How We Celebrate

Today was the hubby's birthday. He is now a year older than he was yesterday. It is our family tradition to go out to dinner to celebrate some one's birthday and the birthday boy (or girl) gets to choose where we go. The hubby chose to visit the Golden Corral buffet. We all got lots to eat except the grandson. He kept trying to get Grandpa to share

but finally he just had to resort to eating the table.

After dinner we hung out in the parking lot opening gifts, visiting, taking pictures and entertaining the other restaurant patrons.

Once again the son-in-law had to go to class instead of party. I guess that's what he gets for taking a class on Monday night.

It may not sound very exciting to you, but it's how we like to celebrate and I enjoyed myself immensely.

Today I am grateful for

MY HUSBAND! I am so lucky to be married to the most wonderful man in the world and I'm looking forward to celebrating a lot more birthdays with him.

Surprise sales at JC Penney that made the birthday gifts a real bargain.
beautiful spring evenings in Arizona.

Weekend Getaway

Thursday night as we were falling asleep my hubby asked me what we should do this weekend to celebrate our anniversary. We discussed going to dinner and perhaps to a movie, but decided to sleep on it. When I woke up this morning I had a plan in my head. I wanted to go somewhere cooler, so my plan was that we could go to Snowflake, Arizona and spend the night and go a session at the Snowflake temple. Luckily I have an agreeable husband who thought that sounded like a good idea. Well, the idea kind of evolved and we ended up spending 2 nights in Payson, Arizona. We stayed at the Best Western Payson Inn and I thought it was a really good choice. Our motel room was on the second floor and had a small balcony that we enjoyed sitting on to watch the sunsets and the squirrels playing in the trees while a cool breeze swirled around us. It was wonderful!

This is the view from our balcony of the other group of motel rooms across the way.

The cool hubby.

The sunset.

The squirrel trying to hide on the branch.

The squirrel again.

Our room had a king size bed that I think would have fit us and our boys just fine. We kept losing each other.
On Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast at a very small, very popular, cafe. The food was yummy, fast and inexpensive. Then we drove around Payson for awhile and then headed to Snowflake, which was a little over an hour away. We were planning on going to the 2:00 session at the temple (which was the one you don't need to have reservations for) so we had a little time to kill when we got to Snowflake. We went to Ed's IGA because this was the one thing the roommate/adopted daughter said we shouldn't miss in Snowflake. It was definitely one of the highlights of the town. Then we drove North, South, East and West checking out the neighborhood. We went to the Senior Citizen's Thrift Store, to the LDS Bookstore, and the Maverick Gas Station. Then we went to the temple and took some pictures.

Our oldest son likes to take pictures of temples and whenever we travel anywhere, if there is a temple in the area, we make a point of locating it so that he can get some pictures. It was after he started this practice, and after he had pictures from 5 or 6 different temples, that I learned something new. I always thought that all the Angel Moroni statues on the temples were the same, made from the same mold, but that is not true. There are a lot of different Angel Moroni poses. Someday I'm going to make a collection of pictures of all the different Angel Moroni statues and perhaps I'll post it right here on my blog. This is what the Snowflake Temple Angel Moroni looks like.

We had a wonderful temple session and felt very welcomed and needed. It was a very small session (just like the very small temple), but the spirit was there in abundance. It is always interesting to visit other temples and discover what is different in the layout, the decor, and the way things get done, but so very similar in the presentations and feelings that are there. I'll say it again - I love the temple!
After the temple we drove back to Payson and took a quick trip out to visit some nearby Indian ruins and get a little exercise after all the sitting we had done. Then we opted for some fast food for dinner which we took back to the motel and ate on the balcony and then we watched some cable TV.
This morning I enjoyed sitting on the balcony while I read my scriptures. Then we checked out the continental breakfast and headed home so we could get back in time for our church.
This was a great weekend. I loved spending time with my sweetheart, as well as getting away from the heat and the routine of daily life. It was a good celebration!

Today I am grateful for

a daughter that decided what was for dinner and contributions from everyone.
Sunday dinner with my family.
the chance to get away for awhile and children who are old enough to take care of themselves.

One year ago today - The Curse of Party Food.

Happy Anniversary

Today the hubby and I have been married for 26 years and guess what we did tonight to commemorate the occasion? Well, I went to Relief Society Enrichment night with my oldest daughter and the hubby finished up his home teaching with our youngest son. When I found out that Enrichment night was on our anniversary I was a little sad. It seems like getting together with my sisters in the Relief Society is such a rare occurrence anymore. I don't get to meet with them in Relief Society on Sunday and our ward seems to be a little light on having mid week activities. I really miss monthly enrichment meetings and the opportunity to socialize with the women in my ward (although I definitely don't miss planning those meetings and then executing the plan on a monthly basis). I asked my oldest son if it was wrong of me to want to go to Enrichment rather than to go out with my sweetheart. He seemed to be appalled that I would even consider the idea, but the more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to attend Enrichment. I discussed it with the hubby and he said whatever I wanted to do would be fine. He made the decision a little easier when he inadvertently scheduled a home teaching appointment on that night as well. I am pretty sure that I may be weird, but having my husband and son fulfill their home teaching responsibilities means a lot more to me than going out to dinner to celebrate my anniversary. One of the reasons I fell in love with my husband,way back when, was because I strongly believed that he was the kind of man who could get me and my children back to live with our Heavenly Father again some day. When I see him serving the Lord by serving others and magnifying his church callings I am reminded of why I married him in the first place. Oh, and by the way, I believe that I made the right decision 26 years ago and tonight as well.

Today I am thankful for

a husband who still loves me after 26 years.
the ability to look at the eternal perspective of life.
my Relief Society sisters.

One year ago today - Poopy little Poky, 25 years!

Photo Radar

Photo Radar seems to be a hot and controversial topic in Arizona. We have had photo radar on one stretch of freeway as well as at numerous traffic lights throughout the valley for several years. In the past year they have put in a lot more cameras on the freeways and have put up speed cameras on city streets. There are certain intersections and streets that are almost constantly putting on a light show with all the flashes that go off.

There are many Arizonians who hate photo radar. They say it is illegal. They say it is an invasion of privacy. They say the way the tickets are served makes them invalid. At Christmas time someone dressed up like Santa and covered many of the cameras on the freeway with cardboard boxes. Not too long ago a man working in a photo radar van was shot and killed by a disgruntled member of the community. Lucky for the police the camera took his picture and they were able to catch him.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I don't always observe the speed limit. I have received more than one speeding ticket in my lifetime. I don't usually speed because I am in a hurry. I speed because I am easily distracted and forget to notice how fast I am actually going or what the current speed limit actually is. I do try to be a law abiding citizen. With that said, I really don't have a problem with photo radar. I think if I am breaking the law then I deserve to face the consequences of my behavior. I don't feel that it makes any difference whether I was caught by a camera or an actual person. Do I like to get speeding tickets? Of course not. Do I like paying close to $200 to go to traffic school so the points won't go on my record? Not at all. I think that most of the people who complain about photo radar are just whiny babies who don't like to be held accountable for their actions. It bugs me that so many individuals find ways and make excuses to get out of having to pay the tickets they have received.
Perhaps you have figured out by now what this blog is leading up to. Someone in our family got a photo radar ticket recently and we received the picture in the mail today.

I like the way they bubbled me and the son out of the picture (just in case that wasn't his wife that was riding in the passenger seat). Plus, it made a great spot for me to add a caption.

In the hubby's defense, the spot where he got flashed the speed limit is 35 and it seems like a dumb place for it to be that low. I have driven past this spot when it felt like I was in the middle of an electrical storm there were so many pictures being taken. However, he is willing to accept the consequence of his action regardless.

Today I am grateful that

the youngest son's report card was better than expected. At least he passed all his classes. (He lucked out that it arrived in the mailbox on the same day his dad's speeding ticket got here. That took a little pressure off of him.)
I wasn't the one who got the speeding ticket this time.
I am willing to accept consequences for my actions without too much whining (most of the time) and that my husband is too.

One year ago today - Fun with the Ladies, Lunch in a Truck.

Retro TV

My hubby has been really concerned about the TV in our bedroom not having a converter box. I thought we had decided that he could watch TV in the family room on our new digital television and just use the set in the bedroom for DVDs, but apparently I was mistaken. Over the weekend he took a trip to Target and purchased a converter box, at full price . After he got it all hooked up he was excited to check out the additional channels that we could now pick up. His favorite is the Retro TV channel. This channel shows some of his favorite old TV programs. As "luck" would have it, on Sunday night he starting coming down with a cold and was too sick yesterday and today to go to work, which gave him lots of Retro TV watching time.
This afternoon he was watching "Emergency". This is a show I remember watching, and enjoying, during my youth. I sat down and watched for a few minutes. I don't even remember for sure when this series was originally broadcast, but obviously it was quite a while ago.
In one scene Roy and Gage are flagged down by a woman and drug through a parking lot to a locked car. There is a group of women gathered around the vehicle and a small child laying in the back seat not moving. One of the women says that she saw the child when she went into the store and now he is still in the car 30 minutes later when she came out. The paramedics stand there trying to decide how to get the door open. They stand, they debate, they stand, they determine that the roof of the car is hot, they stand, they look for a hanger, they find a hanger and try to unlock the door, and try, and try some more. Eventually the door is open and the child is picked up. He wakes up and begins to cry, but appears to be fine. Wet and smelly, but not hot to the touch. The women all leave and Roy and Gage are standing there holding a screaming baby. About that time the mother comes out of the beauty parlor and begins to berate the men for opening her car and touching her child. They are all apologetic, give her the child and leave.
Perhaps it's just because I live in Arizona, where cars heat up like ovens, but I think in 2009 that mother would have been charged with child endangerment. Also, I have watched firemen break into a car in a parking lot with children locked inside and they didn't stand around trying to decide how to do it. They broke the window. However, the mother was standing next to them and most likely gave them permission. She wanted her kids out of that car. Apparently she put the baby in the car seat and went around to put the 2 year old in his car seat and he locked the doors while she was going around.
Another story was about a man who was faking illnesses to get to stay in the hospital and enjoy the food and attention he received. When they finally figure out that he isn't sick and has a history of hospital stays with fake diseases they confront him. He says he hasn't broken any law. In 2009 I think his behavior would be considered insurance fraud and he'd probably be in some serious trouble. It's interesting how things have changed over the years.

Today I am grateful for

an A and a B on the two finals the youngest son took today.
a fridge full of groceries.
cough syrup.

Star Trek The Movie 2009

Today the hubby and I went to see the new Star Trek movie. He really wanted to see it and I went along because he couldn't find anyone else to go with him. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against Star Trek. I grew up watching the TV series with my brother and I am quite familiar with the storyline and the characters. In fact, if I were to meet Captain Kirk or Spock I would probably even consider them friends. I could quite possibly find my way around the Enterprise if I were ever accidentally beamed up by Scotty. I would actually say I like Star Trek, but I am definitely not a "Trekkie". I thought I would see the movie sometime, but I don't have to see any movie during the first 2 weeks of its run. I am happy to wait for it to go to the cheap theatre or to come out on DVD. Having said that, I really liked the movie. I found it entertaining. As is usually the case, there were a few words and a scene that I could have lived without but overall I thought it was very good. It made me want to go back and watch a few Star Trek reruns just for fun. It also opens up a whole new world of future voyages of the Star Ship Enterprise, a thought that I am not totally opposed too and a even a little bit curious about.

Today I am thankful for

a hubby that likes to do things with me.
a quiet Saturday.
my computer.
a phone visit with my mom.

MacGyver Mystery

My hubby enjoys watching old Television programs on DVD. He has quite a collection.

Most recently he received the 2 seasons he was missing of MacGyver as a birthday gift.

He has such a nice wife.
While he watches his programs I am usually sitting at the computer with my back to the TV. I sometimes hear a little of what is going on, but I really don't pay much attention.
Tonight I was in bed, rather than on the computer, when he was trying to decide which episode was up next. He wasn't sure if he had watched one so he started it. As soon as the first scene came on I told him, "You saw this one the other night." He watched for a couple of minutes and said, "I don't think so." I recognized the plot. I recognized the guest stars. I knew who the bad guy was. I even knew that there were two bad guys instead of one. We watched the whole show together. He swore he hadn't seen it before and I swore he had. It's possible that he slept through some of it the first time, but he has to start each episode, so I doubt he fell asleep as soon as it began. He would have at least remembered a portion of it.
It's a mystery.

Pima Tacos

This morning I got a phone call from my sister-in-law inviting our family to her house for dinner. About a year ago one of our nieces committed suicide leaving behind 4 children between the ages of 11 and 2. She had kind of distanced herself from the family and her children a few months prior to her death and the children, along with the father of the 2 youngest, were living with this sister-in-law when this all transpired. The father of the 2nd child eventually decided he wanted his daughter (who is 10 now) to come and live with him. She wasn't excited to be separated from her siblings and this turned out to not be a very positive situation in a lot of ways. This sister-in-law went to court to get custody of this child and today she came back home. She loves Pima Tacos and so we welcomed her back with food.

My oldest sister-in-law showing off her popover patting skills.

The hubby can cook with one hand in his pocket.

The kids waiting patiently to partake.

Today I am thankful for

dinner cooked by someone else.
my vacuum.
relatives who work hard to make life better for the kids we care about.
the chance to watch things grow in the fields around my in-laws homes. Right now it's a crop of wheat.

How Does He Love Me?

I think perhaps the title of this post should be "Why does he love me?" rather than "How" because often I realize that I am definitely not the easiest person to love. I am grateful for a husband who is willing to overlook by many quirks and love me anyway, in his own way. My morning started with french toast lovingly prepared by my man. Later on in the day he was seen up to his elbows in the kitchen sink. How can you not love a man who washes dishes? His finale was taking my van to the carwash so it would once again be its beautiful, sparkly, valentine red.

To his credit he did ask me if I was interested in dinner out or a movie, but I don't enjoy fighting the crowds on this special holiday. I was totally happy to sit at home with my signigicant other feeling very content and very, very loved. Thanks Sweetheart!

Today I am thankful for

my sweetheart.
three day weekends.
events that get my whole family together.

New TV Excitement

Tonight the oldest son and the hubby went out and purchased a new 32 inch Digital TV. They hurriedly ate dinner so they could get it up and working. Pretty soon they were watching it and enjoying the improved picture and sound quality. I thought my husband was containing his excitement pretty well until he came to bed and we started to read the Book of Mormon together. I reminded him it was his turn to start reading and he promptly read Channel 9 (instead of Chapter 9). He can try and hide that excitement, but I still know he is thrilled with his new toy.

Digital TV

Perhaps I should begin this post
by saying that I am not a big fan of TV.
I'm pretty sure I could very happily live
without even one TV in my home.
Unfortunately I am the only member
of my household that feels this way.
My husband is a major TV fan.
I have to admit that I have known
since my very first encounter with him
that TV is a very important part of his life.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact
that he didn't get TV reception in his basement apartment
and his TV was "living"
in the apartment that I moved into
when I returned to BYU following my mission,
I might have never even made his acquaintance.
I should be grateful for TV
because it brought us together,
but usually I'm not,
because most days
I feel like it drives our family apart.
The boys in the family room
watching their shows
and the hubby in the bedroom watching his.
Me talking and never being heard.
Because of my dislike of TV
we have 2 very old, very small
analog television sets with rabbit ears.
Because of my dislike of TV
we do not subscribe to cable or satellite.
Because of my dislike of TV
I haven't been all that worried
about the switch to digital TV.
So what if the TV
doesn't work after February 17th?
Hooray!
Because of my dislike of TV
when my husband ordered coupons
for converter boxes
I put them away in a safe place
and then forgot where that safe place was.
No one told me they had expiration dates,
which by the way,
I think is absolutely ridiculous.
Well, the other day
when the hubby was talking about going out
and buying converter boxes at full price
I slipped and said,
"Maybe it would be smarter to just buy a digital TV."
You should have seen his face light up.
Ever since that thoughtless moment
all I've heard is "I better go look at TVs".
Well, tonight he suggested we go by Walmart
and check out their TVs.
I do try to be a supportive wife,
every now and then,
so I said OK.
We walked into the electronics department
and there on the far wall was a sea of TVs,
all big enough to view from across the room.
I tried to act interested
and walked closer with him
and the closer I got
the more I realized
I am definitely not a fan of digital TV either,
especially not on a big screen.
There were snowboarders
on every screen and I was sure
I was going to plunge to my death momentarily.
It was all very, very well defined
and I felt like I was on
the STAR TOURS ride at Disneyland
(which I will admit here,
but no where else,
I usually ride with my eyes closed)
and was going to loose my hot dogs any second.
Maybe it was the number of sets,
all showing the same highly defined image,
but I got vertigo like you can not believe.
My husband thinks it was just an excuse
to not buy a TV, but I am not lying.
It just about did me in and
I had to get out of there.
The oldest son says it's OK
if I can't watch the TV.
They'll put it in the family room
and I won't ever have to look at it,
except to dust it I'm sure,
but at least then it will be turned off.
Such a thoughtful child.
The family says they'll "only" get a 32 inch screen,
so maybe that won't send me over the edge.
I'm pretty sure we're getting a new TV
any day now
and my husband works hard and deserves one.
Those are my words not his.
See I am a supportive wife.
I also buy him TV shows on DVD
because I love him and he loves them,
even though I know he'll ignore me
when he watches them.
As long as he doesn't watch them
in high definition maybe I'm OK with that.

One last thing.
Can anyone tell me why
the government cares
what kind of TV reception I get?
I just don't understand
why this is a government issue.

I just finished reading a book
about a new government
that is ruling earth
after earth as we know it is destroyed.
The centralized government
doesn't like the fact that the
districts around North America
rebelled against them and
they squash the rebellion and
then as a reminder of who's in charge
each year the government requires
each district to send 2 of their young adults
to the hunger games -
a reality show
where the last person alive wins
and gets to stay alive.
The citizens of the districts
who can't afford food,
who live without electricity most of the time,
and work to provide luxuries for the leaders
are required to watch day after day
as these games transpire
and the youth kill each other
one by one.
Amazingly, there is always enough electricity
to power TV sets
either in homes
or in the public square
during this time.

Please hurry and explain to me
why the government cares
what kind of TV reception I get.

Shower Surfing

My husband decided to take up a new hobby this morning and tried a little spontaneous shower surfing. I'm sorry to say that it didn't turn out so well for him. He took a rather graceless spill and twisted his knee in the process. It was rather fortuitous that he was headed to the doctor for a routine visit following his morning shower. The doctor checked out his knee and told him that it was just a bad pull and instructed him to stay off of it for a few days. I guess that's one way to get a longer paid holiday, but not a way that I would recommend. He isn't really enjoying his vacation all that much. I think he wishes he had a wife that was a little more sympathetic. In my defense, I am sympathetic. I just don't know what to do to help. I did make him lunch. Does that count for something??

A Bad Feeling

Have you ever just had a really

bad feeling

about something

with no real evidence to tell you

why you have that feeling?

I can remember two very specific times

in my life when this has happened.

The first time happened quite a few years ago.

My little family (it was little, that's how long ago it was)

was returning home from a trip to Disneyland

via San Diego and Sea World.

It was getting rather late at night

when we arrived in Gila Bend

and decided to drive toward Buckeye

and connect up with the East bound I-10.

As my hubby drove

I started to get a bad feeling.

The further he drove the worse I felt.

I could hardly sit still in the car

the feeling was so strong.

We needed to not go that way.

Finally I told my husband

we needed to turn around and

drive toward Casa Grande

and hit the freeway there.

I told him I didn't know why

but that was the feeling I had.

To his credit,

he didn't question me

and immediately turned around

even though it meant we would be

extending our trip by quite a bit.

I never found out why I had that feeling.

I don't know what might have happened

if we had continued down the road we were on.

The second time occurred a few years ago.

My oldest daughter had been away to college

but was home for the holidays.

Early New Year's Eve she decided she wanted

to drive to St. George to celebrate

the arrival of the new year with some friends there.

I am always up for an adventure and

decided our whole family should go.

However, as we began to prepare,

once again, I got a very bad feeling

about this decision.

I shared the feeling with my daughter

and told her I didn't think we should go.

She let me know that she thought

I was being unreasonable

and a party-pooper to boot

and declared that she was going by herself

if no one else would go with her.

This didn't help the feeling at all.

I asked her to try to understand

and to pray before she made her final decision.

After what felt like a long half hour

she informed me

that she had decided not to go.

I never found out why I had that feeling.

I don't know what would have happened

if we (or she) had driven to St. George that day.

Tonight I am experiencing one of those feelings.

I'm not totally sure why

and I don't really know how to turn around

and change direction to alleviate this feeling.

Like the experience with my daughter

the decision is pretty much out of my control

and I just have to pray

that everything will turn out o.k.

I hope I never find out why I had this feeling.

Today I am thankful for

family members who understand the importance of voting.

a new vacuum cleaner belt.

no more political commercials.

He Doesn't Bring Me Flowers...

When my husband and I were dating I lived in a house with 8 other girls. One of my roommates was being courted by a young man that had kind of a bad reputation and she didn't really know if she wanted to have anything to do with him or not. In an effort to sway her opinion he started sending her roses every day - every single day. We had vases of roses, in varying states of freshness, all over our house. One day I told my then boyfriend that these flowers were such a waste of money and also that I felt that this young man was trying to buy this young lady's affection. Little did I know that my boyfriend would take this comment to heart and it would have a noticeable impact on my future life. To this day he insists that I do not like flowers and that I think they are a waste of money. Now I will admit that I do think fresh flowers are not the best use of hard earned money, but every once in a while they are a nice gesture. This topic has come up in our home enough however that every once in a while now one of my children will suprise me with a boquet of flowers just because. These are courtesy of my eldest son.

Even though my hubby may not buy me flowers, I do know he loves me and he shows his love in many other ways. By the way, where my roommate was concerned apparently the flowers were a positive thing. She and the rose giver have been happily married for 25 years now and he turned out to not be such a bad guy after all.

Date Night

When I was in Utah helping my mom we watched the Hallmark Channel on TV a lot. Every night they would show the trailer for the movie Fireproof that was "coming to a theatre near you soon". I decided I really wanted to see this movie. Today I talked my hubby into going to it with me. (I enticed him with some of my Harkins gift cards). I totally enjoyed this film. It had a great message and was also entertaining. You can watch the trailer here. It was so refreshing to see a movie that supports marriage and the family rather than putting them down. After the movie we went and checked out a new restaurant called Cafe Laguna. They specialize in Fry Bread and the hubby and I were big fans. Yum, Yum! I had the original with shredded beef and my other half had the original with ground beef. We had a coupon - buy one get one half off - but the owners were extremely nice and gave us the family and friends discount that turned out to be half off everything. $10.00 for two "indian tacos" and drinks. It was definitely worth it. If you're ever in the vicinity of Power and Baseline in Mesa check them out. You won't regret it. It was a great date night!! Today I am thankful for my husband that I love very much. movie makers with morals. seventy five degree high temperatures.

Friday Night Football

It's that time of the year again,
time for High School Football.
The men in my family are adamant
that they need to be in attendance
at every game.


They go under the guise of watching
the small one perform in the Marching Band
but I'm pretty sure that's not the only reason
they insist on attending.

I have to admit that I enjoy
watching high school sports as well.
Except when one of the teams
is losing by a lot and then
I start wanting to cheer for the underdog
even when it might not be the team
I'm suppose to cheer for.
Or when the score is really close
and then I feel bad that either team
has to lose.
Or when someone gets injured and
I worry about their future
and their mother's stress levels.

I guess I'm glad my sons
have just stuck with Marching Band.
It's a lot less stressful for me to watch
them on the football field
when they are carrying an instrument
and not wearing shoulder pads
with their uniform.


The game tonight was fun.
We drove through Scottsdale, Paradise Valley,
and an upper class part of Phoenix to get there
and I enjoyed the scenery.

It wasn't too hot,
especially once the sun went down
and there was even a "cool" breeze
every now and then.
I'm sure however those in uniform
might disagree with me on this point.

McClintock won by a lot but
Sunnyslope managed to score at the end
(due to me cheering them on I'm sure).
My hubby was quick to point out
that the score was against our second string
but I was happy that they scored.

Our friend, who is the quarterback,
did a great job on offense and defense
and he (or any of the other players)
didn't get hurt.

I do enjoy the game,
most of the time.
I do enjoy the ride across the valley
to away games,
most of the time.
I do enjoy just being outside,
most of the time.
I do enjoy listening to the band play,
most of the time.
I do enjoy listening to the people around me,
most of the time.
I do enjoy being with family and friends,
most of the time.
I do enjoy watching the cheerleaders,
every once in awhile.
I do enjoy not having to cook dinner,
all of the time.

So I guess I do like Friday Night Football,
most of the time.
At least I know what my boys and I
are doing on Friday nights
until at least November.

Welcome Football season!

Today I am thankful for

Sunrises and Sunsets - both of which I saw today thanks to marching band.
Subway - I like Subway!
The Scriptures.

What's in a Name?

Today I've been thinking about names. I think it's interesting the amount of time and thought most people put into what they name their children. All of my kids have had a running list of name possibilities for their children, since they were small, that has frequently changed as they have grown. The most unusual, and thankfully currently out of the running, was Bizanne.

Usually even before the woman is pregnant couples are discussing, and often discarding, possible names for their children. Once a baby is on the way it seems to be a frequent topic of conversation until a decision is reached. Some people love to share the chosen name with everyone they meet and others guard it like it's a state secret. I believe a child's name might be one of the most discussed and thought out decisions a couple actually makes together.

I was named after my cousin who died at the age of 10 from complications associated with the measles. I guess I wasn't so much named after her, as my parents liked the name and asked my aunt if they could use it. As a child, I always felt bad that I didn't have a middle name. All my brothers and sisters had middle names and I put the fact that I didn't have one on my list of reasons why I believed I was adopted. (The fact that I was cuter than the rest of the family was also on the list. I had a pretty high opinion of myself as a child.) I remember telling my mom that I thought my middle name should be Grace. It was a family name and I thought it went well with my first name. My mother didn't really think Grace fit my personality. I was (and still am) anything but graceful.

When I was growing up there was usually at least one other person with the same name as mine in my class in school. That usually didn't bother me. In fact during my last year of high school my best friend and I had the same name and we enjoying walking through the halls, both answering regardless of which one of us was being addressed. I think it was more confusing for other people than it was for us. I thought it was fun. My name is not spelled with the usual spelling and I used to get frustrated because people would always spell my name wrong. As I have gotten older I have reached the point where I really don't care how it is spelled. I feel like someone is doing good to know what my name is, let alone how to spell it.

My husband's name is unusual, but I think it fits him. No one in his family calls him by his name. They all call him by his nickname, Boy. Pretty much everyone in his family has a nickname that they go by with the family rather than their actual name, but in public they go by their real names. It can get kind of confusing sometimes. It's taken me 25 years to sort it all out.

Although I like my name, I have never had a desire to name any of my children after myself and my hubby has felt the same way. We have 4 children and their names all start with the same letter. This wasn't necessarily an intentional decision until we were expecting our last child. We didn't want to give him any obvious items to add to his "How I know I am adopted list" and being the only child with a name that started with a different letter would have definitely made the list.

When we found out that our first child was on the way we kicked up the speed on the name discussion. We both felt like we were going to have a girl. We narrowed the list down to 3 names. 2 girl names, I liked one and the hubby liked another and Justin Case for a boy. This was "just in case" she turned out to be a boy. Before we came to a final decision, my husband had a dream in which he saw our daughter and she told him that she really liked her name. She said what it was when he asked and it happened to be the name I liked. The discussion was over. This has worked out well for us because if this child ever complains about her name, which is a very popular name for her age group, we just tell her she picked it.

Our second child received a name that we both liked, but we felt was somewhat uncommon, especially the way we spelled it. He has run into a few boys with the same name during his lifetime so far, more than we would have expected. When he was about 2, I actually found his name in a baby book, spelled the same way, and it's meaning was "to sing". It fit him perfectly and we didn't even know it. When he was an infant he would sing himself to sleep in my arms (I think he liked his voice better than mine), his favorite toys were always ones that involved music and singing, and he is well remembered for his singing during the annual ward Primary Children Sacrament Meeting Program.

The third child to grace our family was automatically referred to by the name my husband had wanted for our first daughter. He had heard it on an episode of "The Streets of San Francisco" and really liked it. I will go on record here as saying that this is one good thing that has come from his love of TV watching. It was always a given that this would be her first name. It took a while to decide how to spell it. It is spelled exactly like it sounds, but it is usually mispronounced. There are very few people with the same exact name and only one that we have ever met that spells it the same way. If you're curious you can find it on a name tag at a Safeway store in Tempe, AZ. A little more discussion went into choosing her middle name. (I made sure all of my children knew they were loved by giving them each a middle name.) We finally came up with a combination of her grandmother's names. The first half of her paternal grandma's name and the last half of her maternal grandma's put together. She usually shortens it to "L dot".

The youngest child's name was the most difficult to come up with. He was the only child we photographically knew the sex of before he was born. We liked the idea we had come up with of combining the grandma's names and decided we would combine the grandpa's names for his first name. However this didn't work out when we tried it and realized we already had a son by that name. Yup, our oldest son's name is a combination of the first half of his paternal grandpa's name and the second half of his maternal grandpa's and we didn't even know it. He was possibly going to be named after a popular college basketball player who was part of the "fab five" that played for Michigan in 1992. This child was a huge fan of March Madness while still in the womb. He couldn't stay still while I was watching any of the games. His dad really liked this name, but I felt it was a little feminine. We finally agreed on a name and his dad chose the spelling. For the first year of his life my mom referred to this son by a different name. By changing an a to an o it becomes a girl's name and that was what my mom was sure his name was. So much for a name that wasn't too feminine. He is the most vocal of our children about wishing he had a different name. I like his name because it is one syllable and easy to yell.

I have sometimes wondered if a person's name has any impact on who or what they become? All the Juliannes or Juliannas I've known have been very smart. Was that in some part because of their name? Would they have been just as smart if their names were Doofiss?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet In the early history of America, girls were often named after a desirable character trait such as Truth, Hope, Faith, Constance, Pleasant, Prudence, Patience, Duty, Charity... Do you think a child named Pleasant always was or a child named Truth never told a lie? I have thought if this were the case, what character trait would I have chosen to name my children after? Would it be Faith, or Hope, or Charity, or Joy, or perhaps Responsibility, or Obedience? Why does it seem that character traits that are used as names usually seem to be female? What would I name my boys, especially if I have a problem with feminine names? How about Grit, or Brave, or Loyal, or Strong, or Tenacious? I thought of one - Frank! Knowing how wordy I am and my lack of decision making ability, I would probably get carried away and name my child Pleasant Faith Charity Obedience Joy Patience and she would just end up confused for life instead of actually reflecting any of those qualities she was named for. Recently I was watching an episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman". In it they referred to how certain cultures such as the Native Americans and the Chinese give individuals new names based on important events or experiences in their lives. Most people would have several different names during their lifetime. What event in my life would I want to be named after? "Woman who moved to Arizona and thought she would die of heat stroke." "Woman who yelled until her voice disappeared". "Lady who loved to laugh at dumb things". It could be kind of interesting, but those kind of names seem a little long. You'd definitely need to have a nickname. I guess it's a good thing I just stuck to names that started with the same letter of the alphabet. It makes the list a lot shorter and less confusing.

Good to Go!

This morning both daughters, both hubbys, and I desended on the daughter's school to put the finishing touches on her classroom so she'll be ready for school to start on Monday.

We all worked hard and made lots of progress.

The young hubby was given the dangerous climbing and stapling jobs.













The older hubby was sent on garbage duty, car loading duty, and screw purchasing and placement duty. He got a work out.



The teacher daughter specialized in lesson plans.
The other daughter was the desk washer. She declared them clean enough to sit on.














She was also the official name writer and I was responsible for bulletin board completion and name tag placement.

Finally we were all happy to say that the room was good to go and we went to Sweet Tomatoes to celebrate!

Today I am grateful

for helpful husbands.
for free lunch. There is such a thing
for computers that work right when I'm typing up the ward bulletin.

My birthmonth present today was a fun, paper, desk top suitcase that I bought for 50 cents at the ARC thriftstore.

Now I just have to decide what I am going to put in it. It's too small for my clothes when I want to run away.

Back to School Blessings

One of my favorite family traditions is when my husband gives our kids each a father's blessing the Sunday before school starts. It has always made me feel that my children are going off to school with a shield of protection around them and we all know that in today's world they need one. Tonight the hubby gave the two sons wonderful blessings. The youngest is beginning his Junior year of high school. It is hard to believe he is getting so old. The oldest is returning to his position as an Instructional Assistant at a nearby elementary school, so even though technically he is not "going to school" he kind of is. I love my husband and I am glad that he can bless each of our sons as they begin a new phase of their lives. Thanks sweetheart!

Employee of the Quarter

Today my wonderful hubby won the Employee of the Quarter Award at his work. I am very proud of him for being a dependable and dedicated employee. He tried to act surprised when they presented him with the plaque, but that was a little difficult since one of his responsibilities at work is to print the award certificate and assemble it. He is a hard worker and crafty too! Just so you all know, he makes the awards, but he doesn't choose the winner. There was nothing questionable about him receiving this recognition. He received a $25.00 Harkins movie gift card and a $50.00 VISA gift card along with the certificate. I hope he plans on sharing his prizes with his loving wife! CONGRATULATIONS Sweetheart. I love you (and I'm not just saying that so you'll share). Thanks for working so hard to provide for our family. Does this mean you get to park in the covered parking spot everyday??

Today I am thankful that

My daughter is feeling almost all better. She was a sad, sick girl for a few days.
I have a husband to go to work and earn money for our family.
My hubby had salad left over from his work luncheon that we could take to the band, football, spirit line pot luck tonight and I didn't have to come up with another one.