My Prophet, My Friend

I was there when you spoke of the 6 B's. It made me think more deeply, and changed the course of my life. I was there when you announced smaller temples. I was filled with joy in receiving one so close to home. I think of you every time I see it. I was fortunate to be there when you graced us with your presence, and was filled with the spirit. I strive to have your countenance. I enjoyed your sense of humor. My heart is full--you are a big reason why I am where I am. I have wondered what this moment would be like for a long time. All I could think about was how wonderful it was for you to finally be reunited with your beloved wife. President Gordon B. Hinckley, we miss you deeply. I still hope to someday shake your hand and say, "Thank you." Till we meet again.

Photo taken by Boyd Ivey; November, 2000.

Mikala's World

Tammy left Mikala alone in the living room for a few minutes. Joseph left the camera out where Mikala could reach it. This was a bad combination, resulting in a dozen pictures of the living room rug and a very dirty lens. Mikala had a difficult time not getting herself in her pictures. The ones we posted were selected as her finest pieces. Enjoy. (note: the "Kada's Tummy" picture was removed so that Mikala can't get upset with us when she's older for posting less-than-modest pictures of her)

Don't worry about the site logo

If you liked the window sticker theme, don't worry--we did too and it will be back. We just wanted to have a little fun playing with the logo.

(no, joseph wanted to have fun playing with the logo. he seems to have this strange attraction to the google theme [why don't you marry it]. here's the conversation:

"hey tammy, isn't this the coolest logo for our family for the blog?"

"nope. not really. i like the other one better. what's so special about this one? and what's this thing at the bottom with all the o's? are you just trying to make it even on the page?"

"it's the google font. isn't that cool? it's our name with the google font. i changed our stick family robinson to this new logo. and anybody can see that the thing at the bottom is the google thing that tells you which page you're on. everybody knows that."

"ah. well, it's not that obvious because i had to ask about it. can you change it back please?"

"yeah eventually. i was just trying it out anyways.")

Top Ten Reasons Why it's Good to Have All Girls #6

#6: Luscious Locks
Hood-hair is special. Just ask Joseph. It sticks straight out of your head until it reaches a terminal length, at which it falls down with thick, wavy, gorgeous locks. This is great for hood girls. This is not great for hood guys. Just ask Joseph. Except for Joseph's short lived John Lennon phase as a teenager, he has had short hair. Short hood-hair cannot be cut like normal hair. It must be painstakingly sculpted. Just ask Tammy. Sometimes the sculpting doesn't go so well. Just ask Joseph's snickering co-workers.
The girls have it made. They can live their lives with hood-hair to the fullest. Good hair days will be the norm for them, and they won't ever have to have their hair sculpted.
By the way, Caleb and Thomas have figured out the secret to living with hood-hair--Going Bald and buzzing off what's left. Joseph is contemplating this solution.

Blizzard - SC Style

It snowed for about 45 minutes Wednesday night. The snow quickly turned into sleet and then rain. It was fun while it lasted. We debated waking up the kids to see it, but the prospect of grouchy kids all day Thursday deterred us. Oh well. Maybe they'll be able to see snow 5 years from now when it comes again. Snow is a very special event here. These little flurries were enough to delay half the state the next day for 2+ hours, because there was a possibility that maybe somewhere there might be a chance that there could be a bridge with some ice on it, . . .maybe. I don't think there were any iced bridges.

Take 47

Christmas picture of the girls in their Christmas dresses (with their cousin Cadence).

Top Ten Reasons Why It's Good to Have All Girls #7

#7: They're so dern beautiful

Claire's 6 month pictures have arrived. On picture day, Claire had two bruises--one on each side of her forehead. If it were only one bruise, we could turn her head the right way to fix it. Since there were two, we just embraced the contusions. Luckily, we're pretty handy with photoshop, and once the photos were scanned in, we made the bruises (mostly) disappear.

Top Ten Reasons Why It's Good to Have All Girls #8

#8: All the Drama

There's never a dull moment at the Hood Home. The current percent-crying-time estimates for all the girls are: 15% (Sara), 12% (Claire), 4% (Mikala), and 6% (Amy). Combining these percentages, the probability of at least one child crying at any point in time is 37%. This means that about a third of the time, someone is crying or whining or pitching a fit or throwing a wobbly (as the Australians say it). We do not have a lot of crying pictures. This is probably because crying is typically ugly. And, as a rule, while picture taking, one tends to avoid ugly.

These pictures have a story. Although this is cheating, Amy's picture is not a genuine pouty face. She likes to make faces while posing for the camera. This was taken in Newberry behind Grandma Baker's house. Amy, however, is the ugliest of them all when she throws a wobbly. Mikala actually had a good excuse for her wailing. If Mikala's picture had included her hands, you'd see them covered in bandages. She burned her hands on a hot merry-go-round (ouch). Claire and Sara need no excuse to cry. Their default activity is crying. If they are not sleeping, eating, or being held, they tend to break out in a cry-chorus. Cliare does have her moments lately when she has so much fun playing that she forgets to cry--until she see mommy walk by, or just hears her voice.

At the Hood Home, we know drama.

Grade Report Fall 2007

Digressing from the top ten for a while, Joseph would like to post his grade report for this last semester. He would also like to point out that he got these grades while working full time, raising a family, adopting a child, and obeying Tammy's every whim for the past 4 months. Furthermore, he would also like to point out that he is a 4.0 grad student. Booyah.



Tammy would like to point out that if her every whim had been obeyed, than the playroom shelves would be built, the front bathroom toilet would not be ringing, the fan in the car would be working, the backyard would be finished, the dishwasher would not be leaking, and the heat pump would be pumping heat.
Booyah.

Top Ten Reasons Why It's Good to Have All Girls #9

#9: Motherly Instincts

Amy loves to hold Claire and Sara. She has a very gentle way with the babies and is always concerned when they cry. Amy always says: "I wanolder," which, being interpreted, means: "My I please hold her?" She then talks to them in a very high-pitched "mommy" voice to try and keep them happy.

Mikala's motherly instincts are slightly less developed at this point (I think that's an oxymoron: "developed instincts"). More precisely, she has the motherly instincts of the boogie monster. She likes to make Claire laugh, but it often turns into a laugh-cry and soon develops into a cry-cry as Mikala get more excited and louder. Mikala does love her sisters very much, she just likes to express it in her own way.