Shane and Leah

Today we put up our Christmas decorations.  Hooray! Yesterday we drove down to the Seattle Temple.  On the drive there a car drove by with a Christmas tree on top.  Oliver pointed it out excitedly to us.  Then Marie exclaimed, “Mommy, we MUST have a Christmas tree NOW!”  So today we put up some Christmas decorations to help the kids last until next week when we do get our tree.  We even got the lights up outside.  Now it is pouring out so we couldn’t have timed it better.

On another note I finished Marie’s Christmas dress.  A few weeks ago I passed by some really cute dresses at Costco and felt guilty that I had decided to make one for her.  It came out prettier than I imagined AND it has both a bow and flowers, which was what she really, really wanted on her last dress.  A helpful tip, rosettes are easier to make out of ribbon and I think they are cuter. 

This evening Oliver was trying to mumble something over his bowl of cereal. (Yup that’s right, he didn’t like sweet and sour meatballs and I didn’t make bread today).  Once his mouth was clear he told me he had an angry face.

Me:”You have an angry face right now?”

Oliver: “No.”

Me: “Do I have an angry face?” (I was rather exasperated at that point)

Oliver: “No”

Me: “What kind of face do I have?”  (Now I was trying to keep a straight face)

There was a pause and Marie came round to see me.  She declared:”You have a weird face!”

1) How to teach your children to say Thank You! and be excited about it.  The process is simple.  Make a tree trunk out of brown construction paper and colorful fall leaves.  Put up your trunk somewhere the kids can see.  Then put the leaves in a bag with a pen and a roll of tape.  Explain that every time they say Thank you they get to put a leaf on the tree.  Every time they say thank you draw a picture of that they were thankful for and let them put it up.  If this isn’t working as well as you would like have a family lesson about thankfulness and then have the kids role play saying thank you when they share a toy or let someone have a turn.  Our kids loved it and we were able to top it off with our most important thank you to Heavenly Father, a prayer. As a note, it also helps me remember the nice things the kids do when I write down why I say thank you as well.

2) How to get your children to their beds with out whining.  Offer them a horse ride on your back  and then dump them on their beds.  If both parents are around you can have races or practice how many kids can stay on Daddy’s back.

3) How to get your children to return their toys to their room, or even transport lots of whatever else they don’t seem to want to carry.  Pull out a blanket and tell the kids the toys need a ride.  Help pile the toys on the blanket and then let them drag it to their rooms.  Marie has even perfected this art by picking up the blanket and dumping it into her toy box.  Then, if you are a very nice parent, give them rides around the house on their blanket.  We’ve done this so much the kids do it with out me even suggesting it.

4) How to get your children to laugh and scream so much that you get a stitch in your side from laughing with them.   Pile them all in the baby’s crib.  Have a parent pretend to be a lion or dragon or some other menacing creature.  Reach in through the slots to grab them and growl.  We did this last night.  Shane was a very convincing Monster.  You should have heard Oliver’s screams.  I was rolling in laughter and Marie told me afterward that she laughed so hard she had a hard time breathing.

5)  How to get your kids to play together all morning with out fighting.  Make a tent and then wait for them to grow up a bit!

Well at least at our house it has.  Marie keeps asking me when Halloween is and we have hidden their costumes so they will still be cool and new when the day comes.

We started out our season with a trip to the pumpkin patch we always go to.  The search for pumpkins didn’t take long.  We already have three large ones at home from the garden.  Oliver wanted the littlest pumpkin so all the kids ended up with small pumpkins.  After dropping those off in the car we went for a quick “train” ride and bounce in the bouncy house.  Then it was off to the Halloween store for decorations.  Before we knew it the kids all wanted superman/girl costumes.  Even Peter wouldn’t put down the superman costume he found so now Shane and I have produce superman triplets!  Who knew we were so cool!  Enjoy the pictures!

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”  Isaiah 5:20

When I read this scripture as a child I remember feeling thankful that I did not live in a world where people called what is good evil and what is evil good.  I couldn’t even comprehend how anyone could even find something evil and call it good.  I discovered as an adult, much to my dismay, frustration and sorrow, that many people in the world are calling what is bitter sweet and what is evil good.

For example Washington State legislature has passed a law which is up for voter referendum in November.  This law is being presented as expanding the rights, responsibilities and obligations accorded state registered same sex and senior domestic partner to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage.

I find the presentation of this law very well chosen wording indeed, at least for not presenting the real intent.  One published argument in favor says, “This law ensures that all Washington families have the same protections, rights, and responsibilities as their neighbors.  The law guarantees that all families will be treated fairly, especially in times of crisis”  Another published argument states “Committed couples who want to take care of each other should have the protections they need to keep their families safe.”

In essence those who support this law feel that those who oppose this bill are not allowing others to be treated fairly, especially in their times of great need.  These people argue that those who are committed to each other should be allowed to take care of each other and their families.  In other words those who feel we shouldn’t have live in Sodom and Gomorrah are evil for limiting the “rights” of those who want to live in Sodom and Gomorrah.

If this law is approved by the citizens of Washington registered domestic partners will be looked upon the same as those who are married, they just won’t be called married.  All terms that refer to familial relationships, husband, wife, family, widow, spouse, etc… would be interpreted as applying equally to registered domestic partners, in other words, there is no difference between families created according to God’s plan and those living in Satan’s counterfeit.  Even worse is that all gender specific terms, such as husband and wife would be construed to be gender neutral according to law.  Now gender will be replaced with a neuter denying the God given role of gender in the roles of family relationships.  Gender is essential to God’s plan and this is a direct attack by Satan to have people shift away from their very divine nature and role given them by God through their gender.  Such attacks on what is sacred and vital to moral and happy societies can never be justified away by those who would couch it as victimization of others.

I will not deny the concern and care that individuals may have for each other while breaking the commands of God, but the strength of their feelings, based in selfish sexual satisfaction, does not trump the sanctity of marriage, or justify neutering the roles of wives and husbands and their protections by law.  Does the sadness and struggles of those living in sin as consequence of their own actions justify nullifying what is sacred and right?  Here, sadly enough, is another case where evil is called good and good is called evil.