The State of the Nation & Britney Spears

Does our country's economic condition confuse you? Are you scared by media reports of a crashing world economy? I don't know about you, but sometimes just the headlines alone are enough to make me want to burrow under my covers and stay there until the Dow once again reaches 14,164. Or even 10,000. But all my fears and confusion are ridiculously exaggerated. Here's why.

We just need to remember that Britney Is Back!

Curious Kid

I love having a curious kid.

As part of my dryer adventure this week, I had an electrical test meter out. I thought Emi might like to learn about it so I showed it to her. Initially she recoiled, thinking it was dangerous. But then the adventure started.

We then spent 30 minutes wandering through the house testing electrical conductivity of various materials. We tested a graham cracker, a cheese sandwich, a stainless steel fork, painted metal surfaces, a can of tomato soup, the kitchen counter-top, the trash compactor, copper wire, gold and platinum wedding bands - you get the idea. (We couldn't find a potato, which actually gives off a small amount of voltage through a chemical reaction - this idea really fascinated her.)

In the process of exploring, Emi learned about how a light switch works by testing one in the on vs. off positions (don't worry - it wasn't powered). We also stumbled upon an old disassembled computer hard drive on my work bench - a minute's worth of explanation and the kid understood it. Back to electrical conductivity, we tested a drinking glass - no conductivity. So we filled it with water and tested the water - she'll never again question why the swimming pool life guards evacuate the pool when lighting has been spotted.

Along the way, Emi said she wishes there were no such things as dangerous things. But I explained that dangerous things are powerful things and powerful things are good things, as long as they're used carefully and properly. I think there might be a life lesson or two here.

Anyway, it was a pretty random 30 minutes, but we both enjoyed it and she might have something to contribute to science class now that she wouldn't have otherwise. And I can't help but be impressed with and very grateful for a child as curious and random as I am.

Sleeping Beauties

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, here are two-thousand for you!

Daily Miracles

Each day is full of miracles. Most just pass by unnoticed. Not that the recipient is necessarily at fault - some miracles, maybe most, are inconspicuous. But Heavenly Father watches out for us. And vain repetitions offered in prayer, like ".... and please protect us and keep us safe and please bless our home...." are still heard. This I know, because of a broken dryer. With a completely burned through electrical wire - this means there was a flame! And we had no idea until Ryan looked at the dryer a few days after it went kaput. Our house, especially the laundry room, is none the worse for wear. I'm thankful for miracles, especially the ones I'm oblivious to.

Speechless

Probably not news to any of you.

Interestingly, this will put temples in the birth places of Allison, me, Emi, Annie and toss in both sets of parents/grandparents. (Calgary, AB, Salt Lake City, Provo, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Kansas City (again), Cardston, AB and London. Allison, did I get those right?)

Update: The Kansas City Star has posted an AP article on the temple announcement. Looking at the comments there are some unflattering portrayals of the church, but I hope we'll all respond graciously as we're put under the local microscope. This is only the beginning of what will be a raucous ride over the next couple years.

Update II: ‹rant›This is also a great opportunity for us to brush up on what are really doctrines of our church and what are the traditions of our LDS fathers. Much of what we say and do and collectively believe really is based on tradition, incomplete statements, undeveloped context for ideas and sometimes misinformation. The explicitly stated doctrines of the Church, to me, seem relatively few and simple. On the other hand, no other religion I've heard of offers such expansive possibilities and liberality in thinking as does the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We just need to keep these two ideas each in their proper context and communicate accordingly. This is a pet topic of mine - sorry for the rant.‹/rant›

Did My Previous Post Confuse You?

If you left your computer feeling slightly puzzled, upon reading my previous post, you're not the only one. Ryan, who knew what I was talking about, advised me that others may not follow quite so easily. (Actually, I had wondered about that myself.)

Okay, the title, "R" as in Lome, "L" as in Rondon, is reference to a joke about japanese pronunciation of certain sounds. Funny to me and Ryan. Maybe only to us. And here are two clues that might help Annie's wit make more sense: (1) underwear is also called panties, and (2) Annie likes to remind me that my name starts with the same letter as hers.

"R" as in Lome, "L"as on Rondon

Annie is doing remarkably well at learning letters. Kindergarten may not have all the answers for some of her social and behavioral issues, but academically, she's already doing better than I expected. Annie can actually spell her own name (verbally only - I think that writing letters is still a long way off)! Sometimes she recites her name with only one "n," but that still sends a thrill through me.

So lately, Annie likes telling us the sounds letters make, for instance, "m goes mah, mah, mah." And Annie will often pick out a word or object and tell us what sound it begins with, like "book starts with bah, bah, bah." But Annie is quite wry, as evidenced by these two things she told us: "Underwear! Underwear starts with pah, pah, pah!" and "A. A is for mom!"