This One's for Sam

Audrey's famous childhood story is this- When Audrey was in first or second grade, the teacher asked all of the children to write down some answers to a few questions. One of the questions was some thing like- " If you could have anything that you might desire, what would it be?" While most of the children wrote down things like particular toys and other items, or vacations like going to Disneyland, Audrey's answer was, "I want to see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ". (Spiritually she has always been the "center" of our family) Talent wise, Audrey is very well rounded. She loves her sports- she will make a great soccer mom/coach. She keeps balls, shoes, and rackets in her car at all times, so she is ready if a sports opportunity comes her way :) She also loves her music- she has a great voice. A good memory for all of our children has been singing together. Audrey served a mission in Bulgaria. I remember the night she called me to tell me where she was going to serve. I did not sleep very well that night- I just kept thinking- "Bulgaria- I don't even know where Bulgaria is!" :) Audrey graduated from BYU and is now working as an internal auditor at JC Penneys. Audrey is stuck with two "labels". She is the "middle child" and she is "daddy's girl". She is the "middle child" of five. She got the best of two worlds- two older siblings to lead the way for her and two younger siblings for her to lead the way for. Audrey's personality is most like Ron. She is the one that spent the most time with him at sports activities. He was always at her games, either as a spectator or as a coach. When she was a small child, she could always be found sitting on his lap.

She is still "daddy's girl". (for now :)

The Funny Thing About Blogs

The funny thing about blogs is "the first shall be last and the last shall be first". But I doubt if that scripture was talking about blogs :) Hopefully my "PostScripts" don't get confusing - if you don't keep up with me on a regular basis, scroll down to the bottom and read up :)

PS to "Me or the Government"

Looks like my shopping days are over :)

Me or the Government

As I have thought more about this election, I have decided that it really boils down to one question. "Who is going to spend Ron's hard earned money, me or the government?" :) :)
I think I could do a good job of "spreading the wealth (?) around". I love spending money :) I'm willing to do my part to stimulate the economy. I'll still buy clothes, shoes, groceries, gasoline, toys, crafts, home goods, all that "stuff" that we need. We will support our local restaurants. We will buy airplane tickets. If we had a tax break, we might even spring for home improvements and a new car. We will continue to give money to charity and to Boy Scouts. I promise we will still be fully tithed and we will be generous with those people who need our help. I might even occasionally hand out money to the peddler on the corner. I've also, already taught my children to be generous with what they have and to share with others. I will strive to keep my small business going so that I can provide some income for 5 other ladies. If other consumers get a tax break, they might continue to buy things like dresses and shoes :) So who will it be- me or the government spending Ron's money? Either way he won't have much left :) :)

PS to Opposition in All things

I wish I had looked at Ashleys blog before I wrote my post, "Opposition in All Things". When I went there a song called "Glory" by Selah was playing. It summed up all of my feelings-... one day blind eyes will see clearly... all those who deny will finally believe... hearts made of stone will break in pieces... voices that lie will be silent...death will retreat and wave its white flag...one day love will defeat...
so we wait."

Opposition in All Things

This post is as close as I will come to anything political :) As I have watched the campaigns for the past few months, the most amazing thing to me can be described like this- "Two people can watch the very same talk, ad, news program, debate, etc. and one calls it good and the other calls it evil." It really makes no difference which side you are on, the two peoples opinions are like night and day- or black and white- or dark and light. The scripture that immediately comes to mind is about "good being called evil and evil being called good in the last days". When I am trying to understand this mystery- I first think, "okay, two people can have such differing opinions because they have lived life with very differing experiences, influences, and culture. That does explain some of the differences. But when the opposite opinions start coming from people who have similar experiences and back ground (like members of the same family) then the "plot thickens". (I don't expect that I will understand this mystery in this life time- I think that knowledge will come much later when all things are known) But I do understand that two basic gospel principles will always exist- the need for opposition in all things and free agency. There will always be both good and evil, allowing us to choose what we will do. The real wild card here is satan's influence. He doesn't care whether you are democrat, republican, or independent. His influence is everywhere and he will take hold any where he can. He will influence all of our thoughts and feelings with things like greed, pride, untruth, arrogance, backbiting, revenge, etc. Oh what a tangled web we weave! So how is a person to know if what we think is good is really evil and what we think is evil is really good?
My belief is that God helps us choose but he won't force us to choose. The help that He gives us, as Elijah learned, can not be found in the " wind, or the earthquake, or the fire, but in a still small voice". (There are also a huge number of factors that influence our ability to recognize "the still small voice"- in fact , far too many to be typed here. ) Sometimes it takes a significant emotional experience for us to change our way of thinking and realize- maybe I was wrong in my judgment. God also allows those things to happen to us. The question was asked by someone who believes there is no God- "If there is God, why would he allow so many bad things to happen in this world?". One answer that was given, was "bad things happen so that we can choose to love God, rather than being forced to love God. " All about opposition in all things, and free agency for our own good. So... back to a more political thought- no matter who wins the election, half of the people will call it "good" and half of the people will call it "evil". Whatever the outcome- there will be lessons to be learned. Our only hope is that God is ultimately in charge and "all things will work for the good of those who love Him". That even all of the bad things will give us experience and will be for our good. On a more personal political note, Ron and I are toward the one end of the scale where things like increased capital gains tax could hurt. And we are also on the other end of the scale with a small business, wondering how it will pay its personal property tax and stay "a float amidst the (economical) storm".

Free Halloween Candy

I only had enough "trick or treaters" to give away half of the candy. And that was giving each child two or three candy bars a piece :) I would send them to my grandsons, but they would melt before they got there. Besides Annie and Ashley are both thinking- don't send candy to us! Mike and Carrie can only get flat, paper mail- thus saving them from receiving any candy. What's a Baba (grandma) to do? The good news for the day is, I picked Ron up at the airport at 6:45 this morning. He is glad to be home- 3 weeks was too long to be away. While flying back from China, he actually got two nights. Kind of like "Ground Hog Day". He arrived in LA before he left Hong Kong- so the night started over. My one night was short because I got up at 4:30 and Ron kept sending me text messages during the night :)