Dad (Brett)
All around rockstar geek. Brett enjoys his job as a Clinical Data Manager (helping research medical breakthroughs at Celgene); in his time off he enjoys reading books, watching movies, and learning new tricks on his camera and in Photoshop. He absolutely adores his wife and 2 daughters.
Mom (Erin)
Complete supermom. Erin loves her job as a Youth Field Researcher (aka 'mother'); in her plentiful spare time (ha!) she enjoys sleeping, re-reading Twilight or Harry Potter, and cuddling with Brett.
Aeriana ('Wacko', 'Princess')
Hybrid Angel/Devil. Aeriana loves her mommy and daddy, each of whom she loves to test at times and pretend innocence at others. A veritable sponge, Aeriana wants to do anything she sees an adult doing; she loves babies and especially adores her little sister, taking great care of her every need.
Zoe Jean ('Stinker', 'Cutie')
Growing fast, Zoe wants to be just like her big sister. Very goal oriented, she'll find a way to get that toy she's been looking at. She loves her pacifier and can't help but snuggle up to her blanket. Zoe is as relaxed as they come, she just loves chillin' out and watching TV.
Is there anything better than books? I guess so, charity comes out above books. But what about books and charity combined? That's like putting together chocolate chip cookies and donuts... it's almost sinful. Almost.
This morning I learned about a publishing company that does in fact create such an incredible combination. Of books and charity, not cookies and donuts (still on the lookout for that one).
The Concord Free Press just celebrated their 1 year anniversary. Their mission: (1) Publish books, (2) Give them away for free, (3) Then encourage readers to (a) donate to a charity, (b) read the book, and then (c) give the book to someone else... lather, rinse, repeat.
It's an incredible concept and is especially exciting because it has the potential to inspire people to give for many, many years. Already readers have reported over $90,000 in donations... and that's just what's been reported.
As we approach the Holidays, I'm going to try to keep this inspiration in mind and keep an eye out for opportunities for charity. I hope we can all do that. If you're interested, the Concord Free Press also accepts donations to further its capability of executing its mission.
I've been reserving political commentary for my Back In Focus blog; however I figured a lot of readers of this blog would be quite interested in this.
Today, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, spoke to BYU-I students about the right to religious freedom in America. If your first reaction is 'eh, politics... why would I care?', then I'll point you to this quote from the beginning of his speech. "There is a battle over the meaning of that [religious] freedom. The contest is of eternal importance, and it is your generation that must understand the issues and make the efforts to prevail."
Elder Oaks touches upon Prop 8, the civil rights movement, the founding fathers, and the church throughout the world. It's very interesting and very timely.
Other quotes that really stood out to me:
"Unpopular minority religions are especially dependent upon a constitutional guarantee of free exercise of religion. We are fortunate to have such a guarantee in the United States, but many nations do not. The importance of that guarantee in the United States should make us ever diligent to defend it. And it is in need of being defended. During my lifetime I have seen a significant deterioration in the respect accorded to religion in our public life, and I believe that the vitality of religious freedom is in danger of being weakened accordingly."
"A second threat to religious freedom is from those who perceive it to be in conflict with the newly alleged “civil right” of same-gender couples to enjoy the privileges of marriage."
"Those who seek to change the foundation of marriage should not be allowed to pretend that those who defend the ancient order are trampling on civil rights."
"we must not be deterred or coerced into silence by the kinds of intimidation I have described. We must insist on our constitutional right and duty to exercise our religion, to vote our consciences on public issues and to participate in elections and debates in the public square and the halls of justice."
"As Latter-day Saints, we should never be reticent to declare and act upon the sure foundations of our faith. The call of conscience — whether religious or otherwise — requires no secular justification."
I recommend you watch this brief companion interview video, and then read Elder Oaks' speech in its entirety.
Dad (Brett)
Mom (Erin)
Aeriana ('Wacko', 'Princess')
Zoe Jean ('Stinker', 'Cutie')
(Books x Charity)^Awesomeness
