Why Should We Learn to Write Well?

"I learned why during a religion class I taught once at Ricks College. I was teaching from Doctrine and Covenants 25:8 [D&C 25:8]. That tells Emma Smith she should give her time to “writing, and to learning much.” About three rows back in the class sat a blond girl whose brow wrinkled as I urged diligence in developing writing skills. She raised her hand and said, “That doesn’t seem reasonable to me. All I’ll ever write are letters to my children.” That brought laughter. I felt a little chagrined to have applied that scripture to her. Just looking at her I could imagine a quiver full of children around her and even see the letters she’d write, in purple ink, with handwriting slanting backwards, with neat, round loops. Maybe writing powerfully wouldn’t matter to her.

"And then a young man stood up near the back. He’d said little during the term. He was older than the other students and shy. He told in a quiet voice of being a soldier in Viet Nam. In what he thought would be a lull, he’d left his rifle and walked across his fortified compound to mail call. Just as he got a letter in his hand he heard a bugle blow, and shouts and mortar and rifle fire came in ahead of the swarming enemy. He fought his way back to his rifle, using his hands as weapons. With the men who survived, he drove the enemy out. The wounded were evacuated. And then he sat down among the living, and some of the dead, and he opened the letter.

"It was from his mother. She wrote that she’d had a spiritual experience that assured her he would live to come home, if he were righteous. “That letter was scripture to me,” the boy said quietly. “I kept it.” And he sat down. You may have a child someday, perhaps a son. Can you see his face? Can you see him somewhere, sometime in mortal danger? Can you feel the fear in his heart, and does it touch you? Would you like to freely give? What sacrifice will it take to write the letter your heart will want to send? You won’t do it in the hour before the postman comes. Nor will it be possible in a day or even a week. It may take years. Start the practice this afternoon. Go back to your room and write, and read, and rewrite that paper again, and again. It won’t seem like sacrifice if you picture that boy, feel his heart, and think of the letters he’ll need someday."

Henry B. Eyring, “Gifts of Love,” New Era, Dec 1983, 12

Four Cornerstones Upon Which To Build A Home

“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.” (Ps. 127:1.)

Respect for One Another

Companionship in marriage is prone to become commonplace and even dull. I know of no more certain way to keep it on a lofty and inspiring plane than for a man occasionally to reflect upon the fact that the help-meet who stands at his side is a daughter of God, engaged with Him in the great creative process of bringing to pass His eternal purposes. I know of no more effective way for a woman to keep ever radiant the love for her husband than for her to look for and emphasize the godly qualities that are a part of every son of our Father and that can be evoked when there is respect and admiration and encouragement. The very processes of such actions will cultivate a constantly rewarding appreciation for one another.

The Soft Answer

• It was said of old that “a soft answer turneth away wrath.” (Prov. 15:1.)
• The voice of heaven is a still small voice; likewise, the voice of domestic peace is a quiet voice.
• There is need for a vast amount of discipline in marriage, not of one’s companion, but of one’s self.
• “A father can do no greater thing for his children than to let them feel that he loves their mother.” (President David O. McKay)
• How much greater the peace in the homes of the people, how much greater the security in the lives of the children, how much less divorce and separation and misery, how much more gladness and joy and love there would be if husbands and wives would cultivate the discipline of speaking softly one to another, and if both would so speak to their children.

 Honesty with God and with One Another

I am convinced that there is no better discipline nor one more fruitful of blessings than for those who establish homes and families to follow the commandment given to ancient Israel through the prophet Malachi: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, … and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Mal. 3:10.)

As you discipline yourselves in the expenditure of your means, beginning with your obligations to your Father in heaven [tithing], the cankering selfishness that leads to so much strain in domestic affairs will go out of your lives, for if you will share with the Lord whom you do not see, you will deal more graciously, more honestly, and more generously with those whom you do see. As you live honestly with God, you will be inclined to live honestly with one another.  (emphasis added)

 Family Prayer

God then will be your partner, and your daily conversations with him will bring peace into your hearts and a joy into your lives that can come from no other source.

A summary of a talk by Gordon B. Hinckley entitled, “‘Except the Lord Build the House …’,” from the Ensign, June 1971.  

Quick Tips: Alot

Alot: a town and a nagar panchayat in Ratlam district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.  (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alot)

Incorrect: I passed through alot of bushes.
Correct: I passed through Alot.  There were bushes.
Also Correct: I passed through a lot of bushes on my way to Alot.

What I hope you remember from today's lesson:

"A lot" is two words.  (Unless referring to the nagar panchayat...in which case it should be capitalized).

Grammar Answer

I know it has been forever-and-a-half since I posted the grammar geek quiz on my blog and I apologize to the millions of avid readers who have been biting their nails in anticipation of the answer.  (If only that were true...)  So here goes my sad attempt to explain it. 

"That is one of the many qualities that make him the man we love to celebrate."

It's a simple case of subject verb agreement. You know, "the dogs eats" verses "the dog eats." If you take out all the extra words, you will discover that the subject of the sentence is "one" and the verb is "make." Obviously "one make" sounds funny. It should be "one makes." Right?

Wrong.  If you followed that logic and believed it, then you are equal to me in grammar prowess because that is what I thought to be the case and it is incorrect; we got nothin'.  In fact, the reason it has taken me so long to post an answer is because it really doesn't make sense.  I mean, the subject is really about the qualities, but that appears to be in a prepositional phrase, which often tricks people into thinking it is the subject when it is merely describing the subject.  The average Joe would read that sentence and not even consider it to be grammatically problematic...and Joe would be correct.  That's what I get for over-analyzing everything; problems created out of nothing.

Yes, I am telling you that I lied.  There is nothing wrong with the sentence.  I quote to you from the book ACT 36: Aiming for the Perfect Score.  (Yes, I read such books in my spare time...don't ask).

"Words indicating amount, like the word none [or in our case, one], when used as the subject of a sentence, do not hang out in the Singles Club.  They are married to one word--the word of.  The noun at the end of an "of" phrase [qualities] dictates the verb status [make]."

So there you have it. The sentence is actually grammatically sound. Psych.

Read Me Next Time You Consider Professional Portraits!

Memo to self:
Next time you want to take your kids in for a free 8x10 picture at a studio, I hope you will remember the following things:

• Remember it's just a ploy to sell you bigger and better products that look even better with your adorable child in them
• Remember how your daughter wet her pants because it took two hours to sort through and arrange special portrait collections that you didn't want and didn't pay for in the end
• Remember how your son shook raisins all over the room and was crying from boredom, hunger, and tiredness because he had missed his nap and only stopped when you took him from the stroller so you could make the final decision to stick with the free 8x10 you came in for and nothing else
• Remember how he screamed when you tried to put him back in the stroller
• Remember your headache as you left pushing the double stroller to the opposite end of the mall past pesky aisle vendors muttering out loud, "No thanks" while muttering under your breath, "Cranky kids...cranky mom."

Still think it's worth it?

If you've forgotten and still want to go, here are some things to consider for next time:

• Tell them upfront you only want an 8x10
• Tell them they are more than welcome to try and sell you other items, but..
• you are on a budget (make it up if you're not)
• you aren't good at decision making
• you only have a certain amount of time (10-15 min should be enough to pick the one pose you like)
• so you will not purchase anything else until you've had time (without crying children) to sleep on it and discuss it with your spouse
• Take the kids to the bathroom immediately before the photo shoot
• Don't bring raisins

Sibling Dynamics

I definitely see stark contrasts in my children's behavior currently. Perhaps it is their difference in age. Maybe it's about the gender. Or maybe, it's all personality.

Child number one (2yr old girl):
Cries and refuses to eat when I don't spoon feed her.
Gets upset when food gets on her hands.

Child number two (1yr old boy):
Screams and refuses to eat when I do spoon feed him because he wants to do it.
Gets upset if I don't let him stick his hands in the food.

To each his own.

Latest Parenting Mistake
Don't feed your 1 year old cotton candy at the circus. He may recognize the resemblance in the green cotton stuffing of the chair cushions.

Sibling Rivalry
There was a small battle concerning Annalee's brush that Luke wanted to play with that Annalee, of course, didn't want him to touch because it's, in her words, "mine!" So I tried to mitigate the issue by having Annalee give him a comb, which she did, after yanking the brush from him. A few minutes later, the episode of the brush supposedly forgotten as the kids seemed to be engaged in different play activities, I suddenly saw Luke take off towards the back rooms like a baseball player stealing home. I had to laugh when I spied in his hand Annalee's brush. He was high-tailing it out of there as fast as his little legs could carry him! Unfortunately for him, Annalee also realized what he was doing and she chased him down, once again yanking it from his hands. No homerun this time.

For the most part they seem to get along quite well. They have taken to hiding in Luke's closet (lights off and door shut). I don't know what they do, but with all the giggling they seem to be enjoying themselves. I tried to accompany them to see what all the fun was about and Annalee promptly kicked me out saying: "Mami, fuera. Shut da door." I can take a hint.

Luke's 12 month Update

Height: 30 in (50-75%)

Weight: 23.08 lbs (50-75%)

Head: 46.2 (25-50%)

Has it been a year already?!! Crazy! I swear this has been the shortest year of my life! He seems a lot younger than Annalee was at a year. He hasn't hit the milestones quite as quickly as she did. He can't really say anything yet...unless you count his "O deh!" when he drops something (translated to mean "Oh dear!"). He likes to repeat "da da da da da...", but it has no meaning for him since we say "Papi" for daddy. He's finally starting to enjoy books a little more and to play pat-a-cake. My favorite thing is when he holds the phone at the back of his neck and starts jabbering! The other day we discovered Luke in the kitchen playing in a pile of powdered sugar! He was shoving handfuls in his mouth! Unfortunately, the camera batteries were dead.

Luke is currently trying to figure out the self-feeding thing. He has made significant progress. It started with grabbing the spoon from my hand and banging it around in the bowl wondering how it magically got to his mouth. Eventually, he stuck his other hand in the food to see if it would help. I showed him how to stick that hand in his mouth to suck the food off. He liked that. After repeating this a few times, it finally seemed to click that he could repeat the bowl-to-mouth motion with the spoon, although he still likes the hand-in-food technique because it's 100% successful. Now all he has left to figure out is which end of the spoon can carry the most food to his mouth!

At his check-up I was shocked to discover that he has an ear infection in one ear and fluid in the other. I didn't have a clue! I took him to the doctor about two weeks ago when he had a cold because he was so miserable and he didn't have it then! Since his cold has cleared up he has appeared to be fine. Whoops! Poor guy. And then four shots and a finger prick was a little traumatic for him (and Mom), but he was so ecstatic about the band-aid on his finger it was all ok.

He is walking now, though still somewhat in the transitional stage. (I hope he is learning that the bathtub is not a good place to practice...that black-eye should serve as a good reminder!). Just two days ago he started practicing standing up on his own (without pulling up on something) and has been so proud of himself! He's a little pro now!

Here's a video of Luke's first year: