Back to Utah

So we have arrived in Utah. It is nice to be back here, but I must admit that San Antonio is a pretty good place too. There are several things that I have noticed is the few short hours that we have been here:

#1- The mountains are much bigger than I remember.
#2- I can see forever here.
#3- There aren't as many trees as I remember.
#4- It seems like we never left

The flight and trip was pretty uneventful. However, there we several funny moments:

#1- I forgot the give Mark Rowan three oranges that I set out especially to give to him. I hope that he let himself into our apartment to get them, or there might three green, moldy balls on our counter when we get home
#2- There were two ladies in front of us on the trip from San Antonio to Dallas. There was one lady sitting on the aisle. The next lady who came insisted that the other lady sit by the window, because the aisle was her seat. Then she changed her mind and sat by the window, even though it wasn't "her" seat. She said that she wanted to sit by the window, because she was going to sleep the whole way anyway. Well, she slept the whole 45 minutes we were in the air. I tried to be nice and wake her up, but she must have meant what she said about being tired, because I couldn't wake her up, so I just deboarded.
#3- In the Dallas airport we were really hungry. We wandered over to a nice pastry shop and decided that we didn't want to pay money for a pastry. She we found a pretzel shop. Jan, after much deliberation, decided that she would have a garlic pretzel. Then to my amazement the lady took the last pretzel out of the glass pretzel warmer, went over to a box, picked up your typical spice bottle, turned to stand over the garbage can and dumped a white substance on Jan's pretzel. I wondered what it was, but I had a good idea. She handed the pretzel to Jan and as we turned to walk away, Jan took a big bite of the pretzel that she had turned down a French pastry for and then just about threw up. What would you think would be on a garlic pretzel? A nice creamy garlic butter? Probably on every other garlic pretzel you order such would be the case, but on this special pretzel, the lady just dumped a bunch of garlic powder on it and handed it to Jan. Notice I said garlic powder, that doesn't even equate to garlic salt. So I wiped the garlic powder off of the pretzel for Jan and then bought her a Frosty and some gum so that she could get the garlic out of her mouth. So in the end, we should have just got the French pastry, that pretzel made us spend three extra dollars.

I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas. We miss you all and for those that are in Utah, we will see you soon.

with love,

Ben

I saw it!

Last year we had an ugly sweater party for New Year's Eve.

Last week, I saw a lady in my ward wearing my sweater!

My Dilemma

Last night someone asked me when I was due.

But I really like wearing that shirt.

Never Trust a Public Restroom

Because of people like me.

Last night Ben and I went to the mall to look at stuff we can't afford. It was our date. I noticed that Clark was stinky when we had just arrived, and I had only brought my purse, not my diaper bag (like I ever remember to restock diapers anyway). So I decided to go to the bathroom, take off his diaper and just shake the goods down the toilet so he didn't have to sit in it at least. When I unstrapped the thing, I realized that it was too wet, mushy and smooshed-in to come out and just fall in the toilet. But I couldn't, in good conscience, strap it back on him!

So I came up with a plan that involved a lot of paper towels. While I was coming up with this plan, (which happened to coincide with trying to flush "the goods"), Clark peed on the floor. He also soaked his unsnapped onesie pretty good at the same time.

I took him to the counter to wipe him off with some wet paper towels (phase one of my plan) and I noticed that we were leaving puddles of non-clear liquid. I tried to wipe them up, but I certainly didn't sanitize the counter. (Please remember, this is in the J.C. Penney bathroom, and people are coming and going the whole time--I, on the other hand, am operating in some sort of timeless-bubble).

Then I got a wad of paper towels and headed back to the changing table (phase two). I had his makeshift diaper on and his wet onesie snapped over it when a nice girl approached us and asked "Do you need a diaper?" I must have looked relieved and embarrassed because she hurried out and grabbed me not only a diaper, but a pack of wipes. Bless her.

Clark thought the whole thing was a terrific game. Who doesn't like to be naked in public?

Live footage

He's becoming HIGHLY mobile.

Sorry Mitt. . .

After watching CNN's You Tube Republican Debates last night, I (Jan) decided that Mike Huckabee had something that every other candidate was lacking: Likeability.

He was genuine, he was funny, he took stands on issues, he didn't attack the others.

If I were to vote Republican, I would vote for him.

Indian Food

I realized tonight, as I was wolfing down Chicken Tikka Masala and Eggplant in Spicy Gravy that the reason for my habitual over-eating of Indian food is that it is spicy. And each bite alleviates the burning momentarily until that bite's burning begins. So I end up eating way too much, way too fast.

And you wonder why I throw up in the bushes outside the restaurant.

Thank You!

This is a BIG thank you to the Franciscos for coming to visit us and loving our baby. We love you!



"Gramps" and Clark



"Gram" and Clark



Our incredible day of shopping - starting in Gruene.



Self Portrait

So much stuff

Yesterday we spent a fun-filled day window shopping. We went to Gruene, which is a small German town that has been "gently resisting change since 1871" and is now a collection of antique stores, gift shops, general stores, restaurants, and an art/craft market.

Then we went to the Outlet Stores which stretch on for miles and miles. We had to drive from one store to the next because we would have gotten worn out walking. We saw clothes, plates, kitchen utensils, shoes, baby clothes, electronics, more clothes, more shoes, food shops, aprons, skillets, a cake pan that can make an upright, 3-D snowman, and every imaginable thing ever created.

Then Ben said to me: "I wish we could just go to Target for a half hour".

And I agreed. Target has it all.

--posted by Jan

Pros and Cons

Ben and I often have these conversations:

"I'm so glad we are renting for these reasons. . . "
"If we owned a house, we could do this and this. . . "

So here is this weeks' list of Pros and Cons of renting:

Pro #1: The AC has broken three times now. And we don't have to pay Phil the fix-it man to come and fix it. Nor do I have to wait around because the complex provides him with a key to my place.

Pro #2: We can trust the fix-it guys to be in our house because they all have contracts with the complex and they would lose tons of money if we found out that they stole anything.

Pro #3: We have lots of neighbors to be friends with. And the little neighbor girls helped me look for a missing bolt yesterday in the lawn. We didn't find it, but I had some help looking.

Con #1: silverfish. I assume they are from the neighbors. . . they are sharing with us. We don't have a major infestation, but they are unwelcome in any quantity.

Con #2: Other bugs/pests that sneak in through cracks and crevices: a gecko, a couple of 3" long (or longer) flying cockroaches, a huge grasshopper. Heaven help me if a snake finds its way in.


The Pros have it. we'll stay put.

Meyers-Briggs and IQ

***I took another IQ test and my IQ went down 13 points. This one was longer than the original test that I took, which means that the sample size was larger. I think that we can all conclude that I am definitely not as smart as Bill Clinton.

So I took a Meyers-Briggs personality test like Jan and I am an ESTJ. I also took this quick IQ test and what do you know I am smarter than Bill Clinton(137) and George W. Bush (125). According to most of America that isn't too hard. However, I am not quite as smart as Einstein(160). I think that my IQ test is flawed, especially if I am supposed to be smarter than Bill Clinton, he was a Rhodes scholar and all, but then again he is from Arkansas. What is Arkansas anyway? Is it like a little rock? Maybe you all could enlighten me on these subjects like, such as.

Jung Personality Test - Jan

ENFP - "Journalist". Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Halloween 2007 - 0 - RAMA

If it's a big deal, you put "O-RAMA" at the end of it. . .

So it was halloween. We heard about a Pumpkin Patch on Huebner Road (pronounced HEE-bner). So we dropped in to buy ourselves a pumpkin. Not willing to pay the asked $15 per pumpkin, we took some pictures and left. Clark got a sticker though.



His parents watched him de-stem and lick a pumpkin stump, all the while happily snapping pictures.


So we bought our Pumpkin at Sam's Club and took it to our friends'


carving a family pumpkin at our friends' house.


Ben graciously let me determine the fate of our pumpkin, and I chose to put big holes in it. All over. Ben, again very graciously, didn't even contend that this would cause the pumpkin to wither and droop within hours. It did. But I'm glad that he didn't point this out. It's now dead on our balcony. (yeah, Clark wears his bear hat alot.)

You may be thinking to yourselves: "Wow, they are having the BEST Halloween of all time" but you know what? IT WASN'T EVEN HALLOWEEN YET!!

The night before Halloween was our church's Trunk or Treat.

I don't think I'm alone in saying that I'm surely glad the Eighties didn't hit me in my teenage years. This isn't a Dani Vest flashback, folks. This is Jan, 2007. (please remember that I do have the ability to look normal. See photo above). We are Uncle Rico and Deb. And a turtle.

On Halloween, we took our little turtle (not in a bear hat) to the Grace Point Church of Salvation (or something) Carnival. We went on a hay ride. Then it was time for Clark to go to bed so we came back home.

I've been tagged. . .

Here are the rules:
A. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
B. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog, for these rules.

1) I love to travel. But I don't like to move. Not even a little bit.

2) I am the mother of the cutest Clark on the planet.

3) Starting in January I hope to be going to graduate school very part time. I also hope to do research in Russia as part of my grad work. We'll see.

4) The lousiest job I've ever had was working for Mark. He was a handyman-painter-mover-landscaper-schemer. I left because of that last one.

5) I don't have a problem with watching edited movies (I just watched "Little Miss Sunshine" yesterday and i loved it. If you want to talk to me about it, call me).

6) I consider myself one of the most blessed people on this earth. Not of my own doing, but boy, am I grateful.

Tag: Mrs. Elison, Ann-Marie, Nartker, McPlad, Benjamin, my friend, Pig.

Our Hebrew Scholar

So Clark has been saying three new words lately:

Bob. That's got to be his name for me. He calls me all the time.

Baba. That means everything other than Bob.

and

Abba. Which, as we all know, is Hebrew for "father" or "Dad". So that means Ben.

He speaks in complete sentences all of the time now. "Bob baba baba abba" Which translates as, "Mom, when is Dad coming home?"

We're obviously very proud.

Clark's Evolving Tastes

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile, I've been following Clark around--because, if I don't. . .

I got out of the shower this morning and Clark was uncharacteristically silent. I thought he had probably been attacked by a boa constrictor (one of those chain of thoughts things that you don't remember where it started). But he hadn't. He was sitting, happily eating dirt out of my potted plant.

I thought, hmmm, how do I teach him that this is wrong. Maybe, you say, you should give him a little electric shock on his tongue every time he eats dirt. Nope. He likes it. He's been sucking on our phone charger whenever he gets the chance. So a few days ago, I stuck it in my mouth to see if it was giving off any electricity. Sure was. A nice warm buzz. The kid has been sucking on it every time we turn around.

So it begins. As his mobility increases, his propensity for getting into trouble is exponentially growing.

(but really, how do you teach him that dirt is yucky?)

Looking for a good lemonade recipe. . .

On Saturday we decided to drive to Houston so we could go to Ben's high-school friend's wedding reception. His wife is from Houston.

We decided that since we were there, we would stop in and visit our good friends, the Hansens. They are doing well, and Jacob is slowly morphing from Kitty to Star Wars officianado. We had a delicious dinner with them and then left in a hurry to get to the reception early so we could get back home by midnight.

And we pulled into an empty church parking lot an hour later. Apparently the reception had been changed to the night before. Wish we would've known.

So in an effort to make the experience positive, we had some brownies and milk from a truck stop and once Clark finally stopped screaming and went to sleep, it wasn't so bad. The good news is that even though we spent all day in the car and used two tanks of gas, we got to spend LOTS of time together and we learned all about the integumentary system.

Sisters' Week 2007

So my sisters just left on Monday after five fabulous days together in Sanantone. It was wonderful.

Here are some highlights, in alphabetical order:

Alamo, through the gate because it was already closed.
Beetle's Sequined Jacket
Blue Bell Ice Cream and Mangos
Café Ole
Child Swap at Sea World
Deciding the course of Christmas

Evan Almighty
Foucault and the French Revolution
Fish cakes
Getting lost. . . a lot
Halloween Cookies!

Hummus Sandwiches (yeah, alot of these will be food)
Incredible Babysitters
Jan's New Apron
Kids Next Door helping with Cookies
Lip Cookie
Melancholic Clark, while he warmed up to the new faces.

Nap time on Monday
One-hour church
Outlet Malls
PENGUINS!

Pottery Barn and Clark's shrieking (we had to leave because he was shouting so loudly. . . we were all in tears of laughter)
Quesadillas
Red Shoes = "Toni" shoes.
Riverwalk
Salad for the lettuce-hater
Sea World!!

"Secret gift exchange" miscommunication (see picture of Christmas, above)
The bear hat

Toni's Quilt
Touching the dolphins

Turtle Costume!

Ugly clothes in Armani
Ultimate Pancakes
Very good conversations
Walk the Line, Way too late
Walrus Cookie (the purple one)

X-rays
You two are the best sisters I've ever had (and Robyn is the best sister-in-law I've ever had)
Z stands for Zeriffic sleep-aid for Clark. That gift will be excellent kharma for you, Toni. Thank you both!

Clark-O-Rama

Some highlights from the week:

Per Robyn's request, here is what Clark looks like when he wakes up from his nap because he sits himself up.



Sunday morning, Ben let me sleep in while he took Clark. I woke up to find them enjoying an atypically cool morning on the balcony. It inspired me to want to find a table and chairs to put out there for mornings such as that.



Then Clark played in his walker on the balcony. He likes our plants. Anyone know if this kind is poisonous??



This is Clark, naked, crawling around on the kitchen floor next to the garbage can. But don't worry, there is a good reason. We just let him have naked time that night, and he was going after his toy for that night (the cap for one of his bottles) and it kept rolling away from him. But the point is, HE CAN SCOOT!!!

My Philosophy

I was reading Siddartha the other day, and I came across an analogy that I really buy into.

Most people, Kamala, are like a falling leaf that drifts and turns in the air, flutters, and falls to the ground. But a few others are like stars which travel one defined path: no wind reaches them, they have within themselves their guide and path. Among all the wise men, of whom I knew many, there was one who was perfect in this respect. . . [the Buddha]. Thousands of young men hear his teachings every day and follow his instructions every hour, but they are all falling leaves; they have not the wisdom and guide within themselves.

--Siddhartha, Herman Hesse

Other versions of the same thought:

And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have come free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon

-- 2 Nephi 2:26, God

Be a producer, not a consumer

-- Ben and Jan

Pretty much, anytime we are unhappy or dissatisfied, it is because we are being acted upon, we are leaves being blown by the wind. When we take control of our actions, emotions and thoughts, we are acting--using the intelligence that God gave us, and we are happy.

That's simply my life philosophy and lifetime goal.

Park City, Shmark City

My family spent the weekend in Park City, watching conference, eating delicious things, playing around.

I'm a little jealous.

So I made scones to feel like I'm still part of the Gillespie family.

Thanks to Ann-Marie and Geoff for the use of their home, mixing bowl, pan and tongs. And thanks for eating them.

In Memorium

It's been exactly one year since my Grandpa graduated this life. Here is a journal entry from this time, last year:

The funeral was wonderful. It was just what he would have wanted and was unique. Boyd made the casket and he was in there, wrapped up in one of mom's quilts--kind of pioneery, but also humble. He didn't want any congregational singing, so we had an instrumental rendition of I am a Child of God . . . then all of the grandkids sang a medley of hymns and then Robyn and Sunny sang the most beautiful rendition of A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief. I honestly don't think that angels would have done a better job. Uncle Boyd gave a life sketch and told about memories he had collected from everyone. Then Joe Young, Grandpa's lifetime friend, spoke about the great character that Grandpa had--and how adventurous and mischievous he has always been.

It was a great day through, full of hope. I especially appreciated the inspiration of his well-lived life, his charity, patience and Christ-like qualities because I have been feeling so discouraged by my weaknesses. We aren't where we need to be yet, but if we use our life the way that Grandpa used his, we will become what we need to be by the time it is over. It is comforting to know that God hasn't give up on me and that I don't have to be perfect to still be worthy of completing my life's mission. I just hope that I will be able to do it as well as Grandpa did it.

We miss you, Grandpa.

Enough of my thoughts. . .

Here are some pictures of Clark. I know that's all you people really care about.


We went with Ned and Judy Lunt to their property the other day. Ned and Ben's mom are cousins. So it is interesting that with so much genetic distance between Clark and Ethan (the Lunt's grandson), they could look so similar. Which is which?

Cheeser.

K, this isn't Clark, but it's pretty cool. I totally ripped those trees out by their roots. I just let the Bobcat do most of the work. (said in a high, condescending voice)

I don't even know what to title this one.

****Disclaimer****** If you are just blog hopping and don't really know me, don't read this one. It's about poo.

Toni, you stole my luck this morning. I'll rabbit rabbit you.

Clark woke up from his nap, happy and squaking, and I set him on the bed to watch some Disney channel while I finished getting ready. I checked on him a few times and he was talking to the TV, very content. Then I went in and he looked up at me with a smile on his face. . . and poo everywhere else. His diaper had funneled his poo right out on to the bedspread and he started finger painting with it. It was all over his face, his arms, his legs, his clothes, the bedspread, the remote control, the pillow case. I became frantic and told him to stay calm. I grabbed him and ran him into the bathroom, dropping globules of poo as we went. I stepped in one and tracked it around for a while before I found it. Now its all cleaned up and the tub and sink are bleached, but I still smell it everywhere.

When I was still pregnant, I went visiting teaching to Kate in Logan and she told me that her daughter did that once, she was behind the couch, finger painting on the walls with her poo. I thought that was simply the most disgusting thing I had ever heard of. I thought, "i'll be able to handle anything as a mother, except for that."

Today, I realized my own strength.

Clark's new skill

Clark can manuever himself to sitting from lying on his belly now. It's great. The only problem with it is that at night, when he is lying in his crib, he sits himself up and doesn't know how to lay back down. So he'll wail till I come and help him out. Last night, though, he must have done it in his sleep, either that or in my sleep, because I didn't hear him wail and when I went in to see what was wrong at 3:00, I found that he had been sleeping folded in half, head on his feet. I don't know how long he had been like that, but I can only assume that his lower body was totally asleep.

Vindication

Dani was right. Today, I kept my blinds and curtains shut tight and its still 80 degrees in here. There is definitely something wrong with the AC.

I have a college degree

Yesterday, the AC man came to fix our air conditioner. It's over 80 degrees in our apartment every night, probably. feels like it. We have the thing set at 70. So he came in, looked at my pretty, sheer curtains with open blinds in one room, and open curtains and blinds in Clark's room and told me that if I wanted to keep it cool, I needed to keep the sun out. Brilliant!

Next, the exterminator is going to tell me that I should clean up my sugar trails going from room to room to get rid of the cockroaches.

Good thing I spent all that time getting a degree.

Siberian Stalwarts

Here is a story about the Boldakovs. I was in Ulan Ude with them for 11 months.

Lucky

I don't even HAVE to take the GRE. Sweet.

But I will have to pay out-of-state tuition. Not sweet.

A Beautiful Mind

So, I've decided to take the GRE and enroll in graduate school here in San Antonio. I took a practice test this afternoon to see how much I needed to study. Maybe I should reconsider my plan. This was the most impressive part:

xy=96, if x squared = 16, then y squared = ?

After some arduous LONG division, I came up with the answer y=221, which means that 4 x 221 = 96.

Mr. Simons, you've failed me.

An Observation

The medical center here is kind of strange. No where else is it accepted for highly intelligent people to walk around wearing brightly colored shirts tucked into their brightly colored pants. And they don't even seem to mind.

Our Faux Headboard

Ben got the weekend off because he finished all his tests the week before so we got to play on Saturday. Inspired by Jethro and Robyn's cooperation painting in their living room, we decided that we would make ourselves a headboard-painting. It was really fun.

We started by buying a piece of masonite board (thanks again to Jethro for the idea) and Ben built a frame for it with "one bys". Then we textured it all with Gesso.




We bought a few different colors of paint (and as I use "we" throughout this blog, know that I mean "Ben" because I was trying to sleep off a horrible cold all day while he ran our errands. I helped with the actual production though.)



Then we just streaked lines across the board at random. We ended up with an artistic rendering about the potential harmony of conflict. . . or something.




TA DUMMMMMM!!! We totally love it. We just need to get some taller pillows to lean up against the wall to bridge the gap.

Clark's Many Hats

Nope, not a metaphor for "Clark has a lot to do". He just has lots of hats. Thanks, Gramma Sue for the blue beanie. It will be perfect when we come and visit for Christmas.




We are also elated to announce that his bear hat, which we were so excited to show everyone a year ago, finally fits him. Hello Halloween.





Then, there's the hunter hat.

Narcissism

Clark has always enjoyed smiling at the image in the mirror, but this morning, I think he realized that he was the image in the mirror. You can see clearly how he feels about himself. Sorry it is so dark . . .

Interesting Answers

Answers to prayers are interesting. Sometimes they aren't what we think they are. Take, for example, the fact that my old boss hired me (a pregnant girl with plans to move in a year) as an answer to my prayer. It was miraculous, actually, and not something I want to share over the internets, but that isn't the end of it. Fast-forward to . . . well, right now, and zoom in on Katie Parker, a brand-new member of our ward who happens to be my old boss's daughter. She had kind of a hard time moving, according to a source, and needed friends. As soon as we made the connection, we also made plans to hang out, go to the cannery, and go shopping. She feels better, I feel good, and my boss's prayers were answered. Is this friendship still connected to the prayers I said about getting a job?

How about another example: I was really excited to move to Ulan Ude and be companions with a certain fantastic Sister Ibey, it was an answer to my prayer that we got along so well, had similar visions about how the Gospel should be spread, and had complementary personalities. What a tremendous answer to a prayer--then fast forward to now, to my new friend Ann-Marie--she has so much of Ibey in her that I feel like I already know her inside and out. Automatic BFF in SA. It makes me wonder if my prayer in Russia needed to be answered in Texas as well to be complete. Maybe its never complete. Maybe we're all interconnected in a web of people and relationships that is tailored exactly for our earth experience, and maybe our web is enormous, or maybe its' tiny and the same people or personalities keep appearing, but it is exactly what we need to learn while we're here.

And now, here is a picture of my boss, his family and us in our apartment on Sunday.

On Being Bipedal

Clark gets absolutely giddy when you hold your hands out for him to stand up and walk around. He starts head-banging, and high-stepping and laughing out loud. So we do it alot. . .

The Polls are Closed

Well, after a rowdy round of polling about penguin habits, the results are in:

7 people voted for "4 Feet"
1 person voted for "Carrots"
1 person voted for "They can't live without water"
and 2 people voted for "I already told you".

Unfortunately, the correct answer was: "Adults average 1.3 m (4 ft) in length and weigh between 20 and 45 kg (44 to 99 lb), making this penguin the 5th heaviest existing bird. The largest known individual was about 46 kg (101 lb). The head and wings are black, the abdomen white, the back bluish-gray and the bill is purplish-pink. On the sides of the neck there are two golden circular stripes. As in the King Penguin, a male Emperor Penguin has an abdominal fold, the "brood pouch", between its legs and lower abdomen."

Better luck next time.

So so sad

I found this on my friend's friend's blog. Golden!!

Clark at the Baseball game, Pt. 2

We had a fun time at the baseball game on Friday. The weather was actually pleasant! We went with our Mormon friends.

On a related note, last night we had an interesting conversation wherein the two USU alumni were discussing the merits of creationism, while the two BYU students are arguing for evolution. Why would that be? My theory is that perhaps BYU students feel the need to assert their sophistication a bit more, having graduated from a church-school. Those who did not attend a church-school had to silently safeguard and defend their beliefs in the classroom and, consequently, developed strong faith and testimony for things that were often under attack.

But maybe I'm being myopic. Any comments from either alumni?

Clark at the Baseball Game pt.1

We went to the San Antonio Missions game on Friday. We all wore our hats. I cheered for the tarheelers, Ben cheered for the Soviets, and Clark was going for the cartoon zebras. His new favorite faces are sucking in his bottom lip to feel his teeth, and smiling with his tongue out.

Clark Swimming

Clark and Ben at the pool. Notice the final shudder.

Great Article for Siberians

My mom sent me this article link

Prochitaite esli vi znaete Sulimanovix!

Hello Everybody-

Due to the overwhelming response that I received from my last post, I thought that it would only be appropriate that I post again, so that you aren't left in the dark.

Medical school is great, other than there is a man in the next cubicle talking very loudly on his cell phone in the cubicle next to me, to make matters worse, he is speaking in another language and seems to slur a lot, it might be french, but I am not sure. Back to medical school. Attached you will see my 3 inch binder with most of the notes that I have in my first four weeks, yes that is the amount of material that I have to know for just my first set of tests. It is great though. I am having one of the best times of my life. Somedays I wonder if I am cut out for this, but I know that I can do it, because I feel like that this is what I am supposed to do. For all of you out there wondering if you should pursue a college education, of course you should. Should you pursue a professional degree, of course you should. Finally, every single class of every single day is tied directly to what I will be doing for the rest of my life. Granted, I know that graduate school isn't for everyone, but I truly enjoy it.

Anatomy lab is great. This week, we were able to look at all of the inner workings of the eye, from the muscles to the nerves, as well the major nerves, muscles and blood vessels of the face. Now, for all of you out there who are wondering about evolution vs creation. From what I know from a lot of studing, reading and analysis, I just don't see how evolution could have produced something so perfect as the human body. I just don't see how. I believe that random muations coupled with undirected (and I stress both random and undirected) selection, regardless of the time frame just couldn't produce something so perfect and beautifully coordinated as the human body. When you take into account all of the cell signaling and direction from a molecular level that occurs to just produce a human baby, I don't think that the odds of that happening randomly, regardless of selection, could ever produce something so perfect, I just don't. Believe me, if you are wondering about evolution and where we came from, pick up a basic embryology text and peruse its pages, trying to really understand how complex it is and then tell me if that could all happen by chance? There must be someone who knows all of the rules and who can set it all in motion, such that it comes out perfectly almost 100 percent of the time and that person must be God. I believe that we were created in the image of God, just like it says in Genesis. How God made it happen, that isn't the point, the point is that he did.

Well, I had better get back to studying about antibodies, another proof that we didn't just evolve. The immune system is like your own United States Armed Forces. You have the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force(well maybe not the Air Force) National Guard and Coast Guard all working together to keep you safe. Too specialized to have been produced randomly . . . I think so.

Ben

PS my new favorite thing to do is watch Mickey's Clubhouse with Clark every morning.

Clark's getting ready to Party!

Just Clark eating some sweet potatoes before we go to a party on Sunday. Enjoy.

Clark's Hawaiian Shirt

Those are sweet potatoes, not a goatee. These pictures aren't too impressive, but we just wanted to give our families another image of Clark the Texan.