On a More Serious Note...

I am fairly confident that the only people reading our blog know how we feel about this topic, but if not, I never want it to be said of me that I didn't make my stand. "Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and...the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children." --The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Right now, I'm wishing I could somehow still claim Californian citizenship so that I could vote YES on Prop 8.

There are many reasons why marriage between a man and a woman needs to be protected, some of which I will elaborate on, but the fundamental reason why marriage should be between a man and a woman only is because that is how God, our Eternal Father in Heaven, has defined it. Through His eternal plan of happiness, He makes everything in life possible--therefore--He sets the conditions. If there were no other reason to keep marriage between a man and a woman, this alone would be enough. The Lord spoke to Moses and asked Moses to pass the word along to all the children of Israel that, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." (Leviticus 18:22). Likewise He said, "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination..." (Leviticus 20:13). Our word today, sodomy, means "the homosexual proclivities of the men of the city in Gen 19:1-11. Copulation with a member of the same sex." (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition) It is the clear, then, the practices going on in Sodom, and the Lord's response to these actions is found in the book of Genesis 19:24-25,

"Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground."

I don't mention this account to suggest these calamities are sure to befall us if we do not protect marriage. That is His decision to make. I offer this example to illustrate that at the very least, the Lord feels strongly about this topic and to honor Him, I want to do what I can to help uphold His laws. Some will say that because a person is born with inclinations toward homosexuality, they are justified in acting on it. Again, the Bible teaches us this is a false teaching: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). The inclinations or temptations may be there, but temptation to sin never justifies the sin.

In my opinion, because it is the Lord's will that marriage is between a man and a woman is the most important reason why to protect marriage. However, other factors are applicable.

For a full exposition of the following, please see this link regarding the "End of Marriage in Scandinavia."

Scandinavian countries such as Norway, Denmark, Sweden, etc. have tried the gay marriage "experiment" and the results are alarming. These countries legalized gay marriage and accepted gay unions throughout the 1990's. In parallel fashion, each country's marriage rates have sharply declined. For instance, in Norway, out-of-wedlock births between 1990 and 2000 increased from 39%-50%. By 2004, 60% of first born children were born to unwed parents. The acceptance of gay marriage brought about the separation of marriage and parenthood. Essentially, it taught that individuals could be married without being parents. Therefore, they can also be parents without being married.

No-fault divorces, beginning in the 1970's, taught that marriage was for the purpose of happiness of the individual and not for the greater good and happiness of the family as a whole. It was taught that a happy divorce is better than an unhappy marriage, while statistically, this is not the case. "The research identified happy and unhappy spouses, culled from a national database. Of the unhappy partners who divorced, about half were happy five years later. But unhappy spouses who stuck it out often did better. About two-thirds were happy five years later." See USA Today article This selfishness in marriage skyrocketted divorce rates. In a homosexual marriage, the union is categorically about the happiness of the couple, not the success of the family because intrinsically, a biological family is not possible. Studies also show that children are happier and psychologically healthier when raised by both biological parents (an impossibility in homosexual couples)(Judith S. Wallerstein, "The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children: A Review," Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 30, no. 3 (May 1991): 358-9). See Catholic site on marriage

Homosexual marriage is a big hit against marriage altogether. In those Scandinavian countries where it has been legal for 10-20 years, marriage rates are dropping. The rates of children born out-of-wedlock are on the rise. The disintegration of the family including trends toward individuality over family is climbing. It isn't about being fair or unfair to individuals, it's about being responsible to our children and protecting them from the crumbling effects of the disintegration oft he family.

In my opinion, wanting to protect marriage between a man and a woman has very little to do with homosexuals. There are some who would claim it is homophobia to deny this "right." It's not. Homosexuals, as all children of God, should be treated with love, gentleness and respect. Tolerating and even loving them as people does not mean condoning and embracing their behavior. Rather than "live and let live", we have a responsibility to family, to commitment, and to God to see that marriage is protected. Please, if you are able to vote in California, vote yes on Proposition 8 and protect marriage and family.

Drowsy Caleb

For any of you who know Caleb, you must know what an active little boy he is. This kid could beat the Energizer Bunny in a distance race, for sure. Well, recently I tried to convince him he needed a nap and he would have none of it, so instead, I figured he must just need a snack. This is the result:

Sorry about the shaky camera. I was laughing so hard I couldn't keep still!

Welcome to Exotic and Exciting PRIMM, NEVADA!

Doesn't this just say it all?

For our third anniversary, Jonathan and I left the little dude with Grandma Wright and went to action-packed Primm, NV. I know, I'm goofing on it, but we actually had a really great time. It was an excellent deal because we were expected to gamble and drink and spend all kinds of money on debauchery, but instead we had a lovely time on the roller coasters inside of

Buffalo Bill's,
shopping at the Primm factory outlets (J. Crew capris for $9!!),

going OUT to see a MOVIE (as in a theater...not pausing to feed/clean/

bathe or put Caleb to bed),

watching the Olympics, and

eating baked potatoes, rice pilaf, roast beef and

raviolis on the same plate for dinner at the Buffet.

We had a ball!

It kind of has that Riverboat look...like the gambling boat in the movie Maverick.

Glamor shots by Deb.

Jonathan's "I-am-a-Greek-Statue" pose

Jonathan's senior photo. :)
Becca's "I-won-a-millionaire-dollars-playing-penny-slots" shot

Three years and still in love...

After Primm, on our way to pick up the little Man, we went to the temple an endowment session and sealings. It was on our actual anniversary, so it was fun to see Jonathan's face in the "eternity mirrors" again. Three years ago, I knew from others telling me that I would love Jonathan more and more and more as the years went by, but I can say now from experience that I didn't hardly know what love was the day I got married. Jonathan is so forgiving, and he loves me even when I'm not too fond of myself. He has bunked in the hospital room with me when I had to stay overnight and he didn't. He has stayed up with me when I couldn't sleep. He has calmed my fears. He has understood me when I don't know what to say. He has prayed with me, cried with me, worked with me, served with me and most of all, laughed with me. He is my very best friend in the world. He knows me completely and loves me anyway. When he was in the hospital and things weren't looking too good, he lived for me and for our son. I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for blessing me with Jonathan. He is the answer to so many of my prayers. I've gotten sappy again, haven't I? :) Well, I just love him and three years hasn't been nearly enough!

It's tem-PE, not TEM-pe.

We started in Phoenix where we got to see my brother Paul and his wife Carly. Paul and Carly got married the same afternoon in the same temple sealing room that Jonathan and I were married. Paul and I have been siblings since he was a little over 2 and have been friends since an East coast trip just after I turned 13, so it was good to see them again. My parents were also out to visit Paul and Carly, so it was a mini little Southwestern reunion for a third of the Aylworth clan.

Let's begin with the car ride. Jonathan and I have discovered how to use Caleb's love of music to our advantage. Before we headed on a 5 hour one-way trip with Caleb we purchased 4 CD's totalling over 160 songs just for toddlers. Did you know there were so many little songs? Oh, I know all about sailors going to see, what you do with a "silly" sailor, monkeys jumpin' on the bed and many other little wonders. After all, 5 hours of toddler tunes beats the banshee shrieking right behind me anyday. So, off we go! Here is Mr. Joe Cool himself taking a break in Wickenburg...

The escape artist.

"Let me down, Dad!!"

Then, other than historic and glorious Arcosanti (please detect my sarcasm as all it really was was a hippie compound about 2 hours north of Phoenix), Skittles Bowling was my favorite family activity of the trip. I learned this little gem of an activity on, I'm pretty sure, my very first BYU date. Thank you, Chris Miller. The rules of skittles bowling are simple. For each color skittle you pre-determine the method of bowling assigned to it. In our case, if I drew a purple skittle, I needed to spin around 5 times before letting the 10 pounder fly. We gave purple this designation after my dear mother assured me that purple was the most rare of skittles colors. Statistically speaking, our bag of skittles was, therefore, an extreme outlier as about one in three skittles pulled was a purple. Needless to say, I with my iron stomach was the only one who did not feel queasy at the end of our interlude at the lanes, but we had a memorable, even if dizzy time.

This is Jonathan bowling backwards as required by his skittle choice.

And this is my Daddy. Bless him. He is a man of his word. He drew a skittle that indicated he needed to bowl with his eyes closed. Look how tightly *scrinched* his eyes are!

And this is my Mama sportin' excellent form.

I regret to inform that the rate of motion of Carly's hair precludes us from seeing her face...But it looks like she dropped the bowling ball on her foot...

This is my bro Paul going for the backwards "granny." A popular favorite in this Skittles Bowling event.I can't be certain, but this may be my victory dance with Caleb after bowling a strike...probably left handed. I have to agree with my cousin David in this matter... If it takes no training and if you can just go ahead and do it with your non-dominant hand, bowling really cannot qualify as a sport. I think I got a higher score skittles bowling than when I normally bowl.

The morning we left each one of us unwittingly put on the same shirt as everyone else. Curious. Quality bed-head, no?
Then we headed off to the splash park that Caleb LOVED. It was hard even getting pictures of him because he was running around so animatedly. It was just the right amount of wet to cool off without being unsafe for a toddler...except when mom steps in. Okay, now I'm already aware I'm the worst mom in the universe as a result of the following picture, so please, no hate comments in the blog. But since I have the picture, you might as well enjoy it...and know that brave Caleb is doing just fine.
Yup. This is exactly what it looks like. Jonathan took him to the top, and me, only thinking I could get a sweet action shot of the kid on this fun water slide, sort of forgot about catching the toddler on the way down. Well, I was right about the sweet action shot at least...and Caleb only skipped once or twice on spongy splash park floor.
He's not so sure about going down this time. I can't imagine why. :) I promise I put down the camera and caught him after this shot.

More trips coming soon...

Rockin' Out

For Caleb's birthday, Gramma and Grandpa Aylworth got him this rocking horse. He's really just starting to get big enough to use it. You can tell by the look on his face how he feels about it.

This video is only a few seconds long, but my favorite part is right at the end (our camera ran out of memory so it's kind of cut off). Look at our rodeo-in' little cowboy!

Messin' Around

So I've been feeling bad for Caleb having to be inside in the hot hot Vegas summers. He gets bored out of his mind and there are just only so many things I can think of him to do, so I get bored too. I went on a couple of websites to find some ideas and I came across finger painting. Realizing I was in for a real mess, I decided to get some good footage of the event. The site suggested that with young toddlers you should home make the finger paint out of pudding with some food coloring in it so that when (inevitably) the kid puts it into his mouth, it's okay because hey, it's just pudding. That worked for about a minute. Caleb happily finger painted with his one little finger and it looked a lot like this:

As you can see he already has a little green on his mouth, but most of it is on the page.
Then he tried it.
Again.
And again.
And again. And he wondered why would anyone waste this stuff on paper! Just put it right in your mouth!

That's when he decided to go straight for the mother lode. When I wouldn't let him just eat straight from the bowl, he responded something like this:

My favorite picture. The whininess is so evident. I decided after this to go big or go home and let him play with the pudding.

One happy little boy.

SHARK REEF

We decided that it's a little embarrassing that we've lived in Vegas for over 2 years now and hardly done any Vegas-y things, so recently we did the "Big Shot" on the top of the Stratosphere and last weekend we took Caleb and went to the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay Resort Casino. We were glad Caleb actually seemed to enjoy it because usually he's just unimpressed, but he seemed to like looking at the fish and sharks.

"Are you kidding me, Dad? This crown looks ridiculous!"

"MOM! Don't take pictures! Dad put this stupid crown on me!!"

Stupid crowns? Count us in.

This is a golden alligator...or crocodile...

Ladies and gentlemen...the Komodo Dragon. But he doesn't spew fire. He should be called, "The surprisingly large Komodo Lizard"

The weird thing about this fish is that it totally looked like your run-of-the-mill living room aquarium fish...only about 100 times bigger...
This guy was moving pretty fast so we didn't get the best shots of him. I think he was in a Shark version of the Indy 500 because he just kept circling the tank at top speeds.
Not as disconcerting as you might imagine a shark swimming directly over your head would be. Maybe it was the 8 inches of probably bullet proof glass in between us that made the difference...

Sharks showing off.

This one is funny because it's like, "This sweet suburban family had no idea what was awaiting them behind the coral as they paused in their day's festivities for photos."

Caleb actually seemed to care sometimes that there were things behind the glass. This might seem funny, but most of the time he is just as interested in the toilet plunger as the kitty who hangs out under the stairs in our building as the plant in the corner of our room. He seemed to pick up that this place was different.

They removed the stingers...so they say...and allowed us to touch the stingrays as long as we only touched them with one finger at a time. Imagine what a dolphin feels like---kinda rubbery/kinda slippery and you have a stingray. Except for that I touched this dude right on his spine and was sure he was going to get ticked off and lash at me like a giant scorpion...P.S...I'm a wuss.

Sea Turtles! They were trying to hide, but I got this one shot that I'm pretty sure it of two turtles. Sorry, Matt. Better luck next time.

Me and my buddy.