Mason Wayne Abbott

My sister, Rose-Marie, went into labor yesterday--at my house--and had the baby at 12:37 AM that next morning. He was 7lbs, 2oz and was 20 and 1/2" long. Here are the first pics, courtesy of her big brother. I think he looks like Grover--with long hair. :)

For the record . . .

I don't believe in Santa, but I do believe in the Spirit of Christmas. Jesus Christ is the reason for the season and I know he lives. Through him we can return to the Father and live together as eternal families.

I hope each of you have a Merry Christmas and may the light of Christ enter into your homes so you might have an increase of peace this year.

Whoa--It is getting nasty over there . .

way too heated on my sisters blog--silly Santa!

Anyway . . . Here are some more pictures/vids of Laurie. I managed to get a few of her gas smiles. The girls and Emily are doing well--The girls sure like to hold the baby.



We have been extremely fortunate to have so many friends help us out with presents and dinners. My in-laws are got here the end of last week. Must be time to Celebrate Christmas!

Sisters in Action :)

Little Miss Laurie has quite the sneeze! I have been trying to get in on camera and I finally did. The first one includes Miriam trying to say something. We get into a laughing tizzy because Emily's belly was shaking and Miriam noticed. It took us several minutes to finally catch our breath!

Here are three videos pieced together showing the big sisters helping. :) It is a little long, but it does eventually end!!

A few more pics--and a video!!

Emily is still not quite home--hopefully in about 2 hours or so. Then the fun really begins!!!

A few more pics

It is a little strange to look at the family pics and see three kids!! Miriam finally got to see the baby this afternoon. Oh, we decided to scratch the Claire from her name, we may use that next time--your welcome Ana-Christine. :)

Laurie Adeline Claire??

Miriam really likes Claire and it just might make it into her name. Hope you enjoy the pictures. **Update** Emily made it fine through the night and she has started eating and it looks like we are in the clear now. Thanks for all your prayers!!**
First Pic

Just Scrubbed down

Proud Parents

With Lainy today

Welcome Laurie Adeline!!

Well, it took a little longer than we thought, but Laurie Adeline Chacon was born at 9:14PM is looking good!! She was 6lbs 14oz and was 20 3/4" long. Emily started pushing about 5 after 9 and was extremely tired. She has dark hair like Miriam and is nice rosey pink color.

We had a bit of a scare afterwards; however, as I write this both Emily and the baby are fine. I will save you the gory details--you ladies can chat all about it later; however, the scary part came when the doctor said "we might need to take out your uterus". This was about 80 minutes after the birth. Both Emily and I got a little scared at that point, and I gave her a blessing, but for about 2 hours there they really had us going. We are not totally out of the clear yet, but things are looking up.

We are glad to welcome another child into the work and thank all those who helped take care of our kids in the process.

ok, it is going to happen tonight!

The doctor just came in and said Emily is ready to start pushing. They aren't back yet, but hopefully by 9:30 we will have this baby!!! What a day! Emily is doing well, just really tired and frustrated it didn't come sooner.

We forgot the cord to the camera so pictures will have to come later. Sorry!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you are ready to spread some holiday cheer!!

It was my turn to carve the turkey this year. There were only a handful of us together and I was a little nervous, but luckily we had plenty of turkey(13lbs) for the 6 of us. Needless to say, I didn't have to cut every morsel of meat for us the get plenty of Turkey, but we could sure use my dad next year!

We still have a few leftovers, except the rolls, if anyone ran out already. :)

So you wanted to raise a boy . . . ?

This has definitely been a week of surprises for me. I feel ashamed I every second guessed or tried to find fault in my leaders--I guess I still have little growing to do and apparently I haven't been pushed quite to the edge yet. This morning Emily and I met with the Bishop and I was asked to serve as the Young Men's president. Now the kicker is that I was release from my previous calling to serve in this one==how do you like that--I bet the bishop was wondering what all my complaining was about. What a whiner!

Well, the Lord is in the details of our lives. See at the beginning of the year if I had been asked to serve with the youth I may have said no. The youth are intimidating and I didn't think I would do well. Well, at the beginning of the summer I decided I was going to start camping again and wound up camping multiple times with the young men. I believe it was the Lords hand that led me to spend those handful of nights with the young men so that I might feel more comfortable around them. Now, ask me how I feel in a couple of months. :)

I'm here to release you . . .

That's what President Anderson said to me Wednesday evening. After serving as the "EQP" for almost 2 and 1/2 years, I was done. I was in and out of his office in less than five minutes. Just before we met, I thought I was getting an assignment to speak in stake conference . . . How clueless I was!

Needless to say, I was shocked--and a little hurt. Here I had been on the inside all this time and the next minute it's all gone; with a nice thank you of course. I was upset I hadn't gotten some type of warning, especially since I thought my release would have come next summer. My emotions told me I was being let go a little too early, that I had somehow lost favor . . . I still had young men to advance and brethren to strengthen.

Of course, the next day and with each new day I see the wisdom with how the Lord works. Not that I liked it, but I believe it is all for the best and wisdom prevailed. The bitter taste of pride I had is gone and I am looking forward to a little R&R, no telling how long that will last. I have come to love about 90% of my quorum really well (the other 10% have a face only a mother could love. :) ) and I will miss certain aspects of my calling and HT reporting will not be one of them.

While it might have been nice to 'know' beforehand, it instead come at the right time, by the right person, in the right place. Ok, where did I put that tissue . . .

Getting close to 100!

Wow, I am getting close to my 100th post!

Anyway, Congratulations! You know the newest member of the Donahoe PTA Hospitality Committee. Yes, yours truly has begun a life of public service. I just hope we have some say over what we server for refreshments--the last meeting we had stale cookies. :(

We missed Jason Chacon's wedding. In case you read this Jason, we are sorry we couldn't make it. I hope if was nice.

Oh, please recycle! Our neighbors put out about 5 garbage cans full; granted they have more people in their house, but it is not unusual for our recycling to be bigger than our garbage--even if recycling comes every other week.

Find Your Candidate

Ok, so there is a web site that will help you find the presidential candidate that closest matches your interests.

I took the poll a couple of weeks ago as independently as possible without trying to pick the answers my candidate--Mitt Romney(I am starting to waiver)--would have. Interestingly I was told Mike Huckabee would be my choice; however, Mitt had the same percentage and Huck.

I also found it strange that Joe Biden was a closer match than than Giuliani, McCain, and Ron Paul. I took it a second time tonight and got 1)John Cox--who I have never heard of, 2)Huckabee, then 3)Romney this time with different percentages. I think they update the questions every so often.

Have a go--just remember to vote for real next year. :) I would be interested to see what you came up with--just put your answers in the comment section.

*Update* Just remember this calculator is suppose to help you decide what issues are important to you. It is not a 'magic bullet'. Oh, if Mike Gravel is you candidate I would dig a little deeper--he is probably a nice guy, just a little weird.

Camping over Columbus Day Weekend

We went camping this weekend. The biggest highlight of the trip? Pancakes of course. :)

*Update* We went up the Natural Bridge area, about 2 1/2 hrs west, on Saturday with a quick stop at Carter's Mountain on the way. The weather ended up being a little hotter than we thought with Saturday getting up to about 91 degrees and Sunday about the same. We listened to two sessions of conference; however, as we went with another family the kids just seemed to always be active so although we felt bad about being 50%, we were glad to get in two! We managed to keep the kids off the playground on Sunday and I actually ran into an old friend during the Priesthood session and his family came for some smores Sunday evening.

Monday we went to the Natural Bridge Safari. It is kind of like the Night Zoo in Singapore only during the day. Luckily we made it there before the weather got too hot.

I made another movie. :) Oh for the record, I can't understand everything they are saying and Emily objects to the music. Enjoy.

Fishing with Dad

My dad and the girls went fishing in September--over Labor day weekend in fact. We went to the about the same spot where Doug and I go. 50 fish is a light day; however, the water must not have been just right because we barely had enough for lunch. The girls, while hesitant at first, had a blast and the weather was nice so it was well worth it. I think my dad enjoyed driving the boat. :)

Employee Profile Questions for The Link

We have a monthly news letter that has an employee spotlight and I was choosen for the Month of October. I thought I would pass along what they asked.

Name: Carlos Chacon
Position: Information Technology Specialist III
Years with VITA/state or NG: 2
Main job responsibilities: Provide Training and support for SharePoint/VitaWeb; Help keep the SQL and Oracle databases running

Etc. (Any miscellaneous info you wish to share, such as family, education, where you grew up, hobbies etc.):

My father is from Costa Rica, but I was born in the states. I graduated from Mills Godwin High School, but went to college out west. I also served a two year mission in Argentina. We currently live in Highland Springs and I am the only Redskins fan on my block. My wife and I are expecting our third daughter in December. I am extremely interested in politics and encourage everyone to vote in November!

What three things do you always have in your refrigerator? Butter, Lisano (Costa Rican sauce), Ranch salad dressing.

What is your dream vacation? Visiting the holy land during a peaceful time--preferably during Passover. Go to the temple on the mount, the grove of olives, the western wall, visit the garden tomb. We would have an Israeli and a Palestinian guide and talk about the history and culture of the two.

What was your favorite birthday present as a kid? Surprise birthday party where we went bowling

What is your favorite time of year and why? Fall--cool weather, football, and the holiday season is approaching.

What is the best piece of news you've heard lately? My éclair cake was the first one selected at the CVC cake walk, and Julie Rogers has agreed to a 'throwdown' at the cookie competition. ;)

Costa Rica Video

This is long overdue; however, I only finished it about a week ago. There were some problem with the movie and it took me a while to getting around to fixing them. This movie is by no means perfect, but I hope you enjoy it.

There is actually one part where you are supposed to laugh; however, no one in my family got it--they don't have the sophisticated humor I hope you do.

Anyway, this is a compilation of our trip down to Costa Rica. Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for helping us get down there.

Blog Hiatus

Ok, I think I finished my blog Hiatus. Sorry for being gone for so long--I hope I haven't lost all my devoted fans. Hopefully I will be posting a few more things in the future--oh by the way, my Costa Rica video is done and I need to upload it.

For your reward in coming back to my blog, I have included the following video. I hope you can understand the words--it is a foreign work. ;)

Romney In Richmond

My Man Mitt came to town yesterday to pick up the endorsement of Bill Bolling, our Lieutenant Governor. I packed the family up and made them attend--they could only be mad for so long--they were serving heavy orderves. The stump speech was the same thing I have been reading on line for months now, but it was good to get up close and personal with the future president of the United States!!

It's a . . .

Girl

Yes, we are having another girl. Everyone is excited--except Miriam. "Is she (the ultrasound technician) serious?" "I can't believe we are having another girl". It was funny, but she is quickly warming to the idea.

:)

I did it!

I have finishes reading Harry Potter! Good thing too--My job moved locations and I am no longer able to take the bus to work. I got a lot of reading done on that bus!

I enjoyed the book--even the part at the end when Harry .. . just kidding :) While more Harry Potter books could definitely be written, this gave me a finality to it.

For those who haven't finished it--Enjoy!

Romney's New Video

In case you missed it--The new add entitled Ocean, is causing a buzz on the blogs.

Boy Scout Camp

This week I had the privilege of going to boy scout camp. I haven't done anything with Scouts since I was a young man. Camp is quite a bit different as an adult--I don't remember having to deal with crabby boys. Maybe my memory is just bad.

I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Perhaps I will have to get more involved.

Mini Mitt

Ok, if you haven't checked it out lately, go to Mitt Romney's Website and be introduced to Mini Mitt.

And, while you are at it--check out his latest commercial.

Happy Fathers' Day

I realize this is a late post; however, I did call my dad for Father's Day. This post is more of a report. My most of the time wonderful family gave me Rock Salt and an Ice Cream Packet to use in our Homemade Ice Cream maker. I remember growing up as a kid the rurur rurur rurur going on in the background when the family got together. Emily and I hadn't used the ice cream maker in several years and it was nice to break it out again. Other than my early Sunday meeting, I was with the family the entire day--a treat in and of itself.

30 Years old

Well, I made it--to 30 that is. I know some of you had your doubts, but what can I say? I am a natural. We celebrated at Dorey park and had a wonderful time. The food was great and Emily did a nice job on my marble pound cake--even if I wanted a double decker. We were missing a few local people and of course those of you scattered about.

New Colors for my blog

Everybody else was doing it . . . Man peer pressure is tough!

Easy Come, Easy Go . . .

Wow! All that work only to get pummeled. Both my candidates lost on Tuesday by large margins. Now, I did not do that much, however, I feel like I have a vested interest because I really didn't want the people who one to win.

After 29 years, Senator Lambert will be moving on.
We now (because he will run unopposed in November) have a delegate that has spent time in Jail for lying and the inability to control his temper. He has also been disbarred in Virginia. I do believe in redemption and he claims he is a changed man--only time will tell now.

Go Vote in the Primary

Tuesday June 12, is a primary day here in Virginia and I am encouraging everyone to vote. Now, there may not be anyone from your preferred party running; however, whoever wins the democratic nomination for state Senator will in all likely hood win the seat. Because in Virginia all voters can participate in the primary, everyone can have a say in who becomes our next Senator.

I feel very strongly that Benjamin Lambert, the incumbent, best represents what I look for in leaders of our government. He has been able to bring many resources to our community as a member of the finance committee and has become a very influential member of the senate.

Don't hesitate to call if you have any questions. The polls close at 7pm. It only takes a minute and your vote will make a difference.

Mitt is Hot

So funny. Go ahead and laugh!

Elder Holland comes to visit

Elder Holland, of the quorum of the twelve apostles, came to preside over our stake conference in Richmond this weekend. It was wonderful to listen to his stories and I felt uplifted and strengthened by what he said.

Both Emily and I were able to shake his hand after the adult session of conference Saturday evening. The picture is blurry; however, you can see Elder Holland on the left; however, that is President Mullen's big head covering Emily up--she is wearing a light blue top.

Henrico County School Board

It is my please to endorse John Montgomery for the Henrico County School Board. He is running for the Varina seat vacated by Hugh Palmer.

John has served as a PTA president and as a lawyer helped many local organizations when the big boys try to sic the dogs on us. You can learn more about John by going to his web site.

New Cell Phone

Emily and I got new cell phones and I was playing around with my phone at work--during lunch or course--and I took a video of my office and send it to gmail account. I have now posted my video for the world to see--go Carlos! I will now be able to capture all sorts of mayhem on my phone. hehe

New Foods in Costa Rica

I can't say I was overly impressed with the availability of 'new foods' in Costa Rica; however, part of this may be that I grew up in a Spanish home and was used to many of the foods we ate. There were several new fruits we tried--Maracuya, GUANABANA, PAPAYA, TAMARINDO, and another small fruit with a white flesh and large seed in the middle--Mom, can you help me out? Anyway, here is the Maracuya. Pictures of other fruit can be found here. We have a good video of mom exposing us the fruit and because you can see the fruit better in hers I am showing you hers instead of mine. It tasted sweet like a fruit; however, it had a crunchy seed like a sunflower seed but it wasn't salty. But, because it looked like fish eggs and as slimy like an over ripe mango or cantalope I couldn't keep it in my mouth for long.



I don't remember if Emily tried it.

Zip Lines

One of the 'adult' things we wanted to do in Costa Rica was experience the zip lines--a high adrenaline route to soaking up the rain forest--zipping along on cable hooked from tree to tree. One of Costa Rica's selling points is ecotourism so each zip line operator wants to show you some of Costa Rica's hidden gems and how then help keep the rain forest in tact. The route we took had 11 lines on it, and while pricey at $35 bucks a head, we enjoyed it and wanted to do the 26 line course some time in the future. Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to watch the kids and take the video. Wait a second for the video--the cable is really long.



Elaine said she wanted to go and I told her I would take her next time. :)

Birthday Party

I am having a birthday party on Friday evening on June 15th from 5PM until dusk in shelter 7 at Dorey Park. You are invited. Hope to see you there.

Carlos

Costa Rica

ok, so I said I would get working on my Costa Rica trip and here it is. Reviews, specific details, and talking points will come later.

We left Wednesday May 2 and had to fly out of Dulles. Sarah drove us up and we got the airport around 1pm. We said our goodbyes and went through security. Like a good father(and like my wife told me), I took the girls to the bathroom before we got on the plane. We boarded the plane, began to taxi, Elaine informed me she had to go potty again, and then stopped--for about 3 hours. We missed our connection to Costa Rica so we spent the night in Atlanta.

Thursday May 3 - Left Atlanta in the AM and got to Costa Rica about 1pm. Mom and Dad picked us up and we went to the neighborhood my dad grew up in. We went to see my Great Uncle--the first member of the church on my dad's side of the family. He told us some stories about my dad growing up and growth of the church in Costa Rica. We ate dinner and went to the temple. While we wanted to do a session, it was late and the girls were antsy; however, there was a youth temple trip and we helped do some confirmations. The temple is beatiful and we enjoyed the spirit there.

Friday May 4 - We spent the night in San Miguel, where my grandpa lived years ago and had purchased a home there. We ate breakfast at my dad's cousin house--platanos, fried yucca, gallo pinto, eggs, cheese, bread, and agua dulce. it was delicious. We spent a lot of time in the car and saw lots of the moutain ranges, tried to see a waterfall, and went to a stocked pond--only we were too full to eat.

Saturday May 5 - We spent the night in Esparza, home to my parents, and enjoyed the area. Miriam and I played a game of mini golf. Emily and I went on the zip lines. We went to a small fair like event, but did not stay long. Saprissa, my dad's favorite soccer team, was playing in a tournament and we went to a sports bar to watch the game.

Sunday - Time for Church, and we enjoyed going to the branch. The rustiness in my Spanish really came out; however, everyone was glad to meet us. We laid low and spent the afternoon with grandma.

Monday - Time to get in gear. What was supposed to be a day beginning at 5AM saw us leaving about 9AM to head for the beach--playa cochal. Our travels took us over puente amistad, the largest bridge in Costa Rica. We got there in the afternoon and spent the rest of the daylight time we had on the beach. There were rocks about 15-20 feet off the shore and we snorkeled and saw some amazing ocean life. My wits were tested when schools of fish swam right in front of me--shouldn't there be a glass in between us?

Tuesday - camped out there just off the beach and went snorkeling again. I saw a sting ray in the water and later Emily and I saw the sting ray jump out of the water--again where is the glass? We left about 11AM and headed for Nicoya, our stop for the night. We did a little sightseeing around Nicoya; however, it was raining and we were all tired so we went to sleep early.

Wednesday - After another great breakfast, we went to the biological reserve where we saw lots of beautiful animals. An emu kept following us around. We took the 'carriage ride' pulled by water buffalo and went to see a river (whose name I don't recall). It could have been the nile as there was lots of life in the water. While standing on a floating dock we noticed the river would grow to about 6 feet higher at the peek of the rainy season, which had just begun. We missed our opportunity to take the ferry home and got home in time for a late dinner.

Thursday - We toured around Esparza and took a bus to Puntarenas to get some touristy things to take back with us. We had breakfast in the panaderia or bakery and enjoyed some more drinkable yogurt. We all played Putt-Putt that afternoon and left for San Miguel that evening.

Friday - Early morning as we headed for the airport to catch our 8AM flight back to the states.

Third times a charm

Well, we all do things we wish we hadn't; things that we must bear a difficult consequence for and Friday night at the airport I did one of those things--I left my work laptop at the baggage claim of the Dulles Airport. I had the girls with me and Sarah had come to pick us up. I put my laptop by the carts you can rent to take your things to your car, our luggage came, the girls went crazy, I grabbed the luggage, we got several "they're so cute" comments, and we were out the door. It was not until Sunday evening that I realized my mistake. Oh the cruel reality of my mistake. I was sure I would never get it back; I started thinking of ways to explain to my boss what had happened.

After we had called airport security and they told us they did NOT have a bag matching the description I gave them, I decided it was worth at least investigating for myself. I drove up to Dulles airport at about 7:30PM. I did not have enough gas to get there so I had to fill up and who should notice that my car did not have an inspection sticker (I got rejected before we left for Costa Rica) on it but Henrico's finest, who quickly gave me a ticket and reminded me to 'take care of these things' before I leave the country next time. Yeah, got it.

My drive up to Dulles on Sunday was uneventful and to no ones' surprise I did not find my laptop. I tried calling security again to see if I could come and look at what they had; however, they had gone home for the night. I drove my dejected self home and managed to get in bed a little after 1:30 AM.

I had a personal experience that led me to believe I would see my laptop again, so I called the security desk on Monday morning before I went to work. I approached my description slightly different and the officer must have asked me to hold at least 4 times. After several attempts to find my bag, I almost hear the words "I'm sorry, we don't have a bag that matches that description"; however, my inner voice deceived me--the officer said, "Yes, we have your bag, when can you pick it up?" It was a feeling of pure exhilaration. I almost did not believe what he was saying, perhaps there was a mix up and there was some other bag they found; however, I arranged to pick it up after work--around 9pm. Emily agreed to go with me this time.

My mood was upbeat, but subdued as I made my second attempt. We arrived at the security desk and gave them the claim number given me earlier. "I'm sorry, that package was given to lost and found this morning. They are only open from 9-5, M-F". I almost slammed the glass window that separated us from the guard. Impossible!! They told me this morning they would have it. We even had her check the room just in case, but my bag was no longer there. Another 260 miles in vain.

Yesterday I called lost and found and they informed me I had to make an appointment if I wanted to 'obtain my item'. As luck--or the lack of--would have it I would up feeling poorly today. I usually work from home on Wednesdays and today was no different. Since I really wasn't feeling well, I called the lost and found and tried to see if I could get up there today and they agreed so I took a sick day and drove up there a third time to get the laptop. This time I took the girls with me, which they were really happy about, but I managed to get it. What a hassle; however, alls well that ends well.

Let me tell you I learned my lesson this time and I won't let it happen again.--next time I go somewhere, I'm flying Jet Blue. :)

Ok, now that my life is getting back to some kind of order, I will start working on my Costa Rica report.

!Pura Vida!

Well after a overnight delay in Atlanta, we are finally in Costa Rica!! It has been fun--and bumpy these last two days; however, we are getting to see some cool things. The mountains are beautiful. More is sure to come--!Pura Vida!

PBS Documentary

We watched the PBS documentary entitled "The Mormons" last night. I enjoyed it; for some reason I have this fascination about seeing other people's perception and thoughts on something near and dear to my heart. I agree with the the New York Times that "It’s great to hear people who believe in something and can articulate it without sounding crazy or defensive." Amen. Why can't we just explain our beliefs without feeling like we have to defend them? Every month we have testimony meeting and get to say I know; however, when talking to people not of our faith we sometimes feel the need to be apologetic. I thought Terrel Givens was excellent--I could listen to him all day.

If you missed it, you can catch it here. The second part is on tonight.

Gun Control

I don't own a gun. I wasn't around guns all that much as a kid--I got my gun experience in Scouts or other organized events. My dad did own a gun--a 22 as I remember and I shot it a couple of times. I am sure if you handed me a gun today I wouldn't know how to turn the safety off.
I think there should be more gun control in this country.
When I say gun control, I don't mean repealing the 2nd amendment--something conservatives and NRA types like to immediately puff their chests about--I mean gun control, better governance about who has guns and how they use them. There is one exception--automatic assault weapons. The name alone should be obvious to why the general public should not have them.
We need a registration similar to DMV with cars, something a gun owner has to renew every so often and report the sale or destruction (if that is possible). I would also like to see a required training class for anyone who purchases a gun. This class would include handling, storage, and stress saftey. You would get a card or certificate you could then use to buy a gun. And, just like with a car if you don't report a change (sold, not working, etc) you get fined.
Similar measures have been put in place in Canada, and while it hasn't put a dent in the homicide rate yet, it is a step in the right direction; taking control of a situation rather then doing nothing.
Another gun crime we don't talk much about is Suicide. The Candian embassy reports more gun related suicides were committed than homicides in 1996. Perhaps we should also be looking at mental health requirement for permits as well.

My view point may not solve the problem; however, I do know I am sick of hearing "they're trying to take away our guns". If your gun affects my public safety, I will choose safety every time.

"Tear down that wall"

Those were the words Ronald Reagan used when talking about the Berlin wall all those years ago. Now it seems conservatives can't get enough of building walls and creating the appearance of separation.
I agree immigration needs to be reformed, but let's at least try to show some dignity to the fact that most of us our ancestors of immigrants as well. When we talk about Mexican immigration, why don't we talk about helping their economy? We 'dump' tons of corn and other produce down there cheaper than local farmers can grow it--no wonder they are all coming here.
If the US is supposed to be the superpower of the world, why resort to something as primitive as a wall?

Partial Birth Abortions

The supreme court upheld a ban on partial birth abortions this week. While I think this a positive move, I believe that too much time and money is spent on political wrangling and not enough on those that need help making this decision. If both sides would stop fighting and look at how to help the unwed teen, the molested daughter, and the mother of 3 who doesn't want to be a mother again real solutions would come and lives would be blessed.

While abortion would not come up in a conversation I had with my daughter, I believe that if abortions are performed they should be safe and as much information as possible should be given so a woman can make the best choice for her and the baby she is carrying.

I believe that abortion policy should change; however, I also believe that change will happen one person at a time--and we can all be part of that process by learning and understand more about adoption--one of the most selfless things you can do.

Don Imus

I know this is old news; however, my two cents dictates the following:

If we are going to pressure executives to fire employees because of what they say that pressure should be placed in all media outlets--not just cranky old men.

I have been thinking about this in more detail, but as you know this is an old story.

What was he thinking

Our thoughts are with the Virginia Tech families that lost love ones today. What a tragedy--what a loss.

What drives people to do this? Especially when they include themselves in the people they kill. If you are going to kill yourself, why not save your bullets and skip to the end?

Off we go . . .

One of the best ways to 'get involved' is to write to the editor, write to your representative, or blog--but it revolves around communicating; expressing your ideas in logical and clear manner.

I have slacked as of late with my blog; however, as the political season heats ups (only 60 days until the primaries) I am going to try to express my opinions as quickly as possible. We'll see how it goes.

She stole my what . . . . ?

Emily hid my deodorant. She didn't like the aroma of Old Spice natural scent, so she hid it. What a swiper.

Congrats Emily

Emily won our NCAA tournament challange in a blowout . . . Congratulations

Rank     Bracket      Points Correct Picks Overall %
1       hmmm sports!     119    43 of 63
2       Perfect Circles     88    41 of 63
3       Sarah's Wacky Pix     86    37 of 63
4       Tom's Team     82    38 of 63
5       EQP     74    39 of 63
6       Ashley Scott     0    0 of 63

Presidential Election

I know, you are sick of it already . . . cry me a river. Fill out the survey--there are some interesting results, and as you can tell you only get to pick Republicans.

Wow . . . It has been a long time.

Time waits for no man and it certainly has passed me by. We have been working on Miriam's video blog, which isn't quite ready yet, and doing the political junky thing. Oh, my family, the church, and my job take up the rest of my time--and eating, I do a lot of that too. However, you will notice I lost 5 pounds.

It has begun . . .

The Mitt Romney TV spots have started to hit the air waves in the primary battleground states. While I am sure things won't stay squeaky clean, I hope Mitt can stay above the belt and air positive ads. I don't want to hear about other candidates in his commercials.

On a local note I heard John Montgomery, who ran twice for the 71st Delegate seat, is running for the school board--the same seat I considered running for. It should be an interesting election cycle.

Not a new years resolution

I really hate it when people see my wedding pictures--don't get me wrong, they look very nice, Emily was (and still is) a beautiful bride, and we look really happy in them. No, the reason I hate for people to see them is because the look at me and say 'you look so different', which really means 'wow you got fat'. All with a big smile on their faces.

For my thirtieth birthday, I want to be less than 200lbs. I am unsure of exactly how I will do this--perhaps go back to Singapore?--but I have tried to become more active. I take the bus and have to walk several blocks to work, I take the steps, and I try to eat somewhat less than I used to.

I am having a Birthday party this year and you are invited. If I haven't gotten down to below 200 by the time my party begins I will shave my head. At the bottom of my blog you will see how much I have to lose. Hopefully it begins to move; and not in the opposite direction. I won't worry too much, after all--bald is the new full head of hair . . .

72 Hours

Saturday I went to listen to Jim Gilmore, a former Virginia Governor and Presidential hopeful, speak on his current exploration of presidential waters. As Governor, Jim served as chairman of the homeland security committee--something unheard of when he was appointed by President Clinton in 1999. He chaired that committee for 5 years; the 216 page report was delivered to President Bush on September 1, 2001. Needless to say, his major focal point is homeland security.

Asked what more we could do on the homeland security front, he responded by saying we should prepare for the first 72 hours. (I am paraphrasing here) The first 72 hours he said are the most critical; however, they will also be very lonely. His opinion was that every American should be prepared to sustain themselves for the first 72 hours after the emergency. Government would never be equipped to assist sooner and in the case of huge disaster local assistance would be little better off. Personal Preparedness must be part of the national conversation.

His response buoyed my testimony. The latter-day prophets have echo his comments for some time, and here a presidential hopeful was pushing the idea as a matter of public policy.

Now, I just need to find my 72 hour kit--I know I left it somewhere . . .

Singapore Video

Ok, it has taken long enough-and this is not my best effort; however, it does give a sense of what we did. Some of the pictures are repeats. I take sole responsibility for the content of this video. Since this was supposed to be a 'Singapore' video I had a hard time finding music--hence the shortness of the video. The pictures do go fast, so you may need to watch it a couple of times.

It is sad--it already seems like so long ago. I cannot thank Bryan and Laurie enough for thier generosity and love. We said we would only come once; however, I am thinking Singapore is a MUST repeat trip!

Senate 9th District

Benjamin Lambert will be challenged this year by Delegate McEachin for the 9th Senate seat. McEachin, like Benjamin, is a democrat. Senator Lambert has served since 1984 and by and large has done a good job. I remember he was responsible for helping the Mill House, an adult program for those with brain injuries, stay afloat. He has also bucked this party on a few issues when he thought is was not in the best interest of his constituents.
His latest venture away from his party may prove the end of his political career. Last year he supported George Allen, the republican candidate for Senate--only his side lost. Senator Lambert escaped being expelled from the party by 5 votes earlier this week. While his political life may be on life support, I plan to support him in the democratic primary. No republican will run against him should he win in the primary.

His rival--McEachin is interested in nothing but moving up the political ladder and suppressing those that need his help the most, but that is another blog.

Penny for your thoughts?

I pick up pennies off the ground. I started in earnest when I was in college--you know the saying "a penny saved is a penny earned". Well, I have have found lots of free pennies on the ground. When I left Utah, I had accumulated about $10 worth of pennies. For some reason I stopped once I got a real job; didn't seem appropriate for a man of my stature to be picking up a mere penny. Well, sometime last year I started again. I don't remember consciously doing so, but I can remember some of the pennies I passed up during my 'dark period'. Some have had a laugh at my expense when I suddenly stop and bend over to pick up a penny. Now, the joke is on you. While I have already deposited most of my pennies, it is possible that pennies will be worth 5 cents should the price of metals continue to rise. That means my $5 or so worth of pennies will become $25. Cha ching. I have heard that New York City has $1,000,000 dollars worth of pennies on the ground. If they raise the price of a penny, that would be $5,000,000.

And you said it wasn't worth the effort.

**UPDATE** Emily, the girls, and I went walking this morning and managed to find 2 dimes, and 8 pennies. :)

Regulated Spanking?

California wants spanking to be punishable under law. As a parent I have decided spanking is not for me; however, I do notice that when I loose my patience the hand is a bit more active. Typically a little 'reminder' will do; however, do I want the state telling me I can't do so? The law will "proposes to make spanking, hitting or slapping a child under 4 years old a misdemeanor." This is tough--yes we need to reduce abuse in our homes, but I don't want the police called if I smack by daughter on the rear. I would also think abuse situations would happen indoors making detection difficult.

I think I would have a few hundred dollars in fines. Sorry Dustin, if this law passes I don't think I could afford to live in California.

I expect lots of comments on this one. :)

Another hat in the ring

Senator Obama created his obligatory presidential exploratory committee today. While I like what Obama has to say--he has a great persona--I have yet to hear anything really different come from him. To me, his new ideas have yet to be explained to me. Yes, he does have a unique background; however, I am interested to see if he keeps his 'rock star' status through the year.

My guess is that he cannot--his record is not quite beefy enough.

In Memory

Today we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King. As I listen to "I have a dream" and "Mountaintop" speeches, I marvel his words. I wonder what Dr. King would think of the civil rights movement today. I wonder if I have done enough to promote equality and encourage independence.


"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream." --Martin Luther King