Swim Party

Brooklyn has wanted to have a swimming party for her birthday for a couple years now. Usually I tend to forget that it is time to do her party until it is too late to have it at our swimming pool (that closes on Labor Day). But this year I was on top of it. Brooklyn and her 7 most favorite friends (that live in town) all piled into our great white beast to go to the swimming pool. As we were heading up the street to the pool I asked all the girls if they knew how to swim. I didn’t want to be that person that brought someone swimming who couldn’t and swim, and ended up needing to be saved by a life guard (it happens all the time). All seven girls said they could swim. I then told the girls to stay in the shallow end if they were not a strong swimmer. We couldn’t have been there more than five minutes when I heard the life guards blow her whistle three times (the signal that they are going in the water for a save)! And sure enough, it was for one of Brooklyn’s friends! Grrrrr!

What the heck

We had a lot of rain the other day. This is what I found at the church when I dropped Josh Jr. off for a campout… That is a sand volleyball court.

Bolg for Religion class

Choice 2: Mark 13; Luke 21:5–38; Joseph Smith—Matthew. Preparing for the Savior’s Second Coming 1.Review Mark 13:5, 9, 23, 33, 35, 37 and identify the words take heed and watch in each verse. List at least three things from this chapter that believers could watch for in order to be prepared to meet the Lord. Three things that we can watch for in the second coming of Jesus are; one, false prophets. There will be many that will rise up and show signs and wonders to persuade people to follow them. A second sign we can watch for is “nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”. The third sign we can watch for is the Gospel going to all nations. There are many other signs that we can watch for, but here are three signs. 2.Explain in writing any other additional truths that are taught in the following references about how to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. oDoctrine and Covenants 87:8 oJoseph Smith—Matthew 1:32 oJoseph Smith—Matthew 1:37 oJoseph Smith—Matthew 1:46–50 oDoctrine and Covenants 33:17 oDoctrine and Covenants 45:56–57 oThere are many things we can do to prepare for the second coming of Jesus. Being diligent in keeping our covenants that we have made is one of them. Attending church on a regular basis will also help us to prepare for the second coming. Things we can do on a daily basis are our personal scripture study and prayer, along with family scripture study and prayers. We need to be diligent daily with our preparation for the second coming... Just like the parable of the ten virgins, we do not know when the second coming will be, and we need to be prepared

Spencer is 9 months old!

I can't believe another month has gone by again. As much as I would love time to stand still, it doesn’t. And with each new day, Spencer learns more new tricks. At 9 months, Spencer is still the happiest baby around. He wraps people around his little fingers by smiling away at them. Spencer loves his family. Even Myra, who picks on him endlessly. He will laugh and coo at her to keep her playing with him. He also tries to follow her wherever she goes. Spencer LOVES food! He has a sixth sense about when we are eating. He could be dead asleep, but if we sit down to dinner he will be awake within minutes to join us. Even if Spencer just finished eating his dinner, he will holler at anyone and everyone for their food. Spencer also growls while you are feeding him if he feels you are not feeding him fast enough (really need to get a video of it, because it is too funny). Spencer has mastered the art of the army crawl. He can crawl on his hands and knees (because we have seen him do it), but he really knows how to haul it with his army crawl. He will actually grab a fist full of carpet to pull himself with. Spencer is starting to pull himself up anything he can reach. He also can sit himself up whenever he wants. So far Spencer’s eyes are still blue (matching his brothers) and his hair still has a little red in it, in the right lights. I’m not sure on length and weight, Spencer goes in next week to the doctors. We all love Spencer, and are so happy to have him in our family!

Myra! You got to love her. Who doesn’t? Even Spencer, whom she picks on CONSTANTLY, loves her. Today I had to send her to the stairs (time out) for about the hundredth time for picking on Spencer… Spencer watched her walk off and sit down, and then smiling, he followed her ;) A month and a half ago Myra’s ear was hurting her; this was back when she was swimming ALL the time. Myra, during one of the really sad times of pain, asked if we could take her to the doctor to get her a new ear. The next day when she cut her toe, she asked for a new toe. Today when I was cleaning her up after a accident in the underwear she told me I need to get a “new” Myra. One that didn’t poop in her underwear ;)

Religon Class Blog

Here is another post from my religion class. Enjoy! Choice 5: Mark 12:41–44. The Widow’s Mites 1. Review Mark 12:41–44 and the institute student manual commentary for Mark 12:41–44, “What Was the Significance of the Widow’s Gift?” (p. 149). Write an explanation of how the widow lived what the Savior taught in Mark 12:28–30. The significance of the widow’s gift is twofold. First, the widow did not give the gift for attention. She wasn’t there to draw attention to herself. She was there to do as she was commanded. She was there to pay her tithes. Second, the widow gave all that she had. Not 10 percent, not her excesses. She gave ALL that she had. The widow was living the commandments by giving everything she had; she was not just complying with that that was expected. 2. Even though the widow gave less money than wealthier people gave, according to Mark 12:44, how much of what she had did she give? Write a paragraph describing what this teaches about what constitutes an acceptable offering to the Lord. How does 2 Nephi 25:23 apply to what the widow did? The widow gave ALL that she had! We are commanded to do all that we can do. The widow could have used her mite for something else, but she wanted to do all that she could do. The widow gave all that she had knowing that she would be blessed for following Jesus. 2 Nephi 25:23 states,” For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” No one is perfect, no one person can have eternal life without the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. It is through Jesus that we can be saved. Jesus gave his life for us. It is not asking much for us to give all that we have to the Lord. 3. Write two or three sentences describing a way, aside from the donation of money, that you could better follow the widow’s example of sacrifice and obedience. One way we can give our all to the Lord, outside of money, is to give of our works. In Alma 12:12 we read, “And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.” By serving others we are serving our Lord. We can give of our time, talents and service to others.

What Happened to Mickey’s Voice???

Myra wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Playhouse yesterday while I was doing my homework. As I started the show on Netflix, I noticed something… Mickey’s voice was a little off… Ok, it actually was A LOT off. In fact it sounded much like a teenage boy whose voice going through “the change”. One second it would sound like Mickey, and the next, nothing like Mickey, and yes it sounded like it was cracking too. Really, that’s the best Mickey voice out there??? I think MY teenage boy (whose voice still cracks occasionally) could do just as well, if not better than the person doing Mickey’s voice.

Religion class blog

Here is another blog for my religion class :) Choice 2: Luke 16:1–12, 19–31; 17:11–19; 18:1–14. Parables and Accounts That Teach Eternal Truths 1.Study the following parables and accounts along with the accompanying commentary from the institute student manual. Describe in writing what you feel is the major principle the Lord wants us to understand from each of the parables: Luke 16:1–12, the parable of the unjust steward. “The Children of This World Are in Their Generation Wiser Than the Children of Light” (p. 124). I feel that this parable is teaching us to prepare for the future. Not in the sense of building up an earthly wealth, but in building up our lives to be what we should be not only now on the earth, but in the eternities as well. o Luke 16:19–31, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. “What Do We Learn About the Spirit World from the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus?” (pp. 124–25). What we learn about the spirit world from this parable is that just like on earth where the different social groups did not mingle or cross paths, the spirit world could not cross paths either. It was the death and resurrection of Jesus that bridged that gulf allowing those who had not received the gospel on the earth a chance to receive it in the eternities. o Luke 17:11–19, the ten lepers. “Why Were the Ten Lepers to Show Themselves to the Priests?” and “Were There Not Ten Cleansed?” (p. 130). See also the Bible Dictionary, “Leprosy” (p. 724). The one leper to return was a Samaritan. This could show that ALL men were acceptable to the Lord, and that we need to serve ALL men and share the gospel with everyone. o Luke 18:1–8, the parable of the unjust judge. “Why Did the Lord Give the Parable of the Unjust Judge?” (p. 131). The parable of the unjust Judge is to show us that the Lord loves each and every one of us, and that He does hear and answer our prayers. It shows us that we are to not give up, but to be stead fast in all things. o Luke 18:9–14, the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. “Why Did the Lord Give the Parable of the Pharisee and Publican?” (p. 131). I feel this parable is to teach us to not be prideful. We are all children of our Heavenly Father. He loves each and every one of us. We all have the gift of agency and the opportunity to choose how we want to live our life. We are ALL children of our Heavenly Father, and He loves ALL. Not one person has claim that they are better than anyone else. We need to not judge others, but be kind and loving to all. Sorry there are no paragraphs or color changes... My Blog doesn't like me :)

Storm of the Century???

I’m not so sure the storm tonight will go down as that, but it sure one CRAZY storm. It started raining right about 6pm… And when I finally went to sleep around midnight, it was still pouring! I’m pretty sure when I was up at 2:15 with Spencer that it was still raining… It rained so much last night, that there are even a couple schools that had to have late starts, and one that was closed all together because of the rain. About 11pm last night, after checking our window wells for the hundredth time, Josh decided that he had better bail the water out of a couple of the windows… Poor Josh, out in the pouring rain (the rain picked up as he went out) hauling bucket after bucket out of the window. After checking out the windows this morning, I am so grateful that Josh took the time to get soaking wet last night. Or we might have had a BIG problem this morning. But last night, as I was warm and dry holding the flashlight from inside the house, all I could think of was swamp thing. In the dark murky water, with tumble weeds and whatever else was blown down into the window well, it looked like a shallow swamp.

That’s my smart kid!

Savannah had a reading test in school the other day. The results were sent home for parents to see, sign and return. I can only assume they want you to sign it to make sure that parents see where their child stands, especially if they need to practice. We do NOT need to worry about Savannah. She just started 2nd grade by the way :)

Makeup Post 8-21-13

Josh jr. is almost 14… And he passed me in height many months ago… He is a great young man. But when did he get so big??? Seriously, stop it kid!

Makeup Post 8-20-13

Myra likes to pick on her brother… A little too much…

Makeup Post 8-19-13

When you shop at Sams Club you have to show your receipt when you leave. When you have a little kid with you, the person checking your receipt usually draws a cute smiley face on the receipt for the child… Myra ALWAYS claims my receipts after shopping at Sams… But she wasn’t too happy with the picture last time. “I a girl! That lady think I a boy! But I a girl!” Apparently the image the lady drew made Myra think of a boy… And she assumed that the lady was drawing her ;)

Makeup Post 8-18-13

Spencer was taking a nap in my room the other day so I could clean his room. Spencer had fun when he woke up ;)

Makeup Post 8-17-13

The other evening we were opening up all the windows and doors to start cooling off the house. Myra went and grabbed her shoes and then started to head for the back door. Her excuse for leaving… “I need to go tell Ian he has lovely eyes!”

Makeup Post 8-16-13

The girls had three days off of school, so we took a day to go to the zoo. It was a beautiful day!

Makeup Post 8-15-13

I posted in my blog on the 8th about my religion class. Here is another class assignment from that class. Choice 1: Luke 10:1–24. “The Lord Appointed Other Seventy Also” 1.Review Luke 10:1–24. Based on these verses, write a summary of the Lord’s counsel and instructions He gave the seventy. A.In reading Luke 10:1-24 the thought most in my mind was the seventy were called as missionaries. Christ instructed the seventy in the tasks that they were to do. Those tasks included; go two by two to every city carrying no purse, or scrip, or shoes. The seventy were to give labor to those that would let them enter their house. They were to heal the sick and teach of the kingdom of God. Jesus also blessed the seventy that no harm would fall upon them. 2.Articles of Faith 1:6 states, “We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church.” Using the principles taught from Luke 10:1–2, 8–9, 17–20, write a paragraph that supports this Article of Faith. A.The first article of Faith continues, “Namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. Jesus set up His church on earth with order. He had the 12 apostles to assist him. Then he called the seventy to work to spread the gospel. There were actual apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists on the earth during Christ’s ministry. Today, we are blessed to have the same organization on the earth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was patterned after the Church Jesus established. 3.Go to the Church’s scripture website and read the topic of “Seventy” in the Guide to the Scriptures. Describe in one or two sentences how the scriptures show the existence of this office in the priesthood. A.The scriptures show the existence of the Seventy in multiple places. In Luke Jesus calls seventy to serve. He instructs them to go and teach others. He also tells them to heal the sick and bless those they teach. You can also read in D&C 107 where the Lord instructs the seventy to be called in the latter days.

Makeup Post 8-14-13

Myra enjoying her cotton candy at the zoo!

Makeup Post 8-13-13

Myra enjoying the rain.

Makeup Post 8-12-13

It’s been a while since I cleaned under the fridge and stove… Guess it was about time…

Makeup Post 8-11-13

Myra passed her level one swim lessons! She is little, but a fearless swimmer!

Makeup Post 8-10-13

I love Myra! The little stinker steals my IPad every time I set it down.. Love the shoes!