Video from Six Weeks Ago

Late December Cuckoos from MelinFamily on Vimeo.

the way things are...

So I am cleaning up lunch, Heidi is contentedly watching Spongebob, and James is playing on top of the cedar chest in the front window (he climbed there to wave good bye to Rich, and stayed cuz he liked the view). Suddenly I hear this scribbling sound and I see that James has gotten hold of Heidi's mini color pencils and he's scribbling on the window sill.

I grab my magic eraser and some scrap paper and run over to stop the graffiti. I take the pencils from James, point to the scribbles and say, "No, no!" I show him the magic eraser and how to scrub off the mess. Then I get him down from the chest, put the scrap paper down on top, and show him how to scribble on the paper. I say, "Only on paper!" (a mantra around here) and hand him a pencil. He grins widely and scribbles with glee on the paper. Okay, I sigh, disaster averted.

A minute later he is scribbling on the window sill again and I run over there scowling. He looks up at me with a huge grin, folds his hands behind his back and says, "All gone!" As in, "Huh? What pencils? I have no pencils!"

Can you believe this punk, at only 17 months old? He's learned well from his dark master/ big sister.

I Wish I Had Seen This Last Week...

...since we are doing more looking forward than back this week, but it's still lovely and I had to share. Usually I find these things kind of sappy, but this one is SO well done and contains some beautiful pictures I have never seen. Enjoy, and RIP GBH & Romney campaign...

Three Things...

1. Too busy for complete sentences--catching up on all I've slacked, still so TARD!

2. Get Well Soon, Lisaree! We love you! (my lil sis is recovering from major surgery)

3. Click here and follow the links to vote so Erica and Zach can have an awesome wedding! (I don't actually know theses two, but Erica's blog cracks me up, so go there and vote, and Erica, if you win, you have to invite me! HA!)

Oh, and a 4th...way to go, AZ and CA!!! You knocked all the GOOD Republicans down on Super Tuesday....for shame! But my own private Montana chose Romney and gave a FULL QUARTER of their votes to Ron Paul (I seriously think Paul could be The KING of Montana--we love him!)And I couldn't help but thinking this morning as I watched all the tornado destruction on TV..."That's what you get for voting for Huckabee, suthernerz!" But I didn't say that out loud because I know that (a) God doesn't send weather to punish people (at least not very often) and (b) He doesn't really care who you vote for...in fact maybe he WANTS McCain to win so Jesus can come, or hell can freeze over, or what ever....

How I Roll

I just got off the phone with my friend Celeste who, due to the wacky AZ closed Primaries cannot vote for her favorite candidate, Mitt Romney.

We talked for a while and she has convinced me to use my Super-Tuesday vote for Romney. I do admit it would be more of a vote against McCain (and you can bet all my votes from now on will be against McCain and Clinton), although I have nothing against Romney. I was listening to Limbaugh while I was doing errands, listening to McCain's record ("a guy who runs on the right and legislates on the left") (and a funny little song to the tune of the CCR song, "Who'll Stop McCain?") and it suddenly occured to me--"Holy crap! It's already down to Clinton, Obama, McCain, and Romney! How did that happen so fast?" Seriously!? I thought about how much McCain has let us down this past decade and I just thought to myself, "I have to keep him out!" Of course, I don't really know how things work here in Montana--Super Tuesday here is just some kind of Caucus prefernce thing and I don't know if it even counts for anything at the convention, but IF I were voting and IF it counted, I would vote for Romney tomorrow.

But I LOVE Ron Paul. I really do. Ron, this isn't about you, it's about McCain. Please don't hold it against me.

So, my peeps, I IMPLORE YOU to get out and vote tomorrow. It's what we need to do to exercise our God-given agency and our hard-won rights. And I won't even tell you who to vote for. Cuz that's how I roll...

(...but I will tell you to vote AGAINST McCain and Clinton!!!!!! :))

Post Script...

Not to ruin any surprises or anything, but I am totally getting this T-Shirt for Sam when I get the cash:

You should check 'em out at THIS link.

I know it's evil, but I reeeeeally like "I'd rather be waterboarding"!

A Month of Saturdays

...well, half-a-month, anyway. It DOES seem like forever since I uploaded some pictures because I was deathly ill from one Saturday to the next (1/26-2/2). I went to church today, though, and asided from a stuffy nose and tiredness, I think I am recovered. Yay that. So anyway, LAST saturday we made a morning trip to Bozo so Rich could test-drive a Land Cruiser and we could all go to the Museum and Walmart.

At the museum, Rich saw the bat exhibit for the first time (it changes this week), and I took the kids up to play in the Discovery Room. This time they all put on astronaut costumes and pretended the play gym was their space station. Sadly, Heidi had taken off her suit before Rich came up with the camera, so I just got Addie and James in their suits...

Addie & James in their "space station" at Museum of the Rockies
Astro-Addie
Bad picture of James throwing a fit in his space suit
Heidi playing dinosaurs at the museum.

A few days later, Heidi read library books to her broken baby brother in his walker (which used to belong to Rich). It's nice to catch her doing something NICE for a change...

So THIS Saturday was kind of weird because I was still sick and we were hanging around watching BYUTV's Hinckley coverage. We really enjoyed the interview with Sheri Dew (his biographer) and the other coverage with Jane Clayson Johnson. President Hinckley's funeral was soooo sweet. It was such a great way to spend a Saturday, reflecting on his life. President Monson's comments especially made me feel how close their friendship was, and gave me a sense that our relationships truly are eternal--the way he talked was just so peaceful and familiar and joyful, and it made me feel happy instead of sad. I did, however, fall to pieces when they talked about him being buried with Lancashire dirt as well as Utah dirt, and OF COURSE when the piper came to play Danny Boy, Amazing Grace, and Praise to the Man (the drinking song version--what's that called?). I always felt like such a dork because I still have a soft spot in my heart for North Carolina where I served (and have been known to cry a little when the James Taylor song plays), but now I feel less dorky because even President Hinckley, 70 years after his mission, had tender feelings about England--the place where he served as a missionary and really came to know Christ.

Me, watching the graveside service
The girls coloring and playing Play-Doh and eating pizza
James shared HIS pizza with his doggie. Now doggie in in the washer.

***

Later on Saturday, I took a nap and my peeps hung out...

Heidi got something super-special and AWESOME in the mail from Cousin Summer...

ELEPHANT JAMMIES!!!!!
Thanks, Aunt Kelli & Sum-sum! You really made Heidi's week!

She loves her new jammies!

***

And that brings you up-to-date with us. I will spend this coming week trying to make up for all my slacking this past month, and especially this past week while I was bed-ridden--the house is pretty trashed and all the nooks and crannies need to be re-organized. I need to get back the energy I need to keep up with Captain Furious /Elephant Pants and her little brother! We are all well, thanks to my super-hero husband who held us all together this past week. I sure love him!

Have a happy new week...

You knew it was coming...

I try not to get too political here just because I want my blog to be a happy place, but I just had to give a shout out to Ron Paul here and direct your to Cousin Brent's blog to read about the Revolution. And then I'll type, "Yeah, what he said." Here's the comment I left:
Amen, my cousin! I think I need to read me the Libertatian primer because I had a fella go off about how some regulation is necessary and that Ron Paul supporters were nuts. I just kinda smiled as he gave his wife all these examples of "necessary" regulation (they were discussing and I was listening in). Anyway, we recorded Glenn Beck's hour-long interview with Ron Paul and we show it to everyone who comes in our house an DOESN'T agree that Ron Paul is a genius. Because he IS. He is too smart to be president, that's for sure, but he's the only candidate I feel totally good about. In the name of George Washington, Amen.

For me, so far, it's either Ron Paul or write in Dallin Oaks. And I am definitely on my own little anti-career-politicians campaign. You know, last year when I asked someone to please explain to me why there are no term limits for senators, NOBODY could tell me? Because there is no good reason in our blessed republic that ANYONE should be able to make a career of politics. It is so wrong and we are LIVING the reasons why. And sure, there's still Mitt Romney with his business rather than political background, and that's nice, but I am sad that the other three front runners are senators.

Just look at what a career in Washington has done to my homeboy, John McCain. I met him for the first time back in 1989 at my boyfriend's graduation party (McCain was friends with boyfriend's dad) during his very first term as senator, and again in 1997 at a College Republicans party at the U of A (yes, believe it or not, there were Republicans at the U of A). I admired him a lot during that time and was pretty excited when he ran for President in 2000. But he has compromised much to "get things done" in congress--code for "caving to whiny dems." I want to vote someone who will put his foot down and REPRESENT the people who voted for him regardless of the mood on the hill, without concern for his "career." Or who WOULD put his foot down, if he had more than a snowball's chance in hell of being elected.

*SIGH*

My dear Georgia Bee made this lovely post today. I responded thusly:

Ahhh, Georgia, how I wish we were still neighbors! You could sit next to me under my downy duvet with my kleenex (for tears and for the cold that is currently trying to kill me) and talk and sniffle. I LOVE that picture of Marjorie P...it made me tear up again. I am so happy for the two of them, but sad for all of us. You know, I slept in til 10 (my MIL took the kids cuz I'm sick) and got up to get an orange. As I was cutting it, I looked out the kitchen window and saw thick snow falling horizontally, and thought, "Nature mourns, too." Remember when President Benson and President Hunter died? One had a cloud burst and the other a spring blizzard. It's nice to take a day and know even the sky is mourning. I look forward to the funeral and to sustaining our new prophet--"Father Christmas Monson", we always call him...

PS: Another something cute from Georgia's comments:
Did you hear the church spokesman, when asked if those who were close to him knew he was dying, say something like, "Well, he didn't show up to work on Friday, so they knew that something wasn't right."
Just Friday? That made me smile.

Heavy Hearts

Last evening after I had risen from my death bed (I have a really horrible cold) to make Valentines with my daughters, Rich called from the computer room, "Jamie! President Hinckley died!" I wasn't sure I heard him right and I ran up stairs to see what he was talking about. There on the front page of the KSL news page was his picture and the years, 1910-2008. It was a punch in the gut. I felt sad, but then I kept telling myself not to be selfish--he was 97, afterall.And I expected him to closely follow Marjorie, as sweethearts often do. The one thing that brightened my night was that they were finally together again...
...and the song keps going through my mind:

" We ever pray for thee, Our prophet dear

That God may give thee Comfort and cheer

As the advancing years furrow thy brow

Still may they light within Shine bright as now."

***

President Hinckley, thank you for teaching me to be a better mother, wife, sister, friend, and neighbor. Thank you for inviting lost sheep back to the fold. Because of you, I only have to drive 100 miles (instead of almost 300) to attend the temple. Millions of people around the world now have that same privilege. Thank you for giving us the Proclamation to the World on the Family--it is something that becomes more precious to me and more neccesary each passing year. I strive everyday to be the kind of parent you and Marjorie were, to find ways to say yes, to trust my children, to build their faith, and above all, to have fun together.

To the Hinckley Family, thank you for sharing your Father/Grandfather with the world for almost your entire lives. The world and the church are so much better because of Him.

Now our prayers shift to President Monson, who, as my Grandpa said last night, "has really got his hands full."

It's Pretty Easy Being Green

Cousin Brent posted this tickle test on his blog, so I took it, too...

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Green

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/rd/50651/color/index.jsp?testname=colorogt&resultid=C

...also, The Bug that made my offspring sicky last week got me today. Me=Warmed-over death.

But that won't stop me from say CONGRATULATIONS to my darling cousin, Maren, on the birth of her second baby, Travis M. Allred.--AT HOME, like She-rah, Princess of Power. Yay, Allreds! I'd better send that package for you that's sitting by the front door!

I'll be back tomorrow unless The Bug gets me! Hugs...