Jacob:
I am thankful I was able to go on a mission, I was able to serve a mission in Russia. It was hard because it was a lot of sacrifice. I grew in faith and testimony, I met amazing people, and had life experiences you just can’t get in the United States.
I am thankful I was able to make the decision to leave a job that I loved. I loved the work and the people, but there was something missing. An opportunity came along that was difficult to take; but has proven to be the right decision for me personally, and for our family.
Marcia the Elder:
I am thankful I was able to push my babies out of my body, and it was hard because each one had a bigger head than the previous. If they had never come out, I would be really uncomfortable! I love them, and I learned that I can do really hard things, even while enduring a great amount of pain.
I am thankful I have been able to figure out how to work around our family’s particular set of allergies. It has forced me to be creative and to research different ways to prepare food. It is complicated and at times very hard to figure out, and I am glad that I have been able to be a resource to others who have come to need to make similar adjustments to their menus.
Marcia the Younger:
I am thankful I was able to make my first omelette, and it was hard because it didn’t make sense to me to wait for the toppings to “melt into” the egg, but I’m glad i learned because now whenever I eat an omelette I can have the satisfaction of knowing some came from me.
I am thankful I was able to not go back to the real school at the building, but I’m glad we are where we are because we are one step closer to getting rid of COVID. We are first hand witnesses to 2020.
Hinckley:
I am thankful I was able to help Corban do his chores, well, it’s good because I like to do service and when I do what I want, I feel good.
I am thankful I was able to memorize the first paragraph (stanza) of the poem “The Road Not Taken” because it let me earn two blue tickets because it gets me more options, or closer to more options to buying things in the Thurman Store. The first paragraph goes like this:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Corban:
I am thankful I was able to build LEGO houses, because…I’m glad I did it because I like to play with them, and the reason I like to play with them is because I like to make the LEGO people slide down into the seats.
I am thankful that when I can’t find my water cup, I can find my water cup. If I can’t find it, it is in my bed. I can find it under my pillow or blankets, because it makes me glad to find it, and I can’t stop it (feeling glad), and I eat my own food, all the food.
Category: Travel
Give Thanks
Jacob:
I am thankful for the temple, where families are sealed together forever, and where I married my best friend.
I am thankful for my home office because that’s where I work to provide for my family, it’s where I study and learn a lot, it’s where I do some of my favorite leisure activities like playing chess and writing music.
Marcia the Elder:
I am thankful for the Grand Canyon because nobody fell in! And because I enjoyed spending a week down in the there hiking among the beauty, while I was in college, and then a couple years ago we got to go as a family* with the Fairlie women!
I am thankful for the hospital where I birthed my children, because there are caring doctors and nurses, and I am so glad that I did not have to clean up the “Lake of Machu Picchu”** in my house.
Marcia the Younger:
I am thankful for libraries because they have lots and lots of books, and I love books!
I am thankful for Compton Park because the bridge is very good for riding your bike over and it has a beautiful “river” there.
Hinckley:
I am thankful for our house. I love our house because if we didn’t have our house we wouldn’t live anywhere, but we do have our house so that we have some shelter and a place to live.
I am thankful for the school because I need to learn, and the school is exactly the right place*** to learn.
Corban:
I want to do what Hinckley said, but a little bit, a little part:
I am thankful for our house, well, because it has dishes.
I am thankful for Earth because it has a lot of houses, and a lot of people, and a lot of houses for that people.
* This was the only time Jacob had been to the Grand Canyon, even though he lived in Mesa, AZ for 14 years.
** The lake was so named by the midwife, because the older two children named the unborn Corban, “King of Machu Picchu” and he made a great lake during labor.
*** “Place” may be more of a concept than an actual location, because this year our kids are attending school online only. Here is the setup they have.
The “lockers” 
Not All Excitement is Good
When you live in small town USA you have to drive a ways to get places. Today took me out of town. On the drive back my dashcam caught some excitement that was not so fun, but I am glad the view was not more exciting.
Frames 2 through 6 all happened in the same second. While I did see something moving in my peripheral vision, I didn’t realize what I was seeing until somewhere between frames 4 and 5. By frame 6 I could see the deer, that is off-screen, next to my window.
Keep in mind, the view from the camera looks smaller/farther away than my eyes see. (Remember the warning on the side mirrors, “objects in mirror are closer than they appear”? That applies here, too.)
I just hope the car behind me escaped the deer as well.
All is well that ends well. Or something like that.
Oh Deer, What an Adventure!
Glad to be home safe tonight. Story time….
Went to Galesburg to do some shopping, and on the way home, a few miles from Monmouth, IL, we were discussing the safest way to pull to the side of the road, and the safest way to treat vehicles that were pulled over.
As we came around a corner, we saw a vehicle that was pulled over with hazards on. As appropriate, I signaled and pulled into the other lane.
And then, in a split second, we saw the reason that car was pulled over.
But it was too late. We hit the freshly dead deer carcass full on at 65 MPH. There was a very jarring THUMP, a fraction of a second of sideslip, and then the terrible sounds of a damaged exhaust system and who-knows-how-much body damage.
We pulled over right away, and after calming down (and making a few phone calls), called the highway patrol. An officer was already talking to the people who had originally hit the deer, and called in a tow truck. After taking care of them, the officer and tow truck driver came over to us and together we all took a good look at the damage. Front fender is destroyed, definitely a damaged exhaust system (the car now sounds like my old Honda when the muffler fell off), parts of the splash guard dragging on the ground, and A LOT of blood and deer guts on the underside of my car.
BUT, there were no leaking fluids, no damage to lights, no engine warning lights to indicate real engine damage, so the police officer and tow truck driver both agreed that we should go ahead and try to drive it home.
The tow truck driver was headed the same direction we were, so he said he would follow us for a few miles until his turn, so he could pick us up if anything more happened.
Long story short… we made it home with a functional, but noisy, car, which is going to need some TLC tomorrow.
Most importantly, of course, we are all fine. A little rattled, but nobody got hurt (except the deer), and we’re all home safe and sound.
Once upon a time
We went to the store this evening, yet again. They did not have what we were looking for, yet again. So we will have to order it off the internet, yet again.
Anydangways, on our way home there were some spots of cool fog. And that got mee to thinking about how we often refer to “dense fog.” That got mee to thinking about the word “dense.” When I was younger I used to think it meant “light,” “airy,” or “fluffy.” So then when someone would give mee bread or cake to try and call it “dense” I assumed it would have the consistency of angel-food cake. I was confused by it being more like pound cake instead. I do not remember when I finally understood, probably a science class when talking about mass, or maybe a social studies class when talking about population. In any case I figured it out. Some people may wonder why I misunderstood the word in the first place. This is why. I often heard some individuals called “dense.” These are the same people I heard called “air-heads.” So in my young-brain-logic, dense=full of air. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
*Okay, so “often” could have been only once or twice for all we know, then again it could have been everyday. (Un)fortunately, I do not remember who was called this or by whom, I just remember hearing it.
And just for fun, here is a picture, or two, of an amazing little girl typing the text after the picture.
YHGJGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG6
TTJHY555sgsssssssssssssssssssssssccdwdqsss7444nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnjghbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb+
633.
3…
020789.89+.66
3
nj
k,o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o
+++52525252521*99*9*2jhihhhhhhhhhh hhhhhnnn77777,,,,,jkukun jnjjjjo6yygjujynfg0 .236663666666666 vc’ c[vbccv999999999999999999999999999ui
96.
2.
For Daddy
I love spring
Okay, actually I like spring, I love summer.
The weather was beautiful, so we took 14-week-old Marcia for a walk. After we got home, she started “talking” and insisted on being listened to. Here is her story.
No exciting news to report at this time
I just want to reflect a bit as this week is kind of a big milestone week for mee. Most people probably think I must be referring to the fact that on Tuesday (two days ago) my pregnancy hit 39 weeks. While that is true, and a great thing, that is not what I am reflecting on today*. On Monday I had the pleasure of going to yet another doctor’s appointment. As I was waiting for the doctor to come in and check things out (you know the “fun stuff.” Well at least hearing the baby’s heart beating is fun) I noticed the date written down “11/29/2010.” Time has flown by! Without my seeing it. Specifically, ten years of time. On 11/29/2000 I entered the Missionary Training Center prior to going to Chile. Wow! That was the day I met for the first time Monica and Amy (and the elders in our district), it was also the last opportunity I had to meet up with Fiona (and meet her new husband Zac), it was nice to have a friendly face next to mee in that farewell meeting. That was still in the day they allowed family/friends to come past the curb. Though living so far away, I flew out alone. Fiona and Zac brought mee a box of Andes mints, which were delicious and I loved them, thank you. However I was probably too selfish to share them, and I am sure I ate them all myself, my apologies to Amy and Monica. I know I am not as good at keeping in touch as I wish to be, but I am grateful for the internet and our ability to be in contact over the distances, and through our own web spaces we can know what is happening in each others’ lives.
*Here is a picture from Tuesday, mee at 39 weeks:
And this one too, because I like my shirt, and I think it hides my belly, kinda, though I am pretty proud of that belly…
(Also, because it makes mee laugh.)
Quick rant
So, not that I want to get negative on here or anything, but I think I will for a few minutes.
Our water bill is due the same day each month (this is not the negative part). I most of the time remember when that day comes up. Not always though, sometimes the date occurs to mee a few minutes before the office closes. Today was one of those days. We made it over in time, so no late fees charged. Yay!!!
The electric/gas bill on the other hand cannot pick a regular day to be due (this is the infuriating part). I never know what day of the month it will be from month to month, It gets moved around and on occasion has left us with the bill being due twice in one month. It does not happen often, but it has happened. I liked it when it was due about a week after the water bill was due, and I had a good shot at remembering to get them both paid on time. This last one arrived and I looked at the bill, and saw “15” of the month. Well, when it occurred to mee this afternoon that today is the 15th, I grabbed the bills and set out to pay them, only to realize that when I saw the “15” it was really a “12!” Great I get to pay a late fee, and it is no where near another bill due date for us to be able to remember to pay it on time. And, it gets even worse knowing that the bill does not get printed the same time each month, so there is no way to know that it will be arriving in the mail at a set time either.
How rude!
Not bill related, but while I am on the whining kick…. We went to St Louis a few weekends ago* and had a couple of interesting retail experiences.
The first experience: we went to the customer service counter and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited some more. Finally, we walked over to one of 4-8 employees, standing around, not helping anyone. We asked if that person would be able to help us out. She said she would page the customer service representative to the counter and told us to walk over there. We did as we were asked (told). We waited another at least five minutes, after the page was made. We saw the form sitting on the counter that we would need to fill out; we decided to be proactive and start filling out the form. We figured if it took that long just to get a person to help us, we would be sitting “forever” waiting to get the paperwork going. As I was filling in the last part of the form, we saw the customer service representative walk up to the counter. Yay, we were going to be assisted. Not! Another customer that walked in the door at the same time that the employee walked up to the counter was asked if she needed any help. (In my head: “Are you ——- kidding mee?”) CSR got on the computer and looked up some information for her and then walked away from the counter, still not acknowledging our presence, despite the page being for us and we had clearly been sitting there for quite a while, with no assistance. We almost walked out. At that time, the CSR returned to the desk and asked if we had been helped. No, that is why we were still sitting and waiting for her. She took our paperwork, typed on the computer** and got us on our way. I was a bit surprised that they had her as the CSR, not only for her inability to be helpful, but in regards to her hygiene. She had what looked like left-over chewing tobacco wedged in her teeth (she was not “chewing” at this time), and her finger nails were caked with stuff under them. I only hope it was not contagious, since she was after-all touching lots of things other people would purchase and take home. If I wasn’t ready to walk out while waiting for someone to help us, or after the CSR attended a customer that had just walked in the door instead of the people who were waiting and had had her paged (us), then the lack of cleanliness was almost enough to make mee do it. But I was feeling stubborn-ish and did not want to let my waiting be in vain.
The second experience: I was in need of locating a new brassier. I knew the size and style, I just needed to find one. Because this was a positive experience, I don’t mind telling the name of the place, the Motherhood Outlet Store. I found the item, I walked up to the cashier and she asked if I had tried it on first. I told her that I had not, since I was just at another place and found the item same style and size and tried it on, and it fit. She encouraged mee to try it on anyhow. And because we had just this summer given a seminar on fashion (of all things we could have talked about), and in the presentation we gave strong instructions to always try on clothes you will buy, I decided I should try it on. I did, and it did not fit. She told us that the clothes they have marked a specific way tend to have something wrong with them, sometimes it is a rip or a stain, and sometimes it is simply mislabeled. This time it was mislabeled, or miss-sewn, it was not a “uniform” or “symmetrical” fit. So, while we were unable to make our purchase there, we would gladly return there if the opportunity/need arose.
As we walked out of there we reflected on how the two experiences were so different, and how we would be much more inclined to return to the second store with ease, and be very hesitant to even step back into the first. We have considered, yet have not done this, writing letters to the head quarters for each of the stores telling our experiences and telling them why or why not would we be willing to return.
* I will post more about that soon-ish (I love that ending “-ish”)
** Much more better is that she mistyped part of the info, so we had to figure it out when we got home from the trip
We have a winner, but first some reminiscing
This last Sunday was our Stake Conference weekend. Four years ago, I was working in Nauvoo, ILL at a bed and breakfast. I was the innkeeper. It was a fun job, there was much to be desired in the employer area, but I met some really great people. As most of us know, that is where I was when a certain young man asked mee to marry him. We had no desire to live there and work the B&B after being married, so I needed to move back. It was convenient that Nauvoo is also where our Stake center is located. So, at the end of the Sunday session of Conference, I/we piled all of my belongings that I had in Nauvoo into my car (Speedy) and Jacob’s dad’s (Richard) truck (I am not sure if it has a name). And to Macomb I moved, two weeks before I went from Mee to Wee. It was fun this weekend, during the awake and coherent parts of it, to think back and remember the events of that weekend.
So, now, for why you are all here reading this in the first place….
Remember this post? We do. And we have our winner. This person “won” it a while ago. September 1st, 2010 at 2:37 am, to be exact.
This seems to have been a group effort, and so technically we have three winners, Fiona, Bran, and Nuala. And it is also important to note that they live in Bulgaria, so it is not unreasonable for two three-year-olds to be up at 2:30 in the morning, our time. Though, from what I have seen over the years, it really wouldn’t be unreasonable for two three-year-olds to be up at any given point in the night/morning.
Now, I just have to get the prize out. When y’all moved to Bulgaria I failed to acquire your address. If you could email that to mee, the prize can be on its way. It will be good. We promise!