California and Marriage
In November California voters will be given the opportunity to add to the California Constitution. The wording of the amendment will make it clear that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman. My church’s Proclamation On the Family is clear that this is how God intends marriage to be. I hope to provide some information on this topic until it is time to vote. To start I will quote ProtectMarriage.com which my church and my family is supporting:
Read MoreWhy It’s Needed:
1. Children need the love of both a father and a mother. The body of research-proof is overwhelming and consistent.
2. Traditional marriage deserves protection because of its contributions to societal well-being. The historic purpose for governmental recognition of marriage has been about children and society, not the relationship of two adults.
3. Expanding the definition of marriage by including homosexual relationships adds to the continued disregard for marriage’s ultimate purpose. Where it has been legalized, same-sex marriage decreases the total number of marriages while increasing illegitimacy. Nine European nations have had same-sex marriage since the early 90s—and just 2 percent of same-sex couples in these countries ever bother to marry, while there has been a 46 percent increase in out-of-wedlock births.
4. Expanding the definition of marriage begs the question: Why stop at same-sex couples? What legal basis would remain to limit the number of partners in marriage?
5. Legalizing same-sex marriage necessarily mandates changes to all California public-school curriculum. Children will be subjected to a mandatory acceptance of homosexuality and all of its practices. Public school curriculum will actively discriminate against the values of the majority of its community’s families.
6. Religious freedom has been the cornerstone of success for the United States of America. It is naïve to believe that when acceptance of same-sex marriage is legislatively or judicially forced upon citizens via employment law, education, or other government mandates, rights of religious liberty won’t decrease.
I Ate Blueberry Yogurt
About five years ago, I was eating my lunch which included a cup of blueberry yogurt. It was Kroger brand, not my favorite Yoplait, but we were in law school at the time and living off of student loans so I went for the generic. About half way through I put a spoonful of yogurt in my mouth and felt something wrong. It was about the size of a blueberry, but too hard to be one. I worked it toward the front of my mouth and picked it out to take a look. To my horror what I was holding between my fingers was a beetle! A black one with little legs sticking out the sides. Disgusting! I immediately jumped up and started spitting into the kitchen sink, rinsing my mouth with water and trying to keep myself from gagging. I was seriously traumatized by it. I’m one of those people that gets nauseated watching those reality shows where they eat bugs and have to look away or leave the room completely. It would take an awful lot of money to convince me that eating a bug was worth it.
I made Rob call the quality control line on the container, and of course they apologized and sent me a coupon in the mail a couple weeks later. It was for $10.00 worth of Kroger products. Also included was a letter that explained how when dealing with fruit little bugs or twigs inevitably get into it. So, not much of an apology, and um, I really don’t want any more Kroger products right now. I kept that little bug in a ziploc in my freezer for several months with the intention of sending it to the CEO with a letter daring him or her to eat that bug for $10.00. But my evil plan eventually died out and I threw the bug in the trash.
However my fear of blueberry yogurt has remained with me. I even had a hard time eating things like blueberry pie for a while, but would do it with small bites carefully examined before consumption. Occasionally I would buy the Yoplait brand of yogurt daring myself to try again. But it usually would end up sitting in the fridge until it was way past it’s selling date, and I would throw it away. But I finally did it. Last week I bought some Yoplait blueberry yogurt and ate the whole thing. There was a lot of mixing and staring at each spoonful, but I did it! I am one step closer to conquering my fear. Woo Hoo!
Read More232 Years Old
We had a blast this July 4th weekend. It started with the bike parade. The night before we decorated our wheels with streamers, bead, pom poms, pipe cleaners and stickers. That morning we walked and rode two bikes, a scooter, and a doll stroller over to the community childrens’ parade.
After getting there, Hannah was a bit overwhelmed by it all, and she and Sabrina did not want to take part.
Emma loved every minute.
Hannah sat with Sabrina and observed for a while then she warmed up to the idea and rode her scooter for a while. Sabrina’s doll stroller stayed in our stroller next to her the whole time.
Hunter was Mr. Cool on his bike.
Emma brought the American Girl on her bike for a ride too.
Hannah was so fun to watch on her little scooter.
Fireworks were banned because of fire danger, so we got party poppers instead.
Pop, Bam, Boom!
That night we went to the church for dinner in the parking lot while some bands of members of the stake played patriotic and popular songs. Then it was off to watch the fireworks show put on by our village association.
The next day, we cleaned out the garage and then decided to try out Hunter’s new kite at the beach. We tried out a new beach which we heard was fun for families because of the mellow waves and tidepools. A lot of people had the same idea. It was packed! So we weren’t able to fly the kite, but had fun playing around in the sand and tidepools.
Little Corona Beach
Rob and Hannah look for hermit crabs
Emma was great at finding the little guys.
Sabrina was not interested in being near them.
She was excited about finding a little purple shell though.
Sabrina and Hannah made initials on the sand.
Emma, Hunter, and Rob took a walk way out over the tide pools.
Hannah and Sabrina covered Mommy’s legs and feet with sand.
Sabrina made a fun game out of coming right up to the lens for me to take her picture. I love this one.
Read MoreSummer…Summer…Summer
Sabrina in ribbons and a sun dress
Hannah in ribbons and a sun dress
Mormon night at Angels Stadium
Emma with her friends Mikayla and Emma
“Dads are Rad” Mini Golf
Our Dad is Rad!
Happy Father’s Day Daddy!
A “new” playhouse I found on Craigslist
Water fights!
Emma gets dumped on by their friend Kate
Kate gets triple teamed
Unfortunately, I never remembered to bring my camera to swim lessons, but we just finished a session of classes for Hunter, Emma, and Hannah. For a bunch more pictures go to the gallery. More fun ahead…
Read MoreThe Way I Am
My latest favorite song. I had never heard of Ingrid Michaelson when I first heard this on the radio and was trying to figure out who it was. Norah Jones? No, a little too peppy… Luckily I was able to find it, and have been listening to it over and over. I think it is my favorite because one of the things I love most about Rob is that he takes me the way I am. I love you baby.
The Most Significant Classroom
Now that summer is here and the kids are all home full time, I am really feeling the effects of being a stay-at-home-mom. I love my kids like crazy, but they can also make me a little crazy, so I really enjoyed reading this quote that reminded me why it is so important that I do this: “Perhaps most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home. Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, ‘Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one’s own family.’ ” —President Thomas S. Monson Ensign November 1991
Read MoreMy Friend Is Sad – Mo Willems
We love the Mo Willems books! We have collected a bunch of his pigeon books, our favorite being The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog. While working at the book fair a while back I came across an elephant and piggie series I didn’t know about. I bought the book My Friend Is Sad, and it has been very popular too. The kids really like these because they can relate to the characters and their dramatic emotional responses. There are few words, and the illustrations are simple, but they work for all ages. Hunter at ten appreciates the subtle humor and Sabrina at two loves the simple story and expressive characters. Genius!
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