An Everyday Mormon

Today my little sister Alyssa turns 18.  Still can’t believe that she has been in the family that long.  It has been quite a journey for the Hall family with many up and downs that we never really quite expected. Alyssa Carol Hall was born on October 28, 1998, in a local hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I was three and my sister Shelby was five and needless to say, we were excited to be getting a little sister.  Friends and family came from far and wide to see the new addition to the family and while everyone was happy for the growing Hall family, something seemed to be a little bit different. Alyssa was born with the genetic disorder Trisomy 21, most commonly called Down Syndrome, where she was born with a third copy of her 21 st  chromosome.  We quickly learned that we wouldn’t really be able to play with her much and that she needed to be taken care of more than a usual baby.  Before her first birthday, complications in her heart needed to b...

The summer after I graduated high school, my parents left on a week and a half road trip to Canada.   I was then working as a YMCA Day Camp Counselor and though a little bit bummed that I couldn’t go, I was also excited to have the house all to myself.  Some kids my age would have probably looked forward to a plethora of unapproved parties with no parental supervision.  I however used the time a bit differently.  Instead of going to Wal-Mart to pick up some party favors, I would go to the local library to pick up something much more appetizing to me: classic movies. I have a theory that everyone has their own secret hobby of sorts that they really, really love but yet are hesitant to tell others about it because they feel as if they we would be judged for it.  Maybe your friend are hardcore rap fans while you really like listening to country music.  Maybe your friends are all jocks but you like a certain online game t...

Weddings, the fancy event that proceeds enormous amounts of free food; at least that is how I viewed it as a kid.  My mom comes from a family of 12 brothers and sisters and she happens to be number 11.  That places me near the bottom of the cousin hierarchy age wise so I have had the opportunity to go to many of my cousins’ weddings since my childhood.  Although each of them were unique, they all were carried out in a similar fashion. All of my family happens to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which makes all of my cousins’ weddings a little bit different than other American, and Canadian, weddings.  For others, the wedding is most likely held in a fancy wedding hall, a beach side location, a big Catholic church or even just the Elvis Chapel on the strip.  Over 99% of Mormon weddings happen in one of two places: the temple or the church.* Weddings performed in local church buildings are similar to most weddings except for m...