Glenn Beck's Tribute to President Hinckley

I thought this was a great tribute from Glenn Beck. Hope you enjoy it!
(For those of you who don't know, Glenn Beck is a conservative news-talk show host on CNN. He is a convert to the Church.)

WARNING: Talk of GOP Electile Dysfunction Ensues

Seriously...what is up with GOP voters? John McCain wins Florida--are you kidding me?!?! No doubt his win is much in part to the late endorsement of Florida's governor. "Why would that make a difference," one might ask. Thank you for asking. IT SHOULDN'T!! It really shouldn't mean a rats patootie who endorses who! Whatever happened to the idea that we each formulate our own opinions based on our own investigations of each candidate. Roughly paraphrasing Ann Coulter, I would like to ask that Americans spend more time investigating presidential candidates than they do researching and buying used cars. Why does it matter that Crist, Giuliani, Stalone, and Schwarzenegger have endorsed a particluar candidate? Who are they to think their opinions are powerful or meaningful enough to influence ours? No thanks...I'll keep my independence and ability to make up my own mind. Simply choosing a candidate because of who has endorsed them is as stupid as shaving your head just because Brittany Spears did! Honestly people...take some interest in this!
Now, on to my next soap box. :) It has become quite clear that there are really only 2 viable GOP candidates left in this race...McCain and Romney. As much as some of us might detest this fact, we need to embrace it. We need to start thinking about which of these two men would serve our country best. If you haven't reached that conclusion as of yet, get to researching the issues and where these two candidates stand. If you know the issues and your less viable candidate is still in the race (aka Paul or Huckabee), I ask that you think long and hard about where your vote will go. Voting for someone who can't win is basically the same thing as giving your vote to someone else who is more likely to win and less likely to uphold your values. I know that voting is an expression of your voice and I'm treading dangerous waters by even bringing this up. I would never say anything of the sort if I wasn't so stinkin' scared of one of the two mentioned above being our nominee. Honestly, I think all the candidates bring at least one thing of value to the table, but it's a question of who brings the most between the remaining two that really matters at this point.
I better call it quits here before anyone has reason to be offended. I just really fear for the future of the GOP and conservatism as a whole. I feel obligated to protect it by urging my fellow conservatives to take action and vote for the candidate who will best uphold our ideals as conservatives. Now, I hope I didn't offend anyone or manipulate any opinions but, you are reading MY blog. Golly, it's things like this that really make you appreciate the 1st Amendment!

Things I Treasure About President Hinckley

When I heard the news last night of his passing, I was initially saddened. I was thinking to myself that President Hinckley has been "my" prophet. Even though there had been 2 prophets prior to him in my lifetime that I can remember, I was too young, or too foolish, to pay attention. The sadness didn't last long however, as I considered the glorious reunion he must be having! Just think about that for a moment...Today my mind has been caught up in memories and thoughts of President Hinckley. I've been filled with overwhelming gratitude...to live at such a time and to learn from such a man. As I've pondered the things that I've learned and how my testimony has grown during his tenure, I've decided that these are "treasures" that need to be recorded for posterity's sake.

• President Hinckley became the prophet, I think, in 1995. I was only 12 years old. I remember that in December of 1996, he came to Tucson to dedicate a Mormon Battalion Monument. After the dedication, he held a special meeting with the youth of 7 stakes throughout the region. It was the first time that he gave his talk on the B's. At that time, there were only 5...be prayerful, be clean, be true, be humble and be smart. I was sitting in an aisle seat, and as he left the building, I shook his hand. I remember very clearly the Spirit that I felt in that meeting and that my testimony was just beginning. Since that time, President Hinckley has added several more B's...reverent, grateful, still, etc.
• I remember when he spoke in conference and told us to try a little harder to be a little better...stand taller. Here is the quote: "The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a time to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike." Wow! What an amazing admonition. If anybody lived these words to the fullest, it was him. I remember thinking when he said this, "Even he is trying to improve, so I guess I should too." This quote continues to mean a lot to my family as it is my parents' mission theme and they have committed it to memory. I can just imagine Pres. Hinckley looking down at us today with this same charge...and if there ever was a time to live it, THE TIME IS NOW!
• When I was a freshman in college, he announced in the general RS meeting that women should wear 1 pair of earrings. At the time, I was not happy with this announcement. I had just spent a great deal of money (in college terms) on some new earrings, specifically for my second piercing. It took me about two weeks after that announcement to finally decide that I would heed the prophet's counsel. (I know, I'm stubborn.) It seems like such a simple thing now, but back then it was a BIG decision. Little did I know then, that decision would mark the beginning of a wonderful journey. At the time, I struggled with self-directed negativity and lacked a healthy sense of self-worth. That simple decision to respect my body and treat myself with dignity was the birth of my self-respect. I started looking at myself in a whole new light. I truly believe that decision is what started the journey that led me to Brian. If I had never gained that self-respect, I never would've thought that a guy of his caliber could have possibly had any interest in a girl like me. How thankful I am for a prophet's guidance...even in the seemingly smallest of things!
• His overwhelming sense of OPTIMISM! I remember him giving us the charge to avoid SARCASM in a CES fireside. Sarcasm can be hurtful and negative. He has shown that humor can exist without the need for vulgarity or taking digs at someone else. He has been full of cute little quips and nearly has a joke or two every conference. He stated that he is not a "prophet of doom" but that he was optimistic. Even after 9/11, the tsunami and Katrina, he endorsed optimism. His positive attitude and humor have been an example for me to look towards.
• I will always remember him praying for the youth of the church in a CES fireside. Shortly after that, he prayed for the entire church in conference. What a blessing to have a prophet pray in our behalf. As my lovely Aunt Lori has pointed out, Pres. Hinckley, though he did not use vain repetitions in his prayers, does say this one line every prayer, "Help us live without regret." What greater hope could anyone have for their life? He was an example of one who lived life to the fullest and seized the moment.
• His charge to read the Book of Mormon in its entirety before the end of 2005 was also a huge blessing to my life. Brian and I had been married for 1 1/2 years at the time and the honeymoon phase had started to wear off. Our commitment to finish the Book of Mormon before the end of the year, gave us the strength and energy to renew our commitment to each other. Throughout my life, I've found that I've had a greater resolve to keep the commandments and avoid temptation when I've participated in diligent study of the Book of Mormon.
  

There are so many wonderful things that have been accomplished during the Hinckley Era. From the Proclamation, to the Living Christ, the increase in temples and memberships, and the new church curriculum--the list goes on and on. But what I am most thankful for, are the changes that have been made in me. President Hinckley said this about our generation:

• "We are particularly proud of our youth. I think I have never had a stronger generation of young men and women than we have today. ... They are going forward with constructive lives, nurturing themselves both intellectually and spiritually. We have no fears or doubts concerning the future of this work."
  

This truly has been an amazing generation and I, too, have no doubts or fears about the future of this church. I truly believe that the church is getting stronger and stronger and it's because we've had an amazing leader...encouraging us all to STAND A LITTLE TALLER!

PROVIDENT LIVING

Today, during church, we had a special, combined RS and Priesthood meeting...like a 5th Sunday. It was on the new provident living website. The Stake Presidency felt that this topic was so important, that they asked all the Bishoprics in our stake to have this special meeting today. I haven't looked at the website in depth yet, but it looks like it could be really helpful. The website has lots of financial calculators and advice for budgeting. The church is placing a greater emphasis than ever on avoiding unnecessary debt. I'm excited to check it out. I consider ourselves pretty frugal and financially savvy, but there is always room for improvement. Anyway, at the beginning of the presentation (that was put together by the Stake, mind you) was this little gem. I couldn't believe it! This is probably the first time a clip of SNL has ever been shown in the chapel! Check it out--it's hilarious!

"T" is for Thelma

Thelma is my Granny and she is so very special to me. In fact, she is the queen of my dad's family. There isn't a child or grandchild that doesn't absolutely worship Granny. But, her charisma and amiability extend well beyond her family--her neighborhood and ward absolutely love her, too. There isn't a week that passes by that Granny goes without a visit from a friend, receives numerous cards via the mail, gets a bouquet of flowers, or has dinner brought to her home. I'm telling you, people love her! I've often asked myself, "What has Granny done in her life that has caused so many people to love her the way they do?" This past weekend, I had a chance to ponder over this very question for quite some time...and I think I finally answered it...for myself anyway.
When I am with Granny, I literally feel like I am the most important person in the world to her. It's as if she lives vicariously through me and everything about my life is so exciting to her--and nothing could be more important. Because of this, I've often joked that I am her favorite grandchild and then I learned that all of her grandchildren feel that way! Her love for me is so overwhelming, so endearing, unadulterated and completely without guile. She doesn't expect anything in return. She loves without condition, but when you're off track, she'll let you know it without hesitation. And all the while, you'll never doubt her love for you. I once heard my Uncle Dave say, "No other love prepared me more to understand and feel the love of my Savior than that of my mother's." I couldn't agree more! Granny does love as the Savior loves, and for this very reason, I believe people are drawn to her. They long to be near her, to serve her and to learn from her. She is very special indeed.
I will always treasure the summer that I lived with Granny. I was doing an internship in Mesa over the summer break. Granny and I became great friends. We shared several heart-felt moments. We sang together, read together, worried about family members together, played games together, and most of all, laughed together! Granny has a wit about her that will make a comedian bust a gut! Honestly, this post could go on forever, so to sum it all up...I'll do a bullet list of some of the reasons why I love her.

• Her competitive edge
• Her incredible posterity (she's raised some jewels!)
• That contagious laugh...especially when she's laughing at one of her own jokes
• Because of the way she loves me (enough said on this already)
• She's an example of perseverance--how she raised 7 children and braved through a heartbreaking divorce when the oldest was only 17
• Her example of service
• She's absolutely gorgeous (it always makes me happy when someone tells me I look like Granny)
• Her sense of style and fashion
• Tea Parties! (We just had one this past weekend with all of the girl cousins and cousins-in-law. It was so great! It wasn't a real tea party of course..lots of food, but no tea!)
• The way she tells a story...so animated!
• She's a prankster
• She raised my wonderful father!

I could keep going, but I think you get the point. "T" certainly is for Thelma...and a very big THANKFUL! I love you, Granny!

Clinton Politics 101

Recently, Hillary Clinton was in the news when someone asked her how she gets out of the house every morning. With a tearful reply she said, "...it's not easy but I feel passionately about this country, I see where its going, and I have so many opportunities for [it]."

Long story short, Hillary, aided by her show of emotion, won the New Hampshire primary, narrowly beating out her one-term Senator, no plan, hope-speech-giving, Oprah-backed rival, Barrack Obama.

One has to admire the Clintons, and most politicians for that matter, for their tenacity and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. But don't think that Hillary invented the crying move alone... no, no... she pulled it out of the ol' Clinton playbook. Check out Slick Willy's masterful control of emotions back in 1996.

Due to the writer's stike, Stephen Colbert, Mitt's future VP, is unable to comment on the Clintons' moist eyeball problem, so I must do it for him in his "tip of the hat... wag of the finger" fashion......
Wag of the finger to you Mrs. Clinton! We also know where this country is going and it doesn't have you or your opportunities in it.

Tip of the hat to Papa Bear's Papa, Rush Limbaugh, for providing us with this video 12 years later and for having the courage to show it even though it shows you wearing that ridiculous tie!

RESOLUTIONS!

To make my bum this cute!

This photo is courtesy of my niece, Kinsey. What a silly girl! You gotta admit, though, it does spark some motivation...whether it's realistic or not, is another story. Honestly, Brian and I have made some resolutions this year...as individuals and as a family. I'll avoid sharing all of our weaknesses by divulging our goals, but I will let you know that they are centered around our family motto. Our family motto is based on the scripture in the NT that gives us some of our only insight into Christ's childhood and adolescence..."he increased in stature, and in knowledge, and in favor with God and man." Okay, that's a rough paraphrasing, but from this we have deduced four areas to focus on--Physical, Mental, Spiritual and Social. All of our goals fit into one of these categories, and we are excited for 2008! We hope this year is as potentially life-changing-for-the-better for you as it is for us! Here's to a great year!

A New Year's Surprise!

I had resorted to the fact that I would basically be spending New Year's Eve by myself since Brian was scheduled to take his CPA exam on the 2nd of January. I had planned on going to Aunt Linda's party by myself and figured Brian would join in somewhere around 10pm. Imagine my surprise when Dan called to say that his family wanted to come down...and then Amy's...and then John's! We had a blast! (We missed Phil and Christina but didn't feel too sorry for them since they were getting ready to leave for the Philippines.) All in all, I played host to 13 grandchildren and 7 adults...but I'm not complaining! We have so much fun when we're all together. The kids played non-stop outside. SD really is the best place in the world for kids...they really use their imaginations. There's no TV or movies...they entertain themselves. The biggest adventure this time was going "hunking". (A cross between hiking and hunting, for those of you without an imagination! ;)) The adults enjoyed some good conversation, lots of laughter and a little of Dance Dance Revolution! Some people in my family really have some moves (myself not included). Anyway, below are some pics of the good times we had!

What's that I see in the bushes? Too bad you can't rely on the good ole olfactory for this one! It's a skunk! We've been having issues with skunks for a while. We suspect one may have killed our two kittens and we know they've been eating our cat food. We've been setting traps, but to no avail! They keep getting the bait but are evading the trap itself! Very frustrating. Imagine my surprise when Dan and I returned from the dump and I went to throw something away in the barn trash can and there it was! I quickly moved away from the trash can and whispered to Dan, "The skunk is in the trash." It didn't move when I was really close, so I suspected that it was dead. We finally worked up enough courage to get a little closer and sure enough, it was dead! I had set a trap without even knowing it! About two weeks ago, when I discovered yet another empty bag of cat food, I threw it in the trash. The skunk must have smelled the remains and climbed in to see what it was all about...but then he was stuck...no food and no way out! Who knows how long he was in there...good thing it's been so cold, or I'm sure he would've stunk up the place!

Allen cracked us all up when he came up stairs with his boxing gloves on, his shirt off, and announced, "I'm a boxer, dad." After we convinced him that boxers can fight with their shirts on, we were off to the ring. These are our pre-fight intimidation pics...don't we look vicious?

The fatal blow!

And we have a winner, ladies and gentleman!

After all that hard fighting, I needed a breather, and Allen was so willing to accommodate. I promise...he was enjoying this as much as I was! What a sweet boy! He kept asking, "Aunt Janette, should I use more lotion?" To which I would reply, "Yes Allen, just a little bit." And, so there you have it...the holidays weren't a total disappointment. Family really makes all the difference in the world!

P.S. I forgot to mention that I am so proud of Brian for avoiding the temptation to play and for being so diligent with his studying. I'm sure it was hard with all the family here. He took his test on the 2nd, and we'll find out how he did sometime in March. One down, three more to go! Good luck, honey! I'm proud of you! He did take some time for mental breaks, however, and I snapped this shot of him making 3-week-old David smile!

A Belated Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was different...not quite the same as Christmas pasts. There's something about spending Christmas with little children that really helps get me in holiday spirits. Unfortunately, this Christmas was kind of "bah-humbuggy" (it is ok if I make-up words right?). I volunteered to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. After four years at St. Mary's, I've worked every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Needless to say, I'm getting a little bit tired of it. I would love to say that the motives behind this madness are completely altruistic, but I do hope to get something out of it in the future. I've graciously worked these holidays in the past so that those with small children could stay home with their families. (Like I said before, little children just make Christmas special). But, the more I work them, the more I realize that somebody better repay me the same favor when it's my turn! However, that is very unlikely to happen...so I will resort to using my bargaining power..."I've worked every Christmas and Thanksgiving for the last four years, so, you owe me four years off." Yeah right, we'll see how that goes. Anyway, other than being extremely short-staffed on Christmas Eve, they weren't too terrible of work days. We did have one code arrest on Christmas, and that always dampens the mood some.
Anyway, on to what little celebration we had. We spent the eve of Christmas Eve with Brian's family in Casa Grande. We had a nice dinner and a small gift exchange. We spent the night and left early the next day so I could work and Brian could study for his CPA exam. By the time we got home on Christmas Eve, we were exhausted and went to bed early. After work on Christmas (again, Brian put another full day of studying in at home), I headed up to Casa Grande so I could work our gym on the 26th. We didn't want to leave it unattended for too long and our manager/partner was on vacation. It was a good thing I was there because it was surprisingly busy. I didn't get back to SD until 10pm and Brian had to leave the next day for Monterrey, Mexico (he had an audit). So, you can probably see why Christmas was kind of sad this year...we didn't get to spend much time with family, or with each other for that matter. I can't complain too much though because New Year's made up for it!