The Cranney Cannery

If you ever design a library reading room...

2012-01-25T21:12:00.005-07:00

Don't put a spiral staircase in the middle that goes straight into a metal ceiling, lest an unobservant demography PhD student bang his head on the ceiling trying to get to the non-existent third floor, thereby drawing the attention of everybody trying to study

we moved, again.

2012-01-23T12:51:00.006-07:00

That's right, despite trapper Stepheneski's mad mouse slaying skills, we continued to have problems. We decided to join the Mormon migration to a certain high rise two blocks from our house which as three other Mormon couples in it. It's rather spacious so we decided to opt for the one bedroom apartment for now. There's something charming to me about the idea of being crammed together as a family. I know in many ways it is easier to have everyone have their own separate space, but what's the point of having a family if you're never together, eh?

Philly playdate

2012-01-12T10:46:00.002-07:00

New really cool church tools

2012-01-01T13:19:00.015-07:00

It hasn't gotten a lot of attention, but the church has released a free new device app for scriptures that has really helped me organize my personal study. Also, the church now allows you to store your scripture notes for specific entries, study journals, customized links to other scriptures, and "notebooks," basically customized topical guides as part of your LDS.org profile.

Below is a screenshot of my profile.

Probably because I spend too much time reading polemics and internet board rants, I've lately been interested in how Christ responds to angry people who are asking questions for which they really don't want the answer to. Such inquiries are usually a waste of time, but on the other hand, we might still have some sort of an obligation to provide some sort of an answer.

Anyway, to help me with this question I compiled a "notebook" that has all of the instances in the gospels when Christ was faced with such antagonists, and how he dealt with them. It helps me instantaneously compare contexts, specific questions asked, etc. It's a lot quicker than flipping back and forth or scanning, since all the relevant scriptures are right there.The personal study journal is a little too, well, personal, to post, but I thought I'd post the notebooks here as they come out so that I'm not the only one reaping the dividends of my efforts.

Anyway, that's the end of my post. Below, in case anybody might be interested, is my compilation of every instance in the Gospels where Christ is confronted by an antagonist (it's long).

10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

7 ¶But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 3

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11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 9

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2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 12

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10 ¶And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

14 ¶Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 12

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24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 12

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38 ¶Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 12

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2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 15

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12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 15

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1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring, O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 16

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3 ¶The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 19

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15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,

16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 21

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23 ¶And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 21

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28 ¶But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 21

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33 ¶Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 21

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45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 21

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15 ¶Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.

16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.

17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not?

18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

21 They say unto him, Cæsar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

22 When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 22

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23 ¶The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:

26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.

27 And last of all the woman died also.

28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,

32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 22

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35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 22

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41 ¶While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.

43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,

44 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?

45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 22

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25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 26

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49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.

52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 26

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59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.

64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 26

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11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.

12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 27

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40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 27

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22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. New Testament, Matthew, Chapter 26

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10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? New Testament, Mark, Chapter 2

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18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 2

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23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: New Testament, Mark, Chapter 2

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2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 3

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3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 6

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6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 6

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1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.

10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

14 ¶And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.

3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 7

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11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.

12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 8

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1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judæa by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.

11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

2 ¶And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.

3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 10

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27 ¶And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,

28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 11

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13 ¶And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not?

15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cæsar’s.

17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 12

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19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.

22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.

23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? New Testament, Mark, Chapter 12

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13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 13

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45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.

46 ¶And they laid their hands on him, and took him.

47 And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

48 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?

49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled.

50 And they all forsook him, and fled. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 14

Interrogators not looking for truth

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56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,

58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

59 But neither so did their witness agree together.

60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?

64 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 14

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2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.

3 And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.

4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.

5 But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 15

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30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross.

31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.

32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. New Testament, Mark, Chapter 15

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22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way, New Testament, Luke, Chapter 4

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20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?

23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 5

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33 ¶And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?

34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?

35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 5

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2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?

3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;

4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?

5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 6

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7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.

9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? New Testament, Luke, Chapter 6

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10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? New Testament, Luke, Chapter 6

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39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 7

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52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.

53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.

54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 8

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25 ¶And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 10

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15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.

16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 11

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38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.

39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

45 ¶Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: New Testament, Luke, Chapter 11

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14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 13

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3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?

4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;

5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

6 And they could not answer him again to these things. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 14

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2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

3 ¶And he spake this parable unto them, saying,

4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? New Testament, Luke, Chapter 15

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13 ¶No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 16

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1 And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders,

2 And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?

3 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:

4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not?

6 But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.

7 And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.

8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 20

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21 And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:

22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Cæsar, or no?

23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?

24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Cæsar’s.

25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which be Cæsar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 20

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47 ¶And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.

48 But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

49 When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?

50 ¶And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 22

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52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?

53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 22

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(New Testament, Luke, Chapter 22)

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(New Testament, Luke, Chapter 22)

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66 ¶And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying,

67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:

68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.

69 Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.

71 And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 22

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3 And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 23

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8 ¶And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.

9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 23

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10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.

11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 23

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36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,

37 And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, This Is the King of the Jews. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 23

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39 ¶And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. New Testament, Luke, Chapter 23

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18 ¶Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

21 But he spake of the temple of his body. New Testament, John, Chapter 2

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19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

20 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.

22 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.

23 If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?

26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? New Testament, John, Chapter 7

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4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. New Testament, John, Chapter 8

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(New Testament, John, Chapter 8)

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53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. New Testament, John, Chapter 8

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12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

13 ¶They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. New Testament, John, Chapter 9

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24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.

25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?

27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? New Testament, John, Chapter 9

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29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

30 I and my Father are one.

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? New Testament, John, Chapter 10

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4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.

8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:

9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. New Testament, John, Chapter 18

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19 ¶The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine.

20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.

21 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.

22 And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?

23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? New Testament, John, Chapter 18

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33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?

34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. New Testament, John, Chapter 18

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10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. New Testament, John, Chapter 19

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Fun in the city with Christian

2011-12-22T21:10:00.006-07:00

This is Stephen. I've always thought that people tend to exaggerate the differences between Utah and the ever-cool, not clearly defined "outside-of-Utah."

That being said, there are moments, like the time some women protestors were lying down in the middle of UPenn campus topless (still not sure what they were protesting), when I have a "we're not in Provo anymore Todo" moment.

Christian has also had some of that much-touted "real-world" education that people always talk about existing everywhere affected The Fall (i.e. outside of Utah).

Last week we were walking and a strange-looking man walked right up to Christian, and reached out for him. I took my hands out of my pockets, but this guy smiled, patted Christian on the head, and walked away.

Yesterday we were walking to the post office and saw a police van squeal around the corner. Christian loves police men, and loved to point them out when we see them, and today was no exception, except today he got a little extra; while the van was still moving, two police officers jumped out and football hit a bystander, wrestling him down to the ground, cuffing him, and stuffing him into the back of the van.

And on today's walk we were approached by an incredibly drunk man who ran across the street and threw a dollar bill at us, insisting that he wanted to help support my son's "candy habit." I'm certainly not above taking a dollar bill from a drunk bum, but Christian was watching.

I love the city.

Demography part III

2011-12-15T17:41:00.003-07:00

This section from a paper I was assigned is discussing hunter-gatherer cultures in an attempt to analyze how our ancestors lived. In a way, it's a "natural" setup, since we've been hunter-gatherers for the vast majority of our existence as a species.

"In these groups, child rearing is a broadly shared undertaking done not only by the parents, but also by older sisters and brothers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents...the average infant in a Efe hunter-gatherer group is cared for by 11 people in addition to its parents."

Rachel's dream.

But on the other hand:

"In these circumstances, members of the grip had an interest in its demographic composition, and would sometimes act to eliminate elderly who were becoming dependent."
(Ronald Lee, Demographic, Change, Welfare, and Intergenerational Transfers: A Global Overview: 2003)

Also, another reading we were assigned discussed maternal support networks, and it looks like maternal grandmothers are much more likely to be supported by a family in the U.S. than paternal grandmothers, even when the paternal grandmothers are disabled and have nowhere else to go. Sorry mom.

Demography tidbits part II: The importance of grandmas

2011-12-12T20:52:00.004-07:00

After Simeon was born we were delighted to have both my mom and Rachel's mom come over for a week or so to help out with the newborn. Around this time, my mortality and aging class was discussing the reasons that have been hypothesized for why, out of all the known primates and mammals, humans are the only ones that 1) have an "adolescent" period where they are cared by their parents after lactating but before they are self-sufficient, and 2) live beyond menopause.

This is one of the leading explanations: hunter-gatherer societies use knowledge and skills-intensive methods for finding food, , which allows us to enjoy calorie-dense meat, in contrast to our hominid relatives that just forage for leaves. Learning and developing these methods require a longer learning time, which explains the longer adolescence. However, taking care of teenagers (yes, contrary to popular misconception, in a hunter-gatherer state of nature teenagers are naturally dependent on their parents until their late teens) requires more parenting effort from the parents than they are able to provide for themselves, so older lifespans evolved so that grandma's could assist with the rearing and providing of the children. These grandparents contribute more calories than they consume right up until they die (i.e. retirement is a modern invention that is not natural).

This theory is referred to as the "grandmother hypothesis." So, next time grandma flies out to help out with a newborn, remember that that is why you can expect to live beyond menopause.

More Demography tidbits

2011-12-01T20:59:00.004-07:00

The General Fertility Rate:

Number of children born/Person-years for women aged 15-50 (reproductive interval)

For the Donaldsons 2009-2012:

10/ 6*3= .56

For the Cranneys:

6/5*3= .4

1985-1990 France: .0059

1985-1990 Zaire: .2173

So, according to this one indicator, the Cranneys and Donaldsons have more than twice the fertility rate of a sub-Saharan African country, and more than ten times the fertility rate of France. Of course, this isn't a terribly accurate comparison, since in a normal population there is some variation within the 15-50 range, so the 15 and 50-year olds drag down the overall rate (although Catherine acts as the token 15-year old here), but it's still interesting.

life with Cranneys and more Cranneys

2011-11-30T15:15:00.005-07:00

Stephen's brother Carl and his wife Susan travelled up to see us from Maryland. Carl is a lot better about capturing memories than we are and put together a Thanksgiving collection which we love. Enjoy!

oh and more

2011-11-16T21:22:00.004-07:00

Imagine that I took the time to edit this picture, probably not too hard, but since Stephen is already back from taking out the garbage, just imagine no books or messy couch cover and while you're at it imagine a Christmas tree and angels singing etc. because this was suppose to be our Christmas card. ooops. I guess I won't be an adult and send out Christmas cards this year either. sigh.

3 minute photo shoot before photographer (former landlord) heads for airport

2011-11-16T11:52:00.003-07:00

Who's free-riding off of who?

2011-11-12T22:07:00.009-07:00

I've been having a blast in my demography program, and occasionally I run across some information that I think those who read this blog might appreciate. (This is Stephen by the way.)

Interesting point of the day.

Those of us who have children and use government services such as WIC often hear a common complaint that we are leeches on society. Also, we know some (more polite) people have less children than they would normally specifically because they feel a sense of obligation in being able to provide for their own without government assistance. (A noble ideal in principle).

However, this argument has never held much water for me, as I've always argued that it is those who do not have children that are free-riding on those that do, since those that do are expending money to raise the next generation of taxpayers that will pay into the social security system that will support them in their old-age. Anyway, today in my readings for class I ran into somebody that has actually quantified this:

"This is certainly true of childbearing, where children impose costs for health care and education on society, but also provide benefits as taxpayers who help support the elderly and spread the costs of public goods (Lee, 1990; Lee and Miller, 1990). Population aging raises these externalities by increasing the need for taxes to help support the elderly. In earlier work, Lee and Miller (1997) evaluated these externalities as shown in Table 2. They calculated that a child born to parents who have a high school education had a net fiscal present value of $171,000 in 1996... This large positive fiscal externality reflects in large part the fact that the family does not benefit directly from old-age support when it has a child, although society does. It is possible, although perhaps not likely, that this externality is partly responsible for the low fertility observed throughout industrialized nations today."

(Lee, Ronald. 2003. Demographic Change, Welfare, and Intergenerational Transfers: A Global Overview).

In the table below this statement, the author breaks it down further according to education. For parents who have more than a high school degree, the financial worth of the child to the system is approximately $245,000 (that's after deducting education and other standard public expenses). There's more discussion that follows, but the point is that unless Christian ends up consuming more than $245,000 worth of WIC milk and cheese, his existence contributes more to the public balance sheet than it takes away. Moochers.

P.S. Immigrants have a similar effect ($80,000 worth), something else to consider when they are maligned for "soaking the system."

where's my medal?

2011-10-31T11:58:00.004-06:00

I made it to and from the park with my two little guys, no stroller, and no other help. Both are still both alive. I know, I'm amazing.

A documentary Stephen and I really enjoyed lately was this one about our food. Unlike any PETA videos this doc isn't about making everyone into vegetarians or vegans, but does what I feel is a pretty good job presenting some legitimate concerns with the food industry:

I think you can watch the whole film on youtube, but I'm not sure.

3 years and a couple minutes

2011-10-24T15:27:00.002-06:00

It's true. Stephen and I have been married for three years and about 4 minutes give or take a few. Who'd have thought I wouldn't be sick of him by now? It's pretty darn amazing. Granted every once in a while we have a silence and I think we're out of things to say, doomed to spend the rest of our lives pretending to like each other. Luckily Stephen always thinks of something quick and makes sure to bat his beautiful eyes and I'm reassured for the time being that it is worth being married to Stephen for the next couple days (if not eternity) for his good looks and good conversation. No really, I'm rather proud of Stephen. He's a good husband, delighted father of two, and a hard working PhD student. All he has to do now is turn 25 so he can rent a car. ha!

updates

2011-10-09T10:25:00.008-06:00

Si is cute as can be. He's a small one born at 5 lbs 6.8 oz but he nurses long and often which is exactly what we want this kiddo to do so he can grow plump like his big brother. Yup that's right, Christian has finally gotten a layer of chub around him and it is adorable. It's all I can do to keep myself from pinching him every time I see his sausage legs and bum running from me halfway during a diaper change. He's taken to Si quite well and loves to get praise for kissing and being gentle with him. Lest you think he is sweet with Si only to get attention I should let you know that his admiration extends to when they're alone as well. Two days ago I sent Christian to take a pillow into my room where I had Si sleeping in his co-sleeper on our tall bed. Before I knew it I heard a little cry. I ran down the hall to find Christian bending over Si giving him "kisses". Poor Si had red marks by his temple for the rest of the day. But hey, at least we know Christian likes him for him.

I've been recovering well and have taken advantage of my mom being in town and am sure I'll be just as eager to take advantage of my mother-in-law when she flies in later this week. I just sit and admire my nursing child most of the day, watch idly as Christian reeks havoc around the house, and then take naps when I can so that I'm not utterly exhausted. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when everybody goes home and I'm somehow suppose to nurse Simeon, entertain Christian, make food, and keep a decently clean house off of a couple hours of sleep, but luckily I won't have to worry about that for a little while longer. (Since women have been able to keep their families alive for thousands of years while also having children, I'm sure I'll survive somehow).

Stephen's been doing well too even though I kicked him out to the family room couch that is kind of hard and cramped so that I would have room to nurse and put Si in the co-sleeper. Hopefully we can get the beds worked out soon so Stephen's not stuck on the couch forever.

And now for what you've all been waiting for:

In the hospital:

Typical Christian:

We were thinking he was looking a little yellow so we thought we'd put him in indirect light just in case he had jaundice.

Eyes open:

Christian and Simeon Movie

2011-10-01T10:32:00.002-06:00

Bored and

2011-09-30T12:03:00.002-06:00

Sitting in a chair in the hallway of the hospital. I'm dilated to an eight, but there are no rooms available. The doctor says I'm the most comfortable laboring woman she has ever seen. I doubt I will remain so if this baby is born on the hard hospital floor.

2011-09-26T19:37:00.005-06:00

Sleeping again. You guys might get the idea that this boy sleeps. I love how blogs can lie.

A chance to see my growing pregnant belly without even having to put up with the classic take-a-self-portrait-in-the-bathroom-mirror photo (plus see a very adorable little boy):

BYU Research Blog

2011-09-22T20:51:00.003-06:00

For anybody who might be interested, I (Stephen) have been working on a blog that tracks all the research coming out of BYU. I figure that if people are interested in their alumn's sports teams, then they might also be interested in the research-side of things.

www.byuacademics.blogspot.com

Indoor plants?

2011-09-11T14:24:00.004-06:00

Oops, I accidentally posted before I was done and got distracted (thanks for the reminder Hosander)

Our apartment is on ground level and thus we get quite a bit of exposure to gas exhaust from cars (I can complain about them now that we don't have one) and cigarette smoke from people who upon noticing our open window (we don't have air conditioning) decide there's no place like our place to take a puff. I have since become rather keen on the idea of getting some indoor plants to get rid of the toxins that may be inside our home. Our apartment is actually great for plants as the long side of the apartment faces south and so all the windows let in plenty of light. Stephen, however, has a bone (or two) to pick with plants in general as time and money consuming, so I've tried to find some other compelling reasons to justify home plants.

The following are some interesting ones:

indoor plants help make better students and workers

and

I thought this was a pretty good heads up of things to think about before getting some house plants:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houseplants

If you have kiddos or pets remember that some houseplants are actually poisonous so pick wisely.

yes, he still takes his purple bottle just fine

2011-09-10T19:19:00.003-06:00

Mouse slaying chronicles

2011-09-08T07:08:00.003-06:00

Body count/Score

Stephen: 2

Mice: 0

Trapper Stepheneski

2011-09-06T08:23:00.011-06:00

A couple of weeks before we moved out here, Stephen suggested we should start a blog about having a family in graduate school. As it is hard enough to get my own mother to read this blog, I thought the better of starting a whole new blog and have simply decided to incorporate our adventures into what seems to be a blog devoted to Kumquat pictures.

I kind of assumed at the time of Stephen's suggestion that our blog would be about Stephen having to go to Workaholics Anonymous so I had a chance to see him every now and then as he was pursuing his life's passion researching fertility intentions, while I wrote about my wicked cool tight rope walking skills gained from imitating the emerging adulthood crowd in the nearby park; it would have been a beautiful blog. Unfortunately, at least the last couple days instead of Stephen and I pursing our dreams we've been distracted by the disgusting discovery of mice in our apartment. Yes, I know by admitting this on my public blog that Mary will never be visiting our apartment ever, but who needs fickle family anyway, right?

Actually, it's all I can do to even be in my apartment myself and will be threatening the landlords with a broken lease if the exterminator doesn't appear in the next 24 hours. I broke down in tears twice in one day which I don't think has happened since I don't know when. (Granted I had hardly slept the night before for thoughts of creepy crawlings over me and my little ones the entire night before and would also like to pull the pregnancy card on this one) The good news is is that I doubt I'll go into pre-term labor if that didn't set it off. Also, we've discovered the joys of being clean freaks at last (we were being pretty darn clean before trying to avoid and then get rid of the roaches and ants, but this is a whole new level). Our once condescending ridicule (oh that Ruth, haha, isn't she so funny how she . . . .) of our numerous OCD siblings has turned to envying and an the sincerest form of flatter: imitation. My mother, who always felt like a failure for her belief that I never learned to be neat and tidy, would at last find a sense of accomplishment and glowing pride with me. Alas, one mouse still remains. Where did the other one go you ask? Meet Trapper Stepheneski:

Yes, that's right my dear Stephen who has felt a sense of inadequacy since boyhood because he had never trapped/killed an animal in all his hunting and trapping escapades, has at last succeeded and would have loved it I let him stuff and mount the rodent's head on our wall. I wonder now what this once ambitious Stephen will do that he has reached such an accomplishment and has now transformed into Trapper Stepheneski. He might as well give up getting a PhD because let's face it, you can't beat trapping a mouse and very manfully taking care of everything so one's wife doesn't have to see. Who knows, perhaps he'll no longer feel the need to publish and will be content to sit with me on our front porch and just rock back and forth for hours. Well, I don't think we've quite come to that point yet. He's at new student orientation today, liking it, and I think he's still set on conquering the world. Perhaps we'll still be posting about Workaholics Anonymous and tight roping after all.

p.s. Stephen isn't a workaholic . . . yet. But if he became one and started attending Workaholics Anonymous, I don't think I would be able to tell you because it wouldn't be anonymous anymore. So when you don't see posts about Stephen being a workaholic, you really know what's up.

Monsters in the closet?

2011-08-31T20:39:00.006-06:00

I think come time to pay my electricity bill, I will appreciate having the desire for sleep become stronger than my desire to ward off cockroaches by keeping my lamp on all through the night. Hmm. I think it may be time to get our mattress off the floor and onto a bed frame far from the carpet with these crawling critters.

Getting a bed, however, might make life too easy and get in the way of this:

Living to 100+ (parents I hope you're watching this!)

Stephen's dream is to be old like this (minus the garden). I don't think holding my great great great grandchild sounds too bad either.

hurricanes, earthquakes, and pre-term labor?

2011-08-26T10:01:00.003-06:00

Sunday's forecast for Philadelphia? We get the left over hurricane coming up the coast. And yes, this time we'll go prepared to Church with umbrellas, a stroller rain cover, or perhaps just taking a zipcar.

Stephen was quite excited to feel the earthquake earlier this week. I would have been excited too, but I didn't feel it since I was in our sturdy kitchen and not sitting at our not so sturdy desk we put together ourselves like Stephen was.

(thanks Brittany for passing along the picture)

As if hurricanes and earthquakes weren't enough movement for one week, it seems that my uterus has decided to join the party of wanna-be big, but only mild movements.

Yup, Rachel is having contractions and is dilated to a 2 (when you hit 10 is when you start pushing the baby out). But actually lots of women are dilated for weeks and weeks and are just fine and it appears that my contractions are lamo contractions (and yes we want lamo contractions at this point) so hopefully I can stay at a 2 for a while yet). They gave me some shots to develop little Simeon's lungs just in case. But since I'm only just 8 months pregnant today and have two more months to go (they don't tell you this beforehand, but 9 months of pregnancy means 9 full months) we're being cautious and taking it easy. What does "easy" mean? It means Stephen makes me one-eyed jacks at 11 o'clock at night and I sit and read books about Indian cuisine (it makes me hungry even if I just end up eating PB&J's), browse Craigslist for kitchen tables, and write blog posts about my justified laziness. Granted the doctor didn't put me on bed rest so perhaps it isn't justified, hmmm. Still when she tells me to take it easy, but that I'm not on bed rest I've deduced from these instructions that I probably shouldn't walk 5 miles in one day like I did on Wednesday and that this is as good as time as any to enjoy Stephen's previously hidden cooking skills.

p.s. There are a lot of pregnancy symptoms no one ever tells you before you're pregnant, but just in case you're wondering I'll share the secrets so you can't say no one ever told you they didn't and at the same time use this opportunity to complain to the world:
-nose bleeds
-feet grow (even if they haven't swelled up)
-eyesight worsens (and though they say it should go back to normal, I don't think mine ever did)
-when you drink water, it goes through immediately and then the nurses tell you that you might just be dehydrated even though you just drank more water than it takes to put out a forest fire.
-leg cramps that hurt more than childbirth in both legs and feet simultaneously
- You might have already guessed this one, but: a preoccupation with your own pregnancy to such a degree that people stop reading your narcissistic blog.

Let the adventures begin

2011-08-20T15:24:00.002-06:00

Before we left Provo, Stephen's Grandmother Elaine told us that "when you want to be at home in your own bed, you're having an adventure." I've thought of that line several times this past week and smiled.

Life is actually going surprisingly well. The first day in our apartment was a little overwhelming with how very low the ceilings were, but as long as we don't wear shoes with more than an inch heel, we're okay through the entryways. Our friends Jenny and Brent have been wonderful and lent us an air mattress and pack n' play until our furniture arrived. We have ants, but washing everything down with vinegar has seemed to help keep them to a minimum. It's a good reminder when I see small moving black dots on the counters that I don't want bigger black dots so I clean up after myself. Alas, Stephen has already seen three cockroaches. They come in our apartment through an incredibly small space between the floor and the wall, I still don't know how they do it. I've adopted the policy at night of turning on the lights with my eyes closed and waiting a couple seconds till I open them so that the roaches have a chance to disappear so I don't scream. The things I love about the apartment and have been keeping me from going back on our year long lease has been the ramp that goes straight to our door (all the other homes around have at least 5 stairs to go to the main level), the tall shower head that means I can actually wash my hair without having to crouch down like I did at Wymount, the bright windows, and a dishwasher.

To do the wash I have to go into the alleyway behind the building. The only problem is there is trash and broken glass all over the place and I saw a dead mouse on one of the stairs. I'm beginning to doubt my commitment to cloth diapers during our sojourn here. Yes that's right, when plastic diapers have filled all the landfills you can blame it on me happening to see a mouse and deciding against cloth diapers after all. Maybe I'll keep these cloth diapers I just got for child number two or if we move. Anyway, critters aside, this apartment is looking more homey with the furniture we bought off Craigslist and Ikea. We made it on public transportation to Ikea, stayed too long and had to take a Taxi with no carseat home, but hey we got furniture and even a nifty cheese grater that I have been eyeing for a while. Of course, it being IKEA, we found out we got the wrong items and had to return. All the smarter and wiser from our last attempt, we took a Zipcar and Stephen masterly drove through downtown Philly and the freeway, much of it improvising as Google Maps failed us. Of course, an ambulance right behind you in the downtown area blaring its horns when you have no room to get out of the way is enough to rattle most drivers, but Stephen handled it pretty well.

Something both Stephen and I had been looking forward to was attending church. Last Sunday we called the phone number of rate ward listed on www.mormon.org and found out that our meeting started in 25 minutes. We got ready as fast as we could and ran out the door (a not uncommon scene on Sunday mornings with us). It was sprinkling when we left but soon there was a downpour of downpours. Poor Christian had been in an umbrella-less umbrella stroller and though taking the warm rain like a trooper, was wet as anything; we all were. We stripped him down to his diaper and sandals and the missionaries found us some baptismal towels. A thoughtful woman went out to her car and found us a t-shirt and towel and we decided to stay for the entirety of Sacrament meeting, even if we did look like hooligans. When Sacrament ended the same sweet woman who had gotten us a t-shirt from her car had gone out and bought us a hairdryer. We were amazed and decided we should perhaps stay for all three meetings after all. We dried out Christian's clothes as much as we could and I gave myself a meager blow down. Stoic Stephen felt he was dry enough at that point. Anyway, we kept meeting nice and amiable people and as we left church in a weak drizzle, someone offered us a ride, and they even had a carseat for Christian. Needless to say, we were quite impressed with the ward and hope at sometime in the future we can be the ones looking out for the soaked hooligans. We have since decided to invest in a stroller that has a rain cover and can't wait for its arrival. Because of the high buildings, it's hard to see too far in the sky and thus hard to predict rain and weather. We've been caught in another large thunderstorm since then, but luckily we didn't have to sit in church for three hours afterwards and Christian could simply play around in the puddles having the time of his life while I stood under the shelter of a covered entry way and made small talk with the woman waiting for her partner in the co-op.
Christian has a horrible gash on his cheek that we hope won't scar from hitting it on a bookshelf in the library. What can I say, these Philly neighborhoods are rough.

Hmm let's see, any other adventures? It seems we are having one or two every day, but they are keeping life exciting. As much as we loved Provo, we're eager to try something new and we've enjoyed the adventures the more urban life has brought so far. Granted, giving Christian a drink from the used water bottle of the generous Indian woman chatting with me at the park probably wasn't the most hygienic move, but hey, we've got to keep these germs globalized, and she seemed plenty nice and in good health, so why not? The sirens day and night remind us to lock our doors, and the ice-cream truck that plays its tune at 11 p.m. makes us laugh. The tree lined streets with old Victorian homes leads to a park full of happy kiddos (in fact there are a ton of kids in our area) and there are tempting ethnic restaurants on every side. Who could ask for anything more?

we're here and thesis is there

2011-08-11T16:12:00.008-06:00

We arrived in Philly today. It is still quiet surreal that this is not just a two week vacation, but I'm sure it will sink in soon (hopefully sooner than our sinking ceilings that are only a couple inches above my head). Also good news, I defended my thesis, turned in the needed signatures, and am done with my masters. I'd write about how relieved about that, but I'm falling asleep, sigh.

Not "good night" but hello

2011-08-03T15:16:00.005-06:00

hello green room
hello little mouse
hello cow jumping over the moon
hello old lady whispering "HUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

hello, I'm Christian who in one day has finally figured out how to successfully escape my pack 'n play and open my door a week before we move. Haha now my parents are struck with no alternative but take turns sleeping, go borrow that crib back, see if I eventually get tired enough to sleep on the toddler mattress not yet given away, or just see how long I can go without sleep.

Eden

2011-07-26T23:56:00.003-06:00

Stephen's grandparents have a wonderful tradition of hosting super fun family reunions when their grandsons get their eagle. Needless to say, every one of their 16 grandsons have received their eagle. Last week we celebrated the last one to do it. Here are a few pictures from Becca:

Not to be read

2011-07-06T22:41:00.002-06:00

by pregnant women:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/world/europe/07iht-spain07.html

cousin Jonathan

2011-06-29T16:39:00.000-06:00

This is kind of what I see Christian looking like in a couple of years.

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:38:00.001-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:38:00.000-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:37:00.000-06:00

tons of pictures

2011-06-29T16:17:00.001-06:00

My sister Ruth drove all the way from California alone with her three young cuties to visit while her husband was away. She took some great pictures of Christian and since we don't have a camera right now, we thought we'd post all the pictures we can get of him. Sorry if the posts go on and on, it was just quicker to post them that way.

My manly man

2011-06-29T16:13:00.000-06:00

Jacob, Jonathan, James, and Uncle Stephen

2011-06-29T16:12:00.001-06:00

Uncle Stephen and James

2011-06-29T16:12:00.000-06:00

James and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:11:00.001-06:00

2011-06-29T16:11:00.000-06:00

2011-06-29T16:10:00.002-06:00

2011-06-29T16:10:00.001-06:00

first swim lessons?

2011-06-29T16:10:00.000-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:09:00.002-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:09:00.001-06:00

The Bowl

2011-06-29T16:09:00.000-06:00

2011-06-29T16:08:00.001-06:00

2011-06-29T16:08:00.000-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:06:00.001-06:00

2011-06-29T16:06:00.000-06:00

2011-06-29T16:05:00.001-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:05:00.000-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:04:00.001-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:04:00.000-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:03:00.001-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:03:00.000-06:00

2011-06-29T16:02:00.001-06:00

Rachel and Stephen

2011-06-29T16:02:00.000-06:00

2011-06-29T16:01:00.001-06:00

2011-06-29T16:00:00.000-06:00

2011-06-19T21:06:00.001-06:00

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/06/19/nyregion/how-many-households-are-like-yours.html?src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB

Thesis is off!

2011-06-16T11:48:00.003-06:00

I've done it: I've written a thesis. It's off into the hands of my committee chair to give me any feedback. sigh. It's hard to know where to go from here: hmm, perhaps the neglected dishes.

2011-06-06T12:35:00.002-06:00

I ran across this article a few months ago about an attempt to ban circumcision in San Francisco. This is one of those issues that quickly drives us into meta-ethical territory because it involves cultural context. Does a culture make something right that would otherwise be wrong? If not, then what is the alternative that stands above culture and common notions of the good? etc.

Whatever the case, if Philadelphia were to pass such a law it would definitely put a damper on our plans for our next child.

We're party animals . . . kind of

2011-06-03T21:38:00.002-06:00

It wasn't his party, but he felt he could cry anyway.

but eventually he decided to let his silent type self make an appearance:

pages to go before I sleep

2011-06-02T19:26:00.005-06:00

Caution: Writing a thesis may be difficult if you've only written g-chats and blog posts for the past year.

Cranney Calendar

2011-05-17T13:35:00.002-06:00

In Stephen's newfound time he's decided that we need an updated calendar and has mapped out the entirety of our lives, including when I'm going to finish my thesis. He's giving me one day for my analysis, hmm I'm not sure how I feel about this calendar. Anyway I thought I'd let you guys all know what we're up to:
We moved out of the commune/Wymount a couple weeks ago and have been having a party at Stephen's parent's house while they've been gone in Russia. Aunt Katja and Uncle Caleb have been making this a luxury stay with all the attention they've been giving our spoiled Kumquat. On Saturday we'll stay the rest of the summer at our favorite Landlord's/parents basement apartment to save on rent before we head sometime in August out to Philadelphia. We're planning on flying so we decided to stop on the way in New Orleans and visit my brother Joseph and his adorable family during hurricane season when the flights are cheap. Where is my thesis defense you ask. We're still planning on me having a very good draft of my thesis by the end of the month to send to my chair, but the actual offical defense may take a while longer since one of my committee members is out of the country/reliable internet connections until the beginning of August. sigh.
Sigh, so we'll probably settle down in Philly around mid-August, Stephen starts at UPenn in September and then little Appleseed is due October 21st.

Not on the official calendar but certainly is going to happen this Summer? A party every day since Stephen is out of school and only working part time, ohhweee!

side note: Kumquat says Mom and Dad in the right context. Wow. Those just happend to have come after he had a name for everything and everyone else, sigh.

Motherly Advice

2011-05-08T15:55:00.004-06:00

So I knew today was Mother's Day, but until Stephen nudged me today in church and told me it was Mother's Day and gave me a "oops I forgot" look, I forgot that I fit in that classification. I was thinking as Christian laid his head on my shoulder, the way he usually only does right before we put him to bed and he's trying to stay up longer, I thought how much I simply love being a mama to my little guy. As I thought about why I might like it and why some people go crazy with it, it occurred to me that I should write a parenting book and make loads of money (that when I carry it I'm as big as a camel). I would of course make the book very thick, but the only words would be: Get your sleep. I am sure that so many problems people have with parenthood is simply because they don't get enough sleep. Thankfully with one pretty good sleeper I've been able to do that so far. It helps that now that I'm done nursing Stephen's the one who gets him his bottle (yes he still has a bottle) at night. I just hit wake up Stephen and he so sweetly gets up and gets him what he needs (much better than flowers on mother's day). I also found that while nursing, co-sleeping was the only way I coped. The problem is what we'll do with number two, let's hope the next one is a decent sleeper too, or we're in trouble!

But speaking of mothers, my sis-in-law Robin just became one again:

http://cranneysrus.blogspot.com/2011/05/welcome-gabriel.html.

Let's admit it, the one thing I like more then matchmaking is seeing more kiddos, especially when it means more cousins for little kiddos.

p.s. Don't worry, Stephen treated me like a queen all Mother's Day once he remembered.

Camels are large animals

2011-04-30T18:25:00.007-06:00

I just wrote a big ole long blog post about my personal feelings on this topic, but I'm afraid I'm still trying to figure out what those feelings are.

In the meantime here's this wonderful article that I ran across when searching for a quotation. I know for most people this topic isn't an obsession like it is for me, but I do think it's worth pondering.

what I didn't know before marriage

2011-04-20T10:56:00.002-06:00

Yesterday when Stephen was taking Christian to the duck pond, library, and letting him play with the water from a fire hydrant so that I could work on my thesis I started thinking about the article below and Stephen and my courtship (June-October).

You see, I thought Stephen and I were pretty good at getting to know each other before we got married, but it hasn't been until the last few weeks of my 2nd pregnancy that I've truly doubted that emotional intimacy.

When I'm tired, Stephen refuses to brush my teeth, take out my contacts, or say my prayers and repent for me. He even refuses to get me a bed pan so I don't have to take three whole steps to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

It makes me think I should have waited until we were in our 90's to see if he would have done these things for me, alas too late.

2011-04-17T14:08:00.001-06:00

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/51630190-80/married-kirby-mormon-marriage.html.csp

My favorite marriage article yet.

Ba-Pah

2011-04-17T13:30:00.005-06:00

This is Christian probably running to find Ba-Pah.

Christian loved the Dinosaur Museum, though I suppose it's hard not to when you get to skip the stroller and instead get a ride on Ba-Pah's shoulders.

So Christian still does not say Mama or Dada, but he says Ba-Pah and sometimes it really sounds like Grandpa. He knows when we're pulling up into Ba-Pah's driveway, and calms down when he's angry in the car if we tell him we're going to Ba-Pah's house. When he goes in the house he searches every room until he finds his Ba-Pah. When he does, he doesn't leave his side unless it's to go on top of his shoulders as seen above. My own Grandpa sees this and says he's never seen a grandchild love his Grandpa so much, says he's like a third parent, and is worried about what it will do to him when we move. Sigh, me too. Poor kid will have to live with just a mom and dad that love him, how cruel.
Christian has also started calling other male people he likes Ba-Pah too such as his Opa which he adores and, as of yesterday, an Uncle Xan. Hopefully Mom and Dad will get names soon too. In the meantime, we'll let my Dad have his personal "Klingon" as he calls our little guy.

all out

2011-04-15T19:51:00.003-06:00

and have been since April 6th. It seems the New York Times has decided that they should be getting paid for what they do and not have leaches like me reading their on-line articles for free. They've come up with a 20 articles for free a month and after that you have to pay. Ugh. Don't they understand that they are my go-to website when no one has e-mailed me (which no one does), no one has updated their blogs, and I really don't want to clean my house or work on my thesis? I suppose I could pay the 99 cents a month and get unlimited access, but it's probably good for me to cut out one more website in between me and productivity. Perhaps that will be my gift to myself once I get that thesis defended (June). I've tried other websites, but they're layout is so ugly and non-user friendly. Foxnews is the worse looking like a magazine cover at a checkout stand with all their celebrity gossip. Will BBC remain the only other viable source of information? Well, until June when I defend my thesis, feel free to post interesting nytimes articles on your g-chat or blogs. . . I guess it's time to start that vacuum.

O the burdens

2011-04-09T21:36:00.002-06:00

We're moving and making those painful decisions about what to pack and what to give/sell that should never have to be made by someone who can hardly decide what to eat when hungry, much less what I should keep as we enter the exciting years of PhD poverty. Two Gandhi quotes have been whispering in my ear as I do so:

"[A] great burden fell off my shoulders, and I felt I could now walk with ease and do my work also in the service of my fellow men with great comfort and still greater joy. The possession of anything then became a troublesome thing and a burden."

That quote has come to my mind as I look at moving rates from pods to moving trucks.

This next quote however makes me wonder what I'm doing with the stuff at all:

"And I said to myself: possession seems to me to be a crime, I can only possess certain things when I know that others who also want to possess similar things are able to do so."

How do we settle such a thought? Yes it can be dismissed, and perhaps must, but how?

2011-04-04T13:38:00.003-06:00

So Stephen's in the middle of reading a book (The Genius Factory) about a sperm bank that recruited heavily from Nobel Prize winners and gold medalists etc. He informed me today that he thinks if he were to donate, his donation would be a rather hot item: Ivy League PhD student, 6'2, blond, blue eyes. All he's lacking (according to him) is that he's not a marathon runner yet. I guess I should feel lucky to be pregnant again by such a valuable commodity.

latest photos of the little guy

2011-03-24T20:08:00.003-06:00

No we're not real big football fans, but we are fans of cousins, piano, and showing off those handsome little legs any way we can.

Thanks Becca for the photos!

late blogging

2011-03-21T23:53:00.002-06:00

Falling asleep at 7 pm. has its problems, like when you wake up your husband is ready for bed. Sigh. Anyway, due to Stephen's insistence that midnight is a time to be asleep I blog. First a clarification: that blog post about Internet volunteerism was written by Stephen not me. Yes I nap, I talk wtih family and friends, I care for my child and laugh at him when he runs from me naked because he doesn't want his diaper on, but I do not volunteer on the Internet when I can hardly get the motivation to work on my thesis.
My thesis, by the way, is going well. I have eight interviews and three more people who said they'd let me interview them. I'm shooting for 13-15 interviews so the end of interviews is in sight. My amazing mother-in-law is wonderful and comes over to our apartment or let's me come over to her house so that I can transcribe my interviews without little hands adding their own conversation to my interviews. Transcribing is annoyingly long and tiresome, especially when I have to listen to myself ask really dumb questions.
Why do I not work on my thesis when Stephen is home? Well, I'm a slacker and it seems that when Stephen is home I simply want to be with him and tell myself that I'll work on my thesis when Christian is napping. Ha!
So Christian's newest thing is knives. He's actually liked them for sometime but in the past two months he's had a growth spurt and is able to reach up onto the kitchen counter. Thus, if we do not put the knives at least four inches from the edge of the counter it seems he is able to know exactly where they are and grab his mighty sword. (by the way one wouldn't think he'd be able to grab it when you look at his height, but his feet are really long so he gets quite a bit of height quickly when he stands on his tiptoes). It freaks us out to death. He has gone for knives in dishwashers for months right away, I'm not sure how he knows exactly what is the most dangerous thing to go for, but he does. Sometimes I wonder where he gets it and then I see Stephen throwing and catching knives in our kitchen and I stop wondering.

words words words

2011-03-18T11:10:00.003-06:00

So Kumquat is one of the strong silent type, well he's actually not that silent, but as of yet doesn't say too many words. Here are his chosen few:

Jesus (je-ja) He has since forgotten this one, but learned it when I kept pointing to the Jesus painting we have in his room over and over again after hearing a baby a month younger than him saying it at church. He said this around Christmas time, and my father and Stephen are witness to it.

Ball (Bahl) He has not forgotten this word and it replaced Jesus for a while. We're hoping this is not an indicator of a future career in basketball over religion. After a while he remembered Jesus, but our heathen has since forgotten again.

Grandpa (Bah-Pah) It's true, he loves his Grandpa more than he loves his parents at the moment and will shout this over and over even when we simply pull up in the driveway.

Opa (O-a) The same week he started saying Bah-Pah he also started Opa. This kid loves his grandads.

Outside (da-da) We're not sure if this means to leave (such as he sees his dad leave all the time and thus associates the door with dad, or outside.

Mama (mamamamamamama) He might have been saying this for a while but he'd only do it when he was complaining which makes me wonder what he thinks a mother is. Today I think he finally said it to call for me.

anyone in the mood for Philly Cheese Steaks?

2011-03-18T10:46:00.002-06:00

It's true, Stephen has accepted the offer to UPenn so we're headed out to Philadelphia come August. Thankfully we have at least two friends out there: Jenny and Brent. Also, we're not super far from family with Carl and Susan an hour and a half away and Nathan and Robin 5 hours. So if any of you are itching to see the city of brotherly love, wait till we're out there. I know, it's not as cool as London, but it probably fits better in everyone's budget.

Internet volunteerism

2011-03-15T09:12:00.002-06:00

I thought I'd write a quick post about some of the different online volunteer options I've dealt with. I like internet projects because they allow me to use the spare minutes in between events to do something worthwhile and beneficial. For whatever it's worth:

Project Gutenberg: Project Gutenberg is a non-profit that is placing out-of-copyrighted materials online for free. Volunteers upload books and proofread the texts to correct them for any errors. I use Project Gutenberg a lot, so much that I don't really buy any pre-1930 books anymore. http://www.gutenberg.org/

Wikipedia: If nothing else, Wikipedia editing is fun because of the nerdy Wikicommunity that has grown up around it. It has its own hierarchy, alliances, awards, etc. In the spirit of Project Gutenberg, I like Wikipedia simply because it's one of the most effective mechanisms for disseminating knowledge.

Mormon Texts Project: The MTP was a project founded by my friend Ben Crowder, and is systematically uploading and proofing out-of-copyright early Mormon works onto Project Gutenberg. Right now I'm working on John Taylor's On the Mediation and the Atonement, some of the books we've completed thus far include A Rational Theology by John Widstoe, Succession in the Presidency by B.H. Roberts, and The Great Apostasy by James Talmage. http://bencrowder.net/category/mormon-texts-project/

Galazy Zoo: GalazyZoo is a project that is trying to map out the universe. Volunteers are trained in how to identify and categorize galaxies that have been photographed using the Sloan telescope; they then upload their observations into a database. http://www.galaxyzoo.org/

2011-03-07T17:15:00.005-07:00

Stephen finally came home last Thursday (yes he had been in the airport as of my last post, but to fly to DC to stay with the awesomes Carl and Susan before he went up to visit UPenn.) In honor of him being home and because I've been wanting to do this post for a while I have one more youtube video for you.

As a preface, the first time I saw this was at a conference as a LDS missionary. What a motivation to bear one another's burdens: to do anything and everything because of the face of the other.

http://www.teamhoyt.com/about/index.html

While he's gone

2011-02-25T22:58:00.009-07:00

Stephen's sleeping in the airport overnight, well sleeping might be a little too wishful of a verb. Yes, we're too cheap to have him sleep in a hotel and too shy to take a family friend's offer to have him stay at her house. [If anyone reading this happens to be the serial killer type and decide to make a call to our apartment in between when his flight leaves and when he is home I just want to make it clear that I will have severed your limbs before you have time to tell me you accidentally went to the wrong apartment.]

Anyway, this trip has been incredibly insightful for me to realize how I miss Stephen's g-chat signal being green and that it might be a good idea to get a cell phone that can actually rings when you call it, doesn't have a four second delay when you talk, and doesn't require wifi. I know, I'm so demanding wanting communication in a marriage.

To pass the time, I thought I'd put a few videos up. The first is a youtube video that compels me to believe in humanity, at least our ability to come together to be seen on the Internet, as well as reach down into that traveling bug inside of me that I thought was dead and give it a chance to dance too. I'm not sure the video will do either for you, but it does provide great cleaning music. Pardon the title.

The second is an older country song my sisters use to sing (I think I had the words memorized before I heard the original). I'm including this version because there's an extra verse I had never heard before and I probably looked as sad as the woman playing the guitar when I hadn't been able to talk with Stephen for two and a half days. Luckily he has since called and I look more like the maniacs in the above movie. (For the record, I'm not this needy and Stephen is not abusive and called me when he could. I just like pretending he's neglectful so that I can relate to sad 80's country music now and then.)

shameless bragging again

2011-02-24T10:30:00.004-07:00

My sister once said that one of the best things about being married is that you always have someone to brag for you. Well, now that matrimony has given me bragging rites I think I'll use them.

After hours of waiting, working, and changing direction and focus we finally have some news worth sharing: Stephen's in!

UPenn (PhD in Soc/Demography)

Penn State (PhD in Soc/Demography)

London School of Economics (One year masters in Social Science research that would require some debt, but is still oh so tempting as it is one of the most competitive schools in Europe and let's face it, it'd be London)

He's also a finalist at Duke for their Soc PhD and is interviewing there at this very moment. We're hoping that he can exude that scholar nimbus he seems to carry with him always, and they'll admit him too.

Ohhwee Stephen!!!

Get to the why

2011-02-06T22:26:00.002-07:00

Definitely worth the watch.

Thanks for passing it on Charles!

look-a-like game

2011-02-01T12:48:00.003-07:00

Okay, this one doesn't have any awesome awkward photos from either mine or Stephen's past, but this photo reminded me of one of my favorite children's books "A baby sister for Frances." "Adorable" keeps coming to my mind.

the things we learn

2011-01-25T11:48:00.005-07:00

As a parent you can learn so many things from your children. The latest for me was a new way to study my scriptures, especially the Old Testament. You see, I always studied my scriptures by reading them (so unoriginal). It wasn't until this morning when I saw Kumquat with the scriptures that I realized I was doing it all wrong. What was I doing reading the scriptures when I could have been tearing them to shreds and listening to the noise the pages made?

The first time Kumquat studied the scriptures like this, he ripped out a section from Doctrine and Covenants where the only scripture highlighted was this:

"But little children are holy, being sanctified through the atonement of Jesus Christ."

So that's how our holy little Christian studies his scriptures. Unfortunately for me the only lesson learned was to keep scriptures away from curious kumquats.

The secret of PERC

2011-01-25T11:33:00.004-07:00

No one ever told me. I lived in ignorance. Until one day (today) my mother-in-law took me down to the basement of the Orem Library to find the room of toys and books that most children and their parents could only hope for.

It's great for nursery and primary lessons (they have all the scripture flannel board thingies) or for you kids, or ESL class. I'm frugal nuthead when it comes to myself, but I do find it hard when I've got one adorable little boy to not spend all our money (Stephen would insert here "What money?") on our Kumquat. That is why I think the PERC is great, you can go and check out the toys and movies and not have to spend the money. They have everything from signing time DVDs to multiplication games.

Feel free to check out the library with all its perks including PERC at http://lib.orem.org/.

the brothers

2011-01-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

Another one of Carl and Susan's wedding pictures:

Population videos

2011-01-24T14:07:00.003-07:00

2011-01-18T11:38:00.001-07:00

ohhwee

2011-01-16T21:48:00.007-07:00

I think one of my fondest joys are great people marrying (and staying married) to other great people, the joy is only intensified when it's family.
Carl (Stephen's oldest brother) has married this wonderful girl Susan:

http://www.jaymoorephotography.com/

www.matthews-photography.com

and we were all too eager to see Christian have an excuse to dress up:

Becca's photos:

Once upon a time

2011-01-12T10:52:00.007-07:00

Once there was a prince, oh but not of the usual kind.
He used toothbrushes as sceptres and yogurt as a crown. His robe was his pj's unzipped dragging behind him on the ground. He devoured books, quite literally especially scriptures. He loved phones not to talk but to press buttons. He required no lessons at dancing, it came quite naturally. He challenged other princes and princesses (and sometimes kings and queens) to battle, eye poking was his favorite move. He commanded constant holding at his proper elevated position with no feet touching the ground. His commands consist of "doy doy doy" and "weuoivhkjweih". And of course every now and then, he have a royal fit. He was a prince indeed.

The prince at his daily task of removing all the books from the bookshelf:

Life without play

2011-01-07T08:35:00.005-07:00

This article brings up some interesting points. I suppose because as a kid much of my time was spent playing in the undeveloped land next to us aka "the end of the land" and at home with older brothers as alligators and sisters as storytellers, that the idea of children without plenty of recess and playtime seems to rank high on indicators that I should relocate to the desert and live off locust for a while. (well, I'm already in the desert, all I need now are some chirpy friends). Anyway, here's to play and childhood.

Cranney 2010 letter

2011-01-01T13:25:00.007-07:00

For our blogging friends and family we give a Cranney update:

Stephen is applying to graduate schools again this year. The difference from last year is that he has a clearer idea of what he wants to study and hopefully his letter of intent shows this. He's had a few publications in peer reviewed journals and seems to come home with a seemingly endless stack of books he's dying to read. I'm enjoying the commune and am trying to get back to my old pleasures of painting, flute, and listening to books on CD. Stephen got me a yoga mat for Christmas so I no longer need to land on our hard floor when I fail to keep up with the unbelievably flexible yoga people on hulu. I'm finally making some progress on my thesis after an extended vacation and hope to defend in Spring term. Kumquat loves being my favorite distraction to my thesis and we simply can't get enough of his dancing, singing, and leading music. He's getting better with his beat and we think we might have an interpretive dancer on our hands. We can no longer brush our teeth in his Majesty's presence as he throws a fit if he is not holding at least one toothbrush as his sceptre. Pens and phones come as a quick second favorite. The only thing he likes more than any of these is his uncle's iPhone. Christian was finally completely weaned just before Christmas and the process was pretty smooth as he already took a bottle pretty well. We haven't used cloth diapers since he was 6 months, but who knows, perhaps if we ever move to a place with our own washer and dryer we might take it up again. He's in the 25th percentile for height and weight. I know, I know, what a lightweight, but we're doing all we can to make him the fattest baby you've ever seen including frequent feedings of cheese and even a little eggnog during the holidays.
Have a wonderful New Year!!

Rachel, Stephen, and Kumquat

Kumquat dancing

2010-12-26T20:37:00.006-07:00

Stephen and I didn't think Kumquat could get much cuter than his singing along to our songs at night--we were wrong. Kumaquat has started dancing by bending his knees to music. On top of that, this last week he has started moving his arms as if he was conducting. Its too cute for words so you'll just have to watch.
p.s. This film had to be taken behind a chair because Kumquat's new fascinations include the iphones of his uncles and Opa. Also, the sound is off for some reason, but when you hear laughing is when Christian is really falling.

What I do

2010-12-11T18:07:00.007-07:00

To Rachel it sometimes seems that I go to school just to think interesting thoughts and never put them into practice, but the past couple of months I've been involved with a project that I think deserves a plug here. BYU hosts the largest database in the world that deals with violence against women worldwide (http://www.womanstats.org/) It's a compilation of indicators such as the global prevalence of rape, female circumcision, marriage laws, etc., and was the main source of information for the packet given to congress before the passage of the International Violence Against Women's Act. It's also routinely used by the UN, the World Bank, and other international organizations, and is the only source of data for most of its measures. People can volunteer and help out from wherever they're at, but we have had a chronic shortage lately that will probably force us to go into a bare-bones, subsistence mode. Anyway, just a possibility for anybody who is looking to get involved in a worthy project. In the meantime, Rachel is pleased that my academic elitism might actually be doing something, and has provided her with her next project (after her thesis).