Changes

While waiting for a teenager to finish homework, I decided it would be a good idea to quickly change the look of the blog for Christmas.  Well, three hours later, here we are.  Hope you like the new look. And, who knows, it may change again.  I'm up a lot waiting for teenagers to go to bed.  Oh, and you may notice that we have another girl in our latest family picture--Marleen.  She came back to visit for two weeks, and she was here when we had our family pictures taken in October.  I can't believe that it's now December!  I have a lot of catching up to do, so look for more posts soon.  Goodnight.

Zits

I love the comic strip called ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman! Since we don't get the paper anymore, I subscribe to it so it comes into my email every day and it almost always makes me laugh because I can usually relate, since I have teenage boys. It makes me realize that mine are pretty normal, which makes me feel better and makes me laugh a little more at the crazy things my boys do. Maybe today's will make you smile a little, too. (You might have to click on the comic to see it full size.) Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

So, this is actually how the day started out. . .not so happy. But it did get better as the day progressed. 

It rained a little this morning...YEAH! It's time for the hot weather to be gone! The clouds were beautiful.

Jared was a scary guy with no face or a Ring Wraith from Lord of the Rings, depending on when you asked him. Noah was mostly a Ninja, but throughout the day, he kept changing into the kangaroo costume. But for trunk-or-treating (a yearly tradition at church where the kids go around to everyone's car 5 million times and get a ton of candy in a matter of minutes), he was a Ninja.

Brooke was a Boy Scout (you know, a girl scouting for boys) and in the picture you can see her with her friend Andrea. They ran the cupcake walk game at the Halloween party at church.

 

Our Jack-O-Lanterns greeted the trick-or-treaters--all 6 of them. Oh, wait, make that ONE. The other five came as we were leaving to go to the church party, and got their treats from the back of the van where we had just put all of the goodies. You'll notice that there are no pictures of John or Dallin.  That's because they avoided the camera.  John dressed in one of those  sumo wrestler costumes that has a fan to blow air into it to make the wearer look HUGE.  Unfortunately, the fan stopped working halfway through the evening, and he took off the costume.  Dallin, on the other hand, likes last-minute costumes and so he drew a mustache on his face and put on a pair of glasses.  At first, he called himself a French off duty mail man, but then he got smart.  When people asked him who he was supposed to be, he said, "You tell me." And he got some pretty good answers.  The one he liked best came from someone who knows Dallin is a band geek and she replied, "Mr. Miranda?" (He's the band teacher, and Dallin did look a little like him with the mustache and glasses.)

We watched "Nightmare Before Christmas" to end the day. No one like Jack Skellington to make it a feel like Halloween is complete. Happy Halloween 2008!

California's Proposition 8

I'm not one to talk politics much, so I hope you'll indulge me this one time.  Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court overturned the people's decision that marriage is defined in California as being between one man and one woman by saying it was unconstiutional and opening the door for same sex couples to marry. The consequences of this decision are already beginning to show. In San Francisco, 18 first graders were taken on a field trip to witness the marriage of their teacher to her partner, a supposed lesson in tolerance. To me, however, this is teaching small children that same sex marriage is OK and is the same as traditional marriage.  This is not for the state to decide!  This is an issue that for many has religious and moral implicications and is best taught according to the values and ideals of the individual family.  If this ruling is not overturned by amending the California state constitution, these types of things would continue in classrooms throughout the state, along with many other consequences that would interfere with religious freedoms.  This amendment would not take civil rights from same sex couples, but it will protect the rights of those who have religious grounds for teaching traditional marriage.  This amendment is not about hate or inequality--it is simply about the definition of marriage.  Many powerful entities like the California Teacher's association have contributed heavily in the last few days to the opposing side. To learn more about Proposition 8, go here or here.  I would never ask for money from anyone unless it was really important, and I'm not asking it for myself.  I'm asking for my kids, and for all the kids here in this state. This is really important--possibly the most important decision that will be made regarding families, the importance of gender, and what marriage really means. If you can help, even with just $10, please click here now. Even if you don't live in California--what happens here often influences what happens in other states.  (Go here to listen to Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, as he gives a speech about the Supreme Court's ruling, and talks about that very thing.)  Please also pass this along to others you might know who may be interested in helping. Thanks for listening.