Great Post

Here is a great post on Greg Mankiws Blog. Mankiw is a economist at Harvard, has a couple very used and famous undergraduate textbooks, and unlike many economists, leans slightly to the right. In any event, this is a great post he wrote, unbiased, true, and good.

Some recent happenings

Here are some recent happenings in our lives, in no particular order. Jacob has been having some problems hearing, so, we have been to several doctors to see about this. For now, he is getting tubes in his ears to drain some fluid out (I also had this done as a little child) and they will see what is happening from there. Interestingly, it is difficult to get an exact and precise hearing test on a toddler, so, while he is drugged for the tubes, they do a hearing test. Stacey and I went to a showing of the singing group "Sweet Honey in the Rock". The music was good, the political message was repulsive. We took a trip to Ohio, and while there we had a litte picnic with David, Megan, their kids, and my mom (who was visiting from ID). Here is Stacey, hanging out with Ben and Emily. Jacob has also been working hard on learning tricks. Watch him go.

Busy Week

We have all had a fairly busy week, and I thought I'd just give a quick update to keep anyone informed who cares to be informed.

Jeff: spent lots of time reading papers for class and presentations and research, rode his bike to school a few times this week (admirable given the chilly morning/evening temperatures and wind chill), tried out his new iPod shuffle and appreciates that it is not as bulky as the iPod he usually totes to listen to all those books he posts about. He also has the exciting newly-given assignment to set up chairs in the overflow area of the chapel at church before our 9 AM Sunday meetings. Last week it took him about 17 minutes by himself. I think after a few weeks he'll have it down to under 5 minutes. He's that amazing, folks.

Jacob: mastered the Discovery Toys pegboard at the audiologist's office on Thursday, can usually answer correctly when asked "Where is Baby Sister?" by pointing at my (huge) belly, consistently makes a sound for what a cow says as of today, he smiled a lot this week, he took extra and unexpected naps a couple times, and did a lot of dancing with me to some songs on some CDs of children's songs I got for Christmas. We learned that he thinks waltzes like "Did You Ever See a Lassie?" are very, very funny. Probably because his mommy is a dancing maniac.

Stacey: I spent a couple days feeling ill this week and think I got some stomach bug that came and went a couple times. In my desire to follow the good example of my friend Brit from my freshman year at BYU, however, I did manage to prepare many things for the freezer that will come in handy after the baby gets here in a few weeks. I didn't prepare quite as much as Brit did last summer, but I'll look forward to having some of these things:

• around 90 Italian meatballs
• chicken stir fry
• chicken/broccoli casserole
• lasagna
• 2 batches of hamburger pie
• tacos
• pork loin cut into roasts and 'chops' for easy crock pot or stovetop cooking
• cooked several more pounds of ground beef to have on hand

I also worked on my master's project for what I hope will be the final time. It is time to be done. That is all I will say about that.

Two Quotes from Two Prophets

I'm posting these quotes on here for no other reason except that I feel like I should. I was reading President Monson's talk "Finding Joy in the Journey" and enjoyed this paragraph as much as I did when he first said it during General Conference in October.

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.

It reminded me of another quote that I like, from President McKay:

[The] ability and willingness properly to rear children, the gift to love, and eagerness … to express it in soul development, make motherhood the noblest office or calling in the world. She who can paint a masterpiece or write a book that will influence millions deserves the admiration and the plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose influence will be felt through generations to come, … deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God (Gospel Ideals [1954], 453–54).

I guess on some days it's good to have a healthy dose of perspective and be reminded that what I'm trying to do, with the Lord's help, really is important and that it's a blessing that I've been given the opportunity to be a mother. For good measure, here's a We're-Almost-a-Family-of-Four picture taken last October. Now there are only 6.5 weeks to go!