Yippee- yahooee!!!!

MIKE GOT A JOB!! He will be starting in the next few weeks as a salesman for Lyon Workspace Products. And, of course, I have a story to go with it;

We bumped into an old friend from our previous ward while at the temple for Taylor's endowments. George talked to him (Mike B.) for a long time in the locker room, then I talked to him while still waiting for George to finish getting dressed. When he asked how things were I said, "Once George gets a job, things will be fantastic!" George had not mentioned this to Mike B. when they were talking, so when he came out of the locker room he asked George to send him his resume. Doesn't hurt to have one more person look at it, right?

George sent off an e-mail the next day, just to make sure he remembered Mike B's e-mail correctly, and got no response. Two days later, tried again. No response. Finally, George asked me how to spell Mike B's last name - which he had been misspelling - and sent one final e-mail to see if it was the correct address. It was, so George sent Mike his resume. The next day, an old employer of Mike B's called him saying he was going to be in town to do some interviews and wanted to catch up on old times, and "do you know anyone good that needs a job?" Of, course he did!!!

To make a long story a little shorter, he met with the interviewer on Friday, and they offered him the job Tuesday night! But I had to tell you the whole story because there are some miracles that go with it. First of all, Taylor's endowment session was changed from her original date so her father-in-law could go since he would be out of town. Then to have her session be that same time, at the same temple as Mike B's ward session?! Not a coincidence I'm sure!! I also think it's interesting it took George a while to get Mike B his resume with all the address confusion, but it was timed perfectly so Mike B would think of George when his old employer called.

The Lord works in mysterious ways, but He always works!!

I am so proud and impressed!

First let me explain a little about Mormon (Latter-Day-Saint) culture. Every leader in our church, from the prophet all the way down to the nursery teachers, are volunteer. No one gets paid. When we have an assignment, it is called a calling. Depending on the calling, we receive this assignment from either the Bishop - the leader of our ward - or the Stake President - the leader of our stake. (Wards are small units, usually divided by neighborhood, and each stake has so many wards in it.)

My calling right now is to teach the 9-11 year old boys in primary (the children's organization). Every Sunday we meet for 2 hours; the first hour learning church songs and principles as a group of all the children ages 3 - 11, then we divide into classes for the second hour.

I LOVE my calling. I have 10 boys on the roll, and usually have 5-8 boys in attendance. When I first started teaching, only 1 boy was there consistently, and that's because his mom is the leader of the women's organization (Relief Society) and he had to be there. Two brothers would wander in for class if they made it at all. Another set of brothers missed more than they came, and they, too were always late.

Part of the curriculum the church provides us tells us where each age group is developmentally. I learned that this age group - boys or girls -is competitive. And being boys, they are naturally VERY competitive. So we came up with a contest, and it is amazing how well these boys have responded.

It's very simple. I have every boy's name on a piece of paper and they earn points for different things; being on time, bringing their scriptures, singing the songs (which 11 yr old boys generally don't enjoy doing), answering questions, helping where needed, etc. Each month, the boy with the most points gets to play me, in front of the whole class, a game of air hockey. If that boy wins, the whole class gets ice cream. If I win, no ice cream.

I've had parents laughing as they tell me their boys want them to take them to church so they can be on time even though their parents aren't ready; "Just drop me off then come back home and get ready." These boys are consistently bringing their scriptures and singing beautifully at the top of their lungs. They are offering to sit with the little kids if that teacher needs to take someone to the restroom, or they are quickly raising their hands to offer to read a scripture or offer a prayer.

So this is my story. Yesterday was like any other Sunday. Five boys in class 3 on time, the other 2 not too far behind. They helped set up chairs, they sang, answered questions, etc. But at one point, the primary sang a hymn and I turned to the boys and said, "I love this song when it's men's voices. It's very powerful." Next thing I know, they are whispering amongst themselves then one boy raises his hand and says, "We were wondering if our class could come up front and sing this song to everyone?"

I almost cried. These five young men stood in front of all and sang this beautiful hymn. No prompt from me, other than saying I liked that song.

But that's not my whole story. Then during the group lesson (sharing time) these young men continuously were able to tell scripture stories like they knew the scriptures front to back. I can guarantee I still probably couldn't remember the stories as well as they did. What a tribute to their parents! Eleven year old boys, not only knowing, but sharing the gospel with those around them, and doing it well, and happily.

I will definitely write each of these parents a note so they know how proud of this group they should be. I know I am extremely proud! Way to go boys!

Meet Buddy

This is our friend, Buddy. The dinosaur, not the little boy, that's Brendon.

Everyday I take Brendon to school and Oak and Mo tag along. When we hit this spot we all start saying our hellos to Buddy. "Hi, Buddy!" "Be good!" "Stay warm!" "We love you!" It goes on and on for about 20 more blocks. And it's not just me and Brendon. Oakland loves to get her two cents worth in, too; "Ahhh. Beebeeebe. Ahhh!" Mo just kind of sits there looking at us like we're crazy or something. But, we love our Buddy.

And, no, just for the record; Buddy has never responded!!

Mike has got to get a job!!!

Some of you are probably saying, "Ha! I knew she wouldn't like him being home all the time for much longer!" Well, you're wrong. I still love having him home as much as he is, but he is such a bad influence on the kids!

Mike is definitely the softy out of the two of us and everyone knows it, even the two little granddaughters have figured it out. It's really funny to watch them try to turn on the water works to break his heart, or look all cute and cuddly to get their way.

And I can accept that. Daddy's/grandpa's little girl and all that, but this is just too much!


Ketchup on oreos! You've got to be kidding me!?! In this picture you can see Oakland getting more - yes, more - ketchup on her oreo (bottom left blondie) and Mike is holding Morgan's oreo after putting more ketchup on it (the bald head on the right) and that's Mo's hand reaching for it because she wants it bad! In the upper left corner, is Brendon. He is trying not to gag and puke all while laughing hilariously at how the girls are pushing and shoving to get more ketchup on their cookies.

Please, someone get this man a job!