Ben and Sarah

india

2012-02-06T20:49:00.001-06:00

Internet is hard to come by and slow. So here finally are a two pictures of India and then of the trek. Lizzy is difficult to control here at the internet place because the computer is too slow to show you tube and pbs

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T12:58:00.006-06:00

Ben had an interview with the University of Utah, so we got to spend Thanksgiving this year in Idaho. All but one of Ben's siblings were there. 41 people were there for the feast! I included a photo of Ben's grandparents with their great grand children, a photo with their grand children, and and a photo with the Scott Ekstrom crew. Unfortunately Elizabeth was napping during the group photos. We had a nice time visiting and eating lots of food. Next we traveled to Mapleton UT for Eve's baptism. We also got to see all but one of my siblings in Salt Lake. Getting all 10 cousins in a photo was crazy. Elizabeth needless to say was well entertained, but has been sleeping non stop since we got hpme.

Tucson

2011-12-01T12:04:00.010-06:00

We took a short family trip to Tucson for one of Ben's residency interviews. The first day I took Elizabeth to the Arizona Sanora Dessert museum. In Elizabeth's limited vocabulary of plants: tree, pumpkin, banana, apple, beans, and peach, she chose pumpkin. Lizzy kept calling the cactus pumpkin. In but eventually learned the word cactus. Liz had to take her naps in the car but was flexible that way. The next day Ben went golfing while I stayed busy keeping Lizzy safe, and that afternoon we went to the Saguaro National Park. Did you know that the Saguaro cactus grow about a foot in 10 years. And do not grow arms until they are about 75 years old! The last picture during out nearly 4 hour lay over. Lizzy slept in the stroller for 3 hours until she finally slid all the way out and the airport got more busy.

Lizzy Sarah Duo

2011-12-01T12:01:00.001-06:00

Whenever I play the piano, Lizzy comes running to join me. Even if she is in the middle of getting dressed. She loves to play and sing just like Mommy, well sort of like Mommy.

one more halloween family photo

2011-10-31T13:29:00.002-05:00

I had to add this last one because photos of the three of us are so rare.

Halloween dinner

2011-10-30T20:47:00.005-05:00

Ben has been gone quite a lot this month to say the least. Today Elizabeth and I missed him, but had a big day. Hopefully she will see him tomorrow. First church. Elizabeth loves to march out of sacrament meeting down the hall to nursery without a concern of anyone that might not see her 34 some inch body mustering her way through the mingling crowd and certainly not a concern for the whereabouts of her mother. Second, she took a long nap after her lunch of about 5 peanuts on the way home. She napped through a parade of Tricker-Treaters at the door but woke an hour before the city scheduled trick-or-treat time ended. She ate another lunch of 2 green beans and 2 slices carrots with ranch and rushed into her costume. She sort of got the idea of trick-or-treating. She said meow occasionally and bye-bye more frequently. One women tried to get her to say trick-or-treat and she just pointed to the women's shoes and said shoes. Any word deserved candy at her age. We went up and down a few blocks on two streets (only about 1 in 4 or 5 houses participated) stopping to look at leaves and decorations along the way. It has been a long time since I have been trick or treating. I'm glad Lizzy woke in time to go. Not only did we both get to eat our fill of candy, Lizzy seemed to enjoy herself, smiling and such. For dinner we shared part of a smoked turkey leg. Elizabeth ate about 1 sliced carrot and two spoons of potatoes and a quite a bit of turkey from the bone. She said, "meat, meat." Elizabeth knows probably 40 words I'm guessing. Her latest words are meat, tongue, soap, garbage, salsa, pumpkin...that I can think of. Some words are very clear such as salsa, and milk. Other words she gets the first sound wrong or just omits it for example glasses in Lizzy language is just assess, help is elp, pumpkin in mumpkin, and socks is gocks. The funniest is blanket and pacifier. She used to say blanket, but somewhere a monkey got mixed in and we can't get her to stop saying monket for blanket. And she says water for pacifier, but she can't actually say water so she says waber. so every night when she goes to bed she needs her monket and her waber.

family photos

2011-10-27T11:10:00.004-05:00

wow! AFter five years I figured out how to put a picture on the title of my blog. I'm quite please with my self. Always wanted to do that. There are some family photos taken in August, maybe sept. Ones withe Ben are rare, and the three of use, even more so, so we were glad to get these. The last time we tried (in MArch) Elizabeth was overdue for a nap and it was a flop.

additional photos for last post

2011-09-04T15:20:00.006-05:00

Lizzy in her own tent, and picking cherries

The last 5 weeks

2011-08-11T07:25:00.010-05:00

Below are pictures of our family since the 4th of July. I will give the details in more of less or a chronological order. No such promise for the pictures. We went camping twice. We learned that strapping Elizabeth's high chair to a picnic bench works well. On the second trip we learned that Elizabeth does well..or I should say, her parents do best, when she has her own tent. Elizabeth enjoyed reading her own books for about an hour in her tent after waking up: good baby. Near the Dells we went to a deer park where we had a great time feeding and petting dear. We also found canoeing to be quite successful with a small child. Next, you will see that our raspberries and giant black berries became ripe. I made quite a deal of freezer jam, not shown. I got my hair cut and highlighted which you may or may not notice from the picture. We went swimming at a local but very crowded and annoying beach (about 1 life gaurd for every six children). Our cabbage is gettting big. I hope they tastes good. We BBQ'd pork ribs a couple of times in the back yard which we discovered is easier and cheaper than we thought. Another event of note was Elizabeth getting Roseola and then an allergic reaction to amoxacillin (hives shown). Our next camping trip was to Door county. The high light was picking sweet cherries. I will have to upload those pictures from Ben's camera. I made 4 batches of freezer jam and 6.5 quarts of canned, and 2 pints of frozen cherries. Also we picked some for others. I was over whelmed with the cherries until I canned them and that was quick. I wish I got more. We also went to the Door county fair. The best parts were watching an awesome juggler and Lizzy got to pet giant and baby cows. You will also see a picture of Ben and Elizabeth on top of a tower 225 feet above lake level. We were the highest point in many miles. On the way home we stopped at another state park on the beach. Ben had fun burying Elizabeth in sand. Elizabeth's level of fun is questionable. At home I made a large batch of cumber and squash and hot pepper pickles with all the fresh produce shown from our garden. I made 8 quarts of pickles! LAter Also I made several batches of freezer raspberry jam and three batches cooked blackberry jam. And last of all, Monday, after a long bout of frustration with and effort to fix our old car, we bought a new-to-us hatchback.

cliff dive

2011-07-17T21:53:00.004-05:00

Trip to Utah

2011-06-09T16:41:00.014-05:00

Sophie's Kitchen was much more fun that Liizy's. Chilling at Lake Powel. Lizzy fell asleep while hiking at little Cotton wood canyon, but before that she enjoying seeing a real forest and pretty river.

We also spent time in St. George and saw the massive temple there. Incredible how they built it without machines or gasoline! Uncle Bob hosted a fun BBQ in Hurricane, UT.

We went to the Hoggle zoo with the Perhsons and enjoyed playing with their cat at home.

Heather hosted a nice dinner with all of my UT siblings. The three girls had fun eatting together. Sophie likes to make sure Elizabeth is getting enough to eat.

Mary took me to the U2 concert at Rice Eccles statdium which was pretty wild.

And don't forget the Ekstrom cousins. Did you know that Elizabeth has 13 cousins in UTAH!. Elizabeth showed Leah how to bang rocks together and enjoyed playing at Emily's house.

My garden

2011-06-09T16:25:00.004-05:00

I was surprised to see my flowers had grown quite a bit while I was away in Utah. Mary showed me how to plant flowers in Utah further apart, but now I already have a very full baskets. Also a picture of the vegetable garden. From the left to right: the squash and cumbers are out of view, then my flowering radishes, onions, carrots, lettuce, cabbages, board, tomatoes and weeds, more oinions, and peas. My peppers are still small, so I didn't show them.

Trip to Missouri and such

2011-04-26T08:42:00.016-05:00

In March, Ben's parents came for a short trip. these pictures were loaded backwards, so see the very bottom for pictures of Scott and Cheryl. Next is a picture of one day i caught Elizabeth swinging her teddy bear in her swing. Aww. In early April Elizabeth and I drove to Missouri to see my parents and my dad's siblings. I had a nice time getting acquainted with them. We spent the first couple days at my Aunt Elizabeth (Betsy's) house where Elizabeth had a good time walking around the yard with her walker and the dog zippy following after. We visited my Dad's Aunt Stella who just celebrated her 90th birthday and lives alone doing her own shopping, laundry, cooking, and cleaning. We took a picture of Elizabeth 1 and Stella 90. We visited my grandmother and grandfather's graves in Fristat Missouri where my grandma Hamm grew up. Then we visited the farm where Grandma Hamm's parents lived. My dad said that he lived there when he was Elizabeth's age. There were of course other owners there and the house of different, but dad remembered the hills and the trees and the streams where he would go fishing and hunting. Elizabeth and my mother liked the farm cat, that the owner said that no one ever picked up till my mother got there of course. The owners now raise cockers paniels I think they were and herded sheep for fun. Most of the land was used for cows. Later I went fishing once on Table Rock Lake or watched my parents fish, rather, with my dad's cousin Steve. Elizabeth slept most of the time. I think it's the over sized snug life jacket that puts her to sleep because she fell asleep on the paddle boat as well. My cousin Emily was there with her recent husband Matt. We caught up on the last 15 years. Elizabeth watched Sesame street on the I pod during the long drive. For Elizabeth and Ben's birthday, we had a few families over and ate cake. Elizabeth got a cute dress from Grandma Ekstrom for her birthday.

Photo shoot

2011-03-26T19:26:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Chritina Neilson. She did a great job!

Blizzard

2011-02-02T21:23:00.003-06:00

Big blizzard today. Our alley way never got officially plowed. I did make it to work at 4:30pm after lots of people shoveled the alleyway and I think someone with their own plow attachment. We had fun snow shoeing from the front door to the park in the morning. Ben spent a good deal of the day shoveling. He tried to calculate how many calories he spent shoveling and calculated 8000 calories just in our house alone, then went on to help a neighbor and then shoveled our drive way again. So.. I think his calculations may have been a bit off, but he did work hard, and three men dies today after shoveling now. I did the light work of laundry and child care.

2011-02-02T20:18:00.001-06:00

XC Ski Fun

2011-01-22T18:43:00.000-06:00

Well, it was fun...even though we forgot a baby backpack for Liz. We had to take turn carrying her and skiing without poles. Almost like something we had to do for ski practice.

Christmas vacation

2011-01-06T14:19:00.007-06:00

s

Elizabeth swimming in loot. Santa gave Liz Gerber treats and balls that she chases around now she is so good at crawling. also see liz with her Wisconsin cow.

Ben got new skate ski boot

Two huge piano books from Ben and some snazzy elf slippers from Heather.

Quilt from great grandma Ekstrom and new outfit from her has well. The color looks good on her.

Fun car toy from Heather. Elizabeth is glad to have something different for the car. She pulls it to sing fun songs

The best toy form Grandma and Gandpa Hamm. A music table. She learned how to pull her self up and dance now. Below is the Christmas feast Ben and I hosted. Three other couple came over and we ate in the upstairs. Ben Grandmother Ekstrom gave us this awesome new table cloth with was perfect for the occasion.

We drove four hours North (if you don't get lost or take wiggle breaks) Lizzy needed several wiggle breaks:

Elizabeth was a trouper. Ben is standing near a lake on the property of the cabin we rented for the week after Christmas.

Thanks to Heather for the Snugli which was perfect for taking Elizabeth skiing. The snow and trails were awesome. Ben got to use his new boots. While Ben napped, I completed a puzzle from Hannah.

We had fun snow shoeing and sledding before it rained!!! yeah, big let down. So then we played board games and watched movies. LOTS of relaxing. Below, Elizabeth looks like an in mate.

2010-12-26T00:07:00.002-06:00

Christmas

2010-12-13T21:27:00.002-06:00

Elizabeth is posing by our real Christmas tree with ornaments that Grandma and Grandpa Hamm sent.

Elizabeth is wearing her Christmas dress from Grandmas Hamm.

thanksgiving photos

2010-12-02T19:40:00.002-06:00

Above, Elizabeth sits so nicely in a box for long periods of time. Below: Thanksgiving with the Lloyds and company

Elizabeth learned to crawl

2010-12-02T15:18:00.004-06:00

This is how Elizabeth learned to crawlThis is the next dayon the fifth day:Happy swing. Thank you Heather for the swing object permanenceCarrot Harvest on Nov 30th

more cute pictures in October

2010-11-03T17:09:00.002-05:00

suprise
happy random day i wanted to make cake
ran a 5km together while Ben worked

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T22:09:00.010-05:00

This summer we grew pumpkins. Unfortunately it was partially at the expense of the other vegetables in our garden. And the pumpkins didn't do that well at that. (we grew the three smallest ones) We are doing really well, however, at growing little Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is looking at my foot...

A high chair ..finally

2010-11-01T22:01:00.002-05:00

Before:

After
We've been feeding Elizabeth in various things including her bouncer chair, and a bumbo, and a baby bath tub. But finally we got a real high chair which Elizabeth loves as you can see.

Lizzy can stand up..sort of

2010-10-10T10:14:00.004-05:00

See those cute little teeth. I can see four more under the gums on the top.

I figured out that Elizabeth's bath tub makes a good chair for Elizabeth to play in. It keeps her upright which decreases on the amount of spit up. Also I can put toys in there and they don't get away from her. So Elizabeth is sitting in her bath tub on the back step eating tomato leaves while I harvest my basil plant. I got 10 cups of leaves off of it.

This is the dress that grandma Ekstrom sent to Elizabeth. So cute.

You can see she is trying hard to stay upright.

Heather Came to Visit Milwaukee

2010-09-18T11:34:00.011-05:00

On the first day We went to the childrens museum.

What good is a bathroom if you can't take a bath in it?

we also went to Sprecher's soda factory.

The next day we drove up to Door County and stopped at a farm

Then went to a light house museum

And a dairy where we got to see a couple hundred pounds of butter be packaged. Here is Blake and Emily as cheese heads.

Elizabeth had fun with cousins.

We went another farm and dairy. This one had a corn maze

Clark got to practice milking a cow

Later that day we went to see another Light house on Cana Island
I stayed with Katie and Elizabeth at the bottom while Heather and the other kids climbed to the top of the light house.
butterflies at Cana island

we all played on the rocky beach of Lake Michigan.

The next day we took ferry to an Island off the tip of Door County between Green bay and the rest of Lake Michigan.
Waiting for the ferry:
We went swimming on the island

And if you zoom in on this picture you might see the canoe that the three older kids are paddling back to shore. Pretty place.

We stayed in a 50's cottage on the island

The next day it rained. We climbed a tower to look around the slightly developed island.
We drove back to Milwaukee and went to church on Sunday

Then drove to the Dells to the Kalahari Water park and Theme park resort. Very fun

Clark surfed on a standing wave. I tried it too, but didn't like it so much.
If you zoom in you might see Blake, Elizabeth and I in a double inter-tube.
Elizabeth is a nice shade of purple here.
Katie found lots of fun things for little girls to do. There was three different kiddy pools and then of couse lots of slides for the bigger folks.
Heather helped watch Elizabeth so I got to go down some slides too.

Elizabeth turned five months. And we discovered her first tooth while at the water park. Two days later her second one poked through. Can't really see it though in this picture.
Chill'n cousins
We had fun spending $80 on dinner and $80 on Breakfast at the resort restaurants. The money was included in our package deal. Heather and Katie driving bumper cars:
Blake and Elizabeth waiting for the bumper car drivers-cute. I don't have more pictures here of the theme park, but we also were able to go miniature golfing, do a ropes course which scared Heather and I, and went on an indoor ferrice wheel.

So glad Heather and the kids came to visit!

Camping in Northern WI

2010-08-19T14:24:00.007-05:00

We decided to go camping 4 1/2 hours north of here in Northern Highland- American Legions State Forest. It was nice to actually get a little bit out of the big city and actually find some forest. We went on a short hike and stopped at a small lake. We saw a deer drinking on the other side which made us feel like we finally found some nature...but still the campground were still filled up and there were many small towns all around. We did not take many pictures and all of the ones we did take were of Elizabeth. She was much better looking than us without showering in the extreme humidity. Elizabeth got to eat her first few bites of rice cereal.

Elizabeth is watching us prepare the cereal and is very interested

Elizabeth got frustrated trying to eat and needed some comforting.

She slept through the night. She didn't care that mommy forgot the air mattresses.

We spent some time on the beach of a small lake with white sand and clear water.

Four months

2010-08-17T16:50:00.007-05:00

My baby girl is four months! and Rolling over like a pro.

Newest toy

2010-08-10T05:50:00.003-05:00

This post is dedicated to Hunter Hamm who inspired Elizabeth's parents to get her the rain forest jumperoo which is king of all jumping toys. We bought the only one I found on craig's list and drove 20 minutes south of even my work to get it. Elizabeth is still learning how to jump and we have a package of toilet paper underneath her feet so that she can touch the floor. There is lots of room to grow.

tomatoes canning

2010-08-10T05:36:00.006-05:00

I am proud of myself because for the first time I canned tomatoes. I also did a batch of cooked jam while I had the canner from my friend. I had about twenty pounds of tomatoes and they wouldn't all fit in the hot water bath pot.

lots of black berries

2010-08-10T05:31:00.003-05:00

The black berries in our back yard are growing wild. I told my parents they are as tall as the house but that was a couple weeks ago. Now they are going to go over the top and down the other side if I don't trim them sometime soon

Elizabeth 3 months (Taken July 14th and 18th)

2010-08-10T04:42:00.002-05:00

cute minus the spit up. See my edited version below.

Akaska Vacation

2010-07-11T19:40:00.012-05:00

These pictures are somewhat backwards and somewhat just mixed up but that's just the way they down load. I included lots of pictures of family and scenery. Even though I wished I had brought my long johns and wool hat, Alaska is still the greatest state. We love it. Seward Highway
Seldovia, AK
Seldovia cabin
annual chain saw carving contest
Elizabeth and cousin Hunter ( five months older)
Halibut!
walk on the beach
pretty beach

cousins
enlarge this picture to see the massive amount of mosquitoes. I didn't want to put bug dope on my hands because I would be touching Elizabeth. I had roughly 100 bites on each hand. Seriously not exaggerating. Elizabeth didn't look to good when we got home either. But we did limit out on Reds that day while Ben was talking his Step one Exam.
Alaska is beautiful (Potter's marsh)

Brother Mark and family
changing diaper on the hiking trail. (Bug net)
Alaska is beautiful
Ben's proud of his king salmon. Hard to come by this year and the last few years. Ben has not caught one in 5-6 years. Dad has a jack king in the back.
Alaska is beautiful
Ben and Bill looking for a black bear at head of bay.
Head of the bay at dusk
My parents have a very nice Cabin in Seldovia Alaska. You can see them just getting back from a kayak trip.
dinner
Hunter and Elizabeth staying warm on Halibut fishing trip.
See the crab in the mouth. The fish spit it up or hadn't swallowed all the way yet. Maybe the Crab just crawled out because it was still alive..don't know.
Bill, Ben, and Mark slayed the Black Bass
Ben was hoping to find black bear at head of bay, but Elizabeth was the only bear up there. Wasn't hardly any fish either.
Mom driving new boat
Brother Mark, wife Lauren and Baby Hunter
Mom and Dad digging clams.
Grandma making dinner with Elizabeth.
Ben at the cabin. Mom got some nice new seats.
Elizabeth's first ride in Grandpa's airplane. See movie below. She was fine until a rough landing on the way home.
Grandma with grand baby and grand kitty and her nice flowers in back.
Elizabeth lived in the brown bear suit for three weeks. This picture is at a friend's cabin.
Ben helped me take my red salmon off the hook and got splattered in the face with mud.
Elizabeth got to meet her cousin Hunter Hamm (three months older)

even more garden photos

2010-07-11T17:08:00.002-05:00

We've been having even more fun with our garden. We are now attracting many butter flies and enjoying raspberries and black berries (not shown).

Blessing and 4th of July

2010-07-06T12:52:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone,

Here are some pictures of Elizabeth in her blessing dress and in her patriotic swim apparel. We went camping last weekend and went swimming.

-Ben

She's a little angel.

And she might not like having that thing on her head. But maybe she does. You decide.

I'm a patriotic baby!

Get me out of this yucky water, mom.

Update of garden

2010-06-28T01:02:00.005-05:00

We came home to find a bit of a jungle in the garden. The pumpkin that we planted in the corner grow over the top of the carrots, across the board for walking, across the onions, across the row of squash and the row of cucumbers all the way over to the tomatoes. We discovered even more perienial flowers. We had tulips, then dianthisus, daisies, and orcids. Now climatis, lillies, roses (which we didn't get a picture of) and many others I don't know the name of. Our lettuce grew into tree like formations, and the thyme and oregano went to seed. The blackberries are going crazy next to the house with loads of berries. We are excited to have loads of tomatoes and squash very soon. Thanks again to Mom for all her help in planting the garden this spring.

garden

2010-05-28T11:36:00.003-05:00

This
This post is for my mother who wanted to see my garden. She did a lot of work on it while she was here in April.

s

i

This post
pumpkin

eggplant
parsley
cool flowers, and hidden rosemary

little white flowers haven't recovered from rain storm.

blessing dress

2010-05-28T11:32:00.001-05:00

My mother made this dress for me, 24.5 years ago.

smiles

2010-05-26T19:54:00.006-05:00

two weekends ago we went to a National Guard conference at the Wisconsin Dells.
Elizabeth learned to smile about 10 days ago. She practices everyday wither her new best friends: red, blue and green star. These friends are on the mobile above her bouncer seat. Not only do they provide Elizabeth endless entertainment, but they provide Ben and I endless entertainment as she smiles and talks to her stars until she gets hungry or tired. Her bouncer seat is on the table and is the best dinner entertainment we've ever had.You can see her looking at her stars in 5 different outfits.

other cute pictures of the fun we're having

one month milestone

2010-05-14T16:11:00.004-05:00

day 9-10

2010-04-24T14:54:00.003-05:00

first walk day 9

first bath day 10

6 days old

2010-04-23T16:34:00.002-05:00

Four days old + The Saga of the Rocking Chair

2010-04-17T19:44:00.006-05:00

Part I: Elizabeth's Fourth Day

They are sleeping. It's funny that Sarah's belly used to make it to the edge of the couch. Now there's room for Elizabeth...though I guess Elizabeth was occupying the space Sarah's belly used to take...hmm.

Part II: The Saga of the Rocking Chair

It all began with an idea to make a rocking chair from scratch. I took the plan for a glider rocker base from online, then took many sheets of paper and drafted a plan for the rest. It felt like the good old days when I was in high school with our "Nerds of the North" building robots. Here's me planning after the base was constructed.

Working. What am I wearing?

Dorky white coat. "Wood doctor"? It kept the sawdust off my clothes and had nice pockets for ear plugs and my eye protection.

Finished with the rough design, but not yet polished.

Sarah testing the balance. I had to adjust the length of the legs to shift the center of gravity forward. Everything else fit her (I drafted the plan for the chair after making measurements of her sitting on various chairs).

Here's the finished product in the nursery. It took three months of working bit by bit with my school schedule. Got the cushion off of target.com.

Now, the best part! Sarah rocks and nurses Elizabeth here.

I'm glad it turned out well.

-Ben

Even More Baby Photos

2010-04-14T16:12:00.008-05:00

Here are the baby photos taken by camera (rather than phone camera).

Elizabeth's first photo ever...

and her second.

Weighing in. Little bit of coning of her head from the long delivery (14 hours, then C-section). 8lbs 15oz. 19 3/4". And for Mike L.'s sake, the baby was born at 7:08 PM and her APGARs were 8 and then 9.

I want my momma!

Taking her into the OR to see her mom (and mom to see her).

Mom meets baby. Sarah had to do a Caesarian because the baby's blood supply was being choked off with each contraction after Sarah was dilated to ~4cm. The cord was wound all around Elizabeth, her neck and body. But everything turned out fine in the end. Sarah is doing great. She's been up and about most of the day.

Grandma Hamm and Elizabeth get acquainted.

Getting ready for a meal. Elizabeth has been doing quite well, in spite of having to wait over two hours between delivery and her first meal. She has a great nursing reflex.

Dad changing diaper. She had three poopy diapers today and twice she produced enormous quantities of black sludge as she was changed. She went through a lot of diapers. It makes it more fun when you have to deal with a puddle of goo as you work.

Now she's sleeping.

The End.

More Elizabeth Photos

2010-04-13T23:14:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth is born

2010-04-13T19:44:00.001-05:00

Here is a picture.

The chair is done!

2010-03-21T20:52:00.000-05:00

Here is a preliminary pic for the chair I made for Sarah. Probably more to follow...

March

2010-03-14T09:11:00.003-05:00

I had a baby shower on March 6th. Thanks for all the fun gifts for our baby girl!
Thanks mom and Lauren for the blanket an clothes.

Great lunch and beautifully displayed, thanks to Marcy and Michele
These were taken on March 7th: 36 weeks minus a day

February news

2010-02-24T14:52:00.004-06:00

Above is my humerus attempt to put on snow pants before snow shoeing with the Lloyds.
Next is valentines dinner..we shared a plate.

Also, last weekend Ben and I made a snow skier and then a snow brain

January pictures

2010-01-23T12:35:00.002-06:00

Picture of our new house
Jewish holiday bread made by Sarah
Ben made this amazing pineapple meringue cake

Christmas Break

2010-01-23T11:06:00.007-06:00

For some reason blogger uploads pictures backwards and I'm just going to leave it. But this was the Gram cracker house contest at the Ekstroms. Above is Ben's log cabin with no gram crackers. Below is Ben's Dad castle.

Above is Eve's castle and below is my cottage
Santa came to all 15 or so of us.
Christmas at the Ekstroms equals lots of quality time with the video games.
Mom and Dad Hamm's present to us
Cheryl made this for us
Christmas Eve Nativity
Mary and Joseph
Levi, Lynze, and Aaron
December birthday sweaters amd apron

Aaron and Lynze's baby Mila: our baby's girl cousin
Christmas party in Salt Lake
Heather ordered an amazing Christmas cake
Kate pehrson
Fun with the Tiptons: Julia and Joshua

New baby Sophia: our baby's other girl cousin

The amazing growing belly

2010-01-23T10:52:00.003-06:00

Dec 3rd
Jan 3rd

Ben wasn't a very cooperative photographer, so I took my own pictures with the timer on Jan 10.

happy birthday sarah

2010-01-21T17:33:00.001-06:00

Ben made me a chocolate angel food cake. mm, good.

Camping in November

2009-12-03T15:45:00.007-06:00

corn harvest
geese
devil's doorway

steep hike

balance rock

keeping warm

cards in the night with a space heater in the tent

this sled is for the smashed up rock climbers

devils's lake
I apologize for the excess of pictures. My parents forgot they camera so, I wanted to post these for them.

5 k ward race on Thankgiving Morning.

2009-12-03T15:40:00.002-06:00

Mom and Dad finished the race! and even ran to the finish
Ben ran with Sarah and finished 33:45minutes.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T15:15:00.005-06:00

turkey lessons
Mom's delicious rolls
My "new" China my parent's brought. Used to me my grandmother's
Thanksgiving feast

Turkey stock ..we used every bit of the 22 pound turkey. To make sandwiches, leftovers, turkey Alfredo pasta, and turkey soup and more.

Happy Birthday Mom! Pumpkin Cheese cake

Chicago Temple with Mom and Dad

2009-12-03T15:04:00.002-06:00

our new house

2009-12-02T18:00:00.004-06:00

Some inside pictures of our new house.

Baby Girl

2009-11-16T17:52:00.004-06:00

Hello,

This is our new baby girl.

She is cute.

Left hand.

Kicking Sarah in the umbilical cord.

Girl.Alien face/pirate face.

Love,

Ben and Sarah

Devil's Lake Park

2009-11-05T13:28:00.004-06:00

We had fun camping last weekend at Devil's Lake State park. I'm enjoying the artificial rock path down the bolder pile
Devil's doorway

4 months

2009-11-05T13:13:00.002-06:00

2 months Three months

And 4 months pregnant.

halloween party

2009-11-02T18:10:00.003-06:00

I was one of my patient's, and Ben was Dr. House. We are in the back left center

Jackolantern

2009-11-02T17:51:00.002-06:00

Halloween fun

holy hill church

2009-11-02T17:47:00.002-06:00

We went to see the fall colors at at catholic church on a hill. The highest spot in about 100 miles climbed in 5 minutes. Pretty though.

We went to see the fall colors at at catholic church on a hill. The highest spot in about 100 miles climbed in 5 minutes. Pretty though.

workers

2009-11-02T17:44:00.000-06:00

Ben's army duds

Sarah's first day of work on 9/7/2009

Countdown

2009-10-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

Baby Ticker - The Baby Countdown Pregnancy Tickergreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

New Car

2009-08-15T09:42:00.002-05:00

I bought a used car on August 13th. It is a Chevy Malibu. Thank you Scott Ekstrom for helping find a good deal, and thank you Scott Keagie for trying to fix my old one. Now I can get to work reliably. Besides running well, there are many other improvements over my last car. This one has air conditioning, power windows, power locks, a CD player, cruise control, and is very clean.

Culinary hobby

2009-08-07T07:57:00.009-05:00

Since I've gotten back from Cambodia, I've enjoyed cooking lots of great American foods. Here are some of my latest creations that Ben has missed out on while he is at basic training.

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary before Ben left with pizza and a French Chocolate Coffee Cake.
.I harvested some vegetables from my friend's garden that I'm tending.

Vegetable and cheese tart
You know that chewy European bread with crispy thick crust? mmm
This cream puff is actually from the Wisconsin state fair. Cream from local cows I'm sure.
Peach and nectarine freezer jam.

Pad Thai. Doesn't look as good as it taste.

Wahoo!

2009-08-04T18:36:00.004-05:00

Ben is gone, and everyone else in my family is at work, so I will have to suffice to tell the world via blogspot that I have been hired! I'm nervous and excited and scared. The company administrator extended an offer over the phone this evening and then asked how long I needed to consider the offer. She just gave me the salary that I had put on one of the applications I filled out months ago and forgot about...a very round number. I don't know the proper order of offering and counter offering, and anything sounds good to me as long as I'm not paying to work. I said, "Well I can tell you right now, it's sound fine." Then she said, "Okay, consider yourself hired then" I start this week.

New hairdew.

2009-08-02T21:29:00.000-05:00

Here's my new military me.

-Ben

Trip Photos

2009-07-28T15:33:00.013-05:00

Hello,

Here are some photos from our trip to Cambodia and Thailand. Now we're back and have a decent internet connection, so we'll share more pictures.

-Ben & Sarah

Victory monument in Bangkok. A city of 10 million was quite a change after visiting the jungle.

Look what Jared found.

This is a wild elephant in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. It followed our car for a long time. Poor guy was lonely.

A waterfall (Haew Sovan) in Khao Yai.

Floating houses near Siam Riep.
So, they raise their pigs on water. The pig is getting fat--it's sinking the boat. Time for roast pig.

Sarah amidst pillars in Bontiey Kdei.
Kbal Spian where carvings were made directly onto the boulders in the stream bed.

Hope it doesn't fall down on us.
Bontiay Srey. Supposedly has the most beatiful carvings of any temple in the world. It was pretty.

apSarah and apStacie copy the apsara (celestial dancers) carved into the stone pillars nearby.

Ben near Angkor Wat.

Rain at Bung Mealea.

Giant spider. Scary. About 4-5 inches across.

Ben at Bung Mealea ruins.

Sarah at Bung Mealea ruins.

Angkor Wat

2009-07-17T20:38:00.004-05:00

Bayon Temple

Today is our third day of seeing the ancient temples including Angkor Wat. The emencity of the temples and the depth of detail is unbelieveable. We are traveling with Ben's cousin Jared Allen and a friend from Ben's mission, Stacey.

Sihanoukville

2009-06-22T06:50:00.003-05:00

Hey Y'all,

This will be a text post since the camera is at home. Sarah is over there applying for jobs, so I am posting. I finally can sit down at a computer without having to do research. I was given three research projects to do while I am here. Basically all three consist of collecting outcome data on all patients with a specific diagnosis or operation and making a presentation to show how CSC is doing. One also consists of turning the 150 or so pictures of a specific operation into a description of the procedure in a power point.

We are at Sihanoukville for the second time now. It's the main beach city in Cambodia. Last time we played in the water, sat on the beach, got a massage, and pretty much just got sunburnt. It was really fun and relaxing. We stayed right on the beach in a nice place for only $15. This time we are in the same place and even in the same room. It's nice to have such a great view and A/C. Today we kayaked up the coast to a lagoon with mangrove trees. It was a fun paddle. The kayak was like a surfboard with sides. It wasn't very fast. Tomorrow we are going scuba diving out by two islands. We have three friends here with us this time from England and the US.

Work at CSC is going well. I scrubbed in to assist with my 41st operation of this trip on Friday. I have seen a lot of cool things here. I've helped with brain surgery, spine surgery, plastic surgery, and many orthopaedic cases. I understand surgery much better after having been here, as well as its role in developing nations. We have a week left. I'm very fortunate to have ended up here. And my research was presented at the Orthopaedic Society of Cambodia last week, so I have some research to put on my CV for this summer after all. One other project I am working on will be presented in Sept.

My Khmer is coming back. I don't speak as well as I did at my prime in my mission, but I know a lot more about medical Khmer. I can honestly say that I am fluent again in most situations. People are usually amazed that I've only studied for two years, and I'm usually amazed that I still remember after three years of being home.

Well, we are doing quite well. Hopefully some pictures will appear on the next post.

-Ben

surgery, pysiotherapy, Battambang

2009-06-18T00:33:00.007-05:00

Random Buddah in Battambang.

I made a split for this women who was stabbed in her arm.

Lengthening a triceps tendon. Ben is in the back and an American Spine surgeon on the right.

I gave up and getting Ben to post on our Blog. Ben has gotten to help with many surgeries while here and has enjoyed that. Some of the surgeries include: Amputating a woman's 6th toe; implanting internal fixatures on a woman's jaw that was cut by a knife; debreading an old woman's mostly rotten arm; clef lip and palate repair; scoliosis; tumor removal; and many others. The one in the first pictures is a surgery to lengthen a boy's tricepts tendon. I am able to walk in and observe surgeries when I can't find anything else to do.

Yesterday was particularly gruisome to see a skin graft surgery on a young boy's arm pit. After a burn, his arm was fused to his chest. The surgern cut out the scare and replaced it with a skin graft. The surgeons scraped little bits of skin from the health portion of the boy's arm and then ran them through a perferator device. Then tried to piece the scraps of fishnetting (skin) together and onto the large open wound. The head surgeon came in and betted $100 that the graft would not take so they had to start over and scrape skin from the leg to get larger pieces. The medical students, including Ben are able to do a bit of suturing, lots of holding wounds open, suction, pullion staples out, etc, and observing. My favorite is the watching the American Dr do consulataions and morning rounds and because it's in English and he takes a little more time to teach about evaluating and diagnosing.

I have been triying to do a bit in the physiotherapy department. The biggest frustration is communication. Documentation here barely exists and often I cannot find anything on patients. Doctors are certainly not in a habit of talking to therapists. I cannot talk to patients and often they don't even know what's going on. The one pysiotherapist here has pretty poor Enlgih pronouciation and sometimes I think he gets tried of trying to talk with me and just ignors me. I have started volunteering across the street for a couple weeks at a rehabilitation center that treats the non-surgery conditions such as cerebral palsy, torticollis, musculoskeletal, club feet, and amputations. They give a lot of orthotics and prosthetics and wheelchairs. There are a little more organized over there.

I am not sure what to do for the children with cerbral palsy. Any many cases the parents don't either. I worked with a young girl yesterday. Several months ago, her mother dropped her off at a NGO anonymously. The Khmer NGO worker was very nice. He did not know how old the girl was but guessed 3-4 years of age. The girl could not track objects with her eys, she could not stand up, and had zero attention span. The NGO mans' moto driver recognized the little girl and said that he knew the father. The father his wife that if she went and got their daughter from the NGO, then he would divorce her.

Last weekend we went to Battambang: A city 5 hours north where Ben used to serve. We visited some members of our church, and went a little out of town to see an ancient temple, and then climbed a mountain to see a more modern one. Also, we saw a cave where bats fly out at night. The bats flew out of the cave fore at least an hour because there were so many of them!!! Unforturnately I don't have 8 hours to wait for another couple pictures to download so these will have to suffice.

food and bikes in Phnom Penh

2009-06-07T04:33:00.007-05:00

Locals commonly wear masks while riding on the dusty and exhausty roads; as did we. We ride our bikes mostly. But sometimes take bicycle carriage things or a moto which is the back of a motor cycle. We are not currently traveling, but still spend a fair amount of time in transport which a fun/amusing/different part of being here. Traffic laws and lanes don't mean much. The semi-trucks, and motos, and tuk tuks and biclycles all cram together and fend for themselves.
Killing fields during Khmer Rough. See human bones and clothing. Signs says that they hung a large speaker here to drown out the moans of victims.
Sarah riding across the bridge after work. Sorry about scratching my face at the wrong moment. This picture is to show my mom that we are wearing helmets.
This is the hospital.

One highlight since last post was eating ...peculiar foods I will call it. We went to a nice-ish restaurant with two other medical students and Cambodian surgeon and all ordered a dish to share. Another student ordered goat with ants. It should have been called ants with goats "parts." The ants were small so I ate a couple bites before even knowing they were ants (All I knew was that he ordered goat). I thought the white parts were okay until I realized they were larva. The goat I thought at first was tounge. Another student said it was tender. We all wondered what it was so I took a piece to examine that looked exactly like a neuroanatomy specimine: pons, medulla, etc. The waiter claimed it came from the "belly." I ate it before I knew what it was and then I had a 1.5 cm insect with wings between my chopsticks and called it quits. I regret that I did not have a picture. The other suprise that evening was the incredible amount of alcohol that the Cambodia surgeon consumed the sum total we did not stay to witness.

Next peculiar food incident was when we stopped at a restaurant way out of town. I feel a little disrespectful writing this, but I will continue. There was nothing else nearby so we asked what they had. They had two things so we orded one of each. We got duck soup and duck ..pieces with paste and plants. From as best as I could tell they only thing not in the soup was the feathers and the contents of the stomache and intestines. We even identified the skin. Otherwise they take the whole duck and cut it into one inch cubes. That was difficult for me to eat much of with splinters of bone and even a solid rock that I think is called the gizzerd in there. Otherwise we have found good things to eat. I like the noddles and vegetable/meat stir fry.

Another thing of note is that we purchased bicycles. We can ride them to work now which saves us money though is an extremely hot endeavor. Many people want to know what we will be doing with them afterward so I hope we may not have a hard time selling them. On Saturday we went on a 18km bike ride to the killing fields where we saw many human skulls and saw the mass graves of thousands. Sad. It was a long and extremely hot ride. We managed to find a cheap ride home in a common mode of transport that is like a motorcycle carriage.

We stayed in town this weekend and went to two different branches for church today which we enjoyed.

I will leave reporting on out hospital experience to Ben.

2009-06-03T22:44:00.002-05:00

2009-06-03T18:20:00.004-05:00

Ben and I made it safe to Phnom Penh. Our first night we spent in Bangkok. After staying up for 36 hours we couldn't sleep much so we got up and wondered around town and the Royal palace. It is required to have an elbow length shirt and pants, so I am wearing a rediculous outfit, but when we got there we didn't want to spent the 20 dollars to get in so we walked around the outside. That afternoon we flew to Phnom Penh.

Today is out third day at the Children's Surgical Center (CSC). We are up early because last night we decided to take a nap before dinner and woke up at midnight. At that point we decided just to keep sleeping.

At CSC, Ben is making lots of Khmer friends and the staff is impressed with him. I'm learning some Khmer words aswell which the children find amusing. I wouldn't say that we are any bit of help just yet but we are learning and amusing ourselves well enough. Ben has been in the operating room holding incisions open and doing a few sutures. I am able to walk into any surguries whenever I want as well.

Yesterday I went to what I guess you would call the burn unit. It is seveal km away from CSC. It is sad to see the violent crimes. These people are victims of acid burns. Most of the patients were gone to a court case yesterday so I only met a couple. We have also seen a couple women who have been savagely abuse by their husbands (i.e. stabbed and UE cut off).

The first picture just uploaded, so I will stick with only one picture for now.

More later.

fMRI

2009-04-27T11:49:00.003-05:00

Hey guys,

I participated in a fMRI study last week and they gave me pictures of my brain. I thought I'd share. I did notice one cool congenital anomaly and I looked it up. It's called "cavum septum pellucidum". It's present in 10% or less of the population and it is benign. It's a splitting of the septum pellucidum into two parts. It can be caused by trauma. Looks like mom did drop me on my head...just kidding. The rest of the brain is just fine, though, as far as I could tell.

-Ben

2009-04-12T19:04:00.003-05:00

Hello,

Here are some pictures from our camping trip to Point Peach State Forest. And from archery at the Root River Parkway archery range.

Light house.

Sarah eating cold cereal.
It was really cold cereal. The milk was frozen.

Fish fry. I ate walleye.

"Handicapped-accessible" ramp. It works for all those whose wheelchairs can step up 2 feet. Quite a large oversight.

Sarah at the beach.

Sarah enjoying the fish fry. She had haddock.

Sarah's good at 25 yards. Note the arrow through the turkey target's spine. We went shooting at a range near our home. It's free and has the hay bales there.

Me at the same distance. Good enough to get a deer if I can shoot within 30 yards or so. The outlier on the upper right was a bent arrow. Better not take that one hunting.

Love,

Ben and Sarah

Our Chicago Saturday

2009-02-23T20:30:00.004-06:00

Sarah and I went to Chicago this weekend. Here are some pictures.

View from the Brown line train we took into town from a park and ride.

The Chicago Art Museum. Free in February.

Here is Sarah and the Lion of the art museum.

Anybody recognize this one?

You better recognize this one!

I really liked this one. It's fun. Ekstrom boys having a party.

Heads from Cambodians gods! Go Preahrianachak Kampuchea (Cambodia)!

Nepalese Buddha.

Chinese "pillows. Look really comfy...

This one might look familiar to the Hamms.

It's fine China that is actually from China (although most that stuff comes from China these days anyway). Looks like Heather's but 500 years older and definitely not found on anyone's table.

-Ben

Fish Fry/Cederburg/Plants/Hair

2009-02-15T17:02:00.006-06:00

We went to a local restaurant for a Friday fish fry. It was delicious. Enough grease content for several weeks.

Ben liked it.

Bactrian camel at Cederburg winter fest.

Ben beat him up when he tried to get medieval. Actually Ben wasn't even there. He was drilling with the National Guard.

Ben decided to get a whole garden for Valentine's day.

(Garden, continued)

Sarah's haircut.

Sarah's new haircut was short in the back. So cute.

2009-01-27T21:08:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I got the program for the American Occupational Therapy Association 2009 Annual Conference and Expo, and my name is is in. Maybe if you blow it up real big you can read it. I will be traveling to Houston in April to present my poster on diabetic retinopathy.

2009-01-27T20:54:00.005-06:00

Ben was so happy to see me use the new bowl he got me for Christmas that he took this picture of the large quantity of bread dough I was raising.

Ben and I went to "the Domes" last weekend. It is three botanical gardens in large glass domes. This is a nice thing to do on a cold wisconsin winter day.

Lieutenant Ben

2009-01-09T10:16:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,

Just thought I would post a couple pictures of my swearing in ceremony. I am now officially a second lieutenant in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

-Ben

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T23:01:00.007-06:00

Thanks to Hamm parents and Ekstrom parents for the hunting get up.
TOOLS! from Mary and Sarah
Three hours of presents
A super nice picture frame with pictures of a kayak trip with mom and Dad
Thanks Cheryl for the tree skirt. I love it!
The shepherds were sore afraid
Two wise people
Happy Birthday to Isaac, Eli, Hannah, Hilary, Luke, Levi, Aaron, Sarah, and Scott! Wow

Sarah's piano

2008-12-13T00:07:00.000-06:00

Here is Sarah's piano for Christmas and her birthday last week. It's a bit out of tune, but so am I and she still likes me.

Notice the new elbows on the inside that I replaced for most the keys.

Love,

Ben

I love our dishwasher!

2008-12-12T21:24:00.000-06:00

Hello,

Today I got Sarah and I a dishwasher. It's portable unit that hooks up to the faucet. Sarah and I decided that we have to get one before we have kids. So it's another preparation we are making in the hopes that we will have kids soon. It's also nice to not do dishes by hand after five years of not having a dishwasher.

Here's me happy with a very clean glass.

Love,

Ben

Sarah isn't here...

2008-11-19T17:02:00.000-06:00

Hey people,

Here is a window into what happens when Sarah isn't here to keep me sane. This is what I resort to.

Love,

Ben

This week in history

2008-11-09T20:03:00.000-06:00

Hello Family,

This sure was an interesting week. Tuesday had its up's and down's. I actually had mixed feelings about Obama being elected. I had many feelings both in favor and in opposition to both candidates and their running mates. I was hoping America would choose wisdom and experience over smooth talk and many unattainable promises. But America chose to believe in a man who symbolizes hope for so many. My hope, as a person not so easily swayed by the flattering words of a lawyer, is that Obama will be moderate and bipartisan and make the changes that need to be made without going overboard. I fear that he has an agenda different from what he's been promising and that it will be far, far more radical than what the people expect, given his record.

However, I agree with McCain in his speech when he succeeded in his campaign for presidency. America needs some major changes right now to secure our standing in the world. We need to give our new President all the support we can, of course being constrained by our own beliefs and views. We conservatives can't give up our values and we can't cave in to stupid policies, but we should be flexible. D&C 134:6 says we need to honor our leaders in their stations. I think this applies to Obama.

Our government needs to act quickly to ensure that we aren't left in the backwater of the global economy. We've outsourced so much and are letting other countries come close to outstripping us. I hope Obama, with the advice of competent economists (who aren't socialists by definition of competent), will work with both parties in Congress to protect our economic future. There are many other issues that are in need of solutions, health care for instance. I hope President Obama acts with moderation and consideration towards the concerns of those like myself.

The picture above is of my junky tv (thank Luke) after Obama's speech.

The other picture is of the program from sacrament meeting today where I sang in an octet. I sang baritone.

Next week is an exam week, so wish me luck!

Love,

Ben

Epilepsy

2008-10-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

Hey peeps,

Here is everyone's favorite character from House and/or Scrubs, me!

Today I shadowed a pediatric Neurosurgeon at Children's Hospital. I observed a long epilepsy surgery. There were two parts to this procedure: the corpus callotomy and the implatation of electrodes. First the surgeon opened up the scalp and removed a piece of bone about 2.5 inch by 1.5 inch. He was very careful to avoid an important feature of the brain cavity where he was working, the superior sagital sinus. That is an important vein that carries much of the blood from the brain back to the heart. If he nicked it bad the patient could have died or suffered a major stroke. He then opened up the brain's surrounding membrane, the dura mater, and gently separated the brain away from the membrane that lies in its middle. Finally, he removed the corpus callosum with suction. That is a structure that is the only interconnection between the two halves of the brain and transmits seizures from one side to the other. By cutting it, the seizures cannot spread and are therefore not magnified.

The second part of the surgery was when the surgeon put electrodes on the surface of the brain. Since the brain was already exposed, it was easy for him to slide them between the dura mater and the surface of the brain without many further incisions.

It is so amazing to have witnessed this surgery. This is the first time that I have seen a live human brain. The brain pulsates with each beat of the heart. "Two organs beat as one..." (think U2). It was so amazing and reminded me why I wanted to be a physician and how cool my future role is. I will have the tools and knowledge to cure disease--to save patients from states that are awful. Epilepsy is horrible. But physicians can treat it. I really wanted a job where I could serve, and I see once again that medical school gives me the tools to do so in a very meaningful manner. I dedicate my life to learning now so that I may be a blessing to others later. I think that a doctors labor mirrors the Savior's better than almost any other career.

Well, hope you enjoyed me sharing this experience with you.

Love,

Ben

Glucose Lab

2008-10-23T20:40:00.000-05:00

Check out the newest addition to my side!

It's a glucose monitor for diabetics. My body's pancreatic function is being tested tomorrow, so today I got this thing put in. Pretty cool, eh? If you want one, all you have to do is get diabetes.

Love,
-Ben

Movie Sidebar

2008-10-21T13:54:00.006-05:00

Hey Peeps,

So, I just removed the movie sidebar on our blog. It was supposed to be showing you a link to a video on abortion called "The Silent Scream." I'm sure you can guess what the movie was about from its title. However, since I don't get to pick the actual movies displayed (just the publisher of the videos) the videos changed to become all about Obama being a Muslim. I want to say that I think that line of thought is absurd. I probably will vote against Obama on other grounds (his radical views on abortion being one of them), but I wanted to make it clear that I disagree with the Obama videos previously displayed on my blog. They were irrational and reflected a highly prejudiced point of view. Who cares if Obama is a Muslim anyway, for crying out loud. We should be looking at "the real Barack Obama"*, not making things up.

(*See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcUjg7hBYW0 [start at ~5:20 if you want] and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiPwbX6_6AA [watch the whole thing. McCain is dead right here])

On the subject of abortion, I have spent a great deal of time pondering the issue these past couple of months and having relevant discussions with people throughout the spectrum of opinions. I whole-heartedly endorse the positions of the Church regarding abortion based on solid ethical principals, personal feeling, and religious grounds. The current attitude in society towards abortion is despicable. I now understand the rationale that "pro-choice" people give in support of their unethical behavior, and it shocks me that they could be so uncaring towards human life and yet so protective of less important resources. They'll waste away their lives to get polar bears labeled "threatened" and give human rights to gorillas, and yet they justify the murder of their fellow human beings. They worship the environment and hate their own kind. We must stand up for human life and the dignity of each individual. We must stand up for personal accountability and fight the culture of entitlement, the immoral attitude that there is no right and wrong, and the philosophy that "reproductive choices" are merely personal and have no effect on our society. Pro-choice people are wrong. We have the moral upper hand and the more responsible position. If it weren't for the fact that abortion supports lifestyles of promiscuity, then probably all the hippies would be arguing on our side, too.

Well, I'll get off my soap box now. If you want to see the movie I intended to have showing on our blog, then go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjNo_0cW-ek.

I hope nobody is offended if they disagree with me. I am speaking from the heart and welcome discussion with anyone.

Love,

Ben

Fall in Wisconsin

2008-10-18T17:00:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,

Sarah and I went to Kettle Maraine State Park today. We hiked the tallest hill in the park. It gave us a great view of Wisconsin in the fall.

Another neat thing we did (I'll try to add pictures later) was to watch orange people hunt deer. They walked in a wave across a big field with the dogs running back and forth. I think a few people got deer, because we heard a lot of shots. We saw one deer evade the hunters. Too bad we weren't hunting or we might have gotten it.

We also went to ten chimneys national monument. It was a big mansion that used to belong to a 1920 star actor and actress. We thought it was going to be some cool rock formation. They told us they were booked for tours for the day and that tours were 35 dollars per person. So we moved on.

My big test week is over. I had five tests and stayed up late two nights. But I did well, so I'm happy.

Well, that's it for now.

-Ben