Latest news on the Douglases

So I've been meaning to update you all for a long time but never sat down to do it. I have to admit I've ended up starting our own family blog to record our lives in one place and to refer to friends who want to know what we're up to. (If you happen to have extra time and want to it's at douglasjournal.blogspot.com.) I've been wanting to keep this blog up to date too, so here we go.

Noteable things that have happened since last I posted:

-James has learned to crawl, and stand up on his own, and cruise, and make deep teeth marks in his crib! He started a high-calorie formula this week and seems to like it, so he should be gaining even more weight soon. He LOVES to swing on any swing he can find and dance to any music he hears.

-Bekah has lost another tooth and another one will come out any day. She also had her 6-year-old check-up and was 3'11" and 46 pounds! She goes around telling everyone "I'm 6 now. I'm over the hills!" I know it seems strange but it does seem like in a matter of weeks she's changed from a small kid to a young girl. We inherited some really cute clothes from a family in the ward recently and included was a pair of grown up white sunday shoes that she loves to go around in pretending she's a tap dancer (remind you of anyone :). She is quite the helper too.

-Jason made huge progress in our kitchen this week--we were able to go from plywood countertops to granite tile and it looks great! Jason might start teaching a recently added summer English class at MCC next week, but so far only has one student so we're not sure how that will work out. It's nice to have him home and be able to do family stuff every day.

-In the meantime, if 6 is over the hills, then I'm over the mountain...this was a hard birthday for me, but what can you do? Life only goes forward and I have many blessings. I'm still job hunting. I've applied for about 12 jobs with no luck yet and no temp positions are becoming available. I'm bummed that I may have to start working Sundays just to get a job, but I'll keep trying. I've been able to help in Bekah's class a couple times and joined a weekly walking group and two book clubs in the ward so it's nice to be out doing things.

Kelly and Sarah Kitchen came to visit during Bekah's surprise birthday party, and Doug and Emily are coming in a few weeks so we're all really excited! Seeing family is so much more exciting when you live far away. Life is really good.

It seems like I used to be able to post pictures with a specific paragraph but now it only lets me attach them to the top of the post, so sorry things don't line up. At least I found some pictures...

Love you all!

This is what happens . . .

when stubborn independence meets the parking lot.

Google Wave

Hey Fam,

I suppose this is just a nerdy thing but Google is announcing the end of email! I think it's pretty cool. http://wave.google.com/

Doug

Forefathers

Yes, it was a wonderfully pleasant day as the three of us walked around the gravesite, "away from the things of man". It is very heartwarming that the tape (which ends with the song, "Leader of the Band") is playing just as we arrive at the cemetery.

I added another Dan Fogelberg song ("Forefathers") at the end of the tape, to share at the Ivan & Leone Burnett reunion at Salinas, UT in 2000. So that song plays as we're leaving the cemetery. It's very appropriate for all of us, as we go back "to the things of man", to remember that "we all become forefathers by and by".

(My attempts to attach the mp3 version of the song failed. I'll email it to you.)

It Is Good To Remember

Thank you, Doug, for your thoughtful pictures and music. It was a perfect day at the cemetery today... sunny and warm. Dad, Angie, and I did the traditional clean-up and then walked around the cemetery talking about other people buried there that are connected to Grammy and Grampy. It is good to remember. The best part about this traditional, though, is listening to the cassette tape while driving to the cemetery. I always marvel that the tape ends just as we pull up to the graves. Thank you, Blaine, for putting that together that we may share with you special memories of your parents.

Memorial Day

Hello Fam,

I woke up thinking about our trips to Grammy and Grampy's grave this morning and I thought I would make a simple something to remember it. I just used the pictures from Mom's christmas DropBox so I didn't have any with Nikki in them but hopefully it still brings up wonderful memories for us all. I am so grateful for Grammy and Grampy's living legecy and can't wait to see them someday. I love you all.

http://dougburnett.com/memorial_day

it is 5MB so it will just show a white screen until it is downloaded to your computer.

Doug

Many love you today... and always

Happy Birthday to Angela on her golden birthday! Angela Faye was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan at 10:11 AM, weighing 7 lbs 1 oz and measuring 20 1/4", including her beautiful full head of blonde hair (that has never changed! In fact, while getting her hair cut yesterday, a professional color expert asked the woman cutting her hair what color she had used on Angie - She turned Angie around to face him and said, "It's the real deal!" He was amazed.) Grandma had arrived from Chicago the day before hoping to get the routine down for at least a day before I went into labor. Not so! By 6:00 AM the next morning the labor began and soon we were off to the hospital. She was born to the music of the Black Stallion, On Golden Pond, on Dad's trumpet solo from high school, and pieces from our favorite CD December. The doctor could appreciate the music more than I at the time, but I never hear one of those without remembering that special time that is unique in all the world... welcoming to Earth a gift from God to love forever & forever. I love, Angie... forever.

We just returned from Grandma and Grandpa's Foley house (as Kaylee would say). Here are a few highlights from our trip:

The vacation officially began when Russ stopped for DONUTS on the way to the airport.

The girls enjoyed Grandpa's attempts to animate his teddy bear.

We went for a nice Sunday walk and saw fish, squirrels, turtle doves, giant grasshoppers, and tiny lizards.

We took advantage of the swimming pool nearly every day.

Russ has been experiencing some back pain, but Kaylee helped keep him on track with his exercises.

The park at Grandma and Grandpa's complex is one of Kaylee and Ashlyn's favorite places.

Russ and I got beat at Rummikub.


And we all enjoyed a WONDERFUL time. :)

This is your Bekah speaking...

Dear Family,

Let's wind back like Nana and Papa because I'm going to tell you my favorite time in the whole wide world. For gracious, gracious, I think my favorite time was that I loved to be holded in my mommy's arms with a warm blanket over me or should I say toasty. Well, now that I am six years old, I can be bigger than I was when I was a baby. When I was four years old, I could be fitting in with James and I would be small like him! Did you know, family, I still love myself, but there is one thing; I love to be a big sister! I don't like to be a baby. Babies go WAAA! Cause sometimes when I go to bed I can't do it because my baby brother goes WAAAA!

Love the best family ever,

Bekah

P.S. Family, before I go I want to tell you one thing. This picture at the top presents me and my teacher, Mrs. Kallaus. For gracious, gracious, I think my teacher is the best teacher in the whole wide world. Now I'll say goodbye.

We discovered ourselves!

I suppose Emily and I are in an analytical mood, or we just want the internet to tell us who we are but we took a personality test for our date tonight (after going to a delicious Chinese buffet). We used signalpatterns.com. We each answers about 20 questions and it told us all about ourselves. We were actually pretty surprised at how accurate it was, generally.

So here are our brains cut in two and stamped onto a graph. We thought we would leave it up to the fam to figure out whose brain is whose.

findyourspot.com

Emily and I as part of our FHE activity tonight went to findyourspot.com and took a quiz that told us where we would enjoy living. I don't know how accurate it is because the first choice that came up for me was Saint George Utah! I refined my answers a little and it turned out that Norfolk VA, where we were considering before, came up. I had a lot of Virginias, North Carolinas, Washingtons. I think my disinterest in living in snowy areas excluded Rochester. Emily had Pennsylvanias, Washingtons and Oregons. Both of ours were peppered with the North East like Long Island NY. Just thought that would be fun to share!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to Nicole Marie and Mary Rebekah! What happy memories over 30 years... it reminds how important it is to make every day count. It is interesting to think back about our time in Utah in our little home that we loved (and Dad's famous Mustang) where we brought home our first child. How lost I was and yet my maternal instincts kicked in and somehow made it through. Fast forward 24 years and here I am now holding my first grandchild born on the same day. What blessings and challenges have come during those years!

Happy Mothers Day

A second grade teacher who had given a lesson on magnets gave a test question: "What starts with 'M' and picks up things?" Many of the children wrote "Mother".

I have been reading through some old letters recently and came across one today that I had written October 19, 1979 to my mother for her birthday. Nickie (how we originally spelled it) was just 5 1/2 months old...

"...I am just beginning to get a glimpse of what it's all about. The thing that I think scares me the most is the hurt that goes along with being a mother. When Nickie hurts, I will hurt. When she goes off to school for the first time - whether elementary school or college - I will hurt. When she seems to not appreciate her mother - it will hurt. It's just so overwhelming to think about the permanency of this job and all the emotions that go with it. And then I wonder how you survived me and the hurt I put you through. My only hope is that I have given you an equal amount of happiness. Though I am certainly no expert, having only been in this line of work for 5 1/2 months, I still feel this is the greatest work I can accomplish on this earth and I feel so lucky for this opportunity...."

So, on this Mother's Day, I wish all the women in my family - my dear mother who raised me, and those dear daughters who are raising our grandchildren and those who will yet do so - a very wonderful day. Celebrate!

Happy anniversary to me!

My senior picture

Hello dear family,

Sunday, May 3rd, marked my 35th year anniversary as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... and today marks my confirmation date. That one decision so changed the course of my life that I think I would hardly recognize who I would have become without the gospel as my guide. I grew up hearing Grandpa quote the Robert Frost poem, The Road Less Traveled, and as I chose that road, it certainly has made all the difference. I treasure my testimony of this church and know that so much of the good that has come to me is via that path. Happy anniversary to me!

This picture was taken the day I was baptized. My friends and I went to a park after the service.

The Beautiful Grad (and the guy standing next to her)

Hey Fam. Just thought I would keep my stats up :) by posting a picture at Emily's graduation. She felt like she was able to handle it pretty well and didn't get too emotional. She even didn't feel like she had to stay talking with her professors for a long time. We are both getting to know an Emily that doesn't go to school. That's always been the big thing for her for the last 17 years (except during her mission).

We are still working on our plans for when/where we are moving. Rochester Institute of Technology was the last one to answer about grad school and they suggested we apply to their Computer Graphics Design program, which is more specialized in interactive design and animation. They are ranked better in that program too. So we are still waiting to hear back from them for answers to our questions about their program so we aren't sure about the timeline. Emily is looking for teaching positions this week in New York but it's more difficult to become certified there than other states. So we will see. At least we have our insurance figured out for now!

We love you all. It's strange to think we are the only ones down here in Provo now. Happy Sabbath!