Mustache and Ugly Sweater Party 12-16-10

My sister Wendy and Hubby Lance invited Ryan and I to their annual Mustache and Ugly Sweater Christmas party. Ryan and I had just pulled into town, having driven all day to make it to Utah for this event. My Mom watched our kids, with the help of Kennedy Kofford. So Ryan and I took the chance to raid my parents closet for sweaters. Mine was latch down sweater my parents bought in Estonia when they came to visit me on one of my ship tours. Ryan borrowed a Christmas Vneck knit sweater that I'm sure my Dad still wears.
Wendy with her token Christmas Tree pin.

Lance, that is some dash bourd mustache. (He shaved it off just before the last guest left their home.)

All the Ladies, Sans me, taking a photo opp to document the sweaters.

All the men!

Cameron and Shalieh's Wedding: 12-17-10

My brother Cameron and his girlfriend, Shaliegh Hewlett, decided to go to the Spanish Fork Court House and get marriend on December 17th, 2010. My little family and I just happened to be in Utah this perticular weekend so I decided, if I'm this close, I might as well go and be supportive to my little brother. I wasn't sure who was going to go show up, but those who came were; Me, Audrey, Naomi and Avery. (Heidi, wiggle worm, was left behind with a sitter) My sisters Jennifer and Elizabeth, oh and Pip her son. My other brother Chance and Catalin Sautzer who were asked to be the witnesses. Our cute cousin Stephanie Stringfellow who to took pics. My Mom and Dad (surprisingly!) And even more surprisingly, Shaliegh's Mom, two little brothers and sister. Forgive me for not knowing thier names yet. I'll learn over time.

First Kiss after being Legally and Lawfully Married

Cry baby! Ha Ha! Love you guys

Cameron with Naomi, 6 1/2 years old Sha with Avery, 7 years old

Cameron with his sisters

The Hewlett Family

Stephanie Stringfellow

Chance and Audrey May, 4 1/2 months old

Philip Bandley, 3 years old

Catching Two Thieves! 11-18-10

November18th, 2010 was a busy Thursday morning. I dropped Naomi off at school, came home to finish getting Heidi ready for school, dropped her off, went to the Duarte trail to run/walk with Audrey, came home to do a few things, then had to run to pick Heidi back up just before noon. Here the story begins:
There are two ways I can drive to the preschool. Go all the way down Norumbega to Foothill and take that to the street just before Myrtle, where the school is. Or I can turn right on Valle Vista and take side streets north of Foothill and turn down Encinitas, the street on the preschool side of the Foothill and Myrtle. This particular day, I turned on Valle Vista and noticed a blond woman running down the driveway of a friends house, the Relief Society President and home to two of our babysitters, carrying a big flat screen t.v. I quickly noticed that neither cars were in the driveway and I pulled up just as this woman had walked across the street and was opening her trunk to put the t.v. in. I pulled over and asked, "UM... Are you supposed to be taking that?" Her reply, "Yeh, why would I be talking to you." The first sign that this situation wasn't right was that I know the "Ogilvies" wouldn't have someone taking things from their house if they weren't there. And the second warning was that once I stopped to question her, she put the t.v. in her trunk as quickly as she could, not even putting the cord in and didn't even shut it, just got it in as best she could and scurried to the drivers side and sped off. I sat there knowing I had to do something so I quickly tried to find a pen in my car. I didn't have time to find a paper, so I tried to look in my rear view mirror to write down the licence plate number. But this was all I got since she sped off so fast:
So I reversed and sped off after her. Warning sign number three; She didn't stop at any stop signs. So I was speeding down Norumbega, having pedestrians walking their dogs yelling at me to slow down, and did my best to follow the car. Let me back up and say that when I pulled up there was another woman on the other side of the car already getting in. So I didn't get a good look at her, just a general idea of her hair and tattooed eye brows. So as they took a right on Foothill I was already on the phone with 911. The operator asked me for the licence plate number, in which I had to get right up behind them to see it clearly. So of course they spotted me. The woman driving, a blond, threw her arm out the window as to gesture, "What? Why are you following me?" She changed lanes and then got in front of a truck just ahead of me. I kept giving the operator my location as I followed them, but they made a quick left turn down Magnolia in which I couldn't follow them because of oncoming traffic. The worst part as I tried to watch where they were going so I could catch them when I could turn, was that I saw a police man coming toward me on Foothill, and he passed me, not going down Magnolia. AAHH! Once I could turn, I turned down the street they had quickly swerved on, and they were gone......!
I circled back as the police car came where I was, but I realized I had to go back and pick up Heidi still so I couldn't stop to talk to him. (I didn't want to pay $4 for being 5 minutes late in picking her up, which the preschool does, trust me.) I was still on the phone with the 911 operator and told her where I would be, so she could send the officer to talk to me. I ran into the school, picked up Heidi, walked out as the officer was pulling up, got both Heidi and Audrey in the car and called Trista Ogilvies cell phone just as I was walking over to talk to the officer. When she answered, I immediately asked, " Are you giving stuff away from your house?" She didn't quite hear me or understand what I was asking and so I asked, "Are you giving away a flat screen t.v. from you house?" When she said NO! I told her that I just caught two woman robbing her home and that I was going to talk to the police officer right then. She was at a store and would be right home.
I gave officer Mittmann my whole story and description of what I saw. Gave him the address. Then got in my car to go up to the Ogilvies'. I called Ryan of course to tell him what happened and he had just left our house and pulled up to the Ogilvies' just as I had. Trista was already there surveying the mess these two girls had made. All the cupboards were opened, her armour was open and everything pulled out in order to get the t.v. out. All the purses in her closet were on the floor and the cash on her night stand was gone, of course. Her laptop and the ipod attached were taken. The girls rooms were gone through, and the hall cupboard was open. I felt so bad that I didn't catch these girls. They got away from me. I asked, "don't you feel so violated?" From our past experiences, this is how I felt, knowing someone would have to gall to come on our property and take things that aren't theirs. We didn't stay long, but Officer Mittmann had to dust the whole house before she could touch or put anything away.
I went home and stewed over the fact that I couldn't keep up with them till the police followed and found us. I thought, the least I could do was make dinner for them, since I knew they would have a lot of cleaning to do, and dinner is the last thing you want to think of when shook up be something like this. So I made a lasagna, ran to the store for garlic bread and extra cheese to put on the lasagna, and called to let them know I was bringing food. Trista called back around 3 to tell me that they had found the two girls leaving thier house in Pacoima. That is 40 minutes away from here. They ran the registration on the car and called LAPD in that area to check out the house. The car was there, so when they girls went to leave, they pulled them over and found a bunch of random things in the car. They had taken toilet paper, shampoo, tooth paste, lotion, and a bunch of random things you wouldn't think someone robbing you would want. But heh, I guess they are really hurting if they need these things too. However, the t.v. and laptop were gone. They told the officer that they thought I was following them still so they stopped off the side of the freeway and dumped them. They didn't remember where, LIE! I'm sure they went right to someone they knew to sell it for cash. Once they were arrested they were honest about everything else. They told the officer where to find the cash they took, and Trista's wedding ring that was on the night stand with the cash. At least Trista got back the one thing they couldn't replace.
I was asked to go to the Monrovia Police Station and identify the two girls late that night. I arrived around 6:30 and waited a little too long in the front hall, nervous that thier families would show up and know it was me who put them in jail. The Monrovia Police Station doesn't have a two way mirror so they had the girls stand in a hallway facing a side wall so I could look in a small square window to see if they were the two same girls. Officer Mittmann gave me the whole rundown that they could look different cause they had time to change, but when I nervously looked, it was totally them. One thing I noticed right away when I first pulled over was the the blonde was wearing pink pajama bottoms and a sweat shirt, her hair in a tossled pony tail on the top of her head. I don't even remember if she had shoes on. But it was like they woke up this perticular morning and thought, let's go rob some houses! Not even changing to look like maids or some kind of service that should be in a home. So as I identified them, they were the same, with out the sweater.
The Ogilvies were so sweet. Nathan and Trista came over a few nights later to bring a thank you note with a gift card for Cheesecake Factory and movie tickets. They offered to babysit when we were ready to go on a date. I'm always gratefull when people express gratitude for things I have done. I never expect anything in return, but to know they appreciate what you've done makes me want to do more good. This whole experience was like that. I wanted to get out and help other people in any way possible.
It is very true that when you lose yourself in service, you forget about your own problems or issues, no matter what they may be. You forget yourself. And you want to do more. At least this is what I've learned by being at the right place at the right time to catch thieves, (who may have been the same robbers robbing homes in our neighborhood in the past couple weeks.)

From My Talk in Sacrament Today

I know this is a little strange, but many people asked about my talk today, so I thought I'd post my general notes. I used my own stories or personal experiences along with the notes written here, but it would be way too much to type them all in. I hope you'll enjoy the quotes from the prophets and understand my few notes I have included. They are in italics. Enjoy!

Pathway to Perfection: President Thomas S. Monson
“Happiness,” the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote, “is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.”
I have a testimony of the prophets and apostles and know that the words they speak are true. Whether it is Joseph Smith or President Monson, I know their words apply to us today.

President George Albert Smith, eighth President of the Church, urged: “Let us plant our feet upon the highway that leads to happiness and the celestial kingdom, not just occasionally, but every day, and every hour, because if we will stay on the Lord’s side of the line, if we will remain under the influence of our Heavenly Father, the adversary cannot even tempt us. But if we go into the devil’s territory … we will be unhappy and that unhappiness will increase as the years go by, unless we repent of our sins and turn to the Lord.”

Pres Monson said: I urge that you exemplify in your lives four tested, specific virtues. They are:
1. An attitude of gratitude,
2. A longing for learning,
3. A devotion to discipline, and
4. A willingness to work.
First, an attitude of gratitude. In the book of Luke, chapter 17, we read the account of the 10 lepers. The Savior, in traveling toward Jerusalem, passed through Galilee and Samaria and entered a certain village where He was met on the outskirts by 10 lepers who were forced, because of their condition, to live apart from others. They stood “afar off” and cried, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
The Savior, full of sympathy and love for them, said, “Go shew yourselves unto the priests,” and as they went they discovered that they were healed. The scriptures tell us, “One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at [the Master’s] feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.”
The Savior responded, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”
Through divine intervention, those who were lepers were spared from a cruel, lingering death and given a new lease on life. The gratitude expressed by one merited the Master’s blessing, the ingratitude by the nine His disappointment.
How often do we dissapoint the Savior or HF by our ingratitude?
I’ve talked to People who are worried to bring children into this terrible world. TO THIS PRES. HINCKLEY DECLARED:
“We live in a world of so much filth. It is everywhere. It is on the streets. It is on television. It is in books and magazines. … It is like a great flood, ugly and dirty and mean, engulfing the world. We have got to stand above it. … The world is slipping in its moral standards. That can only bring misery. The way to happiness lies in a return to strong family life and the observance of moral standards, the value of which has been proven through centuries of time.”
By following President Hinckley’s counsel, we can make this a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. There are so many things right—such as teachers who teach, friends who help, marriages that make it, and parents who sacrifice. Even material blessings, cars that work, phones to communicate, jobs…
There is so much to be grateful for!!!
Second, a longing for learning.
I love the scripture in D&C 88:118 “Seek ye out the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” SEEK!
Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke about priorities saying, “For good or for evil, devices like the Internet have put at our fingertips an incredible inventory of information, insights, and images. Along with fast food, we have fast communications and fast facts. The effect of these resources on some of us seems to fulfill the prophet Daniel’s prophecy that in the last days “knowledge shall be increased” and “many shall run to and fro” (Dan. 12:4).

Elder Oaks tells this story: Two men formed a partnership. They built a small shed beside a busy road. They obtained a truck and drove it to a farmer’s field, where they purchased a truckload of melons for a dollar a melon. They drove the loaded truck to their shed by the road, where they sold their melons for a dollar a melon. They drove back to the farmer’s field and bought another truckload of melons for a dollar a melon. Transporting them to the roadside, they again sold them for a dollar a melon. As they drove back toward the farmer’s field to get another load, one partner said to the other, “We’re not making much money on this business, are we?” “No, we’re not,” his partner replied. “Do you think we need a bigger truck?”
We don’t need a bigger truckload of information, either. Like the two partners in my story, our biggest need is a clearer focus on how we should value and use what we already have.
Elder Oaks continues:
Because of modern technology, the contents of huge libraries and other data resources are at the fingertips of many of us. Some choose to spend countless hours in unfocused surfing the Internet, watching trivial television, or scanning other avalanches of information. But to what purpose? Those who engage in such activities are like the two partners in my story, hurrying to and fro, hauling more and more but failing to grasp the essential truth that we cannot make a profit from our efforts until we understand the true value of what is already within our grasp.
Faced with an excess of information in the marvelous resources we have been given, we must begin with focus or we are likely to become like those in the well-known prophecy about people in the last days—“ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). Elder Oaks also said, “We also need quiet time and prayerful pondering as we seek to develop information into knowledge and mature knowledge into wisdom. “(I love this!)
Nephi taught, “Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Ne. 32:3). That is focus. Nephi also said that as he taught from the scriptures, “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Ne. 19:23). That is personal application.

Third, may we discuss a devotion to discipline.
Our Heavenly Father has given to each of us the power to think and reason and decide. With such power, self-discipline becomes a necessity.
Pres Monson continues: “Each of us has the responsibility to choose. You may ask, “Are decisions really that important?” I say to you, decisions determine destiny. You can’t make eternal decisions without eternal consequences.
May I provide a simple formula by which you can measure the choices which confront you. It’s easy to remember: “You can’t be right by doing wrong; you can’t be wrong by doing right.” Your personal conscience always warns you as a friend before it punishes you as a judge.
Courage is required to think right, choose right, and do right, for such a course will rarely, if ever, be the easiest to follow.”
I believe a true disciple of Christ is one who had learned to discipline, or BRIDLE, his own thoughts and passions. It’s not easy, but we have the power with in us. We have to ability to turn to HF and ask for his help. That is the best part…
“Eternal life in the kingdom of our Father is your goal, and self-discipline will surely be required if you are to achieve it.”
Fourth: cultivate a willingness to work
President J. Reuben Clark, many years ago a counselor in the First Presidency, said: “I believe that we are here to work, and I believe there is no escape from it. I think that we cannot get that thought into our souls and into our beings too soon. Work we must, if we shall succeed or if we shall advance. There is no other way.” 13
“Put your shoulder to the wheel, push along” 14 is more than a line from a favorite hymn; it is a summons to work.
“Procrastination is truly a thief of time—especially when it comes to downright hard work.”
I know this applies to physical and spiritual work. Sometimes it is “work” to read our scriptures and kneel down to pray every day. It’s hard with young children in our little family to get them to sit still during scripture study and family prayer, but it is my job to teach them. It can be work to be still, ponder and hear the guiding still small voice, and it takes work to live as the Savior did. It’s not easy, but we can follow Pres. Monson’s formula:
An attitude of gratitude,
A longing for learning,
A devotion to discipline, and
A willingness to work.

Heidi!!! I can not leave her alone!

Last Wednesday afternoon I decided to do a thanksgiving craft with my girls. We were sitting @ the island in our kitchen making little turkey name tags to put on the table for our Thanksgiving feast @ Nanna and Pappy's house the next day. Naomi was cutting out the turkey bodies and Heidi was cutting the different colored feathers. I drew the stencils, then glued the turkey pieces together. Heidi got bored and ended up sitting on the island, behind me from the direction I was facing. Since I didn't have a clear view of her, she decided to get into the crayons and scribble on the island. Now, many times I've talked to her about coloring only on paper. Not walls, chairs, counters, etc. And even this time, when I saw her sit next to the crayon box, I politely told her not to draw on the counter, knowing her mischievous mind. However, the minute my back was turned on her, toward Naomi, this is what she did...


I was quickly losing patience and became very tired and irritable, which for me go hand in hand. So I made the comment that I wasn't doing so well at that moment. Ryan heard me and told me to go lay down. I hesitated doing it cause every time in the past when I've tried to lay down, my girls have either run around screaming, come into my room asking a million questions, or start fighting in which I have to be the ref. So when Ryan told me a second time to lay down, I went into my room, shut and locked the door, and had a good 1/2 hr nap with Audrey. I was awakened by Heidi knocking on the door. When I got up to open the door, she was half dressed and informed me that she needed to put powder on her peepee cause it was itchy, meaning she had already done this. Two things went through my head; "oh brother, why is her peepee itching?" (too much candy I'm sure) and "where did she find baby powder?" I started to follow her toward the babies room when she stopped at the bathroom door with a funny look on her face. Not only was there baby powder on the carpet in the room, I turned to look in the bathroom to find...

THIS! AAAAHHHHH! We are fish sitting for a neighbor who brought her fish in a round bowl, and fish food to be fed 3 little pellets, 3 times a day. Poor little fishy was given a feast, compliments of Heidi. So while I was laying down, she decided to climb on the bathroom counter, get the fish food out of the medicine cabinet, and not only pour it into the fish bowl, but spill it all over the counter, in both sinks, and in the empty fish tank we have from our two fish who have both passed away. Being the groggy mom, I freaked! I tried to hurry and fill up our vase with clean water, but there were fish pellets that kept rising to the top that I had to get out by hand. Then I couldn't get the water temperature warm enough, then cool enough to be able to transfer the fish with out shocking it. So I did my best to scoop out the fish food that was floating in the round fish bowl. Cause if the fish ate too much, it would die. I'll be honest, I was panicking. This fish could not die at our house. Finally the water in our vase was about right and I used the net to scoop the fish out of the bowl, and what did it do? It flopped out onto the bathroom counter. I started screaming cause I didn't want to touch the slimy thing. Oh yeah, I didn't mention that after Heidi put herself in time out, knowing she was in huge trouble, I made her stand on a stool and put the fish pellets by hand back into the food container. So she is standing there watching me freak out over the fish flopping around, not able to pick it up fast enough to get it back into water. She starts crying, and Ryan is yelling at me from the other room telling me to calm down. CALM DOWN?! This is just what I want to be doing after being woken up from a nap I knew would be in vain. Just so you know, I ended up using one hand to scoop the fish back into the net and put it safely back into the water. I cleaned up the rest of the fish food off the counter and the sinks, then did my best to distract Heidi from getting into things she shouldn't be getting into.

So, the moral of the story is: A mom really doesn't get rest. Even if she lays down to ease exhaustion and irritability, she most often wakes up to the above, or other mishaps caused by children left unattended. Then ends up cleaning the mess by herself, even after trying to make the child responsible and do it herself. (Did I mention Ryan was home and was the one who told me to lay down? Just checking.)

The face of a very guilty child!

Halloween 2010!

The girls, with the help of Dad and John Hanke, put together and decorated this haunted ginger bread house. It was quite funny watching the "MEN" get frustrated at the girls getting in the way or not putting things on the right way. I reminded them that this was a project meant for the girls. They just looked at me like my chastisement was not appreciated. Ha!

10-25-10 Our ward has a tradition of having the ward Trunk or Treat Halloween party on Monday before Halloween. It can be a little tedious cause most of the time there is school the next day and the kids have been so wound up with candy and excitement of getting all dressed up. But they have fun either way. Naomi and Heidi are obsessed with getting their faces painted. When ever there is an event with face painting, they will wait in line, no matter how long, to get a butterfly, some sort of animal or design painted on them.

10-28-10 Heidi is a little quirky when it comes to public activities. She is so silly, crazy, annoying sometimes and very naughty at home. But when she is in public, like this costume parade at her school, she clams up. Ryan and I could barely get her to smile at us each time she made it around to where we stood.

10-30-10 Thank you to the City of Monrovia for having their Halloween celebration on Saturday, the day before Halloween. Since we had debated whether to let our girls go trick-or-treat on the Sabbath, it made it easy for us to take them around to the stores on Myrtle on Saturday. The streets are blocked off and the store owners sit out front of the stores and pass out candy. This way they didn't have a need to complain when Sunday rolled around and trick-or-treaters came to our home. They had plenty of candy by then and had more fun seeing all the kids who came to our house.

After walking up and down Myrtle trick-or-treating, we went to Naomi's school for the fall festival. This is where they played games and of course used their tickets to get their faces painted. Heidi is a butterfly and Naomi has a bat across her eyes with a sun and flying bats on her forehead.

I tried to be really creative Saturday evening before Halloween. So for dinner we had ghost shaped Quesidillas, Guacamole, and Enchiladas. If I was really on the ball, I would have had orange Milk and black enchiladas. But this year, cookie cutters were as far as I went.

Oh, and if you scroll back up you'll notice that Heidi wore three different costumes for each event we went to. She couldn't decide; first she wanted to be Snow White, then a witch, then Tinkerbell. So she was able to be all on different days. Naomi just stuck with being a gypsy. Audrey was a ladybug, even though you can't see the back of her costume. She only dressed up for the ward party.

Time Out For Woman 2010, Las Vegas!

The woman in my family had the fortune to attend Time Out For Woman in Las Vegas, NV at the Cashman Center on Las Vegas Blvd on October 22nd and 23rd. It was a few days to get away from life to hear speakers, singers, and be uplifted. All in attendance: my mom Cheryl, Sisters Jana, Michelle, Jennifer, Wendy, Me and Audrey, Jenn's friend from Lancaster Wendy Talbot ( my friend too now,) and our cousin Kristine Christensen. The Christensens graciously opened thier home to us to stay there when not at the Cashman Center. As you can tell from the picture above, we were a happening crowd. We were just happy to veg and not have kids to put to bed.
TOFW is a great way to spend a day and half learning that our role as woman, mothers, wives and sisters in the gospel is a big responsibility, but has great rewards in the eternities. We learn to identify with others who may feel and know what we are going through. We learn to better our understanding of children and spouses. We learn the importance of service, missionary work, teaching the gospel in our homes, and living the gospel to the fullest. This is a time to be reminded why we do all that we do everyday, and that what we do has an eternal outcome, possitive and negative. So we need to know that we are responsible for the safety of our home and family, but not stress and take on too much. As Sister Hinckley put it, "Don't hobble faster than you have strength."

I'm sad our sister Elizabeth wasn't able to come this year, but I feel fortunate to have gone and hopefully learned to better my life and the life of those around me.