Everman still in playoffs

Well, lots of teams BOMBED on Friday night including Burleson and Kennedale. But, the Bulldogs ran over Aledo like a Mack truck making road kill. The final score was 24-7! Way to go Bulldogs. On another Everman note. Beth Harville and her not-so-little girl were at Jamie’s shower on Saturday. It was good to see her. She is 7th grade band director at Brewer.

Jamie & Brad getting married - Ginny creates wedding hat

The headline says it all. Today was Jamie’s shower and she got loads of nice stuff including this gorgeous hat made from ribbons and tissue. Paris is watching (France, not Hilton)!

Bring in the Clown...

I thought everyone would enjoy this random picture of Carter McMurdie. He certainly has personality!

Give Thanks on Thanksgiving Day

Food assignments have been made for Thanksgiving Day. This is a reminder for all of you to remember what you have to be thankful for - and there really are a lot of things. Here are the food assignments as of Thursday a.m.:
Turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce - Mom
Ham - Mitch and Connie
Fruit Salad - Connie
Mashed potatoes - Missy
Sweet potatoes - Ginny
Green bean casserole - Romanda
Bread - Suzy
Nibble tray for kids - Mandie and Randi
Desserts - Suzy, Ginny & Romanda
Let me know if you have suggestions, changes, etc.

The Puzzle of the Week

Well, our gang did it again, another magnificent, difficult puzzle is complete. We did this one for Ben because it has historical trains. We won't take it apart until he sees it and I will have a picture printed for him. He watched, but wasn't much help with this 1,000 piece masterpiece.

Gideon at the Meyerson

Gideon's school Legacy and Mansfield HS will be singing, accompanied by both high school bands, at the Meyerson Sunday Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 and best purchased in advance, so let me know who's interested and I'll make sure we get enough. I'm excited--I've never been beyond the lobby of the Meyerson, and what a great opportunity for them.

Calendar

Today is election day but no matter who gets elected, we will have Thanksgiving and Christmas and, of course, needy families. I got several calls yesterday and expect that to continue. Applications are being snatched up at City Hall, so we can expect a goodly number of needy.
OK, it is time to get serious with our planning. Most of this is not etched in stone, so feel free to make suggestions!
November:
19 - Missy's birthday
21 - Shirley's birthday
24 - Mandie's Birthday
26 - Disney on Ice at FW Convention Center (family picture?)
27 - Thanksgiving - when do you want to eat? I need feedback! Cowboys lose again this day so that is not a scheduling concern!
December:
1 - Ginny begins decorating for Nativity
Shirley meets with Celebration Committee to decorate Community Center
4 - Nativity opens in the evening
5 - Melinda's birthday
Shirley taking Mitch, Connie, Mitch's sister and niece to Nativity and maybe some senior citizens
6 - Needy family interviews 9 to 11 a.m. at Community Center (Damaris is trying to get off to help translate)
Tree Lighting with movie snow and maybe fireworks, 6 to 9 p.m. Hopefully Ward Choir will sing.
7 - John's Birthday. Sunday Nativity. Anyone want to visit? First Presidency Broadcast at 7 p.m.
8 - Nativity breakdown. Ginny needs help.
17 - evening - move toys from Action Group room to Church
18 - gather canned goods from schools and Super 1. (Gary will spearhead.) Organize and work on needy families. Tiffany will be there all day. Suzy and Paul are trying to arrange their schedules to be off. Some will come later in the day.
19 - Needy family work day starting after 1 p.m. (Shirley and Connie have city employee lunch at 11:30 a.m.
20 - Distribute to needy families 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Move leftovers to Shelby store room.
23 - Family Christmas at Church. Time TBA. Finish up at Grandma's with desserts and stockings.
OK, what did I leave off? Let's hear some feedback TODAY!

Please fast for Danny!

Mr. Colodney, the head band director at Danny's school, resigned on Monday. We believe he was given the offer to resign, or be fired. We don't know all of the details, but we think it may have involved the mis-use of band funds, verbal abuse, and possibly physical abuse. It was a stressful situation for Danny to be in, and now that it's all over, Danny is even MORE stressed! They will not be naming Danny the new head band director. They will be gathering applicants and they will hire a new one. Danny is extremely upset that he was not immediately promoted, but the school officials are being very cautious, and they are doing this the most legal and PC way that they can. Danny, of course, will be given the first chance to interview for the position, but it is wide open. There is a very good chance that he could end up NOT getting the head band director position. It's ridiculous, I know, because right now, his title is Interim Head Band Director. He could end up not getting the job that he has been doing for the past 2 1/2 weeks, and will most likely be doing until the end of the semester!! He is frustrated with the school system and right now, he could use all the help he can get. Please, if you do not have a reason to fast this Sunday, please fast for Danny to get this job.

On my way home from Bethlehem

As I cut through the far back way from Mansfield this week passing by Bethlehem Baptist Church, I wandered through Retta and Rendon to avoid traffic tie-ups on 287 due to construction. Wow! What to my wondering eyes did appear but two camels! They are kept in an enclosure right by the road out near the Cowboy Church. The owners apparently live in a mansion way back off the road. I am sorry, I do not know the rest of the story...yet!

Legacy High School Choir at the Meyerson

Gideon's choir, along with Mansfield High School & the bands from both schools, will be performing at the Meyerson. The date is Nov. 23rd (Sunday evening). I don't know details about cost or time yet, but will let you know when I find out. This is funded by a grant from the Education Foundation and will be professionally recorded. They're very excited. (Sorry about the date mixup Melinda--we were originally told October). Hope at least a few of you should come--their choir is very good this year. And I've never been to the Meyerson, so I'm looking forward to it.

News from the MTC

Got a letter from Julianne. She made it fine. She said "the first couple of days have been a little intimidating with a lot of meetings and tons of Japanese instruction." Her companions are Sisters Stock & Nelson, who she says are nice and supportive through the "weird transition" into MTC life. She has also enjoyed seeing the people who have been there longer b/c it "gives us hope that maybe we'll know what's going on someday, too."

The official MTC mailing address is:
Sister Julianne Dawn von Bose
MTC Mailbox #100
JPN-FKU 1229
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Her estimated departure date is Dec. 29th, so hopefully she'll get to spend Christmas in the states.

For only a dollar...

Everyone knows how much I like Dollar Tree, but there are just some things you should not buy there. What are your bad finds from the dollar store? Here are my latest no-nos:

HAIR COLOR
PREGNANCY TEST

Family Fotos

These are just random photos of grandkids and greatgrandkids plus a picture of Julianne’s party with the Young Adults and a shot of the progress being made on Gary and Romanda’s house. Who is the ariborne adult on the trampoline? Enjoy!

She's gone

We dropped Julianne off at the airport this morning at 6 a.m. Daniel Schneyder (from the singles ward) is picking her up in SLC. We had a nice last steak dinner at Outback last night after she was set apart by Pres. Wallace. He blessed her with all the typical missionary things: safety, an abundance of the spirit, knowing why she was there. He also told her if she followed the mission guidelines for food she'd be healthy. She's very excited and a little nervous, but her mom's a wreck!

She'll be at the MTC until Dec. 23--snail mail will be very welcome! Her address is:
Sister Julianne von Bose
Japan Fukuoka Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604

Family photos

Check the Photos by Missy blog for some awesome portraits of our family! Okay, except for the close-up of my face with all the wrinkles, everythng else looks amazing!

Come Say Goodbye to Julianne

Julianne is only 2 weeks away from saying her farewells to the United States for 18 months. She will speak in sacrament meeting this Sunday, Sept. 28th; it will be 10:50 for 2nd ward and 12:50 for singles ward. Mom said she'll feed people afterward if they come.

We'll have a going away party from 5-7 that evening (earlier or later if you wish). Jared is making bread and we'll have sandwich stuff and fixings. She's excited and nervous about going and has almost everything ready. If you're available come join us in wishing her a fond farewell!

And one flew over the cuckoo’s nest

Everyone does a doubletake when they drive by and see the flock of six geese in the east yard. They are sooo real looking and sooo fun! Those who have not seen them yet need to come over. If some of the kids are not afraid of them, we will take some pics.

Kile and Damaris have a blog!

For those of you who haven't seen it on my blog list yet, Kile and Damaris now have a blog! So head over and go often! I'm sure there will be lots of wedding updates and other fun stuff! Click here to check it out!

Julianne headed for Japan - soon

We had a nice outing on Saturday, September 6, shopping for a coat for Julianne’s mission to Japan. She looks very classic and should be a real hit with her fair skin, blonde hair and oriental look.

On the Way to Captain D’s

Photo #3 is a picture of a picture.)
On Thursday afternoon (September 4) Connie (Hoffman) was on her way to pick up dinner at Captain D’s when she was in a head-on collision at Forest Hill Drive and I-20. (This was definitely not her fault since the car that hit her was on the wrong side of the road!) She was the fourth vehicle in a five-car incident and although her 2005 Town & Country van was totaled, she escaped with just bruises and no broken bones. She was taken to the John Peter Smith Trauma Center at the suggestion of paramedics and after several CAT scans, she was released about 10:30 p.m. When she got home, she passed out and gave Mitch and James a big scare. Paramedics were again summoned and after getting her conscious, she again faded away and they rushed her back to JPS after midnight. They decided it was the pain medicine they gave her so she came home the next day and is felling better except for the horrible air bag bruises. Her legs were especially bruised when the cover blew off the air bag striking her legs. (See picture.) In a strange twist of fate, I snapped a picture of Connie’s damaged car at the scene, not realizing it was hers. Another strange twist is that the firefighter/paramedics who tended to her twice were part of the same crew that put out the fire at Gary and Romanda’s. This was another Maserang Miracle!

Help the Maserangs!

Gary would like help from any family members that are available on Saturday morning at 9am for just a couple of hours. They'll be moving the things that are salvageable from the house to the garage to store there. Mom and Connie and a crew of people have been working all week and have been getting a lot done! Appliances have been moved out, the insurance company has come and made reports on what they're going to replace (which is pretty much everything) so things are moving forward! Please let Mom/Grandma know if you can make it! (Or just comment on this post and we'll keep an eye on it.) I might take Ben down to Mom's and can keep an eye on any kids if they need to be dropped off so people can help, but we'll work out the details on that!

Guess Who?

Gary and Romanda's Home

Here are some of the pictures I took when we went to Gary and Romanda's today. It's so bad. It's so heartbreaking. I wasn't expecting it to be so bad. Mom will keep us all updated on what we can do to help. Keep them in your prayers!

Most of these are the back of the house and the master bedroom, but pretty much the entire house is either completely water damaged or smoke damaged. The integrity of the stone on the exterior of the house is definitely in question. Hopefully Mom will update with what the insurance company soon!

Jared went in and rescued their wedding picture. Yay Jared!

But amidst all of that, a few things did survive. This glass bird cage seemed peculiar in all of the rubble. And there are still beautiful flowers surrounding their home!

More news from Sophy

On Sun, Aug 24, 2008 at 1:47 PM, Sophy mechurchlishvili
wrote:
Thank you for your prayers. Well what can I say. Russians keep bombing
some towns my friend is stuck in one which is occupyed by russians I
talked to her today and she said that there is terrible situation
there. Russians and what is most terrible some Georgians too rob
others. There is no panic any more but the situation is still
tense.Russians say they will take their troops away but who knows
when. They kind of started but they keep bombing. Today I started
working in a project that is financed by government. I have to
translate news in English from Russian and Georgian about this
situation in the country. I was worring very much I thought I would
not get this job but I did and I am very excited about it. I saw
Lisa's pics she is very cute. Congratulations to C.J and Randy. I will
have another sister in two months we want to call her Natasha. I can't
wait. Anyways I got to go now I have to translate another news. Thank
you again. I love you Sophy
P.S. www.sosgeorgia.org here is one of the most objective
information about this situation and you could see if you are
interested. I translated some of the top news that are in this site.

Stepping Up to the New Library

The Maserang and Bill Fowkes bricks are now installed at the new Library. The ones that were ordered for Connie and me will be in the next order. It is all lookin’ good!

A message from Dad

My yard/handyman Michael and I took the dining table apart today to refinish it. The last time that was done was 13 years ago when we moved here and he and I varnished it on the patio. Today we moved to the carport to catch the breeze since this cold front has moved in and dropped temps to less than 100º. When we took the table apart, we found a typical Fowkes note attached inside where you would never find it unless you dismantled the thing. The note indicates when we bought the table, the price, etc. Ever-organized Dad left us that message to find on the week of his birthday.

e-mail from Sophy

Here's the e-mail I got from Sophy:

I don't know what to say. I am in georgia and I can't explain with words what is going on here. I am in shock. Russians bombed all big cities in Georgia including Tbilisi. My friends were in war. 10000 people died but no one says that in TV. Hundreds of people don't have homes any more. Russian army was gonna ocupy Tbilisi yesterday we were in Panic but i don't know what happened then they did'nt come. My siblings are in village it's safer there. My mum asked me to go too but I won't go without her. I don't know why Russia hates us so much but I would rather die than see how Georgia becomes part of Russia. There are meetings in Tbilisi now and queues in stores to buy products. Shortly saying if Russia doesnt take away his army from Georgia people will fight and everyone will die here because it is tragedy and worse thing for us to become pat of Russia. Thank you for your prayers. Love Sophy

From Ginny: I know when Sophy was here she talked about the Ossetia Province and how it caused a lot of problems for Georgia. It was the highest insult to her when people mistook her as Russian. Those poor people lived under communist rule and had just tasted a little freedom in the last few years--I hope and pray that it will stay so.

Remember Sophy

Our old exchange student, Sophy, is from the country of Georgia which has been invaded by Russia. Please remember her and her family in your prayers. Russian troops are on their way to Tblisi, the capital city where Sophy lives, which is far from the original conflict. Jared heard that Russian troops have divided the country in half and we're guessing chances are very good that they will cease to be a country, possibly by the end of the week. Their country was already in terrible condition economically, and was just starting to recover under their new democratic & pro-western president Saakashvili. I've e-mailed Sophy but haven't heard anything from her yet, but will keep you posted. In your prayers, you might remember saying a little thank you for living in a free, peaceful, prosperous country.

Temple Trip

Please join us if you are able on Wednesday, August 20th at 7:30 p.m. in the Dallas Temple for Julianne's endowment. RSVP so we'll know who's coming and can be sure there are enough spots! She'll be in the MTC on Oct. 8th, so I'm guessing we'll do a going away something in conjunction with conference.

They (mostly James) said it couldn’t be done!

Nephew and cousin James Hoffman gave up on this 1,000 piece puzzle and told the grandgirls they would never finish. Never say that to any of ours! Them’s fightin’ words! Sunday night, during a Monkfest, Carrie, Julie and Chrystal finished the puzzle. Many others put in a piece here and there but the bulk of the work was theirs. Congratulations! Our next great puzzle features James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Elvis and Marilyn with a classic car. Stop by and put in a few pieces at the Fowkes Farm!

Look, Grandma!

just a cute little picture of great-granddaughter Mary von Bose.

Temple Trip

Julianne is thinking about when she'd like to go to the temple. We're looking at these dates: Aug. 23rd or 30th or Sept. 6th, either Friday or Saturday. Let us know who'd like to come and what dates are best.

Mission Call!

So most of you know by now that Julianne is going to the Fukuoka Japan Mission. She'll report to the MTC on Oct. 8th, so we'll keep you posted about going away parties, etc. Here's the "grand opening" (although she had already peeked!)

Pictures will be forthcoming as soon as someone smarter than me can upload them into something other than gibberish.

By the way, Suzy & I both guessed Japan.

Pioneers remembered

When I was young, we would go visit my Uncle Willard in East Texas. He lived in an old house that my great-grandparents had lived in after they sailed down the Mississippi on flat boats and came to Texas in covered wagons. Uncle Willard had kept everything just like it was – no electricity, no running water, only a fireplace for heat, no refrigerator. I thought it was a great adventure. When we visited, we pretty much operated like the mid-1800s. The women got up early and cooked on the wood stove. You just could not do that later in the day. Sometimes in the mornings, we would go to the fields and cut open yellow watermelons and just eat the hearts out of them and then go on to the next. Water was drawn from the well into a bucket with a dipper and everyone drank from it. We loved that! Mother was always afraid we would catch the creeping gomboo or something.

The Mission Call Has Arrived!

Come to our Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday at noon, Ginny & Jared & Julianne's house--free food! Please RSVP in the comments.

Where in the World?

President Hansen called this afternoon to report that Julianne's mission papers have been mailed from Salt Lake and should be here soon. Any guesses on where she'll go? I think maybe somewhere in the Far East--Japan or something.

Back from Alaska!

I know several of you have been already, but I totally loved Alaska and am already anxious to save up for a second trip! Here are a few of my favorite pics from the trip.

We started the trip in Victoria, BC, and despite Jared's cheery expression really enjoyed the tour of Buchart Gardens. In Ketchikan we hiked a mile up the mountain (1,500 feet elevation) and got a great view of the bay. We took a helicopter tour in Skagway and landed on and walked around on a glacier--definitely the trip's highlight.

Helpful Hint - How to Remove a Tick

This is a hint from a School Nurse. I have not had a tick in years, but they do show up sometimes, even on little kids and it can be very traumatic, so I am passing this on to all.

A pediatrician said that she believes this is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's sometimes difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me.

Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"

More pictures of Lisa

Here are the pics taken when the 2 grandmothers descended on poor Lisa when she was just 15 minutes old. Randi looked really great even right after the birth. Welcome to the family Lisa!

Say hello to Lisa, number 4 great-grandchild!

Baby Lisa, weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces, 19 1/2 inches long, was born on July 6, early in the morning. She appears to be quite an eater as you can see by the fists in the mouth. Missy will take some more professional shots in the near future. As you can see in the picture of her playing with Ben, Randi looks amazing. Way to go, girl! (C.J. is doing OK, too.)

Got Books?

The new Forest Hill Library opened two weeks ago and it is really nice. The interior is beautiful; the shelving is magnificent - it is just pretty empty! They need books - not just any books, but hardbound books published since 2000, except for classics. Now, “classics” does not mean old Encyclopedia Britannica sets. They also do not need old college text books. If you don’t want them, why would they? If you have adult or children’s books to donate, just let me know. They have about 5,000 new books and need 7,500 to be an accredited library so they can get funds (and more books) from the State Library System. Call me anytime at 817 881-8857! Also, please pass the word to other friends and family.

The Fireworks Concert - Supporting the Barnett Shale

As our family tradition has been, we spent an evening at the Fort Worth Symphony Concert in the Garden with spectacular fireworks. Some of those tickets were purchased with money from the royalty checks from the natural gas in the Barnett Shale - I hope this pleases Tommy Lee Jones who is the big spokesman for The Shale. We had lots of nibbly food and had a really good time. It is the ultimate in people watching.