The Man

This is the man who pulled of a 4.0 (all A's) during the fall semester of 2009.
I am so proud of my smart, talented, and sexy husband!
Way to go Thaddeus!
Did I mention that ISU has asked him
teach a class (in door drumline) on mondays
:)
They start on the 11th!

Read more!

Lucia, split lips, cookies and tomtar...

Oj oj, vad vi ligger efter med bloggning!
Hoppsan, så kan det gå när man är upptagen med en massa roliga julgrejer. Vissa saker är självklart roligare än andra. Luciafesten var till exempel mycket roligare än när Kajsa bet igenom läppen på Burger King o vi var tvungna att åka till akuten.
Här är några bilder från våran Luciafest. Michelle Robbins har tagit dessa bilder och var så snäll och delade med sig. (THANK YOU MICHELLE) Det var hon som satt ihop bilderna med. Tur var det med, för alla våra bilder var antingen kolsvart eller så var dom inga bra. vi var så upptagna att vi hann inte ta så många :)
Precis efter festen så tänkte vi åka till Burger King o köpa lite skräp mat innan resan hem......vi hann precis in och betalade. Sedan skickade vi iväg Elsa o Kajsa för att hitta en plats att sitta. (stället var nästan tomt) Det gick kanske en halv minut, så kom Elsa o sa "Kajsa hurt herself" Oj oj, vad är det nu då. Vi gick runt hörnet o där står hon med hela munnen full med blod. På något sätt lyckades hon ramla (säger E och K) på sittbänken o måste ha slagit tanden på läppen. Blodet är ÖVERALLT, och det ser riktigt djupt ut!
Nej tack till maten, som inte ens var klart....upp till akuten istället. Doctorn sa att det skulle gå utan stygn eftersom det var på insidan av läppen. Tur! Vi tyckte hemskt mycket synd om tokiga lilla Kajsa.
Vi har oxå gjort små gulliga tomtar.
Inspererad av tjejernas dagis, Solgården i Borås.
Bakat pepparkakor har vi hunnit med..........dom blev PERFEKTA!
Mums, smakade som annas pepparkakor, fast kanske lite bättre. ;)
Vi fick besök av Lucia den 13:de. Hon kom med hembakade lussekatter o bullar m.m.
Så fin hon var!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hennes tärna hade dock en STOR fläskläpp o mådde inte särskilt bra.
Oj vad jag saknar Sverige under Julen!

Read more!

Merry Jul, and Gott New År!

Here is our infamous Christmas Card.
Hope you all enjoy. We wish you all Happy Holidays! To all of our family and friends abroad, we miss you!

Enjoy!


If anyone wants to check out 2008, 2007, 2006 just click on the respective year. It's amazing to see how much the girls have grown over the years.

Read more!

Välkommen Första Advent

I have been looking forward to Första Advent a lot this year. Possibly more so than other years just because it's Swedish and we're not in Sweden anymore. Of course, it's not that easy to go to the store and just pick up an adventstake. BUT, I have connections. Remember Cole, the one who built Elsa's shelf? Well, he helped me out again. He literally threw this together in about 20 minutes with scrap pieces laying around in the garage! He is amazing and it looks SO good. The moss, candles and trinkets (apple spice pot pourri) are all complements of Wal *Mart!
I am quite excited to light it tomorrow.

Read more!

Let the light shine forth

Today the electricity went out around 12.30 p.m. and didn't get fixed until almost 8.30 p.m. Crazy!

Luckily we celebrated Thanksgiving at great grandpa and grandma Ferrins in town. I feel really bad for all the people out here in Groveland who had turkey's and rolls and who knows what in their ovens when the power went.

Either way, electricity is a super cool thing to be thankful for. Although, I must say it is quite cozy sitting in the dark talking and having fun with family. I had a great thanksgiving. First real one since 2002!

Read more!

The best girls!

Kajsa going on five!

What will become of her? She is such a wild stubborn härlig girl. She has a great imagination and I won't be surprised if she surprises us when she becomes an adult. She doesn't give up easily and is not easy to fool. Once she has a goal she finds a way to meet it. She keeps me laughing all day long. I love to kiss her freckles and comb her red hair. She is so super spunky and perfect in every way.

Elsa, going on seven!

The older, also perfect daughter. What will she become? Today she sat and held Kajsa in her arms and kissed her cheek while she took a nap. Elsa is such a mini mamma. I can imagine her having lots of kids. She LOVES to play the mothering role. Elsa is doing so well in school. Her english is getting better and better every day. She is already ahead in the reading and the teacher just moved her up to the advanced math class!

My children make me proud and happy everyday. I am so glad that I get to be a mommie. I often wonder who they will become and what they will want, or do with their lives when they are adults. Time goes by so fast. I am looking forward to having teenage, and even adult, children. At the same time I am sad that the young age is passing so quickly. It seems I just cannot get enough cuddling and hugging in.

I hope someday that we can have more kids, whether it be our own, adoptive, or foster kids.

I am thankful for my two beautiful,

bright babies.

I am anxiously anticipating the future,

what it will bring and what you will create with it.

I will always love you!

Read more!

What I'm thankful for everyday, but often hesitate to express on my blog!

Courage is what it takes to stand up to others
Courage is what it takes to make your own decisions
Courage is what it takes to succeed
But it also takes courage to sit down and listen
It also takes courage to admit a loss
It will take courage to respect someone others don't
Courage is needed to withstand peer pressure

So what does this mean?
Courage is essential in your journey through life.

Hanson Chen

I'd like to share something I am very thankful for every single day. I often feel I can't share this with others because I fear I may offend them. So to those members of the LDS church, this is not my intent.

These are my feelings and beliefs!

I have a LOT of LDS friends and family members whom I love and respect. I recieve LDS forwards and emails and read a lot of blog posts that are about or related to the LDS faith. I am not offended, but it bothers me a little that when I mention how I feel about the religion I often am told I am attacking them.
How can this be, are religous people free to preach all they want? Of course they are, but so am I. I am FREE to share what I believe and how I feel. (at least on my own blog) I believe that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a scam. I really, truely, and honestly do believe this.
With all my heart.

I do believe that there are many good things that the church teach and practice, for instance: charity work, FHE, youth groups and activities. There are lots of good things about the church. YES!

This is true, and that is great.
But I do not believe that these things make the church true. Nor does the church have a patent on these things either!

When I was a member I often tried to excuse the church or it's teaching by saying to myself that it's the fundamentalist that think this way or that. But there is no way around it. The church is much to young to hide it's hideous past. The founding leaders have too much dirt and blood on their hands to hide! The church teach it's members only to read church material...why would you teach this? If it's true it will stand up to scrutiny.
But it doesn't.

And it's not true.
It wasn't so called "ANTI MORMON" doctrine that made me think twice about the church. It was my gut feelings that finally demanded I get to the bottom of things. If was the fact that the church is a judgmental church! Love and kindness and peace will never be enough for them. You need to follow every rule that they make up even when they are racial, discrimanatory or wrong to be considered a faithful member.
Blacks not recieving the preisthood until 1978 for instance. Gays being stripped of their marital rights by prop 8. Will it really have to go so far as the government stepping in and demanding they stop discriminating? (The church teaches that AGENCY is so important, but would seek to strip others of it.) Plural marriage....does a member of the church even take the time to find out what the early prophets taught and said about this practice. (Ever heard of the journal of discourse? It is church material...but hard to come by these days, wonder why???) I think a lot of them don't because they don't want to know......BECAUSE then they might actually have to deal with it. I know that is how I felt a lot of times. I tried to put my gut feelings away for a long time, and I do mean a long time.

The church has inplanted a clever little tool called GUILT, deep, deep in it's members. From the time they are born they are taught that when you question the church it is shameful and of the devil. This is bizzare to me.

And sick!

TRUTH and FACTS are not bad things, they just are. I felt that it was wrong for me to indoctrinate my children. It felt to me like I was brainwashing them. I do not want my children to ever feel they have to earn my love or loose it because of their choice of or no choice of religion. I do not believe it is my place to make my daughters believe or not believe in a divine being.

BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW!

No one does. You are not better than me and I'm not better that you. The fact stays the same, there is no real proof that there is a GOD even. I think it would be a pleasant surprise if there was one, but really, I don't believe there is one. Why would he let so many of his childred suffer? If there is a GOD, is he going to punish me because I didn't pretend that he exsisted? Maybe, and in that case, I don't think I'd like to be in such a persons presence anyway.

I am honest. I am not a bad person because of this, I have not lost my soul. Staying in the church after what I had discovered would have been WRONG, at least for me. Bringing my children up under the illusion that I "knew the church is ture with every fiber of my being" would be wrong in my eyes. Religion, in general, is a very intricate topic and I don't think you can make clear or smart decisions about them until you are an adult.
The church, in my eyes, is full of peer pressure and neglecting your intellect and embracing superstition.

I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ALL MORMONS ARE FULL OF THESE THINGS.

There is a big difference. I believe there are MANY, MANY great LDS people, but I believe that the religion (teachings, scriptures, prophets..etc) is not true and that it is there that the problem lies. The religion is built upon a lie, to put it simply and straight to the point. I am glad that I can express myself about these thing and not feel ashamed or guilty. It is a wonderful free feeling.
I am not upset with my mother for bringing me up in the church. She was doing what she thought was right. How can I blame her?

I feel that I have learned A LOT from the church. I have learned many lessons and grown from them. It has in many ways shaped who I am and who I am not, and for that I am thankful. Mostly I am thankful that I left it when I did and not a minute later. It makes me sad to know there are so many members out there who feel like I did. Don't get me wrong, I was not always miserable. But the authenticity of the church was a recuring topic that I could not shake. I could push is away for months at a time and do just fine focusing on my callings and the wonderful kids in primary.........but the truth was always there and at last it caught up to me when my kids started getting bigger.

It was time to deal with it.

I am happy and thankful that I was able to deal with it in a healthy manner and move on to better things. There are many who get depressed and even those who commit suicide after their families and wards disown them. We were in Sweden when we decided to have our records removed. Our ward in Borås Sweden was filled with wonderful, caring people. Many of whom I think about often. They in no way acted badly or inappropriate.

In short I'd like to just say I am thankful that I am not a member of the church. This is not meant to be an attack, this is something I truly am thankful for

EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Read more!

I'm thankful

for the couch. I am usually not a big fan of sitting on the couch and watching t.v. In fact anyone that knows we well, knows I HATE wasting time in front of the t.v.
These last couple of days have been very different as I am still sick as ever and I don't have the energy to be on my feet. It is very lonely downstairs in bed, so for once, I love the couch. And since this is Idaho, I thought this pic was appropriate.

I'm also thankful for left overs, tissue paper to blow my nose, and nyquill that tastes like jägermeister to knock me out at night. Read more!

Health care Reform!

I just watched some dumb ass republican go off about how health care reform will destroy the USA health care system.
Really?

He said.........no, I'll just post it so you can hear for yourself!



First of all: I just have to say, what kind of a sick selfish ass really wants to keep people from getting health care. Americans have no clue how different and fair health care can be. They don't, because they are selfish and IGNORANT! If they would care to even look at other countries they'd learn a whole lot. Yes, you might have to stand in line.....but then the ones who need help the most will get it first as well. It's called sacrifice! Ever heard of it?

PLUS, if you're as rich as a lot of these selfish people are, they're rich enough to buy their own private health care anyway and they can go to their own "special" doctors. If doctors get paid a normal good wadge then maybe all the jerks who don't even care about people but who just go into it for the money would get weeded out.

The thing that bothers me the VERY most, and this is just because I'm an ex mormon, is that so many LDS in this region (Idaho, Utah..etc) are SOOOOO against a reformed health care. God forbid I have to pay more taxes so the poor mexican's kid next door gets to go to the doctor when they need to.

REALLY? WTF?

Have I forgotten everything about the church, I think not. It was the church that taught about the law of consecration was it not. And the law of consecration was not just paying a little more in taxes, it was giving EVERYTHING you had and then getting only what you need.

AKA -communism.

This health care reform is not even close, but still the same idea to an extent, giving a little and getting help when you really need it. And mostley, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T AFFORD IT. How can a person see something bad with giving, to help someone else. Yes yes, I realize that a lot of republicans are upset because there are soooo many illegals. Yes there are. SO WHAT? A person is a person, is a person, is a person. Just because they happened to be born in bad conditions and have taken themselves out if it as good as they can does not mean that they should suffer because they are poor. Everyone feels pain, it doesn't hurt more or less depending on what color of skin you have or where you were born. PEOPLE are important.
I STRONGLY believe that health care should be available for EVERYONE. Period, and if I can pay a little more taxes then I'd LOVE to.
The myth that health care gets worse when it's not private is blown WAY out of proportion, look it up for yourself!


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082101778.html
If you don't have the pacience to read the whole thing, go to page three, where she kind of summarizes and makes some good points.


http://www.photius.com/rankings/

http://www.allcountries.org/ranks/preventable_deaths_country_ranks_1997-1998_2002-2003_2008.html

http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthy_life_table2.html Read more!

Sick Joy

I am thankful that I have not been sick since we moved here. I've had the occational sore throat....but up until now I haven't had anything terrible. NOW, I am sick for real. My lungs BURN.... It feels like I have been outside running in the cold without clothes on. Ever ran farther than you really should have and get the nasty burning sensation at the top of your lungs?

That's what I have.

And I have the little nasty green monsters visiting me that like to be coughed up. Plus body aches. Yes, I am feeling sorry for myself. I am the only one in the family without insurance as well, plus I'm the one trying to support us on my pathetic wadge. Grrrr, being sick does not fit into my schedule right now.

I had three appointments booked for tomorrow as well, all of which I am going to have to cancel :( But like I said, I am thankful that this is the first time I've gotten REALLY sick in six months or maybe even more! Hence this is my thanks post for the day.

Read more!