The First Mormon, Woman, President.

President Samantha van Ormer 

(She just got home from a basketball game, she was dressed-up!) 

There is still some hope for this great Country of ours, and it is in our youth. The rising generation is so wonderful -- truly. I stand in awe of their courage, and spirit! 

My dad used to tell me that I was supposed to be the first woman President of the United States. It was a nice thought, but my desire for such a role was never very great. However, that role may have skipped a generation . . . my Sammi was just elected the President of the United States, in her sixth grade class! 

Go Sammi! 

I am so proud of her for having the guts to do it! To become the President of the United States, she had to put together a 7 minute speech, answer debate questions, and speak/debate in front of the entire 6th grade! Then the entire 6th grade voted. 

She was super lucky because her best friend, Hanna, ran as her Vice President! They were a dream-team. They are both such sweet, smart, sunshiny, beautiful girls! And yes, they beat the boys! Sorry fellas . . . you never really stood a chance. 

Sammi and Hanna the day after their speeches . . . 

Pictures of them giving speeches, etc., coming later. 

 Watch out world . . . here they come! 

Here is Sammi's winning speech . . .

     Hi, I’m Sammi van Ormer. Thank you for coming, and thank you Mrs. D-G for making this possible. Now I don’t want to overrule the world, but America needs changes. In 1776, America became a free country. I will do everything in my power to keep it that way. But, like my pioneer ancestors, we need to cross our plains and make sacrifices to have it happen. Freedom fills a lot of our decisions. To start, having a free country, free religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press, and many others. You use freedom every day, without it, we would be slaves. In Lord of the Rings, a man called Sauron tries to control every one and take away all choice. In Harry Potter,  Voldemort also takes away others choice. Sometimes we just need a Harry Potter or Frodo or Flynn Rider to come and save us. Otherwise, we might be stuck in a tower like Rupunzel, never seeing the outside world. As your president I will assure your freedom so that you can make your wildest dreams come true. I have 3 main issues to talk to you about that are threatening our freedom.

      Our first issue is the environment. This is our 1 world. Do you like to take walks by the river or bike rides up mountains? Have you been to the ocean or walked in the redwoods? Do you like to look for rainbows, or watch the sun sink under the hills as the sky turns into a glowing painting? These are things I enjoy, and I want to protect that! I wouldn’t want to live in a Walle-world full of trash and ruin. How would you feel if you had to walk around with a Darth Vader mask on? If we all do our part, the world would be a cleaner place! In my house, we each have 1 job, dishes, garbage, vacuum, etc. When we are done, the house is a lot cleaner!! Imagine if 1,000,000 people recycled 2 cans. It would make a ginormous difference! “Many hands make light work,” says my mom. So, let’s all do our best to keep the world clean.

Now onto issue #2, medical. This issue is rather personal to me and my family. My precious, chubby, 6 month year old brother, Henry, was born on April 24th, 2012. The normal person has 2 kidneys. Well, little Henry was born with 4 kidneys. Because Henry was born with 2 extra kidneys he had to have surgery, he will have to have to have more surgery, he must go to the doctor once a month, and he must take medicine every night to avoid infection. Because of all this my parents have to pay many super expensive medical bills. I do believe doctors should be paid very, very well, I mean they do so many amazing things, but because of the governments involvement, the prices are much to high! All of that money could have been used on Disneyland, a movie, or The Phantom of the Opera tickets for that matter!!

    Next topic, Taxes. Many of you have probably seen some version of Robin Hood. Prince John wanted to steal from the poor to feed the rich. Robin Hood wanted to steal from the rich to feed the poor. In my mind, none of those ideas work quite right. I think we should have a 10% rule. Here are some examples: Make-$100 Pay-$10; Make-$10,000 Pay-$1,000; Make-$1,000,000 Pay-$100,000; Make-$30,000 Pay-$3,000; Make-$50,000,000 Pay-$5,000,000; Make-$4,600 Pay-$460. That way the government would get money and we could start paying off America’s debt. 10% of your income is fair to everyone! We don’t need the government to steal our hard earned money! Like my silly 5 year old brother said, ”Swiper, no swiping!”

         I will leave you with these thoughts... 

The most important thing to me as president is protecting your power to choose. I want to make a difference. I don’t want you to wear a Darth Vader mask because the air is horrible. I don’t want you not doing fun things because your medical bills are stopping you. I don’t want the sheriff of Nottingham knocking on your door for money. What I want for you is what I want for me, freedom. Freedom is the key to happiness. America is like our ship. Like Jack Sparrow said once, ”Wherever we want to go, we go. That’s what a ship is. It’s not just a keel, a hull and sail. That’s what a ship needs, not what a ship is. What the Black Pearl really is, is freedom.” Like the Black Pearl, America is our freedom. America is our chance to explore, to go where we want to go, to do what we want to do, to be as we we want to be, to dream what we want to dream, and to become what we want to become. I want you to be able to be free to become what you want to become without the government getting in the way. If you want to be in theatrical productions, amazing! If you want to go to the moon, or make movies, teach kids, work in a lab . . . I encourage you to pursue your dream!

As Spider Man’s uncle said,“ With great power comes great responsibility.” I am ready for that responsibility.

“Do or Do not, There is no try.”

Those were the words of a wise master Yoda.

I will not try to be a good president

I will be a good president!!

Vote for me, Sammi van Ormer

There is some good in this world . . . let’s fight for it together! 

Perhaps if Romney would have quoted Yoda, he would have won, too! :-) 

Well done, Sammi! We love you! 

Memories

 I was just going through my photo library, and I came across these random images. (Slides my parents are putting on the computer.) It made me realize how much I love pictures. I love them. So much is captured in a photo . . . so much history. I am so grateful for cameras! As I looked at the images, it made me want to start working on my own life's history. I have lots of journals, but I would love to have my life written down -- from the beginning -- and put it into book form, for my posterity. I know I love to read through histories of my family and ancestors. It is inspiring. I also have my mom around, so I can pick her brain about my early childhood days. 

I am considering starting a separate blog for this purpose. I can add images, history, etc., (basically life highlights, and defining moments) and then print it off in a blog book. It will be a project ongoing, but it should be fun! I mean, who doesn't want to reopen the teenage years? (Yikes!) 

We are encouraged to do family history work, and especially encouraged to write down our own history. If you have not started, you may want to give it a go! (Before you forget everything!) Who knows, it may be therapeutic? Just remember . . . everyone has a story! 

Once I get that blog up and running, I will just link new posts to this blog, in case you care to look. :-) 

This image is of my siblings, minus baby Johnny. 

Kary, Bob, Me, Beth

Looks like the older kids are the parents of the younger kids. :-) 

Me and Beth in Arizona

 My mom with Kary and Bob

 Bob and Kary 

Arizona Christmas time

 My Dad with Bob and baby Kary . . . check out that carseat! 

 Christmas at my parents house, more than 40 years ago . . . a little sparse. Just wait til you see what my mom does with our house this year! It will be amazing! 

Kary, Aunt Cindy, Baby John

My Dad and Bob in front of Grandma Lindquist's house

 I love this picture of my mom, she looks like a beautiful elf. :-) It is such an awesome picture. Classic. 

 My Dad in their small home. I love the pink Santa. 

 Another Christmas more than 40 years ago. Love those white blocks, and classic toys. 

Bob with us girls. 

 Me in front of Grandma's house, winter time in Utah. 

I just love reflecting on the past! It makes me feel like Christmas, all warm and fuzzy. 

Now to get started on my project . . . my history! 

For the Record

Last night was awful. My blood pressure went through the roof, and a great heat filled my entire body, as I watched the Presidential election. The internet just made it worse, because you can watch three screens at once, and see the numbers constantly changing. I somehow knew from the very beginning, that when something seems too good to be true -- it usually is. I never really thought that the voice of the people would choose Romney . . . I just dared to hope. I am disappointed in the outcome, and can only hope now that in four more years (when I am 37 years old) that the Nation will still be standing in one piece. I will do as the First Presidency said, and pray for the President and the future of our Country. And I will, of course, do my best to be a good citizen. May God bless America.

In our home we gathered in our office. We pulled a couch in so we could all have a seat in front of the computer. (We don't have cable.) We watched as Brian Williams gave the latest updates. The kids were excited at first, as Romney's numbers were above Obama in the beginning. They were really into it, they have been apart of it from the beginning, they even sat through every debate. They were excited, and confident. They could not understand why I was so concerned. But as the votes shifted, I could see the disappointment in their little flushed faces. (My face wasn't flushed, it was pure white!) They kept asking questions, and saying little prayers, and hoping . . . and ultimately, all of our hearts sank together. Defeated. Being defeated hurts.

When Obama was declared the winner, Daniel (my 9 year old), ran upstairs in a rage and said, "My life is over!" We tried to tell him not to over-exaggerate his feelings, we tried to calm him down -- but he was just really upset and frustrated. He went to bed that way.

Charles and I stayed up late and watched both speeches, by Romney and Obama. Romney was great, and I wish his family the very best. Thank you, Mitt, for all that you went through . . . to the bitter end. You are a great man, and you did great things. As I watched Obama speak, I had to keep rubbing my head, in a circular, soothing, motion -- to keep me calm. I do not recall ever feeling as disheartened as I did last night. It was a first. I believe with all my heart that Obama will indeed deliver the "Change" he has promised us. Whether or not we will desire such change is yet to be seen . . .

I was restless all night. This morning I woke-up to find Daniel, still pouting, with a very upset look on his face. (He looked like an angry Anakin Sywalker, becoming Darth Vader.) I told him it was all going to be OK. And that he should be happy. I went into a speech about how lucky we are to have a Prophet to lead and guide us . . . but he was still upset.

He thrashed his way around the house, gathering his belongings for school. After a sluggish morning routine, we all piled in the car and Sammi said, "I know why Daniel is so upset." Daniel was sitting in the way back of the van, arms crossed, sulking. She went on to explain, "Daniel is scared because he thinks Biden is going to force China's one child only rule." And there it was . . . it all made sense. My poor Daniel had heard at school, and on the news, about Biden's view on China's one child policy. And he believed that now, they would enforce it here -- in the United States! Daniel was seriously (and I mean, no kidding, seriously), worried about being taken away from our family! (Which explains why he yelled, "My life is over!")

My poor, poor, Daniel. And all I was doing was telling him to just be happy!

I passionately reassured him that that kind of policy would never be put in place in America . . .

So, before we pulled out of the driveway, and with sleep-crusties still in my eyes -- I gave a speech. It was not a prepared speech, but I had to give it -- no question about it. My distinguished audience consisted of my four precious children. I explained to them that no matter what happens in our country, we would do everything in our power -- to protect our family. If we have to run for the hills, we will. If we have to fight to protect each other, we will. If we have to "cross the plains", we will. I tried to make it very clear that we will do whatever it takes -- to preserve, protect, and defend, our family. I made my crying Daniel unbuckle and come all the way to the front of the van, and give me a big hug. I also reminded him that his mother knows Karate.

As we drove to school, I explained that they will live in a world fraught with challenges and evil -- but they are also prepared for such a task. I told them to remember who they are, and reminded them of their special name meanings:

Samantha: The Listener -- blessed to listen to the Spirit of God
Daniel Evan: Warrior of God -- blessed to fight for what is right
William Turner: Protector of the House -- blessed to protect those in need
Henry Jones: Ruler of the House -- blessed to lead and guide

I dropped them off at school, and I watched as Daniel (my warrior) wiped the last tear from his eye, before jumping unto the playground. As I drove home, my heart hurt for my children. They are such good, sweet, lovely children. So full of life, and hope, and potential.

I hope that the future will be bright for them. But regardless of what comes, may they be equal to the challenges that lie ahead. And may I be able to teach them to know that no matter what happens . . . Heavenly Father is in charge.

We love Him. We serve Him. We follow Him.

And everything else is just details.

Do You Hear the People Sing?

This describes my feelings about tomorrow perfectly . . . turn it up loud, and cry! :-) 

The Sun Will Come Out . . .

Tomorrow. 

November 6th, 2012. 

Now, of course I know you are not supposed to discuss religion and politics with your friends, but it is far too late for that! 

I have to tell you . . . I woke-up today feeling hopeful, anxious, and nervous, about tomorrow. Seriously, I have butterflies in my stomach, right now! This could be a an extraordinarily fantastic, and historic moment -- or it could be a HUGE let down!! (I am putting it lightly.) 

There has never been a time where the choice was more important for the future of our country. The paths are clear. The choice -- and consequences -- will be remarkable. 

I just wanted to write it down for my records, family history purposes, and for my posterity . . . 

Let it be known that I voted for Mitt Romney! 

He is not a perfect man, but I do believe he is uniquely qualified to guide our great Nation to better days -- I really do. And I hope -- with all my inner-gut hope -- that he gets the chance. 

I also wanted to jot down some points that we have personally experienced in our lives, so it is clear I am not blindly voting for Romney, without cause, or purpose.  In our house, we know both sides of the ticket -- very, very, personally. We have had government assistance out of necessity, and we have run our own business . . . striving for the "American Dream." 

 And as for me and my house -- we are choosing Romney. 

(Even the Democrats that live in my house!) 

 My Life Perspective Points: 

• We lived off of food stamps/WIC during our poverty-stricken Law school days
• We have had our children's birth and medical needs paid for by Medicaid
• We have an astronomical amount of Federal Student Loans
• Our home value dropped during the "recession" and it is still currently underwater
• We have gone without health insurance 
• We have a child with special medical needs and we pay over $1000 a month for insurance and medical bills
• We run our own business 
• The amount we pay in taxes (equal to the amount of two brand new cars!) could have been used to hire an employee 

I could go on . . . but you get the point. 

Now, I am not going to go into the details of too much government involvement causing many of the problems (like education loans, medical insurance, taxes, etc.). Or the fact that our personal reliance on government programs -- like food stamps -- was because of the insanely high cost of higher education (caused by the governments involvement in the student loan programs). And don't even get me started on taxes! No, it is too late for all of that rhetoric. Tomorrow has come! And for us, we made our choices: to go to school, to have babies, to try and make our way in the world . . . and we take full responsibility for our choices. But things in America need to change. The Nation needs an extreme makeover, so that Americans can accomplish their hopes and dreams . . . and rekindle the courage to pursue them! 

 I feel very strongly, right now, that America is not pointed in the right direction. 

It is time. Time for change. 

 And not just changing the President, but even more importantly -- the people. We could do, and be, and become . . . so much more than we are today. Sometimes we all need a little help, a little "handout" -- if you will. But we should not give-up and give-in, and rely solely on handouts, and the government to rescue us. A little boost, fine. A little help and assistance when necessary, absolutely. Those in dire need, yes. But NOT a land of entitlement to life-long handouts. We are Americans. We live in the land of hope and hard work. We cannot let that die. We must not let that die! I believe that we can still work hard, move forward, and make our dreams come true! It takes WORK! And we, as Americans, need to stop being so lazy, and get back to dreaming, building, creating, exploring . . .  and becoming who we are meant to be! 

I have personally seen my husband go from growing-up in a rundown trailer-park, to doing what it takes to become a hard-working Attorney. Through hard work, vision, and courage -- anything is possible in America. I believe that. I know it. I have seen it. I want to protect it! 

May freedom to pursue our dreams always be possible in this great land. 

May the people of America choose better days ahead! 

"There is some good in this world, and it is worth fighting for!" 

-Samwise Gamgee

May God bless the United States of America. 

Disney buys Lucasfilm

This video made me smile. After the news of Disney buying Lucasfilm, and a plan for future Star Wars movies . . . this video means so much more. 

So fun!

Now I want to go to Disneyland! 

Fall and Halloween

 There have been some beautiful Fall mornings around our neck of the woods. I particularly love the fog. 

The contrast of the fall colors and the settled fog was magical . . . 

 This year for Halloween the boys were Jedi, and Sammi was Hermione, again (Henry was a pumpkin, but he fell asleep). They had a great time trick-or-treating with Daddy and friends. I had a bad headache and opted to stay home . . . where I (and my parents) ended up passing out candy to more than 200 kids! It was crazy! I noticed an unusual amount of Zombies this year . . . like A LOT. I'm not a big fan of kids crusted in blood and guts. Yuck. I much prefer "happy" costumes. Though I have always thought Halloween costumes are just an outward expression of who you really are . . . (or at least who you want to be for a day!) :-) 

(Thanks grandma for making the Jedi-Robes! Awesome!) 

 Love these silly boys . . . 

This is Charles' pumpkin . . . do you know what it is? 

Think movies with Tom Hanks in it . . .  

 Sam is about as Hermione-like as one gets. She is running for President of the United States in her 6th grade class . . . against 3 boys. They have to give a speech, and debate, etc. She told me the boys said, "Oh great. We are doomed! (They used a foul word) . . . Sammi is running for President!" 

You go Sammi! 

 It is so weird . . . you can catch a glimpse of who Daniel might be as a man . . . Yikes! 

 And Will, too. 

 And Sammi . . . she is more than half-way to being a woman now! She will be in the Young Women program in July! Double-Yikes! 

 Light-Saber vs. Wand . . . that would be interesting?? 

 I have the power! 

 The house was last-minute cute. It is hard for me to get into Halloween, but for some reason I usually get a surge of excitement on the actual day . . . I had Disney's Haunted Mansion music playing through the window and everything. :-) 

 That was fun . . . 

Now onto the GOOD STUFF!!!!