Yes on Proposition 8

If you have ever wondered how legalizing gay marriage will affect you...watch this.

Also, one of my fav blogs, therhouse.blogspot.com, who is a huge adoption supporter, posted this and I couldn't say it better myself so here it is in her own words,

"opponents of proposition 8 say that adoption will not be affected if prop 8 gets voted down, that it will not change California’s adoption laws, or increase the potential for lawsuits against adoption agencies [religious or secular] ...to which i have to say, um ...it already has.

it is already happening.adoption.com and parentprofiles.com have already been under attack in california. they lost the legal battle and now their services are not available to california couples hoping to adopt or birth parents hoping to place in california. to read about that from the Family Equality Council (who are pleased about the defeat) click here.

i attended the national board meeting on friday for the Families Supporting Adoption. prop 8 came up. if it does not pass, it will be very near impossible for LDSFS to continue in the adoption world. already in massachusetts, LDSFS is getting pressure to close its doors as they do not offer services to homosexual couples. you may be thinking, "well, LDSFS doesn't offer services to heterosexual couples who are not endowed, sealed and active members of the Church." that is true and that is under attack as well.

here is what you need to know about prop 8 from an adoption standpoint:Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston already closed its doors in Massachusetts (after 100 years of practice) because courts legalized same-sex marriage there.

i also came across this document.i was especially interested in talking point 9 which states,"Expanding the definition of marriage by including homosexualrelationships adds to the continued disregard for marriage’s ultimatepurpose. Where it has been legalized, same-sex marriage decreasesthe total number of marriages while increasing illegitimacy. Nine European nations have had same-sex marriage since the early 90’s—and just 2 percent of same-sex couples in these countries ever marry,while there has been 46 percent increase in out-of-wedlock births."

And, the Deseret news said this,
"California-citizen members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints currently living out of the state are being organized by the LDS Church to make phone calls — if needed — in support of California's Proposition 8.
Responding to a request from the Protect Marriage Coalition, the LDS Church is making arrangements for these members to call friends, family and fellow citizens in California "to urge support of the effort to defend traditional marriage," stated a Tuesday church-issued news release."

This is big people, big. If you know anyone in CA, urge them to vote yes on prop 8! As a couple seeking adoption, I am scared. As a future parent who may face my children dealing with this at school, I am scared. And you should be too.

Buddies

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

She's gonna kill me...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Little House on the Prairie

Front of the house
back
kitchen, nice color huh!
upstairs loft
Family room with artwork, very tasteful-were keeping that!

Looky, looky, we got a HOUSE! I didn't want to post till it was official and well, now it is! Now anyone who has seem me with money knows I have financial commitment issues. I cried when we bought our cheap, old car and yes I BAWLED at closing. Everyone kept asking if I was ok, I couldnt even talk, so Brett just laughed and told them I was fine. Man, I hate being in debt and so this just about ruined me. It still bothers me sometimes just thinking about it but Im getting used to it. Plus, I am excited to have a house!

Its way more house than we thought we could get, especially cause houses here are PRICEY! But this is a foreclosure and we bought it for $100,000 LESS than what it sold for brand new four years ago. Plus, its a little out it the country so the houses in this town are a bit cheaper to start with. ( ok, Ive never lived in the country but Target is 10 minutes away, I'll survive, right?). So basically all these things combine made this the cheapest house we could find, seriously. Unfortunetly Brett has a 30 minute commute, but because he works near downtown, we couldnt live closer than 20 minutes without fearing for our lives. We actually considered living near the hospital but once Brett started working, all the gun shot wounds, stabbings, and gang fights happen within a 20 minute radius of the hospital. Brett has already heard of three robbings in front of the hospital that happened in the middle of the DAY! Geez, I'll take the suburbs thank you very much, oh wait, we cant afford that. Ok, we'll take the country thank you very much! And the last thing that talked me into buying a house is the fact that renting is super expensive here and all your neighbors are shady (no more Wymount), so for about $200 extra a month we could own.

We need to do some work on it, all new siding due to hail damage, refrigerator and range needed, painting throughout the whole house, carpet cleaning, new dry wall going up the stairs, and fix top panel of garage door. We already started cleaning, taping and priming the walls. We are also getting quotes on the siding and garage door.

The Election

I had heard some Republicans consider voting Democratic this year because they are upset over certain issues or candidates. Some say that pro life and defining marriage between a man and a woman are no longer enough to keep them voting Republican. This makes me so sad. Of course there are other VERY important issues, but these two issues are what will make or break our constitution (in my opinion of course). I dont have the exact quote, but Jospeh Smith said that during the last days, the constitution will "hang by a thread". To me, these two issue may very well change our constitution. My faith does NOT tell me which way to vote. However, the way I interpret my faith will leave me no moral choice but to vote Republican. I hope everyone will weigh the consequences before they vote. Although I am not Catholic, I have close family members who are. I respect thier religion and found this video thought provoking. I hope you all will watch it. http://www.catholicvote.com/

Father/Daughter Campout

The three of us
This is me, Pochahontas style
We stopped at this sand bar- the sand was AMAZING! so soft!
Everyone cliff jumping and me taking pics because I forgot my swimsuit! If this was a mother/daughter campout-I may have just jumped in, but I was not about to start a wet t-shirt contest with all the men from the ward there!
This is the group of girls, I totally had a blast hanging out with them. I was by far the oldest daughter there. At the end, one girl was like, "your the oldest daughter here, youre like 20 years old, whoa!" and I said, "yes. thats right" hehe

In August, I went camping (shocker!) with my lil sister and dad. It was a great opportunity to do something like that with all three of us. Seeing as I am 10 years older than my sister, we didnt have many chances where we were both the right age to do things together like this. We camped on the St. Croix river and canoed the next day. The river was beautiful, but the canoe was rock hard- my butt hurt so bad I couldnt sit comfortably for 4 days! At night, around the campfire, Courtney and I stategically placed Dad's remote control fart machine (which he brought home from work-just for this occasion) and let them rip in true Hanberg style. Of course we pranked the Bishopric first and then worked our way down to the innocent unsuspecting Achievement Day girls. Funny thing is, that the next day, after canoeing, we all rode a bus back with another group that was on the river. This old man in line in front of me totally ripped one, but I think everyone suspected I had used the machine and they looked at me! I take credit where credit is due, but that was definetly not me!

Fourth of July

Music in Plymouth- lots of vendors, The MN orchestra and fireworks!



ok, I know its late, but Im trying to catch up, somewhat. My Uncle Mark and his two kids were able to join us for the holiday. We had the most amazing food for about 4 days in a row, watched fireworks, and rented a boat on Lake Minnetonka! Fun, fun, fun!