Little Authors

A couple weeks ago the girls were into writing their own stories. Jess and Maren created their own stories and Josh and I wrote them down as they spoke. The stories are without titles but fun to read. I thought I would blog them so I don't feel bad throwing them away. Enjoy!

By Jessica
One morning, a girl named Rosa went to the store. She bought a box of cereal. Then she bought a box of candy. The kind of candy was suckers. Then she went back home. She gave out suckers to her neighbors. Rosa went to the library and got a dinosaur book and she got a recipe book. Then she got a movie for her kids. One was named Maria and one was named Jonathon. Jonathon made a cake recipe and Maria watched the movie. When Maria was done with the movie, she did art. The kind of art was painting. She painted a rose and a blue bonnet. Then Jonathon watched the movie. When he was done watching the movie, he painted. He painted a normal car and a race car. Maria made the rest of the cake. When she was truly done with the cake, she went to the park and Jonathon went too! Jonathon swung on the swing. Maria went down the slide 20 times. THE END

By Maren
One time a girl named Hallie and she was going on a trip with her mom and dad and she fell into a ditch. Her mom and dad were still riding their bike and she died. Then she was in the desert and her dad was named Uncle Rollie. He was a different uncle Rollie and she was a different Hallie. Then he died. Then he fell on the board on the forest. Then he wrote down a letter of a scorpion. In our room there is a scorpion. I'll go get it! Like the one in the picture and like the desert in the picture. And then uncle Rollie gave a chair to Abuelita. And he went to the circus and felt the sand. THE END

I wonder what a child psychologist would say after reading those stories
J.K. Rowling watch out!!!

Random rantings, ravings and grumblings or a few of my thoughts as I did the dishes

As I was doing the dishes tonight, I began to think. At first, I was doing a little self analysis. (This is what psychologists do when they aren't mentally engaged elsewhere, it's really kind of sad.) And I was thinking to my self, "Self, why do you have such an aversion to using the dish towel on the dirty dishes before you put them in the dishwasher. The purpose of the dish towel is to clean the dishes, so why are you so aversive to getting it dirty?" As I contemplated my cognitive misperception the thought occurred to me "I am not so much adversed to using it on the dirty dishes, as I am to using it on the dirty dishes that are going into the dishwasher." Carol and I have a long list of dishes that are to be hand washed, including but not limited to all cutlery, and pots, pans, etc... These, I have no problem cleaning with the dish towel, (so long as it goes in a logical order, with the dirtiest of the dishes waiting to be cleaned last). So, my cognitive misperception is not actually a cognitive misperception but actually a sub-concious anger at my dishwasher for not doing its job. Here is how I perceive it. The dishwasher has two functions: 1) clean dishes, and 2) drying the dishes. My dishwasher does neither. This upsets me. When I have left some small bit of food or heaven forbid, a chocolate milk ring on a plate or cup, my dishwasher does nothing. Ergo, I am putting clean dishes into the dishwasher so that it can splash some soapy water on it, and then rinse it, and attempt to dry them. I continued to think, "Why do I do this, it would be far more efficient to simply wash the dishes by hand and let them air dry. I would probably use less water, less electricity for sure, and they would certainly be drier by morning than they currently are when they come out of this POS." To that end, I decided the reason I tolerate this, isn't because it is efficient or saves me work, the reason I tolerate it is because I can stick the breakfast dishes out of site, not have to dry them and so on through out the day, until the next morning when I wake up to supposedly clean and dry dishes. If I had the room in a drying rack it would certainly be better to simply leave them out. Then my imagination got to working and I started thinking of products that would be better. I began with a dishdryer. Essentially looks just like a dishwasher but only dries, and ideally since it only has one function it should at least do that well (but if chalkboard erasers have taught me anything, it is not to rely on something that has one simple function to actually function). Then I started getting elaborate, and since it is my imagination, some day I may just build a cupboard system with a built in drying rack on a conveyer belt so that I can load wet dishes into it above the sink, and when I go to get out dishes by the range and or oven, they should be dry (however, this may take purchasing more dishes than it is worth). Either that or as Carol just suggested, we will just eat on paper plates for the duration. Anyway, small glimpse inside my continually overcrowding mind. Enjoy.

`Josh

Recent Happenings

A few weeks ago, we discovered a few ants in our pantry. By no means were they as nasty or ingenious as the Pharaoh Ants we had in our old apartment, but nevertheless, we wanted to put an end to that problem before it became a big problem. So we scheduled a weekend and went and stayed with Griselda for a night while I bug bombed the house. Griselda was super sweet and excited and got us tickets to Concerts in the Park in Fort Worth. We saw Asleep at the Wheel. The girls absolutely loved it, and for the first time we saw lightning bugs in Texas.

Emmett when he was still happy before we went to bed way to late (we got back at like 10:30).

The girls danced the night away, they had a blast, there were even fireworks after the show!

In other news, our sweet Jessica is now a Kindergarten Graduate! We are so proud of our sweet Jess. Her teacher raved about her all year long, and Jess is very proud of the fact that her behavior card never got changed from green all year. Can't believe how big she is. The Kindergarten teachers requested the PTA buy gowns for their graduation. Personal feelings about proper use of funds aside, they looked so dang cute! Way to go Jess we are super duper proud of our sweet heart!

Jess and Momma at Graduation.

Me and Jess.

Isn't she just adorable! We love this girl!

And here is a video from tonight. Emmett just randomly made this sound and it reminded me of something so I encouraged him to do it again, and eventually we go it on video. This is for you Michelle. Sorry there isn't more, once he figured out the camera was there he stopped doing it.

`Josh

It's Hot out there!

This is an older picture from a week or two ago, while I was still in school, Carol let the kiddos play in the sprinklers. My Gabe is so cute!

I like Marshmallow's, they are so good!

MMMMMM S'MORES.

No, Jess doesn't have her pj's on backwards, that is a temporary tattoo. And because she is Jess what better place to put it than at the point where you neck meets your collarbones.

Here are a few pictures. The girls always want to go camping again, but without the mountains, it really isn't the same. So, we improvised, and "camped" in the backyard. The girls were so excited about it. I set up the tent, we blew up the air mattresses, and fired up the grill for some s'mores. The girls didn't really want to go to sleep, but around 10ish they finally all nodded off (Maren held out the longest, she had a nap). I on the other hand laid in bed sweating and wondering when it was going to cool off until about 1:00. Then the wind woke me up at 3:00 and the call of nature hit at about 6:00. Carol and Emmett slept inside and missed out on all the fun. Needless to say, I wanted a nap the next day. The girls had a wonderful time, but as for me, I miss those cold desert nights.

The End Is NEAR!

So, I have decided to grow a beard, put on a bath robe, and stroll the streets of Dallas carrying a sign that reads "The End is Near." Nah, I have seen people bible beating on campus, don't think it is the most effective method. Actually the end of Grad school is near. Today I completed my last final for my last lecture course ever! I still have comprehensive exams, ideally at the end of summer, but all of my remaining class work is going to be research. The bad news is that I am definitely not going to be able to walk until May of next year. I am finalizing my degree plan, and I can't sign up for more than 6 hours of dissertation per semester and have to have 12 hours of dissertation. Ideally I will have my dissertation defended by December and will only have to sign up for the hours in spring. So that is what has been going on at school.

I would give you an update on what is been going on at the house, but I have been spending most of my time at school (Plus I told Carol it was her turn to update the blog, and she hasn't done it, so I will let her give a better update soon. Her excuse has been I have the computer with the pics on it, pshh, whatever.)

`Josh

FHE Armies of Helaman

Lately, I have been at school a lot, and consequently Carol has been home with the kids by herself. I think as an artifact of me being missed and Carol being worn out the kids have been less than perfect. Carol and I were talking about it and what we thought we could do, and decided to have a special family home evening talking about obedience. It was going well and then I suddenly switched topics and started talking about the Armies of Helaman. After we talked about how miraculously they all survived the war even though they were all injured, I challenged the girls to do there best to obey with exactness. We then told them that we would have an extra special family home evening if they could do their best to obey with exactness. The first week went by and we didn't see a ton of improvement. Then the next week was spring break and I was home and with both of us there we were able to remind each other and the girls to obey with exactness. So for our very special family home evening we made and decorated card board shields. Then we had a fight with the Nephites and the Lamanites. I was the Lamanites and the girls were the Armies of Helaman. Carol was Helaman. Carol and I worked it out so as long as the girls obeyed with exactness her commands I would lose. But as soon as they didn't obey with exactness, I would start to win. The girls had a blast. (I designed Mett's shield and Carol colored it, just in case you were wondering.)

Elder Oaks

So, we had an amazing opportunity to hear Elder Oaks yesterday in a special session of Stake Conference. He came to do some Priesthood leadership training, and our Stake President scheduled a special stake conference so we could hear an Apostle. Carol and I were planning on going to a satellite building but at the last minute decided to go to the stake center anyway, and surprisingly the building wasn't full. So we actually got non horrible seats. His first message was on repentance, then he spoke about the first vision and the significance of the evolution of the accounts of the first vision. Hopefully it is something I will realize as I get older but he said that he had had spiritual experiences that initially he analyzed and believed meant one thing but as time went on he realized that there were other things that were as important or more important than the initial impression. He believes that is the case with Joseph Smith's different accounts of the first vision, initially all he paid attention to was the fact that he was forgiven of his sins, then his focus slowly turned outwards on things that pertained more to the restoration and the Saints. He also spoke on the mantle of apostleship. I found it interesting because a lot of the earlier messages were focused on what a great opportunity it was to shoulders with an apostle, and it felt as if his response was, I am just a man trying to do what the lord has asked me to do, and often not fulfilling the responsibility as well as I ought. He spoke a little on being better at proclaiming our belief in Christ. He said that he went through his christmas cards this last year and out of more than a hundred fewer than a third had an image and message centered around christ, conversely more than half didn't even mention christmas, but said seasons greetings, or happy holidays. He even said his wife had to go to three different stores to find cards that had both an image and a message focused on the birth of our savior. He also shared a few funny stories, one about a ten year old little girl who gave him a letter that explained she knew he was an apostle because he was clean and his head was shiny. Cora and Jess busted up at that. Overall it was an awesome opportunity. I found it interesting how casual it felt, he hadn't prepared any message and they had left him over an hour to fill, so he kept saying, lets see what else did I have to tell you. I also could see him taking notes during other speakers which he then used to reiterate some of the messages that had already been shared. It was also interesting to feel the power of the spirit that he carried. He went through the congregation shaking hands, and from 20 feet away you could feel the spirit just permeating the area. I was walking around with Emmett, but Carol said you could feel the spirit simply when he entered the chapel. It was also amazing to have the spirit give such a powerful witness to his calling as he spoke and interacting with our stake, he is truly an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Beyond that it has been spring break, and though I had high hopes, I got much less work done than I had intended, so I better get my butt in gear before this semester swamps me.

~Josh

The last few weeks

You may have noticed that the blog has been a little neglected as of late. So here is what you have been missing and what has been keeping us away from updates.....

First... Record snowfall hit Denton, we got 12 inches in the city and about 13 where we live. And as seems to be a requirement whenever North Texas gets snow, we built a snowman. Granted, I didn't break out a scraper and level like some people I know, but the girls liked their snow girl. They repeatedly told me it had to be a girl, so I put her hands on her hips akimbo. How else does when designate gender in snow people (other than what I saw on the snowmen built at UNT by undergrads).
Second, Annette's family came out to see Rollie before he got deployed. He has been stationed at Fort Hood, which from the news, you probably already know is down in Waco area. He had a weekend off before being sent overseas, and for some reason Annette thought it was worth it to drive out here and see him off. As an added bonus we got to see the family. Annette and Carol took the kids to the Dallas Aquarium. I was at school teaching, so I don't know what they did, or saw, but here is a picture of them there, and for some reason the aquarium seems to need a leopard as well. (Carol says I sound jealous, I just think it's silly since cats hate water).
We were also spent Sunday (2/21) at Griselda's house with Rollie, and Annette, and Rollie's family. They have such a sweet family. Such beautiful kiddos.
And since I have been putting in a ton of hours at school, the girls have been missing me. Fortunately the Daddy daughter dance was scheduled for last Saturday night. Cora and Jess had a great time, and I actually danced, if you can believe that. Maren didn't get to go, but I took her out just Dad and Maren to get ice cream a couple of nights before, so hopefully she doesn't feel too left out. She has been asking me to go on another date almost daily since.
Beyond all of that fun stuff, I have been trying to get too much done. I am working on another submittal that looks at the factor structure of a spirituality measure and how it correlates to existing measures. I realize only a few readers will know what that means (or have a translator) but I wanted to let you know I haven't been wasting all my time these past three years. I have also been teaching a full lecture with 104 students and a lab with 21. I have also decided that making tests sucks. Carol has been very supportive, and has been sending me picture mail so I don't miss out on to many moments at home. Cora and Jess even made a special effort and cleaned up their toy room, the bathroom and their bedroom so the house would be clean when I got home. I think Jess has been struggling the most; more than one night I awoke to have her snuggled into bed with us. She is so funny, she doesn't make any announcements about it, or even try to wake us up, she just climbs up next to me. I usually don't even notice until I am caught between two snuggling heat suckers and I start frying with no escape. I think that covers most of it pretty well. Hopefully were all caught up on the major news, and now I have some more papers to grade (ugh).

~Josh

Miracles

Over the break, I asked Carol to get me a book to read from the library. I think I was home with a sleeping Emmett, while she took the girls. I didn't really give her a lot of direction, so she thought, "He wanted to read the Screwtape Letters, I will see if they have that." Well, they didn't have the Screwtape Letters, but they had another book by C.S. Lewis entitled Miracles. So she picked that up for me. I will admit when she showed it to me I was excited. A book by C.S. Lewis I had never heard of on Miracles. I thought it would be full of interesting stories describing the manner in which God had interceded on his earth. I was grossly off. However, my error did not equate to disappointment. The book only talks about one (depending on how you define one) miracle. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Here are a few interesting points he made in no particular order:

The current trend of thinking in the scientific community (which is not to say in any one scientists personal life) concerning the "Big Bang Theory", and evolutionary propositions for the rise of our species is and must be paradoxically inconceivable. The basis of the idea which Lewis is able to so eloquently state (and which I will utterly mutilate) is that if you ask someone who quite literally believes in this explanation as the basis for our current state if they are capable of logical reasonable thought and they answer yes, then you have created the paradox. The reasoning behind his assertion is that order cannot be derived from chaos. They are diametrically opposed, and thus you are a result of a chaotic happenstance that leaves you standing there with what you may believe to be purposeful and logical thought but are in actuality the result of chaos and thus by definition cannot be logical (I think that was a run on sentence, but I digress).

The second point that stuck with me was his examination of scientific exploration, which is probably of more interest to me than most. The simple statement that is derived from his argument (which is lengthy) is that the reason we began scientific exploration in the first place (and this again counters the chaos based theories) was due to a belief in a law giver. Scientific exploration has at its core the attempt to discover laws, and as such the primary assumption is that there are laws to be discovered.

He also discusses at some depth (without the explicit statement as such) the nature of his conversion to Christianity. Having studied so much history, he found it at first redundant, the Jewish/Christian tradition of a God dying and rising again. He said it is a theme that continues in all cultures in some form, the sun god, corn god, harvest god, or earth god. Dying through winter to be resurrected in Spring. The nuances of Jewish/Christian belief is the complete absence of the obvious symbolism. He couldn't come to understand how they missed such an obvious similitude in the course of nature and never introduced into any religious text. He then discusses that the reason is because we do not believe a God who exists in or a part of nature, but in the God of nature. As such the God of nature is free to command nature and is not subject to her as so many myths and philosophers try to demonstrate.

Anyway, thought you might be interested if you have a few days to kill, but I warn you it is not the lightest of reading materials, and may take some time to fully digest. I actually think I need to reread it to more fully understand the depth of his argument. I was thoroughly amazed with his mind the entire time and hold him in even greater esteem after reading it. I recognized long ago in reading the Chronicles of Narnia that he certainly understood more about true religion than do most churches today, and after reading miracles I was amazed at the truths he was able to derive from the Bible. I can only imagine what he would have done had he had the Book of Mormon.
`Josh

Visit

My parents came to town this last week. It was really great to see them. They split their time, spending a few days with us and another few days with Zeb and Leah. This picture was taken last night at Zeb and Leah's house. They left this morning.



Here is one of all of the grandkids. Poor Emmett. 7 girls and only one boy, though my mom says if he is anything like her brother the boy is going to be spoiled.... we'll see.



While my parent's were staying with us we went to downtown Dallas to see the area where JFK was assassinated. This is the building that Booth was shooting out of. If I remember right he was on the sixth floor corner window.




Here are my parents, the girls, and E, out in front of the building. We were fortunate that it was only cold out due to wind. Overall a nice sunny day.


The "tour guide" said the grassy knoll was on the same side as the building, but Dad and I both agree that the side opposite the building would have been a better area to shoot from if there was a secondary shooter. I forget which side this is. (By tour guide I mean the pan handler who hangs around spewing out a bunch of names of people who had reason to want the president dead, and who could have been involved in any conspiracy. He was alright until he tried to tell Dad that there were 12 shots fired, and showed my Dad a mark in the concrete where one of the bullets struck. My Dad called bullshit, good for you Dad, good for you. I probably would have let him rant and then told Carol how ridiculous his suppositions were. And for those of you who don't know, should a bullet impact concrete at a very direct angle [otherwise it would ricochet and leave no mark whatsoever] the bullet would shatter into thousands of tiny bits and leave the faintest if any mark on the concrete.)
Overall it was kind of interesting to see. They have two x's painted on the road where the shots hit the President. And perhaps if you have a small group it might be worthwhile to step into the museum they've created on the sixth floor of Booth's building.
I think that is all for now. In the near future I hope to post on C.S. Lewis' book "Miracles". Quite an interesting read, especially for a scientist.

`Josh