You Know It is Fall When...

...you feel the urge to buy pumpkins & apple cider! I bought apple cider the last time I went shopping and I'm glad I did because it was perfect for our Family Home Evening activity tonight. We shopped for pumpkins with the Brewer family...I think we wore the poor farmer out! He closed up shop when we finished with our selections! And three of our kids couldn't wait to carve 'em up...the other two were busy with homework. I am really missing my SLR...I always take timed photos of our glowing pumpkins...not this year!! Oh well...you can still see all the pumpkin guts that adorn the creations!

Palin Rally

Busy weekend...we left Greenwood around 1:30 on Friday afternoon to hear Sarah Palin speak at the Verizon Wireless Center. Scott & Olivia opted to stay at school...how did we raise such responsible children? They wanted to go with us but Scott had a test and one last cross country practice after school and Olivia didn't want to mess up her perfect attendance. Plus, she got to go with Don to a hayride that evening. Traffic was terrible once we got to Noblesville so that put us late getting into the venue. We had VIP tickets because Rance & I volunteered last week at Governor Daniels headquarters making phone calls asking for support of John McCain, Sarah Palin & My Man Mitch. I really enjoyed the experience. I had only one woman say she was voting for Obama and she actually apologized to me for it!! I just laughed with her! Anyway, we didn't get to sit in the VIP section--too full by the time we made it in but it turned out for the best since we had the kids with us. They had fun running around in the lawn section. We had fun posing for photos with many strangers because of our t-shirts. All in all, it was a good experience to attend a political rally...a first for all of us. It would be nice to hear politicians from both sides talk a little straighter though instead of all the political lines & jargon. I liked Governor Palin's speech but it would have been better if she could just TALK to us. Enough for now...GET OUT AND VOTE!!

Granny Opal & Pa Jerry

We had a lovely visit with my Granny on Wednesday night. Mom & Don invited us over for a cookout...I think it was one of the last nights of this season that was warm enough to sit out on the patio. I am so thankful they are both still well enough to travel to see us. One of Granny's favorite things to do is to shop. Mom & I took her to Kohl's earlier in the day. She had to be in a wheelchair so I pushed her around the store. She's a hard one to keep up with! She wants to look at EVERYTHING! I'm not that kind of shopper! I scan the store and make quick judgements so I definitely did not inherit her shopping genes. We always have a great time together! She just turned 84 but she's still young at heart!

Proposition 8 in California

I read this post on Jill & Robert Baker's blog and agree wholeheartedly. Let's stand up for what we know is right. Do something now!

YES ON PROPOSITION 8 in CaliforniaEven if you do not live in California, it is just a matter of time until this issue comes to your state. We have been directed by the brethren to pass this on. You've been tagged. PLEASE READ THIS no matter what state you live in.Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children. If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches. The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs. Including adoption agencies.A YES vote will not hurt gays. In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.

For your information:On Friday, October 10th, 2008 a first-grade class took a field trip to witness a lesbian wedding in California. Click Here for the article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

A father in Massachusetts was frustrated when his kindergartner was taught about homosexuality at school by the teachers. He insisted he be notified in the future before such things were discussed so he could pull his boy out of school.He was taken to jail. Click Here for the story.

A Catholic adoption agency In the UK closed their doors because of the Government's new homosexual equality laws. The Equality Act forbids discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules. Click Here for more info.

Earlier this month judges in Conneticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalized gay marriage. This is not just an issue in California. We voted years ago to keep traditional marriage as the only marriage recognized in the state of California, 4 judges overturned our vote…and we need to fight back. That is what this Proposition is about. This is happening everywhere and the leaders of the church and others have warned that the outcome of California’s vote will affect the way the other states vote. So PLEASE…even if you don’t live in California, put this on your blog or email this on. The internet knows no state line. You know contacts in California that I don’t…and so do your friends. Please pass this on as it could eventually have an effect on everyone!

"Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, "You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven't time to be concerned for others." Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service andour hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord." --Thomas S. Monson

Click Here for excerpts from the Broadcast given by Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton.

A good resource mentioned in the broadcast: http://www.preservingmarriage.org/

October 20th: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot if voting out of state. Click Here to get one.

October 27th: Last day to apply for “Vote by Mail” Click Here for info.

November 4th: Election day. Polls close at 8:00pm. Vote by mail must be received by this time and can be hand delivered if necessary.

YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED...Here's what you do:In the broadcast we were asked to "go viral on our blogs, etc" by Elder Ballard. This is my way of going viral. If you feel this is an important issue I ask that you copy and paste this post...and post it on your blog. PLEASE keep it at the top of your blog through November 4th. which you can adjust each time you post under the "edit post" option. The internet knows NO STATE LINE. You know contacts in California that I do not...as do your friends and their friends...and so on. Please do this. If not for your own children and the effect it could have on them some day...for mine! After you have posted this...email this to your contacts and TAG all your blogging buddies to do the same. THANK YOU!

Bella...not Willow...

Well, after living with the name Willow for a week, our children finally decided to agree on something...that they didn't want the name Willow. They have agreed that our puppy's name will be Bella (which is the name that the majority of us wanted to begin with...) I hope this is the last time I write about choosing the dog's name. Now we just want to enjoy having her in our family! She is a crazy dog...very playful. Olivia and I are reading the book "Marley", an adaption for younger children of the book "Marley & Me" and I'm learning that Bella is not alone in her crazy dog actions!

Dilemma on Diablo!

I know everyone has been anxiously waiting to hear the result of our latest dilemma here on Diablo. And I did say dilemma because that is what it turned into. Who knew Family Home Evening would last for over two hours on Monday night and that our puppy would remain nameless afterwards? Looking back, it was comical. Living through it though... There were comical moments but mixed in were crying moments, stomping out of the room moments, angry moments, sarcastic moments, hysterical laughing moments...but the important thing is that our puppy finally has a name as of last night. Her name is Willow. Rance came up with it when he recalled one of our family's favorite movies. It has Val Kilmer in it and it's pretty old. It used to be one of Scott's favorite movies when he was a little guy. We have some video of him holding the video tape and asking if we could watch "Wee-Low". He was soooo cute!

Surprise!

Rance and the youngest three went out Friday night, without a dog. They returned, with a dog. Rance is a very wise man. He didn't breathe a word of his intentions to me. In fact, he said something like, "Enjoy a quiet evening at home, honey..." I did enjoy a quiet evening. After a couple hours of being a couch potato, I heard a commotion in the garage and went to investigate. That's when I saw her...our new 12-week old Black Lab/Retriever. She is so cute and fun. Did I mention that Rance is a very wise man? We are trying out different names this weekend and will decide on her permanent name during FHE.