrow!

Bring on the Hallmark Movies!

One of my favorite things about the holidays is Hallmark movies. They make new ones every year and play the old ones as well. It looks like next Saturday they will start with their marathons of Christmas movies, back to back, all day, and then soon they will show them every night. I am very excited. I just watched a new one tonight about a homeless woman and a female police officer that become friends. Turns out it is a true story because at the end they tell what the people are doing now. Sometimes movies like this are hard to watch, especially around the holidays. I can't help think what if that was me, or will be me some day. In the movie the lady tries to help her co-worker understand that any one of us could be "one of them" (homeless), if enough things went wrong. And so I am feeling especially thankful for many things tonight. I am thankful for food, water and a furnace to turn on in the early mornings. I am thankful for beds and blankets and a roof over our heads. I'm thankful for trusty old appliances that are doing their best to have a long, productive life. I am thankful for family who I know are there to help if and when life gets overwhelming. I am thankful for things that help me keep life in perspective. And most of all I pray for those who are suffering and in need. I pray that God is watching over them tonight. And so as bad as the economy is right now, I hope we will all still find the joy that this season can bring. If life seems too hard, I suggest we all go read our scriptures and then watch a Hallmark movie.

tide pools

Funny how people typically seem to miss the best sight seeing that is in their own backyard. Our family (minus Julia and Hillary - we still miss you guys!) decided to check out the tide pools that are right behind the church building in Half Moon Bay. We'd heard how great they are, but we don't ever remember going there. So we did one Friday afternoon, and it was alot of fun. So if you're in the area, go check it out!

How We Spent Our Halloween

We each had our own adventure this Halloween:


Luke went Trunk Or Treating as Indiana Jones


Samantha dressed as a girl from "Hairspray"


Mariah went horseback riding


Hillary had a wild party at her apartment


Julia and her roomates cooked an elegant meal


Nancy wanted to die from strep throat


Reggie lost his patience and his head at work


and finally, a spider made it's web on our front window.

We hope you all had a great October and an even better November!

A surprising phone call home

Hillary told us tonight about the thousand or so people that are protesting at Temple Square because they are mad at the church over Prop. 8. It is obviously overwhelming, but Hillary is not unfamiliar with people disagreeing with her beliefs, so she will be fine. Please keep our beautiful/sacred Temple Square in your prayers.

Hillary's phone calls home

Hillary called the other day, and was so ecstatic about something she could hardly speak. She said that President Eyring was in one of the rooms at her college, having a meeting. She happened to be in the hallway when he came out and she waved, or something. He smiled at/acknowledged her, and so she kept telling us "He saw my face! He saw my face!" I love how she loves stuff like that. One of her most memorable experiences is when she heard the news that President Hinckley died. She and some friends were already on temple square when it happened, and she was part of the spontaneous hymn singing that went on that night. She and Julia were also able to go to his viewing and funeral. They waited in line, in the snowy weather, before they got in, but they said it was more than worth it. And, after the funeral, Hillary and friends saw Elder Holland in a grocery store. Hillary said she went up and said hello and asked him for a hug, which he gave to her. He then took the time to speak to them for a little while. Again, she was ecstatic. I have to admit, we don't hear much about how her grades are going, but we do hear from her about stuff like this. She is having an amazing college experience.

Luke's hard earned money

The other day, when I picked Luke up from school, he showed me a 5 dollar bill. I asked him where he got it and he said Elena (a girl from his class) gave it to him. I asked him why and he said "She told me she would give me 5 bucks if I let her cut me in the lunch line, and so I did, and she gave me 5 bucks." What a deal! I told him not to make those kinds of deals anymore, but I didn't make him give it back either. I was wondering if she or the parents would ask for it back, but they didn't. Hopefully the little girl learns the value of money, or maybe she's just got that much to throw around. Should I have made him give it back? What do you think?

no matter what the differences are

So today there were "No on 8" people, with signs, standing outside the entrance of our schools. I drive to 4 schools a day (1 for each kid, and my own). When I drove into the parking lot to pick up Luke, one of the men looked like he wanted to hand me a piece of paper, so I rolled down the window and said "actually, I'm voting yes on prop. 8". He very nicely said, "Oh, why?" I kept driving, because I didn't want to get into a debate, and I heard him say "Oh that's why, she's got a big family". I realized he was referring to the sticker on our window that has the 7 stick people in a row. It cracked me up. And even though he knew I disagreed, there was never any rude gestures, words, etc. towards me as I drove out of the parking lot. Right now it is too close to call as to whether prop. 8 passes, but I hope that we can all continue to treat each other with decency no matter the outcome, and no matter what differences there are between us.

Enduring and enjoying life

This weekend I had strep throat. It was very painful. As I was laying in bed, wanting not to swallow, I kept thinking "when the penicillin kicks in, I'll feel alot better." Then I thought of a conversation I had with my Dad. He told me about a time when he had strept throat - during World War II. He was a soldier, in England, when he got it, and he had to lay in his barracks and endure the best he could. There was no penicillin in those days! I can't imagine how he got better! But thank goodness he did, and has endured much more than that in his 89 years of life. So when I get sick and miserable, I think about how brave my Dad is, and how much he enjoys life. (I'm also grateful to my Husband who took good care of me this weekend, and made sure the kids still had a great Halloween.)

Julia's Example

Too often in Julia's life she has heard from us "you're the oldest, you have to set a good example." She has not heard often enough from us what a great example she has and contunues to be for her siblings, and how proud we are of her. We are so happy about the choices she has made. And I truly think she has chosen what makes her the most happy.

Julia has had the best of both worlds in some ways. Growing up here has been wonderful for her: family all around, good friends, great church leaders, the ocean, etc. It also meant being the only Mormon in her high school. She did a great job of defending her beliefs (when necessary), sticking to her standards, and still managing to have good friends and experiences there. For example, one graduation requirement was to do a huge presentation in which teachers, students, and the community could choose to attend. It had to be a subject on which people could ask questions, etc. The topic she presented was "How did such a small religion as the Mormons turn into such a worldwide church." She was very brave to take that on, since she knew people would have the right to question, comment, and even critisize. (Her teacher/mentor who was assigned to help her was gay and had many piercings. He was nonetheless, very kind and supportive.) As part of her presentation she had a dozen Books of Mormon in many languages on display, and asked the missionaries in our Stake to come and sing "I Am A Child Of God" in a few different languages. Arnette Terry came to show her support, and told us that she overheard some girls talking as she walked in. They said "hey, there's a bunch of fine looking guys outside, and they're all wearing matching clothes". That was hilarious. Anyway, the presentation went great, she got an A, and she obviously graduated. We were so proud of her. And we are so proud of her now in becoming so independent and making such a wonderful life for herself. She is enjoying going to school with so many Mormons now, and she still has fond memories of growing up here. We couldn't have picked a better example for our younger children to follow.