Off to school again!

Well she's gone... again! And this time it'll be long. Well, not really because she'll be home in July for 7 weeks. But ONLY 7 weeks. And when she leaves again in September, she takes Amber with her. I think it's time I finally begin to accept that my children are leaving.... well.... kinda.

This time I put her on a plane. We made the 2 hour drive to Portland talking nearly the whole way. We were up till 11pm the night before, both of us sitting on her suitcase, struggling to get it zipped.

Then we were up at 2:30am to load it all in the car. Oh if only Nicholas could have been with us because we needed his strength. By 3:15am, we'd had our last family prayer all together and we got in the car to go. By 3:30am, we were on the road and making our way to the airport in Portland.

We talked about everything! It felt like a late night talk! It was so great! We didn't get to have nearly as many of those while she was home that we should have. We caught up on everything! EVERYTHING!! The 2 hour drive just flew by. It seemed unreal that she was really leaving.

We got to the airport in the nic of time though. Dragging the big suitcase we sat on was VERY difficult. It turned out that the pull out handle had gotten stuck on her way home but we forgot. The suitcase lay hidden away under Nicholas' bed for the entire 3 months she was home. Now I had to drag it. We managed to get to the check in counter and thank goodness that heavy thing was under 50lbs. It sure didn't feel like it. Then we had to drag it over to the guys who open things and look at what you've got. When I handed it over, I told him how difficult it would be to close it. He assured me he'd opened and closed MANY suitcases. As I walked away, I thought... "yea, but none like THIS one, surely!"

Then we got in line for the security gate. After the first little check point, I couldn't go any further and had to stand off to the side to watch her unpack her backpack. So much stuff had to come out to go through the security. All the insulin, the laptop... of course shoes had to come off... just amazing how much you have to unpack to go through. And she managed to get through. But the last I saw of her was her trying to gather it all up in her arms to get out of the way of the next group of people. It's so frustrating not to be able to help. And not even a last wave. they have it so blocked that you just barely get a last view of the loved one you're sending off.

From there, it was lots of text messages until the plane took off. I just got out to the highway when it took off. It was an exhausting drive home. When I got to the Coburg Hills, she texted me and said she'd landed! ALREADY! How amazing. It was 9:30am her time and she was scheduled to take the noon shuttle from Salt Lake to Rexburg. she said she was going to try to make it to the 10am shuttle if she could. I don't know... half an hour to get your stuff and get outside to catch the shuttle? Oh it was going to be close! I raced the rest of the way home, hoping I could get home in time to help her somehow.

Just as I walked in my front door, she phoned me... she got her stuff and it was quarter to ten! What relief! What a miracle!! If she could catch the 10am shuttle, she could get to school well before the housing office closed, unlike the noon shuttle which would get her there at 4:30. I told her to get out the door and find that shuttle and I would change her reservation for her. She found a group waiting and I called the shuttle people. they were sooooo nice! OF COURSE she could change her reservation. Oh, and by the way, the shuttle is stuck in traffic in Salt Lake. It's late! whew.... wow! She made it! What a relief!

Just as I'm climbing into bed, completely exhausted, she texted me to tell me Jaelyn's bus in Salt Lake is also late but it's just arriving at 10am for her. A few minutes later, another text... Jaelyn's bus is now headed to the airport! They will be on the SAME shuttle!!!!

I burst into tears! Must have been exhaustion! But of all the prayers I said for her safety and ease of travel, I never even guessed that the Lord had such a blessing in store! It's such a little thing but it meant everything to me to know that the 2 best friends would be together for the longest, hardest part of the trip! I imagined their reunion and just sobbed with joy for them! I heard very little after that text message as the shuttle arrived at the airport and the girls found eachother. They talked for an hour and then fell asleep against eachother. What better way is there for returning to school!

But the Lord was not done with his blessings. Dear Audrey met the girls when the shuttle arrived at school. In her little car she helped them with all their luggage and THEN..... took them to their storage unit! It took 3 trips in her little car but they got all their stuff THAT DAY!! I thought for sure she wouldn't be able to get her stuff till the next day but thanks to Audrey and a tremendous effort, both girls were able to get all their things moved into their new dorm!

The Lord truely looks out for the kids at BYU-Idaho! He knows their needs even better than I do and can help them with everything. I had no idea I was as worried as I was until I heard Jaelyn would be traveling with her. The load that was lifted off my shoulders was incredible! it still makes me tear up just to think of that tiny blessing. To me, it meant everything!!

One more picture

In addition to the below post, I also have this current picture of us all taken at the temple on January 17, 2009. This was such a special day. It was Ryan's first time inside the temple and the only time Kristina would have a chance to go with us till about this same time next year. So this was a very special day for us. First, how amazing it was for us to make a goal of going to the temple together to do family names and actually accomplishing it. And of course, just being there all together. Our whole family. It was just a brief glimpse into the celestial kingdom that I will treasure till the next time we can all do that together again.

The kids all chose one of the people who I'd been working on to especially do the work for. We all went to the family history library and they set every one of us on a computer to enter information. I had so much that I could give a different family to each one of them. They began to feel a personal connection with these people. It was so wonderful to see that they were feeling the same way I was about genealogy. Then I told stories about some of the people and they picked their favorites. Some of the kids did their dad's side and some did my side. My great Aunt Mable was even done and I just cried for her. How I loved her. We only knew her as Mabe when we were kids. It wasn't till I was an adult that I fully understood who she was. When I was little, I only knew that she brought us a LOT of presents every time she came to see us. Turned out she was my grandfather's sister - the grandfather who had died before I was born. How amazing.

Something else I realized tonight... both of my boys are presidents of the quorum they're in. The bishop said that only 4 men in the ward hold the keys of the priesthood!! 2 of them are my boys! I'm floored. How well I remember the days when I cried because there was no priesthood in our home. How wonderful it has been to be in Oregon and know so many good men who would help fill that roll for us. Brother Davis especially. It's been a healing balm to my heart all this time. The kids should know what a good priesthood holder is, and what he does. I thank the Lord all the time for helping us to find Brother Davis. Anyway, now the Lord has blessed our family sooo incredibly! Now both my boys are honorable priesthood holders. Can a mother be any more proud and humbled and touched than me.

And again I'm asking myself tonight... knowing all the messes I've made in my life... remembering a time when I truely thought I'd never enter a temple again... WHAT have I done to make the Lord want to bless ME so much! The only answer that even comes to mind is so simple that it seems like it's not enough to warrant such blessings. And that is that I loved my kids more than myself. I stopped thinking about ME and started thinking always of them. I've seen alot of ME TIME type commercials on TV lately. And sure I know everyone needs some ME TIME. But ME TIME for me means being with the kids and just talking about everything. or snuggling together on the couch. I watched Extreme Home Makeover on TV tonight and watched those kids walk into their new rooms. And I swear... if that had been me, it would not have been nearly so joyous an occassion unless all 6 of us walked into each room together to explore.

Well anyway, I'm counting my blessings and wondering how in the world did I earn this. It must be so much more than just what comes naturally for me. How grateful I am.

It's been 7 years!!

Yesterday, March 5th, was our 7 year anniversary of being in Oregon. 7 years of a new life. 7 years since the Lord practically dragged me here. 7 years of incredible blessings! 7 years of such happiness! How we have changed. I was thinking this morning of how the kids have grown and how wonderful it's been that they could grow in Oregon. So I've been looking at pictures of how they've grown....



This was taken in Austin, TX the summer of 2001, about 8 months before we moved to Oregon. We were into Diabetes Awareness and went to help lobby the house for some bill they were working on. It was a fun trip!

The next one I have of all of us was from the summer of 2005 when we went to camp at Beverly Beach just north of Newport for 9 days! What a camping trip! The Davis' came to camp with us for a few days that year too. What a great trip it was!!



This was our first official photo shoot at Hendricks Park with a friend of mine from work. This was the summer of 2006. This was really fun. We felt like models! LOL

The summer of 2007 we went camping at Sunset Bay near Coos Bay. The Davis' met us there again. It's so much fun to camp out with them. This time we only spent a week there and every night we read outloud from the 7th Harry Potter book. The rangers had to come talk to us about how loud we got after 10pm the night we finished the book. LOL

Summer of 2008! How they have grown. In this picture, Kristina is graduated from high school and about to leave for college. Look at how Nicholas sprouted upwards, just like those pine trees behind them. Amazing how children grow!

So 7 years of Oregon! We love Oregon so much!

The Power of Laughter

I love my family!! It is so much fun when we get away from the TV and just play together. We do love movies and watching good things together. We went to see Grease at Regal Cinema together the other night and next week we're going to see Singing In The Rain. I can't wait for that. But when we sit down at the table to eat together or play a game, it is so much fun. Almost always, we get louder and louder until Kristina is begging us to keep it down cause her ears are ringing! Yet when it's time to hum "here comes the bride" because someone just landed on the marriage square in The Game of Life, she's sings as loudly as anyone. And when everyone but Heather loses on the spin to win, well her disappointment is as loud as anyone's! LOL And when I batted my eyes at her and asked her if she wanted to have another baby, she laughed so hard I thought she'd fall out of her chair. (She and I were partners in the game since there were 7 of us and only 6 cars! LOL)

I just wonder what Jaelyn must think of us. She's so quiet most of the time but it's fun to get her laughing. I think she and Heather were even arguing over the game a bit too! Oh how fun it is to have so many people in the house for Thanksgiving. And we're only up by 2. But the house seems full and the laughter just rings out! We've had such a wonderful week! I hope Jaelyn will get to come see us again. In the mean time, we're looking forward to Kristina coming home for good (well... for 3 months anyway) in just 2 weeks. Pray she does well on her finals. They could be the only things that save her from a failing grade in a couple of classes. But, we'll just take whatever she gets and laugh all about it later.

Laughter cures nearly everything and brings new friends into our family group. What a wonderful Thanksgiving it has been. The next big fun thing for us will be the Hot Chocolate Party. Yes 30 to 40 kids packed into my tiny house! Yikes! The noise and laughter makes it all worthwhile. You'd be surprised how much the kids at North look forward to this now annual party! Even those who have already graduated. And of course, there is secret santa coming up too! That provides LOTS of laughter and giggles every year. I love this time of year!

The Fog

Wow, did you guys see the fog last night? Just incredible! I drove all the way to Portland and back last night in that fog. The only time it cleared up was in Salem and JUST when you got into Portland. It was so disorienting! I don't know if fog has ever done that to me so much. You can hardly see 10 feet in front of you and everyone is going 70 miles an hour!! The only time I felt somewhat comfortable was when a BIG truck was in front of me and I could just follow it. But somehow the monotony of following truck lights and being unable to see anything else was really putting me to sleep! Not a good situation! So I'd zip around them and then REALLY have to pay attention cause I couldn't see anything. Then I'd be coming up on some car's red lights and I found I could not judge the distance between it and me. It was so weird. A couple of times it kind of made me feel like I didn't know where I was.. sort of a floaty kind of feeling. Very strange. The way home was much better though cause I had a bunch of giggling girls in my car who kept me entertained and awake all the way home. The things they giggle about is incredible. But the singing was wonderful! And as we sang, I marveled that I was going 70 miles an hour into this fog that I could hardly see 10 feet in front of me and there were no lights ahead to lead the way. Well... I suppose I did slow down to 60! But still! Somehow I felt safe and we made it home by 10pm with the most wonderful treasures in the back seat! LOL

Genealogy Junky!

Ok ok! I guess I have to keep up with this blog. Well at least it'll give me something to do in the evening when I get online and find I have no new emails from my friends and then wonder what else I feel like doing on DIAL UP! Ooops! Yea... it's dial up at home. which makes doing genealogy at home SUPER slow! so what else is there to do? Check my facebook... but yea, facebook would have emailed me if anyone had written to me there. Check myspace - yea but I can brush my teeth and take out my contacts in the time it takes just to pull up the first page. Then log in and go put on PJ's and txt Kristina for awhile till it comes up. I mean, it's not even worth getting online. So why do I keep it? Well.... it sure makes for some nice internet protection for the kids. LOL NOTHING has time to download! LOL

Oh dear! Ok, so my big hang up right now is genealogy! I'm on ancestry.com. Yea, surely if I can afford to pay for that I can get wireless internet, right? Sheesh! I'm a genealogy junky! In the last 2 months I've uploaded over 1000 names into my family tree! And then all the hints and records ancestry tries to hook each name up to. It's just unreal how much stuff they have. For every name, I have attached every census record and every other person who's researching the same name... for over 1000 names! Now tell me I don't have something seriously going wrong here! LOL I'm a junky! I admit it!

I'm actually hoping to turn my habit into something wonderful though. In January when it's time for Ryan's first trip to the temple, I hope to have 50 or more names to take with us. then each of the kids can take 10 names each and do their baptisms! We'll all do it together, in the temple! I'm so excited for that. I didn't get to help do any of the work for the first batch of names I sent to the temple in Dallas years ago. It was a bad time for me. So I just submitted all the names to whoever could do them in Dallas thinking I'd never get to go back to the temple again. Now that I can and I have worthy children too... well I'm digging for names who haven't had their work done for them yet! Hence... the genealogy junky! I'm hoping for a very spiritual FAMILY time at the temple. Something that will connect all of us with all of them in the spirit world! It will be a good day.

I had no idea!

I knew once a looong time ago that I signed up for a blog. I tried it out for awhile and then gave it up. But now EVERYONE seems to have a blog! So when I went to sign up for one too (finally!) it turned out someone already had my name - MelissaPOM!! The nerve!! So I put the name into the address they said I needed to sign up for and wah lah! My very own blog! LOL It just appeared! I couldn't believe it! So now I have it back and it's all there! Kinda weird but ok! I think I"ll get the hang of this.

So POM.... have you been wondering why I"m MelissaPOM? Well my name is Melissa. Hi. How are ya? Well when I got online in 1996 for the first time, I barely even knew what a window was, let along how to surf the internet! Well the kids' teacher told me her husband was a nurse and he was always going to this nurses chatroom and chatting. She said it was really fun. I figured I'd check it out since, up to then, being online was pretty boring. It was just some huge encyclopedia, right? Well I went to the chat room and found her husband - Jetski! He was talking to someone named Grey Ghost! Wow! I guess in a chat room you have to have a "handle" or it's probably against the law to chat! LOL So it was like 10pm and I was like 5 months pregnant with my 5th baby and I was VERY tired! What other handle would be more appropriate than "Pooped Out Mom"! So that's what I used and everyone knew me as that. It's a memorable name, don't you think? They shortened it to POM of course and that stuck all through my online career!

Now, that I'm not so online oriented anymore, I've combined the names... MelissaPOM. Tah dah! there, now you know a little something about me! LOL So write back or something so I know this actually works, ok?

Growing up

Well I have a thought I'd like to share with you. When I was younger, even right up into my 30's, people would tell me I was niave. I would just be myself, happy, outgoing, even silly and people would say what a sweet niave person I was. One man even told me that he meant niave in the nicest sort of way and that's what he loved about me. I've always had a hard time understanding why someone would think I was niave. Was it just because I liked to have fun? Political conversations just didn't interest me. I hated being called niave, no matter how nicely it was meant. I felt like I must be stupid or behind where everyone else was in their mentality.

Now that I'm 40 though, people don't call me that anymore. It's funny. What has changed? I'm still outgoing and happy and even silly sometimes. I get along with everyone. I even had a job interview a few weeks ago that I thoroughly enjoyed. I just relaxed and talked about my current job and my ideas and it was fun. I nearly got the job on personality. I wasn't qualified at all. So now, my coworker who sits next to me always says that I'm "gregarious"! Uuuggghh! I thought at first that that description of me MUST be better than Niave. But you know... when gregarious is said in the same tone niave was always said, it feels just the same.

Well, I guess that's what growing up is. When one is niave when they are young, they are gregarious at middle age. I wonder what I'll be when I'm old. Doddering old fool, probably! LOL

Hello, Let me introduce myself

Hi. I'm Melissa. How are you? I live in Oregon. I used to live in Texas. I was trying out this blog thing one day and fell into this webpage. How do I get out? Do I WANT to get out? Well I will have to see how it looks on the page before I decide that.

Love,

Melissa