Happy Anniversary

November twenty eighth (today) is our anniversary. It is always a rough time of year for us financially. Sales always seem to dip in October and November so we have less money. It is right before Christmas and we always have our Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving so our money is spent before our anniversary. We always head to our parents for Thanksgiving which takes money right before our anniversary. All of these reasons combined mean that we don't celebrate our anniversary like every other person on the planet. I hear from my siblings how they celebrate and think that I should find a way to do something like they do. I hear from Becky how her sister celebrates and think that Becky would probably like something similar to what Beth does. Unfortunately it is not the way we do things. We have never been able to pull off the big surprises or the big trips around our anniversary. We did not have a honeymoon, we haven't celebrated our anniversary with a trip or even a great dinner. When we try to plan something romantic it always catches fire and blows up in our faces. For example a couple of years ago we decided to get a babysitter and go out to a nice dinner and a movie. Something went wrong that day and we began arguing. We ended up calling each others bluff and one thing lead to the babysitter being called and told that we would not need her. When the issue was resolved later we felt stupid. We ended up calling a Chinese buffet and having them deliver. We sat at our table and had sweet and sour chicken while we discussed the fact that we had destroyed our anniversary every year since we had gotten married.

This year is no different. Once again we have no money, we have no babysitter, and we have a son that will not allow his mother out of his sight. We are poor college students just trying to make it through another December on financial aid and student loans. So I have decided to try a cheap way to make this year at least memorable for us. This year will be our eighth anniversary and I intend to give my eight favorite memories from the last eight years. It may end up being from the last ten years though because as many of you know Becky and I dated for two and half years before getting married and sometimes those memories mesh with memories of things that happened after we were married.

In no particular order.

#8 - Our Wedding Night. This is not what you might think. As a young couple we were excited to get back to our apartment and proceed with the things that a newly married couple would do. Becky's parents grabbed us on the way out of North's Chuck Wagon, the restaurant that we were at, and asked if it was alright if they brought Becky's aunts and uncles over to see our apartment since they were from Delta and would not have the chance to see it again. We agreed and ten people got up and followed us to our six hundred square foot apartment. We showed them around and talked for a little while before they all headed out. As they were leaving we had some friends show up to congratulate us. After showing them out we headed back to our bedroom and before we could get anything started we fell asleep. We were woken up by a knock on the door, which ended up being my brother Marc and his wife. They thought that they had caught us in the act and gave us a bad time about it, but we really had fallen asleep because we were so tired.

#7 - Our First Camping Trip. One day I decided that we should drive north of Boise for the weekend and do some camping. We went to a sporting goods store and bought a tent and a few supplies and headed out. We had taken our computer and the movie "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson. As we drove we talked about how much fun it was going to be, as well as a book about the Black Dahlia murder that Becky had seen at Barnes and Noble. We drove north past Banks to a little campground just off the road that was next to the river. I set up camp and we started a fire. After a little while we decided to lay down for the night and watch the movie that we had brought. Becky kept hearing noises as the movie played and kept getting scared because of the book about the Black Dahlia murder. We shut the movie off and tried to get some sleep. Becky kept rolling around, and finally at about three in the morning she told me that she could not sleep because she thought someone was going to come and kill us. We sat up and talked and eventually moved to our car. Around five in the morning we drove to Banks and bought doughnuts and chocolate milk. We drove back to the campground, packed up our stuff, and headed for home. We have not been camping on our own in a tent since.

#6 - Our Trip to the Oregon Coast. Becky and I had decided to skip the Willard Reunion due to some family issues that we were having. We had just recently moved to Boise and had found out that we were not able to have children. I told Becky that we should use the money that we would have spent to go to the reunion to go to the coast. So on Friday morning we packed up and headed to Oregon. Becky had never been to Oregon so this was a new experience for her. She had decided to buy the new (at the time) Justin Timberlake album to make our "Oregon Trip CD". I tried to explain to her that you can not make a trip CD, a trip CD will find you. It did find us and Dave Matthews' solo album became our trip CD. We drove through Oregon to Portland, and as we came upon an exist we noticed the Portland Temple, and with a last second decision we stopped and went through a session. We were not prepared so we had to change into our church clothes in the parking lot. I am sorry to the couple who was parked next to us who got a show as we tried to put our clothes on. After the session we headed for the coast where we did not have a concrete plan. We knew that we would head for Beverly Beach and see if they had a spot open to set up our tent. When we got there the attendant informed us that they had a yurt cancellation and asked us if we wanted it. We said yes and drove over to the cutest little yurt with a fire pit outside. We were close enough to the beach that we could hear the waves. We spent the next couple of days exploring Newport Oregon and all it had to offer. We found our favorite restaurant, Georgie's, saw a whale at Otter Rock, and explored the aquarium. The two of us had a blast just spending time together without a plan or anyone else.


#5 - Insurance Reunion in Dallas. The insurance company that I worked for had a reunion in Dallas every year that they would send the top agents to. Our first year my dad was able to pull some strings and get us down there. The second year I earned a spot and Becky and I headed down to Dallas for our second trip. We decided that we would catch a late flight out of Dallas on the last day so we could spend some time sightseeing. We dropped my brother Marc off at the airport that morning and drove down to the book depository to see a piece of American history. While we were there we received a call from Marc informing us that he had missed his flight and that he would like to be picked up since the next flight wasn't until six that evening (the flight right before ours). We picked him up and spent the day playing around Dallas. Later we arrived at the airport and checked in. Marc was able to catch the flight at six o'clock and we were on the nine o'clock flight. We arrived in Salt Lake around 11pm but it was snowing and we had to circle the airport waiting for a clear spot to land. When we got our luggage we headed out to our car to find that one of the tires was flat. We spent time flagging down someone that could help us and then headed to pick up Marc, who was staying with a friend. We headed home on icy roads at one in the morning. We stopped three times between Salt Lake and Snowville because I was falling asleep. We pulled off at Snowville and slept for a couple of hours and then got back on the road. We ended up pulling into Twin Falls at a quarter to six. We haven't made that drive like that since.

#4 - Viva Las Vegas. One year we decided to be spontaneous and drive to Las Vegas because Becky had never been there. I had Friday off so we decided to leave Thursday afternoon. Becky was going to pack while I took the car down for an oil change. While getting the oil checked the technician told me that my tires were worn to the threads on all four tires. I asked him if I could make it to Vegas and he told me he didn't think I could make it across town. I bought four new tires, which cost me over six hundred dollars and took three hours to put on. When I got home Becky said that she thought we shouldn't go because it was so late, but I pushed on and told her it would be fine. We left town after six pm bound for Las Vegas. We gassed up in Ely Nevada and as we pulled out of town a police officer pulled me over for accidentally using my high beam as he rounded the corner. He gave me a seventy dollar ticket for "misuse of my high beam." We pulled into Vegas around one in the morning and proceeded to find a hotel with a vacancy. The first three hotels we checked were booked solid, and on the fourth we found out that it was spring break and every hotel in town was booked. We drove off the strip to a little motel that was really gross. The guy behind the bullet proof glass charged us eighty dollars and when we got to our room we found that the sheets had not been changed and the shower was like a cave. It was really disgusting and we slept in our clothes. The next day we decided to try and find another hotel early. We went all over town and found that only four hotels had rooms available, but because it was spring break there were no discounts. We paid three hundred and fifty dollars for one night in the Venetian Hotel. We were just glad to have a room with a clean bed. We drove to the Las Vegas Temple and spent time outside because it was closed due to general conference. We woke up Saturday with the idea that we would find a cheaper place to stay but by ten o'clock that night we hadn't found anything so we headed for Salt Lake thinking we would find something along the way. We finally found a motel in Hurricane Utah which we paid eighty five dollars for. It was the last room in town and we barely beat another car there. The Las Vegas trip was one of the most expensive trips we have ever taken.
#3 - Family Trip to Oregon. Not long after adopting Audrey we decided to take a trip to the Oregon Coast again. Because we had taken some poorly planned trips in the past, we decided to really plan this trip. We rented a condo on the beach and booked flights and a rental car. We had so much fun with Audrey's first flight and first time at the beach. We ate at Georgie's again, played on the beach, and visited the aquarium. This trip was our first trip as a family and we had such a blast. Audrey doesn't remember it but she talks about her first trip on an airplane all the time. I love looking at pictures from this trip because it was one of the best times of my life with my little girl and my best friend.


#2 - Adopting Audrey. Becky and I had spent a lot of time talking about infertility. At one point I broke her heart when I told her that I was fed up and done with infertility treatments. I was tired of scheduled love making, and I was okay with not having children if it was going to be that hard. She reluctantly agreed and I packed her up and moved her to Boise to get away from our friends and family that were getting pregnant. While in Boise we found ourselves as a couple, and we grew together in a way that we never would in Twin Falls around our families. It was a great time for us as a couple, but something was still missing. Becky would cry at night and I would pretend to be asleep because nothing I said brought her comfort. One day Becky's mom told her that she thought we should have a family fast to see if we could get pregnant. We consented with the idea that if it did not work we would stop trying to have children all together. A couple of weeks after the fast we received an email from my brother Marc that explained that Tarl (Audrey's birth father) was getting a divorce and he had a six week old baby that he was looking to put up for adoption. We immediately brushed it off because we did not feel strongly about adopting, and if we did we did not want to adopt from family. Tarl's mom, Marji, called us a couple of days later and talked to us about the idea and we said that we were not sure about it. As we began to think about the possibility of adopting, we thought that we had just fasted for a baby and maybe this was our chance. We called Marji back and she sent us pictures. We fell in love immediately and we drove down to meet Tarl and Megan (Audrey's birth mother) and see their little girl. The process was hard as we had to jump through hoops and get tested, but when it was finalized six months later we had a baby daughter that looked like Becky and acted so much like me that you would swear she was not adopted. This was the start of our family and one of the best experiences I have ever had. Becky and I grew together in a way that was not possible before. Audrey has brought so much joy to our lives that I can not imagine what life would be like without her.

#1 - Having the Boy. After years of not being able to conceive, we had put it out of our minds. Becky would talk about it once in awhile, or it would be brought up in family discussions but it was not something that we were even thinking about. So you can imagine how surprised I was the night that Becky asked if we could go buy a pregnancy test. We had done this hundreds of times before always with the hope that it would be positive, but with disappointment every time. I agreed to getting one because it would ease Becky's mind even though it would crush her for a few days. When we returned home from getting the test we put Audrey to bed and Becky headed to the bathroom. A few minutes later I heard her say, "Justin, can you come back here?" I walked back to the bathroom prepared to comfort my broken wife. As I walked in she looked at me confused and said, "What does this mean?" I looked at the test and saw that it was positive. We spent the next thirty minutes reading the directions to make sure it was correct. Seven months later we were sitting in the hospital holding David, Becky overcome with joy and me bawling like a little girl. The experience of child birth was not one that I liked but the outcome has made our family more complete. David has brought joy to all of our lives in such a short amount of time. We are now the parents of a boy, which if you don't know, is different from being the parent of a little girl. Audrey has become a big sister, and as we always knew, she was made to be. David is the piece of our family that has been missing. We all welcomed him, and despite Audrey asking if we can leave him at the hospital, we all love and cherish him.

Eight years have flown by and I am sure it is because I have spent it with my best friend. We have been through deep dark trials and the highest of highs together, we have spent nights laughing and crying together, we have been mad at each other and supported each other. I have no idea what is to come or what the future holds but I do know that I don't want to spend it with anyone else. We may not have any money or anyone to watch the kids but I couldn't imagine spending my anniversary with three other people on this planet.

I love you David

I love you Audrey

I love you Becky, my best friend.

Happy Eighth Anniversary!

Double Major...WHAT?

So a week ago I sat down with the History Chair at Idaho State to discuss my senior thesis and a couple of class decisions that I needed to make. In the process of talking with him it was made known that I would like to teach history in college and not just high school. Dr. Marsh informed me that by being a secondary education major with an emphasis in history and a minor in political science would not allow me to go to graduate school in history. I explained to him that I did know that, but that I was hoping to find a school that would look at the classes I took here and see that I put in a lot of work in history and see what I would need to do to get in to a masters history program. He told me that it would be hard to do that because other schools would see my B.A. in education and not in history. He then told me that Idaho State was one of the few schools that require their secondary ed majors in history to take all the same classes that a history major must take. Dr. Marsh explained to me that my best bet was to double major.

I have ran into a few of these so called "double majors". Whenever you ask them what they are majoring in, they always say, "I have a double major in blah blah and blah blah." You always feel like an idiot because you only have one major and a double major must be double the work.

Well because I have an associates degree from the College of Southern Idaho, I am a little farther along. This means that I don't have to take a language course here at Idaho State. To double major all I have to do are the classes that I am already taking. It is a little more work because as a secondary education major I am required to have a minor. I still have to take my political science classes but I only have one more to take and my minor will be fulfilled.

So just like that I am now a double major in secondary education with an emphasis on history and a minor in political science and a history major. That's right, I do sound pompous and I kind of like it.

One last note, there are two schools close that have graduate programs in my field that have information on my thesis. Both schools drive me crazy because of my affiliation (which is only has a fan) with BYU. The first is Utah State, great program but I hate their fan base. The other is the University of Utah, can't stand that they are the University of Pac 12 and they are BYU's rival. Mostly likely I will be trying my hardest to get into the University of Utah because it will be the easiest to work on my thesis from there. Let's hope I can stay True Blue at the U!

School Has Begun

School started on Monday and it seemed a little daunting when I picked up this load of books. Going back to school and starting as a junior seemed like a good idea until I realized that I am taking upper division courses and the professors expect me to be able to read. It isn't a bad thing, most of these books are interesting to me so I am excited to get started. I am a little nervous because I am taking 18 credits all in history and political science.

I start Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays off with United States History and Culture, it is the only class that is a lower division class and one that wouldn't transfer from the College of Southern Idaho. Next is The Presidency, a poli sci class that helps understand the rights and responsibilities of the presidency. From there I go to Comparative Politics, another poli sci class that discusses the different forms of government and politics from around the world. I was a little early to the class on Monday and the professor and I got into a discussion about how to spell Gadhaffi correctly. Unfortunately the only correct spelling is the Arabic spelling. The last class is the Historians Craft, which will help me to understand how to find and use primary and secondary sources in my research as a historian.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I start the day off with Public Opinion and Political Behavior. This class is another poli sci class that goes behind public opinion and shows how it effects voting, drives government, and ultimately gets government officials elected. The last class on Tuesdays and Thursdays is Modern United States History. This class starts around 1932 (although it will really start at 1929) and goes to the present. A main focus in this class will be pop culture and the effects it has on society.

Although nervous, I am excited to be back. I have had a couple good days and it feels good to be working toward the future again. I am sure that Becky is also happy to get me out of the house she can go back to running things the way that she likes. If I don't post anything for awhile please know it is because I am READING and not because I fell off the face of the earth.

I am so excited for football this year. I know that I say that every year but this year I mean it. The team is looking amazing from what I hear. Media Day was awesome and I am so stoked that ESPN has partnered with BYU and that 10 games will be on ESPN and the one game that isn't right now will be on BYUTV. That game doesn't even matter because it is against my current school ISU. I could get student tickets and go if I wanted to. The biggest thing that I am excited for though is the opportunity to go to more games this year. After discussing the move to Pocatello one of the things that was brought up was that we would be closer to Utah and therefore closer to my Cougars. I am going to try and make it to a couple of games this year instead of the one and if they go well I will see if I can do more. I can't wait!

Heaps coming into his own, great linebackers, promising receivers, going independent, ESPN, and the possibility to make it to every home game. This is going to be a great year.

New Mexico bowl Highlights 2010 from James B Ellison on Vimeo.

1st Semester Done

The first semester back at school as been a tough one. I spent countless hours studying and preparing for class. I took two test that took me 5 hours a piece to finish. 4 papers that had to be 10 pages or more. Observation hours at a middle school, school board meeting, and band concert. I interviewed multiple people that I then had to write 5 page papers for. I did service at the Idaho Food Bank here in Pocatello for service hours related to one classes observations. I had to do 23 hours of observations in the school and around the community. 2 class presentations and some group work. At the middle of the semester I was afraid that I had made a mistake in going back to school. It felt like things were rushing over my head and that I was not able to catch up. As the semester came to an end I realized that I had made it through and that it wasn't as bad as I had thought. I am excited for the upcoming semester and although 1 class has 6 books that I have to buy I am excited to read them. This endeavor has been tough on my family but in the end I know that the Lord will take care of us. This is what we are suppose to be doing and we all feel good about it even though we complain some times.

Now for what you really wanted to know.

EDUC 2201 - 97%

EDUC 2204 - 100%

College is Kicking my Trash!

This first semester is kicking my trash. I am super slammed with reading multiple chapters a night, working on 3-5 page papers, and trying to get all of my observation hours in. It has been a little rough but that is the reason that I took the summer semester. In order to get done on time I am going to have to take 18 credits a semester and I knew that by doing the faster paced summer semester I would be prepared come the fall semester. I know that this is all going to be worth it in the end but right now I would just like to breathe.

My Kids Mother is Better than Your Kids Mother

Happy Mothers Day to my wonderful wife.

She is an amazing mother, homemaker and companion. I am so grateful that she is willing to put up with my crazy antics all the while making our home a wonderful place to be. What would Audrey, David and I do without her?

We LOVE you!

Happy Mothers Day Becky!

Audrey's Birthday is Better Than Your Birthday

Happy Birthday

To:

My little helper

My favorite daughter

My video game partner

My head banging sweetheart

My cohort in crime (when it comes to mom)

My little girl

My MIRACLE

I love you Audrey, have an amazing birthday!

What Can I Say?

We have been in Pocatello now for a month and so far things are going good. We are so busy with the apartments and getting things running here that we don't have time for anything else. Since we have been here we have had an entire floor with sewer problems, a main water line break and a water drain from the roof start leaking. These are only the major things, minor things happen everyday. It is a little hectic but we are hoping that things slow down before school starts in a couple of weeks so that Becky can do the management and I can do school. Bishop Clegg told me that Becky would have to sacrifice to put me through school and I see that she is already doing so. I appreciate that she is willing to take control and run these apartments so that i can do this.

I'M OUT!

After a week of packing and getting ready to leave the BOISE WEEKLY it is finally here. I am bummed to leave this job but I am excited to get on to the next chapter for my little family. I called home on Wednesday and Becky told me that all week I had sound relaxed and happy. Well that is because I am. I am happy to be going this direction and moving on. Most importantly we are doing what the Lord wants us to do. What a great time. I will be out for a few days but I will catch you all on the other side of the state when we get there.

Pocatello or Bust!

BIG NEWS Revealed!

In a previous post I mentioned that we had huge changes taking place and that I wasn't at liberty to tell everyone yet. Well the time has come to let the cat out of the bag. About six months ago I went with my dad and his young men to the BYU vs San Diego State football game. Lyric and Scott were kind enough to let me sit with them on the 40 yard line 2 rows from the field. It was an amazing time and BYU won. While I was there I really felt the spirit. I decided that it was just that I was on the campus of my favorite college.

On the following Tuesday I had to go to a fireside with my young men. When I got there I found out that it was a CES fireside and that the young men and their parents needed to be there and that I could go home. My young mens president encouraged me to stay. I was pretty upset because Becky was pregnant and I really thought that I could be home helping her. During the presentation though I began to feel the spirit whisper to me that I needed to go back to school. I was bawling by the end of the fireside. I drove home and sat in the car for a minute thinking about how I was going to tell Becky about this.

I came in the house and helped put Audrey to bed. Becky could tell that something was wrong and kept asking me what the deal was. I kept putting her off because I wanted to have Audrey in bed and Becky's full attention. Finally everything was in place and I told her the experience that I had had that night. I said that I was suppose to go back to school. Becky told me that she didn't think so and we began to discuss, and cry, off and on the rest of the night. We came to the conclusion that I would see if it would even be feasible for us to go back to school.

Over the next few weeks I found that we qualified for financial aid and other grants that would pay for college 100%. The more that Becky and I talked about it the more we felt that this is what we should be doing. It just seemed like the Lord had something in store for us.

December 4th David was born and so it wasn't a shock when the Bishop caught me in the hall at church and told me that he needed to talk to me. I expected him to congratulate us on the birth and talk to me about blessing him. Instead he shut the door behind me and then said "I have felt impressed to tell you that you need to go to school and you need to become a teacher". I was in awe and must have looked like a deer in the headlights. We had not discussed going back to school with anyone. We hadn't even told our parents yet. I told the bishop that it was in the works and that I needed him to interview me for my application to BYU. A few weeks later he did just that and gave me a glowing review. The stake president did the same thing and we were on our way.

There were a few schools that we looked at but some didn't seem feasible due to the cost. One that was down on the list was Idaho State University. It was closer to our families and the price was right but we didn't really want to move to Pocatello. They were the first ones to accept me. I kept my hopes up for BYU but the day came when BYU denied my application. I was bummed about it but knew that the Lord was looking out for us.

We started making preparations to go to ISU and move to Pocatello. We made a trip down to check out housing and the campus. While we were there we met with my advisor in the education department. This all felt really good and we knew that the school part was what we were suppose to be doing.

As it has gotten closer we have tried to figure out how to pay for housing and food. We kept thinking that we needed to find something but we felt that the Lord would provide a way. This past weekend we made the trip again and have become managers of an apartment complex. This gives us free rent plus $700 a month.

We know that the Lord needs us in Pocatello and that I am suppose to go back to school and get my education. We cannot deny the power of the Savior in our lives. We cannot deny the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. We have been guided to Pocatello, and although scary and hectic, we know that the Lord needs us there at this time and we are grateful for His hand in our lives.

Is This FOR REAL?

In the 90's I was a young boy looking at BYU players with awe. I would wait outside the locker room for autographs of Ty Detmer, Eric Drage, Chad Lewis or anyone that had anything to do with the team. I was so excited about the chance to get to see these guys in action and then again in their street clothes. 20 years later I seem to be doing the same thing. As I looked at the SI cover for the hundredth time today I got to thinking about the men in my life who have brought me to this point in my BYU fan hood and wondered if they feel or felt the same way that I do today...Is This Real? For years I would go to games with my parents. We would sit in the north end zone and watch the games through binoculars. My dad would listen to Paul James on his Walkman during the game to get the play by play. Before that though my parents went with my Uncle Rob and Aunt Millie. They would take off to the games with all of their BYU gear and when they came home they would turn on the replay of the game and watch it. It was here that I fell in love with Uncle Rob's mashed potatoes and watching BYU games with the men that I thought knew everything about football. So now I ask, was this what it was like for you? Did you think that BYU football couldn't get any better when Steve Young, Robbie Bosco or Ty Detmer were playing? Did you believe that BYU had hit it's pinnacle? As I look at the cover of SI one last time before I go and buy it I truly stand in amazement over what BYU has done for me and I ask myself, Is This For Real?

O.I.C.

It dawned on me the other day that I had only reviewed one other Kurt Vonnegut book and my readers probably didn't understand why I was so amazed by the author. Well I did read another one that I forgot to put up here due to my fascination with Jimmer. I did read Breakfast of Champions in between Ask the Dust by John Fante and Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut.

Breakfast of Champions was a great book and I really liked it but I wouldn't encourage everyone to read it. It was just enough outside the realm of main stream that I am positive that not everyone would like it like I did. The story is about a writer, Kilgore Trout, who shows up in a lot of Vonnegut's books and Dewayne Hoover who owns a car lot in Midland City just off the freeway. Trout is coming to this small town to accept a writing award at a convention that he has been invited to. Dewayne is deranged and believes that everything Kilgore writes is the literal truth. Kilgore is also a little off but in the end you find him relatively sane.

I thought that this book was really good. A friend let me borrow it and I read it in a few nights. I really like the way that Vonnegut writes and his interesting take on mundane things of the world.

Quotes:

• Charm was a scheme for making strangers like and trust a person immediately, no matter what the charmer had in mind.
• I can have oodles of charm when I want to.
• Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease.
• Teachers of children in the United States of America wrote this date on blackboards again and again, and asked the children to memorize it with pride and joy: 1492. The teachers told the children that this was when their continent was discovered by human beings. Actually, millions of human beings were already living full and imaginative lives on the continent in 1492. That was simply the year in which sea pirates began to cheat and rob and kill them.
• Why are so many Americans treated by their government as though their lives were as disposable as paper facial tissue? Because that was the way authors customarily treated bit-part players in their made-up tales.
• We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.
• Our awareness is all that is alive and maybe sacred in any of us. Everything else about us is dead machinery.

Vonnegut is Amazing

It has been awhile since I posted a blog about what I have been reading. To be honest a few things that I have read I am embarrassed to let people know about. Alas I am on to a more moving book. I just finished Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut and to give you a sense of how good I thought it was, I finished it in three days. I couldn't put it down. I know that I have said that other Kurt Vonnegut books were amazing as well and I am probably just on the Vonnegut bandwagon but this book was amazing and I would encourage anyone to read it.

Mother Night is about an American, Howard Campbell, who grew up in pre-World War II Germany. He is a writer and a play write who doesn't care about the war that is about to take place. Campbell is propositioned by a US intelligence officer who wants him to work for the US against the Nazi's. In order to make it work though he would have to become a Nazi and work for the regime. This officer tells him that no one would know that he was a spy and that the United States would hate him. Campbell makes the decision and becomes a radio personality that spews Nazi propaganda. When the war is over he makes his way back to the United States and later is captured by Israeli's and is charge with war crimes against humanity.

Kurt Vonnegut does such a great job in his writing of getting the reader sucked in. Every book that I have read by him keeps me engaged. This book was so good that I can't wait to read my next Vonnegut book.

Quotes:

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too. Where's evil? It's that large part of every man that wants to hate without limit, that wants to hate with God on its side.

Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.

Generally speaking, espionage offers each spy an opportunity to go crazy in a way he finds irresistible.

Teach Me How To Jimmer!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Becky and I are not the most romantic people on this planet. We don't hold hands in public, we have never been accused of PDA and rarely do you see us in a long embrace or kiss. Now add two kids to the mix and we don't even share the same cart at Fred Meyer. Regardless it is Valentine's Day and although we don't make a huge deal out of it I know that Becky loves me. A small touch during dinner, a look while we are shopping or a phone call just to tell me that David had pooped for the billionth time that day. It's hard not to know that we love each other. Becky is my best friend, I have loved her since I watched her walk into Papa Kelsey's. She is the most gorgeous woman, loving wife and caring mother that I know.

I LOVE YOU BECKY

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

"Big Changes" is my Middle Name

Some big changes are coming our way again. I cannot speak about them at this time but I am so excited that I couldn't help but post this. As I was thinking about it though I got to thinking that this is the third "Big Change" that we have encountered in the past couple of years. I know that the Lord has something BIG in store for us. Sometimes I feel that we are winding our way down a slowly moving river. We can't see beyond the next bend but we know that the river continues to flow because we we can feel the movement. As soon as we come around the next bend we see the water picking up speed and heading right for a waterfall. We try to paddle against the current but there is no such luck, we are headed for the waterfall. We give in and the ride gets faster and more turbulent. We do everything to prepare ourselves for going over the edge and then we are there and everything happens so fast. We are tossed all over and even lose a few things but when we collect ourselves we are back in the boat on a gently flowing river. As we look back at the waterfall it doesn't look as scary as it did from the front side when we couldn't see the drop. We are coming up on that waterfall now and we are nervous. We know that the Lord will take care of us as he always does and for that I am truly grateful.

...one of these things just doesn't belong.

Brett Keisel who plays football for the Steelers has a beard that is growing out of control. You might ask yourself why I even care? Well Keisel played football at BYU and this manly beard is just one more reason to love him. In the past I have added pictures of myself with a beard but this one is amazing. Maybe someday I can be as cool and manly as Brett Keisel. Take the time to go and Beard yourself here.

JIMMER-TIME!

It has been awhile since I last posted. I do have a new son which keeps me pretty busy once I get home. But to show you what I have been doing at work lately, watch this video. I have watched this once a day since it happened.



GO COUGS!