The Cutest Baby Ever

It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of Rolan. Is he adorable or what?! I think he's about 7 months in this picture. He seems to have the same happy disposition that Clayton had as a baby. I miss Rolan so much and look forward to loving on him while he's still little.

Announcement

Found out recently that the Mormon DC choir has a policy against public display of choir event recordings--both for copyright law reasons as well as the quality of home videos--which are never as good as the live performances anyway. In light of this information, I will be taking the Boogie Woogie number off of Youtube within the next day or two. If you want a copy of it, respond to this post or send me an email, and I will burn a copy on cd and mail it to you instead. Happy singing.

A Little Anectdote from my Hospital Roommate. Golly I Love Non-Fiction...

She Don’t Take It From Nobody

Lying in bed in the dark

someone with a flashlight

carving lines and circles on her walls

searching

she rolls, ducks the flashlight’s beam

closes her hand around her red tennis shoes

slips out the front door

charges the corner of the house screaming waving

a big silver blade

sees surprise sudden fear

in the eyes staring from behind the black face-mask

his retreating figure

growing smaller in her sight

while she chases him

screaming

dew grass clawing

the hem of her long nightgown

She thinks probably she would have caught him

if she hadn’t been carrying a machete.

Boogie Woogie Video

Link to video removed. (See more recent posts).
Leah suggested that I use Youtube as a place for videos, so I created a free account and uploaded the video. It took a reeeeeeeeeeeeaaaly long time, but it was worth it. Thanks Leah!

So, next techie question: How do I go about or what would one need to transfer cassette taped material to cds? I found some really cool stuff...but it's old...

Boogie Woogie

I was very fortunate after surgery to be well enough to drive to one of the Mormon DC choir concerts recently. I had been to a couple of their practices with Chantel, so I knew the music was going to be great. It was. They sang patriotic, spiritualist, folk songs and hymns. The program included a couple of soloists from the choir and a trumpet solo by Andy Alphin, who is the top trumpet player for one of our military bands. This choir always sings for free and we had a large audience. As it turned out, I got a front row seat and was able to video a special number Chantel was in: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". However, I finally figured out how to get it off my camera and onto my computer only to discover that blogger doesn't allow videos more that 100 MB. Phooey!! Any suggestions? With the exception of the first photo, the rest are from the Boogie Woogie number done as an encore at the end of the show. The audience loved it and I loved being the proud Mama. Rachel heading to the mike for her solo line.

Chantel singing hers.

I hope that Chantel has many opportunities, if she wants, to sing and perform. She is a natural in front of an audience.

Me and my beautiful girl. Don't mind the splotchy mascara. But I did go to a salon for a 'boy hair-cut'. I couldn't stand the hair on my neck and I knew I didn't have the patience to grow it out either.

Funny Baby

I can't take credit for finding this. I first saw it on my niece's website, but this little guy is hilarious. Take a look.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to my Apartment...

The day that I was moving into my new apartment, June 18, is the same day that I got a call from Dr. K (my oncologist) telling me to check myself into the hospital. I had had a CT scan done earlier the same day and the results showed some problems with my lungs. I told him that I couldn't go because I was in the process of moving. He paused--I'm sure he wasn't anticipating that kind of response, and then he said, "But you can't breathe!" I realized he was right--I was having a tough time of it. Then a friend from church called just to check in and see how I was doing, and she ended up taking me to the hospital while Chantel supervised the others as to where to put my furniture in my new place.

That night Dr. Henry appeared at my bedside in the ER and I felt immediate confidence in him as he explained my options. Later, Austin and another elder came over and gave me a priesthood blessing which gave me instant comfort. Dr. Henry operated the next day by doing a pleurodesis--a fancy word for a procedure to permanently prevent the accumulation of fluid around the lung. This is a surgery that I had talked with Dr. K about several times and had already decided to have done. I had even made an appointment to see Dr. Henry--and thought I would have the surgery later in July or August. The way it happened was so sudden that I didn't have time to worry or stress about it. And the recovery is going just fine. When I came home from the hospital, it was to my new apartment and almost everything unpacked and put away, thanks to my amazing girl.

I love my family so much. And when I say that I don't mean just my children and grandchildren, but my mother, my siblings, their spouses, their children. I'm grateful for each one of you, for what you contribute to each others' lives and to mine, for the way you choose to live, for your love for each other. We are a blessed family.

Paint Party!!

Friends gathered on the Saturday before I moved to help me paint the apartment. As it turned out, I wasn't in very good shape so I wasn't much help. I am so thankful for this selfless act of service. My place is really beautiful. This is the only shot I could get of Mary G. She kept turning her head. But she brought a happy spirit with her while she worked. Thanks, Mary!

Chad did most of the directing.

Lori was really fast at taping off. I've always painted without the tape but I'm so glad I bought it this time. It really was an amazing time saver.

Kim, home from college. Cheerful like the rest of her family.

The finished dining room. It really isn't pink, I promise.

View from my bedroom looking toward the living room. I love how the colors turned out and how quickly the work got done. Three rooms in under four hours.

The paint "Krew" (They'll get what I mean) Chad, Kim, Kory and Lori. A great family and wonderful friends. Thank you all so much. This place has a wonderful look and feel now, thanks to all your hard work.

Trying out the Colors

Who would have thought that I'd find an apartment complex that allows its tenants to paint?!! I was THRILLED beyond words when I found out. Beauty and order have become more important to me, more so as I've gotten older. I think it's because our pre-mortal home was a place of beauty and order as well, so it's natural to gravitate toward the familiar. I don't need things around me to be perfect, but too much disorder leaves me feeling confused and out of sorts. Sometimes I just can't think straight until I've cleaned up, or at least created a couple of neat piles.

Before moving in, I did a bit of experimenting with paint colors and different effects. Below is one of the bedroom walls. Two colors worked well in the condo because the walls there are heavily textured which added another dimension. But when I tried to get the same effect here, it just didn't work. These walls are smooth, so in the end I opted to paint with single colors only.

Trying to pull out the mauves and wine colors of my couch cushions.

The living room wall with two different colors. I took some advice that I got a long time ago from Deborah, a good friend and an interior designer. She said to always spend a little extra for sample colors and put them on your walls before you commit to buying gallons of paint that might be completely wrong. I'm so glad I listened to her. That advice worked in the condo, and it worked here also. I would have chosen the lighter mauve and would have ended up with a living room that looked little girl pink. As it was, the darker color turned out to be perfect.
Taken in the living room with the dining room in the background. "After" photos will be on a future post when I'm finished unpacking and hanging pictures. Soon. I promise.

Garden Party in June

Went to a Relief Society garden party on June 12. It was held outside around a beautiful pool and amidst wonderful flowers and foliage. The ambiance was perfect and the food gorgeous and delicious. Everyone wore hats and some of us even won prizes! Below is a great photo of my dear friend, Ann. We bonded quickly when we met and spent many hours together in the temple (and riding together and talking). She and her husband just moved to Nauvoo to enjoy the kind of life they've always wanted. I love you Annie! She won the prize for a hat most likely to be in a fashion magazine.My hat won for most colorful.

These two ladies are newer friends but equally dear. Barbara, who helped found and was once president of La Leche League International (she still works with nursing mothers) and Jenny who has a heart of gold and a husband with one too. Barbara got the prize for the oldest hat. She wore her nursing cap which is a replica of the one Florence Nightingale used to wear. And Jenny won the prize for most like a garden party hat.

Jen, Annie, Sonja, Megan

Close up of my hat. Some of the women thought the flowers were fresh. They were--fresh from Michael's! I used floral tape to put them together and floral wire to attach them to the hat. Not a bad job I think, considering it was my first try. I just wish we lived in an era that encouraged hat wearing like they did when my parents were younger.