Thanksgiving

Sorry, no pictures of our Thanksgiving. I just forgot to pull my camera out of my purse.

We had a wonderful time spending Thanksgiving with Adam's family. We ended up staying two nights in a row. It was wonderful.

One thing I was very thankful for this Thanksgiving is that Caleb has cousins with whom he can rough house. Adam wrestles with Caleb almost everyday and, needless to say, Caleb loves it and wishes to share the fun with everybody, especially when he gets mad. Usually we have to stay on top of him, watch his every move while he's playing with other kids, but Adam's sisters kids just wrestle right back. I can't even explain what a relief it is to be able to let him just go off and play and not worry about him offending someone else's parents (because you know how parents feel when someone hurts their kid). It was a relaxing weekend for that reason alone. I LOVED it.

We are also so thankful for family. People say it all the time, but we all feel it deep down. It is a blessing to have such wonderful family on both sides with whom we love to spend time. We are grateful that we are close now, because it is very likely we will not be close after Adam graduates.

Thanks to everyone for a great Thanksgiving!

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.