Hello!

Hey everyone!  I hope you're all doing well!  Just as an update, I changed the web address to my blog so it stays consistent with my name change...it's also easier (I think).  It's www.mandyrice.blogspot.com.  I don't know how to change the link on this blog to it...so I hope, Emily, you don't mind making that change for me.  Also...I think we should get better at using this blog again.  Emily, you're fantastic about keeping your blog up to date and I love reading your stories and seeing pictures of you guys!  So...let's recommit to using this blog!  Who's with me?! 

(PS, your reactions should be, and I quote, "YES!!!  I'm with you Mandy!!!" with as much enthusiasm as your little bodies can muster!  Okay?  Okay!)

So yeah!  Let's say we all try to do one post a month per family...?  Is that somewhat doable?  I'd say it doesn't even have to be much...maybe just a sentence or two giving even the slightest of updates...yeah.  :)  I love you all!  I hope all is going well with each of you!!!  Take care and have a fabulous Sunday tomorrow!

MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have OFFICIALLY begun the paperwork to go on a mission!!!!!!!!!!!!! HECK YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am seriously soooo excited right now! You have no idea. Anyway, I'll fill you all in on the recent developments of mission stuff, but I just had to share that with you guys right now. The church is true!!! YAY!!!

PS...do any of you know where Grandpa Wood served a mission? And what is Dad's mailing address? If there are any other bits of information I need, I'll let you know. Thanks for any and all help everyone! I love you!!!!!!!

Pictures of my Surgery...

Just in case you want to see some cool pictures. I posted the pictures and a very long version of what happened to me over the last 4 days on our blog!

http://phil-woodfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/appendectomy.html

Madison's Birthday.

I used Jen's cake making book from christmas to make the duck cake. It only calls for one cake round so the other one I decided to test out some more decorating skills. I need some work! But it was fun! A Hobby I think I may have to pick up sooner or later.

Madison was not getting enough in her mouth with just the fork so she resorted to all out licking the plate, Phil ended up assisting her in it eventually not really something you want to teach your kid but it was pretty funny to watch non the less.





As you can see Madison picked up on the lyrics to the Happy Birthday song pretty quickly. She also requested it as her bed time song that night!





Last year I tried to record some of the little things that Madison had recently learned how to do so here is a small clip of that for birthday number two. Kind of silly but it shows her personality quite well!

At long last...

Okay! I posted on my blog now! You can tak a look if you'd like. It's not much or very exciting, for that matter, but it's something! :) Enjoy!

Blogs

So everyone this is lame cause we never use this blog but I just thought I would at least point out that Celeste has her own blog that she does keep up to date that you should all see and check out cause she is amazing. And Mandy you just need start posting on yours so I can encourage everyone to look at yours too!

Karma I think you need to start using this as your personal blog so you can keep us up to date with tavy and everything with you guys. Im sure Madison would love to see some pictures of her youngest brother in law who she loves so much. And im not able to get pictures on my phone so maybe you can just post them here instead!!!

Love you all talk to you soon!

This is a paper I wrote and was asked to publish for my English class. It's a contraction on a paper I did earlier on this year.

The past months have filled many with a growing anxiety and apprehension for the future as the financial pressures of today, worsening from the effects of the recession, become too much for some to bear. Yet, while some fight against the ever increasing weight of debt, there are countless stories where someone has come, relieving in some way the burdens that bind these people, which then enables them to turn to other labors renewed. Today, when many still struggle, the hope for the economy lies in each of us, who have hands able to reach out.

Because the shock on consumer spending is rattling our whole economy so entirely, it’s clear that recovery and future prevention will involve a change on all our parts. Letting some stay at the bottom without aid would only increase the number of homeless and therefore decrease the ability of many to develop in our economy as contributors. The government has turned to increase government spending, stimulating present demand while cutting investments and putting a heavy debt on future generations. This practice, while immediately effective, is only a quickest fix.

To make an economy capable of weathering this and future storms, every one of us must realize our part in spending our time, money, and efforts to invest in the power of others. Then each giver, inspiring the receiver to follow, will become a stone in the formation of an economy where each person can build on the next, and then everyone may be securely supported together.