First is David Evans:
Followed by Nathan:
Anna turned four years old:
Beverly's birthday is on the 19th:
Rachel is next:
Evan turned five years old and is going to kindergarten:
Thursday, September 29, 2011
September Birthdays
Some of our favorite family members were born in September.
First is David Evans:
Followed by Nathan:
Anna turned four years old:
Beverly's birthday is on the 19th:
Rachel is next:
Evan turned five years old and is going to kindergarten:
First is David Evans:
Followed by Nathan:
Anna turned four years old:
Beverly's birthday is on the 19th:
Rachel is next:
Evan turned five years old and is going to kindergarten:
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Forget Not by Stacy
One of my favorite scrapbook ladies made this wonderful summary of President Uchtdorf's talk last night. I wanted to preserve it and share it with you. Such practical wisdom for all of us.
Forget Not.
It’s General Conference time for LDS people across the world.
Yesterday evening I attended the annual broadcast for women (Relief Society) and listened to an amazing talk, by Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf. He spoke of tiny Forget Me Not flowers that can sometimes be overlooked in the mix of larger, more exotic and glorious blooms, but which in their tiny way seem to mirror the majesty of the sky (or something like that!) Anyway, he referenced a German folktale suggesting that when God was finished naming all of the flowers, this little blue flower looked up and said, “wait … forget me not” and so it was thus named.
Elder Uchtdorf used the Forget Me Not and it’s five petals as a metaphor to remind us of five things we need to NOT forget … I’m paraphrasing bits and pieces of his message, which is a message that any women of faith would appreciate and feel strengthened by. Since I am always eager to share things on my blog that help me or make me happy, I’m sharing, this talk — because it did both! Note: If you want to watch to the video, move the play button to 58:00 minutes on the time bar.
1. Forget Not to be patient with yourself.
God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect. He is also fully aware that the people we think are perfect are not. And yet we spend so much time comparing ourselves to others. Usually we compare our weaknesses to others’ strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we seldom celebrate our good efforts, because they seem to be less than what someone else does. It is wonderful that we have strengths and it is part of our mortal experience to have weaknesses — eventually, all of our weaknesses can become strengths, but this is a LONG term goal. We need to keep working on making ourselves better, but we must stop punishing ourselves in the meantime (good stuff!)
2. Forget Not the difference between a good sacrifice and foolish sacrifice.
Elder Uchtdorf shared a couple funny examples of over-the-top sacrifice–the kind where we women work too hard to make something “perfect” or at least super-impressive when its not necessary. Every person and every situation is different, but we can generally tell that our sacrifices are the right kind, when we are committing our time and energies to the things that matter most. There are so many good things to do, but we can’t do all of them. Our Heavenly Father is most pleased when we sacrifice something good for something far greater in an eternal perspective. Sometimes it is nurturing the seemingly small and insignificant Forget Me Not flowers in our life’s garden that will make the biggest difference in the end.
3. Forget Not to be happy now.
There’s nothing wrong with hoping for good things to happen. We should never stop hoping or striving for the best in us and in life, but we need to remember that problems arise when we put our happiness on hold, while we wait for some “golden ticket” to appear and fulfill all of our dreams. The happiest people are those who while in pursuit of worthy goals discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of everyday moments (love this!)
4. Forget Not the “why” of the gospel.
We need to be careful not to see the opportunities of a christian life as a list of tasks on an already impossibly long to-do list. We sometimes focus too much on what has to be done and how to get it done, but we forget why we’re doing it. When we understand why our Heavenly Father has given us a pattern for living then the path of discipleship becomes a joy and a delight and we’re able to draw on the light and direction that good choices bring into our lives.
5. Forget Not that the Lord loves you.
I absolutely loved the very specific words Elder Uchtdorf shared for this last point, “You are not forgotten. Wherever you are. Whatever the circumstances may be. You are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem. No matter how insignificant you may feel or how overshadowed you think you may be. Your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. He loves you with an infinite love. Just think of it. You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful and glorious being in the universe. You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time. He who created and knows the stars, knows your name. You are one of his most precious daughters.” (wow!)
I hope some of you may actually take the time to listen to this message. It’s really so much better than my little summary.
Have a wonderful sabbath!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
August Birthdays
Jacey had her birthday on August 3rd and celebrated being older, graduating from high school and leaving for college!
Benjamin's birthday was on August 12th
Jennifer became older and wiser on August 13th
Just in case you need a memory refresher to generate enthusiasm for our Family Renunion in 2012 you can see the two albums of photos on Shutterfly.
Benjamin's birthday was on August 12th
Jennifer became older and wiser on August 13th
Just in case you need a memory refresher to generate enthusiasm for our Family Renunion in 2012 you can see the two albums of photos on Shutterfly.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Second Trip to Guayaquil
We had another opportunity to go to Guayaquil to teach Priesthood leaders and also to speak at a fireside about the Perpetual Education Fund. We went a day early in order to go to the temple. Those of us who are close to a temple need to recognize how fortunate we are to be able to attend frequently. It is a privilege to go and we all need to go as often as we can in our current circumstances.
The temple grounds are always beautiful. I enjoyed the colors in the foliage. The bushes were almost as colorful as the many flowers.
This was a very interesting tree. I'm not sure if it qualifies as beautiful but it is amazing.
Look at the spikes that grow on the trunk of this tree. Not a tree to cuddle up to.
In the afternoon we went to the Iguana Park. This little park is downtown and is called Parque de Semanario or Parque Bolivar or Parque de los Iguanas. There is a big beautiful church across the street. The park is surrounded by a wrought iron fence but that would not prevent the iguanas from leaving. If they left they would get run over by all the cars on the streets that surround the park. I guess they know that, or at least do not want to leave their comfortable surroundings. Some of the iguanas are very large. This guy was much larger than Leiann's iguana, Willy, but not the same beautiful green color.
Those who had visited before warned us about standing under the trees. We saw one tree with a score of iguanas in the branches.
There were more than 50 iguanas that we saw in the trees, on the grass and walking around the monuments and the gazebo. Lots of parents and children were there in the park and enjoying the animals.
There was a small pond also and it was filled with turtles. They were not very attractive turtles. What do you think of this fellow?
Look at how long the legs and necks and tails are.
There were some other species also that were in a pen without water to swim in. One group had orange on their bodies and there were three that looked like tortoises. Look at the toes on that iguana below - no wonder they are good climbers.
This beautiful building below was build in 2000 and is the home of the government of the state of Guyas and city of Guayaquil. It is a very impressive building with statues and fountains and lots of ornamentation. It is right across the street from the Malecon, which is along the bank of the river.
This big old ship is permanently docked on the Malecon.
This is a very impressive monument that is explained below.
The Malecon runs along the bank of the river, has been recently refurbished and is a lovely place for families to come and spend time together. Several parents were pushing their young children in wheeled toys fitted with handles. There were also lots of young couples walking together. There are fun towers to climb in order to see the river from two stories up along with lots of statues and small shops. You can buy cotton candy and have your photo taken next to a statue of a pirate. A pleasant place to spend the afternoon. It was warm and humid but still comfortable. It is the apparently the cooler part of the year here in Guayaquil.
How is this for an impressive tree...
There are little plants we saw floating down the river. They have air bladders on them like the seaweed in California.
On Sunday we went to the Kennedy Stake Center where the Institute building is also located. Inside the building we saw that Grandpa was featured on the flyer advertising the fireside.
This is the group of Stake Presidents and stake and ward leaders as well as stake specialists that met at 5:30 to learn more about the Perpetual Education Fund from Grandpa.
Grandpa used a Power Point presentation that he made and taught everyone the principles of the program and the things they need to know to administer the program within their stewardships.
This is the group of Institute students in the choir that sang at the beginning of our fireside and then also the closing song. They sounded wonderful.
We were pleased that there were almost 200 people who came to the fireside. It was so fun to talk with them afterwards and answer their questions. Wonderful young people who are preparing great futures for themselves and their families.
There are many intelligent and beautiful young people who want to get further education so they can get a good job and take their place as contributors to the common good. It is a lot of work to get an education, to build a strong and happy family and then choose to serve others as well. Most of them are making it happen. We are encouraged by how many good people throughout the world there are who are doing their best to improve their talents and help make this world a better place for all of us.
PS - Immediate family members - check out the Family Reunion website listed near the top on the right and see the new scrapbook pages from our 2010 reunion. Communicate quickly with Khristine to firm up your reservation for 2012.
Love, Grandma
The temple grounds are always beautiful. I enjoyed the colors in the foliage. The bushes were almost as colorful as the many flowers.
This was a very interesting tree. I'm not sure if it qualifies as beautiful but it is amazing.
Look at the spikes that grow on the trunk of this tree. Not a tree to cuddle up to.
In the afternoon we went to the Iguana Park. This little park is downtown and is called Parque de Semanario or Parque Bolivar or Parque de los Iguanas. There is a big beautiful church across the street. The park is surrounded by a wrought iron fence but that would not prevent the iguanas from leaving. If they left they would get run over by all the cars on the streets that surround the park. I guess they know that, or at least do not want to leave their comfortable surroundings. Some of the iguanas are very large. This guy was much larger than Leiann's iguana, Willy, but not the same beautiful green color.
Those who had visited before warned us about standing under the trees. We saw one tree with a score of iguanas in the branches.
There were more than 50 iguanas that we saw in the trees, on the grass and walking around the monuments and the gazebo. Lots of parents and children were there in the park and enjoying the animals.
There was a small pond also and it was filled with turtles. They were not very attractive turtles. What do you think of this fellow?
Look at how long the legs and necks and tails are.
There were some other species also that were in a pen without water to swim in. One group had orange on their bodies and there were three that looked like tortoises. Look at the toes on that iguana below - no wonder they are good climbers.
This beautiful building below was build in 2000 and is the home of the government of the state of Guyas and city of Guayaquil. It is a very impressive building with statues and fountains and lots of ornamentation. It is right across the street from the Malecon, which is along the bank of the river.
This big old ship is permanently docked on the Malecon.
This is a very impressive monument that is explained below.
The Malecon runs along the bank of the river, has been recently refurbished and is a lovely place for families to come and spend time together. Several parents were pushing their young children in wheeled toys fitted with handles. There were also lots of young couples walking together. There are fun towers to climb in order to see the river from two stories up along with lots of statues and small shops. You can buy cotton candy and have your photo taken next to a statue of a pirate. A pleasant place to spend the afternoon. It was warm and humid but still comfortable. It is the apparently the cooler part of the year here in Guayaquil.
How is this for an impressive tree...
There are little plants we saw floating down the river. They have air bladders on them like the seaweed in California.
On Sunday we went to the Kennedy Stake Center where the Institute building is also located. Inside the building we saw that Grandpa was featured on the flyer advertising the fireside.
This is the group of Stake Presidents and stake and ward leaders as well as stake specialists that met at 5:30 to learn more about the Perpetual Education Fund from Grandpa.
Grandpa used a Power Point presentation that he made and taught everyone the principles of the program and the things they need to know to administer the program within their stewardships.
This is the group of Institute students in the choir that sang at the beginning of our fireside and then also the closing song. They sounded wonderful.
We were pleased that there were almost 200 people who came to the fireside. It was so fun to talk with them afterwards and answer their questions. Wonderful young people who are preparing great futures for themselves and their families.
There are many intelligent and beautiful young people who want to get further education so they can get a good job and take their place as contributors to the common good. It is a lot of work to get an education, to build a strong and happy family and then choose to serve others as well. Most of them are making it happen. We are encouraged by how many good people throughout the world there are who are doing their best to improve their talents and help make this world a better place for all of us.
PS - Immediate family members - check out the Family Reunion website listed near the top on the right and see the new scrapbook pages from our 2010 reunion. Communicate quickly with Khristine to firm up your reservation for 2012.
Love, Grandma
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