Consider the Blessings

This year has SUCKED! I mean, legitimately, royally blew BIG TIME! 2012 was not kind to Los Schoenys. Pretty much everything bad that can happen or possibly go wrong, did. 

The events of this year have left me saddened, bitter, and empty. Trying to find some solace, I've recently made it a habit of reading the inspirational Daily Messages on the church website every night before bed. 

Just last night, I was reading through these messages and came across a talk given by the president of our church during the most recent session of general conference. President Monson testifies,

"...rather than dwelling on the negative, if we will take a step back and consider the blessings in our lives, including seemingly small, sometimes overlooked blessings, we can find greater happiness."

Soooooo, what you're saying is that I shouldn't crawl into a hole and throw myself a pity party, asking everyone to feel sorry for all the bad things that have happened to us this year?? Instead, you want me to not only move on but give thanks for the blessings that did seep through the cracks of this tumultuous year? Focusing on the good rather than the bad will lead to greater happiness, you say???? It doesn't hurt to try...

Amid all the unfortunate, devastating, and down-right bad things that happened this year, there are still many many things for which I am grateful:

volleyball friends

extended family

Goldman Sachs

our new SLC house

the Take Shape for Life program

Little Readers

In the Heights

curvy girl blogs

a new sister-in-law

a new nephew

prayer

the atonement

Of course there are many more things I am grateful for and have been blessed with this year. And it's important to be mindful of those blessings instead of drowning in the sadness of our calamities and trials. While it's not always so easy to see the silver linning when faced with adversity, it is comforting to know that there is a purpose for it all, and that our Savior has already suffered for us and, therefore, understands our pain and can help us through our trials. 

Know thou...that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all..." (Doctrine and Covenants 122: 7-8)

Bad things happen, even when we make good choices. It's part of the plan!

Still, the blessings are there. Help is there. We have to remember to look and be grateful for even the smallest of blessings in our lives. And when we're struggling to see the good or are maybe too overwhelmed by the bad, we can ask our Father for relief and comfort. If we do these things, we can and we will find greater happiness. 

I hope this Thanksgiving finds everyone comforted, fulfilled, and content. 

Smiles and Butts

The other day, Lolli and I were singing in the car, per usual. We were singing a bunch of primary songs and of course, Lolli starts getting silly and decides to change up some of the song lyrics.

Here's her cover of Smiles

"If you chance to meet a butt,

do not let it toot.

Quickly take it to the toilet

so it can go poop."

Where does she get this obsession with butts, farting, and all around bathroom humor??!!?

Oh yeah. Me.

Bedtime Prayers and Butt Cheese

When it comes to bathroom humor, you'll find me in the corner, laughing away with the rest of the 10 year old boys. I'm crass, immodest, and not afraid to let one rip. You should know this by now.

So in an effort to be more lady like and to be a better example to Lolli, I've tried to censor the potty talk. Still, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Some of Lolli's favorite songs to sing are "Old McDonald had some poop," "Baa baa black sheep. Have you any poop?" or my personal favorite, "The itsy bitsy butt cheese went up the water spout."

While I applaud the creative license she liberally takes when performing her songs, apparently singing about poop and butt cheese isn't appropriate for a 3 year old little girl.

Yesterday, Lolli was being especially rambunctious, which led to her going to time-out for talking back and yelling at me. This episode was soon followed by a very special rendition of the humming bird song that included the following verse,

"Oh the humming poop. Oh the humming poop. Oh the humming poooooooooooop!"

Once again, Lolli was sent to time-out, as I had already told her twice that day not to sing about naughty and gross things.

As we were getting ready for bed last night, I began to help Lolli say her prayers. But as soon as I started to help her, she grumbled at me not to and demanded she say it herself. This was her exact prayer:

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you we can play with Mommy Daddy. Help us not talk mean on Mama. Help us not sing 'bout poo poo. Jesus Christ, Amen"

Bless her poopy little heart!

Lovey Dovey

February is a busy month for us. We've got Ry's birthday on the 13th, Valentine's Day on the 14th, and our wedding anniversary on the 16th.

With all these lovey dovey events within a week of each other, we usually have one big celebration to honor Birthdavalenersary. This year, however, we opted out of doing anything since, ya know, the whole Euro trip has kinda sucked our funds dry. We figure we'll party enough on that vacay to honor the next 3 Birthdavalenersaries to come.

So in lieu of any fancy dinners, boxes of chocolates, and romantic couples massages, I've simply compiled a rather hackneyed list of some of the reasons why I love, appreciate, am attracted to, and generally like my husband.

In no particular order:

-He knew I was high maintenance and still willingly married me

-He rocks a mohawk

-He buys me anything I want at Victoria's Secret (Though I'm pretty sure this is a selfish gesture on his part)

-He buys me makeup

-He buys me anything I want

-He is an amazing father

-He took me to the temple

-He puts up with my loud and obnoxious family

-He hates cats

-He appreciates fashion and looks amazing in a pinstripe suit

-He lets me wear his hoodies

-He thinks I'm beautiful

-He tells me he loves me every day

-He has supported me through 2 marathons and many more to come

-He ran Redrock with me and looks forward to doing another relay

-He sacrifices snowboarding on Saturdays so that I can attend my team runs

-He's still an awesome snowboarder

-He played rugby in college

-He's educated and motivated

-He has a strong work ethic and continuously strives to provide for his family

-He's a worthy priesthood holder

-He's mine

As unromantic as the two of us are, I think this list has just enough sap in it to appease even the corniest of cheese balls.

So to my husband, thanks for all you do. I love you, and stuff.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Had a wonderful Christmas this year...as if I expected any different.

Lolli got absolutely everything she asked for and is now sleeping soundly amidst all her new dolls, coloring books, and train engines. Tell ya what, she is one spoiled girl. But I'm one to talk. I got everything I wanted for Christmas, as well.

My husband and my family are so good to me. Or maybe they're just scared of my wrath. Either way, I love them and I LOVE presents!!!!!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I'm sad that it's over. It exudes such a feeling, ya know? I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the entire point of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

But regardless of what or who you believe in, you can't deny the fact that the holidays are filled with warmth, love, and joy.

Whether you celebrate Christ's birth or simply the opportunity to come together as friends and family, I hope you had a wonderful holiday.

Until next year...

My cup runneth over

2010 has been a big year for me and I have a lot for which to be thankful.

• The Ogden Marathon
• Living rent free...again
• Ward choir
• Tuesday nights
• YouTube makeup tutorials
• The Budos
• Audiobooks and podcasts
• The potty watch
• Lake Powell
• Pittsburgh
• Zumanity
• 10 mile runs with Stephanie
• Carinessa II garments
• Extended calf boots
• Centaurs
• Red Rock Relay
• The BYU math department
• My Taralyn
• Donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• Sparrows
• Worthy priesthood holders

As always, I have to add a disclaimer that this is not a comprehensive list. I'm grateful for so many things but most of all my family, the gospel, and the love of my Father in heaven.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Training Day 16 - Easter

After rolling my ankle and being sick for nearly 2 weeks, I've finally been able to get out and run. I've missed 2 team runs; a 10 mile recovery run as well as a crazy 18 miler. This Saturday, I was all set to get back in the game and head up to the Capitol to do another recovery run with the team. Well, I totally forgot about the holiday weekend. Our ward was doing a big Easter egg hunt on Saturday morning that I was supposed to take Lolli to. So, I ditched out on my team run so I'd be available in the morning to take Lolli over to the park. Ummm...I didn't even wake up 'til about noon. I completely missed the team run and I didn't even wake up in time to go over to the park. Taking a sleeping pill at 11:30pm is NOT recommended! You'll be out cold for at least 9 hours!

When I groggily got myself out of bed, I told myself I'd run the 10 miles around the neighborhood on my own. But another family Easter egg hunt and an entire bag of Cadbury mini eggs later, I was way too lethargic and full to even move. I vowed to run the following day.

Once again, the day started off with sleeping in WAY too late. It wasn't noon, but it was still pretty late. We had to rush over to my mom's house for lunch and another Easter egg hunt with the grand babies. And lemme tell you, by this point, Lolli was an Easter egg hunting queen! She rounded up TONS of eggs. Actually, all of the babies were quite good at it. Though, whenever candy is involved, they're good at anything!

After the hunt, I continued to stuff my face with egg salad sandwiches, See's chocolate eggs, and Reese's bunnies. By the time we left my mom's house, I was crying for my stretchy pants! And even worse? We were due at Ry's mom's house in less than 2 hours for another Easter feast! (Having lots of family around is fun, but it sure gets busy and tiresome and can cause you to gain a few pounds.)

So when we got home, instead of lazing around and watching trashy T.V. or crawling into bed to take a nap like I wanted to, I threw on my workout gear and hit the pavement.

The first 5 miles were cake. I had adrenaline coursing through my veins and was starting to feel the effects of the carb BOOM! i had downed just prior to leaving mi casa.

I get to about 5.5 miles and stop to grab a swig of water and throw back another gel. Waiting for the gel to kick in, I take off again for another lap around the neighborhood. Dunno what happened but it was all I could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other for the next 3 miles. My body felt SOOOO heavy. Maybe I should have held off on eating that 2nd helping of baked beans at my mom's. Or maybe it was that handful of Swedish fish in between the bite-size Milky Way and Snicker's that I inhaled??? Whatever the reason, those 3 miles were killer!!

But then, an Easter miracle! My iPod, which was on shuffle, started kicking out songs with raging beats. I felt the adrenaline rush back in and noticed my stride started to synch with the beat of the music. And before I knew it, I was off again! I finished the last 2.5 miles in record time.

My husband picked me up and we headed over to my in-laws where I consumed 23 slices of glazed ham and about 19 pounds of funeral potatoes. Good thing I did run those 10 miles because I may have helped myself to a little too much cream for my bowl of strawberries.

I could never be anorexic. I love food.

Goals for 2010

Ok, I guess it's time to post my goals for this year. I've been hesitant because once I post them, that means I start being actually responsible for them and have to follow through! If I don't make actual goals, then there's nothing to actually fail! Regardless, here we go...

1)Raise money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society
-$850 by January 30
-$1000 by February 26
-$1500 by March 26
-$2000 by April 30
Check out my fundraising page!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ut/ogden10/cschoenroc

2)Run a marathon
-continue training with TNT
-consume healthier foods and quit drinking soda
-incorporate strength training with my running
-sign up for intermittent 5k & 10k (first one is January 30th!)
-complete the Ogden marathon on May 15

3)Be a more diligent member of the Gospel
-pay a FULL tithe
-renew my temple recommend by April
-say family prayer and read scriptures every night
-continue to build relationships with people in my ward

I think I'll stop at 3 goals this year. Even though, goals 1 & 2 are pretty much one in the same. Still, this is already shaping up to be a pretty extensive list. I mean, a marathon? Really??? 26.2 miles...consecutively?!? What was I thinking?!

What are your goals for this year?

2009 Goals Summary

All right. A week into January and I'm finally ready to post my New Year's Resolutions. But first, a post to conclude my last year's goals and reasons why I did or did not accomplish them.

1)Become more involved in the ward
Moving into a new ward, I was actually able to accomplish this goal. Our stake does volleyball on Tuesday nights, so the volleyball enthusiast I am, I went to play my first week in the new ward and quickly made some new friends. One in particular, has become one of my absolute best friends and I love hanging out and doing things with her and her family. It's easier to go to all 3 church meetings when you have friends in your ward...and if you have an intensive calling that requires you to be there all 3 hours. But with these successes, I'm still a crappy visiting teacher and Ry and I may have accidentally let our temple recommends expire. We're currently working to remedy that situation. The temple recommendation situation, not the visiting teaching situation. I still hate it!

2)Run a 5k
While I never actually ran an official race last year, I don't consider it a failed goal. I finally buckled down and got back to the gym and way into running. And now that I'm training for a marathon, running 5k is like a warm up. In my training, I'm actually up to running about a 10k. So, I consider this goal met!

3)Manage a healthier lifestyle
Well, the no soda thing was definitely a monumental fail. Diet cherry Pepsi is just too good! And, making a weekly dinner menu and shopping list? Yeah right. I barely have time to cook, let alone plan an entire menu. Though, if I planned a menu for the week, that probably would actually save me some time...hmmm. And I did track my calories for a pretty long time. But did I stay between 1200-1500 calories a day? Not likely. And especially now that I'm running so much, I eat ALL the time because I need to replenish my depleted calories. But for the record, I have been making healthier choices as to the foods I'm choosing to get my calories from. I've made it a point to eat breakfast everyday and to have 2 additional square meals during the afternoon and evening. I've also been more conscious of the snacks I eat between meals. Lean Cuisines have actually turned into my best friends. MMM! I think I'll go eat one now...

4)Save money
For Christmas this year, I'm happy to report that I didn't buy anything on credit. I couldn't. I cut up my credit cards. Instead, I took advantage of Kmart's layaway plan and paid for my entire Christmas with cold hard cash that I earned from donating plasma. I continue to pay above the minimum payment each month on my credit cards, and Ry and I hardly ever eat out anymore...except when it comes to Five Guys, then we're kind of suckers. When it comes to tithing, though, we've struggled. If we want to get our recommends back, we've gotta start getting in the habit of putting money directly away for tithing the second we get our paychecks.

5)Implement more constructive family time
Does watching Baby Einstein together count? Ice Age? Lolli watches WAY too much TV and Ry and I need to be better about engaging in constructive activities with her. We also need to get back in the habit of family prayer and reading the scriptures. Still, we did teach Lolli to fold her arms and say "Amen" so we're not complete failures as parents.

Overall, I don't think 2009 was such a bad year for goals. I'm not disappointed in myself, rather, I'm extremely happy for how much I actually accomplished. 2009 was definitely a difficult year for us and I could have done a lot worse in trying to accomplish my goals. I have high hopes and expectations for 2010 and I hope to complete the goals I failed to last year.

I'm more positive about our situation and our future, whereas last year, things were very shaky and unpredictable. Granted, life will always be unpredictable but at least now I've got more faith and confidence than I did before.

So, here's to giving 2009 the boot and welcoming the craziness and challenges 2010 is sure to bring!

el Templo y Ikea

Since I'm at the hospital for one more night, and I've gotta find a way to keep myself entertained, I thought I'd catch up on some blogging.

A few weeks ago, we attended the Draper Temple Open House. I was kind of dreading it cuz we had babies in tow and all of Mom's coworkers said that there were crazy long lines. So we headed up there, ready for a horrible day with crying, screaming babies and achy backs and legs. Turns out, all of Mom's coworkers were liars. We did have to wait in a few lines, and it was a little stuffy in some parts, but things tended to move right along.

The temple was beautiful, of course, and there were some awesome cookies as refreshments afterward. To this day, Ryan is still angry that he didn't grab more cookies. He thought they were divine...probably because he was dying of starvation...we all were.

So with our hunger pains and light wallets, we decided to skip on over the freeway to Ikea for a cheap lunch.Did you know that Wednesday is rib night at Ikea?!?!? For only $7.99 you can stuff your face with a 1/2 rack, fries, and corn bread. Sounds like a caloric nightmare. MMMMM!!!!

Sadly, we were there on a Saturday. So, I settled for the Swedish meatball combo instead. But, as Ryan was pissed he didn't grab more cookies at the temple, I'm still ticked that I didn't pick up a fresh cinnimon roll at the Bistro/Exit Cafe on the way out.

Seriously...I love food...

After what seemed like 9 hours of walking through each 360 sq. ft. living space, rocking on all the see-saws, hugging various stuffed animals, trying on numerous masks, and doning every Chaquita Banana hat...we finally loaded up the cars and headed back home. But not before we dropped $50 on stuff we probably didn't need...like our lucky bamboo shoot!

Ikea is like Walmart; you go in to buy one gallon of milk, and next thing you know, you've dropped $696 on a Better Homes and Garden Lake in the Woods 5 piece patio dinning set. They get you every time.

Resolutions Recap

So now that we're 3 months in to this new year, I've had a while to work on my new year's resolutions. The following is a progress report. Get ready for a long post. Sorry!

1) Become more involved in the ward

eh...I'm still inactive. But recently, I actually have made a better effort to be on time for church and to stay for all 3 meetings. It's kinda funny, though. Last week in RS, our ward clerk came in and was reading off our attendance numbers for the different meetings. RS and EQ had something like 85% attendance while Sacrament only had like 60%. Well, no duh!!! Sacrament is at 9:00am. Nobody wants to get up that early on a Sunday!!! I thought Sunday was a day of rest. With church starting at 9:00am, I have to get up just as early as any other day of the week when I'm getting ready to head to work!

I also haven't even tried to do any of my visiting teaching. Though, I've tried making myself a lot more accessible to my visiting teachers so they could at least fulfill their callings. No use taking everyone else down with me.

And in an effort to be more involved, I've actually taken kindly to our RS book group. Right now we're reading Sense and Sensibility. I'm not really that big of a Jane Austen fan...even though I've actually read many of her major novels. Still, Sense and Sensibility is actually my favorite Jane Austen, so I've been looking forward to our next group meeting.

Lastly, I really did try to join one of our ward intramural teams. But when it comes to basketball, I'm crap. I'd rather save myself the embarrassment.


2) Run a 5K

This is the one resolution that I thought I'd have the toughest time keeping up on. But, it's turned out to be the one goal that I've actually worked the hardest to meet. Three days a week, I run for about 30-45 minutes. I'm on a running program that gets you running for 60 consecutive minutes in only 8 weeks. Right now, I'm on week 3 and I can run about 35 minutes non stop. I'm pretty proud of that!! And actually, just this past Monday, I finally met my 5K mark. Yup. I ran 3.1 miles. Nevermind the fact that it took me about 45 minutes to do it. It's still a HUGE victory for me.

About 2 years ago, when I was playing rugby, I was running up to 7 miles a day. After I tore my ACL, had surgery, and got pregnant, I did nothing to get back in shape. Now, about 2 years later, I've FINALLY pulled myself out of my sedentary rut and begun running again. It just gets frustrating though, when I struggle to run 3 miles since I was once fully capable of running 7. Oh well, I'll get back there eventually. In the meantime, I'm tentatively shooting to run my first real 5k on May 2nd. Until then, I actually signed up to walk a 5k with Mom, Wikki, and the babes. I'm excited!!


3) Manage a healthier lifestyle

This is actually another goal that I've been trying really hard to meet. I've done pretty well with the no soda thing and with drinking at least 8 cups of water a day. (I sure have to pee a lot!) But consuming only 1200-1500 calories a day has been a lot more difficult. What can I say? I LOVE food!!! And don't worry, on the cruise I gained 5 pounds, and over Lâlea's luau weekend I gained about 3. But alas, I've actually worked those pounds back off. So technically speaking, I've lost 8 pounds in the last month!!! I know, not really. Don't ruin it for me.

I also haven't done very well at maintaining a weekly dinner menu or shopping list. To be honest, I haven't even tried! It's hard when you don't know where you'll be at dinner time. Sometimes we don't even make it home til like 9:30pm and by that time, you're too tired to make a meal. Or, we'll be over at someone's house and just eat dinner over there. So, it's hard trying to plan meals. But, I should be better at not wasting food. I've already lost so much fresh produce...sad.

4) Save money

Well, these last few months have been saturated with parties and celebrations. Needless to say, we've spent a lot of $$$$$. But now that all the birthdays and stuff are over for a while, Ry and I have decided to really buckle down.

I've cut up my credit cards and have committed to paying about $50 more than the minimum payment on all my debts each month. Slowly but surely, I'm hoping that those 50 extra dollars will add up and help me get rid of my debt faster.

Ry and I also just recently purchased a whiteboard that we use to record all of our spending. We actually call it "The Board of Sorrow," because it's a visual representation of all the money we really don't have. And it's already dissuaded me from spending money on superfluous things and eating out. I'll be on the way to go buy something, then I'll think of the board, haunting me at home. I feel guilty, so I don't end up buying anything. Money saved!!!

And going back to being inactive...pretty sure I'm gonna fail my temple recommend interview. I haven't been very good at paying a full tithe. Don't get me wrong, I pay it about every other paycheck. So I'm not a complete heathen. But if I don't stay on top of any of my other money saving methods, I really should make paying tithing my #1 priority.

5) Implement more constructive family time

Well, I'm a horrible mother and a terrible wife. I've yet to take Baby on a walk outside, though Ryan did take her to the park last week. And, I haven't done much about helping Ry study for the GMAT. However, the weather is getting warmer and I've been trying to get home from work earlier, so, I think I'll be able to start taking Lâlea on more walks soon. And since none of our job prospects have panned out yet, Ry has started going back to his GMAT class on T/TH and plans to take the GMAT in May.

Also, we've started doing FHE with the Huntsmaniacs on Monday nights. During all the craziness with birthdays, the cruise, and anniversaries, we missed a couple Mondays. But, we're trying to get back on track. Likewise, Ry and I both recognize the need for family praryer but have done poorly to implement it. Now, as we need more help than ever with getting jobs and securing our future, I think we recognize the importance of praying together. So, we'll definitely start doing better. Shoot, during this recession, we need all the help we can get!!!

Reading throught his progress report, it sounds like I've really slacked off. But in all honesty, I think I've done pretty well! It could be a lot worse, let me tell ya!! I've become really obsessed about working out and TRYING to eat right, so things are looking pretty good there. Now, I just need to become obsessed with paying tithing and visiting teaching. Eh, maybe I'll put a hold on obsessive visiting teaching. Let's not bite off more than we can chew.

New Year's Resolutions

I have been hesitant to state my resolutions just yet because I wanted them to be fully formed before implementing them...not simply ideas or things I'd like to do this year. Instead, I wanted my resolutions to be specific and be backed by a plan. And, I think I've finally gotten everything organized and to my liking. So, here goes. I've first listed the goal, then I've listed ways that I plan on accomplishing it.

1) Become more involved in the ward

• attend ALL 3 church meetings
• join one of the ward's intramural teams
• complete my visiting teaching each month, and have a better attitude about VT in general
• attend book group
• attend ward temple nights (first one is January 15th!)
• magnify my calling by arranging musical numbers for relief society

2) Run a 5K

• complete a minimum of 20 minutes of cardio workout at least 3 days a week
• follow a running workout plan
• track my running minutes

3) Manage a healthier lifestyle

• NO SODA!!!
• consume at least 8 cups of water a day
• track my caloric intake, consuming between 1200-1500 calories a day
• create a weekly dinner menu and shopping list

4) Save money

• cut up credit cards
• pay more than the minimum payment on credit card and school loan
• pay a full tithe
• cut back on eating out
• buy off-brand groceries
• take advantage of KSL, craigslist, and Ebay whenever possible

5) Implement more constructive family time

• cook meals at home and eat together as a family
• take baby on walks in her wagon and do more outdoor activities
• help Ry prepare for the GMAT, or create an environment for him that's conducive to studying
  
• have family prayer every night
• begin holiday traditions
• read one Ensign article a week in place of FHE

Wow, when I put them all in writing, it looks like a really extensive list. Maybe I should have started smaller. Or, maybe one of my goals should have been to complete at least one goal! Wish me luck!

I Love to See el Templo

Just as I was late posting our Deer Valley adventures, I'm getting behind on posting our trip to Temple Square. Bare with me.

This last Saturday it started snowing like crazy! So naturally, we thought it'd be a great day to try and four wheel it up to Salt Lake and then freeze to death while we looked at the lights at Temple Square. Luckily, our friends the Poulsens drove their huge 4x4 truck and we got up to SLC safe and sound. Too bad the same can't be said for the 4 cars we saw flipped over and along I15. Sucks for them!!!!

But before we actually went to Temple Square, we stopped at Chipotle for some dinner. Man, if there's one thing I miss about California, it's Chipotle being only 5 minutes away. I love me some beefy burrittos!!!!

Ry sure did devour his food!
Candice and I
posed the whole time.
And the babies
just sat and looked worried.


Once we finally got into SLC and actually found a parking space, we were quickly smacked in the face by the weather. We were absolutely freezing!!!

Poor Lollipop. She was bundled up like the kid from A Christmas Story

But even though it was cold, we still walked around and got some fun pictures for blogging and Christmas card purposes.



And we so badly wanted to get a picture of all of us, but didn't know who to ask.
Then, we saw some professional photographer with his million dollar camera shooting pictures of the reflecting pool behind us.

So we asked him if he would mind taking a picture of us with our own little crappy cameras. He was nice and said yes.

And let's face it. This was probably the best shot he got all night.

Anyways, once our butt cheeks had gone completely numb, we decided it was about time to head back home. Thanks again to Pokey and Candice for the fun night!!

Prop 8 Aftermath

While I'm not political in any way, nor do I pose to have an extensive knowledge on Proposition 8, I do have one thing to say regarding the entire ordeal; how sad it is to see the ignorance and hypocrisy of the world.

To quote Paul Bishop, a 31-year veteran of the LAPD and strong member of the LDS church

"Tolerance is not agreement and should not be a one way street. However, we must still remain tolerant of those who are intolerant of us."

And while the adversary continues to pit the world against us, we must use this as an opportunity to strengthen our own faith by continuing to pray, worship, and share our testimonies. Just as Elder Hales suggests,

"We can take advantage of such opportunities in many ways: a kind letter to the editor, a conversation with a friend, a comment on a blog, or a reassuring word to one who has made a disparaging comment. We can answer with love those who have been influenced by misinformation and prejudice."