You know it's bad when...

you have a dream that Dad'll come Home. That's what happened last night. It was the best dream ever. I dreamed that I met Dad at random, and he was coming Home - he was on his way. I was sooo happy in the dream; I had an amazing warm, happy feeling. A feeling like - LOVE. And then I woke up, and remembered that it's not real, and he'll be back tomorrow. Which I'm exited about! But having him right there for a while was nice too. Please COME HOME DAD!

Dear World,

My Dad is Home.

I can't express how happy this makes me! We only have him until Sunday, but until then, we're going to party... kinda. As much as a Dad with things to do can... we'll have a blast. =)

Love,

Emily

okay, just one more thing!

I was looking through pictures really fast and found this awesome one from the New Years dance. Instant favorite? I think so :)

Reporting for duty -

Yep, it's May. When did that happen? Now, I suppose... that's too soon for my liking - Jubilee is in less than a month!

Or close to that. Either way, it's not a a million miles away like it was last fall; now we're taking care of business. Nowadays Mom and I go to 3-4 Jubilee meetings a week. It's kinda taken over our lives, in a good way - in the best way possible! So much has happened since I really posted last - it's too bad I haven't been able to record any of it. I'm kind of updating right now - a status report of sorts?

Update of the Adams:

Noah: Made all A's in his community college classes - sociology, english, and basketball. He got his permit! He's working towards his license. He's currently looking for something to do, and spends his time hanging out with Jacob, playing basketball, or playing baseball. He's exited for summer, and misses his friends a lot, but loves spending time with his FAMILY! Noah is going to be great. He was going to paint his room, and soo he thought "hey, if I'm going to paint anyway, then my walls really don't matter NOW, because they're going to be painted!" So he sharpie'd ALL OVER his walls! I love it in there :) Every time I go in I draw something new... and he's decided not to paint after all.

Mom: is doing a juggling act now. She works between kid stuff, calling stuff, Jubilee stuff, family stuff, and friend stuff. And house stuff. She is amazing. She's going all-out with Jubilee too, which makes keeping up a full-time deal. Her current side project is arranging a party for a graduating senior at the children's advocacy center - that's a side project. How amazing is she?? She still waits for the evenings though, when we can curl up on the couch with ice-cream, and a great Jane Austen movie + lulu. Those evenings are the best.

Dad: Is traveling too much! He's home now, but for a while there I was worried that all of that travel would be written in the weekly schedule. Seriously, weeks at a time. It was not fun. But he's home now! and working a lot on guns. He has a load that he wants to sell; it's become a hobby of his. He's gotten really good with guns - whatever he doesn't know he finds out. He currently has the certification for Chief Range Safety Officer. He could teach Classes if he wanted to! I am so glad that's he's home. Now if only he would read to us...

Me (Emily Anne): I am okay. I'm working on my piano always, ad reading a lot. My "Making of America" class finished up so now Wednesday is a FREE day! I haven't really begun on German, really, so I'm doing that now. Seminary is almost over, and I hope to attain Excellence in Seminary this year - I've just got to finish up the Doctrine and Covenants & ace the scripture mastery test & make up for attendance, and then I'm set! Jubilee is wonderful, and getting better every day :) Life seems to speed up while my days slow down - it's an odd transition, but I'm getting there, to the point where I can manage it well. Okay, and Personal Progress... well, it's still there. I will get to it, I know I will. It's just a matter of prioritizing. Like right now!

I should be getting ready for bed. Or watching American Idol. What in the world am I doing on here when Scotty is waiting to serenade me on DVR?!

I'll write soon. :)

Some days. hmph.

Some days are really bad. Some days feel like they didn't happen, and there should be waaaay more to it - is it really over? Some days I have to sit down, and wonder what in the world I did that day that was worth-while. Some days the only thing I feel like I did well was going to Seminary. Some days just need to be plowed through to reach the next dawn. Some days I sit down and think for a long while about what I am thankful for. And then it all comes back. And I am okay. And my life does not spin wildly without any intention of stopping in any particular direction for me anymore. Some days, it takes time, and some really great happy music to build up again.

And some days, some days end with me saying thank you, going to sleep, and dreaming deeply while the world continues to spin.

Just Stoppin' In...

Christmas is on Saturday and we're all getting in the Christmas spirit!

We've yet to decorate (technical difficulties.) but tonight we went to a neighboring neighborhood and looked at all of the lights! They have some amazing ones :) Dad took a video, so if he sends it to me, then I'll post it here. There was one house that had the entire house covered with lights and synchronized to Christmas tunes, on the radio. I didn't know people could do that! They pulled it off really well.

Anywho, a while back I was thinking, and I knew that if I didn't start writing down my thoughts, they would get sucked into that black-hole of forgetfulness in the back of my mind, so I wrote it down. Here is the result:

Ode to America

By Emily Adams

Our Founders built a House;

They laid it carefully.

It’s called our Constitution

And with it we are free.

Our House shields us from

Prejudice, greed, and mortal vice-

The kind we’ve seen history use,

And pay the price.

The foundation we know is firm,

And the divine design is sure.

For every ailment we possess,

Our House presents a cure.

Now, we build upon our faithful House

That is tried and true;

It’s too much for our little House,

It’s starting to fall through.

Improvements that offer progress,

Development, and change,

Are just another load to be endured.

Our House is looking strange

With all Its bending and shifting

To accommodate new weight-

Sometimes it seems like its name is

Its only recognizable trait.

New orders, edicts, and departments

Are brushing to the side

The pillars, and provisions,

That were so fortified.

Our new additions are crushing.

Our House can barely be seen

Among all of the Construction;

It’s like we’re wiping our slate clean.

Our House is now taller then ever;

It towers high above the rest,

But It’s only lights, windows, rented rooms-

We’ve buried away our best.

Underneath the paint, and glass, and shaken frame,

Our original still stands;

Always firm, but in need of aid;

Whatever repair demands.

Still It declares - a more perfect Union,

Tranquility, and peace,

Though It’s listeners and believers

Continually decrease.

It’s very floor is being crushed

And still It carries on;

Surviving, and entreating others

to join in Its simple song-

“Freedom and Liberty,

With God by our side;

There is nothing that can stop us

When comes the rising tide.

Our foes and persecutors may

Scoff and jeer and scorn,

But we are in America:

Where Opportunity is born.

Our present we have fought to gain.

Though they taunt, judge, and oppress,

Our future will shine brighter yet,

Our children’s children we shall bless

As we march forth with faith

Knowing that our time will come,

And our dawn will break through,

As we join in from

Our Churches, and our Homes,

For there is where we lead;

And by our example

Will He plant the seed.”

(sorry about the underlining) That's what I've got! We love you Bostons! (Uncle Bob, please tell me what you think :) Merry Christmas!

Good Gracious!

Well, I've decided that I'm going to keep this blog going. For a long time I've just used it to look at other people's blogs - I've made a decision though. The show will go on! I suppose it won't make a difference for the 1 loyal follower (thanks Sierra!) but maybe, just maybe, if I make a habit of writing everything that's going on - family concerns and happy thoughts, personal experiences that make me grateful and things that I've just gotta share with someone - annnddd post it for all the world to see (even if all the world is preoccupied with more important things) I'll be able to see things a little bit more clearly as I look back and examine things closer to put them into words, rather then thoughts. Sure there are journals, but in journals my mind wanders wildly, and I jump from one thought to the next faster then a bumblebee in an arboretum. Here, I'll have a purpose, a focused concentration of thoughts designed to do something, not merely vent emotions (most of the time). And that's what I have to say!

Around here we joke that Texas is the bi-polar state. Texas is doing it again - it gave us just a hint of winter, just a few days of fall, just enough to set the trees off de-leafing themselves, and then started back into summer weather. It's beautiful weather, but rather hard to follow. Yesterday it was so cold I wore a jacket and boots in the morning, and then by 2:00 it was around 70 degrees. Last week it was just as indecisive, only more extreme. It fell to the looow 30's and then hopped right back up again.... it's nice, but not quite the weather we've expected now that it's December! Pssh, I should know by know not to expect anything but heat in the summer with Texas... wishful thinking is always wonderful though. It's nice being able to go outside and see the leaves and Christmas lights without having to put on a jacket. That is my happy thought :)

I'm stalling, and now I know it. The actual-factual reason I think I've started writing again isn't the indecisive weather. Howdy died today. We've had her for 14 years, and she took the eternal cat-nap today. She has been such a blessing in our home, and I am so grateful that we were able to have her. She came to us because of a garage sale. Rewind 14 years, and my Mom was at a garage sale buying a bookcase when the owners (also the people running the sale) told her that they had a cat, and they couldn't keep it. They were moving to England in a few, short days, and the person they originally intended to give the cat to was now in the hospital. So they offered. And my Mom said "no thanks." Later when they delivered the bookcase, they told that the cat (Howdy) was still there! Mom considered it, and as a surprise for my Dad, got the cat. She was already named - they called her Howdy because of her calico pattern :)

Today is May 25, 2011; I found this while looking through drafts of posts that I never published. I realized Howdy's eulogy was never completed. Well, now it will be. Howdy was such a blessing in our lives. She's a part of the family. Having her here, having her home, gave us all I think another thing to love. One more element of Home. She brought me back to earth a few times, I know. Every now and then, out of the corner of my eye, sometimes I think I see her... and then I remember. but it's okay, because she did the best that she could, and now she's living on cloud nine! :) I can't remember a time when we didn't have her... she's always been there. She had the most pampered and domestic manners! She taught Snuggs how to be an inside cat, and then she taught lulu how to sleep on Moms feet (which she now does). She was finicky, and sometimes moody, but she was a great cat. Mom called her a "celestial" cat. She gave us all love, and Home.

SuperMom

I hear a lot about how the world is ending. About how our society is becoming demoralized, and how the family is being weakened. About how superstars and athletes are being glorified. The world will end eventually, but I don't think that it'll happen any time soon.

Today for my Mom's sunbeams class, she told the story of Moses, and of the Pharaoh, and how Moses came to be in the palace. She had her three-year-olds act out the different parts - Moses, Pharaoh, the Princess, Moses's Mom, his Sister, and his Brother. She said that they acted it out about four different times, and that every time they would switch around parts. She has three little girls in her class, and all of them are disney princess diva's, so I thought that there would be a huge scene about who could be the Princess, but my Mom said that the most popular part there was the Mom. The Mom who had the brown shawl, and not the hot pink one (which, by the way, is their favorite color), and who did not live in the castle. I can totally see them too, sitting there with the baby doll in their arms, playing the Mommy role.

So, maybe the world is ending. Maybe "society" is going downhill. But as for me, I think we're pretty safe for now.