Simple Things

There are a few things that have gotten me excited the past few days. First, Chris and I have been holding family scripture "study" (more like reading a few versus) followed by a primary song or church hymn, and then bedtime prayers. Coleman has caught on quickly! He points at the words as we read and jibber-jabbers like he's telling us a story. He dances to our primary songs and folds his arms when we say "Let's say prayers." It's so cute. At first he wanted nothing to do with sitting on the couch for more than 20 seconds. But, surprisingly, he's been obedient and seems to enjoy it, and knows it's routine now. The other night Chris and I got to the couch and sat down and Coleman came running over, picked up the Book of Mormon off the end table, and ran it over to us. AH! I was smiling inside and out. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but if you know Coleman, you know that this simple thing would melt my heart! He's so rough, on the go, and tries very hard to not be quiet or obedient. So, it was exciting and I almost cry when I think about it. Also, my mom and sister and my new niece are on there way to visit as we speak! They decided to road trip for about two weeks while my mom has work off! I can't wait. I've missed them so much. We are best-friends who just happened to be put into a family together. Granted, it wasn't always that way, but I've missed them terribly. There was never a time when I lived in Utah that if one of us was going to lunch or out to Target that the others weren't given a call to tag along. So, it will be fun to have them here for a short time! EXCITED? Yes, I am. And last, all of you moms will be able to relate to this, speaking has begun to take form. Coleman spends all day trying to tell me things. Today was the first time he pointed to a picture of an apple and said "Apple." Yesterday he asked for "wada" (water), and he has told EVERYONE we've passed while running errads today "BuByeee" (bye bye). I laughed every time because he was SO into saying bye. It was just cute. I'm sure it's a first time mom moment, but hey, it's exciting.
I love you my little, rambunctious, curious, sometimes obliging boy!

The Real Costs of War

We should learn from history. I've seen Washington, D.C. and the monuments many times. I believe these monuments were errected to help teach the past and its effects on the American people and the world. Franklin Delano Roosevelt has many quotes engraved on stones at his monument there. One thing he said was, "We are now in this war. We are all in it - all the way. Every single man, woman, and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history." Another quote that is engraved on a stone at his memorial is "I have seen war, I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded...I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed...I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war."
The Iraqi war started when the U.S. believed that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was a risk to Middle East peace, and was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. U.S. forces stormed Iraq and have since freed the Iraqis from decades of oppression. They unleashed chaos on the terrorist/oppresive regimes. Iraqi civilians have died, and so have many of our brave men and women, but many have begun to heal and learn about the meaning of freedom. The psychological effects on the children who have seen death first hand, and the shell shock of our own troops should give us more to think about than the "cost" of the war. I keep hearing politicians talking about the "cost" of war. ALL of the politicians and media personalities seem to forget this war isn't just costing us a price in monetary value. What about the people dying? What about that cost! The soldiers are divided about the purposes and validity of the war. They know that whether or not they support the war, they have enlisted and they are doing their jobs. The real cost of a war are the deaths it has caused. Whether or not the soldiers are divided on the validity, we should be united in our efforts to not forget the true costs of this war. Today the American Military casualties in Iraq are 4,168, (3,376 of which died in direct combat). The total death toll due to the Iraqi invasion is 1,267,401. That is quite a cost for freedom and democracy. No matter how you look at it, this war is costly. Whether or not you agree with the invasion or war in general, there should still be a sense of appreciation for the sacrifices being made. There will be many repercussions of this war on the mental, physical and emotional state of the children, the soldiers, and their families. Iraqi children are homeless, parentless, and are wounded. Our soldiers are away from their families, and many of those families have been left fatherless, motherless, brotherless, etc. Let’s not forget the real cost of war. Our troops and the innocent children deserve at least that much!

SNL Palin skit...soooo funny!

Two links to this video. I'm not partial to Clinton or Palin, so I found this super funny.

NBC SNL

Huffington Post

Double Standards

Yes, John Stewart can be a bit hostile sometimes, but this is a great clip I saw on a friend's blog. Listen carefully and try to keep up! He exposes the truth behind the issues, especially the double standards in the media.

Dirty, Messy, Stinky

Although the title of this post might sound like I'm referring to the current anti-Obama crap I've been receiving and hearing about, I'm not going to post about the political campaign. (I know that McCain, even though he's a liberal, and Obama might not be the two best choices for president, but Obama is the better of the two. Most people know how I feel about moving our country forward, our healthcare system, the economy, higher education, the war in Iraq..Etc, etc. We all know that the "taken out of context" and completely blatant lies circulating these days over e-mail about Obama is a joke. So, stop it! Everyone was all "up in arms" when Romney was being anti-ed in the media and over e-mail. It's the same thing. Although, without taking the blinders from one's eyes, it's hard to see that we're doing the same thing by cutting and sniping pieces of Obama's remarks to make him sound like a "radical", "USA hater", "big government", "say anything", politician. Stop the anti crap! I thought it was wrong when people did it to Romney saying things like "horned Mormon", "non-Christian", "polygamist", "flip-flopper", "money driven", politician. We should all know that the only person who can change our current "do nothing" white house is Barak Obama. Say it with me...his name actually rolls off the tongue quite nicely...Baaahhrrraaahhhhkkk Ohhhhbaaahmmmah!)

So, with the clarification that I'm not going to post anything about the lies circulating about Obama (you people should know, especially as members of the church what the "anti-Christ" is and who he will embody...and no it's not Obama despite what current evangelical Christian anti-Obama e-mail corporations are spreading. And the whole "he's in cahoots with radical communists”. Get a grip!) I will post some fun pictures of things that happen here on the home front. Having a little boy gets dirty, messy and stinky sometimes! That's one thing that this campaign year has taught me. No matter what I say, what I do, or who I try to convince that just because someone is a democrat it doesn't make them bad, people will always have their own opinion. This is like parenting. No matter how many times I explain things to Coleman, tell him no, or show him how to do something, until he learns from his own mistakes (the Bush era) and grows, matures and sees the whole picture (the Obama effect) then it really doesn't matter what I "try to force" him to do. The only thing I can do is be the best mom I know how, and one day he'll remember it and will have firm footing to start out on his own. I've also learned that the things that really matter in this life aren't who will be the next president, did you breastfeed or bottle feed your babies, did you have "natural" childbirth, did your husband graduate college, are you a homeowner, are you fat or skinny, etc. None of that really matters. None of that will effect whether or not our children remain active in the church, are free from addictions, have strong testimonies in their Savior, love others, have integrity, are full tithe payers, serve missions, or marry in the temple. I mean, seriously! Why do we get soooo hung up on the things that don't really matter!? The strongest form of government will always be the one that exists in our homes. So, let's move on from the petty rhetoric of Fox and CNN, because none of that will determine our eternal salvation!

This slide show is of Coleman being caught in the kitchen trying to clean up like mommy. When I caught him I laughed and laughed! It was also a boring day so we made a fort in the living room and made fresh-strawberry smoothies. MESSY! On the days that it rains there are TONS of mud puddles around the apartments. Coleman usually finds one and immerses himself in it. After we got home, on one occasion, I took a few quick pics of the DIRTY, muddy mess! It's so fun to clean him up and watch movies together. Lately he's into Shrek! I love it. Then, when he's in a good mood he plays the piano, as if he's a true musician. He acts like he can read the music from the hymn book. It's so fun to watch! I love my little guy. Let's remember what matters in this life.