ELECTION DAY

Today, of course, is a big day for us and our country. Helen and I have been very interested in the election and we have looked forward to today to go to the polls and cast our ballot. Most of you reading this probably have a pretty good idea who we voted for...



We voted for Obama for a wide variety of reasons. We have discussed the election often in our home and we both felt very comfortable and enthusiastic about him as our future President. I want to be crystal clear about this: our decision to vote for Barack Obama had nothing to do with his race. Having said that, however, I can't help but think about what an important and monumental day this is for our country because of his race. Whether he wins or loses, the fact that Barack Obama, an African-American, is on the ballot and is this close to becoming the next President of the United States is inspiring-regardless of who you vote for.
Again, I want to be clear. I'm not suggesting that anyone who doesn't vote for Obama is standing in the way of progress or that anyone who does vote for him is automatically promoting progress. Like I said before, we did not vote for Obama because he is black. But I really do think that we can all stand back and be inspired by how far we've come as a country. In our short history we've come from one end of the spectrum-slavery, Jim Crow, segregation-all the way to the other-where we can take an honest look at a black man and consider him for President of the United States based solely on his views and values and not on his race.
Anyway, we try not to make our blog a soapbox for our political views, but I just wanted to share with all of you how important and historic and, frankly, inspiring this day is for us in the Fuhriman home.

Hope you all have a chance to vote.

Happy Halloween!

For the last several months Helen and I have been going back and forth about what to do for Halloween costumes. Every year, we promise ourselves that we're going to leave ourselves plenty of time to find the PERFECT costumes and now that Charlotte is here we thought this year would be the perfect opportunity to be one of those darling families at the ward Halloween party.
We started thinking about costumes pretty early, but it was tough settling on anything. At first we were going to capitalize on the name we gave our daughter, Charlotte, and dress her up like a spider, I'd be a pig named Wilbur, and Helen would be Fern. That idea kind of fizzled, though, because we didn't think anyone would recognize Helen's costume.
Our next idea was a product of the current political atmosphere consuming all of our lives right now. Some ideas were kicked around about me dressing as Barack Obama, but I never really liked that--his ears are way bigger than mine. But I loved the idea of Helen dressing as Sarah Palin and Charlotte going as John McCain! But that idea also fizzled, partly because we're one of maybe two families in our ward who are democrats--and everyone knows it--and we didn't want to have to spend the night defending our views. (Wouldn't it have been hilarious, though to see Charlotte with her hair painted white and dressed in a little tiny suit!)
So, 3 nights before Halloween, we found ourselves in the same plight we've been in for the last 4 years in a row; What were we going to be for Halloween?!? (Just as a side note, Helen and I have actually been together for 5 Halloweens, but we don't really count last year because on the night before Halloween Helen and I got in a huge fight over what to be and we ended up not dressing up at all.)
So, with little time before the big night, my lovely wife decided that she would take matters into her own hands and personally ensure that she and Charlotte had the most fabulous costumes ever! (I had to work Halloween night, so we didn't spend too much time worrying about my costume) Helen made a dash to the fabric store, pulled out her sewing machine and went crazy. And the result was a truly glamorous duo of high fashion WITCHES. Take a look!

Our little Pumpkin Pie...

So I guess it's pretty common for new parents to carve out a huge pumpkin and put their naked child in it. I don't really get it, but Helen though it would be fun. I'm not sure if Charlotte ever really got into it, but it was hilarious! Here are a few pictures of the momentous occasion.



(Helen wants me to mention that Charlotte was wearing a diaper.)