I have been spending the last couple months putting my daughter to bed. About a week ago, she wasn't exactly ready, so I asked her if she wanted me to read her a book. She's only 17 months old so, it was somewhat rehtorical. We have four six-foot tall bookcases to pick from so it's no easy task. However, I decided to reach for the colorful, nonsensical Dr. Suess section. I figured she didn't really care. As soon as we sat down, I realized how wrong I was.
It seemed like everything in the stack she pushed away or threw on the floor, except one. I would read the titles aloud and when we came to "Hop on Pop" I could have sworn she said Pop. Being Pop, I immediately qualified that as her calling me by name. I began to read the story to her. Now, I can't say how much she really "understood" what I was saying, but after every page. she looked up at me and smiled. I thought it was the cutest thing. After I read it to her, I stood up and easily put her to bed. The cool part came the next day.
It was bed time again the next day and I took her upstairs. As I was getting ready to put her in bed she walked over to the stack of books I left on the floor next to her crib and picked up "Hop on Pop" looked me right in the face and said, "Pop, Pop, Pop." I was giddy. Needless to say, I read it a couple times. She absolutley loves the book. Now she will go find the book outside of bedtime, bring it to me, climb up on my lap and say, "Pop." Being "Pop" just gets cooler all the time.
Thank you, Dr. Suess.
Let me first say that this movie drops the F-Bomb twice so, if you don't want to subject yourself to the swearing, there is my warning. It is rated PG-13, so I was surprised. It also has an awkward scene where John is visiting a support group for military wives and they discuss intimacy between spouses. So there is the warning...
I am a huge John Cusack fan, even with the few movies I haven't seen that have been rated R. This movie was somthing totally different for him. He looked so much older, it made me feel a little old too. I loved the movie.
It was about a man whose wife is killed in the war and Iraq and he is left to tell his two daughters. One daughter is 12 and a half the other 8 years old. He can't bring himself to do it, not that he doesn't think he should he just doesn't know how. I think the movie gives a realistic look into the difficulty of experiencing a loss of that magnitude. It also doesn't sugar coat it like some movies where the loss is the motivation for some great change in the lives of those left behind.
The movie shows that it is tragic, that there is no "best" way to deal with in and in the end, you just have to figure out a way to keep living.
It is sad...but to me seemed very real. John Cusack did a fanatastic job and though the movie came out last year, I think it was worth the watch.
I know there are a lot of negative comments about the church in recent days with the passing of Proposition 8 in California. To me it is unjust and unwarranted. That being said, getting the news out to our friends and others as to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints true position on the the topic is now more important than ever. I encourage anyone who hasn't seen PreservingMarriage.org to look at it's resources and use them accordingly. There are several wonderful videos and explanations that can be found on that site. Including the one below on Civil Rights. Take a look...
This past week was pretty cool. I got to go with the youth in our Ward to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. We went to participate in the upcoming DVD the church is putting out for the youth next year. I was impressed by the lengths the church has gone to try and give the youth the resources and confidence to stand up for what they believe and be good examples to their peers.
What I thought was even more interesting were the youth that were attending. I think that if leaders and other people are paying attention you can see a lot in the youth around you. I was amazed at how obviously uncomfortable some of the youth attending seemed to be in what to me felt like a very spiritual environment. At the same token, I was even more impressed with the kids that were sincerely excited to be there and participate. It seemed so obvious to me the difference between the two groups. That doesn't, of course, give a solution of how to help them, but recognizing the problem is the first step.
I am excited to see how the DVD and presentation will be used. I encourage everyone to get a copy when it comes out.
Here is a link to more information: A Brand New Year
