The Power of an OPINION, a RESPONSE, and a RECOMMENDATION ... cool things do happen.

The master mind behind Sam Brighton

That's right, one of the valuable lessons my dad taught me was that opinions can be powerful or at least matter. I remember once while checking out of a condo, my dad filled out the "opinion card" before we left, and while doing so, gave me some advice, "if there is an opinion card, fill it out." Yeah right. Do hotels, companies, restaurants , or people who provide services really read those things? According to my dad, they do, and gauging on my years of experience in corporate America I agree. How else do we know how to better our services?

Which brings me to the point of my story. Think your voice isn't heard? think again.

Late last year our book club began reading a phenomenal set of books titled "The Great and Terrible" by Chris Stewart. Phenomenal doesn't even come close to describing these books nor their content. How about thrilling, thought provoking, life changing, insightful, intense, gripping, eye opening, and moving, to name just a few. At times I felt that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Stewart has this incredible ability to weave a myriad of characters from different situations into a riveting story. These six books are at the top of my list of all time favorites. I could write an enormous blog post on the books themselves, but for the sake of time I'll leave it up to each of you to just pick up the books and enjoy them yourselves. You won't be disappointed.

I digress...As I said there are 6 volumes to this series. The sixth and unfortunately last volume, which was as well written and amazing as the previous 5, turned out to be my least favorite in the series. Why? well, because I just didn't want the story to end, nor end so quickly. It left me feeling like a freight train hitting a brick wall. Not a good feeling. In fact while reading the 6th volume I kept turning to the dust jacket reading the painful words "the exciting conclusion..." Really? how in the world can it end?

This brings me back to my dad's advice that those who provide services do listen to opinions. Well, ok, this is stretching it a bit, but hear me out, it's got a great outcome. Due to my complete unwillingness to accept that the series had ended I decided I was going to write a letter/ e-mail to this author, thanking him for writing the books AND "is it really over?, can't you write a few more?" As if my opinion would actually be read (wait, didn't my dad say it would?). Realistically what were the chances of me even finding his contact information let alone my letter getting into the right hands or even being read? Since the worst that could happen was my letter not being read, I figured I had nothing to lose. So off I went and wrote a letter.

The gals in the book club chuckled when I said I was going to write a letter to Chris Stewart. Now don't misunderstand, they weren't chuckling because they thought I was lame - because every one of them felt the same way I did about the books. They chuckled because they knew if there was anyone who would actually brave doing that, it would be me. In fact I think their words were "You should do it!". I'm not afraid to take the time to find a needle in a haystack and eventually found Stewart's work e-mail address. "Great" I thought. Bother a busy man at work, I'm sure he will appreciate that. My purpose was not to elicit a response. I really just wanted to express my enjoyment over the books and wishful thinking that the series was not over. So wasn't I blown away when I received an e-mail back from Chris Stewart replying to my "sob, sob, is it really over?" e-mail. How completely cool is that!

This brings me to another important point.

The power of a RESPONSE. Or better yet, kudos to Chris Stewart. Here is a man who is obviously busy. Owns his own company, has a family, writes books, speaks at Deseret Book programs, and most likely has a church calling. Yet amid that busy schedule, was willing to reply to some fan of his books, which he wasn't obligated to do. I'm probably not the first but who's counting. If I didn't have a huge respect for this man already as an author, well my respect for him multiplied tenfold. This guy knows the importance of his readers and didn't seem to spare any qualms about responding, which really made an impact on me that he takes his talent seriously. Wait... there's more. As it turned out Mr. Stewart was going to be in town for a Time Out for Women event sponsored by Deseret Book , where he would be one of the speakers. Not only did he respond to my e-mail but said he would be happy to meet our book club.

Meet the Book Club? Imagine the ideas brewing. If he's willing to meet us, would he be willing to meet "with" us? The prospects of meeting with an author of some super great books to ask any question you like was too tempting to resist. That's when Jen said "you should invite him to lunch." Thanks Jen, glad the pressure is on me again.

I sat at the dinner table discussing this with Ken. "I don't want this guy to think I'm stalking him, he's probably going to regret answering my e-mail. What do you think?" Ken looked at me like I was from another planet (because when it comes to being outgoing, Ken and I ARE from two different planets. But that's ok, I think Ken is often amused with my "I'm not afraid to talk to a stranger" attitude.) Then he said "Why not, you should do it." Ok, so the husband doesn't think I'm out of my mind, and again I figured the worst response I could get was a "no".

The "Book Club" with Chris Stewart.

Ultimately the quality of person that Chris Stewart is, continued to be top notch. Obviously he wasn't coming here to solely meet with some fanatic book club, we knew that. He had a lot on his plate with the day's events, but made a stellar effort to meet with us and somehow never tired of our multiple attempts. Lunch was probable but not possible. He invited us back behind the scenes, signed our books, answered what questions he could in the limited time frame that he had, and made every effort to meet with us after the event for a picture taking opportunity. Remember when I mentioned that he was a busy man. Well, to add to my "I'm already impressed with this author's willingness to reach out to his readers", in his e-mail he mentioned that he would bring something for dreamer-pilot- to- be-Dustin, Stewart himself being a previous Air Force pilot. Now I don't know about you but sometimes I can't even remember what I was supposed to be doing five minutes ago, let alone have some huge function to speak at and still remember I promised some 7 year old boy I would bring him something. Chris did remember and brought an autographed picture taken from the B1 bomber flight he was part of during his huge world record flight around the world, for Dustin. That now hangs on Dustin's wall next to all the other fighter plane pictures. It doesn't end there. Since Chris was unable to meet with us for a discussion, he said that any questions we have we could e-mail him. Seriously, it doesn't get better than this. Imagine how different this story would have been had he not responded. Well, ok there would be NO story.

Which brings me to my two last points.

The power of a RECOMMENDATION. This all started with Janalen, who met Chris last year and encouraged our book club to read the Great and Terrible series. One person. One recommendation. Guess how many people in our little circle have read it? TWENTY-THREE and counting. I can't seem to keep my copies at home as I continually get requests to borrow them. I'm hoping that my 4th volume that was autographed will make its way back to me! Recommendations can be a powerful tool. I hope we are helping keep the bread on the table Chris.

.....The power of CHANGE

I joined the book club at church for one reason. To get out of my comfort zone. I am purely a non-fiction reader who thinks that two of the best books ever written are John Adams by David McCullough and Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell (if you haven't read those books and you are an American, you SHOULD, every American should read them). I could read those books over and over again. Give me a book/biography/magazine on political/military/world history and you've got my attention. Sure I've read a handful of fiction before but it just doesn't wet my appetite.

However, while nursing my wounds that the Great and Terrible series was over, I realized that I liked Stewarts style of writing. He has primarily written military techno thrillers. So on a whim I ordered one, then the other, then all of them. I've not been disappointed. They are just as well written, enjoyable and as intense as the Great and Terrible's. The characters are believable, likeable, and sometimes sinister. In the process I found something new about myself. That I can actually enjoy fiction, well military fiction that is. I've always been able to soak up military stuff, and think I've found a new genre that I truly enjoy. Tom Clancy here I come?? who knows.

In the end, it would be really cool to have a couple of hours to sit down and be able to pick Stewart's brain on military, political, and religious stuff, but I won't push my luck and will just enjoy the fun turn of events that sending one "opinion" e-mail has brought about.

Thanks Chris! for writing super appealing books and valuing us as readers and answering my endless e-mails! Two years and counting dude, two years... and maybe.... possibly more GREAT...... and TERRIBLE??

A Closet Job.....

Yeah, that's right, on most days of the week you can find me in my closet. My closet? Why you ask? Well because I've landed one of the sweetest jobs and it's all done in my closet.

Let me explain by first giving you a little history. Before having children, I worked for about 13 years. I remember as I was quitting my job - Which I loved (loved my job, loved the company, loved the people I worked with, but my heart longed to be home and raise Daria), one of the Vice Presidents said "You're quitting? but you're so young!" I said "Yeah, that's right. I AM young. I can have kids, raise them, work later" It was a great deal.(I did consult for that same company from home for a year after quitting) I've chosen to stay home with my kids at least until they are out of High School. Life is busy as a mother and wife and that's a big job in itself.

Now that brings me back to my closet. I wasn't looking for a job, but when Brother W. offered me a job I couldn't refuse, I found myself back in the working world doing none other than "voice over" for training videos for an environmental company relating to the handling of nuclear/radioactive materials. How cool is that?! I immediately pounced on the prospect. Flexible hours, I can do it any time of day or night so it doesn't interfere with my number one priority, family. Extremely super good pay (which would be hard to get after being out of work for 10 years), no office politics, AND all I have to do is walk upstairs to my new and improved sound proof closet (it's a big closet), log on to their server, pull any modules off, record, then put them back on their server. Just me, the microphone, and my voice. So there you have it, on any given day you may find me working in my closet!

Musings of March

The B-24 and B-17 bombers. Flown during WWII

This picture is for cousin Jonathon who is in the Marines

Dustin's excitement. One cannot just tour a plane or touch it, one must hang on it!

Daria's non-excitement. It wasn't really that bad. She was happy to get her flight pin.

During Spring Break I took the kids to see some WWII aircraft, the B-24J and a B-17G bombers. Daria wasn't overwhelmingly impressed mostly because she was worried that someone would turn the planes on. She hates loud noises. If you paid a whopping $425.00 you could take a ride in one of these metal beasts. I was tempted, REAL tempted, but felt that was a lot of money. I would rather wait for the opportunity to take a ride in something that could fly a little higher and faster. Dustin on the other hand was so excited I practically had to tie a string to his feet so he wouldn't float away with immense glee. He toured in and out of each plane several times, touched them, and even hung from one of the wings (much to my dismay). I could barely keep up with him as he ran in and out. Dustin's a lot smaller than me and can maneuver inside quite easily. As an adult you have to be very strategic about walking through the cramped space. Hard to believe that a crew of 10 grown men could fit inside one. As a souvenir both Daria and Dustin bought a flight wing pin and Dustin also got a .50 caliber machine gun bullet. If you've never seen one in real life you would be surprised at their size. War is real people and I would hate to be on the receiving end of just one of those bullets let alone the some 600+ rounds per minute that it can spit out.

Speaking of planes. As a family each night we've been enjoying the book "Supersonic Saints" by John Bytheway. It's a compilation of stories from LDS pilots. I bought the book to read to Dustin, but the whole family has joined as we read the heroic, and faith promoting experiences of these pilots. It's a great book even if you're not into planes.

Karie, Kenneth Cope (a fantastic recording artist and song writer), and Jen
"Bishop Cope, can I have your autograph?"

Also in March the ladies and I attended Time out for Women. Deseret Book had a great program lined up with top notch presenters and performers. It was completely worth the price and time, and as always I love the chance to hang with the gals. An added touch is the presenters and performers make themselves available to the crowd for questions and photo opportunities. Can't beat that! Here are a few photos of some that I met. (I'll post later about our book club and meeting Chris Stewart. It deserves a post of its own)

Jenny Jordan Frogley. In my opinion, very few singers can top this gals vocal range, singing abilities, song writing abilities. Check her bio out at LDSAudio. Reading about her is impressive but listening to her live will knock your socks off.

Karie, Abe Mills of Jericho Road, Terry and Jen. Another stunning performer and Celeste, he lives in your community. Cool eh!

And none other than the ever amazing Sheri Dew. This woman has inspired millions, she can talk, and she can write in a way that motivates us all.

Thanks everyone for sharing your talents !

Oreo Update

I did it. I went to the store, purchased a large pack of Oreo cookies, and brought them home for an evening of festivities walking down memory lane (for the complete story click here). Daria, Dustin and I sat down, opened every single one of those cookies, scraped out the white middles and formed big balls. Yes, I stood in the kitchen with my kids and threw Oreo middles at my own kitchen walls. It was fun, short lived and a lot to clean up. I learned from Dustin that if you throw your Oreo middle ball with super g-force strength that it not only sticks to your wall but explodes all over the kitchen too. Daria and I had no problem making nice round splats. I probably laughed the most. The kids thought it was fun, but I'm thinking that it's moments like these that are funnier when your parents aren't around. There's something fun about doing strange things without adult supervision. Anyway, it was fun and probably something my kids will never forget.

Ken: After volunteering on the ambulance "I got to pick up fingers tonight" - he loves that type of stuff. (Ken has a day job, but his heart is in volunteering as an EMT)

Dustin: Almost daily we have this conversation, which is driving me nuts.

Dustin: "Mom, you're lucky because you don't have to go to school"

Karie: "I already went to school. I'm lucky that I live in a country that allowed me the opportunity to go to school. School is one of the most important things you will do in your life, AND you can't be a pilot without an education."

Dustin (while rolling his eyeballs at me) "I know, I know. I must be lucky then too"

Daria: After watching the "film" in school. You know, the puberty one. (I've already discussed puberty with her, the film just re-affirmed the information)

Daria "They said that sometimes when you are on your period you might like boys"

Karie (trying to contain my laughter, because every woman knows that is the LEAST likely time that we like boys) "Oh, so when you start to go through puberty you might begin to like boys? (I'm still chuckling at that one)

Karie: "Nikon? Canon? Nikon? Canon?" This is the question I ask myself every day. My Nikon is ready to be shelved leaving me open to a new camera. The question is, should I stick with Nikon or venture out to Canon. Tough question because it is literally comparing apples to apples, and if you're going to fork out a couple thousand bucks for a camera, you've got to make a good decision.

More from Dustin: I happen to notice that under Dustin's right eye are a ton of broken blood vessels. In fact it almost looked like he got punched in the eye but that would cause a bruise, not thousands of tiny red dots.

Karie "Dustin, what happened to your eye?"

Dustin "The vacuum cleaner hit it"

Karie (finally figures out what happened) "The vacuum cleaner hit it, or the vacuum cleaner sucked it?"

Dustin "Well, it only sucked it just a little"

Only little boys would think of putting the vacuum cleaner hose up to their eyeball and let it suck. HELLO! who wants to suck their eyeball out with a vacuum cleaner? I remind myself that one of my jobs as a mother of a boy is to make sure he makes it to his 18th birthday. Wish me luck.

More on Daria: Daria hates going to the doctor. I'm not sure why she has such a huge fear of doctors . I noticed a very dark suspicious mole on her back that she wasn't born with. I finally make an appointment to get it checked out. Daria said she didn't want to go to the doctor because she might get cancer. Ok, real fear for a almost 10 year old. I get that. Except doctors don't give you cancer. The dermatologist's office happens to be in the hospital. This doesn't sit well for Daria. While in the waiting room she asks what the doctor is going to do with the mole. Up until this moment I hadn't even thought of that, which is a huge bummer when you're trying to help your daughter not be scared. To make a long story short, the mole needed to be taken off immediately, right then. Great. I mean, great because I was glad it could be taken care of but now had a hysterical girl on my hands. It is one of the worst feelings having to hold your child down while a doctor cuts a huge hole in your daughters back. Not fun. However, I'm glad that I leaned on my instincts and had the mole checked out.

How to Save Your Marriage...

Ok, girls, here it is. If you want to save your marriage, DO NOT put potato peals down the kitchen drain. I repeat DO NOT, even if you've put a few down before and it worked, even if you think to yourself while stuffing those down the disposal "hhmmm I really should compost these" but you put them in anyway. It causes great strain on the seasoned marriage, and will test your husband's love for you, even after 17 years. If you enjoy a risky venture and put the peels in the drain KNOW THIS; your husband will end up spending 2 hours on an Easter Sunday afternoon trying to unclog the drain which isn't easy and will leave your kitchen looking like some bomb of dirty potato dishwater exploded in it. You'll have to borrow the plumber snake from the neighbor, who will also politely remind you to never ever put potato peals down the drain. His wife's done it too (apparently I'm not alone). Your husband will also have missed his Sunday afternoon nap which he was looking forward to because all of the after church meetings were canceled due to it being Easter. Clogged drain means no blissful nap on the couch. His knees will hurt from bending in all sorts of positions on the kitchen floor in order to work under the sink. You'll also hear him say over and over "this sucks, this really sucks", which you never hear him say at any other time. You will feel really, really small because there is not much you can do but stand around and watch, and hand a few towels to mop up the water.

Are you laughing yet? I'm tellin' ya, don't try it! I admit, while I was standing there I wondered to myself what Ken really must think being married to me as it seems that every so often I unintentionally do things that create extra work for him. In fact it reminds me of that fateful day a few years ago, you remember the "unfortunate day where Karie destroyed Ken's laptop and truck all at once" (go ahead, click on that link and re-read it just for laughs, I did, well sort of) In fact right now I feel the same way about potato peels as I do about that darn sub woofer magnet. Are guys also born with the knowledge that disposals and potato peels just don't go together? Who ever knew. For more laughs, here's my post about Ken on his business trip with me at home holding his licence hostage. you'll have to scroll down to the paragraph that begins with "not so funny thing 3". Fortunate for me, Ken seems to forget about all of these unfortunate events and retains me as his wife even with all of the extra work I cause him. Here's to 17 years of marriage and countless silly mishaps. Life is always an adventure!

It's Hard...

To watch a friend die....... A year ago this month one of my dear friends, Amy Oliver, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Amy and I have spent countless hours together over the past 7 years, and built amazing memories. My life is better because I had a dear close friend named Amy Oliver. She always inspired me to be better, to try a little harder and her wit and humor and amazing personality made me feel alive. She was always the one who never held a friendship over e-mail, she was the one who would call and make sure we did brunch or lunch, went to the park, or pool or anything with the kids. She always made sure we scheduled time together on our calendar so we would actually get together.

Amy faced her cancer like a soldier going into battle with amazing force and faith. After a year of chemo, surgery, and radiation it seemed that the cancer had been beat. Five days before Christmas we found that the cancer was back, this time in her liver and pancreas. Mortality stared its ugly head in our face. Amy was the one who gathered her closest 7 friends together in December and we spent the evening laughing, crying, and to praying together. After all that, Amy still set the example of love and peace, not feeling angry, but thankful God is there.

On Sunday Ken and I went to visit Amy for the last time. It was hard. We shared some tender moments, reminded each other that we loved each other and would meet again in the realms of the eternities.

In true Amy form, as she always was able to be direct, said "I don't want anyone wearing black to my funeral, and I don't want any "pink" balloons. I'm done with pink!" She wanted one of those finish lines over her casket with a sign that said "I finished!"

Amy died Monday morning surrounded by her family.

I'm not going to focus on the fact that Amy died, but the fact that Amy LIVED, and because she lived this world is a better place. Thank you Amy for your friendship, I'm going to miss you.

AMY LYNN ELLIS OLIVER, 39, died Monday, March 09, 2009. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, 2009, at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Amy made her debut on October 30, 1969, in Perryton, Texas, and grew up in the Texas Panhandle until her move to Houston in 1985. Amy graduated from Memorial High School in 1988 and went on to become a Texas Longhorn, graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993. In 1996, Amy married the love of her life, Joel Oliver, and together they made their first home in Canyon, Texas. While in Canyon, Amy was a special education teacher at Canyon High School. Amy was never a cheerleader, but her vivacious spirit somehow qualified her to be head cheerleading coach, a position she held formally while teaching in Canyon, and informally for her friends and family throughout the rest of her life. In 1999, Amy's first son, Wynn, was born and with him came a promotion to her most important position, that of full-time Mommy. Wynn was soon joined by his brother Jax in 2001 and Bennett in 2003. Amy devoted her life to raising her three boys, serving as a room mother and cub scout den mother, making endless visits to the park, kid's museums, and to play dates with her boy's many friends. It is an understatement to say that Amy had a very strong will. When she set her mind to something, she would accomplish it. In October 2007, together, Amy and Joel finished the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. with friends and family manning checkpoints throughout D.C. This started her love of running. She went on to race in the Army Ten Miler with her brother, and they crossed the finish line at the same time, neither wanted to finish before the other. All those who knew Amy, knew they wanted to know her. Her dear friend wrote, "It was easy to be around you because you always inspire me to be a better person. I would go home feeling just a little bit better and with determination to work harder." Amy wants the world to know that she "got it." Amy got that her mission on this Earth was to build her family. She got that she was to use her strong will and desire to push her husband to succeed and to find his purpose in life. Amy got the fact that Joel was a stabilizing force in her life; he was her rock and that together they made each other better. Amy got that she was made to be a Mommy to her three beautiful boys and to raise her family to be strong, to love each other, and to love the Lord. Amy was a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, and a true friend. Amy got it. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that an offering be made in Amy's memory to the Metropolitan Baptist Church, 13000 Jones Road, Houston, Texas 77070.

Amy at Daria's baptism

25 Things

Many of you recently filled out the "25 Things about Myself" questionnaire. I rarely fill those things out but had so much fun reading my friends answers that I figured I'd try my hand at it. Just let me say, coming up with 25 things about yourself, even if you are a "talker", is still pretty hard. But if you haven't tried it, I encourage you to sit down and do it as it will make for good family history stuff for your posterity!

Many of you have already read this on my Facebook account, so disregard if you've already read it. I'm blogging it here because not all my friends or family have Facebook.

1. I don’t enjoy shopping. If some friends want to go then I will go along but other than that it is my least favorite thing to do. It falls somewhere between wanting to be frugal and struggling with wanting every thing I see. So I just avoid it.

2. Something that has always come easy to me is the ability to talk to just about anyone (what a surprise). I could strike up a conversation with a stranger on the street corner.

3. I am fascinated and honor those people that I know, or those who have come before me who have faced adversity with a lion’s heart and the faith to move mountains. I’m drawn to these types of people.

4. I love history. Anything to do with history. I love the names, the places and the stories. I can’t seem to get enough of it. I’m drawn towards historical markers, historical locations, museums, history books, biographies, political or military/world magazines and books. I’m fascinated by the diverse intricacy of people with their myriad of experiences and how their lives affect ours today. I think to myself “thank you, your life made a difference to me”.

5. I think the most handsome best dressed men are men in military dress uniform or battle dress uniform. Every time the Star Spangled Banner is sung, it makes me cry.

6. I love technology. My Christmas lists are always loaded with gadgets: cameras, computers, external drives, software. Embarrassingly I admit that when I was in 5th grade I said “why would we use a computer to do something we can do ourselves?” Famous last words. I can’t live without my computer, my software, my gadgets. Love them!

7. I love photography. I love cameras and I love lenses, lots of lenses (that I dream of owning) and hope to one day maybe use my hobby to earn some bucks. The artist in me sees everything in composition and color and I just can’t help but want to take a picture of it, especially action shots. I could never take too many pictures. Pictures tell a story, and stories create history.

8. There is something about every friend that I have that I would like to be more like. The women friends in my life are amazing and noble, regardless of race, religion or faith. Each seems to possess some Christ like quality that inspires me to want to be a better person.

9. I don’t like being stagnant, and always feel compelled to be learning, growing, progressing, and changing for the better. If there is a problem I’d rather face it and learn from it than to be held back from it.

10. I’m not a very funny person. I wish I were. I find other people funny and admire other’s ability to be quick witted and humorous. But I just haven’t figured out how to do that. Sometimes I try to be funny and my husband and kids look at me like I came from some other planet. It often takes me a while to get some jokes, so you will find me laughing about an hour after someone tells a joke because “I finally got it”.

11. If you know me you know I’m a pretty opinionated person. I think people mistake me for being highly judgmental because I’m opinionated, but I’m not. My opinions are just that, my opinions. I find it easy to appreciate other’s opinions & choices. I am however working on the delivery, and am learning that my opinions are best received when asked for. I’m still learning.

12. I don’t mind getting older. Let me clarify that. I don’t like physically getting older, but I love getting older emotionally, spiritually and mentally. I feel like I can see a lot clearer at this age, less peer pressure, more confident in who I am, maybe a little more wise (I wish), less moved by the worlds lies of what and who we should be. I’ve heard a lot of women say that the best years are in their 40’s and 50’s and I think they are right because even though I’m not that age yet (ok, if the truth be told I'm almost 40, and had I had kids right out of high school could technically have a 20 year old child!), it feels pretty good to be me.

13. I love music. When I was a teenager I spent a lot of time listening to music that dulled the senses and darkened the soul (yes, I listened to heavy heavy thrash metal) but that was just my way of blocking out teenage pain. (yes, Leah and Chris, my hair was long, bleach blond and looked like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket, but hey, the price to pay to be a rocker! LOL) As an adult I don’t appreciate that music anymore but love music any music in general. I took piano lessons as an adult because I always wished I could play. It’s been a blast and although I can’t seem to play well in front of people I can hold my own when I play in the privacy of my own home.

14. I save e-mails. I’m not talking about funny or serious forwards, but e-mail letters from friends and family. I think that letter writing is a dying art, and I think that’s a shame. The genealogist in me can’t part with certain e-mails which have taken the place of hand written communication. I’m glad I saved my step-father’s. Now that he is dead, it is comforting to read his words now and then.

15. I love it when friends or family call. Again, in such a busy world I don’t mind using e-mail, texting, blogs, and facebook but there’s nothing more enjoyable than a friendly voice on the phone. It makes me feel good, makes me feel thought of and imprints deeper memories on my mind. My goal this year is to make more phone calls.

16. I’m a rule follower and hate the old adage “rules are meant to be broken”. I love living in a country that has rules that help us progress and live freely (contrary to popular belief that rules confine and control. Hardly! Look at our great nation, it was based off of rules that have made us one of the greatest nations ever). I take comfort in knowing that someone else has unfortunately tested them out for us already. Rules keep us safe and give us order. Could you imagine playing basketball without any rules? Or raising a child without any boundaries?

17. By far one of the greatest things in my life has been the opportunity to bare children and have a great husband who loves the Lord and strives to lead and guide our home with me, teaching our children about Christ and His gospel, and teaching them to pray. I never imagined how much being a mother and wife would cause me to grow, stretch beyond my wildest dreams and abilities. It is by far the hardest job in the world, yet more rewarding than anything on this earth.

18. I think that one of the coolest experiences is holding my children when they were babies/toddler age on my chest while they slept, and their head just seems to fit perfectly under my chin as though it was made to fit like a puzzle.

19. I love the mountains more than the ocean. I don’t mind visiting the beach but if I had my druthers I would want to spend time in the mountains. Rocky Mountains or Smoky Mountains it’s all the same to me. Trees, nature, fresh air, wildlife, peace.

20. I can’t stand sarcasm or sarcastic humor. I think it wounds the soul.

21. I’m a blogger and a blog stalker. It’s been one of the funnest ways to re-connect with great friends and get a window into their life.

22. I used to know a lot about cars. I remember as a young girl, my dad explaining to me the difference between a combustion engine and a jet engine (and the splitting of the atom – important stuff for a girl to know) I can change my own oil, tire, and know the difference between my starter causing problems and the corroded connections on my battery causing problems (there is a story behind that). When I was a teenager I believed that I needed a fast loud car. My first ticket was a noise violation in Colorado Springs because my car was too loud. Bought a ’67 Cougar, re-built the carburetor, fixed various parts, and with some help from my brother’s friends replaced the timing chain (which took FOREVER. When we were done we had an extra bolt. Not a good thing!). I even took a job at NAPA auto parts to get a discount on parts.
23. Most of my good friends know that I’m very opinionated regarding over use of video games. Well, while I still think we need to use caution on what types of video games and how often we play them, I will admit you can sometimes find playing the Wii or find me fishing, farming, cooking, or making runes on Runescape. Don’t be mistaken though, I am a “skiller” not a “killer”.

24. I own a rifle and a hand gun. Gifts from my step-dad. We used to target practice together when I was a teenager. I like the smell of gun powder. I also shot some huge Army gun once, wish I could remember the name of it. What I do remember is that it was huge (I had to have help holding it), loud and threw me back from the kick back. Fortunately the guy helping me hold it was bracing me so I wouldn’t fall.

25. I almost never watch TV, not for any big reason, I’m just not to interested. I can go weeks without turning it on and if I do you may find me watching news channels, Discovery, History, or Science Channel. I also find myself totally out of the loop on the movie scene. There are a lot of movies I’d like to see but never seem to get around to doing it. I hate scary or violent movies (unless it’s a military movie, strange I know), I like good strong westerns, military, or period movies, but most of all I like the “feel good movies” like “Remember the Titans” or “Radio”, “Ever After” stuff like that.