Happy Second Birthday to My Sweet Heart!

(make sure to pause the news clip from the previous post)

Wow...

I hoped it would be over after the election but it is not.


http://www.latimes.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3112230

Too bad it got violent by people claiming to be members. Nice representation. But, there have been plenty of threats of violence on the part of those who oppose Prop. 8. There is some scary stuff out there.

Does anyone know about these?

I've contemplated alternatives to the usual disposable diapers that we buy in bulk from Costco, the most wonderful store ever. I do feel there has to be another option.

I've seen lots of different kinds of cloth diapers but this is the first time I've seen these.

They are a mix of cloth and disposable. Pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Little Devil!

What a great year for trick or treating. Caleb is at that fun age where it could be just darling to watch or a total disaster. I admit, my choice for his costume was inspired by the phases he goes through, but he is by no means really a devil. His sweet side is just too sweet and more often than not he is quick with hugs, kisses, "I love yous," and he loves to help me out when I need him. This is the longest he was willing to keep his costume on and he only did it because he was promised CANDY!...

As you can see, I just quickly threw the white shirt over his existing shirt simply because he was willing to wear it and I didn't want to pass that moment up.




The tail killed me! So cute...





He also had his squeaky shoes on. It's hard to appear really devilish when your footsteps sound like the birds on Pixar's short, "The Birds."




I have such a happy guy. He loves to laugh and smile and play, especially wrestling with his dad. Everyday, as they rough house, I can't help but think of lion cubs learning how to hunt by playing with each other. I'm not quite sure what Adam is teaching Caleb, I guess we will see in the years to come. Maybe I'm raising an avid hunter. But, my point about him being happy is that he won't smile on command. He hasn't gotten the point of saying cheese. So, we have been working on the difference between happy faces and sad faces. This is the closest he gets to showing happy. People keep calling it his "Hancock" smile.




He is my sweet heart even though he sometimes likes to hide his sweetness. Sometimes a devil on the outside, but I can't imagine my life without him.

Lucy was an angel for Halloween but she slept through the trick-or-treating. Pictures will be posted later.

Proposition 8!

Today is a day to celebrate! I admit that I am surprised that Prop 8 passed with how popular and politically correct that new offer of gay marriage in California has been. Everyone who worked so hard and were so generous in California deserve a great big "good job" and a pat on the back! It won by 52.1% of the vote.

Yeah for families and protecting marriage and religious rights!

Why I am a Republican

*Warning: this may be a boring post to some. Read at your own risk*

Although I would appear more intelligent and it would seem like I was thinking outside the box by being a liberal Mormon, I openly admit that I am not. I am following the crowd here in Utah for two main reasons...

Reason #1-






















Issues like abortion, marriage, sex education, preservation of the family are as much a homeland security risk in my opinion as is the war on terror and the economic crisis. The sanctity of life and moral integrity is crucial to our survival as a country.

Some may argue that this is my way of forcing my religion onto others, which we claim as a church not to do in the 11th article of faith. However, the sanctity of life and morality are social and ethical issue that permeate all religions and walks of life. By the definitions of what government is, we should have laws protecting those things. The prophets have also warned, "that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." Again, I saw it is an issue of national security.

Reason #2-

Smaller government is better. Less is more. America was founded by those trying to escape the limits that an over-pervasive government had put on them. Man is intelligent, creative, and able to provide for himself if given the opportunity and the education. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time." Government should not provide for necessities that we have the ability to achieve ourselves through honest hard work. (Of course this is in general, there exceptions to the rule and it is good to have programs to help those who really need it.)

The current economic crisis is a result of the government under more liberal presidents, forcing financial institutions to give mortgages to those who couldn't qualify, those who couldn't afford it. A generous gesture, we need to help the needy, but the cost of the government stepping in has been that everyone, including those who couldn't qualify before, have been hurt greatly.

I am a Republican, and proud of it.

Time to Vote With Confidence...

Tomorrow is voting day, as I KNOW you all already know.

I keep asking myself, how do I feel about all of this arguing, debating, heated passions flying through cyberspace, coming out of my television, and on the radio. I have my own opinions and my husband and I usually declare them to one another, building each other up and solidifying what we already believed.

But in the end, I'm sure most of you would agree with me that I am SICK of the campaigning and ready to be done. I'm sick of the debating, name calling, hypocrisy, and divisive personal bashing that we have been berated with for a year and half. So tomorrow means an end of a very annoying era that we will see again only too soon, meaning in three or four years.

On the other hand, I would like to take a chance and reflect on the privilege it is to vote. Most of the worlds developed countries and underdeveloped countries have some semblance of democracy, but America was the first to truly implement the freedoms that God intends for his children save perhaps the Greek and Roman empires thousands of years ago. As written in the constitution, these rights are "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," or as written in the Doctrine and Covenants, "the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life" (D&C 134:2). I believe God had a hand in establishing the American government, not only to foster a place of religious freedom where the fullness of the Gospel could be restored, but also to start the spread of freedom and man's right to have what is rightfully his. So many countries in the world hate America (which is a whole discussion in itself), and yet they have prospered when they have followed the example of the American form of government and in many ways owe her gratitude.

I would like to encourage us all to exercise the right that many of our ancestors died to foster and protect, that is the right to make our opinion known. Go vote and vote with confidence. There are many intelligent people out there who may disagree with you and make you feel stupid for believing one way or the other, but don't listen to them. We have all experienced life in America and know what we in our little part of the country need to have happen in order to continue the fulfillment of the American dream. Help it continue.