Merry Christmas

Oh come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

Calming at Christmas

I have found a way to calm down at Christmas time. It seems like so many people expect you to do so many things. I enjoy most of the activities, but sometimes, especially with a wedding coming too, I get a bit frazzled. So, when I start feeling a little overwhelmed, I go into the living room and sit by the Christmas tree and start enjoying the lights. I glance over at the empty nativity scene and just start thinking about the meaning of Christmas. I mean really, do you think life was easy for Mary and Joseph? Maybe quieter, but just as difficult. For some reason that calms me down and I can cope with my simple life. We have it pretty easy I think, washers, dryers, dish-washers, sewing machines, so many things to help us but it is too easy to see the hard and not focus on the blessings. My Christmas wish is to learn to focus on the blessings.

Come Ye Thankful People Come

Andy Rooney, on 60 minutes, wished that people would stop and honor Thanksgiving Day. It is an American Holiday, a day to be grateful. Well, I listened to a talk this morning and it talked about two researchers who wanted to research gratitude. They had three groups of people. One group kept a list of their daily happenings, the second kept a list of the bad things that happened. But the third group listed their daily blessings. The researchers found that those who counted their blessing were less depressed, less stressed, more optimistic, more enthusiastic, exercised more, moved more quickly to their goals, felt more loved and did more acts of kindness. Isn't that just amazing? Gratitude is a commandment, but it is a commandment that is for our good, cause it brings us good things. God really loves us.

Happy Birthday dear Carol

Today is Carol's 57th birthday. I wonder what a 57 year old Carol would have looked like? Would she have grey hair, or would she have kept it auburn. She just loved auburn hair. Did you know she loved oriental things? She did. Did you know that she took violin lessons in 1st or 2nd grade, well I am pretty sure it was violin lessons. But then we moved. Did you know there was a place next door to our house that we called the jungle and it was soooo scary? Carol, Carla and I would creep through the fence, and then scare ourselves so badly that we would come screaming back. She always remembered the recipe for the stuff that made the Italian hair on the lip (not a mustache, just darker hair) go light. And I don't. And the other day, I needed to tell her something that only she and Carla would have remembered. Happy Birthday Carol. I miss you a lot and often. Chrissy, I am sure glad you are still here.

Let the Lower Lights Be Burning

I heard the most amazing talk the other day. There is a hymn that Mark and Gary and someone else used to sing. The chorus was, "Let the lower lights be burning; Send a gleam across the wave. Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save. " hymn 335

The speaker said that the lighthouses weren't enough in really bad storms, so the lighthouse keeper would send words to the houses along the shore, to keep their lights burning, they were the lower lights. The Savior is the lighthouse, but we are the lower lights. It is so important, especially now, that we make sure that our lights are on and that we are reaching out to those who are struggling. We cannot judge others, just make sure we are following the Savior and that our lights are on to show the way.

November 2nd Fast and Pray

In nine days we will be electing, not only a president, but many Congress-persons too. The judgeships that will be coming up for election are also a consideration. We cannot afford to vote for just anyone. We need a wise Heavenly Father to guide us in this election. Please, pass the word to fast and pray next Sunday. It is essential that this election is not based on arrogance and pride, but in humility and prayer. Please, this is too important to forget.

Hallelujah Chorus from Beethoven's Mount of Olives

I just listened as the Mormon Tabernacle sang the Hallelujah Chorus by Beethoven. (Not Handel's) I remember, at my high school graduation, that was the song our choir sang. Carla was our pianist. Her fingers were just flying over the keys. We were going way too fast and totally ignoring Mr. Moody, our director. It was great! And Carla stayed with us the whole way. I want to call her and remind her and laugh. I wish my cell phone could reach to heaven.

October snow

It snowed this morning, and last night, and perhaps tomorrow. We did try and get most of the apples off the tree, but missed some. The others are berries from our backyard. It looked like the berries were lights that were shining through the snow.

Helping Grandma make applesauce

Our tree has been so full of apples. So far we have 50 qts of applesauce with buckets and boxes more apples on the porch. So Saturday, Grandpa and I had a little helper.

Fall is here!

The leaves are falling off the trees. We are canning applesauce and peaches . The apples just keep falling and falling and I keep picking them up and they keep falling. I don't know if I will be able to keep up with them. They fall on our roof at night and wake us up. Apple pies, here we come! I love this time of year, it just feels like autumn and I love it!

Glenn Beck begs us to be 9-twelvers

"The difference between a failure and a loser is that failure leads to success, losers stop trying to be successful. America has had a hard week. I fear for my country. On 9-10-2001 we all had our heads in the sand. On 9-11, if you were like me, you were freaking out. But by 9-12 we knew what was important to us and we were willing to do the hard thing for our country and for our children. Join me as a 9-12er, someone who is willing to do the tough thing and we can accomplish anything. We are the country that changed the world. And if you'll just be that 9-12 person, we can change it again." Glenn Beck

I heard this on the Glenn Beck show today (9-18-2008) He is right. We need to stand up, do the hard job and force our elected leaders to do that hard job too.

Happy Birthday Becca

We had a fun day celebrating Becca's birthday. Olivia's will be next week. It was so much fun watching how eager the other kids were, and how excited they were for Becca. Cute kids.

VietNam Memorial Statues

I love these nurse statues, they were near the Viet Nam Memorial

Washington D.C.

We had a great time during our trip to Washington D.C. I will admit that we about walked our feet off. We didn't rent a car, just used the

metro and the bus system, but the people were so helpful. They would notice we looked lost and ask if they could help. Within a few days we were helping others. We saw all the sites, though we didn't spend nearly enough time at the Smithsonian Institutes. We went to Arlington cemetery, that place just takes my breath away.

Then we went to Mount Vernon - it is a great place to learn about George Washington. He was quite the planner, he was very smart, very aware of the environment. He said, "When I speak of a knowing farmer I mean one who understands the best course of crops, how to plough, to sow, to mow, to ditch, to hedge, and above all, Midas like, one can convert everything he touches to manure." I love that! Obviously, since I took a picture of it so I could remember it.

And the Library of Congress, what a fantastic place. I have to figure out how to put a slide show someplace and you can see all the cool things.

I couldn't understand the parents who took little kids, like to the Holocaust museum? I wouldn't take a child under the age of ten, but everyone needs to see it. What a moving experience.

I love the Thomas Jefferson memorial. We saw the D.C. temple - by the way, take bus four not five, it gets you a lot closer. Anyway, it was a great experience. And it was the first vacation we have ever taken without me being pregnant or having kids. That was really an unusual experience that we really would like to repeat. The clock picture was taken in the Congress building for a cute daughter who loves clocks!

Regrets, I have a few

I have been thinking about raising kids and some things I wish I had done.
I planned, before I ever had children, to take them on their 12th and 16th birthday to the temple and talk about modesty, chastity and temple marriage. But it is cold in January and February and then I didn't start it with the oldest and then got busy and then, and then, and then they all grew up and it was too late.
I wanted to teach my children how to clean, but I think, my request for perfect cleaning made them hate it. There must be a balance.
I was going to read Bible stories every Sunday to them, and do flannel boards and act out stories and learn new songs. We did, but rarely.
We read scriptures but we didn't discuss them. I think that would have been a good thing to do.
We had Family Home Evening, but rarely did we let the children teach the lessons.
We did garden, but not together, it was easier to send the boys out to weed while I did other things, and they were so little. I just think it would have been more fun for them to work with us, not alone.
And we should have sung more!
Sunrise sunset, sunrise sunset, swiftly fly the years, one season following another laden with happiness and tears.

Corianton

I always wondered what happened to Corianton. Did he humble himself, listen to his father and repent? Or did he just continue to rebel and ruin his life? I knew that I had read something once that made me think that he had given away all his sins and turned to do right, but I couldn't find it. This week I found it. It is in Alma 48:17-18 where it talks about Moroni, and if all men were like him the powers of hell would be shaken. Then if verse 18 it talks about Ammon and ALL of Alma's sons being as good as Moroni. I love it that we have the ability to repent, that God doesn't want us to live unhappily stuck in our sins. He wants us to have the freedom that obedience brings, freedom from the painful sword of sin. I am so grateful for that.

Fun with the grandkids

The grandkids were over on Friday, just before a Winward reunion. Jason put the kids on the trampoline and we spent a great time jumping. Then Jason put the sprinkler underneath the trampoline. We got wet and had a great time. We had thought about going to the lake, but actually, with two 3 year olds and two 22 month olds - this was probably better and a lot more fun.

You want cheaper gasoline?

Give Leviticus 26 a read. When Aunt Chrissy was visiting with Richard and Camille J, we got to talking about it. When the judges in California over-rule the will of the people and institute marriage for everyone, strictly against the Bible, can we really expect God to bless this country? We refuse to keep the Sabbath Day holy, and ignore many other commandments. I don't think that God punishes us, it is just that His spirit cannot dwell in evil places. When His Spirit withdraws, then His protection gone. Unless we really get with it and start keeping His commandments, we are in serious trouble. Read Lev 26 - it is a real eye-opener.

If the oil supply is the problem, wouldn't drilling help?

If you don't think the United States needs to drill for oil, you won't be interested in this. If you do think that if the gas problem is directly related to not enough gas, this would be something you might want to read.

Source Glenn Beck Show June 12th 2008:

So why IS gas so darn expensive? There are a lot of reasons, but somehow the biggest problem (as usual) points directly to Washington DC. Democrats yesterday in a subcommittee voted basically to kill going to the outer continental shelf to drill for oil because there are 'other things we can do'. Glenn would like to introduce you to the people who are preventing us from drilling here at home, because, as Glenn says, these people should be famous. When the pitchforks and torches start coming out---we'd like to help clarify who was for or against us.

AGAINST
Chair: Norman D. Dicks (WA)
James P. Moran (VA)
Maurice D. Hinchey (NY)
John W. Olver (MA)
Alan B. Mollohan (WV)
Tom Udall (NM)
Ben Chandler (KY)
Ed Pastor (AZ)
Dave Obey (WI), Ex Officio

FOR
Minority
Ranking Member:
Todd Tiahrt (KS)
John E. Peterson (PA)
Jo Ann Emerson (MO)
Virgil H. Goode, Jr. (VA)
Ken Calvert (CA)
Jerry Lewis (CA), Ex Officio

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/11289/

This was on the glenn beck letter today. The above link covers it more fully. The question is, what are we going to do about this? If you know anyone from these states, send it on and ask them to get on line and write their Congress person and give them heck!

Here is a link to find your Congress person's address. We didn't have to add the second part of the zip, but we live in a tiny town and you might need to. Don't just sit and stew, go forth and do!

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml
You will have to copy these and put them in your address, cause they are not live links

If we don't do something, we are just as responsible as the politicians who have caused this problem in the first place. I have heard that the environmentalists are afraid that if we drill off the coasts that oil spills will happen. No oil spills happened during Katrina although the sites were seriously damaged. I have heard that China is planning on drilling 50 miles off our coast, who is more environmentally careful, the US or China? Please, write and send this to anyone you know that will help. If we flood these legislators offices with letters protesting their decision, maybe a change can happen.

He graduated

Thomas has graduated from basic training. He is now at a new base. We had a great time visiting with him, his fiance' and her family. We had time to go sight seeing, the Alamo and lots of other places. Then we went to the graveyard where my great-great grandma, Fannie Anne Slater Williamson died in childbirth long ago. It was very moving. Our son has gone to a new base and is studying for his new field. So much to do, he will be gone for 6 months. But he and his fiance' have set a date, January 24th, hopefully all will go well. As you can tell from the picture of Cyndi and Thomas, there are some really strict military rules about PDA!

Thomas

Thomas has two weeks left. He will be graduating May 30th. Unfortunately he has double pink-eye right now. That is frustrating. Chrissy and crew will be here in June. That should be fun.

Our glacier is just about melted, we only have a few inches left. I really wondered if that was going to happen this year but it has finally warmed up enough that is starting to go away. Maybe we will actually go and buy tomato plants.

Sunday

We received two phone calls from Thomas this week, that sure was nice. He has three weeks left of basic training. We asked if it was fun and he gave us a very firm, "No!" But he is doing well and looking forward to the next section of his training.

Camille graduated from ISU yesterday. Happy to get that done. Their graduation is much improved, last one took over four hours. This one was just three and that included the luncheon afterwards. That was really nice.

Thomas Air Force

On April 15th Thomas joined the Air Force. Cynthia and I went down with him and watched him be sworn in. Cynthia just heard from some Elders in Texas and they have seen him and all is well. That is good to hear. If I can figure how to save my MSWMM onto the blog, I will put up his swearing in ceremony. So far, it hasn't worked. Keep him in your prayers.

Global Warming

On April 1st it was -2 degrees at our house, the temperature for Montpelier was -4. This is the coldest April 1st on record. The next day I went out back to take a picture. We hope the snow is gone by July! We would like to put in a garden.

Farandolae must deepen

Charles Wallace is dying because of a problem in his mitochondria. His sister and friends are inside his cells trying to save his life.

"When Sporos deepens, it means it comes of age. It means that it grows up. The temptation for farandola or for man or for star is to stay an immature pleasure seeker. When we seek our own pleasure as the ultimate good we place ourselves as the center of the universe. A fara or a man or a star has his place in the universe, but nothing created is the center. . .

The balance of life within Yadah is precarious. If Sporos and the others of his generation do not Deepen, the balance will be altered. If the farandolae refuse to Deepen, the song will be stilled and Charles Wallace will die. The Echthroi (the evil) will have won.

But a child, why is one small child so important?

It is the pattern through-out creation. One child, one man can swing the balance of history."

I finally found the quote I was looking for from the book, "A Wind in the Door," by Madeline L'Engle. I think that a similar thing is happening to our society. Men who are looking for good wives can't find them, and women who are looking for good men are also having a rough time. Too many young people are refusing to deepen. In the book it talks about the farandolae whirling laughing mocking and playing instead of deepening. They are searching for happiness in all the wrong places, when deepening would bring them happiness. With some, they want more education, want more fun, want more freedom, while those who long to deepen, to grow and progress are searching among the wild dancers for someone who also wants to deepen. But they won't find them there. I see the news and we glorify the whirlers and pleasure seekers and denigrade the deep ones. Madeline L'Engle also wrote the book "A Wrinkle in Time." Both are interesting and very thought provoking. Her last book, well, I didn't like that as much, she seemed to have lost her spiritual sense. But these are really good.

Temple Sealer

Hi, we visited mom this week-end. We had a great time, but she told me she had heard wrong, Uncle Larry will be a sealer in the Nauvoo temple, not the President. I still think that is great. I wonder if he is a sealer there, can he come home and still do sealings? I mean, would that be great or what. Course he probably would just do sealings in his home temple, probably can't do the traveling sealing stuff, but it is still cool. Sorry for the mis-information.

Safest States

I just read the list of the safest states for children. They list as safest those states that have the most laws to protect children. Now, I agree, there need to be laws, but I don't think laws guarantee child safety. Actually, nothing can guarantee that children will be safe. But outlawing swings and jungle gyms aren't going to guarantee safety. Allowing children to run and play and grow up without fear, that is my idea of safety. Making sure that adults act like adults is a more sure guarantee of safety. When children feel safe at home, when their needs are met and they don't have to fear a nut with a gun or a bomb. That is my idea of child safety. We can't wrap them in bubbles or isolate them, but we can give them the freedom to learn, and to work, and to play. Idaho was listed as #24 on the list. But I think it is a great place to raise kids. They learn to work, to use weapons responsibly, they have some freedom to run free and explore. And if someone came to school with a weapon, our kids likely know how to take him out and disarm him. To me, knowledge is freedom, not unenforceable laws that take away that freedom.

This is incorrect!

Guess what? Uncle Larry Ostler is going to be the new president of the Nauvoo Temple! That is what we hear anyway. Is that just really neat or what? I am really excited. I remember when I was just little that Uncle Larry and Aunt Dolly came at Christmas and I thought she was the most beautiful lady. She still is. We stayed with Uncle Larry's mom, Grandma Leah when Aunt Chrissy was born. Ahh memories of good times.

Some sane ideas on immigration

Dealing With Illegal Aliens, from a sane person’s point of view (non-politician)

We have millions of illegal aliens. Attempting to deport of all them would be a major waste of time, nearly impossible, and would hurt many industries.

Allowing them to stay defeats our laws and encourages more law breaking. It also could allow people to enter this country who are opposed to its principles and could possibly engender terrorism.

Solution:

1. Do not round up illegals and send them home.
2. Require all illegals, including infants and children, to be fingerprinted and eye-scanned. These identification measures will be used to verify their status while crossing the border, for entry into schools, clinics, employment, in the event of incarceration, and in any other circumstance where identify needs to be established.
3. Children born to illegals will not be give citizen status.
4. One illegal in each nuclear family which consists only of mother and or father and their offspring, of one generation must have a job. If the job is lost, the illegal must get another job in under six months. If the job is not obtained, the family must leave the country.
5. Illegals are not eligible for Social Security unless they have put into the system for a minimum of 20 years. This is double the citizen’s requirement, but they are not citizens.
6. Illegals are not eligible for medicare.
7. Illegals are recognized as citizens of a foreign country. As such, they are not afforded the same rights as citizens. They are to be treated respectfully and decently. But, if they choose not to obey the laws of this country, they, and their immediate family will be deported immediately.
8. Children of illegals, whether citizens by birth or not, will be expected to attend school. They will be expected to obey all rules, learn English, complete all required work, and act as visitors should act, with decorum, modesty and self-control. If these children cause trouble in school, the family will be deported. The only exception to this would be if the problem is caused due to serious harassment that has been documented with the local authorities.
9. Illegals can apply for citizenship just the same as anyone else. Once they have obtained citizenship, the rules governing Social Security and medicare will be enforce as if they were regular citizens and the time limit for Social Security will be applied as for a normal citizen.
10. Illegals must remember they are here as guests. They do not have the rights of citizens and just as most other countries, if they do not conduct themselves in a seemly manner, they, and their immediate family, will be required to leave.
11. Illegals must register when they move or change jobs. If they do not register within one month, they will deported unless they can prove that it was physically impossible for them to do so. When an illegal loses his job, he must report it immediately.
12. Employers who do not check the status of ALL workers will be subject to fines.
13. Regions must have clinics available for all people, illegal and citizens alike. These clinics would have rotating doctors who would be eligible for a tax break for volunteering.
14. Build a fence - all those entering the country must enter through a station that will have a fingerprint and eye-scanner. This should take seconds and protect our border agents.
15. Encourage American citizens to become bi-lingual by requiring foreign languages in school starting in kindergarten. (It is proven that languages can be acquired more easily before the age of 11) The purpose for this is to allow the children of citizens to be able to participate in the world community and know what others are saying. However, English should be the language of this country.

Lunar Eclipse

Did you all see the lunar eclipse tonight? It was so fantastic! It has been total for nearly an hour now, and the moon looks like a planet and it is so beautiful. The creations of God are so spectacular we can barely imagine it all. We have been studying stars and planets in Science and I had the students create their own solar system, but nothing is as beautiful as the real things. Oh, my, I am overwhelmed.

Taxes

There comes a time when the people of a country say, this is enough. Sure, there are many things we could do forcing other people to give us their money. Oh, we say, you earn a lot more than I do, why shouldn't you pay more than me in taxes. Should they pay more than us for groceries? Maybe rich people should have to pay $15.00 for a gallon of milk? No, fair is fair. There is a philosophy in our country that people, like Romney, are bad cause they make a lot of money. Yes, but he also employed a lot of people, he was a job creator. But even the Republicans saw him as a bad guy cause he made money. No, that is the American dream, to work hard and not be punished for your work. And if you happen to have the skills, dreams, and goals that allow you to make more money, should you be punished? Not if you do it morally, legally and ethically. I got this story from a friend. It is tongue in cheek, but I think we forget that the rich should be treated fairly too. And I hope if I ever achieve rich that I will be treated fairly. Enjoy the story.

TRADITIONAL VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green."

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer! The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008.

Election will be hard

So now who do we vote for. I really do like many things about Huckabee except for his bias against Mormons. And if he is so biased against Mormons, what about Lutherans, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, 7th Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witnesses? Does he just see his own kind as acceptable? The rest of us are what, chopped liver? He was so underhanded in his contempt for Romney and his beliefs that he scares me. So does McCain. I have been comparing the four main candidates. All are against tax increases, but Clinton and Obama have policies that would require serious tax increases. I guess the important thing is to get a very conservative Congress in to block anything that will give government more control over us, our money, our children, and our lives.

Thoughts from President Hinckley's Funeral

As I watched this funeral I thought, we are to follow in Jesus Christ's footsteps. But he lived so long ago, and the New Testament barely touches on his life. We can look to someone today, someone like President Hinckley, and knowing he walked in Christ's footsteps, that if we walk in his footsteps, we will be following the Savior. His attitude of do your best could be a good place to start. Get up, be active, be doing something useful and good. Read good books, sing, wave, smile, love your spouse, children and family. Find a good spouse and respect them. Reach out to those who are not members of our faith, even if they never will be. Live life, and wear out your life in service to the Lord.

I couldn't possibly have understood this when I was young like I do now. When we look back on decades of life we see that the seemingly insignificant things we do over and over actually weave the pattern of our lives. And if those small and simple things are good, we will end up having lived a fulfilling life -- and that is a great thing! Marjorie Hinckley

Romney lost Florida

Ok, so I think it is dumb for one person to get all the delegates when the other person gets 31% compared to 36%. What an absolutely dumb idea! It means that 69% of the people are not represented at all. The only fair question is, would I think the same thing if Romney had the 36%? Yes, just it wouldn't make me so cross. I just think McCain is too liberal. We need a fair way to deal with illegal aliens. We need workers here in Idaho to help with the harvests. But they need to come in legally. I like Romney's ideas so much better than McCains. McCain is better than Hillary, especially on Iraq, but I like Romney's ideas better. Oh well, unless California and the next Super Tuesday come through, we are going to lose better ideas, more experience in the real world, and a man who can get things done in the real world, to a man who is a politician and a veteran. The veteran is good. I guess at this point we look for anything positive.

Gordon B. Hinckley

Sara just called to tell us that President Hinckley passed away today. That is sad and happy. He missed his wife so much and his body was just wearing out. We sure will miss his spirit, his smile, his sense of humor, and his words of wisdom. Isn't it odd, shouldn't the tv stop, shouldn't it devote every second to a prophet dying? Backwards world isn't it.

GOP debate in Florida

I didn't get to listen to the debate last night, but it was on the Internet at MSNBC and so I downloaded it and listened. It was great. There was no sniping, no rudeness, just a good debate. The candidates answered the questions, you knew where they stood on the issues, and it sounded presidential. I think we have gotten so accustomed to the "reality" shows and the Jerry Springer mentality, that we think we need it. But it brings out the worst in people. I really enjoyed this one. It was educational, not sensational.

Social Security

Hi, I got this today, shouldn't be hard to research and see if this is true.

Your Social Security

Just in case some of you young whipper-snappers (& some older ones) didn't know this. It's easy to check out, if you don't believe it. Be sure and show it to your kids. They need a little history lesson on what's what .and it doesn't matter whether you are Democrat of Republican. Facts are
Facts!!!

Our Social Security

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary,

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual
Incomes into the Program.

3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from
Their income for tax purposes each year,

4.) That the money the participants put into the Independent "Trust Fund" rather than into the
General operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security
Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.


Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are Now receiving a Social Security check every month – And then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to "put away" -- you may be interested in the following:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the Independent "Trust Fund" and put it into the
General fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the "tie-breaking" deciding vote as President of the
Senate, while he was Vice President of the US
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving Annuity payments to immigrants?
AND MY FAVORITE:

A: That's right!

Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65,
Began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them,
Even though they never paid a dime into it!
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Then, after violating the original contra ct (FICA), the Democrats turn
around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social
Security away!

And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of Awareness will be planted and maybe changes will
Evolve. Maybe not, some Democrats are awfully Sure of what isn't so.

But it's worth a try. How many people can YOU send this to?
Actions speak louder than bumper stickers.

Checking candidates issues

Hi, if you want to look up the candidates issues, go on-line and google the name of the candidate. On the page there should be a link called Issues. Just check it out. You will see the things that the candidates think, or at least what they say they think.

January 19, 2008 Bountiful Temple

Don't they look great? It was such a beautiful ceremony. Such a gentle spirit and so much joy was in the room. What a great day. And just to make it a little more special, today was Grandma Olivia Katharine Magaro Williamson' s 100th birthday! Sorry we couldn't come to the dinner, but I hope all went wonderfully.

I got a letter from Ben

Hi, I got a letter from Ben. There was one part I thought was very enlightening that I wanted to share. He said "Our mistakes don't make us bad people, they are simply bad choices. the part that determines our destiny is whether or not we learn from them and change course or ignore the consequences." I thought that was so insightful and that you might see his growth.

Need information for Family History

Hi, I am trying to catch my family history information up to match with reality. I do not have a lot of information. If we can get out of the valley to get to the wedding tomorrow I will be trying to get births, places, years full names, etc. I have the birthdates for the calendar, but I have very few years and places. So if you could either e-mail them to me, or be ready for my questions, I would surely appreciate it. Thanks so much

Check out the candidates

I think it would be a really good idea to read all of the candidates issues statements. I am reading Mitt Romney's and I agree with everything I have read so far. I still need to read the other candidates issue statements. But, isn't it silly to say we like one candidate more than another, when we don't know what he plans to do. Huckabee is funny, Ron Paul has some interesting ideas, Fred Thompson seems like a good guy, but what are their plans for America? What are their plans for the world? And which of them has the ability to carry out their plans? I think it is time to start studying.

Romney who?

Currently Mitt Romney has more delegates than any other Republican. He has taken first twice and second twice. Yet when Glen Beck mentioned there was one Republican who had done that, the other guest had no idea who he was talking about. The media just ignores that Mitt Romney is far ahead of the pack. All we hear about is McCain and Huckabee. I am curious, if Mitt actually wins, do you think the media would start talking about him?

Lasiks

I just got back from a long week-end. Daniel just had lasik surgery (is that how you spell it) As soon as he came out of the office he read a sign clear across the parking lot. They have a tv screen so you can watch the surgery, it is kind of spooky, but it takes no time at all. We spent the night at Gran's. Then they checked his eyes again in the morning and I drove him back. It is amazing watching the process. They use these hooks to anchor the eyes open and then the drop lots of liquid in and and then do the radiation part and then clean the eye, scrub it, and then put cold water in. Daniel said that was the worst part, really cold. Then he has to put one kind of drops in every 20 minutes and three other drops in every four hours. He has to wear sunglasses outside for the next 6 months. It is amazing. Sara drove back home with us so she could take him home. That was nice of her to give up her night to help take care of her big brother.

A funny side note. As soon as they started, my eyes started aching and even now, 32 hours later, they still hurt! Mom's sympathy pains!

Did you read about the mean mom?

There is a story on the news service about the meanest mom. She gave her son a car at Thanksgiving, there were two rules, keep it locked and no booze. A summary of the ad says, Car for sale cause the snoopiest meanest mom in the world who needs to get a life is selling her son's car cause there was booze in it.

I love this story, but I think it is kind of sad that it is a news item. Shouldn't that just be normal, that parents set a rule, and when it is broken, they enforce the consequences? Think of the lives that would be saved if parents quit looking the other way and actually followed through. My mom used to say, "Don't threaten a kid with something unless you plan to carry out your threat." I think that is true, but we hate hurting their feelings, or we decide it was too harsh. Is it likely this mom just saved her son's life?

Prison in Littlefield Texas

48 prisoners are being released from the Prison in Littlefield Texas and brought back to Idaho - this is a small percent of the 375 Idaho prisoners held there. Idaho needs to get with it and bring all of their prisoners home. Idaho works hard to rehabilitate their inmates. Texas is just a paid overseer. I am sure they mean well, but Idaho wants these prisoners helped and integrated back into society. We need to get them all home. There are more than 500 Idaho inmates in Oklahoma and Texas. I think it is easier to rehabilitate people when their families are close enough to visit and that isn't going to happen when the prisoners are in Texas. People need to pay for their crimes, but the hope is to help them improve.

New Hampshire

I thought it was interesting that the media, while discussing the Republicans, said Huckabee and McCain have a chance while totally ignoring Romney's 2nd place finish twice. But, with Edwards coming in 3rd twice, the media said he still has a chance. Nice to know the media is not biased.

An interesting parable

A Modern Parable:

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River . Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India ..

Sadly, The End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages. TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results:TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.Ford folks are still scratching their heads.

IF THIS WASN'T SO SAD IT MIGHT BE FUNNY

The Election

The question is, do we just vote for political celibreties? I mean, the media tells us who is most popular, and then we believe them. I don't think that is constitutional. There has to be a way to check out some of these politicians who are not of "favored media status."

Ok I think this is it

Hope you all enjoy this, let me know

Bear Lake Monsters

Hi, this blog is for our family, hope you visit and see what everyone is up to.