Thanks to Doug . . .

for the gift he gave all of us last year - CDs of the radio recorded Christmas tapes. I didn't grow up with them, so they're not an item of nostalgia for me, but the girls and I have certainly been enjoying them this season! Thanks, Doug - we love them!!!

Apparently, there are children who DO NOT love Santa Claus.

Thankful

We are so thankful for all of you! Here are a few more things we are thankful for this year . . .


(We made this poster for FHE the beginning of the month and have been adding to it each day since then.)

Christmas wish lists

Hey Fam again. Two questions and a comment. When do we want to assign who has who for Christmas? What do you all think of adding our Christmas Wish Lists to the blog. There is a fun way to add it by clicking "Customize" in the top right corner and adding a Gadget called "Lists". You can title it and put in your list. I already posted mine.

And for the comment, don't forget to take the Thanksgiving survey! You can add more items to vote on using the same "Customize" link.

Digital Thanksgiving

Would anyone want to do a Skype at some specified time on Thursday? It would be fun if we could all talk together and wish each other a happy Thanksgiving. Maybe the boys could work out some kind of digital turkey bowl too! :)

Doug

La vida es un carnival

So, I would love to be a regular and continuous contributor to the Blog but I generally find difficulty in thinking of something to write. Somehow I don't think posting the mis-matched, silly things that I say wouldn't have the same effect. I guess that changes with age. Sad day. :)

Let's see, I had an exciting weekend. I went up to a cabin out by Midway with the Outdoor Adventure Club; it was incredibly fancy and I am sure very expensive to construct. Downstairs included a pool table, ping pong, air hockey, foosball (and not the dinky kind that we had when we were children), a basketball shooting game, and very nice tv's and sound systems. We arrived at the cabin after it was already dark, so when I woke up in the morning and popped up my all I saw was the wall of windows filled with a view of a beautiful, blue lake. Yeah...

We had a ton of fun and a lot of people. We also got to make breakfast in the morning, which was fun. Of course, I ended up with a lot of it on my shirt. Garrett had a lot of fun pointing that out to me and everyone else - over and over again. (No, Garrett is just a friend from home.)

After we left the cabin, many of us went to go hiking, being the Outdoor Adventure Club. Wanting more attention, while trying to walk up the steep sheet of frozen (pretty much just ice) snow : my feet slipped from beneath me, I landed on my knee which then continued to slide down the hill, I tried to break the fall with my hand which also slipped out and decided to get all cut up and bleed, and I finally ended by slamming my forehead against the ice - leaving lots of really nice marks. Yeah...so I was just kidding about the attention part. I felt like a really big idiot, especially after everyone else made it up the hill just fine. Worst part: the very intelligent, impressive, cute guy was standing right there trying to prevent me from slipping. Anyway, it wasn't actually that dramatic, I just like to make it sound cooler. On Monday, everyone at school (the students with whom I am friends and coworkers) : "Wow! What happened to your face!" Yes, I am cool. :)

I continue to just adore my job. Being a small business and with the economy as it is and with the usual flow of students, things are getting rather tight at Nomen Global. But we still have good times. I am becoming good friends with some of the students, and therefore get to practice my Spanish a lot (nevermind the fact that they are the ones here to learn English). :)

Oh, so my friend Creighton (he has been in some past pcitures) decided to spend his winter semester doing a paid internship is Ghana! So on 10 January he will be leaving us to go build energy-creating merry-go-rounds in small villages there (you can read about it on BYU's website). He currently is the Financeer of the BYUOAC, and somehow without even really asking me, the baton was passed to me. I am now the unofficial Financeer of the BYU Outdoor Adventure Club, with all of my vast knowledge of finances and outdoor adventures. Not. It will be good.

Anyway, hope ya'll 're doin' well. From what I hear down the grape vine, Doug has a post on this blog that he needs to make. I hope he does. :)

Angela

Spanish Turkey

Kaylee has a LeapFrog toy (gift from Doug & Emily last Christmas) that sings and counts in both Spanish and English. In English, her songs all begin, "Hi! I'm Lily . . . ". So, the Spanish version of the songs begins, "Hola! Soy Lily . . . ". Our family night activity this week was making handprint turkeys. Kaylee ended up with two turkeys on her paper (she wanted to trace both her hands). She named her first turkey "Hola" and her second turkey "Soy Lily". :)

Kids Say the Cutest Things . . .

Today's Examples

#1
Kaylee and Ashlyn are sitting side by side in some little chairs. Kaylee rests her arm on the back of Ashlyn's chair and says, "Mommies and Daddies sit like this at church."


#2
Anne: Kaylee, Thanksgiving is coming really soon.
Kaylee: Can I PLEASE, PLEASE go to Aunt Janet's house?!


#3
Anne (to Kaylee and Ashlyn, upon returning from grocery shopping): Thank you both for being so good at the store today.
Kaylee: You're welcome, Mom. We love you. (blows a kiss)

Happy Halloween!

Sweet Dealio- An Update

As you all know, Halloween is coming. This weekend my ward, along with 3 others, had a big Halloween party. I, once again, thought that my 80's get-up would work best. However, I spruced it up with a sweet dress! Thank you, DI. Sadly, I let Allen Sabey (Cameo's husband) borrow my pink tights for the weekend (he went to an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Colorado and they had to dress up for Halloween; he was a pig, hence the pink tights...with shorts) so it doesn't look quite as...striking. But it still worked. I liked it. I was quite happy to receive compliments on my outfit, such as: "Wow! That is truly 80's. Most people when they do 80's don't actually look 80's, they just look trendy. But you, you look 80's!" Rock on! (Sorry about the orientation of the picture, I tried but couldn't get it to remain upright.)

In order from left to right: Me, Ellen (Jannelle's friend), Jannelle/Jasmine (she made the costume herself. Unfortunately, you can't see her sweet MC Hammer-like pants (rather, Jasmine pants) because they are dang tight!...and by tight I mean rad or cool, because they are anything but tight as in opposite of loosely fitted.), Laura (Jannelle's friend), Kristy my roommate. Ahw yeeeah.

Here is a close up of my face. Pretty awesome, I know. :) I would like you all to take note of my crimped hair. Yes, that is right, I crimped my hair. It is actually kind of cool and I think I might do it again for real life, not just for a costume! Please ignore the fact that my cheeks and my lips are the same color. Gee, I wonder how that happened...

The weekend before this current one we are in, I went camping at a place called Six Lakes, east of Heber. To be more correct, it was Six Ponds. We went camping and had a nice fire and also went biking and canoeing. Creighton and Garrett would scoff at my listing biking among the activities because my biking skills are...a little under par. But we had good times. As you can see, there were insects around. Apparently, they don't mind Creighton's shoulder.

This is while I was out canoeing out in one of the ponds. It was pretty fun.

Life is going well. As usual, I absolutely LOVE work. It is so great. The Lord is amazing. It is incredible how tailored my current situation is to what I need in life. My ward is also amazing; it is full of such good people who are doing exactly what they should in life. Honestly, it is so great. Other than that (work, church and activities), not much going on. Just thought ya'll would enjoy seeing and reading up on my life. I love you all!

Pumpkin Time

Last Monday we took a trip to Milburn Orchard to have some Autumn fun and purchase our seasonal pumpkins. The girls had a fabulous time seeing the giant pig, feeding the goats, picking out their pumpkins, and playing outside. Kaylee even did a little missionary work. The girls were playing on a little school bus with some other children. The children took turns being the driver and also choosing where the bus was driving to. When another child asked Kaylee where they should go next, Kaylee proudly said, "the TEMPLE". :)

Logic

Last night the plan was for our whole family to go to the church for mutual, since I work with the YW and Russ was just called to work with the YM. However, Ashlyn developed a fever later in the day so I decided to stay home with her and just send Russ and Kaylee to the church. Kaylee was already excited to go, so I didn't want to make her stay home as well.

Kaylee (and probably all children) often projects onto herself the things she observes in others. So yesterday afternoon when I told her that Ashlyn was sick, she began claiming that she was also sick. I told her that because Ashlyn was sick she wasn't going to the church, and that if Kaylee was sick she would need to stay home as well. Here was Kaylee's response:

"I'm sick at home, but when I'm at the church I'm not sick."

I'm sure that logic made perfect sense to her little three-year-old mind.

Update

That is me at the top. I'm rock climbing. This was over a month ago, it was pretty fun.

This was at Megan's wedding. Yep, that would be the first of the freshman roommates to get married. It was way fun to see her and her reception and invitations were all just beautiful. She did a very nice job. One of the few receptions and invitations that I have actually liked. It was especially fun because all 5 of us (the other freshman roommates) all went up together.

This is Creighton and Jannelle cleaning the plastic that melted onto the burner.

Hello Family- I thought that I might join in the blogging. I don't really have anything exciting or funny to tell, just thought I would post the basics, so then ya'll know. Right now I work M-T from 10 until, well supposedly 2 but I always stay late. I think they will get on my case for that pretty soon. On Fridays I work beginning at 1 until somewhere between 4 and 5.

I am really loving my job. I love that I have a job, but more importantly I love the job itself. It is really great to work with people from ALL over the world. The majority of students are from Mexico, but we also have plenty from Brazil, Peru, Argentina,...South America in general, Ukraine, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Africa, Bulgaria,.... I really enjoy hearing different languages all the time and just being around such diversity. Foreigners always seem to be so happy, too.

I love my co-workers. There are actually two people from Guanajuato, Mexico (the state in which I lived last Fall), one from Irapuato (the city that I lived in each weekend last Fall. Imagine that! Latinos are a lot of fun to work with. They are crazy. The two that I work with most (Mexican and Peruvian) are ALWAYS super happy and just singing all the time and laughing and saying nice things. It is great. My supervisors, Jason and Jason, are wonderful. We have so much fun together and I really enjoy working with them. They are so easy going, relaxed and open-minded. At Nomen Global, it is pretty dang easy to get stressed out, annoyed and curt, but no one ever does. It is really good to witness and practice that. Not to be creepy, but I have learned more about marriage just but watching Jason and Jason, in a good way.

My official title is Registrar, though I really wear lots of hats (Front Desk Receptionist, Assistant Office Manager, Treasurer,...). My main job is to take care of the students, make sure they are registered in classes, make sure they have paid, keep track of their folders and information and all that kind of stuff. But, I also answer the phones, take payments, open the vending machine (my most favorite part...not really) and so forth. It is good. I have a lot of opportunity to learn, learn how to work with people, learn to always be happy and kind and not ever get stressed, learn how it is to work for a real bussiness, English grammar rules (which are incredibly complicated by the way). It's great. I really love my job.

I am still on the hunt for a second job. It looks like right now my best bet will be something in food services. No, I will not be working for McDonald's, so I don't want any jokes about that. Just in general, and this isn't to be mean, it is to let you all know, let me tell you about a new job once I get one instead of you asking me. As many of us have recently learned, it is no fun to tell people over and over, "Nope! No job yet." Because it just isn't something we enjoy telling people.

My ward is really great. There is just a very very good feeling amongst those people. You can just feel that it is FULL of individuals who are all striving to follow Jesus Christ by living His teachings and who look forward to becoming friends with everyone in the ward. My bishop is a wonderful, humble man. You can sense his love for us just in the way he conducts (not that he cries or anything. :) )

I am a Relief Society teacher, for which I am SUPER stoked. I love teaching. My first opportunity will be this Sunday. Most fortunately, Pres. Kearl is still my stake president. He was my stake president last Winter semester and I just fell in love with him. I did my mission interviews and my temple interview with him and he is an incredible man, very wise and in-tune with the Spirit. Last Sunday was stake leadership training and when we split off, Pres. Kearl took the teachers, feeling it is the most important calling. He explained to us that teaching in the Church is much different because, unlike in school, it is not a situation of Expert-Novice teaching (the teacher being the expert who has more knowledge than the students who are novice) but a situation of Peer-Peer. It is not a given that the "teacher" knows more than the "students". In fact, if he had it his way we would not be called teachers but discussion facilitators. As a teacher, my job is to be very familiar with the material, teach doctrine for about 5 minutes and then have prepared 4 or 5 good questions which will inspire discussion, discussion which has the purpose of learning to apply the doctrine in our lives. This is not just as a RS teacher, but as any "teacher" in the Church. I have a list of questions he gave us as examples, if any of you would like to hear them.

Other than that, I hang out with friends, especially Garrett and Creighton, Mallorie, and Rivka from home. We go biking and camping a lot and just other stuff that comes up. I am really happy and enjoying life. It is different living in an apartment, I prefer the house living, and with the people I do.

So, that is the update on my life. I love you all-

Angela

Rules

"When kids are out, you don't kiss. But when kids go to sleep, that's when you can kiss." -Kaylee Burnett, age 3

Birthday Fun

Russ enjoyed a very happy and a very "Pollini" birthday last Sunday. Thanks to all for the gifts, cards, and phone calls. Here are a few pictures of the celebration (and the cake I was quite proud of).

Well, here are some pictures of our "new home". I know the door color looks really wild, but it dries much darker and I love it. Dad is still adjusting... The color of the garage always looks different from the house because the blue roof reflects onto the walls on the house, while the cement in front of the garage gives it a different color. The roof is brighter than ever because Dad power washed it for hours. We are considering having the roof painted a different color, but that won't be this year. It would appear rainy season started today so we just barely squeaked this project in, though we are not quite done with trim. What do you think?!

The painting project

Happy conferencing!

Hello again! Anne just asked me for my cinnamon roll recipe for conference, so I thought it might be a good idea to post in on the blog. I have used several different recipes over the years, but this is the one Sheryl Gleason makes for cinnamon or orange rolls. Some might even remember that their family would make these and sell them to earn money for camp, etc.

No Rise Cinnamon or Orange Rolls

From Sheryl Gleason

Mix and rest 15 minutes:

· 3 ½ cups warm water

· ¾ cup sugar

· 6 TBSP yeast (not rapid rise)

After yeast mixture has rested add:

· 3 eggs

· 1 TBSP salt

· 10 ½ cups flour

Mix until smooth. Gradually add remaining flour. Dough will be sticky.

Divide in half. Roll each into a rectangle. Spread butter or margarine on top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. (Variations: Use orange peel & sugar for orange rolls or brown sugar and cinnamon for caramel roll.)

Roll up from long side.

Cut about ½ inch thick sections with string/ thread. Place on a greased cookie sheet 1-2 inches apart. Bake at 375-400 for 10 minutes. Spread on icing while still warm.


ICING for CINNAMON ROLLS:

· Melt 1 stick butter or margarine (This is what her recipe says, but I would reduce or omit the butter)

· 6 TBSP milk

· Start with 3 cups powdered sugar (add more if desired)

· 1 tsp vanilla

Mix together until smooth.

ICING for ORANGE ROLLS:

· Melt 1 stick butter or margarine (This is what her recipe says, but I would reduce or omit the butter)

· Juice from an orange (or can use orange juice)

· Start with 3 cups powdered sugar (add more if desired)

Mix together until smooth.

Enjoy while being spiritually fed!

Love, MOM

Hi family,

It is Sunday - Russ' birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RUSS. Leave it to Grandpa to figure out that this is the only time in his lifetime that he will be celebrating his 28th birthday on the 28th of the month. Sorry, Doug, you were 2 when that happened! But Angie can say that next year. Just a point of interest.

I guess you have figured out on the topic of employment that no news means just that... no news yet! When there is, we will happily share the excitement! The family run business that does industrial labeling is still a possibility and I think the one he is hoping will work out. He will probably know the final outcome of that later this week. That company did hire Brian Heintz so Dad is very grateful to have been able to help there. Now that he is seriously looking, it does feel like there are good opportunities out there and some here in the Portland area so we are feeling good about it all. Truly this would be a very different experience without the peace that the spirit brings. We feel and appreciate your prayers and feel confident it will all come out better than we could have planned ourselves. It has been wonderful to have him at home and I know we will look back fondly on this time together.

This week should also bring to close the majority of the house painting project. I can't wait! The painters are coming tomorrow and Tuesday and the weather is supposed to be dry and hot so the timing looks good. We will be doing the trim that isn't dangerous to reach ourselves, but that won't be bad. Dad has spent hours and hours powerwashing the roof and house and both of us many hours caulking, etc. Our hard work will pay off and that will feel good. I think of Nikki and Jason often when working.

I had a wonderful experience this week with Linnell. We went to Wamic, OR Tuesday - Thursday where a friend of hers lives. He has 80 acres with access to like 30,000 more on government land. The Mikkelsens have a few of their horses there and their friend has several others. Linnell and I rode for several hours Tuesday and Wednesday. We loaded up the saddle bags with Cheetos and peanut M&M's and drinks and off we went. We collected wild turkey feathers along the way, saw some deer and an eagle, crossed streams, rode in beautiful green and golden meadows with the Cascade mountains (including Mt Hood) as our backdrop, felt like The Man From Snowy River as we decended a very steep mountain, and sang the tune from Bonanza as we went. I was in heaven. It is hard to put into words what I was feeling. The second day I chose to ride a horse named Jake. I saw him the day before and felt an instant connection. He has a little more spunk than Norman (my Tuesday mount), but it was more than that. I felt like that old connection was back. You have probably heard me say that my love of horses is more about the relationship with the horse which is like no other animal because you are working together. A horse is big and powerful yet controlled by just a touch of a rein or a leg, and by voice. Jake and I connected and it touched in me something I haven't felt in a very long time. I have always felt my love of horses it a gift and have felt deep gratitude for the unique opportunities I have had in my early years to enjoy that gift. It was exciting to discover the gift is still there. When I picture living in the celestial kingdom, it includes rides like these on horses I have loved. Maybe Casey will be running beside as well. Those are some of my happy thoughts.

I love you all!

MOM

Contact Info

We're back to the 21st century

As of 10pm last night we have internet access at home again! It's interesting how quickly some technologies become necessities. We tried to think about not having cell phones and only having dial-up internet, but there were just too many cons like trying to pick up Jason from the train but not knowing for sure which train he caught, what if the van broke down and we were stuck somewhere without a way to get help (which we hear would be very serious in a Chicago winter), not being able to do internet banking, download online books and artcles for Jason's homework, and the greatest tragedy...not being able to upload or view pictures or videos on the family blog or picture site! Sometimes I feel like technology is telling me what I need instead of the other way around.

I don't quite know how to comment on these last two months. Honestly, it feels like a nightmare we're just coming out of. I feel like I identify with the pioneers more when they say that first Winter Quarters winter was something they didn't want to talk about or remember (Bekah and I have been reading her Church History kids book she got from Nana a while back). There were times I felt so extremely helpless and hopeless, mostly during the 3AM feedings when I was all alone...except for the reason I was awake. Many other times I was just in survival mode not really aware of what's going on around me. There were so many things that went wrong I couldn't possibly remember them all and I really don't feel like remembering them anyway for a long time. But the wonderful thing is there have been so many blessings and miracles at the same time that I can't recount those either, nor do I even know what they all are. I have been so humbled.

And James and Bekah have been troopers through it all. I'm so glad Bekah has kindergarten to look forward to. There are at least ten reasons we've realized we're glad we're in this house and this area and if the only one was so that Bekah could have Mrs. Kallaus for a teacher it would be worth it to me. Mrs. Kallaus is a very gifted teacher and she really gets the kids excited. For instance, the school sent home a CD about keeping our bodies clean and healthy with songs to listen to as part of their health class. Bekah listens to this daily and of her own accord asks to shower almost each day, and she wants to brush her teeth (instead of us forcing her to) because she wants to do what her teacher asks! I can't explain the joy I feel when Bekah comes home from school and is so excited to show me what's she's learned. It's very fulfilling. I would never have been able to duplicate Bekah's learning experience if we'd chosen to do home school had we lived in a not-so-good area of Chicago.

I don't know how Jason has survived so far, and I don't think he does either. Somehow he's been able to keep going even though he sore and tired and worn out. His schedule some days is unbelieveable. Mondays and Wednesdays he leaves the house at 7:30am to teach three sections of English writing at McHenry County College (MCC) from 8-11am. Then he has a required office hour until 11:50am. Then he rushes as fast as he can to the Crystal Lake metra station to catch the 12:10pm train so he has enough time to walk the 15-20 minutes from Ogilvie station to University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) so he can attend two of his classes that don't get done until 9pm. Then he has to hurry back to Ogilvie to catch the 9:30pm train back to Crystal Lake, and he doesn't walk back in the door until 11:15pm or so. (This is if he makes the 9:30 train since it only comes once an hour at night.) Some Mondays his evening class is at University of Chicago (UC) since it's team taught between the two locations so he has to leave his previous class slightly early to catch a cab to UC where he's a little late to that class. Then he has to get back to Ogilvie station to take the 10:30pm train, in which case he wouldn't get home until 12:15am. For two more weeks on Tuesdays/Thursdays he catches the 7:30am train back to UIC to observe a class he's required to attend and gets home about 1:30pm. Fridays he teaches at MCC again from 8-11, so all his homework, lesson prep, working on the house time has to be fit in on Tues/ Thurs/Fri afternoons and Saturday and Sunday. (He just got called to teach Course 15 Sunday School, though, so even Sundays he's doing more lesson prep.) It's truly amazing what he's gone through. Had we known his schedule would be this busy this semester, he wouldn't have accepted three sections at MCC. But come December this semester will be over and he can teach less at MCC and hopefully have more time to get to where he needs to go.

The house is coming along. Yesterday Jason was able to get the gas dryer that came with the house fixed and the washer working so we can do laundry again! (I've been doing laundry at a ward members house.) He also installed a thermostat recently and got the furnace cleaned out so we can get it inspected so we can have working heat. We also hung up some blinds and installed some closet organizers in our new closets so we can hang clothes up. And I mentioned we got internet (and cable since AT&T requires cable if you have internet and it was cheaper than Comcast) set up last night. We stained a kitchen cabinet today and started painting the kitchen so we can start hanging cabinets so we have somewhere to put dishes away. So things are coming together.

It's nice to be able to read the blog again. For a while now I've felt really out of the loop. Bekah woke me up early this morning because she really wanted to see the new videos of Kaylee and Ashlynn as soon as she could. So we're getting back in the groove.

Well, I need to go pick up Bekah from school. Thanks for all your prayers and support.
We love you.
Nikki

Long time, no blog

Emily and I thought we would speak from the digital dust and resurrect our interaction with the family! We were just called as Primary teachers so we can knock a couple more percentages off from the amount of time we spend apart. We teach 10 CTR 6ers. Last week we tried hard but in the middle of the class, one girl said, "this is boring!" So this week we tried to mix things up.

Friday Emily and I got to see George Winston in concert which is special because his Kannon in D is the first song Emily and I ever talked about. He is pretty timid on stage but it was still really magical.

I also thought I would share that we are pretty sure which schools we will apply to. Does anyone know someone that went any of these?

Rhode Island School of Design
Yale
Virginia Commonwealth
Maryland Institute College of Art
School of Visual Arts (NY)
California Institute of the Arts
Art Center College of Design (CA)
Parsons New School of Design (NY)
Rochester Institute of Technology
Canby Intitute of House Painting

Most of the due dates are mid January. We are excited at where our future could take us! We love you all!

David & Goliath

Yesterday we decided, with Kaylee's help, that our FHE lesson tonight would focus on the story of David & Goliath. This morning Kaylee and I were discussing the upcoming lesson, and she was assigning parts for all of us to play. She was going to be David, and Dad (Russ) would be Goliath. I asked her who Ashlyn could be. Kaylee's response . . . "the stone".

As interesting as that casting would have been, we ended up making a few minor adjustments before the final production this evening.

(P.S. Good job to Mom for all of your recent posts!)

Our new window

Hi family,

I thought you might like to see what went on here on Saturday. We love our new window, though in this picture it is hard to really tell what happened other than a big mess! That is Marlin Harker (the installer with Dad's help) on the other side of the window. We are getting used to having more light in our bedroom and being able to see what is going on out front. We are still debating on a paint color. The one Dad and I liked (gray) got outvoted by Marlin and Linnell, whose votes count more than ours! (They both liked the color you picked on the blog). So, consider yourselves color experts!

Love, MOM

Trabajo

So, Angela just got a job. Yay. She is the newest front desk secretary at Nomen Global Language Centers, located in Provo. She is excited about the position because:
1. It's a job and she is really happy to have something scheduled for each day
2. She feels very comfortable with the people there and it is a good job in general
3. She gets to use her Spanish!!!! which is by FAR the part she is most excited about.

Angela just thought you would all like to know since people seem to like to know what is going on in her life and she is happy to actually have something to report. !

Good morning, family. There is hope for me yet in becoming a blogger. What has yet to be determined is whether that is a good thing or not. Of course it is good if it means we are communicating as a family. Aren't we glad Anne hasn't given up on us yet?!

It looks like everyone likes the first color I posted. We are still looking at options but that is my favorite of that group as well. I did start caulking yesterday... just long enough to remember what a messy job that is! But we are enjoying perfect outdoor working weather, making it so pleasant to have an outdoor project. How blessed we are to live/ have lived in such a beautiful place. I anticipate that one of my future hard moments will be to close the door on this home for the last time. And so it should be.

Today is a big day at Nikki & Jason's "new" home. The carpet is being installed, which means the painting is done (for now). They have decided to tackle the kitchen later and I think they even invited us at Christmas to help! Let's see... Florida or Chicago? Which would you choose?! Let's talk about it, Angie. Dad is not in the space of being willing to plan that far ahead. How was it, Anne, that you got him to commit way in advance before?! The crazy summer is still too fresh for him and that small detail of a job also has something to do with it. Anyway, back to Nikki and Jason - we hope you can get moved in soon and life can find some kind of normal. We look forward to pictures. Bekah tells us she likes kindergarten. So much going on in their family.

Well, I must get going on my day. I was just thinking of you all this morning and thought I would ramble a bit. Have a wonderful day!

Love,

MOM

Ok, so I am doing this backwards. I asked for your vote in the blog below but then posted the pictures later. So, there are 7 pictures, all but the last one has 2 pictures with the same paint color. Pictures 1-2 are Amazon Stone, 3-4 are Cedar Grove, 5-6 are Anonymous, and 7 is Wooden Cabin. Doug will not be impressed with my attention to detail, but who has time for such a thing?! Let us know your thoughts!

MOM

Hello family! We are home and busy working on the house and trying to find a job... an interesting combination since each could be a full-time job. Which should come first is the question. Do we wait to get the house ready for sale before we get a job, making it difficult if we have to move, or do we hope to get one locally and not have to move? Well, we are trying to split the difference. The big project now before the weather changes is painting the outside. I have been playing with colors on some Home Depot software. Would you care to vote? It isn't a perfect representation, but it helps. We are hiring out the painting, but as with all home projects, the preparation is just as difficult! I know you wish you were all here to help, especially Russ.

Love you all!

MOM

Look What I Can Do!

Blessings

A few weeks ago for Family Night we had a lesson about tithing. We explained the concept, that we're giving money to Heavenly Father, and that He gives us blessings when we're obedient. Then we let Kaylee practice paying tithing with Monopoly money. She was given a bunch of bills to count, and every time she reached 10 she was supposed to put 1 bill in an envelope.
After she had placed her full 10% in the envelope, she decided to put the other 90% in the envelope as well, explaining, "I want to pay ALL the money so I can have lots of blessings." She's setting a new standard that's going to be a bit challenging for the rest of us to comply with. I guess she's already prepared for the law of consecration. :)

Talents

Well, our two beautiful girls would like to share some of their talents with you. Kaylee has recently taken up "whistling". If you are familiar with the final movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony you can tell that she is actually quite close with the tune. Ashlyn loves to sing, though her tunes are, as yet, unrecognizable. Enjoy!

Introducing James Jay Douglas

Hello family! Here is a picture of the latest addition--James Jay Douglas. Born 7:15 AM on Sunday, July 20, 2008. He weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and is 18 inches long. We're all doing great. Bekah is already a great big sister and loves her brother SOOO much. She took a picture of him to her preschool class today because she couldn't wait to show everyone her brother. Mom and baby will come home from the hospital Tuesday morning. Thank you everyone for all your prayers and support.

Haircut

Kaylee and I have been talking for a while now about getting her hair cut short (she wanted to get it short like Dad's, but I wasn't going to let her cut off quite that much), and today we finally went to have it done. Here are the before and after photos:











(She's REALLY cute!)

Your Mom...

I know that Russ and Anne will enjoy this in particularly. I would like everyone to know that today Dad successfully made TWO "your mom" jokes! This is most definitely a break-through for Dad. For those of you who don't know, Dad, Russ, Anne and I have had at least two separate longish conversations trying to explain what "your mom" is supposed to mean and imply.


Funny thing, though, is that Dad told a story today of when he was in the 9th grade he made some negative remark to a senior in his band. This same senior responded with, "Well, Blaine! Your mom wears combat boots." Apparently, Dad understood the "your mom" jokes all along. Reminds me of another thing Dad tricked us all on...

Last thing: You will all recall that for Christmas Padre received a Napoleon Dynamite calendar. You know, the kind that you tear off a piece of paper for each day. Every day has another quote from Napoleon Dynamite on it. On 6 June the quote -appropriately so- is:

Deb: Is anyone else home? I'm trying to earn money for college.
Kip: Your mom goes to college!

I thought this was not only a good fit but very coincidental and hilarious!

Ever so sincerely-
Angela

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADRE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLEE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLYN!

Birthday Girls

Friday night we had a birthday party for both Kaylee and Ashlyn. We made two cakes, because we decided Kaylee wouldn't be too happy about Ashlyn digging into Kaylee's birthday cake. That was definitely a good decision, as the video will show. Enjoy!

Good news

Well, even though my siblings think we've dropped off the face of the earth (in regards to the family blog site) we are still here and reading the blog. I just need to make it one of my bookmarks and remember to check it...we should add a feature that emails us when there is a new post and then I would remember to check it ALL the time.

Things have been absolutely crazy for us this last month. In the last five weeks we've taken house hunting trips to Chicago twice (which includes learning the ins and outs of Travelocity.com last-minute packages and how to rent cars for cheap...not to mention how to navigate toll roads), I've been diagnosed with anemia and gestational diabetes and had to go on a special diet, checked out 200 residents, checked in 40 more, orchestrated inventory-ing of 800+ dorm rooms in Helaman, Jason turned in his first full draft of his thesis so he can graduate in August (he'll defend at the end of June), got a tetnis shot so UIC would accept him as a graduate student, and all three of us had birthdays in there with a birthday party for Bekah's church friends. Bekah also completed her medical and dental visits for kindergarten, which included her last shot for 7 more years (hopefully) and getting her first filling at the dentist, which was a little traumatic. We also bought a crib and some bedding, and baby clothes for our baby that's going to be here in less than 8 weeks!!! I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is going. It's almost scary. Looking at this list of all that's happened just in five weeks, I almost feel like crying for joy that we made it. I can see God's hand really sustaining us through these times.

Our big news this week is we finally have an offer on a house that's been accepted! We're scrambling to get all the paperwork in order since it's a HUD home that requires a lot of red tape to go through, but if all goes well we'll be closing about the 1st of July. We're posting pictures on the picture website. It's a 3 bedroom 1 bath home on the main floor with a detached 1.5-car garage, fenced yard, and a 90-second walk to Bekah's kindergarten across the street! There is also a full basement (which in Illinois you can't count in the listing as square footage...so really it's a 5 bedroom, 2 bath home!). Jason will be going out there during July to get the place all painted and lay new flooring before we move in--the hope being he'll return before the baby is born. We'll see how things work out.

Anyway, guess that's enough info for now. We'll keep you posted.

TODAY IS ANGELA'S BIRTHDAY!!!

All Grown Up

Here's a little video of the girls playing together. They are both growing up so much! Ashlyn loves to pretend with dishes and copy what she sees us do - that is, feed anyone with an open mouth. :)

TODAY IS BEKAH'S BIRTHDAY!

TODAY IS NIKKI'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Wisdom from a Child

This morning I climbed up on the kitchen counter to reach something up high. Kaylee came in the room and said:

Hey, Mom!
Be careful.
Get down . . . that's not a playground!

I guess she told me. :)

(I'm not sure whether anyone checks this blog anymore. So, if you read this, please leave a little comment, and I'll know whether or not to continue posting.)

Minivan Miracle

Most people have heard our van story by now, but I thought I'd post up an official version anyway. The process involved one miracle after another, and Russ and I are still astounded to consider how perfectly everything has worked out for us.

Mid-February Russ and I discussed our car situation and decided we were ready to begin looking for a minivan. We talked about what we wanted and how we could finance it (with the majority of the money coming from a hefty tax return). We began casually searching online for available vans. All of the vehicles we found were some distance from our home, near either Philadelphia or Baltimore. Three weeks later, on a Thursday evening, our car died. Thankfully, we were home at the time (I had been out and about with the girls most of that day). Friday morning the car was towed to the mechanic, and Friday afternoon we found out the repairs would cost more than the car was worth. Some wonderful ward friends loaned an extra vehicle which we assumed we would need to use for a week or two.
Saturday evening Russ glanced at online listings again and found a 2000 SIENNA (we were looking for a Sienna or an Odyssey made between 2000 and 2003) located in NEWARK, DE. He sent an email to the owner indicating that we would love to see the vehicle and would be available any day but Sunday.
The next day (which was Sunday) Russ received two emails from the van owner. The first informed him that another individual would be looking at the van that day. And the second indicated
that the van was still available. So, we scheduled to meet at 10:00 am Monday morning. The minute we met John and Ellen Vanderburgh we knew they were good and honest people. This sweet retired couple with Southern accents adored our children and answered all of our questions before we could ask them. When we got in the van to go for a test drive we just looked at one another and sort of laughed. Everything was working out too perfectly. The price of the van (thousands below Blue Book when considering all of the luxury features) was $500 less than we currently had in our savings account. We were able to do a wire transfer from bank to bank and drive away with the van the same day. There are more details to this story, but I hope what I've written is sufficient to testify how thankful we are for this miracle in our lives, a tender mercy from a loving Heavenly Father.

Easter in Delaware

Called to Serve

So...I'm going to POLAND!