Where's Waldo?

Getting warmer...

It's a good thing this little guy and his creator are so cute or the artist would be dead right now.

Is is just me, or does it put anybody else in a bad mood instantly to find a band-aid stuck to the bottom of your foot? Isaac saw me snap this picture and you'd think I had found his missing gopher snake, "Hey Mom, good job! I was wondering where that went!"

Notes

In one of our favorite movies, The Kid, Russ asks his friend, "If someone calls you a jerk three times in one day, does that make it true?" How about two?

Isaac's response to the thorough tongue lashing they all received right around chore time.

Clara's response to being sent to her room "for the rest of the week," right after the thorough tongue lashing, right around chore time.

Both were slipped under my door during two of my several time-outs. What a day. Glad it's over.

Make-up

The kidlets woke up WAY too early yesterday morning. In an effort to stay in bed just a few more minutes I diverted Clara's request to get ready for church by suggesting she get me ready... while I lay here. Delighted, she ran and grabbed my make-up bag and a brush and got busy.

Wish the details showed up more. I looked like a cross between the Joker and a drag queen.

Minus a poke in the eye with an errant mascara wand and a lot of powder up the nostrils, she did about as well as I do the job!

Tithing

The kids earned some money on Saturday, so the Bishop was bombarded with little Allen tithing envelopes today. I was especially amused by Will's. He enlisted his sister's help in labeling the envelope, minus his name. The picture is of a penny. Old Abe was smiling in this one. (Note: For those of you having trouble reading the name, think like a dyslexic.)

Applicable Today

Best Halloween Costume Award

My brother, above in all his Panamanian glory, won hands down. I hate clowns. Always have, always will. They're creepy--all of them--and David was the personification of everything I fear about them.He went into their local McDonald's on the big day. They gave him a free hamburger because they liked his costume and miming skills so much. He took it out to the median in the busy intersection outside and tried to do a little free marketing by giving it away to passing cars. Nobody would take it. As we laughed about it I could see the lightbulbs going on and he concluded that his new money-making scheme is going to be giving out hamburgers in that intersection every day and see how much McDonald's will pay him to go away. Yes. He wins the creepy Halloween costume award.Here's the whole happy family: Kathryn was THE disco mamma (and I'm disappointed I wasn't there to fix her hair. It's one of my favorite things to do.), Mr. Creepy, and Grace the flower fairy who looks a little afraid of her dad. It's okay, Gracie. So am I.

"James Grey... oh James," I called, "go and get your booster seat for dinner, please!"

"Otay, Momma!"

Conference

Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy visited our stake conference this last weekend. Where meetings are sometimes a drag, Michael and I both agreed these were particularly good. I was riveted the entire two hours during the adult session. It might have had something to do with the fact that I didn't have six kids climbing on me (Michael took them trick or treating. I was at the piano for a special musical number so I had to go--twist my arm!), but Elder Jensen was a particularly interesting, experienced, insightful speaker. He is an attorney so his thought process and logic especially appealed to me, he reminded me of my dad. You can always spot them! I wish I could have recorded the whole thing so I could reproduce it here, but I'll spare you all and leave the elaborations for my journal.

One of many thoughts that struck me was that "the license of a parent will become the liberty of the child." That is, he said, perhaps the best argument for orthodoxy. It made me take a hard look and determine just how this counsel applies, as it assuredly does.

So while Michael was at his stake leadership meeting I was finishing up with soccer games and the lawn. But what was Michael doing while I was away at my meeting? I walked in the door, called "Honey, I'm home! What have you all been up to?"

He grinned his rascally grin and said, " I've been busy."

(It is possible a clarification is in order: Notice that Isaac is missing his top two teeth, and Meg the bottom two. Dad's been busy indeed. Isaac said his hope is that they won't start growing in until after Christmas so that he can sing All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. Clara thinks that's dumb. She wants her's to grow in ASAP because "they're going to be really big and sharp for biting." I assume she means biting her dinner.)

Happy Halloween

Our's was filled with parties, haunted houses (where I screamed Adam-style and scared the little kids who were trying to scare me), church chili dinners, and ending with the climactic trick or treating around our fun neighborhood.Michael was Steve Prefontaine, and I was actually surprised how many people recognized him. I guess we are in U of O territory. I was Miss Piggy pathetically, due to lack of time to prepare a costume. Or, rather, failing to take the time to prepare a real costume. Isaac was a Ninja. Why does at least one child always want to be a Ninja? He didn't like the "safety tip" on the end of his sword, so he opted out of bringing it lest his menacing aura be jeopardized. Jake was a "BYU werewolf," though halfway through the evening he decided the latex holding the hair onto his face and hands bugged him so he rubbed it all off. I endeavored not to show my irritation at this since it took me FOREVER to put it on him. I flatly refused to put it on for the next event, so he decided to be a pile of laundry pinning articles of clothes all over his body, undies on the head. Meg was Rapunzel, James a Terrible Two because he refused to wear his costume, (though, in truth, a nicer two-year old there has never been), and Will was ... you guessed it, a "chameleon lizard!" Audrey was a BYU cougar cheerleader (pictured below).

A note about Will. He had wanted originally to be a Jackson chameleon, but I didn't know how to do the horns on his forehead so I said he could be a panther chameleon with really bright colors, a hood and curly tail, crest down his spine and a pink blow-out tongue (with a bug glued to the end). All that stuff was cool, but he really wanted horns. Then Clara saved the day by making him a crown, which she taped to his forehead and began calling him King Chameleon. "Who needs horns when you have a crown, Will?" Problem solved. Thank you, Clara. This boy (lower left) was our model. How did we do?

Our sweet neighbor prepared trick or treat bags for the kids since she wasn't going to be home that night. Audrey's contained this little Halloween gift along with some baby food and a coupon for 50 cents off rice cereal. She became a cross between a Cougar cheerleader, Pippi Longstocking, and a witch. We are blessed with some very thoughtful neighbors.

A Happy Halloween to your families. Hope it was a fun-filled day!

Persistence

Elder Adam

10-27-09: Last week we were coming down a huge hill from the top of our area (our entire area is on a hillside) and I talked to this guy and his friend on a scooter at an intersection. They were cool but took off when the light turned. I pedaled after them and caught them, to their surprise at the next light and started talking to them again. We got a little further and I was testifying of Joseph Smith when the light turned green and they waved goodbye again. Now I was ticked. I rode as fast as I could, screaming down this hill on the highway. They made it a long way ahead of me but I rode fast. Six intersections later and just over one mile down the road I pulled up next to them and tapped them on the shoulder. They just about wet their pants. I told them to get to the side of the road, which they did. I testified, took their information and referred them. It was sweet to see the look in their eyes when I caught them and they listened very intently as I spoke.

Elder Pietr

Recently our apartment has had some GINORMOUS cockroaches. I've thought about putting together a little UFC = "Ultimate Fighting Cockroaches." We have several investigators who are preparing for baptism. Many of the people here haven't the slightest idea what prayer is. Many of them have a belief in a supreme creator, but believe that (if he does exist) he is much too above us to have anything to do with meager earthlings. When I share with them that they can have a relationship with their Heavenly Father, that he loves them, and through sincere prayer they can communicate with Him their eyes light up with wonderment and the Spirit is very present.

Our First Grandchild

I'm happy to announce that we're expecting our first grandchild. William told us that he will be giving birth to his very own "chameleon lizard" very soon (as in, as soon as his stomach muscles get tired). I told him my training in keeping a baby chameleon alive is limited. He assures me that he knows how. Congratulations to him and to us!

Below are some of his maternity pictures.