. . . sixteen digits . . .

. . . it's been a week now 

since we talked to drew . . .

. . . by the way, 

i'm thinking of starting 

a petition in favor of 

monthly phone calls to missionaries . . .

. . . honestly, is that too much to ask? . . .

{yes, yes it is}

. . .here i am being super perturbed 

that we couldn't figure out 

how to call mexico . . .

. . . here's me being super relieved 

when we finally realized 

there's an extra magic digit 

you need to use 

when calling a cell phone . . . 

. . . here's a really proud dad 

talking shop 

{missionary work, that is} 

with his boy . . .

. . . here's meems overly excited 

to talk to her little bro . . .

. . . here's brent 

{still modeling multiple years worth of christmas eve jammies} . . .

. . . here's one happy mama . . .

. . . enjoying a nice long chat 

and loving every second of it . . . 

{although we can't remember a lot of the particulars of this conversation, it's good to know that 

drew is still hilarious & having wonderful experiences}

. . . yes, katee, elisha and pam . . .

. . . there is a link . . .

. . . and may i just say that 

people are nice . . .

. . . they sincerely mean well 

& just want to help . . .

. . . seriously, not ten minutes 

after the story aired . . .

. . . our phone started ringing . . .

. . . ms. w_____ {she's 87} 

was calling to suggest 

light relief therapy . . .

. . . jimmy s______ {he's 79} 

was completely cured 

by a dietary supplement . . .

. . . there've been suggestions of 

some kind of vibemachine.com, 

an energy frequency machine, 

craniosacral therapy 

& reiki {spiritual healing} . . .

. . . we've had no fewer than 

a dozen phone calls, 

emails, 

& one knock-on-the-door visitor . . .

. . . we have taken 

all ideas under advisement . . .

. . . & we have an appointment 

with doctor wolff on friday . . .

. . . set your dvr . . .

. . . channel 10 

{710 for all you hd aficionados} . . .

. . . tonight 

{monday 29 december 2008} . . .

. . . 9 pm . . .

. . . over a month ago, this pretty lady,

  laura sambol from fox 10 news,

came to our house 

to interview my husband . . .

. . . let me back up . . .

. . . during the fall semester, 

amelia was doing an 

{unpaid - i.e. getting up at 3 a.m. for free - unless you count college credits} 

internship at fox 10 news . . .

. . . she played an integral role in 

helping the morning show 

with ron, rick & alexis 

come off without a hitch . . .

. . . meaning:  the girl 

ran a mean teleprompter . . .

. . . anyhow . . .

. . . they occasionally air 

reports about medical mysteries . . .

. . . amelia 

{half in jest} 

said, 

"you should do a story on my dad." . . .

. . . & so they did . . .

. . . you might catch a glimpse of 

{among other things} 

bill's favorite pink blanket

{my bedspread growing up}, 

bill walking on the treadmill

{with stylin' phoenix suns wallpaper in the background}, 

me playing the piano & setting the table 

{seriously}, 

me crying 

{seriously}, 

& super doctor michael wolff 

{really, seriously} . . .

. . . no autographs, please . . .

{stories scheduled to air are, of course, subject to change.  so sue me.}

. . . getting the mail . . .

. . . first of all, 

i have to admit that 

it's been Y.E.A.R.S. since we've 

{& when i say "we've", i mean "i've"} 

sent christmas cards . . .

. . . tsk, tsk . . .

. . . please know, though, 

that cards from friends & loved ones 

are pretty much 

the highlight of my trips to the mailbox . . .

{aka: drew only sends emails}

. . . thanks so much to 

all of you 

who continue 

to send us yours . . . 

. . . & fyi . . .

. . . it was 

one year ago today 

that this . . .

. . . came in the mail . . .

. . . jammies @ grammy's . . .

. . . though we missed 

chris, tate and tagg 

{shoulder surgery, cough, and RSV-like symptoms respectively} . . . 

. . . christmas eve 2008 

was the time for 

addi and halleigh to 

learn what "tradition" means . . . 

. . . this time, aunt amanda 

was doing the teaching/testing . . .

. . . the girls helped me locate 

all fourteen packages marked "24" . . .

. . . meaning: "open christmas eve" . . .

. . . addi was all business . . . 

. . . very organized and methodical 

in her gift opening . . . 

. . . inspecting her loungewear closely, 

as she discovered and loved 

the embroidered gold crowns 

on her hoodie . . .

. . . halleigh, on the other hand . . .

. . . could barely contain her excitement . . .

. . . she's a ripper . . . 

. . . a FAST ripper . . . 

. . . and she was delighted, too . . . 

. . . amelia was secretly hoping 

hers had crowns, as well . . .

. . . amber - always gracious . . .

. . . amanda - super stoked . . .

. . . grandpa and his little buddy - chillin' as usual . . .

. . . elliott really couldn't be bothered . . .

. . . tyler was pumped . . . 

. . . really - he loves "traditions" . . . 

. . . brent was more than happy 

to model this year's *pjs . . . 

. . . directly over last year's . . . 

. . . he has a "tradition" of being a freak . . . 

*it's been several years now 

since i was informed by drew 

{whose red nike shorts shall remain wrapped in his room for 15 1/2-ish more months} 

that it was time.  

no more matching 

candy cane or snowman flannel pj pants 

for the boys.  

the only acceptable gift is 

basketball shorts.  

long.  

with pockets.

. . . he's coming . . .

. . . proof positive that santa's in the 'hood . . .

. . . and coming soon to a home near you . . .

. . . hello . . .

. . . he was in line behind me at sonic . . .

. . . i wonder if he orders extra ice, like me . . .

. . . apparently santa is 

only licensed 

to drive a sleigh . . .

. . . rhyming is hard . . .

. . . if you're my neighbor . . .

. . . you probably found 

one of these 

on your doorstep . . . 

. . . i'll give you a topic . . . 

. . . a] same product . . .

. . . b] two different labels . . .

. . . c] five different cap colors . . . 

. . . discuss . . .

. . . this delicious fizziness 

comes to us via mexico . . . 

. . . this utter nonsense 

comes to you 

via {out of focus} brain cells . . . 

. . . {mine!} . . .

. . . YOU try writing 

meaningful poetry 

when you're waaaaay too tired . . . 

. . . the best part 

of these little treats was 

wrapping them up 

whilst watching 

the first presidency 

christmas devotional . . . 

. . . don't you just 

love that 

german accent? . . . 

. . . merry christmas . . . 

{tips for speediest delivery of multiple treats:

a] wear black

b] go late

c] in the rain}

. . . how it really should be . . .

. . . remember when i sang the praises 

of this christmas toy last year . . .

. . . look at how perfectly i set it up . . .

. . . well, addison & her dad came to dinner tonight . . . 

. . . all of her siblings are sick :( . . .

. . . after she ate EVERY BITE of her dinner . . .

. . . {yee haw} . . . 

. . . of course she headed off to play . . . 

. . . then, when it was time 

to put the nativity set away 

& head home . . . 

. . . she was taking longer 

than we thought she should . . . 

. . . after she was buckled in, 

she & her dad drove off . . . 

. . . & i came in the house to find this . . . 

. . . i think she has the right idea . . . 

. . . {she also passed uncle brent's interrogation about aunts & uncles tonight} . . .

. . . she is one smart cookie . . . 

. . . happy birthday sheena . . .

. . . dang, girl . . . 

. . . fifty looks good on you . . . 

{it would look even better if i could click on and enlarge this vintage photo.  what's up with that, blogger?}

. . . back in the saddle . . .

. . . hello? . . . 

. . . {crickets chirping} . . .

. . . it feels like i fell off 

the face of the blogging earth . . . 

. . . however, if you have to choose a time 

for your hard drive to fail 

{and then as soon as you pick up your newly repaired computer, 

you get to wait until after the weekend 

for the cox cable guy to come to your home 

and fix the internet, 

blah, blah, blah} . . . 

. . . december would be a "good" time . . . 

. . . because i've certainly been able 

to keep myself busy with

this, this and this . . . 

. . . pretty much the same as 2007 . . . 

. . . although, we're so lucky . . .

. . . we get to add 

TWO new stockings this year 

{in the form of cute grandsons} . . . 

. . . and it's official . . . 

. . . there can be 

no more grandbabies 

or a wife for drew 

until we remodel . . . 

. . . we're simply out of room . . . 

{extra credit if you can pick out the two new stockings}

. . . eight/sixteen . . .

. . . picture, if you will, a chubby little baby boy . . .

{perhaps 7 or 8 months of age}

. . . sitting on the front lawn with a soccer ball . . .

. . . showing that we did indeed try early on to

develop talents

that would help him later in life. . .

{when i get my real computer back,

i'll show you the photo,

because this laptop and i are not friends}

. . . three little words . . .

. . . you don't want to hear

from the apple computer genius . . .

. . . "hard drive failed" . . .

. . . three little words . . .

. . . you DO want to hear

from your blogging friend . . .

{that's me :)}

. . . "hooray ~ you won!" . . .

. . . thanks to elder romney

for picking these lucky numbers . . .

. . . thirteen . . .

. . . eight . . .

. . . twenty-two . . .

. . . eleven . . .

. . . sixteen . . .

{congratulations to granny, melis, mel, vicki, and sassy}

. . . email me . . .

. . . nablopomo . . .

. . . november's posts

were brought to you by

nablopomo . . .

. . . i never "officially" registered . . .

. . . but, i actually did it! . . .

. . . and then . . .

. . . my new fancy schmancy computer

crashed and it's at the apple doctor . . .

. . . boo hoo :( . . .

. . . be back soon, hopefully . . .

. . . a mighty change . . .

. . . tagg at 4 days old . . . . . . tagg at 6 months old {almost} . . .
. . . such a transformation . . .
. . . there are no words . . .
{he is the happiest, nicest, drooliest baby imaginable
~ so darling ~
and blue eyes . . . score!}
don't forget to enter to win by the end of today

. . . we will remember you . . .

. . . a fitting memorial . . .. . . for a much loved brother . . .
. . . dad . . .
. . . uncle . . .
. . . american . . .
. . . son . . .