Pioneer Day

We went and checked out the Days of '47 parade floats at the preview at the South Towne Expo Center. We went with my nephew and sister-in-law. The floats were pretty neat, but the kids didn't really enjoy being there. And traffic was awful, so we spent more time in the truck than we did looking at the floats. So I'm not sure if we'll do this one again. But P1 did like looking for the floats when we watched the parade on TV.

P1 liked this whale float with the dolphins:

And he was scared of the dragon float. Basically any of the moving/smoking floats made him nervous.

There was definitely an underwater theme in abundance this year.

P1 liked the train on this float, and thought the airplane was a giant hummingbird (can't really see it in the picture).

For Pioneer Day we went to the Handcart Days at the city park. We spent $10 on tickets, thinking we would blow through them quickly. But P1 didn't want to do any of the rides. He loves bouncy houses, so we tried to get him to go on that one, but as soon as it was his turn, he would start crying and clinging to us. And that happened with about everything. Even with the fish pond, he wouldn't hold onto the pole, and I had to do it for him. But once he realized he got a toy out of it, he was willing to do that one again. We did find one ride that I could do with him, the teacups.

So we blew the rest of our tickets on yummy food that I couldn't eat. But the kids sure enjoyed it!

I've been doing a little research on my pioneer ancestors. I have a lot of them, at least 32 according to this pioneer ancestor website. And I've already discovered a couple that aren't listed there.

My 5th great-grandma on my dad's side, Polly Barber Child, was baptized in New York with her husband. On their way to Kirtland, they had a neat experience with one of the three Nephites. They endured persecution in Caldwell County, Missouri. They crossed the plains in 1852 and settle in Ogden, Utah. Her husband died 2 months after arriving in the valley. She was a midwife for 50 years, bringing hundreds of children into the world.

I love these words that she wrote in a letter to her family back East:

"Yes, there has never been the smallest moment or thought flit across my mind like wishing I had never had embraced the gospel and come here. No, my friends, there is peace and comfort to the true believer of the gospel."

I am grateful for the faith and testimony of my ancestors. They endured hard things and they pressed forward with hope and faith. What great examples for us!

Feeding the Ducks

We went and fed the ducks on Saturday. I thought P1 would really enjoy it due to his sudden interest in birds. We went to the local pond, not knowing what to expect, but it was a pretty nice pond with plenty of ducks! P1 had a blast feeding them, and P2 also enjoyed watching them.

We also had fun catching butterflies and dragonflies. PE got a dragonfly to sit on his finger, and he also caught a couple butterflies. P1 just liked to chase after them.

And P2 is getting better at walking!

Lego Birds

We went to the Lego store on Saturday. P1 loves to go and play with the Legos, and PE loves to look at the Legos. This time even P2 enjoyed playing with the Duplos.

But the surprising thing was that I bought a Lego set for me! I buy a fair amount of Legos for my 3 "kids", but I don't remember the last time I bought myself a set. But, there was this really neat set of 3 birds: a hummingbird, a European robin, and a blue jay. This set was a Lego creation that got enough votes online that Lego turned it into an official set. They were really fun to build, and are pretty intricate models. I built them while the kids slept, and P1 was quite enamored with them when he woke up. I think the blue jay is his new pet.

 

This has also initiated an interest in birds. So now we are trying to do some backyard bird watching. We made some pine cone bird feeders and hung them in our trees. We also put up a hummingbird feeder. So far we have seen American robins, and I think a Black-headed Grosbeak.

Oh, and we've seen wasps. P1 got stung yesterday while we were out finding pine cones. He cupped the wasp behind his ear, so it got him 3 times before I moved his hand and it flew away. Poor kid. He was screaming bloody murder. Which of course caused P2 to scream bloody murder. Fortunately, our neighbors were out and they came over and helped us. And he is feeling much better today!

Also, I just remembered a good movie about bird watching. It's a comedy starring Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson called "The Big Year ".

The Green Park

We explored a new park the other day. P1 color codes the parks. But most parks use a lot of the same colors, so I don't always know which one he means. We had fun, but I think the playground is geared towards older kids. The park had some good nature trails to hike, so I tried to take the kids on one, but P1 gave up quickly and wanted to go back. Maybe another day!

Sidewalk Chalk

We did sidewalk chalk for the first time! P1 loved it, and P2 loved crawling in it! We drew lots of fun pictures. P1 liked drawing soup and fireworks. The next morning, P1 wanted to go see the sidewalk chalk. We went outside and found it all gone due to sprinklers. Poor P1, he just started sobbing. So, we pulled out the chalk again and drew more pictures! Which washed away a few hours later due to the rain...

 

 

A Hard Patient

I had another appointment with my GI doctor. He said I was a hard patient in 2 ways. The first being that I have a very hard, difficult case of colitis that does not respond well to treatment. The second being that I was a very tough lady who just keeps rolling with the punches.

I am actually feeling pretty good, but we can't get me off steroids without intestinal bleeding. My diet has helped a lot. I think it's the only thing keeping me functioning. But it doesn't seem to be enough.

The discouraging news is that we are running out of treatment options. Now we're trying a dual-therapy of immune suppressant drugs. And my insurance just approved the use of Entyvio, which is a newer IV infusion drug for colitis. My doctor has also referred me to a surgeon to "establish a relationship" in case it gets to the point they have to remove my colon. Yay!

My doctor was surprised by how well I took in everything. He said he was having a hard time getting a reading on me. I know that it helped that I had gone to the temple that morning, and it definitely gave me strength and peace. But it was still discouraging to hear how close we are getting to surgery.

But, I'm going to do everything possible to not let that happen. I restarted the SCD diet, this time actually doing the Intro Diet. For 4 days, all I ate was hamburger patties, fish, eggs, homemade yogurt, chicken soup, and grape juice (100% juice). I honestly don't think I could have done that when I first changed my diet. Especially since homemade yogurt is an acquired taste. But the 4 days went by pretty fast. Then there are 5 Stages to add food. The first stage you can add ripe bananas, applesauce, and baked squash. Then each stage you add foods that are a little harder to digest. Raw fruits and veggies are in Stage 4 & 5. Whole nuts are in Stage 5, etc.

I'm adding new food one at a time so I can see if there are specific foods giving me grief. I've decided to try 2 days for each new food. I figure it will take at least 2 months before I get to Stage 5, which is basically how I was eating before. So far, all I've added are ripe bananas.

It's also sad because I just discovered Larabars, which are a SCD legal fruit/nut bar! I have a whole box sitting in my cupboard, that now I can't touch for while. I'm pretty sure they are a Stage 5 food.

But whenever I see food I want to eat, I think "Is it worth it to have surgery" and the answer is always "No!". It is funny though, because now instead of talking myself out of eating cookies, I have to talk myself out of eating fresh fruit and veggies.

Liberty in Law

The second verse of America the Beautiful really stuck out to me when we sang it last Sunday.

America! America! God mend thine every flaw.  

Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.

Sometimes we mistakenly think that liberty and agency mean no laws. But the truth is that laws make it possible to have freedom.

Laws of the road make it possible to freely travel on the roads. Without those laws, chaos would reign and we would not have the same ability to safely travel. Also, it is important to note that speed limits are not just arbitrary numbers picked by someone to restrict your "freedom". If you go faster than the speed limit on the freeway, you are physically not capable of stopping your vehicle in time if you go around a bend and see traffic stopped.

God did give us agency, the freedom to act for ourselves. But that agency only works if there are laws (2 Nephi 2:16). The scriptures also teach us that if there is no law, there is no God (2 Nephi 2:13, Alma 42:17-23). Satan's plan, as I understand it, was to take away the law which would take away our agency. If there is no law, there is no punishment, and we would all make it back to heaven. Sounds good, right? But the purpose of God's plan was not just to make it back to heaven, but to actually become like our Father in Heaven. This could only be done through agency and laws.

King Mosiah established the law according to the laws of God (Mosiah 29:11-14). He also believed in doing things by the voice of the people (Mosiah 29:25-27), desiring "this land to be a land of liberty" (Mosiah 29:32).

One of the major themes of the Book of Mormon is the promise that if we keep the commandments we will prosper in the land, and if we do not, we will be cut off from His presence. The Book of Mormon teaches this specifically at least 36 times. And the entire Book of Mormon is a history of 2 nations (the Nephites, and the Jaredites) who prospered in the land when they kept the commandments, but who were eventually destroyed because they ceased to remember God.

For me, I believe the Book of Mormon teaches that we should strive to uphold the law of God as the law of the land. I do believe that in order for us to prosper as a nation, we must keep the commandments of God. I believe that God has all knowledge, and His commandments are not arbitrary, but are the very things that will allow us to prosper and keep our freedom. Just as the engineer who designs the freeway knows the correct speed for safe travel, God knows the correct way to live that will bring peace and prosperity.

These are things I believe. And the Constitution grants me the right to act on these beliefs. And yes, I have the right to act politically on these beliefs.

First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

I keep hearing that religion has no business with regards to the law. People keep yelling "Separation of church and state." But that's actually a phrase coined by Thomas Jefferson, and does not actually appear in the Constitution. And here's the thing. Everybody has a religion. Your religion is your set of beliefs. It's not just about organized religion. The First Amendment gives you the right to believe anything you want and to act in accordance with those beliefs.

Now we obviously have laws in place to keep our society safe. You can't just go around killing people because you believe it is right. But who gets to decide the laws?

We are supposed to be governed by the voice of the people. We have the responsibility to vote on laws and to elect public officials to represent us. And our Constitution grants us the freedom to make those decisions based on our beliefs.

As citizens of the United States of America, we each have the responsibility to politically act in the way we honestly believe will "promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." We are a nation of many people from many different backgrounds. We will obviously disagree on many things. But there should be love and respect for all people who are trying to do what they believe is best for our country. We should not act like children who resort to name-calling.

I believe King Mosiah summed it up nicely:

"Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people. And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." (Mosiah 29:26-27)

May we each have the courage to raise our voice according to our beliefs, whatever they may be. And may we each show love and respect for those with different beliefs.