Christina Update... Budapest!!

Hi Everybody!!

First of all, plans for me and Ben's wedding are going very well. We are all settled on getting married the 16^th of February. Mom and I spend a few hours a week on the phone discussing and planning. She has an assignment every week and so do I. When our weekly talk comes around we pool our notes and what we’ve accomplished for the week and make decisions. Mom has been wonderful! She is so cute about getting clippings of flowers, cakes, bouquets, center-pieces, act and scanning them over to me. She’s putting a lot of work into our wedding. I have her running all over Billings doing things for me, and she has just been so fun about it. We are enjoying the process a lot, and I can’t wait to be back and help out with wedding plans in the flesh!

This past week I spent 4 days in Budapest Hungary. It was so wonderful! I love Budapest! It is a very beautiful city and there is so much to do! I also learned a lot about the history which was really interesting and sad. I have never heard much about Hungary, but it really went through a lot and I’m surprised that it’s not talked of more. After World War II, they were taken over by the Communists. It was a very scary time and didn’t end completely until about 15 years ago. The government literally bugged the whole country. The phones were tapped, homes were bugged, there were spies in church, and everywhere the people went they were afraid of being randomly arrested. Civilians were taken to a certain prison for no apparent reason and tortured for years. It’s a terrifying story. I went to the old jail they were taken to. It was very scary. I couldn’t believe what happened to these people who had done nothing. They usually had no idea why they were there. There was no rhyme or reason to it. They just took people off the streets. I won’t describe to you the means of torture that I saw, but it was terrifying. The basement, where all the torture cells were, still stunk from disease and human decay. It was a hard, but good experience to see and understand what they went through.

The more time I spend in Europe and the more I learn about the history of individual countries, the more I love America. I can’t tell you how patriotic I have become. I have always loved our country and appreciated the freedom we enjoy, but I don’t think I ever understood what the rest of the world is like. I talked to people on the streets of Hungary who remember that time of fear and sadness very well. It was not that long ago that it was still going on. I can not imagine living in the kind of fear they described living in. I cannot express how grateful I am and how blessed I feel to call the United States of America my home land. I love our country. Some of my friends talked to a woman on the street who asked where they were from. When they replied “The US.” She said, “Oh you come from the blessed land! There is no sadness there. You are so lucky. It is so horrible here”. It is interesting because we walk around looking at all the beautiful buildings, the opera houses, the parliament buildings, the gardens, the landscape, and we think “how wonderful Europe is”. As soon as you dig past the tourist appeal, you start to understand that those things mean nothing to the people. The things they think of are the freedom they’ve lived without, the darkness in their lives during times of war, and their fear of the government. These are the things that matter most. It is beautiful here, and the culture is rich, but there is no place like my beloved homeland. I will never wish that I lived anywhere else. I can’t imagine calling another place my home. People ridicule America because they think we are a pompous nation, that we lack culture and historical substance, and that we seek to control the world. The truth is, America is the best nation in the world, and to say so is not pompous. It is just true. As for history and culture, we happen to have the history and culture of all nations of the world brought together into one flourishing nation. And I don’t recall any time in our history when the cruelty I’ve learned about was dispensed amongst countrymen. We have the horrors of slavery to look to, and I don’t discredit what an awful thing it was, but what I have seen and learned about over here is FAR worse.

I have one more patriotic push to make. I am republican through and through. My convictions in my political standing have become stronger than ever. I have listened to a lot of criticism on the War in Iraq, even from LDS people, and I have some words to say about that. In almost every concentration camp, jail house, work camp, torture chamber I have seen, the end of its existence came when an American flag was sighted in the distance. Many of these places have huge memorials built for the American soldiers who liberated the innocent captives. “Their sacrifice to liberate will never be forgotten”. I hear a lot of people saying that we are in Iraq to get oil, that we are seeking to push our ideals onto a people who don’t want it, that we are putting our noses in the business of a country we have no authority to put our noses into. I see these same people going to museums at concentration camps and I see them saying “This is so awful, how could such a thing happen?” It’s true, it is awful! At the end of touring facilities such as these, the tour ALWAYS ends with something to this affect, “We need to remember the past and use it to prevent this sort of thing in the present and future from happening”. People shake their heads in agreement and seem deeply moved. Then I see these same people go out and fighting the war that we are involved in. HELLO!!!!!! Are we missing something here? Are these horrible things not happening all over the world still? Are we not fighting to liberate the innocent people in these countries where unexplained persecution, torture, and death are taking place? Have we not put a stop to things exactly like this by bringing Sadam Hussein (sp?) down? We have, we are fighting the very same horrors. So why do these people,e so horrified and disturbed by what they see in these museums, fight the war? I could go on for hours. All I have to say is that in a few decades there will probably be museums in Iraq about torture chambers, about jails, about oppression from the government, and memorials for the people who are dying there right now without a cause. I hope every person, American or not, who fight the war right now will walk through them and feel like idiots because they fought the liberation of these people they are looking at pictures of. The only way evil can prevail is enough good people stand by and do nothing. That is why I stand by our president. That is why I think America is the greatest nation in the world. I love my home land! I am so proud to be an American! A lot of the kids here talk to the Europeans and insult our country because they feel like Europeans are so much better than Americans and they want the Europeans to know that they think America is crap. I hold my head high. I am an American through and through and I am proud of my country.

Ok, I hope you are all doing well. I love you very much and I can’t wait to be back in the States by Christmas time. I will kiss the ground I walk on! Thank you for your prayers and support. I love you all, and I will write again soon!

Love Always,
Christina

Yummy.....This is eggplant slices with a tomato and fresh grilled mozzarella cheese on top, jasmine rich in the middle and a wonderful tomato sauce and cheese sauce on either side. It was SO yummy! -Christina
These are bullets left in the buildings after WWII
Looks like Disneylands Castle
In front of the train station. It was designed by Eifel.....same guy who designed the Eifel Tower
View of Budapest..... beautiful!
Opera House
Underground...In the Labrynth

All in a days work....

Well, last week I videoed a house that Bill is hoping to seel to a client from Mississippi. We decided to make her a DVD of the home so she could remember it better (that was Bills good idea). So here is the video that I made. What a beautiful home, and all yours for only ..... $2.5 million. Yeah, in our dreams! Love you all! :)


Thanks for the butt shot Billy :) Marianne videoing the view...

Packing up and going home... :)

CLICK HERE
to see the beautimus video :)

The Happenings in Billings~

Picture 1

I took a trip in September to reconnect with a dear friend from the college years, Debby Moore. It also gave me an opportunity to see Curtis. Curt and I had a wonderful time. We went out to dinner with Curt and the Moore girls. We then went to Walmart and found a movie and went back to his apartment and baked brownies and watched "Click" We had some good laughs! Curt and I went to Church the next morn and took a walk in the park. On Monday morning before I left town, Debby and I went shopping for our college kids. I bought Curt a few items to add some color (gee....that is surprising for mom!) to his apartment. His roommates kept me company while I gave it a color attack. I love you Curt!

Picture 2

Well Ben has become the running machine! He got an award for "Most Improved Time" in his running. He is moving up the pack. Keep it up Ben!

Picture 3

Ben's birthday! Number 15! Yoohoo! We went to dinner at "The Olive Garden" and he got an I-Pod to entertain him during his runs from Dad and Mom. Lets see, from Marianne he got a gift certificate to Cold Stone! Yummy!! From Curtis he got________, From Christina he got ___________ Hmmmmm where are they! Just a little reminder guys :-) Doesn't have to be expensive, a key chain a bookmark, a scripture marker even a candy bar. Anything to let him know you are thinking of him.

October 1. 2007

Well I had a funny experience I had to share with all of you. No picture, sorry! I had a little emotional minute last week that made me a little teary. But I quickly dried my eyes and went about my day. Orrin was in the kitchen doing his school work. I sat down to go over some school stuff with him and he asked me if I had been crying. I didn't want to worry him because it really was no big deal so I said no, no son, I'm fine...(I said enthusiastically!) Later, he asked again, and again I told him no and that I was fine. The third time he asked I got a little Anoyed and said, "Son, I should know if I have been crying or not!" Just then I walked into the kitchen and caught my reflection in the mirror...! I had gotten a free sample of mascara during a promotion. I switched from my waterproof regular that I have been using for years to try this sample...not waterproof! I looked like a football player with his black smeared under his eyes only mine was so bad you could even see the tear streak down the cheek! I hadn't really cried that hard, it was just very poor makeup. I started laughing and then Orrin started laughing and we both laughed so hard I almost started crying again! Moral to the story, don't lie to your kids even to avoid looking hormonal!

Marianne loves her nieces!!

Well, being the eldest of the McLaws kids, I haven't had the chance to be an aunt like all my other friends, until I got married! I have LOVED being an aunt. The twins, Annabelle and Adeline, are just the cutest girls ever. I am working on their 1 year b-day movie. I've been filming them off and on throughout the year. So I've got to hang out with them a lot, and I LOVE IT. Anyways, they came over yesterday to film a little and also to hang out with their best friends, my doggy, Arthur. They absolutly LOVE him. They giggle every time he gets near them. Its adorable! It'll be on the video that I make. Anyways, just wanted to show some pics of them! Love, Mar

Christina Meets The Sound of Music & Italy!

HEY FAMILY!!
The week before last, we took a 4 day trip to a little town called Halstate, and then onto Salzburg where 'The Sound of Music' was filmed. On our way to Halstate, we stopped at a place called Mathause. It was a Nazi concentration camp in World War II. This was the most sobering experience of my life. It was incredibly difficult to walk through the barracks where the prisoners slept, the streets where they were beaten and forced to work, the electric gates they were thrown into, the gas chambers where they were exterminated, the crematorium, the rooms they stored the corpses. I can't tell you what a hard experience that was. My mind is boggled trying to wrap my head around the reality that these things really happened. I don't know how it is possible to be so cruel to another human being. We saw pictures of things and heard stories that I can't even write down. We looked at pictures of some of the men that died there. The pictures were taken before the war. Looking at those faces, I just felt the strong realization that these were all real people, with real lives. It was a men's camp, so as I looked at the pictures I imagined each one with a life of his own. They had wives, children, siblings, parents, jobs, hobbies. The younger boys probably had girlfriends, maybe fiance's, best friends, school mates. They had lives that were so cruelly ripped away from them. How did this happen? We have been doing a lot of discussing in our group about the society back then and exactly how this awful thing took place. We are reading a book called 'Yearning For the Living God'. It's written by a man who lived in Germany as a boy during World War II and there is a lot of insight on how things gradually shaped themselves. It was done very slowly, and carefully, exactly like Satan does it. They didn't really know what they were headed into. Anyways, it was a very somber experience, but one that I am glad that I had.
After our visit to Mathause, we drove into a BEAUTIFUL little city at the base of majestic mountains that surround a gorgeous lake that is still as glass. The city was literally built on the shores of the lake and right up the mountain. One of the things I love about Europe in general is all the little tiny alleyways covered in vines and moss you find everywhere. There is no such thing as a grid system for the streets here. They just run an weave in and out in obscure and unmanageable shapes. You'd think for someone like me, who get's lost in the most organized of cities, would be frustrated with such surroundings. I really love it though. It is so fun to wander and loose myself (with a group - don't worry mom and dad) in these charming little towns. We always end up discovering some quaint little restaurant or a beautiful grave yard covered in wild flowers. It's just like a dream. That little city would be perfect for a romantic get away. All the buildings are covered in red roof tops and there are pear trees, wild flowers, vines, grapes, berries, and all sorts of beautiful plants growing all over everything. The streets are all covered in cobblestone. We found a park at the edge of the lake and just basked in the beauty of our surroundings. It was amazing.
While we were there, we visited the salt mines that the town is supported on. It's the oldest salt mine in the world and it's actually called 'Christina Tunnel', named after the mother of Maria Teresa. It was fun to go inside and learn about the white gold (salt). It was a cool educational experience.
After leaving Halstate, we headed to Salzburg. There we vistited all sorts of 'Sound of Music' sites. We danced through the gardens where 'Do Re Me' takes place and saw the back of the house where they filmed all the porch scenes. The back and the front of the house in that movie were actually two different houses. It was fun to see that.
Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart. I saw the house he was born in and ate in the house where he lived and composed for much of his life. It was really cool to walk the streets where a master like Mozart walked. I loved that. I was thinking about Papa the whole time!
While in Salzburg we also visited a castle that looked out over the whole city. It was BEAUTIFUL! I love castles. I think I would have been creeped out to live in one, but they are a lot of fun to visit!
Ok this is so long so let me move on to this past week. We went to Italy! First we stayed in Florence. It was a very cultured city. The city itself was cool becuase of how European it was (red roof tops, no organization to the street system, ect.), but it was a super dirty city. There was trash and grafiti everywhere!!! I didn't like that. You know, I love the beautiful country. I'm not a city girl. But I must say I loved all the old Italian men sitting on park benches. We had the pleasure of asking some of them directions. I don't know any Italian and they didn't know any English, so most of the experience was watching them with all their hand gestures, the waving of the arms, and the curling of the fingers to show emphasis. I love the language to, so it was fun to listen to them. We were still lost by the end of that, but what the heck! I just thought it was so cute that so many old guys gather to sit on park benches and play chess and argue with eachother. Quite adorable and fun to see.
Florence had amazing shopping! I hope everyone's excited for Christmas, I did all that in Italy! There were markets everywhere where you could find beautiful Italian muchendise for super low prices. I had a blast choosing things for everyone!
On the cultural sid of things, we saw SO much! I went to a museum of art that had selections from Leanardo da Vinci, Boticelli, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and so many others. I recognised a lot of the art from text books and what not, so it was really cool to see the real thing! I discovered two new artists that I LOVED. I had never heard of them before. Their names were Salvatore Rosa and Luca Giordano. Salvatore was INCREDIBLE at capturing light. It was so fun to walk through the art of the masters and find new things that I loved. I wish I knew more art history, but I learned a lot while I was there. I also got to see 'The David' by Michelangelo. For those who aren't familiar with it. It's a HUGE nude depiction of David from David and Goliath. It was supose to represent him in his innosence, or before he killed Goliath. The thing that makes this sculpture so amazing is the detail involved! You see the veins in his arms and hands, the tiny muscles in his forearms and back and shoulders, the wrikles on his forehead, the curls in his locks of hair, EVERYTHING! It is a magnificent sculpture, and so cool to be near knowing that Michelangelo spent 10 months laboring over it. It was really cool.
I've seen a lot of sculptures and art in the past weeks and I have a statement to make. A lot of it is nude art, and I have to say I think there is a fine line that comes between nude art and pornography. We're taking art history and we have been learning about how nudity was not meant to be suggetive in that time, but I still think it's wise to be careful. There are a lot of kids here who will lable me 'closed minded' for thinking that lines should be drawn and you need to be careful when looking at all this art, but I think it's important to be respectul of the human body. I know they saw it as worshiping the body at that time, but such a sacred thing shouldn't be shown so readily in my opinion. It's like the temple. What a sacred place, and no one goes around publishing what happens inside or depicting it with art BECAUSE it is so sacred. I think the same applies to the human body. My personal feelings on the subject!
Ok I'm almost done I promise! Next we went to Venice, which was not as cuturally rich, but I liked the city so much more than Florence! It was clean and well kept and so charming and romantic! Ben we must return some day! I kept thinking how I would love to have him with me there. This is the city you see in lot's of movies that has the water canals for streets. There are gondolas with couples in them going up and down the canals, quaint Italian music playing in the streets (or on the sidewalks), masquerade masks everywhere, and Italian food to die for! I discovered a pasta called gnochi. It is amazing. All I have to say is I'm glad I'm not in Italy the whole time. Three months of gnochi would take me home 50 pounds heavier! This stuff was heaven, and it was incredibly fresh. I loved trying a lot of new Italian food. It was delicious!
While we were there, we visited the near by Islands where they each specialize in some trade. One of them was devoted to hand blown Veician glass. We were able to visit a factory and see them blow glass and make glass horses, flowers, all sorts of beautiful things. The glass work there is EVERYWHERE! They are really proud of their glass, and for a good reason. It is beautiful! Another island we went to was all about hand made lace. I'm not a huge lace fan, but this stuff was gorgeous. Another island was just a pretty island known for being the most colorful island in Italy. Every building was another bright color. It was like being in a theme park that they tried to cutsie up. I can't believe people actually live in cute little places like that. It was like a children's story book. I loved it.
Oh one last thing I left out of Florence! I went to 'The Leaning Tower of Pisa'!!!! Pisa is a little town about an hour train ride out of Florence. We took a part of one of our days to go see it. The tower is in fact leaing! It's not the structure that's unsound though. Half of the building is sinking into the ground, so it's actually the ground, not the structure that is unsound! I took some cool pictures of that.
Alright, I apologize that that was so long! I love you all and I'm having a wonderful time, but missing you with all my heart. I can't wait to see you all again! Family is the most important thing in the world. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful family. Love you all! I'll update you again soon.
Love always,
Fofo

Nana Update!

Hi everyone! Well our dear sweet Nana (great-grandma) is now living in Prescott next to her son Val and his wife Linda.
Val regularly updates us on Nanas condition. She such a precious soul!
So heres the scoop on Nana....

Dear Family -

As we begin November, I just wanted to give you an update on Mother and how she is doing. Mother's condition has not changed since last month's report. She has adjusted very well to her new surroundings

and have won the hearts of her caregivers! I have to tell mother who I am on each visit and her reply is always "Oh of course", but until I do that she seems very confused. Mother has some good days (meaning she remembers things in her early past as well as who we children are and our names) and some bad days (meaning she is very confused and is living in another part of her life). One bad day in particular she "was cooking a big dinner" and wanted me and my family to stay for dinner. All her other children "were in another part of the house and she was just going to finish it up". Once I got her out of her apartment and started walking down the hall towards the activity center she quickly forgot about that conversation and was focused on the art along the hallway.

Mother is still a real charmer and caregiver herself. On two occasions when we exited her room to take her for a walk or a ride there was another patient wandering the hallway. Mother always takes their hand and to-

gether we all walk down to the activity room, all the while mother talking to that person to make them feel

comfortable. One such occasion was with Edna, which is a "conversation" that I could not write down as

I didn't understand it myself. Edna is a woman probably in her mid to late 80's, She suffers with a very severe case of dementia and recalls nothing. She is most anxious to talk to anyone and always wants to go with them wherever they are going. Edna will wonder in any room and think it is hers. She has been known to clime into another patient's bed and go to sleep, consequently all patient's rooms are locked when they are not in them. So, one day I came to visit mother, knocked on the door and announced my presence and I hear mother excusing herself so I came in and there was Mother in her chair and Edna on the couch having

"a visit". Mother tells me that she has a houseguest and so I excuse myself and leave her room. I find a

caregiver a couple of rooms down and explain the situation and she immediately gets on the radio and tells the staff that Edna has been found. They come in Mother's room and gently take Edna to her own room. Mother was really relieved. She didn't want to "visit" any longer and "didn't want to hear all of Edna's problems". A couple of minutes later Mother did not remember anything of the "visit" or that she had a "guest".

I did attend one of Mother's morning activities where one of the caregivers brings in her dog and lets the dog go around to each of the patients who are there and let them pet her. That gave me an occasion to tell them the story of Daisy Mae. Those who could comprehend the story really loved it. Mother couldn't.....but she was so proud to introduce me as her son...........not by name, but it really made me feel good.

Mother's caregivers seem to really keep mother busy with whatsoever they do in their activity room. Most of the time during the week I can find Mother there. She likes to take a nap after lunch but her caregivers will get her up around 3:00 for bingo or whatever until dinner at 5:00. Sometimes Mother will tell them that she is tired and they will leave her alone until dinner. On the weekends I have noticed that Mother spends a lot of time in bed. Saturday, for example, Linda and I visited Mother around noon and found her still in bed. We talked to the caregiver on duty and she said that Mother told them that she didn't feel so hot and wanted to

stay in bed. They check on her every hour. Mother just wanted to stay in bed! I told Linda that when I get

to be 95 I don't want anyone to tell me to get up if I just wanted to rest...............and at 95 I should be able to do and eat whatever I want. When Mother has two deserts sometimes at dinner she deserves it !!

Anyway, hopefully that gives you a flavor of what's going on in Mother's live during September.

Love you, Val