Confusion about Mormons, Fundamentalists

A recent survey of Americans found that two-thirds of those polled are confused about how the FLDS relate to the Mormon church. Nearly a third thought that the FLDS fundamentalist group in the news of late and the "Mormons" were the same church.

Elder Quentin L. Cook, an apostle of the Mormon church was quoted in a recent press release by the Mormon church:

“Mormons have nothing whatsoever to do with this polygamous sect in Texas,” he said. "The fact is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially discontinued the practice of polygamy in 1890: 118 years ago. It’s a significant part of our distant past, not of our present."

For a full press release click here.

Also released with the press release were a number of interviews of Texans about various topics and how they relate to their Mormon faith.

Update: Story by NPR

Chicken Catchatori

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Today was an historic day in my life!

Many years ago as a missionary in Romania I was introduced to Joseph Gordhamer. Joseph became one of my closest friends during the my mission and later as room mates at college.

As good friends influence you in positive ways, one of the positive expressions which Joseph left on me was his way of always turning a question about food in to a response including Chicken Catchatori.

I don't ever remember having this dish when a missionary companion of Joseph's nor as a room mate. But none-the-less, his response left an almost annoying (to Shawnie) knee -jerk reaction, whenever I am asked what I want to eat, part of the response includes Chicken Catchatori.

Now, some thirteen or fourteen years later, Shawnie finally gave in to the request and actually made Chicken Catchatori for dinner!

It is true, the friends you choose can influence you in life changing ways. Thanks Shawnie for finally succumbing.


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For those looking for a recipe:

SERVES 4 -6

Ingredients

* 6 skinless chicken legs
* 4 skinless chicken thighs
* 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1 green bell pepper, sliced
* 1 red bell pepper, sliced
* 1 large onion, diced
* 26 ounces ragu fat free tomato basil pasta sauce
* 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large skillet (or chicken fryer) saute bell peppers and onion in olive oil until onion is tender.
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken and add to the frying pan; brown chicken on both sides.
4. Remove chicken, bell peppers and onion to large casserole dish. Pour spaghetti sauce and canned tomatoes over chicken.
5. Bake 1 hour or until chicken is completely cooked through.

The Wonders of Mowing the Lawn

We lived in rental housing until we bought this house two years ago. We never had responsibility for lawn care in the rentals. Either a lawn service or the owner of the rental came and mowed the lawn. The children always enjoyed watching their work from the windows.
Then we bought our first house and moved to Mansfield. Within a week, Kyle mowed the lawn. To most people, that would seem to be a mundane responsibility that came along with home ownership. But to our children, mowing the lawn was a wondrous thing, and Daddy doing it bestowed upon him near super-hero status. All the children went out to watch. Before long, they were following along behind him, tracing his steps as he went back and forth across the lawn. Sometimes they even cheered him on in his work. If Kyle waited till late in the evening to mow, the children wanted to stay up late to watch. They were excited to be able to help by gathering sticks up off the grass or stepping on the sprinkler heads to protect them from the mower blades.
I didn't expect the excitement to last, but it has. Brittany rarely follows along now, but she will still go out to watch. Megan, Josh, and Paul still follow Kyle's footsteps back and forth. Josh especially enjoys the lawn mowing, and Paul has picked up on the excitement.
Last week, I got pictures of the boys helping Kyle with the mowing. Megan had been out earlier, but had gone inside before I thought to take pictures. There are some pictures of the boys following in Kyle's footsteps, and you can also see that Kyle gave each of them a chance to help push the mower. Paul could barely reach the handle bar and had to walk on his toes. I had intended to use the pictures for a blog, but Kyle already posted them on the last blog. They are at the end of the series of pictures of Erica.

Ask and ye shall receive...

Thanks to Megan for taking these photos.

Summer

Today I thought I would write a quick entry before Kyle has to remind me to write again. I have been busy relaxing with the kids now that school is out. In one sense, it is not very relaxing. I have to keep up with swimming lessons and piano lessons, always be ready with activities for the bored child, prepare meals and snacks for hungry children, and still try to keep up with the housework. So I am busy, but it is still relaxing because I feel more in charge of the day without the rigorous school schedule. Also, after the first few weeks of adjustment, the children have remembered how to play together, and how to decide what to do without being told what to do. I am enjoying having all the children home with me. (Although I couldn't honestly say that the first couple weeks of summer break, I can now.)

As an update on Erica, she has been able to roll over from both front and back for awhile, and now she can also sit up on her own for a few minutes before falling over. She will be 6 months old at the end of this month. It has gone by in a blur. The last couple days she has been expressing a preference for me over others in the family. Yesterday, the children had her giggling hysterically. It was wonderful to listen to. I think Paul has gotten over his phase of poking Erica in the eye, and fortunately both of her eyes survived. Now Paul frequently asks to hold her. I have started feeding Erica solid foods. When I do, Paul wants to eat her food also. I didn't think it would continue once he tasted her rice cereal and green beans, but he surprisingly still asks for bites of her food. Erica continues to be a good baby, and I am so grateful for her.

Houston in July 1997

Every time the missionaries come over for dinner it seems the question of how Shawnie and I met comes up. After the story is told, inevitably Shawnie will tell of me visiting Houston the summer before we were engaged and subsequently married.

Eleven years later, I am starting to understand why the story never seems to die. At the time, I thought it was important to get to know Shawnie's family. So I made arrangements and purchased a plane ticket to visit Shawnie at home in Houston. My ignorance or the bliss I was experiencing had blinded me to the fact that I was visiting Houston in July!

None-the-less, Shawnie had gone home for the summer and a flight was not too much more than the phone bills we were running up. So off I went.

I really did not know what to expect. My joking around on the phone with her Dad and brother before the trip led to being served breakfast in bed. An awkward experience, mostly because the food was brought in and I was left alone to eat it. After finishing my food, I did muster up the courage to sheepishly come out. I really didn't know what they were expecting and why I was left a lone man. The lesson learned, be careful what you ask for.

The more notable event in my mind was (to my best recollection) the result of Shawnie's mom suggesting we accomplish something on her honey-do list. The family swing set needed the chains replaced. The old ones were rusted and dangerous.

With nothing better to suggest and my youthful pride and the strong desire to impress in tow, all parties exited the air conditioned home to start a project better suited for sometime in the fall or winter months. Not mid-afternoon in July.

It would not have been that bad, but as all projects tend to have something amiss, we soon discovered what issue this experience was to confront. Blistering sun and heat coupled with the fact that the new chains were too big to easily slide through the holes quickly gave way to drops of sweat and heat exhaustion. Shawnie began shuttling glasses of water to us with a comment here and there about not fainting or passing out.

I honestly don't remember if we finished stringing the chains or not. But etched in my relationship with a soon to be father-in-law was a story which created a wonderful foundation for the budding relationship to build upon.

What's in a car

One of the things missing in the car reviews today is a practical review of how transportation works for families in varying situations. Our society today is focused on the individual. The macho vision of the muscle cars of yesterday and today plays up to this stereo type.

While I bought into the view as a teenager, my view of cars as status symbol has diminished as my quiver has become full. None-the-less, I still enjoy the thrill which comes from reading about or seeing a fast car. I am equally excited by the prospects of electric cars and hybrid cars. I look forward to an opportunity to take a first drive in a hybrid.

I've followed with interest the development of the Tesla electric car company (here), imagine an electric car which can go 0-60 faster than a $250,000 gas powered sports car! Maybe some day there really will be an electric car for the masses? Where's Henry Ford?

I've also been interested in GM's and now Toyota's CEOs comments on how the auto industry is changing. In fact these CEOs say there are fundamental changes which are at work driving these big automakers to change their approaches away from oil powered vehicles (see this blog or this CNN report).

While I think there is plenty of oil available and with the right approach gas powered vehicles could still be around for a while, the challenge most people are pointing to is the growth of China and India. How do these huge economies continue to grow and add cars to their growing economies without impacting oil availability?

Whatever the big oil companies do to meet demand, GM and Toyota are pushing for electric cars, hydrogen powered cars, and other hybrid technologies. Chevy's approach is to build a car they are calling the Volt. Essentially a battery powered car which can go 40 miles on a charge and it has a small gas powered generator on board to charge the batteries. Toyota is set to release a plug-in version of their hybrid the Prius in the next few years and have plans to introduce hybrid or other power plant options for every other vehicle in their showrooms.

The future of the cars will be much different than today. I can't wait to see how the industry evolves. What do you think will be powering your car in 5-10 years?

fw Modern Healthcare Article on Doug

Sorry, I hadn't intended on posting this here.

Goto Modern Healthcare and find the article here.