The Perfect Day

It has been a long time since I updated our family blog. Life has been a little crazy lately, but I assure you that we are all alive and well. I had to post about our weekend though.


A year ago last October our friends, Jason and Jennifer Mouso and their two boys, were baptized. You can read about what I wrote about their conversion last year here! Their goal from the beginning was to make it to the temple. They wanted to know what was required to get there and did everything they needed to do to get there.

On Friday, Ivan and I were able to escort Jason and Jenn through the Mesa temple where they were able to to receive sacred ordinances and make covenants with God. It was such an amazing experience for us. When they were investigating the church, we shared with them how much we loved the temple and tried to describe the feeling of peace that is felt inside the temple. But describing the peace is as hard as describing what salt taste like. You know how it taste, but it's hard to put it into words. It was so amazing to have them there with us in the temple and able to feel and experience it for themselves! They are already so anxious to go again.

The neatest part for me was seeing so many of our friends from church there in the celestial room to greet Jenn and Jason at the end. The support, love, and joy that all of us felt for them was evident.

Saturday had to be the Perfect Day. We started the day bright and early at the Triathlon and Biathlon in Casa Grande. We had at least 15 people that we knew participating in the festivities! It was Ivan's first Biathlon. He ran a mile and 1/2, biked 10 miles, and ran another 3 miles. He was hoping to do it in an hour and 15 minutes, but he was able to finish in an hour and 10 minutes! He rode his $100 mountain bike that we bought at Shopko while we were at BYU. He had people whizzing by him left and right who were on really nice road bikes, so he had to make up the difference in the running. He placed 9th overall. I think he would have come in 1st in the mountain bike division! :-) Maybe when we pay off the house, we can get him a real bike.

We had a great time cheering on all our friends at the finish line. Eventually I'll email everyone the pictures I took of them crossing the finish line. From the race, we hurried back to the hotel to get ready to head back up to the temple.

It was so neat to be with Jenn in the Bridal Room as she prepared to be married again to Jason. Then, I walked into the chapel and saw the missionaries that taught them the gospel. I can only imagine the joy they felt! The sealing room was completely full when they brought in Jenn and Jason. They were given counsel and were then married for time and all eternity. Then, they brought in Zach and Alex all dressed in white. They were then sealed as a family for time and all eternity. This was a dream come true for us and an experience we would love for all of our friends and family to have! The feeling in the room was indescribable!

After the temple, we relieved my wonderful niece who watched our kids, got a bite to eat with the Mousos and more friends at Sweet Tomatoes, and all hurried back in time to attend Lexi Hartless' baptism. The Spirit was so strong at the baptism. I felt like I was seeing the blessings of gospel ordinances from the beginning to the pinnacle all in one day. It was truly the perfect day!

BYU-TV Latter-day Profiles

It's been a long time since I've posted something on this blog. Life has been so busy.

Last Wednesday I was featured on BYU-TV. I filmed their Latter-day Profiles 30 minute program last July at BYU-Idaho. They have featured Glenn Beck, Dale Murphy (the retired baseball player), and many other people in the past. The show aired 10/14 at 8:30 p.m. AZ time (9:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time for those of you in Utah or Idaho).

If you missed it, don't worry! They are showing it again on BYU-TV 10/21 (this Wednesday) at 4:30 p.m. AZ time or 5:30 p.m. Utah time.

You can can still watch it online:

http://byutv.org/streaming/

Select 10/14 and scroll down until you see "Stephanie Ashcroft". Yes, it's Ashcraft, but it's commonly misspelled. :-) Click on my name and it will bring up the program.

How Deep is the Corruption in the US?

Biggovernment.com just released their 4th set of undercover video tapes that were taped by some gutsy young people trying to expose the truth of what is happening in the ACORN organization in our nation. The thing that amazes me the most is that not one employee even blinks or acts surprised when the girl reveals she's a prostitute! In fact, in the new video the employee even admits that she used to run a call service! Then, she goes on later on in the tape and tells them how she killed her abusive husband!!!!!!! Where does Acorn find these people?!!

Click here to watch the California Video or here to watch the New York Brooklyn video.

PLEASE, PLEASE Watch these clips. Millions of our tax dollars have gone to fund this organization! I applaud the senate for voting 83-7 in favor of stopping any taxpayer money from going to ACORN, but that's not enough! There needs to be an intense investigation and people need to be help accountable!

After watching the videos please contact your representatives in the House and in the Senate and demand an investigation from the bottom on up! Remind them of the promise they made to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States!


Here is my email to my representatives:

"I'm sure you are aware of the letter that Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) sent to the president today requesting that he use his authority to publicly disclose and terminate all federal funding to ACORN and its affiliates. I'm also sure you are aware that the senate voted in favor of the same thing 83-7. Hopefully the congress works quickly to pass something as well.

Blocking their funding is NOT enough! Congress and the Senate must demand an in-depth investigation from the bottom on up! Who is training these people? It seems like they all give similar answers except for the last lady who admitted running a call girl service herself and KILLING her abusive husband! If you haven't seen tape set #4 from California, you can find it along with the other 3 locations on www.biggovernment.com !! Can it get any worse?!! It looks like a 5th set of tapes will be released tomorrow!

As a representative of the people of Arizona, you took a sacred oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Please do so today!

May God Bless You in Standing Up for What is Right!

Sincerely,

Stephanie Ashcraft"

Funny Missionary Video

One of my friends sent me the link to this hilarious music video! Thought I would share it!

I am a victim of racism

Have you ever gotten to the point where you think, " I've had it! I'm not going to take any more!"? Well, I'm there. I am sick and tired of being discriminated against! How? Do you wonder? Have you noticed lately that if you are against any part of any policy that our President and our democratic Congress are supporting there is an immediate cry of Racism?

In watching the news as of late, there are so many guests who instead of debating the issues claim that all the opposition to their views stem from racism. They state that the people at the tea parties or those voicing their concern for health care are doing so because of racism.

Just because I have concerns or issues with 50+ items that were released in the 1018 page H.R. II bill, I was called a racist. I feel strongly that debt is never a solution to money problems personally or for our government, so I must be racist. Because I am concerned about our borders and the thousands of people crossing them illegally on a daily basis, I am called a racist. And now because I am concerned about the corruption and illegal practices that have recently been uncovered in the ACORN organization, I am called a racist.

I am not a racist. I don't care if the person whose supporting or at the tail end of critisism has skin that is red, black, white, or green. I am concerned about the direction our country is heading. Corruption is corruption no matter what the skin color!

I don't disagree that we could use health care reform. I think they should make it possible for there to be interstate competition for insurance companies which would lower premiums for all. I also think Tort Reform and stipulations made to help those who have pre-existing conditions.

Let me tell you why I am so irate about being called a racist. I am not a racist! My dad was in the military when I was young. We lived in both Germany and Japan. I studied in Mexico and served a 18 month mission in Chile. These experiences taught me to look past the color of skin and instilled in me a deep belief that we are all God's children. Thus, we are all brothers and sisters.

I have a sister-in-law from Brazil that I have yet to meet. My brother and she were married a year and a half ago in Brazil. We have been trying to get her here legally ever since. We are hoping they'll be able to be with us for Christmas. Another sister-in-law is black. She is one of the most beautiful women that I know. When I think of either of these women, now my sisters, I feel only love and admiration.

I feel I am a victim of racism. I feel that those charging me with racism see my skin color and immediately think the only reason I could possibly be against any proposed bill or corruption is if I was a racist! Please look past the color of my white skin and see that I love my country and all the people who live in it. For this reason, I stand up and voice my concern!

Please stop calling me a racist!

Email from Gabrielle Giffords

"September 11, 2009


Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me with you concerns regarding the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, more commonly known as ACORN. I appreciate hearing from you.

ACORN is the nation's largest community organization for low and moderate income families and uses neighborhood-based efforts, such as door-to-door canvassing, to fight poverty and other causes. Since it was founded in the 1970's, ACORN has worked on a number of successful campaigns through 850 chapters in over 100 cities across the United States. You are probably most familiar with the massive voter registration drives during the 2008 election.

In 2008, ACORN engaged in a massive effort to register low income and minority voters. However, allegations that up to 30 percent of these applications were fraudulent surfaced during the campaign and later. Please know that I take voter fraud seriously, and I will continue to monitor this situation as more details develop.

Furthermore, ACORN does not apply for nor does it receive any federal grants. However, ACORN does work with nonprofit organizations to perform work on projects that receive federal grant support, such as identifying homeowners facing foreclosure and helping them contact housing counseling and loss mitigation services. But, no project receiving federal grant money has provided funding for voter registration.

In case you are concerned, ACORN will not be going to door-to-door to collect data for the 2010 U.S. Census. On April 23, 2009, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke reiterated to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science that the Census will not be "delegating anything to ACORN." Instead, ACORN will "get the word out" about the Census, along with about 30,000 other groups. To be clear, ACORN staff will not handle personal data collected through the Census.

I always appreciate hearing from constituents, like you, who are informed and interested in the important issues affecting Arizona and the nation. My job as your representative is to help you connect with federal agencies, access services and get your questions answered thoroughly. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if you require assistance.

To receive regular e-mail updates on my work as your U.S. Representative, visit https://giffordsforms.house.gov/contact/email-updates.shtml to opt-in to my e-newsletter. It allows me to keep Southern Arizonans, like you, informed about the most recent activities in the House of Representatives and upcoming public forums I am sponsoring in the district.

Sincerely Yours,

Gabrielle Giffords

Member of Congress "

She's right when she said, " ACORN does work with nonprofit organizations to perform work on projects that receive federal grant support." Millions in federal grant support!!! I emailed her back sending her the link for the new videos released today that were just as horrific as yesterdays! I asked her again to request an investigation!

If the 1st video wasn't bad enough, here is the video from the Washington DC Acorn office

I am still spinning from yesterdays videos. Now it appears that they not only went to Baltimore, but apparently they went to several Acorn offices! Here is the video from the DC office! It's just as bad as the Baltimore video!!!!

This should help silence the people who say "it was just one office, and a few bad employees". This establishes the pattern we already knew exists! Sounds like there is more to be released! Insane!!!

PLEASE, PLEASE Watch these clips. Millions of our tax dollars go to fund this organization! There really needs to be a congressional investigation into ACORN. After watching the videos please contact your representatives in the House and in the Senate and demand an investigation!

We live in the greatest country on earth! We can not allow things like this to be happening under our watch! The ABC, NBC, and CBS national media for some reason hasn't picked up this story, so it's up to us the American people to make sure this isn't swept under the rug!