Day of Faith

Harvard recently had a "Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose" panel. They had five undergraduates talk about their religions, their beliefs, and how Harvard has affected their faith. Really interesting.

I was really blown away by the LDS junior who participated. She explained difficult topics clearly, she was well prepared for even the toughest questions, and she even clearly differentiated "We believe" from "I believe". She was a wonderful representative for the the church.

So if you're LDS, watch it to learn a little about how to present yourself. And if you're not, watch it to learn a little about us. It's worth the twenty minutes.


Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

Yes, I am a Nerd

John got me the best present ever. Check it out! He couldn't decide which microbe to get me, so he went with a neuron. Because we could all use an extra brain cell or two. I love it.

I've been looking at all of them and I don't think I could decide either. I want so many! Clostridium perfringens, a Leukocyte, Yersinia pestis, Helicobacter pylori, ... I could go on and on. These are so awesome!

Some Random Things

- Edward got his first tooth on his first birthday. That could have been bad, but we didn't even know he was teething. Yay for my stoic, sweet guy!

- Ethan is having sleeping issues. Mainly going to sleep issues. It takes hours every night, and napping is non-existent. (It was only four days a week before, but he still needs it.) Our boy is exhausted. He's so tired that he's started having tantrums again. Like he's two. And the nearly constant whining and crying is driving me out of my mind. We have no idea what the problem is and have found nothing that will keep the boy in his room. Really no fun at all.

- Edward is a chatterbox. He almost never stops talking. I love that he looks at me and rattles off whole sentences, like I should understand exactly what he's saying. We've figured out a few. Mama, Dada, and Hi are all obvious. Then there are those that no one else would get. Ethan, All Done, What's That, Ball, and Raaar (as in roar). Also he has a specific grunt that means "Yes, my diaper is stinky." And he has the "no" head shake down pat. Loving that we can communicate more!

- John is shaving off his goatee in three days! Really, two days and a wake up. I'm so excited!! I've decided to call it a Christmas present to me. I've been ready for it to be gone for a while. He's had it for a year, people. A year of a scratchy faced husband is not my favorite. (I love him, just not his unkempt facial hair.)

- My Grandpa's doing great. We couldn't even let ourselves hope for this before, but he should be home for Christmas! Probably even the traditional Danish Christmas Eve at the farm. I wish I could be there. (Also, this means I really need to decide on a layout program and a printer so that I can buckle down and get his book ready for publishing. At least the first volume. Any suggestions? I've used Blurb, but have some issues with their layout program. Solvable ones, but it's easier to avoid them all together.)

- How is it that Christmas is so close and I haven't finished my wrapping???? Usually I'm done shopping before December hits and I'm done wrapping by the middle of the month. I like having the last few weeks to just relax and enjoy the season. Life managed to get in the way this year. At least I'm done shopping. (Unless you're family. We're aiming to have your gifts done by the end of January. Hopefully.)

- I need to clean the boys bathroom. But I think I'm going to go make some chocolate gingerbread cookie bars instead.

Testing All Toys

I'm sure that most of you have heard about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) by this point. I've known about it for about a year, but was unaware that it would be incomplete.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for this legislation. Safer toys? Fabulous. But, especially because of this. Yea. That would be the lead analyzer my dad's company is making. The company that we all hold stock in. We've been excited for the CPSIA ever since word first leaked out. And we all watched for the news when the bill passed in August. It was great news for us.

The problem I have with the legislation is the reason you may have heard of it. They made no provision for handmade toys. I am a firm believer that people should have the right to accept the risks of an "untested" handmade toy if they so choose. Without this provision, most makers and sellers of these toys will go out of business as the cost of testing is just too high.

So, if you are planning to write your congressman or something of the like, suggest that the CPSIA be amended to allow for handmade toys. Even if it means we as the consumer have to sign a release form to buy them. Don't bother asking to have it repealed. There were only 3 votes against it in the congress and senate combined. They LIKE this bill. But they may be convinced to fix some of its flaws.

Haven't heard of this bill? Here is a great overview of it. And here is a good analysis of how it may affect toy sellers (as far as anyone understands right now.)

NY Pictures and a Video

Fooled you! No pictures here.

I'm stretched a little thin for the next week or so and have no idea when I'll get around to posting my own. So I'm just going to point you to some from my dad's family blog.

Pictures of the boys are here, and a video of the Indian war whoop is here. Enjoy! (And thanks to Chris for posting them.)

Christmas Gifts

The last two weeks have changed my perspective on the Christmas season. I'd already been trying to focus on family instead of things, but apparently I had a ways to go. Since being home, I've had this obsessive need to rearrange and declutter my kitchen. I've been sorting through every cabinet, adding lots to the garage sale box. Because I need more room for good memories. Here's what changed me.

Spending time with Grandpa was so great. And we didn't need any stuff to enjoy our time together. It made me realize that the best gift he can give any of us is himself for as long as he can. After that, we'll be happy with his memories. Thanks for letting me help you get them into a form that will last for generations, grandpa.

Spending time with my parents and siblings and extended family made me miss them. And the east coast they live in. I was absolutely giddy about spending two weeks in the cold weather. I loved being able to watch my boys play with their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Someone should move out here near us. Ben? Hannah Banana?? Dad???

Spending so much time with my kids (way more than I wanted because they slept with me) reinforced how much I love them and will do anything for them. I had several people comment on my mothering skills while traveling back home. In a good way. Each time I said thanks, but thought "I'm just doing what I need to. What are they talking about?" Looking back, I see that simply by not giving up when all of us were falling apart, I was showing them how much I loved them.

Spending so much time apart from my husband was horrible. We both decided we'd never do that again if we can help it. Grandma and Grandpa J, I don't know how you do it. I heard that song "All I Want for Christmas is You" on the radio while in NY and realized, besides the fact that I can't stand it, that all I wanted was to be home with John. I didn't need anything else. Just John.

So that's what's on my mind this December. I have my family and I don't need anything else.

Except maybe Rock Band for the Wii. And some black boots. I'm not perfect, people.

PS - I read this post today and it simply reinforced how important family can be. And reminded me of my favorite Christmas. Anyone else remember Ben sharing his pizza from Santa?

Too Fast!!

Slow down Edward! We love that you're so smart and that you're growing up, but we're not ready. This is what you've done, just in the last two weeks. (Sorry that you missed it all, daddy.)

-Standing
-Threatening to walk (We've been stopping him so that daddy doesn't miss it.)
-Indian War Whoop (I'll post video of this. It's hilarious.)
-Two teeth coming through at once
-Combing his hair (It's the cutest thing you've ever seen. I'll try to get video, or at least a picture.)
-Sharing, and not just the give and take back kind

I'm sure I'm forgetting some. It's all happening so fast, and I'm not ready to lose my baby. So Edward, cut it out!

Moments in a Hospital Room

Everyone should have the opportunity to spend so much unfettered time with each of their family members. I wasn't able to spend as much time as I would have liked because of my own boys, but the time I was able spend in the hospital with grandpa was wonderful. I wanted to record some of my favorite moments so that I don't forget them.

-The incongruity of grandpa in his hospital bed, wiggling his toes under the sheets, leading a meeting. He's a CTO and isn't willing to let anything slide while he can't be at work. He'd even participated in the 3 hour Board of Directors meeting that morning. That's grandpa. Always getting his work done.

-The opportunity I had to bring him two surprise books. One, the first volume of his memoirs. It was just a test printing. Unedited and without photos. But he loved it. The other book was from all of the family. He's been writing his book for us, so we thought we'd make one for him in return. It's a simple scrapbook with a page from each of us. I loved being able to watch him read through it. Tearing up at what each person wrote to him, and talking to their pictures. I wish every member of the family could have seen it.

-All of the people and life lessons we talked about. Grandpa has had a long, storied life. I'm looking forward to continuing to read his memoirs and learning even more from him.

-Going through the photos for his book. We were labeling them so that I'd know where to put them. But anyone who knows grandpa knows that this meant I spent hours getting to listen to grandpa's stories. I loved it.

-Tucking grandpa into bed. I'm grateful for the blessing it is to serve him. He's spent his whole life serving others and I love that he'll let us give back in these little ways.

No matter the outcome, I'm overflowing with gratitude for the opportunity to spend this time with him. I love you, grandpa.