Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

Catalog

I’m addicted to Picasa’s facial recognition feature. It’s a great way to catalog photos.

I’m thinking about my mom and dad today as they are in the final days of their 3 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is my dad. His countenance has been luminous and we are so happy that he and my mom have been able to serve together. They have taught us about unity in marriage and service. They have taught us about faith and testimony. They love the Savior.

I know they have made a difference in many lives and their service has brought blessings to their extended family that are great in depth and breadth. These blessings are so tightly interwoven in the details of my life that it would be impossible to list them all.

Truly, our family has been carried these past 3 years by a loving Father in Heaven through many things. Extended illnesses, accidents, a wedding, births, adoptions, and many smaller events have taken place during these last 3 years. Through it all, miracles have occurred and I continue to trust that everything will fit into place. One thing I have learned during these years is that the Lord intervenes according to His wise purpose and we can trust that we are in the Best Hands when we are doing what is right. Grace is a beautiful thing.

Books that Daniel read in 5th grade

  1. Alfred Hitchcock Solve Them Yourself Mysteries
  2. The Missing Chums
  3. The Secrets of Vesuvius
  4. The Dead Man in Indian Creek
  5. Bionicle Shadows in the Sky
  6. Bionicle Web of the Visorak
  7. The Shore Road Mystery
  8. Hunting for Hidden Gold
  9. Peter and the Starcatchers
  10. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
  11. Transformers
  12. The Candy Shop War
  13. Spy Force
  14. Tales of Ancient Egypt
  15. The Brave Apprentice
  16. The Mirror’s Tale
  17. Peter and the Shadow Thieves
  18. The Lost Cities
  19. Holes
  20. Ella Enchanted
  21. Prince Caspian
  22. Drift House
  23. Treasure Island
  24. The Incredible Journey
  25. Black Beauty
  26. Carry On, Mr Bowditch
  27. Crispin The Cross of Lead
  28. Transformers
  29. The Story of the World
  30. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
  31. The Whispering Mummy
  32. Gods and Goddesses of Olympus
  33. Binky Brothers Detectives
  34. The Haunted Fort
  35. The Ghost at Skeleton Rock
  36. The Clue of the Broken Blade
  37. The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior
  38. Fishers of Men
  39. Come Unto Me
  40. Fablehaven
  41. The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot
  42. Me and My Little Brain
  43. More Adventures of the Great Brain
  44. The Great Brain
  45. Prelude to Glory vol. 1
  46. Behold the Man
  47. Bud, Not Buddy
  48. The Last of the Mohicans (abridged)
  49. Hunting for Hidden Gold
  50. Fablehaven
  51. Stoneheart
  52. Ironhand
  53. Silvertongue
  54. Peter and the Shadow Thieves
  55. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!
  56. Johnny Tremain
  57. The Wednesday Witch
  58. Pearl Harbor Deadly Surprise Attack
  59. The Attack on Pearl Harbor
  60. Secret of the Sirens
  61. The Gorgon’s Gaze
  62. Billy Bones Tales from the Secrets Closet
  63. Fablehaven Rise of the Evening Star
  64. Fablehaven Grip of the Shadow Plague
  65. Mines of the Minotaur
  66. The Call of the Wild
  67. The Chimera’s Curse
  68. How to Eat Fried Worms
  69. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  70. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  71. Hardy Boys Murder House
  72. Hardy Boys Killer Mission
  73. Spy Force in Search of the Time and Space Machine
  74. Spy Force Revealed
  75. George’s Secret Key to the Universe
  76. Tunnels
  77. Dr. Illuminatus
  78. Magyk
  79. Deeper
  80. Nightmare Academy
  81. Johnny Tremain
  82. Eager
  83. Tales of the Greek Heroes
  84. The Tale of Troy
  85. The Eagle of the Ninth

Happy Fathers Day

This guy learned early that staying up late was a parenting requirement for child #1 (me). I’m so glad he was always awake when I came home at night. This meant he watched a lot of Dr. Who episodes and submitted to long chats after that.

Thanks, Dad.

I love you!

Ascent

I spent time at Girls Camp this week. I was just an observer. Nothing was expected of me but to watch. I saw a lot and enjoyed being with the girls. Now, if we can just scratch Twilight and Glee from their life experiences, things would be super.

I enjoyed the time on the mountain and nourished some old memories. I cried a tear or two when I left and then again when I remembered my mom singing in the mountains at Girls Camp.

It’s been 18 years but I still use my camp songbook when I play guitar.

June Rejuvenation

June is set aside for important rituals like cleaning out the drawers, closets, spraying for bugs and doing whatever we please. We’re having a jolly time of it.

We’re NOT doing the summer reading program at the library but we ARE reading.

We are spending time in the mountains.

We are picking tomatoes, growing grass and watching flowers bloom.

I’m reading educational philosophy from my college files. I’ll share some of my favorite passages from my study today.

On reading:

“…there is a society continually open to us, of people who will talk to us as long as we like, whatever our rank or occupation:–talk to us in the best words they can choose, and of the things nearest their hearts. And this society…is…the chosen, and the mighty, of every place and time. And how can we have access to such a society? Most typically through books, especially the books and personal writings of the great and the wise.” ~John Ruskin, 1864

On the value of unstructured, joyful living:

“Dr? Nehru tells that in India ‘during every period when her civilization bloomed, we find an intense joy in life and nature and a pleasure in the art of living.'” ~Eric Hoffer, from The Ordeal of Change

“…’great’ thinking consists in the working out of insights and ideas which come to us in playful moments. Archimedes’ bathtub and Newton’s apple suggest that momentous trains of thought may have their inception in idle musing…the sudden illumination and the flash of discovery are not likely to materialize under pressure.” ~Eric Hoffer in The Ordeal of Change

On Set with Audrey Hepburn

As we learned this weekend, we’re not on-the-set, up close and personal fans. We like the silver screen flat and fake.

I will explain.

Our t.v. stopped working last month and we had to make a decision. We still wanted a television in our house, but WHAT KIND? Richard did endless research, took a trip to Costco, and finally bought it on WOOT. (If you are wise you will ignore the name WOOT.  Hey, I’m pretty sure you just Googled it. I can tell. Stop before you start!)

So we’ve entered the high definition world. We pulled out some of our most colorful movies. We watched My Fair Lady.

As I learned, high definition makes you feel you’re in the same room, but I was surprised by our negative reaction. High definition images rob us of the experience we are looking for in a movie. Truly, we felt like we were on set, but that kind of realism has less escape value than a flat, colorful image of non-reality that we have come to enjoy. It will be something to get used to.

Now, the thing that high definition is good for is a World Cup soccer match. Wow!