Beloved Pres. Hinckley has died

We had some friends over for dinner last night when we found out out beloved prophet, President Hinckley had died. I was shocked, but I then felt a sense of joy as I thought about how much he has missed his wife and now he is with her again. I can only imagine this great scene as he sees her again. Oh, how I loved this prophet!!! He was such a wonderful, humble man. He always had a way of making me feel a little taller and beckoning me onward. Whatever I was doing was good and wonderful. That always made me feel as though I could do even better.


These words come from FoxNews.com:

Mayor Ralph Becker, who is not Mormon, said Hinckley made it a habit to reach out to other religions: "He was such a unifier, someone who was warm and engaging and respecting of everyone who he encountered."
Jeanetta Williams, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Idaho, Nevada and Utah, praised Hinckley for taking interest in her causes. Only about 1 percent of Utah's population is black.
"President Hinckley was always concerned about the way people treated one another, and each time that he and I spoke, he always asked how I was being treated by the people in Utah and on my job," she said.

Many other things were said about him but I loved these because they are an example of how we should always treat others. It is just how the bible tells of the stories of Jesus. What an example to us he was. It does not matter who, what, where a person is the are a human being, a child of God and for that they are to be respected. I will always remember Pres. Hinckley and the great love that he showed for all people. Thank you Pres. Hinckley. We love you and will always try to follow your example.

Snowshoeing

I had so much fun today!!! I went snowshoeing on our YMYW combined activity. I had never gone snowshoeing before so I was really worried about coordination and such but it was actually really easy and so much fun. This is our group below. Tawnya, Michelle, Stacey, me, Emma, Anna, Michael, Kaycie and Ravyn. The YM leaders had already gone to the car.

Kyle and Emma sliding off the roof.

Anna and Kaycie in a snowcave. Ravyn was in there too but back behind. I couldn't get a good picture because my camera kept shutting off (low battery).

Isn't it so beautiful here in Washington!!! It was one of those days when you look out and see how blessed you truly are. Heavenly Father gave us such a beautiful world.

When I got ready to go my hubby still had not found my boots so I had to wear his (not his fault, we haven't seen them since we moved). I ended up wearing a pair of his boots. Now surely everyone reading this knows what happens when you wear boots that don't fit right. Yep, you got it. . .blisters. This was a 4-mile hike. 2 in, 2 out. By the first mile in my feet hurt on the pad right below my second toe. I tried so hard to tough it out but about a 1/2 mile later I knew I wouldn't make it all the way. Bro. Goodwin (Mr. REI himself) had me take my boots off, check for blisters and put moleskin on. No blisters yet. By the time I got to the picnic area for lunch (2 miles in) I had 2 very large blisters (1 on each foot). 1 is the size of a quarter and the other the size of a 50 cent piece, and I still had to hike 2 miles out. Our ward has the best YM leaders ever. Bro. Goodwin put another layer of moleskin on and taped my foot up and Bro. Grossarth traded shoes with me.

My husband is so wonderful. When I got home he had a hot bath waiting for me. He knew I'd be sore and boy am I. He even had a good movie waiting. I am going to get a lot of ribbing tomorrow as I hop-a-long to church.

My baby is 4

With all the chaos I didn't get a chance to post pics of Abram's birthday. I can't believe my baby is 4!!! He does say he'll always be my baby though. We had Grandpa Mark, Grandma Linda, Stacey and Austin over for dinner and cake. Abram was so excited. He can't wait to go to the store and spend his birthday money.

I made my first homemade from scratch lasagna for his birthday dinner. I was very worried but it came out so great this was all that was left. I can see why people don't make it more often though. It took over 3 hours and a lot of dirty dishes.

It's Derby Time

It has been such a busy week!!! There is so much to catch up on. It was the night of the pinewood derby. We had so much fun tonight as well as while making the cars.

Faith and Abram felt left out. It just so happened that we had 2 extra Pinewood Derby kits to they each made their own cars.

The master at work. See!!! He did make his own car.

Isn't he just so cute!!! He was so intent to make sure every stroke went on just right. The scout leader had some open rounds where anyone could put their car in. The scouts got so excited when Abram raced his car (keep in mind it didn't have any extra weight and was just white with a little purple). His car came in last every time and he would jump up and down saying "YES!!! I won!!" He always thinks he wins.

Daddy taught Faith how to paint while Mommy took pictures. Long even strokes and don't leave blobs of paint on the sides. It's a good thing I'm doing this blog or there probably wouldn't be as many pictures.

We had to take a time out for dinner. We were having so much fun we almost forgot to eat. I think it was 8:15pm by this time.

This is Ethyn's car "Lightning". It is blue with glow-in-the-dark (thanks to Aunt Jessie) lightning bolts, edged in gold. It was so fast we couldn't get a good picture of it in action. Alas, he took 2nd place in a runoff as he was tied for 1st. They had to run the two cars 5 times to get a clear winner. They almost had to turn them backwards to see who would win. The irony is that the three kids who took 1st, 2nd and 3rd last year took those places this year too but in a different order.

We had Ethyn's 1st place car from last year 'Old Glory' race with Faith and Abram's car. Faith beat both the boys!!!! That's girl power for ya!! Faith raced the winning car tonight and he won by about an inch. If she had raced more she likely would have won. When 'Old Glory' came out kids who remembered it from last year spoke in hushed tones of how awesome it was. 2 kids came up and asked Ethyn for his autograph. Cub scouts can be so funny.

I heard an apostle of God

Last night I went to the adult session of stake conference. This year our stake was truly blessed to have Elder Richard G. Scott speak to us. He talked about many things but as I sat listening my mind wandered. I thought of a dear friend of mine who is not of my faith. I wondered what it might be like to read the bible and the teaching of Jesus Christ. To hear his words in these sacred scriptures and want so much to follow him and the example he set. To hear about prophets and apostles, but then to look at this world and recognize that those things are not hear. How sad that would be. I felt that true miracle of what I was listening to. An apostle of Jesus Christ came to give me a message. I am truly grateful for this church and the blessings it brings into my life.

Today was the general session of conference. Ethyn went with me and sang in the Senior Primary Choir. To some this may seem like no big deal but for me it was a very touching moment. I hope Ethyn will always remember this day. He sang for one of the 12 apostles. Whenever the children sang, Elder Scott would come off the stand and stand just off to the right so he could face the children and look into their faces. As the children came off the stand to sit with their families he shook each of their hands. Oh, the humility of that wonderful man. After conference, Ethyn wanted Elder Scott's autograph. I hesitated but let him go. Ethyn waited patiently until he could see him. He asked Elder Scott for his autograph. Elder Scott put his arm around Ethyn and told him President Hinckley had asked him not to sign autographs but that if he wrote a letter to Elder Scott her would write him back. He asked Ethyn if he was going to go on a mission. Ethyn told him he was and Elder Scott told him that was a promise. It was truly a wonderful day.

It's pinewood derby time!!! After conference we watched 'Down and Derby'. Then Ethyn designed his car and Heath cut it out for him. Ethyn sanded it down so it's ready to paint. Of coarse, the other 2 kids felt left out. Somehow, Heath found 2 extra kits so Abram and Faith have their own cars too. It looks like tomorrows Family Home Evening will be painting Derby cars. Ethyn won lasy year with 'Old Glory'. He is determined to win again with. . .oh, it hasn't been named yet. I'll have to post pics of the painting.

Christmas Past

Christmas has come and gone. What a busy year. It can be summed up by this: My brother Vance got married. My Aunt Diann came over to my grandma's to help me prepare the food. We made more than 123 Gingerbread men er. . . GingerVance and GingerJenny's. It was such a blessing to see my aunt cutting out those cookies with my children. I had such a wonderful time with my cousins and aunts and uncles who were gathered for the wedding. A perfect pre-Christmas gathering. On Christmas Eve we hurried up to hubbies parents. We had a nice quiet Christmas. On the 27th we drove to Tamarack for a day of snowboarding. Let me tell you the best thing about Idaho is the snow!!! Oh how I missed snowboarding. Each of the kids got lessons and we got free tickets. We rode the lift to the summit and you could see forever. 100 yds from the top my mother-in-law (bless her heart) took a tumble and tore her ACL. On the 30th we took Abram in to the emergency room with pneumonia. Thank heavens we are home now and hopefully soon we will all be rested and healthy.

As I got on the computer tonight I looked at some pics from Christmases past and all the wonderful times we've had over the years. The first picture above was from last year. Our first Christmas in Washington. The picture above was from 2 years ago. We had all of my family gathered at my house. All 13 of us in 1 house for a few days. Eventually I'll figure out how to get the pictures where I want them. For now I'll just have to deal with it as I don't know how to fix it.