On a more serious note

The ditties I've been writing have been strictly for fun, and dashed off rather quickly. Please note, though, that they not only have rhyme but also have a rather strict meter. When I was a kid, and again while at BYU, I engaged in poetry writing of a more serious bent. Here's one that Tim found in an old box somewhere. Note the sing song rhythm to this one, and try to figure out why I used that.

Falling Leaves
She's old now and haggard, she waits of so softly,
She rests now and sighs, waiting for night;
Yellow-white rays through leaves set to rustling
By breezes, make shimmer the leaves in their light;
Green leaves, new life; yet so soon to be browning,
Soon to be browning, while she waits in the light;
The leaves fall to earth, brown and crumpled come falling;
The old woman rests now, and waits for the night.

Poem-Tastic

Here's one dad sent me:

"I ate a spider!" said the fly.
"It tasted bad I won't deny.
If I should eat another spider
I'll have to drink some apple cider
Then the taste will disappear
I won't eat one again I fear."

The spider said "I'm glad to know
That spiders taste so bad. And so
You will not mind if I relate,
The spider that you say you ate
Was my great aunt, I am displeased.
And so I'll tell you this to ease
Your pain as I do what I do."
And then without a howdy do
That spider ate the fly. Ew.

Adieu.


So here's one I sent him:

I'm so sorry, I can't deny
That is has been so long for me to reply.
My semester is coming to an end
So checking emails is not my trend.
I loved all your posts it's true
I apologize if not commenting made you blue.
I would love to see more pictures of your dad
And even hearing more poems would make me glad.
The fact that you use the blog makes me stoked
After finals I check more often if I haven't croaked.

But in all seriousness dad, thanks for all the giggles...
All this poem writing sure gets out my wiggles...
Gee now look what you've done,
Out of rhymes I will not run!
Please make this rhyming stop,
It is going to make my brain pop!

I have an essay to write
But if I don't stop rhyming I'll be up all night.
My essay will have lyrical prose
To which my professor may stick up her nose.

Two things (important thing)

First thing. I updated my profile. Amazing, huh? I even included a photograph. It was taken at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Mom and I, and Allison and Tim, went on this particular trip. Second thing. Grandpa DeGriselles has passed. I intentionally did not take our camera with me when I returned to Michigan for that quick trip after we'd heard of his hospitalization. I don't want to remember him as I saw him then, just before he passed. He was sickly and thin, he had horrible bruising from head to toe along the right side of his body. In spite of his general thinness, his arms, but particularly his legs, were swollen. I am glad I could be there for him, for Mom, and for myself. But I want to remember him as the strong man he was. And that's how I'd like you to remember him. Therefore, I am attaching two photographs for you. One was taken when he was a young soldier and paratrooper. The other was taken a number of years ago when Mom and I went back to Michigan (I think Tim and Allie were on this trip, someone correct me if I'm mistaken). Uncle Tom passed away while we were there (aunt Blanche's long term boyfriend), we attended the funeral, and then we went somewhere for a luncheon. The second picture was taken there. It's Grandma and Grandpa DeGriselles, as they sat across the table from us. I hope you enjoy them, and perhaps you will print them up for your own book of remembrance. Love, Dad.

I'm a poet

I haven't writ
In quite a bit.
So here I'll sit
And think on it.

I thunk about it
And I doubt it.
To write's a pain
And quite inane.
Darn my brain,
I'm quite insane.
I try to write
But have the blight.
I cannot write
And so, in spite
Of what I thunk
I'll only plunk
One word or two,
(no more than two)
Then say adieu.
So here's the words:

"Sacre bleu!"

Aaron, did I spell that right?
Or should I say,
To save the day,
"Oh golly, Dang!
Misspelled again!"

Just a thought...

This morning I had the opportunity to receive some wonderful insight as I was praying. One thought I had was how when we are doing good in life, especially when we maybe have overcome an obstacle or a trial, it can make those small maybe not so good things (maybe an inappropriate movie or tv show, or a not so kind thought about someone) we do stand out more. I wondered why this was. Here we are working so hard to be more Christ-like and all the little imperfections we have seem to sneak up on us. It can be really frustrating when we are trying so hard. It’s almost as if the Lord is telling us we aren’t good enough. As I thought about it and prayed to the Lord for guidance the following thought came to my mind….

Recently I’ve read a lot in the scriptures about wickedness and how it causes you to become “blind”. In Moses chapter 4, verse 4 we read, “And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.” The more sins we commit the more we are blinded or numb to the Lord’s counsel and promptings. This is a reason so many good people fall into the hands of evil addictions like pornography. The more they engage the more they become spiritually blinded to the spirit. As I ponder this I remember in 2 Nephi chapter 2, verse 11 when Nephi is talking to his brother Jacob he says “It must needs be, that there is opposition in all things.” If wickedness causes us to become “blind” then surely righteousness causes our “eyes to become open”. This is further proved with the scripture found in D&C chapter 76, verse 12 which reads, “By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God.” The more we allow the spirit into our life the more our eyes are opened and the spirit is able to preside in our life.

I am sure you are all thinking “duh!” but this really hit me this morning. The harder we are working to become better the more our eyes are opened to our imperfections. Obviously we are doing something right when this happens. Instead of looking at is as our inability to be perfect we should remember this is the Lord’s way of telling us we are becoming more Christ-like. By allowing our “eyes to be open” we have the opportunity to work harder and be more righteous and there is nothing wrong with that.

I just wanted to quickly testify that I know the Lord loves us all and he continually wants us to be happy. I know that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10) and that by praying for guidance, opening our eyes to the spirit, and living in a way that is conducive to the spirit those small imperfections we may have will be no more. For surely the Lord has said, “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me; and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” (Either 12:27).

Pacino and Other News

Some of you may have heard about this, so I wanted to let everyone know about it:

On Thursday morning Pacino was taken to the hospital after he regurgitated and became lethargic, he was then diagnosed with aspirated pneumonia. After several nail biting days, a couple visits to the animal hospital, anti-biotics, and many prayers he is on the road to recovery and getting back to his old self. There is still a rough two week period ahead of us and for him as he recovers.

In other news, my brother Todd and his wife Amy have the possibility to adopt two little girls from a woman in Utah, LDSFS is rushing the adoption due to the circumstances that the girls are in. The Primary paper work is to be done on Monday and hoping to have the adoption finalized in November. They could use some prayers to help them with this time and for the best thing to happen for the two girls.

Hey everybody!!!

So just an update, i just finished 4th nephi!! three more books to go and then i am DONE hopefully by tomorrow or wednesday!! so a couple days early an i only missed reading two days.

i also was at 185 this morning so i dpont think ill hit my ten pound goal but i still lost weight and hopefully will keep losing it.

Lastly i want ALL of you to respond. I want to know what is the fastest you guys have burned through the Book of Mormon??

4 Months Old!

Abby girl is growing up in front of our eyes! Every time I look at her it's like she is getting bigger and smarter and cuter and I love it! My baby girl is 4 months old today and the old cliche is true "time flies when you're having fun"! It rattles my brain every time I think about quickly she is growing and changing.

Abby has mastered rolling over from both her stomach to her back and her back to her stomach and just wont stop. She is laughing and giggling and smiling like crazy and loves to "coo". Abby can grab things (which I am learning can be fun but dangerous too when you are eating dinner or have your hair too close). Abby loves to go swimming and just loves water in general. Bath time is her new favorite time of the day!

Abby is so amazing and we are so lucky to have her in our life. We can't wait for her 4-month checkup on Monday to see how much she's grown!

Part Three

"Yes. This," she said, smiling wickedly still. "The key to your heart! You, sir, are my LOVE SLAVE!" "NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!" I screamed. "No?" she asked, with a puzzled look on her face. "Well, actually, I'm okay with it," I replied. "But, in keeping with the cliff hanging tradition, I had to have a loud and drawn out howl of a denial in here somewhere." I got up, dusted myself off, and looked out the window, the door having been securely--and safely for me--pulled shut. "Where is that SFATIESE, anyway?" "Dan, you don't have one. You'll just have to get used to the heat. Moving here was your idea anyway," Sharon said. "NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!" I screamed again. "What now?" I answered, "I figured a long and drawn out howl of denial would be just effective here at the end as at the beginning."

"NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!!!" Sharon screamed.

As I fell to my knees, the bronchial tubes partly up my throat, with Death himself knocking at my door, I felt a hand reach out and touch me, then another. I felt a tug at my shoulders, I felt myself being pulled and dragged. Whether to salvation or to my doom I knew not. Whether hours or moments passed thereafter I shall never know, but suddenly I felt cool air pouring down my throat. Not entirely certain I was alive or dead, I found my myself on the kitchen floor, looking up into the eyes of my savior. It was . . .

MY WIFE! "What?!" I said. "YOU saved me? I thought you lured me to my death with promises of a cool evening in the out of doors." "Silly Dan," she said. "I asked you to come out doors. I did NOT ask you to come outdoors without your SFATIESE!! Your "Stage Four ACME Thoroughly Insured and Environmentally Safe Environmental Suit!" You know you can't survive outside without it." "But what of the insurance money?" I asked in astonishment. "You're worth more alive than dead," she said with a slightly wicked smile. What could she mean, I wondered. As I lay on the cool tile floor, catching my breath (after first having assured myself my lungs and bronchial passages were just where they should be), she held something up to my face, just before my half open eyes, so that I could see it. Oh no, I thought. Not THAT!

TO BE CONTINUED.

Leona's Birthday Party

Miss Leona is now 3 and had a special Birthday party to celebrate!
She was so happy to have her freinds over and play games and get presents. We had a Care Bears theme which I loved since they were my favorite when I was little and Leoan had a great time telling her freinds about the different bears.




The cake turned out awesome! It taseted interesting though. Leona chose strawberry cake and an orange cream flavored cake to have. It was perfect for a three year old, but maybe not so much for the rest of us. I hope that all of you will be able to make it to one of our birthday parties sometime!

Mom potted plants on the back porch. She invited me out. She said the pots were beautiful. She said the sun had set. She said there was nothing to fear. She said it was cooling off with approaching evening. The web of deceit was so artfully weaved, and so well cast. Little I did I know: SHE WAS PLOTTING FOR THE INSURANCE MONEY!!!!!!!!

I opened the back door. I stepped out into the open air. Indeed the pots were beautiful. Indeed the sun had set. But I had MUCH to fear. It was NOT cooling off. I clutched at my throat, I gasped for breath, the fire of the furious inferno of the desert surrounded me, striking at me from every side, tearing at me, as it it were a living thing and intended to rip out my lungs by the bronchial tubes.

Should you not hear from me again, you will know why. And please, if she asks, SIGN NO CHECKS!!!!!

To be continued (and to be brought back safely from the very edge of the cliff).

Grandpa

I'm sad that we can't all drop what we're doing and go to Michigan right now, or even to Apple Valley, to be together with family and celebrate his life. Tim suggested that I make a post on here for us to share memories of grandpa. Dad has already shared a few stories and I'm happy he did, I would also love to hear more.

Just gotta gush for a second...

Yes this is another post all about my baby girl complete with pictures but I can't help it...for a long time I didn't know if Matt and I were going to be able to have kids and now that we have one of the cutest babys (along side my amazing nieces and nephew) I can't help but want to talk about her 24-7.


It's hard for me to describe how amazing it is to be a mom. There's really nothing like holding your brand new baby and realizing you never new how much you could love another human being. It's hard though as well. Sleepless nights trying to get your baby to fall asleep and the complete 180 your life does. It really is a labor of love you wouldn't trade for anything.

Right around the time Abby turned 2 months old she started smiling and I can't even put into words how beautiful it is to watch your baby smile. Newborns don't really smile (well at least Abby never did) and since Abby has started to smile it's been a whole new world for us. It's amazing to watch her smile at me and Matt as soon as we come into a room. She looks at me and realizes it's her mommy and a huge grin comes upon her face and melts my heart. When she first started smiling it was a hit and miss kind of thing but now all we have to do is say "hi" and it's like we've made her whole world. She starts into a huge grin and then laughs and laughs and I feel like every dumb or stupid thing I've done in my life has been washed away as she looks at me and sees me. She sees her mommy who will never stop loving her, never stop wanting to make her happy and it's one of the greatest feelings I've ever had. My baby girl knows who her mommy is and I think that's pretty amazing!

Moral of the Story - Listen to your Mommy

So... this afternoon we went as a family in the minivan to Luke's baseball game. When I pulled in to the parking lot most of the spots were full, so I decided to parallel park next to the fence next to the big kids field. There were lots of spots open there and it was close to Luke's tee-ball field. As I turned off the car, Sarah pointed out a sign hung on the fence next to the car which read, "Caution, Foul Ball Area, Park at your own risk." I smiled while waving away the crazy notion of being in danger and said, "It'll be fine. Let's get to Luke's game." Not to be quieted that easily Sarah mentioned, "Don't forget, this is my car. I like my car." I smiled again, nodded, and got out of the car.

I then opened the rear sliding door and helped Luke and Leona unbuckle (I can't believe they still can't do it by themselves, but that's a whole different story). As I stepped away from the van something smacked me in the face, hard. Stunned, I grabbed my mouth and bent over. I could hear kids in the field saying, "Whoa..., that ball just hit that guy in the face." Sarah was on the other side of the car inspecting the windshields for damage...just kidding, she was actually trying to find out from Luke what had happened. His answer was, "A ball came over the fence, whoosh, and boing daddy in the face."

By this time I had regained some composure and stood up. My mouth was bleeding but I was worried about the kids and the parents asking if I was okay. Someone also said, "I wouldn't park there..." Why didn't someone warn me before the freak zombie ball went loose and relentlessly attacked me. Shoot.

I said I was fine and walked to the other side of the car with more than just a damaged ego. I checked myself in the mirror and pulled some loose skin off my lip before grabbing a napkin from the glove box. Just in case anyone was wondering, I stopped that baseball dead in it's tracks.

To make a long story short...I parked the car in the foul ball zone, even after being warned, and wouldn't you know it there came a foul ball over the fence and bounced off the edge of the side window. I have a nice fat lip and some bloody napkins to show for it. However, tt could have been a lot worse, broken nose or teeth, or even one of the kids could have been hit. So, rather me than them.

But Moral of the Story is: Kids, Listen to your Mommy.

Positive News

I met with my academic adviser on Tuesday and found out some very exciting/intimidating news.

I will be graduating in May 2012. You know, in a year.

All I have to do is take two summer classes, a winter class, and volunteer a TON over the next year. I will graduate in May and do my internship over the summer. I believe October is when the state and national certification exams are, so after October 2012 I will (fingers crossed) be a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. I'll have initials after my name :) Allison Thelin RTC, CTRS.

Like I said, I am very excited yet intimidated. I have a lot to do so I have to buckle down. This next year will be very intense, but it will have a huge pay off.