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With a fresh batch of toys unwrapped from under the Christmas tree. It’s time to post about the comments people have made about the book “Toys That Kill” available on Amazon.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out
of 5 stars Thank Goodness for Edward M. Swartz, Esq.!!!, December 21, 2008 By Steve G (New York, NY) – See all my reviews This review is from: Toys That Kill (Paperback) The year was 1988 and I was seven years old. I had a habit of sucking on those ball-headed Fisher-Price Little People until their faces came off and they just looked like little roll-on deodorants. This annoyed my little sister to no end and she would always tell on me and I’d get in trouble. Finally one day to spite her I decided I would just see how many of her Little People I could swallow. I ate the dog, the grandpa, the two little kids, the mom, and had the bus driver halfway down my throat when I suddenly couldn’t breathe! I was already starting to black out when my mother discovered me.
Fortunately mom had Swartz’s “Toys That Kill” on the shelf in easy reach – she quickly turned to the section on Little People to read the details on a version of the Heimlich maneuver specific to Little People choking accidents. Thanks to Edward Swartz, mom was able to save my life that day. Fortunately, Fisher-Price soon realized the evil of their ways and redesigned Little People thanks to the efforts of public servants such as Swartz who crusaded valiantly on the behalf of us “real” little people. Sure, the new Little People aren’t as cute – in fact, they’re kinda creepy looking – but that’s a small sacrifice for safety. 5.0 out of 5 stars Killer Toys!, November 19, 2001 By Art Neville (Rochester, NY) – See all my reviews This review is from: Toys That Kill (Paperback) When my child was run over by a popping-ball
“lawnmower”, and killed… I became suddenly aware of the danger of toys. I have locally formed a group to raise awarness of the liability of the toy industry for allowing such lax standards to pass. In addition to our monthly toy burning, we all agree to read on book together on the evils of the toy industry. This book is so popular, it’s been selected over a dozen times for book of the month. Very compelling!
http://www.amazon.com/Toys-That-Kill-edward-swartz/dp/0394746074

I hadn’t prepared a picture of the week but Rebecca found this one online. I didn’t take this picture.  As you might already know, our beloved Provo Tabernacle burned down this week.  This picture is an amazing coincidence?  A testimony of the Savior?  You decide.  I believe in Christ.

ksl.com – Provo firefighters still fighting tabernacle fire (Gallery Viewer).

PART I

Years ago before Dallas and I were ever thinking seriously about having children, we somehow discovered that we both liked the name Spencer.  We arrived at that conclusion so easily without needing to scour baby name books or ask opinions from everyone we met what names they liked.

Then we got pregnant for the first time.  We were sure it was a boy.

We went to the ultrasound.  “A girl,” he said.  A GIRL?!  How could this be?  Does mother’s intuition mean nothing these days?

By this time, Dallas and I had moved into our new condo.  We had been calling the extra bedroom “Spencer’s room.”  After deciding that we couldn’t in good conscience call our daughter Spencer, we began discussing girl names.  We pulled out the baby name books and found we had a really hard time liking ANY girl names…much less both liking the same one.

Finally we settled on Brooke.  And that is how Brooke came to be.

PART II

A little while after Brooke was born, we decided to expand our family.  This time we were pretty sure we were having a girl.  The ultrasound confirmed our suspicions.  We were really excited to have two little girls.  We had visions of our girls growing up as best friends, playing together, and wearing matching dresses.

The only downside to this was the need to once again choose a girl name.  If this was hard the first time, it proved nearly impossible the second time.  We waited until she was born, looked her over, and finally deemed her a Caroline.  I’m glad we did; I love her name.

PART III

Pregnant once again.  This pregnancy feels totally different from the other two.  I have symptoms I’ve never had before, as well as an absence of some of my previous symptoms.

Could it be?  A boy?  I cautiously thought so.

Last week brought us once again into the ultrasound room.  The very first image appeared.  I didn’t even need the technician to tell me.

We are getting our Spencer.

So my Grandma Stadelbauer recently died on September 13, 2010.  She had come down with a nasty case of lung cancer and moved on quite quickly.

Last Monday we buried her in the Provo Cemetery next to my grandfather.

The video is a large file so give it may take some time to download.

[quicktime]http://blog.dallasgolden.com/Media/grandmastadelbauer.mov[/quicktime]

A few weeks ago I was invited to a bridal shower.  I have met the bride once or twice, but I don’t really know her.  As I was shopping for a gift to take to the shower I thought to myself, “Why am I getting her a gift?  This seems silly.  I don’t even know this girl.”

However, I thought back to when I was getting married.  Some of my mother’s friends in her ward threw me a shower.  I had probably only met two of the women before, and the rest were strangers to me.  They knew my mom and were happy to support her and me in my upcoming marriage.  Those women were so generous, and Dallas and I were grateful for the items we received.

I realized I felt the same way about this girl.  Though I don’t really know her, I do know her mother, and I love her mother.  I was happy to spend a few bucks to help this girl start a new chapter in her life as a wife.  Strangers had done the same thing for me when I was a new bride with nothing; it was my turn to return the favor.

My thoughts then turned to my friend, Ann. We were on the same floor freshman year at BYU.  We lost touch after that, but the blogging world has reunited us!  Ann is a busy wife and mother to five (FIVE!) lovely girls.  She has taken an interest in the war that is occurring right now in the Congo.  No, she hasn’t just taken an interest in it, she’s actively working to help women in the Congo who are suffering.

Here are some facts she just posted on her blog:

• This is the deadliest war since WWII, and also the most ignored.
• 5.4 million dead as of January 2008, with 45,000 more continuing to die each month.  (That’s a September 11th every 2.5 days.)
• Innocent women are used as weapons in this war: warring militias compete to be the most brutal, and thus the most feared.
• Thousands of women (ranging from ages 3-80) are gang raped each month.
• Women are forced to watch as family members are kidnapped and killed.

Ann has also posted links to articles that describe the conditions these women are facing.  It’s horrible.  So horrible that sometimes I can’t even finish the article because I feel so sick inside.

Ann is sponsoring a fundraiser called Yoga for Congo Women. Again, from her website:

100% of the proceeds will go towards sponsoring Congolese women survivors through Women for Women International.  Women for Women is an established and well-vetted organization that works with women survivors of war world-wide.  They provide:

• emotional assistance to heal from the trauma they have been through
• rights and health awareness training
• literacy training
• skill-specific training, including business management
• seed money to start her own small business upon completion of the one-year program

Though we don’t have a lot, Dallas and I decided that we would donate some money to this cause.  I love Ann.  I want to support an old friend in this worthy endeavor.  I also find myself wanting to help the women in the Congo whose lives have been shattered – women that I don’t know, but women who need help starting a new life.  We can’t do a lot, but we can do something.

I know many of our blog readers are just as poor as we are, and there are many deserving causes that you could spend your money on, but perhaps you will find your way over to Ann’s Yoga for Congo Women page and learn more about how you can help.

I never really know if the gifts I give to new brides are useful to them; at least I know this is one gift that will be cherished by the woman who benefits from our small donation.