The Adventures of Atticus Finch

Meet Atticus. I found him on the ground by the bird feeder when I was watering. In fact, I accidentally watered him! He's missing a number of wing feathers and all of his tail feathers, and I
imagine he had a run in with one of the cats--not

Stripes, of course; I think he'd be afraid of Atticus.

When I reached over and picked him up, he just stayed on my hand and trembled a bit. He can hop from my hand to the bird feeder, but he seems rather weak and shakey--traumatized would probably be the word for it.

I called my friend who knows about birds, and she said he'd grow new feathers as long as he was kept safe. So I fixed him a home in a plastic carton with a loose lid, and I think I'll take him to school-- out of Stripes' way just in case he starts feeling like tiger-ish.

Debbie also said if I keep him awhile, he'll become very tame. So I'll see what happens.

He spent a little while pecking at the plastic box, trying to figure out why he could see through it but not get out there.

Now he seems to have found his pjs and is heading off to sleep.

...To be continued.

Mexican Wedding...with none of those cookies

This weekend Eter's brother, Israel, and his fiancee, Marisol (cute name, huh?) got married. It was a two-day affair, because the Mexican government doesn't recognize religious ceremonies as legal marriages. So, they have to get married civilly first, and then in their church.
Friday, I went down to Tijuana and they got married legally. And the judge came right to the restaurant--so convenient! Here are some pics of that day with Eter's mom, brothers and the girlfriends.




Hmm, does anyone stand out in this picture? I feel huge around them. And I think I'm slouching pretty good, too.



Then Saturday was the sealing in San Diego, which I went to but didn't get any pictures outside because it all happened during my regular temple shift. Which was actually cool because I got to be the one taking her around and helping her get dressed and sending them out the door to everyone.

After that, Eter waited for me to be done and we drove down to Mexico again for a reception put on by her family. Her sisters made her dress, which was really pretty.



Anyway, I thought it would be fun for you to see his family. And to document at least one of my trips traipsing off to far-a-way Mexico.

3 White Dresses

No, not your 3 white dresses- the ones I have had in Emma's closet for about 7 years now. They were once Tatum's size 4, Emma's and Jane's- size 2. For Kristy's wedding. I'm just letting any possibly interested peoples know that they are there. And that they could potentially be worn by Holly- size 4 , and Sadie and Campbell- size 2. Either way, I'm kinda excited to get their puffiness out of the closet sooner than later.Haven't seen the wreaths though. Cute picture of grandma :)

Tomorrow we're going camping with the Froerer's and some people in her ward. We're probably going to get poured on. Hopefully not enough to wash the fun away. Wish us luck!

The Ball is Officially Rolling

Today, after a summer of long and hard trudging through bureaucratic hoops, and with the help of many many kind people, I finally submitted the k-1 visa paperwork. I mailed off 70 pages of documentation that Eter and I have an honest-to-goodness relationship.

Here's us a few weeks ago, starting to really put things together.




I took some footage of this monumental day. Unfortunately, it's a one-woman show (and not a very entertaining show, starring a girl who doesn't ever like being filmed) since Eter has this annoying thing called a job in Mexico. And even though I look perplexed in this first shot, I'm very happy actually! (Just getting old, eew.)



So, don't go making a paper chain or anything. We've got at least a 5 month wait until the paperwork even moves to the next location. Ah, the waiting game! How can it be so hard to do nothing? Thanks to all for your support and love!

New Cookbook

I bought an awesome cookbook from the amazing food expert in Amy's ward. I am loving this cookbook. Everything I have tried has been delicious and my kids have loved everything too! Plus it's healthy food. So why am I bragging about my new cookbook? Well, I actually bought 2 and I will be giving my extra to the sibling that gets engaged first! That's right, this could be yours. If that's not a reason to rush into marriage I don't know what is! hahhaha.

P.S. This will be in lieu of the previously promised $100. This is better than that- trust me. (And more affordable for me:)

Pres McKay greets Bp. Cottam

This is a picture of Pres. McKay at the dedication of the San Fernando Stake Center.The man he's greeting is Bp. Joseph M. Cottam, who became the patriarch who gave all of my family our patriarchal blessings.

Good Times with Grandma

Of course we have all been thinking about Grandma a lot lately. I've been remembering some of the things that made our Grandma so uniquely wonderful.
Here are just a few of my Grandma gems:

I loved getting ready for church up at Big Bear--especially looking at Grandma's jewelry and the bottles and things on her vanity. When I was about 12 I was in Grandma's room, just looking at myself in the mirror, once I was all dressed. Grandma came in and I felt a little embarrassed. She said to me: 'That's alright. A girl needs to admire herself in the mirror once in a while.' That made me feel much better, and I think she was absolutely right.

Another time at the cabin, Grandma was working on her book and Mom was looking over some of it on the computer. We came to a sentence with a structural problem and mom was trying to get her to change it to which she replied: 'Once a person knows the rules well enough, they are allowed to break them.'

In a rare alone time moment with Grandma the two of us went out on the lake in her old rowboat. Once we got out a little ways we couldn't help but notice there were hundreds, or thousands, of lake carp surrounding us and flopping around enough to make the whole lake surface jump. We were both fascinated, and then shocked when we both realized at the same moment that all the fish seemed to be flopping around in pairs. Grandma's giggling put my 11 year-old embarrassment at ease and we both giggled our way back to shore.

One summer while I was visiting, along with the Large kids, we all set out to climb Castle Rock. We got to a difficult point where I didn't think I could lift myself up and over. I started to cry and said I would just stop right there. Grandma took a long look at me and said, 'Miranda Beth, I am 67 year's old. If I can do this you certainly can.' And I did and the view from the top was wonderful.

Thank you Grandma for always encouraging and teaching me.

What do you remember?