1940 US Census Indexing

I am so thrilled that the indexing for the 1940 US Census has passed the 50% mark. It is amazing to me to realize how much has been done in so little time. With the exception of New York, all of the states I have indexed so far are states where I have lived. I served my mission for the LDS church in West Virginia. Lived in San Francisco area of California a couple years after graduating from high school. And I am now calling North Carolina home.

Scout trip to Edisto Beach (Benjamin's Birthday)

This year, the scout troop decided to camp out at the beach in the middle of winter. We went to Edisto Beach south of Charleston, SC the weekend of January 27th-28th.

Our family had gone to Charleston area once before. In the middle of August. It was hot. And it stormed like crazy when we were there. I still really liked the area and had always planned going back when it wouldn't be so hot.

Going to the beach in the middle of winter actually sounded pretty good.

We knew that it would mean that Benjamin was away from home on his 17th birthday, but I figured we could make it up by going out for dinner in Charleston.
Our first sign of trouble was when we lost our direction in Walterboro, SC. It was late in the evening by the time we arrived there. The young men's president was driving the lead van with one of his counselors navigating. They must have gotten off track on the map, because they started driving very slowly through town and started taking some erratic turns. In hindsight, I should have pulled over and gotten everybody together to get better aligned. Unfortunately, I didn't.

Then the YM president pulled a U-turn in an intersection. The scoutmaster and I followed suit. A minute later, a police car pulled up beside me with his lights flashing. I pulled over in a bank parking lot. The other two cars, kindly came back to the parking lot. We all had our licenses and registration checked, and we got a stern lecture from the police officer about how in Walterboro people didn't drive like that.

We got away without tickets, but we felt sheepish and grateful that we were let off with a lecture.

A couple minutes later, we were following the directions on the scoutmaster's GPS. The GPS must have gotten its wires crossed because we ended up in a field that was straight out of a movie where unsuspecting travelers get lost and then roughed up by the locals. We quickly got out of there and back on our way.

By then, we were ready to get to the beach without further incident. We still struggled to get necessary directions from the scoutmaster's GPS, but we eventually made it to the campground and the beach.

It turns out that Benjamin was beginning to get a fever by that time. After all the adventure making it to the beach, we actually considered returning home due to Benjamin really not feeling well. The YM president and I gave him a blessing and decided we'd see how things were in the morning.

In the morning, Benjamin was feeling well enough for us to stay.

We had a great time at the beach. The weather was perfect--not too hot, but not cold either. We largely had the beach to ourselves. As a storm had blown through a couple days before, tons of shells had washed up to shore. It was probably the best shell collecting opportunity I've seen. We took home a shoebox full of shells.

One of the things we did while at Edisto Beach was to go to the Environmental Learning Center where we learned more about some of the things we had seen at the beach. The staff there was incredibly friendly and gracious. We were given entry into one of their classrooms when a class wasn't in session. In the classroom, they had a finch that they were rehabilitating. The finch had taken to the staff there, but was typically uneasy around visitors. However, a couple of us were surprised when the finch came and landed on us.

In the evening, Benjamin and I headed out to eat in Charleston to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, by then his fever had been roaring. We ended up just getting him into the car and trying to get home as quickly as we could, so he could get some much needed rest.

It was a tough ending to a great weekend, but I think we were both glad to have gone. The beach was terrific.

The Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another fun book by Rick Riordan. Riordan keeps the action going as Percy Jackson teams up with the Romans to ward off the oncoming attack of Gaea.

View all my reviews

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun book. Great mash of Roman and Greek mythology. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

View all my reviews

Anxious for the Year-end Close to End

Getting my clock cleaned.

photo by Profound Whatever via PhotoRee

Commence belly-aching.

There are a few times each year when work just gets to be very demanding. It is always challenging. I can appreciate that — it beats being bored, after all.

However, in the environment I am in, some of the more challenging times are during quarter-end and year-end closing of the financial books. This is especially true when auditors are involved. The auditors are good people, who I actually enjoy being around. But the nature of the work that they do is usually mind wracking. After all, who likes having someone look for errors in the work they are doing.

For some reason, this is especially true with this year-end close. The closing of the books themselves, this time around went fairly well. We made good time, and there weren't too many last-minute adjustments.

However, the aftermath with explaining differences from the target and having to explain the financial calculations with the auditors has been more challenging.

I am ready for a nice vacation.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Last night instead of watching a movie from Netflix like we normally do, we watched the finale of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. After nine seasons, the series is coming to an end. Apparently, due to sagging ratings. (In my opinion, this is one of the few reality shows worth watching.)

The series finale found Ty Pennington and his crew in Joplin, Missouri where a tornado tore apart the town in May, 2011. In the show, the crew built seven new homes for seven families in the Joplin area. Not only did the show share the heart tugging experiences of the families whose lives had been unglued by the tornado.

Mary Ann Riojas a former recipient of the work done by the show shares about hearing the end of the series. "I was kinda bummed cuz I was hoping they would come back to Fresno so we could see the other end of it. Get to be here when all the action was taking place, Cuz we missed all that when it happened to us yeah, I was kinda bummed out."

Not only did the show build Riojas' family a new home that enables her to maneuver throughout in her wheelchair but also provides a nice environment for her four children. The show also gave her the hope and courage to change her life. Since the show, she has become a full-time sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics. Her then fifteen-year-old son, Angel, who was drifting at the time, was given the chance to go onto college where he is preparing to become a registered nurse.

In the final episode, Ty and crew built homes for seven families in a newly created neighborhood near a park that they brought back to life.

The seven families were

1. The Howard family. Dad, Kyle is firefighter who was one of the first responders to the aftermath of the tornado. At home, wife Jill, huddled in a bathtub with her sons Konnor, Korbin and Kevin.
2. Crystal Cogdill, who lost a son in the tornado.
3. Crystal Whitely, who happened to be a neighbor to Cogdill. She lost two children in the tornado.
4. Natalie and Scott Gonzalez. The two were living together at the time of the tornado. After the tornado, they determined to get married. During the show, the two were surprised with the opportunity to get married on the show.
5. The Nguyens. Than Nguyen served in the Vietnamese Air Force alongside American troops. He was held captive during the war for eleven years. He migrated to the United States to begin a new life. At 71, he had recently retired.
6. The Nevins family.
7. The Walters family.

All of the families served their treasured town of Joplin during and after the tornado. Whether that was in their professions as teachers, firemen, and nurses, or as neighbors concerned about the welfare of those around them.

As a family, we will miss watching Extreme Makeover. ABC network indicates that there will be future special episodes

Malaprop's Bookstore

Malaprops Bookstore, Asheville, NC

This past Saturday, our family decided to go to downtown Asheville to hang out and see the sites. It's telling that the place our family decided to go was to Malaprop's bookstore. Malaprops is a great independent bookstore in the heart of downtown. (Not far from the downtown public library, incidentally.)

Our family is a lover of books. Everyone from Carolyn on up has a love affair with books. We each have our own interests, but it's not uncommon for the same book to pass through several hands before our family is through with it. (This Christmas break, Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series passed through our family. My favorite book was The King of Attolia, the third book in the series.)

Back to Malaprop's though. The bookstore has been at the bedrock of Asheville from the downtown revitalization that began back in the 1980's. In fact the owner of Malaprop's, Emoke B'Racz, indicates that when she first opened the bookstore she was able to spend most of her capital on books rather than on rent. At that time, she says, "you could walk 3 blocks in any direction before you found a door not nailed down."

Her purpose in starting Malaprop's was to create "a place where poetry matters, where women’s words are as important as men’s, where one is surprised by excellence, where good writing has a home, where I could nurture my addiction to literature, and play, enjoy, and entertain people drawn to quality books."

On our trip to the bookstore Saturday night, I noted as the family ambled through the rows of bookshelves that the store embodied the essence of the quirkiness and homeliness of Asheville--current, suburban, with an emphasis on conscious living.

I found a whole bookshelf on Yoga. While next to it was the business section which only had a few books.

When we lived in Seattle, there were bookstores focused on computers and technology. In Asheville, there is a bookstore that is dedicated to poetry, consciousness, and sustainable living.

While our family is not the most liberal, we enjoyed our trip to Malaprop's and will be back for more.

Happy New Years!

Well, we're off to a new year. The year was off to a quiet start with church on Sunday being our primary event. On Monday, I had to head out for work as this week is the week of year-end close. (My life revolves around a financial calendar.) In my case, a 5-4-4. That is to say, a five week month, then two four weeks to make up the fiscal quarter.

Almost needless to say, the year-end close is one of the periods that is most scrutinized from an auditing perspective. It is also the period on which the year is finally based. So, the close this week has been important—to say the least.

The children had Monday off with the intention of heading back to school on Tuesday. However, we had a wee bit of snow on Monday night, so school was cancelled Tuesday. The kids were more than happy to stay home another day.

Martha will start school tomorrow, Thursday. She will have two days of clinicals and then two days of classes each week.

With everybody but me and Carolyn being in school, I think one of our New Year's resolutions will be to make it through the year.

Christmas Feast

Benjamin, our 16-year-old going on 17, has developed a real passion for food this year. He loves showcasing his culinary skills.

In the past, he has often held out on the family on the foods he makes. He makes a long list of food. We buy the food. We make it. Then he refuses to let us eat it.

We discovered this Christmas that part of the logic behind the 'madness' is that he is waiting to showcase the food he made. Since the family in Arden each had their own Christmas dinners, Benjamin held on to a number of the dishes until Monday when our family got together with Martha's sister, Marian, and her family.

The menu this year included: Gingerbread and muffins (I don't normally like it but this was good!), a cornflake marshmallow wreath (kind of like Rice Crispy treats only with cornflakes. Again a great twist on a favorite.) Butterscotch cookies, fudge (we're still working on perfecting that one), a Christmas punch, and a Christmas stollen. We also had brownies he had made earlier in the week.

It was all very good food!

One of the benefits we've discovered with having all this food around is that now that all the pans and bowls have been washed there have been a lot fewer dishes.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As the year draws to a close, and we have the opportunity to reflect upon the past year and what it has meant to us, we each came up with a short list of the things for which we are most grateful. I will precede that with the thought that we are so grateful for this time of year and what it represents. We are grateful for all that we have been given, the blessings of good health and good friends.

Carolyn at the Park

Carolyn (3) frequently at Grandma's while Mommy's at school

One of things that Carolyn remembers from this year is a family trip we took this summer. One of the highpoints of the trip was watching her cousin, Patrick DeFranco, get married in the Palmyra, NY temple.

Another big change for our family this year was when Steve's parents moved into an assisted living facility in Tacoma, Washington. That meant Steve's older brother, Tom, who needs support, had to find a new place to live. He moved out here to Asheville. Carolyn took very well to the change and really enjoyed having her uncle in the house. (He has since moved on to his own assisted living facility, but she enjoys seeing him when he comes on the weekends.)

Another thing that Carolyn really enjoyed was going to her Aunt Marian's house to play with their dog, Butterscotch, (a golden lab, beagle mix) that they recently got.

Joshua at the holiday concert

Joshua (11) in middle school

Both Joshua and Jessica started attending middle school at Cane Creek this year. They are in sixth grade with different sets of teachers, so they seldom see each other. This is a big change for them with more responsibility. The teachers they have are much more stern than those they have had in the past.

A tradition at Cane Creek Middle School for a number of years has been for the sixth graders to go out to Earthshine Lodge near Lake Toxaway, NC. Both Joshua and Jessica went there this year. The lodge offers outside education. Per their website the course is "designed to inspire thought and creativity, as well as encourage students to push themselves to destroy the myth of 'I Can't.'"

Joshua began the summer by going to band camp. He is playing the trombone. He will say that he doesn't like it, but I think he enjoys playing in the concerts and learning a new skill.

Jessica at New River Gorge

Jessica (13) in middle school

Jessica also enjoyed our long road trip we made this summer. We drove up through Virginia, Pennsylvania, and into New York state. We stopped at the Priesthood Restoration Site in Harmony, Pennsylvania. (Harmony is now Oakland, PA.) From there we headed north to Palmyra. We enjoyed spending the day with the DeFranco's and Beth's family.

Palmyra has a lot of church history. We stopped at the Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorrah, the Joseph Smith Farm, the Grandin Building, and the Peter Whitmer farm.

After leaving Palmyra, the family headed for Niagara Falls, which was an amazing experience. You can't really get an appreciation for how massive and powerful the falls there are unless you are there. More than 6 million cubic feet of water go over the falls every minute. (Niagara Facts)

As part of the long road trip, we passed through West Virginia where Steve served his mission for the LDS church. He hadn't been back in West Virginia for any length of time since his mission. The family enjoyed stopping at Cooper's Rock State Park, which provides a dramatic overlook of the Cheat River Gorge.

The family also stopped at the New River Gorge Bridge and Overlook. Jessica had quite an experience going over the bridge, which straddles the New River for 3,030 feet and sits at 876 feet above it. Jessica has always been quite fearful of driving along heights. She was challenged, though, to keep her eyes open as we crossed the bridge and really pay attention to what we were doing. The intent was to help her realize what she accomplished, and it worked. Jessica was excited that she was able to get across the bridge without closing her eyes and without being too scared. After she told everyone how happy she was, she declared she wanted to cross it again... later!

The family also made a trip up to the Cincinnati, Ohio area to be at Matthew and Amelia Murdock's wedding reception. As part of the trip, Jessica enjoyed spending her 13th birthday celebration with her Kellar cousins in Dayton, Ohio. The Kellars were gracious as always and went out of their way to bake and cook all kinds of good food.

Benjamin along a creek

Benjamin (16) in high school

Benjamin is really growing up—sometimes to the chagrin of his parents. For example, he was off at Youth Conference in eastern North Carolina when the family went on our long road trip. Unfortunately, due to the timing we had, we realized we would need to be in two places at the same time. Benjamin was very gracious in allowing the family to go on our trip. It was strange, though, to have pictures we took along the way that did not include Benjamin in them. It emphasized the point that it will only be a couple years before Benjamin is off on his own mission for the church and then on to college.

Benjamin has expressed his appreciation for his family, especially for sisters who are so willing to help.

The experience at Youth Conference was memorable for him. There were over 1,500 other LDS youth from 10 stakes across North Carolina and from Columbia South Carolina. Benjamin really appreciated being around so many other LDS youth who share the same values. He also enjoyed the conversion story that retired NBA basketball player, Thurl Bailey, shared with the youth.

At the beginning of the summer, Benjamin (and Dad) headed to Cumberland Island for a week-long scout camp with his troop. The island is off the Georgia coast nearly to the Florida border. The island is both remote and historical. We hiked in three miles to our camp. Initially, this was quite a hike for our fledgling group of hikers. However, after several ten mile hikes for Benjamin (and some of the other scouts) the hikes got much easier. It didn't hurt that Cumberland Island is one of the easiest places to hike as the elevation is completely flat.

Historically, Cumberland Island, Georgia's largest barrier island, has passed from its aboriginal origins some millennia ago to the Spanish missionaries in the 16th century, to James Oglethorpe who built the first forts there, and up through Thomas and Lucy Carnegie in the 1880's. After several more decades the island is now largely a national park though there are still some private residences on the island. The island shows some of its historical past through ruined mansions left behind and feral horses that have been protected on the island.

Martha and Steve-Peter Whitmer Farm

Martha in nursing program

After a couple years of working at finishing prerequisites, Martha was accepted into the nursing program at Blue Ridge Community College. Many of the courses along the way have been challenging, but this first semester of the program brought some more anxiety for Martha. She persevered though and did well.

Part of the program has been to do clinicals (following a nurse) at Pardee Hospital and Carolina Village. It has provided her with good experience.

Martha has enjoyed watching Carolyn grow up. We may be biased, but we think she is a joyful, spirited and intelligent young lady. (Carolyn describes herself as a 'teenager.') Martha is grateful that Carolyn has so much fun spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Collier while Mommy is away at school

Martha was really instrumental in getting Tom settled in Asheville. We are all grateful that he has taken so well to getting established here.

Steve getting older ;-) and working hard

Steve is really grateful for good health — physically and emotionally. He has been working hard at getting back in shape through strength training and yoga.

This year Steve has enjoyed spending time with family. He went to scout camp and hiking with Benjamin,who passed off his hiking merit badge this year. Of course, he also really enjoyed going on the road trip with the family.

Through a lot of time and hard work, Steve is really grateful that the house has been painted. He's also grateful for the new windows that have been installed. The house has really taken on a new look through all of this.

We are all grateful for good friends, a beautiful place to live, and a loving Savior who blesses us amply.

To all: a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Love, the Garvin family

2011 in Review (at least through October)

Much of the beginning of our year was spent trying to get a grasp on dealing with the failing health of Steve's parents and the changes that brought on. For those who don't know, Steve's mother went into the hospital last December due to her diabetes getting out of control. She spent a few weeks in the hospital before being moved into a nursing home. In April, she and Grandpa Garvin moved into an assisted living facility in Tacoma, Washington.

The facility seems nice, but it was a challenge to lose some of the independence they have enjoyed for so long. At the same time, many of the stresses they have had have been reduced or eliminated. Since moving into the facility, it has become more apparent that Steve's dad's health is also failing. Both parents are dealing with diabetes, but Steve's dad also is beginning to get confused more frequently and severely.

When Steve's parents moved into the assisted living facility, his older brother, Tom, moved to live with us. That was a bit of a challenge with limited space and combining different families, and due to the fact that Tom didn't have as much to do here as he had back in Washington. In June, Tom was able to move into a 'family group home' north of Asheville. That has worked out better. Steve, and Martha particularly, have been able to continue to offer support to Tom while everyone is able to have some of the distance that seems to have been needed.

Another focus this year has been home improvements. We have been able to replace quite a bit of the siding that was getting old and damaged. We have also replaced half the windows in the house with plans to replace the rest in the next year. In addition, we have been able to (finally) paint the exterior of the house. There's still much to be done on home improvements but at least we feel like we have made some progress.

The summer was busy with a scout camp to Cumberland Island in south Georgia (near the Florida border). Steve was able to go along for the whole week with Benjamin and the troop. They had a good time hiking and seeing the sights on the island. The island was beautiful and still had a sense of being removed from the world. They actually had the beach to ourselves. (They did have to hike in three miles to get to their camping spot.)

Benjamin and Steve, and some of the other scouts, were able to go on a few 10-mile hikes. The island was once the private reserve of the Carnegie family, so there were some interesting ruins of former mansions. Some of the buildings are still standing but 90+% of the island is now national park land. One of the wonders—that soon became commonplace—were all the wild, feral horses. A former owner had stipulated that the horses that had been brought to the island be set free and preserved.

The Cumberland Island trip helped Benjamin move along towards completing his Hiking merit badge--one of the last of his required merit badges and ones he needed for his Eagle. He is now complete with the merit badges—yeah! He is now working on completing his Eagle project which will be planting a dozen trees around the picnic shelter at Lake Julian park that is accessed from the Hendersonville Road entrance (where the old campground was.) The ward had a picnic at that facility on Labor Day. While it was a nice experience, the setting did seem a little barren so we are glad Benjamin has taken this on as a project.

During the summer, we also enjoyed going on a trip up to Palmyra to attend Patrick and Beth's wedding and see the sights in the area. It was a beautiful wedding and nice to be there with the family—especially considering the then upcoming move of the DeFrancos to Texas. (They're missed here.)

Visiting Palmyra was a great experience. So much happened there. However, it really struck Steve how so many of the people in the area were totally unaware of the restoration of the gospel that took place there. (It's understandable—just eye opening.)

While on the New York trip, the family also enjoyed going to Niagara Falls. What a natural wonder that is. The size of the falls really can't be appreciated without being there.

We also took the opportunity to come back down through West Virginia, where Steve served his mission. There they were able to stop at Cooper's Rock, another natural beauty, and the New River Gorge Bridge, which is both in a naturally beautiful area but also an engineering wonder. The bridge is currently the third highest vehicular bridge in the Americas and the third longest arch bridge in the world.

Jessica, who has been terrified of heights—especially while driving—was able to come to grips with her fear and overcome them to a certain extent on the journey across the bridge. She had just hiked down to a viewpoint where the family could see the entire span of the bridge from down below, and she got really worried when she realized that we would have to cross that bridge to continue our trip. As we were crossing the bridge, Steve told her to be aware of where she was and what she was doing so that when they got across the bridge she would realize what she had accomplished and had made it. After getting across the bridge and on the road a few mile, Jessica exclaimed that she was ready to do it again. We were thrilled for her success. She was so excited to have overcome that fear!

Benjamin missed the New York trip as he was having an adventure of his own at a regional LDS youth conference at Eastern Carolina University. There were over 1,500 LDS youth there along with numerous LDS leaders; Brother Arian Ochoa of the Young Men General Presidency and M. Keith Giddens, Area Seventy over North and South Carolina and guest speakers Thurl Bailey, Troy Dunn and Elizabeth Craig, and musical performers Jon Schmidt, Greg Simpson, Jericho Road, and The Fading Point. The theme of the conference was “One, but not alone.” Everyone seemed to have a good time and got spiritually fed.

We've enjoyed seeing family this year whether it be at Matthew and Amelia's wedding reception, Patrick and Beth's wedding or locally here in Asheville. It was fun for us to be at the Kellar's on Jessica's 13th birthday on August 7th . The Kellars made our family feel very welcome, as they always do, and put on a big birthday feast for Sunday afternoon. It was fun and a good way to spend Jessica's birthday.

This new school year, both Jessica and Joshua have started playing instruments in band class. Jessica is playing the clarinet and Joshua the trombone. Despite all the stereotypes about how awful it is to hear the kids practicing their instruments, it has really been nice to hear them practice. For Steve, who has never played an instrument, it is amazing how quickly they have begun to make nice little musical pieces. They are short and simple but still nice.

Benjamin has had the opportunity to take a cooking class in high school. He continues to develop his skills as a budding chef, and the family often gets to enjoy the rewards of his efforts. Interestingly, he seems to have a particular interest in making desserts despite a constant concern for watching his weight. He is still quite thin

Martha began formal nursing training after completing all the prerequisites that she has been working on for some time. She will be done in less than two years now. She is enjoying her studies and the opportunity she has to do clinicals and work with patients. As you all know, Carolyn has been staying at Grandma's and Grandpa's while Martha has been at school, which, including time Martha has set aside for studying, turns into being gone as long as the older kids are, almost. It is a good situation, though. Carolyn starts every morning by saying “No, I don't want to go!” and every afternoon by saying “Mommy I missed you” and almost immediately “I had such a good time at Grandma's!”

Carolyn has also really been enjoying nursery. As most children do, she is very happy when she finds out that it is Sunday and she gets to go to nursery! She loves the activities, she loves the singing, and she loves her teachers. She started this year as the only child attending regularly, so she had her teacher (Sister Hardy and sometimes Brother Hardy as well) all to herself. Then a couple of families moved into the ward, a couple of children started coming more regularly, and a couple of the younger children turned 18 months, and suddenly she had a roomful with her. She went up to Sister Hardy after a couple of weeks of this and asked her “Are you still my teacher, too?” She has adjusted well to the change, and will adjust well again in January when she joins Primary as a Sunbeam.

So that is a quick summary of our lives. We hope you all enjoyed it!

We're alive

Just a note to let you all know that we're alive. We've had a couple of good months--Steve is back to work, and I've been finding out that taking college chemistry after 4 other science classes is relatively easy. Now to just figure out how to manage going back to school full-time for nursing...

The kids and I have been going nuts over snow days! We've had 4 snows that were 6-plus inches each (one even got to 12 inches!), and lots of "snow showers" in between. The end result is that I don't think we've had one full day of school since before Christmas break. Well, maybe 1 week out of the 8 school has been scheduled. It's been frustrating.

I have been lucky, though. Apparently when the county school district decides it is too snowy for the buses to run, the Community College I attend often decides that it is too snowy for students to drive in. So between my schedule (I only attend school on M, W, & F) and cancellations of my school, I've only had to go to school one day that they were out of school. So there are little mercies among the harder times.

The problem that the older kids (esp. Benjamin) and I are dealing with is that North Carolina has two laws that are causing conflicts with our county's situation. The first is that students have to attend for 180 days a year. The second is that unless the county qualifies for a waiver, those school days HAVE to be scheduled between Aug 25th and June 10th. Our county has not had enough school days in past years to qualify for the waiver, so our school board is pretty stuck. How do you schedule makeup days when you don't have any more days in the calendar you can use?

Well, they solved that dilema by first taking away all holidays and teacher work-days that they could for the rest of the year--including all but two of our Spring Break days. Even after that, we still had days to make up, so they are scheduling us for Saturday make-up days. We had our first day of "Saturday School" this week. It was really strange to get up and get the kids off to school, just like a normal day, and realize that Steve was here and we had the morning to do as we pleased. Okay, okay, we had a full day of errands and things to do, but we did get to go out to eat by ourselves (Carolyn had an early nap at Grandma's).

So we're happy, working hard, and trying to keep up with the changes that constantly happen. On a side note, we found out (either Friday or Saturday) that the State Board of Education has allowed our Superintendent to extend the school year. So maybe we'll get some of our Spring Break back.

Hope to hear from you soon!

-Martha

Catching Up - A New Year

I feel like I've let things slip a little in posting to our family blog. Especially considering how many wonderful letters and cards we received over the Christmas holidays. Thanks to those of you who sent cards. I guess our blog is kind of our attempt at keeping the world up-to-date on what is happening with us and hopefully the warm feelings we have for so many friends and family is felt here.


Our children are really growing up. Benjamin is finishing his last year in middle school this year—next year he'll be a high schooler. Wow! And as Uncle Mark recently posted on Facebook–on to the fun years of early morning seminary. That should be fun for someone who really doesn't do well in mornings (me). Benjamin shouldn't have a problem unless his temperament changes dramatically in the next eight months.

Jessica is having a lot of fun designing various things. For a couple weeks in December, she was trying out a different hairdo every couple days. She isn't doing it as much this month but maybe that's because she's back to school. Of course, she's now trying out the hairdos on Martha. Jessica also got a haircut over the break so her hair is considerably shorter. We think it looks great but she's frustrated she can't do much with it. Such is life.



Jessica also got involved in Girls on the Run this year. This is her second year doing so. Girls on the Run is a great program for pre-teen girls to help them develop self-esteem and healthy lifestyles. She ran a 5k in December—on a very cold day.



We had a very cold December, and January started off that way as well.



Joshua is also coming into his own. He has a very strong personality and knows what he wants—which usually involves losing himself in a book. He definitely acquired his parents' genes (especially Martha's) in how he can be happy reading for hours on end. Joshua is also enjoying being in Cub Scouts, where he is a Bear. He is also in his school's choir—an interest he isn't quite sure is an interest or not. He's been sticking with it though so we're glad to see that.




Carolyn is approaching 20 months in a couple weeks and is quickly transitioning into quite the toddler. She loves to have fun with a definite sense of humor making itself manifest. It's not unusual for her to put on goggles or a silly hat–on her own–to see our reaction. Like a toddler does, she is definitely developing her own opinion of things, too. We're having a lot of fun watching her grow up.

Martha is busy managing the household. Much of her time is spent either helping the kids get ready for school or with their homework and such once they are home from school. I am often amazed, and always gratified, by the amount of energy she pours into the lives of our children. In addition, she is finishing up prerequisites before applying to nursing school, which might start as early as this coming fall.

Steve (that's me) is back to work after a few months off on disability–due to depression. While off work, I spent a lot of time studying up on how to recover and deal with the challenges I have with depression. It's not an easy row to hoe but I feel better and am better prepared for the next time depression rears its ugly head.

Things I am grateful for after 8 inches of snow and 52 hours without power:

1. Heat (we have a gas furnace, but the fan is electric)
2. Lights
3. A campstove and propane to use with it.
4. Food to cook on the cookstove.
5. A husband with the motivation and the willingness to help me do the work of doing ALL the dishes with water boiled on the campstove.
6. Children who put up with a cold house for 24 hours.
7. Elder Bryant and Elder Buchanan who, on their way out contacting, stopped and took over clearing our driveway of all the snow (we only had two shovels anyway)--and then helped Steve maneuver turning the van around in the snow that was left so we could get out.
8. My sister Marian and her husband Tommy who opened their home to all of us for the second 24 hours.  Her children, Erik, David, and EmmaLeigh, and mine were VERY excited about it.  I just had to put up with the stress of 7 children--plus a babysittee--running through the house!  (Didn't seem to bother Marian much--I was amazed.)
9. Having the feeling of Sunday even if we didn't go to church.  (The roads were still slick, and the parking lot wouldn't have been cleared.)
10. Having lunch at Mom's (well, that would have happened anyway, but I am always grateful for her putting up with--and cooking for--so many people in her house.)
11. Quantity and Quality time with our children--we played more games in the last two days than we usually do in a week, and Benjamin especially was very happy!
12. Ancestors that lived--happily, in most cases--through life harder than the one I put up with from Friday night 'till Sunday night, and still found the hope to find the gospel and move across a wild country to Zion.  The last two days have made me very very grateful for them--and very grateful for the life I have right now.

Lake Lure

One fine Saturday evening, I took the kids on a drive down to Lake Lure while Martha got a much needed break. (Though her break included studying for a test she had on Monday morning.) The drive down to Lake Lure is fantastic along old two-lane highways that twist and turn through the mountains of western North Carolina.

Along the way there are a number of touristy-type shops--some of which I noticed have closed down due to the struggling economy--but the shops around Lake Lure and Chimney Rock still seem to be doing some bustling business.

The kids and I had a great time walking along the lake and playing at the playground.

Bipolar happens

Just a note that I'm starting a new blog--not to replace this one--detailing what is happening with me regards to my health. It is mybipolarfamily.blogspot.com. I guess this is my attempt to come out of the proverbial "closet" so to speak.

Unfortunately, bipolar disorder has a lot of stigma associated with it which makes it even more difficult to recover from episodes, etc. In an effort to reduce some of that stigma and show that this is an illness similar to diabetes or cancer or... I am recording my experiences with the disorder.

Regarding the name, I called it Bipolar Family partly because mental illness has hit my family so hard. Both my brothers are largely incapacitated by mental illness. They are still great, wonderful, loving people but they are not going to amass a wonderful resume or head a large happy family. What they offer the world is very different from what we unfortunately call success.

The other reason I call the blog Bipolar Family is that in a way those of us who suffer in whatever way from the effects of mental illness are all in this together. I love what the actor Glenn Close and her sister Jesse are doing with their newly launched foundation, Bring Change 2 Mind.

Part of me wants to apologize for being open about having bipolar disorder. It isn't a pleasant subject. I read recently about Sandy Naiman, an award-winning journalist who suffers from schizoaffective disorder and has been successful in battling the stigma of mental illness in her environment. She indicated that fifty years ago cancer had a similar stigma. It was not something you talked about and was referred to as the "C-word." People with cancer feared that if employers found out about their illness they would lose their jobs or never work again. Those who suffer from mental illness face that same level of stigma. They worry about losing their jobs, their families and their friends.

But those with mental illness are more than their mental illness. The illness is something they have. It is not who they are.

I'm hoping that in our era of rapid change that it won't take decades to overcome the stigma of mental illness.

As Glenn Close's sister Jessie mentions in one of the videos, it's uncomfortable at times wearing the "bipolar" t-shirt. But I'm hoping that it will be worth it.

Fall Pictures

This past weekend (while Benjamin was away with the Scouts, camping) we went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the Fall Colors.  They are gorgeous!  I thought I'd share some pictures:

Bright Colors

A variety of muted colors

Steve and the kids

Me and the kids

Joshua being goofy

I liked these rocks

Jessica liked this moss

Jessica on the barricade - this part of the Parkway is closed during the winter

Jessica took this picture of the leaves

Carolyn in her colors!

Wacky Hair Day

Our county School System sponsors a fund raiser for Eblen Charities every October. To make it a little fun, my children's elementary school has a "Wacky Hair Day" at the first of the month to encourage donations for the fundraiser. All the children that bring in money that day get to wear their hair any wacky way they want. So Jessica and Joshua wanted to go all out and spray their hair this year. So here are the results:

Front:

And Back:

They had a lot of fun!  Now, though, can anyone tell me the trick to getting the spray out?  They've both washed their hair already, and they STILL have green in their hair! :P  (Hee, Hee! What a hoot!)

Seattle Vacation

This year our family vacation took us back to Steve's home of Seattle, Washington. Too many years had passed since the last time we were able to spend time with family in Seattle. (One of the really hard things about living across the country from Steve's family.) We were able to take in a lot of sites.  (By the way, these photos—and more—can be seen in here)
Newly completed light rail. We caught it about a block away from our hotel and took it into Seattle.
Views from the Space Needle at the Seattle Center
Mount Rainier. Steve thought it was the best weather he's ever seen while on the mountain--made for great views.
Ferry ride from Anacortes to Orcas Island in the San Juans
Once we got to Orcas Island, we drove to the top of Mt Constitution to Moran State Park. Some awesome panoramic views of Puget Sound!
To top everything off, we finished our week in Seattle with a trip to the Oregon Coast. It was great to see all the sights and especially to spend time with Steve's parents, Cherie's family, and Steve's brothers. We intend to make our next visit much sooner. Five years is too long between visits!