I Love Birthday Dinners

I also love blogging when I am supposed to be writing a 10-page concept analysis.
Who comes up with assignment names like that anyway?

Happy Birthday Russell

Today is Russell's 24th birthday.
Russell is good-natured. He is so easy to be around, and his sense of humor couldn't be better.
Russell is an incredible story teller. He gets really into it and I love hearing him laugh and watching his eyes light up.
Russell is a good student. He is diligent in studying and doing his homework. A few days ago I found his binder with all his notes in it. Along with all the class notes, he had written hilarious things in the margins like, "Okay, why do people think it's okay to wear pajamas to class?" or "Wet braids = sick."
Russell always does the dishes without being asked or reminded. He just does them so I won't have to.
Russell will go out and buy me ginger ale and Curly Noodle soup when I'm sick. He takes care of me.
Russell is an inspiration for me. He wakes up early every morning to go to the gym while I stay in bed an extra hour. He loves being healthy.
Russell always does his home teaching. He loves the gospel.
Russell is patient. He taught me to drive a stick shift, even though it was a near impossible task, and I screamed at him quite a bit.
Russell is nice to my friends. He cheerfully comes on all the double dates that I plan for us.
Russell can always make me laugh. When I am having a crummy day he'll pick me up from school and sing to me and tell me funny things and make me feel happy again.
Russell listens to me. He cares about my goals and aspirations and wants me to succeed.
For all these reasons and a million more, I love this boy. He means the world to me.

Unpleasant

Let me tell you about one of the most unpleasant things in the world, which I experienced last night. I was peacefully sleeping, dreaming about having a conversation with one of my co-workers. In the dream, I started to feel my throat tighten and my breath contract and suddenly, I woke up and sat straight up in bed, choking and coughing. Russell started mumbling so I ran out into the hallway and coughed and coughed and coughed it out, into a pillow, until I finally calmed down and caught my breath again. Then I lay awake for several hours, afraid of falling asleep again and choking to death.

Why does this happen? There is nothing worse than being jolted awake in the middle of the night by a coughing fit. I would feel comforted to know that this happened to other people. Russell seems to think it's a figment of my imagination, which it definitely is not.

While we're talking about unpleasant matters, let's talk about the idiot Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat representative from New York. He is one of the many Democrats in Congress who are challenging a bill passed in 1996 called the Defense of Marriage Act. This is what Nadler said about the Act, which defines marriage as between a man and woman and instructs states and the federal government not to recognize same-sex marriages:

"Today, we celebrate the first step toward overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, and sending that ugly law back to the history books where it belongs."

Excuse me, Nadler. That ugly law is what keeps society stable. Only a man and a woman together have the natural biological capacity to conceive children, which also is the only way to keep society running. Strong families are where children learn moral strenths, traditions, and values. While governments did not invent marriage, throughout the ages governments of all kinds have recognized and affirmed marriage as an essential institution in preserving social stability and perpetuating life itself. I am scared to think about living in a society in which my own government refuses to recognize that.

My testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and the apostles who lead it is stronger now than ever before. The Family Proclamation was given in 1995. President Hinckley gave this reason for its issue: "The family is under attack. All across the world families are falling apart." That was almost fifteen years ago, and think of how much more the importance of marriage and family is being undermined in our society. It's sickening. I guess the most that any of us can do is hold fast to what we know to be true and live the best we can, despite the fact that the world really is going down the crapper.

So Far This School Year

So far, I like my classes. My favorite is flexibility, where we take a 15-minute power nap every day. Russell likes his classes too. His favorite is international relations. We are thankful for financial aid that helps us go to school.

In the spirit of all the warm weather lately, I wore a short-sleeved shirt and shorts yesterday and got drenched in the rain. So today, I wore a turtleneck and a cardigan and jeans and it's actually quite sweaty and hot outside. Blast.

Russell and I recently saw Julie and Julia and it was delightful. I'd recommend it to everyone.

I took the PRAXIS exam for French content knowledge last Saturday. It was expensive. This test measures my understanding of French and makes sure that I know enough to teach it. My favorite question was:
In which of the following countries do the natives NOT speak French?
A. Cameroon
B. Haiti
C. Ivory Coast
D. Vietnam

Unfortunately, not all the questions were this easy. Most of them were really difficult. I hope I passed.

August

August was a really fun and busy month. Here's what we did.

We had a fun time when Gabe came to stay for a weekend.

We went to Aspen, Colorado with the Lee family to visit
Brian and Mary-Jane.

We love them.

We celebrated our anniversary by going back to where we were married a year ago and doing an endowment session.
Then we went horseback riding.
We hiked Stewart Falls.
We also hiked Timp with my dad.

I am incredibly sore from that experience and proud of myself for not succumbing and renting a wheelchair to get around campus on the first day of school.
Russ and I are sad to see the summer end, but glad to be students again! It's only the second day of school and I'm already busy. I love all my classes. This is my last semester here before I start student teaching for a French class in January. Weird. I remember thinking student teachers were really old (and boring) when I was in junior high and high school. I can't believe I am going to be one. Russ is still pursuing a Political Science degree and he loves it. We are working hard and keeping busy and happy.