Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Pencil Me In...
Addie’s Baptism will be held on November 21st 2009, probably around 11am with a lunch to follow. It’s a Saturday, and I am pretty sure we can get all of you a place to stay or a very inexpensive room at the hotel where I work in the summers. So save the date!
Heidi’s Baptism will probably be on her birthday, Sunday, April 15, 2012—IF the world as we know it still exists, that is. We are prepared for Jesus to come in 2012, but we’re hoping the Mayans were right about December instead of it being in April. So pencil it in, just in case.
Since we’re pretty sure about Armageddon and all that, we really don’t have any plans for James’ baptism, but if you’re the plan-ahead/ just-in-case type, it’ll probably be Saturday, September 6, 2014. Be there or be black balled! (Hey, I learned where that word came from on The Secret History of the Freemasons!). It will probably be pretty cold on all of those dates, so pack accordingly and don’t forget your snow chains.
HA!
We Love Ally!
Dress Up Princess!
2002: Ally & Addie
Our Provo House 2002: Ally & Uncle Sam
Summer 2003: Three cuties at CHICO
March 2005, Utah: Ally picking up rocks in Uncle Willy's yard
2006, Montana: Ally & Addie with fancy hair
July 2006: Montana Swim!
2006: Ally at the Ranch in Montana
Fun with SIDEWALK CHALK
April 2007: Melanie, Ally & Addie on teh Father-Daughter Campout in Moab
Winter 2007: Ally & Belle
First Day of Secodn Grade, 2007...
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Weather Outside is Frightful
I just wanted to post a couple of comments before I start posting the Christmas pix. First of all, I was adn still am pretty sad about Benazir Bhutto's assassination. It's hard to know just how honorable or corrupt her government really was, but I always admired her. She was elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan when I was a junior in High School (I think) and I remember talking about her in government class, how weird it was that in Israel and Pakistan they had female leaders and we still didn't have many in the US. And I thought she was so pretty! Anyway, I was just glued to CNN Thursday morning and have felt a lingering sadness for the enduring violence and determination of Al Quaeda, even after we have fought them for 6 years. Sometimes I just wish we could cut loose on them and get out...sigh. I think the climate in Pakistan is more significant to us than we know right now. I mean, she was killed mere miles from where bin Laden is supposed to be hiding (Brent, I watched a bunch of news reports given in Urdu this week! It's a real language afterall...how useful you must be as an Urdu speaker!)
Also, I found this GREAT blog about Sister Beck's talk...I thought I should post the link because it's well done. CLICK HERE to get the crux of the argument and some sound reasoning and strong testifying. I know it's sounds so cheesy, but I find myself saying so often, "Why can't we all just get along?" It's still so weird to me that adult women still do junior-high-ish things to eachother, backstabbing and smack-talking, when sisterhood is SUCH a better and neccessary option! I am thankful that Heavenly Father has been teaching me how to look beyond words or behavior to understand intent and thoughts, and make friends rather than enemies. I want to get really good at that! I just wish ALL women could be teammates rather than competitors.
Well, bubby is crying and we are trying to decide what to do for dinner. I wish you all the happiest Sabbath! I'll work on posting photos this weekend.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Merry Christmas From Heidi
Untitled from MelinFamily on Vimeo.
My favorite line: "Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you drive my boughs of holly, falfalalalalalalala."
Saturday, December 22, 2007
The Season of Giving
Friday, December 21, 2007
I am the President of the Julie Beck Fan Club...
Did you know about the crazy backlash against her talk last October? The talk (that was in my top five--awesome!) definitely struck a (guilty?) chord in many sisters and I felt so sad about that. I LOVE Sister Beck, always have, and not just because her haircuts rock. Here is the text of the SUPPORT SISTER BECK email I got--please follow thae links if you agree. I think my own email list could fill the list of 2000 comments, and that would be a nice Christmas present for the GRSP :
An Answer to support: Tonight when President Hinckley said, "It's Christmastime. What can I do to lighten your burden?" I thought of Sister Julie Beck, General President of the Relief Society. I think her responsibilities as General President must be heavy indeed. Especially when recently, there was a lot of unfortunate and unnecessary controversy about Sister Beck's general conference talk It has bothered me that so many people have been so vocal about their displeasure with her talk. There have been websites and blogs dedicated to tearing her apart as well as her words of guidance and wisdom. It seems that sometimes liberal voices are the only ones that make themselves heard. We can change that!
Wouldn't it be great if we could get 2000 women to send their support to Sister Beck this Christmastime?Like the 2000 mothers of the Stripling Warriors - we could stand united and strong and let Sister Beck know we stand beside her! If you would like to let your voice be heard, please send an email (or forward this email) to:
motherswhoknow@gmail.com
Put your name and city and state in the subject line. You can include a message to Sister Beck and her counselors if you'd like. Once we reach 2000 emails - from women or men - I'll send Sister Beck the password to the email account so she can see all those who support her and read the messages if she'd like. It's a quiet way to let your voice be heard. Please forward this on to all you know, who know.
President Hinckley's words will hopefully encourage us to band together and stand strong and immovable for what we know to be right. Sister Beck quoted him saying, " If [the women of the Church] will be united and speak with one voice, their strength will be incalculable... It is so tremendously important that the women of the Church stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord." Sister Beck said, "As a disciple of Jesus Christ, every woman in this Church is given the responsibility for upholding, nurturing and protecting families. Women find true happiness when they understand and delight in their unique role within the plan of salvation. There is eternal influence and power in motherhood."
PS: My top five conference talks, at least right now, are Good, Better, Best (Oaks), O Remember (Eyring), The Only True God (Holland), By Faith Not Fear (Cook), Mothers Who Know (Beck). All of these spoke to issues I 've had lately, especially defending my decision to strictly limit the activities in which my kids participate, just because I want our family and our time together and influence on eachother to remain foremost and strong.
Also, I have a hard time with the women arguing that Sister Beck's talk was insensitive to women who don't have children or have to work, etc...HELLO! The talk is called "Mothers who know"--implying it's addressed to Mothers. As in, IF you are a mother, and IF you want to raise sons (and I think it works for daughters, too! ;) like modern day stripling warriors (aka good missionaries, covenant-makers & keepers, etc.), THEN these are the things you know and do. It never said, "LDS women should..."--no shoulds, just knowing and doing. Believe me, after spending 12 years of my adulthood as a SINGLE, CHILDLESS member of the church, I know that there is a lot of focus on homemaking, motherhood, and wifehood in the church and it can get uncomfortable. But I knew for certain I was doing all I could do to live the gospel and I was at peace with my life and my decisions. I could speak up in lessons and conversations and find ways to apply the discussions to myself and other women who were not mothers or wives, but faithful LDS women all the same. These kinds of talks were not offensive to me because they are true--there are lots of good ways to do things, but there is a best and right way (like Elder Oaks said). I knew that I would strive to live those standards the best I could when I finally was in that situation (and I do). I also have a testimony that Heavenly Father will help us sift through the cultural expectations of Mothers and Wives and find our priorities. It's not one size fits all, but the church and mother/wifehood offer a smorgasbord of opportunities and ways for us to develop the essential attributes of Faith, Hope, and Charity. I think some detractors would benefit from Elder Bednar's "It Mattereth Not" talk from last year!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
O Happy Day!
Also tonight, we went to see Addie's first School Christmas Program. It was surprisingly delightful and only 45 minutes long, featuring all the grades! Now that's my kind of show! She looked so cute (as did all the kids--it was great) and we had fun watching her. James was so excited, I thought he was having a seizure! He clapped and sang and had a ball. Sadly, I forgot my camera, but our neighbors sat in front of us and took pix for us, so maybe I'll have some to post!
We got our Christmas Bucks from Nana & Papa today and decided to let the kids buy something for EACHOTHER with the money, instead of going adn spending it on themselves. Addie went with Rich to get a treat for Heidi, James and Heidi came with me. Heidi bought a Fisher-Price pull-along puppy that barks when you walk it for James, and James bought some fun coloring posters, stickers, and stocking stuffers for Adeline. We had a fun night, and now everyone is asleep. I need to print pix for Jenn, but I think I will do that in the morning and go watch Arrested Development DVDs with Richard for now. Good Night, yall!
Recent Photos
Sam & James "setting" the kids' table
The Dinner Table: Jamie, Laura, Gabriel (at the bar), Darrin, James, Amie, & Sam eating green beans, rolls, funeral potatoes, honey spice ham, and Martinelli's
And Sam hit the sauce.
We all piled downstairs to watch "The Polar Express"--Rich, Darrin, and Matt were on the computer at this point, I think, and Jake and Heidi were making mischief somewhere, too...
Darrin got a nice pair of Christmas socks!
Heidi and Jake gobbled up a bunch of tangerines!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
On This Date in History...
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Nest Egg
Saturday, December 15, 2007
My Favorite Cowgirls
All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you
I climbed across the mountain tops
Swam all across the ocean blue
I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules
But baby I broke them all for you
Because even when I was flat broke
You made me feel like a million bucks
You do
I was made for you
You see the smile that's on my mouth
It's hiding the words that don't come out
And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed
They don't know my head is a mess
No, they don't know who I really am
And they don't know what
I've been through like you do
And I was made for you...
All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you
***
Could you just die? I love it, and I know that I am a Johnny-come-lately with this, since her album was released last spring. I heard snippets of this song, but I actually didn't feel like I had the emotional fortitude to listen to it! I've been feeling more in touch with that part of me and I even dug out Maria McKee's You Gotta Sin to Get Saved last week to listen to while I drove to Springdale and back. MMMM, I LOVE that album! This Brandi Carlile song reminded me of the following Maria song:
"My girlhood among the outlaws was salty, bittersweet
The things I did, ah I could just kick myself now
Through nights of lousy dreams
As visions gather in my head
I find it hard to live with the things I did and said
But for you my friend, I’d live it all again
And love you in the end
"Anything for you baby anything for you
If it took those years to get me here
I’d do it again for you
"Took a leap of faith and I stumbled
Tried to live outside grace and I was humbled
But I’d like to bet if I’d lived to fear regret
Then we never would’ve met
"Anything for you baby anything for you
If it took those years to get me here
I’d do it again for you
"So here we are and I don’t know what we call it
‘Cause love is such a funny promise
They say commitment is impossible
and forever is a lie
But that still leaves you and I..."
Ahh. So pretty. There is no video available for that song, but the song that made me worship MAria can be seen and heard HERE. I miss playing car karaoke now that I have three kids watching DVDs in my backseat. They don't think car karaoke is very fun.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Some Politics
Some favorite quotes:
I liked how he echoed JFK's speech about being a Catholic candidate. He said, "I am not a Mormon running for President, I am an Americn running for President."
Regarding the question of whether LDS authorities would control his actions in the White House: "[if I am elected] When I put my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath beccomes my highest committment to God."
Quoting someone else--I don't know the reference: "No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith, for if he becomes President, he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths."
***
On another political note, I got this email today and it made me sigh. It reminds me of an email convo I had after Hurricane Katrina.
OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to k now why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'
Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?...
More Christmas Cuties
Heidi and Jacob--best pals!
Sweet Baby James in his old man jammies...
(we missed you, Nana!)
HAPPIEST HOLIDAYS!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY...
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Oh, My...
Heidi stealing her bear from Dad
My self-portrait
This picture cracked me up! I was trying to keep James happy while Rich messed with the camera, and apparently Heidi thought the floor needed a sweep. Look at James' face...not amused!
***
Meanwhile, my hands are raw from sanitizing and here's a list of what I have laundered the past two days:4 pillow shams
3 pillow cases
3 throw blankets
3 comforters (one of them twice--I'm glad we got the synthetic down!)
2 duvet covers
2 couch covers
1 micro-sueded couch cushion cover
3 sets of sheets
1 throw pillow
8+ towels
...and Rich has been shampooing the carpet with his new little green stain machine. Party on.
Addie just came in the office with a cow bell form the Christmas tree and a cup. She started ringing the bell, and when I didn't respond, she said, "Mom! Look!" I turned around and she was just ringing the bell and holding the cup. I told her to stop because it was giving me a headache, and she said, "But mom, all I want is money."
Crazy kid! Go back to bed!
FAMILY LETTER 07.28.19
Dear Loved Ones, We have just ...