My Friendly Ghosts

So, I got a few comments on my Gettysburg blog regarding the circles that showed up on some of the pictures I took when David and I went on the Ghost Tour. Several people referred to these as "orbs" though I had no idea what they were talking about. Apparently these circles or "orbs" are talked about on the popular TV show "Ghosthunters" which I have never seen, therefore my ignorance. According to these guys who frequent haunted spots, an orb is supposedly how the camera picks up ghosts. Cool, right? Except for the fact that, since that time, in several of the pictures that I've taken here at home, those same spheres of light have shown up. The following pictures show what I'm talking about.



I guess while I was on the Ghost Tour in Gettysburg, some ghosts, maybe Civil War soldiers from Baltimore?, decided to hitch a ride home with us. They hang out in the Family Room since that is the only place they show up on my pictures. The good thing is that they are friendly ghosts...we haven't been experiencing anything weird like hair-pulling or objects moving. I can now officially say that I live in a haunted house!

Birthday #35!

This was not a birthday I was looking forward to. I don't know why I was so grumpy about turning 35 but I just was. I really didn't want anyone bringing it up but of course my family and friends didn't let me forget it was my birthday. I received phone calls and gifts from family and friends that really touched my heart and made my 35th birthday one of my best ever. One of the best gifts I received the day of my birthday was a phone call from my brother Bryan who is in Mexico attending Graduate School. It was such a pleasant surprise and I enjoyed so much hearing his voice. The night of my birthday I attended my monthly scrapbook class, which is always so much fun, so the kids, David, and I actually celebrated my birthday the day after. David always takes such great care of me and this year was no exception. I got a great new purse, a new shirt, some Gone With the Wind checks, and a new dress for one of my Gone With the Wind dolls. After the kids were in bed David and I had banana splits because I don't really like cake. Thanks to all who made my 35th a special one.

Courtesy of Australia

In light of the upcoming election, I thought I'd get a little political. I must admit that I'm not exactly thrilled about either candidate...I don't feel like we are being given much of a choice. But I can say that I'm definitely not for a candidate that keeps chanting "Change, change". True, we are not a perfect nation and there are things that need some work but "change"? When I think of the word change, I envision "different". Some tweaks and small changes, yes but are we really so bad that we need change as our motto...as our creed? When I hear the words, "We need to change everything about our economy", I get a little worried. What exactly does that mean? What kind of changes are we talking about? All I hear is change but nothing about what exactly we are going to change to. The vagueness of the word "change" really scares me. You have to remember, I got my degree in history and I've studied too much of it to know that when leaders start chanting change, it's usually not a good thing. Maybe we could go with the word "Improve".
I'm also a patriot and although I know that we are not a perfect nation, boy, do we do a lot right. We are always there, helping those in need throughout the world. Have mistakes been made? Yes, but the ideal that we try to uphold is right and true. I love the United States of America and I lean towards a candidate who I feel loves this country too, who has served this country, who was willing to give his life for this country.
I've included these political cartoons that come from Australia. The Aussies can see it...why can't more Americans?






This one is my favorite!

Another Tooth Gone

Savannah has finally lost another tooth - her third - and she pulled this one out by herself.

The tooth fairy of course paid a visit and Savannah really made out well. (I think the tooth fairy didn't have anything smaller than a $5...isn't Savannah lucky.)

No Pictures of Mommy

I have had several comments and requests by phone to post a picture of me in my pirate gear at Xander's birthday party. One of the reasons that I rarely post pictures of myself is because I am usually the one behind the camera taking all the pictures. Rarely does David pick up the camera to take a picture of me and when he is instructed to do so, like at Xander's party when I was busy with the games, the pictures turn out, as I put it, "sub-par". With that said, here is one of the few pictures where I can somewhat be seen decked out as a pirate.

Wonderful Weekend!

Return to Virtue. Prayer. Adversity. Living for today. Service. These were just a few of the many wonderful topics and instruction given to us this past weekend by the prophet, apostles, and church leaders. General Conference is a time that David and I eagerly look forward to and we always end the weekend feeling uplifted and spiritually fed. After talking to my sister Heidi about the talks, we both agreed that one of the major themes of this conference was that if we are living as we should, we have no reason to fear. We live in uncertain times, with so many things that are very scary: economic depression, terrorist attacks, attacks on the family, etc. It's so easy to get nervous and frightened of what tomorrow may hold. But after listening to the comforting words of conference I know that if David and I continue to try to live righteous lives and strive to live as Christ would have us live, then all will be well.

Aaaarrrggghhhh!

Friday night we had a pirate party for Xander's 4th birthday. Four of his little friends came over for an hour and half of goodies and games. The boys looked so cute in their pirate gear and even I pulled out a pirate outfit of my own...one has to get into the spirit of things.

I couldn't find Noah's pirate clothes so he went civilian but it didn't keep him from acting like a little pirate and attacking the parrot.

We sent the kids on a treasure hunt to find some golden treats...

and we played musical ships(musical chairs). The penalty for losing was walking the plank...the boys really enjoyed that.

All day Xander had talked about how "tonight is going to be so cool" and "I am so excited about tonight". I don't think he was disappointed in how the party turned out. The boys were all really well-behaved and the party was a lot of fun.


The cutest pirates ever!