I was with a great group of girls last night when our conversation turned to the latest news of the passing of both Proposition 8 in CA and 102 here in AZ. We were all happy with the outcome, but with that came all the back fire towards the church in the form of commercials and protests at temples for supporting these propositions.
My friend found this quote that was given in 1978 by Elder Neal A. Maxwell and when I read it I couldn't help but think how it pertains to our situation today and how blessed we are to have prophets and apostles on this earth to guide us and our families.
""Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions.President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . .Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do.We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves,'summer is nigh.'Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "Meeting the Challenges of Today," BYU Devotional, October 10, 1978
There is much to be said for the wise council of moderation in all things, but I am sad to report that this month we chose to learn the hard way, starting with Breckan. Breckan has a slight lotion obsession. He has discovered a new found love of soft and supple skin and decided his after bath application is no longer sufficient.
At least he smelled good! (and so did the carpet :)
I can't get enough of these. Anyone who knows me knows I'm usually a CANDY girl, but now I have a love for all things SALTY! Which leads me to my next problem....
The dreaded pregnancy CANKLE.
Making Grandpa Burnham proud!
The boys even got to race bikes on a track. Dallin came home asking if he could take the peddles off his bike too!
We had so much fun. We had a potluck, trunk-or-treat, trick-or-treating and a big Halloween Bash (thanks Jessica :) It was busy, but SO fun! I think I have learned my lesson though and will try to follow the wise council....until Thanksgiving!
Oh Dallin and all his white-boy moves! Dallin has been on a two week fall break from school and I have had many people ask how its been. I have to be honest, after the long summer of hearing "there's nothing to do" I was a little nervous but it has been completely enjoyable. He has been a huge helper and keeps me laughing. Lance asked him what he was going to do for his two week vacation and he said, "All I need is my lawn chair, my sun glasses and a lemonade."
While we were in St. George, we stopped at the temple. Ryder had fallen asleep so I stayed in the car with him while Lance walked the grounds with Dallin and Breckan. Those two boys are like two peas in a pod. Dallin really watches out for Breckan, and Breckan wants to be just like Dallin.
A couple of weeks ago, Lance came in before he left for work to tell me Breckan wasn't in his crib. Before I could panic, he told me he had found him asleep with Dallin. Now this has become an almost nightly ritual. Breckan starts out in his crib and wakes up in Dallins.
I love it.
Last weekend, we took a little road trip to a beautiful cabin near St. George UT with my brother Rick and sister Jenny and their families. You know you have been in the desert too long when at the first sight of open valleys and rolling hills you get the uncontrollable urge to re-enact "The Hills Are Alive." We had a wonderful time being outside in the nice weather and enjoying cousins.
The kids loved to take hikes up to the lake.
The second day we were there it rained, which didn't stop the kids from wanting to go outside and jump in the mud. Lucky for them the cabin had a washer and dryer.
I love this picture. As you can tell from our last post, Ryder HATES posing for pictures. I love when we can actually prove that he is happy some of the time. :) He loved the rain.
Emma, Ryder, Dallin and Micheal played outside all day long.
As if Breckan didn't get enough smores at the ward camp out!
Second course, hot cocoa.
On the way home, we stopped at the Bellagio to check out the gardens. It was all ready for Halloween with pumpkins and fountains. It was beautiful. We did get lots of stares with our three boys and my pregnant belly! The boys loved the water show also. It was a perfect weekend!
For those of you that live close enough to have visited, you know that we have a backyard the size of a postage stamp. We are lucky to live by many parks and have the "dad of the year" who spends about an hour a night at those parks with the boys. I told Lance if this baby was another boy, Target or no Target we were moving to the woods. So needless to say we love to camp. We had a great time at our ward campout. Here are the highlights!
- Ryder loved climbing the hills and finding "treasure."
We shared the campsite with a large group of ROTC's. They were great neighbors at night. They went to bed early. Not so great come exercise time at 4:30 am. But we still had a great time.
We are soooo excited to add a girl to our family! I think Dallin wanted the baby to be a girl even more than mom! I have to say, I had mentally prepared myself to see another boy so even though I thought it was probably a girl, I was still a little stunned. What do I do with a girl?! Lance and I are so excited. Let the shopping begin :0)
