Well, the political activist in me woke up from a twelve year nap and finally did something! On Saturday, October 17, I participated in a rally called "Operation Can You Hear Us Now?" I went downtown Houston to the Houston Chronicle to demonstrate my frustration of the biased media.
The Operation Can You Hear Us Now? was a national rally responding to the silence of the major networks on 9/12 at the Washington DC rally. I heard 1.7 million people peacefully demonstrated in DC and only Fox News covered it. So, on October 17th, Americans in cities across the country went to their local newspaper, and/or TV station and sent the message "Can You Hear Us Now?"
It was a beautiful day and there were about 80 people who came to the Chronicle, and including the TV stations, 300 came out to be heard and seen around Houston. I don't know how many across America, but I think thousands showed up. There is a cool link that shows 18 videos people took and put on youtube. The first one shows a group in North Carolina smashing a TV that says MSM (Main Stream Media) with a baseball bat. But if you flip through, you will see and feel the energy from patriots across this country, and it gives me hope that I'm not alone in my love of country and freedom! Here's the link: http://www.breitbart.tv/can-you-hear-us-now-top-18-videos-from-nationwide-media-protests/#
Some more shots from my little corner of America. And here is a very short video clip I got. It was fun. Someone had brought a boombox and played patriotic songs like I'm Proud to be an American and songs like that. In my video, Neil Diamond's "Coming to America" is playing.
Today is Emily's 12th birthday. Wow! My children are officially out of Primary. She is just growing up too fast. Emily is a wonderful daughter, full of love, very organized, loves animals, is sensitive to others feelings, generous, beautiful, and talented. I feel so blessed to be her mom!
As I've done this year, I am going to walk down memory lane. And instead of going through each file on my computer to find the best picture of her each year, I decided to just go to her birthday pictures. I've had fun making cakes for her or with her, and she's had some great parties, so I chose to highlight these fun, festive, celebrating pictures!
3 years old
4 years old
5 years old
6 years old
7 years old
8 years old
9 years old
10 years old
11 years old
12 is the first picture. Happy Birthday Emily!!!!!
It has been a different year so far with the boys gone all day and just me and Emily at home. But it isn't as slow as one might expect! I'm doing volunteer stuff for the team each week and each of them has a game every week. So football has taken over our lives this fall, but it's been fun. (For Damon and I, not so much for Emily, but she's tried to be a good sport.) It has been very hot at the games, but the cool weather has finally arrived! (I think.)
Taylor and Spencer are both wide receivers (x receivers they say, which is more specific to the side they play on.) They usually get to be out on the field for 4 plays each game. Except for one game, they have not been thrown to. Of course, the game Spencer was thrown to was the only game I didn't go to. (it was an away game an hour away) But he caught it for a first down and was pretty excited about it.
Spencer has been working out with the varsity team, but the day before the first game, the head coach told him that because he is technically a freshman (credit wise) he can't play on varsity for six weeks. It's a law or something. So he has been playing in the JV games. He has gone to all the varsity games, and been down on the field, just not gotten to get in the uniform or play. So two weeks ago, he got to dress out for the first time. The game was too close for him to get any plays, but he didn't care. Last week was the Homecoming game. They smashed the other team and so Spencer got three plays!
Football has been a great experience for both boys. Physically it's pushed them, between hard workouts and long days at seminary, school and long practices after school. Mentally it has been challenging to learn the myriad of plays and all the complicated details and rules of the sport. Socially they have enjoyed the associations they have made; and spiritually,... well, each of them has given a Book of Mormon away, and they are seeing how language is a good indicator of intelligence, as it says in the For the Strength of Youth! :) They both say that their teams know they are LDS and are respected.
Taylor is #5! Go Taylor!
This is Spencer at the Homecoming game. He's #11.
"Number 11 on Morton Ranch is a scrub; Number 11 on Cinco Ranch is a STUD!" -Spencer (who is in the maroon jersey and white pants.)
Go #11!
# 11 in his white jersey
This is Rhodes Stadium where they play most of their games. It is Katy School District's stadium. Pretty ligit, huh? This picture is before the game, listening to their school's song. (If you click on the picture, it will enlarge it. The man in the tan coat on the field taking pictures is our neighbor right across the street, Mr. Mosley. He takes awesome pictures at these games! Check out these pictures of my boys on his website Photos By Mose!
The Homecoming game was on a local TV channel, so Damon went home at half time to record it, and couldn't. So he just videoed the TV as it was going. This is one of Spencer's plays in the game. He is in the top right of the screen, and then he blocks and goes out of view, then comes back in after the play. You just see his jersey and number 11. He does a little skippy thing.
Yesterday was SrD's birthday and I just have to post! He is a most wonderful companion and friend for me. I feel so lucky and blessed! Oh I feel a burst of literariness coming on!
Dynamite Dad
Affectionate, articulate, ambitious and amusing
Monster muscles
Optimistic, orderly, original
Nice, nautical, noble
The list could go on and on. I ended up getting a dictionary out to help my withered brain think of words of certain letters and I'm ecstatic to report I couldn't describe him as absurd, aimless, angry, annoying, obscure, odd, offensive, ogre, oily, orangutan (though when our boys were young, they were little monkeys! Hmm) , ordinary, outlaw, outrageous, nun, or nut! Whew!
My Grandpa Stucki passed away on August 30th, 2009. He was almost 89 years old. He served in World War 2 and really had an interesting life. He was a character and had some idiosyncrasies that made him endearing to me. I will take the liberty of recording a few memories.
I remember...
as a little child feeling so grown up helping him wash and dry the dishes after dinner. There was no dishwasher, so it was a long process and I wanted him to know I could work hard.
getting a lemon drop for helping.
we visited for Christmas one year when I was very young (less than 5). I didn't know how Santa was going to get down the chimney because Grandpa had a coal potbelly stove that had a skinny pipe going up to the ceiling. But I woke up in the night and thought I heard it rattling. I lay shivering with fright and excitement.
his enthusiastic voice. He would get started and then really get excited about whatever he was talking about.
his great laugh. He was always cracking jokes, mostly poking fun of himself and laughing.
picking him up at the Greyhound station. He preferred to travel by bus.
hearing him tell stories of what it was like growing up, of the war, and the Great Depression.
getting a Valentine card from him every year with a $1 bill in it.
getting a birthday letter with a $5 bill in it every year. He wrote it in blue ink usually and Mom would read it to me because his handwriting was challenging to read. But the "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIFFANY" was done in red ink.
he came to Heather's baby blessing and stood in the circle.
he bought a crib for Heather.
calling him on a veterans day one year to thank him for his service to our country, and having a very nice visit with him.
visiting him on a long road trip with the kids. We spent the night at his home and enjoyed KFC for dinner. We went to Shoney's for the yummy breakfast buffet the next morning. Uncle Paul came too and tried to win a stuffed animal from a claw machine. He kept putting in dollars and trying but not succeeding, then letting the boys take a turn and Grandpa grew more and more agitated. It was pretty funny.
sending him a little Christmas package each year these past ten years or so. And sometime around the New Year, along would come a letter of thanks in his wonderful style. And I quote: " You surely did give me a fantastic Christmas with a whole box full of splendid gifts. I feel rather guilty to be showered with such a huge assortment of presents. They will be keeping me thinking of you all through the year. Your box of gifts arrived Christmas Eve- afternoon, if there is such a "title!" Thus, because the Big Day was almost knocking on my door I didn't start shaking the box nor holding it up to the light nor cutting a little corner off to "Flashlight" it's secrets! thank you so very much for making Christmas Day a bright one to remember. It should be added, I guess that I was expecting ole St. Nick to bring me the usual coal for Christmas - an' it's always enough to keep me warm all winter!"
Even though I didn't see him a whole ton in my life, he was always there and I knew he thought about me and loved me and was proud of me. I thought about him too, especially at Christmas because there was always a gift from him under the tree. I love him too and will miss him.
I want to share a couple of videos. One is in 1983 when we stopped in to say hi for a few minutes on a trip we were on. It kind of captures him I think. The next is some of the graveside service I got on video. It was very moving to have the WWII veterans there do the 21 gun salute and give the flag to Mom. It made it more beautiful and grand. Then there is a little at his house after the funeral as we are taking a look at some of his things and getting to know him a little more.
Spencer and Taylor started school (away from home) for the first time in their lives on Monday. Both nervous and excited, they headed out at 5:40 to early morning seminary before the sun came up. I didn't see them till after 5:00 because they are in football and have practice after school.
They were both positive about the overall first day, though Taylor does not like his Spanish teacher or World Geography teacher, and Spencer wasn't too sure about having 2 girls in his metal shop class. (They both have metal shop, which is actually agriculture mechanics I. They are going to drop it to have a study hall because they found out they won't be doing any metal work this semester.)
Emily and I have been having a great first week alone together in a quiet house. It's so different so fast, but I'm enjoying it! She is very studious and we have a great lineup of subjects this year. We are adding a theater class at a local homeschool store that offers classes two days a week to suppliment the home schoolers, and we signed her up for more "official" (non-mom) piano lessons which are right down the street and probably one of the best teachers in Katy!
Yesterday we celebrated Spencer's 17th birthday! (Now it's been about a month. Life has been crazy!) It's truly amazing how time flies. He is a senior and driving and sounds like a man. He's not a little fellow playing with Legos and trading Pokemon anymore.
I am going to walk down memory lane in pictures, but I wish I could go down memory lane in videos! Spencer has added such spice to our home videos starting with, as a 6 month old, slipping in the sink while taking a bath and soaking Damon Jr. as he was innocently passing by. I think we have more laughs and entertainment from Spencer than all the rest of us combined. (I could do the videos, but it would be another 6 months before I got the blog post done!) The pictures start with the year 2000, when Spencer was 8 years old and each picture is one year later.
Well, the political activist in me woke up from a twelve year nap and finally did something! On Saturday, October 17, I participated in a rally called "Operation Can You Hear Us Now?" I went downtown Houston to the Houston Chronicle to demonstrate my frustration of the biased media. 
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