mormons.

i'm sure you've seen this.  it's been all over the internet lately.  but i still love it.  what a perfectly concise (and visually pleasing) way to sum up mormons.  you can read the full article here.

the reason.

i LOVE this video.

i hope i can continually serve as my Lord's hands & search to find ways to serve others (thereby serving my Savior). it's the least i can do for the One that i owe everything to.

general conference

it's that time of the year, again.  and i must say that good ol' conference was just as refreshing to my soul as ever.  i must admit that between a wild 4 year old, a needy 10 month old, a non-mormon husband, & my a.d.d. i didn't catch as much conference as i would have liked.  general conference in my house is rather tricky.  first, we don't get the byu channal (why comcast doesn't include it in the hd package is beyond me).  so i make do by watching via my computer.  second, todd is not lds.  he values the family church experience so he humors me & attends my church every sunday, but when it comes to conference he takes the weekend off.  third, it's rather hard to pay attention when i am constantly needed by one son or the other.  fourth, when i do find a moment to sit & listen my attention deficet mind is constantly switching focus to random topics.  but i specifically seperated myself from my boys so that i could focus on the words of my beloved thomas s.  and wow.  i am spiritually full.

reality is

i am absolutely in love with this:

it is so lovely. so inspiring.  so true. 

this is exactly the type of parent i wish to be.  

i found this quote on my darling friend's blog.  my dear friend, remi, has an inspiring, eye-opening, utterly interesting blog known as reality is.  you should read it.  you will love it.

made our day.

let me start by saying that i am not a groupie.  i have met more than my fare share of "important" & "famous" celebrities.  it doesn't phase me.  but yesterday, the boys & i had a sweet surprise.  and i was a total groupie.

while todd was in class i took the boys to the joseph smith memorial building to visit our darling grandma-great (she volunteers there on thursdays).  well, when we showed up we had a special treat.  it was the 100 year anniversary of the building & they were having a special event.  and would you like to know who was hosting this special event? it was the one...the only....Thomas S. Monson (if you don't know of this marvelous man click here)!  Yes.  I couldn't believe it either.  Because we happened in just before the ceremony began we were forced to stand in the back of the room.  Now this didn't provide us with the best view for the ceremony but it was the best place to stand if you wanted a few one-on-one minutes with the prophet!  he stopped.  shook hands with the boys.  complimented them both.  joked around with cooper.  and enriched our lives forever.  it truly made our day year.  

be prepared

this whole japan earthquake/tsunami thing has really had me thinking.  have you noticed that there has been a rather devastating trend of natural disasters over the past 7 years.  and that the occurances of such disasters are becoming more & more frequent.  scary?  yea, a little.  but i put my trust in a being much more powerful than the earth so i'm not too worried.  i know he's got my back.  but that doesn't mean that i shouldn't have my family prepared for such a disaster to hit our area  (hello!  we live rather close to the san andreas fault line).  so i spent the morning preparing 72-hour kits for my family.  next on my list is to restock our food storage supply.  if your interested in customizing your own 72-hour kit here is a handy list.  

thanks

let me start by saying,

happy thanksgiving.

we hope you all enjoy a happy holiday full of scrumptious food & friendly faces.

we will be spending the day with some wonderful friends.

cooper made these turkeys to show what he is thankful for.  he made the one on the top with mommy, the one on the bottom at church, and the one on the right at school.

some of the things we are most grateful for this year:

cooper:  transformers, army guys, turkey, cookies, mommy, daddy, baby brother, jesus, trains, school friends, bike rides, the zoo, soccer cleats, soccer shinguards, slipper jammies

mommy:  cooper, todd, baby brother, family, friends, music, heart burn medicine, nike air soles, sweat pants, p.f. changs chocolate cake, todd's yummy homemade breakfasts

daddy:  cooper, sara, baby brother, the stock market, the internet, bike rides, mac computers, 4g phones, orange juice, christmas lights

we have been so blessed.  honestly, our lists of blessings are rather extremely long but i decided to give you the abbreviated list.  we love our Lord & all that he does for us.

gc fall 2010

i've been reading over some of the general conference talks (since i couldn't pay attention very well with a 3 year old monster in need of attention).  was it just me or was general conference pretty amazing again this session.  it was.  i have to admit this was the first time in my life that i really wanted to watch & pay attention.  and what a good choice that turned out to be!  here is one of my favorite quotes by the wonderful thomas s. monson:

 "There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are afflicted. True charity is love in action....Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.....We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness. . . . We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.”


i wanted to include a few of the quotes from dieter f. uchtdorf's talk but it was just too amazing to even attempt to sumarize.  if you missed it i strongly recommend reading it here.

super jesus

  sometimes when cooper is afraid of monsters coming in his room at night or mean guys trying to get us i remind him that Jesus protects us & our home.  i tell him that Jesus is stronger than the monsters & he won't let them bother us.  i want him to help him feel safe & confident in Jesus' power.   i guess i didn't explain Jesus quite right.  

on our way home from church today cooper was asking me about Jesus.  he said, "mommy, does Jesus had fire?"  i asked him to clarify.  he said, "jesus had fire to shoot at the bad guys & kill them."  ummmm, ok...not exactly.  then cooper asks me, "does Jesus fly in the sky?"  apparently, he sees Jesus as more of an action figure than a Heavenly being.  

Jesus to the rescue!