Jon wanted to buy Asher one of these

Yeah.

I had visions of a naked ragamuffin "riding" his potty around the house and his mother following behind with a can of carpet cleaner and hot water... not so thrilling. Besides there was something about my son peeing on a plastic deer that just made me feel weird.


Though I haven't been able to get him to go #2 on it yet. Do any other Moms have hints or suggestions about how to get the #2 action flowing? Hee.. hee.. aren't you glad I just shared this all with you.

Several months ago on NPR I was listening to a conversation about immigration and health care. One woman said something to the effect of, " I think it is a joke that people who aren't even citizens of this country can get on Medicaid. I don't want any of my tax dollars going towards those people."

I've been stewing over this comment for several weeks and seeing as yesterday was Human Rights Day here in the US I decided that it was a good time to put words to my thoughts.

First of all this woman's comment made me really angry. I realize that there are people, citizens and non-citizens, who take advantage of the welfare system but I think that majority of the people who are using the resources really need them. In my opinion things like education, decent housing, food, and adequate health care are basic human rights that every person, regardless of citizenship status, nationality, language or ability is entitled to have. I believe it is our responsibility as fellow human beings, and children of God, to make sure that others have the same opportunities that we do and aren't denied basic human rights because of poverty or nationality.

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says:

• Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
• (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

I especially believe that the right to adequate health care is a basic human right and that it is really disgraceful that there are millions of Americans who are unable to afford health care and insurance or have health insurance that won't cover their needs.

I think I feel so strongly about this because not only am I personally uninsured right now because we can't afford health insurance for me (the option my husband gets through his school would cost more than our house payment a month and a private plan with the most lousy coverage...10,000+ deductible... would cost me $150 a month) but also because I've had someone very near and dear to me hit rock bottom and almost become homeless. She needed mental health care desperately and as I struggled to find some way to help her I realized that even though we have lots of government programs they have holes in them and there are many people who become homeless or poverty stricken because they fall through the gaps in our program coverage. I realized that for those who are at "rock bottom" it really takes some sort of miracle to help them get back on their feet because our programs don't do nearly enough. Luckily, my loved one got a miracle and after going through all that with her I now have NO problem paying taxes that support programs like food stamps, subsidized housing, medicaid and WIC because I know that there are people who really really need them.

I get a little discouraged when health care legislation gets "hung up" because people start throwing the word "socialized" around as a scare tactic. Personally I would have no problem with a "socialized medical" system because I think that it would ensure that all people would have some sort of access to medical care. We have a socialized education system and Americans don't really seem to mind that. True, our public education isn't always the best but I think that most Americans would agree that it is better to have some sort of universal education system in place than none at all. Any sort of education gives people a chance at a better life and develops them as people, and the rich will always be able to afford something better if they aren't satisfied with the public option.

Imagine what the US would be like today if people were only educated if they could pay for it. What sort of electorate would we have? How many more social problems would we have? How much bigger the gap between the rich and the poor would be? It is kind of a scary picture. Americans have already accepted the fact that education is a basic human right and can see that our country is better because all people are able to receive an education. When are we going to realize that health care is a basic human right and our country would be better if all people were able to receive health care, not just those that can afford it?

This is a topic that really hits a nerve in my spirit and I don't think that as Americans we can consider ourselves a "civilized" or "Christian" nation when we don't take care of our sick, our poor, and our disabled. So this Human Rights Day I said a little prayer that sometime in the very near future that somehow our government and people will find a way to fill in all the gaps and wake up to our responsibility as human beings to provide our brothers and sisters with the basic human rights they deserve.

Also if anyone knows of a good way for me to find affordable health insurance, that doesn't involve me getting pregnant so I can qualify for Medicaid, please let me know!

Whenever people ask who we think Rose looks like we say... ASHER.

Here are pictures of both of them around 2-3 months in the same bouncy chair.

Asher

Rose


One more time...

Asher


Rose


What do you think?

Do they look similar?

Even if they are complete opposites in temperament?

I think my mother- in- law said it best. As she was holding Rose and Asher was running around with his boundless energy she said, "Rose is such a peaceful baby and you really deserve a peaceful baby. Because while Asher is many wonderful things he isn't peaceful." Amen to that. Lets just hope Rose is still peaceful when she's 14.

I've known for awhile that we had too many roosters (3) and too few hens (7) and that I would probably have to do something, eventually, before my boys started fighting each other or stressing the ladies out with their friskiness. I really didn't want to get rid of any of them and I guess I was hoping that they would all find a way to coexist in peace.

But alas, my dreams of chicken coop peace were shattered several days ago when Jon came back from the chicken coop with a bloodied up rooster. I guess there had been quite the cockfight in our little coop because the other rooster was pretty cut up as well. So we had to get rid of a rooster. I was all for selling him on craigslist but Jon was pretty adamant that we should eat him.

We'd half joked about eating our chickens when the time came but weren't really sure if we could do it. When the time finally came Jon said that if we couldn't kill and eat our own chicken then we had NO business being able to buy it nicely saran wrapped at the grocery store. He said that we only had two choices that wouldn't make us hypocrites... we'd either have to kill and eat the chicken or become vegetarians. He was dead serious about both.

So we ate the rooster.

Jon killed it and did most of the cleaning. I offered to help, cleaning birds doesn't really phase me much because in High School I had my falconry license, but I think he really needed to do it by himself. I think he was kind of testing himself. I really believe that if he couldn't have done it or if it had been too traumatizing for him that he really would have become a vegetarian.

Jon said the experience was emotionally draining but that it wasn't as bad as he expected. The only weird part was that the chicken's skin was blue. I guess Silkie chickens are an exotic breed that have blue skin under their feathers and are considered to be a real delicacy in China. It kind of weirded Jon out but I didn't really mind.

It was actually a really humbling experience to eat our chicken. When I said the prayer over the food, for one of the first times in my life, I sincerely felt grateful. I was deeply grateful to this chicken who gave its life for us and grateful for the privileged to have food. Seeing first hand the sacrifice that went into my meal, and all the hard work involved to get it to the table, really changed the whole eating experience for me. Instead of being a blob of saran wrapped flesh at the grocery store that I was totally disconnected to, this was a living creature that I owed something to. I found myself less willing to let any of the chicken go to waste. We ate as much as we needed and then we boiled down the rest to make chicken soup with. Throwing the left overs in the garbage somehow seemed completely and utterly wrong. I think that if I was to be this connected to all my food, especially my meat, that I would eat less and be better at eating all things in moderation. The scripture in D&C 89:12 keeps coming to mind:

"Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly."[emphasis added]

When our other chickens reach the end of their laying days (usually about 2 or 3 years old) we will probably eat them too. It really isn't the most fun job or one that we really look forward to but it seems like the right thing to do. This experience has really changed how I feel and look at my food and I don't think that I will ever be able to eat chicken, from the grocery store or my own yard, the same way again. I just feel so much more grateful and aware of the sacrifice animals make and our responsibility to be wise stewards over the earth and the animals God has given to us.

We just got our census... our VERY OWN census.

For some reason that makes feel like such an adult.

I guess owing a home and having two children should also make me feel like a "real" adult but honesty, deep down inside, I still feel like I'm 19.

Jon and I were kind of giddy about it and argued like little kids over who got to fill it out. Finally we waited till the babies were asleep and then took turns filling in the boxes.

I can't believe that the last time the census came around ( every 10 years for those non- American's out there) I was 15.

It is even harder to believe that next time the census comes I'll be 35.

Asher will be 12 and Rose will be 10.

Wow.

Time goes by so fast.

Do you think I'll feel like a "real" adult by the time I am 35?

I don't really like making New Year resolutions. Unless they are something I've already been working on I never remember to do them. They just don't work for me.

Instead Jon and I write down New Year's miracles. Each New Year we write down three or four things that we'd like to see happen during the next year. They are always things that at the time seem utterly and completely impossible, things that if they really were to happen would indeed be miracles. Sometimes we ask for miracles for ourselves but usually we ask for miracles to happen to people we care deeply about. Since they are things near and dear to our heart it isn't hard to think about them often and to offer up silent and vocal prayers for them.

Last year I wrote down four miracles, things that I was sure weren't going to happen that year but which my heart yearned for desperately. I can bear strong testimony that God is still a God of miracles because one of my "impossible" things was answered directly this year, another was answered in a round about way, and one the miracles I prayed for two years ago was answered this year. I've noticed that sometimes God doesn't always perform the miracle in the year I pray for it but I've come to trust in God's timing and wisdom. I know that the other two miracles I prayed for in 2009 will someday be answered in His own time and His own way.

Perhaps these "impossible" things would still would have happened if I hadn't been praying for them to happen, but then they wouldn't have been miracles. Miracles are things that need to be asked for... they take faith. Jesus never performed a miracle unless someone specifically sought him out and asked for it. They demonstrated their faith in His power by being humble enough to ask Him for the miracle they wanted, whether it was for themselves or someone they loved. If we want to see miracles we have to have the faith to ask for them.

I am asking for some pretty impossible things this year. Part of my heart doubts that there is anyway they will be able to happen, but the other part of my heart is full of faith in God. I know that with Him nothing is impossible... even miracles.

I just recently shared this tradition with a friend and she directed me to an incredible story written by Elder Boyd K. Packer in which he and his wife had a similar experience making New Year "miracles". I didn't know about this story when Jon and I start our tradition and it just strengthens my testimony of miracles.