A few pics from the delinquent blogger . . .

So, I haven't written anything for several weeks . . . actually, I haven't written the entire time we've been in WA. It's difficult to get much screen time in this house. Oh, well. I thought I'd post a few pics for tonight. Hopefully, I'll get to Beckham's first birthday and Christmas in the next few days before we head back to Rexburg . . . brrr!

11-28-08 Kids sleeping in the back seat. They kept holding hands. It was so cute!

12-10-08 Beckham loves spaghetti!

12-6-08 Beckham was sleeping in the room where McKayla's coat was hanging so we improvised with my sweatshirt. It was just a tad too big!

12-4-08 McKayla celebrated getting earrings with a big fat chocolate sundae from Dairy Queen. She thought she was pretty hot stuff. Later that day she took one of the earrings out and I had to repierce it myself. Ew. She wasn't too happy about that either. Since then she's been good about keeping them in.

Flickr

I just added a TON of pictures to our flickr account. Feel free to check 'em out at the link to the right. I think I've maxed out on the number of pictures I can add and I still have a bunch more. Oh, well. That'll give me something to do next month, right?

Proposition 8 - Marriage

My thoughts about Prop 8 have been rolling around in my mind for several days now. I’m not the type of person who usually gets involved in this kind of issue. I’d rather sit on the sidelines and let the world go by. I’ve always been afraid of offending others or being labeled judgmental. I’ve been trying to get my thoughts about gay marriage written out as politically correct as possible, but I’ve finally decided to write this the way I actually feel about it. I apologize in advance to those who choose to be offended. With that said, I am glad that traditional marriage passed. I only wish it would have passed by a larger margin. For me, marriage was instituted by God and defined as a union between a man and a woman for the purpose of companionship and populating the earth. The need for companionship can be filled in a lot of different ways but creating life requires a male and a female. Not only that, sexual powers are God given and only to be used within the bonds of marriage. I realize that the majority of people don’t live that way, but God’s laws don’t change just because we don’t follow them. I say leave marriage alone; it’s sacred and not ours to change. I have many homosexual friends and they are some of the kindest, funniest and most loving people I know. It’s not my place to tell them how to live. I can love them without agreeing with their lifestyle. If they choose to fulfill their need for companionship with someone of their own sex, so be it. Give them the legal rights concerning insurance, taxes, death, etc. that they seek but don’t change the definition of marriage.

I see that our country is completely divided on this issue, but I would hope that people will cast their minds to the future. If gay marriage does pass someday, what comes next? Will we legalize threesomes, polygamy, incest, bestiality? With the door open to gay marriage, how could we then say no to these other types of unification? This thought leaves me feeling sick. We live in a society that would rather embrace immoral practices than stand up for what they believe to be true. People are so afraid of saying the wrong thing or being politically incorrect that they have lost the courage to stand up for what they believe in. Most people who live by moral principles are labeled as judgmental. However, the ability to make judgment is crucial to our well-being. We use our judgment every moment of our day as we choose what to eat, what to wear, who to associate with and all the other things we will or will not do. I am grateful to have judgment, to think, to reason, to act – to stand up for what I believe in. I’m tired of being labeled as hateful because I feel no hate. I just want to know that my right to believe in traditional marriage is protected. I don’t think my little letter will change the world, and I didn’t write it to start a fight. I just hope it makes people think.

Doggies and Goats

Beckham is obsessed with the doggie bed. Basically, the doggie bed is a giant, stinky pillow that's covered in dog hair. Often after giving him a bath, he crawls to the pillow and rolls all over it . . .YUCK! Oh, well. No matter how many times I pull him off, he crawls right back. He is also very fond of sneaking into the laundry room to eat the dog food. Friday night we went to our ward Halloween party. Beckham decided he needed a little pre-party appetizer. No matter how cute this picture is . . . imagine the smell of fish. Ew.

10-24-08 Yummy
10-24-08 Rrroar!

McKayla's favorite thing to do in California is visit the neighbors goats. The first thing she says when she wakes up is, "Goats . . . outside?" Translated that's a request to go feed the goats. She could stand by the fence and feed them all day if I let her. She squeals with delight when they bleat, butt heads and put their hooves on the fence. Thankfully, the goats seem to love her as much as she loves them. As soon as a goat catches a glimpse of her, it starts bleating and runs across the field. That seems to signal all the others to stop whatever they are doing and join the race to get the first leaf. She giggles and laughs and slurs through her bink, "Goats . . . funny". I wish I could squeeze so much happiness out of something so simple.

10-20-08 Beckham, McKayla and Mama feeding the goats.

10-20-08 Daddy and McKayla feed "Lamby" the white goat.

10-20-08 Cute!

Ahhh!

So, I just did an intense little work out to deal with some stress and then I did a cool down with a piece of cake and some blogging. I'm sure many of you can relate to this type of cool down. In my opinion the only reason to exercise is to justify dessert! I'm mostly kidding about that.

Any way, no need to delve into the stressors so let's talk about happier things. This past week I got a new calling (even though we'll only be here for another month) and I'll be helping with the Activity Day Girls. We are going to do an activity about journals. That should be fun and messy. No activity is complete without some glue, glitter and stickers! HA!

On Saturday we took the kids to Discovery Kingdom (formerly known as Marine World). I didn't take enough pictures which shouldn't surprise anyone but we had a lot of fun. Beckham fell in love with the penguins and McKayla got to feed a seal. We rode Thomas and ate really expensive, greasy food. Now that's the life. Lonnie was disappointed that we didn't get to ride any coasters, but I guess that gives us an excuse to go back in a few years.

10-25-08 The kids LOVED the penguins!

10-25-08 McKayla and Mommy ride on Harold.

10-25-08 Daddy and Bubs take a ride on Thomas the train.

Blessings in California

Well, as some of you know Lonnie and I intended to live in Washington while he's off track at BYU-I, but we ended up in California. We've talked a lot about why we're here now and there seem to be a lot of little blessings all around us. First of all, the blessing of work for Lonnie and for his step-dad. With a wedding coming up soon my in-laws needed contracts to pay for everything. It seems that just as we came to CA my father-in-law started getting more contracts than he knew what to do with. Secondly, there have been lots of opportunities to help family members here. We've gotten to know nieces and nephews better, help my sister-in-law move into a new house, be a shoulder to cry on, baby sit while my brother and sister-in-law work, work on projects around the house and even cut my brother-in-law's hair (btw . . . he's had dreds for the past 14 years and it took almost 5 hours of cutting and combing to leave him with a manageable hair cut). Another major blessing is that our kids haven't been sick once while we've been in transit. I wouldn't really be able to take them to a doctor here since our medicaid is for WA. Health is a huge blessing. Finally, last night I got to help a lady who needed some gas money and it just made me feel good. Like everyone, my testimony waivers at times and I wonder if I'm really on the right track. Then little miracles occur and they remind me that there is a purpose to life and the relationships we make. I started this post nearly a week ago . . . so much for having more time on Sundays.

Sunday

So, I blog on Sundays because I think I have more time on Sundays. I'm not really sure that's true but so far it's working out. This week I finished weaning Beckham. He had his last feeding Wednesday night. Thursday night Lonnie put him to bed for me while I was out. Lonnie said he kept looking around the room for me but eventually gave up and went to sleep. The hardest night for us was Friday. He threw a big fit going to bed, and I felt sick to my stomach that I was the cause of all his frustration. Thankfully, I didn't give in to the temptation to save him from his agony with a little sip of milk. He cried a little while longer and then it happened - he went to sleep! It feels great to have my body and my wardrobe back. No more lifting up my shirt day and night. No more outfit restrictions due to lack of access to the motherly goods. Freedom never felt so good. Beckham has taken to the formula remarkably well. There were a few days he didn't drink too much but each day gets better and better.

Lonnie is a wonderful husband and father. On Thursday night he volunteered to watch the kids and put them to sleep so that I could go to a class all about digital scrapbooking and blogging. What more can a wife ask for? The class I went to was very interesting and there are two more coming up. I can't say I know any knew tricks because that would require me to go to our teacher's blog and do some reading. However, I thought I would post her blog for anyone who's interested in doing a little reading. My teacher's name is Ann Kerr and she just taught a class at BYU Education Week. She knows her stuff. www.digitalhotspot.blogspot.com

Here are a few more pics just for fun. Until next Sunday . . .

9-24-08 I love your bubble 'do!

9-26-08 Lonnie's 28th Birthday Poster. Pretty clever if I do say so myself!

9-27-08 We went to a huge birthday party and while the birthday boy opened his gifts, Beckham explored the bounce house and had a blast.

9-28-08 Don't worry Beckham . . . some day you'll be as cool as me.

10-5-08 Beckham loves to crawl!

More time

If I chould have just a little more time I think I could figure this whole thing out. I appreciate all the comments people have left but I'm not quite sure how to respond. I'm also not quite sure how to follow blogs or be more creative on here. I'm sure it's not that hard to figure out but it's a question of time. Time that at the current moment doesn't exist. I think I'll wait until I get back to Rexburg and have Corrine show me! That's the easy way!!

This has been a long week. Lonnie just had his 28th birthday and we celebrated with friends and family. I have pictures to post but again . . . no time. Hopefully later I'll get to it.

McKayla had another seizure last sunday night so we're upping the medicine again. Yuck. It's so stressful to change her dosage. It must of really scared her this time because now she won't go to sleep on her own. I lay with her until she goes to sleep. She still wakes up 3 -6 times a night. Thankfully Beckham is such a good sleeper or I'd be really tired! Ha. I'm sure tired tonight.

Another week goes by . . .

It's hard for me to get on the computer because it's in a little room of a big house where I can't see what mischievious things my children are doing while I type. I'm feeling really tired right now but I wanted to post a few pictures. Last Saturday was my Mother-in-laws birthday and we celebrated by having family over and eating a lot of fried chicken. During the past week McKayla has decided that it is really fun to look at wish books. She especially loves wish books with toys in them but it really doesn't matter; she'll gaze longingly at pocket watches, dog kennels and jewelry as well. Beckham just turned 9 months old. He's got 4 teeth now and is pulling up on everything. Lonnie is still working a ton in the sun but it's starting to get cooler. That's a good thing because it's not so hot . . . a bad thing because we didn't bring any warm clothes. Wal-Mart loves me. I think I am personally keeping them in business! Oh, well, enjoy the pics.

McKayla and her wish book.
Beckham's favorite past time - watching TV with Daddy.
McKayla and Rory at Nana's birthday party.
Beckham on his 9 month birthday.

Just a few more pictures

Here are a few pictures from the last month or so that

are just too cute . . .

Mama, it's hot!! At the Doodlebop concert at the CA State Fair.

Cute baby! What strategic placement of the shampoo bottle.

My cute haircut and cute kiddos!

Fun in Sacramento

So, I finally figured out how to get the pictures off my camera and on to my mother-in-law's computer. Yeah for technology! This past weekend we took McKayla and Beckham to Fairytale Town and Funderland at William Land Park in Sacramento. For lunch we had a picnic near a little lake and fed the ducks. It was nice to do something fun and spend time with family. We were so exhausted by the time we finished. Here are some of our latest photos . . .

Beckham and Grandma Cece.

Brett, McKayla and Rory ride the train.

Melissa, Brett and Lonnie take a rest.

Brett, Travis, Rory, Beckham, Melissa, McKayla and Lonnie wait for the train.

Here I am again . . .

Corrine . . . you're gonna love this. I'm just playing around with the fonts. And now I added my first picture. I'm feeling pretty successful! Ha! Well, I'm worn out . . . I think it's time for bed. Actually, I'd like to write about all the fun we had rececently but I have to figure out how to get the pictures off my camera. That will have to wait until tomorrow. Until then, here is a beautiful picture of my McKayla

Finally

I finally sat down to figure this out . . . and now I'm tired! Sorry Corrine. I'll try again soon! :)