I am very concerned about the direction in which our country and it's . . policies are headed. In order to stop this onslaught of evil, we need to band together, buoy our faith, and become united in our efforts. We cannot break ranks. Vote for Conservative values on November 4th. Let your voice be heard.
http://matthewwildertanner.blogspot.com/2008/10/marriage-between-man-and-woman-is.html
Below is a letter from the financial director of protectmarriage.com.
Dear Friend,
This is it.
Right now, we are making the final decisions on where best to expend our resources to win next week. And since our campaign manager Frank Schubert sent you this urgent appeal to save the institution of marriage, thousands of you have generously donated $1,138,134 online through ProtectMarriage.com. Combined with our $1 million matching challenge (which has now been met – thank you!), we are within sight of our $3 million goal.
Because of your generosity, we were able to add significant funds to our advertising buy over this past weekend and this week. Because people are now seeing our ads more often, they are responding, and we have recaptured momentum. We're starting to see an upward climb in the polls!
But we aren't there yet.
Even with this amazing outpouring of support, WE ARE STILL BEING OUTSPENT BY THE NO ON 8 CAMPAIGN BY AT LEAST $1.5 Million. If this continues through Election Day, the institution of marriage WILL be lost in a multi-million dollar blizzard of lies and distortions funded by a last minute flood of cash to the No on 8 campaign.
We cannot allow this to happen.
We have come too far, and fought too hard, to let this election slip away from us in the final week. Now with Prop 8 a dead heat. Right now, whatever you are doing, we need you to stop and make whatever gift you can to preserve the institution of marriage. We cannot fall short -- or the truth will be drowned by millions of dollars paying for the No campaign's lies in the last 7 days.
Please read the message below if you haven't done so. Forward it to everyone you know. And most importantly, please ensure you act right now, with whatever gift you can make to save marriage.
The time to act is now.
Steve Linder
Finance Director
ProtectMarriage.com - Yes on 8
I have to admit, I find myself becoming more emotional, the closer we get. . . Better get on our knees, people.
This is it.
Where to begin. . We just got over one crazy weekend! I suppose it's typical for everything -all your activities, plans, events- to fall on the same couple of days, but this was way over the top ridiculous. Aaaahhhh!
Friday afternoon, I came home after picking up Tommy and Aleia from piano lessons, and flopped on the couch, exhausted, only to realize that my weekend . . had just begun. No relaxing pizza/movie night for us! First, there was dinner. (Ha! More like grab a bowl of cereal or a sandwich and run.) Then we got to taxi all 3 big kids off to their respective places of employment. Opening night for High School Musical 3, so Eric was in for a long evening. . . Aleia and I went over to the church for the big Craft Night. . She had a lot of fun making hair bows from ribbon. I had a lot of fun hanging out with adults, sanding blocks of wood, and turning them into Halloween decorations. Tried to get to bed early, with no such luck. Of course McDonald's had Laena stay late, even though she was taking the ACT Saturday morning. . Buncha punks. Thankfully, Charlie was around to pick up Eric some time after eleven, cause I was passed out cold with the baby and Jefferson.
Saturday morning, we were up early. I ran to the gym, and ran back. Charlie dropped Laena off at the school, armed with pencils, calculator, and words of encouragement. Clint, Eric, and Tommy were herded out of their beds, much to their vehement disgust. (It's the weekend after all. . we should be allowed to sleep in!) They were made to don Scout shirts, round up some boxes, and we were off on a quest. Eric's Eagle Scout project kick-off, a food drive for the Utah food bank. While we were out picking up donations, with the help of our good friend Jack, we noticed that one of our neighbors had left a case of beer on his porch, presumably knowing that we were out collecting . . food. Pretty funny! Charlie and Lea headed off to the church for the big Daddy/Daughter activity/brunch. Poor Chuckster had to sort of bounce back and forth, for the next 3 hours, between grocery store and church gym, trying to pull off some serious multi-tasking. Clint and Eric wanted to go check out the Anime convention Saturday afternoon around 1 pm, but Charlie put his foot down when we found out that it was $20 a ticket, just to get in. . Wrongo! : ) Then it was off to Orem, for the big wedding! We scrambled to get ready. . . hopped in the cop car, and took off. Laena, Clint, and Eric naturally bowed out, claiming other plans. . (Teenagers these days!) Our Laenabug's the Belles Voix Choir VP, and didn't think she should miss the big Choir Halloween Party, which she had organized/put together. From all accounts, she had a lot of fun! Complete with plenty of high school drama, punch and cookies. : ) Clint had forgotten to ask off work at Pizza the Hut, and Eric had another big night at the movie theatre. Yeesh. Well, if we didn't get to have so much family time, at least we only had to take one car down south to Narhea's nuptials. . . Old friends of the family, those. . It was nice to see everybody again. . Her dress was beautiful, the church was quaint, (built in the 1800's) good food, etc, etc. I just felt bad that we hadn't been able to get down to Manti earlier that day for the actual temple ceremony. . Sigh. I guess when you're this busy, you can't do everything. . gotta pick and choose.
Saturday night, we dragged back in the front door, void of much energy, having fought and chased a cranky 2 yr old most of the evening. . A 2 yr old, I might add, who recently has been prone to regular car sickness. . : ) Yay! Did we collapse into our beds, you ask? Were we finanlly able to call it a night, and get some rest?! Sadly, no. We had to wait up for the teenagers, who as everyone knows, love to take their sweet time coming home at night. . One of the joys of parenting . . that I could seriously do without. Yawn. . . Anyway, baths, stories, picking people up. . . a little political debating on Facebook, brushing of teeth, and we were finally there! Bedtime ritual over! Glorious, beautiful sleep! But wait! Tommy the Tominator simply has to stay up and watch . . The Incredible Hulk! And can't seem to remember to keep the volume turned down. . . At this point, I just didn't care. ZZZZzzzzzzzz. . . .
Somehow we survived Sunday. . . I'm sure you've all heard the old saying: "You can take the family to church, or you can stay home and keep the Sabbath Day holy." I honestly thought, a couple of times, that I was gonna crack up. Just get me through this meeting, I prayed. And Charlie. . Help me not to kill these kids! : ) Chuckle. Anyway, we made it. And, through a fun twist of fate, we got to hang out with our good buddies Mike and Jamey Rail, who were up from Alabammy! Well, and . . Salt Lake. . . Their brother Dave got married again this weekend. I'm assuming Saturday. It's been way too long! : )
Yesterday I had an eye appointment. I really need something for dry eyes. . It's just way too much of a desert out here. The good news is. . I still don't need glasses! : ) Yippee! Last night we carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening. . It was a lot of fun. Tommy went to town on one of 'em, carving out a perfect rendition of my least favorite Star Wars character, Darth Maul. Yuck. Pretty cool pumpkin though. . . Or should I say . . spoooky Jack O' Lantern. . . . : ) Charlie's friend Joeshi, from Vienna, is in town this week, sister city, Coca-Cola software. . . So big C, with some of his work buddies, ended up taking him out to dinner. Those punks. Out on the town, livin' it up. . Sniff, sniff. . without me. . . (Ha ha ha) (Really, I'm not into office politics.) 
Charlie's wanting to go out again, on Halloween, but we can't decide where. . I'm all for Park City, personally. . . Also, check this out! He scored 4 - eight hundred dollar apiece - tickets, court side, to the Jazz game Thursday! First game of the season. Those PUNKS! He was supposed to get 6. So guess who's staying home. Grrrr. . . Guess you gotta entertain the Viennese colleagues. . .
But hey, it's okay. I don't much like basketball anyway. (pout, whine) Hee hee. JK!
Now, On to the rest of my day! On to more adventures, with Super-Mama!
Sure. . . 
Looking out the window here, I'm counting . . eleven kids . . in our yard, and not one of them is mine. . . : ) Since the leaves fell off our maple tree out front, Lea and Jeffy have recruited the whole neighborhood, it appears, to jump in an enormous pile of brilliant yellow ruffage. . Then they disappeared. I found them in the kitchen, attempting to smuggle granola out to the crowd. Granola, you ask? I don't understand it either. Apparently, they feel that it's an appropriate snack, considering the season. . Chuckle. The energy those children stir up! A full blown leaf fight is going on out there in our yard, and the funny thing is, 'most everybody's laughing! : ) Ya can't buy moments like these!
Meanwhile, Tommy is attempting to make a 'meat smoothie' back in the kitchen. I reiterate: "Elk. It's what's for dinner." Except that's not the only thing. . That boy wants to combine taco meat, bologna, bacon, etc in the blender, add some spice, (as if it didn't have enough flavor already), and drink it down. Yuck. I'm not really sure that 13 year old boys should be encouraged to be quite so creative. . should be let loose around electrical appliances. . .
On a different note, Laena came home sporting a new hair style yesterday afternoon! I thought she was going for a 'trim', but she came back with a 16 inch ponytail, NOT attached to her head. She had cut off all of her hair! Her beautiful, flowing, golden brown locks! Gone. Aaaahhh! Well, actually the gal across the street helped her out some. . Sigh. My neighbor, Mrs. Utah - 1st runner up, is not only a six foot tall Venus, she also does hair. : ) And a pretty savvy cosmetologist she is too! Our Laenabug looks very cute and bouncy, and is in a mood to match. I guess she was ready for something new, a new idea, a new look. She's been batting it around for a couple of months now. . I guess it was time! : )
Looking ahead, I'm currently gearing up for the big wedding this weekend! And Eric's Eagle Scout project kick-off, and the Daddy/Daughter activity, and the big Halloween party. . . (snap). Woosh! (Reelin' it back in. . ) Wait, I forgot the ACT Saturday morning, and the big Anime get-together downtown tomorrow night. . . Hmmmm. I'm loving all this excitement, but some days, I think of how nice it would be to just curl up in front of a fireplace, on a nice comfy couch, and go to sleep. Or maybe watch an old movie. . . Hmmm. : ) One of these years, we'll have to invest in a fireplace. . . Sigh.
Our Binky, I've just noticed, who recently turned 2, and who is appropriately going through that traditional 2-yr-old naked phase, has once again discarded his clothing/diaper, and has, while my back has been turned, succeeded in single-handedly destroying our living room. Crayons and popcorn are strewn everywhere. Shoes, books, and toys 'decorate' and add personality to our otherwise boring . . floor space. I have to hand it to him. . The boy has talent. : ) It's always an adventure! : ) Personally, I'd prefer a little . . order. As Super Grover says on Sesame Street, "The Feng Shui, has fang shwent. . ." That's right Baby! Chaos reigns supreme!
I love Fall. Gimmee some hot chocolate, a fleece blanket, and a big Charlie to snuggle. . . bunch 'o kidlets running around. . . It's Heaven Baby! : ) Right here at the homestead.
Jeffy was hungry. He'd announced it to everyone present.
"Let's see. . . What do we have to eat. . ." I rummaged through our snacks, looking for something easy and quick. I needed to make dinner! "Marshmallows! Huh. . ." I pulled them out of the cupboard. "But what are they for?" I mused, imagining some elaborate Scout treat in the works. Maybe Charlie was saving them for a camp out.
"It's . . for us to eat." Jeffy explained patiently. : )
He and Binky sat on the kitchen table, their little legs dangling over the side, just above the bench, as they gazed out the window into the back yard and munched. . . After a while. Jeffy was done. He handed the bag of marshmallows back to me.
"Are you finished?" I asked. A reasonable question. . .
He proceeded to hop down, with my help.
"I'm full of it." he stated without a second thought, running off to play. : ) Not really, of course. . .
That's our little boy!
Well, what to do. . . I've thought of several hilarious 'bits' for my blog here over the past few days, and now I can't remember a one. . . Old age is setting in early, it seems. Or maybe just my memory's going. . . ; )
Last Monday we went to the pumpkin patch, down the road about a mile or so. . It's a family tradition! We do it every year. : ) Unfortunately, this year it was freezing, but we still had a good time. . . The kids love to pick out pumpkins, still in the field, and then they rip it up, goin' through the little 'market' tent at the Pumpkin Patch entrance. They have some produce there, treats. . and some really cool gourds! It's a fun Autumn activity.
Later on Monday evening, we got to attend Laena's Fall Choir Concert over at the high school. It was fabulous, as usual, director Kelly DeHaan being one of the most talented musicians this side of the Mississippi. : ) I tried to get some video of the performance, but wasn't able to get much. . I did the best I could with a cranky 2 year old pulling on my arm half the time, and whining. Sigh. There is some AMAZING talent in our young people over there. . . Just heard that they're putting together a show, entertainment of some sort for the First Night activity downtown. Mr. DeHaan is always being asked to these things together, because of his unbelievable piano/vocal/organizational skill, and, more importantly, his ability to connect with the kids. Sigh. I just feel bad that Laena didn't get the message, back in August, when the West Jordan Concert Choir was asked, as sort of a last minute favor, to do a cameo appearance in High School Musical 3, filming across town. Double sigh. I don't know if we were out of town, or it was because she'd changed her phone number, but we missed it, and she was bummed. Lost her chance to shine on the silver screen. And her little sister probably would've been able to get on the movie set and watch them filming! Don't tell her that though! All heck would break loose. : ) But hey, we'll get to see it in theatres THIS WEEKEND! So go and check it out, everybody! And you can all say that you almost knew her when. . . Sob. . Chuckle, sob. . .
Lincoln's birthday was this month. . He's 2 now. He was actually due on Columbus Day, 2006, but the doc was nervous about our big, huge babies, so he took him 2 weeks early. Hmmm. If I could do that one over, I don't think it would go down quite the same way. . . I mean, so we have 9 and a half lb babies . . consistently. That's not that big! And his lungs might not have been as fully developed as they could have been! Just because Aleia was ten pounds, fifteen point eight ounces. . . Pshaw! What a bunch of pansies! : )
Laena's and Jefferson's birthdays are also coming up here pretty soon. . . I refer to them as our second set of twins. Jeffy was due on Laena's 12th birthday, and they look just alike! : ) He ended up being induced 2 days early, however, because the doc was going on vacation. Jeez. . . Well, this way Laena lucks out and gets her own day to party! November is a big birthday month in our house. Charlie's on the 30th, so that makes 3. . . We also have a bunch of cousins, etc who claim as their advent the coldest month of Autumn. Jeffy, the last couple of years, has inadvertently had a 'political party', because his birthday has happened to fall on . . election day! : ) Chuckle. Yep! I'm tempted to have everybody dress up as their favorite candidate! Ha ha ha ha ha! jeffyjeffyjeffyjeffy (He had to write his name.) : )
Here we go again! Aahhhhhh! That boy came over, and picked Laena up in his black convertible Spider. It was all too familiar. . . Like some sort of terrible deja-vu. I'm still freaking out. "It's picture time!" I announced when he showed up on our doorstep. . We had some fun snapping pictures in the front yard, but when they were ready to go. . when he opened her door, and she hopped in, with her purple Cinderella dress, and they pulled away. . . I wanted to run after them, screaming "Come baaack!" I know it's crazy, but. . she is my baby girl, after all. . .
Homecoming Night.
Sigh. . .
She had picked out a pretty, violet-colored dress. . and her hair was working with her. It had turned out great! : ) I must admit, I did like his shnazzy, matching purple tie. . . I guess, at some point, you just have to let them go, and hope you've taught them enough to get them through the evening. Sigh again. . I suppose Laena can pretty much take care of herself. Hopefully they'll have a great time. . . have fun and create some sparkling memories. High school can be a lot of fun, when you play the game right. Good times with good friends. : )
Last night Charlie took Tommy and our neighbors across the street up the mountain to go camping. I had tried to talk him out of it all week. He is Scoutmaster, and probably knows what he's doing, but when the forecast has been calling for snow, and the temperature was predicted to drop by 30 degrees. . Well, I just don't see the point in camping. Out doors, overnight. And especially not up on the mountain! Was he insane?! "But Honey", he argued. "The boys need to learn survival skills!" Survival skills? How about staying indoors, where it's warm, with fuzzy slippers and a fleece blanket. It just seems like . . common sense. "Where's your tent?" I demanded, as they were leaving. He kissed me goodbye, and hurriedly responded. "We'll be okay. . We're gonna build a lean-to." (Apparently they'd watched a special recently, where very intelligent, experienced career backpackers built some sort of shelter with a couple of tarps.) Big smile, a smooch, and he was gone . . jogging across the street, with his backpack and sleeping bag. I doubt they'd have even taken hats and gloves if I hadn't said anything. . . I was at a loss for words, and stood staring after him in the doorway, speechless. The man is completely nuts.
A night on the mountain.
'But it's still the middle of fall', you say. Not up north of the ski resorts, it ain't! Turns out it was a good thing our neighbors had decided to bring along a couple of smaller, spring bar tents. . . just in case. . . I didn't sleep very well, partly due to the fact that our 2 year old baby had a fever, and partly because I was worried. . nervous that my husband and son might freeze to death up there at ten thousand plus feet. I picked them up this morning, performing feats worthy of NASCAR, as I raced up the mountain through irritable white flurries, to rescue those boys before the snowstorm began in earnest. By the time we were all packed in and headed back, all-out winter had set in. . . I'll definitely have to post pictures. : )
The other day, Jefferson had to do a little 'autobiography' for Kindergarten, if you can stand it! : ) He said his favorite foods are carrots. . and cheerios, and corn dogs and barbecue chips. . and cocoa puffs, and chocolate milk, and meat . . . and chicken! : ) I asked him about his favorite color, and he came up with: 'green, purple and dark green. . .' Only he didn't stop there! Young children are very colorful. : ) We went through the whole 'book', called A Story About Me. Here's how it went. . .
Jefferson lives in West Jordan, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake. His hair is a rich golden brown, and his eyes are blue. Jeffy is 5 years old. He likes to eat Cheerios, corn dogs, barbecue chips . . and chocolate milk! : ) His favorite color is green. And his favorite book is . . he doesn't know. One that he checked out from the library!
It was very cute.
His teacher, Mrs. Arnold, is actually a pretty good teacher. I was concerned at first, about how he would adjust to . . just going to the morning half of their all-day Kindergarten program, but he seems to be doing okay. We'll see how it goes. . Jeffy especially loves to play on the new playground they recently built, right outside of his classroom. It's got a rubberized 'floor' and everything! : )
We love our Sweetie Deedle!
Aleia is very excited about Halloween, as she is about everything. When we picked up a couple of pumpkins the other day, she immediately named them both! Sharpay and Gabriella. : ) Then she and Jeffy took them for a ride in the stroller, transporting them with great care from porch to said transport. When I went to grab something out of the car about 10 pm, I discovered that the pumpkins had been 'tucked in'. : ) Aleia had put a blanket on both of them, so as to keep them warm. Awww! How sweet is that? : )
Let me illustrate just how excited she is about the pumpkin holiday. When Lea came home from school yesterday, she found a junk mail ad from some store . . that happened to have Halloween decorations on the front. With great ecstacy, she bounced over and positively bubbled about her idea that we go shopping, to this particular craft store. "Hey, we could go buy some stuff, and get crafty!" With her signature bright eyes, and bouncing of the eyebrows, she's a hard one to turn down. : ) Always a project goin' on with that girl. Or at least one happening in her head. . . What a cute Rosebud! : )
Yesterday, we were watching General Conference. Jeffy didn't want to come indoors. It was raining, and I told him to come in immediately, or pay the consequences. "But I have to help my friend." he said irritably, slightly distressed. "What friend?" I asked, somewhat bewildered, but ready for just about anything. "My snail friend." he explained. Well, of course. It had been raining all day. Naturally the snails would come out. . . I chuckled to myself. I loved to play with snails when I was a little kid. 'Course those ones usually had shells on them. . . I thought, as he showed me a small slug in a paper cup. His 'friend'. : ) How freakin' adorable!
Later yesterday afternoon, we we're headed to the grocery store with Daddy, to grab some last minute weekend stuff. Lea saw the pumpkin/straw display from the street. The kids were excited as we passed the large bin of pumpkins the store had placed strategically by the door. "I want a pumpkin!" Aleia demanded emphatically. "We just got one yesterday. . " I pointed out, trying to herd them into the store and out of the rain. "That one's mine!" yelled Jefferson, bouncing around us. "But Jeffy's is skinny. I want a fat pumpkin!" Lea clarified with energy. She grabbed at one of the orange gourds. I reached to help her, and discovered and unusually squatty vegetable. "{This one is pretty fat. . " picked it up tentatively. "But it's ugly!"she exclaimed."No, I want this one. . " Aleia and her little brother scrambled around the bin, Jeffy attempting to climb in it at one point. None of this surprised me at all. Charlie, who had, by this time fetched a cart, and wanted to get going, was mildly annoyed. Couldn't really blame him. . He'd been up since 3 am, fighting the rain up and down the mountain in an 18-wheeler. Twice. What a man!
Just now, Charlie called from somewhere south of Lehi. He's with his brother Calvin, who is in the process of moving to Idaho from Oak City, down in the Fillmore area. . Jeffy got excited when he knew it was Daddy, and insisted on saying hi, as usual. When they were done chatting, I took the phone back, and proceeded with the traditional small talk. "Are you guys fuelin' up, getting gas?" I asked casually, wondering why they'd stopped again so soon. "No. . Actually, we're getting a ticket. ." I could hear Charlie's wry amusement in his chipper tone. After laughing hysterically for a minute or so, we said our goodbyes. . . ("I have to go. . . ") to the tune of a policeman's brusque salutations. " . . need to see your license, registration, proof of insurance. . " I could hear him rattle off quickly in the background. . Turns out the cop was a pretty nice guy. . . He let Calvin keep his truck. : ) Now Charlie's driving. . .
A little update: They're currently stuck in gridlock, waiting for an accident to be cleared away. . less than half a mile in front of them. Sigh. 2 hours of adventures in the time it would've taken them to get down there and start loading up! Hmmmm. Ah, well. . this way Charlie gets to spend some quality time with his little bro. . chit chat and radiate some brotherly love! Good times! : )
Yeah.
We are at a crucial time in our country's financial history. Congress defeated the $700 billion bailout plan on Monday. However, they are revising it and trying to push it through again. I'm supporting an alternative plan that will keep our nation from going even deeper in debt, and I've been on TV and radio all week telling people about it.
We need everyone's help!
Follow the instructions below. Together we can change history.
Pray for them to resist a spirit of FEAR and to embrace WISDOM. Even if you don't like them or agree with them, pray for them and tell them you are praying for them. There is a spirit over this problem that must be broken. Also, most of the media personalities are afraid as well and that is affecting their reporting. Pray for fear to be removed from them; they are making this worse.
Send The Common Sense Fix to your Representatives and Senators and tell them how you expect them to vote, and that if they put this nation in $700 billion of debt, that you will vote them out. It's their job to listen to us! (Whichever presidential candidate or political party that champions this plan from their leadership down will likely become the next president. That is because this plan fixes the crisis while going along with the wishes of the vast majority of Americans.)
*Note: If their websites are down, that means we're making a difference! Keep refreshing the page until you get through. You can also go through Congress.org, though we don't endorse this site.
Forward this email to everyone in your address book and tell them to urgently follow these 3 steps TODAY. The more people we have supporting this and contacting their elected leaders, the more likely we can turn our economy around!
We are at a crucial time in our country's financial history. Congress defeated the $700 billion bailout plan on Monday. However, they are revising it and trying to push it through again. I'm supporting an alternative plan that will keep our nation from going even deeper in debt, and I've been on TV and radio all week telling people about it.
We need everyone's help!
Follow the instructions below. Together we can change history.
Pray for them to resist a spirit of FEAR and to embrace WISDOM. Even if you don't like them or agree with them, pray for them and tell them you are praying for them. There is a spirit over this problem that must be broken. Also, most of the media personalities are afraid as well and that is affecting their reporting. Pray for fear to be removed from them; they are making this worse.
Send The Common Sense Fix to your Representatives and Senators and tell them how you expect them to vote, and that if they put this nation in $700 billion of debt, that you will vote them out. It's their job to listen to us! (Whichever presidential candidate or political party that champions this plan from their leadership down will likely become the next president. That is because this plan fixes the crisis while going along with the wishes of the vast majority of Americans.)
*Note: If their websites are down, that means we're making a difference! Keep refreshing the page until you get through. You can also go through Congress.org, though we don't endorse this site.
Forward this email to everyone in your address book and tell them to urgently follow these 3 steps TODAY. The more people we have supporting this and contacting their elected leaders, the more likely we can turn our economy around!
