Jerry's 27th Birthday

The results are in! Jerry's prognosis is longer than a week (he says). After a scare when he was referred to the cardiologist and radiologist, it was found that he has a slight arrhythmia and acid reflux. So even as he becomes the next Nexium poster boy, we can expect him to lead a long life.

If you had seen him on Tuesday or Wednesday, you might have thought differently though. The air conditioning in our building went out, and we were melting here on the 5th floor of the building. We used wet towels & purchased a box fan to make it bearable, but Jerry's demeanor certainly improved when the apartment returned to 70 degrees.

Danae's week was busier than usual. She put in her two days at the Smithsonian, then spent two days attending a Church Employment Workshop for Professionals down in Virginia. She was drilled with interview questions, learned to talk about herself, and received a 12-step (j/k) program to follow to getting a job in JUST SEVEN WEEKS if she follows it. Keep your finger's crossed!

The highlight of the week was Jerry's birthday on Friday. He celebrated turning 27 by setting a 7:30 am golf date, then going to work. He took cupcakes to his co-workers and the Kid's Team he works with. Danae picked him up and surprised him with the dinner-and-a-show date, because of Jerry's love for theater & food. Having received a flood of cards and phone calls, Jerry felt very loved. Thanks to all!

Today Danae taught a Relief Society lesson on voting. We have quite a few immigrants in our ward, so the topic was kept fairly simple. She reminded them that its our duty to vote, as God will hold us accountable for what we do with our governments. One sister who immigrated from Jamaica shared how she was scared to death for her first election year in the United States because of the conditions surrounding the last election she witnessed in Jamaica. Hundreds of people were killed in order to prevent them from exercising their voting power. She was sure that something terrible would happen at election time in America too. When she was able to vote and witnessed that there were no mass-murders for doing so, she felt so blessed to be in this country. We are afforded so many freedoms, and with them comes a great responsibility to arm ourselves with the knowledge to make our votes count. If you need a good source of non-partisan voter information, study up at www.vote-smart.org. End of soapbox.

We'll see several of you in Utah next week. 'Till then-

Love,
Danae & Jerry