the white house at the right time

      One week after graduation -  ACL surgery.  In between surgeries she was subpoenaed in a court case. Three weeks later -  double jaw surgery.   Nausea is a horrible feeling. It is worse when you throw up and the mouth is banded shut.  Emergency cutting of the bands ensued. We both cried. Rough weeks.  The front room became another bedroom.  Younger kids were all so kind and accepting of our no frills, "gotta be a nurse" summer. No way I could leave her to go to girls camp when she was still sucking food out of a tube. Randy rescued me and went in my place. Lots of follow up appointments and rehab. Surprise emergency room visit after she passed out and was cut by falling glass first week of college. Next summer.....senior trip when she can fully walk and talk! Posted doctor and hospital bills on fridge as incentive to go to medical school. 

This photo gave me perspective.  Once again. How blessed I am.   How grateful for my loving husband. My safety.  My country.  For women that have courage to persevere. For those that tell their stories. Thank you! South African-born photographer Jodi Bieber has won the 2011 World Press Photo of the Year for her portrait of an Afghan woman attacked by her husband. The World Press Photo Organization announced the winners of the 54th annual contest February 11 in Amsterdam. Bieber’s close-up portrait shows 18-year-old Bibi Aisha, who tried to flee to her family home to escape her husband’s abuse. At the order of a Taliban commander, she was held down by her brother-in-law and her husband cut off Aisha’s ears and her nose. Aisha was rescued by aid workers and the US military and taken to a women’s refuge in Kabul. She now lives in the US. Bieber’s image of Aisha also won first place in the World Press Photo Portrait category (.http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/news/...

Awkward I overheard Cayleb explain to his friend Timothy the definition of awkward. I was so impressed their 5 year old interaction had moved to real conversation and evolved to something more than Clone trooper battles and sword fights. Cayleb - "You know what awkward means?" Timothy - No answer. Cayleb confidently explained - "It is when you are in a room and you are the only boy and there are lots of girls, that's awkward ." We'll see how long this definition sticks. German Bread Madalyn - "Mom, what is German bread?" Me - I am a so, so cook that still relies heavily on C ampbell's soup and ward cook books, so I answered, "Well, I've never heard of G erman bread, we'll have to look that up. By the way where did you learn about G erman bread?" Madalyn - "From a song." Me - "Sing it to me." Madalyn - "......do a deer a female deer, ray, a drop of golden sun, mi, a name I call myself, fa, a long...

Randy loves his job! Several years ago, he was mowing the grass, and decided he wanted to pursue the career goal he had back in high school, seminary teaching he didn't want to do something he felt had him in "golden handcuffs" and where he wasn't really happy, not making a difference, just making money. He made the change and has never regretted his decision. He is almost a month into this quarter, always loves the infusion of "new Israel" students- So this is what my hubby chose for a job, he gets to teach about the gospel, study scriptures, build the kingdom, work in an ultra-positive and life changing institution, pretty cool if I must say so myself. But this is how it is described on the web-site, www. ldsces.org/seattle Welcome to the Seattle Institute of Religion! Located right in the midst of the beautiful University of Washington campus, our institute building has been a gathering place, a refuge, and a place of learning for nearly 50 years. We offe...

Once a bird flew into my windshield, I've stepped on the brake for many cats and dogs, in Hi-Country learned to spot the deer and rabbits, once spun out trying to avoid hitting a rabbit on the hill, but little Bella the Beagle didn't quite make it. I saw her dart out from the sidewalk, I put on my brakes thinking I just missed her, maybe I misjudged the distance and she was huddled waiting in the middle of the road, then the all-telling gentle thud under the truck tire. I pulled to the side of the road, hopped out, Bella stood up, "phew, I probably just got a leg," then she toppled over. A moment later her body became rigid and blood trickled out of her nose. I thought I would cry. I didn't, at first. Apparently Bella gets out all the time. My friend Vicki was just coming down the road too, we were both dropping kids off to pre -school, she stopped, the local walking groups stopped, and noticed her from her earlier escapades romping free in the neighborhood. Thank...

Our backyard? Maybe. Way back in the back, back is Randy walking and doing our annual survey of "the final resting place", maybe. We bought this property years ago with some friends. We were going to be next door neighbors, share an open fence, they'd build the pool, we'd have the court, and maybe even have twinner dogs with bff dog tags. But change happens. They are in Missouri, we are in Washington. So every year, when we're here, we do "The Walk" and have "The Talk." Where do we want to end up. Where are we planning our lives to take us. Hands down it would be great to not have neighbors right out our back door, but the sagebrush and scruboak just doesn't compare to the pines and rhodies. For now the deer get the pick of the lots. Maybe we'll have my brother build us another house like this. This is one he did for my sister, it is now her rental, maybe her 2nd home one day. A possible place for us to rent if and when we move. I u...

Can't you see each of the kiddos hovering under these? I think I'd pick the yellow for myself. It has been the driest summer in 60 years. No real rain has fallen since the middle of May. The leaves on the trees are already changing colors. At the church, crimson leaves have to be raked away. Today it rained. It is the big news story. Lots of spinouts on the roads, people actually have forgotten how to drive when roads are wet. I thought August was still summer. Here August begins Fall. Our family is o.k. with a dry spell, for a spell. Now what will we do today? P.S. the Space Needle went up for sale, temporarily, $79 million dollars, 14 bathrooms but no bedrooms - so that is why they must call it "Sleepless in Seattle" - no beds! Just a thought.

This is pictoral proof, I don't think we look too large, too many, too unrelated. But I invariably get asked and told on a regular basis, "Are all this kids yours?" or "Wow, I can't believe you have that many kids", or "Big group coming through." Large families here aren't the norm, but it isn't like there are rare either. My favorite is the grocery store one-liner, "What are you buying all this ____________(insert cereal, fruit roll ups, milk etc.) for? Are you having a party?" Yeah, I am. It is called motherhood and not everyone is invited and sometimes the party rocks more than at other times, but nonetheless, I decided how many I wanted on my guest list. It's 5. I even forewarned my mom when she came to watch the kids for us in April, that if she went anywhere with the kids, including kid friendly places like Chuck-E-Cheese, she would most likely get posed the same question I frequently d...

Last week for our date night, Randy and I had the opportunity to hear from, Steven Harper, who is a lead editor on the Jospeh Smith papers. It was fascinating to find out how this project came about. In essence, all the information about Joseph Smith from court documents, newspapers, journals, members and critics of the Church is being organized and published. Harper noted one scholar said he wouldn't forgive Jospeh Smith for having a doctor as a scribe on some of his paperwork because it is soo hard to read. He quoted Marlin K. Jensen, church historian, saying this is the most significant historical work in our lifetime to take place. There are over 100 people working on this project to make sure it is as complete and correct as possible. I look forward to learning more. To find out more, go to http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/ . As a side note, Randy and I had our general authority interview with Marlin K. Jensen. The comment that stood out most from our interview was, "be ...

My beautfiul friend from Japan, Ms. Maple. I check in on her often from my kitchen window for the latest weather report as I do dishes, unload dishes, do more dishes, unload dishes....you get the idea. There was a burst of snow this morning, enough to cover the road and leave the kids hoping school would be cancelled. School up here gets cancelled on a whim - they've missed almost 2 weeks of school because of "dangerous driving conditions"... the inch or less of snow on the road...the school year is now extended to almost the end of June! Living here, we've never been woken up by a snowplow grumbling and scraping the asphalt because they just don't plough side streets...they barely even get to major, main roads, using sand instead of salt to keep the Puget Sound and the whales and the fish and the tree huggers that don't drink bottled waters free from pollutants. Coming home from running errands today, it hit me, literally, sun melted snow dropping off the to...

For being a political science major, I feel "way out there" and disconnected. I was a little inspired for a while following the national conventions though the Republicans GOP (Grand Old Party, I actually totally forgot what the acronym stood for and Randy had to remind me, ouch - see what I mean by being "spacey") and the Democrats are still up to their GOP - good old politics. Help, I am turning into a cynical independent!