Thanksgiving

My were able to enjoy Thanksgiving this year
at my aunt Heidi's house.
She did a fabulous job in the kitchen.

The food was delicious.
It must have been because Adelaide actually ate.

It was great to be with family and
eat until our stomachs burst.

Adelaide was thoroughly entertained
by her cousins-once-removed.

She had such a good time, thank you cousins!

Davey got in a proper game of flag football to
work off all of that fat he's packing on.

We finished the day off with a late birthday
present for Adelaide and a sidewalk full of bubbles.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
(Ours was)

Lead Kindly Light . . .

". . . amid th'encircling gloom"

Today Megan and I will go to the hospital so she can have her second D and C in the last thirteen months following this our fourth miscarriage since last summer. This time we heard a heartbeat on several occasions (the first time since May was pregnant with Adelaide) and we even made it eleven weeks before they think the little chunker stopped growing.

". . . the night is dark and I am far from home"

We are tired. We are confused. But I am following Megan's lead and we are hanging tough. We can't tell if this is a trial or a blessing. If we will have more children or not. If we should or not. Are we being tested in preparation for something? Or are we being spared a worse fate than this? I wish we already had the hindsight that parents have once their family is grown. We don't know which way to turn.

". . . keep thou my feet"

When I used to body board in the grand Pacific I learned a lot of life lessons. When out in the water I can paddle to catch a wave, paddle to avoid one, dive under waves or have the ride of a lifetime by dropping in on one. But if my board is pitched the wrong way, or turned too much against the currents and motions of the water and waves, I will wipe out. And that is how I feel right now. I've done so much paddling and diving under waves. They just keep coming. I've lost the shore and my sense of direction. At this point in life all I can do is say, "Which way should I point the board?"

". . . I do not ask to see the distant scene"

Sometimes I want to paddle just to paddle maybe. I want to see the whole picture and know every where I should go and everything I should do. Its like I don't want anyone's help. But I know we need it now. So don't tell me how far it is to shore and how big the wave is and how many submerged rocks lay below me. Just tell me which way to point the board. Then carry us.

". . . one step enough for me."

(The poem is by John Henry Newman)

We love all of you very much (sorry for the BYU cliche). We already can feel your love and support and if you ask if there is something you can do for us, there is. Turn around and hug your little ones that you have. Then hug them a little tighter. We'll do the same.

I'm Staying.

That's right. I'm not moving to France, buying a sniper rifle, or overdosing on any pills tonight before going to bed.

The Democrat Party has won the election. And they won it in the House and Senate too. In fact, more governors are also Democrat than Republican.

But I am staying. I don't turn my back on this country when everything doesn't go my way. I also don't steal from or vandalize others whose views may be different from my own. I love America. It seems that some are just now realizing what a great place this is. Now that an African-American has won the presidency in a country that used to enslave people like him, more people are seeing that too. I feel sorry for them. They should have seen it long before. A woman doesn't have to be President for me to love this place and see the great opportunities women have in our country. Nor does anyone of any background have to win anything to gain my conditional love. I ALREADY love my country. Some say if Mr. Obama did NOT win, then that would set us back hundreds of years. Too bad for those people.

But I saw it before the election. I've known this place is great since I can remember. It hasn't always been that way. But it is. And its getting better. I feel bad for those who needed to taste the proof before believing in the recipe. That is why for them it is always ALL or NOTHING. For me, I just need a little something. So instead of focusing on the color of one's skin, or what sits between ones legs, let us press on with the issues.

So to you, whoever you voted for and whatever it is you stand up for, I applaud you for being you. And you should applaud God, that you were a lucky enough son-of-a-bitch to be born into these United States of America.

God bless the USA.

(How about a shout out for Condoleezza Rice in '12?)