April 3, 2003

Much has happened. Of course, we are in the middle (end?) of the war with Iraq. And what has changed? No terror has been unleashed on our country yet. I'm not convinced that it won't happen, but that's a different story. I find myself fascinated with this war. It is so different from other wars we have been in, if for no other reason than we have such an unidentifiable reason. Free Iraq? Why not before? Why now? At any rate, I watch the news at night and read highlights on the web when I have time during the day at work. I also pay more attention to other news, too. Have been trying to put some of my findings on my blog ( which can be found here ). This isn't my rhetoric section, and I really should put more of what's happening to me, but this has caught my attention in a large way.

Elijah is growing still, though not as fast. He has one tooth finally through the gums and another on the way, both on the bottom. Finally. Of course, he is miserable to be around when he is in pain, although I can understand his foul moods, always hurting. He walks now. Not just toddles, but walks. He has gotten very good at getting around, and man! Is he fast!. One tumble down the stairs (right in front of his horrified daddy, who couldn't stop the fall in time) hasn't taught him to be careful on the steps, so that becomes Mom's and Dad's duties. *sigh* We have tried baby-proofing the house, but there is so much to do, and we still haven't finished construction on the apartment yet, so there are dangerous tools and such about, too.

Speaking of construction, we are almost done with the bathroom, which is the last major project. The shower tile needs to be completed, then grouted, then we can have a working shower. Kari, Chris (my father-in-law) and I spent all weekend last week tiling. So tired, can't wait until that is over.After that, there are only small things to do.

Filed taxes lately, like most Americans. Have to fund the war somehow. One nice thing is the effect having a child has on taxes. Tax credits are great. Yay. Money back. We can buy fun things soon.

Speaking of buying fun things, Kari and I bought a new Cd player/stereo for our car. The old one had a short in it, leaving us unsure whether we would have our ear drums ruptured by the volume, or not hear a thing at all. Frustrating. I hated that old stereo. Only thing I miss is the ability to play tapes. *sigh* The age of tapes is long gone, but the occasional book on tape was fun. Ah, well. Time to move on with life, get current, etc. Actually, if I wanted to get current, I would get those satellite radio stereos, but I'm not interested, at this point.

Kari has been planning the 2004 Rutherford family reunion, at the request of my mother. This is happening in June. She's been planning for a long time already. Many fun activities and family classes being discussed. Yes, it is over a year away, but Kari doesn't let things like that stop her. Heck, she's nearly done with the 2003 Christmas presents, and here we are in April. Gotta love my girl.

Well, not getting into grad school delays my life, but gives us time to get out of debt. I found out I needed more research experience. Thanks, BYU, for saying that wasn't important. Ah, well. I guess I have to be more persistent. We'll try again next year. Sheesh, I really hate applying, but I'm getting better at it. We will try more schools, though, not just BYU. In fact, a part of me feels relieved I'm not going to BYU. So who knows what the future will be, a year from now? We could be planning to move to just about anywhere. And could have another kid on the way. Hey, if that kid is crazy enough to come to my family . . . I mean, Elijah wanted to come to Kari and me. He's stuck with us now.

Well, my website is still helping me find people. An old missionary buddy found my site recently and contacted me. Turns out we live 15 minutes away from each other. So we will have to hang out soon. We had a good chat on the phone tonight. Brought back old missionary memories for 7, 8 9 years ago. Wow. Time really has flown. Makes me feel old. Also, now that I live here, my mission isn't having any reunions. Thbbbb!! I was never able to attend when I lived in Arizona. Oh, well.

That's it for now.