The Newlyweds Plus One

HE'S HOME!! HE'S HOME!!!

2011-12-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

Our Baby boy came home November 30th! He barely hit 4 lbs the 29th and all of a sudden, we had to find a car seat pronto! He came home with a monitor so he still has a wire hooked to him but we are grateful to have it. He has sleep apnea so it has this loud beep if he stops breathing. It's scary but reassuring at the same time. He is now 4 lbs 7 oz and growing all the time. Nursing is a trial, especially since he has been bottle fed before but he is doing so good, it's me that struggles getting it down. Charlie has been so good with him. She literally looses her mind when my family comes over, but other than that she is very mellow and sweet with Jack. When he cries she is so concerned. I had Jack in his swing one time and decided to try the music with it. Next thing I know Charlie is barking at the swing and didn't stop until I turned the music off. I really think she was protecting him and worried. So sweet. He is the loudest baby, grunting and moaning all the time. I love the sounds he makes, except when trying to sleep but I'm starting to get used to them. John is so great and helpful and I love my parents for coming over often and helping me so I can nap. We have breast milk stored so John can feed him a bottle every now and then so I can have a break. I just can't believe I'm a mom! It's always been such a sacred title and now I have it! It's very scary. Do you ever get used to the immense responsibility? Anyway, there's a little baby grunting for food so I must go! Motherly responsibilities await!

Biggest and best surprise of our life

2011-11-27T20:16:00.026-07:00

John and I would like to announce (electronically for now) the arrival of our first born child, John Blaine Dickson. He was born October 19th at 10:23 pm and weighed 2 pounds and 6 ounces and 14 inches long. We call him Jack, since that is a common nickname for John. We are so happy, words can't describe! So here is his birth story.

Monday, Oct. 17th (2 days before he was born) I started to have upper back pain and very high stomach pain. I was 30 weeks pregnant so I didn't think it was more than the stomach flu since John seemed to have it. It got worse and worse and after calling my mom and later my sister in law who is a nurse I decided I needed to go to the hospital. I was able to wait until John came home at 10 pm and we went to Davis Hospital. After an IV of fluids and some tests they said I need to drink more and they never really addressed the severe back ache. So we went home deciding I would just take some Tylenol for my back but then found out it's on recall! Poor John had to go to Bountiful to find the generic and then by then it was 2:30 am and he had to work at 4!

Ok, so I stayed home from work Tuesday and felt fine and then woke up Wednesday with the back ache again. Luckily I stayed home again and felt fine most of the day. 5 pm rolls around and my back is hurting pretty badly. I called a nurse and she said go to the hospital. Ugh I thought. They are just going to tell me the same thing, maybe give me a Tylenol and send me home. My mom came over and I drove us to the hospital because I felt fine. On Monday they wheel chaired me to the room but Wednesday I just walked. So funny. John came right after we got there (on the phone I told him I was fine and he didn't need to come). So we start filling out the dumbest paper work that we just laughed and laughed at. Then I started feeling some contractions (but I didn't even know that's what they were.) The nurse comes back after the blood work came back and all of the tests had come back. She said I had preeclampsia or also called toxemia. She said I was very sick and the doctor is coming, not a doctor I knew though of course because mine had left for vacation 1 hour earlier. She said we might be having the baby tonight (yeah right I thought!)

The doctor comes in and says the only cure is delivery. I just kept looking at her to go on and tell me what we are really going to do. I can't have the baby now! I was really scared and I know John was too, but he tried not to show it. He just kept hold of my hand and said we can do this and that we can do anything together, and kept having me look at him. He was just amazing. He got on the phone to call his family. My parents were there thankfully too and helped me cope with the idea of going into surgery to have the baby. The anesthesiologist was so nice and made me less nervous. John got all suited up and we went into the operating room. I remember they kept poking my belly to see if I was numb enough and I could still feel it a tiny bit. I swear they didn't believe me because I was at the highest level. I guess it wasn't enough to worry about because I didn't feel pain so I just felt the weird pullings and pushings and then he was out! John got to see him while I threw up right on queue. Jack made a tiny little squeak as they rushed him over to the NICU. My whole family was there in my room waiting for me and Gina, John's sister and only family in Utah, had just made it from Tooele.

I didn't get to see baby Jack until 4 am when I pulled out my IV on accident. So before that I'm sitting there in my hospital room in total unbelief especially since I didn't get to see him. I was on this crazy medicine for 24 hours that literally made me insane. It was magnesium and it made my skin feel like it was on fire and I was super itchy. Thinking about it makes me itchy. Finally, I was able to hold my little baby. He is so tiny and little. He is still in the NICU and is so well taken care of. He has to basically do 3 things to come home: gain weight (double his weight, sounds so easy right), learn to suck swallow and breath, and maintain his temperature. Last week he seemed to have developed this scary infection or something so feedings came to a stop and he was on antibiotics. So we get to hold him twice a day and are inbetween home and the hospital all the time. He dropped weight like all babies, but he went down to 2 lbs 1 oz but is now a whopping 3 lbs 14 oz. So proud of my little man. He has little cheeks now!

It's hard sometimes to be patient and leave him at the hospital but most days I feel very strong and happy. I know our little baby is an absolute miracle and we thank our Father in Heaven everyday for him. I know He has made us strong through this whole thing. I know He is guiding Jack's doctors and nurses and is helping him develop faster than he should of had to. I try and see it as we are getting a sneek peek and he has to spend some time in a "temporary womb" before we can be home together. We are so happy.

For a lot (and I mean a lot) more pictures of Jack's first month of life, go here https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=mrsdickson&target=ALBUM&id=5679917885210838929&authkey=Gv1sRgCJiTy6KM4-D3Pg&feat=email

Some Random Thoughts I've Had

2011-09-23T22:07:00.000-06:00

First of all, I've been thinking a lot about Eve lately.

WHAT A BRAVE AND COURAGEOUS WOMAN! She was the first Mother! She didn't have all the books I do to read, the internet or even anther person to ask how it felt to give birth. I have been getting more and more scared about the birth as time goes on and I try not to focus on it but thinking about Eve has really helped. I know that she had a perfect body (was it still perfect after the Fall?) and we know that Heavenly Father didn't leave them to fend for themselves completely. But still, she was amazing! I am so grateful for all the women in my life that help me and I just am especially grateful for amazing examples like Eve to look up to.

My other thoughts have been about Christopher Columbus. (I told you it was random)

For the past few years I have held a Mock Trial to help my students learn more about Columbus and his voyages and what happened. I have been frustrated in the past with all the honor we give him when 1) He never landed on the North American Continent and 2) He allowed terrible atrocities to happen to the native people. What I also struggle with is how Nephi presumably saw Columbus or someone who fits the description perfectly, and how he was led by the hand of God. So I have wrestled with the different information I have and have come to a conclusion. But first I better explain a little about the Mock Trial.

There are 5 groups on trial for the murder and mistreatment of 1 million, perhaps 3 million, Taino Indians who lived on the island of Hispanola. Christopher Columbus, Columbus's Crew, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, The Tainos themselves, and the System of Empire are all defendants. So the evidence against them goes a little like this. Columbus ordered the mistreatment (like chopping of their hands if they didn't mine enough gold) and allowed his men to do terrible things. The Crew is responsible for all the dirty work, carrying out the orders and doing some things without orders. The King and Queen are accused of allowing slavery and mistreatment to happen under their watch. The Tainos are guilty for not fighting back (they are always found not guilty). The System of Empire is basically blamed for "making" them do what they did "I was just brought up that way, that's how things were done back then." So the kids are put in the groups and defend themselves and blame each other in a court style setting. It's so fun to watch them get all heated about it and I feel like the best teacher having them get into it. Some are literally red in the face trying to defend themselves on not be found guilty. They don't realize they are learning facts which is fun.

So as it goes on, I obviously can't talk about what the Book of Mormon says so that's why I wanted to blog about it. So who's to blame? The people in charge? The people who actually did it? Or is it just the circumstances and system they were living in that is responsible? I'll let you decide what you think. I have come to my own conclusion.

I of course believe the Book of Mormon is true and though I couldn't find any where that confirms Nephi was specifically talking about Columbus or just another explorer of the time, I do think the descriptions match perfectly. Columbus was extremely religious and he wrote often about feeling "the hand of God" leading and guiding him. He even started writing his own prophecies about how he was supposed to do this and was specifically called to be the one to find these people and places. So now I come to the question of: Does Heavenly Father inspire bad people? Does he use them to fulfill his prophecies and will? I think we have proof of that in the scriptures, so yes sometimes. But I don't think Columbus was corrupt on his first voyage, but after. My opinion is that he was led by God and discovered a new place that he thought was India. After he was appointed governor and started getting rich, he lost sight of what was important and was filled with pride. So when things got out of hand with his crew and they committed atrocities, he looked the other way and didn't do anything substantial about it.

If I were to decide, I would put a lot of blame on the crew, the men who actually committed the crimes with their own hands. This is what I taught the kids today. I believe that everyone has a choice no matter how you were brought up or treated in your life, you can know right and wrong and make the right decision no matter how hard. So you can't blame only the system. The crew could have refused and rebelled and should have. They all made mistakes but I think the crew was the worst.

BUT, even after all that thought and debate, I realize I don't really have to decide and judge! Yay, Christ can do that and I will just be grateful I didn't live in that time and will never be faced with decisions like that. So wow, there's some food for thought right there. If you read all of this: Good on ya! I'm impressed. Please share your thoughts if you want.

Nashville Trip

2011-08-16T19:20:00.002-06:00

Earlier this summer I was asked by my principal to go to the Model Schools Conference for my school. There was a good group of teachers and administration from my school along with me.

John was able to come as well and tour my mission and Nashville in general. It was so much fun to be there with my husband and show him the place where I grew so much and where events molded and shaped who I am now.

He was able to meet people he's heard about a lot, like Janice Williams, the sweetest and most fun person with a great testimony. She saw the commercial for the Book of Mormon and called and met the sisters. That's when I was transferred there and was able to teach her most of the lessons and see her baptized. She has since visited Salt Lake and we were able to go to the Temple together.

He also met the famous Joe Claybrooks, a man that prayed for someone to come to his house so he would have someone to talk about the Gospel with, and the elders knocked on his door the next day. They were the Spanish elders so we got to teach him. He had a near death experience that changed his life and prepared him to hear the Restored Gospel. He was baptized the same month as Janice and has also since been to the temple.

The third person we were able to see was Sam Newton. Sam had been going to the ward for 2 years and asked me one Sunday why he couldn't be baptized. He has Down Syndrome, and was therefore overlooked but had wanted to be a part of everything. I know after teaching him and getting to know him that he is accountable, but that didn't really matter so much as doing what the Lord wanted, and that was to officially give Sam a ward family. He is almost 45, and is such a sweet person.

Most of the pictures are of the Opryland Hotel where our Conference was held, and then other various places. I served part of my mission in Kentucky so some of the pictures are of there. Enjoy :)

Just click on the link for the pictures.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=mrsdickson&target=ALBUM&id=5641558151295097073&authkey=Gv1sRgCPCtjIjKvqD1zAE&feat=email

I Felt the Baby!

2011-08-16T11:07:00.002-06:00

I think I have felt him a few times before this but last week almost everyday I knew for sure it was him. What a funny feeling! It was so fun to see the light in John's eyes when he could feel little Jack pushing on me. It's just crazy. I keep waiting to get huge and so far I've only gained 2 lbs, and yet there is this little being inside of me! I love it. We put up the crib which was an experience. The people who think of how to construct these things must get a kick out of imagining people actually putting it together. It was supposed to be this special experience and we obviously were expecting a bit much, but it's up! And the decorating continues.

BIG NEWS!

2011-08-09T16:14:00.001-06:00

We have been waiting so long to announce . . .

WE ARE EXPECTING A BABY BOY AROUND DECEMBER 18TH!

His name will be John Blaine Dickson, named after both his grandpa's. We will call him Jack since it's confusing with John's name.

Many of you already know but we wanted to make it official on our blog. So here's the whole story.

As most of you know, especially since I blogged a little about it, we struggled with fertility problems for about 2 1/2 years. It kind of starts when our regular ob started me on Clomid, but it wasn't working. Then I went alone to a recommended fertility specialist (John had work) that turned out to be a horrible experience. He treated me like I wasn't a person, just business as usual. I left crying. Anyone who's been through this would understand that the fact I am even having to face this problem of "fertility" was scary and awful enough but then to not have a good experience was really hard. So we found a great doctor, Dr. Hammoud at the U of U and he was great, and the nurses are way nice. He taught us what might be going on and we started back on Clomid and plus another med that I can't remember but was supposed to help. Basically, ever since I did this stupid birth control we tried at the beginning of marriage, I never ovulated again. So the Clomid helped my body remember it is a GIRL we were able to get pregnant!

I received so much support and words of comfort from so many that had gone through something similar and I am so thankful for that. I never realized how common something like this is and I hope my experience will help others.

Last March I didn't start my cycle and I was scared that the medicine wasn't working and I would have to go on more medicine just to ovulate. I decided it was time to do a pregnancy test and then to probably start on the meds again. So after taking pregnancy test after pregnancy test and not to mention the ovulation tests in the past, I would not get my hopes up because it's just too painful to keep going through that. So it was just our second cycle of Clomid and time for the test. It immediately shows the very familiar one pink line which means not pregnant, John went back to the T.V. and I finished up. Then I picked it up to throw it away and I looked closer. TWO LINES! Crazy. I was scared to get happy. Being the silly person I am, I called for Charlie and told her to look at it, which she did and I asked her what it meant. Then we decided we should show it to Daddy. So I go over and just hand it to him. He kept asking "what's this mean?" "are you pregnant?" over and over and I know he was scared to get excited too. We started to believe our eyes and of course hugged and cried, a very special moment.

The first thing Dr. Hammoud told us at our 6 week ultra sound was "There's just one!" which is a small sigh of relief when he had told us there were about 3 or 4 mature eggs ready from seeing another ultra sound (isn't technology amazing!) So I am now 5 months pregnant and going back to work at school in about 2 weeks. Luckily I will have the Christmas Break to add on the maternity leave. Then it's about two months or so of school left for the year. I imagine those 2 months being very hard. Please pray for us!

Sorry no pictures yet, my computer doesn't have room! We've had 3 ultra sounds and everything is perfect. I even think I felt the baby for the first time today! Such an amazing thing! We couldn't be happier! Heavenly Father seems to make me wait longer than usual for everything I really want, but He also knows how much more grateful I am because of it.

Our First House!

2011-06-14T13:31:00.001-06:00

Written by John:

Here is a formal announcement, we decided to buy a home! It is actually my brother-in-laws home who is moving 5 blocks north of where we will be. It is in Kaysville, just west of where Aunt Viv lived in Farmington. Here are some pictures:

So here is the outside.

Here is the living room. Nice vaulted ceilings

More living room. Wish the picture of Washington was staying.

Dining area looking down into the family room and out into the yard. See the swing set? Fun!

Kitchen notice the wood laminate floor that Ryan recently put in!

Here is the more of the kitchen, notice the new refrigerator, what you cant see is the new dishwasher. Both of which will be coming with the home.

Family room, so nice here notice the new carpeting, which is new throughout the home.

Here is more of the family room. Fireplace, new fan, and lights! And they are giving us their entertainment center too! We're so lucky.

Here is the newly remodeled basement bathroom Ryan put a lot of work into it.

The upstairs also remodeled bathroom, double sinks, separate room for the bath/shower and toilet. Notice the new lighting and new hardware including sinks, faucets, and handles.

Master bedroom nice bay-window.

More master bedroom looking into the bathroom, walk-in closet is behind where the photographer is standing.

Bedroom 1 up stairs, you can see my nephew is a Star Wars fan.

Bedroom 2 upstairs. A good light color.

Here is the basement bedroom. Which has been used as a game room

Here is the rest of the basement and laundry room.

Looking at the house from the backyard which is fully fenced, Charlie is going to love the space to run!

More of the backyard with the tool shed and the far corner that is used as vegetable garden. Melinda is so excited for this.

The backyard in full from the steps to the back door. Such a fun yard!

So that is our home. Just wanted to share the good news. I hope we aren't bragging, we are just too excited! Now we just need to fill it right?

John and Melinda

2011-06-13T11:02:00.000-06:00

This is a cute and updated picture of our Charlie girl. I guess updated is relative since it was taken in January, but I had to put a better one than the newborn pictures. She's still the light of our life. She is so smart too.

Update Part II

2010-11-14T20:30:00.001-07:00

I am so happy to annouce our new addition, our sweet puppy Charlie. She is a Mini Golden Doodle, which is a miniature poodle and a golden retriever. We got her when she was 7 weeks old and she is now 11 weeks. It's been so wonderful, but very challenging. The first pictures are what we saw when we picked her.

These next ones are at Grandma and Grandpa Porter's house.

And this is Charlie's playmate, my brother's dog Zoolander. They had so much fun.

She seems to take after her mom, the golden retriever quite a bit. We drove down to Fillmore to get her. We have been like the most nervous parents with a newborn. Now, after a few weeks, I feel like I have a spoiled two year old. She is learning things so quickly and is so smart, but of late has had a hard time with house trianing and biting. (comments and tips welcome!) We are so lucky to have my sister and my family home during the day so while John and I work, she is at the "sitters" and we drop her off and pick her up 4 days a week. I know, make fun of us all you want :) but she has been so good for us. In our trials to get pregnant, she has given us something more to think and worry about and it feels so good to be needed. She's been so fun.

Fall Update Part 1

2010-10-16T09:02:00.002-06:00

Good things come to those who wait. After many people giving me a hard time about blogging, and because we have a new reason to blog, you are getting an update.

Summer:

It was good, fast and fun. John and I went on a little vacation to Las Vegas because we had a free hotel. I know a lot of people just hate Las Vegas but I was happy. Being with my favorite person in the world, and being able to sift through the trash and appreciate the really cool stuff, made it a great trip. If I wait to post this with pictures it will be even more delayed, so I'll randomly put up pictures another day. We went to a couple exhibits. Titanic was way cool. Similar to the Holocaust museum in that they give you information about a person and at the end see if they survived. They have this huge piece of the ship suspended and I really liked that part. We also saw Bodies where they have real human bodies exposing all the different parts. I remember the blood vessels part and the lungs from healthy to cancerous. I've thought about it a lot since, especially after exercising and my muscles are soar. We also did a CSI exhibit thing where you get to look at a crime scene and look through microscopes to find the killer. It was very fun. We don't really watch CSI but we loved the experience. We also enjoyed having John's parents home for a whole month and many family members visiting. They are so good to us and I love having kids around and women to talk with! I think all women can agree that there isn't anything that can replace girl time. I have said this so many times, but I really got lucky with my in-laws. I've heard other people talk about theirs, and I just don't see myself ever not liking them, I just love them.

Fall:

School is in full swing and I like my kids a lot. I'm still getting to know them and I think I've been very distracted because I don't feel connected to each student yet. There has been only one student who has disrespected me! I can handle one it's just weird when he (yes it's a boy) sees everybody else, his friends, do what I ask without another word or even thought, but him it's a debate almost. I don't let him monopolize the time with arguing, so it's over pretty quickly but I can't believe how quickly I have a temper! The slightest talking back and I am red in the face and harsh and, not good. I need to be feeling-less any time I discipline. I feel a lot of pressure to be so much better of a teacher and I struggle dealing with the time constraint of finishing what I have to in a year and still keeping the quality at the high level expected.

John: He just had his schedule changed so that we can finally be at church together!!! Yay. He is the Elders Quorum secretary and I am still in with the sunbeams. I love them. We had our primary program and boy that was so fun sitting up there to see the parents faces. They are really pretty cute, but when church is over, I always think this calling is the best kind of birth control.

John is still the sweetest husband. We are still trying to have a baby and convince Heavenly Father it's the right time, of course without success so I guess we'll go back to trusting Him more. More to come!

Girls Night

2010-08-15T15:25:00.000-06:00

We had the pleasure of having my sister's daughters ( and our only nieces on our side) Taylor and Savannah over for a sleep over. We played dress up did each other's make-up and watched a movie. The bottom picture is when Taylor did my make-up. It was just lovely. They are big fans of my green eye shadow I think.

2010-08-15T15:24:00.001-06:00

This is the next day when I did their make-up and hair and had a "photo shoot" of sorts. They love this kind of stuff, and I don't have to prompt these little poses they do. It was fun, and I love having my girls over. They are growing up so fast and I am so glad they are here.

We also had a boy sleep over with my three nephews and John showed them a good time. We played musical chairs and a lot of Wii. So fun.

Summer Swimming

2010-07-28T13:57:00.002-06:00

We had the pleasure of hanging out with my brother's sons Nathan and David one summer afternoon. We ate popsicles in the sun, had a water fight, then took them to the club house to go swimming. It was just one of the many fun days we've had this summer with our nieces and nephews.

Real Salt Lake Soccer Game

2010-07-25T17:38:00.005-06:00

Soon after school was out John surprised me with Real Soccer Tickets with a bonus concert with David Cook. I was so excited. He wanted to celebrate summer and me having a good school year. He's so sweet.

This was our first Professional Soccer Game. It was an amazing experience. They won 1-0, and let me tell you, that one goal was so exciting.

They had to stop the game because of lightning and rain, but luckily it was short.

It's a beautiful stadium too.

I was surprised at how excited I was to see David Cook. He also sang the National Anthem and I was really touched. It was just so perfect. They had some members of the Armed Forces there with their families and they unfurled a giant flag on a part of the field, and the other flag on the pole was unfirling in the wind and being the Patriotic person I am, I just was really touched. Then of course the rocket fire works a the end of the anthem just was thrilling.

So here is David Cook, it rained on him too but he just kept going. It was so fun. It was also fun to watch all the families on the field play and dance.

SWAGGER WAGON

2010-07-01T10:32:00.001-06:00

Funniest thing I've seen in a long while. These people are so fun and I'm glad I can still have some swagger (because I have a lot right now) when we get a minivan. Enjoy :)

I Think It's Been Long Enough

2010-06-20T12:15:00.001-06:00

Alright, Alright! I'll update our blog. It's been quite a long time. The thing is we just don't think our life is that exciting. We like our life, we are very happy, it's just not like much is going on. I already announced that John's last day of school was last fall but he officially graduated this month. I'm still so very proud of him. He has a job and it's not the worst thing he could be doing but it doesn't fill him with overwhelming satisfaction either but I am guessing not that many people can say that about their jobs. We are so grateful to both be working. We are always looking for better especially since his hours are 4am to 1pm, and has to work Sundays. So I'll put it out there again, anything with computers we'll apply for so please comment if you know if anything.

I of course have the summer off. I've had time to think about this last school year and I am officially calling it a success. It was my 4 year and I really feel like I am comfortable and more importantly, that this is what I am supposed to be doing. I really love it and love my students. I had more responsibilities this year, my first real leadership opportunity and that was so so so stressful but I'm so glad I was able to do that. I also received a lot of sweet goodbye notes this year so that always helps.

I love summer!!! We went to Lagoon the other day and it was not crowded and it was so fun. I love my husband so much. He's a lot of fun.

I can't complain! We have a lot of good things going for us. I think anyone reading my blog knows I'm a pretty open person and so I feel pretty comfortable talking about this next thing. We want to start our family so badly, but for some reason, it's not happened for 1 1/2 years. now. And I know what most people say, it'll happen when it needs to and that's not really that long to try, but I am so tired of waiting! I welcome any comments. We are seeing a doctor and am thinking about trying medicine but I'm worried about that too. My body isn't working right, I know that much. It always did work great until I went on birth control and it's having a hard time recovering from that I guess. I know a lot of people struggle with this so I would love to hear other stories or suggestions, especially about the Depo shot (the birth control I did) or Clomed.

Anyway, hope every one has a great week!

Our Week

2009-09-09T20:21:00.002-06:00

We went to the amazingly beautiful Mirror Lake, up by Kamas, UT. We wanted to go somewhere for Labor Day but just didn't know what we could do with a very small "fun" budget. We couldn't have been more at peace and happy had we been on a cruise to the Bahamas or something. It was so pretty!!! We just packed a lunch and read our books and just laid on our blanket listening to nature. We walked around the lake and talked and talked. It is my new "happy place" at the end of a long day (or in the middle of it, whatever the need is). I was just so happy.

Also, I've been back to school for about 2 weeks now. I have a great group of kids. I have already discovered the "special ones" and I haven't let them know that I think they are funny yet, but at some point I hope I can. I am getting a new group of students together to go to Washington D.C. for next summer. I'm very excited again. I never posted the pictures from that! Funny that I just realized that. Anyway, it was such a great experience. I'm more than happy to offer it again and help kids reach out of their comfort zones and travel. Just to put this out there, I am taking them in June 2010 and it's for ANY middle school aged student. I don't have to be their teacher. If your at all interested please comment and I'll contact you somehow :)

What made my day was at the Parent Info meeting for the trip, a former student and her mom where there and commented on the trip. My student said some very nice things about me, that I am actually fun and that her life was changed because she went. Her mom was so supportive too. She couldn't thank me enough and said every single penny was worth it. It really made the whole hardship of getting people to sign up, then baby sitting a group of "hormones" in the nations capital, and missing my husband so much every night, ALL worth it! I'll admit I was exhausted after just those 4 days, but I am so happy I did it. I hope this year will be just as successful.

Well anyway, on to other news.

JOHN IS DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!!!

We will send out some little homemade announcements soon and I couldn't be a prouder wife. We have gone through so much frustration working with stupid Stevens Henegar (I won't go in detail now but suffice it to say our new saying is "friends don't let friends enroll there") but at least he will walk away with his Bachelor's Degree! Also to get the word out, he is trained in Computer Science, especially networking and is on the hunt for a job. If anyone knows anyone looking for a great computer help person for their work place or even if you need help for free on personal computers in the Salt Lake area, John is for hire!

Anyway, so very happy and proud of him. Way to go Honey Lover!

Our Week

2009-08-19T12:19:00.007-06:00

We had an eventful weekend. We had friends over for dinner and played Settlers of Catan (a great game) and I totally won and I've only played maybe 2 times. They were a blast, and it was especially fun to see my dear friend in love and adored by someone. Congrats to you!

I know I am blocking Stephanie, but it shows how much I dominate at Settlers of Catan :)

Sunday was our first time at our new ward. Everyone was SO nice! I just realized what it reminded me of. If Mayberry would have had a ward, it would have been just like this one. A good mix of old to middle to young. Relief Society was just a blast. I gave a very brief intro to myself and then the lady who so sweetly sat by me and got to know me offered to everyone all she had learned. It was fun. It takes a while to hush everyone from their visiting and I just loved that. We loved our old ward too so we are just being blessed everywhere!

Then we had Sunday dinner at my brother Ryan's with his two boys. My favorite part was my nephew Nathan saying that the salad was "hideous." Gosh he's so funny. And being able to pet a sweet dog made me very happy. It was so delicious and a big blessing because we had absolutely nothing in the house to fix. (We still hadn't brought all our food up from our apartment yet).

My Nephew Nathan, the one on the right :)

Then things got interesting. My poor John got sick. It looked like food poisoning because he thought he was dying, but that didn't make sense so we think it must have been stomach flu or something like that. I felt horrible not being able to do much but scratch his favorite itchy spot on his back and hold the trash can. My parents came over and gave him a blessing which of course made everything better and he was able to sleep the rest of the night. We had planned on going to Las Vegas for a few days on a free trip we had been given, but we decided not to go. We've spent time together and had so much fun. Better than Las Vegas anyway. We even got to make and have dinner together which may have been my favorite part.

In other news, about 3 weeks ago I lost the diamond on my wedding ring. In fact the entire basket or crown whatever it's called, was gone. We looked everywhere, I had an emotional break down of course and it was not my favorite day. We went to the Jewelers and they needed the rest of my ring to send somewhere or something. They also told us since we didn't have our ring inspected like we should have, we would have to pay almost full price to replace it. We were just devastated. I know we shouldn't have been, after all it's just a "thing" and a possession. This was the worst part though. I couldn't get my ring off, so they had to cut it off my hand! Oh it was a horrible horrible feeling. I just started balling in John's arms. And then what's kind of funny is right after I had to sign a paper and I signed it with my maiden name. Kind of funny.

So here is the good news. I get a call and they had already mounted and replaced the diamond! With a slightly larger and better quality diamond! Then we were worried, because we knew we couldn't afford the whole ring now. Well, apparently they gave us a break (and they should have since I've only had it a year and a half!) and I got it back for no cost!!! It has been nothing short of a big blessing and a lesson learned. I learned that no matter how important the meaning of a possession is, it's still a possession and will not be going with me after this life. My mom said "well at least you didn't loose John." That has stuck with me and of course by leaps and bounds that would have been so much worse.

When John brought it home all fixed and so so shiny, he got on one knee and asked me if I would stay married to him. It was so cute. I love him so much. He's my favorite person in the world and my very best friend.

A Quick Cast as Fox 13 news likes to call it

2009-08-08T12:40:00.003-06:00

Once again, I just read everyone's updates and posts and now I have no time to do anything with mine. So quickly, I will fill you all in on what's going on.

We are in the process of moving to John's parents home. They left for Ghana, Africa Monday! We have heard from them and they sound like they are doing good. I hope their shipment with all their precious stuff gets there soon. So we didn't know exactly how we were going to do this move because our lease on our apartment isn't up until the end of September. We have loved staying here this whole week that we are going to just stay here most of the time, in North Salt Lake. It is such a nice home and triple the room we've been living in. I love being close to my family too. I can't get over how lucky and blessed we are to have the opportunity to live here. I really really love it.

John is currently looking for a job. He will be done with school next Thursday!!! Wow so happy for him. He is graduating in Computer Science, emphasis on networking (internet and labs kind of stuff) If anyone knows of a great job opportunity please let us know.

As you can see from our blog background, I'm quite excited to get back to school. I think I love my job! I have dreams and nightmares all summer long about going back to school that at this point, I just want to get it started and over with!

So anyway, today we have to get a lot done with moving before school starts. I must get going!

2009-07-17T14:48:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dickson Sister's Weekend (April 09)

2009-07-13T18:30:00.003-06:00

Back in April, we had our annual Sister's Weekend in San Diego. Thanks to Susanne's family, we stayed in great condos right on the beach. The last night Andy I think it was, found this book titled "11,004 Things to Be Happy About." It was really sarcastic and funny. So I decided to start my own list about our weeknd. This is an email I sent soon after we got home. Pictures to come soon!

The beginning of my 11,004 things to be happy about:

1. Having such easy going, happy and loving in-laws

2. Getting invited to sister's weekend again! (I guess I didn't mess up too much the 1st time :)

3. Looping around the airport just laughing about the littlest things thinking about Camille's calves getting buffer by the second (she had to squat in the back because there wasn't enough seat)

4. Getting to introduce you all to my sister

5. The feeling of missing you all and thinking about what fun they couldn't possibly be having without me when I went with my sister, and getting to see all my sisters (except one, Sarah) all in one trip.

6. The most amazing and overpowering feelings I had in the temple seeing so many beautiful sisters there in white waiting for Mama Dickson to come and then going up the most beautiful staircase I've ever seen, ascending even higher to heaven, though it seemed it couldn't feel any closer than it already was.

7. Laughing at myself doing part of the endowment all wrong (I got a little tangled.)

8. Eating at BJ's and taking pictures with our phones so that it shows when you all call me

9. Shopping and actually finding things for me!

10. The Happy Baby party for Emily and giving her something I had really put thought and care into. Hope that afghan stays together! I am no pro.

11. Laughing so hard at all of my sisters and their silliness

12. Sitting by the pool with all that beautiful scenery around, crocheting a hat for Natalie, and soaking the sun. (It's my new happy place when 3/4's of my students don't do an assignment.)

13. Getting the silliest sun burn of my life, my lower forearms.

14. Getting pedi's and just being a girl

15. Having my first taste of the famous Wendy cupcakes. Wow. Great, now I'm craving one.

16. Eating such good food all day, and the egg on toast would be my favorite because it was made with love by Susanne.

17. Seeing all the ways you 8 women helped make my husband the amazing man he is. It was hard looking at some of you because he looks like you all in different ways, and we all know I missed him

18. Surprising Mom with a "Gonna Go to Ghana" party. I laughed so hard! Susanne and Gina are just too much.

19. Holding a baby!!!!!!!! Seeing her beautiful eyes smile at me. Melts my heart even thinking about it.

20. To be continued I'm sure.

I love you all so much

Blog Overdose

2009-07-01T20:23:00.002-06:00

So I decided that by the time I am done catching up on everybody else's blogs, I'm totally tired of looking at the computer and don't blog anything of my own. I LOVE reading all your posts everybody and I'm so happy to share in the little and big accomplishments. I just got a new camera and I am so excited to post all those pictures, so here is what will be up and coming on our silly little blog:

Dickson Sister's Weekend (ya, i know it was in April, what can I do)

Dates to Lagoon and a Bee's Game

My 28th B-day

My trip to DC

Update on our plants

My dumb sunburn (all I have to say is ugh)

John's Fishing Trip

and of course 4th of July

So hold your breath! Or don't. I am determined to be better at journaling our life this summer!

Only in Utah

2009-06-02T09:22:00.007-06:00

Are Utahans so paranoid about alcohol that we really have to advertise water is non-alcoholic?

This picture was taken by me, in the Centerville Utah Albertsons. No I did not edit the picture.

Porter Sister's Weekend

2009-05-18T19:21:00.009-06:00

Back in March, me, my sister Sharon, and my mom went on the first ever Porter Sister's Weekend. We stayed at a hotel in Park City and had a BLAST! Daddy made it all possible and I think it was his idea. He's so cute. Thanks Dad! So here's some of the pictures:

Main Street

We just happened to sit at this booth for dinner. It had some nudity, and of course we had fun with that. We used the napkin holder-paper thing to make the Porter Polygamists modest. Talk about silly. We died laughing.

Our Awesome Meal, Mom won for the best food ordered.

I found my long lost lover, the Park City Miner

And Sharon found her long lost lover, Mr. Bear

Just being tourists in our own backyard

On a whim, I decided I wanted to go dark with my hair, so we bought some dye, and color my hair dark for the first time ever. You can see that we left some blonde in the back, which led to spending $200 to get it livable. I wish I didn't care about it. But what a fun adventure right?!

A view of Park City as we leave to go back to reality.

Some fun videos

2009-05-04T10:21:00.005-06:00

I know I have more important things to blog, but these videos cheered me up today. I stole one from someone who had gone to Women's Conference in Provo. I am guessing the other two are from then as well. Enjoy!

Don't Give up on us!

2009-04-22T09:16:00.002-06:00

I have had so many fun things to post but have not gotten around to it. So sorry, I have to post about My Porter's Sister Weekend, our fabulous trip to the Dickson homestead in Washington and a few projects I have been working on, including our little herb garden in our bedroom (that's where the light is, a little inconvienant but anything for our little seedlings right?) So don't forget about us.
Also we added so many new bloggers to our list and I've had to keep up with reading their blogs and fun news that it takes all the time before I can post on my own blog! Love following all of you and for those who don't have a blog yet, get with it! I love them and I want to see you and your families, or at least a little blurbs on what your doing. So excited for my Dickson's Sister Weekend tomorrow! Can't wait, and as a bonus I get to see my sister too!
So check back with us in a few days and hopefully we will have gotten with the program here.

My Valentine

2009-02-17T14:29:00.003-07:00

So here I am a year later and I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have the wonderful husband I have. Valentines had always been a horrible day in college, and high school. So how fun to finally do what I dreamed of. My John honey went and got a hair cut (which is a bigger deal that you may know :) and spent the rest of the day making me a wonderful homemade chicken cordon bleu. So yummy. He did a great job. Then we (mostly me since he fell asleep) watched Far and Away. Then we did chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas, and angel food cake. It was so yummy. He had also cleaned up the apartment and had sparkling cider chilled in a dish next to the table. So cute. I feel very lucky and bad too since I had left my little present at school. All I did was make a dumb homemade card and had some student make some better ones to add to it. I'm so lucky. John I love you and I will always be your valentine!

New Couch and Coffee Tables

2009-02-08T15:24:00.004-07:00

Melinda and I got a new couch and it is so great. Our apartment really feels like our home. It is microfiber so it is easy to clean, it has a leather look but not the leather sound or coldness. It is a deep brown with a slight shiny quality to it. It has two great recliners in it which is so nice especially for my wonderful wife's short little legs. We also found these 3 tables for a hundred dollars. We are so excited about our first big purchase.

Happy Anniversary To Us!!!

2009-01-25T19:03:00.005-07:00

Our first year anniversary was Dec. 28th, which was a Sunday, so Monday night we celebrated by going to the Melting Pot, a fondue resturant downtown Salt Lake. So here's the pictures! Enjoy.

John forgot to mention when we went to St. George we also got to hang out with his sister and family, the Squires. We went to this Family Fun Zone and played at the arcade and mini golf. John got lucky and won the Jack Pot on one of the little games. He won almost 600 tickets! I've never seen so many tickets come out at once it was so funny. So with those tickets he "bought" a whole bunch of random things like a slinky, hacky sack balls, and these little fancy smanshy rings. We decided they were our anniversary rings. Aren't they beautiful! :)

Christmas Photos

2009-01-25T18:37:00.013-07:00

We are finally getting our pictures from Christmas on the blog. We had so much fun with our very first Christmas as a married couple! This is of our tree borrowed from John's parents and our very first Christmas ornaments.

We woke up around 7:30am that morning all excited to open presents.

I gave John a card that said and sang "Your Kiss is on my list" and I kissed the inside of the card. It was so much fun.

Christmas and the Holidays

2009-01-20T08:43:00.002-07:00

It has been a while since we have updated our blog and it is time we did so. This last December marked our first anniversary of being married. My love for Melinda has grown exponentially in that year. It was my greatest year that I have had in my life and I expect that with Melinda at my side each year will surpass the last. I am so happy.
Christmas was fun, we probably over did it for ourselves but it was fun. Melinda got everything I wanted and more. And I hope I got Melinda what she wanted but she seemed happy so I think I did well. Of course we got to talk to Blake (Melinda's brother who is on his mission in Lubbock Texas), that was fun to hear his voice and hear some of his experiences. We have some pictures that I will post later(knowing me sometime in July probably).
The day after Christmas me and Melinda went down to St. George and visited Melinda's grandma. It was fun seeing her again. When we got there she had cooked us pork spare ribs they were so good. We then watched the video they played at Grandpa's funeral, it was good to get to see Grandpa Cousins as I did not have a chance to know him while he was here. The next day we took Grandma to Kohl's to exchange a shirt she had gotten for Christmas. We then left to go back north it was a simple but fun trip.
New Years with Ryan and Sarah and family was a blast. We simply played ticket to ride which Melinda won, ate snacks and blew whistle things at midnight. It was fun though I think I annoyed Nathan with my whistle. Poor Nathan.
All and all it was a fun year.

Can of Worms

2008-11-24T10:25:00.004-07:00

First off, I have loved being a teacher during the elections. I love trying to show both sides of any issue equally, for my own sake as well as for my students. We had a mock election with my 8th graders, and they voted for Obama. I was very surprised.
But the can of worms I'm opening is actually about Prop 8. I know I know, we're all a little sick of it. I haven't posted yet because I wasn't sure what to say. Well I checked out my friends post (his wife actually does the posting) and she said such great things and feels so similar to how I feel, that I'm just going to refer you all to her. It's the link "Jason" and scroll down to her post about Prop 8. On Sunday (yesterday) during Sunday School someone brought it up, and I just kept thinking about it. Later in the lesson we read somewhere in Mormon how he was leading this army of terribly wicked wicked people, but he didn't hate them at all. We shows us that we separate behavior from the person. (I could write a whole post about how important that separation is in our "self talk"). Now don't get me wrong, I think wicked is a strong word that our General Authorities don't even use to describe people, so I don't feel comfortable either (I'm not bold like Mormon). But the point I'm making, is Mormon prayed all night for these people and loved them with all his heart. I don't feel that from people around me. We need to love those that persecute us right? So my new goal is to pray that the anger some have for our church right now, and for those who are hurt and feel discriminated against, will feel healing and love from us, individually and as a church. I know it's hard, but let's not be the close minded or hateful people some think we are. I believe in prayer. I know that it will help me in my heart, and help the situation. Having recently been married, I have had to get used to the idea of marriage, and holy cow do I love it! It's so sacred to me now, more than before because John is sacred to me. We must keep the meaning of marriage sacred. I just had to get that out :)

Spider Attack

2008-11-21T11:13:00.002-07:00

Okay, so it didn't attack me but my heart felt like it because it was beating so fast. So here I am, minding my business doing the overdue dishes, and a gigantic spider (as big as a 50 cent piece or bigger!) appeared and was trying to escape. After about 5 minutes of totally freaking out, almost in tears from the surprise (I know, I'm ridiculous, but you can't help what you are) I finally decided to call John and freak out to him about it. Yes, he had a good little chuckle at me, and told me to just kill it. Ya right, I couldn't even get near the kitchen again let alone to the sink and kill it. He said try turning the water on and it might go down, so I got a long knife and lifted the fosset handle. It didn't work. Well, truth be told I did cry to John, but it got out of my system so that I could start thinking in reality again. He said it's more scared of me than I am of him, but it's hard to imagine a spider having a heart attack and crying over seeing a human. So I got off the phone, got control of myself a little, and had a great idea. I grabbed the Lysol Kitchen Cleaner and just started spraying. I was so brave!!! I sprayed and sprayed until either he is hidden really well under a dish, or incapacitated. I hope he stays there until John comes home. So, just wanted to let you all know how ridiculous I am and let you have a good chuckle at me at no cost. Happy Friday to all.

Halloween!!!

2008-11-01T21:08:00.010-06:00

Ok first off I just want you all to know Melinda got the cutest hair cut and coloring(but that is a different post). This is our first Halloween, and so cutie patutie and I went to the pumpkin patch and got ourselves a pumkin a other grouds ;).

We then went on home and carved it not just boring old Jack o'lantern but into a witch riding a broomstick.

We had a lot fun carving the pumpkin and we also made homemade ice cream at the same time. The Reeses Peanut Butter Cup ice cream was delicious, the pumpkin filling was gross! I think we have a new family tradition.

Also this year we discovered Gardner's Village. We had no idea this place existed then promptly spent three weekends in a row there. It was a fun quaint little place with different specialty shops and a restraunt where we found the best prime rib. Here is some pictures when we went with the Porters.

An Update

2008-10-06T10:03:00.003-06:00

Well we are all moved in to our new apartment, which doesn't necessarily mean we are unpacked. We are both excited to decorate this time and hope to put all our cute things people have given us on our walls. We haven't met our ward yet, and this next Sunday we are having a family gathering at our Cabin, so still won't for another 2 weeks. I'm so excited to start over again. We are more determined to get involved and be known by the ward. We would really like to have Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching assignments this time. That would really help us I think.

This last weekend was General Conference as you all know and what a great weekend, not in the normal sense of the word, but it was still good. I have to be honest, Conference is a little draining on the limited weekend time. I love it still, especially since we had the opportunity to go to the Sunday Morning session together with John's nieces Kate, Ellen and Kate's friend Arianne (I have no idea if that's how you spell it.) It was so good, and then getting to see both John's family and mine was also great. It's just so busy though! I feel like I need a weekend to recover from the weekend sometimes. All in all, it was very good times.

We got a few new letters from my brother Blake who's in Lubbock, Texas on his mission. Poor kid had mono and still feels tired, but a mission does that to you anyway. I could have sworn I had mono sometimes because I have never slept so good in all my life. It's emotionally draining because you are pouring out your heart in testimony and praying these people will "get it" all the time. It's so wonderful and I'm so happy for Blake. My parents got a call from "the mission mom" the other day. I loved those people like that on my mission. They wanted to call for us and give messages for them and hope that maybe you can hear his voice in the background. We did and it made me miss him very much. She sounded like a southern angel and a wonderful person.

My school year is going well, but technologically speaking, very stressful, for the whole school. Our grading system is on the internet, and it's been crashing and failing. I think we are getting used to it until we have enough money to change our server thingy. We even have some teachers that don't have a classroom and have all their things on a cart and go class to class to teach. Pretty crazy. We have so many students, yet my classes are not too terribly big and they are very well behaved. I am still wary to tell them that too much, but they really are. I finally feel like I'm getting my career of teaching and am gaining more and more respect from everyone. I feel more part of a team than I have in the last years, which I think may just come with time and experience. It's been good.

John is looking into getting a job with Davis School District to be one of their tech guys for the school labs. I sure hope it works out, because it would help him gain experience for the future more than his current job is, not that making sandwiches at the Smith Building in SLC isn't preparing him for the future :) He only has until May to finish school which is so exciting.

So there's my little Journal entry styled update. Hope ya'll weren't too bored, and I hope all of you are doing well.

We're Moving

2008-09-25T22:22:00.003-06:00

So, anyway Melinda and I are moving! We found an apartment not too far from our current one, that is bigger, about 150 square feet bigger, for less, about a hundred bucks cheaper. Yay! So yeah we are excited we will be in Midvale now.

Our Side Trip to Taber, Alberta

2008-09-03T17:52:00.002-06:00

We had a chance when we went to Canada this summer, to go off on a date to look up some people and graves of ancestors. It was just wonderful, it's hard to explain what it was like being there. It was a special time. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

1st Week of School!

2008-08-30T21:30:00.002-06:00

So I'm starting me 3rd year of teaching. It has gone so well already! Here are a few stories.

First day, 4th period. One student that I had last year is the class clown to the max, but since I had him last year, we will be ok. But his friend that is in the same period thought he could act the same as he always does. These boys just happened to be polynesian and the new boy didn't have a planner which they needed. He told me that they don't give planners to brown people. I really hate it when the kids think they can pull the race card, so I flippantly and without a thought, said "well go get a brown planner then." And so the knack for fast come backs slowly comes back, which I have found a middle school teacher must have. Later in that period this boy kept pushing it, so I laid it down hard and said I'd have to call home the first day. Then i talked to him later, made a deal and didn't have to call. Amazingly he has been an angel and very cute kid the rest of the week! Feels like a success.

Yesterday (Friday) a random kid in the hall ( I've never seen his face before) asked me if I knew what a hickie was. Lol, so I said yes, and he wanted to know what it was too. So I told him that if you suck on your skin long enough it goes red or purple. I obviously didn't go into ways this could be done, but talk about a weird moment in your life. Ahh, I love middle school. Always something to talk about.

I have really good classes (but it was still August so who knows :D) I love teaching. They are so fun really. Happy Back to School Everyone!

My Notes from Education Week

2008-08-13T23:29:00.003-06:00

Education Week 2008

Thursday

Doug Brennly “After the Nice Wedding and Reception-What Happens?”

Gems of Wisdom: Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.
The older you get, the better you realize you were
Atheism is a non-prophet organization
If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkey and apes
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, “Where’s the self help section?” She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose

Marital Roles
1. Spouse-being married, not same as a dating partner
2. Kinship-a son or daughter in law
3. Sexual-first time ever,
4. Parent
5. Housekeeper
6. Therapist
7. Providers
8. Recreation
9. Religious
Nine roles
Where do you learn to do these roles?
We acquire ideas our whole life, and have expectations, for you and for him.
Role Discrepancies-the difference between expectations (normal behavior) and actual role performance.

Charles Beckert:
“A major cause of marital unhappiness is the unwillingness and /or inability of one partner in a marriage relations to behave in the manner that is expected by the spouse.” Expectations!

Where do you learn to be a wife? From your husband, and vise versa.
*Must be humble to learn.
Expectations change when we fall in love, and while you communicate.
*Happily married people know what their spouses want, and they do that for them (serve) and then they keep reciprocating.
**Compromise in the direction of the core belief: go with the one that cares the most about it.
**Avoid trouble areas, like me driving him J
**When he gets close to how you want it done, you praise! Shaping, not nagging. It’s a best way to teach them how to be the spouse they should be.
**Communcate “Honey I need your help…)

**I think this is why newlyweds struggle, because we just stepped into 9 new roles that we have some preconceived idea of how it’s supposed to be. It’s not necessarily that we did something wrong, it’s just the situation and what your willing to learn and talk about. I’m very happy with the way we have figured things out, and how we can keep going.

Friday
Doug Brenley (doug_brenley@byu.edu)
Intimacy

5 Approaches to Sexuality
1. Sex is ungodly; anti-spiritual
2. Hedonism-pleasure for pleasure’s sake; indiscriminate mating; pornography; Hefner Playboy style
3. Permissiveness with affection (like in the movies)
4. situational ethics-depends on how sexual behavior affects the relationship. Can’t dispense “thou shalt not; from Sinai
5. **Sacred; for married couples only, marital sacrament *a renewing of the vows and covenants!

Purposes:
1. As a profound expression of love, a renewal of the marriage covenant; a sacrament **Procreation of eternal families. It is faith an confident in understand of one another. Total partnership, unselfishness, cleanliness, faith in the plan, it never tires or wanes, (Faith Precedes the Miracle, Kimball)
2. To bring emotional closeness, Pratt: those affections are planted by the Spirit. “there is not a more pure and holy principle in existence than the affection which glows in the bosom of a virtuous man for his companion.”
3. To have kids, to fulfill commandments.
4. To provide physical and emotional pleasure to each other-a therapeutic dimension of marriage. Should be a release.

Communication
1. Willing to communicate
2. Frequent monitoring by each spouse
3. Provide gentle and clear instruction to each other.
4. Kind instructors and eager students.
5. The non-sexual areas affect directly intimacy
6. Intimacy is a barometer of your whole marriage because it’s good when everything else is good. Barometer to the whole marriage.
7. Men oragism are more predictable, women enjoy more romance.
8. Men need to be aware of all the other factors in our head! All the worries
9. There are no perfomance standards. Your spouse is your teacher on how to be a lover.

Some Suggestions
1. Vocabulary so you can talk
2. Discover what pleases you

Where’s the Line
1. She can’t be used as women are in any sort of media . 13% of woman have moved into pornography.

Merrilee Boyack: Wipe Out Your Worries and Win Peace

Worry Transference: story with their teenage son
Worry: Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength.
*Worry vs. Concern: worry weighs and is oppressive on your mind
*Is some amount good? Ya.
Why do we worry? Because we can’t control everything, even your internal feelings either.
*When is it not good? The paralyzing kind. It comes from a “diminished sense of power.” TOXIC worry.
*What do we worry about?
-spouse’s happiness
-where to live and raise kids
-money
-being a good wife
-health, loosing weight
-The unexpected: terrorists, baby’s health, miscarriages, will they like me
-Future: will they all stay faithful? Will I?
-Making mistakes: saying the wrong thing, not teaching well enough.
-Danger
**Worry clogs the arteries of living, add blood thinners, the “P” factors.
The “P” Factors
1. Problem Ownership: NOT MY PROBLEM or NMP
a. 2 Ne 10:23 and Hel 14: 30-31, your free to act yourself, and from other peoples mistakes
b. Bummer! Difference between supporting and taking responsibility. One response helps the other person fix his own problems. The other TAKES OVER the fixing problem. Shift the responsibility to where it belongs. It’s not always yours. It actually hinders their responsibility and coping skills.
c. Ask yourself: Can they fix this? Asses their ability to solve their own problems as well
d. Have Faith they can do it!! If we constantly bail them out, we are handicapping them! Don’t fix, SUPPORT.
e. Balance Charity and Independence. “You can’t handle this so I have to fix it for you”, vs “I have faith in you that you can solve this!”
f. Poem **GOOGLE Letting GO,

LETTING GO TAKES LOVE
To let go does not mean to stop caring,_ it means I can't do it for someone else._
To let go is not to cut myself off,_ it's the realization I can't control another._
To let go is not to enable,_ but allow learning from natural consequences._
To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means_ the outcome is not in my hands._
To let go is not to try to change or blame another, _ it's to make the most of myself._
To let go is not to care for,_ but to care about._
To let go is not to fix,_ but to be supportive._
To let go is not to judge,_ but to allow another to be a human being._
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,_ but to allow others to affect their destinies._
To let go is not to be protective,_ it's to permit another to face reality._
To let go is not to deny,_ but to accept._
To let go is not to nag, scold or argue,_ but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them._
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,_ but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it._
To let go is not to criticize or regulate anybody,_ but to try to become what I dream I can be._
To let go is not to regret the past,_ but to grow and live for the future.__
To let go is to fear less and love more_ Remember: The time to love is short.

2. Perspective: NO BIGGIE
a. Elder Scott: Don’t let good things crowd out that which is essential.
b. Some things need doing better than they’ve ever been done before. Some just need doing. Others don’t need doing at all. Know which is which.
c. Ask, “Will I remember this one year from now? Think about Africa for just a second, and remember what you have. Perspective!

3. Patience: Hang Loose
a. Mosiah 4:27-it’s not required you run faster than you have strength.
b. D&C 67:13-
c. D&C 121: 41- by long suffering.

4. Peace: OH WELL
a. Matt 11:28-29
b. John 14: 27
c. **Give the Burden of our worries to the Lord. And DON”T TAKE THEM BACK!!!

S. Dee Barrett: Powerful Messages Sent Through Unspoken Words: Non-verbal Communication

Non Verbal is about 65% of communication.
What does it communicate: Attitude
*NV can bring us closer or farther apart. You can be a better communicator, speaker and listener.
Alma 5: 14, three questions, all asking the same thing, but in three different ways.

NV radiates what is in our heart. 3 Nephi 12: 27-30
-batle it out in your head-it’s easier to do ther than your heart.
-If you think or feel it, you are Saying It!
-As you immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you radiate Christ, his image is what you feel and radiate.
-Alma 31:5 The word is the strongest

3 Skills To Send Positive Messages

1. Eye Contact: look in eyes, and if you have an agenda (meaning you want to see something in another person) you’ll find it by taking their NV the way you want.

2. Body Spacing: big body spaced people have to be sure not to send the “disinterested” vibe or message, and close talkers need to be nice and aware of other peoples comfort.

3. Touch: be sensitive to those who are not touchy

**Remember, you are communicating what’s in your heart.

Doug Brenly “What Really Happy Couples Actually Do” **ONE OF MY FAVORITES

*Don’t comment on every little thing.
*Don’t be afraid to express deep emotion.

**Miserable couples do what miserable people do-happily married couples do what makes them happy.
*Find “yakking” time
*Prayer is a window into your spouses heart
*Wouldn’t hurt to, as you put your garments on, to think of the covenants you made.
****Pray morning and night together. (This was one of the biggest things he talked about)
-once you stop that habit, it’s so hard to start again, but you still need to do it.

Questions To Ask Yourselves
1. Are you two kneeling in prayer 2x daily?
2. Do you attend the temple together often?
3. Do you read the scriptures together?
4. Is your intimacy good?
5. Do you have Family Home Evening with the Father at the lead?
The Above is What Happy Couples Do!

*One challenge that I’m going to do is *memorize my husbands patriarchal blessing
*President Hinckley
“A happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well being of your spouse.”
*The outcome of following this council is the elimination of selfishness, pride and apathy.

-Proclamation on the Family: faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, wholesome recreational activities.

6 More Things Happy Couples Do:

1. Enjoy Talking Together
2. Non-Sexual Touch
3. Mutually Theraputic (Each other’s therapist)
4. Date Frequently
5. Great Intimacy
6. Time with kids

***I REALLY ENJOYED THIS CLASS. ONE OF THE BEST!!!

Merrillee Boyack: Eliminate the Three C’s: Comparing, Conforming, Competing

Comparing:

CS Lewis: ” We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. Nearly all those evils which people put down to greed or selfishness are really far more the result of pride.
-Human nature to compare, to make choices all the time.
-The comparison is always faulty because we never know the truth of someone’s life, you cannot see their burdens
-Cannot see their gifts, skills or opportunities. **No duh, your different! We can only compare to FACADES! Always apples and oranges.
-It’s never fair, and it’s never equal
-Sheri Dew: in No Doubt About It, Satan delights when we gossip …) So good. Pg 224-225
“Compare yourself to Gods Standards, Your value to Him is independent of your body mass index.” (Merrill Christensen, BYU Devotional 7/31/07)
-they are the only ones that know us and can judge us! He’s the only one we need to impress!
-Matt 20
-The ROOT TO COMPARING IS PRIDE!!!!
-Element of competition is gone, so is pride.
-D&C 58:39 +

Conforming
*Talents may not be shared when we conform to what we think others expect.
*How do we conform?
-Actions, Attitudes, Dress, Possessions, Goals, Self-perception
*We SHOULD conform to the gospel, these actually further us along in recognizing and achieving our uniqueness.

Competing
What competition are you in?
Why? WE ARE NOT IN A RACE!
Compete with yourself, are you doing your best? Compete with our own potential which is limitless

Reduce all Three

1. Look at ourselves with truth, Gifts, talents skills, strengths. Only look at yourself with HIS mirror.
2. Choose to be humble, lift others above yourself
3. Look at others with charity. Think instead “They are doing the best they can.”
a. If you knew their story, you’d understand
b. Look with Christ’s eyes, other saw fisherman, he saw men of God,
i. They were worth the sacrifice of the Savior too.
4. Remember who we really are
a. Remember our destiny, who you really are. See what heaven sees in you.

Once we are free from COMPARING< CONFORMNG< AND COMPETING, we are free to pursue our unique mission in life. “We can do it!” We are free to truly keep our covenants, mourn with those that mourn.

Education Week

2008-08-13T20:27:00.002-06:00

It's been a while, I got lazy. But I really want to tell anyone who wants to read this about Education Week. I went to BYU-I, both John and I's alma-mater. I met my old college roommates and life long friends Colette and Sarah up there, and also got to know Kelly Parks, Melissa Merrill, and Becca (Colette's cousin) We had so much fun just being girls again! Not being wives, or moms or sisters, but just friends. That may be one of my favorite roles in life! We'll have to see.
Anyway, me and Kelly drove up Wednesday night and we planned out our classes for the next 3 days. I love having Sarah around because we have the same ideas about sleeping in :D. We went to some great classes, and some not as good. Not that they were bad, just not as interesting as others. I gotta be entertained now days. Thursday night Kelly and I went to see Cherie Call do a concert. I think I went in with low expectations for some reason, but it was soooo great! I now more of her songs than I realized from listening to Sister Swain's cd's, a mission companion. So I really enjoyed that. I am going to try and attach my notes for anyone interested in seeing what I learned. One of the best were about comparing, competing, non-verbal communication, intimacy (which he made funny and comfortable) and about handling what we need to, and letting others handle their own problems.
We cooked our meals together which was a lot of fun. I found out about SparkPeople which is a great site that helps loose weight, and spent late nights talking and catching up. There is such a spirit there! John and I were saying how when you go to school there you get kind of sick of hearing about "The Spirit of Ricks" all the time, and you feel it all the time you don't always recognize it, but wow, going back I really felt it again. I wanted to listen to church music and wanted to be friendly and outgoing to strangers! It's hard to describe, but it's so great.
Anyway, thanks to Cole for getting everything together and inviting us all to go. It was a highlight of my summer and I can't wait to go back!

Our Plants

2008-07-21T19:34:00.008-06:00

We have been attempting to grow some herbs from seed. We can't have a puppy, our apartment is too small, and we don't have kids yet, and I needed something to take care of. So we bought a bunch of herbs, some have worked and others we had to give up on. Our success is our one Basil plant. We then were lucky enough to have John's mom buy us a few plants already on it's way. So our "patio garden" consists of Chives, Basil and a Tomato plant. We have had to say goodbye to mint, lavender, and rosemary. And yes, they all have names. We enjoy chives every now and then and we took these pics of when we picked our first tomato.

Canada Trip

2008-07-21T16:54:00.004-06:00

Here's a quick day by day of our fun trip.
Day One: Drove from home to Kalisbell, Montana. It was a long but good drive. Dad Dickson has a very comfortable car, so we slept a lot.
Day Two: Woke up and went to Glacier National Park through Logans Pass, also called "Road to the Sky" which we can attest is very fitting. I wish the pictures could to justice, but I have to say they are very good even though John was taking them from the moving car. We also crossed the border, which was a first for me, and headed through Waterton National Park and on to Cardston, Alberta. We went to the Prince of Wales Hotel, which has an amazing view of a lake, and about 1/2 way down the lake is the International Border again. We arrive in Leavitt, a blink of a town just oustide of Cardston where we stayed. Dad Dickson performed the sealing for a childhood friend and his family (He was baptized about a year ago by him as well). It was so good to be around such great people.
John and I took a little trip within the trip to Taber where my Grandma Cousins lived and where her parents lived for a long time. It was so special to be there! We found my 4th Great Grandparents' graves and then visited my grandma's cousin, Glen. It just felt so good to be there and drive around. It's hard to descibe.
Day Three: 1st had to go look for my wallet we left in Tony Roma's an hour out of the way (darn genes) but that gave us an opportunity to find John's 4th great grandparents graves. Then we drove around the city of Calgary and headed to Banff. Entered Banff National Park, which was again amazing and I'm making another slide show for that. We also stopped at Lake Louise but it was so cold all day and raining pretty hard we didn't see much of it. We then headed southeast towards the U.S. again.
Day Four: Went through Rogers pass, which is included in the 2nd slideshow. Drove to Penticton, which is a tourist town at the southend of a beautful lake. It had a great beach and we stayed at the "Tiki Shores" which was very nice. We seriously loved this place, it was warm, and the street our hotel was on paralleled the beach and we had a wonderful dinner too. We got to meet up with Uncle Gary and Great Uncle Jared. It was fun for me to meet and get to know them.
Day Five: Drove to Emily and Brandon's new beautiful home in Winatchee, Washington! So fun to visit and see their new home. So happy for them.
Day Six: Went to church there and again enjoyed time getting to know my new nephews.
Day Seven: Drove to Nampa, Idaho to Andy and Joel's beautiful home. Really enjoyed time there too, especially when their dogs tried to eat my book! It was thrashed but the last chapter was still intact, so I kept it. That shows how great the book is! Love their family. My favorite was watching them sing camp songs around their fire pit.
Day Eight: We made it home!!! Some final memories: Mom forgetting to put her seatbelt on and the dinging noise going crazy until she did. Listening to the comedian Brian Reagan and from there on out, looking for "Moosen" (the plural for moose of course). John and I putting our heads together and sleeping in the back seat. And so many others. THANK YOU MOM AND DAD FOR TAKING US ON A GREAT TRIP!

Glacier National Park

2008-07-21T16:51:00.001-06:00

Here is the first set of pictures from our road trip. There's some text at the bottom of some of the pictures but it might be hard to see, sorry. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A few pictures from Winatchee

2008-07-20T19:29:00.000-06:00

The 1st one is of Tanner, Emily and Brandon's oldest, and the other two are of Icicle River near Leavenworth, a Bavarian styled village/town.

Banff

2008-07-20T17:43:00.001-06:00

As you can tell, this one is a little better than the other. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Nashville Trip 2007

2008-07-16T13:20:00.007-06:00

These are from a trip I took last summer around this time. I went with my companion Rachael Collins from Payson, Ut. We had a really fun time. This was an important time for me too, because by the time I came back I realized I was truly in love with John.
This is the cute daughter of my dear friends the Graysons in Fairview, TN. This was my first area, so it was a special time.

This is Sister Grayson and I

Me, Janice Williams (who I taught, was baptized I even got to go to the temple with later, very dear friend) and Sister Collins. This is at Janice's house in Nashville, TN.

Catapult

2008-07-06T21:13:00.001-06:00

More Lagoon Pics

2008-07-05T19:19:00.005-06:00

We made it to the end of the day. I was so sunburndt but you can't tell. I think John looks very perky in this pic. lol

This is us after we survived "The Catapult" which shot us just like a sling shot about 150 feet or so into the air. Talk about crazy in love.

This is us on our first ride of the day, the House of Terror, very scary!

Lagoon, in line at the White Roller Coaster!

2008-07-05T17:55:00.001-06:00

Lagoon!

2008-06-16T12:47:00.002-06:00

So now that summer is here, we are going to get better at posting regularly. The end of school was a blast for me AND my students. I got to go to Lagoon again this year. There are so many perks that I ignore the long lines. All I have to do is ride the bus, and they are not even annoying, and then it's done! We get a free lunch there too, which is huge since that place is a rip off with food. The best part: John got to come too!!! Yay, I always wanted to go to Lagoon with a boyfriend, and during jr. high I thought I could find one there (don't ask, I don't know how we thought that was a good idea, good thing it never happened.) So we rode rides and played games, he won me prizes. We even went on the catapult, scariest thing I've done in a while. Shoots you straight up higher than the Sky Coaster (big farris wheel). I grabbed a student to film us on our camera. We'll get it posted soon. It's pretty funny. So that's our post on Lagoon. I think it's my shortest post. Y'all are so lucky!

Pittsburg

2008-05-28T10:49:00.002-06:00

I had the funnest opportunity to hang out with some of the funnest people I know. I was invited to go to Sister's Weekend with John's family. There was Susanne and Wendy from Las Vegas, Andy from Boise, Gina who is now firmly in , Emily who hosted in Pittsburgh, and John's Mom Delores. When they told me we would have fun and they would be crazy, I thought they were exaggerating, oh no, they were being literal.

I flew there after they had been there a few days and they all came to pick me up from the airport. We went to the Cheesecake Factory, so yummy, and got cheesecakes to stay and go. Then we drove through part of Pittsburgh to get back to the hotel, and I've decided it's a great city. So much to look at all the time. It's an older city and I love that. Our hotel was perfect, right on the water front and next to lots of fun places. We went on "the incline" which is like a railroad track going straight up the hillside in a little streetcar-ish thing. It was way steep and thrilling. The view at the top was incredible. We got there right at sunset and view is of the city skyline in pinks and reds. It might have been my favorite part. Then we walked back to our hotel, but on the way there was this fountain and music show and the next thing I know, the sisters are singing and dancing, jumping of benches all while people in restaurants are watching. I had no idea they were so entertaining. We took some goofy pictures.

Our first night we did "our 3 favorite things" which I stupidly left at home. But it was still very fun. Some favorites were: eye shadow, sun glasses, lotion, chocolate, a poem, FHE idea book, lip gloss, and many other very fun things. They also sang happy birthday and gave me a gift card to the movies. So nice and gracious people.

Ok, I also didn't realize how relaxing this trip would be, because they like reading too, and so I got to read my book. Very nice. The next day we went to "the strip" and to my pleasure it was nothing like the Vegas strip. It's a market place style street that has so many shops and people selling food and antiques and everything. I loved this Italian store that had yummy bread and big vats of olive oil. It was very fun. There was this art store and they had these little figurines of fleas made of steel doing different jobs. Later that day we went to Phipps, which is a giant greenhouse. I've never seen anything this big before filled with trees and flowers of all kinds. I really liked the orchid room to see all the beautiful styles of orchids.

Let's see, my memory is fuzzy. I know at one point we hung out at the hotel and I slept for almost 2 hours! We went to a movie and shopping, I found some way cute shoes. We saw Prince Caspian which I thought was cute.

It was so great to get to know them better. They are all so sweet and accepting. I was partly there to represent my John since being the only boy in the family has left him out more than once, just by circumstances. It made him feel better about those times knowing because of him I can be part of them now. Such fabulous women, I love and respect them all. It was a little hard being away from John, ok very hard. But the pain of our separation was worth it. :)

Dear Melinda,

2008-05-20T10:41:00.002-06:00

There is a lot that I want to say to you. You are so beautiful! I love you sweetie. I just want say Happy Birthday.
There is something about greens eyes blonde hair and the cutest smile a girl could have.
Thers is a light that comes to your eyes when you are happy, I makes me smile just to see it.
There is note when you laugh that reminds me of summer days when I was a kid.
There are many things that I would say to you to have you always remember that you are beautiful. That you are the sweetest and most wonderful wife. You do so much for me and do not deny it because you know it is true.

I love you!

I miss you!

I am so in love with you

Love

Johnny

Packing with Melinda

2008-05-19T10:51:00.004-06:00

So, last thursday Melinda was packing to go to the Dickson sisters weekend in Pittsburgh. While she was packing she noticed she misplaced a pair of shorts. So, I being a dutiful husband start helping her look for the pair of shorts. We look in the dresser, in the closet, in Melinda's nightstand. Nothing. So, we thought well they could be under the bed. So I get a little lattern and proceed to look under the bed. It is amazing what you can find under the thing. So, I begin going through some of containers we use to organize under there and I find a pair of pants that I liked and so put them out so I can put them away and use them. Well, we never did find the shorts for Melinda, but I did come up with another pair of pants.

So, now it is Monday and I thought I would wear the pants I had found. I put them on and off I go. I am now sitting on the bus, with lots of people and I look down and see why I had stopped wearing these pants. (I thought these particular pants were thrown away, I have a couple pairs of this same style.) Right in the center of the crotch just under the zipper is a hole not a big one but an obvious hole. How embarrasing!

On to one more story this one about my Cutie batutie wife, Melinda.

So, at like 11:00 on Thursday we remember that she can not take any liquid containers bigger then three ounces in her carry on luggage. As she was not checking anything, we knew we needed to get some travel size things for her. So off we go to Wal-Mart (where we find a replacement for the shorts she misplaced in the last story.) We grab the items we needed and we head for the check out lines. As we are walking we are discussing if there is anything else she needs or can or can not take.

"Now I can't take Gargettoes right? Because I remeber they took some away from me one time I flew before." Then she stops and thinks for a minute. "No, wait it was the pocket knife they took not the Gargettoes." (Gargettoes are a savory preztel mix with the toasted bagel chips oh so dangerous, drool...)

"Yeah I know what you mean they took my doughnuts away from me too, oh, no thats right it was the loaded gun the confiscated from me not the doughnuts." I respond, as we collapse from laughter right there in Wal-Mart. (So it is clear I have never tried to take a gun on any flight.)

The Real Mother's Day

2008-05-12T16:28:00.004-06:00

So now that Mother's Day as actually happened, I feel much better. First off, I have (and I know I've said it a million times) the best husband. He was so anxious to give me my present, that before I could get all the goop off my eyes I was holding my present, the latest Stephanie Meyer book, The Host. It's really good so far. It was so sweet, and he put an inscription in it, and a lovely card. I felt so guilty still, but it was so fun, I'm so excited for Father's Day!

Oopsie

2008-05-05T10:35:00.002-06:00

So I made a pretty big mistake and John is the one that suffered. This weekend has kind of been crazy, good crazy. My older brother Ryan graduated from the U on Friday. Then, Saturday was the last time for two years my two brothers would be together because Blake is leaving on his mission to Texas the 14th. Anyway, Sat. night we celebrated Mother's day too. We did the whole gift thing and dinner and fun. So yesterday, Sunday, I thought it was the real Mother's Day. I was a little down because John didn't even seem to acknowledge it, even though I reminded him to call his mom. John's sister Gina invited us over for dinner and I thought it was because his parents were out of town and wanted to celebrate. So on the way to Tooele, I said the following stupid things:

"So honey did you know that I'm a mother?"

"Yes, you are the mother of our family." and he said it with much trepidation of where this was going.

I said with a very calm but sad voice "so why didn't you say happy mother's day?"

Silence followed and attached was a very upset and sad face from John. He felt so bad! Then I realized I needed to get over it now that I got it out, and we were trying to move on by the time we got there.

We are sitting around the dinner table and I asked Gina's kids if they helped their mom and they told me all sorts of wonderful things they did for her. I asked if they told her happy mother's day. Lol, and this is where out of the mouth of babes I was corrected. I looked over at John with a very sheepish "I'm so sorry" look.

What's cute is John just took my word for it and thought it was Mother's Day too. I was relieved that I wrong, and I think John is too. Oh dear.

2008-04-23T11:27:00.001-06:00

2008-04-23T10:43:00.000-06:00

The Most Romantic Husband Award

2008-04-23T10:34:00.003-06:00

This post is something very special to me and I hesitated in posting it for a while now. This is an email from my most amazing husband John. It's very romantic and mooshy and I love it, it's dear to my heart. I sat at my desk crying after reading it because it was so touching and exactly what I needed to hear. So why am I sharing it? Well, to brag about how loving and romantic my honey is, and to also show everyone what a talented writer he is. So he officially gets the "Most Romantic Husband Award." I know you will all agree.

My sweet and darling Melinda Lou,

I sat watching the sun rise over Mount Timpanogas this morning. The beauty of it was breath taking. The golden beams of light shown across the valley, each one highlighting objects with its light. White clouds turned to gold. the white peaks of the mountains were brilliant and bright with a blinding light. Even the windshields of the vehicles on the road reflected the glory and beauty of it. But, in the middle of such beauty all I could really see is you, your beauty. Your sweet nature, your flowing golden hair, your bright green eyes, and your darling smile. You, my heart, did something that very few have ever done in a life time, in a millennia, or even history. You my Melinda surpassed the beauty of nature.

I say this with all the love I have. You are my HEART. You are my BREATH. You are my LIFE.

Love,

Johnny

Now isn't that just the sweetest thing! Signing off as the luckiest girl in the world

Confusing Morning

2008-04-23T10:30:00.002-06:00

So I wake up this morning thinking it was Friday. I'm all excited because I get to wear jeans and I am planning on going shopping for the first time in a while. So I am getting ready and I realize it's not Friday, but Thursday! I stressed out because my 9th graders are taking a test and I didn't have it ready and I really need to hurry and get to work. Well, by the time I walked out the door, it finally dawned on my that it was really and truly Wednesday. Nothing to stress about, but nothing to be happy about. Ughhh. One of the worst mornings is all I have to say.

Good Night Honey

2008-04-18T08:36:00.005-06:00

There I was sleeping, nestled deep in my blankets. Out of no where I hear the voice of an angel, she says to me, "Good night, honey."

I sleepily respond while I look at the clock and the digits say, 5:33 AM. 5:33 AM! And this angel is telling me good night. I then roll over and went to sleep.

Well, anyhow, I want to talk a little of Melinda. She is so wonderful. She helps me out everyday. I love her so much! She has the prettiest glowing green eyes! The cutest smile that lights up my day. She makes me smile at the very thought of her. She has the most gorgeous long hair that is so soft so wonderful. In short I love her very much.

2008-04-17T16:05:00.004-06:00

Here is a link to a clip of Brian Regan on youtube so that you all can enjoy his wonderful humor and hear him tell the joke that our blogspot is named after. Enjoy!

This one is called "I walked on the moon" and I think we've all met a "me monster" at least once or twice in our life. Go to youtube.com, and search Brian Regan-I walked on the moon. (Ya, I couldn't figure out the whole link thing :))

Mixing Up Words

2008-04-17T08:38:00.005-06:00

So you may have noticed the address to our blog. Take care of the luck. It refers to a comedian that me and Melinda both like, Brian Reagan. He does a skit where he talks about how sometimes you start saying one thing, but then decide to change what you say half way through. So for example saying goodbye to someone your tongue may start saying, "Take care!" But, your brain decides to say, "Good luck!" So the result is "Take luck!" Then in extreme haste you try to cover up your massacre of the two phrases and start yelling out random phrases like "Take care of the luck!" So there is a breif explination of the address.

Now let me explain what happened last night at my work. I go up to The Graden prep kitchen (in the Joseph Smith Memorial Build from now on called the JSMB) to grab some soup containers for the leftover soup because it is the end of the night. I see my boss Scott he asks how things are going. I reply good and you?

"Fine not too busy, though"

"Yeah well we haven't been too hoppinin' either." I do not know if hoppinin' is what actually came out because I do not think I could explain in writting exactly what it sounded like. Now let me try to explain.

I was trying to say in essence we were not too busy, either. But changed it to the more slangish happening, then tried to use some form of hopping. Yes, I know I should hang my head in shame.
His reply was a muttered, "That is too bad."

I do not know what exactly he heard, though it may even be "We haven't been to happy either." Yea needless to say I all but ran for the elevator as he was already on his way too, and probably more confused then I was.

2008-04-09T15:12:00.001-06:00

Welcome to our brand new blog! We will see how this goes.