Go Mountaineers!

I had to write in response to my sister Shawna's comments about the bands. Shawna graduated from West Virginia University and is proud of her Mountaineers. She should be. Growing up in West Virgina as we did, everyone was proud of the state school. Not only did they do well athletically but their marching band was one of the finest in the country. When I first started marching in 7th grade, our high school band took a trip to West Virginia band day at WVU. We were able to see a live college football game and we were out on the field with the "Pride of West Virginia" for halftime. I was beyond thrilled. I thought they were the greatest thing I had ever seen in my life. WVU's marching band is known for it's excellence in music, sound and size as well as their ability to form intricate shapes very quickly. As shown in the photo, their one major claim to fame is forming the shape of the state of West Virginia, which as any 8th grader who takes WV history knows, has the most uneven borders of any state in the Union! This has been a historical part of their shows since anyone can remember. I just read while doing this entry that they are celebrating the largest marching band in the school's history this year - over 400 members strong! That's a lot of sound! I would love to see them in person. Another quick fact about WVU's marching band is that at the end of my junior year in high school I was chosen as the drum major for our high school marching band. I had worked hard towards this goal for many years and was absolutely thrilled to have won the position. Being the first young man to hold this coveted position in many years, there was no uniform for me to wear. Consequently, I chose to copy the uniform from WVU's drum majors. I had seen them perform while we were attending the Forest Festival parade in Elkins, WV the year before. So, seeing that there was no pattern, I enlisted the help of my grandmother and mom who were both great seamstresses. I drew out what I wanted for the jacket for my grandmother and she created the pattern out of newspaper. She was truly amazing. Everything turned out just as I had hoped. It was great. So, in a strange way, WVU's marching band became a part of my own history even though I did not attend school there. So, along with my post to the Cougars of BYU and the Hoosiers of IU...here's to the blue and gold of the Mountaineers of WVU! Have a great season everyone! Oh, and Shawna, this one's for you..."LET'S GO MOUNTAINEERS!"

"O" Say Can You See...

I really like the Obama's. Last night I was flipping channels once again because there was nothing on television and CBS had an hour of the Democratic National Convention showing. I watched as Michelle Obama addressed the delegates. First, the woman knows how to dress and present herself. She is a class act. She is very articulate and smart. I liked her immediately. I felt like we could sit down and chat. It's strange for me to realize that she is my age. Barack is only a few years older than me, too. Strange to have someone from my generation running for the White House. It really makes me take a look at myself and where I am. I'm nowhere near the Obama's. It would have to be hard to decide to run for the Presidency. You would have to realize that everything you've ever done, said or think would be analyzed a million times over. Your family would be ravaged by the media and nothing would be sacred. One misstep and it's all over the news. One misspoken word or phrase and everyone is trying to guess your hidden meanings and what your beliefs must be. I wouldn't last a day.

Back to the Obama's, though. Besides being well-groomed and articulate, though, I find that their message does inspire some hope in our nation. I am proud that we are finally, as a people in this country, beginning to embrace our diverse nation. An African-American family living in the White House? How wonderful! We almost had the first female presidential candidate as well. Another first. I always wondered what her husband would be called? First Husband? First Man? First Gentleman? Who knows. Someday I'm sure we'll have to cross that bridge. I like Barack Obama's message and I really want to believe that he will do what he says. One thing I would like to say, however, is that regardless of who wins, a president can only do so much. We have three levels of government for a reason and so many people forget this. Without the support of the other two, a President is only as good as his hopes.

So, with that said, here's to the Obama's! Good luck and godspeed. Hopefully we'll have a new Commander-in-Chief this November whose last name starts with "O"!

It's a Band!

I love band. I always have. I'm not sure what it is either? I love the uniforms, the colors, the songs, the sound, the drums, the flags, the flash bam boom! I just love a good marching band. I'm a pretty good judge of one, too. This week our neice Timi heads back to Indiana University (Bloomington, or B-town as she calls it) to begin her second year in the Marching Hundred. She's a certified band geek, too. While I attended BYU and was a member of the Cougar Marching Band, we still share our war stories of band week - or sweat week as we called it, back in the day. I know that BYU is beginning their sweat week this week so I had to write something in memory of those good 'ole days. I love a great football game. I've mentioned my euphoria that gets me in trouble when I'm at a good game, but I also love the whole experience. Going to a great football school like BYU was the best. My freshman year was Steve Young's senior year and the year before the 1984 National Championship. My last year was the year Ty Detmer won the Heismann Trophy. Two great quaterbacks during my time in college. The gap is due to a 2 year break for an LDS Mission to California (Fresno, Spanish). Yes, I missed the National Championship year, but I still considered myself true-blue.

Anyway, I know a lot of high school and college marching bands are getting started this month. Here's to you all! Get out there and sweat your hearts out! There are still those of us who love a great show. I appreciate all the band kids and their parents who work so hard to give their kids a great experience. I also love the college kids who dedicate their busy schedules to sharing their talents with a few crazed fans like me. Band is great. It's fun and you make the best friends. There's nothing quite like it. You get to act crazy and wear a hot, often wool uniform in 90 degree heat with a plastic hat on your head, with a lovely feather blowing in the breeze. Now, you tell me, where else is that possible? LOL I love band geeks. They truly are geeks, too. I'm proud to be an alumnus of the geekiest. So...GO Cougars, Hoosiers, or whoever you are!!! Have a great year and make some great sounds, play some great tunes and cheer, cheer, cheer.

Wet and Wild!!!

Jeff is wet and wild...with Timi. Our niece, Timi is here with us. She and Jeff went swimming at the pool. Mom and I went down and watched. IT IS HOT!!! It is over 90 degrees here. I can't believe the people who sit in that weather and bake. Not me...I was out there for just a few and thought I would die. I went into the Clubhouse and got on the computer. Mom had to go to the bathroom. She said she knew where it was. So I am waiting in the computer room for her and the next thing I know I hear someone banging on the door to outside...from the outside. She had made a wrong turn and gone outside and couldn't get back in from outside in the heat. Rather than stay there and wait for anyone to come she runs around the building..so I am running around after her. I am just going to stay at home with her. She just can not be left alone!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Anyway...Timi and Jeff had a good time. Jeff is a good swimmer. He LOVES the water. We need to go down to the pool more often.
I love it here!

15 years

It's been 15 years since I moved to Indiana permanently. WOW! By the way, this is Jeff. Cherie writes a lot more than I do so I figured I should introduce myself. Anywho...I've lived here for 15 years now! I cannot believe it. Time has certainly gone by quickly. So much has happened in my life since living here, too. Many huge events in my life have happened here in the Hoosier state. I do like living here.
I moved here from Pottstown, PA where I was staying with my Aunt during the summer of 1993. Before that, I had moved from Provo, UT with my best friend Cindy (Cherie's sister, and yes, there's a story there, too!). I dropped Cindy off in Indiana with her family and visited for a week or so and then visited with my dad and stepmom in Michigan for a week and then headed East to Pennsylvania. The original goal was to find work in the Philadelphia area and then Cindy would join me there. We would find an apartment and live the 'city' life. Obviously, that never happened. What did happen was a long arduous summer of promises unfulfilled and heartache. Eventually Cindy and her sister Denise came and rescued me from PA. I was not only sad but downtrodden because I felt like I had failed at my goal. However, I ended up finding a job here. It wasn't the sort of job I was expecting but it provided some much needed income and new friends, which I needed. I had left a very socially conservative area in Utah for a much more diverse and realistic world in Indiana.
Cindy, my friend, ended up passing away suddenly about four months after I moved here and that is where the story of Cherie and I begins. We had been friends, obviously because she was Cindy's sister and lived in Utah near us. We also did a lot of things together - she had the car! LOL Cherie used to come over to my apartment in the evenings and study while watching, or should I say listening, to the movie "Pretty Woman". We both love that movie and can still quote most of it verbatim.
So, my life in Indiana changed and eventually Cherie and I married. Things transpired from there, but here we are 15 years later. A lot has changed. I bought my first car here, got married here, loved and lost here, grown and matured, too. Life has a way of doing that to you. This year will also mark my 25th high school reunion. I have never been to one and don't expect to this year - if they even have one. The high school I attended no longer stands and the new one bears a different name, colors and mascot. Things change. Even, BYU, my college alma mater changed the school colors - not once but twice since I've graduated. They say there is nothing more contant than change. I'm not sure who said it or even made that up, but they certainly got it right. My family has grown by leaps and bounds, too. I have neices and nephews who we adore and even our wonderful kitties have added much to our family. We bought a house, sold it and now live in an apartment. It's not so bad, though. We like it a lot (read Cherie's post prior to this one).
I've had religious growth and challenges. I served as a Branch President in our church for four years and enjoyed most of it. There were a lot of things that I will not miss. Even learning more of other things has challenged me on a religious and spiritual level. I find myself more accepting of all the diversity in our world. I actually cherish it. I find that conformity is annoying and frightening. So, before I start rambling on about something else I will just say that sharing these last 15 years of my life with those I love has been more than I could have ever expected - good, bad, fun, sad, scary, depressing and joyful. I'm sure time will bring much more of the same. We'll see...

The most recent book...

The Host by Stephenie Meyer
I love to read...so does Jeff. I read The Host over the weekend and finished it last night. I cried and cried. Of course, that isn't a surprise to anyone who knows me. I cry if I am sad, happy, mad, etc etc. It is a good book and a different read for me. I like Stephenie Meyer. She is a good author...she pulls me into the lives of her characters.
I went a long time without reading anything. I love it so much. I am so excited to be reading again. I hope it doesn't make my house look to bad. Something has to give when you read a book in a day or two. Jeff is reading The Host now. He is enjoying it as well. I doubt that he will cry. He is tough...I got all the softee spots..haha.
I don't know if you really care about this, however, I will tell you. We have a patio at the apartment we are living in here in Fort Wayne. Last year we barely used it. This year we got a cute little bistro like set on sale and we have been outside alot. It is amazing the nice times I have had with Jeff out there just talking. He is fun...isn't that great! I married a fun guy! Ha. He is wonderful. I also sit out there with mom. She loves watching the cars and the people. She enjoys living here for the most part. Occasionally, she will come up with a surprise about something she doesn't like...of course the good thing about that is the next day she is fine again.
We love it here.

Excitement in the family...

Today was, or niece, Grace Lambert's first day in kindergarten. I don't remember my very first day of kindergarten but I do remember being in kindergarten. It was fun and I felt like I had a lot of friends and learned so much. I hope Grace can feel the same way. She is as big and as old as she has ever been so this is the highlight of her life. Just wait Gracie, you get to go to first grade next year...it is even more fun and exciting, if that is possible.
WE ARE SO EXCITED for her and her family.

WE ARE BLESSED WITH WONDERFUL FAMILY!

Well, there you have it. My first set of blogs. I have introduced the youngest of our family. The nieces and nephews. We love them so much. Having a blog would not be worth anything if they weren't mentioned. We are so grateful for ALL our family. We hope you enjoy getting to know them as well.

Gage and Eden Sugg

Gage and Eden are Amy and Mike Suggs children. Amy is Margaret Mullins' daughter. She is Jeff's first dad's wife. Gage is in first grade this year. Amy is so wonderful to share photos of them with us. Gage had a party a few years ago with the theme of Pirates of Caribbean. He dressed up as a pirate and was a very realistic pirate! Gage loves the water. He is often shown in pictures in the pool. He is a very sweet boy.
Eden has grown so much. We met Eden for the first time in Michigan for Christmas get together. She dressed up like a pumpkin for Halloween one year. Her picture was adorable. We would love to get to know Gage and Eden better. They are adorable kids and we really appreciate Amy and Mike keeping us in pictures. It helps us to feel closer to them. It helps us to know some of the things they like.

Timi Grant and her Grandma Frey

This is our oldest niece. She is the one we know the most and the longest. We love her so much. She is a sophmore at Indiana University in Bloomington. She is a music major. Timi loves band, music and marching. She is a music fiend!!! She loves to read and chooses some great books. She has shared some of them with us and we enjoy them as well. Timi enjoys church and right now is teaching a primary class. She will be going back to IU on the 26th of August. I feel about Timi the way Jeff feels about JD. She is the closest thing I will have to a child of my own...biologically, I mean. She reminds me of me in many ways. She has picked up certain things from, of course, her mom, Aunt Cindy and me. It has been so wonderful having her in my life these last 20 years. Timi is the only grandchild for my mom and dad. She is loved so deeply and spoiled as much as we can spoil her. She is a wonderful girl. Timi is good to her grandma who nearly worships her. We hope Timi will have success in all she does. We are sincerely blessed with her in our lives.

Kailey and JD Mullins

JD and Kailey are our niece and nephew...son and daughter of Lonnie and Dawn. We love them so much. We met JD when he was just a month or so old. He had red hair and resembled his Uncle Jeff. It is a different feeling when you see yourself in a child. JD is WONDERFUL! He loves football, hockey, and has played all kinds of sports. He talks to us on the phone and loves to have us visit. We love to visit them as well. He enjoys video games and keeps his Uncle Jeff up to date on the ones he likes. We feel very blessed to have the chance know him. He is changing so much as he is growing. He is awesome as a big brother. We are SOOO proud of him.
Kailey is a little sweetie. She has from the beginning had a very good vocabulary. Her voice is little but her words are quite grown up. She is very smart and witty. We were able to play Polly Pockets with her the last time we visited. She was intent on them for alot of the time we were there. We are able to keep up with her, as well, by talking to her on the phone. She is very outgoing and talks to us like she remembers us each time. We can't believe how quickly she is growing. We love her.

Heavener and Ours nieces and nephews

The top left picture is Cary Ours. She is sixteen and we hear she is driving. Ahhhhh....hopefully she will be careful and we will be able to be away from West Virginia until she gets ALOT of practice. She has always been really sweet to us. We are blessed to have her in our family. It has been nice to get to know her. We hope to continue to learn more about her.
The top right picture is our Lily Belle Heavener. We went to West Virginia to meet her when she was born and now she is 11 years old...she will be 12 in October...we can't believe the young lady she has grown into. We love her and appreciate her personality. We were so excited to know she was enjoying reading. She told me the other day she reads slow. We hope she will continue her love of reading. It is amazing what reading can do to uplift your life. We were able to get to know her as a toddler and have enjoyed all the good memories we have of her. We are looking forward to getting to know her more.
The bottom left picture if Hunter Heavener. He is going to 9 this year. This picture if older...taken in 2006. This is the newest picture we have of him. We enjoy seeing his enthusiasm with computers (and frustration). We have noticed he is very smart...and pretty quiet around a lot of people. He has a great imagination. We are excited to see how it will take it throughout his life. He is a cute and loving boy. We hope as he grows we will have an opportunity to learn more about his personality.
The bottom middle picture if Katie Ours. She is bubbly. She is a very girly girl...she loves pink. She knows what she likes and isn't usually afraid to tell anyone. She has a mind of her own and gets along quite well with everyone. She loves playing with her cousin Grace. We enjoy watching the cousins get along so well. Cousins are important to learning to get along with people. We hope they can be close and happy. We would love to know Katie better.
The bottom right picture is Thomas. To speak of Thomas...you have to talk fast!!! He is a mover! We watch him and lose weight trying to keep up with him in our minds. He is VERY energetic. He is fun and has the cutest smile...Look at that face? Isn't he adorable. He hasn't really stopped long enough for us to get to know him. We love him and look forward to having that opportunity.

The Lambert Nieces

Look at these three little ones. We love them so much. Grace is in Kindergarten this year. She is such a great girl. She is really smart and independent. Her mom says she is a great helper with her sisters. I know sometimes it is hard to be a big sister. I love being a big sister. It will always be a great feeling for her as she gets older.

Martha is just two years old. She looks like her daddy. She talks and her voice is so cute. We love hearing her talk when her mom calls on the phone. She is learning new things everyday. She has grown up so fast. She is helping with her little sister, too. I was the middle sister in my family. It was nice to have sisters around me. I hope she will be as happy with her sisters as I am with mine.

Clara is the baby. I can not believe how fast she has grown. We were sooooo excited to have her in our family. We thought she was never going to be born...I am sure Shawna thought that as well :). She is cooing and trying to make noises now. We love her so much. We haven't been able to meet her in person yet. We hope to see her soon.

We love our Lambert nieces. We REALLY appreciate their mom and dad for keeping in touch with us in pictures and over the phone. It helps us feel closer to them. They live 10 hours away from us. Thanks Shawna and Pat! You both are awesome! We love you!

Beginners gitters!

Well, here I am trying a blog! We have been encouraged to put our experiences and happenings in a blog. So here goes... BUT WHAT TO WRITE? We don't have children...we aren't really boring, however, when I think of the things going on they seem really boring to share? We do love our family and will write about them and other ideas that come to mind. If it gets to depressing, please forgive us. We will use this as an outlet of sorts, as well.
Here goes! Your comments and suggestions are welcome! Enter at your own risk! ha