Wise Men Still Seek Him

Matthew 2:7-8

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. 

The words "search diligently" kind of struck me the other night when I was reading this.  It sounds like it wasn't easy to find the Savior that they wanted to go worship.  They had to do more than google His name or run to the closest store.  They had to make many sacrifices.   They devoted, perhaps YEARS to find Him.  And I started thinking about how even though this season is called 'CHRIST'MAS because it is a time to worship and remember Him... it is sometimes really HARD to find Him.  It is sometimes really hard to tune out the commercials and the blaring lights.  It is hard to wade through the busyness and commotion of parties and holiday cooking and of course shopping, shopping and more shopping.  Not that any of those things are bad, but they do sometimes make the SEARCH a little harder.  Isn't it a bit ironic that the time of year when we most need to tune out the world so that we can tune Him in... is also the busiest, most stressful time of year? 

So I suppose all of that is part of the reason that I love this video so much.  I love that these people, of all different ages and walks of life, fearlessly stood up in a busy, crowded mall and sang out their testimonies of our Savior.  You can see how it touched the crowd.  You can see how for a moment, what really matters was so clear that everything else faded away.  I hope this video and this inspired song touch you as much as they have touched me this season.

 

The Mansion

If you listened to President Monson's Christmas address this year or last year... you will remember that (both years) he referred to a famous short story by Henry van Dyke called "The Mansion".

At the end the main character questions the angel about what deeds on earth really count.  The angels answers was touching to me and I wanted to share it this Christmas season.

"Only that which is truly given," answered the bell-like voice. "Only that good which is done for the love of doing it. Only those plans in which the welfare of others is the master thought. Only those labors in which the sacrifice is greater than the reward. Only those gifts in which the giver forgets himself."

If anyone wants to read the whole story it is pretty short (26 pages) and I would be happy to email it to you. 

Happy Halloween 2011

Busy Week

Is it just me... or does October seem to be a crazy busy month?  Well... I've felt busy all month, but this week we had an especially crazy week.  On Friday I decided to call a "TIME-OUT".  No outings, activities, shopping trips or "to-do" list.  It was just me, Sam, do-nuts and a movie.  Ahhh.. what a relief. 

 

 These are made from refridgerator biscuits and so we were able to whip them up in less than 5 minutes.  No joke.  They tasted great too.

See  - we were takin' it so easy that Sam didn't even bother getting dressed yet.

And totally unrelated... but I saw this lizard through the window actually moulting his skin.  I've never seen that before.  Pretty awesome.

Odds and Ends

 Something awesome happened last week.  All in one wonderful day... the weather turned nice.  It is suddenly the most beautiful, pleasant weather one could ask for.  The change immediately drove me out into my backyard that has been rarely visited all summer long.  I weeded, planted my garden again and decided we needed to add something pleasant to the backyard.  With no money in which to complete this project, I ended up rolling out our round table and throwing on a tablecloth.  Simple but cozy, I think.  I look forward to many dinners around this table this fall.

It was only coincidence that Sam was dressed this way when we decided to go work in the garden.  Isn't he cute though?  My little farm boy. 

In the spring, I decided to try to figure out the CVS system and see if I could score some deals.  My good friend Kim convinced me that it is indeed possible.  I feel like I am finally getting the hang of it and to be honest, it is kind of addicting.  This is my latest score.  I spent $.47 plus tax on these items.  This is  expensive foundation ($12.50 a bottle).  The other item (sorry if I'm embarrassing you) I didn't really need, but I actually made money on it, so I went ahead.  I also came away with $12 in ECB's which are just like gift certificates for future spending at CVS.

Retail value of items: about $30
My out of pocket expense:   60 cents
ECB's used: $12
ECB's earned: $12



Conference

I love conference. Twice a year we gather, all around the world, to hear the words of the prophet and other church leaders.  Hearing them teach and testify is enriching, refreshing and inspiring. My kids love it too. Their love might have something to do with the fun of not going to regular church meetings  that week (we watch via television or the interent)and perhaps something to do with these babies:

This is our conference Sunday traditional breakfast.  We love 'em.  Here is where you can go to see any that you missed.  Here is my favorite talk.   Enjoy.

Scripture Application

Sam is crazy for toothpaste.  He loves it.  Because of this, I tend to find toothbrushes in strange places around the house and  toothpaste tubes are almost always missing.  Finding toothpaste in the carpet, however, is where I had to draw the line.  We started putting our toothpaste up on shelves far out of Sam's reach. 

A few nights ago Lizzy could not find the toothpaste and started to get upset.  She hollered out to me... "Andrew didn't put the toothpaste where it goes and now I can't find it."  She must have been tired because it seemed to be a pretty big deal and she was convinced of Andrew's guilt.  I came in and searched on the shelf and showed her that it had just fallen behind some other items, but was in fact on the shelf.  Before I said anything else Andrew jumped in and said, "Next time you should ask Lizzy.  Don't you remember what's in the scriptures?"

This caught my interest because I couldn't remember any place in the scriptures where we are taught to "ask first" before getting mad.  But Andrew was right.  He reminded us in the Book of Mormon when the Lamanites attacked the Nephites because they thought that it was them who had stolen their daughters in the night (remember this story?).  After many had already been killed in battle, the Nephite ruler had a chance to ask "why did you attack us?"  Eventually the truth came out that it had in fact been the wicked Priests of King Noah who had stolen the Lamanite daughters. 

So Andrew concluded, "you should find out before you try to start a war next time." 

Wow.  He was listening all along.  Amazing. 

Pick-me-up

A few days ago, I had an unsuccesful dinner.  Meaning, after a lot of time and effort, the dish I made flopped.  No one liked it.  Bummer.  Big time.  Maybe it was overall just a bad day because later on Lizzy asked me what was wrong.  I think I said that I was just having a bad day.  Gratefully, I am enormously blessed with incredibly sweet kids who decided to cheer me up.  That night they made their deliveries. 

Dear Mom, I love you.  I know you have God's love.

Love, Andrew

I don't know where the poetic streak comes from.  It's hilarious and adorable all in one.  Bad day turned into good day.  Thanks kids.

Good Ole' Texas

Okay so we are in a drought down here in Texas. And the weather has been 100 plus degrees for a few months now.  And there have been a lot of wildfires.  So you all may be thinking... boy I'm glad I don't live there... but alas there is something that you do not know.  We have something that you do not have.  That something is BARBEQUE.  I mean the real deal.  Slabs of meat served on nothing but parchment paper and cooked with the greatest skill known to man.  Aaron has been dying to go get a real taste of this stuff for quite some time, so we finally planned a trip to Austin, where the best places are said to be.  We went with his resident group at work.  The idea is in 2 days to cram as much BBQ into your bodies as humanly possible.  I think some of these guys did a pretty good job at it. 

 

 Here we are at the first stop.  City Market.  Stacy and Emerson are on the right.

 Stop #2 Kreuz Market.  I was less hungry since it was only an hour past stop #1.  But that did not stop Aaron or Eugene and Stacy. 

 The picture didn't turn out well, but this sign says "Vegetarians enter here.  Normal folks, down the hall."  ha ha.

This one was also pretty good.

 After stuffing ourselves, we enjoyed a little down time at a Botanical Garden in Zilker park.

 On to the next day.  This place opens at 8:00 in the morning and usually sells out before lunch.  We had to wake up early just to get a place in line.  And when I say we, I mean Aaron and the others because the kids and I were tired and BBQ at 8:00 in the morning just doesn't get me going. 

 Dave, Tiffany, Jonathon, Aaron, Ryan and Kate at Snows.

 A view of the outdoor smokehouse at Snow's.  Yes.. that guy does appear to be holding a cigarette.  Doesn't bother me... much.

That afternoon, the others went out to lunch, but we had over-eaten a bit, so instead Sam and I napped and Aaron and the kids went to the state capitol.  I understood that it was mostly fun, but Lizzy DID not like going up the winding staircase.  Much too high.

 Oh and Texas has another thing going for it....  That's right.... football.  If you like that sort of thing that is.  It looks like a lot of people like that sort of thing.   

We love you Texas.

Sam the Man

This is what is going on at our house every Tuesday and Friday morning without fail.  Can you guess what has him captivated?  That's right.  It's the garbage truck.  Can I just tell you that the garbage men around here are the nicest I have ever known.  Anytime they see him they wave and honk the horn.  I swear they seem so happy.  It almost makes me want to try out the job. 

At a get-together with some friends, their oldest daughter had fun dressing Sam up and taught him to be a drummer.  He loved it.  And... he's pretty dang cute.

Trickster

Andrew has become quite the trickster the last few weeks.  Aaron and I have had several occasions where we have laid down to go to sleep at night and felt something hard in our pillows.  We just look at each other and smile because we know.... it is Andrew playing tricks... AGAIN.  Andrew has no problem telling us the next morning that he snuck out of bed to play a little trick.  Oh... my boy!!  :)  I love his quirky sense of humor.  He also likes to surprise us sometimes by putting play food into the refridgerator.  What a laugh he got when I picked up a plastic strawberry and took a big bite out of it.  "I got you Mom!!"  He was so proud.

And his crafting projects are never never ending.  Tonight, just after I finished tucking him into bed, he asked if I would bring him some scissors and paper.  "No, it's bedtime."  I told him.  He looked disappointed and discouragingly said "Dang."  It was silent for a moment, but then he brightened and looked at me again with a pleading expressions.  "Well then, some glue?" 

Not So Terrible Two

This past weekend we celebrated Sam's 2nd birthday.  His constant plea is to go outside so we decided to party it up at our community swimming pool.  I love, love, love this pool and am so sad that it is closed for the season.  We probably went swimming here 30 or more times this summer.  We played and had cupcakes and then played some more.    This is Sam with his friend Talmage (who he calls Tammy). Aren't they so cute?!?

 

 And then I love this picture because I think it is almost a miracle that all 3 looked at the camera at the same time! 

 Lizzy and Andrew were so cute and insisted on getting Sam presents "just from them."  Lizzy had some money that her Grandma gave her.  So she bought Sam this box of M&M's.  So sweet.  She also made him a magic wand.  It is made by tying a piece of yarn to the end of a stick.  It was a big hit.

Andrew, not having any money, decided to create a picture for Sam.  It's a bad photograph, but he actually gathered grass and leaves and glued them onto the paper to create a summer picture. 

 

 Happy birthday Sammy!!!

Right now Sam is.....

Trying to talk.  Even though we struggle to understand most of what he says, he is pretty persistent in pointing, dragging you or somehow otherwise conveying his meaning.  Almost everything he says sounds a lot like BeBea.  That covers baby, airplane, missy and breakfast.  I am convinced that he understands EVERYTHING we say and is saying all of it back to us... we just need to get to where we understand him.

Learning:  Sam does everything that Lizzy and Andrew do.  He copies their songs, their antics, he leaps from high places and climbs up places that no 2 year old should be.  Our constant answer to Andrew's question of "why can't I?"  is "because Sam will copy you."

He copies me as well.  A few days ago I had some gravy simmering on the stove.  Sam ran over and reached up high to grab a measuring cup from the drawer.  I let it go because measuring cups can't cause too much trouble.  ha.  A few minutes later he pushed a chair up to the stove and climbed up to help me cook.  Also... not much concern... he does it all the time.  Then, he took his measuring cup which he had filled with rice and dumped the entire cup full into my gravy.  Ummm.... thanks for your help, buddy.

Cute.  Sam is cutest right before bedtime.  Kisses and night-nights to everyone in the family.  I also love how he prays.  He used to kneel down and put his head on the floor.  Now he tries to copy Dad and kneels on one knee with the other knee bent upward to rest his little arms on.  It is so adorable. 

Loving:  He loves Winnie the Pooh, his Dad, anything outside, swimming, FOOD,  Lizzy and Andrew and airplanes. 

We love Sam so much.  He is our entertainment and joy.  He is our challenge and sometimes our example.  Our family would not be complete without this little  boy keeping us busy.  Happy birthday.

1st Day

School started last week.  It was easy peasy for Lizzy.  She is a pro now.  She talked Andrew through the whole thing.  She explained how you have to be quiet in the halls... how you get to have PE and music time and conduct marks are bad.  She boldly walked into the school and then straight to her classroom.  She found her desk and then hugged me goodbye and then... only for a second... she looked scared.  New room, new kids, new teacher...... and then it was over... and she LOVED it.   

Lizzy with her cute teacher.  I wish my picture had turned out better :)

Last spring, when we first started talking to Andrew about Kindergarten, he was not a fan.  He constantly expressed worry... especially about getting in trouble.  Lizzy had told too many stories and he was worried about the whole thing.  Not to mention that I was worried too... because I don't like all day Kindergarten.  I want to ease my kids in a bit more.  I don't like the idea of him being away from home for 5 hours a week last year and this year... it quickly jumps to 40 hours a week.  Too much all at once.  But we had no choice.... and so... we got ready.  And that's all it took, for Andrew at least.  I don't know what won him over more... his backpack (big kid sized) or his adorable lunch box (shaped like a truck).  After those purchases, it was nothing but excitement.  We even had a countdown chain for him. 

 This kid used to sleep in til 7:30 or 8:00 every morning, and then after that he moved very, very S-L-O-W-L-Y but the past two weeks, he has awaken around 6:30 and been dressed and ready to go easily on time. He even wanted to ride the bus the second day.  I was all ready to drive him for a few days, but he moved on quickly.  :(   I'm sure it won't last, but the transition has been smooth so far.  Andrew loves school and his Mom loves that he loves it. 

Oh and I love his teacher.  Sweet and gentle... just right for Andrew.