Reality Check

I would like to type up my thoughts on the resurrection. However, I would like to start out with a little movie critique.

Most movies I watch I do not like. They are either far too cheesy, vulgar, stupid, poorly done, or just down right a waste of my time. Laura and I have watched a lot of movies recently and one that I really liked for some strange reason was The Next Three Days. I expected it, as did Laura, to be your typical prisonbreak action flick full of high-tech gadgets, etc and in the end it would be unable to pull it all together and would end up closing with a stupid scene that you could have predicted coming 10 minutes into the movie. It might very well have had several of those things however the movie was not about a husband breaking his wife out of prison. The underlying story is the power of one's self created reality.

(Don't read this paragraph if you don't want to know what happens in the movie) Russel Crowe's wife is put in jail for murder and sentenced to life in prison. Russel Crowe is convinced that she is innocent. It is important to note that he has no proof of her innocence just his gut feeling that she couldn't have killed someone and then have come home and had a create night out with him. His Lawyer tells him that she is guilty because of all of the evidence and he should move on. His parents say the same thing. Then finally days before his attempt to break her out his wife tells him that she is guilty. He doesn't believe her and ends up killing, stealing, lying, and doing things he never would have dreamed of himself doing, all because he was convinced that she was innocent. He had no proof of it he just believed it. I kind of wish they wouldn't have ended the movie the way they did, but it still was a very good movie that I really enjoyed watching and even more so thinking about afterwards.

Reality. What is it? Is it the way things really are or is it the way we choose to perceive the things around us? I think as you ponder and reflect on that question you will gain a better understanding of how two people can look at the same facts and come to very different conclusions. This is very evident in the world of politics, religion, medicine, science, etc.

So the next question to ask yourself is what is my reality? and do you get to choose it or not? Why do you behave the way you do? Why do you like the things you enjoy doing? Why do you believe what you believe? Do you have proof?

That's the thing. It seems the whole world, and I would expect probably more now than two or three hundred years ago, is convinced that we need proof or a reason to truly believe in something. Without proof you are abandoning the scientific process and embarking into a world full of fluff and bias. However, as you think about the previous questions I asked also consider which is a more powerful influence in your life: proof or your reality?

The resurrection is just this way for me. I have no idea how it works. I have zero proof of Christ's personal resurrection and if possible I have even less proof that resurrection is in my future. The only thing I have is scriptures written thousands of years ago by prophets I have never met (also prophets that I have very little if any proof of actually existing); the thoughts, feelings and testimonies of thousands of like minded people; and most importantly my own personal thoughts, feelings and experiences.

When I look at the complexity of life and death I find peace and solace in the resurrection. There are terrible ways to die and often the worst part isn't the death in and of itself but the lives of the loved ones left behind. It breaks my heart thinking about it. How can it be fair? The resurrection. Why should I give my whole life to Christ? and more specifically why should I be the best husband and father that I can be? Why should I be a good person? The resurrection. It is the answer. The doctrine fills me with peace, hope and confidence in the future. It is how I can move forward with assurance that in the end everything will work out.

Proof? Who needs it. I have my own personal happy reality.

This is one of my favorite mormon messages

My message to the world!!!

I was going to post this on mother's day but then I forgot and now it is too late to actually be for mother's day but I decided to post it anyway. I didn't get around to finishing it but here is what I had. I have a wonderful wife.

...on a platform I'm gonna stand and say That I'm nothing on my own...

These are the words of Chris Martin from the song "A Message" off Coldplay's 3rd album X&Y. As I was thinking about what I wanted to write in my blog about my wife on mother's day, these are the words that came to mind. So here is a list of things that I want to stand on a platform and tell everyone about.

Things everyone should know about Laura

1.Laura puts up with a lot and doesn't expect much out of me in return. (just that I do the dishes every now and again)

2.She is the smartest, funniest, cutest person I know.

3. Everyone talks about how amazing it is to watch babies grow up and learn, which is very true, but you don't hear people talk about an equally amazing event; mothers learning to be mothers. Jane did not come with instructions or rules, but somehow Laura has become a mothering machine (and I am not talking about being pregnant again within a few months after giving birth). She is a wonderful mother and I enjoy watching her be a mother.

4. Laura is a very good cook. She loves experimenting and I get to be the beneficiary of these experiments. We have had everything from Turkish, Russian, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Greek, etc.

Laura needed glasses and while we were at the store we decided to try a few on Jane.
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We tried on some of the kid glasses and they fit a little better but I don't think they are quite as cute.

Here is a video I just put together of Jane's first easter. Again you will be amazed at her overall cuteness!!

Grandma Knights Birthday Video

Laughing Jane

We think Jane is really cute!!!!

More Jane!!!

I haven't posted pictures of Jane in a while so here are a few cute ones with a really long video that only Grandma Maggie will probably enjoy.

Random cute picturesJane sitting in the sun

This is Jane watching the Superbowl with Dad

We tried feeding Jane meat for the first time the other day. For anyone who doesn't know what baby food meat is like just think of putting a piece of chicken in the blender and blending it until it is like a fine paste. That is what it looks like. Here are some pictures from that experienceThis is Jane after a bite of a vegetable variety that she really likes. The next bite was the chicken




Then Laura took another shot as fast as she could and the look put an end to our trying to feed her. I think she thought we were trying to kill her.



Pure Horror!

We love our little baby! She just keeps getting more and more fun to have around. Except for the screaming in the middle of the night, but we are hopeful that she will grow out of that one day.


This is a 5 minute long video for people who want to see action shots of Jane. They actually are really boring but we love them.

Laura and I went and saw Avatar this weekend. Neither of us really wanted to at first but then when we started asking people about it everyone was telling us how good it was. And to make it even better everyone said that you had to see it in 3D which made each ticket for us almost $13. Finally, Dad convinced us while he was in town to go and see it and he would take care of Jane while we did. I have to admit that Laura and I both were pleasantly surprised. This could be because we went in with lower expectations than usual. (I have found that this is the only way for me to enjoy most movies). We had seen the previews and both told ourselves that it looked like it was going to have a lame plot about these cheesy aliens that lived on some precious material that the evil people would be willing to do anything to get. However, somehow we both liked it. Here is my critique:

First what I didn't like. I thought the overall plot was a little cliche and predictable. For the life of me I can't figure out why these big blockbuster movies that have a budget of millions and millions of dollars can't spend a little more time to figure out a way to end the movie without a mano a mano showdown between the good guy and the bad guy. Don't get me wrong I don't think it was a bad plot and overall it didn't take away from the ultimate movie experience but I am just saying that there was nothing special about the story.

What I liked. Anyone who sees the movie will be very impressed with the overall visual experience. Not only is it 3D but the whole movie is full of huge sweeping scenes that are mind blowing to think about how they filmed them. I have no idea what was real and what was fake throughout the entire movie. The Na'vi (aliens) at times looked so real I am sure that they used actors. The thing that I liked most about it was that it a great job of creating this world of aliens where everything felt foreign (the way they looked, talked, body language, religion, etc) but at the same time it didn't feel ridiculous, over done, or cheesy.

Overall I thought it was a movie worth seeing. (I am not sure if it was worth $26 or not) Now if they could just figure out how to end the movie without the general dude leaping from a flaming plane in a robot thing only to be killed by the hero's girl at the very moment you think the hero is going to die.

Jane!!!!

I figured we should let the secret out that we have the cutest baby in the world. These are just a few random videos we have taken over the last few weeks. We really think, in our unbiased opinion, that Jane is cuter than any other baby ever! Enjoy the video.

Getting back to it

Before I write about what I was planning on writing I just want to say that Laura and I have been blessed with the cutest, sweetest, happiest little girl in the world. It has been great being home with Jane. She finally has some routine and is doing absolutely wonderful. We love her.

Laura and I have been thinking a lot about a few different things. First, Laura and I really want to try and keep ourselves in good shape. It is easy as a medical student and as a stay at home mom to get caught up in the busyness of life and for exercise and activity to go down the drain. We also really want to do a better job of reading our scriptures regularly. Lastly, we have been trying for a long time to eat more healthy and to increase our arsenal of delicious meals. In order to do this we really want to cut back on the amount of eating out that we do. (Mainly fast food eating out. We probably were eating out once or twice ever two weeks, but it still was more than we wanted to do)

We have created a plan that will help us to accomplish our desires. The main reason I am writing this blog is to write out our thoughts so that we then have to stick to it.

The Plan
We bought a dry/erase calendar that hangs on our refrigerator. We keep track of the meals that we are eating on this board and we keep track of the amount of days we study our scriptures and exercise. Laura has her color of marker and I have mine. On the days we read we mark it down and on the days we exercise we mark it down.

Now, the key to the plan is what we do with this information. If we read all 7 days and we exercised 4 days then we get put $7.50 into our "date" fund. We get 1 mess up activity. meaning that if we only read six days and exercised 4 days then we still get our $7.50 but if we only read 6 days and exercised 3 days, no money. If we go all out and exercise 5 or 6 days of the week we get $10, but we have to read all 7 days. If we only read 6 days then we only get $7.50. This money is what we get to use for dates and eating out. It carries over from week to week. If there is something a little more expensive than we usually would spend on a date we have to go without, or just go on really cheap dates for a few weeks and then we will have enough.

We are not sure if this plan is going to work but we are going to try and pull it off this semester and then we might have to make changes to it.

I really think this is a genius plan and we are both excited to implement it into our daily routines.

Due to popular demand

Dana sent me an email and kindly asked me to post more pictures of her. I decided to try and be creative and made a short little video of some of the pictures we have. Enjoy.

Jane Ivy Foster

Here are a few preliminary photos of baby Jane. I know everybody reading this thinks they have the cutest baby in the world but I am sorry to inform you that is no longer the case. Jane takes the cake.

Jane's first picture. About 15 minutes after she was born.

Mother and Baby

Look at those eyes!!!!

She was born on June 22, 2009 at 12:58pm. She weighed 8lbs 5.6oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She is doing great. Laura is also feeling very good considering what she just went through. She handled the whole experience with a toughness and a ever present sweetness that just amazed me. She is wonderful.

I have nothing in particular to blog about. So I am just going to start typing and we will see what comes of it.

Right now Laura and I have a lot of time on our hands. (Laura quite work and I only work about 20 hrs a week in the anatomy lab) We decided to check out the first season of LOST and watch in all this week. 24 episodes later I feel like I wasted quite a bit of time, but we both enjoyed it a lot. Some of the characters have changed a lot and some of the main characters, that they take a lot of time to develop, aren't even a consideration in the fifth season,(Charlie, Shannon) However, I realized that I really enjoy the show, not just trying to figure it out, but I think I feel like the characters are in some strange way like myself. I have never murdered anyone, taken drugs, been paralyzed, slept with my sister-in-law, run from the law, etc, but I can relate to many of the emotions the characters are struggling on a more basic level.

One of the main themes that runs through the entire first season (mainly through the characters of Locke and Jack) is "Don't tell me what I can't do." Locke's attempts to deal with his "condition" and trying to follow his faith in the island. Then there is Jack who is trying to keep everyone safe from the island and themselves. Do remember the scene where he is going to cut off Boone's leg in a desperate attempt to save him, and Sun tries to tell him that it is pointless. "Don't tell me what I can't do." I don't know what Jack role (or Locke's for that matter) is going to be in the finale but I think that it will be in line with how he is portrayed in the first season. Also, I don't think Locke's role is done either. He is too important to just have been used by the evil dude in black. Enough about LOST.

My wife is going to have a baby anytime this week. We are busy trying to get the apartment ready for the baby. We pretty much have everything we need, even an exersaucer, but there is still a little bit of organization that needs to take place. Laura looks really cute as a 39 week pregnant lady. Everyone thinks that she looks small for being as pregnant as she is but I disagree. She looks huge!!! I think it is because with the shirts that Laura is wearing it gives a false impression of where her stomach begins. If she were to wear a skin tight shirt you would see that she practically has a portable t.v. tray attached to her stomach. To say the least she is very cute and very ready to have a baby. We went to see the doctor yesterday and everything is looking good. She was 1 cm dilated and everything else is in place for labor to begin. We are excited. She did get a cold yesterday and has had a runny nose and has been sneezing all day so hopefully the baby can wait until she gets a little better. Laura is a trooper.

I thought I was going to be a great anatomy TA. I knew my stuff very well when I took the class and I enjoy it a ton. I learned yesterday that enjoying a subject doesn't qualify you to be a good teacher. I have forgotten 75% of what I learned in anatomy. I can't remember names of muscles and I especially can't remember the names of any of the arteries, veins, and ligments that I am suppose to know. It actually was very frustrating to finally realize how little I have retained from the hours and hours of studying I did to get it into my brain in the first place. Luckily for me it comes back much faster and clearer the second time through so I am going to try and do some of my own personal studying before I go to class.

Well, I am out of time and things to say. See you later.

ps- I don't feel like proofreading so if the following paragraphs have a lot of mistakes or if they just don't make sense I am sorry. Call me and I will try to explain it to you.

Here She Is- Mother and Daughter

May 24, 2009
Laura and I were talking about bowling today. Laura told me to imagine having a bowling ball surgical placed inside of my stomach. That is how she feels. But she looks super cute.

Nerd, Geek, Dork or Dweeb?

Ranks these four discriptive words from best to worst. In other words which would you like most to be called? form most to least. Laura and I have an argument to settle about this. I know we have probably asked you a similar question in the past but dweeb is a new addition.

If you would like you can give us some commentary on why you choose what you did.

April 29, 2009

Doesn't she look cute! Mother and Daughter! (and tree!) The tree has started sprouting buds and leaves. Sadly, it doesn't know what is coming it's way in a few months. 120 degrees

Baby!!!!!!!

Mid to Late January

Late February, maybe early March


March 29, 2009 (She looks bigger than this picture shows)

Just this last week Laura had someone ask her about being pregnant form someone that she hadn't told she was pregnant. We take this to mean that she officially looks very pregnant. Several people have mentioned how small Laura is for being less than 3 months away from the due date. I think Laura feels plenty big. The baby is doing great and is kicking a lot. We have had several belly rumblers as we were both watching.

We are in the middle of a debate on what we should name her. The top choices are as follows
1. Jane Ivy Foster
2. Lilia (Margaret or Helen) Foster - Maybe Lilya
3. Lucy Ann Foster
4. Ashley Naomi Foster

It is really between the top two but 3 and 4 are names we were discussing earlier on. Any input?

The Greatest Comeback I have ever seen

Dad, Mom, Laura and I all went down to Tuscon yesterday to go to an Arizona basketball game with Carson. Little did we know (and apparently Carson didn't know either) we had tickets on the floor. We're talking about the sideline was 2 ft in front of us. Whenever the players passed the ball in we were staring into their backside. (of their knees!) It wasn't actually that great of a game until the last 4 or 5 minutes and even then not that great until the last 52 seconds. They were losing by 10 or so for the entire second half and then they began pressing Houston. Houston went cold and we started hitting some threes, but we still found ourselves down by 9 with 52 seconds left. Half of the the crowd got up and left during the time out. I will try and recount what happened next.

I just tried to do it but I have no idea how it happened. It doesn't seem possible. I know that there were at least 3 missed free throws from Houston and turnover on an inbound pass and 3 threes and a turn around jumper by Jordan Hill for Arizona. The point is with about 15 seconds left Arizona was losing by 3 and Lewis (Houston's best player) was shooting two. He missed both and Nic Wise for Arizona came down and hit a three. Literally 15 ft from where we were sitting. That just sent the game into overtime and Arizona ended up winning by 6. It was a great game and probably the most fun I have had at a game for a very long time. Thank you Carson and Warren!

Here is a link to a youtube video that runs through the highlights. You can see us sitting on the sidelines during one part of the game. In the second half Houston's second leading scorer was kicked out of the game for stepping on Chase Budingers head. (I don't know if he did it on purpose but I can't figure out how he couldn't have known he was there. Watch the video and you'll see) click on the link and then fast forward (or watch) to 5:28 seconds into the video. If you look at the first red blob that you can see sitting on the floor seats, that is Dad. (and me :)) I stand up right after the guy steps on Budinger's head. Just click on the title of the blog and it will take you to the link.
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IT'S A GIRL!

Laura and I went to the Doctor this week and found out that our little baby is going to be a girl. Not only that but Laura is pretty sure that she has been feeling our little girl kicking the last couple of days. We are really excited and are loving life.

There is some amazing new technology that a computer can take several different ultrasounds and combine them to give you a very real looking picture of your baby. Even better they can give you a fairly accurate picture of what your baby will look like. We decided to do it and these are the pictures we got.





















Isn't she cute? Hey, it's not her fault she has my genes.