Good News!

I have been married to my incredibly beautiful, loving, and spiritually guided wife for nearly seven years. We have been given four beautiful and precious children, whom I love with all my soul. We have endured seven years of school, three of which were spent 900 miles away from our family and friends. We have suffered through six moves. We have been members of seven different wards and have accepted various callings. We have born the weight of insurmountable student loans. We have dealt with poverty and the embarrassment of collecting public assistance. We have had several different jobs, some that paid well and others not so much. We have even considered selling our bodies for money (the plasma only of course). We have learned to applaud the successes of others and have overcome setbacks and disappointments. We have been shown our weaknesses and follies. We have met a whole host of new and interesting people and have made dear friends and unfortunately, some enemies. We have laughed, loved, cried, and learned. But we have never doubted God's love. We have always known that our Father in Heaven would not have sent His only son to Earth to suffer incomprehensible pain if He did not love us. We have always known that everything was experienced for a reason. However, we found ourselves regularly, like Tevye, questioning God's omniscience. We wondered regularly whether He really knew what was best for us. I was in this state-of-mind when I wrote my post about frustration.

When I graduated from law school we decided it was time to move closer to our family. We settled on Western Colorado. We were convinced we would find a nice District Attorney position there, that we would buy a house, and finally, after six long years, be able to start our home. However, eight months later we found ourselves in Lexington, Nebraska, still some 700 miles from our family, struggling to barely survive financially. We were lonely, frustrated, and poor. We knew that our Heavenly Father brought us to Lexington, but we could not figure out why he would do such a thing. We once again found ourselves like teenagers questioning whether God really knew what was best for us.

After ten months of living in Lexington, we finally decided it was enough. We told our Heavenly Father and the County Attorney that if we did not get a raise by August we would be moving our family to Colorado. We knew that if He wanted us to stay in Lexington, He would soften hearts and provide a way. However, we also knew the County was in a budget crisis and the raise we were asking for had not been granted by the Board of Commissioners in several years. Considering my paycheck is funded by County taxes, we were convinced we would be moving to Colorado very shortly. Last week we were given a raise higher than what we had requested.

We still struggle living in Lexington. Having grown up in towns like Layton and Puebla, we get bored frequently. And we still regularly wish we lived in a bigger city. And we still miss our family and friends dearly. And we are still only making two-thirds of what most of my fellow law school graduates earn. Nonetheless, we know that Heavenly Father wants us in Lexington. This small piece of knowledge brings a peace and happiness to our lives that no amount of money, friends, family or entertainment could bring. We still find ourselves wondering why God chose Lexington, Nebraska, but at least now we know this is where He wants us to be.

El Idiota que Invento el Hard Taco

El otro día en Wal-Mart encontré unos paquetes para hacer tacos a la Tex-Mex, unos venían con tortillas de harina y los otros con tostadas dobladas o taco shells como le llaman. Y pensé, esto le va a gustar a los niños ya que soy culpable de que en ocasiones les compro tacos en Taco Bell.

Bueno pues, para hacer el cuento más corto, esas tostadas dobladas son el invento más ridículo que puede existir en el mundo. Se me ocurrió que la persona que los "invento" era alguien que no sabía cómo comer una tostada o un taco y pensó que esta sería la solución. Pues, malas noticias, amigos, NO SIRVE¡

Primero, ni siquiera se pueden llenar bien todo se le sale, tienes que usar un cuchillo o un tenedor para atipujar todos tus ingredientes.

Segundo, cuando tratas de comerlo se rompe por la mitad y ahí va tu relleno en el plato sin la tostada y con las manos batidas de todo lo que supone debía estar "dentro" de tu "taco”.

Tercero, mis parientes y creo todos mis compatriotas en México se reirían de ver como inútilmente una persona trata de comer uno de esos "tacos".

Pues en conclusión, si alguien que lea esto tiene la dificultad que yo tuve pues déjenmelo saber y otra solución es que le pregunten a cualquier mexicano como yo, como es que se come y se agarra un taco para evitar los problemas mencionados arriba. Una buena lección de esta categoría es muy apropiada para cualquier aficionado a la comida Mexicana tradicional.

Y recuerden que una tostada es una tortilla doradita y crujiente a la cual se le agrega frijoles que son lo básico y cualquier cosa que se les antoje sin olvidar la salsa, y un taco es una tortilla de maíz o de harina SUAVE calentada en una sartén o pasada por aceite con el relleno que sea de su agrado. El Fin

The other day in Wal-Mart I found some packages to make tacos a la Tex-Mex, some came with flour tortillas and others with folded tostadas or as they are called hard taco shells. I thought the kids were going to like them considering I am guilty on occasion of buying tacos at Taco Bell.

Well, in order to make the story shorter, these folded tostadas are the most ridiculous invention in the world. It occurred to me that the person who invented them was somebody who couldn’t figure out how to properly eat a tostada or taco and he thought that this would be a good solution. Well, I got bad news my friends, they DON’T WORK!

First off you can’t even fill them up properly because everything just falls out. In the end you have to use a knife or fork to stuff all your ingredients inside.

Second, when you try to eat them they do nothing but break in the middle. Then naturally all of the fillings end up on your plate without your tostada and you hands covered with everything that you assumed was supposed to remain “inside” your “taco.”

Third, my parents and all of my fellow Mexicans do nothing but laugh when we see someone unsuccessfully trying to eat one of these “tacos.”

Well in conclusion, if somebody else who reads this has experienced the same difficulties let me know. One solution I can offer is that you ask any Mexican how it is that you can hold a taco to prevent these problems. A demonstration on the proper way to eat a taco would be very appropriate for any authentic Mexican food aficionado.

Remember that a tostada is a hard, crunchy tortilla upon which you put beans, which are essential, and then anything else that sounds good, but don’t forget salsa. A taco is a SOFT flour or corn tortilla that is heated up or fried on the stove and then filled with whatever you desire.

First day of school!!!

Andy started Kindergarten at the "big kid" school on Thursday. He participates in this amazing all day dual language program. He has two teachers, one is a native Spanish speaker and the other is a native English speaker. One week he is with the Spanish teacher and everything is taught in Spanish. The next week he is with the English teacher and everything is taught in English. In order to prevent the children from becoming accustomed to a certain subject being taught only in one language, the teachers switch subjects so that the children learn each subject in both English and Spanish every week. This is the fifth year the program has been available and their plan is to offer it from Kindergarten to Twelfth grade. Their testing has repeatedly shown that the children in the dual language program have test scores 30% higher in all subjects than their English only counterparts. Both Carl and I as well as Andy are very excited about this program. However, I have to admit that I am scared and sad to see him grow up so fast, it seems like just yesterday that he was the 4lb baby in the NICU fighting to survive.

Emma also started her second year of pre-kindergarten yesterday. She was really happy and excited to start. So much so, that she could not fall asleep the night before. Her program is not as intensive as Andy's, but is still taught in both languages. She was very concerned about whether her first day outfit matched and whether her hair looked pretty. She too is growing up so fast, which seems to scare Carl more than it does me. She is very outgoing and Carl is very worried about her future social life, i.e. boys. However, Andy, who normally is very shy, loves to protect her. If anyone bothers her he does not hesitate to take matters into his hands and launch a full-scale Kung-fu Panda retaliation on the offending child. He even becomes brave enough to take on Joseph when Joseph bothers Emma. If you refer to Carl’s linebacker post below, that can be a very dangerous situation for Andy. Nonetheless, he does not hesitate. Hopefully he maintains that desire to watch over her.

All in all it was a good time for all. After Carl had left for work and my family had been cut down to only two, Joseph and Taiyari, I had the opportunity to cry a little, o.k. fine, a lot. It is these experiences and memories that make our dirty diapers, clean clothes in the laundry (Andy loves to change clothes about 4 times a day), and disorganized home more joyous.

Holy Cow!

The other day while I was at Wal-mart I found this Holy Cow cleaner on sale. I bought 2 bottles and was totally impressed. It is completely organic and biodegradable. We use it on everything in the kitchen, bathroom, our cars, carpets, and walls. It cleans far better than any other cleaning product we have bought.

I have been so impressed by it that I mentioned to Carl last Wednesday that we should buy a case of it online. That same night Carl was in Wal-Mart and found 22 bottles of it on clearance for $1.00, regular price here is $2.48. He bought all of them. :) Needless to say I was very excited. We have it stockpiled in our pantry.

Well, to make the story even sweeter we had our missionaries over last night. One of them saw the Holy Cow bottle and shouted out, "Holy cow, you use Holy Cow." Come to find out his Young Men's President in Sacramento, California, invented and manufactured it with his wife. So not only are we saving money, we are keeping our house cleaner and our kids safer, and helping another LDS family at the same time. WOOT!

I promise I am in no way affiliated with Holy Cow. I will receive absolutely no compensation when I suggest that you look into and purchase if possible this product. Here is a link to their website. Holy Cow

By the way, if you have used this product or if you do, let us know what you think.

Who's Who?

Ericka wants to have a little contest. Below are three pictures of our three boys, Andy, Joseph, and Taiyari. See if you can identify who is who?

Inspirational Thought

Always remember, it could be worse.



For those of you interested Snopes did confirm this as actual video footage.

Fun in the Sun

Thanks to a great deal I found on Slickdeals, the kids were able to have a little fun outside in the sun yesterday. For those of you interested, this fine little contraption only cost $5.97.

Here You Go Casey

Casey, here is a present for you. Heidi, are you sure you don't want to reconsider?

The Same People

Anna Quindlen’s article “The Same People” can be summarized by the following statement, “[i]f two women in white want to join hands in front of their families and friends and vow to love and honor one another until they die, the only reasonable response to that is happy tears, awed admiration and societal approval." Ms. Quindlen used the word reasonable. She acknowledges there are responses to gay marriage other than approval and admiration, but in her mind none are reasonable.

Contrast her statement with that issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. “We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God… we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”

If one believes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to be Christ’s church. And if one believes that His apostles and His prophets are ordained to bring forth His teachings. Then one must accept the proclamation to the World to be Christ’s doctrine. One must also accept that God has ordained marriage only between man and woman and that marriage in any other form will bring about the calamites foretold. If my logic is accurate, and please let me know if you think it is flawed, can a member of the LDS church respond to gay marriage with happy tears, awed admiration and approval? Most importantly is a member of the LDS church unreasonable for not doing so?

Ms. Quindlen also writes "[s]cream, shout, jump up and down. No matter. The gay-marriage issue is over and done with. The upshot: love won." She continues "[s]omeday soon the racas surrounding all this will seem like a historical artifact, like the notion that women were once prohibited from voting and a black individual from marrying a white one." What do you think about that assessment?

My New Wheels

So I recently decided to upgrade my auto and bought this bad boy (please take notice of the incredibly cool splash guards). Figured the best way to spend some of our rebate was to make a purchase that would allow me to break the flaxen cord that the oil companies had on me. Gas mileage is awesome. After doing some figuring on gas, oil changes, maintenance, and gym memberships we decided it would save us about $1,000.00 a year. Not too bad an investment. It has been a real fun way to get around. Traveling to Kearney can be rather tough though (80 miles round trip), but luckily I don't do that more than once or twice a week. Only problem has been trying to figure out how we are going to carry our food storage when it comes time to move to Missouri.

Oh yeah, in answer to my Mother's pressing question, I am incredibly hot and sweaty when I get to work, but when you hang out with criminals all day, who cares.