Miss Kimi

It's that time again!

2012-03-03T10:06:00.003-08:00

Election Year! Probably the only time I come even close to being a diligent blogger.

A dear friend of mine referred me to this article about an issue that's been in the news the past week or so. As I read this article, words like "deceit" and "corruption" filled my mind. Obama and his team will make ANY argument to make their free contraceptives mandate look noble and "just." This is NOT a women's rights issue! If you're concerned about getting pregnant, don't have sex. Be a responsible grown-up and control yourself. If you don't want to be responsible or a grown up, that's fine. Just don't ask me, and the rest of America's taxpayers, to pay for it. If the people had good leaders to look to, who taught more about upholding strong families and values, we wouldn't need to concern ourselves about passing policies that were related to inappropriate behavior. Yet another reason to elect leaders who HAVE strong values and lead honest, good, noteworthy lives.

Now, regarding the pretentious focus on the radio entertainer Limbaugh, I agree with what Sen. Olympia Snowe said in a related article: "We’ve got to leave the radio commentators to be radio commentators. Let’s do our jobs.” She states that Democrats and Obama are just using the press attention on Limbaugh to divert attention from other pressing matters in the White House -- such as the massive national debt that Obama destroyed his first few years of his term, only to then turn around and proclaim himself as the nation's savior because he was able to decreasing it later. Sure, we can always appreciate when the President will clean up a mess, but let's not forget who made it in the first place.

Do not be fooled by the array of faces the Obama administration uses to assert their irresponsible, anti-religious policies. From what I can see, Obama has sought to take away self-accountability, and dare I say, our very agency. Please always see things as they really are! Stand for family, freedom, and truth, not increased mandates from a "progressive" government.

One thing I love about kids...

2010-02-25T23:45:00.000-08:00

Aren't children just wonderful?

Not only do they enjoy the little things in life...

...alot...

...but then they want to share!

I think we can all learn from their example :)

A Reminiscent Re-cap

2010-02-25T23:35:00.001-08:00

I was going through some pictures in Picasa tonight while watching the Olympics (it is very difficult for me to watch TV and do nothing else...) and found an entire folder of a weekend in September 2009 that my niece Sophie came to visit. (I figured that since I didn't make a single blog post for all of 2009, a little tribute wouldn't hurt.) We did A LOT that weekend, so here are some of the highlights.

Sophie helped Grandma with dinner, hence the reason she has a towel wrapped around her waist-- it was her apron :)

Sometimes she would get a little distracted...

...but that's ok when you're 2 :)

We went to Fairytale Town with Jennifer and Nathan and the little ones had a blast climbing on all the giant fairytale figurines they had there.

The handle to the candlestick that our nimble friend, Jack, jumped over:

Steering the Pirate Ship:

Going down the slide with Mom:

Going down the slide as a Big Girl!

Driving Cinderella's carriage:

Looking out the window after a very long and Crooked Mile:

Giving Humpty Dumpty a High-5:

Sometimes getting them to look at the same time was a bit difficult...

Maybe next trip...

At least Jennifer was paying attention :)

And finally, two of my personal favorites:

Whoops!

And of course, no trip to Fairytale Town is complete without riding th ponies outside of the park.

It was fun to watch them both react to sitting on top of a moving horse. Sophie seemed pretty unsure of the whole thing most of the time, as did Nathan... that is until he found out that he could actually pull the horse's mane. Boys and girls are just so different!

I think that weekend we had dragged Sophie along to a birthday party (a grown-up one-- boring!) and a ward party. She was pretty tuckered out in the end.

So was Grandma.

Thanks for the great weekend, Sophie, Jennifer and Nathan!

Great Video!

2008-10-14T11:57:00.001-07:00

I really hope that we are all catching the vision of how pivotal Proposition 8 is for our society!
Here is another video that puts the main arguments (from both sides) into "plain english."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI-GjWY-WlA

(sorry that you have to cut and paste the link-- I still am not very "blog-savvy" yet)

Proposition 8

2008-10-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Fellow Bloggers,

Embedded in this e-mail is a video I received yesterday morning. After viewing it, I felt the urge to pass it on, along with this brief explanation. Please note that it is never my intent to support or advocate the hateful or malicious treatment toward any group of people, including those who practice homosexuality. However, I feel it is important to express why so many Californians are pushing so strongly for this Proposition to pass in the coming November election. Even though some of you are out of state, it is a good idea to start learning about the issue now, as it will undoubtedly effect all US States at one point or another, and likely many other countries as well.

By way of a brief summary, if Proposition 8 is passed, an amendment to the California State Constitution will be made stating these 14 words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California ." This is ALL the proposition states-- no gimmicks, no loopholes.

A similar Proposition was raised in 2000 and passed by 61% of California voters-- nearly 14 million people! Recently, four activist judges based out of San Francisco overturned that decision. Proposition 8 will restore the official wording and definition of marriage in California, and make it a Constitutional amendment—meaning that never again will the CA Supreme Court be able to change the definition or override the voice of the people.

Please understand that this is not an anti-gay or a minority rights issue. The issue is the need for clarification of the definition of marriage, so that practices, such as same-sex marriages and behaviors, stay out of the public school curriculum. Such a definition would not affect, change or withhold any rights or liberties granted to domestic partnerships or civil unions; nor would such a definition discourage the acceptance of how others choose to live their lives or organize their own families. Homosexual couples would still have all the same legal rights and privileges as any other heterosexual married couple. Defining marriage as only being recognized between a man and a woman simply keeps the State from requiring teachers to teach our children about it without a parent's knowledge or permission.

This is what we are fighting for in California . Below is a video in which a Massachusetts family is interviewed. It is quite shocking to hear how the school system reacted to these parents' request regarding the teaching of homosexuality as "diversity" to their 5-year-old kindergartner.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815820715?bctid=1822459319

Please watch this video and share it with those you know. This is something we ALL need to be aware of, and we especially need to talk about! We are not the minority. You will be surprised at how many people you might meet that feel the same way you do, and are afraid to talk about it for fear they might offend someone or come off as being anti-gay. Again, this is not the intent of the Proposition, nor it's campaigning, and it is NOT an anti-gay issue! We want to educate the public, help them understand some of the realistic ramifications, and then let them choose for themselves.

If you would like to look up further information on the proposition, get involved in the campaign, and/or register to vote, visit www.ProtectMarriage.com.

Kimberly Perry

Baby Shower Weekend

2008-09-10T23:35:00.000-07:00

Photo from the Baby Shower!! It was really nice to see the family, not once, but TWICE in one week! We met at Aunt Sue's (not pictured) house earlier this week for the holiday weekend, but I'm not going to lie, it was much better with the little ones there on Saturday :)

Nathan (Jennifer's baby) is ADORABLE! And Miss Sophie is growing so much! She would walk around and try to give you something, but when you weren't doing what she wanted you to do, she would just walk out of the room, go take a peek around the rest of the downstairs, and then come back to Mommy. She's such a cutie!!

August.

2008-09-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well what do you know, another month has gone by! So much for keeping up more regularly... Not to make excuses or anything, but I just don't have the TIME!! I never understood what all the grown-ups meant when they would talk about how you needed to make the most of your time because you can never get it back. Now, I COMPLETELY understand! However, I do not wish there was more of it, because I'm sure it would be just as busy.... Kind of like how people think that if they had MORE money then it would no longer be the root of all their worries, and then when they get more money they realize nothing's changed, they just have MORE money to worry about! It is the same with time.

Anyway, enough of that rant. August was great! And of course, I don't have much time to write about it :) I'm in school fulltime, working part time at a job that I've had no official training for and crazy busy with family, friends and church activities. Sometimes, I can't even be bothered to go to the bathroom because that's 3 minutes of my life that I'll never get back! As I check my messages, I rarely wait for the message to finish before I'm working on returning the call or placing a new one... which explains why I have about 10 "saved" messages in my voice mailbox-- because I just never deleted them!

I was telling a friend last night how, even though I sometimes feel like I'm being pulled in so many different directions, I feel good! I'm happy, moving forward, and am constantly being faced with new challenges and opportunities. Heavenly Father really knows what He's doing up there. If we will let go of our "perfect plan," that if you're anything like me you have all written out and you just KNOW is going to work out perfectly, then He will lead us and guide us in a direction that will stretch us, that will make us into something that we would never have imagined or "planned" for ourselves. I still don't really know where I'm going, but I feel confident in my Heavenly Father, and am therefore much more hopeful about the journey I've been making.

Enough philisophical mumbo-jumbo for now. Some recent good news: MARNE'S GETTING MARRIED!! Yep, my Mission Mother is engaged to be married on January 2, 2009! We'll be flying out on December 30th (My Birthday-- hint hint, nudge, nudge) and coming back on January 5th. I'm long-distantly planning her bridal shower :) So we hope to have everything sorted and set by General Conference weekend... a.k.a. Mission Reunion Weekend!

This weekend there is Jennifer's Baby Shower :) and a Regional YSA Fireside right after that, so since I won't have much time tomorrow, my FRIDAY night will be devoted to study!

July in a Nutshell...

2008-08-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

I can now say that I FINALLY understand why people who have blogs use them so much -- there is A LOT of stuff that flies by if you don't keep up with this thing! Looking through my pictures, I realized how I have put absolutely NOTHING into this blog, and that caused me to think "Where have the months gone!?"

So.... Here is a very brief run down of my life for the month of July :)

The month kicked off with the birth of our newest Little One (well, Jennifer and Matt's little one I should say!). A very healthy, 8 lb 1 oz, 20 something inch Nathan James McPheeters was born on July 8th.

Nathan and Grandma, Nathan and I having a chat, and Nathan with Grandpa... We thought it only appropriate to have his first motorcycle waiting for him in the delivery room ;-)

He is so beautiful and so perfect!

My friend Tiffany was one of the nurses helping out-- small world!

Our Single's Branch celebrated it's 4th Birthday this month, so naturally, we threw a party! With games such as "Pin the Accessory on the Branch Presidency," a donut drop and musical chairs, we had a blast! Not to mention a professionally made cake by our wonderful Brittany Phillips. (Remember that name for when she owns her own magnificent bakery!)

The following weekend was a Regional YSA Summer Conference! Friday night we spent up in Penryn playing games that could really show off our skills and attract members of the opposite sex... Games such as a hoola-hooping contest, a Frisbee toss, a FOUR-legged race, and of course the most endearing of them all, a game of "Who can spit a marshmallow the furthest?" It was a lot of fun and certainly gave you something to talk about afterwards :)

Saturday we went to the temple with Ife for the first time. I always enjoy going to the temple, but this day was especially great. I remembered when I went through for myself, and how even though I didn't understand everything I was learning in it's entirety, I had such an overwhelming feeling of peace and goodness that has seldom been matched in my life. There was no doubt in my mind that the temple is a place that God resides.

Later that night, it was back to the YSA Conference for a River Cats Game! It was great to be in a public place and to look around and see that I was surrounded by so many friends and new acquaintances.

Our group filled nearly the entire front portion of the grass. Refer to the following picture:

It's super blurry because I took it from all the way across the field, but this gives a bit of an idea of how many of us there were! And yes, nearly everyone of those people was from our group-- plus there were tons more that didn't fit in the frame! It was a great night.

The Conference concluded with a Sunday Fireside given by Elder Typhall of the Quorum of the Seventy, and our Presiding Area Authority. He spoke about how, even though we were doing well and were on the right track, there are always ways to be a little bit better. For some it was a gentle rebuke, but for all it was an uplifting and encouraging address.

The following Tuesday, at 5 AM we said "Goodbye!" to Elder Ife George, who entered the MTC on the following Wednesday to prepare to serve in the Georgia Atlanta Mission (English speaking). He had been waiting and preparing for that day a long time, and his sense of duty to and love for the Lord was prevalent in his attitude and demeanor. He will do and see many great things!

Hang in there.... just 2 more weeks left to cover!

The following weekend was:

That's right! We went to the John Mayer concert a few weeks ago and it was awesome! I didn't realize how many hits he had-- and what was even more impressive was that I actually recognized (most of) them! It's official. I am a John Mayer convert. :) (I think it's the hair cut that really won me over...)

My friend Matt was in town from Utah, so on Saturday we hit the Sacramento Temple, then stopped by the Oakland Temple on our way to San Fransisco. (That's Matt trying to run into the picture before the timer went off... Almost made it!) We really had a great day. Most of our pictures were taken in a little shop at Pier 39. Here are some of the highlights:

This is why I absolutely love Melissa Smalley and why I need her in my life! It will be sad to see her move to Pennsylvania, but exciting for her just the same! Good luck out there Smalls!

Matt's really wanted to get some cool photos of the city and then fly down every hilly street that the city could offer him. So after a nice long stroll along Ocean Avenue (I know it's not really called that, but I don't know what the name of the street is that goes all along the piers!), we headed for-- you guessed it-- Lombard Street!

**I had a video to post here, but it wouldn't upload for some reason :(**

The final week of July was even MORE busy... believe it or not! My roomates Kendra and Sydney from BYU-Idaho came into town for Cindy's Wedding. I had roomed with them in Fall 2007 and Cindy roomed with them the following Winter semester. Needless to say, the four of us (when Cindy was available!) had SO much fun! It was like life at BYU-I all over again, excpet this time it was in MY backyard ;-). The week carried out as follows:

Monday: Work
Tuesday: Work, Pampered Chef Party/Cindy's Bridal Shower, Pick up roomies from SAC Airport -- YEY!! Welcome to Sac*Town :)
Wednesday: Cindy's Endowment, BBQ at the Long's, and MAMMA MIA!
Thursday: Shopping, Cindy's Bachelorette Party, Scott's Mission Call (Washington Tacoma-- CONGRATS SCOTT!), and finally Cleaning Cindy's Room (what a feat!)

Friday: A trip to SANTA CRUZ! Which included, of course, lying on the beach and running from the waves And... Let's be honest, it wouldn't be a trip to the beach without bringing home a nice sunburn!

Saturday: Cindy's Sealing, Photos outside of the Temple, a quick trip to the Capitol, and then Dancing the night away at the Reception!

And... guess who caught the bouquet!? That's right, it was me! Don't worry Mom, there's hope for me yet! ;-)

So, I guess what this all means is that... July was a hit! "Whew!"

Boy... a.k.a. Michael John Perry

2008-06-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

Isn't he so cute!?
Yeah... too bad he's moving to Utah tomorrow!!
So sad, and so suddenly :(

I love this kid.
He will be greatly missed--

Not to mention, this is my new ride:

...enough said.

I'm no blogger

2008-06-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am actually doing this right now! I have joined the blogging world. While this is foriegn ground to me, I will get better at it-- promise!