Blessings

This year we have been have been greatly blessed with many things, right now we'd like to focus on one blessing in particular. Her name is Makayla. For several months we were working with the family of a friend of ours on the possibility of doing private foster care. There were 2 sisters that needed a stable home that was filled with love and the gospel. After months of talking and several meetings it was decided that the older of the girls, Makayla would come and live with us. It has certainly been quite the change and adjustment. Jumping into parenthood  with a teenager instead of growing up and learning with them has been quite interesting. We have certainly had our ups and downs. Parenting has also made us very aware of some of our weaknesses :)  But Makayla is a delightful girl, full of love and wanting to be loved. We are working to help her catch up in all of the schooling she has missed out on as she has been bounced around so much there has been no continuity to her education. There are also social and coping skills to help her with- besides all the normal teenage stuff, but she bring lots of laughter and smiles into our home too. We feel blessed that the Lord has chosen us to have her in our home, a part of our family, and to help prepare her for the wonderful life she can have.Much discussion, thought, prayer and fasting went into this decision for all parties involved, we have definitely seen the hand of the Lord in all of this, and are grateful for his knowledge of each of us, knowing what we need, and placing us in situations to learn, grow, and have joy.

Celestial Therapy

Wow! Can I just say WOW like 10 more times, because this talk is that amazing. Talk about the power of the temple in our daily lives... really made me think. How about you?

Wendy L. Watson Solving Our Marriage and Family Problems Through Celestial Therap... April 28, 2000 BYU Broadcasting

Family Reunion

Well, I guess it's about time these photos were posted. Serious slacking has been going on for the past year with this blog. Hopefully that will change though :) Anyway, we had such a great time at our family reunion last summer. We started off and first stopped in Pryor, Oklahoma to Stay with and old friend, Leah. The next day we drove to Rhonda and Justin's and stayed there over night. Then we all drove to Kathy and Rob's and the next day drove to Ray and Sherry's. We had a blast! Yes, being in the car for 4 days straight can sometimes be a bit much, but we had fun with family, took TONS of pictures, did some sight-seeing along the way, listened to books on CD, read and chatted. It was wonderful.


While in New York we had fun hanging out with the family, did some more sight-seeing, did some hiking, went camping, played games, went to Niagra Falls, went to the Palmyra Temple, visited the Sacred Grove, and saw the Hill Cumorah Pageant.

On the way back, we took a little detour and stopped in Kirtland, OH and then went to Carthage Jail and took that tour, and stayed to night near Nauvoo where we were able to watch the pageant, check out the sites and do some family history work. What a great trip!!! Here are some photos of this adventure!

Sunset over the Mississippi outside of Nauvoo

 

Karsten and Nick chillin' at the Falls

All the girls checking out the cool family history binders Sherry and Ray made for us!

Liz on the teeter-totter

Matt, Kathy and Trent on board of the Maid of the Mist

Gwen, not to mention the rest of the kiddos, loved their smores :)

Ryan all warm and snug

Cheese balls... great but messy snack! Gotta love those cakey orange fingers :)

Hailee having fun with the bubbles

Ahhh....Summer and Ice Cream- now what in the world can be better than that :)

Mom and Matt at the Smith Farm in Palmyra

Grandpa and Seth all tuckered out!

Seth having a blast at the lake- squish that slimy stuff in those little fingers!

Matt wearing Dad's sombrero

Stick-Tac-Toe for Uncle Stick courtesy of Famous Dave's

Matt & Denise at Niagra Falls

Let the Watermelon eating contest begin! Nick was the winner :)

How many nieces does it take to make teeter-totter work for Uncle Matt?

 Matt and Warren in front of the St. Louis Arch

About the widget below

If you have never read the books about the 5 love languages, then here is a chance for you to see what they are about. We all know that open, honest, respectful communication is important to a marriage. Sometimes that can be a difficult, so this may be a tool that can help in that area. It is so important for each of us to understand how we personally feel and receive love- not only so we understand ourselves better, but so that our spouses and even other family members and friends can understand us better and show us love the way we feel it. And also, if not more important, because we can only control our own actions, we can learn how our spouse best feels loved so we can make sure that they know that we care enough about them to show them in the way they receive and feel love. Our lives can be crazy, and we live in a world that is becoming increasingly selfish and values the sanctity of marriage and family less with each passing day. It is so easy to get caught up in the business of life, easy to get caught up in that which might destroy our marriages and families. We need to do all we can to fortify our families and strengthen the bonds of marriage. Regardless of whether or not you use this tool, find out show you can better show your spouse love- in the way that they will receive and feel it best. Christ needs to be our foundation. And right above that, or perhaps so intricately tied in, would be the need for love, kindness, respect and consideration. Christ, through His Holy Spirit, speaks to us in a way that He knows we will best feel and understand. Would it not be the Christ-like way to live to do the same for our loved ones- show them love in the way that they best know, feel and understand?

Take The 5 Love Languages profile with this widget

Weapons of Rebellion

A few days ago when Matt and I were doing our daily reading together there were a couple of verses that struck me and have had me thinking quite a bit. We were reading in Alma 23 when Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Himni and other righteous Nephites traveled among the Lamanites to teach them the gospel. Verses 6 and 7 really got me thinking.

6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.

7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.

Obviously, it is the highlighted parts that caught my attention. In this life there are so many things that make it so easy to fall away, or to at least do things our way which put at least a little distance between yourself and God- maybe not anything too terribly bad, but somthing that is still not not that good either. The adversary is so tricky, and like I've heard quoted before, he may not be smart, but he has a whole lot of experience- thousands of years worth that we lack. That's why it is so essential that we keep our eye focused on the glory of God. It reminds me of that story about J. Ruben Clark when his daughter was going on a date and he reminded her of all the typical things a parent might remind their child- such as remember who you are, etc... When she responded with something like "Don't you trust me dad?" and then he relpied "No, I don't even trust myself". His remarks weren't meant to be insulting or disparaging, but were to serve as a reminder of how we must always be on gaurd. To do that we must have our lives centered on the Savior. And to do that we cannot do anything that would put or keep distance between ourselves and Him or the influence of the Spirit.

That of course leads to the question of what are my weapons of rebellion, or my favorite little sins? What am I allowing in my life to come between me and the Lord? Is it worth it for me to lay down those weapons of rebellion so that I become righteous and never fall away? In theory, absolutely. But do I find myself in a position where the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? Is it a matter of pride that I hang on to those things? Or do I even realize some of these weapons of rebellion?

As I said before I have been thinking, a lot, as well as praying. I have discovered some of those weapons of rebellion, now it's time to lay them down. I am glad that fast Sunday is tomorrow and that General Conference is next weekend as it is always a time of edification and growth. Perhaps the spirit will aid me in discovering more of these weapons as well as help me to have the strength and the knowledge of how to lay them down.

So, what about the weapons of rebellion in your life?

Lost and Found- Greg Olsen

Christmas.... only a month late :)

Well, let's just say it's been a really long time and we have been terrible about posting. I'll have to catch up on all our other adventures, but at least I can get in one right now :)

We spent Christmas in California this year, and it was a blast! All the family was there, including Grandma Bev. We had lots of time for games, baking, hanging out, exploring caves, chatting, playing with all the cute kiddos and more.

FAMILY PHOTOS

Travis, Kady and Heather

Denise & Matt

Ok, so it's not the nice one, but it's the funny one :)
Miranda and Megan being held hostage by Kristen

Melissa and Kenny with their 3 girls Logan, Skyler and McKenzie

Grandma Bev

Jo & Ken-- aka--Mom and Dad

FUN STUFF

There was a lot of hat wearing... you'll see a few samples below

Matt playing Santa

Kristen with her Winnie the Pooh hat

Santa and his helpers

McKenzie the elf, Sklyer as Santa, and Kady as Rudolf

Skyler hiding the evidence ;)

Cookie decorating time!

Miranda, Megan and Matt having fun with all the rest of the kids :)

All 6 of the girls

Dress up time!

Grandam Bev and the newest member of the family.