A proud day for mom

You try to teach your children how to be good, how to be nice and how to make good choices.  And even at a young age, you wonder if any of it is sinking in.  But, for now, I am happy that my eight year old has made one important decision that I can be very proud of (although, with Corbin, I have little doubt that he will almost always make good choices). 
Corbin was recently baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and has taken upon himself the name of Jesus Christ.  He will now be held accountable for all of his choices.  I hope I have taught him well.  :)

Corbin is genuinely kind-hearted and has the sweetest spirit.  He is obedient, is always giving compliments to his mom, and tries to help his brothers.  He understands things far beyond his age and is an eager learner of things temporal and spiritual.  We are so blessed to have him in our home!  Corbin was anxious and excited for his baptism and so happy to have his dad perform this ordinance and share this day with him.

And so many people were there to support him! 

I know he felt very loved.

Best primary teacher ever:

Best Buds:

Awesomest Bishop (who has helped us in so many ways):

And family from near and far:

 Corbin is so blessed to have so many great priesthood holders as examples to follow!

We are so proud of you, Corbin!  We love you!

To find out more about what we believe about baptism, go here (and make sure you click the "view more"), or about Jesus Christ, click here.



Listening to a Prophet's Voice

We feel so blessed to have a living prophet of God on the earth today!  Though our church's semi-annual conference is broadcast across the globe, Corbin and I were very grateful for the opportunity to attend and hear our prophet and apostles speak in person.  What a wonderful, peaceful atmosphere it was!

As we were walking out, Corbin asked me what my favorite part was and both of us agreed our favorite talk that morning was given by President Henry B Eyring.  It was all about serving the poor and the needy, confirmation of everything I try to do and to teach my children.  I am really grateful to see our church putting such an emphasis on serving, because that is how we can truly become more like Christ.  Corbin and I also talked about out favorite stories and anecdotes that were shared.  He was such a great companion.  And I am such a lucky mom!

The Conference Center where we were seats 21,000 people and yet it was amazing how calm the exodus was and what a great feeling pervaded the whole event.  Feeling that, hearing the Mormon Taberbacle choir, being so close to the Prophet - I don't think there is anything else like it in the world!

12th Day of Thanks&Giving - The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Ok, so I very rarely post about religion, and although the other Thanks&Giving days may not be in any particular order, but this one may possibly be the one that I am MOST grateful for. First of all, if by some strange chance, someone is reading this and does not know my religious affiliation (because you obviously do not know me) or if you are just curious, you can click here to find out what we believe. Because now is not the time for me to tell you all of what I believe or what guides my life, but WHY I am grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am grateful to know that

• if I lose a loved one, I will see them again and we will be together.
• when I pray, my Father in Heaven listens and answers me.
• my husband I are married and sealed together for eternity, not just this life.
• I have support in teaching my children values and principles that will help them lead a happy and productive life.
• I can have comfort and guidance in making it through life's trials.
• there is a purpose to this life.
• we have modern-day prophets to give us guidance and help answer life's tough questions.
• God will not ask me to do anything that is beyond my capabilities.
• because of Christ's sacrifice, I can be forgiven and know that the Lord does not expect me to be perfect. Because of His atonement, the areas where I am weak or lacking, he steps in and takes over.

I am grateful to have the Lord's hand in my life. I am grateful for church community and the acceptance that I feel amongst it's members. I am grateful to have experienced this unity in all parts of the world and to see people from all cultures and all walks of life believing and striving for the same thing. I am grateful that there are people who have given up years of their life to share this message and help others be converted unto Christ.

No stories, or links, or pictures to share today. I just hope that tomorrow we will all take the time to REALLY think about what we are MOST grateful for and Who we have to thank for all of those blessings.

Open House

Russ and I took the boys to the Draper Temple open house on Wednesday and it was a fantastic experience! Obviously Corbin was the most aware of the significance and of what was going on, but Cody was so well behaved and interested and I think he learned a little bit too. If you are unfamiliar with LDS temples and what they are for, click here. If you are LDS and want to go to the cool temple site that my boys love to look at, click here. It's kind of like GoogleEarth, but with temple pics :)

For those who have never been to a temple open house, or have been when they were a kid and don't remember, it was extremely well organized for the number of people that go through there. The logistical operations plan for over 400 people every 20 min. Luckily the day we went there were much, much fewer than that. I think we were quite lucky, the day we went, there were just a couple other people in any of the rooms with us. It was very calm and peaceful. And I can't believe how good my boys were! I was so proud of them. They walked through each room, staying on the little mat walkways, looking at their pamphlets trying to figure which picture was of the room we were currently in. Corbin, of course, kept commenting on how beautiful and amazing everything was and wanted to read all about it. Cody took quick glances, thought a few things were cool and asked what random things were for (like the thermostat and the elevator buttons). So back to what I was saying about the logistics - when you make your reservation, you are assigned to one of three color-coded churches situtated somewhat near the temple. Before you board the charter buses to the temple, you get to watch a little movie about temples and the history of Draper. It was short and sweet, but very well done. It set a nice tone for the event. The boys loved the bus ride. The guy in front of us asked Corbin if it was better than a school bus (which it far surpassed, of course), but Corbin has never been on a school bus! The bus trip definitely added to the fun and coolness of the day.

So you get to see the temple as you are driving up, but then that is about it, because as soon as you pull up, there are long tented walkways, with heat I might add, that lead all the way into the temple and then out again when you are done. The day we went the weather was fairly nice, but I'm sure these came in handy on the days when you were shuffling in slowly with hundreds of others in the blowing snow. Plus I think they are probably a good was to keep everyone from entering the temple all wet and drippy and dirty. So you walk in and are in awe. It is clean and beautiful and you are surrounded by gorgeous artwork and friendly faces. What a wonderful feeling! It was nice that there were not many people so we could go at our own pace and I could explain to Corbin and Cody what things were for, what happens in the temple, and why it is important. They were so receptive. I was elated to be there with my whole family and even more happy that it turned out to be such a good experience. (Don't think that this happens just because it is the temple - I had several friends tell me of their experiences of children screaming the entire time, or running and trying to escape the whole ordeal). But I do think I was blessed with peaceful children, even if it was just for one short hour. I was so grateful! I think the boys were most intrigued by the baptismal font. Cody did say that he wanted to go swimming, but I explained to him what it was for and he didn't say anything - I think he was trying to figure that one out. Both boys liked looking at the murals in the ordinance rooms. They thought the celestial room was gorgeous, which, of course, it was. By the time we got to the sealing room, Colton was done being packed around in the carrier, so Russ stood outside while the boys and I listented to a sweet old couple give a brief synopsis and testimony of the purpose of the temple and being sealed together as a family. Corbin was excited to see where he will bring his bride someday. (He talks about it quite often, and at one point told me that his bride was going to half to choose him, because it was just too hard for him to pick one.) So out we headed through another tent tunnel to the church next door with a very nice reception area set up. If I hadn't already known it was a regular church, I never would have guessed. It looked so nice. We ttok a few minutes looking at the pictures of temples from around the world, then grabbed a few cookies and bottled water and headed out to the heated tent to wait for our bus. I snagged this picture just before we hopped on the bus. I really was there, I promise. Glad I got a picture of all my boys together though. All in all, it was an awesomely incredible trip and I am SO glad that I took all my boys and my hubby and that we could share this experience together.

Colton's blessing

Colton is alomst four months old and we finally had his baby blessing. It turned out to be a great day and gorgeous weather! We had a brunch before with a few friends and family. Thanks to everyone who came and especially to those who participated in the blessing. I was so happy to have a couple of my cousins there as well - what a pleasant surprise. Thanks Adam and Isaac! Russ did a great job, and of course, I always get all teary eyed. I love my boys!