Happy Halloween!

For the first time since Baylie was born, we didn't have a family theme for Halloween because we couldn't convince the kids to dress up along a theme. Jalen wanted to be Iron Man. He was beyond excited to finally get to wear his costume. Baylie wanted to be Carmen from Spy Kids. We tried to convince her to be Black Widow because it would look similar and we could have all been Avengers, but she was adamant that she would be a spy kid. She loved her costume too.

Jalen's costume was easy - we bought it from Wal Mart. We hadn't purchased a costume since Baylie's when she was seven months old. 

I am not very crafty or handy with a sewing machine, so I was quite proud of Baylie's gadget belt. I think the main reason she wanted to be a spy was to have gadgets. (Belt from Goodwill, elastic from Wal Mart to make gadget holders, gadgets from Dollar Tree.)

I also found a template for a Spy Kid badge online.

David and I didn't dress up, but we did wear matching t-shirts that I got on clearance at Michael's. (Excuse my hair, I had just been swimming.)

We went to our ward's trunk or treat where the kids dined on hot dogs, chips, pop corn and ice cream.

 Candy massacre.

The highlight of the evening for Jalen was discovering that he has his first loose tooth. He can't stop talking about it. He's already planning how to spend his tooth fairy money.

One of our pumpkins didn't quite make it to Halloween.

We only had a few trick or treaters. Jalen would run and meet them half way down the sidewalk yelling "Trick or Treat!" He and Baylie were both very excited to have trick or treaters.

It was a great Halloween.

Family Home Evening

Every Monday we spend time just doing things as a family. The Family: A Proclamation to the World says -

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained
on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love,
compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

Tonight we focused on "wholesome recreational activities." I got some Halloween projects on clearance at Michaels ($8.99 marked down to $2.69) and we put them together. They turned out really cute.

Our kids love Family Home Evening. So do I!

October Happenings

My sister, Tiffani, has always been very generous to us. I was surprised and excited to receive three huge boxes from her - filled with toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap and Halloween candy. This is what the stairs looked like when I asked the kids to take everything upstairs. (Can I just say that Gain laundry detergent is my favorite, but I never use it because it doesn't go on sale. I'm so excited to do laundry!!)

The kids were most excited about the boxes.

They spent most of the afternoon painting them. They (the kids) were covered in paint - Jalen even had a gold nose.

We had the missionaries over for dinner. We try to have them over once a week. After dinner, we carved pumpkins with them. I forgot to take pictures of the carving. Ugh!

The elders carved a Moroni, which I think turned out really cool.

We love our missionaries. (Elder Muir on the right goes home next Wednesday. We'll miss him.)

Lately, I've been hearing about something called Jamberry nails. One of my former mission companions is selling them and sent me a free sample. I did Baylie's nails tonight and it was awesome! It was so easy and it's supposed to last at least two weeks. I think it will work much better than painting them. They have all kinds of fun designs. I wish I were the kind of person that likes to host parties and sell things because I think these would do really well here. If you're in Utah and want to know more about them, you can contact Michelle at michelle@footeprints.com. I think Jamberry originated in Utah.

Contrary to the photographic evidence, Baylie was VERY excited about her new nails.

There's the smile!

There's a new program at Baylie's school where teachers can take pictures and then e-mail them to parents or post them on a private blog. Here is a picture of Baylie today, reading by flashlight with her friend Logan. I love being able to see pictures of her at school.

Thanksgiving in October

It's so fun to have a family member within driving distance. My cousin, Christina, had double knee surgery this week, so her mom and dad came out to help. Her mom wanted to host a Thanksgiving dinner while they were here. It was so great to be with family.

My Uncle Dennis reminds me lot of my dad and his brothers. He and Aunt Kathy knew me when I was an ornery kid. My Aunt Kathy confessed that they were all worried about David when he married me and wondered if he knew what he was getting in to.

It was hard to say goodbye at the end of the night. I feel so homesick!

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

State Fair

We weren't going to go to the fair this year, but Baylie was inconsolable about it. She cried for two days because her classmates were going and she wasn't.

Giant pumpkins

One of my friends pointed out that today was a holiday and we could go early and get the lunch deal. If you get to the fair between 12:00 and 2:00, you can get in for $5. If you leave by 2:00, you get your money back. I knew we'd be there past 2:00, but the fair normally costs $10, so it was still a good deal. I couldn't understand why some people were still paying the regular price instead of doing the lunch deal. Jalen didn't have to pay because he's not five yet.

Planting sunflowers.

Milking the cow.

Winning produce.

Antique gear

I had originally told the kids they could each have two rides, but then a couple different people gave us free tickets, so they got to do a few more. Our original tickets were also given to us, so we didn't have to pay for hardly any rides.

Bumper cars

Cotton candy

We had a blast and were there for about five hours. I was surprised at how much energy I had.

Walk to School Day

Yesterday we walked Baylie to school. It was International Walk to School Day. I wish my kids could walk to school every day like I did. When I was a child I didn't appreciate how lucky I was to get to walk to and from school with my friends every day. We live in a much different world, unfortunately.

I Love My Church

Here in the South, I'll often see people wearing t-shirts that say "I Love My Church." I should get me one of those because I really love my church.

Twice a year The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a general conference. During this conference we get to hear from a prophet of God and His apostles. It's always such a rejuvenating experience for me.

Like last time, we went with the over-the-door activity holder and it was a huge success again. In between sessions we made pumpkin people, went swimming, updated our 72-hour emergency kits, played Mouse Trap and just enjoyed uninterrupted family time.

Some of the activities/treats.

Here are some of my favorite quotes and teachings from this conference.

SATURDAY MORNING

David wanted to wear his Sunday clothes while watching conference.
(Ironically, he didn't wear them on Sunday, but only on Saturday...)

Elder Lynn G. Robbins
Boyd K. Packer said, “A seventy does not represent the people to the prophet, but the prophet to the people. Don’t forget which direction you face.”

“When others demand approval in defiance of God’s commandments, may we always remember whose disciples we are, and which way we face.”

When one tries to save face with men, they can unwittingly lose face with God.

The scornful often accuse prophets of not living in the 21st century or of being bigoted. They attempt to persuade and even pressure the Church into lowering God’s standards to the level of their own inappropriate behavior. Lowering the Lord’s standards to those of the world is apostasy.

What are some ways misguided members try to influence a bishop to lower his standards? In temple recommends, school endorsements or missionary applications.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
God will not make us into something we do not choose by our actions to become.

Resenting the law of gravity will not keep a person from falling if he steps off a cliff. The same applies to eternal laws.

Take responsibility and go to work so there is something for God to help us with.

Swimming goggles make conference viewing so much more interesting.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“The Everlasting and Almighty God, the Creator of this vast universe, will speak to those who approach Him with a sincere heart and real intent. He will speak to them in dreams, visions, thoughts and feelings.”

God cares about you. He will listen and we will answer your personal questions. The answers to your prayers will come in His own way and in His own time and, therefore, you need to learn to listen to His voice. God wants you to find your way back to Him, and the Savior is the way.

You can’t gain an understanding of spiritual truth with instruments that are unable to detect it.

1. Search the word of God
2. Consider, ponder and fearlessly strive to believe
3. Ask Heavenly Father in the name of Christ to manifest the truth
4. “If any man will do God’s will, he shall know of the doctrine…” (John 7:17)

I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”

72-our kits

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Elder Dallin H. Oaks (favorite!!)
The father of contention is the devil. The Savior is the Prince of Peace.

“Where vital, our side of these differences should not be denied or abandoned, but followers of Christ should learn to live peacefully with others who do not share their values or accept the teachings upon which they are based.

We should love all people, be good listeners, and show concern for their sincere beliefs. Though we may disagree, we should not be disagreeable. Our stands and communications on controversial topics should not be contentious.”

Elder Neil L. Anderson
“Each believer needs a spiritual confirmation of the divine mission and character of the Prophet Joseph Smith.”

Asking a dissenter about Joseph Smith is like asking Judas about the Savior.

Defectors always tell us more about themselves than about that from which they have defected.

To questions about Joseph’s character, we might share the words of thousands who knew him personally and who gave their lives for the work he helped establish. We might remind the sincere inquirer that Internet information does not have a ‘truth’ filter. Some information, no matter how convincing, is simply not true.

It is important to recognize that some information about Joseph, while true, might be presented completely out of context to the day and situation. A sincere inquirer should see the spreading of the restored gospel as the fruit of the Lord’s work through the Prophet, the apostle taught.

1. Find scriptures in the Book of Mormon that you know are true.
2. Share them with family and friends durig FHE, seminary, YM/YW.
3. Read the testimony of Joseph Smith as found in the Pearl of Great Price.
4. Consider recording it and relistening to it in your own voice.

Puzzles!

Elder Tad R. Callister
Story about the kid that scored a zero and grew to be the head of John’s Hopkins medical center because his mother made her sons turn off the t.v. and start to read.

Do our children get our best efforts or our leftover efforts.

Elder Jörg Klebingat (favorite)
If the Savior were to come in one hour, how would you rate your readiness to see him?

Lies of the adversary:

• Heavenly Father is disappointed in you
• The Atonement is beyond your reach
• There is no point in ever trying
• Everybody else is better than you
• You are unworthy

1. Take responsibility for your own spiritual well being.
2. Take responsibility for your own physical well being.
3. Embrace voluntary, whole-hearted obedience as part of your life. (You can’t love God unless you love his commandments. Choosing something bad over something worse is still wrong.) Do the right things for the right reasons.
4. Become really, really good at repenting thoroughly and quickly.
5. Become really, really good at forgiving. Forgive everyone, everything, all the time. Don’t hold grudges, don’t be easily offended, forgive and forget quickly.
6. Accept trials, setbacks and surprises as part of your mortal experience. Acknowledge and accept your weaknesses but don’t be immobilized by them, because some of them will be your companions until you depart this earth life.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
“We obtain a remission of our sins by pleading to God who compassionately responds … But we retain a remission of our sins by compassionately responding to the poor who plead to us.”

We should not withhold our material wealth from the poor in thinking that they have brought it upon themselves.

President Monson gave away all his clothes and the very shoes off his feet to the poor in Germany.

PRIESTHOOD SESSION

Elder Quentin L. Cook
“Even worthwhile endeavors need evaluation in order to determine if they have become distractions from the best goals.”

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Judging ourselves differently from how we judge others. “In these simple words, ‘Lord is it I?’ lies the beginning of wisdom and the pathway to personal conversion and lasting change.”

President Thomas S. Monson
“Like the vital rudder of a ship, brethren, we have been provided a way to determine the direction we travel. The lighthouse of the Lord beckons to all as we sail the seas of life. Our purpose is to steer an undeviating course toward our desired goal – even the Celestial Kingdom of God. A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder, never likely to reach home port. To us comes the signal: Chart your course, set your sail, position your rudder and proceed.”

SUNDAY MORNING

Elder Henry B. Eyring
“Don't take lightly the feeling you get of love for the prophet of God…That is far more than hero worship or the feelings we sometimes have of admiring heroic figures. It is a gift from God. With it you will receive more easily the gift of confirming revelation when he speaks in his office as the Lord's prophet. The love you feel is the love the Lord has for whomever is His spokesman. That is not easy to feel continually because the Lord often asks His prophets to give counsel that is hard for people to accept. The enemy of our souls will try to lead us to take offense and to doubt the prophet's calling from God.”

Elder Russell M. Nelson
“But sustaining the prophet is more than just raising one’s hand — it means standing behind the prophet, praying for him, defending his good name and striving to carry out the instructions he gives as directed by the Lord.”

“If the Restoration did anything, it shattered the age-old myth that God had stopped talking to His children.”

Sister Carrol F. McConkie
“In a world threatened by famine of righteousness and spiritual starvation, we have been commanded to sustain the prophet. As we give heed to, uphold and affirm prophetic word, we witness that we have the faith to humbly submit to the will, the wisdom and the timing of the Lord.”

“We heed prophetic word even when it may seem unreasonable, inconvenient and uncomfortable. According to the world’s standards, following the prophet may be unpopular, politically incorrect or socially unacceptable. But following the prophet is always right.”

The words of the prophet are like manna to our souls. When we partake, we are filled. We are protected.

Elder James J. Hamula
“The fundamental question facing all of us is not whether we will live, but with whom we will live after we die.”

President Thomas S. Monson
“Physically walking where Jesus walked is less important than walking as He walked. Emulating His actions and following His example are far more important than trying to retrace the remnants of the trails he traversed in mortality.”

“There is no higher end than this, that we should choose to accept His discipline and become His disciples, and do His work throughout our lives. Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can. ...”

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Elder M. Russell Ballard
Beware of personal apostasy

“If any one of you have fallen out of the boat, we will seek you, find you, and minister to you and pull you safely back onto the Old Ship Zion, where God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are at the helm and will guide us right.”

Elder Richard G. Scott
Tools

1. Prayer
2. Study the word of God through the scriptures
3. Hold regular family home evening
4. Go to the temple

“Be cautious not to make your family home evening just an afterthought of a busy day,” he said. “Decide that on Monday night your family will be together at home for the evening. Do not let employment demands, sports, extracurricular activities, homework or anything else become more important than that time you spend together at home with your family.”

Elder Carlos A. Godoy
If you continue to live as you are currently living, will the promises of your patriarchal blessing be fulfilled?

Principles to help make the best decisions possible

1. Consider our options with the end in mind. Understanding who we are and why we are here provide us with the broader vision we may need.
2. We need to be prepared for the challenges that will come. The best paths in life are rarely the easiest; often, it is exactly the opposite.
3. We need to share this vision with the people we love.

Elder Alan F. Packer
“Like partaking of the sacrament, attending meetings, reading the scriptures and personal prayers, family history and temple work should be a part of our personal worship.”

Elder Hugo E. Martinez 
“He who serves in some thing is good for something; he who serves in no thing is good for nothing.”

Elder David A. Bednar
To those not of our faith:
“The invitations we extend to you to learn about and test our message grow out of the positive effects the gospel of Jesus Christ has had in our lives. Sometimes we may be awkward or abrupt or relentless in our attempts. Our simple desire is to share with you the truths that are of greatest worth to us.”

President Thomas S. Monson
“May we return to our homes with a resolve in our hearts to be a little better than we have been in the past. May we be a little kinder and more thoughtful. May we reach out in helpfulness, not only to our fellow members but also to those who are not of our faith. As we associate with them, may we show our respect for them.”

“May we be people of honesty and integrity, trying to do the right thing at all times and in all circumstances. May we be faithful followers of Christ, examples of righteousness, thus becoming “lights in the world.”

It's Always Fun When Grammy Comes! (and Grandad too)

It's been about a year since my parents finished their mission in North Carolina. An amazing man that they taught was sealed to his wife so they flew out here for the sealing. They spent a few days with us, then spent a week traveling their mission and then finished with a few more days at our house. Now that Baylie is in school, I can't just take off and travel anymore and I really miss my family.

I loved watching my dad read to my children from the very same book he used to read to me. I love that my parents love my kids so much and my kids adore their grandparents. Baylie and my mom have a very special bond and Jalen loves nothing more than spending time with my dad. It fills my heart to watch them together.

With Grammy and Grandad sleeping in her bed, Baylie gets to sleep on our floor, which means that Jalen does too. They are wild little sleepers, so we never know what we'll find when we check on them.

While they were here, Baylie had an early release day from school so we went to Congaree National Park for a little hike.  

It's a little over two miles and a few months ago I wouldn't have been able to do it. This time I was able to do it fairly easily. I wasn't tired, but my hips and legs were very sore.

Congaree is actually a swamp (for history buffs, think of the Revolutionary War's Swamp Fox) with a boardwalk built through it. Last time we went there, the water was pretty high. This time there wasn't nearly as much water.

From Wikipedia: Congaree National Park preserves the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States. The lush trees growing in this floodplain forest are some of the tallest in the Eastern U.S., forming one of the highest temperate deciduous forest canopies remaining in the world.

These red spiders were EVERYWHERE.

You can't really see him, but there is a little snake poking his head out of the end of this fallen log.

I started our day at the park by locking the keys in the car. David had to come rescue us. I seem to have a gift for adding excitement to family activities. (By the way, we saw a deer in the park!)

The sealing was in Atlanta and we headed over there the day before. We decided to check out Stone Mountain. I had heard about it a long time ago and always wanted to see it, but when I started reading up on it, I discovered it was originally built by the Ku Klux Klan. I almost changed my mind about going, but it is now operated by the park service and I decided I could still teach my children important lessons by being there.

The largest bas relief sculpture in the world, the Confederate Memorial Carving depicts three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (and their favorite horses, "Blackjack", "Traveller", and "Little Sorrel", respectively). The entire carved surface measures 3 acres, about the size of two and a quarter football fields. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The deepest point of the carving is at Lee's elbow, which is 12 feet to the mountain's surface.

We rode in a gondola to get to the top of the mountain. (Actually just a big hill.) It was the only thing open the day we were there. There are actually a ton of things to do at Stone Mountain, but they were all closed and all we wanted to see was the monument anyway.

Cable that pulls the gondola.

Mom and dad on the edge.

Our family at the top.

If you look closely at the left of Jalen, you can see words carved into the rock. There are several of these carvings in the rock. I have no idea what Jalen is doing.

These wild Stone Mountain yellow daisies or Confederate daisies are only found within a 60-mile radius of Stone Mountain. They are endangered.

Our family at the bottom.

At the base of the mountain are monuments to different confederate states. David took a moment to visit his favorite one.

This view gives a better idea of just how big it is.

Pouting. So unlike him. (NOT!)

When we finally got to the hotel, Jalen was pooped. The kids were super excited to stay in a hotel and to swim, but I didn't get any pictures. Lame.

I had been to the Atlanta temple once before, but it was several years ago. I didn't remember it at all. David and the kids waited outside while I went in to the sealing. Unfortunately, there was a complication and the wedding started almost two hours late. It was a bit crazy. David had a lot of time to take pictures.

 The Fradys - such a great couple. So beautiful to see them sealed.

We had such a great time with my parents. They headed up to North Carolina and we headed back to Columbia.

The kids fell asleep right away when we headed back for home.

After a week traveling around North Carolina, my parents came back to send a few days with us before flying back to Utah. It was such a great trip. My parents have always been very generous with us.

I am so homesick for my parents right now. No matter how old I get, I never outgrow them. I think the separation may be hardest on my dad though since for the past two weeks Jalen has been glued to his side saying things like, "I want what Grandad wants." "Where is Grandad?" "I want to sit by Grandad." and a personal favorite "Grandad knows EVERYTHING." It may be hard to get over losing such hero worship.