Anderson Afterthoughts

The Smothered Mutt

2012-01-09T22:16:00.002-06:00

Welcome to 2012, and my New Year’s resolution to journal more, or at least Blog. The last time I did a really well-done family journal was in 2004 with the Waterloo Weekly. In that same vein, I am resolving to publish a weekly blog on Jeanie's Anderson Afterthoughts blog. Without trying to back-track too much, here we go…

The highlight of this week was definitely “The Smothered Mutt”! It is this quirky little hot dog joint out on Highway 160, about a half-hour east of Branson. Casey Hall and I had gone out there for an Eagle Scout Court of Honor (Josiah Enns), and stopped by the Smothered Mutt on the way back. They had 32 different specialty dogs, and funny menu items like chili in a dog bowl. Tourists and patrons tack their $1 tips to the ceiling after writing on the note – the waitress brought our bill with a few sharpies and some tacks. I ordered “The Cuban” which had ham and swiss added to the dog, with some fancy mustard and a sandwich pickle, then pressed like a Panini. Plus some onion rings – yum!

Another good moment was the Boy Scouts District Dinner for the Blazing Trails (lead on!) district. I had become the District Chairman just before last year’s District Dinner and felt embarrassed that we only had about 20 people there. It had been an unspoken goal of mine to get more people to come for the January 2012 version. Success! We had well over a hundred people there, including lots of family, local community leaders and adult scouters who don’t even attend the District Committee meetings.

For the new year, we spent time with my parents in Illinois. My sister Carma was visiting with her boys, from Las Vegas. Solomon was very patient with them, but he said at one point “Mom, it’s like having three Jerry’s!” (His brother Jerry is 6, and his cousins Jak and Braddock are 5 and 4). The boys were fun, and Gramps and Grandma Susie made it lots of fun. We had a bonfire in the woods, and cut down some trees in the woods, with the boys helping pull it down while Gramps cut.

Wish me luck on doing more of this...

kids insights

2011-08-16T00:57:00.000-05:00

I need to remember not to watch a tear jerker movie when it is a certain time of the month. Tonight, I decided to watch "Miss Potter", a movie I had borrowed from the collection at work a week ago. I needed to finally get it watched and take it back. The only problem is, there has not been much "me time" in the past week. 5 days ago, our family doubled in size as we picked up the four children of Jon and Belle Dutton to have in our home for 12 days as their parents travelled to Seattle by bus, then on to Alaska on a cruise. It is a "work trip" for them as they are performing on the boat, with the extra perk of all 12 of them going on the cruise free of charge. I hope they are getting paid also, because that is a really long trip! As fun as it may be, I know it was hard for Belle to say goodbye to the kids. They are a very tight knit family, and the youngest girl especially does not spend much time away from her parents. She is 4 now, and I think this trip came at a good time to help her gain more independence.

I have had some very sweet conversations with these kids, and really have enjoyed getting to know them better. Last summer I spent several weeks with them during Dutton Day Camp, and among all the Dutton kids I think these were the ones who stole my heart the most. That is why, when I heard the cruise was only for grown-ups, I offered to their parents that we could take them during the week they were gone. That 7 day offer turned into 12, but it is going quite well so far. One reason for writing this blog tonight is to relay a conversation I had with Natalia today. She mentioned something about me having more kids, and I replied, "for some reason God thinks two is enough for me, because this body is not able to make any more little people." I have more. Her insightful comment was, "Maybe Heavenly Father only sent you two so you could help a lot of other people out with their kids." I believe there may be a lot of truth to that statement. Her comment gives me more of a desire to magnify my calling, and offer service to others as often as possible. I do feel I was placed here on earth with talents specific to relating to children and teaching them. My commitment to spread happiness among children has really grown this week, as I have seen these kids so happy as they have stayed here and interacted with my fmaily. One of the best ways to benefit mankind is to lead the next generation by caring about them and spending time teaching them. I am thankful God has given me several opportunities to do this. And now, it is time for me to share my Helaman 5:12 song with the world of Primary. I was inspired by Beatrix Potter to pursue my dream, and share my talent to bless the lives of others. Before the end of Sept. I want to send it it! (Goal)

Thank Goodness for Eternity

2011-03-07T18:30:00.001-06:00

For now, I have abandoned my Anderson Afterthoughts blog and started a new one at Wordpress.com. I find Wordpress easier to use, and easier to put pictures on the site. So, If you would like to read more about my "afterthoughts" just head on over to www.thankgoodnessfor eternity.wordpress.com To all of you in the blogger.com world, keep up the good blogging, and I will keep on reading from time to time as my schedule will allow. I do admire you all for the great things you accomplish as mothers, wives and most importantly as daughters of God.

Two of my favorite people

2010-10-22T04:50:00.000-05:00

Though I have not met Mitt Romney or Stephanie Nielsen in person, I feel like they are two of the people who have influenced my life the most in these past couple of years. Both are examples of determination and conviction that inspire me to be strong in the face of adversity. I am happy to find out that NieNie (Stephanie) is a Romney fan like I am. I look forward to hearing more from Mr. Romney soon as he prepares for a likely 2nd presidential campaign in 2012. Not sure if the country is ready to elect such a righteous man, but I am sure that I will be supporting him all the way! Two blogs to check out if you have not seen them before www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com and www.evangelicalsformitt.com (this was one of my favorites during the 2008 campaign cycle, and they are active again now supporting Mitt)

Charity Never Faileth

2010-09-26T23:09:00.000-05:00

Last night I had the privilege of attending the Women's broadcast with 50+ Relief Society Sisters from the Branson 1st and 2nd wards. There are so many great women in the church here and every chance I get to know them better is such a blessing to me. We have been here almost 1 1/2 years now, and I am so pleased with how connected we feel. People here are more busy than any place I have ever lived, so we learned early on to expect to be invited to many get-togethers or not to expect for others to reach out to get to know us much. But, I have also learned that there is always a need for friendship among sisters especially, even if they act like they are way too busy to have friends. I have enjoyed the challenge of finding ways to be connected with the ladies here and becoming a friend to them in spite of their time-consuming jobs and church involvement. At the meeting last night we were reminded of the importance of not wasting time judging others, because that prohibits us from having time to love them. I really like that idea of devoting my time to loving others, and preserving the time that I might otherwise spend judging them. As we seek to love all those we come in contact with, it makes all of our associations more meaningful. Not sure if all this is making sense, but it is late and the later the time the more philosophical I attempt to be. So, I am going to bed now. I just wanted to write this quick note to remember how much I felt the Spirit at the conference yesterday and then again at church today. It has been a Spirit filled weekend. I am so thankful!

End of Summer

2010-08-23T19:00:00.003-05:00

One week ago today we had our last outing with the Dutton Day Camp. It was a very stressful ending to a very fun summer. We went to the Track family fun park, which proved to be quite a challenge with such a large group. We had all 17 of the Duttons plus my two boys that day. Though it was chaotic, the kids seemed to have fun and behaved themselves for the most part. The summer really did go by quickly, but it does feel like time to move on to school for the boys and a less busy schedule for me. I've started a blog called "Branson Kids on the Go" (www.bransonkidsonthego.blogspot.com) to display some of the pictures and details about the day camp. I am posting one here of our visit to the Branson fire station. I am still working at the Dutton Inn three days per week, and I will be babysitting the 4 pre-schoolers on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This time they will just come to my house rather than trying to run all over town with them. I am glad I will still have some regular contact with these little cuties. I am very thankful to have been able to spend so much time doing fun things with my boys this summer because of Dutton Day Camp. They had a blast being a part of such a fun group. Wonderful Memories! I hope we can make some more memories next summer.

My Super Cousin Jerie

2010-08-05T09:22:00.001-05:00

Note from Jeanie: We just returned from an amazing family reunion trip to Quincy and Nauvoo, IL about which I will write more later. For now, I wanted to share this post from my "super cousin" Jerie. (I think I just created a new super hero character "Super Cousin") Here is a beautiful summary from Jerie as to why these reunions must go on! Thanks Jerie for putting into words that which I feel but often don't take the time to express.

Second Cousin Once Removed

If Jozianne lived next door to me, we would be best friends. As it is, we see each other every two years. Our intermittent, bi-annual conversation picks up where we left off without awkward silences. I'm not sure when we got heart-close like this. Over the 47 year span of my life, we've spent maybe six weeks total, a mere handful of days, together. Second cousins--it sounds more distant than it feels.

2010. An even year. That means a Boyack Family reunion--my mom's side. Boyack was never my name. Before I became a Jacobs, I was a Sandholtz. But spending a few days with my extraordinary kin last week confirmed that Boyack runs deep in me. It's not just the blue eyes, exact mirrors of my own, that surround me at reunions. It's good humor and generosity, deep commitment to faith and family, the propensity to spin a yarn. Wherever we assemble, it feels like coming home.

Jozianne's daughter,Jane, played cards with us and we laughed into the wee hours of the morning. Second-cousin-once-removed hardly describes the way we fit. I met Darren and Chrissie, pretty much for the first time, and felt like I had always known them. Jeanie and Merrilyn, my first-cousins-who-feel-like-sisters, planned our three day convergence with sufficient care to create a sweet sliver of what heaven must hold in store.

At the end of every Boyack reunion we meet to discuss the future of these mad, glorious events. The logistics are daunting. Try finding a venue for a couple of hundred Scots who talk a lot and eat a lot and stay up all night because they don't want to sleep through a minute of their time together. "Can this possibly continue?" we ask. Honestly, it is sheer insanity.

Hurrah for my crazy cousins who decide, time and again, to go forward. Thank heaven for old-school lunacy that favors face-to-face conversation over Facebook; that drives or flies 1,500 miles to catch-up with family instead of just catching their Twitter; that doesn't settle for an extensive Contact list in lieu of actual contact. I have no fear that the sad irony of living in a hyper-connected world and yet feeling disconnected from real people will ever overtake the Boyacks. No. We'll do what it takes to find ourselves in a room together, wearing goofy Boyack t-shirts and laughing out loud, drawn by the singular delight of coming home.

My Summer Plans

2010-06-25T09:54:00.004-05:00

For the past three weeks, the boys have been going to summer school, which they really enjoyed. It seems to be more fun than school, which is fine with me since after all, it is summer. Lots of people here enroll their kids in the 3 weeks of summer school, because it helps to shorten the summer that often seems too long to keep kids entertained. I went to Girls' Camp during the first week of Summer school, then I have have been back to my part time Front Desk job at the Dutton Inn for the past two weeks. However, next Monday life will become more busy again. I will be starting up the "Dutton Day Camp" which is a 4 hour per day enterprise that I designed to put my recreation management skills to good use. We did our first week of Dutton Day Camp the week before summer school started and it was a great success. The theme for that week was "Underwater Adventure Week". Next week will be "Discover Nature" week. Later in the Summer we will have "We love Animals Week", "History Week" and "Creative Kids Week". I really enjoy working with kids, and these particular kids are so much fun. There are 18 kids (ranging from 2-13 yrs. old) among the 5 performing Dutton siblings and their spouses. I only take up to 12 at a time, and my own boys get to go along each day as well. They love it! I took some good pictures during our first week of day camp, but of course we can't find the camera right now and I have not yet gotten them downloaded. So, for now, I will post a link to the Dutton Website to introduce you to the families I have the privilege of working with. The Duttons have a spectacular family show, which is a must see if you ever come to Branson. I've probably seen it 10 times by now, and I still really enjoy watching them every time. Go check them out on You Tube if you are not familiar with them. Anyway, I will write more later about our adventures, for now I just wanted to provide a brief update of what we are up to.

Camp Songs C.D. - I'm at it again

2010-05-15T06:37:00.001-05:00

Those of you coming to my blog in search of words to camp songs, look in my blog archives for July and June of 2009 and you will find them there. I was excited to have so many new people request a copy of the C.D. - mostly because I know many of these camp songs will be sung this summer at girls' camps all over this great country of ours. Please comment to me here or on Facebook to let me know you recieved your C.D. and that it worked okay when you tried to play it. Also feel free to browse around my blog and get to know us better. I'm definitley not a blog-a-holic, but I have added some meaningful posts over the years.

Your Camp Ritchie friend, Jeanie Anderson

p.s. in case you are wondering about the voices on the C.D., mine is the strong alto voice which sounds quite raspy in some of the songs because I had a very sore throat one of the days we recorded. Alexis is the soprano who sang the solos on "Walk Tall" and "God created Camp Ritchie". (she was only 14 at the time we recorded) Her older sister Camille switches between singing harmony and melody depending on the song, also she played the flute for us on Walk Tall (Camille is 17 years old) My husband Garrett is the one who sings the PBJ love song. He did great!

2010-03-18T18:08:00.001-05:00

March 17th, 2001

2010-03-18T17:46:00.002-05:00

I wanted to post this wedding picture to commemorate our 9th wedding anniversary which took place yesterday. The time has gone quickly, yet I can hardly remember life before Garrett. It seems he has always been there with me. He has worked hard to try and learn all about the 24 years before he knew me, so he can talk with me about my memories just as if he had been a part of them. He is such a caring person who does well at remembering details. That is a great quality, to remember things people have told you so that they know you were really listening. I could use some improvement in that area. I ask people a lot of questions about themselves, but sometimes I am so busy thinking up the next question that I don't always listen to the answer as closely as I should. This is only one of many areas that Garrett has been a good example to me. He is a very loving father and friend to our little boys. He plays with them tirelessly every chance he gets, which sometimes includes staying up way past bedtime. But, I don't fault him for this because I know he just can't get enough of them and often his time at home is limited due to his busy work schedule. Garrett is also very diligent in his church calling as Young Mens' president. He really cares about those boys too, and tries to plan activities that will help them grow into responsible young men. Of course their parents do most of that work at home, but the Priesthood programs of the church are there to supplement the parents' efforts and give the boys responsibility to which they can rise. I know his experiences now in this calling will help him be prepared to be a father of teenage boys in just a few years. I didn't really know where this blog was headed when I started it, I just knew I wanted to pay tribute to my eternal best friend and sweetheart, Garrett DuAne Anderson. So, on with the tribute:

Thanks for always loving me, even those days when I have not been easy to love. Thanks for encouraging me in my many pursuits, and helping me keep focused on my most important job of motherhood. Thanks for being a 21st century man who believes that household chores are a shared responsibility. Thanks for folding the laundry and doing the dishes so often without being asked. Thanks for never saying, "I wish you were more..." and always saying, "I am so thankful for who you are". Thank you for leading our family in Spiritual things from attending church, to having weekly Family Home Evenings, to paying tithing and saying our prayers together. Thanks for finishing my sentences when I can't come up with the words, and for being quick to forgive unkind words I say things should have been left unsaid. Thanks for doing CPR on my jokes when necessary and for always being willing to eat my leftovers. I love you sweetheart, and look forward to many more years of life and eternity with you and your two sons. Most importantly, thanks for helping me become a mommy!

Arizona Trip

2010-03-16T03:09:00.003-05:00

We have really enjoyed reconnecting with family here in AZ. Today we went to the zoo, and it felt like July to me instead of March. I think we chose the right month to come, any later in the year would have been way too hot for me.

My kiddos are having a blast with their cousins. Maybe I will get ambitious and actually post some pictures on here. For some reason that task seems to take too many steps so I don't do it very often. Anyway, just wanted to write a short blog here and say how thankful I am to have married into such an awesome family.

The Andersons are a great bunch of people, and I wish I could spend more time with them all. I told Garrett, we may end up moving here if we ever need to move on from Branson. Not because I love Arizona, but because there are so many Andersons here. I would love for my boys to be close to cousins during their teenage years especially.

Tomorrow evening we get to go see the Duttons perform. It will be fun to introduce our family to our favorite family in Branson. Should be nice evening. Okay, I am tired now. Goodnight.

Fundamental Premises of Our Faith - Talk Given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks at Harvard Law School - LDS Newsroom

2010-02-26T19:34:00.000-06:00

I thought this was very interesting so I decided to post it here. Enjoy.

Fundamental Premises of Our Faith - Talk Given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks at Harvard Law School - LDS Newsroom

Back to Normal

2010-02-16T10:08:00.001-06:00

We spent the weekend visiting the Anderson Grandparents which was a lot of fun. I have not been back to Normal for almost a year, so it was good to get back. Garrett's parents really live in Bloomington, IL which is the neighboring city to Normal, but I still usually refer it it as Normal since that is the town we used to live in and the place where Garrett grew up before his parents moved to the house they now live in.

It was great to spend time in familiar places with family and friends. We got to visit with the Reeds, Wheelers and Escobars. Also we saw many other old friends when we attended church on Sunday. When I see the teenagers now, who used to be primary kids when we lived there, I realize how much time has passed. We moved away (for good) just after Jerry was born five years ago. Though it has been a while since we lived there, we still feel very connected to the community and to our friends there.

The boys love going back there, mostly because they love to be at Grandma Susie and Gramps' house. Also, they love visiting their friends who are like cousins to them. It is funny how they remember people's houses by what toys they have, even if they have not been there for several years. I think kids memories are more geared towards remembering toys than people. After seeing the people again they usually remember quickly enough, but when talking about going to see certain friends, they often mention the toys they remember playing with there.

It is sad to live so far away now. When we were in Centralia, the drive was only three hours. Now that we are 8 hours away, a weekend trip is very exhausting. Though we are worn out, it was still worth it to make the trip, especially since we all got to visit the dentist while we were there. Thanks Gramps for taking care of our teeth.

10 things I am thankful for right now

2010-01-29T20:20:00.002-06:00

1. Being warm inside my house even though outside the world is frozen.
2. My sweet husband who is sitting in the boys room playing legos with them right now.
3. Garrett's job which provides a very comfortable living for our family.
4. An upcoming trip to AZ to visit lots of cousins, looking forward to it is exciting
5. Our cars and readily available gasoline
6. Heavenly Father's Plan
7. Music, especially when sung by my two little boys
8. My boxes of papers (I love looking back through old letters and school papers, somehow it brings me joy...though I am trying to minimize the amount of boxes I have)
9. Missionaries - when ever I am around missionaries it makes me feel hopeful about the future of the church and of the world. They are all such good kids!
10. My Parents -they were here over Christmas, and it was great to be with them again!

(Thanks Alena for giving me the idea to do a gratitude list)

2010-01-01T16:43:00.001-06:00

Stephanie Nielson - an inspiration to all mothers everywhere

2009-12-18T13:58:00.001-06:00

Stephanie Nielson: Plane crash survivor regains hope

(this article has ten chapters to it, I reccomend reading them all in sequence to get the full impact of the story.)

This woman is absolutely amazing to me! Whenever I start feeling sorry for myself, or discouraged about anything, I go back to her blog and feel humbled. If she can do it (life I mean), so can I. She survived the fiery flames of a plane crash, and has to deal with the pain of the burns every day. Yet she goes on, thank you Stephanie for being an inspiration to us all!

Sending my love to Africa

2009-12-06T07:32:00.003-06:00

This picture is of some friends who I met in Africa back in 1999 when was living in Zimbabwe teaching at Camelot School. Ian, the dad in the picture, became a very good friend to all of us American students. We got to know him through church, and he soon became our protector and our taxi cab. He was such a good friend and we really enjoyed spending time with him and his family.

At the end of my stay in Africa, he was the one who accompanied me on the bus trip down to Johannesburg, South Africa on my way home. His trip was mainly for the purpose of attending the temple for the first time. Garrett, who was on an internship in Mozambique, Africa at the time met up with us at the temple and served as Ian's escort in the temple. It was a very special day.

When Ian met Patience (his wife) a few years later and decided to get married, we were very happy to hear the news. We assisted him in getting a wedding ring for her from here in the States because inflation had skyrocketed so badly over there. We stayed in contact with them and enjoyed getting updates and sending gifts when they had their children. I never officially met Patience, but felt like I knew her from seeing pictures and reading Ian's updates.

The purpose of me telling you about them is to ask for your prayers on behalf of this family. Yesterday I got the news that Patience died a few days ago. She leaves behind an adoring family and three young children. I am very sad for Ian at this time, but I am also extremely thankful for the knowledge of eternal families

They have been sealed in the temple, and I know that they will see each other again and will be together as a family eternally. It may be many years of separation until that time, but knowing of the eternal plan God has for families gives us hope, and motivation to go on during times of sadness. We love you Ian and will be praying for you and your children.

With Love, Jeanie and Garrett Anderson

Thankful Hearts

2009-11-23T08:10:00.002-06:00

We are so thankful this Thanksgiving for answered prayers. Our sister-in-law Teresa is recovering well from the awful infection than ravaged her body about a month ago now. For a few days there we were all afraid we might lose her. But, many prayers were offered on her behalf, a family fast occurred and the good Lord intervened. She is back home again now, working to regain her strength. We are happy that Garrett's mom was able to go to Arizona to help be a support to the family as Teresa continues to recover.

As we approach the holidays, we reflect back on all that our own little family has been through the past year. I have come to appreciate my health and strength, after going through so many months of sickness in 2008. Also, the miracle of the two healthy boys we have in our lives has become the focus of our gratitude. After not successfully bringing their two little brothers here to earth, we know how blessed we are to have realized the miracle of parenthood with Solomon and Jeremiah. We still feel a void in our lives, as our family still feels incomplete without Abraham and Elias (those are the names we intended for them). But, we know that the Lord is the great Completer, and he will bless us with the gift of a complete eternal family in Heaven if we will put our trust in Him and follow His teachings.

As for the present, we will enjoy each day of this life with Solomon and Jeremiah and will look forward with hope and anticipation to all the God has in store for us. We are thankful to be living in a place now where enjoyment is so very easy to find. It would be great to live closer to family, but since that is not possible for us at this time, we are happy to be in a city surrounded by good people. Last night, we were invited to the Dutton's Christmas party and talent show that they have each year for all their employees. Though we don't know them too well yet, it still felt like for an evening we were a part of an extended family here. It was very fun. I even got up on stage and played my trombone for old times' sake.

Table Rock Dam

2009-11-23T07:56:00.002-06:00

Here we are with Stanley at the Table Rock Fish Hatchery right by the dam. This was taken back in September when the weather was still warm.

The Power of Words

2009-11-05T07:22:00.002-06:00

Written by DeAnn Flynn - a "Time Out for Women" presenter

(This is a great message for all of us parents to remember, so I decided to share it)

Before I got married, no one ever sat me down and had "the talk." You know, the talk about...laundry. Remarkably, even without previous counsel, I've developed some pretty sweet laundry skills and learned a great deal over the years. Perhaps my greatest realization is how much I've come to respect bleach.
With seven active children, bleach has become my trusted companion – often saving a seemingly hopeless article of clothing. It has disinfected things I would only touch with rubber gloves and a gas mask. But my careless use of this powerful aid has also ruined many more things than I'd care to admit.

Once, in haste, some drops of bleach landed on my favorite laundry room rug. I noticed these drops right away and tried to rinse them out quickly, but the power of that bleach proved to be immediate and irreversible. The next day, I carefully colored the spots in with a mustard colored marker. (I challenge you to find one of those!) It helped, but I'm still reminded of that mistake every time I do my wash. Those bleach spots have taught me a priceless lesson.

You see, bleach is a lot like words.The words we choose can lift and mend, restore and renew. They can also permanently damage and deface. Words are quick and powerful. Once uttered, they cannot be retracted. Whether we use them with care and respect, or thoughtlessness and haste, words can (and do) change lives forever.

I'll never forget the time I overheard some friends joking about some of my weaknesses to one another in a mean-spirited way. When they realized I had heard them, they quickly came and asked to be forgiven. I did forgive, but the experience has been difficult to forget. Like bleach, the cruel stain was immediate and irreversible. Their repentance helped to fill in the painful spot (like my rare and wonderful mustard-colored marker), but the memory of those harsh words has been hard to completely erase.

The Apostle Paul delivered these wise words to the ancient Ephesians, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers....Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:29-32)

It's so easy to speak before we think. But most of us don't use intentionally hurtful words, we just get lazy and careless. We let our words fly like little drops of bleach here and there without measuring the effect they may have upon the hearer. The problem is, little children (and big adults) believe what we say to them. “Something's wrong with you," or "You just don't get it," or "If you could just see yourself."

I once called my daughter a "turtle" because she often moves like cold tar. One month later, while in a piano lesson, her teacher asked her to play more quickly. She replied, "I can't. I'm a turtle." My careless words had stained her self-perception. If only I could take those damaging words back...

Each day we have the opportunity to mend hearts and empower lives with our words. When we use them to build and inspire – people grow. We we degrade and criticize – people shrink. Our simple words of encouragement and praise can be life-changing.

As a matter of fact, they are.

General Conference makes me happy

2009-10-09T00:59:00.003-05:00

"When we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we return toward God. We each need to feel the Saviors arms of mercy through the forgiveness of our sins. I testify that the Savior is eager and able to forgive our sins. Forgiveness is a divine gift of the gospel, removing guilt and pain from our hearts and replacing it with joy." Elder Neil Andersen

This is just a small sample of the inspiring words we were given this past weekend at General Conference. It is so fun to be able to go onto LDS.org and listen to these messages over and over again. I am thankful for the spiritual feast we are given every six months. Now, with modern technology, we can partake of that feast every day if we want. I always feel the desire to improve when I listen to the prophet and apostles, yet it is not in a guilt feeling of not doing well enough, but a motivated feeling of "Yes, I can do this, I can improve with the help of my Savior." Okay, time for me to go to bed. I just wanted to share a little something on here from Conference before too many days have passed. This has been a great week because it started off right. It is so true that our attitude is affected by what we put in our minds. I can't think of anything better than revelation from God.

Flat Stanley comes to town

2009-09-17T00:46:00.002-05:00

I have to admit, I have never actually read the story of Flat Stanley...but it is time for me to check it out from the library since we have him staying in our house right now. He is a very quiet visitor, no trouble at all. He is very photogenic and seems to enjoy seeing the sights of Branson. We wanted to introduce him to Branson's many great restaurants, but he never seems to have much of an appetite. We are glad our nephew Clayton sent him to us. We have many fun plans for the next couple weeks. I was proud of the slide show I made on Photobucket.com from our trip to the Wax Museum tonight. That is my first time successfully making a slide show. Now that I know how there will be more to come in the future. But, for now I need to get to bed, Goodnight.

2009-09-17T00:22:00.001-05:00

Summer Days coming to an end

2009-08-17T04:29:00.002-05:00

We have had such a blast this summer acting like tourists here in Branson. My friends here keep correcting me when I say we are acting like tourists, because they assure me that it is okay to have this much fun even when we are all settled. There is so much to love about this place: the people, the scenery, the entertainment, and a great job for Garrett that brought us here. Thanks to the city of Branson for allowing us to get a fresh start on life. It has been a refreshing summer. We look forward to the change of seasons to see the Ozarks with new colors on in the Fall and covered in frost in the Winter. Time has been going by so quickly these past few months, I actually want it to slow down so we can have time soak it all in. My boys are learning and growing so much each day. We are enjoying the stages they are at in life. Solomon is always eager to teach Jeremiah new things. They are a great pair of boys who have so much fun together. Jerry and I will miss Solomon during the day when he goes to school. But, it will be a good thing too for them to have some time to themselves. I hope to get a Joy School co-op going for pre-school with Jerry to avoid having to pay lots of $$$ for preschool. I am only working two days per week, so I will have lots of time to enjoy my last year with Jerry at home. I better get back to bed to catch a few more ZZZs before my boys wake up. Bye for now.

2009-08-17T04:28:00.001-05:00

99 Things

2009-08-01T19:55:00.003-05:00

99 Things
Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post it.
(I like this one because it requires very little effort)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you are not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (not Niagra, but Victoria Falls)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold girl scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

NOT TOO BAD OF RESULTS FOR ONLY 33 YEARS OLD. I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO DO THE REST!

2009-07-28T08:25:00.001-05:00

Ripley's Believe it or Not

2009-07-28T08:17:00.004-05:00

This is just outside the museum at 10:30 pm when we completed our tour. In the background you can see a bunch of cars driving past. That gives you a little idea of how live our little town is. There is constant activity in the tourist areas from 7 am until late into the night. My favorite part of driving down the strip at night is passing 5 miniature golf courses that are all filled with families having fun together. Very different experience driving down the strip in Branson vs. driving down the strip in Vegas. I'll take the good wholesome family fun any day over sin city! This is such a great place to live. I hope we get to stay a long time.

Butterflies and boys

2009-07-28T08:09:00.002-05:00

This butterfly exhibit was at the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum in Branson

FLICKER

2009-07-13T21:47:00.001-05:00

This has got to be my all time favorite camp song!
I learned it in 1990 from Kelli Schofield who was
the SJ 16th ward Young Women's president at the time.
Not sure who wrote it, but Kelli gets the credit for
bringing this awesome song into my life.

(Verses one and three are intended to be sung
simultaneously after singing each verse on its own)

Verse 1 -The Flicker of the campfire, the wind in the pines, The stars in the heavens, the moon that shines. A place where people gather, make friends of all kinds. A place where all men’s troubles, are always left behind, so give me the light of the campfire, warm and bright. And give me some friends to sing with, I’ll be here all night. Love is for those who share it, I found mine right here, just you and me and the campfire, and the songs we love to hear.

Verse 2- I know a place where no one ever goes, There is peace and quite, beauty and repose. It's hidden in the valley, beside a mountain stream, And lying there beside the stream I find that I can dream. Only of things of beauty to the eye, Snow peaked mountains rising to the sky. Now I know that God has made this world for me.
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da

Verse 3 - One can imagine himself as in a dream, climbing up a mountain or down a small revine. The beauty of this peace and quiet ever shall stay. To make this place a haven, each and every day. Oh how I wish, I never had to leave. All my life such beauty to receive. Now I know, that God has made this world for me.
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da for me

Barges

2009-07-13T21:13:00.004-05:00

Barges, I would like to go with you
I would like to sail the ocean blue
Barges, have you treasures in your hold
Do you fight with pirates brave and bold

v. 1- Out of my window looking in the night
I can see the barges flickering light.
v.2- Starboard shines green and port
is glowing red, I can see the barges up ahead.

Barges, I would like to go with you
I would like to sail the ocean blue
Barges, have you treasures in your hold
Do you fight with pirates brave and bold

v. 3- Silently flows the river to the sea
and the barges too go quietly.
v.4- Taking their cargo out into the sea,
how I wish that someday they’d take me

Barges, I would like to go with you
I would like to sail the ocean blue
Barges, have you treasures in your hold
do you fight with pirates brave and bold.

This can be sung all together or as a round.
The wording listed here has more verses than the
C.D. version, feel free to adapt it however you wish.

The Campfire Song

2009-07-13T21:03:00.002-05:00

The camp fire lights anew,
The flame of friendship true.
The joy we've had in knowing you,
Will last our whole lives through.

But as the embers fade away,
we wish that we might ever stay.
But since we can not have our way,
We'll meet again some other day.

(This was a song my mom taught me
around the campfire as a little girl.
We shared it with others at girls' camp.
It is usually sung slower than I
sang it on the C.D.. Bill and I decided to
speed it up a bit since my throat was soar
that day and I wasn't able to hold
out the notes very well)

God Created Camp Ritchie

2009-07-10T13:06:00.002-05:00

written by Nan Hunter, music by Lynn Shurtleff

God created Camp Ritchie,
great pines, starry skies, blue lake,
God created Camp Ritchie
for his dear young daughters’sake.

Great pines growing tall and straight
help me to know I too am great,
the starry skies and sweet fresh air
remind me He is everywhere.
A lake that’s deep and pure and blue,
Oh Father may I be so too.
Lord we give our thanks to Thee
for leaders of such quality,
for laughter, songs, and heart-shared love,
for spirit we feel from above,
for tender moments with a friend,
for memories that will never end.

God created Camp Ritchie,
great pines, starry skies, blue lake,
God created Camp Ritchie
for his dear young daughters’sake.

(This was a song that originated in the
San Jose South Stake. I had never heard of it
before the music was sent to me by a friend who
went to camp with that Stake. It had been
requested by a few people on the Facebook group
so I decided to add it to the collection of songs.
On the CD it was sung by 14 year old Alexie Rhiner.)

Happiness Runs

2009-07-10T08:52:00.002-05:00

v.1 Happiness runs in a circular motion,
Life is like a little boat upon the sea.
Everybody is a part of everything, everywhere.
You can be happy if you let yourself be.

v.2 Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh.
Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, bup.
Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh.
Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, bup.

v.3 Happiness runs, happiness runs, runs, runs,
Happiness runs, happiness runs runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs, runs, runs,
Happiness runs, happiness runs runs.

this song can be done in a round or all together

I Love the Mountains (round)

2009-07-10T08:49:00.002-05:00

I love the mountains,
I love the rolling hills,
I love the flowers,
I love the daffodils,
I love the fireside,
When all the lights are low,
Boom-de-ada, boom-de-da,
Boom-de-ada, boom-de-da...
(then repeat as much as you want)

Noah's Story

2009-07-06T23:12:00.003-05:00

The Lord said to Noah, there's gonna be a floody, floody.
Lord said to Noah, there's gonna be a floody, floody.
Get those animals, out of the muddy, muddy
Children of the Lord.

Chorus:
So rise and shine and give God your glory, glory
Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory
Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory
Children of the Lord.

So Noah, he built him, he built him an arky, arky
Noah, he built him, he built him an arky, arky
Built it out of gopher barky, barky
Children of the Lord.

Chorus

The animals they came on, they came on by twosies, twosies
Animals, they came on, they came on by twosies, twosies
Elephants and kangaroosies, roosies
Children of the Lord.

Chorus

It rained and rained for 40 daysies, daysies
Rained and rained for 40 daysies, daysies,
Nearly drove those, animals crazy, crazy
Children of the Lord.

Chorus

The sun came out and dried up the landy, landy
Sun came out and dried up the landy, landy
Everything was fine and dandy, dandy
Children of the Lord.

Chorus

The animals they came off, they came off by threesies, threesies
Animals they came off, they came off by threesies, threesies
All because of, birds and beesies,
Children of the Lord.

Chorus

Now this is the end of, the end of the story, story
This is the end of, the end of the story, story
Everything was hunky dory, dory
Children of the Lord.

Chorus

America

2009-07-05T21:24:00.002-05:00

In honor of the 4th of July Holiday we all celebrated this weekend, I wanted to share the words to this song that was also a girls' camp favorite. It did not make it on to the camp songs C.D. yet, it is a song worth remembering.

America, America,
Can we tell you how we feel?
You have given us your treasures.
We love you still.

(done in a round, to the same tune as 'Rose, rose, rose, rose')

No Man is an Island

2009-07-02T01:27:00.001-05:00

No man is an island.
No man stands alone.
Each man's joy is joy to me,
Each man's grief is my own.
We need one another,
So I will defend.
Each man as my brother,
Each man as my friend.

Titanic

2009-07-01T23:40:00.003-05:00

You may wonder why this classic camp song ended up grouped with the more serious songs on the C.D., the tone of the song is quite silly, but the subject matter is somewhat depressing, thus the placement decision was made. I feel it helped keep the first part of the album from getting too boring. The version on the C.D. is a bit different than the one I learned at camp Ritchie, but this is the way the girls who sang with me had learned it, and it was easier to adapt my tune than to re-teach them the song. Hope you enjoy singing this one as much as we did. Put on your life preservers everyone, here goes:

Oh, they built the ship Titanic, to sail the ocean blue
And they thought they had a ship that the water wouldn't
go through. So the Lord He raised His hand and said,
"This ship would never land"
It was sad when the great ship went down.

CHORUS:
It was sad
It was sad, sooo sad!
It was sad when the great ship
went down to the bottom of the sea
(husbands and wives and children lost their lives)/
(uncles and aunts and children wet their pants)
two optional counter melodies
It was sad when the great ship went down.
(echo) down, down, down,
Down to the bottom of the sea
(blub, blub, blub, blub)

It was near the English shore when they heard a mighty roar,
And the rich refused to associate with the poor.
So they sent them down below where they were the first to go
It was sad when the great ship went down.

CHORUS

The Captain stood on deck with a tear in his eye,
as he waved the last of his passengers goodbye.
He thought he made a slip, so he went down with the ship
It was sad when the great ship went down.

CHORUS

So, they built another ship and they called it Number Two,
And they thought they had a ship that the water wouldn't go through.
Well, they christened it with beer then it sank right off the pier,
It was sad when the great ship went down.

CHORUS (one last time, with lots of feeling!)

No More Stress

2009-06-29T22:16:00.002-05:00

Well, here you have the words to just over half of the songs we recorded on the C.D.. I am having to deal with the fact that on this project I have been a bit of an under achiever. I got sick last weekend, then plans for this week got crazy busy with company coming into town. So, for now, this is where the project needs to stand, as half baked. My husband keeps reminding me that none of you are holding your breath for the words to these songs. If you wanted them bad enough you would just type them yourselves while listening to the C.D. Thus, I am giving up stressing over it, and I will get the rest on here when I get to it. No more deadlines or explanations of why I can't meet them. I will post a note on facebook when it is complete. Goodbye for now, and happy camping to those of you who get to attend girls' camp this summer!

Walk Tall

2009-06-29T09:50:00.004-05:00

Words and Music by Jamie Glen
I will forever be grateful to Jamie Glen
for writing this beautiful song that helped me
to understand how much love Heavenly Father has for me.

Right now I have a prayer deep within my heart,
a prayer for each of you there is a special part.
That you remember who you are, and he who lives above.
Please seek for Him and live His way, You'll feel His love.

Walk Tall you're a daughter, a child of God, be strong and
remember who you are. Try to understand, you're part of His
great plan. He's closer than you know. Reach up,
He'll take your hand.

Long before the time you can remember, Our Father held you
in his arms so tender. Those loving arms released you as he
sent you down to earth, He said, "My child I love you, don't
forget your great worth."

Walk Tall you're a daughter, a child of God, be strong and
remember who you are. Try to understand, you're part of His
great plan. He's closer than you know. Reach up,
He'll take your hand.

This life on earth we knew would not be easy, at time we lose
our way His path we may not see. But please, remember always
please, that you are not alone. He'll take you hand,
He loves you, He will guide you Home.

Walk Tall you're a daughter, a child of God, be strong and
remember who you are. Try to understand, you're part of His
great plan. He's closer than you know.
Reach up, He'll take your hand.

We Love You/ White Coral Bells

2009-06-29T09:32:00.006-05:00

These are both short ones, so I decided to put them together

We Love You

We love you _____ _____ (Camp Ritchie)
oh yes we do, we love you Camp Ritchie
and we'll be true, when you're not near
us we're BLUE, oh Camp Ritchie, we love you!

(in this song, you can replace Camp Ritchie for
the name of any person you want to pay tribute to.)

White Coral Bells (two part round)

White coral bells, upon a slender stalk,
lilies of the valley deck my garden walk

Oh, don't you wish that you could hear them ring?
That will happen only when the fairies sing.

Banana Cheers

2009-06-28T21:40:00.001-05:00

Banana Cheer #1

Go Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S
(repeat over and over)
Go-oooo, Go Ba-na-nas (repeated)
(sing both parts together)

Banana Cheer #2

Bananas unite!
Peel bananas, peel peel bananas.
Peel bananas, peel peel bananas.
Chop bananas, chop chop bananas
Chop bananas, chop chop bananas.
Eat bananas, eat eat bananas.
Eat bananas, eat eat bananas.
Go bananas, go go BANANAS!!

Boom-Chicka-Boom!

2009-06-28T21:32:00.000-05:00

(leader sings line, everyone repeats)

I said boom chicka-boom,
I said boom chicka-boom!
I said booma-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka-chicka-boom!
Uh huh!
Oh yeah!
One more time...

(lots of different ways to do it, only a few on C.D.
I.e., Quickly, Slowly, Reverently, Opera style,
Under Water style, Baby style, Grandpa style,
Janitor style, Barnyard style etc.)

The Cannibal King

2009-06-28T21:31:00.001-05:00

The cannibal king with a big nose ring
Fell in love with the hula maid
And every night by the pale moonlight
Across the lake he came.

He hugged and kissed his pretty little miss
Under the bamboo tree
And every night by the pale moon light
It'd sound like this to me:

Baroomp *kiss* *kiss* baroomp *kiss* *kiss*
baroomp diddy-ah-de-ay. Baroomp *kiss* *kiss*
baroomp *kiss* *kiss* baroomp diddy-ah-de-ay

The years went by, oh one, two, three
Soon they had a family
The children came, one, two, three, four
Then they had some more!

Baroomp, wah wah! Baroomp, wah wah! Baroomp diddy-ah-de-ay
Baroomp, wah wah! Baroomp, wah wah! Baroomp diddy-ah-de-ay

If you'll be m-i-n-e mine I'll be t-h-i-n-e thine
And I'll l-o-v-e love you all the t-i-m-e time
you are the b-e-s-t best of all the r-e-s-t rest
And I'll l-o-v-e love you all the t-i-m-e time
You are the best *clap clap* of the rest *clap clap*
And I'll love *clap clap* you all the time *clap clap*
You are the best *clap clap* of the rest *clap clap*
and I’ll love you all the time ****(4 claps)

The Canoe Song

2009-06-28T10:38:00.001-05:00

Just a boy and a girl in a little canoe
with the moon shinin' all around.
He paddled and paddled the little canoe
And it didn’t even make a sound.
Then they talked and they talked
'til the moon grew dim.
He said you better kiss me
or get out and swim.
Whatcha gonna do in a little canoe
with the moon shinin' all a...
Boats floating all a...
Girls swimming all around?
GET OUT AND SWIM!

Cookies

2009-06-28T10:35:00.003-05:00

Cookies, cookies, listen while we sing to you.
Cookies, cookies, you're a part of camp life, too.
Anyone can make a bed, anyone can sweep,
But it takes our cookies to make the food we eat.
So cookies, cookies, listen while we sing to you.

Do Your Shorts Hang Low?

2009-06-28T09:42:00.002-05:00

To the tune of "Do your Ears Hang Low?"

Do your shorts hang low?
Do they touch the knee below?
Can you pull 'em up to here,
and they still go down to there?
Can you sit cross legged, and not
feel very naked, do your shorts hang low?

East to West

2009-06-27T23:46:00.002-05:00

This one needs an energetic leader who knows the song
well, so the campers can echo each line with confidence.

From East to West (echo), Camp Ritchie is the best(echo).
I said from East to West, Camp Ritchie is the best.
From coast to coast, Camp Ritchie is the most.
I said from coast to coast, Camp Ritchie is the most.
From tree to tree, Camp Ritchie is for me
I said from tree to tree, Camp Ritchie is for me.
From state to state, Camp Ritchie is real great
I said from state to state, Camp Ritchie is real great.
From hill to hill, Camp Ritchie is a thrill
I said from hill to hill, Camp Ritchie is a thrill.
(Na, Na, Na, Na, Na part is optional after each verse)

Elbows Song

2009-06-27T23:41:00.003-05:00

Special thanks to Kathy Morgan who was willing to
let me use her name with this song on the C.D.
She was my camp director the first two years I went
to camp and she has been a true friend ever since!

Get your elbows off the table ____ (first and last name)
Get your elbows off the table ____
This is not a horse's stable,
but a decent dining table
Get your elbows off the table____.

Stand up (x 3), dear sister, stand up, stand up
Stand up (x3), dear sister, stand up.
Now you have to take a bow, take a bow, take a bow,
Now you have to take a bow, our dear sister.
Turn around and take one more, take one more,
take one more (repeat), our dear sister.

Then you make up a silly task for them to do
to make sure they are sufficiently embarrassed.

Georgie

2009-06-27T23:27:00.002-05:00

This is by far the number one favorite of my little boys
on the C.D. They laugh and laugh every time.

Every morning at half past 8 I go NAH to Georgie
and every morning at half past 8 he goes NAH to me.
No need to knock no need to ring, for as I rub my eyes
I open the window, pop out my head and go NAH, to Georgie.

Every morning at half past 8 I go NAH to Georgie
and every morning at half past 8, he goes NAH to me.
No need to knock no need to ring, for as I rub my eyes,
I open the window, stuck out my head,
down goes the window, off goes my head
and NAH goes Georgie.

Good Morning to You

2009-06-27T14:32:00.003-05:00

Camp Version

Good morning to you!
Good morning to you!
You look kinda drowsy,
In fact, you look lousy!
Good morning to you!(going up)
Good Morning to You! (back down)

Original version

Good Morning to you,
Good Morning to you,
We’re all in our places,
With bright shining faces.
Good Morning to You!
Good Morning to You!

I'm a Nut

2009-06-27T04:54:00.001-05:00

I'm a little acorn brown
sitting on the cold hard ground.
Everybody steps on me
That is why I'm cracked you see.

-Chorus
I'm a nut, (click tongue 2 x)
I'm a nut, (click tongue 2 x)
I'm a nut, nut, nut-nut-nut.

I'm a little N-U-T,
I'm as happy as can be
I can sing and i can dance,
I have ruffles on my pants.
-Chorus

Called myself on the telephone
Just to see if I was home.
Asked myself out on a date
Picked me up at half past 8
- Chorus

Took myself to the picture show.
Sat myself in the very last row.
Wrapped my arms around my waist,
Got so fresh I slapped my face!
- Chorus

Bought some roses at the store.
Told myself I wanted more.
That's why I broke up with me.
Now I am a nut that's free!
- Chorus

Gee, I miss me all the time.
Wonder if I'm doing fine.
Maybe I'll stop by to see
If I have a chance with me.
- Chorus

Inspirators

2009-06-27T04:52:00.000-05:00

From the steps of our dear mess hall
To the shores of Camp Ritchie,
we will fight our constant battle
with the Yearlings and Jay-cees.
Oh, we hate to rub in in you know,
But it's obvious you see...
That the INSPIRATORS are the best
from sea to shining sea!

Mares Eat Oats

2009-06-27T04:37:00.000-05:00

Mares Eat Oats & Does Eat Oats and little lambs eat ivy,
a kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you-oo, a kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you?

Now if the words sound queer, and funny to your ear,
just a little bit jumbled and jivey. Say “MARES EAT OATS
and DOES EAT OATS, and LITTLE LAMBS EAT IVEY” (slowly and clearly)

Mares Eat Oats & Does Eat Oats and little lambs eat ivy,
a kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you-oo, a kid’ll eat ivy too, woudn’t you?
(slow down on the last line)

The Moose Song

2009-06-27T04:25:00.000-05:00

"this is a repeat after me song"
This song has cute actions to go with it,
since it is too hard to describe them with words
you will just need to make some up. Here's some
of the key action words to help you out - moose, juice, bed, hair.

There was a great big moose,
He liked to drink a lot of Juice
There was a great big moose,
He liked to drink a lot of Juice

Way-oh Way-oh,
way-oh way-oh way-oh way-oh.
Way-oh Way-oh,
way-oh way-oh way-oh way-oh.

The moose's name was Fred
He liked to drink his juice in bed
The moose's name was Fred
He liked to drink his juice in bed

Way-oh Way-oh,
way-oh way-oh way-oh way-oh.
Way-oh Way-oh,
way-oh way-oh way-oh way-oh.

He drank his juice with care
But he spilled some in his hair
He drank his juice with care
But he spilled some in his hair

Way-oh Way-oh,
way-oh way-oh way-oh way-oh.
Way-oh Way-oh,
way-oh way-oh way-oh way-oh.

Now there's a sticky moose…
On the loose...(wave arms around in air)

end with very fast chorus

Way-oh Way-oh,
way-oh way-oh way-oh way-oh.
Way-oh Way-oh,
way-oh way-oh way-oh way-oh.

Mormon Boys - Mormon Girls

2009-06-27T04:15:00.000-05:00

keep time with hands slapping lap every beat

Mormon, Mormon, Mormon, Mormon
Mormon, Mormon, Mormon, Mormon
I know a Mormon boy,
He is my pride and joy.
He knows most everything from Alma on down.
Someday I'll be his wife,
We'll have eternal life.
Oh how I love that Mormon Boy!

Mormon, Mormon, Mormon, Mormon
Mormon, Mormon, Mormon, Mormon
We are the Mormon Girls, we wear our hair in curls,
We wear our skirts down below our knees,
We wear our daddy’s shirts, we are the biggest flirts,
Oh how we love those Mormon Boys.

The original song that this tune came from is:

Weenie, weenie, weenie, weenie, weenie, weenie, weenie
I know a weenie man, he owns a weenie stand.
He sells most everything from hot dogs on down.
Someday I'll be his wife, I'll be his teenie wife,
oh how I love that weenie man.
(then you repeat it getting faster each time)

Old Macdonald Medley

2009-06-25T11:06:00.000-05:00

This song is a fun mixture of six classic folk songs
that are most likely familiar to you.
It can be a tricky one to learn since you only sing part of each song
but, it is worth the effort! You may want to sing it in a higher key
than I did on the C.D. My throat was very sore that day, so I had
to sing it lower than usual. Have fun with this one!

Old Macdonald had a farm, e i e i o, and on that farm he had a MILL...
where they chopped down the old pine tree (timber!),
and they hauled it away to the mill. (log,log,log)
Old Macdonald had a farm, e i e i o. and on that farm he had a HOME...
Home, home on the range, where they chopped down the old pine tree (timber)
and they hauled it away to the mill. (log,log,log)
Old Macdonald had a farm, e i e i o. And on that farm he had a DOG....
Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone, oh where, oh where can he be?
He's home, home on the range, where they chopped down the old pine tree (timber)
and they hauled it away to the mill. (log,log,log)
Old Macdonald had a farm, e i e i o. And on that farm he had a SWEETHEART.
Let me call you sweetheart, I'm in love with you, let me whisper in your ear...
Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone, oh where oh where can he be? He's
home, home on the range, where they chopped down the old pine tree (timber)
and they hauled it away to the mill. (log,log,log)
Old Macdonald had a farm, e i e i o. And on that farm he had a GRANDMA...
Late last night, when we were all in bed, Mrs. O'Leary left the lantern in the shed,
and when the cow tipped it over, she winked her eye and said,
"Let me call you sweetheart, I'm in love with you, let me whisper in your ear...
Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone, oh where oh where can he be? He's
home, home on the range, where they chopped down the old pine tree (timber)
and they hauled it away to the mill."(log,log,log)
Old Macdonald had a farm, e i e i o. (slow down the last line)

Oh, I wish I were...

2009-06-24T15:12:00.001-05:00

Oh, I wish I were a little bar of soap, (bar of soap)
Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap (bar of soap)
Oh I'd slippy and I'd slidey, over everybody's hidey
Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap

Oh I wish I were a little English sparrow (English sparrow)
Oh I wish I were a little English sparrow (English sparrow)
Oh I'd sit up on the steeple and I'd spit upon the people
Oh I wish I were a little English sparrow

Oh I wish I were a can of 7up (7up)
Oh I wish I were a can of 7up (7up)
Oh I'd go down with a slurp and come up with a burp
Oh I wish I were a can of 7up

Oh I wish I were a little hunk of mud (hunk of mud)
Oh I wish I were a little hunk of mud (hunk of mud)
Oh I'd ooey and I'd gooey under everybody's shoey
Oh I wish I were a little hunk of mud

Oh I wish I were a little striped skunk (striped skunk)
Oh I wish I were a little striped skunk (striped skunk)
Oh I'd sit beneath the trees and perfume all the breeze
Oh I wish I were a little striped skunk

Oh I wish I were fishy in the sea (in the sea)
Oh I wish I were fishy in the sea (in the sea)
Oh I'd Swim in the nudey without my bathing suity
Oh I wish I were fishy in the sea
(harmony ending) Oh, In, The, Sea (hold that note)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Love Song

2009-06-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

This is not an official camp song,
but I thought it would be a fun addition to the Camp Songs Album.
I first heard it at BYU performed by a group called "Inside Out".
My husband Garrett was kind enough to sing it for us on the C.D. He sounded great!

I'm Peanut Butter and you are Jelly,
we're so happy on our little piece of bread.
I remember, the first time that I saw you,
sitting across the cupboard, with all your jelly friends.

And you're so sweet, and I am chunky.
You're low fat, well I'm working on that,
cuz I'm Peanut Butter and you are Jelly,
and we're so happy on our little piece of bread.

I met grape, and strawberry,
but you're raspberry and that's my favorite kind.
Please forgive me for that stint with honey.
I looked at the label and not what was inside.

But you're still sweet and I am chunky.
You're low fat, well I'm working on that,
cuz I'm peanut butter and you are jelly,
and we're so happy on our little piece of bread.

I'm so glad, that I discovered, you in the cupboard,
I hope that you're glad too. From now on we're stuck together
but what could be better than being stuck with you.

Cuz you are sweet and I am chunky,
you're low fat, well I'm working on that.
I'm peanut bButter and you are jelly,
and we're so happy on our little piece of bread.

A Riggabamboo

2009-06-24T13:22:00.000-05:00

Song also known as “the Princess Pat”
Leader sings every line first, then group echos

The princess Pat (echo) - lived in a tree (echo)
she sailed across - the seven seas
She sailed across - the channel too
and took with her - A Riggabamboo!

A Riggabamboo - now what is that?
It’s something made - by the princess Pat
It’s red and gold - and purple too,
that’s why it’s called - a Riggabamboo!

Now Captain Jack - and his loyal crew
they sailed across - the channel too
but their ship sank - and yours will too
unless you take - a Riggabamboo!

A Riggabamboo - now what is that?
It’s something made - by the princess Pat
It’s red and gold - and purple too,
that’s why it’s called - a Riggabamboo!

Sippin' Cider

2009-06-23T08:27:00.000-05:00

(echo first two lines of each verse)

The cutest boy (echo), I ever saw (echo)
Was sippin' ci-der through a straw, (echo)
The cutest boy I ever saw,
Was sippin' cider through a straw.

I asked him if, he'd show me how
To sip that ci-der through a straw.
I asked him if he'd show me how,
To sip that cider through a straw.

He said of course, He'd show me how,
To sip that ci-der through a straw.
He said of course he'd show me how
To sip that cider through a straw.

First cheek to cheek, then jaw to jaw,
We sipped that ci-der, through that straw,
First cheek to cheek then jaw to jaw,
We sipped that cider through a straw.

And sometimes when, that straw would slip,
We’d sip that ci-der lip to lip.
And sometimes when that straw would slip,
We’d slip that cider lip to lip.

That's how I got, my mother -in- law,
And 49 kids, who call me ma.
That's how I got my mother-in law,
And 49 kids who call me ma.

The moral of, this story is,
Don't sip that ci-der through a straw
The moral of this story i
Don't sip that ci-der...DRINK ROOT BEER!!!

Way Up in the Sky/ Birds in the Wilderness

2009-06-22T16:00:00.004-05:00

Way up in the sky, the little birds fly,
way down in their nest, the little birds rest,
With a wing on their left and a wing on their right,
the little birds sleep all through the night.

Shhhh, they're SLEEPING.

The bright sun comes up, the dew falls away,
"Good Morning, Good Morning," the little birds say.

part 2 - "Here We Sit..."

Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness,
birds in the wilderness. Here we sit like birds in the wilderness,
waiting for our dessert, waiting for our dessert, waiting for our dessert.
Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, waiting for our dessert.

(you can replace the word dessert with whatever it is you may be waiting for)

"Willing Men" and "We are the Gopher Girls"

2009-06-22T15:53:00.001-05:00

Sung to tune of "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel"

The world has need of willing men, who have the dating zeal,
the work to do is here for you, put your finger on the phone.

Chorus:
Put your finger on the phone, ask us out,
We'll be free on Friday night without a doubt.
We all have work, but time to flirt,
Put your finger on the phone.

Now don't stand idly looking on the fight for us is real
The work is long but must go on, put your finger on the phone.

Chorus Repeat:
Put your finger on the phone, ask us out,
We'll be free on Friday night without a doubt.
We all have work, but time to flirt,
Put your finger on the phone.
----------------------------------------------

We are the Gopher Girls

We are the Gopher girls,
we really go for guys,
but they don't go for us,
we wonder why....
(make the sound of gophers, lower lip under upper teeth)

The Yodeling Austrian

2009-06-22T15:44:00.000-05:00

Once an Austrian went yodeling on a mountain so high,
When along came an coo-coo bird, interrupting his cry!

Chorus:

Oh - li - ya... oh li ya, ku ki ya, oh li ya, coo coo,
Oh li ya, ku ki ya, oh li ya, coo coo,
Oh li ya, ku ki ya, oh li ya, coo coo, oh li ya ku ki ya oh.

Once an Austrian went yodeling on a mountain so high, when along came an Avalanche interupting his cry...

Chorus (done for all of the verses, add one sound each time)

Avalanche: Swish
Grizzly bear: grrr!
Girl Scout: yak - yak
Pretty girl: whoo- whoo
Jersey cow: squirt, squirt!
Love birds: kiss, kiss!
Preacher: Amen

Camp Songs Word Lists

2009-06-22T15:15:00.001-05:00

Hello, Many of you may be coming to my blog in search of lyrics for camp songs to go along with the C.D. "Best of Camp Ritchie Songs". I have had to start over with my songbook project because last week our hard drive crashed on our computer. After three days with the Best Buy Geek Squad it was determined that the info from the hard drive can not be retrieved. That means I need to start over on typing in the lyrics for the songs, BUMMER! Plus it means we lost a bunch of important info and pictures from the past 4 years. We learned the hard way the importance of backing up your data. Luckily, I do have the lyrics all printed out from the song sheets we used to sing the songs. I'd prefer to type them all in again instead of copying them and doing another round of mailings. Here is the song list in the order the songs are on the C.D. I will do a seperate blog entry for each song title, then you can cut and paste them into a word document to print them or save them. Perhaps you can just print them directly off of my Blog. I will try my best to have it all done by this coming Sunday, June 28th. If you have any questions, just call me or e-mail me. Thanks for all the nice notes of thanks that I've recieved from many of you. Here's my current e-mail address: janderson2001@byu.net

Spiritual & Harmony songs

Jeanie’s Intro
Camp Ritchie Mission Statement
Barges
Flicker
Friendship Campfire Song
God Created Camp Ritchie
Happiness Runs
I love the Mountains
Noah
No Man is an Island
Titanic
Walk Tall
We Love you Camp Ritchie
White Coral Bells

Funny Songs

Banana Cheers
The Bear Song
Boom Chicka Boom
Cannibal King
Canoe Song
Cookies
Dem Bones
Do Your Shorts Hang Low
East to West
Elbows song
Gee Mom I wanna go
Georgie
Good Morning to You
I wish I were
I’m a Nut
Inspirator Song
Mares eat Oats
Moose Song
Mormon Boy/ Mormon Girls
Old McDonald Medley
Peanut Butter and Jelly Love Song
Rigga Bamboo
Sippin’ Cider
Way up in the Sky
We are the Gopher Girls
Willing Men
Yodeling Austrian

Instrumental Tracks

Friendship Campfire Song
No Man is an Island
God Created Camp Ritchie
Young Women's Anthem

Unsettled No More

2009-05-19T08:40:00.000-05:00

My last blog post was titled "unsettling job search", which leads to the title of this entry. Most of you have already heard the news, but I decided it was time to put it on my blog. With the last three weeks our lives have changed dramatically.

GOODBYE ILLINOIS, HELLO MISSOURI !!!

As of June 6th we will be residents of Branson, Missouri. Garrett did awesome in his interviews with the city manager and other community leaders, so they decided to hire him as the Economic Development Director for the city. I know he will give his whole heart to the city of Branson just as he has done here in Centralia, and he will do a great job for them. I also know the boys and I will enjoy living in a place with so much to see and do! The locals get in to all the shows for very discounted prices, and as city employees I think we will get many other perks as well.

For the first six months we will be renting a condo to give us time to get familiar with the area and decide what type of house we can afford. I will not be working in real estate down there, for now at least. Perhaps after Jerry goes to Kindergarten in 2010 I might consider it. We feel tremendously blessed with all the good things God has sent our way. We look forward to getting to our new ward down there and finding out how we will be put to work. There are two wards in Branson, and from what I have heard the church is strong there. I look forward to finding some new friends, and having a fresh start somewhere where no one knows us.

Our time in Centralia has been good, but it is definitely time to move on. We know that we will keep in touch with those who have been real friends to us here and hope to have many visitors in the years to come. Thats all for now, I need to get busy with my packing and cleaning responsibilities!

The unsettling job search

2009-04-20T12:04:00.000-05:00

This process of searching for jobs for my husband is nerve racking. We have done it before a few times in our married life, but all those times we were desperate to take the first decent opportunity that came along. This time, we have a good, solid job currently, but really have a desire for a fresh start in a new place. Plus, Garrett has finished his Master's Degree, and now would be eligible for greater opportunities as a city planner in a larger, more progressive city.

I used to think we would be the type of people that would move to a new place every five years or so. However, after this job search process comes to a resolution, I will not want to engage in it again for a long time. Each job application takes a long time, not only to complete, but to hear anything back from. Some of them, we have received rejection letters, then to be called back saying they want to interview him after all. He has had five offers to go interview places, but only has responded to two of them since the others were bad timing, or would be too much of a personal expense with an unlikely positive outcome. Not sure if that sentence made sense, but since I am one of the only people who read my blog it is probably okay because I know what I meant.

Some people have told us they think we are crazy to be job searching in such unsettled times as this. However, we see it as a good time for a city planner to be looking for a job because there are lots of cities seeking for new ideas. There are actually more available jobs than many might think in this current economic situation. He has a second interview next week for a job that would be awesome. But, we are not holding our breath because it still seems like a long shot. I guess that's all for now, I can't think of much else to say. Signing off, Jeanie

2009-03-23T22:44:00.000-05:00

Every night, when we finally get them asleep, it is such a rewarding feeling! Not only because bedtime can be a big challenge, but also because it means we have successfully survived another day of parenthood. It is such a miracle to have these little boys, so every day we spend with them is a blessing. They learn and grow and change every day, and I know that childhood will vanish quicker than I realize. I love to watch them discover new things and to listen to them as they are piecing together the mysteries of life. They get so excited when they finally catch on to a new concept that was not previously understood.

My favorite thing is to listen to Solomon teaching Jeremiah about something he learned at school. He has a special voice he uses, it is the "I'm teaching my little brother something very important" voice. Garrett tells me I have one of those every time I start talking about the gospel. I guess it is my, "I'm talking about something very important" voice. Well, that is enough musing for one evening. Time for me to go join the little boys in the land of peaceful sleep. In the words of a beautiful Christmas hymn, "Sleep in Heavenly Peace." Goodnight all.

Inspiration

2009-03-15T13:29:00.001-05:00

Today I Will Make a Difference” by Max Lucado

I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

Shaped by God, I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble… I will get up. It’s OK to fail… I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference. (Thanks Lisa Reed for introducing me to this poem)

Stevie Wonder

2009-03-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

Just had to share a funny American Idol moment. I tend to get fairly obsessed with the show, especially when we get to the top 12 part. So, we were watching the performances last night and I was very impressed with the talent of Scott, the blind guy. I made the comment to Garrett, "I bet Stevie Wonder would love to see him perform". Garrett had a good laugh at the irony of that statement.

Soapy little boys!

2009-02-16T21:21:00.001-06:00

We enjoyed four days of vacation at Lake of the Ozarks

2009-02-16T21:11:00.000-06:00

I have tried posting more pictures on here of our trip, but am not having success getting them to show up, so this is all we get for now. Anyhow, it was fun to get away and to be in a beautiful place with people I enjoy. The Reed family joined us for the weekend. We laughed together and cried together, mostly from laughing so hard. All of us were in need of healing both physical and emotional. This trip was just what the doctor ordered. Now, we move forward with life to find out what adventures are in store for us. One day at a time, the Lord's plan for our lives will be revealed, we must be praying and listening to find our way.

Familiar Beauty

2008-11-30T17:04:00.000-06:00

I am writing this blog from Garrett's parents' house where we have spent the Thanksgiving weekend. The environment we are in here is such a pleasant one. Especially today with the trees covered in snow, due to the first big snow of the winter last night. This house is such a peaceful place to be, with all the big windows, and beautiful décor. Bruce and Susan have done an excellent job at making their home an inviting place where family loves to gather. They are such gracious hosts, and make all who come here feel loved. Even though I've been feeling sick all weekend (typical side effects of pregnancy), I have still felt a great deal of joy.

Now, to explain the title of this posting, “familiar beauty”. About an hour ago, as I was sitting here on the computer, Solomon came upstairs and was standing on the landing staring out over the family room out the windows. He said, “Mommy, this is a very familiar place for me. I mean, looking out at the snowy trees and at the Christmas tree in the family room.” I pointed out to him that he has been at this house every Winter of his life to see the same beautiful scene out the window. For him, this is a familiar place, a safe place, as it is for me. I feel so blessed to have had several places of familiar beauty to find safety throughout my life. I think it is the “beauty of family” that creates places of “familiar beauty”.

To my Moffitt family all out in CA, and to the Andersons spread out near and far, Thank You! Thank for being such loving and supportive friends to us during good times and bad. We love you all from the bottom of our hearts. And to our baby Abraham, who we will miss holding in our arms this Christmas season, we know you are in good hands in Heaven above, and look forward to the day when we can be eternally united with you. Thank you for giving us increased motivation to follow our Savior Jesus Christ, so we can find our way back Home to the place of eternal “Familiar Beauty”.

Guitar Hero

2008-10-12T20:32:00.001-05:00

Guitar Hero has taken over our household! These little boys have such a blast playing with their daddy. Our five year old is getting so skilled at it, I think he may soon be able to beat Garrett. They know which songs mommy doesn't like, so they avoid them when I am around. And, they know that they are not allowed to use any of the girl characters who are showing their bellies or shoulders. It has been a great opportunity to teach modesty.

I had vowed never to get one of these evil game systems, but so much for that. We found a great deal at a pawn shop and just "couldn't pass it up". Unfortunately that is the case with us with a lot of material possessions we aquire. I don't think we are overly concerned about impressing others with material possessions, we just love to have fun which includes having fun stuff to play with. Life is short, play hard, right? We also remember the importance of "praying hard" to balance us out.

Our Great Pyrenees Puppy

2008-09-16T18:18:00.000-05:00

When you think of a puppy, you usually don't imagine a 34 inch tall, 90 pound creature. But, we have a new puppy that fits that description. Those of you who know us well, know that we tend to be somewhat impulsive at times... especially when it comes to making major life decisions such as buying a car or a house...or in this case, becoming dog owners.

As a real estate agent, I try to do whatever it takes to help my clients have a smooth transition from one home to another. In this case, I took that "customer service" attitude to the extreme. This family who's house I am trying to find a buyer for, is moving into a townhome in another Illinois city. They have two bassett hounds and one great pyrenees dog. The landlord said the Bassetts would be okay, but the big one couldn't live there with them.

That is where we come in. I met the dog on Sunday afternoon for the first time. I introduced him to Garrett and the boys on Sunday evening, and Monday at Noon she was moving in with us. Talk about a smooth adoption process. No paperwork, no fees, no home study. The owners provided us with a leash, a bag of food and a big cage that she sleeps in. These dogs can cost up to $600 as puppies (purebreds). They gave us to her for free. She is very mild mannered, and great with our boys.

Our little boys have replaced her Bassett hound buddies. She loves lots of attention, and doesn't mind them hugging her and laying on her. She kind of looks like a polar bear. She hardly ever barks, and doesn't jump up or lick. She does slobber a lot, and sheds. But we are willing to overlook those things since she is such a beautiful and kind creature. As a two year old puppy, she is the youngest in our family, but comes in third in the weight category. Her name happens to be Gabby, which is the same as my mother-in-law's little Maltese dog. So my boys are referring to them as big gabby and little gabby. We are really enjoying being new dog owners. And so far are having better luck with the dog than we did with fish. We've kept her alive for two whole days now. Hopefully, many more good days to come!

View of Vegas from way high up

2008-07-16T10:26:00.000-05:00

Now for the story...This picture is a good representation of my life from February until June of this year. I had a very tough pregnancy, with extreme "hyper-emesis" so I was unable to keep down much food. In the first four months I lost 11 lbs. The doctor kept assuring me that the baby was getting all it needed even though I was really struggling to stay healthy. However, at 21 weeks I went in for a routine check-up and no heartbeat could be found. The ultrasound was confirmation that the baby's heart was no longer pumping. That was a very sad day for us. Four days later I was in a St. Louis hospital where I had to go through the delivery process, even though the outcome would not be that which I had looked forward to throughout the pregnancy. Another very sad day. However, I was thankful for the loving support of friends and family. My mom flew in to be of support to me, and Garrett's parents drove down from Bloomington to stay with our boys.

So, back to the picture. This was at the Stratosphere in Vegas. We had gone up to the observation area on the top, and Garrett went outside to check out the rides up there. With as nauseaus as I felt, there was no way I was going out there and looking down, let alone watching these crazy rides people were going on. So, I sat inside with my trusty "just in case" mug that I carried around always during the pregnancy. I am thankful to not have to deal with throwing up anymore, but I am sad not to have my third baby boy who was on his way to us.

It was determined that the umbilical chord only had two blood vessels going through it rather than the three that are typical, thus the baby was not getting enough nourishment. Also, the chord was wrapped around his leg two times, so it was assumed that there was either a blood clot or constricted blood flow. Regardless to say, things didn't go quite right in his development. This experience has made us ever more greatful for the two little miracles we already have in our family. We love our little boys!

The two things that bring me the most joy: my boys and my house

2008-07-15T16:41:00.000-05:00

Catching up for lost time

2008-07-13T23:39:00.000-05:00

This picture is taken in Las Vegas, obviously. I accompanied Garrett on a business trip for three days of fun without the kids. My sister Merrilyn drove over from Lancaster, CA to spend one night and day with me. It was lots of fun. You may notice in the picture that I was pregnant at that time. Unfortunately, the pregnancy is no longer, but that will be a story for another blog entry. For now, I'll just post this picture and count it as one step in the right direction for getting back into the blogging habit. Until next time...

Feb. 24th musings

2008-02-24T06:17:00.000-06:00

Here we are, two weeks since my last blog, and not much has changed... that is except Obama has truly become the front runner on the democratic side of things. Huckabee is still plugging along, hoping Texas might re-ignite the flame of his candidacy. More power to him. He doesn't have much to lose in all this, perhaps he will even get picked as V.P.. I would personally not want to be on a losing ticket with McCain, but to each his own I guess. We saw how well John Edwards did trying to run for Pres. after his spot on the losing ticket in 2004. I've pretty much resigned myself to assuming that the Democrats are going to take back over in 2008. But, that leaves the path wide open for Republicans in 2012. I want to start concentrating now on looking at the make-up of the Sentate. I want to learn more about which senators will be up for re-election. Hopefully the republicans could become the majority again sometime soon.Enough musing for now. I'm off to get ready for church... a place where Jesus Christ is in charge, so we don't have to worry about so much chaos. Of course there tends to be a bit of disorder at times since "people" are running the local church, but overall we know we can count on the ONE ultimately in charge.

I'm back on the blog

2008-02-08T10:40:00.000-06:00

I've decided to re-enter the blog-o-sphere, because I need a place to display my political opinions. In the past I have been highly involved with the Mitt Romney for President sites (Mymanmitt, coMITTed to Romney, article6blog, fivebrothers blog, etc.) But, considering that Mitt has now withdrawn from the race, I'd imaging those sites will soon disappear. Today I was really needing some closure to deal with my grief of losing my candidate, so I turned on www.townhall.com and listened to Mitt's CPAC speech in its entirety. There were tears streamind down my face by the end, and I am not typically a cryer, I have been accused of being a whiner, but not usually prone to tears. Mitt is a class act. Any money spent to support his campaign has not been wasted, it has been worth the millions of dollars that were spent by his campaign to get his message out there.

As for where I go from here... I'm not so sure. If Obama gets the nomination, a republican vote won't make a dime of difference in my state since he is from here. However, if we are fighting against Hillary in November, Illinois could be up for grabs, unless she chooses Obama as her running mate. As for John McCain, he has a ways to go to earn my trust. He could start by apologizing to Romney for misrepresenting his views on Iraq. I think Romney settled that score once and for all in his speech today. He made it very clear that finishing the job in this war is the most important thing. His actions are consistent with his words, considering he is withdrawing from the race because he believes it is the best thing for the country at this time of war. I can't say enough how much I admire Governor Romney.
I will write more later, but for now I will let my fingers rest. If anyone finds my message here, feel free to make comments, I would enjoy having some dialogue to help me work through my "grief". As Latter-day Saints, we have had a lot of grief to deal with in a very short period of time. Luckily, we know where to turn for strength. We stand no taller than when we kneel in prayer.

Signing off from Blogger

2007-09-07T12:56:00.000-05:00

Hello, Jeanie here. We have a family website for the Anderson extended family called GrandmaSusie.com . It now has a section on it for blogging. I have decided it is time for me to no longer worry about this blog, and just keep up with regular correspondence throught that website. You are welcome to go check it out if you want. It does require a user name and password, which you can obtain fairly easily. Just e-mail me at janderson2001@byu.net and I will send you one. Thanks for caring about me enough to read my blog every once in a while. Till next time...

Jeanie Anderson

family pics from Trent and Larae's Open House

2007-07-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

This was such a fun day when we travelled back to Normal to celebrate with Trent and Larae at their open house. Grandma Susie and Gramps had their house and yard looking wonderful for the occasion. There were so many people who travelled near and far to congratulate Trent. It was great fun to renew so many "Normal" friendships, and some not so Normal ones. I still get a lot of mileage out of those Normal jokes. Well, no more time to write tonight, I just wanted to get these pictures on here since we just downloaded these from the camera and their were some good ones.

4th of July statement by Romney

2007-07-06T15:57:00.000-05:00

Boston, MA - Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement celebrating the Fourth of July:

"For more than two centuries, the United States has stood for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our freedoms have not been easily won. Today, brave men and women are fighting to preserve those freedoms. As we gather with friends and family, let us resolve to keep America strong. We will always be the hope of the world and a beacon of light to liberty-loving people everywhere."

Another month, gone already?

2007-07-02T11:09:00.000-05:00

June really did fly by, and now it is one month to the day of my last entry.
I've been learning a lot about Real Estate... go ahead, ask me anything? This Friday I am scheduled to take my final exam for the course, then within two weeks after that I hope to be ready to go face the State exam. Sometimes I wonder how I made it through so much school in the past, I even got pretty good grades. My brain sure doesn't work as well as it used to. I guess I do know how I made it through college, I majored in Recreation Management, enough said.

I will admit that I am really enjoying the intensity of learning, I just hope I can retain enough information so I can succeed in getting the liscence. I have heard from others in the office that I will most likely only use 80% or so of all I have studied. That seems to be the case with many career paths. I wish I would have realized during college how interested I would become in Real Estate so I could have studied something more applicable. But then again, if I had been a business major, the decision to become a stay at-home-mom may have been harder to make.

I am thankful to have been able to be full-time mom for the past five years. I have really enjoyed the closeness I have with my boys. But, I also have to admit that having some grown-up time now is much welcome, too. "To everything there is a season". I'd better get back to my studying. Happy 4th of July everyone!!!

Sincerely, Jeanie Anderson

Centralia update

2007-06-02T23:19:00.000-05:00

Here is an update on our family I sent out to my sisters and my parents, so I decided to go ahead and post it on my blog too,

begin message:

I am way overdue for an Anderson report, so here goes.

I've started working 3 mornings a week at a realty company called Friedrich Real Estate. I am currently training to become a part time agent. The head agent there, Darlene Baltzell (who helped us buy our home) approached me a couple months ago about the idea of training under her supervision to become an agent, since she knows I am very interested in real estate. So, I waited for the school year to end, to fininsh out my substitute teaching commitments. They boys are going to a day care at a Christian Church two mornings a week, and my friend Vicky from church comes over and stays with them on Tuesday mornings. It is working out well so far.

I think the boys enjoy going and playing with other kids and having daily planned activities. It seems like they don't get as bored at home now because they are not here quite as much. Plus, they have been really cute and cuddly with me this week, probably because I've been away from them more than usual. I also find that I have much more patience with them, and enthusiasm about playing with them when I have a few hours to myself in the morning. (yes, I am justifying my decision to go to work)

Garrett is still plugging away working on his Masters (every Tuesday night from 5-9) he is about to finish one quarter and begin another. Only two more quarters to go and he will be finished. December is the target for completion. Yippee!

His job has become extremely stressful lately, and he has spent many extra hours in the office working on the "Comprehensive Plan" for the city that will be presented to the new Mayor and city council at the next council meeting. Though it has been a stressful process, being in charge of the Comp plan steering committee is a great resume builder for him. Overall, this job here has been a wonderful opportunity for Garrett to have a variety of responsibilities that he would not be given in a
bigger city.

Garrett and Solomon drove up to Normal this evening to spend the weekend helping his parents work on their house. Next weekend is Trent's Illinois Reception (at their house), so Susan is working hard to get the house ready and called on us for some last minute assistance. I decided to stay behind with Jerry this weekend, since we will be going up next weekend for the reception.

(the rest of the message was specifics toward my family, so I left it off.)

Bye for now!

Blue's Clues

2007-05-20T22:16:00.000-05:00

Our life has been taken over by a guy in a green striped shirt and his little blue dog who has a bad habit of leaving his paw prints all over the place. Today we put Jerry in a "new" (hand-me-down) shirt that is intended to look like Steve's shirt. He walked around church pointing to his belly saying, "I Steve, I Steve". He was very excited about the shirt! Then, after church he wanted to watch and episode of his favorite show, (or two or three) but, he violently protested when I tried to put on one starring Joe instead of Steve. Garrett refers to Jerry as a Blue's Clues Purist! Solomon actually tolerates Jerry's addiction quite well. He doesn't mind too much that he hardly gets any say as to what will play on the TV. He likes to play along with the show too, and gets a laugh out of Jerry dancing around and repeating everything that Steve says. I know the fascination with the little blue puppy own't last forever, so I guess we'll just enjoy it while it lasts. Thanks Steve for helping me keep my sanity as a mother of little boys!

Here's a recent look at our family

2007-05-18T12:27:00.000-05:00

Better late than never?

2007-05-18T12:23:00.000-05:00

Here we are, another month past since my last entry where I was musing about the beautiful springtime. We finally got some more pictures on the site, so you can see our yard, and the contrast of winter to springtime. This morning I sat out on our park bench in the front yard for 20 minutes reading my bible. The sun was streaming down on me through the trees, yet the air was cool enough to make it comfortable. Every day, I am falling in love with this place more and more.

Contrast of front yard, Now and Then

2007-05-18T12:20:00.000-05:00

Our front yard Now, as of May 2007

Our front yard Then, as of March 2007

Thankful for Trees

2007-04-13T00:39:00.000-05:00

How did it get to be April 12th already? This month is flying by faster than March did, and I thought March was gone in an instant. Well, I wrote several entries in my personal journal the past two weeks, and here's one from today I decided to share on my blog. To go along with this message I hope to get Garrett to upload some pics of our front yard when he is at work tomorrow. Our pitiful dial-up internet just can't handle pictures.

4/12/07 "How can I not be overwhelmed with gratitute when I look out these windows at the beauty around me. These trees truly amaze me! How, just a month ago they wre bare, and now thousands of leaves are springing forth from their branches. I love it! I need to be sure to continue this feeling of contentment here in our little, somewhat dated house in the woods, because I really don't want to leave this spot of land. It truly is a unique place, I'm thankful we found it."

The entry continued to go on and talk about how much joy my little boys bring me, but I'll end this blog entry now, so as to try and keep my thoughts brief enough that I won't lose any of you to boredom. Lots of Love, Jeanie

Importance of Journals

2007-03-31T03:28:00.000-05:00

I used to be a very regular journal keeper that wrote down everything that came to my mind, in case I might need it later. Kind of like how I deal with papers that come into my life, I'd better keep this, just in case I need it later. I do realize though that having six filing cabinets is a bit excessive- and really a pain when it comes time to move. Now, onto the point of my message today:

I have notebooks full of mostly unimportant chicken scratch. But amongst the notes about everyday life, are spiritual insights given to me by a loving God who is helping to guide my life in the right direction. Personal revelation is a very real thing, and I think it is easy to get so caught up in life, that we forget how often that life is being guided by the One who created us. I have not been keeping a daily journal for several years now... but it is time to start again. When I look back at Journals I have kept in the past, I am always amazed by the things I learn from myself. That person I was five years ago, may be different than who I am today, but that person has something to teach me. And more importantly, as a mother, my journals will be able to continue to teach my children long after I am gone from this earth.

My own mother has kept a daily log of her life, though only a few sentences each
day. I look forward to one day reading those, and continuing to grow closer to her through her journals, even after her spirit has departed from this earthly existence. To clarify, I do hope that time is still far off when I have to say goodbye to my sweet mother. But, when I do face that trial in my life, I will find peace in the knowledge that family relationships are eternal through the sealing power of God. (See Matthew 16:19)

I am publicly committing myself to begin again, and keep a personal journal - at least once per week. I won't be blogging that often, because my dial-up internet drives me crazy. But, I will try to share some insights from my journal when I feel others can benefit from reading it. Okay, it's late and I'm getting a bit wordy now, so farwell for now. Thanks for reading... that is if anyone is. Most of my friends don't check my blog anymore since I so rarely add anything to it. But, this entry is a new beginning for the month of April. Easter is a wonderful time for new beginnings! Love, Jeanie

Funny Story

2007-03-15T08:57:00.000-05:00

A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The Grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "How do you make babies?" "It's Simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'"

(this was posted as a comment to my previous blog entry, I thought it was cute so I decided to add it to my blog, thanks Whacky Wheelers)

Not ready for his questions

2007-03-03T03:17:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we were driving in the car and Solomon asked out of the blue, "Mommy, how did you and Daddy make me?" Then without my saying anything he launched into a string of explanations on how he thinks it might have happened, none of which made much sense at all. But, I was glad he got me off the hook on answering that for now. I just like to leave it at the simple explanation that we prayed for a baby, and so Heavenly Father sent one to us. I'm sure we'll have to go into more detail sooner than I would like to think. But, for now I'm happy to keep it simple!

By the way, sorry to have not blogged at all in this new year. I tell you, this dial-up internet situation has pretty much removed me from the technological loop. I am just way too impatient for dial-up!

Christmas 2006

2006-12-26T08:49:00.000-06:00

Arizona Christmas

2006-12-26T08:13:00.000-06:00

There are 28 Andersons together this year for Christmas. Garrett, Jeanie, Solomon (4) and Jeremiah (1) have joined Garrett’s family in Arizona for the holiday. This includes Grandma Susie and Gramps (Bruce); Taylor and Teresa Anderson, and their kids Danielle (9), Leah (5), Andrew (3) and Jessica (<1); Trent and his girlfriend LaRae; Julia and Brent Crenshaw, and their kids Christopher (4), Susie (4), Evan (2) and Anna (1); Grant and Alena Anderson and their kids Clayton (6), Whitney (4) and Owen (1); and straight from England (with the Air Force) Carma and Ian Sheehan, and their son Jak (<1). Carma is expecting another.

The Andersons get together every other year for Christmas. Jeanie has been coming since 2000 when we were engaged. At the time, we only had 2 grandkids. Two years later we were up to 7, including a newborn Solomon, who was the youngest at the time. Last time, in 2004 we were up to 9, and anticipating Jerry’s birth on January 11th, just after Christmas. This year we are up to 14, and Jeanie is happy to not to be either pregnant or have a newborn.

This is also the first year that we are trying this gathering in Arizona. We have traditionally gathered at Gramps and GrandmaSusie’s house in Bloomington, Illinois. Now we are staying at either Grant or Taylor’s houses in Mesa and Gilbert. It has been surprisingly chilly here the first few days. We are very happy to be here with family, but we have become unaccustomed to the fast pace of the big city. Every so often we turn to each other and bless the non-existent traffic, affordable houses(and forest) and comfortable life we live in small-town Illinois.

Solomon is really enjoying his cousins, especially Grant’s kids that we are staying with. He humors Whitney and plays Polly Pocket with her, and Clayton is probably just as much a Star Wars nut as Solomon, so of course they get along well. Grant has done a lot of work in his yard, including burying his trampoline, and sodding the back yard. I've gotten to help him some, hauling rock and sand from the front yard to the back. We look forward to spending some time laying brick this week. The house looks great, and so does the yard. We are very happy to be here sharing this Christmas with my twin brother and the rest of the family. Sincerely, Garrett

Midwest Beauty

2006-12-15T17:05:00.000-06:00

I am looking out our front window at an amazing sunset, with bright colors streaming through the trees in our front yard. The past four days have been absolutely beautiful here. It warmed up to 60 degrees every day, and the skies were clear and sunny. I know this is sounding like a weather report, but it is more than than. This is California girl admitting that after 5 years out here in Illinios, she has finally learned to appreciate the beauty of flatlands, the corn fields and scattered clumps of trees. I still miss the magesty of the mountains of Utah, and the Pacific Ocean beaches of California, but I have settled in the the beauty around me. We are heading to Arizona for Christmas, and that will be yet another type of beauty that this country has to offer. America is truly an amazing place. There are so many different types of landscapes to enjoy from coast to coast. I hope to one day travel coast to coast and get the whole picture of "from sea to shining sea!" Well, that is all for now. Enjoy the beauty of the season, wherever you may be. Love, Jeanie

Thanksgiving Afterthoughts

2006-11-27T17:16:00.000-06:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I find myself being extremely grateful for the time I have to spend with my husband when he is off of work. The boys love having their Daddy around and so do I.

We had our first Thanksgiving dinner at our new home, and it really helped make it feel more like home. We enjoyed ourselves, but wish we could have had some family around to share it with. Maybe someday.

Anderson Afterthoughts

2006-11-22T14:45:00.000-06:00

Thanks Garrett for putting some pictures up on the blog for me. Our Dial-up internet just isn't quite up to the task of working with pictures. We do miss high speed, but we had to cut it out of the budget.

I guess the names of our boys are no longer anonymous. I forgot to fill Garrett in on using Alias names before he went to add to the blog.

In case you are wondering about the tye-dye shirts in the picture below... Garrett's friend Thom and his wife made those shirts as their "amusement park" shirts so they would never get lost from each other. They had a couple extras, so they offered them to Garrett and Solomon so they could feel like part of the family. I think they are really cool shirts, well done Lisa!

I hope to be back in the swing of things of blogging at tleast once a month now, perhaps even more often than that. If you are interested in seeing more pics of the extended Anderson family, check out the family website at www.grandmasusie.com. We are looking forward to being with the whole Anderson Clan at Christmastime in Arizona. We are ready to take a break from cold Christmas in Illinios.

Lots of Love, Jeanie and Family

By the way, the past three entries were written by Garrett. I hope he will contintue the blogging habit and we can use this as a family journal.