Collage for Grandma!

I printed a collage at Costco for my Grandma so she can enjoy seeing her Great Grandsons everyday! I will be delivering it to her framed soon! She has cancer and doesn't have too much time left with us.

Failing to remit taxes can hurt!

As many of you know, I am an auditor for the Washington State Department of Revenue. My fellow coworkers and I audit businesses to make sure they remit the sales tax they collect from you, among other taxes.

Well, one of my fellow coworker’s taxpayer is being criminally charged with multiple felonies for failing to remit $850,000 of sales tax and could face some prison time and fines, good job Ron! You don’t want the sales tax you are paying to be pocketed by the business, do you? (Normally audits don’t go criminal unless there is a lot of money involved and/or evidence that there is fraud, etc.) The case just went public this week, one article is below:

Marysville Drywaller Charged with Tax Fraud
by Mike Gowrylow, Lake Stevens Journal, KING 5, KIRO 7
August 18, 2009

Everett, Wash., Aug. 17, 2009 — The owner of Marysville-based Master’s Touch Drywall was charged today with stealing nearly all the sales tax he collected on jobs between 2003 and 2008.

Mark D. Standley, 53, was charged in Snohomish County Superior Court with multiple felony counts of first-degree theft, and filing false tax returns.

Standley is accused of reporting less than one half of one percent of more than $10 million in gross revenue he generated on drywall jobs between 2003 and 2008, and remitting to the state less than $3,000 of the nearly $855,000 in sales tax he collected from customers on those projects.

The charges were brought by the Financial Crimes Unit of the Attorney General’s Office at the request of the Washington State Department of Revenue.

An investigation initiated by the Department into the company’s business activities found that it had filed multiple tax returns indicating no business activity when in fact it had generated substantial income, possibly even more than the $10.1 million that has been identified so far.

Standley’s alleged thefts were so large and carefully planned that they constitute a major economic offense, according to the charging papers. If he is convicted of such aggravating circumstances, a judge could impose a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

The Shack

I strongly suggest that you read "The Shack" by William P. Young. I just finished reading it and highly recommend it! See the brief plot at the left in the image. I am also encouraging you to buy it because it is a Christian book about faith, because of the story behind the book, and that they want to turn it into a feature film in the future after they get enough revenue from sales of the book. Below I have included a summary of "The Story behind THE SHACK" included at the end of the book:

2004 left William P. Young almost destitute, having lost a home, vehicles and much of his stuff. God had to dismantle and rebuild his entire life from scratch. He hoped and prayed that 2005 would be better. He had a long commute on a train which allowed him to start working on a project that his wife had been pestering him about for 10 years. She said, "The way you think about things is a little unusual and it would be wonderful for the kids to have some of that in writing."

William did not set out to write a book, let alone have it published. He had written a few poems, songs and some family newsletters, but no books. His goal was to write something, trot down to Kinko's, print it and give it as a gift to his kids at Christmas. He started out writing something that he thought was too boring, so started over. He started over with what he did have, conversations between him and God, some that included family and friends. He became inspired. He would wake up and write things down before he forgot them. Finally he decided to type up his notes. He decided to turn his conversations with God into a story. He wanted his children to enjoy a story and through that medium to better understand their own dad and the God he is so in love with.

The story is fiction. However, the emotional pain with all its intensity and the process that tears into the character's heart and soul are very real. William has his shack, the place he had to go through to find healing. The conversations are very real and true. The actual particulars are fiction, but the depth of the pain is the same.

The pain, the loss, the grief, the process, the conversations, the questions, the anger, the longing, the secrets, the lies, the forgiveness - all real, all true. The story in particular is fiction, but then there is God who emerges so very real, unexpected and yet not unexpected, but surprising, and certainly he is true.

William finished the first part in mid August 2005. He sent it to a few friends. He was totally surprised. Somehow his little story was able to sneak past people's defenses and right into their hearts. That was part 1.

Part 2: He felt a prompting to email the manuscript to a man he knew, who was an author. He did not expect to hear back from him because he knew he was really busy (and it probably was not very good), but he informed him only a few days later that he could not print the pages fast enough. He was shocked.

There were areas that still needed work, so he started on his list of rewriting tasks. For the next 16 months, he and his new "teammates" wrote and rewrote chapters of The Shack, dropping about forty percent of the dialogue, augmenting the story line, and recrafting the conversations to eliminate misunderstandings.

Originally they tried to find a publisher, but each had their reason why The Shack was not a book they wanted, or they asked for substantive changes that they felt diminished the story. So, in May 2007, Windblown Media was born and The Shack was published as its first original title.

Part 3: That is where we are today. We each play an important role. As you read the story, they pray that God will touch your heart and open up places where you might be stuck, and help you see the way he loves you in richer and deeper tones and colors and sounds. They believe that this book is a gift to you.

Their dream is to sell enough copies of this book to open the door for a feature film that the world would want to see and that will present an accurate understanding of God's character and nature to a world that longs in the deepest places of their hearts for such a God.

Duty, Babies, Play Dates & HOT WEATHER!!!

Jury Duty
Bill had Jury duty the week after the 4th of July weekend. Monday through Wednesday he called and didn’t have to go in at all. Thursday morning he had to go in for just the morning. He got selected for a trial, but then the trial didn’t happen so he got to go home. Luckily Aunt Renae came up Wednesday evening and watched Shaun during Thursday morning. He got his big $18 check for "serving".

Babies
July has been all about newborn babies! I know 3 babies born this month! First, was my cousin, Jessica’s baby boy, Antonio! Born, July 11th, weighing a whopping 9 pounds 15 ounces!!! This is the 2nd member of Shaun’s generation in my family. We are all looking forward to the future when they can play and grow up together! So far it’s all about the boys (there were only girls in my generation)!!

Antonio on his birth day & Shaun (& Me)

Antonio Thomas; 8 days old

Next, was my friend Tanya from college. She had her 3rd boy in just over 3 years! Wyatt was born on July 19th. I see much craziness in her future!!!

Weston (18m), Wayne (3yrs) & Wyatt

Last, but not least, was Brooke, born to my long time friend, Serina. She was born on July 22, and is welcomed by big brother Spencer.

Brooke; 3 days old

Playdates
Spencer and Shaun also had 2 play dates this month. The first was before Brooke was born. Spencer is 6 months older than Shaun. The boys had a good time playing in the sprinkler and sand box in their backyard. The second play date was when we went to meet Brooke. I think Spencer still doesn’t realize that he has a little sister and how gentle he needs to be around her, but what can you expect from an almost 2 year old?

Golf, croquet, lawn bowling...???

MMMmmm Oreos..!!!

Navy duty
Bill has done part of his Navy “2 week” duty this month. He worked in the Legal office on the Everett base, Monday-Thursday this past week. He got to do some interviewing and research for the defense on a case coming up. Aunt Renae has been staying with us to watch Shaun during the day! They have been out to parks and visiting Great Grandma this week. Today, Friday Bill left for Spokane to do his weekend duty. He is actually going to be doing 3 “weekend duties” in August because he had to take over 2 trips from his coworkers for various reasons and do his own that he was already scheduled for. But, hopefully it gives him some “brownie points” with the officers for being willing to do so many weekends in a row! He skipped his July weekend knowing that these extra weekends were coming up. The 2nd two weekends he travels to Wyoming and Montana. I think he will be tuckered out after all this duty!

HOT
This is not news to all of you here in western Washington, but it has been HOT this past week, reaching 103 officially at Seatac!!!!! That is an all time record for the Seattle area. They have been recording temps since about 1890! This would not be so bad, but we do not have AC, so our house got up to 95 in the evening, and was still at 85 in the morning. Let’s just say we are melting……. Wednesday night we went to the mall to be in a place with AC and we happened upon a new shipment of air conditioners at Sears. There was a line forming for when the truck came, so we decided to get in line; we were in air conditioning anyway! To sum it up, we got a portable air conditioner after waiting in line for about 3 hours!!! It was well worth the wait and the few hundred dollars it cost. At least now our bedroom area is not sweltering when we are trying to sleep. Wednesday was the hottest at 103, with it being in the 90s and upper 80s since. Mid week next week it is even supposed to be in the 70s!!! I can’t wait!!!!

Graduation, baby showers, and gathering with friends!

We had some fun in June. I'll let the pictures do the "talking" with some captions...

Play group pool party in the heat!

The boys (Shaun, Dad & Grandpa) went and watched some old German planes fly.

Baby Showers!

My friend, Serina, for her baby girl; due about 7/25

My one and only cousin Jessica, for her baby boy; due about 7/19

Visiting Great Grandma Nairn at her new adult family home. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer and got too weak to stay at her apartment anymore.

Before Bill's graduation ceremony

Video of Bill receiving his "diploma"

Gathering with Kristen, Jill and our 5 kiddos (college friends) who I don't see all that often. We last got together almost 2 years ago and there were only 2 kiddos (well 3 if you count Shaun in my tummy!)

Our 5 kiddos

Jill with her 2, Tyler (2.5) & Ashleigh (1)

Kristen with her 2, Eli (3.5) & Aden (almost 1!)

Swimming & First trip to the zoo!

Swimming
We started swimming lessons this month! The first day Shaun cried a lot and got really cold. So, the next time we put him in a swim shirt too and he did much better. We sing songs, play and have fun getting used to the water. I go in the water with him on Tuesdays and Bill on Thursdays.

No more bottles!
We are officially done with bottles! I decided to one day just start giving Shaun milk in a new sippy cup at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and he does great! He has used a sippy cup to drink water for awhile now, but not milk. He just recently had a month or so where he refused to hold the cup himself. So, I decided to get a different style of sippy cup and never hold it for him. He caught back on really fast! He is also down to one nap a day now. He usually gets up sometime between 6-8am, takes a 2-3 hour nap at about 1pm and then goes to bed at 8pm.

Bill to Portland & San Antonio
Bill travelled out of state twice this month. First was for the unit’s first “Mobex” of the season. Starting in May and going through August or September, one officer and one LN travel to a city in the Northwest region that has requested legal help with wills, etc for their unit. Portland was the first city on Bill’s list. Then, 2 weeks later, they had their annual LN conference, this year held in San Antonio, TX. He reported it was boring like usual, but fun in the social aspect. He gets to see other LNs from around the country. It was an extended 4 day weekend, one extra day for travel and one extra day for the conference. I enjoyed the extra time with Shaun, but also still working when he was sleeping. Bill’s next Mobex’s are to Spokane and Helena, MT, both in August. His Alaska Mobex for June was cancelled. He will get to take June off because he worked twice in May.

Mom’s Day
My 2nd Mommy’s day was great! I thank God everyday for the privilege of being a mom! I got some beautiful flowers a couple days before hand. Then on the day, I got 3 cards: one from Shaun, one from Abby, and one from Bill. I also got a new crockpot. A few months ago I had started using a hand me down crockpot that has been sitting in our cupboard for several years because I wanted to make some new meals. I have enjoyed using it, so Bill got me a more modern one!

Starting lake travels
We started our weekly trips to the lake on Memorial Day weekend. It was a gorgeous weekend. I don’t think we have had a Memorial Day weekend like that in years!

Zoo!
We took Shaun to the zoo for the first time on Memorial Day. Shaun loved it! He said a lot of “ooohs” while looking at all the animals. We got there not long after they opened, which was a good thing because it got pretty crowded by the time we left about 2pm. Shaun was barely hanging on because he was past due for a nap. He made it home without following asleep, and then slept until almost 5:30. I went in to wake him up to make sure that he would sleep that night.

Easter & the Ocean

The two happenings this month were Easter and our annual trip to the ocean. We had a nice time celebrating Easter. Shaun was dressed up in his first tie!!! I think he was so handsome! He also said his first word: puppy! Everything is puppy, puppy, puppy!

Our trip to the ocean was fun. The weather was okay, not the best as it has ever been, but it only sprinkled for a tiny bit on one day. It was bright and sunny on Friday, but really windy, so cold. We were all bundled up on the beach. Saturday was cloudy and windy, but Sunday was not very windy at all, the warmest day. Shaun loved toddling on the beach and playing in the sand. He loved looking up at the kites. All of the dogs and kites really fascinated him. Shaun even slept pretty good in his play yard (travel bed). We were kind of nervous about how sleeping and naps would go, but I think it could have been a lot worse. Friday, he slept for about 2 hours on the drive there. It was a bit early for nap, but it worked and he wasn’t even ready for bed early. He slept really good both nights, sleeping until at least 6am. That is not quite as good as at home, but I will take it!

It’s official, Bill has his degree. He got it in the mail this past weekend:

Swingin’ at the park video:

More pictures linked at the right under April 2009.

Next month we are starting swim lessons!!!