Marriage Between and Man and a Woman

Although the majority of my friends and family do not live in California, I am sure you all know that gay marriage has been legalized in the state of California. The law was passed by 7 judges, 4 to 3. Now there will be a proposition to overturn that judgement in November. In church a letter from the first presidency urged the members in California to get involved and even to donate time and money to the stand to get the proposition passed. Since today was the 5th Sunday we had a combined 3rd hour in church on this subject and I feel so much more informed on the subject and I really want to share how important it is that we all understand why gay marriage should not be legalized.

I think that especially young people even in the church understand that gay marriage is wrong and that it is an attack on the family. I also think that we have been taught by the world a sense of tolerance that is hard to know what to do with. At least I didn't understand the extent of how we could be affected by same-sex marriage. This ignorance was leaving me a bit timid about the subject even though I obviously opposed it. Now I understand more clearly than ever before how Satan is so subtle in his ways to attack us. If gay marriage were legalized it would cause so much harm to our religious freedoms that our country is founded on.

Gay marriage is not about politics, it is about morals. We know that it is morally wrong and will affect how our children grow up. I have a paper that was written by a leader in a different church about some of the affects that same-sex marriage would cause. I really think it is important that we all understand this if we are to make a difference in the future. Your state could be next. Please educate yourself by reading this, this is very eye opening:

Six Consequences If Proposition 8 Fails

1. Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay. The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. Therefore, if the definition of marriage is changed, children will be taught that marriage is a relation between any two adults. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.

2. Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings that are open tot he public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.

3. Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. A Catholic Charity in Boston has already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

4. Religions that sponsor private schools and which provide housing for married students will be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if it runs counter to church doctrine, or lose tax exemptions and benefits.

5. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages will be sued for hate speech and could be fined by the government. It has already happened in Canada, one of six countries that have legalized gay marriage.

6. It will cost you money. A change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits. Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbably given today's activist judges), think of the money - your money, your church contributions - that will have to be spent on legal fees.

I also read a document from the church news that explains some affects gay marriage would have, so here are a few interesting things that stuck out to me. This is from the church newsroom:

Key Points from "The Divine Institution of Marriage":

Tolerance, Same-Sex Marriage, and Religious Freedom

• Tolerance as a gospel principle means love and forgiveness of one another, not 'tolerating' transgression.
• In today's secular world, the idea of tolerance has come to mean condone.
• Speaking out against same-sex marriage on moral grounds does not constitute 'hate speech.'
• Legalizing same-sex marriage may place church and state on a collision course.
• Existing examples: Religious adoption agencies lose right to only place children in homes with both a mother and father. Tax exemptions may be withdrawn from religious organizations that don't embrace same-sex marriage. Public accommodation laws used to require churches to open facilities to same-sex marriage. Religious schools that don't embrace same-sex marriage may lose accreditation.
• If same-sex marriage becomes a recognized civil right, religious freedom may be diminished.

How Would Same-Sex Marriage Affect Society?

• While same-sex unions may not immediately and directly affect existing marriages, the real question is how it will affect society over time.
• It is not the purpose of government to provide legal protection to every possible way in which individuals may pursue fulfillment.
• Marriage is legally protected because only a male and female together can create new life, and because the rearing of children requires a life-ling commitment, which marriage is intended to provide.
• The legalization of same-sex marriage likely will erode the social identity, gender development, and moral character of children.
• The establishment of same-sex marriage as a civil right will inevitably require school curricula teach that marriage can be defined as a relation between any to adults and that consensual sexual relations are morally neutral, creating serious clashes between the agenda of the secular school system and rights of parents to teach their children traditional standards of morality.
• In the absence of abuse of neglect, government does not have the right to intervene in the moral education of children in the home.
• When governments presume to redefine the nature of marriage, they have moved a step closer to intervening in the sacred sphere of domestic life.

The Sanctity of Marriage:

• When marriage is undermined by gender confusion and distortions of its God-given meaning, the rising generation of children and youth will find it increasingly difficult to develop their natural identity as a man or a woman.
• The church has become involved in defending the sanctity of marriage because it is a compelling moral issue of profound importance to our religion and to the future of our society.
• It is the only course of safety for the Church and for the nation.

For complete article go to http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage

The fight to pass Proposition 8 is being led by a group of religions, and the organization and donations from our church are really showing a strong influence in this fight. Over the next few weeks, Peter and I will be knocking doors(even though I am scared to death), making phone calls, posting signs and donating a lot of time to this cause now that we really understand why we need to fight for our children's future. Think about the Boy Scouts, our 3 BYU schools, LDS Family Services, Public School, etc. I am ready to get involved in any way possible and feel very passionate about the outcome of this proposition and any other gay-marriage laws that may come in the future of this country. I know most of you don't live here, but I hope that this seems vitally important to you anyway.

Sad Day for Twilight Fans

Have you seen this yet?

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

This is so sad. I would have much rather waited for Midnight Sun to be completed but now it doesn't look like it will happen. She sounds so sad, I feel bad for her.

Eat Your Vegetables

So I bought that book about using vegetable purees in your recipes a while back and never did anything with it. I have the universal problem of trying to get my kids to eat veggies. I kept thinking I should start making purees and using the recipe book but just haven't felt like taking on another project. Then the other day while I was at the grocery store I passed the baby food isle and I thought hmmm...baby food is just puree. I grabbed some squash and decided to experiment a little. Today I made the kids a box of macaroni and cheese and tried out my theory. I just went all out and put the whole container of squash in with it. I tasted it and could kind of tell it was different so I shredded a little real cheese in to hide it. It actually made it very creamy and good. The kids ate it without any hesitation at all. I think I may be on to something!

7 Year Anniversary

I can't believe we have been married for 7 years. Life goes by so quick! I also realized that I have known Peter for half of my life. I met him when I was 14 and a half and I am almost 29 now. So that means that as time goes on Peter will have been part of my life more than not. It seems like we just barely pulled into our old Wymout apartment as newlyweds with a big load of wedding gifts to start our new life together. We have had so many adventures in the last seven years. Life is always exiting with Peter and I smile as I look forward to all the dreams that we have in mind for our life and family in the future.


We had a nice low key anniversary yet again thanks to the pest control. We are so exited that this is Peter's last week of it and then we can have our lives back to normal. Yay, no more 15 hour work days! Peter brought home flowers and dinner and we had a nice candle light dinner with yummy food.

I am also exited that I am going back to school for the first time in 4 years. I have always loved photography so I am taking a beginning class at the community college. It turns out if you are a resident(which I am now) it only costs $20 a credit. Crazy cheap! I really want to learn all the photo lingo and be able to use my camera other than auto mode. Yesterday was the first class and I can tell I am going to love it.

Seen and Heard Around the House

(1)Overheard while Dallin and Eden played:

Ed: Put them on, yes, put them on.You can be a princess, yeah thats okay, you can be a princess.

Da: Okay

Ed: Dallin, you look like a girl, but thats okay to be a girl.

I walked around the corner to see what they were doing out of curiosity and found Dallin and Eden both walking around in her pretty dress up shoes.

(2) Kissing Dallin good night:

Da: You kiss me because you love me Mom.

(3) While nursing the baby, Tanner comes to sit by me and seems to notice what is happening for the first time.

Ta: (pulling the babies head back) No BITE!!!

Oregon Trip

I took so many pictures on our trip that I filled my memory card for the first time. There are a lot here but I had to narrow it down from 600:

Detroit Lake:
We started off driving to Detroit Lake for the Dickinson reunion. Our campground was right next to the play area so the kids had a blast with their cousins. I really enjoyed experimenting with dutch oven cooking while we were there.
Dickinson Girls
We rented boats for 2 days and had fun tubing, skiing, and even a jet ski. That was Dallin's favorite by far. Tanner got up with Peter waterskiing for the first time. He loved it and kept waving the whole time. Dallin went crazy for the jet ski and it made his day for sure.
Zora
Lounging on the Pontoon boat.

Tanner loved to "drive".
Carter was pretty chill on the boats. He just hung out like this most of the time.
Sherry and Mark
Mom
Heidi and Luke

Tanner LOVES his Auntie Sherry. They were so cute together.

Baby Shower:

Coincidentally after we left the lake and headed to Portland, there was a surprise baby shower going on for my sister only about 5 minutes from the Dickinson's. I was so exited be able to make it to that. This is my sister Laurel and our niece Catherine(one of the twins).
Buckets of Babies!! My nephew Max, nieces Daniella and Catherine, and Carter. Future cousin play group :)
My mom and sisters with the babies. Is this the epitomy of our stage of life or what??? It is very fun to all be having children at the same time.

Arave Reunion:

After all of the Dickinson festivities we went to a cabin toward the beach (the one the boy scouts use) with my family. It was very relaxing to hang out and eat good food. I love how secluded and beautiful this place is. What a slice of Oregon.

Tanner playing with Clare.
Dallin had fun playing with his cousins. At one point we couldn't find him and we started the search party. This is how my sister found him a few yards away. She could hear a quiet voice saying "Shelby....Shelby..." She asked Dallin what he was doing (apparently all tuckered out from the constant running). He said Shelby went to get his shoes for him so he was waiting for her. Funny little guy.
Tanner was pretty worn out after back to back camping trips.
Dirty birds!!! Eden loves her cousin Shelby.
Cami told Dallin to smile for the camera and he started moving and bending around all crazy like. She took the picture and then he said "I was being all twisty!"

Some boy cousins.


Around the campfire. We had tons of fun singing, talking, and roasting marshmallows.
My mom made a lot of effort to give the grandkids plenty of fun activities to do. She took them on a hike to hunt for rocks and then painted them. She also did a fun scavanger hunt that ended with popcicles.

Laurel and Shelby
My Family minus a few nappers and one hubby.
Worn out and dirty!
After camping we decided to go to the beach with those who were still around since we were part way there anyway. Our usual favorite is Hug Point.
Digging...

Running from the waves...
Playing in the fresh water puddle...


Eden found a feather and started drawing pictures all on her own.

After all the fun, Peter flew home and I stayed back with the kids for a few extra days to visit. It still went by way too fast. I was really nervous about driving back by myself, but it was a total breeze even with potty trained kids and nursing.

Edens Play Group

Eden is so funny, I am pretty sure she had every doll and stuffed animal set up for playing. She was talking to them all morning and giving them lots of play food. I wish I had my video camera(that's another story) as she talked to them and sang Mary Had a Little Lamb. Have I mentioned that I love having a little girl lately?

One of my Top 20 Moments Ever!

This is a little moment that we had in Oregon that was priceless. I have tons to write about the trip but this deserves its own post. While camping with my family my Dad was playing the guitar one night around the campfire. The familiar songs took me back to my childhood as I loved to listen to his repertoire when I was a little girl. Of course my favorite was always Puff the Magic Dragon. I asked him to sing that one for us and Peter told Eden that grandpa was going to sing a song about a dragon. She quickly ran over to get the front and center spot and he had her complete undivided attention for the duration of the song. When the sad part of the song came and Jackie Paper no longer came to play I really thought she was about to cry. Everyone was mesmerized by the special moment between Grandfather and Granddaughter as they locked eyes while he sang. My dad said he never had such an audience before in his life. It was special for them and for me as I saw my childhood through her eyes. It was something that I will never forget.

Another Short Story from Peter's Life

The last few days Peter noticed a bad smell in his car. So today he decided he had better do some investigating. Sure enough he found a sippy cup with milk under his seat. It has been hot and as the milk has gone sour it would leak out a little bit at a time from the pressure. Pretty nast! The wierd thing is that we have no idea how it got in his car because he doesn't drive the kids around in that car. I still found it in me to laugh at him when he told me about it. Oh, this ride we call parenting.

Kindergarten!

Dallin started Kindergarten yesterday! I can't believe I have a child in grade school, that blows me away. I was very exited and sad all day yesterday. I wish so much that I could be a fly on the wall and see what Dallin was doing, see how he was socializing, and see if his teachers were good to him, etc. We have been talking about his "big boy Kindergarten" for weeks and so he was more than happy about going. When the bus pulled up, one of his friends from preschool was sitting by the window and Dallin got so exited and jumped right on ready for his new adventure. I can't believe what a big boy I have. It is very hard to let him go. It is like sending him out into the real world or something.
Carter is now a happy little baby that sleeps through the night! He has been a very easy baby since the day he was born though. I have kept him in my room way longer than I did with the others, but I think I am ready to put him in his own room now. He is a light sleeper and wakes up whenever anyone rolls over and then he needs his binky, so I think he will sleep better on his own.

Carter is definatley our most interactive baby so far. He started smiling very early and when you coo at him he talks right back. Sometimes when I am holding him I realized that he is looking at me just waiting for me to look back and when I do he gets so exited. When he smiles really big his eyes remind me of Eden's, she always smiles with her eyes too. When I look at baby pictures, he reminds me a lot of how Dallin looked though. His eyes are kind of grayish blue still so I think they will probably turn Hazel like the other boys. I think his hair is going to be darker than the other kids though. I love having Carter in my life.
Princess Eden is showing more and more complex thought every day. I hear her talking to herself in her imaginary world of play a lot and also saying a lot of sassy things. This girl definately has an oppinion about everything. Eden is one lucky girl. She has 3 things that I always wanted: blonde hair, blue eyes and long eyelashes. I have always curled my little stubby lashes and coated them with mascara until they look like spider legs. I know I am biased, but I think she such a beautiful little sweetheart.

Abandoning the Blog

Wow, I can't believe that I haven't blogged in so long, over 2 weeks. That is a really long time for me. I wanted to enjoy my trip home to Oregon and not be too distracted so I decided to leave the old lap top at home. I didn't want to be too tempted to spend time blogging, fussing with pictures, etc. I only checked my email breifly every once in a while. Now I have so much catching up to do....But my plan didn't work perfectly. I made the mistake of starting the Twilight series that I borrowed from Heidi before I got home and read the first book in a couple of days because I got too obsessed. I know I am a little late for that bandwagon but at least I won't have to wait to see how it all ends. Heidi, now I can relate to staying up late with the light of the cell phone to finish. I laughted at my silliness at 2 in the morning when every time I heard a noise I had to flash my phone light around the room to make sure that I was alone and that there were no thirsty vampires like James there!!! I can't wait to read the next three now.