Current Events

Taliban gunmen this week boarded a bus loaded with school girls and shot one of them, 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai in the head.  She survived.

She was targeted because she had been secretly advocating for the education of females.

This is the Taliban's enemy?  A 14-year-old girl who -gasp- wants to be educated and wants other women to be afforded the same opportunity?  This group already has a reputation for being backward, violent, and intolerant.  I'm so grateful to read that local and national government officials are doing something to bring these cowards to justice.


I have been blessed with a strong heritage of dignified, intelligent, bold women.  When my Grandma Laney wanted to get a job because her youngest started school, she began by looking for a sales clerk position, or a secretary job.  Her husband, my Grandpa Laney, suggested that she find a job she really wanted to do, one that would allow her to use her sharp mental faculty.  She got a job at the Library of Congress.  This is my heritage.

I went to the Molly Brown House in Denver last Christmas.  When I saw this teapot, showcasing the political/social issue Mary Brown and her contemporaries were fighting for, it reminded me of my Grandma Laney and all the strong women in my family history.  I come from several lines of women who know it is their place to be involved, know it is their place to be voting, know they are at least as wise, strong, and intelligent as their male counterparts.  I bought this teapot and it occupies a place in our living room, where flat surfaces are scarce.  Seth has wisely not protested its placement there.

This morning Seth and I did a service for our precinct leader:  we distributed 325 "Arapahoe County Voter Guides" to the homes in this half of our precinct.  On Monday, I will go for my Election Judge training class.  I voted for the republican candidate in 1992 in Utah, a state that was 100% certain to go to that candidate, having waited in a line for more than two hours to do so.  I have written here about my affinity for celebrating America's Independence.  I consider living in the United States to be one of the biggest blessings I was given.

This is my high school class ring.  [Thanks again, Dad!  I have always loved this and been grateful for it!]  This ring shows that I went to 13 years of public school and finished all that they asked me to do.  Naturally, I also have a diploma that says the same thing.  I went on to BYU and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Humanities, because I have such a quick interest in so many different things that I was unable to focus my learning in any one field.  I love learning new and interesting things and skills.  Knowledge and the quest for knowledge are part of my very soul.

My prayer is for the rest of the women in the world:  that they will stand up and claim their rights and privileges as women.  That they will stand up to ancient and evil notions that they must not use their minds or obtain an education.  They they will continue, like Malala Yousufzai, to protest and correct the wrong and degrading treatment women still receive in some places.  And that they will be able to find joy in womanhood and acknowledge the blessing it is to be a woman.

My sister Malala is so breathtakingly pretty in her pictures. I pray for her recovery and for those around her to rally to her aid and to beat the Taliban down with every effort they can muster.

Cold 'n Rainy Party Afternoon

It got cold 'n rainy this afternoon.  Seth had an elders' quorum softball game against another ward.  Families are invited, and then there's a barbecue afterwards at the park.  It's been lovely the last couple-a-three years.  I sent Seth to the game and then came later with the children.  We stopped for several errands on the way (return chairs to church from Thursday's successful RS activity at the RS President's house, purchase Shelf Reliance product at Holiday Boutique held by friend).  We made one last stop at Safeway for chips and cookies to bring to the lunch and were flummoxed by how busy and slow it was in there.  Not even busy, really, but just crowded at the check-outs.

Anyway, by the time we got to the park for the bbq, it was pretty cold.  Mid-40s at most.  Then it started sprinkling.  The brethren were messing around with the grill for awhile while everyone else busted into the chips and sodies.  Then when the grill wouldn't light, the game (lunch) was Called on Account of Rain.  We grabbed our chips and brownie bites, along with some extra hot dogs, and went on home.  On the way home, the rain started coming down good-n-hard.

We had to stop at King Soopers for hot dog buns and milk anyway.

It seemed like just the thing we needed for our cold, rainy family afternoon would be a pack of Double-Triple Oreos, so we got that too. 

I love the twisty Fritos.  They're doubly crunch-a-licious.

The Brownie Bites were actually not too bad.  Usually store-bought brownies are atrocious.

And because Jules was with me, we also talked ourselves into buying a dozen donuts.  It's the least we could do.  We grilled the hot dogs at home in the rain and had them with chocolate milk.

Anyway, we just spent an hour sitting in front of the Wii while Seth and Eric had a big Mario-thon.  They're so cute playing together, sharing tips.  It was a lovely cold, rainy afternoon with the family.  These are the golden times.

Time for donuts!

Big News: Nothing!

I was diagnosed in 2008 with thyroid cancer.  It was a nice sized tumor.  I had the surgery and treatments in 2009.  The follow up includes scans and neck ultrasounds, along with constant, every 6-months blood tests.

The neck ultrasound last year revealed a small "object" about 2x3x6 mm in the left thyroid bed where the tumor was.   This meant I wasn't yet "cancer-free."

This year's ultrasound was last week.  I had a friend come with me because I HATE going to the University Hospital.  That's a whole 'nother post, though.  The doctor called back with the official results the following day:

Nothing!!

Best they could figure is that last year's ultrasound tech had been super-thorough and super-meticulous to report ANYTHING, even if it was nothing.  That's good, because Just In Case.  In my case, though, it prevented the Cancer Free test result for a year, is all it did.  I appreciate her being circumspect, but I appreciate more OFFICIALLY NOT HAVING CANCER ANYMORE!

:)

Not Quite Broncomania

Seth's boss and his friend have season tickets to the Denver Broncos.  They don't care about the preseason games so they give the tickets away.  We usually get to go once a year.  Last year I sent Seth with Eric while I stayed home with baby Mark.  This year we went to the Seahawks game.

Every year we think we're going to leave early and get there in time for all the pregame stuff and every year we miss almost all of it.  Next Year!

They had some of the survivors of the Aurora Theater Shooting there to be honored on the sidelines.  That was special.  They had several hundred of the First Responders in the stands also, who got a standing ovation.  That was special.

We're stalwart Bronco fans but not quite to the point of Broncomania.  Everyone is going crazy in Denver (or was before the season started...) about Peyton Manning and how we're pretty sure to Go All The Way this year.  Whatever.  Just let the guy play, m-kay?

We have matching #7 jerseys.  It's my only Bronco gear.  I wear mine to every game.

It really is quite exciting to go to the game, even pre-season.  More exciting, though, was when two ladies showed up and sat in front of us in the second or third quarter, along with their five children.  Who brings five children to the Bronco game with no dads?  NOT ME!!!!!!!!!!  It is super-refreshing to be able to say "Whoo!  Glad that's not my kid screamin'!"

A Fun Little Interaction

Two mornings a week (one after this!) I have to walk Russell to school.  Usually he goes with Jules.  Last year it was three mornings a week. Anyway, most of these mornings, I drop Russell, watch him walk through the park, and head on home.  [Sidenote:  the school backs to the park and the children line up on the blacktop, so I just watch Russell as he goes through the park and into his line]  As we walk home, we usually pass a mom from the next street up walking her three boys, one of whom she drops at school.  So we each have three little boys and drop one.  Some mornings her boys are in their jammies.  Sometimes they have the stroller with them.  Sometimes my boys are in their jammies.  Sometimes my boys are at home napping while Grandpa helps out with Extreme Projects.

Anyway, today we passed in the Secret Passage.  Scott was busily jabbering to me about "what if we saw a big HUGE grasshopper...." and he was wearing his pajamas.  The other mom approached, with one of her sons wearing a Power Ranger suit and jabbering to her about spiders, lots and lots of spiders. 

We always smile and say hello.  We're like twinners except I have the two bigger kids.  Sometime I plan on introducing myself and making friends.  It was a fun little interaction today between twinner moms.