Saric...and Counting

Jack and Trains

2012-01-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

Jackson still likes trains. A lot.

On Saturday we had to do a few Christmas clean-up type of errands in Ogden. Conveniently, Ogden has a train museum and a pretty good little restaraunt in Union Station. We ate lunch there are played on the trains.

Hi there, I believe we've met before

2011-12-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I got an iPhone which means that I have actually taken some pictures lately.

This is going to be a little lop-sided in Addie's favor. She is just too dramatic and draws a lot of attention.

The kids

Addie helped Sarah make some Christmas treats.

Addie in time-out for sneaking Christmas treats to her room and eating them.

The kids making gingerbread houses on Christmas Eve.

Eating said gingerbread houses.

Christmas jammies. Yes, Adeline is using her toothbrush as a mascara brush.

Addie's vanity on Christmas morning.

Addie dressed for church on Christmas

We did Christmas at our house this year for the first time since we have had children. We usually make the annual trip to Texas to be with family but decided that we should allow the kids to wake up in their own beds on Christmas morning from time to time. We had a blast. It was a lot of fun to just not have an agenda. I'm not gonna lie, we save a lot of money by staying home too. In fact, we have paid off all debt except for our mortgage (and we owe our parents some money but they are much nicer creditors).

Work has been nuts. Ron Paul rules the earth whether you like it or not. I haven't been able to read nearly enough this year. Work, school and church have taken a lot of time throughout the year. The Mav's are looking shaky but no worries, we are setting up to make some big moves next year.

The first 30 seconds of this song are awesome.

We have always been big fans of music but have been mostly off the grid for hmm, about a decade. There are a few songs that we have found lately that we enjoy. Such as:

Here's a sign that we are getting old. I recently got a free Xbox and I returned it for grocery money. Yes, I would rather have money for groceries than play video games.

Winter set in about 2 months ago and we are beginning to get a bit stir crazy from a lack of outside activity.

I play basketball most Saturday mornings and feel every bit of it most Sunday afternoons. Creaks and cracks, pops and swelling are now commonplace on my crappy 30 year old body.

When Ellie snuggles with you and you are laying on the ground, she sits on your head.

This isn't the best representation of it but you get the idea.

Sarah was in our room the other day which is consequently also where my "office" is. Jack came in and sat in my chair and asked Sarah if he could be an appraiser one day. She said something along the lines of 'yeah sure, if you want to.' Jack said that he wanted to be an appraiser so we could be together all of the time. It made me cry. I cry far more than I probably should. I blame the kids again. I worry that I don't use time with the kids well enough. I worry that before I know it they are going to be screaming that they hate me and slamming the front door as they storm out. I realize that there is such a short window of time that kids, when they are still kids want to spend time with their parents and actually believe we can do no wrong. I hope we use that wisely.

The good news is that Jack is becoming helpful with 'man' tasks and when I'm splitting firewood or building a shelf his assistance is of benefit. I like how most of the time when I ask him to bring a tool or something he actually brings the right one.

Jack is addicted to my iPhone. Maybe more than I am. Angry Birds has got a hold on that one.

Sometimes I wish we lived in a place that had more cultural diversity. I want our kids to be able to have many friends with backgrounds from all over the world.

All 3 of em giving Grandma Great's recliner a workout.

How's that for random?

You can vote for any one of a dozen war mongers and statists, or you can vote for Ron Paul

2011-09-19T20:55:00.001-06:00

Hot Pockets

2011-07-18T14:13:00.000-06:00

Sarah and the kids return home tomorrow night. It would be impossible to overstate how excited I am for them to come home after their extended visit to Texas. There are a few things I have learned in their absence though. The first and perhaps the most important is: Don't mess this up! - that is my marriage. Getting a glimpse of how life would be for me without Sarah and the kids is so depressing. Another is, and some of you may be firsthand witnesses to this: after you're alone for a while, you start getting weird. You say things that may be pushing against the boundaries of acceptable social behavior, you have less tact, you care less about how people perceive you and if you are me, I am constantly talking and singing in opera voice to myself. (Last night I was outside watering the garden and I heard the oven timer go off inside the house and it isn't that loud. I realized I should probably be embarrassed for all of the music I've treated the neighborhood to lately). While there are myriad other reasons why I am happy to have my family back tomorrow, I would be lying if I said that a good meal wasn't one of them. Let's just say I've gone through a lot of toilet paper since they left. Below pretty much sums up my diet over the past few weeks.

The smelliest house of all time

2011-06-30T17:26:00.000-06:00

Elaine: Can you die from an odor? I mean like if you were locked in a vomitorium for two weeks, could you actually die from the odor?
Jerry: An overdose of odor? Good question.
George: Do I smell?

I wish I could have found the video for that little bit of dialogue. The reason for this post? Well, I recently had the fine pleasure of inspecting the smelliest house I have ever stepped foot in. I have literally been in thousands of homes and seen the entire spectrum of living conditions and this one, at least as far as smell goes, takes the cake.

How do you obtain such an odor? I can hear you all asking. Take 4 large dogs, let's say Akita's or German Shepherds, something along those lines, lock them in your house with you and let them urinate and defecate on every surface of your home. Do not remove the doge feces, just pile it up next to the front door (inside still). Allow all shed hair to remain on the floor to provide a nice, absorbent, mat like covering that will really hold on to all urine and feces particles. Smoke, heavily for years on end. Preferably have 3-5 heavy smokers in the house, yes, you teenagers need to pull your weight too, spark up there junior. Now live like this for, say 8 years without ever cleaning your home and you will have achieved the total destruction of your home by dog. I won't give you too much but here is one picture, apparently this was one of the dog's favorite spots to unload. What looks like dirt on the newel post is actually some kind of urine, fur, smoke residue. Pretty awesome.

2011-06-13T14:30:00.000-06:00

Mavericks

2011-06-09T11:29:00.000-06:00

I have lived and breathed the NBA playoffs this year. This is due in large part to the Mav's slicing through round after round and getting to the finals leaving piles of mangled corpses along the way behind the dead eye gun of a 7 foot German man. The way the storyline has played out for the entire NBA this year I believe that the only fans left for the Miami Heat are either those two-bit strumpet, near-the-airport stripclub, bandwagon fans who wear LeBron James' jersey to the mall....and of course those South Beach fans. Everyone seems to be on pins and needles waiting for the Heat to do something stupid, or should I say something else stupid. You know, besides guaranteeing multiple championships in the pre-preseason before any of their team had even suited up.

Then you have this, this, what's his name? Dirk Nowitzki from Wurzburg Germania who is carrying the entire world on his shoulders. Seriously, the atlas is on this man's back and he has quietly shouldered this burden for years and especially in these Finals. Games when they have been down 15 midway through the 4th and no one is there to help, he pulls out a W on a sweet lefty that the Heat scouting report vehemently warns against. Playing with a fever of 101+ degrees in game 4 down 9 early in the 4th he does it again. This time going right, coughing and wheezing right past Haslem for the game winning points. Keep in mind that the 2nd best player for the Mav's would be lucky to be in the Heat's normal rotation. Seriously the Mav's former center, Erick Dampier, the same Dampier who was the Mav's starting center in the 2006 Finals is now with the Miami Heat and has not played a solitary millisecond in these Finals and very little if any significant time in the entire playoffs. That is how much is on Dirk.

There are plenty of alluring analogies to make for Dirk but it is what it is. He is a humble guy who instead of selling out his franchise and fans in the offseason went to the gym and got better. There are plenty of those intangible words like will, grit and toughness to describe what he and the Mav's have accomplished this year. You could even go so far as to say this whole scenario is like Rocky V when Tommy "the machine" Gunn who is younger, stronger and more athletic, still can't take Rocky out in a back alley street fight, because after all, Rocky and Dirk just won't stay down.

Game 5 is tonight and it more or less a must win situation for the Mav's. The media has been trashing LeBron for the past 2 days so I am sure that he will come out slinging and firing. Dirk still has a lingering fever, that pesky torn tendon in his left hand, no consistent help from anyone and he will face 3 dudes all carrying $14,000.000 contracts tonight. Hopefully those home court rims are a little softer than they have been the last 2 games and some help shows up. We sure could use Jet to pull a Gandalf and show up with a raging army of team mates, ready to destroy the Orks. Let's go Mav's!!

The Season of Faith's Perfection

2011-06-01T20:20:00.003-06:00

Yeah, I know....I ripped the title off from Fining Forester, relax. If you know me well, you know that I have been a Dallas Mavericks fan forever. I remember when Dad would score a set of tickets when I was pretty little to go and watch Rolondo Blackman, Brad Davis, Mark Aguirre and Derek Harper. I remember well the disappointments of Jim Jackson, Roy Tarpley, Popeye Jones and that infamous 11-71 season back in the early 90's. I remember going to games on "dollar dog nights" when the parking pass was more than the game ticket back in middle school and high school. I have always been a Mav's fan and at no time have I ever thought about switching up who I cheered for.

The 2000's haven't exactly been a walk in the park either. With several early playoff exits in the first part of the decade hope began to grow with the burgeoning of a certain 7' German.

Going in to the playoffs in 2006 things were good for the Mav's and for me. I had recently put school on the back burner again and had a job I was really excited about and making good money at. Sarah and I had moved in to a house we loved in Salt Lake and were fixing up. Brett was staying with us at the time and Ryan Sparks was over often and we made no qualms about cheering hard for the Mav's during that playoff run and the entire neighborhood knew it. When Dirty was able to finish the Spurs off in the Wester Conference Finals with the drive and the clutchest of all clutch free throws, the Mavericks were headed to the finals for the first time ever.

I don't need to go in to too much detail about the finals implosion but just to recap the Mav's jumped out to a solid 2-0 series lead and looked fantastic late in the 3rd quarter when the Heat came alive and won 4 straight starting with game 3. Of course there were some very dubious whistles, the phantom time out which Josh Howard never called and a very lop-sided free throw tally in games 5-6 which led the now former Laker's coach Phil Jackson to say that the league was retaliating against the Mav's owner Mark Cuban's criticism of the leauge via the free throw line.

Needless to say it was a tough one to swallow and 2007 wasn't any better with a strangle hold on the #1 seed overall riding a 67 win game season and facing a Golden State team that if Avery Johnson had played starters against in the end of the regular season and gave them one more loss, wouldn't have even made the playoff's. The Mav's lost the series being on a very short list of #1's to be beat by #8's. 2008, 2009 and 2010 were all largely forgettable advancing to the second round just once in those years but otherwise taking a first round ouster every season.

In that time I experienced what was to me an earth shattering awakening with regard to the political scene which you all know something about....If you don't just scroll down some. I think that this has made me very skeptical and even cynical at times regarding the government and their ineptitude. Economically things have been in the Sir John Crapper and this has for me and my business been devastating and changed the face of the industry in which I work. During this time we moved to Evanston Wyoming in a temporary house, in which we still reside which is also bursting at it's ever-loving seams. The primary purpose of moving to Evanston rather than say Rock Springs Wyoming was to be close to my Grandmother who passed away just over a year ago. Government regulation has kept business slow for us and taken most of our clients and forced them to use appraisers whom would normally be their 3rd or 4th choice. Thank you Chris Dodd and Barney Frank for punching my personal finances in the gut.

I have added 3 beautiful children to my life since 2006 and there have definitely been some wonderful experiences and spectacular high notes. But overall stress has been ratcheted up a few notches, the future seems for me to be more uncertain than ever and there are of course those 3 little mouths to feed.

When the Mavericks were heading in to the playoffs this year I was bracing myself for disappointment but hoping for the best knowing in my heart of hearts that this year would be different. The Mav's beat Portland in 6, swept the Lakers in epic fashion and promptly dismissed the Thunder who will be a great team for at least the next 5 years as long as the roster doesn't blow up. All the while the Miami Heat were making their way through the East and finally the stage was set last week and the Mav's and Heat would get to reset the 2006 finals.

I know this is stupid and part of me is slightly embarrassed to even record and publicize this but this year I am cheering for the Mav's harder than I ever have. Not just so they can exorcise their playoff demons but it seems that my life has been a parallel to theirs over a similar time frame. So their playoff destiny is something of a chance at personal redemption for me. If they can win and do it against the very team who has caused them so much mental anguish over the past 5 years maybe there is still some justice in the world. Perhaps there is a reason to allow me to get my hopes up about something instead of just absorbing sucker punch after blind sucker punch.

By the way my truck just broke down.

Let's go Mav's!!

Water

2011-04-01T18:47:00.000-06:00

John 4:10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Scientists are discovering that you can change the shape water crystals take depending on how you treat them, what words you speak or show to them or even what you think toward them. Dr. Masaru Emoto has written several books on the topic and has done extensive research on water.

This idea has been blowing my mind today thinking about the above scripture. I was also thinking about when you feel the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is likely an actual physiological change in the water content of your body. How you interact with other people and the mood you carry may actually change the physical nature of the water in your body. Here is a video that shows some of the crystals and how they took form depending on how they were treated.

Hermann Goering quote

2011-03-30T16:27:00.000-06:00

Image from here

"Why, of course the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."

"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only the Congress can declare wars."

"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

Gilbert, G.M. Nuremburg Diary.

New York: Farrar, Straus and Company, 1947 (pp. 278-279).

When people lose everything and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it. -- Gerald Celente

2011-01-29T10:13:00.001-07:00

Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, Albania, Jordan, Bolivia and Egypt are all verging on complete revolution.

This story explains most of what is going on.

Most of this is driven by our belligerent foreign policy in those regions and propping up corrupt regimes. Which is why you aren't hearing anything about it in the news.

In other news, we don't take care of our own soldiers (big surprise right). Especially those suffering from PTSD or other mental difficulties. For the second year in a row more soldiers took their own lives than those that were killed in combat.

Community

2011-01-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

So I'm back in school....and it is very similar to the show Community. The primary difference is that on television it's a lot funnier. I am surrounded by recent graduates of high school (some of them I think are current students) and 50 year old moms taking another crack at it. I kind of feel stuck in the middle. I had some curve balls thrown at me over the last 3 months that have really left me no choice. Taking 4 community college classes that have absolutely nothing to do with my career choice are essentially the difference in me doubling my income over the next 2 years or I could do nothing and stay on this same plateau. Shenanigans I tell you. So through the hoops I jump. I really enjoy learning but I hate, hate, hate with the fire of 1,000 suns being compelled to learn useless crap. Make no bones about it - and our high school teachers were lying, there is plenty of stuff you will never use in the real world. A lot of the time making a good grade in the class has little or nothing to do with your knowledge of the material but how well you can predict what your teacher wants to hear. The silver lining is that I have to take a political science class where I am able and even given assignments to rant and rave about the government. All we need is a Jeff Winger and a witty Abed type to keep it light.

Happy 30th Birthday Sarah!!

2011-01-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Sarah!

I love my little wife so much. She does so incredibly much for our family that it is impossible to give full credit to her here. She works tirelessly to teach and entertain our kids. Sarah is so kind, compassionate and caring and does everything to make our family work. Her love for us is felt all of the time. She is my best friend in all the world and deals with me quite well. I have been incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful spouse. Happy 30th Sas!!

North Pole Express

2010-12-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Because we knew Jack would love it...we decided to fork over the big bucks in order to ride the North Pole Express in Heber. We had a hard time finding a setting on our camera that didn't end up with terrible lighting, so sorry for the poor quality and lack of pictures.

For us, the highlights of the ride include: the punching of our tickets (although he wasn't quite as skilled as the conductor on the real Polar Express), the 'elves' passing out cookies and hot choc-o-lot, Mrs. Claus, caroles, the workshops along the way (they were actually just houses that were decorated for Christmas, but I thought it was really cute that Jack thought they were Santa's workshops), and of course, SANTA!

Classic Jack

Caroling

Helping out with the 12 days of Christmas

Nervous giggles (she wasn't sure about Santa)

For Christmas, I want a train I can ride on

This year in books

2010-12-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

I was thinking that I would jot down which books I have read this year. In no particular order and for my own documentation:

Sergeant Nibley PHD - Nibley

Liberty and Tyranny - Levine

The Quiet American - Green

Farenheit 451 - Bradbury

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience - Thoreau

The Hunger Games Trilogy - Collins

Why I Write - Orwell

A Peace to End All Peace - Fromkin

Silent Night - Weintraub

All Quiet on the Western Front - Remarque

The Next 100 Years - Freidman

The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald

Anatomy of Peace - Arbinger Institute

I am currently reading The Real Lincoln - DiLorenzo

The Book of Mormon

A few highlights:

Would have probably read 3 or 4 more books but A Peace to End All Peace was a very dense 550 pages rife with important details that are difficult to recall and often require going back to refresh the timeline of events in your head.

Sergeant Nibley was the best WW2 book I have read so far. That man and his stories are unbelievable. He was quite literally involved in every major aspect of the war including major campaigns, intelligence gathering and planning. He crossed paths with Hitler, was at Normandy on D-Day, flew in on a glider in Market Garden, captured the Eagles Nest with the 101st and laid the groundwork for the CIA to mention a few. He should have been killed no less than a dozen times during the war.

Anatomy of Peace is a great little book and makes me try to argue more effectively and understand people more fully.

I have read my fair share of books on the topic of war, especially modern war and have yet to come across a single instance where someone who was in the front, in the trenches did not come away broken from the experience. I cannot understand why we love war so much in our country except that so few people feel the actual effects of it and know its horrors. We have been convinced by our governments that we should hate entire ethnic groups and cultures without knowing much about them at all. Cries of patriotism are used effectively to try and silence any who are anti-war, death, destruction and annihilation, though they are the ones trying to sort out the matter and spare blood and treasure and national integrity doing so. I also have a difficult time with Christians in general but specifically LDS people, who have the Book of Mormon and how they continue to warp the teachings of Christ in order to find reasons for war. I cannot for the life of me understand how they find application for the war chapters of the Book of Mormon and the conclusions of Mormon and Moroni regarding war if they exclude the application to themselves and their own country. Mormon 4:5 has kind of become my new favorite verse regarding the claim that we need continual war. It says:

"But, behold, the judgements of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed."

So if it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished - which one do we want to be?

I love books. My amazon wishlist has swelled to over 600 titles recently and I continue to purchase at least 4 books a month, often more. I will often read a book to find out that I now need to read 5 or 10 more and so my list continues to grow instead of shrink. It has been a good year in books. I have several large treatises on economics and the founding that are looming large on the horizon. Human action is a very difficult 1000 page economics book that comes with its own glossary (separate volume) because the author has invented so many new words. Then I just bought Conceived in Liberty, 1670 pages, 4 volumes. 2011 should be a great year in books.

Its Winter!

2010-11-23T16:39:00.003-07:00

Its been snowing a lot lately, and apparently we're in for a blizzard! It hasn't hit us yet, but I definitely don't want to be out when it does. I just got back from the grocery store, and I don't have plans to leave the house for days.

This is a picture of the snow on Sunday. The wind was blowing so hard I could barely open the door, and I couldn't go outside without my camera getting wet, so this is a fast picture from the doorstep.

I don't know if you can tell from these pictures, but there is at least a foot of snow on the ground.

I was looking at the accuweather website this morning. Its telling me that tonight is supposed to -6...real feel -37! Can you imagine! Anyway, I guess what I'm getting at is (in the words of Jack...) It's Winter!

My Momma

2010-11-21T17:32:00.002-07:00

My mom came to help out when Ellie was born. She stayed for about a week and a half. She did way too much! The picture below shows exactly what I did the whole time mom was here...it was awesome! Thanks mom...we miss you!

Just Pictures of the kids

2010-11-21T16:59:00.005-07:00

I thought this was cute....and really well spoken

2010-11-19T09:47:00.003-07:00

The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

You've heard of a flash mob

2010-11-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

.....how about a flash choir?

Reflections on Elections

2010-11-03T15:46:00.000-06:00

You wouldn't have to look very hard to find a political cartoon to make fun of that candidate whom you just love to hate. It's easy to drag the skeletons out of the closets of those individuals who are running for or already hold public office. Nothing is off limits. All embarrassing family secrets would be dragged out in the open to air out a bit and perhaps for a few people to spit on as they pass by with their nose in the air secretly thanking benevolent mercy that their secrets are not the ones display.

After election day we then take the time to complain and moan about the results as they are never to our liking, at least not 100%. Then we diatribe against the crooks on the other side who are the solitary reason for the holes in the hull of the sinking ship we are all riding to the bottom of the ocean floor.

George Washington is often considered the greatest president we have ever had. Indeed the people of Washington's day were aware of the issues affecting them, they knew the implications of their voting actions and so, selected wisely. Contrast that with today and many people don't even know who is in the race, much less what they stand for, their history and their platform. Many people miss out on voting altogether for reasons that could have easily been avoided. I know people who did not vote because they went instead to the movies, or at least that is what they told me. Forget the notion that a movie only lasts at most 3 hours and you have no less than 3 additional hours bookending the movie in which to cast your ballot.

Garry Willis said: "(In an election year) we get the presidents we deserve. A great people is what you need for a great president. Washington was the greatest president because the people were at their most enlightened and alert. America right now is escapist. It wants to be soothed, and told it doesn't have to pay or sacrifice or learn."

Said differently - in an election year we get exactly the candidate we deserve. Nobody slipped one past us. If we as a whole are not satisfied with the candidates we have selected and continue to select, perhaps we as a whole should become more enlightened and alert in the future.

Ellie

2010-10-31T17:49:00.000-06:00

Eleanor Ruth Aanerud - born Oct 30, 2010 at 6:24 am. 7 lbs, 7 ounces, 19 inches long and perfectly healthy.

A RP Halloween

2010-10-28T15:40:00.002-06:00

Even if you don't like Dr. Paul - this dude can carve a pumpkin!!

Addie Louie just turned Two-ey!

2010-10-17T17:01:00.006-06:00

Our little girlie had her 2nd birthday on Monday (Oct 11)! Its so weird to me how sometimes she just seems like my little tiny baby, and other times she's a big girl.

Things that make her seem old:

-She is talking really well, and is constantly shocking us with the words and phrases that she already knows. You can have a pretty interesting conversation with this girl!

-She is mostly potty trained, which is awesome! We're saving a pretty good chunk of money by not having to buy diapers at the moment. I haven't changed a diaper in 6 weeks!

-She likes to do everything herself. She feeds herself, climbs into her car seat herself, and tries to put her clothes on by herself.

Things that make her seem little:

-She still loves her paci. She wants to have it ALL THE TIME! It drives me nuts! Especially since I give in a lot because of the exhausted state I'm in. I am proud to say that today, she's only had her paci at nap time!

-She still uses a juice cup. We could probably break her of this habit, but to be honest, I don't really see the need.

So, in true Eric and Sarah fashion, we don't have many pictures to post from her birthday. That's partly because she wouldn't sit still, so I got tired of trying, but here are a few:

How old am I...

2010-10-17T16:45:00.004-06:00

I was laughing the other day because I have a friend who likes to cross stitch, and for me, cross stitch has always been something you did at a young women's activity once or twice in your life...not an actual hobby. Then I realized what I was doing as a laughed thinking about this friend in her twenties cross stitching in her spare time...I was knitting!! What is the matter with me? Somewhere in the last 5 years I've become an old woman. I enjoy crocheting and knitting...its true! Our little family went to the Roundhouse Festival back in August and I saw some older ladies sitting in the corner talking and knitting, and I thought,"I wish I could do that." So, I realize its a bit odd, but I wanted to learn to knit, so I did, and I finished my first project. Its actually my second project, but the first isn't actually worth mentioning, so we'll just skip right over it. I am by no means a professional knitter, but I'm proud of the teeny tiny little blanket I made, my kids and husband are proud of it, and hopefully our little Ellie Bean (who will be making her appearance in the next 4 weeks!!) will love it too!

In these pictures you can see where I was paying too much attention to the show I was watching and accidentally switched the stitch, but that just gives it more character, right?!

This is my problem

2010-10-12T15:18:00.000-06:00

This guy describes me with haunting accuracy.

People are crazy

2010-09-09T20:50:00.002-06:00

I pulled up to the first inspection of the day and had to swerve a little in order to avoid running over an unkempt little boy who looked like he had just finished playing in a coal mine and was filthy from head to foot. His hair looked like it was a poorly managed mohawk and I'm sure he should have been in school. When I got out of the truck he followed me around screaming some gibberish that I couldn't understand and didn't seem to make sense to anyone else around either. His aunt met me at the front gate and let me on to the property and I went about my business measuring the home while avoiding the piles of dog logs peppering the yard and kicking the 4 or 5 dogs off my legs as I went.

When I got inside the house the aunt continued to try and rouse the boy's mother (her sister) from bed. After some persuasion she eventually managed roll out of bed and put on enough clothes to make the situation more of a PG-13 than the full blown R we were welcomed in to. (Although that rating is failing to take in to consideration the adult images proudly displayed on the walls of the home) The boy previously mentioned was in and out of the house, still screaming nonsense and being continually screamed at by the various authorities of the home but spent most of his time in the street.

As I was taking the last picture that I needed of the dedicated parrot room of the home and weighing carefully the added value that piles of bird fecal stalagmites might contribute to the property as a whole, I turned in to the hallway and spotted that the boy's mother was wearing a very bulky anklet and realized she was on house arrest. As I was walking through the front door to go back to the truck I overheard a conversation between the aunt and her sister explaining in whispered tone that "I can't go outside because of this thing" - as she raised her ankle to show off her sporty anklet. The aunt then startled me by screaming for the boy to come and put some shoes on before playing in the street. I got in to my truck wondering what would happen if the boy were hit by a car while playing in the street (the mom not being able to go more than 5 feet beyond the perimeter of the home) if she would be arrested for violating her house arrest or the negligent care of her child or both.

Random Stuff

2010-09-03T15:46:00.009-06:00

I'm terrible at blogging! Sorry! So, we've been doing lots of stuff, but Eric and I both hate stopping to take pictures, so I don't really have any. We went to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens and I took one picture (and unless you know where he is, you can't really see Jack).

We went to the zoo, and I didn't even bring the camera. We spent a week in Park City with my family. I brought the camera, but I only took 2 pictures...

So, let's skip all the stuff we've been up to that we don't have pictures of. Currently in our house, we are in the middle of a major power struggle! I'm not talking about Eric and I. These kids are crazy! Jack and Addie had been so easy. They had us tricked into thinking the gap between them was perfect because they were so easy. They had their tantrums and things, but seriously, nothing was too hard to handle. We planned baby #3, and were on our way to a 5 person super easy family when everything got flipped upside down! In all fairness, I think part of the problem is my pregnancy. This is the first time being pregnant has actually altered my personality, and its been really hard for me. Then on top of that, Addie has officially entered the terrible 2's, which are nothing compared to the stage Jack is in. He's really trying to figure out where the boundaries are, and what he can get away with. Its driving me nuts! Discipline is soo hard! How do you maintain a level head but convince your child that you're serious and that action is not allowed? Eric thinks I'm funny when I'm mad, and I'm pretty sure Jack does too, so it makes things really difficult and frustrating.

So that's my rant. This next bit is semi unrelated, but that's okay. Addie's favorite past time is putting on makeup. You can find her like this anytime you forget to lock the bathroom door.

Jack was so excited the other day that he was just running around the house in circles. He was going so fast he tripped on a pillow and slammed his face into the fireplace. Luckily nothing broke or even got bloody, but he has a pretty good bruise. Its kind of hard to see in the picture, but it curls around his cheek and goes up into his eye.

This one IS part of our power struggle. Our kids need naps. They get really mean if they skip one, so I try to keep them on track. But I really need them to take naps too. I'm exhausted, and I need that little bit of time in the day to regain my composure after all the craziness. A few days ago, Jack didn't want to take a nap. I told him that was fine, but he needed to stay in his room and play quietly for a little while because we both needed a break. He refused, and said instead he was just going to sit on the top of the stairs. Fine! It got pretty quiet, so I assumed he gave up and went to his room. I went to get Addie from her nap, and found Jack sound asleep on the stairs.

Pictures from the Great Depression Era

2010-08-13T18:54:00.001-06:00

I thought this was pretty interesting. The Library of Congress has recently released about 1600 pictures from the early 1940's. I thought they were really interesting to look at since these were in color - I don't know if I've ever seen a color picture from that time. Take a look.

One more time

2010-08-13T09:04:00.000-06:00

I know I posted this in text format a few weeks ago. I just think it's interesting to watch the video and see the people in the audience, the administrators and her fellow grad's turning to each other and whispering or snickering. I can only imagine what they are saying to each other: "can she say that?" "are they just going to sit there and let her say those things?" It just makes me happy that there are people out there who share these feelings with me. This is one brave chica and my hat's off to her for having the courage to challenge the system, especially in this setting. Bravo!

Trains

2010-08-08T21:04:00.000-06:00

This weekend was the Evanston Rounhouse Festival. It's a huge model train show that train enthusiasts come all over the western states to attend and to raise money for the renovations that are left to do there. We have always liked the old train buildings and now that they are being restored they are pretty impressive. Also we do have some familial ties as well with my great grandfather having worked at the roundhouse back in its hay day. Needless to say Jackson was beside himself with excitement to get there and we spent the vast majority of Saturday checking out all of the model trains and enjoying all of the train stuff to do.

...And an Addie picture for fun.

Update

2010-08-05T21:15:00.000-06:00

With 92% of the precincts reporting Basil Marceaux received .5% of the vote for Governor of Tennessee. That may not seem like much but that means that at least 3,339 people cast their vote for this man. I'm still trying to figure out if these people really wanted their state governed by Mr. Marceaux or if it's one of those cruel vote-for-the-crazy-person-for-homecoming-king things.

For your viewing pleasure there is a really funny Colbert Report bit linked here.

You gotta love the United States...

2010-08-03T13:56:00.002-06:00

Where yahoo's like this guy can run for public office.

To whom it may concern:

2010-07-29T16:22:00.000-06:00

I have received countless email forwards over the years. I probably get 5 -10 forwards a day and inevitably they end by telling me that if I do not forward these emails on to at least 10 more people that I am not Christian, not American, not human, the earth will fall of it's axis, I will contribute to global warming, I will have funded terrorist regimes, children in China will die, Barack Obama will kick me in the crotch, etc.

I have decided that for every email I receive that ends this way, I am not only not going to forward it on, as is my usual routine but I will be answering them all.

Effective immediately I will be giving my full scale opinion on the contents of every forwarded email received that concludes by somehow threatening or challenging my patriotism, Christianity, humanity, etc. Some of you have experienced this already.

You may of course continue to forward emails to me however this will be taken as a request on your behalf to hear whatever incoherent ramblings are rattling around in my head regarding the stated matter.

I do not mind a forwarded email that makes me laugh, invites me to think or is religious or political in nature. I often forward these on to selected individuals myself. It's the emails that end in threatening language that wear me out.

Signing off, this the 101st day since the Gulf oil crisis.

Kissing the skies with rock n roll eyes

2010-07-26T10:37:00.000-06:00

I have some really talented friends. I wish I had some of their talent but I am content to admire them doing what they do best.

I know that several of you, like me, enjoy the folksy, singer songwriter music that seems to be pretty popular but somehow gets no radio play. I'm gonna turn you on to the next big thing. My friend Becki plays the violin and due to her excellency at this skill she consistently rocks the casbah with a young talent named Sarah Jaffe. After you listen to the videos below you can thank me for bettering your life with these sweet melancholy jams. Then you can buy the album and make Becki rich so she can quit her day job.

Seriously, check it out. It's very good

Excellent Valedictorian Speech

2010-07-24T20:00:00.003-06:00

Below is a speech given by a girl named Erica Goldson after being named valedictorian of her school in New York. A lot of you know that I have had my own issues with the way school is done in the United States. This speech touches on some of those points. I was really impressed she had the courage to give this in the setting that she did. It's worth the read.

Coxsackie-Athens Valedictorian Speech 2010

Here I Stand
Erica Goldson

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, "If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years . ."  The student then said, "But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast -- How long then?" Replied the Master, "Well, twenty years." "But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?" asked the student. "Thirty years," replied the Master. "But, I do not understand," said the disappointed student. "At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?"  Replied the Master, "When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."

This is the dilemma I've faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.

Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn't you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I'm scared.

John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and activist critical of compulsory schooling, asserts, “We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness – curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids into truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then. But we don't do that.” Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.

H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not

to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. ... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim ... is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States. (Gatto)

To illustrate this idea, doesn't it perturb you to learn about the idea of “critical thinking.” Is there really such a thing as “uncritically thinking?” To think is to process information in order to form an opinion. But if we are not critical when processing this information, are we really thinking? Or are we mindlessly accepting other opinions as truth?

This was happening to me, and if it wasn't for the rare occurrence of an avant-garde tenth grade English teacher, Donna Bryan, who allowed me to open my mind and ask questions before accepting textbook doctrine, I would have been doomed. I am now enlightened, but my mind still feels disabled. I must retrain myself and constantly remember how insane this ostensibly sane place really is.

And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.

We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren't we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.

The saddest part is that the majority of students don't have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can't run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be - but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.

For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, “You have to learn this for the test” is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.

For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake.

For those of you that are now leaving this establishment, I say, do not forget what went on in these classrooms. Do not abandon those that come after you. We are the new future and we are not going to let tradition stand. We will break down the walls of corruption to let a garden of knowledge grow throughout America. Once educated properly, we will have the power to do anything, and best of all, we will only use that power for good, for we will be cultivated and wise. We will not accept anything at face value. We will ask questions, and we will demand truth.

So, here I stand. I am not standing here as valedictorian by myself. I was molded by my environment, by all of my peers who are sitting here watching me. I couldn't have accomplished this without all of you. It was all of you who truly made me the person I am today. It was all of you who were my competition, yet my backbone. In that way, we are all valedictorians.

I am now supposed to say farewell to this institution, those who maintain it, and those who stand with me and behind me, but I hope this farewell is more of a “see you later” when we are all working together to rear a pedagogic movement. But first, let's go get those pieces of paper that tell us that we're smart enough to do so!

Memories for the Mama

2010-07-19T22:29:00.005-06:00

This post is just for me. Lately I've been feeling like there are things I'm gonna forget if I don't hurry and get them down, so...

About a month ago, Addie figured out how to use her jammies as one huge pocket. She would go to the toy box and start shoving things down the legs. She quickly realized it wasn't that great of an idea. I know you have to have been there to find it as humorous as I do, but I thought it was really funny!

Yesterday, I was sweeping the kitchen. Jack wanted to help so I let him mop the bathroom. I walked by after I finished my stuff and I heard him singing..."wash a washin', wash a wash a wash a washin' He was singing to the tune of 'Holding Hands Around the World' which is a Primary song that he's been working on...and he loves it.

Sweet RP Video

2010-07-16T11:42:00.000-06:00

The r3volution continues...

Family Reunion

2010-07-08T19:28:00.008-06:00

We had a reunion on the Aanerud side of the family. Everyone was able to make it, even with the plane delays and traffic problems, and it was so fun to have everybody here! Grandma's house was the hub, which was so fitting because she wouldn't have had it any other way. She loved all the chaos we all bring, and she loved to take care of everyone.

You probably won't be surprised when I tell you we have very few pictures to document all the fun. It seems that Eric and I both hate to stop and take pictures. Lots of people are able to really enjoy the activities while taking pictures, but I can't. Which leads to very few pics...sorry! I'm sure Danielle will have more pictures to post later, so watch for those if you're interested!

We had a pretty relaxing time. We went on lots of walks around Bear River and down town because the weather was pretty amazing! There was a hike up Bald Mountain, lunch and smores at Grandma's trailer, lots of delicious meals, lots of tantrums from my over tired children, much needed rests, fun conversations and catching up, and of course...more fireworks than necessary! I thought the fireworks were extra fun this year because we did our own show on Saturday night, and actually got to watch the city show on Sunday night. Usually we do both at the same time. Another reason fireworks were so fun for me this year is because right at the very beginning, Addie and Jack both fell asleep! How they slept through all the noise, I'll never know, but I loved it!!

The last of the family left yesterday, and we've all been feeling the let down. There's no one here to play with. We're sad it's over, but I guess it will be nice to get the kids back into their routines.

Focus....waning

2010-06-28T11:12:00.001-06:00

I don't know if it's just because it's Monday morning or if it's more because I am so excited for this week that I can hardly stand it but I'm having a hard time focusing and getting anything done today.

The Tour de France starts this Friday. I watched a bit of a preview last night with Sarah (yes, I have somehow gotten her excited about international cycling) and I am giddy.

When drinking my 9:30 Dr. Pepper this morning I thought I tasted a hint of prune juice. Dr. Pepper is so good, I'm glad the prune juice is minimal. The last time I had a full glass of the stuff it resulted in me being down a pair of knickers and my bowels taking on a life of their own.

Speaking of knickers, why do the British pronounce the word "aluminum" "alu-minium"? I don't get that. Now I am no pronunciation maven like my good friend Becki Howard (really funny post) but I can't make sense of it all.

My family comes in town on Thursday. I am lousy with excitement. Evanston allows high end fireworks, one level shy of what the pros use. Needless to say I am going to be exploding a lot of money this weekend, I'll report back on the final finger count after it's all done.

I watched David Blaine levitate on television yesterday and I can't get it out of my head. He's like a tricky little leprechaun that one.

We're having a baby!!

2010-06-13T15:44:00.005-06:00

We went in for an ultrasound on Friday, and found out we're having another baby...GIRL!! I kept asking Jack and Addie what they thought the baby was, and they both thought it was a sister. Eric was sure it was a girl too. I guess I'm the only one who couldn't decide. I kept going back and forth. I have been feeling really awful this time around, so I should have known it was a girl (I was really sick with Addie too). I especially should have known when, on the way to the ultrasound, Eric had to pull over to the side of the road so I could throw up! Anyway, we're really excited to have another little sister join our family in November...we're just a little nervous about actually deciding on a name before then!

Here is a little conversation we had on the way to the ultrasound:

(we had to make a stop on the way, and J wanted to get out of the car)

me: You can get out at the doctor's. She's going to show us the baby on a screen and maybe tell us if it's a sister or a brother.

A: SISTER!!

J: No, Its not gonna be a baby, its gonna be a train!

Then when we found out it was a girl, I asked Jack what we should name her. I expected him to say Addie because that's what he had told me before. This time he said, "um...Train". Luckily, he doesn't have the deciding vote.

Here are some pictures of our baby girl:

They said everything looks great and she looks healthy! I'm 18 weeks along, and looking and feeling every ounce of it. Baby Girlie's due date is November 12th.

March

2010-06-09T21:53:00.002-06:00

My little brother Curtis returned home from his mission in Canada the first part of March. I am so happy that he is home and wish that we were not so far apart so we could do more together. The literal distance between us has become so common that sometimes I forget I can just call him now and talk to him.

Before he came home from his mission and while I was still here in Evanston and counting the days until he would return and subsequently counting the days until we could go to Texas and be a part of his homecoming, my Grandmother Aanerud became somewhat ill. After several doctors appointments it was decided that her heart valve which had previously been replaced was now again, in need of replacement. This is the same grandmother of mine who, mind you, literally faced down an angry cow moose in December last year.

My Grandpa passed away in 1988 and my Grandma has been living in the same house and been 100% independent ever since then. In that time she has been so strong and so healthy that I have kind of taken it as a given. I think in some instances I have and do believe that she is superhuman with powers and strengths beyond one's natural capacity, at least for us mortals.

In the week before we left to go to Texas I went by Grandma's house or called her everyday to check in on her. Even in this time of illness she seemed to be doing so well and dealing with it with little additional effort. The night before we left for Texas I went over to visit with her. Just me. We talked casually as we normally did. In fact Grandma is one of my favorite people to talk to, I guess mostly because she just let's me go and so many of you know how I rant. Also, it seemed like any topic of conversation was fair with her. For me, she's the perfect conversational counterpart. She asked about my day and we joked and talked politics, same as usual. As I was leaving and giving her a hug she put both hands on my face and looked straight in to my eyes and told me that whatever happened with her surgery to not let my dad come back to Evanston and that he needed to be with Curtis. I laughed and said something along the lines of him being just as stubborn as she is and that may be out of my hands.

So back to Texas we went. Curtis came home and it was so wonderful to see him and after 15 minutes or so the feeling was as though he had never left. His personality is so easy. Of course he was oozing that returned missionary maturity that has long since worn off me and had the Spirit with him along with a myriad of stories that we couldn't wait to hear. I am so happy that he is back honorably.

While at the dinner table as a family in Texas, we were awaiting news of how Grandma's surgery had gone. Amber asked Dad point blank if he had heard anything and he shot my mom a look, as if wondering if the timing was right. He began to explain that during surgery Grandma had suffered from a massive stroke and due to a number of complicating factors the doctors were unable to treat it and the extent of the damage was severe.

As he was explaining I started to lose my composure and had to leave the table and go outside and cry. I couldn't believe it was true and if it was true I was so mad at the timing being what it was. The one time that I could have actually been at Grandma's side at time of need in my entire life and I was a thousand miles away. We put dad and a flight back to Evanston early the next morning which was the earliest we could get.

Amber spent literal hours on the phone with the airline and managed to get us all on a flight the following day.

As we were awaiting our flight at the airport Sarah and I were debating on how to explain this whole thing to Jackson, who has become very familiar with and attached to his Grandma Great. We pulled him aside and tried to explain to him that Grandma was very sick and we were going to visit her and she might look different in the hospital than she did in her house. He was so sweet in his responses and we think that though he did not fully comprehend that conversation that he was as prepared as we were to go and visit Grandma.

Off to SLC we went.

It wasn't fair to Curtis and I feel bad that he was so overshadowed almost immediately from the time he came home with bad news. But at the same time it felt so wrong to be happy and excited no matter how good of a reason I had.

We got back to Salt Lake probably around 9 or so and we had all requested to go immediately to the hospital. We did and dad was there to meet us and fill us in as much as he could and give us the essentially same talk we had tried to give Jackson to prepare us before we visited Grandma. We went in the room and there were the beeps and ticks of hospital machines and my Grandmother lying in the bed. Those moments are always awkward for me not knowing exactly how to react but all I wanted to do was to get her out of there and I knew how much she must be hating it all.

Dad had told us all how her kidneys weren't working and didn't look like they were going to kick in and that her body was becoming toxic and that she might be able to be kept alive on machines and medication but that she would not recover. She was there though. I mean she could hear us and react to us. She could wiggle her nose and squeeze our hands and move her toes but that was the extent of her communication ability. I know that she must have been so frustrated in those moments trying to talk to us. We all took turns had her bedside with our hands in hers, talking to her.

At one point when I was talking to her I lost it completely and sobbed bitterly as I was asking her who I was supposed to talk politics with if she were gone. Who could I fake-cheer for the Jazz with and who was going to take care of me when Sarah and the kids were gone as she had done several times before. After several hours in the hospital we all decided that it had been a long enough day and ours kids were completely exhausted as were we so we all went back to stay at my Aunt Becky and Uncle Doug's house.

The following morning we had a family meeting to discuss what the plan was. I think we all knew what the plan was and were reluctant to actually be present to hear it said aloud. It almost seemed like if no one said it that we would be able to harbor some kind of hope that everything would be okay, that Grandma would spring out of bed and everything would be normal again. The family meeting went as I expected though and my dad explained to us that they were going to ask for all the machines to be turned off and we would let her go. We all agreed that this is exactly what Grandma would want and she would be infuriated if we kept her alive trapped in her body. She is independent and mobile and strong.

All through this my Dad and Aunt Becky had been having one difficult conversation after another, trying to comfort us when they could and somehow try to keep themselves strong for us and for Grandma. They were wonderful and I regret not being able to give them any kind of meaningful comfort. Indeed comfort was scarce and I feel that had I been able to say anything of meaning it would have come off wrong and so I didn't say much.

It was decided that we would all be given time to say our goodbyes and have as much time as we needed with Grandma before anything else was done. We all gathered ourselves and went to the hospital.

The mood in our car was somber at best. Sarah looked at me and asked if she could say something and I nodded that of course she could. She then held up a positive pregnancy test that she had taken. I wasn't sure how I should react and I don't really remember how I did react. Although I do remember feeling in that very instant the love of my Father in Heaven. It was almost as if he was telling me that where he takes life, he gives life too. I was so thankful that Sarah told me this because now we would at least have some bit of positive news to share with Grandma before we said our final goodbyes.

The hours following are too precious to me to share publicly. But the final moments we shared together with Grandma and my entire Dad's side of the family in her room are the most sacred and I will never forget the warmth of the Spirit there and how amidst all of our tears that we all knew with surety that Grandma was being looked after. And we let her go.

I was excited for her to see all of the people that she had survived over the years including all of her syblings and parents and friends but I was most excited for her and Grandpa to be together again after so much time apart.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have been able to live in Evanston so near to Grandma for the past 3 years and get to know here on such an intimate level that I never would have realized I was missing had I not moved here. I miss her immensely.

I do feel that I have been strengthened through the whole experience and that the Savior knows my heartache perfectly. All along the way I have felt his strength and the support of the Holy Ghost and especially in those most private and sacred of moments I have felt his personal love for me.

A few days after the funeral and after everyone had left town and we were here in Evanston, this time without any family, we decided to go to McDonald's to get ice cream together. While waiting in the drive-through I spotted something across the road on the hillside that looked like a horse but I knew that that property did not typically have horses on it. After we got our ice cream we drove over there and grazing peacefully there on the hillside next to the road was a cow moose and her calf.

I'm a small town girl

2010-06-03T09:58:00.007-06:00

This is my town...

The population is somewhere around 12,ooo people. There are parades at festivals for everything! The speed limit is generally 20-30mph, you can occasionally find a 40mph, but its usually on a road leading out of town. At midnight, all the stop lights change to red flashing lights (a four way stop). We have a slow pace, and I love it.

I went to Ogden the other day to run some errands. Ogden isn't a huge town, but its much bigger than Evanston. I hated it! It was too crowded, and people were driving too fast! I'm sure a lot if it had to do with the fact that I didn't actually know where I was going, it was raining, and there was construction EVERYWHERE! But it made me think... what am I going to do when we actually move back to TX? I've never liked driving in Dallas, I think its kind of scary, and now I'm used to something smaller and more relaxed than where I grew up...I'm in trouble!

ADDIE

2010-05-27T07:39:00.007-06:00

Our little Loula Bean is about 19 months old. She has lots of hair for pig tails that curl right under, but her hair doesn't seem to grow on top. People keep telling me if I cut the hair it will start to grow faster, but there is nothing there to cut! She loves all things girlie...shoes, makeup (she pretends to use mine), headbands, necklaces, etc. Jack is actually getting her to be interested in trains too. She loves to go with us to the depot to watch trains go by. She waves and squeals and says, "Hi cwane!" She'll walk around the house saying,"All aboard, woo woo." She is in to everything! The bathroom and bedroom doors are locked at all times. She likes to read books more now. She used to just run around while we read with Jack. Now she'll sit for some of it, and bring us books that she wants to read. She is a little daredevil at the park. She thinks she can do whatever the big kids do. It scares me a little. I'm trying really hard to let her try things out because I think I held Jack back a little bit, but sometimes its really hard to watch without freaking out.

Addie's words:

-Addie want nana

-(about Grammy going bye bye to TX) No bye texas!

-whenever she wants Eric, she'll say, Help my daddy.

-when she wants something you have she'll say, Addie's now, Addie wants, or Addie one (she says please too, but she has to be reminded)

-she can say anything you ask her to say, and she WILL repeat anything you don't want her to.

-My favorites are: bless you, love you (which sounds more like ya oo), taste you drink (i like when she uses 'sentences')

JACK

2010-05-26T15:21:00.004-06:00

He is 3 years old. He started Sunbeams this year, and has already given a talk. He thought it was so cool and is dying to give another one. He's potty trained and doesn't use a juice cup anymore. He still sucks his thumb and loves his blankie. He likes to clean the bathroom toilet to earn money so he can give it to his cousins. We're trying to explain to him that he can use it for other things, but he really loves to have a quarter for Colse and Griff every time he sees them. He loves to play with friends and is always excited about the possibilities of meeting new kids at the park. He gets really sad when we are leaving and he realizes he forgot to say, "my name is jack, what's your name." He practices a lot. Still loves trains, but may be growing up a little bit. Some of you may not know, but Jack thinks he IS a train. He liked to be called real train or Puffer Pete. However, the other day he said to me, "Mom, my nap turned me into a kid!" And he told Eric, "You can only ride on trains, you can't be a train." He asks to watch Polar Express everyday (something that started a couple of weeks ago when it was snowing). I let him watch once, but something just doesn't feel right about watching a Christmas movie in May. He asked me last week if it was Christmas time again. I explained that we still haven't had summer, and snow doesn't mean Christmas.

Jack's quotes:

-Daddy, I like your money.

-Mom, come quick I need to show you something! (looking out the window -May 24) Winter!! (it snowed all day)

-Mom...( I say, what Jack?) I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to myself!

-Addie, can you say breakfast (Addie says breakfast) Mom, I taught Addie to talk!

2 Day Vacation

2010-05-22T17:30:00.000-06:00

I hate Park City during the Sundance Film Festival. You have all of these people running around trying to see celebrities or trying to act like them and it is suffocating downtown. But, if you go when it is out of ski season in the middle of the week with your wife. It's pretty fun. We have been incredibly bad about taking pictures lately but did manage to snap off a few, none of which have us in them and they are kind of random. Thanks to Mom Asay for watching the kids so we could split for a night I think we both really needed the short break!

The Art of Manliness

2010-05-21T16:21:00.001-06:00

Does anyone else tend to feel like the world is lacking men? I mean real men, not these Justin Timberlake types that are more concerned with the maintenance of their manicure than their tire pressure. You look around and the scene, at least as I see it, is pretty dismal. No one knows how to do anything in they way of skills - real skills, not video game hand eye coordination, but more like cleaning a fish or handling a gun or using a compass. No one has the gentlemanly manners that used to exist. The world is full of d-bag types who treat their wives and children like garbage and are perpetually concerned with the sole idea of what they can get or do for themselves. It is kind of ugly out there. And, I think is one of the reasons for the ultimate decline of our society as a whole.

I kind of stumbled upon a website that is founded for the purpose of solving these problems.

The Art of Manliness

It has some great articles about manly things - truly manly things. Most men's magazines are concerned with your next helicopter purchase or extravagant vacation or how to finally get those 6-pack abs. This is far more practical than that. By the way, I do not intend to make the statement that I am the answer incarnate to these problems. There are many, many things that I cannot do or know nothing about. Too many to list. I just thought I would pass this along.

Books

2010-05-13T11:50:00.000-06:00

I remember vividly my mother reading to me often as a child. I honestly don't remember how she found the time to, things were pretty hectic in those days, but I definitely remember sitting next to her on the couch and reading. My Aunt Jeri (who is a librarian) has always given us books as presents for as long as I can remember, which books we are now able to read to our kids. I have always enjoyed reading but have never been much of a reader until the past couple of years in which time I've been trying to play catch up. (My amazon wish list is about to break 300 and I tend to add about a book every other day)

Sarah and I have talked at length about how we want to read to our kids consistently (we do a pretty good job), have our kids read well and enjoy doing it. I know that when our kids are school age things get increasingly busy and time for reading is scarce. Since many of you have children that are older than ours I was hoping that you would share your insights on how to help kids have a self-sustained love of reading. Also I am trying to amass a Thomas Jefferson quality library which will also include intermediate level books. What books do you think should be on the list? What did you love reading when you were in school?

Funny Video

2010-05-11T14:26:00.000-06:00

They're making fun of church but really this could pass for any SNL episode or night show.

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T13:18:00.006-06:00

This is my darling baby girl...

Like any parents, we think she's the cutest little girlie ever. I love her chubby little cheeks and how squeezable she is. And even though I complain that she's not growing any hair on top of her head (just a sweet little mullet down the back), I secretly love it because I can fix her hair the same way every day...I'm not that creative.

So, with such a long blogging hiatus (I haven't posted since October), you're probably wondering...why are you posting again? The purpose of this post is to document today's happenings while I'm in a good mood and able to laugh about it all. It helps too that I've read similar stories on everyone else's blogs, so I know we're not alone.

I was determined to have a lovely, stress-free mother's day, so yesterday I made Eric give Jack a haircut and I set out his Sunday clothes so that he would look super handsome on Sunday when the Primary kids sang to their moms (he did so great, by the way. he was beaming and looking so proud, and he actually knew the words to the songs!). Then I chose my favorite dress of Addie's because she looks so cute in it with her chubby little legs and bouncy little pig tails. I even went shopping and bought a frozen dinner so Eric could cook ;)! This morning, I had the kids all dressed and I was just fixing my hair when Eric got home from his meetings. He gets home just in time to pick us up and go back to church. Usually, I'm running a little behind and we are a little late for church, but today I made sure we were all set. I heard Eric ask Jack...Where's Addie? Jack says she's downstairs, and something in me just didn't believe it. I told Eric he better look in our room (which is usually locked, but I didn't lock it again the last time I left because Addie hadn't gone near it all morning). He walked in and I hear a pause and then a calm...Addie, you are in so much trouble. Little missy had emptied a bottle of black paint (non washable) all over the carpet, her dress, shoes, our clean sheets, some other clothes, the wall, the baseboard, and the craft boxes...

Eric managed to get a lot of the paint out of the carpet (which really amazed me...thank you resolve!), and it came out of her shoes too, thank goodness because they are her favorites. But the dress, clothes, and sheets are ruined.

The really frustrating thing is that while we were cleaning up her mess she got into my makeup, then climbed on the kitchen table, then ate my receipts, and on and on. I had to put her in her crib so we could finish cleaning up, and hopefully stay sane. Thank goodness that girl is so dang cute, it makes it easy to love her just as much as we always have.

How well do you know your geography?

2010-05-05T22:50:00.000-06:00

Sometime in the middle of the week I usually go on a bunch of inspections for work which usually means several hours in the truck with a co-worker, Rob. Today that meant 12 hours in the truck (Wyoming is quite spread out) and he asked me if I could name all of the states. I felt pretty confident that I could and even bet him next week's lunch over it. He whipped out his laptop and started typing and counting all of the states that I said. I got to 49 and hit the wall. (I never learned the stupid states in alphabetical order so I was going by the map in my head) I couldn't come up with Wisconsin. Anyway, it frustrated me so I came home and found this quiz

http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/usaquiz.html

I got a perfect score when I took it and could see all of the states in front of me. One of my fears is that one day I will be interviewed by someone like Jay Leno when he is "Jay Walking" and be that total idiot who can't say the pledge or name our first president or something. How sharp is your American geography? There are other quizzes at this site too for other parts of the world. It's pretty embarrassing for me, especially in the Asia quiz.

I'm confused

2010-05-03T20:42:00.000-06:00

There is a store here in Evanston where you can buy chickens, ducks and rabbits in the spring time. I really thought this price tag was misleading.

2010-04-23T15:24:00.002-06:00

If you ever watch Community - and you saw it last night, you know that they ripped off my Dreadlocks post. I still like that show though.

If you hear of anything, let me know

2010-04-21T22:47:00.002-06:00

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you lost your current job. I have thought a lot about that since my employment is tied directly to the housing market which is influenced by any shift in the breeze. While I am not concerned at the present that my job will go away I just thought that I would throw out the feelers out there on a few jobs that I have always wanted to try.

Ninja - I think I am pretty stealthy and I don't even have the fancy ninja shoes. I can effectively hide from my two children for minutes on end without employing any smoke bombs. I don't mind the color black. Roundhouse kicks are awesome and while my flexibility is not what it used to be, I see that never stopped Steven Segal. I really don't want to kill people but from all of the ninja movies I have seen all you really need to do is hit someone, sometimes even with a leg sweep and they will be disoriented or unconscious for several minutes - I'm pretty sure I can handle that.

Back up rap singer - I know that I don't have the rhythm to lay down lead vocals but I can effectively repeat what the lead is doing. You know, like when they say something like "I'm a true holla gansta (gansta), you know I've never been no pranksta (pranksta). I am also proficient with the ad libbing "yeah's", "uh's" "ya'll know what this is's", "feel me's", "comin' back again's", etc. I could also play the tambourine, cowbell, or really any other thing that you hit here and there - like a gong.

Odd sports announcer - To sum this up, I want Al Trautwig's job. There are sports out there that the retired athletes just don't become broadcasters for. The recent Olympics were a great example of this. No one knows how to commentate curling, or bass fishing, or mountain biking or the Ironman Triathlon. If there is an ABC sports Saturday afternoon and no major college sport is in season, that is where I want to be. I guess I would settle for being a contestant on the Biggest Loser, but that is more part time work and I think I need to gain a few pounds before I could be considered for that.

So if you come across anyone looking for someone to fill any of the above positions I might be interested. Especially if it comes with matching 401k and dental.

The government bubble

2010-04-15T20:13:00.002-06:00

How is it that those from the Austrian school of thought have been able to accurately predict all of the major economic crises over the past 20 or so years and they are still given little creed in the media or the government. Nixon was right, we are all Keynsians now but we don't have to be. Peter Schiff, Gerald Celente, Lew Rockwell, Ron Paul and several others have been able to accurately predict what has happened to us over the past 10 years and have made some dire predictions if we continue on our current course and presently they are spot on.

Based upon that line of thinking - does anyone really believe that what the government has done or is doing to fix our problems is working? Obviously there are some but because his omniscience Pharaoh Obamses I still resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. But, there are many of us who are still waiting for the other shoe to drop. There are two things that I am waiting to happen:

The first - the government will continue to grow, continue to stink at everything they do (I need to come up with a term that means essentially the opposite of the Midas touch...suggestions?) and the productive side of the economy will continue to shrink. We will continue to spend, borrow, inflate and not tax enough (I say not tax enough not because I favor that course of action - what I mean is we can never tax enough to pay for all the entitlements, programs, bureaucracies, wars, etc) and the government "bubble" will finally pop.

That brings us to the second. There are a few people who are fighting mad, but for the most part this "revolution" has been a peaceful one albeit a losing one so far. When the government stops cutting welfare checks, or they cut a welfare check for $1000 and that only buys you a loaf of bread instead of a months living, then its going to get ugly. As Gerald Celente "when people lose everything, and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it." That is when you are going to want to get out of metro areas and have your gun and ammo stashes ready. When all those that are on the dole are essentially cut off I believe that is when things are going to get incredibly violent.

The people that are protesting and writing their senators and donating to the campaigns of new political candidates still have a lot to lose. They are trying to stop the hemorrhaging. The irony is that those who are begging for more government and supporting the growth of government are going to be the ones taking to the streets in violence, not the blessed tea partiers.

Hayek v. Keynes

2010-04-12T22:02:00.003-06:00

I will be the first to admit that you kind of have to be a nerd to appreciate this video but it is pretty much the nuts and bolts of the arguments. It is definitely easier to listen to than the typical talking head approach. I think that Hayek sounds a little bit like Mike D too.

Dreadlocks

2010-04-12T11:26:00.003-06:00

Careers conducive to dreadlocks:

- Professional Athlete

- Reggae Artist

- The Predator

for further information please see: http://www.dreadlocks.com/

How did this show not make it?

2010-04-09T16:42:00.002-06:00

Zack Morris v. Jack Bauer

2010-04-07T13:05:00.005-06:00

I used to wonder about when that point was when you stopped keeping up with new music and when you stopped caring that your clothes weren't exactly "trendy" - When you settled on that haircut you felt most comfortable with.

I think I'm there.

My clothing is based far more on comfort than how much of a dork I look like, though I am fully aware that I often look dorky or out of sorts. I have now been sporting a shaved head for the majority of the last 10 years and more often than not I find myself humming along to the adult contemporary classics in grocery stores rather than being annoyed.

Is this something that can be blamed on kids? Maybe it is just a matter of life throwing its full spectrum of demands on your time at you and a matter of prioritizing. At any rate - I appreciate my friends and family who have a pulse on things so I can at least try to mimic them when needed. (Needed, of course, is a relative term)

2010-04-01T22:22:00.002-06:00

I've always been a little disappointed that I couldn't grow sweet facial hair. If I could you had better believe I would have an incredibly powerful mustache. Something that has a bit of quiet dignity but let's you know who's boss. I think I would probably let the mustache do most of the talking for me. When people asked me a question I would just stare at them through the whiskers protruding from my upper lip. But alas, my facial hair is as patchy as Keanu Reeves in chemo and blonde to boot.

In a side-note, the older I get the crazier my eyebrows become. They kind of leap off my forehead and I don't know if I can manage to contain their wild spirit much longer. If only my eyebrows could be relocated to my upper lip.....

2010-03-25T20:35:00.001-06:00

This is probably the gayest song ever made.

Grandma vs. Moose

2009-12-20T13:36:00.003-07:00

I went over to my Grandma Aanerud's house last night to watch a basketball game and just hang out. Since my family has abandoned me and gone on vacation I've been feeling pretty lonely. While I was enjoying my freshly bought Subway sandwich G'ma casually said "I was almost done in by a moose the other day."

Firstly you kind of have to know my Grandma A. She is tough as nails and probably has more common sense than most of the rest of us put together. She is about 5'7" or close to it and is 81 years young. She hasn't slowed down one step and keeps several steps in front of most of us.

Sometime during the 2nd quarter of the basketball game we were watching she drops that line on me. She really isn't one for melodramatics or shock value so I asked what she meant. She said that she had been out walking her miniature schnauzer along the Bear River walkway when she came upon a cow moose and her calf. She was walking around a section of the path that loops through a field and then comes back to the main path. When she came upon the moose they were close to where the loop meets the main path almost blocking the way out and there was no other way to get back on the main path. But they had moved a ways off by this point so she thought that she might be able to squeak past unnoticed. She said that she made it about even to where the moose were (which from the sounds of things was probably about 150' away, when the cow put her ears back, lowered her head and started charging.

If any of you have ever seen a moose in person, they are magnificent creatures. They are gigantic and generally speaking their bellies are about at my eye level, which would probably put their heads at around 8 or 9 feet. I never cease to be amazed with how large these animals are. She said that that moose was covering that ground at what seemed like 50 feet a second. This next part is what amazed me, because frankly I would have been trampled and needed a change of britches.

My grandmother raised her arms high above her head (making herself appear as big as possible) and roared like a lion and when the moose had closed in on her and was about 20' feet away veered off to the side and went back to her calf.

I couldn't believe how fast thinking she was while being charged by an angry moose. I can almost say with certainty that I would never have had the presence of mind to act the way she did to literally save her (and Molly the dog's) life.

The whole thing kind of brings new light to the song Grandma got run over by a reindeer, or moose as it were.

But this is just one example of why I look up to my grandma and really enjoy her wisdom. I am extremely glad that she out-foxed the moose that day and is around to tell the story. And now if you are ever charged by a moose, you have at least one idea of how to get out of that situation.

fin

Evanston Town Meeting - Follow Up

2009-12-19T21:49:00.003-07:00

A few people have asked me to follow this up. As you know I organized a town meeting with a friend of mine held on December 16th. It went well and we ended up having approximately 50 people in attendance. Before you make fun of that number, you should know that our senators and congresswoman don't do any better. Not to mention the unavoidable scheduling conflicts of Christmas parties, school functions and life in general. We accomplished what we set out to do, which was to learn more about a candidate for governor and some local issues. If you want to check out the video I posted it on another blog here.

We are considering trying to organize a candidate's debate but that would likely be in the beginning of June as the filing deadline for candidacy for governor is in the end of May.

I couldn't get the Mayor's bit to download properly so it isn't uploaded to the other site. (Sorry Mayor Davis!)

How honest was Abe?

2009-12-11T21:56:00.003-07:00

I have had a lot of conversations about Abraham Lincoln and how, in my opinion he was one of the worst presidents in American history. Usually when I make this assertion people look at me as if I had blasphemed the name of Deity. After all we have schools and roads, towns, libraries and massive monuments erected to this person, so how could it be that he was so evil?

Many believe that the Civil War was started over the institution of slavery in the southern states. This is false. The cannons had been thundering for over a year before slavery became an issue. But consider this: In a world when the victors write the history, and in this case the victor is the government, and in this case the government also has near monopolistic control over the dissemination of information we learn in our schooling years - whose side of the story do you believe we are getting?

A lot of people think that when I make my argument against Lincoln that I somehow believe the South to be collectively innocent from any wrongdoing. Of course this is clap-trap. There are two sides to every war.

So here we go.

On March 4, 1861 - Lincoln was giving his first inaugural address. In which he stated:

"I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."

Slavery was at the time being phased out of existence. Granted it was a slow process, but it was a slow process in France and Britain too - but they phased it out peacefully. From what I have read Lincoln thought that slavery was a violation of human rights but was not in any hurry to further the abolition of slavery along, but to save the Union at all costs.

In a letter to Horace Greeley he said:

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views."

Though Lincoln was for freeing the slaves, he was not attempting to bring about any equality between slaves and freemen.

"I will say, then, that I AM NOT NOR HAVE EVER BEEN in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the black and white races---that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with White people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the White and black races which will ever FORBID the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the White race."

So we see that the Civil War was not started over the issue of slavery, but of course it became a major issue later on when the South was actually gaining advantage over the North and Lincoln used it to attempt to regain that advantage from the South by seizing the proverbial moral high ground and making the war about slavery.

Lincoln said many times that his primary objective was to SAVE THE UNION! I have always had a difficult time understanding what the Union needing saving from. Anyone care to answer that one for me?

I have always looked at the formation of the United States as various parties coming together under a contractual understanding by their own free will and choice. All parties have certain expectations and hopes and if those expectations or hopes are not met, they can voluntarily remove themselves from the arrangement just as freely as they entered. I see it much like a marriage. In other words two parties come together and are wed given certain understandings and expectations. The parties even vow certain oaths to one another. If these are not met or not met appropriately the parties are free to leave one another and move forward in a direction which better suites them.

Suppose for example that a wife wants to leave her husband and he beats the ever loving crap out of her and threatens that if she ever tries to leave again that she can expect the same or worse. Has he saved the marriage?

I do not assert to know all things Civil War. In fact reality is very far from it. However it is my understanding that the Civil War was begun due to the South's considerably low tariff. This caused an unusually free trade zone and made imports affordable to all southerners. (If anyone knows this history better than me feel free to correct me if wrong) This in turn made it less expensive to import various goods from Britain than to purchase them from the northern states. Of course this was bad for the northern economy.

I won't get in to the military history of Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens (but I do encourage your own research on the matter) but the citizens at Charleston continued to provide food and provisions for the northern army at Fort Sumter until April 7, when it became clear that Lincoln was going to reinforce the Fort and wait for military action on the South. On April 3 he sent for delegates of the Virginia Secession Convention in order to discuss the matter of secession directly with these delegates. Colonel John B Baldwin was sent to represent Virginia and to discuss these matters directly with President Lincoln.

On April 4 he met with Lincoln at the White House. (I tried to find an easy internet reference to the following discussion, but books will have to suffice. The following is taken from p. 92 of Dabney, Discussions and is also reported in Century of War, Denson p. 64-65)

"Baldwin reported to Lincoln that Virginia wanted to stay in the Union and that this would help keep the other border states from joining the seven states which had seceded. The Virginia Convention was not worried about the issue of slavery, but it was worried about Lincoln using force to bring back the seceding states. Therefore, it wanted a written proclamation of not more than five lines to state simply that the Lincoln administration would uphold the Constitution and federal laws. The convention wanted a firm commitment that Lincoln would not use force to bring the states back. Baldwin reported further, that if Lincoln would sign such a proclamation, Virginia would not secede and would use its best efforts to get all the seceded states back into the Union. Then, Baldwin reported that Lincoln stood up and seemed very frustrated and stalked around the room and said, "I ought to have known this sooner! You are too late, sir, too late! Why did you not come here four days ago, and tell me all this?" Baldwin protested that he came as soon as he was invited to do so and he got there as soon as possible. Lincoln again replied: "Yes, but you are too late, I tell you, too late!"

'Baldwin then related that he came to the conclusion that a policy of compulsion had already been decided upon and it was too late to stop it. Baldwin stated that Lincoln seemed to be impressed with the sincerity with which he reported that Virginia wanted to stay in the Union and that the Virginians would use their best efforts to try to bring the seceded states back; however, Lincoln asked him, "But what am I to do in the meantime with those men at Montgomery? Am I to let them go on?" Baldwin replied, "Yes sir, until they can be peaceably brought back." Lincoln then replied, "And open Charleston, etc, as ports of entry, with their ten percent tariff. What, then would become of my tariff?"

Of course Baldwin was right and a method of compulsion had already been decided upon. And as it would appear it was done for Lincoln's high protective tariff designed to help the northern states.

Since the War was not begun over slavery, what then would have been the motivating factor for the South. Well, I believe that it was for them the same as it is for us today; that is, they fought to be left alone.

During the Civil War one and a half million men and boys went dead, wounded or missing. So yes, to wage that kind of a war against your own country for the purpose of collecting greater revenues or even to "save the union" is not worth it in my eyes.

Not to mention the precedent this set for other presidents to come and how they would deal with interior matters.

Finally if Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery he could have easily done so peacefully and legally. For the same cost incurred by waging the Civil War he could have purchased every slave in the South and had enough left over to give every slave 40 acres and a mule.

For these reasons Lincoln is to me, one of the worst presidents of all time. He was a power thirsty, war mongering tyrant and should have his name stripped off of every monument plaque, school, highway and library named after him. And our schools should begin to teach the truth about the Civil War and Lincoln.

Eric's Town Hall Meeting

2009-12-07T08:33:00.003-07:00

So I'm having my own town hall meeting on December 16th. Yes, you are right, that is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and my parent's anniversary (shout out). But the purpose of my town hall meeting is not to raise a ruckus and send people away without having accomplished anything as has been the case with a lot of "tea parties" and town hall meetings and rallies over the past year.

It has been my observation that the growing level of tension in our country has a lot to do with misdirected or undirected frustrations and a lack of understanding of the root causes and solutions to the problems. So my goal is to provide a means whereby people can get more information, truthful news and ways to act before this whole thing culminates in violence.

I have been fortunate to get a few speakers including our mayor, Will Davis as well as candidate for Wyoming governor, Ron Micheli.

I suppose that I believe that if you are going to reserve your right to complain about the government you had better be doing something about it. Everyone here knows that I do my fair share of complaining about the government, and in fairness I have been talking to everyone I know about issues that are timely and timeless. But I have been motivated as of late to take it to this next level and reach out to a broader base of people.

I want people to understand both here and there that I am nothing more than a concerned individual. I have no real credentials for doing this. I am not representing an organization or a program. I don't necessarily even endorse the other speakers. But information is the way to truth and if you don't have the information you cannot make a real decision.

But for those who are concerned that I have no idea about which I speak....well, I do have some idea. While I do not consider myself much of a reader I have been able to get through a few titles this past year. Those are:

The Law - Bastiat

Many are called but few are chosen - Anderson

A foreign policy of freedom - Paul

The Revolution: a manifesto - Paul

End the Fed - Paul

What has government done to our money - Rothbard

The case against the fed - Rothbard

For a new liberty - Rothbard

The creature from Jekyll Island - Griffin

The theory of education in the United States - Nock

Educaction: free and compulsory - Rothbard

5000 year leap - Skousen

All the shah's men - Kinzer

Century of war - Denson

Dumbing us down - Gatto

1776 - McCullough

Economics in one lesson - Hazlitt

Austrian economics: a personal view - Paul

Speaking of liberty - Rockwell

I am currently reading Blowback - Johnson

I'll keep you posted and we'll see where this thing goes.

2009-12-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

I wish I knew more people named Floyd.

"You can take that to the bank"

2009-11-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

On this Veterans Day

2009-11-11T08:39:00.003-07:00

Wow - Veterans Day posts are difficult to write. I hadn't anticipated that. I have easily gone through 3 or more that were no good.

Yesterday I got our local newspaper and in it was an insert listing all of the veterans and active duty servicemen from Evanston. It surprised me how many men and women have come from our small town to serve in conflicts across the world. To them we all owe a deep debt of gratitude. I am grateful that neither my parents or my generation have been compelled to go to war and have been able to live our lives thus far without the ravages of war being in our homes.

There is one thing that puzzles me. You don't have to be all that perceptive to pick up on the number of radio and television ads practically begging us to go in to the armed services which glorify war and tell us about all of the cool gadgets we get to play with and the places we get to go see. Today, much like yesterday, I am certain that there will be more than one music montage on a news broadcast honoring veterans that is without the veterans themselves. It is not a pretty sight to show men with missing limbs or cemeteries that are full of lives cut short. There is not likely to be any live news feed from the over-crowded Veterans hospital where our men and women who have risked everything for our country receive less than adequate help and are often turned away receiving treatment in rations. I doubt they will interview the young widow with several kids trying to make ends meet and somehow explain where daddy went to the kids.

We love to glorify war in our country but the results of war are always hidden from us. We seldom ever see or personally experience the destruction that war brings to the soldiers and their families. On this Veterans Day I would ask that you honor the vets and not wars. Hopefully, at some point in the not too distant future we will realize that these wars are unnecessary and only serve to put us in more danger.

To the veterans - Thank you and God bless.

Who will stand with us?

2009-11-06T09:45:00.002-07:00

Don't be pulled in to the idea that partisan problems can be solved by partisan solutions. Put away the R's and D's and start now and learn, study the issues, become educated on what the true answers are and how liberty provides the greatest opportunity for the greatest number of people. Join the r3volution.

Frontier Traffic Control

2009-11-04T14:41:00.001-07:00

2009-11-03T14:36:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween...

2009-10-31T20:18:00.002-06:00

from Dora and Boots!

Phineas and Ferb

2009-10-27T11:25:00.003-06:00

I think that Jack's a little young for Phineas and Ferb, but he loves it...and so do I! These are Jack's current favorite songs. He asks to dance to these a thousand times a day, and its mandatory that I dance to. I guess if I can't get on the treadmill, at least I'll get exercise this way!

Gitchee Gitchee Goo

Squirrels in my pants

Family Picture Time

2009-10-25T21:05:00.001-06:00

My favorite part of Christmas cards is looking at the pictures people send, so I like to return the favor by sending one of us. Usually we wait until sometime in December before we take pictures, so I'm feeling really ahead of the game! The last 2 years we used a tripod. It was a lot harder, took a lot longer, and we had fewer pictures that actually turned out. Eric refused to do it that way this year. Carrie had offered to take pictures for us, but we never know very far in advance when we'll be down her way. I called Thursday to see if she could meet us in Salt Lake on Friday. It was really short notice, but luckily for us, she was willing! The kids tried really hard to be cooperative, but little Addie bean gave up about 10 minutes into it. Later we found out she was sick! We felt like pretty terrible parents.

Thanks Carrie! We love them all!

The littlest bean turned 1!!

2009-10-12T20:20:00.005-06:00

Our little Addie Bean turned one year old on Sunday! We had a little family party with cake, presents, and good ole family fun!

2009-10-06T12:29:00.003-06:00

I don't have anything to post about, so here are some pictures...

This is what it looked like outside our door last wednesday!

Tired baby falling asleep at lunch, and my little man, looking all grown up.

Welcome, Fall!

2009-09-26T23:26:00.002-06:00

This is what the first day of Fall brought us...a dead garden! The frost killed our plants before we really got to enjoy the 'fruits' of our labors. What a bummer! I guess you live and learn, right? We've definitely picked up some useful tips for next year.

BEES!!

2009-09-23T20:26:00.003-06:00

So, a couple of weeks ago, we were hanging out in the backyard when we saw this...
How in the WORLD had we not noticed it before? Its huge, and its sitting in the big lilac bush that Jack plays under...ALL OF THE TIME! Needless to say, Eric decided it was time to get that thing under control.

He used up one full can of spray, and knocked it out of the bush, and the next morning there were still bugs living in it. He got it with another full can of spray, and we are now rid of the evil little bugs! Hooray for men who think that kind of thing is fun!

Seeing Double!

2009-09-09T15:24:00.005-06:00

This is for Aunt Amber! Amber bought matching dresses for Addie and Sara (Eric's cousin's daughter) and we finally got them together for a little photo shoot. It was pretty much impossible to get any good shots, but this is my favorite!

Thanks for the dresses Amber! I think the girlies look adorable!

5 reasons Eric thinks you should be suspicious of the Fed

2009-09-08T20:38:00.006-06:00

Look, I'm not that smart of a person. I don't take well to organized education as evidenced by the premature ending to my collegiate experience. However I am a strong believer in education. I have been trying to give myself an education on the Federal Reserve lately and I have to say that out of all the thing that the US government is up to and out of all the crimes that have been committed against the people of this country the Fed has to be in the top 3. I thought I would share, as succinctly and cogently as possible 5 reasons why you too should raise an eyebrow at the Fed.

1) The Fed was founded in 1913, the same year as the income tax, it was a bad year for Americans. The actual legislation was written at a private club on Jekyll Island, GA by certain members of the political elite as well as members of the private banking community. Chief among the banking interests was JP Morgan, and it was he who arranged the meeting on Jekyll Island, after all it was his club. John Rockefeller was also in on the origins of the Fed but to a lesser extent. Anytime a private group of people urges the government to grow it has to be for a reason. If the past 12 months have not been an explanation enough let me put it this way. The private banksters wanted to create a lender of last resort so they could take on riskier assets in greater number, pyramiding their assets on fractions of reserves. In other words they had say $10 in the vault and were lending out $10,000. If they failed they now had a safety net, that is the American taxpayers pocket book. This has been evidenced by the majority of banks taking TARP money over the past year. The government took these "toxic assets" off the books of the banks and put them on their own, or OURS. This is, I believe is a crime.

2) The very existence of the Federal Reserve makes it possible to mislead entire markets, sometimes even global markets. When the board of Governors at the Fed sees a market adjustment coming they are able to manipulate interest rates or extend credit or contract monetary supply to try and preempt a market correction. For example in the late 90's there was a market correction coming and Alan Greenspan saw it coming. In stead of allowing the correction to take place (which is to say some businesses may fail, or reorganize but ultimately capital will be relocated to places where it will be more productive, this is what makes free markets so dynamic) Greenspan created massive amounts of money, dropped interest rates to entice borrowers to come and get the money and make purchasing or borrowing decisions under false pretenses. So what we ended up with is 7 years of boom, one of the largest growths in the housing market ever. The market has been trying to correct itself, but the bailing out of multiple zombie companies, the allocation of taxpayer money or newly created money to these failed companies keeps new and more efficient companies from entering the market. If the market was allowed to adjust by itself in the late 90's people would have been smarter with their money, but we were all misled into believing it was safe to spend, borrow, buy, whatever you want to call it. We should have been saving or borrowing based on capital, not credit.

3) The Fed has a monopoly on the creation of money in the United States. If they need more money they just have to turn on the printing press or go in to the computer and add a few zero's. This is bad for 2 major reasons. #1 the more of something there is, the less that item is worth. This is why coal is extremely cheap relative to diamonds. When there are more dollars floating around the economy it makes the dollars you have in the bank worth less. In other words it is a devaluation of the dollar every time the Fed creates more money. From 1776 to 1913 the value of the dollar actually increased in value 11%. You could purchase 11% more goods with your money in 1913 than in 1776. From 1913 to 2008 the dollar has lost 97% of its value. Your 1913 dollar can now buy only 3% of the goods it could purchase in 1913. This punishes those who save the most. After all they are the ones who are left holding dollars. Spenders and borrowers are living the life while responsible savers are punished for being just that, responsible.
#2 The government doesn't have to tax you any more to run off and do something stupid on a very large scale. The government is always short of cash. There is no social security cash, they just create it as they need it. Because of this they don't have to stand accountable to the people of the country. The people wouldn't or couldn't take it if we were taxed for everything they do. They just do it and tell us about it later or never. We will be in a perpetual warfare/welfare state until either the Fed collapses or the dollar collapses.

4) The Fed is not actually a government agency. Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution tells us that congress shall have the power to determine the weights and measures of money but they acquiesced on this responsibility when the Federal Reserve Act was passed. The Fed doesn't have to answer to anyone, not even congress. Ron Paul is currently trying to pass legislation that would allow the comptroller general to conduct an audit of the Fed. Can you believe this? We have to write laws to make them accountable. There isn't another, less transparent and more powerful entity in the world, I am convinced. They are the proverbial "man behind the curtain". If I mess up my taxes just one time I am subject to fines or jail time. My money is literally nothing to these guys. The Fed who can sway worldwide markets with their power answers to no one. This is shady of course. What could they be hiding?

5) Finally the Fed does deals with other central banks of other countries. Just today the UN has said we should look into a new world currency. The Fed plays a role in these meetings. They hold secret conferences with the G7 or the G20 and meet about who knows what, but they don't have to tell us. The bypass the entire political structure and create alliances that we have no idea about. This too is a crime.

But of course this all gets little if any coverage in the mainstream media. It's not supposed to be of interest to us, the low life peons of the country. But of course the fact that we are all getting ripped of is very interesting. We need to audit the Fed, and then we need to abolish it. The 18 recessions and 2 depressions, and 97% devaluation of the dollar should be enough to convince us of this.

Please urge your congressmen to co-sponsor HR1207 and your senators to co-sponsor S604 to audit the Fed. And the next time you hear something about the Fed, I hope your ears perk up, at least a little.

For additional information you can read:
The Case Against the Fed
The Creature from Jekyll Island
End the Fed

or visit Mises.org for infomation
dailypaul.com for activism

Just wanted to make sure you know your place

2009-09-04T10:22:00.000-06:00

She's Walking! But not really.

2009-08-31T22:39:00.004-06:00

This picture is completely unrelated, but I was shocked by the length of Jack's hair in the last pics I posted. His hair hasn't been that long for a while now, but we didn't have any current pictures to post.

2009-08-28T13:53:00.006-06:00

Remember back when we first started blogging and I posted about how much I loved it and how fun it was? I've changed my mind. Lately, I want to do ANYTHING but blog. I love looking at every one else's blogs, but I haven't been in the mood to update my own (or comment on other's)for a long time. So I need to apologize to the out of towners who we started this blog for so they could witness our little cuties growing up. For you (mostly Grandmas and Aunts) I'll try to post pictures a little more often.

Jack:
-Happy most of the time, unless he misses his nap, or you touch his trains.
-Sleeps in a toddler bed.
-Stays in bed (both in the morning and after naps) until mom comes to get him.
-Knows all his letters and their sounds.
-NEVER stops talking.
-Loves to ride his bike, slide, and play chase.
-Loves his Addie Bean, and sometimes calls her Busy Beaner (its so cute when he says it...trust me)
-Is still obsessed with trains.
-Still sucks his thumb and takes Blankie everywhere.
-Has to cuddle '2 minutes' before going to bed.
-Loves to watch Dora and actually responds when she asks him to.
-Adores his cousins.

Addie:
-Still Bald!
-Spends half her day laughing, and the other half screaming.
-Sleeps through the night
-Always steals big brother's juice cup...even when she has her own.
-Crawls super fast.
-Stands on her own, and can take 1-2 steps before falling.
-Has three teeth and is working on 3-4 right now.
-Dances to the Dora theme song and yells 'Map' when she hears Jack doing it.
-Loves her Paci.
-Refuses to wear headbands.
-Claps, waves, and kisses.

Excellent Town Hall Meeting Response

2009-08-25T13:31:00.001-06:00

2009-08-21T23:55:00.001-06:00

Shiny Red Bicycle

2009-07-30T08:30:00.004-06:00

I love how Jack says bicycle, and never bike. A couple days ago, we got him his very own trike. He loves it because its just like Boofy's (his cousin Griffin). He had so much fun scooting (because he hasn't figured out the pedals just yet) all around the state park. He only stopped to step on some ants, and then to go down the slide.

R+J Wedding

2009-07-28T08:01:00.009-06:00

Ryan and Jackie have officially started their happily ever after! Thanks to my willing sisters and their husbands, Eric and I were able to attend the wedding. We started the day at the sealing ceremony at the Mount Timpanogos Temple. We never got the camera out of the car, so we don't have any pictures of the temple or the happy couple coming out afterwards. Just trust me that they looked happy (and beautiful)!

Then it was a change of babysitter and off to Sundance for the reception. Again, we left the camera in the car for most of it, but I did manage to get a few pics before the night was over.

The weather was gorgeous, as was the venue! We caught up with some old friends, had yummy food, enjoyed a rare occasion without kids, and got to take in all the joy and happiness that goes along with weddings.

I loved the decor for their wedding. On the sign in table, they had a wedding portrait of each of their parents on their wedding days. To sign in and leave a message for the couple we had to use a typewriter. I loved the center pieces too! They used mason jars with flowers, origami swans, and fortune cookies. Love it!

We're so excited for Ryan and Jackie! In a week or so, they're off to Penn State for Law school. We sure are gonna miss them!

Tour de Evanston

2009-07-24T06:23:00.008-06:00

In June, we went to watch the cyclists that came through town during the The High Uintas Classic race. I think Eric would have loved to be IN the race, but since he hasn't actually been on a bike in 2 years, he opted out. Instead we just cheered on the racers. There was a big storm on the way, so being the fair weather fans that we are, we went out to the edge of town and cheered for about 30 minutes...just before the torrential downpour started.

We parked the truck on the side of the road and we all sat in the back to watch the cyclists. Jack thought it was so cool. He loved yelling and clapping. He cheered for the cars as they went by too.

Have no fear...Super Jack is here!

2009-07-21T08:19:00.006-06:00

We went to Colson's Superhero party!!

Meet my little superheroes...Dr. Quantum (he can travel through time), and his sidekick...Shrill (she can melt your face with her supersonic screams)!

I never got a picture of Jack in all of his superhero gear. I would have needed super speed to snap a shot before the sunglasses came off, and I'm surprised the cape stayed on as long as it did!

He had so much fun! I think he was a little bit overwhelmed by the amount of kids. He just hung back most of the time and tried everything the bigger kids did after they were done.

His favorite part was the Mr. Freeze dance that they did to celebrate the defeat of Dr. Doom!

If you want to know the details of the party (which were very well thought out and executed), you can check it out here.

I've been working on the railroad...

2009-07-18T18:05:00.000-06:00

We loved the Colorado Railroad Museum in Denver! There were trains everywhere. Jack was so excited! It was impossible to get him to stand still. Eventually I just put the camera away because I realized he wasn't going to cooperate with me.

We got to go on some of the trains and check out the inside. It was pretty cool. We saw the control panel, the firebox (where the coal goes), mail cars, passenger cars, the roundhouse and turntable, model trains, old uniforms and other paraphernalia. There was so much more to see, but naptime was calling, and I wasn't willing to let the kiddies go without naps (they get pretty mean and cranky).

If we ever get to go again, we're gonna take Eric with us!

Back in business!

2009-07-18T17:08:00.004-06:00

Eric came home with some RAM, and voila! Our computer runs even better than before. I'm in heaven. Everything is so much easier, and I don't spend 15 minutes just trying to open a page. Now I guess we'll find out if it was the computer's fault that we hadn't been posting regularly...

Computer woes

2009-07-14T16:34:00.000-06:00

I know we've been pretty terrible about posting lately, and it's going to continue until our computer starts working at a normal speed again. Until then, feast your eyes on these cutie pies!

Fresh Air, Freedom, and Fun

2009-07-06T18:24:00.010-06:00

We had so much fun this weekend! We're all exhausted, but it was worth it. Saturday afternoon, we went to the Evanston festivities and the boys got to go on some rides.

Then we came home for naps and dinner before we loaded up our fireworks and headed to out claim our space.

Right after getting to our parking lot of choice, I fed and changed Addie and she fell asleep!! She slept through all of it, which was really nice for me. The big boys had a blast (no pun intended!) shooting off all of the fireworks. The little boys thought it was so much fun to watch, and even got to do sparklers! Us girls got to do sparklers too, box after box. And believe it or not, it was really fun! We got some pretty cool pictures...on their cameras, mine ran out of battery.

Sunday we went up to Grandma Great's trailer. We went to the Provo River Falls, had hot dogs, played games, sang songs, built a teepee, lounged by the fire, made s'mores, saw deer, and went to sleep.

Monday, we hung out for a little bit, then packed up camp and came back to our house to clean ourselves up and celebrate Colson's b-day. He turned 4!

2008

2009

Let the fun begin!

2009-07-04T10:13:00.003-06:00

Happy 4th of July! My sisters and their families are on their way up here RIGHT NOW!! We can't wait to have fun eating, talking, playing, camping, hiking, and of course, FIREWORKS! Hope you all have a fun day celebrating the freedoms that we have!

Dr. Pepper Addiction, revisited

2009-06-26T14:37:00.003-06:00

Its been mentioned that Eric has a mild Dr. Pepper addiction. There are many of these dispersed about our house.

Jack knows that he isn't allowed to have DP. He'll ask for some and I'll tell him that's Daddy's juice. Only dad's can drink that. Now anytime he sees Dr. Pepper he points and says, "Daddy's juice cup?"

2009-06-08T22:27:00.002-06:00

I really enjoy talking to older folks. I think this is something that I picked up on my mission, cause Norway is lousy with older people. I love to hear the stories they tell or the things they've done over the course of their lives. This remains true to this day. A lot of the time when I go to a house to appraise it and there are some older people there and I'll see something in their house and ask a question about it and then we get going and the conversation just rolls. I could stay and talk for a long time and I sometimes do. A few months ago I was at this older couple's house for almost 4 hours. This is no exaggeration, it really messed up my week.

Something I have noticed over the past few years, and I guess that it has been my grandparents who have really pointed this out to me, is how much old people like to give you the death report when you are catching up on the people around town. Because my family has always been a fair amount of distance away from my grandparents, catching up with the latest and greatest on the local friendships is paramount.

I remember a conversation between one of my parents and their parents that seemed to go something like this:

Parent: So how is Bill Johnson doing?, gosh, it's been forever since I've seen him.
GParent: You know, after a long bout with cancer he finally passed away.
Parent: That's too bad, what about Mrs. Johnson?
GParent: She lasted a bit longer but passed away in 2000.
Parent: What about Mrs. Jensen up the street?
GParent: She made it to the age of 78 and then died.
Parent: What about that guy that bought the house across the street and fixed it up.....what was his name?
GParent: George??
Parent: Yeah, George, how's he doing, have you seen him lately?
GParent: I saw him at his funeral, he's dead.
Parent: How about Mr. Smith?
GParent: Dead.
Parent: Bob Collins?
GParent: Died last year.
Parent: John Barker?
GParent: Not quite dead, but he's most of the way there. He'll probably die this year.

Of course this is mildly exaggerated but you get the point. It's a fun conversation to have as long as your the eavesdropping third party.

I think that once you get to a certain age you feel a kind of pride or maybe its more survivorship in having outlived everyone else.

For Grammy

2009-06-04T20:20:00.002-06:00

At Grammy's request here is a little of Addie crawling and pulling up.

PS - there is a poll in on the sidebar that I'd love for everyone to vote in.

Cuddle Bunny

2009-06-03T07:39:00.005-06:00

I love my kiddies, and I love seeing their different personalities. Little Addie Bean is growing up so fast. I can't believe she's almost 8 months! Eric thinks I'm being silly, but I just think this is funny. When Addie is really cranky, the only way to calm her down is to give her a Kleenex to cuddle with. Don't ask how we figured that out because I have no idea, but I think its cute (and weird)!

War....what is it good for?

2009-06-02T15:01:00.004-06:00

In church on Sunday the Bishop asked the graduating seniors from the class of 2009 to stand and be recognized. The thought occurred to me that most of these kids had to have been born in 1991. Then the thought occurred to me "what if I had been born in Iraq in 1991?" Unless I had the world's most keen memory I would never have known life without American military occupation.

The results of this would be that life for me would have consisted of near daily bombings, rubble, barbed wire, checkpoints, war machines, random searches and ever dwindling friends and freedoms. Since the US military occupation of Iraq, it is estimated that over 1,300,000 non-military Iraqi's have died as a direct result of the fighting, a very significant percentage of which (some research even says a majority of which) were children under the age of 5. Going to school, work or even home is hit or miss on a daily basis, assuming that the building is still standing and/or those whom I depend on aren't dead. I would have been subjected to a lifetime of taking orders from American military, while they make fun of my religion, my culture and do so claiming their war against Iraq is just. Although I cannot for the life of me pinpoint a single crime the Iraqi government commited against the US government to bring on this war.

This is not to say that the United States has gotten off scott free. We have lost 4306 of our soldiers the vast majority of which I am convinced are very patriotic and have believed the propaganda that is continually jammed down our throats that we had to go to war against a country that when the war began did not have an air force, a navy or any weapons of mass destruction in order to preempt any attack that might come sometime in the future. An estimated 300,000+ soldiers currently suffer from mild to severe mental illness as a result of fighting in the middle east. And all this for what? Is Iraq any more stable? Are we any less scared that middle easterners will attack us?

We are all upset that our government's spending is out of control. Meanwhile we the people are on the hook for over 1,000,000,000,000 every year to finance our empire...meaning our military prowess around the world, while at the very same time our military was in better position to defend Tokyo, Paris and London than they were to protect New York on 9/11, and they continue to shut American bases down to build them overseas. How this helps to protect us I will never understand.

I believe that if we are being honest with one another, we are not protected. We are all a bunch of suckers, being looted (some call it taxed) at a growing rate to finance a government that does nothing right and many things illegally and unconstitutionally.

There are inevitably some, maybe even many who would call this type of discussion unpatriotic and disrespectful to those fighting. To them I would say nothing could be further from the truth. Our government does not want us to win this war. It is too good for business. Had we wanted to win we could have easily done so 15 years ago. So why send more of our people in to a region that has been unstable since the BC days to fight and potentially die in a war we don't have a clear objective in and apparently have no interest in winning? If you think that I do not respect the fine men and women in the service think of this first: I want them home, safe, in their own beds with their own families protecting American borders. Not in some war torn and forsaken desert protecting a pipeline or a business deal.

I am a Christian and I think that Jesus had an idea of what he was talking about in Matthew 18:21-22 where it says "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

Not this idea that "well we think that it is possible that sometime in the future they will try to attack us using the weapons we supplied to them, so instead of waiting for that we are going to bomb them back to the stone age and slaughter their people, indefinitely"

And even at the very same time we sit in our living rooms watching American Idol with fleeting ideas of wondering how it is possible that anyone could hate America. They don't hate us because we are free or rich (although I'll grant that there are some of these people out there, but they are by no stretch of the imagination a majority) - they hate us because our government has bombed them for a few decades, or destroyed any political stability they had in their country, or installed a CIA backed puppet regime as their government, or made it so they had to flee the country they loved to save their lives and live in poverty somewhere else. This is no excuse for crimes committed against innocent people, but just try to put yourself in their shoes for a minute.

I believe that there will be a time (the way things are happening, it will be sooner rather than later) that we will have to decide what we are going to do about any of this. I mean decide as individuals and as a people, our government has revealed its incompetence in this area very clearly. Why not decide now?

Tiny Dancer

2009-05-31T19:48:00.003-06:00

It's always fun when kids start to dance. We learned today that Addie likes to dance to the Thomas theme song. Probably because she's listened to it so many times and recognizes it courtesy of big brother. She moves to all of the music but when the Thomas theme song comes on she really goes to work.