Finally

For those of you who were wanting to see a picture of Tyler and me from Halloween, you finally get your chance. Someone from the ward emailed a picture of us in our lovely costumes. Happy Halloween...after Thanksgiving!!

Elf and his "sugar."

Now onto Christmas.

:)

Gingerbread Houses and Climbing

GINGERBREAD HOUSES
On Saturday, Leslie got us "Jeffs" girls together to decorate gingerbread houses. It was a lot of fun! The best part about mine was that I didn't have to put it together; it came assembled. I just got to decorate the outside! Here are some pictures of mine:

Front - Santa at the door way. (I didn't have a chimney to put him next to/in.)

Side #1

Back - The blue thing is supposed to be a planter box. I couldn't think of what to put there. :)

Side #2 - Looks a lot like side #1.

CLIMBING
Tonight for FHE, Tyler and I went rock climbing at The Quarry with a couple from our ward . I must admit, I was a little nervous beforehand, but we had a really great time. We climbed "top rope," but The Quarry also offers "lead climb," "crack," and "boulder" climbing. Tyler was pretty darn good - he even finished a 5-9 climb! I stuck to the easy stuff and barely finished a 5-5. :) We had so much fun that we plan to go back sometime soon. Here's a picture of top rope climbing:

Measured Voices Provide Reason, Support Amidst Proposition 8 Reaction

This is from newsroom.lds.org.

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SALT LAKE CITY 21 November 2008 Following the passing of Proposition 8 in California, the Church released statements urging civility and reaffirming its position on the issue. The Church also noted that two Roman Catholic bishops released statements decrying religious bigotry against Mormons. The Church today points to additional third-party voices that provide useful insights into the reaction following the vote. Some of these individuals supported Proposition 8, and some were against it.

These materials may be helpful to the news media, bloggers, Church members and the general public in gaining a broader view of the aftermath of the Proposition 8 vote. All people of faith have cause for concern when others try to remove their legitimate voice from the public square.

Anti-Defamation League Condemns Criminal Activity Targeting Religious Institutions That Supported Proposition 8

"Although we strongly opposed Proposition 8, its passage does not justify the defacement and destruction of property. We urge Californians to channel their frustration and disappointment in productive and responsible ways to work towards full equality for all Americans. To place anyone in fear of threat to their houses of worship or their personal security because they have expressed deeply held religious views is contrary to everything this nation represents. Our Constitution's First Amendment protects freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion for all of us."

Dallas Morning News Editorial: Protest and Civility in a Democracy

“But a vicious minority is not satisfied with that. Some gay rights protesters have voiced sentiments about Mormons, whose church was active in advocating Prop 8's passage, that if said about gays would be condemned as hate speech. Vandals have struck a number of Mormon temples. Bash Back, a pro-gay group in Olympia, Wash., trashed a Mormon temple there, then issued a statement saying, ‘Let this be a warning to the Mormon church: Dissolve completely or be destroyed.’

“Gay rights extremists should ask themselves the same question. A cause, no matter how just, can only be harmed by thuggish tactics. Our pluralist democracy depends on a citizenry committed to working out differences with civility.”

Michael Barber, Professor of Theology, Scripture & Christian Thought at John Paul the Great Catholic University

“… we found it appalling that in the final days of the campaign, opponents of Proposition 8 ran an ad in which Mormon missionaries were presented as barging into a same-sex couple’s home, gleefully rummaging through their personal possessions and violating their rights. The ad attempted to ridicule people of the Mormon faith, even implying that it was wrong that they contributed money to the election. As a Catholic school, we stand beside our friends in the Mormon Church and of people of faith who work tirelessly to preserve the freedom of religion in America. We also strongly oppose any attempt to ridicule another person’s faith, even faiths with which we have strong historical and theological disagreements.”

The First Amendment Center — Charles Haynes: When the Marriage Debate Turns Ugly, No One Wins

“Mormons are taking the biggest hit from the opposition. But as protests, boycotts and blacklists targeting Mormons proliferate, it’s worth pausing to think about where this collision is headed. … Before this clash escalates further, both sides should exercise caution and reconsider their battle plans going forward.”

The Christian Post — Chuck Colson: So Much for Tolerance

“Two days after the election, 2,000 homosexual protesters surrounded a Mormon temple in Los Angeles chanting ‘Mormon scum.’ Protesters picketed Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, holding signs reading ‘Purpose-Driven Hate.’ Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills was spray painted. Church members’ cars have been vandalized, and at least two Christians were assaulted. Protesters even hurled racial epithets at African-Americans because African-Americans voted overwhelmingly in favor of traditional marriage. What hypocrisy from those who spend all of their time preaching tolerance to the rest of us!”

Beliefnet.com — Rod Dreher: Stand By the Mormons

“Now is the time for traditional Christians — Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox — to come to the aid of our Mormon friends. They put themselves on the front line of the traditional marriage battle like no other church group. And now individual Mormons are paying a terrible price for standing up for something we all believe in. I don't know how we can stand with them from afar, but at least we can thank them, and speak out when we see them being abused. We might also think again about how we view them. … I have deep disagreements with Mormon theology. But they are our friends and allies and fellow citizens, and they deserve our thanks and support.”

John Mark Reynolds, Philosophy Professor at Biola University – California and Thank-a-Mormon Day

“In the battle for the family, however, traditional Christians have no better friends than the Mormon faithful. It would be wrong if that support were taken for granted. We are intolerant of the false attacks on Mormon faith and family. We stand with our Mormon friends in their right to express their views on the public square. We celebrate the areas, such as family values, where we agree. A heart felt thank you may not win points from other friends who demand one hundred percent agreement from their allies, but it is the decent and proper thing to do. Thank you to our Mormon friends and allies!”

The Volokh Conspiracy — Dale Carpenter: An Alternative to Anti-Mormon Protests

“Here's my advice to righteously furious gay-marriage supporters: Stop the focus on the Mormon Church. Stop it now. We just lost a ballot fight in which we were falsely but effectively portrayed as attacking religion. So now some of us attack a religion? People were warned that churches would lose their tax-exempt status, which was untrue. So now we have (frivolous) calls for the Mormon Church to lose its tax-exempt status? It's rather selective indignation, anyway, since lots of demographic groups gave us Prop 8 in different ways — some with money and others with votes. I understand the frustration, but this particular expression of it is wrong and counter-productive.”

Utah Jazz

Yesterday, Tyler and I went to go to the Jazz v. Bucks game with my dad and brother. It was a great game and a lot of fun! The best part of the whole thing was that we got to sit in the 10th row. Tenth row! It was awesome to sit so close to the action. It was a first for Tyler, so it was fun to share it with him. Here's a picture of Tyler and me before the game, taken with my dad's phone since we forgot our camera:


The other cool thing about going to this particular game was that they honored Jerry Sloan for achieving his 1000th win as the head coach of the Utah Jazz. He surpassed this mark back on November 7th when the Jazz beat the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics). He holds the record for most wins with the same team, and is in the top five for most wins by a coach in the history of the NBA. Pretty cool!

Unfortunately I don't have a picture to post here, but Tyler caught one of the "prizes" they threw out to the crowd during the game. It's just a small, stuffed basketball advertising gasoline or something. If you care to see it, stand by Tyler when he's getting a call from me; he took a picture of me with it on his phone and was going to set it to show up when I call.

Thanks for taking us to the game, dad!

Celebrations!

Tyler and I have had two reasons to celebrate lately.

1. I got the scholarship! After weeks of waiting to find out if I had been awarded the scholarship I applied for back in May, I finally got notification in the mail on Friday. Woot! It isn't nearly big enough to cover all of the costs I will be having soon (*cough*boards*cough*school*cough*), but it surely will help to alleviate some financial stress.

2. Robin got married yesterday! It was fun to go to the sealing and then the reception afterwards. Although Tyler and I had our camera, we didn't get any pictures of Robin and Clay. Most of the pictures on our camera are of my immediate family, or pictures that the little kids took. Here's a sampler:

The picture is kind of dark, but here's my fam:

My fam again:

Poor Karen was the only one in the family that couldn't go into the sealing. Oh well, she got to play with the kids! Here we have Hyrum, Karen, Dallin, Echo, and Kirsten.

Dallin was pretty tired by the time the reception rolled around. I don't blame him - I don't think he got any of his naps (understandably).

Robin and Clay are now off to Hawaii! I wish I was somewhere tropical instead of going to school tomorrow...

Purging

The joke going around my parent's house as they move from one place to another in Draper is that they need to "purge." They have an awful lot of stuff, as you can probably imagine, seeing as they've been married for almost 27 years (scary!). Yesterday, I was doing the dishes when I decided to see what Tyler was doing. He was in our bedroom, "purging" his clothes! I thought it was a great idea, so I joined in on the fun (if you will). We both got rid of a good amount of clothes, although the picture doesn't really do the pile justice.


Like I said, the pile looks small, but when you don't have too much in the first place, it's pretty substantial. And to finally get rid of some older clothes was a great feeling. We have more closet and dresser space now! We plan to take this stuff to DI tomorrow.

:)

I did it!

Today, folks, is the first time that I have ever voted...at a voting location. Sure, I've voted by absentee ballet in the past when I was at BYU and still registered in California, but today is the first time I went to my designated voting place and cast my vote. Exciting, huh? Tyler went with me and it was great. Woot!