We’re Just a Bunch of Sicky-Poos

For the last couple of weeks, it doesn’t seem there’s much to do or think about other than illness. I don’t know what mysterious illness has crept into my family, but kids will puke, then go a few days seemingly totally normal, then puke again. It’s been off-and-on with every single kid for about two weeks now. I think we are finally seeing a glimmer of hope, but this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve said that, so who the heck knows. The last person to vomit was Peter, yesterday around 9 or 10 AM. It was his third day of puking in the last couple of weeks, although there were no contiguous sick days in the bunch. It’s bizarre.

I say there is a glimmer of hope, but I’m speaking only of the flu-like symptoms that have been passed around from one kid to another and then back again, like a game of hot potato. Now it looks like a bout of the common cold is settling in. Beegy has had a really stuffy nose and coughs a decent amount. Yesterday, around 10 AM or so, he headed off to his bedroom, curled up under the covers, and took a nap, all without saying anything. Then, shortly after 3 PM, he said he was going to take another nap. That nap lasted until 8 AM or so today. He did wake up a few times, but was never up for very long and never out of his covers for more than a minute. Regrettably, tonight my throat feels a bit ticklish and mildly swollen. If that weren’t enough, Peter actually did start to say he doesn’t feel well again. Apparently, the glimmer of hope I mentioned in the first paragraph was indeed premature. (That’s what I get for writing an opening paragraph, then taking a break for a few hours before coming back to finish this blog post.)

I don’t know what to expect over the next few days. The kids have tomorrow off of school, which is nice, and Monday is Memorial Day, making it a four-day weekend in total. Here’s hoping people feel well enough to enjoy it.

Recent Events

I don’t know why life has felt more incredibly busy than ever lately, but it has. Several major events have passed that I didn’t write about. Playing catch-up seems overwhelming. I think it’s best if I just throw some photos at you and keep the details to a minimum. That being said, here’s what’s been going on over the last several weeks:

Melanie and I became official members of Community of Christ on April 19th…

…and the boys dressed as rock stars for Rock Star Day at school…

…and Peter turned 7…

…and got some cool gifts…

…and chose Village Inn for his birthday dinner…

…and Eddie participated in his first-ever pinewood derby…

…and Melanie’s teaching license was officially renewed, meaning we are now on the fast track to fame and fortune. Or at least to a slightly less severe state of being destitute.

And that’s that! The end!

Book Review: Lectures on Faith

Recommended only because of its historical significance, the Lectures on Faith are the “doctrine” part of the Doctrine and Covenants as it was first published in 1835. The lectures were later excised, by the RLDS Church in 1897 and by the LDS Church in 1921, the latter citing the fact that the lectures had never been officially sustained by the general church membership as reason for its expulsion. (It probably didn’t help that, by the time the lectures were removed, the non-corporeal God promoted in the lectures no longer jived with Mormon teachings on the nature of the Godhead.)

From a 21st-century perspective, even an LDS one, the lectures are outdated. There is little in the way of profound theology here. Many teachings are vague—perhaps even inconsistent—and often rely on a literal view of scripture that modern readers may have difficulty accepting. The particular edition I read also features an appendix filled with quotes by various church leaders, past and present, the apparent purpose of which is to promote a post-correlation interpretation of the primary text. For example, when God the Father is referred to as a “personage of spirit,” an asterisk informs you to turn to the appendix, where we learn that “the phrase ‘personage of spirit’ simply means that God has a resurrected body of flesh and bone, quickened by the Spirit” (p. 78). If that’s not convincing enough for you, maybe the quotes from Bruce R. McConkie will help. There are several of those, too.