The twins have arrived!!!

Alexander and Alexis have arrived!! This morning. Don't know a lot of details yet, except Alexander weighed 5 lbs 10 oz and Alexis weighed 5 lbs 3 oz! They are precious!! Their Uncle Ryann sent us a couple of pics of them just hours old.



Alexander....I think he looks a bit like his older brother Jon


Alexis...ahhh she looks so dainty and girlie!! I'm thinking she looks a wee bit like her daddy.

Starting the New Year off right...NOT!!!

So I was going to keep up with my blog...and what do I do? I go 2 1/2 months without posting a single thing! I could blame being busy, I could say it was because I have had a horrible case of the blues or just been plain STRESSED over so many things, and while all of these would be true, it is still no excuse for not taking a few minutes each day or week and not posting something! Anything! So if you are reading this now, you are going to get a *hopefully* short but sweet version of the last 2+ months!!

Thanksgiving we had the Charlie's over for the day, played cards and in general had a super time...and I won the cardgame!! nanenanenane!! *L*

I fought and fought with the insurance and the dr's this month...hence some of my stress, and we still didn't get Jim's surgery approved.

Dec came and with it came some very cold temps AND SNOW!!!!! Snow, lots and lots of snow! It was awesome!! Ok for those of you who are getting sick of snow already, let me just explain. We here in the High Desert rarely get snow. Sure it snows in the winter, but we are generally lucky (at least since I moved here) to get snow 3 or 4 times a year, and then it is usually just a couple inches and by the end of the day or the next day it is gone. Well this storm blew in and it was a whopper of a storm! It was beautiful!! Humongeous flakes!! Jim put a ruler in the snow at one point shortly after noon and by later in the afternoon the ruler was gone! Buried in the snow!! The girls had a blast in it! But after a couple days of snow up the thier bellies, making it hard to squat and do thier job outside *L* they were getting sick of it! Jim set up a retreat area for the birds under our patio cover and they sure loved him for it. Take a look at those icicles! We so rarely get them here, I had to take lots of pics *L*














Then before we knew it it was Christmas Day. We missed the fam, but we did get to talk to everyone on the phone.
I went to the Redlands Temple for the first time and it was incredible!

New Yr's Eve we had the Charlie's back over for dinner and another card game....I'm not gonna say who won again....let's just say....twice in a row waaahoooooo that's a new record for.....someone (me) *L*

and we made our yearly round of phone calls to the fam to wish them Happy New Year....for each time zone. *L* Someday they will all pay us back for this I am sure!


Other than that I finally saw the ortho surgeon and I have to have knee surgery *yippie*. This all goes back to that car accident from almost 2 years ago when that idiot broadsided us. Now to get the MRI done on my back to find out what is going on there. Jim has had a couple medical issues we are working on getting taken care of. Jenny is having the twins by C-sec next Wed!!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it, and we are getting our trip to Mississippi to see them, then on to Ark to see Madi, Gavin and Tracy, then on up to KS for mom and dad's 50th anniversary with a stop in Utah on the way home to see Patrick since we haven't seen them since we haven't seen them since July 4th. I will fill up my new 8 gig memory card and then some on this trip! *L*

Oh and during all this *L* I did get a couple scrapbook pages done *ha* Ok so I have several I need to finish up with journaling and what not but here is one I have finished. This was from a challenge that Tara (from one of my yahoo groups) issued. It was so much fun!!!

I'm exhausted!!

Why is it whenever we have to change the clocks no matter if it is ahead or back, I am always exhausted for a while? Uggggg Here it is barely 9 pm and I want to fall into bed!!! *L*

It's been a fun and eventful week. The church Halloween party was Thursday, Friday we went out for our belated anniversary dinner and listened to the scanner until way late...it was a crazy Halloween night for sure! Saturday we slept in and then went to the Prop 8 rally. And it rained!!! It was wonderful!!! It was cool, but not cold and this was the first rally I have ever gone to and participated in.




We had lots of people honk and give us thumbs up and a few that flipped us off. *L* Oh well! We even had people stop and ask if they could join us. That was very cool!

And the guys in this car were almost falling out of us to give us thumbs up and cheer us on!


When we got home I got some wonderful shots of the raindrops in my roses!!






Today after church I had the kids in Sunday School and it was the first time I felt really really good about how class went. I have struggled with this whole teaching thing. And today I was left without teaching material and a helper again and I just decided to run with it, and wow it went sooo well!! I decided to involve the kids more in the class and they loved it. instead of just trying to 'teach' them, I involved them in the whole class.
Jimmade his incredible clam chowder for us to have after church today and with the weather being chilly it was the perfect way to warm us up!

Oh and before I forget, Jamie sent me pics of
Kayden in her Halloween costume and Shaun sent us pics of

Patrick in his! they are sooooooooooooooo stinking cute!!!

Finally I will leave you with some pics of our outside fall decorations :) Happy Fall ya'all!!

Enough is enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve had ENOUGH!!!!!!


I am SO flipping sick and tired of tolerance being shoved down our throats! Cases in point.....

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445865,00.html

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78829

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08102306.html

I am not anti-gay...I have gay family members...but enough already with having stuff crammed down our throats and teaching kindergardeners..1st...2nd...3rd grades this crap already!!! LET THEM BE KIDS!!!!!!!!!!

A friend of mine who is gay recently got married in Colorado....but you know what...he was respectful enough to find a minister who would perform the ceremony! He didn't take some other minister to court to make a point! I respect him for that!

THESE are the reasons I AM voting YES on 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be informed!!!

If you are voting in the upcoming election. Please, please research your candidate...don't just vote for someone or some bill because it 'sounds good'. CHECK IT OUT FIRST! Read about it, know WHAT you are voting for or against!

This upcoming election will be one that makes history, so do YOUR JOB and know what your voting for!!

I for one am not overly excited about either candidate. So again here comes another election year of voting for the lesser of two evils. Who will be your lesser?

Check this link....read it...snopes even says it is true. They checked with the author and he has confirmed it's truth.
Huntley Brown

Just for fun

I recently joined facebook..so if you are there give me a holler! Julie McCauley *L*
I am addicted to this darn Hatchlings game they have there, so if you do add me I will send you a request to join the Hatchling game too!

And my stepson Ryann asked me to join his Mob on My Space, so I did that too *L* Oh well..it's all fun!

Geneology

I have been spending a ton of time doing family history work, and loving every minute of it!! The info I have been able to get about my (paternal) grandma Elsie's (Russell) family line is amazing, as is the info I have been able to find on the Krull (my maternal grandfather's) side. But I am sorely lacking on the Dizmang, Akers and Musil side's. They are proving to be very challenging. Seems my great grandfather Frank Musil's family came over from Bohemia in the Czech Republic and the Musil name is quite common over there, and I won't even mention how common a name Frank Musil is!!! *LOL* Makes it a bit difficult to narrow down which one is the right one.
And you would think Dizmang would be an easy name to track down....think again!!!!! *L* As for the Aker's name, I need to get in touch with a cousin back in KS who has a lot of family tree info and see if he will make me some copies of what he has. He has done extensive work and traveled all over getting info.

Consequently I haven't spent much time scrapping lately. This family history stuff has pretty much consumed me! :)




Ok, so go no further if you don't want to hear me venting about this STUPID bailout program!!!
I wish someone could explain to me why it is that there is no branch of government that can come up with a bill that doesn't have a ton of pork in it...somewhere.....take a look at just some of the crap in the Bailout Bill. What a flipping joke!!!!!!! Too bad the joke is on us!
Every flippin person involved in passing this bill should be incredibly ashamed of themselves for allowing this!

The following are some of the top tax sweeteners in the Senate passed Bailout Bill. Not all the provisions are per se outrageous, but collectively are intended to help Congressional leadership get final passage of the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children Current law places an excise tax of 39 cents on the first sale by the manufacturer, producer, or importer of any shaft of a type used to produce certain types of arrows. This proposal would exempt from the excise tax any shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means to enhance the spine of the shaft used in the manufacture of an arrow that measures 5/16 of an inch or less and is unsuited for use with a bow with a peak draw weight of 30 pounds or more. The proposal is effective for shafts first sold after the date of enactment. The estimated cost of the proposal is $2 million over ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. The Oregon senators were the initial sponsors of the provisions. According to Bloomberg News, the provision would be worth $200,000 to Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon.

Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility Track owners want to be able write-off the cost of their facilities on their taxes over seven years - a depreciation timetable many of them have used for decades. But the IRS has wanted to stretch it to at least 15 years and has raised questions whether the increasingly popular tracks really belong in the same tax category as amusement parks. Auto track owners are simply trying to get out of paying more taxes - which they'd have to do if they deducted less every year. These owners have gotten plenty of tax breaks over the years from states and localities eager to get speedways. The provision would be extended 2 years till the end of 2009 and would cost $100 million. The provision encompasses all facilities including grandstands, parking lots and concession stands.

Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Extends until December 31, 2009 a rebate against excise taxes charged on rum imported from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A $13.50 per proof gallon excise tax is applied to distilled spirits imported to the U.S. Under this provision a $13.25 rebate is returned to PR and the VI, and is retroactive back to January 1, 2008. Permanent law sets the rebate at $10.50 per proof gallon, but the PR and VI provisions have generally been in place since the first Clinton Administration. The most recent extension of the $13.50 rebate expired January 1, 2008. Cost is $192 million.

Sec. 301. Extension and modification of research credit The legislation reestablishes and extends the lucrative tax credit for companies doing research and experimentation in the United States. Companies that have benefited from this provision include Microsoft Corp., Boeing Co., United Technologies Corp., Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Harley-Davidson. The two-year extension is estimated to cost $19 billion.

Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the Exxon Valdez litigation The bailout bill would give a tax break to Exxon Valdez plaintiffs, allowing them to average out their punitive damages awards over three years rather than suffer a one-time tax hit from the Internal Revenue Service, as well as other provisions. Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is a big supporter of this provision. Cost is estimated at $49 million.

Sec. 601. Secure rural schools and community self-determination program. Secure Rural Schools lead sponsors Reps. DeFazio (D-OR), Bill Sali (R-ID); Sens. Wyden (D-OR), Larry Craig (R-ID), are major boosters of this program that expired in 2006. In 1908 the federal government agreed to share logging revenue from Forest Service land with neighboring communities that could not tax the land because it was federal. As logging declined in the 1990s, the "county payments" program was initiated in 2000 to directly provide federal funding, more than half going to Oregon, to deal with the loss of revenue. The original version of this provision was introduced as a bill in early 2007 and was estimated to cost $2.2 billion when the OR and ID delegations came to agreement. To give the package more heft, Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) was added to the package, bringing the total cost to $3.3 billion. PILT provides more general funding to counties for federal lands located within their borders. Sen. Reid (D-NV) talked about the PILT program being one of the important elements of the package when the Senate passed the bailout bill.

Sec. 201. Deduction for state and local sales taxes Allows residents of states that don’t pay income tax to deduct, from their federal taxes, sales tax paid over the course of the year. States that benefit include Texas, Nevada, Florida, Washington and Wyoming. The bailout bill extends this provision for 2 years at a cost of $3.3 billion.

Sec 502. Provisions related to film and television productions In an effort to keep film and television productions in the U.S, they would be eligible for a tax incentive program. Under this program, the cost of production of qualifying films would be permitted to be immediately expensed -- that is, fully deducted from income for tax purposes -- in the year the expenditures occur. This provision also makes permanent other favorable tax treatments for production. Historically Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) has been a supporter (dating from its creation in the 2004 corporate tax bill). The cost is estimated at $478 million over 10 years.

Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds The tariff relief (duty savings) is intended to benefit U.S. worsted wool fabric producers that use imported fibers and yarns as inputs, as well as U.S. tailored clothing manufacturers that use imported fabrics as inputs. This provision was originally introduced as a bill in December 2007 by Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Melissa Bean (D-IL). It extends current law provisions until 12/31/14, and in some cases to12/31/15. The 2010 to 2015 cost is estimated to be $148 million.

Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa This extends by two years a previously approved tax credit, the American Samoa economic development credit. In general, this credit allows certain corporations operating in American Samoa a tax credit. The possessions tax credit allows these corporations to offset a portion of their U.S. tax liability on income earned in American Samoa from active business operations, sales of assets used in a business, or certain investments in American Samoa. The cost is $33 million, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. Other Examples:Here are some other interesting provisions

Sec. 201. Inclusion of cellulosic biofuel in bonus depreciation for biomass ethanol plant property Current law allows taxpayers to write-off 50% of the cost of any facility placed in service before January 1, 2013 that produces cellulosic ethanol. This provision expands the types of facilities that may be written-off to include production of other cellulosic biofuels in addition to cellulosic ethanol.

Sec. 211. Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters Allows employers to provide a benefit to employees for costs associated with bicycle commuting, including purchase and repair of a bicycle, bicycle improvements, and bicycle storage. This provision was proposed in 2007 in the Senate by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and in the House by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). This provision is estimated to cost $10 million.

Sec. 323. Enhanced charitable deductions for contributions of food inventory Extends by two years, until December 31, 2009, a provision allowing for deductions related to the charitable donation of “apparently wholesome food”—defined as food intended for human consumption that meets all quality and labeling standards imposed by law and regulations even though the food may not be readily marketable. This provision also changes the application of the law as it relates to donations by farmers and ranchers. The cost is $149 million, according to Joint Committee on Taxation.

Sec. 324. Extension of enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of bookinventory Extends by two years, until December 31, 2009, a tax benefit for the contribution of books to public schools. The provision is worth $49 million.

Sec. 602. Transfer to abandoned mine reclamation fund Transfers interest earned on money in the abandoned mine reclamation fund to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund, which helps pay health benefits for retired miners and their dependents who worked under collective bargaining agreements that promised lifetime health-care benefits. States with the most miners receiving benefits have historically been Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio. This provision extends existing law to include a $9 million transfer for 2010.