How Your Income Stacks UP

Saw an article in Kiplinger by Kevin McCormally with this title. Here it is - the incomes that get you to the indicated place in all incomes in America according to the IRS in 2007. This is personal income but would still be somewhat applicable if you are looking at your family income:
Income Category 2007 AGI
Top 1% $410,096
Top 5% 160,041
Top 10% 113,018
Top 25% 66,532
Top 50% 32,878
Where was the poverty line? Well for a single person $11,201 and for a family of 4 it was $21,834.
Shoot - I remember making less than the poverty line as a principal with a family of 5! Shoot when I moved over to Riverdale and got my big raise to $20,000 we still would have been in poverty today! Very interesting.

My Topher Christmas Tie

If it is near Christmas it is time to wear my Topher Christmas tie. I got this tie several years ago and get to wear it each year at Christmas time. It usually draws all kinds of comments.

So Christopher (Topher) this post is dedicated to you and we wish you a happy birthday as yesterday was your 9th birthday. Next year you will be double digits! My how time flies.

Grandpa Birdie's Shiner

Unofficial Account of the Incident: Grandpa was out celebrating Pearl Harbor Day and got into an altercation with a retired Marine. Someone asked grandpa how the Marine was and he replied that he didn't know he was still in intensive care.

True version - He had a nasty fall in front of Bonnie's house. He has stitches, the black eye, he banged up his hand (better today) and had a big goose-egg above his eye but that too is better today.

Missionary Trainer's Office After a Day of Work

So how does a missionary trainer work. You know we actually have a computer room in our house but I hate working from there because it is like a cell - small, crowded and the one window looks out on the side fence - not much of a view and claustrophobic to me. Solution - Move out into the living room/dining room at the front of the house where I have a view out into the neighborhood and feel like I am in the world. This is much better for me but drives Barbara crazy because of all the mess. This was taken right after my last live lab with this group of missionaries. My tools: Two lap tops (one to teach from and one to view what the class looks like to others), boombox to play music on between the time the lab is opened on the web and we actually start the class proper. Speakers to plug into computer 2 to play the sound from a YouTube video I showed that lab - can't figure out how to get the sound into the lab directly. And then paper, paper, paper, binders, binders, binders. Yes, now that the labs are over it is cleaned up. And every Sunday it is cleaned for the family dinner. So most of the time when I am on line here is my home.

Maycee Eats(?) Soup

How does a 1 year old eat soup? Not easily that is for sure. Maycee the picky eater wasn't doing so well with ham so we decided to give her some of the chunky veggies from our soup since veggies are her favorite food. Well she loved them and obviously they loved her too.

Christmas Scenes from Around the House

The Christmas tree is all trimmed - lights, ornaments and tinsel it was an all week project.

The tree is in the regular Santa room.

In this room all the Santas are snowmen.

Meeting Sister Horton

Sister Horton is one of the missionaries that I trained with when I went into this mission. She lives in southern California - Covina - near the 210 freeway that we travel when going from San Diego to Fresno. This is neat to meet those you serve with. I have now met 6 different missionaries in the program. That is a rare occasion in this mission. The FHC that Sister Horton works at is a tri-stake one and really nice.

Disneyland for my Birthday

Disneyland for my birthday - great - wore the "Happy Birthday" badge and everyone said hi and have a happy birthday all day long. That was a blast. Darn I can never get the sword out of there - even with mom's help.
Mother met one of her old boyfriends there. You just never know who you are going to meet.