Catch up

We've been playing catch up lately and getting all the things done that have been neglected by the holidays, or by being sick, or because I was just lazy. Jordan finally got her hearing test done. She has bilateral preauricular sinuses, a birth defect, which in and of themselves don't mean anything, but there is a higher incidence of malformations in the ear associated with them, so she is supposed to get her hearing checked every six months. Well I have been lazy and I think she hears fine, so I finally got around to her first test on Monday. I thought in this modern day and age we might have some more sophisticated tests, but they put us in a room and she was supposed to turn her head to indicate which speaker the sound was coming out of, and then she was rewarded with a cartoon picture flashing if she turned her head the right way. Very Pavlovian. There was a little window to the room where the doctor could watch to see her response, and Jordan thought it was hysterical to play peekaboo with her, and didn't want to cooperate with the test. The parts where she did respond showed normal function, but I think that any test that relies on the cooperation of a 12 month old to be accurate is pretty shady. We also got her caught up on her immunizations and checkups.

Yesterday I took Michael and Jordan to get their birthday pictures done. Michael's is woefully late, but better late than never. Jordan wasn't very cooperative (big surprise) and didn't want me to put her down at all. So she only ended up having one brief moment of smiles and happiness and that was while she was sitting on my lap. So the lighting isn't great and I couldn't get her to put her hands down, but at least she is happy.

President Hinckley passed away on Sunday January 27, 2008, he was 97. He is the prophet that I have had for most of my awareness that prophets exist. I remember President Hunter, but he served so breifly that it didn't register much. I'm glad that President Hinckley is reunited with his sweetheart. He will be missed. President Monson chose Eyring and Uchtdorf as his counselors. It will be interesting to see how things change if anything in the coming years.

I read the book America Alone by Mark Steyn over the weekend. It was a little over the top, but brought up some good points. The United States has taken the stand that all people are equal, but that has somehow devolved into thinking that everyone's ideas are equal too. We shy away from saying that our way of governing is right, our way of freedom is right. We're allowing the global community to walk all over us by being politically correct and trying to appease everyone. He goes a little too far, but it definitely got me thinking. The main thrust of his book is about Muslim fanatics overtaking Europe and usurping the laws and is worried that America is next. It is noteworthy that in this country we have community colleges setting aside dedicated gyms so that Muslims can pray during the day, but the same college can't even call it Christmas break anymore. In our military prisons, guards have to wear gloves when handling the Koran so as to not offend the inmates by having "infidel" hands touch holy scripture. We seem to bend over backward to accommodate those of Muslim faith while having no compunction destroying Christian traditions. I didn't agree with all his arguments, but it did get me thinking.