The Games Report

Nobody wanted the break to be over.  We just played and had the best time.  Telestrations has been the hit game so far.  We played twice on Christmas Day and laughed so hard!!  The game is basically like the telephone game, where you whisper something to the person next to you and it goes around the circle and you see what you end up with.  In this game instead of whispering, you alternate between drawing a word and guessing what was drawn by the person next to you.  We actually took pictures of two of the drawings, but you have to look at the progression going down, not left to right.  On the left is one word, and on the right is another.

You won't laugh nearly as hard as we did - it was one of those things where you had to be there, but I tell you, when we saw Bruce reveal that he had written "Fun", we laughed until we were crying.  Fun?  How is Josh supposed to draw "Fun"??  And when Jesse put "Ugly Man", there were more tears going down faces.

We have gone to the late church schedule.  Hallelujah!  Since we don't get to sleep in on Saturdays a good part of the year (because of soccer games), I love sleeping in on Sunday.  One of life's little luxuries that I am grateful for.

Josh is still looking for work.  He has applied at a lot of places, but nothing has come up yet.  He will keep looking!

Joseph gave a great talk in Church today on Faith.  He used a lot of material from True to the Faith, Preach My Gospel, the scriptures and conference talks.  He spent about 5 hours researching material and another five hours putting it together for the talk.  He said he only included about 1/2 of what he had written down, and even at that his talk was still 12 minutes long.  The counselor in the bishopric had to tap on his leg to tell him to stop.  :)  I told him afterward to not give Joseph 3 minutes.  He's got to have more time than that!

Jesse made the commitment to learn Jeux d'eau (by Ravel) for Festival in about 6 weeks.  She has learned 7 out of 13 pages.  This is the hardest piece she has learned yet by far.  She knows the first 7 pages really well, but they are not a tempo yet.  A tempo is an eighth note equals 144 bpm, and there are 32nd notes all over the song.  Craziness!!  I love hearing her playing this song.

Mary had to do a project for science class in which they had to model an element, and her group is "Neon".  She made a vest out of purple felt.  She did it by making her own pattern from butcher paper and sewed it herself!  I was really proud of her.

Peter has been playing the Wii like crazy.  So has Bruce.  I won't make any more comment on that.  Ha ha  Peter has made a goal to read the Book of Mormon this year.  Yeah!

Libby surprised me this week.  I was getting her piano pieces ready for Festival.  I made a guess at what level she was on and played through some of the songs and thought that they would be challenging, but she could do it.  When I played them for her, she listened and then sat down and played through one of them.  She learned the whole song in about 10 minutes, playing it all the way through, a tempo, no problems.  Wow!  Needless to say, I went back to the store and picked a book that was at the next level for her.  Festival songs are not supposed to be terribly hard, but if you can sight read them and play them in ten minutes, that's too easy!  She's only eight, but she's really moving along in piano.

Libby also performed at halftime for the boys basketball game on Friday.  She did her Gymnastics routine.  She got lots of compliments afterward because she did so well!

I did 3 Raindrops this week within a twenty-seven hour period! In case you haven't heard of the Raindrop Technique, it's a method of applying essential oils to the feet and to the back, incorporating massage and reflexology techniques.  One lady I work with has had wonderful results with the Raindrop.  She gets one every two weeks.  I incorporate the oils that come up on the Compass for her, and she takes NingXia Red Juice on a regular basis.  (Contact me if you want to know more NingXia - I have a good website for it, but it has my full name on it, so I don't want to give it out on this public blog.)  It has been a tremendous blessing for me to be an instrument in the hand of the Lord in bringing some healing to her life.

A few months ago, at Bruce's work, they announced that they wanted to reduce the on-site workforce by 20%.  Bruce promptly signed up for it and got it approved.  At the end of last year he cleaned out his cubicle, and now works completely from home.  This makes sense, since his team is all in Vancouver and Israel.  If you wonder if globalization has taken place, let that be an indicator.  So we can live on our 2 1/2 acres, have our little farm here in Idaho and be close to great outdoor recreation and beautiful rural surroundings while Bruce works from his office in our home with Israelis in Tel Aviv.  It's a beautiful life.

72 hour vignette - The Follow-Up Report

I left you hanging last week with the announcement of fifteen new animals on the farm. Bruce, aka Mr. Craigslist, found nine hens and two roosters listed for free in a town near here. So that's 11.

The next day on Craigslist (Bruce is seriously addicted to it), he found two cows with calves (a bull and a heifer) in the same town as the chickens. So in his mind, since we were going to drive all the way out there, we should get all these animals at once. Which he did. Ha

No, the real reason we got the cows is because we have a friend that runs cows, and we are going to help him with the ranching duties in exchange for running our cows with his. Joseph had enough money saved up from his 4-H lamb projects and soccer refereeing, that he bought one of the cows and her bull calf. He will raise and sell calves from his cow over the next four years in hopes of turning his investment into significant profit before his mission. And we bought the other cow and calf. It is a high risk investment, because it involves animals which can get sick and die, but we feel good about the opportunity. And the experience.

Last Friday night, Joseph and Bruce went over to help with some of these ranching duties. They rounded up the cattle on horses and ran them into a squeeze, where they tagged them, branded them, and put them in the right herd. They only did ten that night, and have thirty to forty more to go. I can't believe that they are doing real cowboy stuff like this! I'll have to go and take pictures next time they do this. Bruce is relishing this experience, and really appreciating the opportunity to learn new skills. Plus the opportunity to make some money at it is a plus.

Today Libby went out and brought in a dozen brown eggs in the little tin bucket, so the chickens are starting to produce well! We haven't had a good group of layers in a while, so it'll be good to get back to that.

In my last post, I talked about my Dad having some health problems on their mission in Panama. They diagnosed him with having two small TIA's or transient ischemic attacks, where there is a temporary loss of blood to the brain. He is recovering well, however, and improving a little every day. But you can't believe what happened last Tuesday (only four days after my Dad's last TIA). My Mother tripped on a tile and shattered the bones in her right shoulder! I couldn't believe it when I heard it. The doctor examined her and said that she needed surgery to put in a rod and a plate.

It was no small miracle that my brother Curtis was already down there helping her with Dad. My other brother Cedric also flew down on Tuesday, and together they decided that they would leave Panama the next day, Wednesday, and that Mom would have the surgery in Atlanta, where Curtis lives. They succeeded in doing this, and my angel and able sister-in-law Michelle pulled some strings and got her into an appointment on Wed afternoon and surgery on Thursday. She is at their home in Atlanta now, and both she and Dad are recuperating and doing well. WHEW! I was able to speak to Dad Thursday night, and he sounded good! How sweet to hear his voice, and be able to communicate with him. I feel so blessed, like I've been given another chance. And thank you to mi familia in Atlanta who are helping Mom and Dad!

My brother Conal (I have a lot of brothers) sent a tribute, by way of a YouTube video, to honor my Mom and Dad for the four missions that they have served for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thank you Mom & Dad - we are SO very proud of you and your example to us.

In the midst of all of this, I have forgotten to mention that my other brother Chris (I told you I had a lot!) and his wife Elena had a baby a week ago Wednesday. They named him J.D. Congratulations Chris and Elena!! There were some copmlications with his birth and he was born by emergency C-section. We are so grateful, Elena, that you and J.D. are all right!

Peter is doing so well! On Monday morning Bruce took him in to the Surgery Center and they put him under while they reset the bone. It was a little frustrating that they didn't do it right in the first place in the ER, but, that happens sometimes, doesn't it? They did a good job this time, and he was able to move his fingers and their color looked a lot better after this procedure. Tomorrow he goes to get a cast on.

Can I just say that Peter has been The Bomb this week, in modern parlance. He has hardly complained, and been so much more self-sufficient under difficult circumstances than almost any other child would have been. He has just taken it all in stride, and has not spent time on self-pity or whining. I have been so proud of him and his character this week.

I have to report a happy thing, and that is that we have been playing a lot of games. Yea! We've really turned a corner, as far as that goes. I posted earlier that our family had a hard time playing games together. But we are getting past that, and I'm so glad! Last night we played Whoonu and then Great Dalmuti for awhile. I need to record that after Josh, Libby gets to be the Great Dalmuti more than anyone else in the family! Not only is she extremely lucky, she is just plain smart and knows how to play the game! It gives all the rest of us humble pie to eat.

After the younger kids went to bed, Josh, Joseph and I got out Puerto Rico and started playing it. (We tried to wake Bruce up, but to no avail). All of a sudden the lights flickered, and then everything went totally black. And I mean black. We were in the middle of an inversion, so there was no moon or stars, and with no lights anywhere, it was pitch black. So weird! We immediately turned on cell phones (which are good little flashlights!) and found another real flashlight. After going to put extra covers on everyone that was asleep, we climbed up on the roof to see what it was like with no lights anywhere. That was the first time I have ever been up on our roof! It was fun to be up there with the boys. We came back down and were determined to finish our game, so we lit up some candles and played into the night. Josh whooped us with 73 points, I had 67 and Joseph had 60. Puerto Rico is a fun game - it has become a favorite! I told Bruce this morning that we'll always remember playing Puerto Rico in the candlelight!

We had a neat family over to dinner tonight - our friends Tom and Mindy and their family, and also Tom's parents. Tom's Dad served in the Mexico Puebla mission in 1963. He served in 6 branches. He researched those six branches on the lds.org website, and found that they have become 18 stakes, over the last 40 years. Holy Toledo.

Has anyone seen, Emma Smith My Story? We watched it Friday night. It was emotionally wrenching, a well-done movie, and one that I recommend. It will be a great joy to me to see Joseph and Emma together, and to see their joy in having fought the good fight and seeing what their good works accomplished. I honor and love them!

Jesse has composed a song on the piano, and added lyrics. When she performs it, you have to think twice and ask yourself if you are listening to a song on the radio. We are going to be looking into finding someone with a recording studio, so she can get it recorded. Tom, our friend who was here tonight, is a real musician, and he praised the song highly and gave her so much confidence. Thanks, Tom and Mindy for listening and being so nice!

WE SAW THE SUN TODAY. It has to be in capital letters. We haven't seen it for weeks, and I have felt like clawing my way out of this cardboard box of an existence with this inversion. A strong (and frigid) wind was blowing today, and I hope it keeps the cloud s away! I need sunlight so badly, it's amazing. I FEEL so differently when I see sunshine. I feel good, happy, the world is bright and I'm hittin' the sky with my hat. When I don't see the sun, I feel like the cardboard box thing. Yuck. Like Anne of Green Gables, I am in the depths of despair.

So please sun, stay for awhile!

Man, I've been long-winded in this blog, with only one picture. Thank you for reading, if you are still with me. You are a true friend! :)

Game Playing

In years past, we've gotten computer games for the kids for Christmas. This year, with one exception (Joseph got Josh a computer game), we went with Board/Card games instead of computer games. And it's been fun, but with some learning experiences that were challenging mixed in.

It's hard to explain, but suffice it to say that each one of our children has a big red streak running through them. By that I mean that each one is confident, bossy, stubborn, wants their way, and competitive. Libby is the closest we come to having a peacemaker, and she's still young enough to want her way. (I don't know where they get this from - ha ha). So when it comes to game playing, things gets a little tricky, dicey, hectic, loud - you get the picture. I have given lecture after lecture this past two weeks about character. I've talked about how games reveal your character. I've talked about how life reveals your character. I've talked about how life is all about developing and refining your CHARACTER.

This afternoon, all six children were in the family room playing Great Dalmuti, a card game. I can count on one hand the time that all of our children have played a game like this. They have played other things together, but not very often an actual game like this, on their own, without any parental supervision. (I know this is really sad, but it's true.) They were playing before dinner, and they started it up again after dinner. There were some blow-ups, but I stayed out of it and they solved it on their own. I only yelled out once about character development. I was pretty proud of myself!! And proud of them.

I've heard of other families playing games together a lot, and frankly, I've been jealous, because it just doesn't seem to happen for us; or it hasn't until this holiday season. They are older, and that makes a huge difference, but we have finally gotten over that hump (whatever it was made of) and we/they are playing games. Yeah! I'm really happy about that.

I really do believe what I have been trying to teach the kids about character, though. So much of what happens to us in life is about character development, and not about the immediate circumstances or outcomes.

Take, for example, Joseph of Egypt and Potipher's wife. Thankfully, Joseph understood that the preservation of his good character was more important than the immediate outcome. Prison seems like a pretty harsh reward for obeying commandments, but it really wasn't about the immediate outcome. It was about Joseph learning what he needed to, and also being in the right place at the right time later in his life, something he surely could not have foreseen in that bedroom in Potipher's palace. I love Joseph of Egypt. I love him for his example, over and over, of doing the right thing, even when the reward was not immediate, not in the next weeks, or even months, or years. He was in prison for years.

Along with character development, I am beginning to understand more clearly how temporary this life is, how very short. A mere sliver in eternity. It helps me so much to widen my view, and to think in eternal terms instead of just day-to-day.

Happy 2009 everyone, and here's to thinking of character development with an eternal perspective!

After Christmas Fun

Man, we've been having fun! The day after Christmas Whitney, Stetson, Bruce and I went on a horseback ride. I rode May for the first time. She started to buck one time but she stopped before I went off, so that was good! Ha ha It was really fun to go riding with knowledgeable horse riders.

That evening, we started our 24-hour Anniversary Date. Nineteen years and still going strong! We had a wonderful day, especially because Stetson and Whitney stayed with the kids and made sure they were fed and didn't set the house on fire! Thanks guys!

It's pretty incredible to be married to someone like Bruce. When we were dating, he was my wildest dream come true, and he still continues to be just that. I love you Bruce!When we got home that night, there was a sign on our bedroom door that said "The Honeymoon Suite", and this Welch's Sparkling grape juice was on our bed. These types of things happen when Whitney is around! Thanks Whit!


We also came home the next day to a rousing round of Speed Settler's. This was not for the faint of heart. We've also been playing Blokus, Puerto Rico (my favorite), Great Dalmuti, and Ticket to Ride.

On Sunday night, we went over to Stephen & Kendra's to eat, visit and play games.
We had a great fun playing the card game Great Dalmuti. Joshua Bruce was the Great Dalmuti the WHOLE game!
We had to have this shot in particular where Josh was the Great Dalmuti, and Bruce the Greater Peon. Yes - this was worth recording, for Joshua's sake, as his main goal in life is to beat his Dad at something. (I'm gonna hear about this - about the ping-pong game where Josh won. So yes - he did beat Dad once at ping-pong!)

This is a video of Libby playing Silent Night. She recorded herself playing the song. At one point on Christmas Day we heard the song playing, and both Bruce and I assumed it was one of the older kids. But then Bruce looked at me and said, "That's Libby playing!" It's pretty fun to have one of your children surprise you like that. Very fun!


Lastly, we have to show off Peter's rocket launch! This was one of his presents from Santa Claus. He asked for a rocket because they had done an Enrichment Unit at his School on rockets, so he knew all about them. Cousin Josh was with us for the launch, and he got this sequence picture with his camera. Click on it to see a zoom of the picture. Peter and Libby's friends, Kole and Dallas, were also over to see the launch. We launched it three times. The first time (video below) the parachute didn't come out very well, but the next two times it did. It's interesting that launching that rocket was so entertaining. Has anyone ever seen a real rocket launch? Let's hear your story if you have!


One of the delights of the week has been having our nephew Joshua Wayne with us for a few days. He is so much fun, and we've loved having him hanging around. It was sad to Stetson and Whitney go, but what fun we had with them too!

Well, tonight is New Year's Eve and we're having a party with friends here at our house. Josh, Joseph and Jesse will be over at the Stake Center (this is a Church building) for a Youth Celebration, and the rest of us will be here banging the pots and pans at midnight! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Happy New Year's!

P.S. For any of you that know my brothers, you've got to see this post at Zuttozoom. It's hilarious, and made all of the rest of us jealous that we couldn't be there!

Thanksgiving News

These guys sure had fun hunting on Thanksgiving morning. We ate the pheasant at our Thanksgiving dinner and it was tasty! Bruce, Joseph and Peter went with their cousins Joshua W. and Kaleb.

In the meantime, I was preparing dinner,
and Libby was drawing a picture, among other things.

Our meal turned out wonderfully, thank goodness.

The best part of the meal was the fresh apple cider. It's called liquid gold around these parts!

I took a long nap after dinner, and Bruce went horseback riding with Gary and Heidi, and then Peter and Kaleb. They took Lady, Mackee and Strawberry and Bruce said they all did great. We are still in the process of training them, so the more they go out the better, and we talk about "how they did" after every ride.

Later in the evening we watched Get Smart (very funny movie), and played games with Stephen and Kendra and family when they came over. We played categories, and this crazy board game where they made me jump from five feet off the ground blindfolded, and a "Famous Name" game. Despite family members getting a little too competitive (smile here), we had a really fun evening.

Well, Peter just came in to tell me the horses are ready, so I gotta go ride. Wahoo!