My Sister--Always There For Me

{I don't think I need to reiterate the fact that I completely suck at remembering birthdays, but in case you missed it, I DO, BIG TIME!! Shauna's birthday was on Saturday, and I wanted to blog her a tribute, but forgot about it until today! So, without any further adieu (or lame excuses), here is my birthday blog for Shauna Lynne, eldest of our family, and greatest big (little) sister of all time!!}

My sister Shauna has always been there for me. She was there when I was blessed and welcomed as the fourth member of the Paul and Linda Day family.

She was there for my first Christmas, and made sure that I got to sit on Santa's lap even though I probably cried because I was so scared.



She was there to play dress-up and fashion show. I'm not sure if this was actually dress-up or what we were actually dressed in for Church or something. But regardless, we were adorable then and we're adorable now!!



Shauna was always in charge. She was the queen-bee and we were her loyal subjects. She was always so much fun, had a wild imagination, and always came up with the best games and activities.

My sister was always there for a wagon ride around the Katherine Court.



She has always been full of adventure!! Never one to balk at something too high or too fast or too scary. She loves the thrill!!

She was always there to push me around in my stroller and I would wait for her as she went on her fast rides, clapping for her the whole time.



Shauna has always been there for me, and has been a gift and blessing in my life. From the time I was young, she was there to care for me and help me out. And as I've grown she has always been there for me, offering advice, a good example, and her unending support. She is such an incredible person, she is always moving 90 miles an hour, and I admire her energy and tenacity. She is so loving and nurturing as well. She has helped us all as we've welcomed our babies into our own families, and I appreciate all of her Motherly wisdom. She is a great cook, an avid reader, a determined student, a fast runner, a fun friend, a hip and cool Mom, and an AWESOME SISTER! I am so sorry this is late, but I wish you the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!



Love You Shauna!!

Belated Halloween Pictures

Maryn, her friend Sharpay, and Avery


Simba--can you get over those cheeks?!?


Avery holding Braeden's hand--they had so much fun!!


Halloween 2008--Livonia, Michigan--Another success!!

Thursday's Thoughts

We got home late last night from our 2-day trip west to Illinois. It was a good trip. Beautiful, unreal Fall weather. The 70's if you can believe it. I wasn't brave enough to whip out the flip-flops again, but it was nice to sport short-sleeves, with no jacket!!

We drove down on Tuesday after Mark and I voted.

The Illinois Valley is very nice. The town of Oglesby is pretty small. There were 2 hotels, a couple fast food places, a family diner, and a drive-in rootbeer stand. Oh, and the College. Illinois Valley Community College. It's pretty small too, but a nice campus just the same.

We drove around quite a bit after we arrived. First we drove through Ottawa (where the Ward is, and many Church members, but also 30 minutes away from Oglesby). The downtown was adorable, and many of the storefronts were bright and busy and it was a sight for sore eyes. Mark and I are accustomed to seeing boarded up storefronts on Woodward downtown. We then drove over to Oglesby, and figured out where everything was, and then before we lost our daylight we decided to go over into LaSalle and Peru. These two cities are basically 5-10 minutes away from Oglesby and have lots of shopping and lots of cute neighborhoods. Well Peru does, LaSalle is kinda rough from what we've heard. We had dinner at Applebee's in Peru (which is by the Mall, a Target, a Kohl's, a Super Wal-Mart, etc. I felt right at home!!) Then we headed back to the hotel and swam.

The next morning, we dropped Mark off on campus. He looked very handsome and professorial in his plaid jacket, brown slacks, and a fallish colored tie. He had the whole thing in the bag from Hello, I'm sure. The girls and I went back to the hotel, and finished getting ready and packed up the car for check-out. The Bishop's wife agreed to pick us up and take us around the area to show us the sights. I'm glad she did. She spent a good chunk of time telling us lots of great info that will really come in handy if we end up moving over there. It was great, albeit a bit overwhelming. My eyes were about to pop out of my skull by the end of the day. She dropped us back in Oglesby so she could pick up her own kids from school, and the girls and I played at a local park while Mark was finishing up. We also decided to grab root beer floats from the Rootbeer Stand and talk to some locals. The owner had lived in that teeny town for 50 years. Wow. He told me that one of the Elemetary schools is on "Mormon" street. Ha!

We picked Mark up around 5, and drove around a little more, got some dinner in LaSalle and headed home. It was a long day for everybody, but I'm so grateful we were able to do it. It gave us both a lot of hope, and Mark feels that he did his best in the interview. Hopefully everything will work out for the best. We'll know by next week or the week after. I know. It's excruciating having to wait, but hopefully I can distract myself somehow.

Perspective and a Request

Today, perspective is settling in.

Yesterday I was able to squeeze in a quick dental procedure (I needed a filling) before my benefits expire in November, and I was also able to squeeze in a session with my Mom at the Temple. It was exactly where I needed to be. As you can imagine, I went with a prayer in my heart seeking peace, comfort, and guidance. It was a lovely session, and lucky for us also there was an old friend who was there for the first time taking out her endowments. It was special to be a part of her special day, not to mention the Spirit that was there in abundance.

I prayed for peace and comfort and perspective. I felt all of those things. It was a great session...full of women! We totally outnumbered the men. In attendance yesterday were all the sister missionaries from the Detroit Mission with the President and his wife. It was so neat to see them all there. It reminded me of my own mission. And then a thought occurred to me...today I feel like I did the day I came home from my mission. And then another thought occurred to me, "well done thou good and faithful servant". I knew the Lord was answering my prayer for perspective. Much like a missionary, for the past 2 and a half years I have dedicated my life to working, providing an income and benefits for my family. It has required sacrifice and dedication. It has caused to me to grow, stretch, and learn many new and valuable lessons. I have been so entrenched in the "work", that I have lost myself in many respects. Much like a missionary feels after returning home, I am weary from work and not quite sure what to do with my time now. I feel lots of mixed emotions. I feel a sense of loss, I will miss my little daily schedule that brought so much stability to my life, I will also miss many of the people I worked with and getting to know them better. On the other hand, there are many things I will not miss. The commute, the actual workload, the office politics and gossip, etc. I feel like my mission (working) is over now. I feel like I have returned with honor. I can hold my head up high, knowing that I did my best with what the Lord assigned me, and that it is time for me move on and find my next mission, whatever it may be. One thing I know for sure is that He always has a plan for me...I don't get to sit idly for too long!!

So isn't that an interesting answer to prayer? I feel like it was and the analogy spoke volumes to my heart and mind yesterday and even as I sit here writing this post. Sniff, sniff.

I also felt the overwhelming peace and comfort from our loving Heavenly Father that he loves me and my family, and will always be there for me, and will never leave me alone. He's okay with the fact that sometimes I only come to Him in my hour of need, He always has a solution to my problems and a way to fix what's been broken. (He did the same thing for Adam and Eve after they messed up, remember?) He will do the same for me and my family.

I love the Temple. I love the direct line it provides to Heaven. I feel closer to my Father and Savior there than in any other place. I'm grateful I could go yesterday. It provided me with such a sweet sense of closure and I feel ready to move on. I have much to be grateful for.

I'm grateful for my parents. My Mom is always such a calming voice of reason. She was the first person I called after talking to Mark, and by the end of our phone conversation she had me laughing about something totally unrelated. I'm grateful for her support and friendship. My Dad as well. I got to talk to him after our Temple session and he was extremely sympathetic and supportive, offering whatever we needed when the time comes. He will always sacrifice whatever is necessary to care for his children, no matter their age or circumstances. My Dad has always been there for me, no matter what.

I'm grateful for my siblings and in-laws, who have called and left messages (I don't answer my phone, sorry!), sent me email messages and already been sending out prayers for me and my family. Thank you for always rallying around when someone needs it. I love you all.

I'm grateful for my friends, most of which are my blog readers. Thank you for your sweet comments and words of encouragement and support. I am grateful to have sympathetic friends to share my life with. I only hope I can be the same friend to you in your hour of need.

And now a request...I lost all of my "favorites" for browsing my friend's blogs at work. If you could comment with your blog address, and current email address that would be great! I don't want to miss out on reading your awesome blogs and staying in touch!! I may not be as quick as I was at replying, but I will definitely be checking in on all of you.

Plus with such an open schedule now, let's do lunch sometime!! Shoot me an email, cause I probably won't answer my phone. Hee hee!!

Once again, thanks and lots of love,
Suzy

So Long, Farewell

Well, the time has come my friends. The time for me to bid adieu to my days at Compuware. You may have noticed this little thing in the news, well here it is: the economy is crumbling down around us. And I'm not sure, but you also may have noticed (probably not) that Compuware's stock plummeted and plummeted and plummeted over the past several weeks. What you may not have known is that in the meantime the employees at Compuware were shaking in their ergonomic chairs, clutching their arm rests for dear life. We were sent an email last week that warned of bad earnings last quarter, stock prices that were pretty much in the toilet, and an urgent call for CHANGE!! Changes and strategies for "cutting costs" and "saving money" were being worked on by the big-wigs on the 15th floor. So what brilliant strategies did they come up with? You got it!! Lay-offs.

They actually termed it a "separation". I don't like that word. I like the word "lay-off" better. Anyway, what they mean is it wasn't a firing based on infractions or mis-behavior. It wasn't based on performance either. In my opinion, it's based on the fact that lay-offs are happening everywhere. Did you know that Detroit has the highest rate of unemployment in the nation? And it was based on the fact that I was at the bottom of the Tech Comm totem pole and my co-workers had lots more seniority and were lots more enmeshed in the company and products they were assigned to than I was. They couldn't stand to lose them. They could stand to lose me.

It's okay. I'm a little dazed and confused but ready to move on. I feel like my job served it's purposes in my life. It was a good income with good benefits, and it came along at the perfect time that I needed it. And now that it's been taken away, I know the Lord will provide me with another opportunity equally as generous and intentional.

I'm kind of looking forward to moving on...and am looking forward to what's waiting for me around the corner (not to mention the fact that I don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn, wear yucky work pants anymore, commute 60 minutes a day, etc.).

Yes, there are bills to pay, food to put on the table, insurance to negotiate, but for now I'm trying to listen to the still, small voice.

I know it will guide me.

Pray for us.

Ode to MSB

Mark's been out of town this week. He had to take a bunch of his hooligan students on a student retreat clear up north in the middle of nowhere. He and one other staff member with 20 wayward, inner-city youth. You betcha I was nervous and a bit perturbed. Hopefully he will return unscathed (albeit smelly) this afternoon, or Bev will have some serious hell to pay.

Anyway, since he's been gone, we've missed him. We have all noticed his absence and we are all looking forward to him coming home. So today, here is a little tribute to Mark...may he return home safely to us soon.

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV; what is on the screen?
DWTS, reruns of Lost, or one of his boring old QE prep movies.

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch or Italian.

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?
Mushrooms…he gently scoots them to the side of his plate and then looks at me with raised eyebrows and says, “want ‘em?”…so thoughtful.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order?
We don’t go to the bar, we go to QDoba, and he orders the Chicken Burrito every time…sometimes with queso, sometimes without, sometimes with fajita veggies, sometimes not.

5. Where did he go to high school?
Madison High School in Rexburg, Idaho.

6. What size shoe does he wear?
10 and a half or an 11. More like the 11 these days. His shoe size is the only size he remembers by himself. He has to ask me what size pants he wears every time.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Are you kidding me? Mark collects everything!! Comics, Movies, Action Figures, Book making supplies, Paper, Vintage Typewriters, Glass jars with rocks and water in them (I don’t get this one), Music, Books, oh the books, and then some more books!!

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Subway’s Cold Cut Combo or Chicken Bacon Ranch footlong. He loves his sandwiches. Add some soup and he’s happy as a clam.

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Once again, Soup. Any kind really, but he prefers cream-based soups.

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Frosted Flakes or Grape Nuts with lots of sugar.

11. What would he never wear?
He’s not a fan of polo shirts or flip flops.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
The Detroit Tigers, particularly Gary Sheffield. Ha ha!

13. Who will he vote for?
Obama.

14. Who is his best friend?
He should say me, but he’d probably say Tony Mosier.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?
Probably stop being such a grump on Saturdays, and/or be more polite when it comes to bodily functions.

16. How many states has he lived in?
5...Idaho, Mississippi/Louisiana, Utah, and Michigan.

17. What is his heritage?
English and Welsh.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
Chocolate!! With chocolate frosting!!

19. Did he play sports in high school?
He did a season of wrestling, I think. Mostly he avoided sports and spent his time in the Theaaah-tahhh.

20. What could he spend hours doing?
Blogging, reading, watching movies, going on long drives, making books and stamps and other crafty stuff, listening to music, sleeping, talking on the phone to his family and friends, playing with our girls, going to new places together, taking walks and bike rides, spending time with people he loves.

Festive Fallish Fun

Last weekend, we did some very festive, fallish things and I wanted to post a few photos to share our festive, fallish fun with all of you. (Love alliteration!!)

On Friday night, we had our Ward Trunk-or-Treat. It didn’t rain this year, which was great in and of itself. The girls settled pretty easily on costumes, so there was no drama right before the even either. Mark handed out candy, and I walked with the girls. It was a fun night.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to pick out our pumpkins from a really small, family patch close to my Parent’s condo. We went there last year and they had this amazing homemade jam, and Mark still hasn’t forgotten it. This year in addition to getting our pumpkins, we also got 2 jars of the homemade jam…one strawberry and one raspberry. It’s delicious!

(I thought my poor sister in Arizona would appreciate this shot of color...sorry if this makes you homesick, Melanie!)

Maryn sitting on a big, dirty pumpkin.

Avery trying hard not to squint and keep her eyes on the camera.

Happy Fall Everyone!!