Wednesday, January 30, 2008

My camera was out of power...

                  

I am afraid that the title of this blog will occur more than a few times.  Trace had his first Boy Scout Court of Honor last night and I thought great I will bring my camera and post a picture of him receiving his awards.  No such luck, out of power.  I thought I had charged the battery, but apparently I put the battery upside down in the charger.  Once again my lack of  technological knowledge haunts me. Anyway, Trace received rank advancements to First Class Scouter and received 5 merit badges (3 of which were required).  We are very proud of him and I am very thankful to have a husband who knows what to do with all of this scout stuff.  Our goal is for Trace to have his Eagle by the time he turns 14.  Tate will have just turned 8 and will be starting Cub Scouts.  I only want to do one scouter at a time. 

Monday, January 28, 2008

Taylor's Utah History Program

Monday the 4th grade performed a musical program about the history of Utah.  (Mom, before you get upset, it was Monday morning and a storm was on its way.)  They sang songs, had a video presentation, and some kids square danced.  Taylor had a speaking part about the Mormon Pioneers finding a place to worship without persecution.  She did a great job and her costume was perfect. (It was quite a struggle to come up with something that was up to her expectations.) Sorry the picture isn't that great, but when I took the camera out of my purse there was only enough power for 1 picture.  But at least I had my camera...

Be a little better....

Our beloved prophet, president Gordon B. Hinkley returned home to his Father in Heaven last night. What a glorious welcome it must have been. I have no doubt that he heard the words,"Well done thou good and faithful servant." I always loved how he asked us to be a little better, it seemed so achievable to me. I thought I would share one of his closing conference addresses when he asked each of us to do just that.



"What a wonderful conference this has been, my brothers and sisters. As we return to our homes and to our daily activities, each of us should be a better individual than we were when the conference opened.
But what matters most is what may have occurred within each of us as a result of our experience. I, for one, have made a stronger resolution within myself to be a better person than I have been in the past. I hope that I will be a little kinder to any I meet who may be in distress. I hope that I will be a little more helpful to those who are in need. I hope that I will be a little more worthy of your confidence. I hope that I will be a better husband, a better father and grandfather. I hope that I will be a better neighbor and friend. I hope that I will be a better Latter-day Saint, with an increased understanding of the wonderful aspects of this glorious gospel.
I challenge every one of you who can hear me to rise to the divinity within you. Do we really realize what it means to be a child of God, to have within us something of the divine nature?
I believe with all my heart that the Latter-day Saints, generally speaking, are good people. If we live by the principles of the gospel, we must be good people, for we will be generous and kind, thoughtful and tolerant, helpful and outreaching to those in distress. We can either subdue the divine nature and hide it so that it finds no expression in our lives, or we can bring it to the front and let it shine through all that we do.
There is room for improvement in every life. Regardless of our occupations, regardless of our circumstances, we can improve ourselves and while so doing have an effect on the lives of those about us.
We can lower our voices a few decibels. We can return good for evil. We can smile when anger might be so much easier. We can exercise self-control and self-discipline and dismiss any affront levied against us.
Let us be a happy people. The Lord’s plan is a plan of happiness. The way will be lighter, the worries will be fewer, the confrontations will be less difficult if we cultivate a spirit of happiness.
Let us work a little harder at the responsibility we have as parents. The home is the basic unit of society. The family is the basic organization of the Church. We are deeply concerned over the quality of the lives of our people as husbands and wives and as parents and children.
My brothers and sisters, we must work at our responsibility as parents as if everything in life counted on it, because in fact everything in life does count on it.
If we fail in our homes, we fail in our lives. No man is truly successful who has failed in his home. I ask you men, particularly, to pause and take stock of yourselves as husbands and fathers and heads of households. Pray for guidance, for help, for direction, and then follow the whisperings of the Spirit to guide you in the most serious of all responsibilities, for the consequences of your leadership in your home will be eternal and everlasting.
God bless you, my beloved associates. May a spirit of peace and love attend you wherever you may be. May there be harmony in your lives. As I’ve said to our youth in many areas, be smart, be clean, be true, be grateful, be humble, be prayerful. May you kneel in prayer before the Almighty with thanksgiving unto Him for His bounteous blessings. May you then stand on your feet and go forward as sons and daughters of God to bring to pass His eternal purposes, each in your own way, is my humble prayer as I leave my love and blessing with you, in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen."
taken from LDS.org

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Two other members of our family...



I realized that I have failed to introduce the other two members of our family.  Riley is the yellow lab mix that obviously had trouble adjusting when Rocco, our Shih-tzu mix, came into our family.   Riley is known for needing lots of attention and constantly wanting treats.  He will just sit at the pantry door all day and wait patiently for me to give him one.  Rocco is known for running the neighborhood.  The kids like to say he is in a gang because he hangs out with 4 other dogs on our street, most of them being 3 times his size.  He is definitely the neighborhood welcoming committee, most new move ins know him before they know us.  Unfortunately last spring he also killed a couple of our neighbors chickens which we replaced with rotisserie chickens from Costco.  Anyway, we love our dogs and appreciate our family and friends who put up with them.

Friday, January 25, 2008

I'm Done!

   

 This was the view from my deck yesterday at about 3:30.  It doesn't really pick up in this picture, but it was a blizzard.  It didn't last that long, but as you can tell, we have no shortage of snow.  I am normally a cold weather girl, but I am officially ready for summer.  Poor Bill, Trace, and the rest of the Highland 1st Ward Scout Troop will be camping in this weather tonight. CRAZY!  Taylor is inviting 5 other 9 year olds over for a late night and Tate is going to be hanging out with Mom.  At least we will be warm and toasty inside.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Then & Now

Tate - about 3-4 months old
Taylor - Christmas 1999 almost 2 yrs old
(this was her usual happy self then)
Trace - Christmas 1999 - 4 yrs old

I was looking through what can only be described as our pathetically small collection of family photos, and thought it would be fun to post pictures from years ago and current pictures, just to see how far we've come.  Time really does fly by....

Tate &  Taylor - Christmas Day 2007
- much happier now!


Trace - First Day of School 2007

It has been a while....

As you can see, I haven't been doing anything with this blog for the last 9 months, but that is going to change.  I have been inspired by seeing friends and neighbors setting up blogs, and I am excited to follow suit.  I originally felt as though we didn't have much going on that was worth sharing with anyone, but it is important to appreciate the small joys that we do have.  I am technologically challenged, so it may take me a while to really blog efficiently, but have patience and enjoy your glimpse into our world. - Amy