Mary's Talk

Yesterday at church, Mary gave a talk to all the Primary kids. It was not her first talk, but I'd thought I'd share what she said. She worked hard on it all last week and did all the typing herself. I helped to keep her focused on her topic, but overall the words are hers:

* * *
My talk is about testimonies. In the Book of Mormon a guy named Amulek is a good example of someone who shared his testimony.

When the prophet Alma went to Ammonihah, the people did not like him. Then Alma left. An angel came to him and said, “I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah and preach again unto the people of the city.”

The angel went to Amulek and said, “Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord,” So Amulek took Alma to his house and fed him. Alma taught Amulek about Jesus Christ and blessed his family.

Alma and Amulek went to preach the gospel in the city. They met Zeezrom who did not believe in Jesus Christ. He tried to confuse and trick Amulek into saying that there is no Christ.

Even though Amulek was a new member of the Church, he still knew that Jesus Christ was real. He gave his testimony about Jesus. Because of his testimony, Zeezrom believed in Jesus Christ.

I know that the Church is true, and I believe in Jesus Christ. If we share our testimonies with others they will believe in Jesus too. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For starters, I made some wonderful pumpkin bread for the huge family dinner. I found the recipe over at All Recipes. It turned out really, really good. Instead of just water, I followed the suggestion on one of the comments to use orange juice instead. I was very happy with how it turned out. The recipe itself can be found here. Since I enjoy cooking, that whole site is a nice way to check out new stuff - especially with the comments.

I've been debating about posting a list of things I'm thankful for. It just seems kind of...cheesy?...lame?...

But who cares? Here is a partial list of things I am thankful for (in no particular order):

My religion. It not only has shaped me into the person I've become over the past 15 years, but it influences my present lifestyle and gives me a goal and a purpose for being who I am.

My wife and my best friend (who just happen to be the same person). The words "I love you" just seem inadequate at times - although I tell her as often as I can. We can talk, laugh, be serious, play games, work though problems, plan for the future, and have a great sex life (not that you want or need to hear about that).

My kids - the whole ornery lot of 'em. I am their Daddy and they are my Kiddos. Being a father is truly a defining part of my life. They are not perfect, but neither am I - and somehow we're managing to love each other. Nothing makes me happier than to think of being an eternal family.

My country. Yes, it has it's problems. Yes, it seems really screwed up at times. Be that as it may, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

My finances. I'm far from rich. Come on, I'm a college student with four kids. We're way below the poverty line, but we're managing. I think a lot of that comes from when we were first married. I had a LOT of money back then, but then wasted it and had NOTHING. The important thing, though, is that both of us learned so much about how to handle our money now and what we can really do without. The human trend towards consumerism (which is not the same thing as Capitalism) has become one of my pet peeves...but that is a topic for another post.

My education. One semester to go...

Well, it is a very generic list. I really do have more specifics - but I don't feel like sharing, so nyeah!

P.S. I shaved my beard off. I'm back to looking like a young punk again.

Turkey Day Approacheth...

Ack! Thanksgiving is coming and I need a recipe! Somehow I've gotten a reputation with Leslie's family as a good cook. I must have mentioned (though I don't remember it now) that I was going to make something for the big Thanksgiving dinner...I have no idea what to make. I'm thinking of doing some kind of bread - but I want it to be something other than plain ol' bread.

Aside from that, my crappy two weeks has been extended through the Thanksgiving break. A week from today I have a huge paper due on a gender-related topic of my choice ("Male Initiation Rites and the Identity of Masculinity"...oy vay!). The next day I have to turn in the first half of what is called a "reservation profile," which deals with the historical and contemporary issues of an American Indian tribe. This one is actually pretty interesting - I chose the Confederated Tribes of Siletz down in Oregon. Then after that, I have to rework my part of a group presentation I'm doing (which is also on contemporary Indian issues). My part focuses on the federal laws relating to the use of American Indian images which can be seen as racist, cultural harassment, etc. However, once those three things are done, this semester will essentially be over (I hope)! Yea!

Behold! Dad Reveals All Their Goofy Glory!

Amid my crappy week, my printer decided to go belly-up on me. The upside is that I got a good deal on a scanner/printer combo so I can at least make some horrible scans of some pictures. So here are the kids, goofy smiles, bad hair, and all!

Don't get me wrong, if there was a goofy poll taken at my house, I'm pretty sure I would win hands down. I think I have them all thoroughly convinced that their dad is the silliest person alive...and I KNOW that would shock a lot of the people I work with.

PS. I can't figure out why one picture is higher than the rest. If anyone can figure it out, let me know...

Heinous Rhymes With...

Thus begins the next two nightmarish weeks until Thanksgiving break. I've got so much stuff to do and very little motivation to do it. To top it all off, I went to the dentist last week and (oh joy!) found out that I have a few cavitites and one of my other fillings is starting to pop out. Wonderful...

On the up side, we had parent/teacher conferences last week as well. Both Mary and Isaiah are doing great. Their teachers love them. I like the teachers as well. I was a bit nervous since last year I was, um, shall we say less than impressed by Mary's teacher. This year, however, both are just great. Mary is still struggling with her reading a bit, but she tries so hard that no one doubts that she'll get caught up before too long.

What else...? Oh yeah. Did I mention the next two weeks are going to be REALLY crappy? Ah well, such is life. I really shouldn't complain much. My life is too good to indulge in to much hand-waving-freakoutery.

---

Last minute edit: I almost forgot to mention that yesterday at church I glanced at my reflection in a window and I realized, with my beard, I look like a skinnier and shorter version of my dad. I mean, I could have sworn I was looking at him. It was really weird...