Saying goodbye to Alice

About 17 years ago my Mother wrote this brief outline of her life to that point that she was to give as a speech to a group of women in our church- in her words:

"...Having been born of Yankee parents who survived the Great Depression and who believed that idle hands were the Devil's workshop, I learned to talk, walk, formulate ideas, work math problems, and hang wall paper at the same time.

"My Mom became a missionary for the Child Evangelism Fellowship after my dad died when I was seven. Her love for work and strong beliefs became mine. Her teachings also became the foundation for my love of people and my current testimony even though we differ on doctrine. Working with my mother also helped me learn how to speak in public.

"After growing up in my Mother's home, basic training in the military was a breeze. I served a total for 14 years, both in the Air Force and in the Army. I originally joined to play my trumpet in the Air Force Band, but was reassigned after cost cuts. I then learned how to be a clerk for the Office of Information. I also learned security and eventually found may way into the Army where my civilian training as a paramedic was recognized and I helped write the training programs for some of the first Emergency Medical Technicians in the Vietnam War. I learned early that there will always be a right way, a wrong way, and a his-her-my-their (or military) way to accomplish any task, and that I always have the last word - "Yes, Sir or Ma'am." I learned to live by a schedule, and rejoice in the freedom it created for me.

"Enduring the loss of one husband, one son, two dads, assorted grandparents and miscellaneous other relatives has helped me place priorities in proper perspective. Surviving said losses has helped me appreciate waking up every day to the touch of those I love and the joy of another opportunity to meet the measure of my creation.

"Enjoying listening to what I call music, singing, children, details, paperwork, and my family are to be treasured at at any moment. Watching my...daughter grow into a young lady, and my skills redefined as I learn to accept new values outside my comfort zone are to be enjoyed and savored.

"I am currently employed part-time in the College Relations Office of Lake-Sumter Community College.... I am also a student working toward my A.S. in Graphic Design. As a student, I am editor of... out college newspaper, co-editor and computer design editor of... the student humanities magazine, and I serve on the Student Activities Budget Committee.

"The smell of bacon cooking, sewing with my serger, designing on my MAC (I know how to use an IBM, I choose not to!), the sound of children laughing, an opportunity to give or receive a hug, and a chance to help someone because so many have helped me will always be on my 'plus' list. Also I love to go to the Temple. Even though I rejoice in the opportunity to live within an hour of our beautiful Orlando Temple, I will miss those wonderful trips to Washington and later to Atlanta. What a joy to travel with and get to know my wonderful sisters.

"Lest you think I am perfect, and I have tried hard to give you the impression that I am, let me share my dark side. I hate housework (my husband thinks this), gardening (my plants, or lack of living ones confirm this), meetings (only those with no purpose or point), and I have been told that my vocabulary is limited to two words on many occasions - 'Handle it!' For me to follow the prophet's admonition in the first three areas is a pure struggle at times (most times). Enduring injustice, wearing pantyhose, standing in line, listening to what I don't consider music, and listening to 'poor-me' stories are also things that I try to avoid.

"I do try to walk tall in quiet dignity as a daughter of my Heavenly Father who loves me. I love, revere, and honor the Priesthood. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who honors his Priesthood and in whom I have a best friend as well as spiritual leader...."
Mom never did get to finish her A.S. degree, and she never did get to make it to the temple as often as she would have liked but she did serve and love for many years in many ways. She never had an easy life but faced all things with hope in the love, atonement, and resurrection of Christ that allowed her to recognize them as tests on her way to eternity. Now that she has passed her last tests of mortality those of us who have been blessed to know her continue on, strengthened by her continual dedication to self-improvement, her unconquerable strength of purpose, her great love, and her everlasting faith in God.

Thanks Mom, for everything.

May 2011

Well, May decided to attack us from all directions... I won't get into all of it... there's just way too much. For now it is enough to say that Mark's father passed away on May 5 and my mother passed away on May 27. Neither one has had good health for many years and the past two for each has been extremely difficult. So while we miss them and their love and their stories we are thankful that they are no longer trapped in the pain and sickness of their mortal bodies. Most especially we are grateful for the gospel of Christ that allows us to know that we will be with them again in the most extraordinary joy of eternal families.

Because some things are hereditary...

When I was about 2 or 3 I can still remember walking through our little hallway just seconds before I burned the back of my hand on our kerosene heater and gave myself a scar that I still have. When I was older I also ended up badly burning my hand again in a different spot (that thankfully healed much better) and later burning my ankle. Well, it seems like I've passed on my ability to be totally clueless about the concept of hot=don't touch.

Back at the end of February I was working on the computer when all of the sudden Ry started screaming from the other side of the kitchen counter. I went and checked on him and figured he must have been trying to climb on the counter and fallen off and scared himself. No biggie... handed him off to Mark and figured I didn't need to worry.

A while later he's still screaming and starts begging for me to come and hold him. I did and eventually through some in-cohesive mumblings that mostly centered around "I fine, just want cuddles" and "I need hot, or I hot" as he pulled the blanket tightly around him, he went to sleep. Since it was around naptime I figured maybe just it was just combination of shock from falling off and needing a nap.

Less than 15 minutes later he's up again still pretty distraught. Now I was certain something serious was happening so I started in on the usual questions, does anything hurt? do you feel okay? to which all I got was that he's fine, just needs cuddles still. Meanwhile I'm trying to look him over and figure out what is going on. At last I spot his hand. On it is a blister. Thinking I had brilliantly solved the mystery at last - although confused about how he pinched himself I went to get a bandaid. As I looked at the hand more though I realized that the whole circle of his palm was red.
Finally I smacked myself in the head and realized that he burned himself although my efforts to confirm this information with him resulted in only a long series of "I dunno". Turns out that he actually got both palms with 2nd degree burns on the toaster oven that had been used a few minutes before the incident.

We got him lathered up with some aloe that we had on hand and then went to the store to grab some wraps and Vitamin E and redid him there. As a special treat we all went to Friendlies. By that point whatever pain he may have had was pretty much gone and he was just having a blast showing off his new mummified hands to everyone. It was pretty much like that for a week or so as he continued healing nicely. Now you can't even really tell that anything happened. Good thing kids bounce back well. I'm still hoping that he'll avoid my pattern and get it on try 1 instead of try 3. Somehow, I'm not thinking it'll happen. Guess I'd better keep that Vitamin E on hand.

Author Alicia

That's right, Alicia participated in a local contest and wrote her very first book all by herself. The only thing I helped with was walking her through the steps and helping to format it. So may I proudly present...

The Morning of Sounds
by Alicia Ostrom
March 2011


There was a girl named Jenessa. She was riding a horse to school.

She saw a butterfly fly on the horse's ear. She studied the butterfly. She saw the butterfly had the same thing on each wing. Then the butterfly flew away.

Then a bird perched on the horse's head. She saw the bird had blue feathers. The bird chirped a song. Then the bird flew away. She walked the rest of the way to school.

At school she thinks about what she saw that morning. She draws what she saw that morning.

After lunch it was time to go home. She loved the sound of all the sounds.

The End!

Happy Easter

This Easter was full of fun stuff for the kids. It began a few weeks before when one of our amazing friends gave the kids special Easter outfits. (Still have to get some pics that show them off - I've tried but most have just ended up in pictures of the kids attacking each other for some strange reason - perhaps separate photos for this one)

Then the Primary put on a really fun Easter Egg Hunt and Activity. The kids both got more eggs and candy than they know what to do with although we did have to pull Ry out of the last game when he started getting too upset that he wasn't winning any of the prizes (even though he'd gotten one for the game before). Alicia handled it all like a pro, even though she didn't get any of the prizes she was willing to share her eggs with some of the kids that came in late. Most of it though was lots of fun for both of them.

Saturday night we continued our tradition that we started last year of dying the eggs. Ry had fun getting to help more this year and Daddy even showed them how to incorporate crayon into making special designs on them. Which resulted among other things in The Egg-Ostrom Family...

Sunday Morning was a little crazy. Ry actually woke me up so the "special visitor" only barely got a chance to sneak out the chocolate bunnies for the kids.

Alicia was kind of upset that our visitor didn't get a chance to hide the eggs again (it really was one of the first things she checked as she woke up) But we had fun with everyone getting a room to hide some eggs in and then the rest of the family had to find them.

We also did have some good conversations about why we celebrate Easter and how the resurrection is really the "golden egg" prize that each of us has the opportunity to receive.

Ry's Big Day

All About Ryan

Names: Ry, Ry-Ry, Little Man, Bud, Little Buddy, Cuddle Bug, Captain Cuddlepants, Captain Sleepypants, Ryan O., Rhino.

Favorite Activities: cuddling, drawing, playing PBS kids, watching movies, playing with Lego men, playing on the playground, following sissy around, dancing, singing, playing with trucks/cars/trains/planes, taking pictures, having his picture taken.

Favorite Foods: fruit, fruit snacks, cookies, cake, brownies, chips

Major Accomplishments this year: potty-training, increased speech and motor abilities, learning the alphabet, increased counting

Major Memories this year: 2nd degree burns on his hands from the toaster oven, going to Dinosaur Tracks, visiting the Eric Carle Museum, Getting to be a Sunbeam and join Jr. Primary at church, visiting the beach, helping with some clean-ups for Green-up Day and at the beach

The Many Faces of Ry

Probably for the past two months sissy has been helping Ry prepare for his big day. Which in actuality has meant mostly that he was totally confused about what "his number" was (how old he was). Finally the big day came. Mostly it was just a regular day around the house for the two of us. For his dinner he requested pizza (despite all of the encouragement to pick either chicken nuggets or corney dogs from sissy) followed by the rice-crispy treat cake. Now that he's four he's gearing up for being 5 because sissy has already informed him that he's got to be 5 before he can start Kindergarten and he is definitely excited about that one.

Making Tracks

One of all of our favorite adventures lately was a trip to Holyoke, MA to see some dinosaur tracks. It's so funny because it's just this random spot alongside of the road (the tracks were uncovered by the workers building the road) but it's one of those things that just seems so unfathomable - to be seeing and walking on things that are millions of years old. There really just aren't words for it. Anyways, it was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast. It was all the more fun because it's also a kind of family history site for us. Mark's uncle was the paleontologist that came to the site and identified and studied the tracks there. We enjoyed spotting them and trying to follow them and seeing the different sizes and shapes, and of course Ry even got in touch with his inner-dino.