The Story Makers.

The Story Makers.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

New Owner.....

This afternoon Herbie walked off into the distance with her 
new owner.
Oh, happy day for everyone. 

 Earlier today I saw my neighbor's daughter out side doing yard 
work.  I went over to talk with her about 
all the stuff going on with Herbie, 
and see how her dad was taking the fact that Herbie was not 
going to be here very much longer.
She said they have been doing everything they can to convince
her mom to let him have Herbie.
She will not budge.
The whole family is frustrated with her hard fast stand 
and are very upset over it all.
They have all tried to figure out someone that could keep 
Herbie that they know, some family member that could 
take on another dog,
so that PopPop, could still maintain his companionship.
I knew right away that I could never drive off with Herbie
to the "Animal Care Center" and be ok leaving her there.
I said to his daughter,
If Charlie would just say that Herbie was his dog.
If he would take over ownership and take care of her 
medical fees, collar renewal, etc.
I will still keep an eye out for good deals on food,
(but under no obligation).
Herbie can still stay, as a favor for a friend, in our backyard
and sleep in the playroom....
under the condition that I never hear the words,
"YOUR DOG just bit someone". 
Because we no longer own a dog.
She said she absolutely knew he would accept those conditions.
That is just what we did.
Charlie and I shook on it.
We were both really happy and relieved. 
Life is back to normal around here,
we can stop avoiding contact with one another.
I got my wish, he got his.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

March 23rd....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 
HB!!!
Heather my sister, her husband Travis and our niece Seerie.

Hug, I hope you have a very happy day!
I love you.

M

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Value of One Minute....

Today I had dug out my journal to look back on
a few entries.  When I took it off the shelf a handful of 
papers and pictures spilled out onto the floor.
I was just going to stuff them back in and find what I was looking for 
but with a second thought, decided to check out the 
spill out.  
Glad I did.
While we were visiting Utah a few months ago we went to my 
brother's ward in Kaysville one Sunday.
One of the lesson focuses was on how we spend our time.
I kept the hand out the teacher passed around.
It is a little long, but I really think it hits it where it counts.
Live for Today

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400.00. It carries over no balance from day to day.  Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.  What would you do?  Draw out every cent, of course.
Each of us has such a bank.  Its name is TIME.  Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.  Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.  It carries over no balance.  It allows no overdraft.  Each day it opens a new account for you.  Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.  There is no going back.  There is no drawing against the "tomorrow".  You must live in the present, on today's deposits.
Invest it so as to get the most in health, happiness, learning and success!  And use the time so that you are proud of the way you have invested it.  The clock is running.  Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who was held back a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE DAY, ask the daily wage laborer with children to feed.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have.  Invest each minute to good purpose, whether it is for your work, your education, your personal relationships or whatever else you choose.  And remember, time waits for no one.  
As I thought about this idea - the value of time - 
I realized my daily time values are boiled down to minutes and seconds.
No need to grapple with years, months, or weeks they all seem
fleeting and wonderful.
.....but I can't help but see very clearly the glaring reality of every single day and hour.
Every day the choices I make will leave me feeling
content, peaceful, and happy,
or I will feel sad and remorseful as I look back and see
 if I carelessly missed 
opportunities with those that matter most to me.

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a mom that was late 
yet again to pick up her son from baseball.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a mom who just reacted way too 
harshly to a stalled out teenager in front of the computer.
To realize the value of FIVE MINUTES, ask a mom how she felt later that 
night after declining to tell a made up story to her little 6 year old....
who is constantly telling her that her aunt Amy tells the best made up
stories she has ever heard, and that she cannot wait to get back to
Utah to hear more of her stories.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a wife who wished she would 
have kept her mouth shut for once.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a wife who missed a chance to say 
just the right thing to lift, build, and strengthen.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask the parent who missed the change 
to get that big bear hug from the 
lurking little boy stalling to get into bed at night. 
To realize the value of TEN MINUTES, watch a mom trying to finish a 
blog post at 2:25pm...
see if she makes the choice to stop and run out to her bike and go meet 
the kids at school.
Bye....gotta go now!!
I DO REALIZE THE VALUE OF THESE NEXT TEN MINUTES.

 Family Time
 Fun Time = Feats of strength where I come from!
 Spiritual Time 
Together Time
Some Alone Time
Unplanned projet time = LIFE.

We got home Sunday from church and Kev asked who put the window 
down on the driver side of the van because it was stuck down now.
None of us had...come to find out the cable inside the door had
randomly broken.
Kev headed out of town this morning.....I get to have the window down for
the week....that will be an adventure for sure.
This morning at 5:15am, I already figured out some tricks on how 
not to get blown away.
Just lean way over and ride the steering wheel kissing the windshield, 
or use your armrest for your core support as you drive from the middle of the 
front two bucket seats.
Definitely doable.....I am happy it still drives.
He insists he will fix it when he is home.
At least we made room in the garage once more to smash the car in.
One way we are spending lots of time these days.
Baseball!!
Both Ryker and Ethan pitch....Here on this very tiny video is Ethan pitching.
He does a great job.
I love to watch and cheer on all the boys in their sports.
This ends w/ Eth making a sweet catch hit right at him.
(just telling you cuz you might not be able to see it)
This was the perfect day to watch a game....or three as it was.
We were up high on the bleachers in the shade.
There really was a decent crowd at the game, just down along the sides of the fence
on the grass in their chairs.
But this....This is the best view if you ask me.
(You would never guess it by Kev's conversation on the video,
but our team the Twins did go on to win the game.
It was intense.)  

Love and cherish your time and give it freely.....

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Herbie's days are numbered....7 to be exact.

This is a post I have been anticipating 
writing for years.
Well, writing it I have only been considering it for a year....
only been blogging that long....not even that...
whatever.

We have had our dog Herbie for 7 years.
I have felt trapped in this relationship
for the past several years.
At first Herbie was our family dog.
We (I) picked her up from a neighbor who couldn't keep 
her as a puppy.....(makes it sound so easy, "couldn't keep her").
I thought our kids deserved the right to have a cute little doggie.
I thought it would be good to help them learn responsibility.
We had just started schooling at home,
I also thought we needed to have a farm at our home.
I went through a stage of accepting every free
animal that crossed our path.

Well, times have changed.
Our kids learn responsibility by washing dishes, 
and folding their own clothes.
I care more about the smell of our personal living quarters.
I value my sleep at night.
I only like paying for human food.
I don't enjoy urine, (or any other dog made product) on our carpet.
.....and so on.

We have been down to just Herbie
for a while now.
We (I) have kept Herbie, the kids and Kevin really don't 
care either way.
Why would they?
Do they clean up the frequent "accidents"?
(not that they haven't "tried", but it is just not w/ the same vigor 
and driving force as when mom cleans it up, you know what I mean? 
I have the strong
impression that the accident is really still there when anyone 
else does the job)
Do they remind themselves to get Herbie water on a daily basis?
Do they force themselves to walk Herbie at least once a week?
no.

Let me see if I can get to the point,
We (I) have kept Herbie for our neighbor for years.
YEARS!
Our neighbors are an older couple and the wife will 
not let the husband have a dog.
So he has our dog....only we have to still give room, board, food,
and medical fees.
Sounds like a pretty sweet deal right?

Herbie has been a huge nuisance.
FOR YEARS!
I can't put into words the countless escapes
and bring backs...
The bites!
Yes, the bites.
The annoying barking, (before she went def after 
her umpteenth ear infection) 
whining, digging, poohing.

OK.
I know you get it.

Guilt has forced me to keep Herbie
for our neighbor because he loves her so much.
They hook up every day, they have their routine.
I say guilt because I fantasize of ways Herbie can die all the time.
I want to end this w/out me having to make 
any decision or be a murderer 
in my neighbors eyes.
I have been trying to use "The Secret" and just use my mind power
to bring about Herbies demis w/out
actually having to take part in it
for as long as I can remember.
That way is not working.

Well, until now.....Herbie is her own worst enemy.
Always has been.
 Three days ago she bit our neighbor's friend on the 
back of her leg.  
Two puncture wounds, bleeding, urgent care, 
the whole nine yards.
Our neighbor came banging on our door, and said,
"Your dog bit Sally"
(name has been changed)
awwww, hmmmm, really?
ok, now what?

Now I have these people at my door the next morning.
That's now what.
 Sally did not call them,
Urgent care did.
It's the law.
Herbie is on house quarantine for 10 days,
starting the day of the bite, so she has 7 days left....
TO LIVE HERE.
Finally I was able to say with all confidence that  we are done.
That is enough.
Final bite.
YES.
No more!

I finally had the realization that I am not 
responsible for my neighbors happiness and contentment 
in this life.
That would be HIS WIFES JOB.
She says no to a dog.
Why have I felt it is my job to facilitate one?

I don't know, but it is over.
168 hours to go.
the clock is ticking...
tick -tock..
tick...
     tock .......

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Where'd you get your name???

Today was a wonderful day.... whirl-wind...but all very good.
Got up early with Lawson to get him off
to school at 6:30am for his field trip to St. Augustine.
Came home and got ready for my temple trip with Jill.
I was very excited to be going.
Once again it has been a while since I have attended.
I found out at a recent GNO that Jill goes weekly.....and I thought....
dang it - what is my problem?
why am I not going on a weekly....or at the very least, a monthly basis?
with all of my sweet time and flexible freedom there is no excuse.
Soooooooo....we were off.
She met me at our place at 7:40am. 
I sent M and R off for the free breakfast at school,
asked E to shut the garage, and bid him a grande day, 
and we were cruisin in our van; 
which Kev filled the tank, aired the tires, and did a quick
oil change for last night!!!  
Can you believe the wonderfulness?
Jill is a great talker....
or maybe I mean to say she is great to talk to....she likes to
delve deep into your psyche.
She asks probing questions, and is a good listener.
She has some pretty amazing life experiences to share,
 and is a lot of fun to be around.
Well, I was in the middle of telling my life story and she said,
Now tell me about your kid's names,
I have always thought they were so interesting.
OK - sure, I'd love to.....
Well, Ethan Jet is named after Ethan Hunt from the movie
Mission Impossible.
His middle name is Jet because Kevin loves planes
and thought it would be cool.
Ryker Ace comes from one of the lists of names my mom sent.
........the what?
Yeah, after we had Ethan and knew we were having
another boy the name lists started.  
We still lived in Utah at that time
but my mom would drop by list after list of names
she had jotted down and thought we might like.
At first I told her not to bother.
Mom, you don't need to do that.
We will figure it out.
Don't waste your time.....besides the names you send I
highly doubt we would ever choose.
But she never got discouraged or dissuaded.
We found Ryker on one of her lists of names.
It was perfect!
Ace because Kevin loves to fly....so naturally. 
My mom found the name Ryker on one of her ward phone lists.
I remember she would sit and watch the movie credits for name ideas,
scan the phone book, obituaries, names of book characters....you name it.
Jill was like, wow!  How nice of her to do that for you!
It hit me right then and there.
wow.
My mom did that for me.
That was a super nice thing my mom did.
That was a way my mom could be involved and helpful especially 
when we were far away and by ourselves.
I think Jill was as surprised as I was that I suddenly was unable
to continue with my story.
Are you ok?
yes, yes, it is nothing...
but dang that was such a sweet thing for my mom to do.
I was picturing all of those lists in my mind.
Thinking of the time she had spent thinking of me and
our little growing family.

For Lawson Hawk we had moved to FL.
I had come to rely on those name lists....
to the point that I was now asking my mom for more.
Mom, do you have another list ready to send?
yes, one is in the mail,
thank goodness, we are totally stumped on this little guy.

I rummaged around in my cedar chest when we got home this afternoon.
I was dying to see if I could locate any of those bad boys.
I was thrilled to come across the ripped out piece of note book paper in 
my moms unique cursive penmanship. 
- she gave two columns, first names and middle names, 
you will see she had caught on to the pattern Kevin had set.
First Names 
Cameron, Walker, Warner, Turner, Trane, Tracey, Nyland, Mattson,
Major, Lion, LAWSON, Heath, Guymon, Grange, Dutson,
Trent, Abney, Austin, Rhett, Holden, Kemble

Middle Names
Rocket, Bullet, Solo, Glide, Pilot, Cub, Dive, Buzz, Chopper, 
Stick, Torque, Fly, Hawker, Gunn, Buck, Falcon

So you can see the caliber of names we were sifting through....
but there it was.
Lawson...!  Yes!  You did it again mom!!
You nailed it.
You can also see she was dangerously close on the middle
name as well, she has Hawker, 
Kevin landed on Hawk, after the E2 Hawk-eye.

McCauley Tess was all Kevin - 
he had always called that if we had a girl he got to name her him self.
Great....have at it.
(if I like it you can do just that)
McCauley is named after a propeller manufacturing company, 
and Tess is from a book he read in Collage, Tess of the d'Urbervilles,
he gave it to me the Christmas after she was born,
I thought it was a very good read as well.....kinda on the sad side.

Once I had started going through my cedar chest I came across
letter after letter from my mom.
Some she had written to me when I was in young women's,
some were birthday wishes,
others Mother's Day letters.
It really sounded like I had some tough times back then.
She was my biggest fan and supporter.
(still is)
These letters are my little pot-o-gold 
(in honor of St. Pats Day).
Thank you mom.





We did make it to the Orlando Temple.
I love these photos -
the "extra" coolness is thanks to my new phone app - Instagram,
thanks to Shelly for hooking me up with it.
Certainly I know that the temple is beautiful all on its own....
it is not all about being cool.
But I still really love it.
When we walked in we immediately had a sweet surprise,
Suzanne was our greeter. 
Yes! Sweet!
We did a few sealings that Jill wanted to get done,
and then off to a session.
It was jam packed, which was crazy at 10:00am on a Wed.
They were all people from our stake, 
Palm Bay 1 and 2 wards.
There was a couple there going through for their first time,
and then they were getting sealed.
It was fun to see all the familiar faces.
The other thing I loved seeing was an entire row of missionaries.
I guess most of these young men had worked with this couple 
in one way or another over time and they were there in 
support and celebration.
I thought Jill and I had the best seats in the house - 
back row, right center edge. 
I had a good view of the entire room and its occupants.
I was marveling at the mixed bag of people we all were.
I was enjoying seeing those young men sitting all lined up.
Attentive, wholesome, happy, clean, fresh, filled with love and the 
joy of the gospel, and being in the place where that love flows 
so generously.
I was marveling that Ethan will be there in no time.
I was picturing him in those seats and white clothing.
Smiling and happy to be serving the Lord.

When it came time to stand and change, etc.
The older lady next to me was really struggling.
I actually had paid her no mind up to that point.
She was dropping sashes, and this and that, and really almost 
looking at her clothing like she had never seen 
anything like it in her life.
I was done and helped her get things squared away,
tied, hooked, and set as appropriate.
In my mind as we were going along, I had determined that
this poor older sister was likely starting into the beginning stages of 
dementia, or alsehimers (which I cannot come close enough to
spelling correctly to even have it pull up in the dictionary
....but it is too late to care right now),
because I noticed that her clothing was
so brand new, it was crispy fresh, and had high class (easy) hooks
instead of ties.  I thought maybe her grown
children had purchased her new temple clothing for 
her so she could continue to keep coming and doing what
she loved, and have it be easier on her to figure out.
nope.
that wasn't it.
After we were settled back in our seats she asked how long
 it had taken me to get the hang of everything....
I said, 17 years.....
she did not look encouraged.
Why, what do you mean?
Well, I have only been a member of the church for 2 years,
this is my 3rd time through the temple.
I looked at her then.
I really looked.
I loved her.
She has no children, her husband is not a member, her parents died long ago,
but she still really misses them.
I saw her with my eyes opened.
I saw the room clearer, but more softly.
I saw our differences and embraced them as our
Father would.

Look at all of us kids of His bunched up in this room.
trying to do our best.
muddling trough. 

Sometimes I think I need to go to the temple and have
"an experience"
I wait to "feel something"
"see something"
"make a ""special"" connection".

Every time I go to the temple I feel a deep sense of love.
Deep, thorough, complete.

I realized today that that is enough.
So much more than enough.
.......................
excerpt from mom's letter : July 7, 00 
(two months before Lawson is born)
How about those names - do any of them click?  We sure do miss your boys!
They are the greatest!  We would love to be watching the Steel Days parade on your 
corner this Saturday with you all.
Your apricot tree isn't looking very good.
Half of it seems fine, but the rest is struggling.
There is a big tabby cat that sits on your front porch, quite at home.......
how about Darren, Tory, Couric, Bud, Beniker, Cobb, 
Clay, Cade, Taylor, Hays, or Hayes, Heston, York, 
Juddson, Marsden, Carson, Berry, Davis, Archer, Pauly????

Thursday, March 10, 2011

FREE GROCERIES - $191.57 worth

Publix has their gas cards on sale this week -
for every $25 you spend
(before coupons)
you can purchase one $50 card for $40 - 
so it is a $10 off coupon.
I pre-purchased $100 in gas today -
as well as all of these groceries for 
$103.05
which means I got everything you see here for a 
whopping......
$3.05
Saved $191.57.......
I spent around 2 hours on the computer/printer putting my 
deal together, then 1.5 hours at the store...
So I am going to say I earned about $63 per hour 
for my efforts.
Is couponing worth the effort like everyone always asks....??
I think so.

A very good trip.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

ATLAS SHRUGGED.....

I am always up for an excellent book recommendation.
Always keeping an eye out for my next 
reading conquest.
Tina read, and became obsessed w/ 
Atlas Shrugged a few months back.
She raved over it.
I had heard about this book before, and seen 
that one of my sisters was reading it at one time.
It was time to get my own copy.
It is a hefty 1069 pages....
exceptionally small print to boot...
I finished it yesterday.
 I will say I enjoyed the book very much.
I was involved with the strong characters,
and intrigued by the political ideas and Ayn Rand's point of view
on human nature, both positive and 
negative aspects.
I thought it was very interesting that she wrote it in 1957,
yet it mimics the running of the world today.
The welfare system, 
taxes,
the fake "for the good of the people" mentality of government.
Maybe this sounds very boring to you...
it sure did to me.
However, intertwined w/ Ms. Rands life philosophy,
which is that,
 "the concept of man is as a heroic being, his own happiness
as the moral purpose of his life,
with productive achievement as his noblest activity,
and reason his only absolute",  
the book revolves around relationships....
There is just enough spice....
enough tears of joy and accomplishment.....
enough...if not too much frustration.
The book did not have the ending I would have imagined,
that was the only let down for me.
which is huge for any great book.....it sort of
sputtered to an abrupt halt for me.
Sorry Tina,
just keeping it real.
I loved the vocabulary used in the novel, I kept track of my favorites, 
hoping to utilize them competently in my own communication.
(full list at the end of post)
I was amazing that the title came from one paragraph in the book.
The term, "Atlas Shrugged" was mentioned only once...
- excerpt pg. 422 - 
"if you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling but still trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater his effort the heavier the world bore down on his shoulders - what would you tell him to do?"
The movie comes out April 15th....there is still time 
for you to read it and join us for the showing.
WE CANNOT WAIT!!
join us!
(Kevin is going to start reading my copy tonight,
or I would loan you mine.)

After you read the book...
you will know the answer to the question,
"Who is John Galt?"
You will have a strong desire to listen to Halley's Fifth Concerto...
You will hope to find the Gulch....
and
You will have a deepened respect for Human Ability...


Vocabulary Word List -  

spu·ri·ous  (spyr-s)
adj.
1. Lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin; not genuine; false.

in·cred·u·lous  (n-krj-ls)
adj.
1. Skeptical; disbelieving: incredulous of stories about flying saucers.
2. Expressive of disbelief: an incredulous stare.

indifference [ɪnˈdɪfrÉ™ns -fÉ™rÉ™ns]
n
1. the fact or state of being indifferent; lack of care or concern
2. lack of quality; mediocrity
3. lack of importance; insignificance

de·ri·sion  (d-rzhn)
n.
1. a. Contemptuous or jeering laughter; ridicule.
b. A state of being derided: The proposal was held in derision by members of the board.
2. An object of ridicule; a laughingstock.

rec·ti·tude  (rkt-td, -tyd)
n.
1. Moral uprightness; righteousness.
2. The quality or condition of being correct in judgment.
3. The quality of being straight.

e·go·ist  (g-st, g-)
n.
1. One devoted to one's own interests and advancement; an egocentric person.
2. An egotist.

al·tru·ism  (ltr-zm)
n.
1. Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness.
2. Zoology Instinctive behavior that is detrimental to the individual but favors the survival or spread of that individual's genes, as by benefiting its relatives.


ac·qui·es·cence  (kw-sns)
n.
1. Passive assent or agreement without protest.
2. The state of being acquiescent.

in·tran·si·gent also in·tran·si·geant  (n-trns-jnt, -z-)
adj.
Refusing to moderate a position, especially an extreme position; uncompromising.


pla·cate  (plkt, plkt)
tr.v. pla·cat·edpla·cat·ingpla·cates
To allay the anger of, especially by making concessions; appease. See Synonyms at pacify.


n.im·mo·late  (m-lt)
tr.v. im·mo·lat·edim·mo·lat·ingim·mo·lates
1. To kill as a sacrifice.
2. To kill (oneself) by fire.
3. To destroy.
1. One devoted to one's own interests and advancement; an egocentric person.
2. An egotist.


I never like ending a book....
I miss my companion for a few 
days after.

$