Seventeen!

"Mother, could you please make him scream somewhere else?" our eldest daughter complained, whilst I tried to wrestle the fork away from our 2 year old baby.

I shot her a look.

She was still reclining in the computer chair, watching TV and eating cake. She didn't notice.

I turned back to the task at hand.

"I . . WILL WIN . . THIS . . WRESTLING . . MATCH. . . !" I panted, fighting for breath.

Piercing, high-pitched screams split the air in our living room, echoing throughout the house. Resonating above the normal, everyday chaos, Lincoln's protests were quickly shot down again, with annoyed retorts from the big kids, and plenty of fidgeting.

The homestead is presently nearing capacity. . Fifteen or so teenagers/children are 'hanging out' over here in honor of the twins' birthday weekend. It's really pretty great. : ) They're laughing and talking, joking around, shooting the breeze, havin' a good old time. Of course we have the usual kaleidoscopic rainbow of drama, moodiness, and dynamics to deal with. . . which shouldn't be too surprising, considering the age range represented. . . .

But anyway,

Happy Birthday to Clint and Eric, Eric and Clint! Number Seventeen!

25 Things About Me!

Okay! Here we go!

1. I am technologically impaired/challenged, and really have no idea how to set this up. . . : ) (This being just about anything having to do with the computer, although I am learning. . .)
2. My childhood dream was to someday be an Olympic figure skater!
3. I'm from 3 different places: Northern Utah, Northeast Missouri, and Central Virginia, Charlottesville.
4. I met my husband almost 20 years ago, while job hunting AT THE MALL! : )
5. I'm a big fan of holidays, primarily Christmas. . and old movies, mostly from the 40's and 50's. . .
6. My Italian Grandmother's sister. . . was blond. : ) Go figure.
7. Blupebbles has been my call sign/user name for about 10 years now. . . reference to a random Flintstone nickname from way back when. . .
8. My favorite color is acid wash blue. Electric turquoise, Cancun aquamarine. . .
9. My husband and I originally thought/felt that we could probably handle . . maybe 4 kids. . . Turns out we were right. : )
10. I will forever remain a die-hard conservative who finds politics mildly amusing, or moderately stimulating, depending on the day. .
11. I do love being a mother, although I have no idea what to do with these kids once they hit that tweeny-bopper stage. . .
12. My family lives about 5 or 10 minutes from the busiest LDS temple in the entire free world! Jordan River.
13. I'm happiest when snuggling a warm little baby. : ) I love my babies! I continue to be fascinated by genetics, and the miracle of childbirth.
14. I'm the oldest of 8 children, 6 brothers and one little sis! And I can't have 8 kids, because my mother had 8 kids, and her mother had 8 kids. . . Wouldn't wanna be redundant! ; ) Oh, and I hate the phrase 'stay at home mom'. I ASK you, where ELSE would a mother stay?!
15. I have recently taken up writing, and although it hasn't proven to be terribly lucrative, I plan to pursue it more aggressively in the future. : )
16. I'm a big fan of Snoopy! And if we're gonna watch Peanuts, and order out, it's going to be pizza, or Mexican! Ole!
17. I think it would be great to pick up his and her's sports cars. . . Maybe a Navy blue Cougar, with bronze-ish interior, and BYU on the license plate. . .
18. I'm a quarter Italian, about a third German, and the rest is a fun mixture of Northern European. English, Scottish, and Dutch, to name a few. I've always wanted to tour Europa, maybe do that backpacking thing. . . Someday.
19. I'm way hip into photography. Ask anybody, I loooooove to take pictures! I'm the obnoxious one at parties, who's always snapping your picture just when you're getting ready to take a bite of something.
20. I am a cowgirl at heart, and someday hope to have a cabin up at Christmas Meadows. . .
21 . I like my syrup COLD, thank you very much. Like it was just harvested from a tapped, frosted maple tree somewhere up in New England.
22. I freak out when people touch my feet. Probably the ticklish thing.
23. I am a passionate person, who tends to speak out, sometimes when I probably shouldn't.
24. Love kitties!
25. Recently went back to school, where I will be majoring in Visual Art and Design. Oddly, I'm doing better in the Political Science class. And I'm not entirely sure that this whole school thing was a good idea. . . because there simply is not enough time in the day!

And there you have it! 25 Things About Me! Courtesy of the evil Facebook.

January!

Well, like I said, a couple of weeks ago, I went back to school. But that wasn't all! There have been so many other fun things going on this past little while! Laena is in the process of applying to different colleges, so we'll see where that goes, although she has talked about staying home, and just going to the Community College. . . We'll see what she decides. . .

Clint has started drum lessons! Private drum lessons with Laena's friend, Trevor. He's such a good kid! Laena and her friend Summer dragged Clint over to Trevor's last Thursday, and he liked it so much, he decided to give it a whirl. : ) I'm excited that he's excited about something!

Eric keeps plugging away, working at the theatre on weekends, having fun at school. . . And again, the boys' birthday is tomorrow! : ) It's funny. We always have to make 2 cakes, because Eric likes fruit flavors, but Clint's all about chocolate! You would think we could get away with ordering just the one. . . Chuckle.

Charlie and Tommy drove up to camp Tracy last weekend, for an overnighter with the Boy Scouts! I've never understood the reasoning behind Winter camp outs, but this one's a little different, because they get to sleep in cabins! With little wood stoves. : ) Tommy had a great time tubing down the sled hill. I'll see if we have any pictures. . .

Yep, we've been having all kinds of fun lately! : ) Believe it! On the 17th, Aleia and I went to lunch over at Wingers. She had won a coupon for a free kid's meal doing something scholastic. : ) What a cutie, that Rosebud! You never know just what's coming up next!

Jeffy's been having Evan over every chance he gets. . . They have a lot of fun together. Jeffy's enjoying Kindergarten, but I still can't bring myself to let him go 'full-day'.

My mother's birthday was last week on Sunday, January 18! Along with her twin sister, Jean's. ; ) Happy Birthday, Aunt Jean!

A week ago last Saturday, Laena went to a fun dance with Trevor and Summer and all the gang. It was an '80's Neon Retro Dance'. They dressed up all cute, in jeans and florescent tee-shirts, and made me think of yesteryear. (wistful snicker/sigh) Too bad I got rid of all my 80's stuff a couple of years ago, just in time for it to all come back in style. . . But ain't that the way it goes!

Somewhere around that same time, we sold Laena's car to Pick-N-Pull, your friendly neighborhood scrap yard! She got to drive it up there with her dad. And now we don't have that old beater Oldsmobile perpetually taking up space in our driveway! Yay! Plus, she got a couple o' hundred dollars out of the deal, which was nice. Good stuff. : )

In other news, Charlie's planning to get his eyes fixed in about ten days! Lazik, Baby! I still can't quite believe it. . He's been wearing glasses for about 30 years now, and has wanted to do this for a while. I tell ya what, he's a braver man than I! There's no amount of Valium that could hold me in place. I'm freaked out just thinking about it! But it will be really neat for him to be able to see without contacts, etc. . . And kinda weird, at the same time. . . It's just amazing, the technology that's available these days! : )

And that's a wrap. : ) The latest update from the Mason Clan, here in the fabulous Salt Lake Valley!

Tune in next time, when you will undoubtedly hear even more fantastical, amusing stories, from our home to yours!

Pre-Twilight

Tomorrow is our twins' birthday. January 30th, 2009. There's a date that brings back memories! (shudder, sniff) And it always seems to land on Super Bowl weekend! : ) I can't believe they're as old as they are. It's insane! We must really be getting up there, if we have 2 boys that are Juniors in high school, and almost SEVENTEEN! Seems like they follow their sister so closely, that they're almost in her shadow, and tend to surprise us when they reach these types of milestones. They're right behind her, but really shouldn't be so close!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I started school again. Yep, went 'back to school', to see if I could improve myself through education. It was kind of an emotional experience for me, when Charlie and I were picking up books at the bookstore, and getting my student ID. . . all of that. I'd always wanted to go to college, but have never taken even one class. Well, okay, there's been a little experience picked up over the past 19 years or so, and we have sat in on some parenting classes, etc. . I suppose I would probably have earned the equivalent of at least a Master's Degree in 'the school of hard knocks', considering our lives up till now. . . But still, I have never graced the halls of a University, or even been inside a college classroom. As crazy as that sounds, it's true. And now I'm getting misty again. It really was a tender moment for me, when Charlie and I were there at SLCC, and it seemed like I was actually going to be a part of something . . alive and important.

Of course, our family is all of these things, and obviously number one, but it was still pretty cool.

Last night, as I was walking back to the parking lot, just before twilight, books in hand. . . I looked around at the frosted campus, softly lit by a dozens of muted incandescent lamps, and realized it's purpose, and the blessing that education is, in our lives.

So, we may be approaching the 'twilight' of our lives, what with all these big kids, who are soon to be going off to college themselves, and the impending onset of 'middle age'. . . (40's comin' up fast!) But I think Charlie and I have 20 or so years yet, hopefully more, to experience life, and learning, and to grow from both. : ) Here's to the dawn of my formal education, and to the 'top of the mountain' for myself and my husband, which we can hopefully enjoy more fully together, with the growing independence of our children, before we start heading 'over the hill'. ; ) And hey, it's all good! It's okay to be getting on in years. . . (ha ha) The view is sooo much better from up here!

We can see!

Inauguration Day

The Inaugural Address was well written, but, as stated in an email from the Family Research Council,

"By God's grace, many old wrongs have been righted, but some remain."

"President Obama referred to the Declaration of Independence when he said, "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness." What he neglected to include was the Founders' emphasis on life and liberty.
The weekend has been full of symbolic tributes to President Abraham Lincoln: the train ride to the nation's capital along the same route taken by President Lincoln nearly 150 years ago, the festivities yesterday in front of the Lincoln memorial, the swearing in on Lincoln's Bible. While we celebrate the symbolic meaning of these events, there is much more to Mr. Lincoln that we urge President Obama to reflect on. Lincoln once said, "Nothing stamped in the divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on..." Mr. President, with respect we ask--are not unborn children so stamped?
We would not be truthful on this day if we did not share our grave concerns. As we have mentioned, the Mexico City policy, which has long protected the American taxpayer from funding abortions, is slated for repeal. The President's appointees and a willing Congress are poised to accelerate the loss of human life through the expansion of abortion. We are concerned not only that abortion will be expanded, but that American taxpayers will be forced to fund the expansion--something that has not occurred for nearly a quarter century. They appear ready to shackle on us a culture of death in their plans for national health care. There are already signs that indicate opposition to such policies will not be tolerated or even heard.
Thankfully, in the face of trials that beset us, the Lamp of God has not yet gone out, nor has the sacred fire of liberty been quenched. We still have our constitutional right to speak, to evangelize, and to petition government for the redress of grievances. If we are to be taxed for unjust killings, if every American county is to become a new killing field, we will resist in every legal and constitutional way with all the strength God gives us.
Mr. President, this is an historic day. Your inauguration heals an ancient wound. We pray that your administration will not deepen and inflame the wounds of today. We urge you to reject the counsel of those who prey on the young, who profit from death, and who daily break parents' hearts.
President Obama, on the first day of this new chapter in America, we appeal to the better angels of your nature. Protect the most vulnerable among us."

I recently read about the mind numbing evil known as partial birth abortion, that is practiced right here in our 'free' country.

Life and Liberty indeed.