I believe...

...in letting my kids believe in Santa Claus. I believe in him as a symbol. We let our kids believe in many things, cartoon characters, heroes, people. I like this book using Santa as a Christmas symbol for Jesus. Isn't that what he is there to remind us of? Love. Giving. Joy.
We took a ride on the Polar Express this week. The girls were so excited. What fun is that, to be excited to see this jolly old man!

This was little Bay, the picture of all seriousness. She took this whole experience very solemnly. She was going to see Santa Claus and get a bell. She is a very focused kid.

And Boo switched back and forth from complete awe to jumping up and down excitement at it all. This is her face right when Santa walked into the train.

it just might have been that way...

...baby Jesus on the roof of the manger, with an adoring sheep gazing on. This is my girls nativity. They love it. They play with it daily. They have learned about the shepards.
If you ask little Bay (the one year old) "what did the angel tell the shepards?" She will reply, in her barely discernible baby talk: "Don't be scared. Jesus is born."

express yourself...integrity...

...or, through gingerbread houses! We have enjoyed the holidays so far, especially the time we have had with family. During Thanksgiving, family parties, etc. There is nothing I love more than to be around them. We nit-pick each other, tease, torment, and in the end just accept each other for who we are, faults and all. Holidays are a good time to express thanks for this, I think.

The real point to this entry, started with these shabby little gingerbread houses we had so much fun making. They sit now, in my living room. On a table. Within kids reach. My girls don't touch them. Oh, they look. They reach. They point. But they leave them alone, with me in or out of the room. That goes for our Christmas tree, ornaments, presents, my nativities, etc...and it amazes me. Of course, I had to teach them. I learned this well after coming into the room to find every present completely unwrapped and strewn all over the floor. It's not just once that I've had to teach them, it's over and over and over. But they get it! At their age, they get it. What's theirs to touch, is okay. What's mommy's, is not.

That got me thinking about my childhood.

(homemade flowered Christmas pajamas...thanks a lot mom!)

I remember, we could find a piece of candy belonging to one of our 8 siblings and when we found it wasn't up for grabs it could sit there for a year without anyone touching it. Simply because it wasn't ours. Oh, we might look at it every time we passed it. Even pick it up. But we always put it back down. I wish I could say this lasted, but it changed in teenage years when we understood that after time the person probably wasn't coming for it. Or didn't care. Or they ate ours, so we might as well eat theirs and just endure the wrath of the sibling.

Integrity. I like to define it as: how you act when you think no one is watching. Or how you would act if you thought you would never be caught. I think there is more to it than just teaching them what is theirs to touch and what is not. Somehow my good parents taught us this...how do you teach this? What a wonderful gift to give your children!

what was I?

...are we back to real life again? elections are over? whew. . .
...so what were we for Halloween? I don't know if the girls will ever remember. We had so many fun costumes that I turned it into dress-up month and we spent the entire month in one costume after another, everyday! So if you ask Boo what she was for Halloween her reply is: "Candy!"

...the countdown...and hope....

REMEMBER TO VOTE! YES ON PROPOSITION 8
...as crazy as this election has been, the final countdown still brings excitement.

In the last few weeks, I've felt that I can't always just live in my own little private world of me and my family. I feel more responsibility to the world and it's issues. I feel that God is holding me responsible for my participation in the battle for good in these days. With all of this, it is not a feeling of pressure or of fear...but of hope. Real, comforting, hope. Especially as I have become involved. This God-given world is still an incredibly beautiful, good place full of good people. I hope my children will grow to love it as I do. That said, I want to give a big reminder to issues at hand, especially those that I can only participate in by word of mouth and not vote directly: the issue of defining same-sex partnerships as marriage. There are a few states voting on this now. Some wonder, what's the big deal, it's just a title. I think of it as I have heard others say, this is the drop of water into the pond. The tiny drop may not seem very significant, but the ripple effects cover the entire pond.

A friend's brother wrote some thoughts on proposition 8, I wanted to share his summary:
"Proposition 8 is not about telling people who they can and cannot love. It is not about telling them who they can and cannot be with. It is not about preventing the legally recognized sharing of property, privacy, and privilege. Proposition 8 is about defining marriage. It is about the right and freedom of society and religion to abstain from a multiparty agreement deemed unacceptable. It is about preserving the coveted title of marriage as a stamp of approval for that fundamental institution which contributes the most to society. It is about protecting the unique status of the family and ensuring its place as the first and ultimate priority of civilization. Only the union of a man and a woman can create the greatest of all resources – human life. For that, we honor them. For that, we approve of them… and for that, we marry them… for only they have the power to create our future and the future of all humanity." Click here for the whole article.

BLOG LIKE YOUR FAMILY DEPENDS ON IT, BECAUSE IN FACT IT DOES...

YES on Proposition 8....WHY??? (click here to read more)

Doesn't this just involve California?

no, California is only the beginning...(click here to see)

I make a simple but urgent plea for understanding. What will really happen to society and especially, the family, if Proposition 8 does not pass? There are many places to get the facts. Click on all of my links for more information.

Won't Gay people loose thier rights?

In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits. This is NOT the real issue here.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will affect children.

If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches.

The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family.

Having tolerance without condoning.

We can love others while still maintaining and advocating our standards and beliefs.

Proposition 8 will allow us to continue to teach our beliefs and standards.

This is my belief:

"All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." The Family- A Proclamation to the World

Take the challenge to get the word out, especially to your friends in California, Arizona, Florida...

Another way to support this cause, is to join a nation-wide fast with much needed prayers on Sept 12. Check out the information here.

TAG! ....if you are reading this, YOU'RE IT! Blog about it! PASS IT ON!

(feel free to copy and paste this onto your blog!)

Joy...

...it's amazing, the technology that we have today. that the entire WORLD can listen to the Prophet speak the words of God and hear him share his powerful testimony of Jesus Christ...and in their own language...in an instant......a few things inspired this General Conference from the Prophet Thomas S. Monson:

"find joy in the journey, now."

(paraphrasing) "never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved."

...and another inspiration from Elder Hales of the Twelve Apostles:

(paraphrasing) "let us gather up our Christian courage and move foward..."