August 25, 2008

Dear Children,

A few of big news items are from this week. First, Nate received word from the managers at Zappos.Com that they liked his work this summer so much that they want to hire him when he graduates in December! That is really great news as they are a very good company for which to work. Nate hasn’t promised anything to them as yet.

Next, the boys are in Aaron’s home as of this week. They worked hard to get it all ready and Morty sent me a picture of their new kitchen counters. They look beautiful. I am anxious to see it in person. Dad and I are going there in October on the 5^th or the 6^th before we travel on October 10 to go to BYU Homecoming.

Lastly, after a year and a half of searching and researching and much deliberation, I bought a car to replace the Taurus and just in time to drive to Utah! It will be a more comfortable ride. It is a beautiful car, a Honda Accord. So now we are not Ford outcasts in the family anymore. Every time Aaron came into town, he would get us to go car shopping. We started at Toyota last, last February and he would ask the sale person the most detailed questions! I think he would have liked the last two car salesmen we had; they seemed to have lots of knowledge. I was ready to buy the Toyota Camry until I sat in the Honda one last time. I just liked it better in the end and it had a few features (more leg room in the back, more safety features, wider back seat for three car seats, and available in a color I liked!) that I liked but especially it senses automatically and shuts off the air bag when you have a child in the front passenger seat (which is the case when I travel with four of them). I wanted to buy from Beaverton Honda because I liked the salesperson and they are so close but they wouldn’t come down in price enough. I went to internet sales but the Costco program beat it out sending us to Hillsboro Honda which is owned by Larry Miller so I guess we kept the money in the family since his wife is related to Grandma Bitter!!! Anyway, besides loving the car, I am relieved that all the decision making is over. We got such a great interest rate that the money that I had been saving to buy the car will stay making more interest as I make the payments (even though I hate to have car payments). This car has XM radio for the next three months without charge. That might be handy while going through Idaho on our trip. Do any of you have any tips of how to use it to take full advantage?

Speaking of interest, we had a great meeting at the singles ward on Sunday. We had a combined priesthood and Relief Society meeting. Bishop Pierson said he chose the topic due to some concerns that he was having with the economy and how vulnerable the age group was to the problems that would result from a down turn. It was about managing money better and he asked Beth Butterworth to give a lesson on finances and expenses. She did a fabulous job; he was smart to have her do it even though that is his expertise also. She could relate so much better to real life situations of her peers. I really like her; she is one of Aaron’s old friends from the ward’s beginnings. She had some great ideas on living more providently and got some great ideas and responses from everyone else. She talked of the concept of “stepping down” (I think that is what she called it). She suggested, after you track your expenses and see you are spending a surprising amount on one area, it is a way of curbing your expenses in that area. She used the example, instead of going to Panda Express four times a week, she suggested a goal would be to go twice or three times. She then calculated the savings and showed what would be gained in a year’s times of making that small improvement. She was very believable and her main focus, besides creating a better spending plan (instead of calling it a budget), was to be reasonable in your goals so you could be successful and continue saving in even more areas and building up what you are saving. She taught the concept of S.M.A.R.T. teaching that our financial goals needed to be:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Time Bound

One funny thing she did was use herself as an example of weekly savings and what a huge amount she could save in a year by making one change. Beth loves bread and likes to buy the expensive kind so she learned how to make bread. I can’t remember whether she said she makes it once a month or once a week but she gave both examples and showed the money saved. BUT, in a singles ward, I think she was VERY smart to use that as an example and broadcast the idea that she was a regular bread baker if you know what I mean!!! Like I said, I really like her; she is smart!

Adrianne is trying her hand at baking bread. She would like to learn how to cook some artisan bread type. She has been sleeping at the barn again while Mrs. Gueck is in Tennessee so she takes things there to do. Actually, I think she is relieved that her barn sitting job came to a close yesterday. Mrs. Gueck’s dogs were starting to wear on Adrianne’s patience especially the day they caught a squirrel and dragged it through the doggy door. Adrianne came home to find squirrel body parts and blood all over the kitchen!

This week has been one of saying goodbye to summer and preparing for fall as we finish all the loose ends to get Adrianne back to school. Because her schedule was so full while she worked at the gift shop full time and the internship, we have crowded all her appointments these last two weeks. The weather has also turned colder but I suspect, knowing Oregon weather, we will get some warm fall weather. We enjoyed such a long space of hot summer weather. My garden finally has taken off and we have enjoyed tons of cucumbers with many tomatoes and peppers to follow. The two days after Adam left, was spent pulling weeds all day since I had neglected gardening while we were on “vacation” while Adam was here and other family members came to visit. It is looking good for now.

Grandma Payne visited Oregon this past week. We took Adam to see her at Uncle Wid’s; it was great to see Holly and Tanner also. We again met Wid and Jill and their family (Melissa’s also) at the Thai restaurant that Grandma Payne took us to last year (June 2007). That is a great tradition; their food is always SO good! They came over to the house last night and enjoyed some of Howard homemade bread. Grandma Payne goes home to Utah today. Luckily, she was able to travel down to Albany to see Kyre. She enjoyed that. Grandma Payne also was cleared at the last minute to see Scott. The two of them had a great visit; it was so good for both of them.

Dad, Adrianne and I enjoyed a visit to the Street of Dreams this year. I took some pictures of a few of the ideas. I fell in love with one of the kitchens with a beautiful ceramic back splash behind the stove, surrounded by a gorgeous colored granite counter top. That is next on my list so I need to utilize some of Beth’s methods to start a more accelerated savings plan in my home improvement account. We ran into Karen and Kari Morgan and two of their girls. Sister Morgan wondered how many single young men we had left in the family since she has three single girls. Nate, you should look up Nishelle Morgan, your old Joy School friend (was that her name?)! She wasn’t with them or I would have checked her out for you.

At the last minute, Grandma Maldonado’s condo group decided to have a garage sale this weekend. We all pitched in to give her some help. Adrianne helped her clean out and organize her office closet and I helped with her bedroom closet. Had we had more time, we probably could have cleaned out a good portion of our attic. Dad and I were up there this week to get some things for her garage sale and we determined that we would save a couple of rainy days in November for that project. Dad and I need to organize it up there again and do some very serious throwing out. The main thing we sold at Grandma’s sale was the red canopy. It was SO heavy that Dad had lost his patience with using it and returning it to the attic each time. I sold it after we had put away everything else and Dad was gone taking the first load to the Deseret Industries truck (we didn’t have the van this weekend since it was at the Hood to Coast with Uncle Dave). I was folding it up when a man drove by and asked if we had anything left. The only thing I felt sad about selling was the canoe seats that probably belonged to Aaron and Shawn from their scout high adventure Bowren Lake trips. Luckily, the seats stayed with friends though. Christine Brown came by and saw them and was all excited because Jason just bought a canoe (he lives in Alaska). She said he would be excited to hear that the seats had been on the Bowren Lake trips! I was just ready to pull the seats back into my pile of things going back home when she came by and bought them! Oh well; they haven’t been touched for over 10 years. Maybe this will inspire some of you to come home and organize your things so we know what things up there are really important to you also. When Adrianne heard the canoe seats were sold she said, “Someday I want to go to Bowren Lakes.” I told her if she got her siblings together that wanted to do it later in her life, I would watch the young children.

Dad, Adrianne and I squeezed in going to Phantom of the Opera this week also. We had nosebleed seats but it was still so good. The music has been going through my head ever since. I bought the cheapest seats but when it was row K, I thought that was early enough in the alphabet that they wouldn’t be the worse seats. Well, row K IS the last row of the third balcony. When we found our seats and sat down Dad said, “These are going to be great seats!”

The idea to keep Adam an extra day so that I might also be able to visit Scott on the way back from delivering Adam to Jefferson came to me on Sunday morning. I was able to arrange it with Aunt Lynn so I took Adam home in the morning and visited with Scott in the afternoon. He had been on a phone connection to Kyre’s hearing the previous Friday so it was good to hear Scott’s point of view of the court proceedings. He was pleased with a couple of the results of the hearing for Kyre’s sake. It sounds as if Scott also has a good attorney to think about the best things to advocate for Scott and yet, protect him from any more damage to his chances for later legal opportunities. As I left Scott confided in me of the awful experience he had the night before where he witnessed an attempted stabbing just ten feet away from him. Later he learned that it was staged but it is just a solemn reminder of the environment in which Scott can find himself. We both felt that the Lord was watching over him and prepared a way for him to have outside family contact so quickly after that scary event. That has happened before where we felt strongly to make a last minute visit and it has been a time when Scott has had a similar experience. Scott pointed out that he had seen the picture of Larry and Jennifer Miner in the August 9 Church News. Did any of you notice it also?

Here is a great quote from President Monson from a priesthood session of general conference back in 1986. “Oftimes the wisdom of God appears as foolishness to men, but the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that, when God speaks and a man obeys, the man will always be right.”

I love you! Have a great week ahead! Love, Mom

August 17, 2008

Dear Children,
Well, I thought my new windows were a magic air conditioning replacement of sorts until this week. The temperatures have stayed higher than normal with several days in over 100 degrees. I am sure the windows have helped but the night time temperatures are staying warm so I can’t do my regular morning tricks to keep the home cool most of the day. The forecast is for thunder showers and cooler temperatures this next week. I think I might be looking forward to that. Let me know if I am too quick to complain next week! Dad is also looking forward to starting some work in the cooler temperatures. He has been home a lot this week doing things with Adam so that timing worked out.
Adam has livened it up around here; we have done tons of activities. Aunt Lynn sent his Bear Cub Scout book so it has been like old times when we revolved a family activity around passing off scout requirements. He has done a ton of requirements while here; it has been fun. I told him when he goes back to having den meeting this fall he needs to be the helper on the activities that he has already passed off and enjoy repeating it since we covered so much!
I decided that I needed Adam to stay an extra night since it was his idea to make cupcakes for our neighbors, the Jorgensen family as I was planning the dinner I would make for them tomorrow night. I just couldn’t bear making them in the heat this afternoon so I told him I had to wait until the kitchen cooled down tonight. So, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Mickey agreed I could bring him home Monday morning.
Our biggest adventure was our camping trip to the new state park. I had called ahead and knew that one cabin was available on a first-come basis so we crossed our fingers that we could be the one although we took all our tents and gear as if we wouldn’t get it. Boy, were we LUCKY! They are beautiful little cabins; a lot like a Yurt but made of wood. They are a little bigger than a Yurt. The one we were able to get was on a hillside overlooking the coast range. It was gorgeous. And the best part was “no tent set up or take down” in the hot sun. It was hot.
The night we camped there we had a meteorite shower so that was fun to watch for bright lights trailing in the sky. I also never realized how many satellites are traveling in the heavens! After Adam and Adrianne fell asleep we heard two packs of coyotes howling and barking crazily to each other. It was so loud that I was ready to run into the cabin if it got any closer!
Our camping excursion was all about eating and biking. I am so glad that we bought Adam a bike to use while he was here. He loved having it up at the campsite. This picture shows him with a feather sticking out of his helmet! He is ALL BOY! There were so many bike trails that we all could use. There was even a great area of horse camps in this park so we biked up there and Adrianne drooled. That is a big dream of Adrianne’s to have a horse someday and do something like that with her horse. Some of the bike trails, or the trails that we tired to make into bike trails, were actually better horse trails. I like a wider trail so I can avoid deep holes and large rocks! Actually, I like pavement; I am not an adventurous mountain biker! Adam and Dad were able to get their fill of adventure biking together. I can see that Adam is going to be a good excuse for Dad playing out his wishes (like tractor pulls and monster truck shows)!
Thank goodness Adrianne kept asking for foil dinners while we planned our packing. I wanted to make it VERY simple so I had planned very basics like refrigerator biscuits, hot dogs and sausages (Adam’s requests). But we were all hungrier in the mountains. Adrianne didn’t pack her own foil dinner as planned since she was asleep when Adam and I packed the food (she stayed up most of the night finishing her final report for the summer term mentorship) so I threw in the ingredients so she could do it later. Luckily, she made one for each of us when we got up there and we ate EVERYTHING, foil dinners and all most all the things I brought!
There is nothing like pancakes on the cast iron griddle over the fire; and especially since Dad is the one making them! Every time we go camping Dad revives the dreams of building a fire pit in the back yard. We have been doing some planning for more yard projects but the house projects scream louder at us. We still have a two-toned exterior.
We went to another one of those outdoor concerts at Bridgeport Mall. Adrianne and Adam went with us. Adam came home with a blue mouth from the giant jawbreaker that he bought there. The musician was a rock violinist and Irish dancers who also all played the violin. It was great. Adrianne remarked that the central plaza (it’s an outdoor mall) looks like a plaza in Disneyland when you look up at the roof line architecture. I thought, as I looked up at the beautiful dark blue sky with wispy clouds and the Italian looking architecture, it looked EXACTLY like the inside malls in Las Vegas that are painted to “look like” you are walking down some outdoor Italian street!
We talked of going to the zoo with our resident zoo expert, Adrianne, but it was too hot for a trip to the zoo so Adam requested a trip to the Valley Ice Arena. He had great fun with Adrianne and Dad; he even passed off another Cub Scout requirement by going ice skating. Plus they escaped the heat; what a good idea when it is over 100 degrees! He learned to stop better on the ice (a scout requirement) but still kept his signature running into the wall with a half spin to stop! That is a piece of Haboji bread dripping with a slab of marionberry jam!
Adam looked forward all week to the Big Truck Day at Conestoga on Saturday. He and Dad rode their bikes to Conestoga after we spent the morning at the Honda dealership to look at Accords. I am still trying to decide between the Accord and the Camry and I was so disappointed to learn that the body change was just this year as I like the new style but didn’t want to have to buy a new car. They had a great time at the truck show with Adam participating in even more activities than at last year’s show. After the truck show we had a BBQ with Grandma Maldonado and then went to Uncle Wid's home to visit with Grandma Payne who is in town for a week.
With all the bike riding done this week, I think I should print this excerpt from a Church News Viewpoint article back in May called Preserved by Law:
"A father who, on a single day, taught two of his young sons the skill of bicycle riding had occasion again to marvel at a phenomenon that had amazed him since childhood: How is it that a vehicle with but two in-line wheels can be made to stay upright, even when kept in motion by a rider? After all, everyone knows that a bicycle left to stand on its own will immediately topple over.
He turned to the Internet and there learned that the answer has to do with "center of gravity." Thus, balancing a bicycle is like balancing a measuring stick upright on the end of the fingers, continually adjusting the center of gravity by moving the hand whenever the stick starts to topple.
Similarly, when the bike starts to tip, the rider changes the center of gravity by slightly steering the front wheel in the direction in which the bike is tipping. Instead of pulling the bike and rider down, gravity thus pulls them back upright. . . In teaching his subjects how to put off the "natural man" and become saints, king Benjamin said they must become "as a child, ... willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him" (Mosiah 3:19). We typically understand this to pertain to faithfulness in the midst of adversity. But it could also apply to unwavering obedience to God's commandments even when we don't fully understand their purpose. Like the father in the above incident who didn't always fully comprehend the natural law by which a bicycle is balanced but obeyed it anyway, we derive blessings by obeying the Lord, whether or not the purpose is immediately clear.
In training his boys, the father taught them what he had long known: that increased speed and confidence after starting out makes the bicycle far easier to balance and steer. Similarly, through practice in obeying the laws and commandments of God, our confidence in the Lord increases, obedience to Him becomes second nature, and complying with His laws ceases to be difficult.
At that stage, we arrive at the goal king Benjamin characterized as becoming "a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord" (verse 19). We grow to be like his listeners who, when asked if they believed his words, unitedly affirmed that the Spirit had wrought a mighty change in their hearts, such that they had "no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2).
May that be our attainment as we cultivate the skill of continual obedience and are sanctified through the Atonement of our Lord."

I spoke in sacrament meeting today. Wow, I really dread speaking in public. I am glad that the topic was good and that it is over! My topic was Using the Book of Mormon so I used an analogy from my Primary days about packing a yummy lunch but never eating it, thus gaining the benefits from its contents, because the lunchbox is simply never opened. I found a great talk from the 1980 era by Elder Scott with some great quotes. The last one I used was, “It is not sufficient that the Book of Mormon be found in our homes; its principles must be captured in our minds and hearts. Through consistent reading, prayerful pondering, and conscientious application, its teachings will become an essential part of the fabric of our lives.”
Another story that I used in the talk was from an experience I had with Morty’s mission president:
"While Morty, one of our older sons, was on his mission he learned that his new mission president would also be from Portland. He asked us to try to meet him which we did. We loved President Hansen. A missionary mother has a great deal of love and gratitude for mission presidents.
What impressed me the most that day was a talk given by one of his sons who bore strong testimony of the answers to daily problems that we may receive from the scriptures. He said he learned this in his teenage years when his father came into his room at night to sit on his bed and discuss the day. As the son would share his struggles and questions, he saw his father reach over to the scriptures. Together they would find answers that would help him. I testify that we CAN find answers to our problems or even that the reading of scriptures daily may open our mind and heart to be more in tune to receive very individual help from the Holy Ghost."
I guess that you probably all know by now that Shawn and Aubrey’s updated due date is March 20th, Klaire’s birthday! I love you. Have a great week ahead. Love Mom

Kyre had another hearing on Friday to investigate further the charges of neglect (the mailbox incident back in June). I was hoping that Scott would call us to tell us how it went as he could hear the proceedings by phone and I couldn’t be there as Adam would have known something was going on if I left for that long. Aunt Lynn heard from Kyre (Kyre hasn’t returned my calls) and said that it didn’t go well but I didn’t understand what that meant as two more hearings have been set up and now, I understand that there is an additional recent charge.
Aunt Lynn is disappointed with how the system and others are working with Kyre and passed along the following quote that she has found hopeful, “The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you,” She thinks it was from Joseph Smith.

August 11, 2008

Dear Children,

Just a day after coming home from our Otter Crest trip Katie arrived here in Beaverton. What fun Katie creates! On her first night here she went with Dad and I to the Doobie Brothers concert at The Oregon Garden outdoor concert. Wow, this one was really packed; there was a sea of sand chairs, lawn chairs and blankets everywhere, mostly occupied by fans decades older than Katie! The music was a blast from the past, mostly my college years I think. The weather was a little iffy earlier in the day but it turned out to be a perfect temperature for the concert again. We have lucked out this summer with great concert weather!
Katie filled her visit here with dental and optometry appointments to catch her up for the several years that she has been in school. She also was able to take care of trips to the store for some returns so she accomplished much while home. Having just started a book series, she filled every empty minute finishing a book and a half!

A visit from Katie just wouldn't be complete without a sports event of some sort. She planned a Saturday trip to Seattle for an evening Mariners game; it turned out to be a great trip. We parked at Safeco Field and took a bus into town before the game to visit Pike's Market. We were a little late in the day for much fish flying though, but we enjoyed seeing lots of craft booths. It was like Eugene but without all the gray pony tails. Of course, Katie wasn't too sad that we missed all the fish activity! I just had to get a picture of her by all the displayed fish. It actually rained, even had a down pour while in the city but, by the time we returned to the ballpark, the weather was great again.

The game was LONG; Katie loved that! It went 11 innings. Dad, Adrianne and I were rooting for whichever team could end the game the fastest as Katie begged to stay until the bitter end! It was kind of exciting at the end when it looked like the Mariners might pull off a win with bases loaded but they the game was finished with men waiting to score.

It was a sleepy drive home since Katie and I were getting up early Sunday morning to travel south to pick up Adam in Jefferson. We arrived home at three in the morning. Even so, Katie and I arose early and got ready for church before the drive only to learn that there was a miscommunication. Adam was picked up after Beaverton First Ward instead of before so we could have slept a little longer!
I was able to substitute in the nursery and luckily the lesson was on forgiveness so I told the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers and all the children were able to make their very own grocery sack “coats of many colors” to wear home. I love that activity; the children love making and putting them on. Nursery is fun but exhausting!
Dad left to pick up Adam while I finished dinner. Grandma Maldonado came for dinner and games. Katie taught us (well re-taught since I played it years ago) a fun card game so now I have a few more in my arsenal of games. Adam got his fill of Uno Attack before bed and asked for the ping pong table to be lowered for the week. It should be fun.
Adam helped me with grocery shopping this morning to prepare for lour camping trip tomorrow. He is a great helper even at the self check out isle. He was good to organize all the food into certain grocery bags. After a trip to the movie with Grandma and girls to see Mamma Mia before Katie has to go home tomorrow (while Adam and Dad did a concrete project in the front yard, adding sealant to the exposed part of the driveway) I fixed dinner for the missionaries. They left a longer message than Adam had bargained for since all four of the missionaries took part in it.
Tonight Adam organized a ping pong tournament for Family Home Evening in which he beat each one of us (HIS CREATIVE RULES) and then we sat down to watch the animated movie, Robin Hood (It has been years since I have seen that) before bedtime!
Tomorrow is an early start to take Katie to the airport to go back to Provo and then packing for our camping trip to a new state park, L.L Stub Stewart. It will be perfect; it is only about 30 minutes away. It is brand new so there won’t be the normal vegetation of a regular state park but it will be camping none the less.
I hope that you also have a great week ahead. I love you, Love, Mom