The Overton Trail

Treats for Soldiers

2010-06-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Treats for Soldiers started today. What is Treats for Soldiers you may ask?...Well let's start with the obvious...we make treats and give them to soldiers.

History of...
Last year my mom handed me a book and said it was really good. I needed to read it, so I did. It is called, "Once Upon A Town, The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen," by Bob Greene. Awesome book. It talks about the small town of North Platte, Nebraska. During WWII, the townspeople figured out that all military personal being transfered from East to West or West to East, went through their little town (center of the U.S.). As did every town and city across our country, thy had children, fathers, sons, uncles, cousins and neighbors who were away serving their country. To honor their loved ones, and to serve the loved ones of others who passed through their town every day, they decided to set up a canteen. The people of North Platte and their surrounding communities took over the resturant at the train station (with the blessing of the train company) and set up huge tables of all manner of food and drink for every single soldier who passed through...ALL For FREE. Mind you, every single person who donated food, was rationed. There are stories of people giving their sugar, their flour, their eggs, etc. to make pastires. There were sandwiches of every kind, hard boiled eggs, cakes, pies, coffee, water etc. A piano was set up in the resturant. Sometimes people from North Platte would come in and play for the soldiers and sing with them. Sometimes a soldier would play. Birthday cakes were made every day because every day was someone's birthday. No soldier went without a cake on his birthday, when he passed through North Platte. There is story after story of sacrifice just to feed these soldiers. The trains would start as early as 5 a.m. and sometimes the last train would pull out at 2 a.m. Each train would have anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes at the North Platte station before moving on either East or West. There was a story of one mother who, after receiving the news that her son died in Europe, took a couple of weeks off from the Canteen, then came back and was there every day after that. She decided there was nothing more she could do for her son but she could do something for the sons of others who went through her town every day.

After reading a book like this, it calls you to action. It dares you to look at your life and examine it. In this time of propserity(yes even our recession is a time of prosperity) this book make you ask, what have I done to give to the soldiers and veterans who have secured my comforts and freedoms?

I did not have my food rationed. I lived less than a mile from a base. I wanted to do something for the soldiers in my own backyard so...Treats For Soldiers was born.

I decided to make treats each week and take them to the base at Los Alamitos to pass out to soldiers. I invited other families to join us. We shake hands, thank them for their service and offer a baked good. We did that almost every Thursday last summer plus we selected a Saturday in August when we knew reserves would be coming in for training at the base, and passed out purchased and home baked goods, all the while calling out our thank yous and waving signs of thanks, as soldiers passed through the gate at the base. It was an incredible summer and a highlight of our summer.

A couple of months ago as we bagan to plan out our summer, I knew Treats for Soldiers needed to happen again. I have recruited new families this year and hope to be able to spread the word even more. Soldiers need to hear our thanks. There is a feeling so indescribeable that comes from expressing gratitude to our soldiers. I want to share that with my friends. I want my children to grow up knowing we honor those who have and are serving to protect our country.

God bless our country, God bless those who have and those who are, willing putting themselves in harms way for my families behalf.

Treats For Soldiers is on - Round 2

Wanna join us? Let me know. Not in my Cypress, CA area? Find something in your area that you can do to serve soldiers. I promise you, it will be worth every minute.

Eric Overton

2010-06-07T08:12:00.001-07:00

I have found another blog about a person with the last name of Overton. This time...Eric Overton. Eric looks to be a graphic designer/artist. His website is full of drawings he has done. They are really interesting. I particularly liked the business card/christmas card he did. A client hired him to design a business card which he did. They then wantd him to use the same feeling from the business card to creat a christmas card to send out to their clients. He came up with a great Christmas Card. It was impressive. He was also hired to create a giant banner to go up on the side of a building advertising a composer and orchastra that were coming to town to play a concert. It is a really cool looking poster.

I am impressed with his talent. It is considerable. If you would like to view his artwork and his blog you can see it at http://ericovertonsblog.blogspot.com/.

Happy Perusing.

Handball, Handball, Handball

2010-06-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

My son has become taken with handball. He plays it at school, he plays it on my fence, he plays it on my laundry doors and he playes it on my front door...inside the house. Before this phase of his life, he would constantly carry around a ball, any ball, (a balloon works too) and bounce it or toss it up in the air. Always bouncing and tossing.

Now, he not only does that, he turns any two perpendicular planes, roughly at a 90 degree angle, into a handball court. What he does is, hits the ball, itbounces on the floor, bounces up and hits the wall (or door or fence or back of the chair) then bounces back to the floor to be hit again...back to the floor to the wall to the floor...hit...floor, wall, floor...hit.

I know the pattern of the sounds it makes by heart and I can hear it happening inside the house, outside on the fence or in the courtyard most of the time on any given day.

Glasses Girl

2010-06-02T09:54:00.001-07:00

Madelyn just got her first pair of glasses. What color do you think they are? Pinky/Purple of course. She loves them and likes to wear them.

What color are your knees?

2010-05-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

We just finished Family Home Evening. We talked about the kids being able to ask us any question they wanted about the gospel. We sang, "I Am a Child of God," as our closing song. Then we knelt for our closing prayer and family prayer. Just as I was about to pray, Spencer says, I have a question. We shushed him because I was just about to pray. After the prayer Spencer again says, "I have a question." Ok, we said, go ahead.

Why in that song (I am a child of God) in the second verse does it say, "And so my knees are grey?"

David Overton

2010-04-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

Who is David Overton?

David Overton is a man that lives in the UK, works for Micorsoft and has a wife and two kids. In addition to all of that, he is my first blog review on the Overton Hunt. To be honest, I didn't read all of his blog but I read several of the most recent entries. He has a great picture of himself on his blog banner...asleep on the couch, with what looks like a cell phone at the ready right next to him. (Oh how my husband can relate.)

David is an interesting man. I liked him right away after reading his posting about a tech reporter that passed away. You have to like a person that can appreciate the good in others. Since he works for Microsoft, you can imagine he know alot about it. I read a posting about how Windows 7 is doing in the market place. In another post I saw beautiful pictures of his house and surrounding trees covered in snow and finally I watched a video he posted. It talkes about the depression he went through after his daughter was born. He and his wife worked through it and he now talks openly about it. That is really brave.

I like David. He is a good man. I think that I would enjoy being his friend. Thanks David for letting me get to know you a little bit through your blog. It was a great start into my little adventure.

If you are interested in reading David's blog here is the address. I think you will like David too.
www.davidoverton.com

I'm going on an Overton Hunt

2010-04-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered how Michelle's mind works? It's ok if you haven't. Not many people do. Just a bit of insite for you all though. As I was trying to decide what to title this entry, the preschool song, "Were going on a bear hunt," popped into my mind. Thus...I got my title for the entry. Now everytime I see this entry I will be singing (in my mind of course) the title of the entry to the tune of Were going on a bear hunt.

Ok, you may be saying, but get to the point already!

Well here it is. I was trying to look up the website address for my Sister-in-law, Christina Overton's blog because I have never added it to the "People we love" blog site on the right side of this page. Feeling remiss, I attempted to google the blog to find it to get the exact address. (Close enough is good enough doesn't apply for blog addresses). When I typed in, "The Overtons of Overton Blog," I got back tons of people who have the last name of Overton who have blogs. There are soooooo many. I thought it might be interesting to do a survey of some and see what others out there are doing with the name Overton. It is a curious thing isn't it? I will let you know if I come across anything interesting. Although truthfully that is like saying , "Michelle, go into a book store and let me know if you find anything you like." I love books. I also really enjoy getting to know people. It all feels a bit stocker-ish though. Someone they don't know will be reading their blog. Tis the risk we run when we put a blog out into cyber space isn't it?

Curious about people who have your last name? You do your own experiment and let me know what you come up with.

Happy Reading!

(Long Live the Written Word)

Dodgers!

2010-04-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

We are going to the Dodgers game on Saturday! Tod was able to secure 4 tickets thanks to a lady he works with. Woo Hoo! I am so excited. It will be Madelyn and Spencer's first time going to a Professional Baseball game. I think I will probably have to feed them lots of snacks and take a few walks but, it will still be great!

She came home

2010-04-09T09:52:00.001-07:00

This is Madelyn at a local museum by my great Aunt's House. It has beautiful gardens. This museum is to honor a famous author who wrote a story in poetry form.

This is Madelyn climbing the 72 (she counted them) stairs in the light house in Montevideo.

Here is Madelyn with two friends she made. Madelina (11) is in the pink dress. Emma (9) is in the brown. They are girls from America that Madelyn met at church. They played together as much as they could.

This is a picture of Madelyn at Carnival with, "The Old Mamas."

This is Madelyn at the Capitol Building, the White House of Uruguay.

Madelyn came home! We are so glad to have her back. She had a great time in Uruguay visiting with her South American Family, making friends and learning about the country. Here are some pictures from her adventure.

I passed

2010-03-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

I received my results. I got a 9.9 in both reading and math. What does that mean? Don't know but I passed and I can register for the Core Medical class on the 27th of March.

Done with the test

2010-03-11T17:14:00.000-08:00

Well I completed the test. There really was nothing to be worried about. Madelyn my 5th grader could have passed the test. There were two parts to the test. The first was reading comprehension. A passage was presented with 5-6 questions that followed. There were about 10 passages in all. The second part was math. It was very basic math. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. In addition there was addition and subtraction of fractions. The only difficulty I experienced with the test was a few poorly written question. I had to study the question, the provided answers and the passage to determine what they were really asking. There were 4 or 5 questions like that. A few of those I am still not sure what they were really asking but I did my best. It was a scantron form so that wasn't too difficult either. All in all, I am confident that I passed. The next step is to register for the core medical class on March 27th.

Testing today

2010-03-09T07:30:00.001-08:00

I am a little nervous this morning. I will be testing in about an hour and a half. I have to take a test to start the CNA program with the North Orange County ROP. They said it was basic English and Math. I should not be nervous because I am soon to be a college graduate. Furthermore, any 17 year old high school graduate can take this test so, I should be ok right? Well I woke up this morning at 6:00 a.m. and started cleaning. If you know me, you know there is really something wrong if I voluntarily start working before 7:00 a.m. I folded laundry, emptied the dishwasher, loaded it again and started it. So, there it is. Proof positive, that I am nervous. Wish me luck.

Digging it out

2010-03-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

About a week ago Spencer came home from school with significant scraping on the palm of his hand, on his hip and on his knee. I was a little alarm and asked what happened. For P.E., his class used hoola hoops to jump rope from one end of the basketball court to the other and back again. Spencer tripped and injured himself. When I heard it was the injury happened on the blacktop, I remembered the story of Tod and his permenant dirt (little pieces of blacktop gravel that are still inside of his skin). I looked closely at Spencer's injuries and decided for the moment they looked like blood spots. Well a week later, as the injury has healed some, it became evident that the spots were infact blacktop gravel. I got out my tweezers and prepared for the drama. Oh my goodness, you would have thought I was going to cut his hand off. He wailed and screamed and pleaded for a stay of execution, he bargained and begged. Of course my heart was breaking but I had to get the gravel and dirt out. It took some time but I finally got the two biggest pieces out of his hand. Poor thing began to hyperventilate. He has done this in the past and knows what it feels like so admist all of the screaming, he informed me that he was feeling, "clostraphobic," and was going to die.

Life as usual - Afternoon edition

2010-03-08T17:34:00.000-08:00

Life as usual, in the afternoons, means doing homework (not mine, Spencers), doing laundry, folding laundry, trying to decide what we are going to have for dinner, putting a call into Tod (To find out what time he thinks he will be home so I can coordinate dinner but, mostly just to hear his voice) emptying the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, putting away things left out on the counter in the bathroom, wondering what shows are going to record tonight on the DVR, and thinking about the little projects and things I need to do around the house. Intermingled with all of this is a, "reasonable," amount of Twilight musing. Life as usual is pretty good. I think when I am old and gray, I will look back with fondness at "Life as usual."

Madelyn is in Uruguay

2010-02-26T07:04:00.001-08:00

The tradition continues. Madelyn is in Uruguay with Abuela. She represents the begining of the 3rd generation who has visited Uruguay, our matriarch's homeland. Madelyn is having a great time and we miss her. She has made some friends. They are two little girls who are Americans. Their father is working in Uruguay right now. Madelyn met them in Primary. They play together in the backyard with a beauty salon and make houses and little beds for their dolls. She will be gone for two months and will return on March 19th. Pictures to follow.

Playing at Disneyland

2009-11-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Tod with his 3-d glasses. Wewere waiting to go on the Toy Story ride.

Madelyn being silly.

Cool Girl Madelyn.

Silly Spencer.

Happy Disney Kids.

We spend a fair amount of time at Disneyland. We go for family home evenings, meet up with my parents, who also have passes, and love to walk around the shops of Downtown Disney. It is good to live this close to Disneyland. Happiest Place on Earth.

More pictures taken by my baby sister

2009-11-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

I ran out of room to post all of the pictures I wanted to so here is the next entry with more pictures. Again you can see more by following the link on my webpage for Liesel Renae Photography.

Look what my baby sister did!

2009-11-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

My sister Liesel is developing her talent for photography. If you want to see her great work, you can follow the link on my page to Liesel Renae Photography. She has photographed one of our sister's family, a cousin's family and some halloween shots. These are just a few of my favorites.

She has decided to get her AA in photography. I am proud of her and the things she produces.

Childhood captured

2009-11-06T11:24:00.001-08:00

I was reading through Christina Overton's blog today and found this picture of my son Spencer and my nephew Jonathon. It was taken at Becky and Tyler's wedding. They had this great photo booth set up for people to dress up and take pictures.

I absolutely love this picture. I love the vibrant colors, the action, the pure happiness and total disregard for the camera. Because I know my son and my nephew, and I know how they are when they are together, I know that in the moment, all they were thinking about was being Superman/Pirate guys who were playing swords. I love the intensity they both show in their faces. It captures a moment where childhood imagination is celebrated and lived to the fullest.

My mom also thinks I should write

2009-10-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

Remember the days of yor, when people would ask you, what do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher, Astronaut etc. etc. (Yes I am the type of person who doesn't really know what I want to do when I grop up yet. I think part of the problem is I like so many things. I have been that way my whole life. I defy anyone to define me. I have been trying to do just that my whole life and ... so far, nothing. I am pretty much an exercise in opposities. Like dressing up, like weareing sweats, like thinking about things analitically, so appreciate creative things etc. Have the talents and likes to fit into the corporate world and could really see myself there, yet I can't really see myself there. So how in the world do I decide what I want to be when I grow up?) So you see my problem? I know exactly what I like and who I am. In the mean time, I don't really know what I like and dislike so how can I say I know myself?

Hmmm. Things to ponder.

Well now to the title of my post. I have recently discovered that I have completed the requirements for my bachelor's degree. I haven't seriously thought about graduate schools, or post bachelor degree stuff, outside of daydreaming, but now that the time has arrived, I am asking myself, what do I want to do. It feels like so much more of a cross road. What if I choose wrong. What if I choose and don't get to come back and explore the other avenues? What if I am cheating myself out of really great things because I choose something inside of the box, ie. Masters in history, Masters in Poly Sci, Study of genealogy and oral history, etc. What if I could be really great at medicine, what if I could be really great at ...artsy stuff. What if I can sculpt and I don't know it. I would like to try it. What if I could be great at playing the violin, I would really like to. What if I could do beautiful things with cake and pastries like the Ace of Cake guy. I would really like to do that too. What if I could make a lot of money just by working smartly in investments or business? I would love to do that too.

Ok now really to the title of my post. My mother has always believed that a writer lives inside of me. As evidence of this posting, I clearly need some work in that area. I was discussing the consuming concern of what do to with my post bachelorette life with my parents and wouldn't you know that they did the very parenty thing? Gosh darnet. I know those tricks now since I have kids. You let them talk out their problems, give them support and make some suggestions, and then let them work it out for themselves; find their own way. That is what my parents did. UHHH! We do it to our children not because we don't love, love, love them, but because we do! We want them to decide for themselves what is best for them. We want them to seek inspriation, we want them to examine and weigh and decipher and them come to a decision. I know that with my children when they do this, their decisions are great! They own their decisions and they move forward with them. This is one of the best ways a prarent supports their children. It is one of the ways we say, "I love you," to our children. So, to my parents, I say, Thanks, I love you too, but...but...but... Alright fine, I will keep working on it, but if I make the wrong decision, it is on you! (Ludicracy of that last statement processing in my brain at the moment) Shoot! It is on me! That is the way these things are set-up aren't they.

Ok what would I tell my own child if they came to me with this problem? I would say, Don't worry so much about it. Just go forward and make a step. If you don't like where the step is taking you, step back and try a different step. You can do that 10 times or 100 times or for the rest of your life. If you go one way for a while and decide to try something different, do it. It doens't matter if you take a wrong step or if you try 25 different things. What matters is that you keep trying and keep moving forward. You will find what you are good at (and I suspect there will be many), you will find what you are ment to do (and I suspect there will be many different things at different times of your life), and you will find what and whom God wants you to find be a servant to him (and I suspect this will be the easiest of them all. God can use you anywhere and anyplace.) Don't be afraid. You have gifts and talents that can't be found in anyone else but you. Use them. Gift the world with yourself.

(Please excuese me for a moment while I wipe away a tear. My head is swiming with ephipany type feelings)

Wow, that was amazing. Maybe God gives us children so we can be smarter.

Wow.

(Please pause to fully appreciate the calm silence...)

Wow, that feels good.

Thanks Mom and Dad for raising me so that your words come out of my mouth when I talk to my kids.

oh...
My mom also thinks I should write.

The Devious Giggler

2009-10-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Let me set the scene: This morning, I was sitting at the computer, Tod was taking a shower, Madelyn was getting dressed and Spencer was...well just playing with toys and generally have a good time. I noticed Spencer laughing and tee-hee-hee-ing. I didn't think much of it because he is a happy kid in the morning. He and Tod had been exchanging tickles all morning long. The next thing I know, Spencer comes running out of the bathroom laughing HARD and heading for his bedroom. Then I heard Tod yell, "Ahhhh!" from the shower, followed by, "Spencer! Spencer come here! Come here now!" Well, Spencer is no fool. He was NOT going to come. He was laughing and giggling from his room. Well immediately I jump up and go check on Tod. I walked in to see the water in the sink running. Tod said, "Spencer turned on the Hot water in the sink and ran away." In our bathroom, if the hot water is turned on in the sink, the shower goes cold. I turned the water off for Tod and couldn't help laughing. I couldn't believe that devious little boy of mine would think to do something like that. When Tod got out of the shower, he gave Spencer a wegie. What a funny kid I have. Remind me never to shower when Spencer is home.

Update

2009-10-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Lots has happened since my last post. My brother came home and it was an emotional homecoming. My Grandfather, B. LaMar Williams passed away which was very sad but in the end it is ok. I am happy that he is now the person he was. He no longer has to live with the effects of Dementia. I have no questions about where he is or who he is with or what he is doing. I know. It is really good to know. I am sad but not destitute. I know that we will be together again. My Grandmother is grieving and learning how to be on her own. A difficult thing to do since she was his primary care giver for the last 8 or 9 years. I miss him. I am glad that my brother got to visit with my grandfather before he passed away. It was sad to watch him die but important for me. I needed to see the process so that I could have closure. For me, when I saw him in the casket, he did not look like himself. He didn't look like the man that I had just spend the last 2 weeks with. I cried but I realized right away that he was no longer there. I am ok. He was buried in the Cypress Forrest Lawn Cemetery. We gave honor to him, we gave love to him, and we remembered him. Over all it was a good day.

The best kiss award

2009-08-28T17:58:00.000-07:00

MTV does the annual movie awards and one of the categories is best kiss. This year, Kristen Pattinson,...oops Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson won. I guess part of the deal is the winners kiss. This year Robert and Kristen got sooooo close and then she turned to the audience and said, thank you so much for the award. It was awesome. I heard on of the interviewers say, that was the hottest non-kiss they have ever seen. It is true it was. I love Twilight!

When I looked on Youtube to see the hot non-kiss again, I also found the winners from 2006, the adoreable couple from "The Notebook" movie, which I loved, and I watched their acceptance kiss. Holey Moley! That was awesome. I rented the notebook again through netflix because it had been a while since I had seen it. Then I added the music, "She will be loved," to my music selections on my blog. Wheew...is it getting warm in here?

Robert is coming home tomorrow

2009-08-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

My brother Robert is coming home tomorrow from his mission. I can't wait, I can't believe two years has gone by, I can't believe it has been so long since I have seen him. Just typing this makes me a little teary-eyed. This morning I was realizing that 24 hours from then I would be traveling to Ontario Airport to welcome home my brother. I began to imagine what it would be like...in my mind I can hear my mom's voice saying, "There he is," and crying. I can imagine him coming down the escelator to the baggage area...just now as I am typing this and reliving my imagined reunion with my brother, I am crying again. Wow, I though it was because I was tired this morning but maybe not. Maybe I am just emotional about my brother.

I am so proud of him. I have missed him.

School is starting

2009-08-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Well school is just around the corner. Madelyn is going to be in 5th grade and Spencer will be in 1st grade. Today I did something that reconfirmed in my mind that Madelyn is growing up. I let her ride her scooter down to the school to see who her teacher would be this year. Today was the day that the lists came out. I was feel really tired so I thought about it and decided Madelyn was big enough to ride there on her own. Oh My Gosh! Either I am getting more slack in my rules or she is getting older. I think the last.

Well I purchased all the supplies for the kids last week so we are set to go there. The clothes things...well we will be fine for starting school. I probably need to get each of them a few more pairs of shorts and shirts but, I will keep watching for sales. I absolutely refuse to purchase jeans in August. It goes agains all of my principles. I will wait for a month or two until all of these jeans are on clearance. Plus, it is just too hot to think about pants right now.

The kids got new lunch boxes. Madelyn picked out a Hello Kitty lunch box and Spencer picked out a Star Wars the Clone Wars lunch box. I usually get the kids new backpacks for the start of school but Spencer got a new backpack near the end of school last year because his other one wore out. Madelyn as well. I spent a lot of money on Madelyn's 2nd backpack because she is very hard on her backpacks and I wanted a really good quality one for her. No new backpacks for either of them this year. I am a little sad about that because a traditional first day of school picture is of the new backpack.

Teachers. Madelyn got Mr. Watanabe as a teacher and Spencer got Mrs. Connally. Madelyn had Mrs. Connally for first grade too.

So there it is. School is starting Monday the 31st of August. I can not ever remember school starting this early.

Taking medicine

2009-05-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

Spencer started taking medicine for ADD. What a difference. His teacher says he is paying attention, not talking as much, he is not the last one done anymore, and all of his work gets done without someone having to sit right in front of him to make him focus. Let's hear it for modern medicine!

Forcing myself

2009-05-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am forcing myself to write to get back into the swing of things. So let me start out by listing a few things that have happened and maybe I will feel inspired.

Spencer got an orange card at school (This is bad).
Spencer is good at math.
Madelyn is not.
Tod DJ'ed a lot this weekend.
I am the secretary at Primary.
YM/YW Auction Dinner was Saturday and I won a few things.

Ok, I think I will tell about the Orange Card.

Every day in kindergarten, the children get graded on their citizenship/participation/attention in class. Normally Spencer comes out with a green paper. Every child starts every day off on green. This means they are paying attention and doing well. If they do something particularly well, above and beyond, they can receive a purple. It is a really big deal if they get a purple. If they art talking when they are not suppose to or not paying attention, they get a warning. The second time, their color changes from green to yellow. Yellow papers go home to the parents with an explaination of what the problem was. If they continue in the problems, they get an orange. If they yet continue, they get a red and get to go discuss the problem with the principal.

On Friday, when I went to pick-up Spencer, the teacher handed me an orange card. Spencer was upset. It said he was talking during letters and sounds time. It also said he was talking during sharing time and didn't complete work. The note also said he was warned numerous times. In addition to the orange note, he was also sent home with all of the work he did not complet and had to do it over the weekend and turn it in today, Monday. He said he didn't mean to talk he just did and he had two hard painting projects that kept him from doing the rest of his work.

Hmmmm.......

Simple Pleasures

2009-05-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

So tonight at 9:56 p.m. I find myself thinking about simple pleasures. We went out to an impromptu dinner at Taco Bell with a family in our ward. We, the adults had such a good time visiting and talking while the kids went a little crazy in the restaurant. It was so lovely to visit.

Tod is sitting on the couch right now reading to Spencer. I love to see how Spencer loves and adores his dad. I love to hear Tod reading to Spencer especially when he adds in the voices and the sound effects.

Madelyn is in her room right now practicing her singing for the school talent show. This is the first time she has practiced with the karaoke version. It is so sweet to her her voice hit the right and wrong notes. Mostly I love to hear the absolute sincerity in her voice. She is so innocent and has no guile or deception in her singing.

Simple pleasures...

Why am I the way I am?

2009-05-01T16:45:00.001-07:00

I have often looked at myself and wonder why am I the way I am? Let me give you an example. On my profile, I have listed myself as a hopeless romantic. This is absolutely 100% true. I can remember being 4 years old, maybe younger - the memories get a bit fuzzy before that, and having an absolute and total crush on a boy in my Primary. When I set up the music on this blog, I started out putting on most of the Twilight CD on here. I love the Twilight CD by the way and listen to it almost every day. It is my favorite CD. As much as I love that CD, I wanted the music on this website to reflect a more accurate reflection of who I am. I ended up replacing most of the songs from the CD with with romantic love songs. I absolutely love listening to my blog. How funny is that. Sometimes I will go to my blog website just hear my selected tunes.

Now how does a person get that way? I know many many people who are not this way, women even. What is it about me that is a romantic to the core? Did I come that way? Am I needy, or do I just really respond to ideas of romance and love?

Not sure. Something else to contemplate on

Out of the habit

2009-05-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

When you don't write on your blog for a while, you get out of the habit. Not just out of the habit of blogging but out of the habit of writing...the actual writing process. I am a little bit sad at the moment because I really want to write and can't think of something to write about. It is frustrating because when I write regularly, I have no problem coming up with things to write about. I hear little comments from my kids and think, I need to write about that. I do something fun with my kids or my husband and I am already thinking about How I am going to word it. At this moment I feel a little like our chronically clogged toilet. More stuff going in all the time, not a lot getting out. Perhaps, writing about nothing will get the processing going again you know... like opening up a soda can after shaking it. I am pretty sure I have stories, ideas etc. on the inside that want to come out. Need to find the pop top.

Ah well, those are my thoughts for the moment.

Reading Angels and Demons

2009-04-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hi to all,
It has been a while since I have posted. Here is the good news...My sister Liesel had her baby yesterday. The Overtons are calling him "Baby No Name," because he doesn't have a name yet...poor thing.

Well I am reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I have never read The Da Vince Code but I saw the movie and really liked it so I though I would read Angels and Demons before it comes out in the theatres. It is a really good book I am almost 100 pages and pretty hooked.

Well, that's all for now.

Enough pouting already!

2009-04-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, this post is directed to Stephenie Meyer (not like she is ever going to read it) but Enough Pouting Already!!! I know someone broke your trust and posted a partial of Midnight Sun on the Internet. I know that you feel like you can't writing something else without that happening again but, we, the fan base, are dying to see the finish product of Midnight Sun. Your releasing on your website has done nothing but made us think of the possabilities of the story from Edward's perspective. I have read all of your twilight books and The Host and I find Midnight Sun the most compelling thing yet that you have written. I also think it is the most creative and best writing you have done!

So please, it is time to stop pouting, get over the breach of trust, forgive and pick up the pen and paper again.

Field Trip to the grocery store

2009-01-31T07:51:00.000-08:00

Spencer's class walked to Ralph's grocery store for a field trip. Map quest lists the trip as .68 Miles. By the end, the Kindergartners were definitely complaining. We walked in groups with Adults assigned 3-4 kids to keep track of. All started out with jackets and sweaters. By the time we arrived, everyone had their jackets and sweaters off. I decided to get a cart and put all of the jackets in then followed all the kids around with the cart. We were quite the procession. The kids got to go through the produce section and into the refrigerators. The talked to the manager of the produce section as well as the managers of every section of the store. They saw the Diary/Deli section, the Meat/Seafood section, the bakery/fresh items section (with a stop in the back to see how the party trays were put together) and then they got to scan an item with a scanning gun. They liked that. The manager of the "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf," stand made each of the kids a little chocolate or vanilla smoothie. The kids got to walk through the check out stand and were handed a stapled paper sack filled with goodies. They were told not to open it until they got back to school. Oh My Gosh! You would have thought that they were promised gold and jewels in the bag. There were guesses all the way back to the school...popcorn, candy, apples, string cheese, etc. etc. Each child was given an apple, fruit snack, juice and Rubik's cube like toy. The kids were so excited and could hardly stand it. Once back in the classroom they were allowed to eat their snacks. It was a party!

Making pancakes

2009-01-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Spencer got up this morning convinced that I said we would have pancakes for breakfast this morning. As you will recall, we had eggs yesterday. (See I like Oakes). I didn't want to make pancakes but with the help of his father, Spencer prevailed in his arguments. The deal was that he would, "help," me make the pancakes. How can a mother walk away from a moment where her child is begging to spend time with her? She can't because she is a sucker to those eyes that she gave birth to and those pleadings that tug at the heart strings.

I taught Spencer how to flip pancakes. He was so excited. We watched the pancakes start to bubble and rise and then cook a bit on the edges. Then I showed him how to turn a pancake. It really was a sweet moment to share with my son. He wanted to keep turning the pancakes instead of taking them out of the pan. That eventually became ok though because he learned there is always more pancake batter that can be poured into the pan and more pancakes to cook and flip. He was so proud of himself and his new skill that he gave the first two pancakes to his sister just so that he could keep fliping pancakes.

I like oakes

2009-01-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

This morning I made eggs for breakfast. Spencer didn't want eggs for breakfast, he wanted pancakes. He decided eggs were ok though because they have oakes and he likes to eat oakes.

Goodbye elders

2009-01-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

We love to have the missionaries in our home. They come once a week, usually on Wednesdays or Thursdays, to have dinner with us. I have always wanted to do a record of some kind keeping track of the missionaries who come through our ward and where they are from. This week we lost both of our elders. Elder Knudsen, an excellent and exceptional Elder in every way, completed his mission and went home yesterday. At this moment, he is waking up with his family for the first time after 2 years. We will miss him. Elder Knudsen is from Pochatello, ID.

His companion, who is transfering to another ward this morning, is from Gilbert, AZ. Cypress was his second area. He is a Cambodian language trained missionary. He was in a threesome companionship in his first area for 3 weeks. Then transfered here for 2 months. Now he is transfering back to a Cambodian branch in East Long Beach.

We will miss both of the elders.

How to break a toe

2009-01-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

The doctor confirmed it on Friday, I broke my baby toe on the left foot. How, you might ask, do you break your baby toe? Well I have discovered a very effective way.

1. You should be half awake
2. It should be early in the morning say... 4:30 a.m.
3. Your bed needs to be up against a wall and you need to sleep on the wall side so that you have to climb over someone to get out of bed.
4. There should be all manner of items strune about at the foot of the bed. Kid's shoes, toys, your clothes from the day before and a wrapping paper container work nicely.
5. While trying not to wake up the person you are climbing over, attempt to locate a landing spot on the floor, avoiding anything too sharp.
6. *Now this part is critical* While making your move, catch the baby toe on something that will sufficiently hold it in place (enter the stand up wrapping paper container with a lip on the edge) as gravity and momentem continue to propel you forward. You will know this step is done correctly when you feel distinctive tug on your toe. Popping sounds and cracking noises are another sure sign.
7. *Extra Credit* Hop up and down on all manner of items strune about at the foot of the bed (see #4) and bit your lip with the pain. If you can make it out of the room without waking up the person you have climbed over (see #3), bonus points for you.

And that is one way to break a toe.

Now, to make sure you have done the job throughly, (going with the theory - if once is good, twice is better) wait a few days so healing has just begun. Then proceed as follows.

1. Before going to bed, turn off all the lights in the living room, kitchen, hall etc. achieveing darkness.
2. Forget something in the living room. The book that you are reading is a good example.
3. Assume that you remember where everything is in the room and walk through like you own the place.
4. Forget (lots of forgetting is required for this scenario) that the car seat was put in the living room.
5. Catch your baby toe (same one just injured a day or two ago) on said car seat.
6. You will know the job is done correctly when your stomach flip flops from recognition of the distinctive tugging sensation (see item #6 in the above section) before the pain sets in.

At the rummage sale by Spencer

2009-01-24T12:42:00.000-08:00

I liked this teranchula and it is very fun to play with. There was lots of people and we played with the toys a little bit. There was stacks of clothes and toys. And that is all. I bought a teranchula, a butterfly thing and I forget the other thing.

Cheap fun for a good cause.

2009-01-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

Our elementary school's foundation had it's annual rummage sale this morning. All of the procedes go toward sending 6th graders to outdoor education camp for a week. Starting in 4th grade, students can start earning points toward camp. Madelyn is in 4th grade so, this is the year we start accumulating points. 4th - 6th graders can donate and earn points. They can earn more points by working and selling pancake breakfast tickets. Madelyn worked for 2 hours on Thursday and 4 hours on Friday helping to sort donated items. This morning, both Madelyn and Spencer counted out coins from their banks and purchased little toys at the rummage sale. I found a David Baldacci book, "Simple Genius," that I really wanted and paid a quarter for it. Gotta love a rummage sale. Everyone went home happy for under $5.

Death in Zanzibar

2009-01-23T07:46:00.000-08:00

Well I have finished Death in Zanzibar. It was a murder mystery and I enjoyed it but there was too little romance in the story for me. The romance came on too late. Oh well. I enjoyed the story anyway. It was very interesting to read about Zanzibar. Makes me want to go visit. I am now working on Death by Peacock. I will let you know when I am done with that one.

Baby update

2009-01-21T12:42:00.000-08:00

Ty LaMar Neilsen

The last time I wrote about all of the babies coming to our family, "Baby Explosion," (see December 2008) more has happened. Here is a refresher.

Lots of babies are coming to our friends and family
Friends:
Ben and Erin Tracy - Boy (May)

Family:
Cousin - Jon and Angela Williams - Boy - Landon Fredrick Williams (Arrived a week before Christmas)
Sister - Rebecca and Geoff Neilsen - Boy (January)
Cousin - Lisa and Joel Brown - Girl (March?)
Sister - Liesel and Cody Moultrie - ? (May)
Tod's Brother - Dan and Sherri Overton - Boy (May)
Cousin - Amy and Andrew Bang - ? (?)

Well here are the updates.
1. My sister Rebecca delivered a little boy (see above picture) yesterday, (1-20-09) the same day Barrak Obama was sworn into office. Thankfully my sister and her husband had the good sense not to use the names Barrak or Obama in the baby's name. His name is Ty LaMar Neilsen. The Middle name LaMar because both Geoff and Rebecca have grandfathers named Lamar. That is the big news.

2. Liesel and Cody have found out they are having a boy.

3. Dan and Sherri Overton have decided to name their son Keane Douglas Overton.

4. Amy and Andrew Bang have since found out they are having a boy.

5. My cousin Erin and Ben Abrams have announced they are expecting a baby.

The list should read like this.

Lots of babies are coming to our friends and family
Friends:

Ben and Erin Tracy - Boy (May)

Family:
Cousin - Jon and Angela Williams - Boy - Landon Fredrick Williams (Arrived a week before Christmas)
Sister - Rebecca and Geoff Neilsen - Boy (January 20, 2009) Ty LaMar Williams
Cousin - Lisa and Joel Brown - Girl (March?)
Sister - Liesel and Cody Moultrie - Boy (May)
Tod's Brother - Dan and Sherri Overton - Boy (May) Keane Douglas Overton
Cousin - Amy and Andrew Bang - Boy (?)
Cousin - Erin and Ben Abrams - ? (?)

Lots of fun for our family. So many babies!

Book update

2009-01-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

I wanted to give an update on the books I am reading. So the last book post said
"The Manning Grooms (2 books contained within)
1. Bride on the Loose (Finished)
2. Same Time Next Year (Currently Reading)"

Well I finished reading Same Time Next Year and I really liked it. I am now a Debbie Macomber fan. At the beach, I returned the Manning Brides and the other Christmas book to my mom and sent with her two of my books, "The Manning Grooms," and, "Peter and the Star Catchers."

Peter and the Star Catchers is c0-written by humorist Dave Barry and Ridley Pierson. It is their version of how Peter Pan came to be. I enjoyed it. Who doesn't love Peter Pan. It was fun to romp around in that world again. I bought the book a few years ago and therefore doesn't count as a current read.

On with the business. I am currently reading, "Death in Zanzibar," by M.M. Kaye. I am really enjoying this book it is a romantic murder mystery. The timing is just after WWII and a young woman, Dany Ashton, finds herself being framed for murder. This all takes place with the backdrop of the beginings of commercial flight and how that opened up the world to travel and adventure. Dany can think of nothing greater than to see Zanzibar. It sounds exciting and exotic to her. She also begins to fall in love and has to lean on others to help her out of this very sticky situation she had found herself in. It has been a fun read. Still working on it though so I will make a note when I am done with it and moving on to the next book. Thanks Christina for such a great Christmas present. I love my box o' books.

At the beach by Spencer

2009-01-18T08:36:00.000-08:00

When we were at the beach we got to see dolphins and I got to get a gumball. After that we went down to the sand and we made a wall of China. And we went scootering on the black top. And then we went to get french fries. We fed them to the birds. They had some of mine. And then we went back home and we cleaned up our room. At the beach again, we digged for water and we almost did it. Then we got to see dolphins. They were cool. After that we got lunch. We had taquitos and burritos and hamburgers. Then we fed the birds with french fries. And then we got to see the fisher people and the surfboarding guys. Two of the fishies were dancing. One was dancing in a towel. And the other one was dancing out of a towel on the floor. And then, after that we saw a car on the pier. And then after that, I got a gumball. And then we came home and the next day we ate cheerios. And then I played with Madelyn.

At the beach by Madelyn

2009-01-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

At the beach we saw a pelican. It was really big. It was on top of a roof where no one could get it. It just sitted there and it pecked it's feathers. And we fed birds. Opa was really good at getting the ones in the sky. We also saw dolphins. I thought they were sharks at first but dad said they don't come out of the water every second. Finally I had a crispy snack, french fries yummy. That is what we fed to the birds. We saw fisherman and all of the fish that they caught. One of the fishes was doing the motorboat. The fishes were slimy ewww. We saw a lot of people getting in the cold water. I felt sorry for them. And we saw this man doing spray paint art. He made a bunch of paintings about 20 or so. And we went scooter riding. We took turns riding around. Sometimes it would be with opa and mommy, other times it would be with Oma and Abuela. Finally we went to the sand where everybody else was. Out of sand we made a model of the great wall of china. And we made this really deep hole. We almost hit water. And we had lunch. Taquitos and shaved ice, delicious. We had snacks too. Veggie straws. They wern't exactly straws, more like rectangles. And we had some good snacks like toosie rolls and water and beef jerky.
(Spencer just interjected "It's not beef jerkey, it's beef turkey")
And that was my day at the beach

Day at the beach

2009-01-18T07:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great day yesterday. Our family, my parents, my parents friends the Briggs and my grandparents all went to the beach. Please note...it is the middle of January and the weather was beautiful. The temperature was about 80 Degrees. We didn't go into the water but we went for long walks, rode bikes and scooters and played in the sand. Spencer kept saying this was the best day ever. It was so nice to walk and walk. There is a motorhome/trailer section at the beach where people come and camp. It was awesome. I loved that idea. Someday, I will have a motorhome/trailer and camp at the beach. I have also decided that I want a beach cruiser bicycle. I haven't had a bicycle in a long time and it is time again. Maybe I will start checking craig's list. Tod also suggested that we check the local bike store and look for used bikes. Ahhh. I love California. We experience beautiful weather while the rest of the nation is blanketed in snow.

Enjoying Homework too little too late

2009-01-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

Well, now that Madelyn has more intense homework, I am having to help her more. We sit down and do multiplication of two and three didget numbers, identify parts of speach and examine why explorers searched for the Strait of Anian, (the fabled water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Americas). I am really enjoying myself and I can say I am smarter than a 4th grader. I look forward to her homework. Wish this could have been the case when I was actually in 4th grade.

Remembering the day - January 7, 1995

2009-01-10T08:32:00.000-08:00

In honor of our 14 years married, I am posting this picture. My goodness we were young, thin and georgeous.

Book update

2009-01-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

Well I finished the books I mentioned earlier. I have also finished three others. To be fair, they are short books, no more than 300 pages, but I am enjoying them anyway. All are by Debbie Macomber. After I finish this one, I am on to the box of books Christina gave me for Christmas. Thank you Christina. I can't wait to dive in.

So here is what I have been reading...

The Manning Brides (2 books contained within)
1. Marriage of Inconvenience (Finished)
2. Stand-In Wife (Finished)

The Manning Grooms (2 books contained within)
1. Bride on the Loose (Finished)
2. Same Time Next Year (Currently Reading)

I love romantic stories. Ahhhhhh! Makes my heart feel good.

As a side note, yet still related, In the game, "Imagine If...," One of the questions was directed toward me..., Imagine if Michelle was a Holiday would she be 1. Christmas, 2. Thanksgiving, 3. Valentines Day, 4. Labor Day, 5. 4th of July, 6. Ground Hog Day. Everyone had to guess. Tod, my sweet insightful husband, was the only one to guess right. Everyone assumed 4th of July being that I was a Poly Sci Major and that I love History, but Tod knew better. He guessed Valentine's Day. He knows what a hopeless Romantic I am.

New Year's, "Committments and or Corrections."

2009-01-07T07:41:00.000-08:00

I really dislike the word resolution, possibly because I am so bad at keeping them. I have decided, "Committments and or Corrections," better fits what I want to do. I can commit to doing something for a while, probably not a whole year, and I can make little adjustments to course correct. Yes, yes, that is much more comfortable for me to use those words. Heaven know one shouldn't be uncomfortable in making change.

So with that said, I am committing to
1. Work for 1 hour a day on the house
2. Read one book a month
3. Watch less T.V.

Here are my course corrections
1. Read the Scriptures/Pray more reguarly
2. Listen to my children more
3. Take my husband's suggestions/concerns more seriously

So there it is. Maybe I have a chance at sticking to these a little better. Happy New Year. May this year and all that follow provide each of us with the opportunity committ and correct ourselves more exactly to the teachings and example of the Savior.

Beef Turkey

2009-01-04T06:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Tod took the kids into the 7-11 and got them a treat. Both kids came out showing me what they had choosen. (By the way, Tod says Spencer has the Michelle disease when it comes to picking out treats, he takes forever to decide) Spencer kept going on and on about his treat but Daddy was going to let him have a bite of, "Beef Turkey." I couldn't figure out what he was saying until Tod gave me that look. You know the look one parent gives to another when the child is saying something really cute and you don't want to draw attention to the flawed word because it is so cute the way they are saying it so you just go along with it? That is what Tod did with me as he held up a piece of beef jerkey. I had to turn away my head and silently laugh at Spencer and his word.

Thank goodness children give us so many things to laugh at.

Our Anniversary celebration

2009-01-04T06:13:00.000-08:00

Tod and I had planned to go out to a nice resturant for our anniversary last night (Saturday). Plans changed and we ended up spending the evening in a little different way. We took the kids with us to Chili's and then went to Walmart. On the way home Tod and I laughed and said this is what 14 years of marriage gets you. Oh well we had fun.

I'm a lego maniac

2009-01-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Mom and Dad gave Spencer a Star Wars Lego set. Spencer really enjoys playing with Robert's legos when he is at Mom and Dad's house. This set is a little advance so, gosh darn it, I have to help Spencer put it together. I am really enjoying watching the pieces come together and form the chassiy (?) and frame of the space ship. Fun Fun Fun.

And then there was none.

2009-01-01T16:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, "And then there was none," might be a bit of an exageration but, there is a lot less than there was. The last time I had my hair cut was nine months to a year ago. Melinda my mother-in-law gave me a nice gift of, "pampering," for Christmas. I scheduled an appointment with Sherri my sister-in-law. She works at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach. With a little bit of die (I have more gray on top than I care to acknowledge) and a sharp pair of scissors, I am now a new woman. I was so excited to have my hair cut and colored. Sherri did a great job and now I have a hair style. (Long is not a hair style. It is the lack of a cut.) I love my hair. I loved my pampering experience. I can't wait to do it again. Thanks Sherri! Thanks Melinda!

Made it through the Desert, aka Life after Twilight

2009-01-01T00:56:00.000-08:00

So, I have been having a hard time reading anything other than the Twilight series. I love Twilight so much that nothing else seemed to appeal to me. I really wanted to find other stories to read but just couldn't imagine anything else capturing my attention like Twilight did. Well, I am happy to report that I have begun reading other things. So here is what I have been reading.

1. The Wednesday Letters - Wow! What a story.
2.The forgetful Bride by Debbie Macomber - Fun Story
3.When Christmas Comes - Debbie Macomber - in the middle of it right now but I like it.

Christina Overton, my sister-in-law, gave me a large box of books for Christmas. How cool is that. What a great present. I will be diving into that box as soon as I am done reading When Christmas Comes and one other book by Debbie Macomber that mom lent me. I am pleased that I am enjoying reading again.

I absolutely love Twilight but it did ruin reading for me a bit. I have made it through the desert and enjoying reading once again. There is life after twilight. Who knew.

Things I have learned in the last week

2009-01-01T00:37:00.000-08:00

For the last week, Tod and I have been kid-less. It has been wonderful. Don't get me wrong, I love my children. I love being a mother. I have decided though, there is a difference between the kids spending the night at Grandma's house and being gone for a week. When the kids are gone a week, you can really get into being without kids. While the kids were gone, I observed a few things and learned a few things...here they are.

1. I like my husband.
2. The living room stayed clean for 5 whole days. No kidding.
3. Tod and I could not make enough dirty dishes to do a load of dishes in the dishwasher.
4. There is such a thing as sleeping in.
5. Sleep comes much easier and long in the mornings when the T.V. isn't on, no one is arguing with anyone else, or coming in to see if we are awake yet.
6. Cleaning the house goes quicker without kids.
7. You can see progress when cleaning the house.
8. When it is all said and done, (raising the kids that is) Tod and I will still have lots of things to talk about and we will both genuinely enjoy eachother's company.

Just a few things I have learned this week. Let's hear it for Melinda for taking Madelyn for Grandma camp and Jared and Christina for taking Spencer to visit with his cousins. I feel refreshed and see a bit of a different perspective on life. Thanks.

Popping in the New Year

2009-01-01T00:15:00.000-08:00

Just 15 minutes ago, Madelyn, Spencer and I rang in the new year with Poppers and pots and pans. Both of the kids were very tired and, although they protested, were put to bed at 7:45 p.m. and promptly went to sleep. I told they I might wake them up to watch the new year come in. Well as the time got closer, I decided they would really want to participate so I woke them up about a 1/2 an hour before midnight. Madelyn said she did not want to get up. Spencer said he did and quickly got out of bed. Amazingly, Madelyn decided to get up too. Maybe she decided if her brother was going to participate, she wanted to also. In the time it took me to blow my nose in the bathroom (battling the beginings of a cold) both of my children were up and out of bed and wrapped in blankets on the couch. They watched the Jonas Brothers perform on TV and watched the count down. They we went and got our poppers and pots and pans and went outside and let off 2 full packages of poppers. I guess I didn't give an accurate tutorial on how to properly set off a popper because Spencer pulled the string on his popper with the part that should be aimed up, aimed down...right into his pj sleeve. When it was all said and done, I was pulling streamers out of Spencer's sleeve. Funny Huh?

Madelyn remembered a New Year's we spent in WA with Tod's family. She remembered that Grandma had poppers and noise makers for New Year's celebration. I am glad that she rememberd that. It was 2 years ago when she was 7.

Well Happy New Year. Who knows what this year will hold. Well, off to blow my nose again.

Gloria!

2008-12-14T10:26:00.001-08:00

About a month back, our family was asked to sing in Sacrament meeting. Of course, we waited until Sunday morning to pick out a song and practice. We decided on Angels we have heard on high. After much threatening and bribing, we got Madelyn and Spencer to sing. Spencer remembered, "Angels we have mountains," and, "Gloria." Madelyn sang the words from the hymn book but gave us all of the 9 year old attitude she could muster during practices. Then sang well duing Sacrament meeting. Why couldn't she do that the whole time? We asked another single lady from the ward to join us and sing alto. Somehow when someone sings an actual musical part, it makes the rest of the singers sound better. Thank goodness Heavenly Father had mercy on the Overtons. The spirit was there even if the practices had been less than stellar.

Baby Explosion

2008-12-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

Lots of babies are coming to our friends and family

Friends:
Ben and Erin Tracy - Boy (May)

Family:
Cousin - Jon and Angela Williams - Boy - Landon Fredrick Williams (Arrived a week before Christmas)
Sister - Rebecca and Geoff Neilsen - Boy (January)
Cousin - Lisa and Joel Brown - Girl (March?)
Sister - Liesel and Cody Moultrie - ? (May)
Tod's Brother - Dan and Sherri Overton - Boy (May)
Cousin - Amy and Andrew Bang - ? (?)

Our family is being blessed many times over. Imagine the noise when all of us get together next!

I have the Christmas Spirit

2008-12-13T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today we decorated the house for Christmas. Spencer was so excited! He skipped around the house singing, "I have the Christmas Spirit! I have the Christmas Spirit!" Madelyn said, "What's the Christmas Spirit?" Spencer said, "It's that you know that Santa Clause is real and he loves you."

Yes Spencer, there is a Christmas Spirit.

Earthquake!!! The trail was shaking!

2008-07-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

We just had an earthquake here, 11:42 a.m. Here is a link to CalTech that I though was interesting. http://www.seismolab.caltech.edu/earthquakes.html Take a look at the shake movie to see just how fast the earthquake moved and how far it could be felt.

Right now our local TV stations are saying it was a 5.8. That is big time stuff. It is not a 7 earthquake but it is more than enough for you to sit up and take notice. My parents live in Chino Hills, the epicenter of the earthquake. As of now, 1:37 p.m. I have not personally talked to them but I have had word they are fine. I couldn't get a hold of my uncle who lives in WA State so I called Tod's father, who also lives in WA State. He called my parents and spoke to my father. According to my father, it was really shaking there. He said it felt like the epicenter was directly under their house. My nephews from Provo, UT are visiting at my parents house right now and they are doing fine also. Thanks Bryon for doing that. I appreciate it.

In our house, I felt the earth start to shake. I froze a second to see if it really was what I though it was. Oddly enough, one of my first thoughts was, "Wow, it has been a while since we have had one of these." Then I realized what I was thinking...THIS IS AN EARTHQUAKE, AND I HAVE KIDS IN THE BATH TUB. GET UP MICHELLE AND GO GET THEM OUT OF THE BATHTUB. I was sitting on the couch at the time and trying to get the Disney Channel Games turned off so that I could go wash two kids. I quickly got up, told the kids we were having an earthquake and they needed to get out of the bathtub. Spencer instantly started freaking out. He started panic crying...you know the kind that 5 year olds do when their senses get overloaded and the only thing they can do is to cry hysterically. It took me a few seconds to stop the freaking out. I promised him that he would be fine because I was there with him. I quickly got the kids out of the tub and dressed them even quicker. Pants, shoes and socks were a must, just incase an aftershock came. If glass broke, I wanted them to be safe and also have their legs covered. Again Spencer freaked out. Madelyn started to freak out in the Madelyn way which was to try to relate to the situation and make sense of the even that way. She wanted to tell me some kind of story about this or that having to do with water shaking and splashing. I looked at her squarely and spoke in a serious voice. Madelyn I need you to get dressed now!! She got what I was saying and dressed very quickly. At this point you could still feel the house rolling here and there. Once they were properly dressed, we all sat out on the couch and watched the news. When I found out the epicenter was in Chino Hills, I tried to call my parents with no success. Inbetween trying to contact them, I was also trying to contact Tod and my grandparents in Santa Ana. I got through to them first. They were fine but had been trying to contact my parents and my aunt in Chino Hills as well and were not successful as well we decided I would continue to try and let my grandparents know when I heard something. It took a while but I finally got through to Tod. He was the one that suggested calling his dad in WA state. Somehow it is easier for me to reach WA state than it was to reach Chino Hills. Bryon got through. I was so glad to hear that someone had spoken with my parents. When I called my grandparents back to tell them, the told me that my uncle had also been incontact with my parents and my aunt who live in Chino Hills. He also confirmed that they were all fine.

So that is the update as of 1:58 p.m.

From Mormon to Methodist and back again; trail marker #3

2008-07-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Trail marker #3 Lovingly endearing

So you have made it half way down the trail. Good job. It really is the scenic route isn't it. Oh well scenic is good now and then.

Lovingly endearing is the title for the next marker because after spending a morning and afternoon with the people of this church, they have endeared themselves to me. I can't help but feel that when I hear their stories of how they have lovingly cared for each other and the church throughout the years. Here are a few of their stories.

After the worship services were done, the lady I was sitting next to pointed out to me that of all the beautiful stain glass windows in the chapel, they have 3 original windows. She was very proud of those three windows. It struck me as a little odd. I know stain glass is beautiful but it seemed a bit of a random bit of trivia. Why would this woman know exactly how many windows were original. She could point them out to me as well. Well here is how she knew. During the 80's the parishioners began a massive renovation of the stain glass all over the church. The wooden frames had deteriorated and the glass was looking bad. A gentleman in the congregation went to school to learn how to make and repair stained glass. Then he came back to the church and started a 3 year process to replace/repair the stained glass. This was a project taken on by the entire congregation. They all learned how to make stained glass windows. Of all of the stained glass, (and there is LOTS in that chapel) only 3 windows didn't need to be replaced. You can tell the difference between the old and the new by looking for bubbles. The old stained glass has bubbles because old glass had bubbles. Furthermore, they painted color over the glass. They didn't have colored glass. The new windows are made from colored glass. In the historical room, there are drawings and patterns for the windows. This was a uniting experience for the congregation. They served together for the benefit of the congregation and for the beautyment of their sanctuary. It reminded me of the efforts made by the Saints as they built the early temples. So that woman, she knew exactly how many windows were original and which ones were original because she had worked to put them together. In the picture above, you can see some of the stained glass on the sides of the church and the front.

Around the chapel you will find a few small gardens. Those were donated and maintained in the memory of members who have passed away. They are small little patios of flowers and plants but they mean the world to the congregation. They know exactly who the garden was memorializing and what they did in the church. One garden in particular was to memorialize the woman who had been in charge of wedding coordination at the church for many years. It is now the backdrop for pictures for couples who have married in the church. Another garden is called the bible garden. It is planted with species mentioned in the bible. This too is a memorial garden and the first one that greets people as they walk into church. A couple of benches are there with a waterfall. It was a lovely little place.

Another touching thing was the recognition of a woman that taught Sunday school to children for 40 years. We complain if we stay in the same calling for more than a couple of years...she choose to teach bible stories and the truths contained in them to children for 40 years. At the celebration, she was there and took a group picture with every person in attendance who had ever been in her class. It was a very sweet moment.

The stories are endless of how the people of the church served each other, the building and ultimately God. I couldn't help falling in love with all of these people, their history, their service to God and service to each other. When I tried to put words to what I was feeling for and to the congregation, the description that fit best was lovingly endearing.

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Keep watch for the last trail marker, "Faith Confirming"

From Mormon to Methodist and back again; Trail marker #2

2008-07-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

Trail marker #2 Historically Fascinating

In the United States and more specifically, the west coast, it is a rare thing to enter a building that has been in use for more than 50 years. It is just not our culture to 1. Keep the building around that long, and 2. Our history in the west doesn't reach back very far. That may be why I am so very interested in old buildings, old photos, history etc. Surely both of our parents taught us to love, honor and respect history. Mom through her family history dating to the beginings of the restored gospel. Dad through his love of all things historical. It was no surprise to me that I was so taken in by the history of the First United Methodists Church. At the time it was built, there was nothing else around it. The city of Costa Mesa exited but it exited in the form of farms all around with just a few small stores where Triangle Square now sits and across the street. Harbor Blvd. sported a few stores as well.

The minister told us, at the time the church was being built, people scoffed at it as folly. It was too big. Who would come? In comparison, it is now considered a small church.

I always enjoy mixing the history of something specific, like the Methodist Church, with the general history of the day. Your understand of the general history becomes so much more personal and your bubble of understanding about the specific history becomes so much more alive when inegrated with the general history. When I consider what the church has seen in its 80 years of exitance, I gain a real sense of awe for the people of the past eras, their lives, their exitences, and find myself appreciating them for the efforts and sacrifices they made. I feel connected to the past when I can physically touch something that was touched by the people of that day.

One of the members who was quite, um aged, talked about the early days of the church. He said that had the builders of the church known what was coming, they may have considered not building the church. He said 1 year and a few months after the church was dedicated, the great stock market crash of '29 happened. He said it was way more devistating than what we would consider devistating today. Then on March 10, 1933 a big earthquake happened in Southern California that caused great damage all around Costa Mesa. The church had some cracks but nothing serious. The man recalling the events said we could draw our own conclusions on that. And finally, WWII broke out. Nearby the Santa Ana Army Base was established and sent men off to war. Neighbors and parishners went on food rations, victory gardens were grown, loved ones lost. Through it all, there was this church. It stood as a sanctuary each week for the people of the community to come and worship God.

I wonder how many families sat in the church and silently prayed for relief from the devistating stock market crash and the rippling effect it must have had. I wonder how many families and store owners walked up the center row, sat in a pew and prayed for guidence on how to rebuild after the earthquake. I wondered how many servicemen and servicemen's families sat in that chapel to look for heavenward for protection.

I sat in that chapel just as they did. I prayed in that chapel just as they did. I worshiped in that chapel just as they did. It was an honor.

Today when you look at the church you will notice two things. The first, many buildings around the area have the same architectural look as the church. As you can guess, because the church has been around for so long, it influenced the building styles of many of the buildings around it. The office buildings right next to the church that share a parking lot look like they were made for eachother. Triangle Square across the street has echoes of the same style. The Costa Mesa Courtyard shopping center also echos the same style. The second more subtle thing you will see when looking at the church, and not know you are seeing it, will be the remnants of other buildings that stood by this church. Next door use to be a school. It was built in the same style as the church. When the school district decided to sell the land, the church got permission to, "gleen," what they needed from the building before it was bulldozed. Members of the congregation climbed on the roof of the school and removed the red tile roof. The church had the same type of tile roof. The members knew at some point the tiles would have to be replaced. A reroofing project happened in the 60's as well as the 90's. Tiles that were broken or damaged were removed and replaced with tiles from the school. In the 50's a social security office stood where triangle square is now and when the government decided to move that office to another location, again the parishners were allowed to go in and remove what they needed for the benefit of the church. This time they took wiring, switches lighting etc.

The population of the church grew, or rather boomed, after the end of WWII. Families moved in to Costa Mesa and sought a place to worship. At one time the church offered baptism by emersion. There is infact a font under the floor between the front pew and the stage. It has been covered over now and they instead perform the sprinkle method. As a side note, they have estimated over 800 weddings have taken place in that chapel.

It is at this point that Tod's family becomes involved with the church. They moved into Costa Mesa in the 50's and began worshiping there. Tod's uncle Kern remembers each Sunday, Grandma Barbara would make pancakes for breakfast. No one was allowed to leave until they had finished their pancakes. Consequently, they were often late for church. It is comforting to know, family dynamics seems to stay the same no matter what age or time you grow up in. Melinda, Tod's mom, remembers attending Sunday School in the tower of the church. She says that the tower has small little classrooms. The older you were, the higher you got to go in the tower. She also participated in the choir. It was a big deal to be able to don the choir robes and sing on Sundays. She said when she was a girl, she had a Mormon friend who invited her to go to the Mormon church. The girls made an agreement that each would attend the other's church and see what was there. Melinda remembers the Mormon church as being very informal. There wasn't a lot that impressed her at the time. When it came time for her friend to attend the Methodist church, Melinda was very proud to show her friend that the pastor wore special robes, there were candles lit, people said formal prayers together, etc. etc. Funny that in her early 20's Melinda would end up leaving the Methodists to join the Mormons.

There is a lot of family history in that church. For that reason I took a picture of Tod, his mother and his grandmother in the chapel (It was allowed) because so much of what Tod's family is, had it's roots and beginings in this church. Personally, I believe that is one of the reasons Grandma Barbara does not convert to Mormonism. She, I believe, knows we Mormons have something. She won't delve too far though because It would require leaving the parish and people that are her church family.

Grandma Barbara has always been a faithful church attender. Each and every Sunday you will find her at church. If time or circumstances require her to be away from her own church, she will attend somewhere else. She will even go so far as to attend a church on Friday night if she know that she will be traveling on Sunday. The truth of the matter is, those occasions that she is away from her church are few and far between. She is a model of commitment.

The church as done a good job of preserving its past. It has a historical room where documents, books, photo albums, programs, pictures etc. are kept. One of my favorite items was an old wooden sign that stated the name of the church and the worship times. I loved it. I would love to display it in my home somewhere however the church didn't seem too keen to part with it.

Historically, this church is fascinating to me. It played a huge part in the lives of the members of the community as well as Tod's family.

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Keep watch for the next trail marker, "Lovingly endearing."

From Mormon to Methodist and back again; Reading the map, The trail head and Trail marker #1

2008-07-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

So this is it, the begining of the trail. Thanks for taking the journey with me, I always love company.

Reading the map

This first trail started out innocently enough but turned into the scenic route so.... to give this trail its due, I think I will divide it into 4 different legs. Each leg will have a trail marker, a place that I stopped and contemplated on a different element of the journey. The markers are entitled...culturally interesting, historically fascinating, lovingly endearing and faith confirming.

Trail head

So, I got to be a Methodist yesterday. Tod's Grandmother, Barbara Haug (Grandma Barbara for those of you who know her), attends the First United Methodist Church of Costa Mesa. Yesterday they celebrated the Ruby Jubilee (80th anniversary...to the day) of the dedication of the building. The building was dedicated Sunday, July 24, 1928.

Trail Marker #1 Culturally Interesting

I guess somewhere along the line, I missed out on attending another types of church services on the Sabbath. I guess I have always attended the LDS Church on Sundays. I have however attended a Catholic Funeral Mass, and a born again Christian wedding but that is the extent of my, "Religious exploration." I have never really walked inside of a traditional sanctuary, sat down and listened to a sermon so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I knew before hand that the minster was a woman. I also knew they were not going to be using the LDS King James Version.

Well we were late, of course, but it was a very interesting feeling that I had as we were walking in. I felt a sense of reverence at walking into this church, maybe out of respect for all the people over the last 80 years that had walked through those same doors looking to get closer to God. There was a history and a tradition here of religious desires to find and follow God and his teachings. I very much felt that, respected and embraced that spirit. A couple of older gentlemen greeted us at the door and handed us a program and helped us get to our seats.

The next thing I noticed was the aging population. I was expecting an older crowd. Expecting and seeing are two different things. I kid you not when I say the median age was about 67 years old, and that was with all of the, "younger," visitors who came just for the occasion. Tod and I, His brother and wife Sherri and cousin Kern, were the babies in the group. There were NO CHILDREN. We choose to send our kids to Abuelo and Abuela's house because I didn't know how well they would sit through a sermon with no primary to follow. I didn't have a problem with taking my kids to a different church, just didn't want them to disrupt the ceremony. It turned out to be a good decision because there was lots of talking and remembering. Madelyn and Spencer would have been bored out of their minds and Tod said he would have been outside with the kids most of the time. All old people...no children...so different than what I experience each week at church. In some ways it was nice. I could hear what the Pastor was saying. I could concentrate on what the Pastor was saying...and I tried very hard to understand what the Pastor was saying. I think a little bit got lost in translation. Methodist transponder to Mormon receiver, not always a clear signal.

One of the things that I found interesting was the opening prayer spoken by the minister and congregation together.

"O Gracious Father, we humbly beseech thee
for they holy Church; that thou wouldst be
pleased to fill it with all truth, in all peace.
Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in
error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss,
reform it. Where it is right, establish it; where it
is in want provide for it; where it is divided,
reunite it; for the sake of him who died and
rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession
for us, Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
(from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer)

It made me want to say, "Well if you really believe that, I have the answers for you," but didn't feel it was appropriate at the time of the events. Ha Ha

It was culturally very interesting to see a glimpse of life through the Methodist's perspective. I am glad I had the opportunity.
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Keep watch for the next trail marker, " Historically Fascinating."