This year in Conner’s school class he gets to write and illustrate a book which will be published.

I can’t wait to see what he’s come up with.

Since the book will be published, it will include an “About the Author” page.

His teacher asked us, his parents, to write this page.  Here is what we came up with:

About the Author

 CONNER JAMES McNAMEE

Conner is a lifelong resident of Farmington, Utah.  He is eight years old and the oldest child of Dave and Amber McNamee.  He has a younger brother, Logan, and a younger sister, Audra and will soon have a new baby brother.

Conner loves the 3^rd grade.  He loves to learn new things, especially in reading, science, and geography.  He is very smart and is good at teaching others what he has learned.  Conner enjoys doing many sports like soccer, basketball, and swimming.  One of his passions is riding his bike.  He is very proficient in karate having earned his black belt.   He also enjoys doing many activities with his dad like flying remote controlled airplanes and even in real airplanes.  Conner is very good at building and creating, and understanding the science behind it.

Conner is a very good friend. Many people want to be around him.  He is also a good big brother, helping and playing with his siblings.  His parents appreciate his willingness to help and his loving nature.  Conner has eleven aunts and uncles, and nine cousins.  He loves playing with his cousins and his entire family loves him very much!

Conner is easy to be around and has a great smile with a twinkle in his eye.  He is a great kid to know and love.

There’s this term out there called nesting.  And it is only used to refer to us pregos.
I think this refers to me ALL the time!
I love having things in order, but when I do it now I’m accused of nesting!
Either way, I’ve been a busy birdie mama and it’s been awesome!
Besides the fact that in about 14 weeks we will have a new little one, I may be making up for lost time when I was sick and unable to function.  The list of dones so far includes:

- making oodles freezer meals
- washing, sorting and putting away baby clothes
- organizing every drawer, closet, cupboard I can get my hands on (this is on-going but feels so great)
- making my 2011 blog book, 2011 photo book, and 2010 photo book

Love, love crossing things off my list! And it will be good to have done because I get restless when I can’t constantly go, go, go.  Having a new baby is definitely not go, go, go time so I’m enjoying the time I have now.

We had our first ever Pinewood Derby experience as a family.  It was great, but I will admit I am dreading how many more we have in our future!

Conner’s car was simple —- just black.  He designed the shape and decided to leave it plain and black.

Turns out that wasn’t a bad idea.  He came in first in all by one race; and for some reason didn’t place.  Dave and I can’t quite figure that one out but we’re not ones to make a fuss !  Conner just had fun preparing for and watching the action!

As we drove home, I realized that may be the last time I drive home from Payson.  I can’t even count the number of times I’ve made the drive home from Payson in my life.  I have the sweetest memories of my childhood, cousins, family and grandparents and I’m grateful for those.  I’m also happy that my grandparents are together again!

Martha Ellen Ashby Tanner

1916 ~ 2012
A valiant daughter of God, Martha Ellen Ashby Tanner, 95, passed away after a short illness on Monday, January 16, 2012, in Bountiful,Utah, just five months after the death of her eternal sweetheart,Merlynn. She was born on July 16, 1916, in Spanish Fork, Utah to Thomas Merrill Ashby and Edna Patience Holt. She was always a “Spanish Fork girl,” attending school there and then graduating from Brigham Young University with a degree in education. She married Merlynn M. Tanner of Payson, Utah on August 6, 1941, in the Logan Temple and they built their home and their life in Payson, where they raised six children.

Martha taught hundreds of Payson’s children in the First Grade, a grade most crucial for later success in school and in life. During her long career, she served in both the Taylor and Peteetneet Elementary Schools. She was known for her great ability in teaching children to read and she received Nebo School District and Freedom Foundation’s Outstanding Teacher Awards. She had a beautiful singing voice, which enhanced many community, church, and family gatherings. Martha found great joy in daily acts of service. The produce from Martha and Merlynn’s fruitful garden was shared with family, friends, and neighbors. Their fruit room and overflowing freezer were amazing to her grandchildren and Martha’s bread was always the most treasured treat of a visit to Grandma’s.

Martha was born a writer and was a poet extraordinaire. In her prolific verse, she rejoiced in the simple joys of life and pondered the deepest truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was the poet laureate of the family and the Park Ward, composing for special occasions, programs, and to honor those she knew and loved. Her poems were filled with insight, inspiration, and gratitude for all the blessings of the Lord in her life:

CONTENTMENT

Oh, the feeling of contentment

If we can truly say,

“My life is full of happiness.

I did His work today.”

In addition to her poetry, Martha wrote and published several family histories, including her own personal history as a legacy for her posterity. She loved music and the fine arts, as well as the art of rodeo and the joy of being in Payson Canyon with Merlynn. Among the greatest gifts she gave her children was a home filled with music, laughter, fun, and culture. At an age when others would have thought themselves too old to try, she tackled and conquered the formidable and frustrating task of learning to use the computer. A life-long learner, Martha loved to read and, up to the end, she found joy in expanding her view of the world, enriching her life, and sharing her insights and discoveries with others. She was a consummate teacher and example of the Gospel, in word and deed, and she leaves a legacy of hard work and service in all areas of her life.

Martha served an LDS mission with her husband in Seattle, Washington. She served for nearly 20 years as an ordinance worker in the Provo LDS Temple. She always loved traveling and enjoyed seeing the world with her husband. In 2002, Merlynn and Martha served as Grand Marshals of the Payson Homecoming Days parade. She was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Merlynn M. Tanner, her parents, a sister, Grace Bradford, and a brother, Merrill Ashby. She is survived by her sister, Lois Ellsworth, six children, Barbara (Rulon) Gibson, serving a mission in Tokyo, Japan; David (Jan), Bountiful; Glen (Kay), Sandy; Marilyn (Michael) Hunt, Springville; Don (Kris), Bountiful; and Gary (Edu), Orem; 20 grandchildren and 51 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 21st at 12:00 p.m. at the Park Ward LDS Chapel, 110 South 300 West, Payson. A viewing will be held prior to the services from 10:00-11:30 a.m. at the church. She will be buried in the Payson Cemetery under the direction of Walker Mortuary in Payson.

Martha’s family would like to express their deep gratitude to neighbors and friends of Martha and the Park Ward in Payson; in Bountiful, to the staff of Welcome Home Assisted Living and its Branch and Relief Society Presidencies; and to Inspiration Hospice for the tender and loving care of our mother. Your love and service was heartfelt and extraordinary and is a treasured memory.

If you know me, you probably know my email address which contains the # 5000.  I’ve gotten lots of questions as to what it means.  Up until two days ago it only had one meaning, but I was delighted to learn it now has another.

Many, many months ago Dave began planning a surpise.
A secret surprise for my birthday.
A secret surprise trip for my birthday.
Knowing that {maybe} I don’t handle secrets well, Dave divulged a bit of info.  I knew where we were going and why.
Dave then planned the entire remainder of the trip himself; including the care of the children while we were gone.  He booked flights, hotel, car, entertainment.

I was initially told the trip would take place the week of my birthday, but then learned it was pushed back a week.  Dave wouldn’t tell me why until the night before we left.  Turns out when he got to planning this get-away he, for some reason, figured out that we would be married for 5000 days the week after my birthday.  Isn’t that sweet?

Our 5000 day celebration get-away was incredible!  We headed to Vegas for 2 days.  The main reason was to see Celine Dion, one of my favorite singers ever!  Her show was amazing, but I have to admit that the 2 days with Dave were even better.  We probably walked 10 miles in 2 days, which is good because we ate like kings.  We shopped, we toured the hotels/casinos, and we may have visited Tiffany’s where we did not leave empty-handed !  I don’t think Dave can ever outdo this birthday celebration . . . it was the best!

Now that we’ve been back with the kiddos for 24 hours, we are {definitely} ready to go again!

Also on January 16, 2012 an amazing woman left this earth.
My sweet 95 year old Grandma Tanner was finally able to go and be with Grandpa and others again.
Since his passing in August we all wanted so much for her to not be alone anymore.  She has been a trooper and pretty fun to be around.  She has been living in Bountiful in an assisted living home and we have been able to spend so much time with her.  I consider this time a treasure, especially for my kids.  I never knew my great-grandparents, so how lucky are my kids?
She was in relatively good health (considering her age) up until Christmas when she got the stomach flu and then she slowly started declining.  We all knew she was lonely and of course didn’t blame her.  My kids and I were able to see her and say good-bye on Sunday!  She led a beautiful life and I’m glad to have her as my Grandma.

One last random sidenote:  even though the 16th is Dave’s birthday I kind of wanted that to be her passing day.  She was born on July 16th so I thought it would be cool for her to have the same date (the 16th).  Silly, I know.  And she barely made it.  We look forward to celebrating her life with the entire family this Saturday!

]]> http://mcnameefam.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/the-16th/feed/ 1 mcnameefam IMG_4267 IMG_5772 http://mcnameefam.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/our-birthday-season/ http://mcnameefam.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/our-birthday-season/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:36:17 +0000 mcnameefam http://mcnameefam.wordpress.com/?p=3337 ]]>

Yesterday marked the beginning of the McNamee parents birthday season.
I had a birthday.
Monday, Dave will have his.
I’m glad that birthdays are magical and a big deal as a kid, because they sure become just another day when you put on the years.
My birthday was spent pregnant, caring for kids with the stomach flu, and with roofers tearing apart my roof – what every girl wants, right?
Luckily my knight in shining armor (AKA Dave) took me to dinner and ran errands without complaining !
(BTW-that IS the best present ever. Being able to run errands without kids)
Plus, it’s always fun to hear from and spend time with friends and family.
Apparently, we are celebrating my birthday next week and it will not happen in the state of Utah or with kids . . . .

Dave is so good at making things special, so I hope I can do his big day justice.

As great as birthdays are, it is nice when this phase is over and there is no more shopping!!

UP/DOWN      December 31st – (not technically 2012, but it relates) is what we termed “moving day.”   Our new carpet was being installed on Monday throughout our entire upstairs which meant everything had to be moved out.  Since that is where all the bedrooms are, we were able to move all the non-essentials to the Living Room and wait to move the beds.  My kids thought it was SO fun taking all the stuff down the stairs and kept saying as such.  I wish I thought of moving as fun !

UP     January 1st – wake up and enjoy hurrying because we FINALLY have 9:00 AM church!!!!  Been waiting at least 4 years for this (no one can quite remember how long it’s been, which means it’s been way too long).  LOVE, LOVE having the entire day to enjoy.  Then bribing the family with dinner so they would come over and help us disassemble beds and move the bigger furniture.

DOWN     January 2nd – being awoken in the night with yucky nausea and continuing to battle the stomach flu for the entire day.  Yes, the stomach flu, not pregnancy sickness (although neither are fun, there is definitely a difference).  This was NOT the day for such a sickness.  My entire house was torn apart, there were loads of Mexicans making noise, dust and smell and all I wanted was to lay in bed (which was impossible).  To top it off, I think my kids could feel the upset in our house and decided to make the day even more miserable with their attitudes and moods.  Despite getting new carpet, there wasn’t one other positive aspect to the day.

UP     January 3rd – school starts!!!!  Finally started to feel like a human being again in the afternoon and was able to begin the laborious task of re-moving everything back upstairs and cleaning.  It felt SO good to have my house nearly put back together by bed time.  The new carpet was starting to grow on me – I love it but it is a stark contrast from what we had (which I hated).

UP/DOWN     January 4th & 5th – feeling like normal again and with all the reorganizing decided there needed to be some new decor/accessories around this place.  Spent two days shopping, redecorating, deciding, more shopping, etc.  This is an UP because it is fun and is something I love and was done with only 1 kiddo mostly thanks to Dave who is spending his last week working from home (January 9th is new job day).  The DOWN:  the cost !

And here we are.  Ready for the rest of the year and the UPS & DOWNS that are sure to come!  My motto for the year:
“Our ATTITUDE determines our ALTITUDE!”
I will be reminding myself (A LOT) of how crucial my attitude is to not only myself, my those living in this house with me.  It’s easy to get down and frustrated but that gets us nowhere and I’m not interested in going nowhere!!!

Logan's not afraid of altitude - climbing to the top of the ladder became a favorite activity during Christmas-tree decorating

As much as I love new things – new clothes, new furniture, new cars, etc. some things are nice just the way they are.  As we venture into 2012, I was hoping for a bit less newness.  I’m ready to just live with the old and known.

 The only NEW I’m planning on is NEW baby boy in May!
{Yes, boy! As much as I wanted Audra to have a sister and to reuse my darling girl clothes and accessories, I knew it was a boy.  I’ve had 2 very vivid and distinct dreams that could not be denied.  Dave and the boys are very excited to have another boy.  I am also thrilled to have more boys than girls!  I have come to learn the vast difference in gender personalities and I’m liking the less dramatic boyness !  Interesting side note:  Conner & Logan are 4 1/2 years apart; Logan & new baby will be also be 4 1/2 years apart.}

We also will be immediately met with yet another NEW job!!
{Long story, semi-short:  You may remember during the summer/full when Dave was consulting for two companies.  When the Arkansas company offered him a full-time position, he approached the Utah company who also wanted to hire him full-time.  They could never pull together an offer, so in November Dave began working 3 minutes from our house and I don’t think any of us were complaining.  Two weeks ago a surprise phone call came from the Utah company (AKA Adobe, you may have heard of them); Dave was told an offer was coming that day.  What the?  The offer came and it was very good!  Now we had to decide if a huge impact on our lifestyle was worth it.  Dave would no longer be 3 minutes from home, but over 60.  And he would be traveling quite a bit more.  BUT he would be doing something he REALLY, REALLY loved and with a company that was local.  He would be with a company that really wanted him and would provide advancement and face-to-face time with people.  It was a very difficult decision for us to make.  Dave has been commuting that same 50-mile distance for almost our entire marriage.  It has worked but hasn’t been without challenges.  I have  thoroughly enjoyed having him around the last little while and was excited to have him more accessible when new baby comes.  We both knew that taking this job was the right thing even if it meant many more sacrifices; it has certainly made us entertain the thought of moving (probably farther South) much sooner.
That’s the story and we are both anxious to get settled and not have any more new job business for a long, long time!}

As we welcome a new year, we will gladly take it with less newness!

Wanna know my favorite gift:
Not being sick!  I have been too scared to say it (didn’t want to jinx it), but I think I’ve turned the corner and my not-so-fun/yucky/sick/barely surviving/not being able to eat point in pregnancy has come to an end.  I kept hoping, praying, and wishing it would pass by Christmas and it did.  In fact I even felt normal the week leading up to Christmas.  I didn’t realize how badly I needed it!  I couldn’t have asked for a better gift.

My second favorite gift:
Having my hubby back.  He spent an entire week and a half prepping for and then painting the basement.  He was up every night until 1:00 or 2:00, then up again early for work so he could come home early and go right back to it.  We didn’t see a lot of him, but because I felt good we survived and it is done!  He had a serious deadline as the carpet was laid Friday morning.  I am SO impressed with him.  We have painted a lot in our married life, but nothing compares to this project.  I wish I wasn’t pregnant so I could help him more (I did go down and tape while he was at work), but thanks to my dad, uncle, sister and future bro-in-law (who stayed up ’til 3:00am painting) it was done literally in the nick of time.

Which leads me to my third favorite gift:
Having a semi-finished basement to banish the children to over this fun break.  We are loving the carpet and paint.  Dave has installed heaters and lights so the kids are enjoying being down there.  I have been waiting for 5 years to have a bit of silence upstairs and knowing everyone is downstairs playing – AWESOME!  Now we just need to finish the bathroom, work on paint touch-up, and get things moved down!

It’s the simple gifts that I enjoy!