Family Photos

Below is a slideshow of our family photos our good friend and photographer Joanie Glandon took for us.Here is a link if the show isn't working.
It was Soo much fun to have Mom, Dad, Getu, and Mezzie here. We miss you!

Oppurtunities

We have been blessed with a lot of opportunities this summer. One of them was a Music/Dance/Theatre performance camp. It was a lot of work, but in the end so much fun. (: Here is a link to some videos.

Noah was in- Itty Bitty Pretty one, Take me out to the ballgame, Whatever Lola wants, and How much is that doggy (part of the 50's medley)

Evie was in-Itty Bitty Pretty one, Take me out to the ballgame

Alayna was in- Fox on the Run, In the Navy, 20's medley

Joseph was in- Fox on the run, Clogging Medley, and 50's Medley

and everyone was in Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Happy viewing. (:

Noahisms

I love all of my children. Some are just too funny for words. Right now it is mostly Noah. Gotta be the age.

At a lake when we were fishing and getting a Lot of algae before we caught fish.
"Mom, look a frog" pointing away from where he was suppose to be looking at the fishing line.
Mom-"No dear that's just algae"
Noah-"Maaawwwwwm, Algae doesn't have Eyes!"
Mom- "oh" sheepishly as she now sees the large frog he is pointing at.

Tonight
Alayna-"Mom, there is a large bug in the bathroom"
Mom-"OK, where is it?" getting a plastic bag ready to squish it
Noah was sitting right in front of it looking at it
Noah-"Don't squish it."
Mom- not noticing the note of panic in son's voice and squishing it while saying "Honey it's an icky bug"
Noah- Eyes wide in disbelief and face starting to contort "IT WAS MY FRIEEEND!!"
Mom-"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry. I didn't know. We'll find you another friend tomorrow."
Noah- Crying real tears "I don't want another friend! He was my friend and you squished him, you KILLED Him!"
Alayna- Trying desperately to help "You know how when you die you go to live with Heavenly Father? Only his body. . .
Noah-getting the gist of where she is going "But his Body was my friend and you killed his body!" Tears are now flowing freely.
Mom- wiping tears and at a loss "Sweetie, that bug was icky. . .
Noah- repetitively "He was my friend!"
Mom- "I really am sorry, we can look tomorrow. .
Alayna- Inspired "What if we found a caterpillar? A fuzzy brown one"
Noah- a bit of a smile showing through the tears "A red one?"
Alayna- "We could look for a red one"
Noah- tears wiped smiling big "OK"
And so Friends are quickly made and quickly forgotten at the tender age of four.

I wish I could save time in a bottle. It is fun to remember but distressing to forget. And yet my current mind is not large enough to hold it all and so yesterdays go to make room for todays and tomorrows.

My class is done

I have been taking a class on classical political philosophy. I have to publish my final paper on a blog or somewhere else. So I am doing so here.

Is the sun still rising?

More than 200 years ago when the founding fathers of America were deliberating on the type of constitution that they would form, Benjamin Franklin looked at George Washington’s chair in the front with an engraved half-sun. As they were signing the Constitution he said that during the convention he had often looked at the painted sun and wondered "...whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun."

Is the sun still rising? Is it at mid-day or is it starting to set? Is 200 years too long to hope for a still-rising sun? If history has taught us anything it is that nations go through cycles. But why?

Polybius, the Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period, wrote that there are two ways governments fall. One is external and one internal. The external we know about. The internal happens because greed and pride in the people leads them to mob-rule. They hide under the guise of democracy and freedom, but what they really want is easy money; Government cash; Handouts; Bailouts; Someone else to support them. He proved prophetic in the case of Rome.

Plato said in his book The Republic that governments digress from good government into a rule of the rich (Oligarchy) where riches are all that matter, then people become free and they apply that freedom to everything –freedom to lie, freedom to sleep around, freedom to drink and do drugs, freedom from all responsibilities- and you have mob-rule. This is followed by tyranny when a demagogue convinces people that He/She can provide power and riches for all. The demagogue is elected and surprisingly cares only for his/her own riches, becoming a tyrant.

So nations go through cycles. Do they have to? Can we prevent the law of Entropy (The law that states that things flow from an ordered state to a disordered one) from affecting our nation? I think we can for as long as we can avoid the pride and greed that leads us to destruction.

And we come back to the original question. Where in the cycle are we? Rising? At our height? Setting?

According to Aristotle and Plato you can tell a lot about the government by looking at the characters of those governed. In Federalist paper #51 James Madison says. “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

It is clear that we are not angels, and we are not all virtuous either. If so then we might have an Aristocracy in the true sense of the word where a small group of highly virtuous people lead. If we as a people valued honor above all things then we might have a Monarchy. This is obviously not what we have. Neither do we have a tyranny were fear is the leading emotion and principle of action.

That leaves three forms that we haven’t talked about. There are arguments that make it look like we could fall into any one of these categories.

Our government was originally meant to be a Constitutional Government. This is a mixture of the best principles of each form of Government. We have a president that is elected so that we can show a solid face to the other nations and work as one in times of war. This is supposed to give us the benefits of a good monarchy, without the risk of a tyranny. We have a Senate, which is supposed to represent the interests of the individual states and a house of representatives to represent the people directly. These are our aristocracy- Aris being noble. Our juries are chosen randomly from the people at large and we vote for those best suited to rule in order to get the most worthy men. These are democratic principles that give us all a voice in our government.

Time has changed us. The Founders set up the checks and balances that we learned about in school to protect us from decline. We have been given an excellent legacy.

So why is it that the thought of calling our senators and representatives Noble and Virtuous is laughable? Honor and virtue are hardly the calling cards of our leaders. Nor are they the standards of the people. Those that strive for virtue are considered old-fashioned and uptight. So it stands to reason that we do not have a true constitutional government anymore.

Oligarchy, is truly the rule of the rich. In this type of society people value money above all else. Power is bought and sold, and money is needed to grease the wheels of government. The people obsess about having the newest, latest and greatest, and riches and glamour are seen as the ultimate success. The rich are idolized and admired. People will lie or cheat to get wealth.

Democracy, or as we would call it, mob-rule is the rule of the poor. Licentious freedom is the dominant characteristic. People want to be free to do anything they want without paying the price. Borrowing to get what is wanted now, spending without thought of the future, immorality, lack of responsibility- all of these trends in the people point to a mob-rule.

We have portions of all three of these governments. I think that most Americans are good at the core. Most of us try to do what is right and desire only the freedom to pursue our own happiness. This is in our favor. It is evident though that we have a growing portion of the vices indicative of oligarchy and democracy.

So while we are busy pointing our fingers at those in Washington, perhaps it would be more fitting to point them in the mirror. Does Washington have a spending problem? We have spending problems individually. Does Washington value money more than virtue? What white lies are told in America on a daily basis to make or keep more money? Does Washington pass the buck? How many parents take responsibility for their children? How many people take responsibility for themselves? The problems in Washington are not going to go away until we as a people fix our cultural attitudes. If we value money more than virtue, we will not have virtuous leaders. If we value our freedom to do whatever we want and not take responsibility then that is what we can expect from our leaders. Washington D.C. is a concentrated form of our culture as a whole. So lets fix us to fix them. This is the only way to avoid the greed and pride that have led to the fall of many nations and empires.

So in answer to the original question: I believe our sun is no longer as high in the sky as it once was, but its light still shines. The decency and goodness of the American people as a whole is still a light and beacon to the world, if a little dimmer, a little lower than before. Since that decisive day more than 200 years ago our sun has tottered sometimes on its journey. It is tottering now. Our future is up to us and only time will tell if we will step forward and clear the clouds of oligarchy and mob-rule leaving a virtuous people with a constitutional government strong and bright, and a clear and beautiful legacy for our children.

It's been a while

So what have i been up to? Well, I've been keeping busy. I have a few ideas for a blog entry that have been running around in my head and an adorable picture of Noah when he moved Izy's toys and climbed in next to her to read her Brown Bear Brown Bear. But all of that must wait. My class on classical and medival politics ends in 2 Weeks! So as a sorry replacement for all of that and so you will have some inkling of where my thoughts have been. Here is my response to Plato's Republic.

The Nature of Family

While time and place have both interfered with a discussion with Socrates, the minds eye can see another time and place after this life when such a thing might be possible.

Socrates sits quietly on a jutting outcrop, in a field of meadow flowers. He looks at nothing but is looking with such intensity that the eyes are drawn to the apparent nothingness in front of him. As I come closer I realize that hanging in the air is a small insect of some sort and drawn in I watch it for a moment or two before softly hemming. Socrates says “yes?” quietly and without interrupting his gaze.

“Well, I , I was wondering . . . I mean I’ve read your books, well one of them. Or actually I guess I’ve read a book about you by Plato . . .but it amounts to a lot of the same thing right? Anyway, I thought that if you weren’t busy . . .”

As I wait for an answer I look again to the insect he is watching, only now I see that it is caught in a web. Was it caught this whole time? I wonder. Did it become stuck only recently? I never even saw the web. Did he? Surely he saw it and that was what made him look so intently. I switched my gaze back to him only to meet the most disconcerting gaze I had ever been the subject of.

I had been in the presence of great men before. In my youth I had gone to a devotional given by Gordon B. Hinkley and felt his presence when he entered the room. This was strong like that had been, but different. I knew that here was a man with an amazing capacity for concentration and understanding. Here was a man that wanted more from me and from everyone that he met then I was sure I wanted to give. I found myself drawn to him, but nervous. I wasn’t sure I would measure up. I wondered what he would do if he really could see my thoughts as it seemed he was trying to do. I wondered if perhaps I had been wrong in coming here. Wrong to want to share my insights and understanding of one small part of what he had spent his lifetime and now more studying probing and taking apart section by minute section.

“I’m not busy.”- I jumped. I had been lost in a reverie of my own and wasn’t ready for anyone to speak. He chuckled a low chuckle deep in his throat and smiled at me.

“What was it you wanted to discuss?” he asked getting right to the point.

I was glad he had used the word discuss. It took the pressure off to not have to condense my thoughts into one small question.

“ Well, I’ve been thinking about the city you described in Plato’s book The Republic.”

“And. . .”

“ I was wondering if you were really serious about the community of women and all that.”

“Oh. That. I knew that I would tread on some nerves there and I can see that I did. You’ll remember that I tried to avoid even bringing it up because I knew what the reaction of most would be. Let me guess, you’re not a fan of the idea?”

“No, but there is more to it then that, there are a lot of things in the Republic that I don’t agree with.”

“Oh?” His eyebrow raised.

“It’s not everything, but . . . I guess I should stick to my subject though. You see I thought that perhaps you needed to see a bit better from someone who has had a bit more experience with how women and children’s minds work”

“I take it that would be you”

“Well, yes. Having been a child and had several of my own, being a women (a married one at that), and having thought a great deal about the subject I was hoping that we could discuss the question and just see if we can come to a better understanding of each other’s view points.”

“Certainly, I always love to discuss. Since you seem to have the upper hand on me, you know some of what my thoughts are but I don’t know yours, although I probably have an idea. Why don’t you go first.”

“Sure, but where to begin” He calmly looked up at me with an intensity that belialed his calm. I found a relatively comfortable mound and settled myself into it. I was in no hurry and took the short time that it took me to get comfortable in order to gather my thoughts.

“You treated whether there is a difference inborn between women and men. You said that they are not different except that men are better at most everything that they put their hand to being the stronger sex. I do not disagree that overall with some overlap of course men are stronger physically then women, but I do not agree that this is the only difference. Women by nature and design have the opportunity to carry and support new beings as they develop in this world. This is echoed in the priceless food that comes from them to physically nurture the child. This is a clear sign that what she is intended for is to be the caregiver for the rising population. She it is who knows how to sooth hurts, how to train obedience, and instruct in right habits. She it is that first teaches how to walk and how to talk. Again it is plain that in nature the eagles don’t fly to whatever eagle nest is empty and has little ones waiting for food, but to their own little ones. In every case nature shows us that it is right and natural for the parents to be tightly bound to their own offspring. This is nature’s way of assuring that each and every little one gets the best of care. That none of the children are left in the shadows unattended, but that each mother is there to feed, care for, teach and help their individual child to become the best that they can be.”
“So your primarily argument is with the idea of taking the children away from their mothers and raising them so that the mothers will treat all of the children with the love that they have for their own son or daughter, not knowing which one it might be?”

“The problem is that like other things there is a scarcity of resources. Any one mother or father can only give so much of their time and talents and when the responsibility and honor of being a parent are taken from them they realize that they cannot possibly give to all of the children what they would have given to their own. Therefore they may either give something much smaller- and not even a distant cousin so to speak to the absolute devotion given to their own- to all the children, or they may save themselves the trouble seeing that someone else will now take all the burden from their hands and care very little for any of them. Either of these results is a loosing situation. You have effectively destroyed the bonds that were meant to be there.

“These bonds do not simply magically appear, but are brought into being by the intense amount of time and effort spent in serving and the gratitude and love returned for that service on the other. Since we have just seen that the level of service to any one child will not occur then we can conclude that the level of the bonds will also decrease.”

“In decreasing their bonds for each other might we not expect their bonds to the city to increase? After all, we know people to want to belong to something. And being raised and cared for by the city, might they not turn this natural love to the city as a whole?”

“Unfortunately, while this may occur with some, especially those that were lucky enough to be outstanding in some area, or extremely good looking, so that they got special attention, we have seen in many cases children who are not held and taken care of as a mother takes care of her child in the first few years can become hardened and refuse to bond to anyone or anything. This is a symptom of modern day orphanages. There is a reason that we are born into families and these roles are vital to the health of the children. The names of mother, father, sister and brother are indeed powerful names. It would be wonderful if we could all treat each other as such. In order for children to truly understand the deep feeling and meaning that these names possess they must first experience them in their own lives. Broken families, missing fathers, careless mothers, foster children, orphanages, all of these we have seen the results of in my lifetime. The government tried to fill the gaps through public education for all, before school, after school care, foster parents etc. The results were catastrophic. They showed that without a healthy childhood with parents that loved them and a family to support and care for them, without a mother that loved them pimples and all and a father that took time to be with them their chances for success were a small sliver of what they could have been.

“And so I guess what I would like to do is to argue the importance of the family. It is such a simple thing, so seemingly easy, but really the basic foundation of learning. After all without a secure foundation and a trust that comes from being cared for you cannot truly concentrate wholly on learning, and see clearly without regret, frustration, or distrust the world as it is.”

But there is where the discussion stops. Would he have an argument to rebut? Would he laugh and say “Of course! I am glad that it has made you think so much. That was my only goal all along and so I deliberately picked such a subject.” Or would he, seeing the long years of history stretched out behind admit sadly that he was wrong? Or would he scoff at my arguments and say, “You wonderful woman you, how can you not see?” I wonder. Each time that it plays in my mind he answers in a different way. He reacts with a different answer. And so it must stay. For now.

Ladybug

I want to make sure that I have saved somewhere how much I care for and love each of my kids and how wonderful I think they are.  That was the thought process behind writing about Joseph earlier.  This time I want to take some time to write about Alayna.  She is very outgoing and friendly.  I am very happy that she is great friends with her cousin Rebbekah.  They call each other on the phone, and try to spend every night together that they can.  Rachel and I took them to the mall for their birthdays and they got matching outfits.  They like to do the normal girly stuff, painting nails, dressing up, talking.  But they also do some things that aren’t so normal like cleaning entire rooms.  (just not usually bedrooms)  They are fun to be around.

Another one of Alayna’s best friends is Finoula.  She is part of the performance Co-op that we are in and the other face in the Second hand Rose picture.  They love to play with their 18” (some American Girl some not) dolls and dress up.  They love performing together and taking Ballet together.

            She takes care of the little ones.  For a while.  She always asks can I hold the baby, and then before I know it Here mom, and she’s done.  But if I need her to she will hold her for longer.

            I love that she tries to get Noah to do what she wants him toand succeeds most of the time.  Sometimes though when he is too stubborn or just too tired to give in she will give in to him.  He insisted tonight that getting PJ’s on was “boring”, brushing teeth was “boring”, saying prayers was “boring” and going to sleep was horribly “Boring!”  Then when that tack wasn’t working he said he was scared to sleep alone.  Alayna didn’t want him to sleep with her and so she tried to convince Evelyn with her eyes to let Noah sleep with her.  Evelyn wasn’t co-operating and Alayna couldn’t try and convince her to or it would ruin the whole thing as Noah caught on to the fact that Alayna wanted him to sleep elsewhere.  Alayna has a knack for knowing what not to say when convincing siblings. 

When Noah kicked his sadness into high gear and Evelyn loudly proclaimed she didn’t want him to sleep with her, Alayna agreed that he could sleep with her on the condition that he went potty first.  That wasn’t what Noah wanted.  He wanted Her to sleep with him in his bed.  She tried to think of what to say, but Noah looked up at her and said blinking his eyes, but my bed is Cool.  The exact words Alayna had used several nights ago to convince him to sleep in his bed.  Some quick thinking on her part and she came up with It’s cool for boys, but not for girls.  He wasn’t buying it.  He was very sad and although she knows that we will enforce what she wants she agreed to sleep with him.  (:  Sisterly-love (;