Mr. McCollum, May your notches be plenty!

Latest photo of Mr. McCollum, sacrificing his beliefs for his very stubborn third son.

Mr. McCollum got older yesterday. Mr. McCollum is a very talented man. On the outside he's just a regular guy. Very common. Very normal. Very average. But on the inside he's quite impressive. He's managed to accomplish every goal he's ever had. Ever since he was 9 years old he's managed, against any odds, to get what he's wanted. Not by being unpleasant or forceful, but by being tactful and patient. When he was 9 years old he wanted a toy called a Dino Rider. I guess they were popular when we were kids. I didn't know about them because my brothers and I weren't into dinosaurs. I guess it was a pretty expensive toy because he had to do a lot of work to earn enough money to buy one. But he did it. Thanks to his father, I know this story. It's in The Archives of John McCollum, right up there with the chapter on Wendy and the Oranges.
I didn't know Mr. McCollum until he was 18 years old. When we met, he decided that I was the one for him. I didn't agree. But he waited. And waited. For four years he waited, patiently. He kept our acquaintance/friendship in good standing until he worked his magic powers and won me over. He didn't win me over by being outstanding at anything or impressing me with his coolness or knowledge. As far as I knew, he had neither of these qualities. His magic powers had a lot to do with him being himself. Not the average guy that everyone else sees. But the guy who likes all the holiday candies, who likes Porsches because he likes to fix them up, who likes to paint model tanks, who feels for people when they make a fools of themselves, who wishes he had taken piano lessons when he was young, who likes to wear polo shirts, who likes to go shopping with his mom, who knows what he likes and why he likes it and can't be swayed.
So, we got married. We've been married for almost 10 years. He's still managed to have energy to reach for goals and attain them. He's always wanted to be a fake Marcus Brody. You know the part in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc where Indiana tells the enemy that they'll never find Marcus Brody because he speaks however many different languages and he'll blend in? Well, that's who Mr. McCollum has become. I don't know about the blending in part, but he has certainly accomplished his goal of learning how to speak plenty of languages. He leads our family to all these strange places and situations. He manages to mold our families' life around his goals without even realizing it. Or maybe he does realize it. I don't know. I just know that he's in charge without being bossy. So, if you ever end up working with Mr. McCollum, watch out! You may end up doing something you never dreamed of, and ten years down the road you will look back and ask yourself, "How did I get here?"
So, here I am in life, married to Mr. McCollum. Hoping that his dreams won't tax me too much. Glad that he still includes me in them. Grateful that he has thus far. Fortunate to have an ample knowlegde of the world and its people and to have rich memories and good friends collected from each episode of our lives.
Mr. McCollum will never stop taking classes. Mr. McCollum will never stop being interested in new things. He will never stop learning. He will never relax too long. I'm grateful I stumbled upon such a man, and that this man chose me, because I know for certain that my eye would not have been keen enough to notice his unique traits and exciting approach to life and the world around him. I love Mr. McCollum. I wish him another successful year of accomplishments. May your notches be plenty, my love!

Our lives passed away . . .

The blowing out of Sherman's 6 candles.

I believe the Book of Mormon is a true record of the people that lived on the American continent centuries before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. One of the men that wrote in the book was named Jacob and he states very beautifully, "And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the other plates of Nephi, wherefore I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days."
Being married to a man that is probably more passionate about history than he is about me, I have gained an appreciation for primary sources. This gorgeous writing above has always been on my list of 'poetic' verses from the scriptures. Only now has it started flashing in my memory as we prepare to move from Qatar and start afresh again. Especially the part where he mentions that his life and the lives of his people have passed like a dream. Even though six days still remain before we get on the plane, I am already starting to close my little book of Qatar 2009-11 and go to look for a place to store it on the shelves of memory. I know that whenever I pull out that book to look back, it will be "like unto me as a dream". Just like my childhood is, or my episode in Spain as a teenager, or the mission I served for 18 months in Toronto. All dreams. All shelved away.

"Time passed away," also has made me think about how time keeps moving. Last night Back to the Future was on. Michael J. Fox is a great runner, by the way, and I love the 'life preserver' vest he wears. Anyway, the playing with time that Hollywood does, and also many authors have done, really is pleasant and fascinating because time is something that we all value. Who wouldn't want just a little more time? A little more time in that moment? A little more time with that person? To see what it was like to live in that time? Etc. So, my time and your time is passing away as I write and you read this post. It will never come back and I ask myself, "What should I be doing with my time?" Jacob still speaks today for many Mormons through this record he left. Do you have a record? What would you like to leave behind after you pass on out of this world?

I keep no record. I keep a few papers here and there of my kids' drawings and writings and a few tangible memories. A written record? I guess this blog will have to qualify until I settle down in a house to call my own. And maybe my kids won't care about my record. But maybe others will. I love hearing about how my mother could buy doughnuts for a nickel when she was a kid, how she ran barefoot all day through the orchards, and how her father taught her how to plant sweet corn.

All this while, as I ponder the mysteries of time and the universe, I still enjoy these moments and try to really enjoy my children as they are. Sherman turned 6 years old today. He is a fine, generous, young man who certainly does his name justice.

Cinci is 4

Man, Cinci is so heavy when I pick him up. He's one solid kid. But he is soooooooo sweet. He's got these perfect freckles on his nose and cheeks. His eyes are chocolatey. Yum! And his hair, so smooth! It sways from side to side when he runs, or gallops, or romps, or pedals on his bike. His little friends in sunday school even caress his hair during singing time. It's just too straight and smooth. He's a cutie and he's four now. He's decided to grow older and he is developing on his own terms. With our other two, it was completely different. With Cinci, he is in charge! I suppose he could live up to his name. Cincinnatus. General Cincinnatus.

For his birthday we had a party for him. I'm breathing easy now because it's over. But I must say that I had a lot of fun planning it out. Atticus, Sherman, and Daddy put on a puppet show for the guests.Then a neighbor of ours did some magic tricks for the kids. I invited the right people. Actually, Cinci invited the right people. You see, I don't particularly like to be the hostess. Talking and chatting are not my fortes. But my neighbor, Erika, is excellent at this skill AND her son just happens to be one of Cinci's buddies at school! She could talk to anyone anywhere about anything. She's great. I've decided that if I can arrange to have her at every party I host, she can step in as the hostess and talk to everyone.

My children are so special to me. I love to do birthday parties for them. Love, love, love it! Happy Birthday my little chocolatey boy!

Happy Birthday Hector!

It was Hector's first birthday. I've been very bad about taking pictures of my kids on their birthdays. I didn't take one picture of Atticus' 7th birthday party, and it was really cool. He would have liked to have remembered the friends that came and the fun time they had. Oh well. This was the best I could get of Hector. He got a haircut for his birthday. And a cupcake. Here's Jonathan lugging Hector up a sand dune. This picture doesn't do the dune justice. Just know that it's really big and really steep. You wouldn't want to go down this dune in your car.

Here are our four bears outside the Museum of Islamic Art. We just went to see the exhibition they had of "A Journey into the World of the Ottomans". Fortunately, they displayed very little modern art so I didn't walk out of there frustrated from spending the money on the exhibit. Please forgive me for not being cultured enough to enjoy modern art. I just don't have that quality. We showed the kids the paintings, which they actually enjoyed. They really want to go to Turkey again. They love the Bosphorus. They love the mosques. I know they couldn't describe why they love those places but I know why they do. They spent so much time on the Bosphorus when we lived there. We didn't have a car. We were crossing on those ferries at least twice a week and more often on some weekends. We'd see dolphins. We'd see massive tankers. We'd see people throwing bread to the seagulls. We'd see jellyfish. So many of them. The fresh, coolness of the sea spray on their faces. Of course they loved it. The mosques were great because they were beautiful buildings. Beautifully constructed. They were tranquil. They were open. That was the best part. My children were welcome inside. Here in Doha, infidels are not welcome inside. Anyway, it's Jonathan's turn to post. Send him a few comments if you get a chance, that way he'll post more often. I hope he'll post every two weeks. I love to read his writing. I wish he'd write more.

We had Jonathan's birthday celebration extravaganza yesterday. All Jonathan really likes is getting a hotel room where he and I can be together alone. No kids. No noise. And plenty of junk food we don't have to share with anyone. At home when we have our alone time after the kids are in bed I konk out after I've sat in one place for five minutes. But last night I ate a small bag of chocolates during the first movie we watched in the hotel room. I was getting a bit drowsy, then I got myself a cherry 7up that I picked out at Carrefour and put it in a glass with ice. Oh goodness me! The whole sensation of a frosty glass with beads of condensation forming on the outside surface coupled with the sound of the cubes tinkling against the edges of the glass. It sounded so luxurious. I felt rich! So, I sipped that for a while during that Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholsen movie. The I decided I would eat some peanut M'n'M's. I'm sure Jonathan was really surprised at how I was holding up. He was drifting off before me. I watched the ends of a few more movies. Then I finally fell asleep. I woke up uncomfortable. Too much junk! I am aware that I'm not as young as I used to be. I can't just eat whatever I want and expect to sleep well. Who cares about the calories! All I care about is the sleep. So I need to remember to eat my chocolate earlier in the day.

The next day we went back home to pick up the kids. You can't just go to the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha and not bring the kids to the pools. They love it there. We had a blast. These pools will always have a special place in my heart. Hector had his first swimming experience here. So Jonathan is 31 years old. Well, he will be in two days. He felt pretty good about himself this year. He's in better shape at least. Last year he fainted while working out in the hotel's gym. We got to talk about what kind of boys we're going to raise. None of those effeminate boys that the world is creating nowadays. All they know how to do is push buttons, pay for other people to do things they should know how to do themselves, and lay out. Gag me! I don't care how good vitamin D is for you. There are ways to get it without having to rip your clothes off and prostrate yourself in idle stillness. Anyway, Jonathan and I made a list of things we need to teach our boys before they are 14. Wish us luck considering we have to learn how to do half of the things on that list too.

I love Jonathan. He's too intelligent, lacks social skills, and isn't a snappy dresser, but I love him and I'm happy he loves me too. I'm happy we can love eachother and work toward our goals together in this life.

Still going.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Mr. Jubba Lubba is still alive and kicking. He has a slight case of baby acne. My theory is that since I eat tons of chocolate, he gets the acne through drinking my milk. I could give up chocolate for the time being but I'm not strong enough. Even with the acne, we still love him and think he's adorable.

Cinci is still alive too. He's finally three and he requested a "Patty Cake" for his birthday. "No problem Cinci!"

See how happy he is.

He also got to go on a bike ride with Mommy. I haven't ridden a bike in years. I felt like I was flying. I'm sure all the Indian workers in the compound thought I was crazy because I was screaming "I'm flying, I'm flying!" as I sped along after Atticus and Sherman. That poor bike though. A neighbor of ours has quite the collection of bikes. This particular one has the main seat for the pedaler, then one right in front and one right behind. I tried riding with Cinci in front and Sherman in back but the poor tires weren't taking it so well, probably more due to my size than theirs. I still have a few pounds to lose so maybe we'll try that bike again in a few months.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Cinci, since turning three, now sports a small cut right between the eyes. He's quite proud of it. This is the cut that produced blood out of it, out of his nose, and out of his mouth. It doesn't look that bad, does it?

Another vacation

<

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

We've been really lucky here in Doha this year. Thanksgiving has fallen during the Muslim sacrificial holiday and in arabic they call it Eid (pronounced eed). So the kids learn about it in school and I think Sherman is a little confused. On the last day before the holiday break he asked me
-Mom? Is Christmas Eid tomorrow?

Christmas Eid or not, we had a wonderful holiday. Our compound emptied out as most people go to lush, faraway destinations to get their fill of excitement. Doha is a little sparse when it comes to excitement. With me being 8 months pregnant we weren't going to go anywhere too far away.

Thanksgiving day and my birthday celebration were the highlights of the week but we did some other things too.

Jonathan's favorite thing to do during a vacation is to eat out at restaurants. So we did that a few times. We also got doughnuts for the first time at Krispy Kremes.
We went to the beach twice which was really fun. The kids just ran wild

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Which character from the hit movie "Goonies" does Shermy resemble? From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

and I really felt that they got some good quality nature time. There was more wildlife at the beach than I thought there would be. The last time I went to the beach up in the northern part of the peninsula there was nothing. Just squishy sand. Well, in Al Wakra, where we went, there were tons and tons of hermit crabs, sea snails, some regular crabs, fish, birds, and an abundance of sea shells. Atticus and I like to collect them. The sand there wasn't so squishy either.

We also woke up really early one morning to go see the sunrise by the water.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

It didn't turn out to be one of those days that are spectacular but we still had fun. We brought all the kids' bikes and they rode along the Corniche at the crack of dawn while I took pictures.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Then, on December 13th, the culmination of six years of joy, work, and love. Atticus turned six years old. Above is a picture of him trying not to smile to big with his school teachers Ms. Elena and Ms. Reeva. A few great things about Atticus.

-He's self motivated.

-He's very precise and detailed with the work that he does.
-He's very observant.

-He's energetic beyond normal levels.

-He's getting strong enough to lift things for me.

-He's very sensitive.

-He's resilient.

-He loves to eat stuffed green olives and macaroni and cheese.

I just love him. He's not so snuggly anymore but I know he has a sweet heart inside him. Instead of hugs he prefers to be hung upside down by his feet.

It's my Mom's birthday!

My 30th birthday while we were in Turkey.2008

The table we eat on in our kitchen is almost always dirty. It's one of those chores that is never complete. We are always using the table for something. Eating, computer work, crafts, etc. It's a wonderful and useful place. But that's not my point. My point is that I am 31 years old now and I feel like I am like that table. The activities I occupy myself with come and go, sometimes I'm clean, sometimes I'm dirty, but in the end all I really am is a tool. A tool to be used often and definitely worth the maintenance.

So in my life I've done a lot of things, seen a lot of places, and met a lot of people, etc. Sometimes I find myself measuring myself that way, by the things, places, and people I can manage to accumulate on some sort of list. But really none of that matters. What matters to me right now, what is on my table right now, is that what I'm doing right now is bringing me happiness and perhaps bringing someone else some happiness at the same time.

I'm so happy being a mom to my boys, being a wife to Jonathan, being physically healthy, having a very easy life (so easy that its scary to think what's in store for me in the future), being American, etc. It's a great time of life for me. I'm 31! My kids drew me some very thoughtful pictures. Atticus even made me a little gift and wrapped it up himself. I sort of had to force this to happen but hey! How will they ever learn to think of others on their birthdays if I don't make them think of me? "So, what did you boys do for me for my birthday?" Jonathan topped off the artwork with a bag full of chocolates. You just can't go wrong with chocolate. Then we went to church and I was asked to sit with Sherman's class during the Sunday School time in Primary. When the Primary President was welcoming visitors he stood up and walked up to her and started trying to tell her that it was my birthday. Of course, it was really hard for her to understand him because he stutters a little and his pronunciation is unique but he got it out finally, and the whole time I was just sitting there feeling really uncomfortable. I was torn between forcing him to sit down and shut up, and letting him share the news. I just didn't want people to think that I put him up to it. Oh, that Sherman! Always willing to share the latest news with everyone! Another reason I didn't stop him was because I would want him to do that for someone else if they were too shy to announce it. There are a lot of people that need Shermans to talk for them so I just couldn't stifle him this time. The children sang me the Happy Birthday song and then I was able to sit down next to my Shermy and strangle, I mean, hug him.

After church Jonathan surprised me really good. We were hoping that New Moon, the movie, would be coming out here in Doha but it didn't. So he told me that there was this movie about Hugo Chavezs' life and a party type thing going on at the Venezuelan consulate and we would go to that. So he got a babysitter and we went but of course we didn't go to the Venezuelan consulate. We went instead this awesome hotel!

It's the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha. I'd never heard of the Four Seasons Hotel before coming here. It's a really classy five star hotel and its 20 minutes from our home! I took Jonathan there for his birthday just a month and a half ago but we decided that we probably couldn't afford another night there until next year. What a surprise! I was so excited. I love the cake they give you on your birthday. Not only did they have one cake waiting in the room on arrival but they also brought another one after our dinner in the evening. Boy did I eat a lot of cake! We had to take the second one home. So we relaxed, went to the mall and walked around, watched TV, etc. In the morning after our buffet breakfast, which I couldn't really enjoy because of all the cake I stuffed myself with the night before, I decided that we should go get the kids. I swore last time we were at this hotel that we would bring the kids because their swimming pools are so nice. So Jonathan got a five o'clock check out and went to get the kids around 12. Plus, I'm sure the babysitter needed some relief too. Here are the boys all ready to jump in the pool! Atticus is really wired. Can you see him in the back

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

The kids had so much fun going down the slides together. Jonathan must have worn himself out with all the picking up and throwing and carrying he had to do in those pools. It was so great. The kids had so much fun and I had so much fun watching them. Of course, I just sat around most of the time like a beached whale. Thankfully this post will not be graced with a picture of me in my bathing suit although Jonathan did get a few.

Here is a faithful picture of Doha's city center. Lots of tall buildings, lots of construction, nice big roads all next to the Persian Gulf.