Happy Birthday to Our Missionary!

Elder Gale: Front Row Far Right

Our Elder Gale is coming down the home stretch! We received the travel itinerary for his trip from the mission field to home. It will be a long, arduous journey from Sacramento to San Diego but after two years of sacrifice--what's a few more hours? He actually has a layover and plane change in Los Angeles--just to break it up a little.

In the meantime, our missionary is celebrating his birthday today! It is also his p-day so we got an email. He is celebrating his 21st birthday a little differently than the typical 21 year old guy. As he said,

 "The work is the most important thing so that is what I will be doing." 

Service Exceeding My Expectations

Yesterday I had my presidency here for our weekly meeting. We had gathered in the living room and were just getting ready for the thought and prayer when my doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone else so I was surprised to see an appliance repairman at my door.

Just the day before our microwave had stopped microwaving. I had asked Andy if he wanted to take a look at it--he's a pretty handy guy when it comes to home maintenance and repairs--but he didn't have time and told me to just call a repairman. I hadn't had a chance to call anyone yet, so when I saw the repairman on my doorstep I thought Andy must have called.

The appliance repair company: House Calls, was  one we had used before--very nice family owned company and they do great work. He was even nice enough to show me how to fix our dishwasher instead of charging me a hefty fee to do something simple. So, I led him to the microwave and he set to work. The Relief Society ladies and I adjourned to the theater room so we could have our meeting without including the repairman in our business.

I told my presidency I had no idea a repairman was coming that morning and I was surprised Andy hadn't called to let me know he had made the arrangements. At one point the repairman asked for our help to get the microwave out of its abnormally high niche (our house was built by a building contractor for his own family--he happens to be very tall and loves to cook). Then he came in again to explain the problem and give me the estimate. I explained to him when he first came in that we were overseeing our church's charitable organization. So when he told me there were two possible problems: one very expensive with a part that was probably not possible to get, and one fairly cheap and he had the part in his truck--he told me, "When you go back to your meeting, say a prayer that it's the cheaper part!"

Soon after that I heard him on the phone and he came to ask me:

        "What is your address here?"  I told him our address.
 Then he said:

         "Well, it turns out that it was your neighbor who called--she has a broken dryer. She called the office

         asking where I was. They called  and asked me why I wasn't at (my neighbors) and I said 'I'm                                    standing in her kitchen right now!' and they said,
 'NO you're not!'"

For some reason the office had put my neighbor's name on the work order but my address.

We all had a good laugh and he finished up.
 (It was the cheaper part!)

 As he was leaving he said:

"Well, if you need any other repairs, don't bother calling.
 I'll just show up!"

Life Lately

We celebrated Shayla's Seventeenth

Sam enjoyed the Super Activity on Catalina Island

Always some silly cat/dog entertainment

Lots of Beach Time--

This is Torrey Pines

Our Favorite:

If you leave at 6:30 am you pretty much get the beach to yourself!

Sam's Buddy Since Babyhood: Ollie, came for a visit:

They had fun at the beach. I have video of them surfing 

but I haven't been able to get it to post here. 

(Note to Shayla: HELP!)

We went to Sea World--and saw a

KANGAROO.

What do kangaroos have to do with the Sea?

I really don't know.

Shane and I went to the dolphin show at Sea World.

This is what I saw:

The lovely, LARGE hat of the woman

in front of me:

Later, I talked all three boys into going to the 

Rock 'n Roll Shamu Show:

No hats blocked my view this time:

We said good-bye to Ollie:

Had some pretty intense chess battles:

Shane earned FIVE yes FIVE merit badges

Plus his Star Scout advancement:

We went to the beach again:

Shayla went with us as well as Sam's other friend, Dakota.

Actually Dakota was with us the last time we went but

he's not in the pictures because he got jabbed in the

heel by a stingray and was getting first aid for it at the

ranger station. 

Shane, Sam, Dakota, Shayla

For my guy.

That Funny Thing I Said That One Time

My name is JoAnna and I am an Otter Popaholic. I have to confess that it has been years since I had a popsicle. Not a fan. In fact, I used to make homemade popsicles for my kids and I made them out of plain old water. In reality, they were just icicles on a stick. You moms with young children, feel free to use this great idea.  Kids love them, they cool them off without the sugar buzz and the bonus: NOT MESSY.  It only works until they are old enough to realize that their friends are getting something more colorful. And flavorful. 

So, the last time I had an Otter Pop craving phase was when I was pregnant (no, this is not an announcement) with Spencer. He was due in mid August. We had no air conditioning and every day the weatherman informed us that it would be another record breaking high. The temperature just kept climbing and my poor pregnant self was miserable. By then my kids were on to my ice "popsicles" and I had started buying Otter Pops for them. They were cheap but you pay the price in sticky scissors and little plastic Otter Pop sleeves scattered around the house and yard. I also let them beat the heat with a little kiddy pool out on the patio. One day, as I was handing out Otter Pops and watching them frolic in the wading pool, I had an epiphany: if these things helped the youngsters stay cool--why not the pregnant mama? So I had myself an Otter Pop. And then another. And another. Then I decided to join the children in the wading pool. They didn't really appreciate the beached whale in the middle of their fun but it was a matter of survival. 

Here in southern California it's warm year-round but it gets especially warm where we are and it has been a pretty hot summer. The youngsters noticed that I was eating Otter Pops and expressed surprise. It had been 21 years since I had had one, so not in their lifetime.  They were especially surprised to see me piling three Costco-sized boxes of them into the pantry. The label on the box says that they are frozen "juice" so I have convinced myself that they are a healthy snack. I don't want to know what's really in them. I think the craving is my body's way of keeping me hydrated in this dry desert climate so I'm thinking it is a matter of survival. 

Well, this whole Otter Pop craze reminded Shayla of a little incident a few years back. I was serving in the stake Young Women's presidency up in Washington. It was our turn to supervise the stake youth dance and it was my ward's turn to supply the refreshments. My good friend Robyn was the ward YW president and she had brought a truckload of Otter Pops to cool off the youth and provide a sweet treat. The only glitch was getting them all to freeze. The first couple of rounds were consumed and we were piling them into the freezer as fast as they ate them. Soon we had a mob waiting outside of the church kitchen hoping for an Otter Pop. I was helping Robyn and so I checked on the ones we had laid out in single layers hoping they would freeze faster. 

 "How are they doing?" Robyn asked me.

"Many are COLD but few are FROZEN,"

 I replied, getting a giggle and then a hearty laugh out of my friend.

(You have to be familiar with the scripture  Matthew 20:16: "Many are called, but few are chosen." to really appreciate my attempt at humor.)

 Mmmm the Otter Pops are calling me. Sir Isaac Lime or Louie-Bloo Raspberry?
Shayla claims there is no such fruit as a "Bloo Raspberry" but I choose to believe otherwise.

Seventeen

Our little Shayla is growing up. Yesterday she turned seventeen. 

Wow! How did that happen?!

I know I implied in my last post that teenagers are a challenge,

but I have to say Shayla is an exception to all the cliches.

She has pretty much stuck to the straight and narrow

and I can sleep at night because she has all her

teenage fun during daylight hours and likes

to get to bed at a reasonable time.

And her idea of teenage fun is fixing computers and

creating interesting electrical gizmos as well

as drawing and painting. 

She is happy to help anyone who needs it with 

any technology conundrum. And she does so

without any condescending remarks. At least out loud.

She took a few classes at the high school this past year and

one of the things that surprised her was how so many girls

hate their moms and complain often and loudly about them.

She said to me "I told them I like my Mom, and they seem so surprised."

She has a good heart and a compassionate spirit.

Another year and she will be off to college and  before we know it 

she will be getting on with life. 

But she promised me she would be my on-call Geek Squad

so I will have plenty of excuses to call her.

Happy Birthday Shay!

The End of an Era

Today is Shane's birthday. As I mentioned previously, he is at Scout Camp--and he is not too happy about that.  But somehow he will survive and we will celebrate when he gets home.

 Shane turns 13. So this marks a milestone for our family as the last of the eight young 'uns becomes a teenager. No more "little kids" in the Gale Family. Luckily, we have grandchildren coming along to fill the void but it is still a big change for us.

A few days before Shane was born, we celebrated the Fourth of July with the neighbors in our cul de sac (that was back when we lived in the house behind the church--as it is affectionately known). I waddled out to see the fireworks and did my best to keep a very excited Sam and Shayla from bodily harm with so many rambunctious youngsters flailing around sparklers and the like. Shane was due on the 14th which happens to be Shayla's birthday and I remember hoping he would come sooner. Partly because I was a bit weary of pregnancy after spending a total of 6 years in that condition--and also so that they wouldn't have to share a birthday. Shayla was already indignant that she was getting another brother, I didn't want to compound her resentment by having her little brother usurp her birthday.

Luckily, he was very accommodating and I started into labor 2 days later. I  had early stage contractions off and on during the day. Nothing tough but steady and constant.  I hadn't packed a bag yet so I thought I should get that done. I also kept busy all day doing laundry and cleaning house. We had family scripture and prayer and tucked the little ones into bed. Later, the older kids were gathered in our room wondering if I was really in labor. I told them I was sure it was the real deal but the contractions weren't really as strong as I thought they should be. I didn't want to go in too soon because I wanted to walk through labor and not be tied to a monitor too early. We watched the news and Jay Leno. By 12:30 the contractions were five minutes apart and felt stronger. Andy got ready to go and I threw in one more load of laundry. When we got to the hospital, I was dilated to six--I was glad to know it was for real. We walked around for 30 minutes and the contractions got harder and closer. Andy had a sore knee (this according to my journal--I don't remember the injury--it was a few years later that the whole thing gave out so maybe this was some foreshadowing) and he didn't want to walk anymore. So we went back to the room and he dozed off on the couch while I paced back and forth another half hour or so. At 2:30 am I knew transition was beginning so I woke up the hubs and sat on the bed.

Shane was posterior presentation so the last bit of labor was very painful. It didn't feel like the contractions were making progress--just putting a lot of pressure on my back. It was hard to relax between contractions because my back hurt so bad. It brought back memories of my first labor--Scott was the only other posterior baby. I remember telling the doctor to just cut a hole in my back and get the baby out that way. That got some laughs but I wasn't really kidding.  My water broke right before the last few pushes and there was meconium in the water. The doctor wanted me to back off after his head was delivered to allow for some suctioning but I really couldn't finesse the pushing and he came out all at once. He was born at 3:08 am.  She suctioned him quickly and he was fine. He cried once and quickly calmed down.  Andy cut the cord and  the Dr. laid Shane on my chest. He had so much hair it flowed around his head and it was light like Scott's. He looked small to me and I thought his head looked smaller than Sam's so I was surprised when they told me he was 8 lbs. 11 oz.--exactly the same weight as Sam. He was 20" long.

The doctor and nurses told me his face was bruised because of the posterior birth. I looked over him carefully and I just couldn't see it. To me he was precious and perfect. I kept him in the room with me after he was born and after the crowd dispersed, I nursed him and enjoyed some bonding time with him. He looked up at me and smiled and gave a little giggle. That gave me a glimpse of his adorable dimples. A few weeks later when his hospital pictures came in the mail (kids--that was in the days before digital cameras--we actually had to wait for pictures to get developed. Archaic I know!) I was surprised to see that his face was bruised pretty badly--he looked like a little prizefighter! I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before; and the bruises must have healed quickly because there aren't any in pictures a few days later.

Andy came to pick us up around noon and we bundled up our little bundle of joy and took him home to meet his siblings. He was welcomed enthusiastically and rambunctiously by his seven brothers and sisters and he settled in quickly to our lively household. He was born on a Tuesday and on Thursday there was a Mother/Daughter Relief Society activity. Siara and Shanna had been looking forward to it for weeks because it involved making jewelry. I recovered a little faster with each child (amazing how much better you feel when you don't have to deal with stitches!) so I pulled it together and took Shane and the girls to the church for the evening. A few people gave me a hard time for being out so soon and I said "Hey, I was at church last Sunday and I felt A LOT more miserable than I do now!"  Siara and Shanna had a good time making cute bracelets and necklaces with their friends and I enjoyed visiting with friends.

Andy was the Bishop of our ward (he had been sustained as Bishop two years prior-- the day Sam was blessed--that was quite a day!) and President of a rapidly growing company. He had to travel a great deal and we were at full capacity with the various ages and stages of our family. Shane came into the middle of all that and carved out his own special niche in the family. He loved trying to keep up with the brothers and sister just ahead of him and he basked in the attention he got from the older kids and their friends.

On July 8, 1998 I wrote in my journal:
"Pregnancy and childbirth are painful, difficult and a true test of endurance. The baby that is the result of the pain and sacrifice make it worth it. That awful pain always turns to exquisite joy when that baby is laid up on my chest--and that is how I have felt with every one of my babies."

That could also be a good description of raising teenagers: It is painful, difficult and a true test of endurance. But the adult that is a result of the pain and sacrifice make it worth it. 


So Shane, here we go.

Lonesome Dog

I couldn't find Gunner today. 

I called and called for him but I 

didn't hear the familiar jingle of his collar and tags--
usually he comes a runnin' as soon as I call him.

A few steps down the hall brought me to 

Shane's room.

And a forlorn-looking dog wondering what happened to his boy.