My Favorite Cookbook

Healthy in a Hurry
Doesn't that just say it all?
I so often hear people say that they would be able to cook better, healthier meals for their families if they had more fast, healthy recipes. Well, here you go. Let me tell you why I love it.

• The meals really are healthy, and fast (depending on how long it takes you to chop veggies)
• The food is tasty
• Beautiful, BIG pictures
• Awesome extra sections, like:
• Getting organized
• The well-stocked pantry
• Basic cooking techniques
• Menu suggestions
• Substitutions
• Notes on less-familiar ingredients

Happy, healthy eating!

Agony

Yesterday at the BYU MPA talent show Andrew performed "Agony" from Into the Woods with his professor, Jeff Thompson. It was really fun. Here it is for your viewing pleasure!

Part 1

Part 2
The MC read a disclaimer before part two that stated that this show did not portray the views of the Romney Institute or the actors themselves, and the audience was invited to boo and hiss (which they took advantage of at the end as was appropriate).

Andrew's Addendum: Dr. Thompson has been a great teacher, mentor, and friend to me over the course of the MPA program. I have taken Organizational Behavior from him, currently work as his TA, work on a local arts advisory board with him, and as of last semester we began performing together. He has made the MPA experience that much better.

It's A . . .

Any guesses?

We're absolutely thrilled to be having another little boy join the Marshall ranks!
Ariel and her boys!
We're thinking about naming him Abraham Jr. Oh, and while we're on the subject, below is Abe's first Paint piece. Totally inspiring. Seriously.

A Package to Friends in Haiti

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID12837/images/haiti.jpg

When I worked at International Church Distribution, I had the great opportunity to work closely with wonderful members of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean. I have stayed in contact with one man in Haiti, Prosner. After the earthquake hit, I asked him if he and his family were okay, and if we could do anything to help. He said, "The country is in trouble, we are in trouble but we have the gospel. Last time it was impossible for to buy milk for the kids but sisters from Santo Domingo sent me. Please continue to keep us in your prayer." Prosner and his family live right in Port-au-Prince, but are safe. However, it has been difficult for them to buy some basic things to take care of their two year-old and seven month-old children. When I asked what we could do to help he wrote, "Thank you so much for continue to think about me and my friends here. We still need baby food and baby suplies and you can can help with that it will be very welcome." He added that it would be helpful to send him:

Baby Food

Baby Clothes (for boys and girls ages 0-3)

Baby shampoo and soap

Hand Sanitizer

Diapers

The best carrier to send items down to Haiti has just started shipping things to Haiti again. I'm sure that any surplus he gets he will share with his neighbors and those who are in great need. The soap and shampoo will be the most expensive to ship because of it's weight, so more clothes are preferred. This is a unique opportunity to send materials directly to those in need without having to go through an organization or anything. If you would like to help, you are welcome to bring things to my apartment, or the house of my parents or Andrew's parents. If you're going to drop it off at my parents or in-laws, get it to them by Friday at 1 p.m. (sorry for the short notice!). If you're dropping it off to my apartment, please have it to me by Monday. I'll send the package(s) Tuesday. Contact me if you need more specific information. If you would rather, you are welcome to donate to help cover the cost of shipping, or the cost of materials.
Most important, let us all keep them continually in our prayers, for a spirit of calm and peace to be among those people.

A Living Church, A Living Priesthood

The priesthood is living and gives the Church life. I want to share 1) some experiences where the priesthood has blessed me, 2) some experiences where God has blessed others through me with the priesthood, and 3) my testimony of the priesthood.

Blessed by the Priesthood. A few months ago I received a blessing from my father of healing from an illness that had been plaguing me for weeks. I received immediate recovery. I recently was set apart for a calling in my ward. The bishop gave me a blessing that spoke directly to my needs and situation, well beyond his limited knowledge of my life. My father laid his hands on my head when I simply could not decide where to attend graduate school, and in that blessing my mind cleared and the answer came. The priesthood power also played a significant role in the best choice I ever made: to marry Ariel. One of the most powerful experiences I have ever encountered with the priesthood took place on August 9, 2006 in the Salt Lake Temple. George I. Cannon sealed me to Ariel and her to me. The power of godliness was manifest in a beautiful, deep way (D&C 84:20). This is just a small sampling of blessings I've received through the priesthood in my short life.

Blessing with the Priesthood. I was called by a neighbor not long ago to administer a blessing for sick through the power of the priesthood. He had a job interview that Friday and was not in any condition to go to it at the time. The blessing did indeed heal him and he was able to fly out for the interview, and got an offer. Another friend recently called me and said he felt prompted to ask me for a blessing. I didn't know why, but I do know that as I laid my hands on his head and spoke in the name of the Lord I became overwhelmed with the power of priesthood as my words were directed by the power of the Holy Ghost. I was not aware of myself, only of God and one of his sons who was receiving a blessing through me. As the blessing ended my consciousness abruptly returned to the living room where the blessing began. The recipient of the blessing beamed, and I felt fatigued, exactly as it should be. As I blessed Ariel while she toiled in labor, giving birth to Abe naturally, we felt the presence of ancestral angels on our right and on our left. When I gave Abraham his baby blessing I felt the enormous potential of his little spirit come into perspective, and I blessed him accordingly. The blessings and miracles seen through the priesthood during my two years in Portugal merit a post to themselves. And there are others too sacred to share on this public page.

Testimony. The gospel has been restored. The priesthood is, as President McKay stated, "our most distinguishing feature." It is, as President Hinckley stated, "different from all other powers and authorities on the face of the earth." "In the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest" (D&C 84: 20). Elder Holland testifies that he has “seen evil rebuked and the elements controlled” through the power of the priesthood. I do not doubt this as I have seen similar miracles through its power, though surely on a smaller scale.

Jesus Christ ordained Peter, James, and John to the apostleship of the Priesthood. Joseph Smith, Jr. received this same priesthood from the aforementioned apostles. Joseph Smith then ordained Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Martin Harris to the priesthood. These three ordained Brigham Young. Brigham Young ordained Joseph F. Smith. Joseph F. Smith ordained David O. McKay. President McKay ordained LeGrand Richards. LeGrand Richards ordained Richard James Marshall. Richard James Marshall ordained Richard Stephen Marshall, and Richard Stephen Marshall ordained me to the Order of the Son of God.

Vacation & Home Footage

The first video is our fun trip to California to visit Keenan, Nonie and Sam. It includes beach, zoo and exclusive backflip footage from one of our own!

This next video is of some fun we've had back home.

Watch for Abe's yoga pose, and if you watch to the end you'll get a kiss from Abraham!