HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

pictures of Halloween night to come (tomorrow) . . .

Have a GREAT NIGHT!!

TRICK OR TREAT!

LoVe, MaRi

Prepping for Halloween . . .

We spent last night carving our pumpkin. After voting, we decided to make it the Batman Bat. I think it turned out pretty cool. It looks great with a candle and when the lights are out. We had lots of fun doing it! I also made a Halloween cake today. It was pretty funny because I did not have orange spray so I had to use yellow and red together, then the decorator tube thing popped and I was left using the top and my finger pushing out the frosting. Anyhow, after a total mess - this is what I came up with! Not too bad, but nothing like what I was hoping for (it almost never is!) Next time I am getting all the right stuff before attempting something like this. I love to do it - I just need tools, the right tools. :-)

Halloween is tomorrow and so is Trunk or Treat. We are in charge of it since we are on the activities committee - should be fun! The kids are so excited about Halloween! We love the holidays!

Also, Charles has his first Jury Trial today. He was suppose to have his first one last week, but the Judge was sick so it was canceled (there is no sub for a Judge). He was really excited about it this morning, all ready to go. In this case it is literally not if you win or lose - it is how you play the game. :-) The trial he was suppose to have last week was going to be against another LDS attorney who is moving into our ward - fun times! He said they would chat about Young Mens, Ward activities, etc. and then they would get down to business and haggle with each other over details, then they ended with see you at church - gotta love it. :-) He is loving his job! I am SO glad!

Hope your Halloween is GREAT!!

Love you!

Mari

Primary Program

Today was the Primary Program in our ward. It went really well. Sammi and Daniel did a great job. They both memorized their parts. Sammi had the 4th article of Faith and she did a fantastic job. Daniel's part was, "Happiness in family life is most likely achieved when founded upon the teachings of the lord Jesus Christ." He got up to say his part after a few other kids, that had help from his teacher. When it was his turn he said to his teacher, "I don't need help" and he went on to say his part and he did a great job. It was pretty funny. Charles and I sat in the second row in the middle, so we had great seats! :-) It was so fun. I love Primary Programs.

Hope you had a fantastic Sunday too!

Lots of love!
Mari

Sammi was very willing to pose for the pictures . . . Daniel was interested in other things. :-)

Sammi got an award for being a good girl in her first grade class. As a reward she got to sit at a special table (with other children and the Principal) and have her parents eat lunch with her. Charles took the time off of work and we joined Sammi for a lovely school lunch :-). She loved it!

William is on the same growth schedule as Daniel was. Daniel was born April 25 and William April 26. I had saved some of Daniel's clothes and 4 years later - William is wearing them! So fun!

Giggle Boy

William being silly. . .

Do you like it like that??

John, I love you. :-)

John the Dancer. . . who knew?

This is John and Emily doing a little dance duet. They were famous for never practicing together and then figuring it out on stage . . . gotta love it! Nice moves John! Emily - so lovely! (Performed at a Dinner Theater for our Ward in Alaska . . .)

I'll be home for Christmas . . .

Here is a clip of my favorite quartet to sing with. It was Emily and Levi Ekstrom and Me and my brother John. I love the family sound (Emily and Levi are family). We sang everywhere and all the time together. So fun! Every year during this time I always think of the days of singing telegrams and concerts performed at hotels. Fun days! I sure miss singing with all of you! Perhaps we can meet up again soon . . .

Dancing in Heaven

Here is a little clip of me and John (my cute brother) singing a song we wrote together. It is called Dancing in Heaven. We sang it at a Ward party. . . Look how cute you are Johnny! :-) That was 9 years ago! I sure miss the good old days of creating music with John. I would write the words, he would amazingly pluck it out on the guitar, and before we knew it - there would be a song! Love you John! I could not fit the whole song on there . . . it is a just a little clip of it.

Are you Assimilated?

When I was young my family used to gather around the TV to watch Star Trek. I was not very interested in the show (at all), but since the whole family was there, I watched too. Today I was reminded of Star Trek. I was handed a cell phone from a first grader and she asked me if I could help her call her mom. I looked at the phone, which was vibrating, and pictures were flashing. I could not even find the on button! Anyhow, I had to apologize to the child, I could not figure it out, and I sent her to another group of adults for help. . . I felt pretty silly.

I then thought of the Borg, from Star Trek. I often think of them when I see people walking around with things connected to their ears, their hips, and wires attached to devices on their bodies. Sometimes it appears people are talking to themselves as they are walking down the road, their devices are hidden. Anyhow, it seems that as the future unfolds "resistance is futile". But I have resisted, to a degree. We do not have a cell phone or any other gadgets. Our TV has tape holding the buttons on, it is from the 80's. If you adjust the cable wire in the back we can pick up a few stations (PBS is one of them). We get by just fine without all that "stuff". We do have a nice computer - which I am grateful for, they are almost a necessity now. Anyhow, it is weird to see all the gadgety technology that is out there now. It must be overwhelming to be a teenager in this day and age! There was nothing like it when I was a youth.

Don't get me wrong, I think cell phones are great, and I am sure all those other gadgets are useful - to some degree. Cell phones are nice - especially in emergency situations. Unfortunately, more emergencies are caused by them than solved by them (in cars).

Why are first graders walking around with phones in their pockets?? Silly. I do believe in making sure your children are current with computers, etc. Computers are the future, children NEED to know how to use them. I try and let my children play around with them, I especially LOVE PBSkids.org. I do think we can avoid overwhelming them with too many gadgets. The little girl today did not even know how to use the phone! Her mom just gave it to her without showing her how it worked? She was almost in tears.

Anyhow, it was just a thought I had today. . . funny times we live in! :-) Are you assimilated??

Cars

I do not like cars. I do like to drive them or ride in them - but they are such a bother sometimes! Luckily, right now we are able to get by pretty well not using ours. That is a good thing since the check engine light has been on for over a month. We have had our little Nissian Altima for a little over 3 years. We bought it for $2700.00. We looked through our car records the other day and tallied up our repair costs over 3 years for this car. It is now at $7000.00!! It makes me sick to think about. Anyhow, we have double paid for our car now and it is only losing value. How lovely.

The check engine light came on and we were seriously thinking of buying a new car and making payments. We are almost bursting at the seams in our little car with the three kids in the back. We considered it, we even test drove some nice cars at a decent price. We just could not do it. We could not go into debt for a car. But as we figure it, we already have since over 3 years we have paid the equivalent of a $10,000 car for our $2700 piece of junk.

We took the car into a mechanic again to a highly recommended shop (someone at Charles work recommended him). After $1200.00 worth of work we went for a drive last night and what happened? The check engine light came back on! Like I said, I do not like cars!! So now, we have to call the mechanic back and say, "What is up with that!?"

I am sure like all life's problems this too will "work out" and in years to come we will laugh about the good old days and our worthless car. For now though, it is a bit of a headache. I feel bad for Charles having to deal with this now too. Lame.

Besides that, things are good, really good.

I am grateful for my feet that can take me where I need to go. I am grateful for a stroller to carry the children. I am grateful that I am strong enough to brave whatever elements and walk to and from school and church. I am just really grateful. :-)

Stuff happens, the trick is to not let it get you down. . . :-)

"Life is a highway, I wanna drive it all night long. . . " Don't you need a car for that?

The Incredibles . . .

The REAL Will Turner!

You gotta love it!

Frogs . . . how I love them!

I found a bug in my backyard . . .

More Pictures of Pumpkin Kids . . .

Pumpkin Kids

I decided to try and do a photo session and get some fall photos . . . here they are!! There are more to come.

Pumpkids . . .

Pictures with Pumpkins. . .

Bringing Mother Nature in . . .

I have been doing a little decorating with nature. They have these great acorn trees here and the acorns make great home decor. The rose is from our backyard - they are still growing on our bushes!

Rainbows

There was a really bad storm that blew through here the other day. Following the harsh storm came this beautiful rainbow. I love how after the storm, miracles follow . . .

First Grade Picture

Here is Sammi's first grade photo. . .

Who Knew???

I remember when I first saw this picture of Charles. I knew I was going to have his children ( I know - weird). This picture of Charles sealed the deal for me. When I saw this picture of Sammi I saw SO much of Charles in her face!

Miracles . . . do you believe?

I can remember sitting at my mother's feet and asking her to tell me about miracles that had happen in her lifetime. I loved hearing the many stories, especially from my mother, she is a great story-teller! : )

I was thinking about miracles today because Sammi had her first school field trip. This means she would be traveling away from the school on a bus. I think I am in some ways very similar to Nemo's dad Marlin in regards to field trips - extremely overprotective.

Why? Well, when I was 4 years old I was on my way to a farm for a school field trip. A bunch of kids were sitting in the back of a station wagon without seat-belts (it was not a law yet). All the kids and adults were happy and excited to go on a field trip. We were singing and laughing, then - WHAM! A huge pickup truck did not stop at a stop sign and smashed into the side of our car. I can still remember the glass flying everywhere, and the sound of metal being crushed. I remember lots of screaming and crying, though I think I passed out for awhile while in the car. The next thing I remember is someone holding me outside, looking at me. I remember looking at the other children covered in glass and blood. There was a little black girl covered in blood with glass stuck in her skin. I remember one child had glass in his tongue. Anyhow, then I remember going to the hospital and seeing my mom. Amongst all this chaos and injuries, I was the only on in the whole car who had not been hurt. Not a bump, or bruise or anything - a miracle! Yes, I do believe.

This experience was brought fresh to my mind this morning as I sent Sammi off to school for field trip day. I said a special prayer for her. Then it made me wonder how my mother must have felt getting the call to go to the hospital and that I had been in a bad accident. I cannot imagine. I am sorry mom, to cause you pain!! I am learning to appreciate you more and more each day being a mother. I LOVE you! I know your patriarchal blessing talks about your children being saved from the fiery darts of Satan through your prayers - I sure hope you pray for us daily!!! : )

I love hearing about miracles . . . do you have any miracle stories?

New Running Route

You know it is time to change your running route when people in the neighborhood start yelling at you, "You're LATE!"

I am changing it tomorrow!! :-)

Star Wars Costumes. . .

If you look carefully you can see the Storm Trooper costumes that Charles made out of cardboard and duct tape. He made ALL of them himself! I was astonished as they walked on the stage. When he did this years ago, I saw him cutting out cardboard and he told me what he was doing and I thought - good luck! I now know better than to doubt Charles in anything!!

He Came For Me. . .

When I was 20 years old I participated in a musical called, Women at the Well. I sang a song about when the Savior came to visit the people on the American continent as recorded in the Book of Mormon. Amazingly enough, this was the first time I realized that was the reason that the Book of Mormon was such an amazing and important book. I had gone my entire church life without fully understanding that concept. Along with this song was a scripture reference which referred me to 3rd Nephi I read it and I was overwhelmed with a feeling of great joy and astonishment. I gained my personal testimony of the Savior and the importance of the Book of Mormon. It truly "changed my life forever" as words describe in the song. When I got up to sing on this nights performance it was truly amazing for me. I was staring into a very bright spotlight - that was all I could see, amazing light. I felt the spirit SO strong as I sang I could have burst at the seams. I believe that music is one of the most powerful ways to feel the spirit. It can pierce you to the very soul. I felt it that night. I remember it still, in a very powerful way. I am so grateful for music and its influence in my life.

I can also remember a time when my brother sang at a school function. He chose to sing, Oh Lord my Redeemer. I remember watching him as he sang and it was as if he were physically surrounded by the Spirit. He was literally "glowing" as he shared his testimony, with those not of our faith, through song. It was also an amazing experience, a powerful witness of the spirit of God through music. I remember it to this day.

I love music. I love the power of it. It lifts my heart to new heights of joy. I hope it does the same for you!

I do apologize for the quality of the video. It is video of video and that never works! Hang in there it does get better towards the end . . .

New Calling

A few weeks ago a member of the Bishopric informed us of our new callings. It was kind of funny because he got really serious and mentioned that they prayed about it, etc. Then he said, " We would like you to serve on the Activities Committee." I thought it was so great that right now, Heavenly Father wants us to plan parties! How great is that? I could not think of a better calling! Especially during this time of year. So, we will be planning parties for the ward and then we have to pull them off and make them exciting and fun! I love it!

For the last 8 years of our marriage we have not been able to be very social. Charles has spent long hours studying and I often did not want to go to parties alone (sometimes I would). Now, we are both ready to party and be involved! We love getting close to people in a ward and I think spending time outside of church meetings is SO important to develop that love and appreciation for others.

I also spent much of my youth working with a few other choice young women and we would put on Dinner Theaters in our ward. It was SO fun preparing and practicing. I have missed doing that. I love the excitement of preparing and even performing. This will be a great opportunity to dust off the old decorating and directing skills and continue to learn and grow. I look forward to doing that with Charles too. He is a master-blaster creator as far as costumes go. I will have to take a picture of the Star Wars costumes he made out of cardboard and duct tape - they were AMAZING! Anyhow, I plan to pull the youth out of the depths of the ward and put them up on a stage and being involved. It gets me excited just thinking about it! Lots of fun!

We have enjoyed watching General Conference! We actually have a channel here that broadcasts it (we are so close to the mother-ship). We lit a fire in the fireplace and gathered around to watch and listen. I think the highlight (of course) was when Joseph B. Wirthlin stood there shaking and then Russel M. Nelson came and stood by him to hold him up - he looked like an angel! I was amazed how Elder Wirthlin continued on, focused, reading his talk that he prepared. As I watched - tears streamed down my face. I thought there could be no greater example of his topic of charity then what was occurring at that moment. As Russel M. Nelson stood there at his side to hold him up in his time of struggle, I wondered what angels are there for us, in our times of need? When we are shaking and trembling, who quickly comes to our side to buoy us up so we do not fall? I loved every minute of that moment. I felt sad for Elder Wirthlin's pain, but I felt great joy as he pressed forward - nothing stopping him. What a tremendous example for us all! I believe it is a moment that will long be remembered.

That is all for now. I love you all and hope you are enjoying this weekend as much as I am!

Love, Me

I did it!

So, all I had to do was put it in "compose" mode and it worked! All that stress for nothing! I never claimed to be computer savy - I just toy around with things until I make them work!!

I will still post my video on my other blog though . . . I like it better that way!

Mari

New Video Blog

I am so excited! I finally figured out how to upload video! It has not been working on this site (not sure why) so I made a new one just for video. So, if you go to the link www.mari4uvideovenue.blogspot.com (click the link on the left) you can see videos of the family!! Hooray!

SMILE!