Florida

Tonight we will know who won the Florida primary, for the Republicans (the Dems don't matter because they don't get to seat any delegates at the convention, because of inner-party politicking). This is a really big deal for Romney and McCain (but especially Mitt), because this is the first real two-man race this time around. Ideally, Romney needs to win. If he only loses by a few percentage points, he's not dead but he's probably close. Even if he wins, McCain is by no means dead in the water. Nail-biting, hair-twisting time.

Except not really. It's snowing so hard here that shoveling is futile. Pretty cool!

Edited to add: Ugh.

President Hinckley's Funeral Arrangements

If you haven't already heard, President Hinckley's funeral will be on Saturday, Feb 2, at 11am. It will be broadcast into stake centers and also on BYU-TV. More information can be found here.

President Hinckley

I mostly like to remember the humility of this great man. Shortly after he became prophet, he gave a talk in general conferance (of course). The thing that he said that stayed with me was that he did not feel worthy of the love and admiration of all the members and he realized that what people were really admiring was the position that he was in not neccessarity the man. He just truly did not feel that he was that great a man to be receiving all the attention and admiration that the members were focusing on him.
My second memory was of him waving his cane and caring it NOT using it. He said that his doctor told him to always have his cane with him and he agreed to do what his doctor said.

Hinckley Memory

While I was a missionary in 1996, I gained a strong testimony of Gordon Hinckley as a prophet. First, let me give a little background. Growing up, prophets were grandfatherly figures. I was too young to really remember an active President Kimball. He was mostly a picture to me, but people spoke of him so lovingly. President Benson really impressed me as a prophet, but again, I was mostly too young to appreciate much of what he was saying. As I got older, President Benson was pretty infirm and we didn't see him a lot towards the end. President Hunter was another very sweet man, but we only saw a little bit of him too.

During all this, President Hinckley had been a familiar face. But he wasn't, for me, a beloved figure. He was an administrator, a stand-in for the prophet when he wasn't available in person. It was almost like he was the guy you had to settle for because the real prophet wasn't available. He was nice, but he wasn't like a grandfather and I just didn't have any special affection for him. When he became the prophet, I was a senior in high school. I was old enough to pay attention to the transition. I was a bit surprised to realize how much I liked President Hinckley after hearing his first few talks. My fondness for him continued to grow after seeing in in person (from a great distance) during my first year at BYU.

Then, as a missionary in my first area, we were stuck in our house. I still remember the house very vividly. My companion was sick and we couldn't go out. He'd borrowed a TV and VCR from the meetinghouse library and a bunch of general conference videos. He was asleep in his bedroom and I was watching a random session from the previous conference. President Hinckley spoke. As he spoke, I was awash in an unexpected sensation that I was watching a real, true, living, breathing prophet of God. I thought I already knew that, but the witness of the Spirit was so strong in my heart that I couldn't deny the power of what I felt. I KNEW Gordon Hinckley, the man I hadn't started out liking very much, was a bona fide prophet.

I'll miss his great leadership. I look forward to learning what our future under President Monson's direction will look like. Bruce R. McConkie gave an interesting devotional address after the passing of Harold B. Lee that some of you might be interested in. The Salt Lake Tribune printed a great article about President Monson. Did you realize he's been in the First Presidency since 1985?! He's been greatly involved in welfare and humanitarian work and some are wondering aloud if a Monson presidency (he's 17 years younger than Hinckley!) will see a lot of growth in our church's humanitarian outreach in conjunction with other religious groups.

President Hinckley

President Hinckley died tonight, January 27, 2008, at 7 pm, of causes incident to age.

He was president of the church for all of my adult life thus far, becoming the prophet around the same time I graduated from high school. What a wonderful man! I'm so grateful he was able to lead our church for as long as he did. I'm grateful he was so active and healthy during his tenure. And as much as I am going to miss him (it's hard to even imagine General Conference without him!), I'm grateful he is with his precious wife again. I know he missed her so much.

Of all the many memories I have of President Hinckley--waving his cane at audiences, telling the story of the walnut tree and the new podium, talking about the new Conference Center, announcing the rebuilding of the Nauvoo Temple--the one I want to share happened not at Conference, not at a regional meeting, not even at a devotional. It was during the groundbreaking ceremony of the new wing of the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU on September 30, 1996. As the ceremony ended, and all the dignitaries dug the shovels into the earth, I happened to be in just the right position to be very close to where the prophet stood. As I stood there, twenty feet away, I felt the Spirit bear the most powerful witness that this man was the Lord's annointed. It was just an amazing, unexpected moment, standing there in the sun, straining to hear what was being said as they laughed while turning over the dirt. My soul just knew that President Hinckley has was chosen of God for that time to lead the Church.

Do you have any memories of President Hinckley? I'd love to read about them!

Well, he's no Aaron Fotheringham, but...

This video is called "Extreme Crutching" (link is directly to video, with sound, so if you are Samuel and in your office, watch out). It's not quite "Hard Core Sitting", but it is pretty cool what this man can do with his crutches. (He has something called Legg-Calve-Perthes syndrome, which basically means his hip joints are completely and totally messed up. Apparently any type of impact on his legs (like walking, running, jumping, etc) is bad for him, which explains why he can do all the cool things he does and still need the crutches). Anyway, I thought it was really cool.

Knock, knock

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Piece of cheese.
Piece of cheese who?
Piece of cheese Grandmother!

No, I don't get it either. But it was uproariously funny to Ezra and to me, because it is his very first homemade knock-knock joke.

Re: Keryn's angst

We watched A.I. on Friday night. Or sort-of watched it--I got to the part where his mommy leaves him in the forest and was crying so hard I couldn't breathe. So I stopped watching it and have no intention of finishing it. Bradley finished it the next morning and told me the end and that's all I need. As for "Pay It Forward", I watched that for the first and only time right after I brought Ezra home from the hospital and HATED it and cried and cried (the post-partum hormones may have had something to do with that). So, I was just sharing. Or over-sharing. It's sometimes hard to tell the difference with me.


Guilty. Will send it to Caren on Tuesday when the post offices open.

HUH?!?!?!?!

Keryn, what brought THAT on? Not that I don't agree with you, wholeheartedly and all, I hate those movies too. I would have fired my agents after those two bombs! However, they have both been out for years and all!
Anyway, question for all the ladies in the family. What ever happened to the notebook we were supposed to pass around? I haven't seen it since I sent it to LaDale in July! Does anyone know where it currently is? Just wondering!

Movies...

Movies with Haley Joel Osment that I HATE HATE HATE with the passion of a thousand burning suns:

• *Pay It Forward
• *A.I.

Thank you very much. I'll be sitting over in the corner, curled up in a ball, sucking my thumb and whimpering slightly. Scarred for life.

Re: Ad

Good for that mom! I would have done it, too!

Amen!

Maybe you've already heard this story:

"OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."

Awesome.

MicroGraph Winners

Especially for Samuel--art out of micrograph pictures.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Keryn!!

I love you and miss you tons. Hope you are having a great day!!!

My week

Here is a brief glance at my last week and a half:

*Cough*
Report cards loom.
*Sneeze*
Snow and cold.
*Ache and cough*
No late starts nor a snow day much to everyone's chagrin.- Oh yeah, and report cards ever on my mind.
*Cough some more and begin to baby a very tender nose*
School, school and more school- Not sick enough not to go but miserable while there.
*Wipe, wipe, and wipe my nose again- I've gone through two boxes of Kleenex at school alone not to mention the floor by my bed every morning because I can't seem to hit the garbage can in the middle of the night*
My mornings are starting later but feeling earlier and long, long days filled with colonial America, a stuffed nose, finding equivalent fractions not to mention mixed numbers, a sore throat and a gazillion different biographies of famous and semi-famous people. Oh, and aren't reports cards coming up?
*Sneeze and beg the librarian for some cold medicine because I left mine at home*
Mutual where the bishop asks me if I'm feeling all right and the young woman's president sends me home to a glorious bed by 8:00.
Finally, yesterday, I wake up and think, "Wow, I feel better today!" Then, "Oh my goodness- report cards are due tomorrow!"

Now it is Friday night and I am exhausted, but report cards are done and sent home and I've only weakly coughed a few times and my nose is no longer looking like Rudolph's sister's nose and I have a whole weekend to get ready for Monday!

SMILE!

This and That

Keryn,
I think it must have something to do with being the oldest child. I am still fighting this battle with Benjamin. "Benjamin, please stop yelling at your sister (brother), that is MY job, not yours!"
Well, everyone has probably heard by now about the fact that Bank of America is going to be buying Countrywide. Yes, it did send shock waves throughout our house! Jeff was reassured somewhat today at work. The sale won't go through for at least six months, and then they will have to asses where they stand, so it will be at least a year before we have to worry about any layoffs. Also, Jeff is working in a highly profitable branch, so all in all, we are not terribly worried!
In other news the feds dropped the interest rates again another half a percent point so we are in a great possition if anyone needs a loan!

Helping Scold

At our house "helping" is a big deal right now. "Why do I have to help you, Mom?" "Because it's nice to help each other, and besides, the faster we clean up the (toys, dishes, clothes, whatever), the faster we can (play a game, put a puzzle together, watch a movie, whatever)." This idea has sunk (sort of) into Ezra's mind.

Also at our house, Ezra likes to mimic Mommy. (Hold tight, this does relate to the sharing paragraph.) This includes, unfortunately, the times when Mommy needs to scold one of the younger kids. "Ezra, please don't scold Mercy. I've already taken care of the problem."

Today we were putting together a puzzle on the floor. Naturally, Gideon-boy was very curious and kept grabbing the pieces. "No, Gideon, no no," I said as I moved him out of the way.

"No, Gideon, you're not supposed to take the pieces!" Ezra said to Gideon, after he had been moved.

"Ezra, I've already taken care of it. You're not the mom, I don't want you to scold."

Repeat this conversation several times, with Mercy or Gideon as the culprit.

We finished putting together the puzzle, cleaned up, had lunch, and put the younger kids down for naps. Ezra, sitting on the couch next to me, says thoughtfully, "Mommy, you have to scold little kids, right?"

"To help them do the right things, yes, sometimes."

"And I need to help you scold little kids. So that you can get done faster."

I had no response.

Happy Happy Birthday

You've had a birthday, shout "Hooray!"
We want to sing to you today
One year older and wiser, too
Happy birthday (clap) to you!!!

Happy (belated) birthday, Skyler!

Hooray!

Welcome back, David and Amy! I'm thrilled that you are going to be able to participate on the blog again.

The prodigals have returned

Good evening all...I know we have not written in a long time but we are back now. We now have a reliable internet connection and we plan on staying up to date on the family news.
Sorry for the long silence and relying on Mom to keep us and you up to date on each other. We love our new home! All three kids are doing great and Skyler is loving school. We have been told by his teacher that we should seriously consider getting him into an elementary Magnet program because he is going to get bored very quickly in a normal classroom. Yesterday was Skyler's birthday, he had a great time and we are going to have his party this weekend.
Ephram is doing great and getting taller and thinner (like he needed that!) He has become very defiant in his ripe old age of 4. Arabella seems to be picking up tips from Ephram on how to act and our little angel doesn't always act like one.
To update everyone on Amy and myself... I have been working at Shift4 for the last 4-5 months now and I really enjoy it. Shift4 is a credit card gateway processor. (crickets chirping) You mean you don't know what that is!?! I guess that's not toooo suprising since they are practically the only one in the industry. What we do is, after the card is swiped it is sent to us and we pass it on to the processor who then contacts the bank who says whether it is good or not. By doing this we can prevent bad txns or fraud txns from going thru. (It's a lot more complicated than that but I don't want anyone falling asleep at the computer...I think its a health hazard or something like that.) I provide tech support to our customers. I was working a 4/10 schedule from Wednesday thru Saturday from 4:30 AM to 3 PM but that recently changed due to my new school schedule. I now work Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Still 4/10 but no weekends. My hours are also better, I now work from 6 AM to 4:30 PM.
Amy is enjoying having our own place to decorate as she pleases...our pictures were getting a little cramped in storage and they were complaining bitterly.
We love everyone and we are gradually getting caught up on all the previous postings. Talk to ya later...

David and Amy

RIP

Sir Edmund Hillary died today. I think the only reason I knew he was still alive was because of the extras on the Return of the King DVD.

About the New Hampshire elections, by-the-way*

Don't put too much stock in the allegations of voter fraud on the part of the Clinton campaign (lots of discussion of electronic vote tampering, absolutely no real evidence). If you've even heard of it, and want to read a pretty good smackdown, go here.




*John!

Stir-Crazy

If you don't count doctors' appointments (3), I haven't been out of house for any but church meetings (2) since dinner at Relia and Lynda's the Sunday before New Years. Ten days. I may go crazy. I may already be crazy.

Today is the first day since Thursday that Mercy hasn't had a fever. I took her to the doctor on Monday afternoon (after three days of no sleep, crying/screaming spells, headaches, coughing, runny nose, and lethargic behavior), and it seems that she has two ear infections. Lovely. (By the way, she only touched her ears at most three times before we went to the doctor. And these are the first ear infections of my sweet babies.)

And now today Ezra and Gideon, who have so far been untouched, both have the croupy cough. And runny noses. And Gideon has a very mild fever.

Save me.


(Hey, on the plus side, Ezra has been wearing big boy underwear day and night since Saturday and has had only two accidents--both during the day, interestingly enough. Yay, Ezra!)

(Now onto Mercy.)

New Hampshire (or, as the locals say, "Na-HAM-sure")

(I don't know if the locals really call it that.)

So! That was a surprising primary. Pity I couldn't enjoy the results coming in better--I had a Primary meeting tonight that went for 3 hours. But anyway:

Republicans: McCain 37%, Romney 32%, Huckabee 11%, Giuliani 9%, Paul 8%...
Democrats: Clinton 39%, Obama 37%, Edwards 17%, Richardson 5%...

"Common" knowledge said Obama was going to win--so did the polls. Most if not all polls had Obama up by at least 6-8%, some had him up by 11%. So the fact that Clinton took the win is pretty crazy, and is causing a lot of people to look at those polls again. Other than that, not much has changed. Edwards is in trouble, but we knew that. It's probably still anyone's game between Clinton and Obama.

Bummed yet again about Romney's 2nd place finish--it's not a reputation he wants, I imagine. However, something interesting that I didn't realize until Bradley pointed it out: Romney (because he won Wyoming) actually has the most actual delegates (the ones who actually go to the convention and vote for the nominee) of all the Republicans--CNN has a nice little chart. So, he has money, he has delegates, and, well, he just might not be out for the count. (Maybe that's just wishful thinking.)(But maybe not!)

McCain--well, that was a really nice win for him. And it certainly gives him more momentum going ahead. He might just take this all the way to the end.

Huckabee--meh. Distant third place, I think he loses most of his momentum.

So what's next? Michigan's primary is next Tuesday, January 15. McCain and Romney are going to be going at it pretty hard for that one. I think Clinton is the only one on the ticket on the Dem side (because of stupid inter-party politics). Then on January 19, we have Nevada's caucus (Are you going, Mema? David, Amy?), and South Carolina's Republican primary.

SNOW

Snow snow snow...it rained lasted night, and melted away all the yucky black old snow. And now
it has been snowing for about 90 minutes and I'd say we've got an inch at the very least. Love it!

Telima, is your furnace working?

Caucuses

Keryn, I would love to hear your take on these things, because honestly, I don't know anything about any of them (except the obvious, like Romney is Mormon, Obama is black, and Clinton is a woman). I don't really care enough to find out anything more on my own, but I don't mind reading what you think. It will make me feel at least semi-knowledgeable when it comes time to vote. So, comment away on the caucuses!

By the way, I don't think I ever told anyone, but if you want to see pictures of Jayson from the hospital, you can go to our website. And here are a few that we've taken since then:

Also, if you want to see his "Baby's First Picture" picture, you can go to this website, click on Web Nursery and put in his birthdate, Dec. 8, 2007. It should bring up a list of babies born that day. Just click on his and you should be able to see his picture. I love you all!!!

2008 Round the First

Iowa caucuses:
Huckabee 34%, Romney 25%, McCain 14%, Thompson 13%

Obama 38%, Edwards 30%, Clinton 29%

My take (from reading a lot of pundits):

• Great for Huckabee, he's still not going to be the nominee, though. Not gonna happen.
• Baaaad for Romney. He really needs to do well in New Hampshire next Tuesday, but McCain is surging there and has the momentum of an "unexpected" third place finish in Iowa. Romney has the anti-momentum of a truly unwanted second place finish in Iowa.
• Great for McCain. See above, plus he beat out Thompson (or tied him, depending on which numbers you look at).
• So-so for Thompson. Would have been better to have a strong third place finish.
• Fabulous for Obama. Has momentum, takes the "inevitability" away from Clinton. Couldn't be better, really.
• Nice for Edwards, but I really doubt he's going anywhere. He just doesn't have the "star" power this time around, plus I read that his money is pretty low. Not a good place to be.
• Neutral for Clinton. She wasn't going to win Iowa, and a third place finish is pretty harsh. But she has connections, money, name recognition...The New Hampshire primary is a pretty big deal. If she doesn't win that, then things start going downhill fast.

My feelings?

I'm bummed about Romney and Thompson, because those two were my first picks. I don't want to believe that people voted for Huckabee because of anti-Mormonism, but it seems to me that it played SOME small role, and that bugs me!

I can't support Huckabee--he is pro-life, and he seems like a really decent fellow (I hate to kill him...name that movie!), but his politics! He's big into nanny-state-ism (the government will take care of everything for you...), he's had far too many foreign policy faux pas, he raised taxes a lot as governor of Arkansas, his Mormon comments GRATE on me.

I could support McCain--he's got a lot against him in my book, at least with domestic policies, but, man, he has some serious integrity, and I love that about him--but not in the primaries. If he gets the nomination, I could get behind him.

Next big contest is the New Hampshire primaries on Tuesday, January 8th. (Wyoming's caucuses are on Saturday, but, sorry, Wyoming, nobody cares.)

(What do you all think? Would you rather I shut up about the presidential elections? Because I will if you don't care.)