Meet "Bounce"

This Marianas Fruit Dove flew into our livingroom yesterday afternoon, greatly arousing the interest of Jack the Cat. The kids saved him (the bird) and we were all amazed how calm it seems in perching on the kids fingers. We haven't found any injuries, but can't seem to get him to fly away, so have concluded that maybe he's just young. We called Fish and Wildlife this morning, but they said that we can either try to release it, try to care for it until it can be released, or bring it in to them and they'll take care of it. As you can see, we've opted to keep it here until release.














He's got beautiful feathers. We googled him and found out that these doves are quite shy and not often seen in the open. They are unique to Guam and the Northern Marianas, but unfortunately are now extinct in Guam due to the invasion of the brown tree snake.



Jacob calls him "Bounce." You can see that he's quite an acrobat!

I'm In!

Here's a little 4th of July test in American Civics for you. Both of my grandfathers were "naturalized citizens" and I assume had to take a test similar to this. Luckily for Grampie A. it's an oral interview because he never learned to read. Would you "make the grade" to be an American citizen?

Volcano!

Ah how much vinegar and baking soda has been used in the name of science! What I didn't realize for a couple of days was that the project was left to greet guests coming to our front entrance...right directly in front of the door. (We usually use the side entrance--you can take the Mainer out of Maine, but....)

Happy Birthday Mom!

At the Movies

I went to two movies this week, one with Alexa and one with Case, and both of them were a waste of time and money. The first one was "The Break Up" and the other was "Poseidon." Terrible both of them. "The Break Up" was a pathetic and unfortunately, true-to-life account of a fictional relationship break-up. The fighting, yelling, selfishness, and pride depicted in the movie depressed me and I found it agonizing to sit through. If I had been with my hubby we would have walked out. I have a pretty simplistic view of movies--if it's real life I want to be inspired. Otherwise, I just want to be entertained. This movie did neither.

I guess with "Poseidon" I just wasn't paying attention--I was focused on a night out instead of what we were going to see, which we decided on the way. About 5 minutes into the movie I remembered that I really hate disaster movies. I have seen some that were tolerable, but this one was poorly done and it reaffirmed my dislike of the genre.

HOWEVER, just when I was thinking that maybe I'd take a hiatus from movies (which is saying something here on island considering there isn't a whole lot to do), in hopes that if I gave it some time one or two films really worth seeing would show up, something really amazing happened.

I rented a movie for us to watch last night and found out after I got home that they had given me the wrong movie. It was too late to take it back, so, a little irritatedly, I sat down with my older children and husband to watch it. The title is "End of The Spear" and if I could only recommend one movie as a "must see" from all the ones I've ever seen in my entire life, this would very likely be it. It's a true story about missionaries in the Amazon Basin; it's a story of sacrifice and forgiveness (remember my criteria for real-life stories?) We don't buy many movies, but we're going to buy this one. I would say more, but it would get redundant and still wouldn't do it justice. It made me want to be a better person...a much, much better person....

Do You Know About Audioblogger?

Feeling the Pinch

Pacific islands reel from rising fuel costs
By Gemma Q. CasasVariety News Staff

PACIFIC lawmakers say the continuing rise in fuel cost is affecting their islands’ transportation, power supply and ability to pay for basic food supplies such as rice.Legislators from Guam, Chuuk, Yap, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Palau and Hawaii are here with their CNMI counterparts for the 25th general assembly of the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures. They said the value of the U.S. dollar continues to shrink as the price of fuel rises.
With the exception of Hawaii and Guam, which have strong tourism and military-based economies, the other islands now find it difficult to provide the basic needs for their residents. All of the islands get annual financial aid from the U.S. but the lawmakers said it was not enough to cushion the impact of skyrocketing fuel prices.
The APIL delegates agreed something must be done before the situation gets worse.

No more rice
In Chuuk, rice importers have yet to receive their latest delivery from China, Japan and Australia. “We have no more rice in Chuuk,” said Rep. Remigio Bualuay. He said the shipment has been delayed for several weeks now due to the rise in fuel prices which affects the shipping costs of imported goods. He said the rice shortage has resulted in higher prices, a further burden on residents who mostly earn $1.35 an hour — the minimum wage in the Federated States of Micronesia’s private sector. “They now sell a 50 lb. bag of rice for $27,” said Bualuay.
A gallon of gasoline in Chuuk sells for $3.90 — almost three times higher than the island’s minimum wage rate.
Lawmakers from Pohnpei, the state capital of FSM, said a gallon of regular gasoline sells for $3.90 on their island also. They said the situation is making it more difficult for residents to travel, especially since FSM is made up of scattered islands.
Palau Vice Speaker Okada Techitong said the high cost of fuel is slowly eating up their meager resources for public health. He added that a residents’ ability to avail themselves of electricity is also in danger. “It’s affecting all our services,” Techitong said, adding that some residents with no regular income may soon find themselves without power due to the high cost of fuel. In Palau, power is sold at a basic rate of 23 cents per kilowatt hour. But the rate goes as high as 40 cents per kwh with the fuel surcharge added to it. “We have no subsidy for power,” said Techitong. He said a gallon of fuel cost $3.29 as of last week in Palau. The minimum wage in Palau, like FSM, an independent nation freely associated with the U.S., is $2.50 per hour in the private sector and $3.95 per hour in the government sector.
Guam Vice Speaker Joanne Brown, the APIL president, said their island has not been spared from the impact of the constant rise in fuel costs either. “Certainly as a result of that we’re finding that the cost of living has risen dramatically. All of the islands in the region are affected by the rise in fuel costs,” she said. She said the rise in fuel costs has a multiplier effect on all consumer goods as well as services such as electricity. “Shipping costs are going up. The overall costs of all goods and commodities that we consume. Residents are seeing a substantial increase in their power bills and that’s a result of the rising fuel cost. We are very challenged with these issues,” she said.


The prices talked about in this article are typical of those here on island. Maybe only those who have lived in Asia can really understand the trauma of hearing the words "There is no more rice...." The people here eat rice for every meal (and snacks!). Meat and vegetables are almost relegated to condiments for everyday fare.

Here on Saipan (CNMI) the minimum wage is somewhat higher than in some of the other places, having been at $3.05 per hour since 1996. As of yesterday, unleaded gas is $3.46 per gal.
On top of all of this, these islands are often delayed in taking preventive or supportive actions by complicated red-tape procedures that are in place, I assume, to protect against corruption--yet another problem that plagues many of them.

Fun Times

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures. Tonight Ezra's cubscout pack had their Raingutter Regatta at the church. It was sooo fun cheering and chanting the names of the boys racing their boats--I think the spectators had more fun than they did! Ez didn't win either of his races, but we thought his "pirate ship" looked totally awesome. He looks so animated in this picture and that's how he is whenever he's in front of a crowd...not the least bit shy.



Sam's still breakdancing. Casey took this picture of him practicing a move in the livingroom. He likes to go downtown once a week and dance. Will ALL of my boys want to be in the limelight?

Walking with Eden

"Can I go? Please..."
"I don't need help. I walk fast. I can walk a long ways."
"C'mon Mom. Mom's slower than us, isn't she Dad?"
"A dead rat. Yuck."
"A dead toad. That's a toad, it's not a frog."
"I wish we could stop and visit the Steyskals."
"I wish we could stop and rest."
"I wanna stop and rest."
"I'm tired."
"My legs are killing me!"
"I want to to go see that dog."
"I wish I could go see that dog and pet him."

Ahhh...walking with Eden. I wish I could remember everything she said. We only walked about 1.5 miles, but coming back to the house is all uphill. She asks to go every morning and usually we tell her that we're walking for exercise so we're not going to take her because she'd get too tired. This morning we let her go along. I think I'm just going to forget the exercise...after all, a mile is a mile no matter how long it takes, but a little girl, well....

A Beautiful Woman

I actually read this for the first time when Audrey Hepburn died, but my niece sent it to me today and I thought I would post it here.

Below is a wonderful poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her "beauty tips." It was read at her funeral years later.
For attractive lips , speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair , let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise , walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands ; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

Happy Birthday Sweet 15!

A New Look

My "newest" daughter.

The Tooth Dude Is Coming!

We had a bit of a hard time getting her to smile so we could see her teeth!

In our house you get either the Tooth Fairy, which means you get whatever can be scrounged up in loose change (if she remembers at all), or the Tooth Dude, which means you get a dollar.

(For those of you who might check, yes, I changed the photo. I like this one better.)

Cinco de Mayo!

It was a fun party. Case and a friend of ours decided a while ago that it would be fun to have a "theme" pot-luck--Italian, Mexican, etc., so we thought we'd go ahead and do it. When we were deciding on the date for the party we realized that the day we had chosen was Cinco de Mayo! Of course we went with the Mexican pot-luck and it was a really fun way for us to get together with our friends before many of them leave island for summer vacations. Many of the people here from the states and Canada go home at this time to attend graduations, weddings, check out new grandchildren, or just generally touch base with stateside family and friends.

Thank goodness for evites! That made it so easy to keep track of everything. The kids helped clean the house and made lots of big, colorful paper flowers that we put up around the main floor. We made a cd of mariachi (etc.) music and one of our friends and her kids made a piñata. Casey had some plants--some quite big--he had "inherited" when a friend of his passed so we put them out on the deck along with some of our colored Christmas lights. I made guacamole and quesadillas (we seal the edges of the tortillas and deep fry them--I think anything tastes good in a deep fried flour tortilla. Yum!). Anyway, everybody brought a dish--there was some incredible fresh salsa...

Jake's band played a few numbers out on the deck, that's always fun. After they were done, our little trio did a reprise of the tune we did for the Cultural Night at the church. Half way through the evening, some friends came in that have been in Hawaii for the last couple of weeks for their daughter's wedding, so we looked at the wedding photos on the tv. All in all it was a really fun time. I think we had about 50 people. We started early, 5:30, so that people wouldn't need to keep their kids up too late--the last guests left at 10. What a great group of people. We're so blessed.

Laundry

the living mountain
ever grows ever changes
on fridays it dies

Yogurt!

An eye surgeon here on island writes a column for the local paper which has become a favorite read. His subject usually centers around healthy living and last Friday it was on yogurt.

Although my children absolutely loooove yogurt, I was never a big fan until I visited Thailand. My favorite breakfast there was muesli with fruit and yogurt. The way the menus read make it sound as if the yogurt is a condiment, but in reality (which means, of course, my way of speaking), it's yogurt (like a cup or two) on top of a little fresh fruit and sprinkled with muesli. I was hooked! I don't buy the fruited yogurt anymore, just plain. We eat it on fresh oranges, peaches (when available), burritos, tacos, potatoes, in smoothies, and we most recently discovered it's wonderful on Grammie Haskins' peanut butter cookies (which are the world's BEST p.b. cookies with or without the yogurt!).

Dr. Khorram was right, prices here on island are expensive, so I was considering buying a yogurt maker. I have looked at recipes before, but they seemed so particular about times, temperatures, etc. that a machine just seemed easier. Many thanks to Dr. Khorram for his wonderful column and sharing his memories of his grandmother making yogurt--I love the "homely" way and it is so easy! Here's what I do: first, wash a pot and spoon in hot soapy water, rinse and dry. Pour 1 liter of milk (I just use skim milk which is what we always buy) in the pot and bring to a boil over low heat. While it's heating up, I follow Dr. K's suggestion and add some full cream powdered milk, but that's optional. The Indian restaurant in town makes their own yogurt and it's thinner and sharper than the storebought. Casey wants to get a little from them to make a batch because he really likes the sharper taste. When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat, skim off the skin from the top of the milk, and let cool until the outside of the pot feels only slightly warm. When cool, stir in a couple of tablespoons of yogurt, cover, and place in the oven with just the oven light on as per Dr. K's suggestion. Eight hours later, VOILA! Yogurt. . . yum!

And Introducing. . .

THE CADETS

Saipan Relief Society Cultural Night

After growing up in Maine (a beautiful place with many wonderful aspects, cultural diversity not being one of them), it is a cultural feast, or fiesta in this case, to be here on Saipan. I only took a few pictures tonight, but they make my point. Besides the many varieties of food on the buffet table, we enjoyed presentations from Pohnpei, Thailand, The Philippines, Japan, Chuuk, U.S., Peru, the Marshall Islands, and Kiribati among others. Some of the people that are in our church here that did not present tonight are from China, Samoa, Nepal, etc.

Pohnpei, Chuuk, the Marshalls, and Kiribati are some of the other Pacific Islands. There are thousands of islands out here with rich and widely varied cultures; over 1,000 islands make up the Philippines alone! The Pacific is amazingly vast--for example, Saipan is 10 time zones from Maine (going across the U.S.) with 7 of them being over the Pacific!

I mixed up a little in posting these, but it's too late to bother to try to fix it. Enjoy!

Peruvian

Thai

 

American

Chuukese

Pretty Young Women:)

Sioloa

Be Happy

A little something to brighten the day.

A Little Delusion

Ahhhhh...a quiet moment. What to do, what to do.... Casey just took off with Sam and Ezra to run Sam up to a Boy Scout campout and pick up a friend to come over and play with Ez for a while. Alexa is taking a nap. Kait and Eden have friends over also and are outside playing something; when the older kids were their age it was always Roxaboxen and I think this playing is similar but with a different title. Jacob is upstairs reading--he's grounded until tomorrow morning, so no campout for him.

Okay! That was a nice, quick breather. In the time it took me to write that paragraph Mal has come online and now I'm chatting with her. I then turned around and realized that the room behind me looks like a typhoon went through. The girls and their friends have come inside and started a video and Eden is popping popcorn for them. I just glanced at my watch found that it's time for me to get upstairs and make pizza for all the kids who are going to be here tonight!!! What was I thinking?!!!!

The 7 Habits . . .

As we homeschool our two teenage boys (along with the three younger kids), we have been struggling with finding ways to motivate them to do the things that they know they should do and I believe they really want to do, but have trouble disciplining themselves to do. They come by it naturally--their mother is a world class procrastinator.

We've found that "school" vacations, especially long ones, are not for us--it is so difficult to get back into a routine--so we have decided to ignore summer break (luckily, that's easier to do here where it's always summer) and just loosen things up a bit instead.

One of the things we've decided to do is to read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It's been years since I read the book, and I'll admit that I lost some interest in it when I realized that it was just basically paraphrasing truths that are found in the scriptures--not that there's anything wrong with that:)--I'd just rather read the scriptures themselves. However, in looking around the web to find some support materials (anything works better with Sam if it's wrapped in a computer), I found that the Franklin-Covey website has a wizard to help with developing a personal mission statement. I think there is a lot of value here for these young men to actually state core beliefs clearly in their heads and aloud and on paper (yet another connection to church). Anyway, this seems like a great little tool that gives several different avenues to that end and then sends the final result (actually the rough draft--you can go back and change, update, whatever), to your email box.

We are also having them read Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl and . . . hmmm . . . . Okay-- another argument for the two-parent home. Man! I hope Case remembers that other book. . . .

Family News

Our "family" computer crashed and we had to buy a new hard drive...groan..., but we're back in business now.

The big news in our house this week is that Casey (actually Conner, Inc.), has been hired to direct the Lieutenant Governor's Water Task Force. Of course as he comes on the scene the water utility here on island is in extreme crisis mode. They are on the verge of being taken over by the Department of Justice (like the one in Guam was) because of EPA violations, so he'll have to be a magician to save this one. But hey, he's made magic work before, so we'll see what happens. If he can pull it off he'll be a hero at least to the local government which is pretty much a step or two from being taken over by the feds on a regular basis! After that little trick the goal is island-wide potable (or not) water 24/7.

One other news item about my honey--he's started playing drums again! Oh yeah. A couple of the girls in my Seminary class play for the Pacific Winds, a community concert band here on island, and they heard that "Brother Conner" used to be a drummer. Evidently whoever was playing drums for the band left so they were in a spot. He was afraid he would embarrass himself because he hasn't played in almost 20 years (I can hardly believe I just wrote that considering what an important part of our life his drumming was back then!) But he went to rehearsal this week for the first time and wowed them. ;) I think it was a lot of fun for him and we got to go to the Street Market last night and here them play. I realized that this was the first time that any of our kids had actually seen him play!! That seems incredible to me!

Sam is our newest licensed driver in this house. Coming back from class the first time that he drove the van completely alone he said that now he realizes how far he is above those "peons" who do not have their license--he obviously does not yet realize that "family chauffeur" is largely a grunt job. Ahh, well, let him have his moment...

Ode to Saipan

It's very early Sunday morning here in the CNMI and the sun has just come up over the Pacific. The sky has a few puffy white clouds and the palm trees with their heads stuck up above the rest of the canopy are swaying in the gentle breeze.
Our house is situated on the "back" side of Mt. Topochau. Looking out over island and ocean I can see that we are positioned in the bowl of a natural amphitheater. The shape of the land in this spot causes the tradewinds to make a haunting "woooo" sound that I notice especially during the quiet of the night. For the longest time after moving here I would wake up with the thought that it was blizzarding outside from the sound of those winds. It still occasionally surprises me to go out early in the morning into the warm, balmy air.
There is a hymn that says "This earth was once a garden place, with all her glories common..." Saipan certainly fits that description--a beautiful garden place between the Pacific and the Philippine Sea.

Del Benson Photography

Home Sweet Home

My niece posted a blog (www.mainegirll.blogspot.com) in which she quoted C.S. Lewis as saying that a homemaker has the ultimate career and all other careers go to support that. In reading her comments and the comments others left on her blog I realized that my feelings on this require more space.

Many of the comments assumed homemaking had to do with mothers as the homemakers. My great-grandmother died in childbirth, leaving behind her husband and 9 children, which included my grandmother who was 3 years old at the time. Although he never remarried, with the help of all of the children, he made a home. His "outside" work, of course, supported that home. Throughout the rest of her life, my grandmother praised and honored her "Papa" for keeping their family together and organizing the children to create their home.

It's true (thank goodness!) that being a homemaker is more than performing a list of cleaning chores and doing crafts. Interestingly enough, when I think of the homes that stand out in my mind, they weren't all that clean! But there was a feeling there--an acceptance, an understanding of priorities, a quiet, firm feeling that was above the hubbub of everyday activities.

I've also noticed that homes don't seem to depend on how many people are in them. Don't single people create a home for themselves? Don't childless couples make a home? Empty-nesters still have nests! For some, at least temporarily, home may be just a place to sleep, but it still provides the opportunity to close the door on the world and have a little refuge--make it what they will.

Victor Frankl, in his book Man's Search for Meaning, writes that there are three things that bring meaning to our lives--love, suffering, and creating. We position ourselves and promote ourselves throughout life in order to create for ourselves, in whatever our circumstances, a place we can call "home."

What I'm feeling is that C.S. Lewis was simply stating a truth as his observations led him to understand it. What was in his head we can only speculate, but it does seem that all the things we do support our homemaking--an innate need to belong somewhere, wherever and with whomever that may be.

Casey's Advice to The Romantically Inept Male

The conversation in our home on Valentine's Eve went something like this:
Sam: "I really like her, but she doesn't like me 'in that way'."
Jake: "Well, mine knows I like her, but she's so pretty she makes me nervous."
Sam: "Yeah, I want to give her a valentine, but I don't know what to do."
Jake: "Yeah, me too."
Casey: "You need to suffer. Women want to know that the man has suffered."
Sam and Jake: "Huh?"
Casey: "The more suffering the better. Women like that. Men don't care--they're easy--but women want you to suffer."
MariLou: "What are you talking about?"
Casey: "It's true. You've gotten flowers before--what was your favorite time?"
MariLou: "The Mother's Day after we moved here. Levi took the kids out and they picked a huge bouquet along the sides of the road before I got home."
Casey: "See? They walked, they picked, they sweated...suffering."
MariLou: "Mmmm..."
Casey: "And if your finger gets pricked when you're picking those flowers, make sure you squeeze a little blood onto your hand-made card. Women love the idea that you went through physical pain and inconvenience. And if you have to crawl through the jungle and twist your ankle in a chuck hole that would be even better."
Sam: "So I should make a card? I don't know what to do."
Jake: "I gotta go out and pick flowers? It's dark--I can't see."
Casey: "Yeah, that's perfect. You struggle and stumble around in the dark--I'm telling you they love that."
MariLou: "I guess you're right--there's something so sweet about a guy standing in front of you with flowers he picked and a card he made."
Casey: "(the see-what-I-mean look)"
MariLou: "Of course, the other guys won't like you because all the girls will think you're so sweet and want them to do something like that."
Sam and Jake: Busily cutting, pasting, writing...

Well, they didn't get to bed until almost midnight and then had to be up at 5:15 A.M. for Seminary class. Mission Valentine was successful--they both got a "You are so sweet!" and a hug. Must've been the bloodshot eyes. . . .

Fun in the Sun

One of the hotels here is adding a water park and Del was hired to do some promo shots. He called us and some of the others in the branch because he wanted kids in brightly colored swimsuits. If you look closely at the pictures you may see Jacob, Kaitlyn, Ezra, or Eden floating by.

The water park isn't open for business yet, but it ran that day for the photos and the kids had a ball as you can see. Tough duty!

The Amazon.

The big splash.

Floating down the Amazon.

A Bit of Broadway

Actually, we called it "BoB" for short. We have a very active community theater group here on Saipan and I recently auditioned for a part in "You Can't Take It With You." Somehow from that I ended up in their 25th anniversary show, which was staged as an audition and included bits and parts from shows they've done in the past. It was fun, got me out of my comfort zone, and I actually know some people outside of my church by name now!

Three women and three men sang "September Song" from "Knickerbocker Holiday". I'd never heard of it before.

The cute girl beside me is one of my Seminary students, as is the girl sitting on the floor on my other side. The one in the skirt is a "special" friend of Jacob's...

The "Honey Bun" scene from "South Pacific". The crazy guy "accidentally" dropped his grass skirt on purpose.

"Tradition"--Casey said, "You looked so...so..." "Eastern European?" "Yes!" Hmmm...I wonder why...

"There's No Business Like Show Business!" Finally--a picture of me with my mouth open that is NOT food-related!

Cub Scouts

We have the most fun Cub Scout Pack and I'm so happy that Ezra is in it now--he's really loving it!

Tonight was the annual cake bake and auction. The boys and their dads or other helpers--it can be anyone, but "no girls"--design and decorate a cake according to the theme. This year's theme was "Games". The creations are really fun and it's amazing what these guys come up with when you consider that everything on the cake must be edible. There was a peanut butter hand (edible play-dough) slam dunking a basketball through the hoop, a tennis racket with a perfectly round tennis ball on it, the winning goal of a U of Texas/SCU football game, Lake Placid, The Lord of the Rings, the computer game Warcraft: The Frozen Throne, and even a game of checkers.

A funny thing that happened was when it came time to auction off the Grand Prize Winner, the cubmaster asked Ezra to describe his cake, what was on it, what flavor, etc. There was an offer of $25 before he even began the description! Ezra jumped up to the front and as he told about the cake his finger touched the frosting, so he took a quick lick. The room just fell apart--he kept right on talking! We were laughing so hard and the lady who had bid the $25 said, "Well, maybe I'll go with $15!" After that the bidding war began, but Casey won out and bought the cake.

Aren't parents the best? Who else would take off half a day of work, help a kid bake a cake, go to the store and spend a small fortune buying every candy and cookie they think might be a good decoration and happily pay $35 for the privilege of taking the self-same cake back home at the end of the night? It was a blast!

Announcing the Saipan Branch Cub Scout Pack 913 Annual Father/Son Cake Bake Competition and Auction Grand Prize Winner for 2006--
EZRA!!!!!

Family Unity

I am amazed at the difference in perspective my children have than I do. Sometimes, when I have had a day in my drill-sergeant or boxing-ring referee modes, or when my day has consisted basically of dowsing a series of brush fires or contained a dreaded "War of the Words," I wonder what the kids will remember when they leave. Now that I actually have adult children I'm beginning to get some of that feedback, and today it was good.

Alexa gave a talk at church today on "Family Unity." She began by saying that many of those in the congregation who had been in our home had most likely experienced a lot of yelling, laughing, and general craziness, but not a lot of what they would think of as "unity." In our house you won't see little girls in matching pink dresses that mother made or the boys tuning their violins. I thought to myself, "Oh well, it's true. She can't very well make things up in order to make our family fit the subject." Then she said, "Well, you just haven't been there at the right time."

She went on to relate that if you were in our house very early in the morning you would see Dad getting the family together for scripture reading as he has for years, and if you were there around 8:00 each night you would hear our family singing a hymn in preparation for family prayer.

She read a quote by one of the Apostles on the importance of making our homes a refuge against the storms of life and expressed her gratefulness that she has been able to come home to her refuge when the storms of life became too much for her. She said that no matter what happened the rest of the time, she knew first and last--from morning to night--we were together.

I was moved and somewhat amazed. I am not blind to problems that we have had as a family over the years, but her talk gave me hope that my children will "separate the wheat from the chaff and, with breath of kindness, blow the chaff away."

The gubernatorial inauguration, January 2006. The Honorable Benigno Fitial.

The new lieutenant governor, Timothy Villagomez, and his wife Margaret...she spent part of her growing-up years in Maine!

Part of the inaugural ceremony. It began with the sound of a conch shell being blown--a traditional call to a "gathering of peace."

My handsome husband!

After the Ball...I antiqued the color because I didn't like my lipstick...oh the frailties and vanities and foolishness of [wo]men!

Kaitlyn sharing her hair with Dad. Bald really is beautiful when compared with some other options!

The D-R's

Here are my "Dream" Resolutions:

• that by this time next year I will NOT be bookkeeping for Conner Inc.
• to get rid of (or keep--actually I don't care) our 1994 Previa and buy a 2006-07 Lexus. I would probably settle for less than a Lexus, but I'd like to think I wouldn't.
• to attend Mom's Weekend at BYU-I.
• to fly all of my off-island kids home for the holidays.
• to have Estella or someone equally as wonderful working for us again on a regular basis.

The "R" Word

Yes, yes, it's time again for the dreaded Resolution. Maybe if I put them here I will remember them more often.

Educational - I resolve to

• Read at least one of C.S. Lewis's other works.

Spiritual - I resolve to increase in humility by

• Making a written record of characteristics of humility identified by personal prayer, meditation, and observation.
• Focusing on examples of humility in daily scripture study.

Physical - I resolve to maintain a healthy weight by

• Engaging in regular exercise.
• Eating healthy in quality and quantity.
• Drinking at least 64 oz. of water a day.
• Getting to bed by 10 p.m. on a regular basis. (I have a much easier time with the first two if I get enough rest.)

Blog - I resolve to continue to make a blog entry at least once a month.

Well, that's it. I don't want to overtax myself.

Alexa at Boston Temple - 11/2005

Ezra's Baptism - 11/17/05

...and in costume at her job as a dancer in a 1940's-style show at a dinner-theater...

...and showing off a tarantula at her job as biologist at the science center...

Levi's girlfriend Selena doing her radio show...

Levi

L - R Galen, Mal, and Janice--saying good-bye!

Mal in front of the lobster trap "tree" at the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound.