Forwarded Emails

I don't know if anyone else has been forwarded the email message which I'm about to complain about, but this morning was the third time I received it and it continues to really upset me. I get lots of forwards which are annoying, stupid and most of the time just junk, but this one really is ticking me off.

The one I'm referring to is the slandering, half truth email about Barack Obama and his interactions with the Muslim religion. First of all, I would like to say that I in no way support Obama in this election, and although I find him a very engaging speaker and motivator, my views on most issues vary greatly from his.

The email outlines several 'facts' about Barack's upbringing and affiliation with the Muslim religion, pointing out that his natural and step father were both 'fanatical' Muslims. The email also claims that he joined the Church of Christ as a way to mask his affiliation with the Muslim faith, using it only as a tool to gain votes in a largely Christian nation. Basically, the email claims that Barack is a Muslim in Christians' clothing that is trying to take over the US and turn it over to Muslim terrorists.

My favorite is how the email starts, I will let you read it for yourself:
" Who is Barack Obama?
Very interesting and something that should be considered in your choice. If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts...this is very scary to think of what lies ahead of us here in our own United States...better heed this and pray about it and share it."

As a person of the LDS faith, I would be saddened to see my non LDS friends forwarding an email about Mitt Romney (of whom I am not a supporter either) taking small facts about his life or his religion, blowing them out of proportion or taking them out of context and then claiming that he is not a Christian. I should mention that all of the forwarded emails I've gotten are from LDS people, which saddens me even more. I was surprised that LDS members who know personally what it feels like to have lies told about their religion would be party to spreading the same kind of malicious half truths and misinterpretations that we have to live with daily.

I don't want to write too much more about it, because then I'll start to get really angry. I'll just leave this post and refrain from talking about my second least favorite forward, 'Beware of the Mr. Clean Magic Sponge'- I love them and am still going to use them! What idiot would give their 3 year old a chemical sponge and be surprised they got burnt is beyond me anyway.

Four Months Old

James reminded me that today Louis is four months old. I know its cliche, but its amazing how fast he has changed and grown.

He now smiles and laughs at us, sleeps longer at night, takes better naps, rolls over one way, drools everywhere, likes to stand with help and thankfully cries a lot less.

If you hate tummy time....

Then just learn how to roll over........

Louis has discovered a new way to get out of the dreaded time I make him spend on his stomach every day. His arms may not be strong, but they can push him over.

Christmas Post... Finally!

We had a GREAT Christmas in Alaska and if I hadn't been working every minute that Louis was asleep since we came home, I would have posted a lot sooner. It was awesome to be with so much family that loved us, and loved our sweet yet tempermental baby. They would hold him even when he was yelling at them.

We'll use pictures to recap most of the trip, since I'm a boring writer and pictures are so much more fun.....

Before we left to Alaska, we had to open our presents from family in Hawaii and each other- we didn't have enough room to pack them all!

We decided that this year, Louis could be Santa Claus. He doesn't look too excited about the honor.

One of his favorite presents was a great book from his Grandma and Papa Faustino.

This hat looked adorable in its package, but when put on Louis has the unfortunate trait of making Louis look like an idiot. And not just in this picture. It looks like the old fashioned, soft football helmets on him. Too bad.

When we got to Alaska, Louis loved meeting his relatives. Here he is with his Grandma Kenley in Grannie's rocking chair.

He loved his Aunt Rachel, and she was soooo good with him. She would hold him, bounce him and even change poopy diapers. I wanted to bring her home with me!

He of course loved his Grandpa Kenley. He would let him look in the mirror at himself as long as Louis wanted to.

He also met his adorable cousin Daisy for the first time. She is so dainty and cute. Her pictures really don't do her justice- I tried so many times to capture how cute she is, but it is just impossible on film.

Louis also got to spend time with his cousin Andy. Andy loves babies and was so cute with Louis. They even had a matching outfit.

And Andy loved Louis, even when he was mad. I love this picture because I was trying to not use the flash, but Louis was so mad and flapping his arms so fast that you can't even see them with the slower shutter speed.

He also got to meet several of his great grandparents. Here he is with Grannie and Granpie Oberg. They are still as funny as ever... more pictures will prove this for Granpie.

We of course had the annual baking day, with enough chocolate and cookies to blow anyone's mind (and waist line). This year my new favorite was the little peanut butter cupcakes with the Reces Cups in the middle.

Christmas Eve was a big party with all of the Oberg relatives. Since there was no snow, we mixed it up with some games and a white elephant gift exchange. One of the games included passing an apple from person to person, with increasing obstacles if you were stuck with the apple. Granpie was having fun with that one.

Heather and Scott were the winners of the apple siamese twins game. Surprisingly, Uncle Barry and Uncle Chris were second place.

And of course Granpie also found some time to tell some good stories at the party.

Keith got a bunch of weird present from Calvin from Mexico. One of them was this Nacho Libre mask, which Andy was initiall y terrified of. If he saw Keith with it on he would immediately start crying. This is several hours later, after he had conquered his fear of the mask.

We used the babies to attack Calvin when he was napping, no one can get mad at babies!

Louis loved all the lights on the Christmas trees.

Brett's wedding was the day we were there and it was a fun reception. I love this picture because I think it looks like Louis was photographed by paparazzi, like he's trying to get away but we caught him by surprise.

And finally, to end this post, a beautiful picture of the one, the only, Calvin Smooth.....

New Year's Eve

We spent the majority of New Year's Eve on a plane coming back to Boston. But since we were still on Alaska time [four hours early] we decided to spend New Year's Eve with some friends playing games and hanging out. The highlight was the trek to the top of the hill to see Boston's fireworks without having to drive clear to Boston.

It was pretty cold, so we really had to bundle Louis up. This is about all you can see of him- the blanket even covered his face.

James and I made some fun family goals for this year, too dorky to list on here. I know that resolutions usually never get done, but I still love them anyway. There is something about a new year that makes you feel like it is a clean slate, and that anything is possible.

Bishopric Christmas Card Out Takes

In December MK decided he wanted to do photos for the Bishopric's Christmas card and asked me to snap a few. The majority of them were all the same and the guys all looked nice. They got progressively worse as the photo shoot went on. These are some of my favorites.

Sleepy Sleep

No wonder James says the bed feels a little bit crowded.....

I usually cave in about 5am if Louis is crying and bring him back to bed with us. I always wondered why it felt like he was kicking me in the ribs- and now I know. He likes to sleep in our bed sideways and crowd Dad out!