MAYLIN2007

Years ago, when we first moved into our state we lived in an area where everyone was in between 26 and 28 years of age. We all had little kids and these were our starter homes. There were about 10 houses per acre, so we lived very close. Because of this we became very close to one another. A family that lived 2 doors down from us, had a son Austin's age. We worked with them in church and we did a lot of things socially with this family. Even after we both moved, we kept in touch. We have been watching, and praying this past year as the husband has fought a very rare form of cancer. We have watched him suffer, yet walk with faith unfaltering. Yesterday evening, he passed away leaving a wonderful wife and four young children. We send our love to his family and we send our love and our gratitude to Darryl for showing us that even though life is tough, we can still be grateful. Darryl sent an email earlier this year that said, "I have looked in the face of the Savior." What a...

"Look what I got mama!"  

I am sure when my mom reads this, she will be saying to herself, "I told you so." She told me the other day that I say to much and maybe I better watch it. She is probably right. But I really believe in being yourself. I don't think you should act like you are perfect, that your kids are perfect, that nothing ever goes wrong in your life. I know too many people that seem perfect. They intimidate me. I know I have have a few "things or issues" going on and they all seem perfect, issue free! That troubled me, so I didn't ever, ever want to be one of those people. I don't want anyone to be afraid of me or to think I have the perfect life or to think I am not approachable. Thus, the big mouth. I do tend so say what I think. Obviously, I am not going to tell people they look ugly, but I am not afraid to talk about my faults or my dumb experiences when necessary. I am not embarrassed by anything I do. I am human and I really feel people should accept me for wh...

Happy Father's Day to my sweet husband. I love him and appreciate the wonderful father he is to our children. I couldn't ask for better. I love his sense of humor, his kindness and his patience. Happy Father's Day to my dad too. He has been a wonderful example to our family. To all the grandfathers and other wonderful men in our lives, we hope you had a wonderful day.     This is my dad. He is 81. This was taken April 2010. He looks so good and he walks 6 miles five days a week.

Yesterday Maylin wore some of her new clothes. We were walking to the car and she has her hand on her hip and has a lean-swagger thing going on. She says, "The boys are going to think I'm hot!" Seriously?!?! You can tell she listens to her older brother.

While Kens and Jay were gone, Alex felt like he was getting the raw end of the deal this year. I can understand that. His brother has been to Mexico and Israel and his sister has been back East. I totally understood his feelings. SO! Austin and I took it into our own hands to make him feel better about his position in life. We made sure we had fun while the two were away, on yet another vacation. First, we went to a movie. We saw Prince of Persia. I even got a sitter for Maylin. It was great. We also had a camp out. Which is HUGE for me. I hate the whole, no bathroom, no lights, no modern convenience thing, but since we decided to camp out in our yard next to our stream, I was game. Heck, it was only several feet from modern conveniences. To start the night off we hit Subway. Then we built a fortress around the tramp so we would stay dry and warm. Then we built a fire and roasted marshmallows for smores. We played games under the tramp and ate snacks. It was so fun. Maylin slept by Aus...

Today Kens and Jay were at Mt. Vernon. They toured the home, the gardens etc. The once in a life time moment came at the graves of Martha and George Washington. They both lay in big cement tombs surrounded by a reddish, brick building with an iron gate. I remember going in and looking through the gate when I was visiting there years ago. Today, for my family, looking through the gate was not the case. Today, they had an opportunity to go inside. The school teacher arranged for a private wreath laying ceremony. The area was roped off to our group and the gate was opened. The kids said the pledge and sang and then Jay and another dad that went along, went inside next to the tombs and placed a wreath in the crypt. Then they all repeated the George Washington prayer. Lots of pictures were taken and Jay and this other man, Mr. Peck, signed a book that they had done this. When this book is full it will be put in the archives. Amazing. The teacher getting a much deserved foot massage. In the ...

Today, while I was babysitting the world, okay just part of the world, my two travelers saw the Ford Theatre, the White House, a naval monument, the Hope Diamond, the President's Church and the bench Abraham Lincoln would sit in to pray, and various museums. They had a great day. Kens got very tired and so headed back to the hotel before the museums with the teacher and the director of the school. They took naps and had a popcorn party. Kens was in heaven. She was so glad to have a rest and she enjoyed being in the company of these two women in which she loves and respects.      

Today was a busy and crazy day. To start off with the crazy: they got to the capital and 3 of the boys in Jay's group were pulled out in security. They all had lighters and one had brought his fake musket that he had purchased at Fort McHenry. Jay about died. Yea, bring those items to the country's capital building! Every thing ended up okay, put after that, Jay buried the items in dirt outside of every other place they visited that day. He wasn't going to do the security breach thing again. They visited the capital and had a private tour by a member of the House of Representatives that the school teacher is personal friends with. Very cool! Because of this, they had special treatment and got to actually sit in the seats on the House floor. This is usually off limits. Jay of course, got lost all by himself, and spent 20 minutes wandering trying to find the group. He knew they were in a cafeteria and finally after going to cafeteria number 4 he found them. Leave it to Jay! T...

Tonight Nini had me play house with her. She brought over her 8 children to visit me at my house. I held her babies, fed them and helped her put them to bed. I asked her where her honey (that is what she calls a husband) was and she said, "He is dead. He got shot." I said, "Oh, I am so sorry." She said, "That's okay. It wasn't your fault." I had to leave the room to laugh. I didn't want to do it in front of her. She was totally serious and I didn't want to make light of it, but DANG that was funny. I am so glad she is apart of our family. She makes us all smile! Today Kens and Jay visited Fort McHenry and saw the flag that Francis Scott Key wrote the song over. They also learned that when the British shot a morter into the Fort and right into a room filled with ammo, they all thought it was over. Everything and everyone would have gone up in flames, but for one reason or another, the morter did not go off, leaving the opportunity for us to ...

Yes, you read the title right. This post is about mammograms. I had my FIRST one today. I thought it would be a great 42 b-day present to myself. Okay, in reality I had put it off for 2 years and finally my insurance company kept bugging me to do it, so I basically did it to get them off my back, but really IT WAS NOT BAD AT ALL. I have heard many people say it hurts. Mine didn't at all. I asked the tech about it and she said some people just have more tender breast tissue than others. Well then, I guess that means my tissue is tough. I think the beginning days of nursing was WAY more painful and that lasted for awhile. You are all probably saying, "Too much info." But hey, I am that way. I say what I think. If you haven't had a mammogram, do it. It really isn't bad and it only takes 15 minutes. You can do it!!!!

Yesterday and today I have been contemplating about life. Deep huh? But, really, I just realized my oldest will be leaving home in 18 months. Then Kens will be gone in 4 years. That will go fast especially based on how fast the past 4 years have gone. I have been in a very reflective mood. I have been wondering if I have done a good enough job in teaching my children so that when they leave the nest that they will make good decisions that will lead them to a happy life. I hope so. With Austin, it is almost too late so I better hope I have done a good job. Sometimes I think I have done a great job. Like today: I took Aus, Alex and Nini swimming. So many of my neighbors were impressed that Austin would go at his age. They claimed their kids would never go on family activities at that age. So, I guess I haven't embarrassed him too much and I guess he likes being with his family and that he values us. Score one for mom. On the other side, my nephew brought his girl friend over for dinn...

Talked to my family tonight. They are tired and hot, but loving it. Jay is very sore. His feet are killing him. He has planters fasciitis and it has really flared up. He said he is walking like an old man. They have learned so much today. They saw the ship that John Smith came over on, they played on the beach, stood in the Surrender Field, where the English finally surrendered to us in the Revolutionary War, enjoyed a boys choir and a fabulous dinner. The highlight was a visit to Thomas Nelson's home and grave. Jay had not heard of him before, but once he did, he considered him an amazing man of liberty. Thomas Nelson was the first governor of Virginia. He asked for a loan of $2 million dollars to get Virginia going. The settlement was not given the loan, but they would give him the loan personally. So, Thomas took the $2 million and spent it establishing Virginia and the freedoms that came with the land. He spent the rest of his life personally paying off the loan. He died a very...

Jay and Kens spent the day in Colonial Williamsburg, VA. It was hot and humid, but they had a great day. Kens got a little heat stroke, but with red hair that is expected. They had a great time watching the reenactments and Kens and some of her friends were invited to join a military march. They loved it. Kens had fun in the stockade, see picture below. I have a picture of myself in the same stockade when I visited there when I was 19. Here are a couple of shots from the day. Kens has made new friends and they both have learned a lot. Tonight they spent the evening in the hotel pool.

This morning Austin was practicing the organ at our church. Nini and I went over to hear him practice. Nini saw the pulpit and declared that she needed to give a talk. She went up on the stand and got behind the pulpit and started her talk. By this time, Austin had moved down into the pews to listen. Wow! Did we get an earful. She had us cracking up and at least I can say as a mother, she is listening to me teach her....even if it may just be a little. Her talk went as follows: "The Holy Ghost said, 'You are made of cake. Happy birthday to you and tenderness.'" Well, at least she knew who the Holy Ghost was. We are still trying to figure out the cake part. As far as I remember, we have never talked about the Holy Ghost and cake together.   Pictures taken from our recent cabin trip.

For Memorial Day weekend, we went to our cabin to paint. We were hoping to have Saturday and Monday to paint, but it snowed Saturday and Sunday. Seriously, the flakes of snow were as large as a silver dollar. We spent Saturday cleaning inside since the weather did not cooperate. It was a lot of work, but great. My family built our cabin when I was 3. I remember sitting on the stairs that go up to the loft, watching everyone work. That is really the only faint memory I have of building it, so it was nice to be involved this time in the labor. Sunday we did go to church and to the springs to feed the HUGE fish. We went on a little walk, but it was too cold and rainy so most of the day was spent playing games. I love that! My mom and I played Scrabble I won one game, she the other. It was great fun. We also played Dummy Rummy with everyone. Austin was so excited that he pounded everyone in that game. The snow. Monday, we all worked to paint the cabin. Even Maylin helped roll the paint. S...