Murdock Ohana

The Family-The Ultimate Team

2011-11-03T13:31:00.000-06:00

by Rachel Murdock

Not too long ago, our little family went on a family bike ride on the Provo river trail. It was a gray overcast day. There was a fire burning not too far away and ash was raining down on us. Mason rode in front, followed by me, then Maile, and then Munro with the bike stroller hauling Malia. As Mason biked just ahead of me, we entered a portion of the trail that had an umbrella of trees over us. There were no leaves…it was just an eerie, almost spooky atmosphere. Mason’s head sunk down into his shoulders, then he glanced back at me and said,

“I’m glad I have a family, otherwise I’d be really scared right now.”

Those simple and heartfelt words caused an immediate lump to form in my throat and brought tears to my eyes. Indeed, this life would be a lot scarier if we didn’t have our families.

We had a discussion about families in our Family Home Evening last week. I was explaining to our kids how families are like bricks, and with them we can build a building. If you have a bunch of weak bricks, the building can fall down easily in an earthquake. But if the bricks are strong and the building is built to high standards, then it will stand no matter what opposing forces come against it. The bricks are families, and the building is society.

We have been taught that the family is the most important and basic unit of our society. Satan knows this and has focused his opposition against families. As they crumble or are weakened, society becomes more vulnerable to opposing forces.

I urged my kids to be aware when Satan is "attacking" our family. Little things like quarreling, ingratitude, selfishness, pride and lack of kindness among siblings puts team members at odds with each other. I told them that our family is a team and together we can stand strong and face all the challenges of life. But if we turn against each other and fight with our team members, then it makes our team weaker and vulnerable.

That made a lot of sense to them...for about five minutes, before they started arguing again. Our family is a work in progress. But I will never stop fighting for my family and strengthening our defenses.

As I've grown up, moved on, and started a family of my own, it has been harder to remember that those little brothers and sisters I grew up with are still part of my stewardship. Yes, they have their own life now and their own challenges. But we ARE “our brother’s keeper.” We should look out for one another and give support and help during difficult times. Adulthood is much more challenging and full of tougher obstacles then childhood. If we didn’t have our families, OH, how scary this life would be!

I watch the news every night and am amazed at the natural disasters, political unrest, attacks on our freedom, moral decay and overall wickedness of the world. I worry about the challenges my children, nieces and nephews will and are facing. It’s a different world from just when I was a teenager.

This life is like a maze filled with challenges, danger and choices. If we make a wrong turn, we can find ourselves in a very dark and lonely place. I'm glad we don't have to get through the maze alone. Sometimes (ok, most of time) I have a lot of pride. I feel like I'm completley capable and armed with enough knowledge to find my own way through the course. But that's not how it was meant to be played. We have a loving Heavenly Father who gives us guidance, and best of all a team to help us along.

I'm so grateful for my family, for the love and support they have always given me. I'm grateful for parents and siblings who sometimes told me things I didn't want to hear, but spoke out of love. The warnings and lectures I've received have saved me from so much grief. I love my team and all my team mates!

Amongst so much chaos, confusion and wickedness in the world today, All I can say is repeat the words of my wise son:

"I'm so glad I have a family, otherwise I'd be really scared right now."

The Book of Mormon Musical

2011-08-24T11:23:00.003-06:00

I've been pretty fascinated with the attention the vulgar musical "The Book of Mormon" has brought to the church. I will never see it because I don't like being exposed to profanity and vulgarity. However, I truly believe what President Hinckley said about any news attention about the church can be good. Here is a copy of an email I received originally sent by Mormon actor, Michael Ballam. At the end, I've included a video of a song from this musical. I actually really like the song "I Believe." There are some funny parts that make fun of Mormons...but it's good to have a sense of humor, and in reality, it's quite moving in some ways. -Rachel

Michael Ballam on the Book of Mormon Broadway Musical

(Michael is an actor, singer and Professor of Music at USU.)

I spent the evening with Hal Prince & Sheldon & Margie Harnick last night as they were honored for their lifetime achievement in the theatre in Manhattan. Hal produced/directed Damn Yankees, Pajama Game, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Sweeny Todd, Phantom of the Opera, etc etc. Sheldon wrote She Loves Me, Fiorello, Apple Tree, Fiddler on the Roof, etc. Sheldon and Margie were VERY offended by Book of Mormon because they didn't like the depiction that one of the Elders had never read the Book of Mormon before going out into the field. I think I am perhaps the only Mormon they know, but they are VERY protective of me! I assured them, that such a thing is VERY unlikely to happen, but it did make for an interesting dramatic scenario. (Now that I think about it, there may be more out there than we know).

There is a song called "Turn it Off" which implies that Mormons shut down their base impulses. In other words, if they have a pornography or sexuality issue, they just don't think about it, and move on to other more productive things. I know that is rather simplistic, but there is some truth to the fact that we feel in order to overcome our problems we need to block the impulses and move on to better and loftier things. They thought it made us look like unfeeling, simple folk, which we are not. Perhaps I was SO WORRIED about what might take place in that musical, I was pleasantly surprised that they made the church look like good people. I asked him what he thought the message was and he said, "Those Mormons DO believe some peculiar things, BUT they all seem to be nice and happy! So, just because you don't get it don't knock it." I'm ok with that.

The Book of Mormon Musical is such a perplexing issue. We live in a very mocking world. Our humor has degenerated to ridicule and shock value. The irony of this musical is that the information center in Manhattan has been inundated for request for Books of Mormon. Somehow, people who see the musical ask themselves, "What is it about these people that make them happy and loving?" As a result, they want to read the book. One of my friends in NYC is going out and giving away Books of Mormon outside the theatre and requesting to put them (FREE) inside the theatre. If the authors are really sincere when they say they have deep respect for the LDS church, it should not bother them.

I saw it in previews and was stunned beyond belief at how vulgar it was. I never dreamed I would live to hear such vulgarity uttered from a stage. I was numbed within minutes. I focused more attention on the audience than I did the stage trying to assess the response of those present. There were clearly defined groups. There were the South Park, young outrageous kids who were there who guffawed at every shocking obscenity (how long can you shock people before they're unshockable?), then there were the mature, Broadway devotees who had furrowed brows trying to understand WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS. Then there was another group I couldn't figure out. They were somewhat restrained in their reactions. At intermission I took out my pad of paper to write down some thoughts when someone from behind me said, "Brother Ballam?" I thought maybe it was the destroying angel who had come to wisk me off to an eternal punishment. It was a sweet lady with her husband who had come from Salt Lake City with 150 other Mormons to do work in the Temple. They came to check things out. During the second act THOSE were the folks I watched.

Act II is QUITE different than Act I, and the tables turn about the influence of those courageous Elders and the impact they have on the people of Uganda.

There is a baptismal scene that is riveting and the audience became VERY quiet as those dark black actors whose behavior had changed from anger and hostility to peace and joy as they came onto the stage dressed in white... it was something to see. The final statement of the musical as I read it was: Yes, some people believe some crazy things (like Jesus coming to the Americas after his crucifixion and ancient Jews leaving Jerusalem in 600 BC and crossing the sea... both ideas get a chuckle, you can tell it makes the audience think (Captain Cook...white god??? Ancient temples in meso-America, etc), but there is SOMETHING about these people that is good. They are happy and loving and forgiving. There has to be something to it. I thought it was a subtle love letter to Mormons, BUT it is in the midst of a vulgar show that could NEVER play before our audience.

The next night I sat at the opening night party of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS next to the widow of Jule Styne (who wrote FUNNY GIRL). She knows the boys who wrote B of M and said I should contact them and explain that I think it could play before an LDS audience (of which there are 14M worldwide) if it weren't vulgar. She thinks they might re-write it. We'll see. I didn't get the message that religious people are out of touch with reality, I got the message that those WONDERFUL, COURAGEOUS, CLEAN-CUT youngsters who dedicate AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE, two years of service in parts of the world for which they have no experience or tools, MATURE very quickly and develop deep love for the people they serve. I think that is the take most people had leaving the theatre.

Of course, I felt like going home and washing my mouth and ears out with soap. It has generated HUGE interest in the Mormons in Manhattan and in a positive way. The "Mormon Jokes" in it are the kind you would hear given at ward parties. We do have a sense of humor about ourselves, and yes, we are a PECULIAR people and intend to remain so. I think the church has reacted EXACTLY the right way by not protesting or showing offense. We have been good sports about it, which I think will prove important in the perception the world has for us. We ADMIT that our story is unlike any other and we make no apologies for that.

Who knows, maybe were it not for the over the top vulgarity and profanity that has come to be the hallmark of our entertainment world, that segment of the populace would never have had ANY contact with what Mormons believe or who they are. If that group goes away knowing nothing more than the fact that Mormons are all over the world trying to help and serve and hold to their unusual beliefs it might do some good.

In the meantime, we have to take the higher road and realize the power of the Book of Mormon has lasted for 2600 years and will endure for eternity...the musical will not.

Michael Ballam

"I Believe" from the Book of Mormon Musical

Big Fat Murdock Wedding

2011-08-23T18:30:00.006-06:00

Munro's brother, Bentley, is getting married to Michelle and had his pre-reception at the good ol' Murdock Mansion which is now owned by UVU as their Alumni Center. It was good to be back there and see all the amazing updates UVU has done to the home and relive lots of great memories.

All the Murdock kids got a great picture with Aunt Sande (Michael, Mckay, Bentley, Marriott, Munro, Melynne, Morgan, Marshall)

Beautiful Murdock nieces. Can't believe these girls around my kids ages when I met them. My how they've grown! (Emily, Lauren, Kayley)
!

Mason goofing off with his Murdock cousins

Classic Murdock funny face pose

So obviously it's rare to get all 9 kids with spouses and 26 grandchildren all together in one place. So naturally we had to do a big family picture which was a feat in itself just to get everyone in the right place and even trickier to get everyone to smile at the same time. I can't wait to see the finished portraits!

Cousins waiting patiently to have their pictures taken

Maile and cousin Haylee

Maile with cousin Hunter

Mosiah, Mason, Jefferson, Kainoa and Nixon

Our family pic

Canton City Dinner Party With Bent 'n' Michelle

2011-08-09T18:37:00.009-06:00

(post by Munro Murdock)

All the Murdock adults (that could make it) converged upon the good ol' town of Heber City for some food, fun and celebration with Bentley Murdock and Michelle Clark, Bent's fiance, the day before their Orem, Utah pre-wedding reception. Papa G & Mama Mimi reserved the semi-private party room at Canton City for our large group.

It was great to see everyone and to liven things up in the restaurant a little bit....or a lot. Bentley and Michelle entertained us with some music that they have recently recorded together, which was really cool to hear.

What is probably most impressive is that Michelle survived 20 Questions, literally, as we went around the table and each of us read our Chinese fortune and then asked Michelle any question that we wanted to. It was a great way to get to know her better and helped us all to see how lucky Bentley is.

We are excited to welcome you into the cwazy Nerdock family Michelle!

-Munro

Thoughts on my Grandmother's passing

2011-07-21T13:10:00.007-06:00

On July 3, 2011, I heard the shocking news that my Grandma Pratt had passed away in her sleep. She was my last living blood grandparent...and I truly thought she'd be around for much longer. She was only 37 years when I was born. She was a young Grandma. She was the grandparent I was the closest to. Being her first grandchild, I liked to think that I had a special place in her heart.... and I did. It was no secret that Grandma had favorites. She shouldn't have, but she did.

Grandma is an example to me of someone with weaknesses and challenges, full of humanness. God gives us weaknesses so they can be made strengths. I think to the best of her ability, she became as strong as she could. In the end, despite a life full of pain, insecurities and frailties, I know the Savior greeted her and wrapped her in His loving arms. At last she knows how much she is loved. His atonement made up for mistakes, the areas she struggled so long with in her life. He made up the difference.

I inherited a few things from my Grandmother. I have her eyes, her hands and legs, her migraines, her persistence, her strength, her stubbornness and her obsession for family history. She was the oldest in her family, my mother was the oldest in her's, and I am the oldest in mine. I feel deeply connected to her and I mourn her passing. I can't believe she's gone.

She married my step-grandfather when I was about 7 years old. They moved to Utah when I was 8. I waited 4 months after my birthday to be baptized because I wanted her to be there. My Grandpa Pratt was everything a grandfather should be. He often told us that even though we weren't related to him by blood, we were his. He was the grandpa who would come to birthday parties, graduations, church talks, and concerts. It was harder to get Grandma out of the house, but Grandpa was always there. He gave me my patriarchal blessing when I was 12 years old. He counseled with me and gave me advice many times during my teenage years.

This last week when family gathered to say goodbye to Grandma, it was doubly painful because in reality, we were saying goodbye to Grandpa too. Grandpa is 91 years old. He was 20 years older than my grandma. We expected him to leave long before her. He is as shocked as everyone that he is still here and she is gone.

After the funeral, we packed up their home and said goodbye to Grandpa, who moved to North Carolina to live with his daughter. We knew it was the last time we would ever see him again. And he knew it too. He gave us all a father's blessing, calling us his "dear little daughters." I couldn't help thinking of Father Lehi from the Book of Mormon, blessing his children before his passing.

Grandpa Pratt has always spoken with power and authority. He served for many years as a patriarch for the church. Yet it was so difficult to listen to his blessing as he switched between a husband grieving deeply for his sweetheart, to a father endowed with the priesthood and speaking on behalf of the Most High God. It was such an astonishing example of our human frailties and how they can be overcome by the power of God.

Watching Grandpa be driven away as we watched outside his empty home, was utterly heartbreaking. He sobbed openly in the front seat, and each of us, his children and grandchildren, wept as well. As he said in our blessing, “You will never see me again in this life.” And that is true. But I know without a doubt we will see him again in the next life. There he will be clothed in glory with his wife, my Grandma. Their bodies will be made perfect, the stain of old age gone.

My Grandma and Grandpa Pratt bore testimony often, of their deep and abiding faith and belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have come to have my own testimony, and I know that the things they taught me are true.

I love my Grandma Pratt with all my heart. Despite her many weaknesses, she is a powerful example to me of what a woman can be, and what wells of strength we have buried deep inside of each of us.

This is the life photo montage I made for my Grandma’s funeral.

Provo Canyon

2011-05-16T08:01:00.001-06:00

I love living just minutes away from the mountains. It was so much fun spending a windy afternoon in provo canyon with the kiddos. Here are some pics from our little outing.

Rockin Malia

2011-01-28T19:26:00.002-07:00

Video of Malia rockin out on the piano.

2010 Summer Fun

2011-01-28T19:00:00.007-07:00

Here's some of our super fun summer activities in 2010

Munro was Mason's soccer coach this past year. It was so cute watching him coach all the little kittens...I mean boys!

We traveled to St. George for McKay and Emily's wedding. I drove the kids down by myself cause Munro couldn't come till later. It was a rough night in the hotel, but after hours of fighting (because they had to share a bed,) Mason and Maile FINALLY fell asleep!

Malia with cousin Atticus. They're just a couple months apart.

Mason with his Murdock cousins/posse

McKay & Emily exchange vows

Sweet Malia surviving the 104 degree temps in the blazing hot sun.

Mason found something to entertain him. We were at a golf course afterall!

Maile with new cousin Hayz

Ro with some of his bros (and cousin Adam)

Visiting Papa G's new cabin at Duck Creek

Lizard at DuckCreek

Hiking around the cabin

We found a deer during our hike

A butterfly landed on my...uh....shirt!

Chillin in the hammock

Bike ride with Rae and the girls

Maile swimming lessons

2011-01-28T18:55:00.001-07:00

Maile learned to swim this past summer! I was so proud!

Yellowstone Trip

2011-01-28T18:41:00.007-07:00

I'm really behind on blogging. Sorry, life is oh so busy. So here on some pics of our trip to Yellowstone in August of 2010. We had a bast staying at the Murdock cabin in West Yellowstone.

You aren't considered a real Murdock Man unless you go without a shirt

Old Faithful

Our new house

2010-10-06T09:21:00.008-06:00

We moved to Provo at the beginning of July. We're just renting this house but I love it so I thought I'd put some pictures up.

This is our front yard and play area. Behind the house we have our trampoline.

Our view from the house. We have mountain and lake views. It's awesome to stand at the window at night and watch lightning storms.

Our house and our very steep driveway.

Entryway

Living Room. The living, dining and kitchen are one big great room. We have vaulted ceilings and lots of windows. I love this part of the house because it's so open and full of light.
Living room
I have a little play area for Malia here behind the couchMy little piano nook

Dining areaKitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom sinks. Right next to the master bath is a large walk in closet that we use for Malia's room. I never seem to be able to get a pic of it cause whenever I think about it, Malia is taking in nap in there.Laundry room closet

So the master bed is on the main floor and the rest of the bedrooms are on the 2nd floor. Here's the staircase leading upstairs.

Loft area where the kids can play with toys, watch tv or play video games

Ro & Rae's joint office where we run our Ko Olina Vacation Rentals business

Mason's room. Right by the painted tree is a rope swing hanging from the ceiling
that he loves to climb.Malie's little princess roomKid's bathroom
We will probably be in this house for the next 2 years while Munro is in school getting his MBA. After that, who knows where we'll end up. We still own our house in Pleasant Grove that is currently being rented. We may move back there, or even go to Hawaii. Who knows...there are endless possibilities!

Video of Malia

2010-07-22T12:31:00.001-06:00

K, hopefully this works. I'm having a hard time positing the video of Malia on the slide:

Slip 'n Slide Malia

2010-07-22T08:37:00.003-06:00

Kids got to go on the Slip 'n Slide and cousin Nixon's birthday party. Malia didn't like it very much.

Later Malia & Daddy made up :)

Malia, our little birdie

2010-04-26T11:43:00.001-06:00

Malia likes to breathe heavily and flap her arms like a bird. It's hilarious. We were finally lucky enough to catch it on video.

Malia trying to "fly" away! from Rachel Murdock on Vimeo.

Ward Talent Show

2010-04-23T09:34:00.001-06:00

Here is a video of Maile's ballet performance at the recent ward talent show.

Maile's Ballet Talent from Rachel Murdock on Vimeo.

And here is a video of the finale number by my dad, Bishop Uda and the Bishopric!

Rockin Bishop from Rachel Murdock on Vimeo.

Trip to the Zoo

2010-04-14T11:09:00.005-06:00

Last week my sister Sarah and I took our kids to the zoo during spring break. It was the warmest day of the week (60 degrees!) The kids had a lot of fun and we all walked a total of 3.38 miles. Here are some pics from our excursion:

Mason and Maile on the fake elephant trunk. Noa was too scared to get close.

Mason, Maile, Noa and Malia. I'm not sure what Noa and Malia were so interested in looking at.

Playing on the zoo playground. An chaotic scene of more kids then were meant to be on the playground I'm sure. I lost a couple of my kids a few times.

I thought this pic was funny cause it shows how exhausted Noa was by the end of the day.

Me and Malia

Prego Sarah

Me, Malia and Noa on a crocodile

Malia on a giant spider!

The kids on the back of the train

Malia in the famous turtle shell that we've all had our pictures taken in.

I love how Malia is standing with all the other kids checking out the strange animals behind the glass.

Malia too curious to look at the camera.

Malia the explorer

2010-04-09T22:43:00.001-06:00

Malia is exploring everything lately...now that she's mobile. I'll walk out of a room and when I come back, she's gone! I have to walk around the house looking for her. Here's a little video clip of Malia getting into daddy's stuff.

My little explorer from Rachel Murdock on Vimeo.

I run for Life!

2010-03-14T22:52:00.003-06:00

To donate to a really great cause, go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl10/mjarvishsy

Malia crawling

2010-03-02T08:33:00.001-07:00

Malia started army crawling just as she turned 7 months old. This was a big surprise to us because our other 2 kids didn't start crawling until they were 12 and 13 months! We aren't used to seeing someone so small scooting around. This is some video of Malia practicing.

Malia learning to crawl from Rachel Murdock on Vimeo.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Foundation

2010-02-01T10:07:00.002-07:00

My friend is helping to raise money for blood cancers like Leukemia and Lymphoma. As a Lymphoma survivor I can honestly say that if it weren't for this valuable research I would be dead today. 40 years ago Hodgkin's Lymphoma was a death sentence. Today it is one of the most curable forms of cancer. I would greatly appreciate it if you would go to this site and make a donation in honor of me. I just made the mimimum donation of $25. So little can really go a long way!

My Fundraising Page

Malia thinks daddy is hilarious!

2009-11-20T13:21:00.003-07:00

Here's a cute little video of Malia cracking up at her funny daddy. I love her little laugh! She's 5 months old now.

(If you get this via email, click on the Murdock Ohana Blog link at the bottom of the email to view the video)

Halloween

2009-11-06T10:11:00.003-07:00

Attempting to feed Malia cereal for the first time. She hated it. We'll try again in a month.

She definitely prefers her bottle! In fact, despite mommy's sad feelings of rejection, she stopped nursing at 3 months!

Malia with cousin Atticus. Malia is 2 months older but they're the same size!

Posing for Mama Mimi

Hayride around the neighborhood.

My little sunflower and her trusted "Bobby"

My 3 Darlings

Mason at his school costume parade.

The Girls - Mommy, Maile and Malia at the ward Halloween party

Munro at the ward Halloween party dressed as a homeless AIG CEO

Malia is wearing the same costume Maile wore 4 years ago!

Tada! Malia can roll over!

2009-11-05T21:40:00.002-07:00

Free Fib Bib

2009-11-05T09:18:00.005-07:00

My new business, Fibs, is being featured on a fabulous giveaway blog. You can enter to win a free Fib (costume baby bib) of your choice ($25 value). To enter, go to http://www.sosweetgiveaways.com and leave a comment under the Fibs Giveaway section to win. There are instructions for getting multiple entries. Contest ends Nov. 12th at midnight. Spread the word! Thanks!

Vote

2009-11-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

It's never to soon to learn to take on your civic responsibilities

School Pictures

2009-10-28T17:03:00.002-06:00

My beautiful children! Just got school pictures. Mason is in 1st grade. Maile is in Preschool.

Professional Photo Shoot

2009-10-20T11:27:00.006-06:00

A friend in my ward offered to do a free photo shoot for our Fib business. So one morning my sisters Becca and Sarah and friend Kristen loaded our kids up and hauled them over to Emmie's house for the shoot. Brinley, Becca's daughter who is normally smiling ALL the time was sick the whole night before and we couldn't get a smile out of her. Zerin, Kristen's son is very photogenic and the only trick is to catch him before he runs off....he's always on the go! Malia has a short happy period if she's not being held and so we took as many pics of her as we could before she started screaming. And Noa, Sarah's son, sat there patiently and humored us with a quick shoot. Here are some of our pics. I hate getting pictures done, especially when dealing with kids because their moods are so fickle. But we did get some good ones. Thanks so much to Emmie for being so patient and letting our kids trash her house! For more Fib info see my website at http://www.fibbibs.com.

Family time this Fall

2009-10-08T21:24:00.006-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted. Here are a bunch of pics from the last couple of months. Malia is almost 4 months old now. She's getting so big, smiling a lot, eating a lot, and sleeping more at night (hallelujah!) Here's Malia with her daddy in her favorite position.

We went up to Cascade Springs to see the fall leaves. Got a bunch of pics while up there. Mason and Maile- they actually look like they like each other don't they!

Malia really liked all the colorful leaves.

My cute kiddos!

My favorite people in the whole world!

Mason worried about the acorns that kept falling from the tree.

Maile with cousin Teya and best friend Calli

Good big brother

Poor Munro has been working graveyards for the past few months. He was sweet and offered to feed Malia for me while I got the kids to bed. When I came back, I found him sound asleep. Thankfully he just started a day job.

Maile with cousins Teya and Brinley in matching PJs.

Malia was just upgraded to the walker. She loved the new perspective of life!

Our new spokesboy

2009-09-18T11:58:00.003-06:00

This is my little nephew, Noa. He's our newest Fib Bib model showing off some of our adorable boy bibs. This kid is so stinkin cute!!! Oh, and if any photographers want to donate their services, I'd sure appreciate it. I'm definitely NOT a photographer AND I'm broke :)

Business Class Fib.

Perfect for church as most baby boys don't wear suits anyway. This makes it so much easier!

Pirate Fib...ARG!

Hawaiian Boy Fib

Jungle Boy Fib...check out the muscles!

Noa is much more cooperative than Malia was and thankfully we don't have any "screaming bloody murder" outtakes. But here's some cute ones...

These make great baby gifts! Check out http://www.fibbibs.com

Malia the baby model...sort of :)

2009-09-16T08:56:00.006-06:00

For now, Malia is our official baby model of Fibs-Novelty Costume Baby Bibs.

So far she really doesn't like being a model. After much screaming and fussing I finally got a few semi normal pictures showing off our product (and her).

This is the ballerina bib.

This is the princess bib but it isn't finished yet. I think its going to be really cute though and wanted to get a pic of it.

Here's my favorite, the Hula Girl Bib!

Malia in her blessing gown before getting her Fib Bib

And look how happy she is now that she is protecting that beautiful blessing gown with an equally beautiful Fib Bib!

To get your own Fib Bib (which make excellent baby gifts and are perfect for baby showers!)

Check out www.fibbibs.com

These are the outtakes and what the majority of Malia's pictures looked like. Does this make me a terrible mom?

Fibs

2009-09-14T17:03:00.004-06:00

My friend Kristen and I are launching our new Baby Bib business. They're so cute and unique. I can't wait till we start selling a ton of these! Anyway, for now, I have a blog that keeps track of how our business is going. Please check it out and feel free to put a link to it. The more websites directing traffic to ours the better. The address is http://fibbib.com/blog

Sharing a room with your brother is SO not cool!

2009-08-23T14:57:00.003-06:00

We moved into my parent's basement just before Malia was born to reduce monthly expenses and get out of debt faster. It was a drastic down sizing for us going from a 5bd 4ba house to 1 bd 1 ba. The kids shared the bedroom while Me, Munro and the baby shared the "family room." After a few months of non stop fighting between Mason and Maile I'd had enough. They were having a very difficult time getting use to sharing a room and it wasn't getting any better. So I reorganized the unfinished storage room pushing all the food storage to the back. Then we finished 1/2 of the storage room and made a very small room for Maile. Here it is...the solution to peace and harmony in our family!

The other day Mason was watching his favorite Pokemon cartoon. He was sitting in the chair by the t.v. Everytime Malia would start to cry, he would jump out of the chair and put the binky back in her mouth, then return to his chair. After this happened a few times, he finally just laid down next to her so he could more easily pop the binky back in her mouth. It was so sweet because I never even asked him to do it. He just thought to help her out on his own!

This was too cute, I just had to get a picture of it. This is Mason playing his Nintendo D.S. while his little friend Aria watches.

Mason and Aria on their first day of school!

This is Mason's first year in public school and he just started 1st grade. So he goes full day!

Malia is addicted to her binky. This is what happens if you take it away...

...and then when you give it back. BTW, she's wearing a FIB. This is a new costume Bib that my friend and I are building a business around. My friend Kristen is doing the Bib designs and I'm working on the business side and website. More to come...

Baby Blessing and Midway Break

2009-08-12T09:41:00.014-06:00

We had Malia's baby blessing at home with immediate Murdock and Uda Families. It was a nice intimate gathering and a special day for our little angel.

Malia with Papa Uda and Grandma Uda

Mama Mimi and Papa G

Malia loves to be strapped to someone's chest in the snugli carrier. Munro normally straps her on while doing things around the house. She always falls asleep. He thought this would be funny after unstrapping her, he swung her back and forth while she snoozed away.

Then he hung her from the door and left her there while she slept!

For some reason most of our pictures of Malia are while she's sleeping. Obviously we don't think to take many pictures during the middle of the night when she's awake!

But sometimes she lets us sleep while she's awake.

Maile sure loves her baby sister!

These are all the kids that were playing at my house the other day. I had to take a picture because they're all so dang cute!

Weekend Getaway to Midway Utah for Munro's 10K race

Mason actually took this picture of us!

On top of Memorial Hill

This is what Munro looked like right after finishing Utah's Toughest 10K. I was rushing like mad trying to get to the race before he crossed the finish line. I'm still adjusting to getting 3 kids out the door instead of 2. Well I was making good time and got there before he finished, but I couldn't find where to park and by the time I did, he was walking towards our car having just finished. I felt terrible not being there to watch him cross the finish line!

So we went back to the finish line to get a few pics.

Munro won 3rd place in his age division. Here he's being awarded his ribbon by Miss Midway I'm guessing.

The proud finisher!

Munro and Geoff, our good friend from Hawaii who ran the race with Munro and basically got him to do it.

Munro with his very proud family

Summer Fun

2009-08-10T19:28:00.010-06:00

My polynesian princess

Maile with her buff swim teacher

Mason our little swimmer

Maile kicking hard

Maile's finally got her wish and mommy let her cut her hair. It was traumatic for me, but it is nice not to have to deal with all the tangles anymore. And what did we get with this new haircut...? A sassy new attitude!

Yes the nights are long and hard. By morning time Malia and I are both worn out. Only she gets to keep sleeping and I have to get up to take care of the other kids!

Maile is taking ballet. She's our beautiful little ballerina!

Mason is pretty talented himself. He can hula hoop forever!

Yes, sometimes they actually get along. Just put them in front of the boob tube with a show they can both agree on and they can coexist peacefully!

Who cares about trampolines. All these kids need is a utility box and they're entertained!

Baby Malia pics

2009-08-10T19:18:00.001-06:00

Malia "playing dolls" with Maile

Sunday nap with Papa Uda

Malia discovered herself in the mirror when she was only 6 days old. So cute!

Daddy's girl

I wonder what she's dreaming about....

The "Toughest 10K" Lives Up To Its Name (by Munro)

2009-07-27T17:24:00.007-06:00

(Posted by Munro) I had the great opportunity to participate in the Toughest 10K in Midway, Utah last Saturday, and it was the hardest run I have been on to date! Seriously.

Had it not been for the enthusiasm of my good friend, Geoff Bolton, to participate, I'm not sure if I even would have done it. (Thanks a lot Geoff :)He registered right after I told him about it, so I was committed at that point.

The elevation in Midway is around 5500+ ft. which is about 1,000 feet higher than the elevations I am used to running at in the Pleasant Grove area. After a couple of training runs in Midway I felt like I was as ready as I was going to be for the race.

We stayed at my parents Zermatt Condo and Geoff came up and joined us on Friday evening, the day before the race. Fortunately, the weather on race day was slightly cooler due to some rain and cloud cover.

Prior to the 10K the race organizers had a Kids 1K race, which took all of 2-4 minutes from start to finish. It was fun and I wished I would have signed Mason and Maile up for that. They would have LOVED it!

After some walking, stretching and pre-race picture taking, Geoff and I joined the other 150+ runners as they headed up the trail to the starting line. The course was setup throughout the Soldier Hollow cross country ski trails, which consists of a lot of hills.

The first mile of the run was all uphill and was a great way to kick off the race. I kept my pace steady and slower than I wanted to go, knowing I'd need to save my energy for the second half of the race. It was a beautiful setting in the mountains and hills of Midway. Everything was green and the air smelled so fresh and invigorating.

I quickly fell in love with trail running, not having really done it before. It was just cool to be in nature, away from the cars, pollution, noises and to just hear the sounds of running feet and rhythmic breathing.

Initially there was a bit of congestion on the trail with so many runners starting out with only a 6-7 foot width area to run on. Slowly though, the crowd separates as everyone settles into their pace, with the faster ones cruising ahead and the slower ones drifting behind.

Once I hit the first downhill segment of the race I really let my body carry me into a relatively quick pace. The interesting thing about a hilly race like this is that the pace times with each mile vary quite a bit due to the mix of uphill/downhill terrain. I clocked my first mile, which was mostly uphill, at 8 minutes, 24 seconds. The second mile, which has quite a bit of downhill to it, I ran in 6 minutes 39 seconds! My total race average ended up being approximately 8 minutes, 15 seconds per mile.

There are three main things that I believe contribute to this race being named "Toughest 10K":

The elevation (5,500-6,000)
The hills
The psychological effects of hills

The higher elevation causes people to get "winded" more quickly and slightly reduces the amount of oxygen the body can consume in any given breath, thereby slightly slowing the pace or intensity of the runner.

The hills were frequent enough, long enough and steep enough to slow down even the most serious and seasoned runners.

The psychological effects of hills is really interesting and I'm sure each person deals with this differently. For me, it was hard not knowing how many more hills lay ahead and how long or steep they were going to be. I just wasn't sure what to expect in that regard and therefore didn't quite know how hard I should be pushing myself on the downhill segments. Also, while running a hill or facing hill after hill after hill, it becomes more challenging, both physically and mentally, to keep running! The hills slow the pace such that the temptation is to just walk "since I'm not running that fast anyway". It is also easy to question one's own endurance when facing a long hill. "Can I really run ALL the way to the top of this one?" "I don't know if I can do it."

It is so important to keep a positive focus when running and to do the best you can at all times and in all circumstances. There was one and only one hill that I ended up walking. It was preceded by at least 4-5 smaller hills in succession and then I faced this LONG steady climb. I was already so winded and tired that I started to doubt myself and give in to the temptation to just walk. I pushed the temptation aside and kept running up this hill, but shortly thereafter I gave in to my tired body and my heaving lungs and walked up the second half of the hill. This actually worked well for me because I slowed my breathing down and was able to pick up considerable speed on the other side coming down the hill. However, I vowed that I would not walk again until I crossed the Finish Line. :)

WATER STATIONS
They had water stations setup at miles 2 and 4. I skipped the one at mile 2. I was carrying my own water bottle, which I hadn't touched until then, but decided I should probably drink an ounce or two and pour a little on my head to cool me down. At mile 4 I did grab a cup of water and just dump it on my head to cool me down a bit. Some runners don't realize how much water stations can slow them down and just subconsciously grab the water because it is there and being offered to them. I prefer to self-hydrate when I need it and to only use the water stations if I'm out of water or just need a quick cool down. Also, if you don't train drinking water then don't do it on race day. "Nothing new on race day" is a good motto to go with. However, when running more than 3 or 4 miles, especially in the summer, it really is important to be hydrating and keeping the body temperature as moderate as possible.

By the time I hit the 3 mile mark I felt more worked than I did at the FINISH of the Freedom Run 10K on July 4th! That run was a cake walk compared to this one in the hills of Midway. However, I kept going and caught a second wind of energy around the 4.5-5 mile mark.

There were so many HILLS on this course I couldn't believe it. What was really hard on the endurance were the final 2-3 hills. I was nearing the finish area and I knew there was only a mile or so left to go. I could see it. I was climbing what "I thought" was the last hill of the race. After crossing the summit of it I saw runners ahead of me climbing an even longer and taller one. "That one HAS to be the last hill," I said to myself. It was, thankfully.

I was able to muster up some energy to pick up my pace for the final 50 yards, but I was tired and ready to cross that finish line! It felt great to complete this race and I was pleasantly surprised when I was handed my unofficial results on a small business card size piece of paper, which read:

2009 Utah's Toughest 10K
July 25, 2009
Men's 10K
Munro Murdock
51:17.0 (8:15 Min/Mi)
21st place overall
3rd in Men 30-34

(Click on pic to see full size)

I never expected to place in the top 3 in my age group so that was a great feeling. I even got a nice purple ribbon to go along with it :)

Geoff came across the finish line a few minutes later and set a new Personal Record (PR) for the 10K distance! He ran it faster than the one he'd done on Oahu at Kualoa Ranch three weeks earlier.

(Click on pic to see full size)

Rachel and the kids were there to celebrate our accomplishments. We took some pictures, enjoyed a 5 minute complimentary massage and picked up our race shirts.

It was a great race and while I'm still quite sore from the experience I am looking forward to getting back out on the streets and the trails to get ready for the Redrock Relay as well as some triathlons and half marathons in the not too distant future.

"Keep on running. Keep on running. Keep on running."

- Munro -

Murdock Family Photoshoot

2009-07-20T15:45:00.002-06:00

Malia's 1st Photoshoot

2009-07-16T16:58:00.002-06:00

These pictures were taken of Malia at 2 weeks old.

Flashback: In Memory of Mischa - Nov. 2008

2009-07-05T14:52:00.005-06:00

Our kids miss Mischa, but once we learned that she wasn't going to be very "baby friendly" we had to find a new home for her. They still remember her and talk about her and hopefully they will be able to see her again, too!

These pictures were taken the night before Mischa was taken to her new home in Southern Utah.

Flashback: Mommy & Daughter Make Brownies - Aug. 2008

2009-07-05T14:39:00.003-06:00

Maile loves to help her mommy cook, that is for sure! Any chance she gets to don an apron and work in the kitchen, she will do it.

Flashback: Halloween 2008

2009-07-05T14:04:00.011-06:00

We had a fun 2008 Halloween, as you can see from the pics below. We did a Trunk or Treat at Church and the kids were able to play some fun games, too.

Flashback: Mason is Mr. Soccer - Aug. 9, 2008

2009-07-05T13:49:00.005-06:00

Mason enjoyed his 2nd soccer season last year (2008) in Pleasant Grove. He learned more about the rules, positions and flow of the game. It was not uncommon to see a big grin on his face as he ran around chasing and kicking the ball.

Flashback: Stewart Falls Hike - May 17, 2008

2009-07-05T13:12:00.008-06:00

These pictures don't tell the whole story of this ADVENTUROUS hike! It may have been mid-May when we set out to hike Stewart Falls, but due to the long winter and continuous snow storms there was actually still a LOT of snow covering the north-facing trails.

We were determined to go on this hike, though, despite being improperly prepared for the hiking conditions. We held hands, climbed through slushy snow and did our best to stay on the trail and not slide down the mountain side. At one point, our dog Mischa did slide off the trail and if it wasn't for her leash and a snug-fit collar, she would have been a goner :)

This is a great family hike (in dry conditions) and normally can be done round trip within a couple of hours or so. However, due to the snow and mud, we were on the mountain a good 4-5 hours! Needless to say, it was an adventure worth remembering and we were all so happy to finally make it back to the van at the bottom of the trail. I think the kids passed out pretty quickly in their car seats and I'm sure if Mischa could have spoken she would have asked if we could put her up for adoption to a "normal" family that just takes walks around the neighborhood.

Click on any picture to view FULL SIZE in a new window.

By the way, for anyone that has not hiked to Stewart Falls and would like to do it, here are some basic instructions for getting there and enjoying the hike:

How To: http://www.ehow.com/how_2075402_hike-stewart-falls-utah.html
Info from UtahValley.org: http://www.utahvalley.org/things-to-do/default.aspx?detailID=900
Pack water (more than you think you'll need) and snacks in some backpacks and also a light jacket as temperature changes are frequent in the mountains, especially as you get around the waterfall. If you have a light umbrella or rain poncho, then bring that as well.
Wear comfortable clothing and good hiking boots or shoes. Do not wear sandals or flip-flops as this is a dirt trail and there are some areas with loose rock, gravel, etc.
Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen/sunblock
A very basic first aid kit is always a good idea when hiking in the event of scratches, cuts or blisters.
Remember to bring a digital camera or video camera and be sure to take the little ones to the restrooms BEFORE setting out on the trail.
Plan on at least 2-3 hours for the round-trip hike, possibly longer, depending upon your fitness level and the ages of your children.
Drive up Provo Canyon and turn left at the Sundance Ski Resort turn
Continue past Sundance Resort until you see a parking lot and trail head for Stewart Falls
There may be a Ranger booth that you pass through and need to pay an entrance fee of a few dollars per vehicle, but I'm not 100% sure on this
Hike at a pace comfortable to the slowest in your group. You don't want to get to the waterfall only to realize someone is so wiped out they are not physically able to make the hike down.

Flashback: Fathers and Sons Campout - 2008

2009-07-05T12:46:00.016-06:00

This is the first in a series of posts highlighting events of days gone by that I never posted any pictures for. It is so easy to take digital pictures, but what is the point of taking them if they are just stored away in some obscure folder in the recesses of my laptops memory? Exactly!

This Fathers and Sons campout really was a lot of fun and took place last summer, 2008, on some private property in beautiful Midway, up Provo Canyon. There is a stream that runs through the property and plenty of area for kids to run around, play baseball, climb trees, etc.

Carl brought Joseph and David and Mason and I pitched our tent right next to theirs. Kris McCoy brought his RV to the campout and a few of the other guys even brought a flat screen TV and managed to watch one of the NBA final games late into the night. That was funny. Anyway, enjoy the pics...I'll let them tell the rest of the story!

Click on any picture to view FULL SIZE in a new window.

Munro is ready to be a contributing member of this family blog :)

2009-07-05T12:43:00.003-06:00

This is Munro writing my first ever post to our nice little family blog that Rachel has been so creative to put together and manage for our fam. I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures that I've taken over the past year or so. There are a lot of great ones to share, not just of our family, but of friends and relatives as well. I'll be making a few different posts to highlight some of these pictures and I hope you enjoy them.

Baby Malia is here!

2009-06-21T11:10:00.008-06:00

Malia Rae Mana'olana Murdock was born on June 15th at 10:56pm. She was 5 weeks early and weighed 6 lbs, 14 oz and was 18 in. long.

I have had preterm labor for the past month and a half. I was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes and put on insulin. Because of that, I had to go the hospital twice a week for a non-stress test. Basically I was hooked up to monitor contractions and the baby's heart rate for about 30 minutes each time. Well, last monday I went in for my bi-weekly appointment and was monitored for about an hour. Naturally they saw the contractions I was having, which I'm always having so this was nothing new. But occasionally the baby's heart rate would drop for no reason. Because of this they decided to send me to labor and delivery to be monitored for a few more hours to see if it stopped.

I was annoyed as this totally messed up my plans for the day and I knew nothing was wrong. But I went down and was hooked up again for 3 hours to monitor baby. The nurse came back after the test and said that the baby's heart rate was doing better but the perinatologist doctor thought I was in labor. I laughed. "I'm not." I explained. This is normal. I have these mild contractions all the time. My OB doctor agreed that I was not in labor but felt he had to do what the perinatologist said which was to admit me overnight for more monitoring. Aghhh! "How silly" I thought. They obviously didn't know my case very well.

I called Munro and told him what was going on. He thought that admission wasn't neccesary either but better than safe than sorry. He had a lot of work to do that day and since we both knew nothing was happening, he stayed home and kept working while I hung out at the hospital.

The nurses were trying to get in IV line into my arm but couldn't because I have very thin veins. After poking me a few times they decided to call the anethesiologist because he was good at getting veins. While we waited for him and my frustration built over the whole thing, I got up and went into the bathroom to say a prayer.

I explained to Heavenly Father how exhausted I was from the discomfort of the contractions to the pain I had in my ribs every time I laid down. I hadn't slept much in weeks and the whole experience of pregnancy had been pretty miserable for the most part. I begged Him for mercy. I told Him that only He knew what the condition of the baby was and that if she would be okay being delivered now, I asked Him to let me go into full blown labor now. I said amen and then heard a pop and a gush of water. I jumped up and said "Oh crap! Oh crap!" as I waddled back to my bed and got into it. Water kept coming out as I pushed the call button for the nurse. "My water broke!" I told her in a panic. Then I called Munro and told him to come to the hospital "Right now!"

The anethesiologist showed up just as the nurses came rushing in and asked me if I wanted an epidural. "Yes, Yes Yes!!!" I told him. I had an enormous amount of water which we already knew because of previous ultrasounds. I was measuring at 40 weeks instead of 35. The nurses couldn't believe how much water was coming out. After the epidural everything was dandy for the next 4 hours as I dilated from a 4 to a 10. They decided to deliver in the operating room and have a NICU team ready because they didn't know what the condition of the baby's lungs would be since she was early. I pushed for a maximum of 2 1/2 minutes, maybe 4 pushes and she was out. They rushed her out of the room and Munro went with them. I waited impatiently, straining my neck trying to see over the doctor's head into the windowed room where they were checking Malia. The nurse finally went in to see how she was and came back saying her APGAR scores were high, she was breathing fine and weighed 6 lbs 14 oz!!! Wow, I'm so glad I didn't go full term. She would have been a monster baby! But what she is is our little miracle baby.

It's amazing how a body can go from the brink of death, with white cells at 0, no plateletes, and chemo destroying all healthy cells just to kill the bad cancer cells: to being able to create another human life inside of it. I'm so grateful to have this last little child join our family. What a blessing and a miracle she is to us. I'm so grateful for a loving and merciful Heavenly Father who knew that I could handle no more and mercifully delivered me of my burden.

Malia is doing well. She is jaundiced right now so she has to be under the bili lights. But she is the sweetest little baby with a wise look in her eyes. Yay for miracles!

Pics from the last couple months

2009-05-27T20:24:00.005-06:00

Maile playing with big girl makeup

We visited the state capital for a family day out. This is by a replica of the liberty bell.

Inside the state capital. I'm in a wheel chair because I'm supposed to be on bedrest.

I really like things clean and orderly and spend more time stopping my kids from doing things then letting them play freely. So my first reaction when I found them playing in a mud puddle was to scold them and throw them in the tub. Then I stopped and asked myself "What would Mimi do?" (My mother in law) So I let them play in the mud. They had so much fun and still keep talking about that day.

Maile's graduation from preschool

Easter Egg hunt

Big bellied mama!

We had a Murdock Girls Getaway in Midway UT. While the rest of the girls shopped, Melynne and I had to take a break from all the fun.

I'm not a socialist anymore!

2009-05-03T21:21:00.001-06:00

Recently as I’ve studied the scriptures with renewed interest, certain topics and passages have continually jumped out at me. Those are succoring the poor and needy, and the importance of liberty. These topics may not seem to have much in common. But through studying these areas, I have gained a greater understanding of the importance of free agency, and the charge we have been given to care for those in need.

I never thought that Religion and Politics had much to do with each other. In fact, they seem to clash frequently. But through understanding some of my religious beliefs, I have restructured some of my political leanings. This has occurred by studying the founding principals of our country, and the conflicting plans of Satan and Jesus Christ.

In the news today, we hear a lot about bank and company bailouts, increased taxation of the wealthy, budget deficits, social welfare, nationalized health insurance and so on. Our country is deeply divided over social and economic issues. I’ve always tried to understand where people of opposing opinions are coming from. If we can first understand that most people hold firmly to their differing viewpoints because they believe it is morally right, then perhaps we wouldn’t judge each other so harshly. We all come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences-- which shape our individual worldviews. We need to respect each other and learn to carry on constructive conversation about our opposing viewpoints.

I live in the most Red state in the country. I was raised Republican but have always based my political viewpoints and decisions based on what I personally believed about certain issues, and not strictly on the Republican platform. I’ve had family members and friends express shock at my recent voting record. As certain news stories appear that upset my deeply conservative associates, some have expressed to me that they can’t believe I voted as I did…as if I single handedly put our current president into office. Let me first clarify a luxury I had. I live in Utah. The popular and electoral vote was going to the Republican no matter how I voted. With that understanding, I felt safe in voting for the candidate I personally liked best, knowing that if I turned out to be wrong, my vote had no affect on the outcome.

With that off my chest, I must confess-- my views have been more in line with socialists than I realized. As friends and family have passionately expressed to me their fears that our country is slipping into socialism, I’ve shrugged my shoulders wondering inwardly what was so bad about that? I didn’t know exactly what all socialism entailed, but if it meant helping the poor and needy at the expense of the wealthy, I was all for that!

I grew up in an environment where there was constant financial pressure. There were times when there was not enough food to eat. The phone line, electricity and water were shut off all too often. We’d run out of toilet paper and not be able to afford more until the next paycheck. This was a huge inconvenience!

We struggled. Yet both of my parents are some of the hardest working people I know. Despite having eight children of their own, they were always taking people in who needed a place to stay. This didn’t help their financial situation, but they take seriously the charge to care for the needy, widowed, orphaned and sick. They have shown true charity as they have given even when it seemed like that had nothing to give.

There were times growing up when we had to seek help from our church. We also were on food stamps and Medicaid. If it weren’t for Medicaid, my little sister would have died due to chronic illness that required very expensive treatment. Never during these times of assistance were my parents NOT working. In fact, during the worst period of financial stress, my father was working 3 jobs while my mother ran a daycare out of our home.

Needless to say, I bristle when I hear people verbally bash those in need of government assistance. While I admit that I’m sure there are some people who take advantage of social welfare programs, there are plenty who are hard working Americans who have simply fallen on hard times. These people have worked hard, paid their taxes, and through no fault of their own, find themselves in situations where they require help. It is humiliating for them to seek that help, but when you have hungry, uninsured children; what do you do? I’m grateful that those programs were available to us. Since that time, I am positive my father has more than paid back the welfare he received through payment of his taxes.

Growing up in a family where the lack of money was a constant source of stress and worry, it was hard not to envy those who seemed to have so much more. The worldwide gap between the ultra wealthy and the poor is enormous. Yet aren’t we all children of God? He created this earth for all of us, yet a few end up with most of its riches. I thought this was incredibly unfair. Especially when those with great wealth seemed to squander it on houses, boats, cars, jewelry and an excess of materialism, while other people in the world were starving.

The idea of taxing the rich to give to the poor just made sense. If the rich were going to be selfish and hoard all the wealth, they deserved to have some of it taken away in order to help those who had very little.

During recent political discussions, I have heard many conservatives rant and rave about the injustice of wealth redistribution. They complained about socialism creeping into our government and a new era of rewarding irresponsibility. During these tirades (See Fox News) they berate, insult and belittle the poor and the needy calling them “lazy” and “losers.”

The scriptures are perfectly clear when it comes to helping the poor and needy. King Benjamin taught:

“Ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer for his punishments are just-”
(Mosiah 4:16-17 emphasis added)

“And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God.”
(Mosiah 4:22 emphasis added)

Alma also taught the people of the church to impart of their substance according to that which he had. And if they had more abundantly they should impart more abundantly. (Mosiah 18:27)

But there was a verse that I had never noticed before in my studies that really caught me off guard. After Alma’s counsel, he stated clearly:

“And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will…”
(Mosiah 18:28 emphasis added.)

Now I apologize to those who so desperately tried to explain this to me. The point that people were trying to make was that it isn’t right for the government to FORCE people to help the poor. I heard the “force” statement, but what spoke louder to me was the anti social welfare sentiment. I wasn’t making the connection that forcing people to do anything, is against God’s nature. I know that the scriptures teach the importance of free agency and that God lost one third of his children in the pre-existence to Satan over the free agency argument. But I didn’t see the harm in taxing the rich to help the poor. After all, the rich would still be rich. And none of it belonged to them anyway, right? Everything belongs to God…BUT, if we are taught not to steal, then property rights must mean something to God after all.

As my mind began opening up to new possibilities, I started mulling over some of my socialist beliefs. I began to realize how similar they are to Satan’s plan.

Satan’s plan actually sounded pretty good. He would force everyone to be good so that everyone could return to Heavenly Father again. What’s wrong with everyone being good? Heavenly Father wanted us to all come back to him didn’t He? Why would God risk letting us choose if it meant that so many would choose wrong and never return?

In comparison, it sounds perfectly reasonable that those who have plenty should give to those who have little. Why should one man be hungry when another has plenty to share? Even better, if he refuses to share, which he probably will, just take it away from him and give it to the poor man. Let everyone be equal.

The key component to both arguments is that a man is forced to do good.

Free agency was so important to God and His eternal plan that he was willing to lose one third of His children to Satan. He was willing to send us to earth with no guarantee that we would all return. Yet he mercifully provided a way to return if we chose to follow His plan.

So now I understand the foundation of the argument against socialism, against government welfare, against excess taxing and spending. But yet I have benefited from government programs. How do I reconcile this? What would people do if these programs did not exist? Isn’t a little socialism okay?

Ezra Taft Benson answered this question in an article published in 1968 titled “The Proper Role of Government.” He stated:

“In reply to the argument that a little bit of socialism is good so long as it doesn’t go too far, it is tempting to say that, in like fashion, just a little bit of theft or a little bit of cancer is all right, too! History proves that the growth of the welfare state is difficult to check before it comes to its full flower of dictatorship. But let us hope that this time around, the trend can be reversed. If not then we will see the inevitability of complete socialism, probably within our lifetime.”

Socialism leads to communism. And once we enter that door, it is easy to keep sliding down the path-- giving up one freedom at a time. In recent years we have sacrificed our freedom and privacy for the benefit of our safety and security from terrorists. Now we are sacrificing freedom for the benefit of our economic security. After so many fought and died to gain our independence and freedom, we are gradually trading our birthright for a bowl of pottage.

A big part of the problem is that if we don’t appreciate and value what we don’t understand, then like Esau, we’ll easily trade it away for the hopes of something better or more immediately rewarding, not realizing that the thing we gave away was more precious than all the safety and security in the world.

In 1950, Mark E. Peterson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said about the Constitution:

“Nobody is going to risk very much to save an instrument which he does not understand, nor is he going to jeopardize his life or property to preserve principles he does not accept.”

I am actively studying daily, the principles of the founding fathers and the rights given to us in the Constitution. It has been an extremely rewarding experience to learn about the men that God himself raised up to establish our nation. Most Americans know very little about these great men. I have heard it argued that the founding fathers are irrelevant to our times because they presided over a nation that was significantly smaller, existed mainly on the east coast, and had completely different challenges and circumstances. These people fail to appreciate that if it weren’t for the divinely inspired constitution, they wouldn’t enjoy the rights and freedoms they have today, nor would they be living in the most prosperous nation in the world.

Wilford Woodruff said:

“Those men who laid the foundation of the American Government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of Heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits, not wicked men. General Washington and all the men that labored for the purpose were inspired of the Lord.”

I would challenge everyone to study the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and history of the founding of our nation. We can’t appreciate something we have no knowledge about. Satan knows he can’t just sweep in and rip all of our rights and freedoms away in an instant. If a communist country attacked us for the purpose of taking over our country and gaining power and authority over us, you can bet every American would stand ready to defend their country, families, liberty and freedom.

Satan is more successful with subtle approaches. If he can successfully convince a few that they are doing mankind a great service by providing for the poor and essentially taking care of all temporal needs, then these men and women will benevolently pursue this righteous purpose by using means that the father of lies whispers into their ears. Compel, force, and coerce people to take care of the poor.

Satan doesn’t care about the poor, but he does revel in watching us lose our freedoms one by one. He doesn’t care by what means we lose those freedoms, as long as eventually we have lost the right to choose.

It is understandable that those who are not easily “lulled away into carnal security” and do not blindly think “All is well in Zion” are very angry. But I would caution them to be careful where they direct their anger. Do not heap the blame on the poor. Do not fling insults and ridicule at those who are working hard to support their families but still come up short. This kind of attitude does nothing to further our cause. In fact, it makes it easier for people to justify in their minds that they are absolutely correct…the rich won’t help the poor, so they must be forced.

Others become so fearful of the path they see us on that they over reach and talk about over throwing the government or seceding from the union. This goes against all reason and against the mandate of God. We are “One nation under God.” Those who wish to destroy the nation instead of seeking out positive ways to educate people about basic liberties are just as bad as those who would lead us to communism and just as dangerous. Oh how Satan loves to see the nation divided. No doubt the Civil War brought him great satisfaction. Again, he doesn’t care how we are destroyed. Any effective method will suffice.

There are so many good people throughout this nation. Despite our weaknesses, we are better than we give ourselves credit for. I know of many righteous and good families who are wealthy and give generously to those in need. They are shining examples of what Christ taught and how he wants us to live. If enough people with means did all they could to take care of the poor among them, what need would we have for government programs and social welfare?

My opinions and ideas are still forming as I continue to study the scriptures and the values and principles our country was founded upon. But I feel my thoughts are on the right path. Every news story I see now regarding a social or economic debate is easily solved in my head as I ask: Are we being forced, or do we get to choose?

Do we have any choice in big bank bailouts? No. They are using our tax dollars to bail out these companies. And if we don’t pay our taxes, we go to jail. That’s force. What about Universal health care? In theory it sounds good. Everyone gets health insurance. But who pays for it? Our tax dollars-- which all are compelled to pay.

Ezra Taft Benson gave a great example in his article on “The Proper Role of Government.” His argument is that the government cannot have a power that a single individual couldn’t have. People created and empowered the government. So any powers the government has can only come from the people.

“Suppose pioneer “A” wants another horse for his wagon, He doesn’t have the money to buy one, but since pioneer “B” has an extra horse, he decides that he is entitled to share in his neighbor’s good fortune, Is he entitled to take his neighbor’s horse? Obviously not! If his neighbor wishes to give it or lend it, that is another question. But so long as pioneer “B” wishes to keep his property, pioneer "A" has no just claim to it.
If “A” has no proper power to take “B’s” property, can he delegate any such power to the sheriff? No. Even if everyone in the community desires that “B” give his extra horse to “A”, they have no right individually or collectively to force him to do it. They cannot delegate a power they themselves do not have. This important principle was clearly understood and explained by John Locke nearly 300 years ago:
“For nobody can transfer to another more power than he has in himself, and nobody has an absolute arbitrary power over himself, or over any other, to destroy his own life, or take away the life of property of another.” (Two Treatises of Civil Government, II, 135; P.P.N.S. p. 93)

In regards to social issues: Does the government have a right to say who can or can’t marry? No. People have the right to pursue whatever course brings them happiness. But as we’ve seen by example in states that have legalized same-sex marriage, if a pastor, priest or bishop refuses to perform such marriages that have now been deemed legal, then they are breaking the law. So in essence they can be forced to do something they believe to be morally wrong.

As Thomas Jefferson spent 17 days working on the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, he struggled tirelessly to include a least eight of the “ancient principles” he had come to admire. Among these principles he held to was the following:

“Among the most important of the unalienable rights are the right to life, the right to liberty, and the right to pursue whatever course of life a person may desire in search of happiness, so long as it does not invade the inherent rights of others.”

People have the right to live their lives in ways others may find to be morally wrong. But that is their right. However, once their rights invade the inherent rights of others, that is unconstitutional. A person could not force another person to perform a marriage they feel is morally wrong. The government certainly has no right to do so either!

The same goes for abortion. Yes a mother has a right to do whatever she wants with her body. However, when her rights infringe on another human being, namely the unborn baby, then her rights end. Satan has been tricky in trying to get around this argument since everyone believes that murder is wrong. He merely puts into question whether or not a fetus is a person at all.

We live in a choice and Promised Land. God has actively preserved this land as a place of freedom and liberty for the sole purpose of building the kingdom of God upon the earth. How could it happen in a place where there was no religious freedom? We must be active participants in preserving that liberty, especially as it is threatened on every hand with obvious brutal attack--and more subtle and crafty worldly reasonings that are formed for the express purpose of destroying our freedoms one by one. We must study the constitution so we understand what our rights are. We must be active in our communities and not stand by the side in hopes that someone else will take up the banner of freedom for us.

Elder John A. Widtsoe stated:

“The troubles of the world may largely be laid at the doors of those who are neither hot nor cold; who always follow the line of least resistance; whose timid hearts flutter at taking sides for truth. As in the great Council in the heavens, so in the Church of Christ on earth, there can be no neutrality.” (lbid., p 440)

I’ve always loved my country. But I grow to love her more everyday. I have a greater appreciation for those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom I enjoy. Let us not dishonor their sacrifice by letting these rights slip away because we think we can get something better in return. My generation has not held the same passion and fervor for this great nation as that of my parents and grandparents. But I see that changing. I see people my age becoming aware of what is happening, and striving to educate themselves. Let us all take up the banner of liberty and preserve this great country that the Lord has created for us and never take for granted these sacred freedoms and liberties.

Sources

Kimber, Glenn J., and Julianne S. Kimber. America In History and Prophecy
God-Family-Country Publishing, 2007.

The Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City, UT. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981.

Benson, Ezra Taft. “The Proper Role of Government” http://www.libertythroughcapitalism.com

Health update

2009-04-27T19:16:00.002-06:00

I just got out of the hospital after 3 days there. The so called hiatal hernia turned out to be a bowel obstruction. I've had one before and had to have 6 inches of my intestine removed, so we were worried I'd need surgery again. This isn't fun when you're 7 months pregnant. I can attest to that as I had my appendix removed when I was pregnant with Mason. Anyway, just want to thank everyone for their prayers...it worked. I didn't need surgery and they were able to get things moving again. The pain is better but my ribs are still pretty sore from all the pressure that was on them. Glad to be home with Ro and the kids, glad to be eating solid food again, glad to not be tethered to an IV pole etc. Lots of things to be grateful for. Malia stayed active through the whole ordeal. They expected her to fall asleep with all the morphine and demerol they were giving me. But she just got more active, which was encouraging to me. Anyway, that's the health update for me. More coming soon regarding our living arrangements. :)

I need to complain

2009-04-24T16:55:00.003-06:00

I'm grateful for the 4 weeks I felt great during this pregnancy. Luckily during that time we got to go to Hawaii. So awesome!

Anyway, the first 20 weeks of pregnancy were full of nausea, vomiting, and severe headaches. Then I had the 4 week break....and now I'm in the preterm labor phase. I was on bedrest for 2 weeks because the contractions were softening my cervix starting around 23 weeks. Then I was put on medication to help control that, so I'm up but have constant contractions whenever I walk, climb stairs bend over etc. Kind of hard to avoid that kind of movement when you have 2 busy kids and a house to take care of.

Then there's the insomnia I get from the contractions keeping me awake. 2 nights ago I went to the ER because I felt like my ribs were broken and whenever I laid down the pain became unbearable. They did an EKG, x-ray, blood work and a CT scan on my chest. Everything looked fine, so they doped me up on morphine and sent me home.

I went and saw my regular doctor who quickly diagnosed me as having a hiatal hernia. I guess the baby pushed my stomach through my diaphragm and into my esophagus. Yeah, weird huh. Hurts like crazy! So last night I spent crying uncontrollably because of the morphine hangover headache I got and the severe pain that shot through my ribs everytime I tried to lay down.
We're going to borrow a recliner from my in-laws so I can hopefully get some desperately needed sleep.

So there, I got it out....complain complain complain. BUT, I am so grateful that I'm pregnant and will be having a sweet little girl in 2 months or so. It's hard going through this but I know it will be so worth it. Unfortunately, Munro has banned me from EVER getting pregnant again! Oh, on a positive note, I DON'T have gestational diabetes. I had it with my last 2 pregnancies and was on insulin. But I've been taking my Xocai healthy chocolate consistently now for a year and it has done wonders at controlling my blood sugar. I was quite shocked but happy when the test came back negative. Yay for miracles! Of course the Lord doesn't want to spoil me by making things too easy, so I guess I'll just have to endure till the end for now.

Maile's 4th Birthday Party

2009-03-25T09:59:00.010-06:00

Maile turned 4 years old the day we came from Hawaii. Thankfully, after a red eye flight, my mom took care of the simple details and made a cake. We brought her home a Rapunzel Barbie as a gift and we had some family over that evening. This was totally good enough for me as far as celebrating her birthday.

BUT of course Maile has been talking about the butterfly party she's going to have with all her friends for months now. So the next week we had another party. This time I actually had to do stuff. Granted it was mostly last minute and I had no idea what I was doing and was extremely nervous cause parties just aren't my thing. I called my sister Becca and got some ideas and quickly threw something together that included butterlies and friends. Munro was such a great helper and actually cut peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into butterfly shapes. What a great daddy!

We did some minimal decorating with a few ballons and streamers.

For our first activity, I had the girls color butterfly pictures with markers and glitter. They loved it. In fact they spent most of their time doing that and didn't want to stop.

Then the kids ate their butterfly sandwiches and fruit with fruit dip.

Then we opened presents

And next we frosted and decorated cookies. The kids loved that and enjoyed eating globs of frosting. We topped Maile's cookie with a #4 candle and sang happy birthday.

Overall it went pretty well. Thanks to Munro and Becca's help, I pulled it off. But I think I'm going to wait 4 more years to do another big birthday party. :)

The worst pain you've ever felt

2009-03-22T20:48:00.003-06:00

The other night when Mason was saying his prayers before bed, he said "Please bless that when my mom has the baby it won't hurt so bad." When he was done with the prayer, he commented to me, "Actually mom, it's gonna be the worst pain you've ever felt, but I'm just praying that it will be a little less." Hey, a little less pain is fine with me! Gotta love that kid!

The ever observant Mason!

2009-03-16T13:09:00.005-06:00

Conversation I had with Mason today. We had just had our car washed and his Grandpa Murdock's carwash:

Mason: Did Papa G build this car wash?
Mom: Yep
Mason: All by himself!
Mom: No, he probably paid someone to build it.
Mason: Cause Papa G has lots of dollars.
Mom: Yep
Mason: So does that mean Papa G is a Gold Executive?
Mom: No, Papa G doesn't do Xocai.
Mason: You mean he doesn't have a Xocai business!
Mom: Nope
Mason Why?
Mom: Because he chooses not to.
Mason: So even though he KNOWS about Xocai he doesn't have a Xocai business?
Mom: Nope
Mason: Oh.

Then, Munro was home for a lunch break but getting ready to go back to work. The kids were at the table eating lunch and Munro was kissing me goodbye.

Mason: Dad, how come you don't kiss us like how you kiss mom?
Dad: (Pause...) Because mommies and daddies have a different relationship then Daddies and kids.

Good answer!

Hawaiian Vacation

2009-03-10T21:46:00.003-06:00

Munro and I recently returned from a wonderful 3rd honeymoon in Hawaii. My mom and sister Sarah were kind enough to watch our kidlets while we traveled. While we missed them everyday, it was great to reconnect again, especially in the place where we first fell in love....Ahhhhhh....sigh.

We've done all the touristy stuff so many times so we mostly skipped that, (Although I couldn't resist a trip to the swap meet.) This vacation was relaxation time with some work with our chocolate business and supporting our amazing team on the Big Island. Munro was also a judge in the BYU-Hawaii business plan competition which he won in 2003. It was fun for him to be on the other side of the table and to serve as a mentor to some awesome entrepreneurial business students.

It was overcast and rainy for most of our stay. But we did have 1 sunny day which we spent on the beach. I dug a hole in the sand then laid on my stomach with my tummy fitting nicely in the sandy cavern. Lying on your stomach can be such a wonderful feeling, especially when you aren't able to do it anymore. Almost as great as floating on my back in one of the Ko Olina lagoons. There were no waves at all...so still and calm. I just floated for a while and watched the clouds glide by....Absolute Heaven!

We spent the majority of our free time looking at homes in the Ewa, Kapolei and Makakilo areas. We really want to move back to Hawaii. There are some beautiful homes...just very pricey. Hopefully if our Xocai business keeps growing as it is, we can justify the extra expense and enjoy paradise year round. I didn't take many pictures of us. But here are a couple. Aloha!

My Rockin Music Video-"Eat Xocai Baby"

2009-02-26T07:48:00.003-07:00

It's been a year in the making...."Eat Xocai Baby" is the long awaited music video Munro and I made about our Rockin Healthy Chocolate Business. Now you can get a better idea about what it is Munro actually does for a living. And hey...if anything, this is good for a laugh. Starring our family and Brooklyn, the Xocai Baby.

Two Peas

2009-02-15T21:56:00.003-07:00

Mason and Maile have become inseperable lately. They constantly declare they are "best friends" and when Mason's at school, Maile's constant question is "When are we gonna get Mason?" It's gotten to the point that when Mason isn't around, Maile is completely inhibited. She's afraid to play with other kids and cries when she's in public situations. Having Mason with her is like a security blanket and she can do anything and be completely herself if he's around. It's totally cute on one hand, but worries me a bit too. Mason is his same outgoing self no matter what. But he definitely has Maile under his wing and takes extra special care of her especially in public and around other kids. I'm glad my kids like each other so much. It really is a blessing. They're both excited about the new baby. But I am interested to see if 3 will be a crowd.

Real Men do the Haka

2009-02-14T18:21:00.003-07:00

Munro and I dated and were engaged for a total of 4 months in Hawaii before we flew home during Christmas break to meet each other's families and get married. It was pretty crazy meeting your new family just before joining them. But I totally lucked out in the awesome in-law department. I really didn't know any of them very well, but one of my fondest memories of my new brothers (keep in mind Munro has 7 brothers) was when they all ripped off their shirts and performed the Haka at our reception. They had a crash course lesson from my little brother Jacob before they performed. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw this haole rendition but I felt loved and accepted into my new family. How lucky am I to have 2 Amazing families!

Highlights from Our Wedding 2002

2009-02-14T14:47:00.004-07:00

Here's a little video from the happiest day of my life. Ro and I were married on Jan. 2, 2002.

30 Things About Me and My Valentine

2009-02-13T11:44:00.003-07:00

1. How long have you been together?
7 years 5 months

2. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About 1 week

3. Who asked who out?
Munro didn't have my number or know which dorm I lived in. So he just picked a dorm and asked the RA if I lived there. I did! So he asked me out.

4. How old are each of you?
We're both 31. I'm 2 months older.

5. Whose siblings do you see the most?
We see mine more since some live right next door.

6. Do you have children together?
2 children and 1 squirmy baby in my tummy.

7. What about pets?
No pets anymore. I accidently killed the fish and we sold our dog :(

8. Did you go to the same school?
No

9. Are you from the same town?
No but close. I'm from Provo, he's from Orem.

10. Who is the smartest?
We are both pretty smart I guess, just in different areas.

11. Who is the most sensitive?
Definitely ME!

12. Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Olive Garden and Los Hermanos

13. Where is the farthest place you have traveled as a couple?
Grand Cayman

14. Who has the craziest exes?
Probably me.

15. Who has the worst temper?
We both have very mild tempers and have never yelled at each other.

16. Who does most of the cooking?
Me.

17. Who is more social?
Munro

18. Who is the neat freak?
Munro

19. Who is more stubborn?
I'm very stubborn and Munro is Mr. Humility

20. Who hogs the bed?
Neither, but I probably hog the blankets.

21. Who wakes up earlier?
Munro wakes up around 5am! I get up around 8.

22. Where was your first date?
In Hawaii. First date was with a Group and we saw "The Others". Our first single date was to L&L's and then we picked plumerias off some trees and made our own leis, hung out at Munro's house, probably walked on the beach that night too.

23. Who has the bigger family?
Munro, he has 9 kids in his family, I only have 8.

24. Do you get flowers often?
Not a ton, but he gets me flowers on special occasions, or when he's hurt my feelings :)

25. How do you spend the holidays?
Normally a little with his family and a lot with mine.

26. Who is more jealous?
I'm more jealous, but I like being jealous...it's a passion feeling.

27. Who does the laundry?
I do the laundry

28. Who is better with the computer?
We're both pretty good at it, but recently I think Munro's skills have surpassed mine...if that's even possible!

29. Who drives when you are together?
Probably 50/50. I get sick in the passenger seat and I'm a terrible back seat driver...so just so he can have peace, Munro lets me drive a lot.

30. Is your family still growing?
As we speak...and if I'm lucky, I'd like to have maybe 1 or 2 more...but we might have to adopt. :)

25 Random Things About Me

2009-01-31T18:20:00.001-07:00

1. Most people would consider me shy and quiet. But once you get to know me, good luck on getting me to shut up.

2. Growing up, I was teased a lot for being a "Molly Mormon" and "Goody Two Shoes."

3. I'm always being asked what my nationality is. The answer is "American." If you want to know what my ethnicity is, I'm Japanese Caucasion with some native American mixed in and possibly Hawaiian. It's hard to know for sure since my great grandmother was kind of wild and crazy :)

4. I'm the oldest of 7 kids and have 1 older half-brother.

5. When I was 15 I competed in the Miss Teen Utah Pageant. It was a great opportunity to break out of the box I had myself in and be whatever I wanted to be because No one knew I was shy and quiet. I placed in the top 10 and was chosen to be Miss Congeniality. The next day I went back to school and sat by myself at lunch.

6. I've struggled with various health problems all my life and in 2006 was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system. I went through 4 months of chemotherapy and 1 month of radiation. I lost all my hair but successfully eliminated the cancer. I've been in remission for 2 1/2 years.

7. I published a short story when I was 12 years old after entering the Young Author's conference. The story was called "The Last Samurai" and then years later, Tom Cruise starred in a movie with the same title...but very different story :)

8. I served an LDS mission in Tokyo Japan and this was the last place on earth I wanted to go. But I ended up loving it and gaining a great appreciation for my culture and my ancestors.

9. I'm a computer geek. I love to make and edit movies on my iMac, design web pages and do other desktop publishing projects.

10. I composed music with lyrics and produced a CD which I sold to raise money to pay for my mission.

11. Before I married Munro, I was engaged to another guy 3 different times and lost 3 separate engagement rings...I guess it wasn't meant to be. (I've never lost the ring Munro gave me.)

12. I met Munro at a Laundromat/Tanning salon. His family owned it and I went in to go tanning before moving to Hawaii. I met him briefly, shook his hand and that was it. The next week I moved to Hawaii to attend BYU-H and ran into him on the beach with the sun shining gloriously behind him. We were married 4 months later.

13. I've never tasted alcohol, smoked a cigarette, drank coffee, done illegal drugs or been arrested.

14. I have 5 tattoos.

15. Each tattoo is the size of a mole and was strategically placed to receive radiation in exactly the right areas.

16. I lived in the Cayman Islands and survived a direct hit from a CAT 5 hurricane which devastated the island.

17. Once I start working on a project, I obsessively work on it until it is completed. I hate half finished things.

18. I love bubble gum ice cream, junior mints, and dill pickles. (but not neccesarily all together.)

19. I hate to exercise.

20. When I went on my mission, I had 2 brothers who were out at the same time, so my parents had 3 missionaries out. Then when I got married, a brother and a sister also got married the same month, so my parents had 3 weddings in 30 days.

21. I love history, politics and current events. I voted for Barack Obama.

22. I'm SCUBA certified.

23. I have a keen business sense, enjoy accounting, and have been told I have a dry sense of humor.

24. Most people think I'm in my mid to lower twenties. If my kids aren't with me I'm still occasionally mistaken for an 18 year old. I turn 32 this March! (When my mom was 32 she had her 7th child!)

25. Nothing brings me greater happiness than my husband and 2.5 children.

First Ultrasound

2008-12-24T10:37:00.002-07:00

I just had my first ultrasound and was so happy to see that there IS actually something, or someone in there. I am 11 weeks along (found out I was a little further along than I thought) and am starting to feel good! I'm still pretty tired, but at least the nausea is mostly gone. The interesting thing is that with my first 2 pregnancies, I thought I was going to die, I felt so terrible. But since then, I've gone through Chemo. I don't know if its just by comparison that this time around doesn't seem so bad cause nothing feels quite as awful as the affects of chemo. Or maybe I'm just not as sick as I normally get. Either way, I'm glad it was brief and not too bad.

I'm so excited and anxious to have another baby. It's just amazing to me that even at only 11 weeks of development, this little fig size person can move around so much. It has been so much fun with this pregnancy because both of my kids are old enough to know what's going on. They ask so many questions about the baby (which has been interesting at times and I've had to make a few trips to the library to help explain things). They always remember the baby in their prayers. Its fun every week to find an object that represents how the big the baby is now. We have a little bag we keep the objects in so we can compare every week how much bigger it has grown. Oh what fun!

Murdock Family 2008 Update

2008-12-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

Munro 31 ~ Has been ambitiously building up his Xocai Healthy Chocolate business this year. In October he started working the business full time and we are excited to watch it grown and be able to share a truly awesome product with people as well as help others grow their own income. Munro has also been a busy property manager of our 2 rentals (which we’d love to sale) and has also been buying cars from the auction and selling them. Munro also began his acting career this year. He’s been an extra in a few made for TV movies and will be in the upcoming “Waiting for Forever.” He also just finished working on a RC Willey commercial. There is nothing this Murdock Man can’t do! We are grateful to have such a great husband and father who works so hard to support his family.

Rachel 31 ~ has been helping Munro with the healthy chocolate business, editing and creating great videos, taking care of two great kids and began writing a novel. She also enjoyed getting into politics this year and discussing different points of view with people. Rachel had another cancer free year and celebrated 2 years of being in remission. Also, we are happy to announce that Rachel is pregnant! We are so excited to welcome another little one into our family. It is truly a blessing and an answer to many prayers. Besides the morning sickness that lasts all day, Rachel is happy and healthy!

Mason 6 ~ is loving his 3rd year at Kids Village and is in Kindergarten this year. Mason loves math, drawing, coloring and most of all, playing his Nintendo DS. He plays so well with Maile and is a great big brother, always willing to help mommy out.
Masonisms: After Uncle Taber put a present under the tree for our family, Mason said “When its Christmas, after we open our presents, if we like it, we’ll call you and say Thank you. If we don’t like it, we’ll still call you and say Thank you.”
Maile asked her Auntie if she knows Heavenly Father & Jesus. Mason interrupted and said, “Everyone knows Heavenly Father & Jesus, just not everyone thinks they’re true.” After Mason found out mommy was pregnant he said, “I’m so excited mom. It’s gonna hurt, but it’s the greatest gift.”

Maile 3 ~ started her first year of preschool at Kids Village and would love it if she didn’t have to get up early in the morning. (She takes after mom, she’s not a morning person.) She loves pretty frilly dresses, Disney princesses, pink and purple, makeup and long hair. She loves to sing songs from Disney, Primary, and Barbie movies.
Maileisms: playing with a toy register, she said, “Thank you for shopping at Walmart.” When Maile found out there was a baby in mommy’s tummy, she eyed mommy carefully, then walked up to her, lifted up her shirt and said, “Where is it?” Maile’s friend told her she was going to marry Mason. Maile screamed at her, “NO, YOU CAN’T MARRY MY BRUDDER!”

Life is great and we can’t help but to feel truly blessed. Despite all the uncertainty and “scary” things going on in the world, we are optimistic. We are grateful to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives and proudly celebrate His birth at this time of year. Merry Christmas from our family and we hope you have a great 2009!

For contact info, email:
munromurdock@yahoo.com ~ raeshine77@yahoo.com

Our Business- www.rockthechoc.com

Family Pictures

2008-12-10T21:34:00.002-07:00

Our Family

My Wonderful Uda Family

Uda Girl Turkey Romp

2008-12-01T20:29:00.003-07:00

For Thanksgiving this year, we had a big Uda Gang Reunion with family coming all the way from Hawaii. At the last minute, somehow my crazy sisters convinced me to learn a quick dance for the impromptu talent show. I normally only dance in front of my kids and that's just cause it gives them a good laugh. I have no rhythm and am pretty self conscious about dancing in public. But I caved to the peer pressure and now I'm posting my humiliation publicly.

Japanese CEO takes paycut, American CEOs should follow example!

2008-11-21T10:04:00.002-07:00

I was so impressed by this Japanese CEO after hearing of all the corporate greed and golden parachutes in our country. Our American CEOs should follow his example.

Guess What!

2008-11-16T19:55:00.004-07:00

Drum roll please.....................

And the results are.................

POSITIVE!
I'M FINALLY PREGNANT!

The battle against cancer was grueling and the affects of chemo were almost unbearable. But there was a handful of side affects that I gladly accepted. We made the decision to put my body into menopause during chemotherapy to protect my eggs and give me a chance at getting pregnant in the future. The doctors were hopeful that it would work, but not positive. We have been trying to get pregnant for a while now and it has been a source of disappointment and frustration that is was proving to be so difficult-- Especially when it was very easy to get pregnant with my first two. We were just starting to look into adoption when we found out I was pregnant. I am only 5 weeks along and common sense would tell me that it is much too early to broadcast the news. But I've never been one to keep a secret...it's just too hard when I'm so happy and excited. Besides, I figure the added prayers from friends and family could only help. My hormone levels are high and I'm already sick, both good signs that I can sustain the pregnancy. I'm so incredibly excited. Mason put it best when we told him the news. He said, "Mom, I'm so excited. It's going to hurt a lot, but it's the best gift."
Wow, I just love my kids, and can't wait to have another special little spirit join our family.

Online Survey Participants Needed!

2008-11-07T10:58:00.002-07:00

For Munro's new job, he is required to get as many of these surveys filled out online as possible. Can you help me by taking a few minutes to fill out this survey? I would really appreciate it! (Please feel free to forward.) The more participants the better. Thanks so much,
Rachel

Subject: BYU Weight Loss Study #274

We are currently conducting a new BYU Weight Loss Study and would appreciate your participation by completing the following short survey. We will be giving away two $50 gift cards to randomly selected participants on November 15th. The survey should take less than 10 minutes and will provide us with important details related to motivational factors associated with weight loss, exercise and eating habits. You have the option of either completing the survey anonymously or adding your contact information at the end in order to be entered in the drawing. All information will be kept confidential and will not be used for any other purpose.

Please forward this email to family members, friends and people who may be inclined to contribute to this important study.

Click on the following link to complete the survey now and to enter to win a $50 gift card:

https://byu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5yU3KsOzqyJhh0U&SVID=Prod

Thank you for your participation,

Research team:
Cameron L.
Gustavo A.
Jonathan J.
Summer O.
BYU Weight Loss Study #274

October Family Pics

2008-11-06T15:16:00.007-07:00

The kids at their School Halloween program. Mason was Super Mario and Maile was a princess...of course.

We went on a quick trip to Colorado for our Xocai Healthy Chocolate business. We brought the kids along and they were great sports during many long meetings. We made it up to them and took them to Bananas Fun Park.

Oh the joys of having a little girl. Maile got herself invited to a pajama party. Most of the girls were 5 years old. So Maile got to hang out with the older girls and get her makeup done as well as fingernails and toenails painted. OH, and did I mention they all had their hair colored!? Yeah, let's just say the bath water was bright pink that night.

Little boys are so fun too. Munro just loves having his own little soccer star. Ro was faithful in attending almost every single game Mason had. He also went through many drills and practices at home. We even started going to the REAL Salt Lake soccer games. It was pretty exciting for the boys.