Kansas City Temple Open House

Grampa Dan, Grandma Dorothy, and all of us walked through the breathtakingly elegant Temple, freshly built. That was wonderful.

A New Goal

Here we are at the Farm Supply in Alton, IL. And, here is the cutest tire swing I've ever seen. I HAVE to make one of these, but my own animal design, or Royal's.

A Ferry Ride for Fairies

 This is the Golden Eagle Ferry! So fun! We ride across in about 10 minutes, to the most beautiful country I've ever seen. This ride was filmed in July 2012. Look at those adorable braids!! And Grace is a pirate.

My First 5k

My adopted sister Jessica Gallyoun and I did the program "Couch to 5k", and here we are graduating! I am so grateful we did that. This was one of my proudest moments this year. Our sweet hubbys were there to support with kids in tow.

Halloween 2012

I absolutely love dressing up when I have a real costume!!!

Here we have Ketara the  Avatar (Gift o f love from Grandma Jan Parker, Thank you!!) , Tinkerbell, Arwen from Lord of the Rings (check out my pointy ears!!), and butterfly Mae-Mae. Plus our Seed Students, Ivette and Scarlett.

2 New Kids: Felicity and Midge

 Midge, the little brother.

 Sienna's new pet. In place of her long hoped for puppy, she chose Felicity the kinder goat. (its a breed.)

This is us after 3 hours of harvesting peaches from the Y shaped tree behind us and in 104 degree weather.

Friends in our Basement... or Enemies?

In hunting for an easy, harmless way to get rid of our 8-legged basement guests, I found this:


"However, if we base everything on statistics and facts, spiders can be considered "safe" around humans. Most spiders are non-venomous while those which are venomous are also non-aggressive. In fact, spiders only bite whenever they are threatened and only do so in order to protect themselves. Nevertheless, according to US statistics, spiders can cause the death of three Americans every five years. The numbers might be low, but the fact that they are capable of killing people is still enough to encourage homeowners to exterminate them and drive them out of their homes for good."

Seriously? Only 3 people every five years? You've a much higher chance of winning a lottery!!!

However, I must consider the fact that we, as humans, don't find spiders enjoyable company; even I don't while knowing they are safe. They just seem creepy. (Probably because they are creeping.)

And, my guests which I sleep in the basement are always humans.

Therefore, I continue to find a way to preserve my basement as pest-free...

Fun on our Bikes

One of my goals this Summer was to help Sienna learn to ride her bike, and then take all the kids out together. (Sienna did great, and now loves her bike. We purchased it at the Goodwill outlet for $3. Love that place.)

Here was our first success.

Tightwad Learns a Lesson

Yesterday, at the start of Nap Time, I found an irresistible offer in my Email Inbox. Free 8x8 photo book, hardcover. *Shiver of delight* One Day ONLY. Offer expires June 27. (Retail value approx. $24)

Now you can guess what I did during naptime. After an hour of compiling my best photos from the last 8 years, and on the verge of dragging-and-dropping them into the book, my phone rang.

(Dun-Dun-Dun-Duuunnnnnnn.....)

Caller ID reads Seth W., Royal's cousin who is coming to visit in a few weeks. (With his family, and 3 kids.)

Or, is it next week? I thought he was coming June 27.... AAAAGGGGHhhhhhh!

"Hello, This is Elizabeth. Hi, Seth. Oh, you're at the Science Center. Cool. No, we won't be meeting you there as I had planned, but I will have dinner ready for you guys when you get here. Great! See you then."

End of Photo-booking reverie.

Well, that is what happened, but that anecdote really diverges from the point I wanted to make. Therefore, we will return to the time before the phone call.

There I am, downloading pics from our Camera, looking for pics on my harddrive, and realizing I will have to look on my other harddrive because my pics from even the last year are on 3 computers and a separate digital camera. (Not counting the ones on the phone. They are too hard to bother with.)

And, even after searching all those locations, I can't find half a dozen pictures of Royal and Myself together in the same shot.

And, we've spent at least 3 evenings a month together, away from the kids, doing something, for the last 8 years.

Almost no pictures. No recorded history.

I was almost heartbroken. He is My Honey, and you wouldn't know it from looking at my photos.

I decided at that point to dedicate this photobook to Royal, and the marriage we've built. He doesn't know yet. (Don't tell.) But what he does know is that I need a decent snapshot camera. And what he is about to find out is that we are not going to go anywhere as a family anymore without that camera! And we can even take it on dates! I WILL have a record of my marriage, a photo record at that.

I love you, Royal!

Unfortunately, we will be paying the retail cost of this photobook since I couldn't finish it yesterday!!!

It was worth it, since we had a lovely visit with Seth and Amanda. Their kids played perfectly with ours, and it was fun to get to know them a little bit.

Mae-Mae wants out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtQMgVlMohQ

Mae's first attempt at self-feeding

Happy Mother's Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFHBRBJ6dvs

Blowing Smoke about bad grades

Well, you all know I've been paranoid about flunking my class last semester. In fact, I was fairly convinced that even if I passed, it would be by a scant margin. If you want to know all the gritty details, just read the mournful former posts.

I finally emailed my teacher to find out how the scores settled. Here's the email I just back from my Prof.

Elizabeth:

Your average for Sign to Voice class was 92.7, which is an A of course.

Congratulations on achieving your Novice certification! You were one point shy of Apprentice (Level 2). I believe the score they show you is the lower of your two scores in ASL and PSE, so you probably did better in the other mode. And you’ve now had an introduction to the testing system – you’ll perform better next time based on that alone.

Take care.

Tom

Can you believe that???? Ha! Well, I passed! Ha!

Paradox in Parenting

I've been really struggling with my parenting lately. Read: I'm losing my temper multiple times every single day.

Last night, I wrote out the entire problem, including an example scenario so I can take it with me to see a counselor, which happens this Friday.

Then, I asked Royal to read my "Problem Description". To summarize for your sake, basically I ask the children to do something over and over, each time getting angrier. I think I should be making them happy, so I "try" to be polite and sweet on top of not happy. Then, I lose my temper and start yelling. Then I feel guilty and hate myself for awhile. Repeat cycle.

Finally, I'm ready to ask his opinion. So I say something like, "Okay, Dear. I want to stay calm with my kids. You know I believe my anger towards them is almost always irrational, and I do not know what to do differently. What do you think I could do that I'm not doing?"

He said, "Well, the first time they disobey, and you feel that first tiny inkling of irritation, send them to their room immediately. Let them be alone, and when you feel better, call them back out to try again."

So, that sounds obvious and simple. I determined to follow that advice.

I pictured screaming, whining children, furious at their merciless mother. I pictured children alone and in their rooms for hours at a time. I had some concerns.

But, I determined to follow his advice.

Today was day number one. Boy was I wrong. The children each only got sent (or put) in their rooms once or twice each. There was only one crying fit for about 5 minutes. I felt calm or even happy the ENTIRE DAY. (And Royal hasn't come back yet. Its 9pm.)

But, amazingly enough, the children were happier than usual by day's end. I just couldn't believe it. I thought they were going to hate me.

dec 2009 family photo

Merry Christmas to all!

This was 2 full years ago. Can't believe it. Now Mae-Mae is 9 months old! Jim was 9 months in this pic.

I'm going through and backing up family photos today.

We aren't snowed in, but we are pretending just for fun... Grace had the day off, and we have acquired a Kinect! You guys have to try this. (Especially you, Grandma Lori! I think if it can see you, you'll love it. It sometimes struggles to "see" tall people.)

Elizabeth's latest adventures

Greetings, Earthlings!

I've been away in my own world for awhile, but I thought I would drop in and visit with you.

My paternal Grandmother, after whom I'm named, is ailing, and I've begun writing her. So, here is a quote from a recent letter.

"I've invented a new business that I will begin soon. It is a kind of online network for Sign Language Interpreters that doesn't currently exist. Sean, my brother, will help me with the marketing aspect.

"I want to tell you a little about my business, and I also do not want to bore you. Basically, right now it is impossible for Deaf people or Interpreters to know how skilled an interpreter is without hiring that interpreter. For Deaf people, this results in a very expensive, frustrating search for a decent interpreter. For Interpreters, it is also a problem.

"My business will allow you to get to know your interpreter before you choose one. You can see their professional skill, and even view their resume and whatever personal experiences they have lived through that they wish to share. For example, if I am Deaf and getting treatment for Breast Cancer, I would strongly prefer an Interpreter who has either had cancer herself or has had a close relative go through Breast Cancer treatment. My business can disclose just such information.

"I am feeling very stuck right now, but Royal has inspired me to move forward with what I can do anyways and just keep trying.

"At least I can bring to pass an embryonic version of my vision. Then, perhaps God will open more doors or guide me to find them!"

Otherwise in my world we failed to get ANY christmas letters out last year. :-(

I have some very cool news: (Well, my professional colleagues would not think this is very cool, but for those of you who are just my friends, you can!)
I GOT CERTIFIED IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI AS A "NOVICE INTERPRETER"!!!!!

Translation: I'm not good enough to actually work yet, but someday I will be! I got a 69 on the test, and you need an 85 to be a "real" interpreter. I am VERY happy with my score! Because I thought I earned about a 40.

Anyway, even with just my novice certification, I still got a little plastic card with my picture, and its all official and stuff!!!!!!!

So happy! Oh, yeah! Check y'all later.