On This Date in History, 2001...

Liam with his Aunt Sara & Aunt Jamie in May 2001

...my awesome nephew, Liam Post was born! I was flying home to Utah from Arizona (I'd had a bridal shower the night before, on 01/10/01, given by Adriane Hapgood, with Tucson friends), and I was sad to have missed His Royal Cuteness by ONE DAY! But we were honored by his presence at our wedding when he was only 5 weeks old!

Liam with Great Grandpa Bill in May 2001

Liam taking a bath in my sink in November 2001, 3 days before Addie was born!
Liam, we love you SO MUCH! Uncle Rich can't wait to take you backpacking and fishing in Montana! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Nana with some of her grandkids after Melanie's baptism in Montana, 2006 (Melanie, Gabriel, Nana, Ben, Liam, Jared; sitting-Jack, Belle, Addie, Ally, Spencer, Heidi)

Love, Aunt Jamie & Your Melin Cousins--Addie, Heidi, & James

Free Market Hope

I was shocked to learn this weekend that stupid Utah turned down school vouchers. I thought for sure that Utah was conservative and smart enough to jump at the chance to get the government out of the education-portion their personal business--but not so! Shocking!

So I am just wondering how in the world we can educate the general public about the benefits of the free market when the spoon-fed socialist movement is made to look so attractive. We watched Sicko a few weeks ago and I actually really liked it--it vividly illustrated the problems with our current system, especially the insurance industry. I totally disagree with Moore's conclusion/solution, though, of course. I mean, all you have to do is look at the inefficiency of all other government-run services (postal service, anyone?) to understand why you do NOT want bureaucrats and career politicians in charge of YOUR HEALTH and YOUR LIFE!

Enter Free Market Cure. Please watch it. Ponder it. Digest it. Live it. Love it. God Bless America.

And for my pro-government friends, here's an idea: why don't we take all those free hand-outs you want the government to offer and take them down to the state level and make ONE of the 50 states (Massachusetts or Northern California?) into a socialist experiment. Michael Moore can be the governor, or maybe Hillary or Barack--whomever isn't President--and everyone in that state can have government-run health care, government housing, food stamps, automatic seatbelts and helmets for driving, FDA-approved Foods (no soda or alcohol or french fires) and drugs, free utilities, free cable, and heck, maybe even someone to wipe their bums, and they can all make $50K per year, give $45K of it to the government (you know, "taxes" : what we pay for the government to babysit us). It will be a beautiful redistibution of wealth and a lovely way to get out of practicing self-discipline or budgeting because, you know, all you have to do is go to your job everyday--everything else is done for you. By someone else's standards and timetable, of course. ENJOY!

Maybe I am just too independent. I think I am turning CRAZY libertarian! I am just SICK of people (especially presidential cnadidates lately) talking down to me as if I am incapable of taking care of myself and helping my neighbors. BITE ME, big fat federal government!

Okay. I am finished ranting. You didn't know this apron-wearing Montana hausfrau had it in her, did ya? Well, there's more where that came from, peeps. Just watch election year wear down my very last nerve--it'll bring out the home-grown Montana Libertarian in me! Don't make me hole up on the ranch in the shed and write my libertarian manifesto, yall!

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" We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." --James Madison

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And here's the HOPE part, courtesy of Kelly the Crafter.

Back in Black...

...black fleece pants, that is, because even though we don't have snow, we've got a COLD 60mph wind!!! I'm cold!


We went to Utah last weekend (From 1/3-1/7) and got home last night. I didn't write about our trip last week because we were surprising Jill and Ally and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. But we went down and stayed Thurs & Friday nights at my brother Will's house in Herriman (and discovered the joys of the Wii, which is now on our Christmas list!)--we had a BALL with their funny kids and survived losing Heidi in the mall YET AGAIN. Friday evening we went and surprised Jill and had dinner with her and her in-laws (whom we love also), and then went back to Willy's house for a couple's Wii tourny.

Early Saturday morning we attended my sweet niece, Ally's baptism & brunch in Lehi, and later that day we transferred all our stuff over there so we could spend the other half of our weekend with the Petersens. Drew had planned a quadruple date for us--Will & Audrey, Dad & Matt (Amie wasn't able to come down from Montana), Jill & Drew, me & Rich, and right before the date I snuck in a matinee of Juno (--which I loved with all my heart and I am ordering the soundtrack PRONTO and anxiously waiting to buy the DVD!!!) Jill decided to join me and we both bawled and laughed so hard at the end!

Date night was fun (dinner at Good Wood and a stroll around IKEA) and church on Sunday in Lehi was sooo nice! I snuck into Primary to see how their chorister does the music and to keep an eye on Heidi on her first day of Sunbeams (she did great--such a funny little musical girl!). After church it was massive naptime followed by a yummy dinner of Kahlua Pork, rice, and steamed veggies (Rich and Drew made it). Dad Post and Matt came over, too, and we all had a really fun time visiting. That night we watched A Mighty Heart on DVD, which just broke my not-so-mighty heart and led me to shout (at least in my mind), "Brent, you are NOT--I repeat, NOT going to the middle east EVER!!! I will physically restrain you, homie! DON'T DO IT!!!! Use your Urdu from afar!" (they speak Urdu in that film, by the way, cuz the kidnappers are near Karachi).

Anyway, we had the most lovely time--the Posts and the Petersens were such kind and thoughtful hosts, (Shout out to Drew especially!) and it was most joyful to get the cousins together! When I get a minute, I will record some sweet details from the weekend about each of my nieces and nephews. I love those kids so much adn I had a reeeeeeally great time with them!

Meanwhile, I've got a couple of sweet kids here who need some lovin' so I am off to make Ad an afterschool snack and watch Spongebob with her while folding clothes...back to the grind...happily....:)

PS: It took us NINE hours to get home--a record, I think--because HEIDI IS POTTY TRAINED!!! She didn't pee in the car once, and only really had accidents on Friday! YAY! Oh, joy. Maybe we can get into a preschool now!

Also, be sure to check out pix form the weekend at Jill's blog! We were picture slackers!

soooo good

Take a Cup O'Kindness Yet...

Happy New Year, Darlin'...

Pencil Me In...

My lovely and talented niece, Ally, will be baptized next Saturday in Lehi, Utah. I am DYING that I have to miss it, but I wanted to do a little Ally tribute here so she knows that it’s killing us to miss her special day. No one from my family is going to be there except for my Dad and maybe my brother & his family. That makes me sooooooo sad/mad! I want to make sure that doesn’t happen to my kids, people, so get out your pens and your daytimers and MAKE A NOTE OF THIS:

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!

Christmas Day 2001: Ally & Uncle Rich
Larkin's Baptism 2001: Uncle Mike tickles Ally & Melanie

Our Provo House 2002: Ally Dressing Up
Dress Up Princess!
2002: Ally & Addie

Ally @ Home in 2002: BIG SHOES! Fall 2002 @ Gigi's: Ally & Addie in their "box maze"
Our Provo House 2002: Ally & Uncle Sam

Ally & Uncle Sam @ Janet's Summer 2003 in Montana: Addie & Ally in Aunt Jamie's Bed!
Summer 2003: Three cuties at CHICO

Labor Day 2003, Utah: Addie, Ally, Liam, & Melanie on Gigi's swing
March 2005, Utah: Ally picking up rocks in Uncle Willy's yard
2006, Montana: Ally & Addie with fancy hair

July 2006: Livingston Roundup Parade
July 2006: Montana Swim!
2006: Ally at the Ranch in Montana

March 2006: Ally at our house
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...

Congratulations on turning 8 and being baptized, Ally!

You are special to us!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Hi. It's a lazy Saturday and it's snowing really hard...that super-frozen, powdery Livingston snow that just blows away in the wind. I did a bunch of housework this morning and my niece and nephew, Summer and TJay came over, so we've been hangin'---laundry, Polly Pocket Princesses, dress ups, goldfish crackers and pears. And a bit of a headache. Maybe it's a holiday hangover...



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.

Merry Christmas from The Melins!

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I don't understand why the videos below won't embed, but you can still click on the link and watch them on vimeo...have fun! We wish you a beautiful day!

Christmas Chaos

Christmas Morning from MelinFamily on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas From Addie

Merry Christmas from Addie from MelinFamily on Vimeo.