The Halloween Report 2011

I'll let the girls tell you about their Halloween:



We carved pumpkins on Sunday afternoon before Daddy had to go back to work.

It was a beautiful warm day and Lily was certain we were making the kitties so happy by hanging out in the sunshine with them.

As you might imagine, the kids delegated the carving to Daddy and Mama.

But they had plenty of fun playing around with the leftovers!

For some reason (and NO, I have not let her read or watch Twilight) Lily is fascinated with vampires, so she chose this fabulous vampire princess costume.



She seems to think vampires are really cool and nice.

I had to keep reminding her that vampires like to suck your blood.

Amelia opted for a hand-me-down purple kitty costume.

At first she wanted to be a vampire like Lily when she saw us looking at the fancy costumes online, but Lily told her there was no way she was allowed to copy her. We came across the kitty costume in the back of Amelia's closet right around the time we got all of our kitties, and thankfully Amelia changed her mind.

Lily wore this costume in 2004 when she was 2 1/2. We've been buying those Walmart Halloween buckets for a long time!

And in 2005 when she was 3 1/2.

Mack couldn't have cared less what his costume was as long as he got candy, so he wore a Lily hand-me-down, too.

Lily wore this doggy costume in 2003 when she was 1 1/2.

Here's what Mack thinks of all my picture taking:

"Enough pictures. WE WANT CANDY!"

Lily, being a cool 4th grader this year, wanted to trick-or-treat with her friends. She's too young to go alone, but I offered to be the parent chaperone and let her invite some of her friends to come with us. Her friend Kierra came over after school and they got ready together. Kierra is even taller than Lily, if you can believe it!

We gathered up friends along the way and Amelia had a blast running around with the big girls.

Here's Lily and her crew: Kendra, Kierra, Lily, and Teeva:

Werewolf, Witch, Vampire, and Kitty. What a cute bunch of girls!

Mack really wasn't too interested in trick-or-treating this year.

Don't get me wrong. He wanted the candy. He just didn't want to work for it. After just a few houses he sat down in the gravel and went on strike.

Fortunately we had the stroller in the back of the Suburban, so he cruised the rest of the night. He did perk up when we got to Marge Carmichael's house.

We visited Marge in September and she let Mack play with all her animals.

Mack was hoping to pet the animals again, but they were "sleeping" for the night.

One of the funniest moments of the night was when the girls approached a particularly spooky house and a seemingly still mummy came alive.

Amelia totally bolted!

Other houses were more friendly. Karla and Seth Toomer were all decked out to serve the trick-or-treaters.

I put forth very minimal effort with my costume.

Mack quickly tired of the stroller and as soon as it got dark he retired to the truck to watch some Scooby-Doo.

The girls kept on truckin'!

Before long Mack was zonked out in the back seat. We put in a little over two hours of trick-or-treating before Mack totally lost it and we headed home.

The jack-o-lanterns and kitties were waiting for us.

Lily's pumpkin was an ode to her kitten Spooky.

Spider was fascinated with Amelia's bat:

I was very thankful that Mack was already zonked out and I didn't have to do the bedtime battle against the lure of the candy bucket.

It was a great night that ended with lots of giggles and a good ol' fashioned sugar high!

United We Stand

Every year our school has a Veteran's Day program where the kids sing, we watch a slideshow of all our local veterans, and a flag is retired. All of the elementary kids have to write an essay for the program. In honor of our veterans and especially my Dad, I thought I would share Lily's essay.

Love you, Daddy!

Where's Macky?

Don't you love the age when they think just covering their eyes means they're hiding?

Happy Halloween!

"This is the most fun I've had all week!"

Yes, we got kitties. Story coming soon...

Are YOU lookin' at ME?

Lily and her new horse Bart.

A Message on Families

Several days ago I read a talk in the monthly magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Ensign. Its message was so powerful to me that I wanted to share it here with you. While it is directed to the membership of the LDS Church, its message is certainly applicable to all who love Christ and seek to follow His truth. The passages that were particularly poignant to me are highlighted in red.

Defending the Family in a Troubled World
By Elder Bruce D. Porter

Latter-day Saints have been blessed with revealed truths regarding families that remain unknown to the world at large. We understand that the family is an eternal institution ordained by God from before the foundation of the world, with the potential to continue on forever beyond this mortal sphere. Happy, loving families, though imperfect and falling short of the ideal, are the closest thing we have on earth to a small-scale model of eternity, a tiny seed of unimaginable glory to come.

We also know that gender, as declared in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” is “an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” The differences between men and women are not simply biological. They are woven into the fabric of the universe, a vital, foundational element of eternal life and divine nature.

The family is intended by God as the great entryway into mortal life. It is central to the salvation of the human race, the perpetuation of civilization, and the birth and rearing of each new generation.

In families more than anywhere else children learn the values, practical life skills, manners, and fundamental truths that enable them to rise up and be successful in the world. They learn the all-important attributes of love, unselfishness, sharing, giving, and hard work that someday will be essential for them to form families of their own and to rear up a new generation in order that the great wheel of life may roll onward. So vital is the family to the cycle of human life and the renewal of each generation that it is fair to say that if the family breaks down, everything breaks down. If families do not fulfill their divinely appointed purpose of carrying on the light of truth and the torch of civilization to the next generation, then we can throw any amount of money or ideas or programs at our world’s problems, and we will assuredly fail.

The Family Is in Crisis

In our contemporary world, in many dimensions, the family is in crisis. The crisis is both internal to many families and it is external or societal in the sense that many of society’s leaders and opinion-makers increasingly seem to have lost their bearings when it comes to understanding the vital importance of the family.

This crisis was foreseen and foretold by ancient prophets who saw our day in vision. Their words of sober prophecy and warning are coming to pass before our very eyes. Here are a few such prophecies from ancient scripture:

The Apostle Paul: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy …

“Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God …

“Led away with divers lusts,

“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1–2, 4, 6–7).

The Lord Jesus Christ: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12).

Isaiah: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

We live in a day when the love of many, even toward their own children, is waxing cold; a day when so many people love pleasures more than God; a day when good is called evil and evil good. Those who defend the traditional family, who stand for fidelity and chastity and all that once was considered wholesome and praiseworthy are mocked and ridiculed. On the other hand, those who see no problem with fatherless homes, who advocate abortion, who fight all attempts to limit pornography, and who seek to redefine the very essence of what a family is, are praised and upheld as champions of tolerance. Truly, the world has turned upside down.

In 1920 the divorce rate in the United States was 8 per 1,000 married women; by 1979, it had reached nearly 23, a nearly threefold increase. It has since dropped slightly, but this is likely due to a large increase in cohabitating couples, now an estimated 6.6 million, whose separations, including from children, are not recorded in official statistics. By many measurements, the United States has the highest divorce rate in the world. Evidence of the toll is that today in America a heartbreaking 40 percent of all births are out of wedlock.

One consequence of family disintegration has been a rising generation among whom many no longer seek to perpetuate the cycle of family formation that is at the heart of human existence, and for that matter, at the heart of eternal life. Many young people across our nation, who in the natural course of life should grow up, marry, and rear children, are instead trapped in a world where sexual intimacy is casual, responsibility and long-term commitments are denigrated, and children are viewed as a burden, a distraction from the pursuit of happiness and personal fulfillment. They have lost connection with the divine purpose of mortal life, arriving instead at the sterile apex of the me generation.

At least one secular scholar, James Lincoln Collier, recognized the danger of these trends 20 years ago. Collier traces how in the course of the 20th century, selfishness, sexual immorality, and the deterioration of community values damaged America’s social fabric. His foremost concern is for the family:

“We have abandoned our children. Between a soaring divorce rate and an equally soaring rate of children born to unwed mothers, it is now the case that the majority of our children will spend at least a portion of their childhoods in single parent homes—in effect being raised without fathers. A large minority will spend their entire childhoods essentially without fathers, and a considerable number will not even know who their fathers are.

“This is an extremely unusual circumstance—perhaps unique in human experience. In no known human society, past or present, have children generally been raised outside of an intact nuclear family. The nuclear family is one of the most basic of all human institutions, a system of doing things so fundamental that until this century it occurred to very few people that life could exist without it.”

The disintegration of millions of families has taken place in part because popular media and culture have glorified the pursuit of self: of the wholly autonomous individual unconnected with social or moral obligations, free to pursue whatever ends he or she chooses so long as it does not cause direct physical harm to other aggrandizing selves.

In the mad pursuit of self that prevails in the world today, many believe that they may make up their own rules as they go along, putting on their personal concept of morality or “lifestyle” like a change of clothing. Such is a violation of divine law and as such is doomed to failure. This is what the Lord said of those who seek to become their own law:

“That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still” (D&C 88:35).

Yet the messages we constantly hear in media, entertainment, and advertising sound like this:

“You’re number one.”

“Do your own thing.”

“You’re special.”

“Find yourself.”

Such messages are so pervasive that we unconsciously absorb them and sometimes repeat them. Yet they are diametrically opposite from the message of the Savior, as recorded in similar language in every one of the four gospels: “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39).

Happiness through Selflessness and Obedience

We gain happiness and salvation not by blindly pursuing our own self and our own will. We gain salvation by submitting our will, indeed our very selves, to the will of God. We must lose ourselves to find ourselves.

The family by its very nature is an institution based upon righteous self-denial and sacrifice. It is not an individualistic or self-centered organization, but a highly cooperative and other-centered institution. Successful families require that men and women make substantial and long-term sacrifices of their time, money, and personal fulfillment in order to dedicate their efforts to rearing the next generation. Selfishness in any form or degree weakens the bonds that hold families together. The rise of selfishness in our society is the fundamental underlying trend that undermines families and makes successful marriages so difficult. Many today find it irrational to devote so much time and energy to the welfare of the next generation, but if this commitment is not deeply rooted in society, civilization will decline and perish, while children grow up in a moral wasteland, confused, unguided, and unloved.

Moreover, the sacrifices that fathers and mothers make for their children ultimately will result in the greatest possible happiness for those making the sacrifices. In all of human experience, there are no joys more tender, no love more sweet, no fulfillment higher than that found in the family. Those who honor the calling of righteous parenthood will find their souls refined, their hearts purified, and their minds enlightened by the most important lessons of life. They will rise to far greater heights of happiness than those who engage in the narrow and ultimately unsatisfying pursuit of self.

In Lehi’s vision of the tree of life, he saw a strait and narrow path leading to the tree of life, which represented the love of God (see 1 Nephi 8:20; 11:21–22). The world at large is not interested in any moral path that is strait and narrow, but prefers its avenues to be as broad as possible. Latter-day Saints are often accused of narrow-mindedness or lack of tolerance and compassion because of our belief in following precise standards of moral behavior as set forth by God’s prophets. Let us consider, therefore, what is meant by the strait and narrow path.

God has given His children commandments, laws, and revelations that define the pathway leading back into His presence. His laws and commandments are intended to bless us, to uplift us, and to bring us joy. They mark the path of safety amidst the storms and mists of mortal existence. This means that the strait and narrow path is a path of divine love, a path laid down by a God of perfect charity, whose only desire is to bless. To the degree that any human being strays from that path, he or she inevitably experiences inner conflict, distress, and loneliness. To leave the strait and narrow path is to leave the one path congruent with our own eternal nature. When we invite people to lay aside the things of the world and come unto Christ, we are inviting them to the one sure path that leads to lasting joy and inner peace.

To some the very idea of a strait and narrow path will seem intolerant of those who choose different paths. By holding up a divine ideal of what family ought to be, they claim we are guilty of intolerance toward those who choose other paths, other standards, other definitions of right and wrong. But is this really true?

The Shifting Definition of Tolerance

Until recently in our national history, tolerance referred to racial and religious non-discrimination. It meant civility in the political arena; in other words, respecting the right of others to express their views, even if we do not agree with them. It meant treating all people with decency and respect. Such tolerance is an important and vital part of our American heritage.

Today, however, the world is in danger of abandoning all sense of absolute right or wrong, all morality and virtue, replacing them with an all-encompassing “tolerance” that no longer means what it once meant. An extreme definition of tolerance is now widespread that implicitly or explicitly endorses the right of every person to choose their own morality, even their own “truth,” as though morality and truth were mere matters of personal preference. This extreme tolerance culminates in a refusal to recognize any fixed standards or draw moral distinctions of any kind. Few dare say no to the “almighty self” or suggest that some so-called “lifestyles” may be destructive, contrary to higher law, or simply wrong.

When tolerance is so inflated out of all proportions, it means the death of virtue, for the essence of morality is to draw clear distinctions between right and wrong. All virtue requires saying no firmly and courageously to all that is morally bankrupt.

Curiously enough, this new modern tolerance is often a one-way street. Those who practice it expect everyone to tolerate them in anything they say or do, but show no tolerance themselves toward those who express differing viewpoints or defend traditional morality. Indeed, their intolerance is often most barbed toward those of religious conviction. But let there be no misunderstanding or deception: the First Amendment right of free speech applies to religious speech as well as to other kinds of speech. Believers of all faiths have every right to participate in and share their convictions in the public arena.

Now let us go one step further. Even in its original and correct connotation, tolerance is surely a secondary virtue in comparison with the far higher virtue of love. Certainly it is good to be tolerant of those who are different than we are, treating them with kindness and civility. But love, or charity, is the highest of all, and it is far better to genuinely love those with whom we differ. When we truly love all of God’s children in a Christlike way, we will desire to bring them unto Christ, the fountain of all happiness. This means proclaiming the truth, defending that which is right, and in a mild voice inviting all to walk the path of Christ. By defending the traditional family, Latter-day Saints bless all people whether others recognize it now or not.

So perfect and exalted was Christ’s love for God’s children that He took upon Himself the penalty for their sins, descending below all things in the Garden of Gethsemane and dying for us on the cross at Golgotha. Yet He never compromised virtue nor tolerated sin in the slightest degree (see D&C 1:31). He treated the woman taken in adultery with love and respect, putting her accusers to shame; nevertheless He said, “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). The Master abhorred sin, because sin is the enemy of the human soul.

God’s love is sometimes described as unconditional. It is true that God loves all of His children on earth no matter how often or how far they may stray. But while God’s love is all-encompassing, His blessings are highly conditional, including the very blessing of being able to feel and experience His love. The further human beings stray from the path of righteousness, the less they will be capable of feeling divine love, because it is conveyed into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that God loves us less when we stray, only that we, by our choices and actions, have distanced ourselves from His love. How wondrous, then, is the gift of repentance, by which we can be brought back into accord with His will and feel again of His love.

Our Responsibility to Defend the Family

In the family proclamation, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles declare, “We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.” The Church is a small institution compared with the world at large. Nevertheless, the Latter-day Saints as a people should not underestimate the power of our example, nor our capacity to persuade public opinion, reverse negative trends, or invite seeking souls to enter the gate and walk the Lord’s chosen way. We ought to give our best efforts, in cooperation with like-minded persons and institutions, to defend the family and raise a voice of warning and of invitation to the world. The Lord expects us to do this, and in doing so to ignore the mocking and scorn of those in the great and spacious building, where is housed the pride of the world.

Regardless of what the future may hold, God has ordained that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, the parents of the Church will be given power to help save their children from the darkness around them. As the hearts of fathers and mothers turn to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents, we eventually will witness the rise of a generation refined and prepared to meet the Savior at His coming. The triumph of God’s kingdom in the latter days will be a triumph not only of the Church as an organization but of tens of thousands of individual families who by faith have overcome the world.

May we as members of the Church rise up and assume our divinely appointed role as a light to the nations. May we sacrifice and labor to rear a generation strong enough to resist the siren songs of popular culture, a generation filled with the Holy Ghost so that they may discern the difference between good and evil, between legitimate tolerance and moral surrender. May we arise in faith and in love so as to prepare the way for the great millennial reign of Christ, a day to come when in every village and city of the world, boys and girls will play in innocence, and every child of God know the peace of a happy home.

I felt so strongly about this talk that I actually prayed and asked Heavenly Father to be able to share the message of this talk at church. Less than a week later I got a call from a member of the bishopric asking me to speak in sacrament meeting this Sunday.

This talk really has two aspects, one describing the critical need for families to take their mission seriously and for parents to put forth their most valiant efforts into raising their children, the other half focusing on the need to protect and speak out for maintaining and supporting the traditional family. I have a multitude of thoughts on both subjects, which I intend to share, but for tonight I'm going to post this as is and give you the opportunity to contemplate its message before I share my opinion.

Home Sweet Home

After 3 1/2 weeks, 7 states, 4080 miles, and lots of memories, we arrived home on Sunday night, August 7th. The kids raced out of the Suburban and before I even made it to the front door, Mack was waiting to greet me:

Guess he really missed Cocoa and his hat!

Our summer road trip took us to Oklahoma City where Dan was doing some training for his oil job, to Missouri to visit Dan's side of the family, to Texas to visit my Grandmother Mary and Uncle Kenny & Aunt Tack, then home through New Mexico and Utah. The last stop on the road trip was in American Fork, UT for a family reunion with all my Mom's side of the family.

I have been sleeping in every morning since we arrived home and have generally been a total slug. That's what almost a month on the road will do to you! We are happy to be home where the temperatures are much cooler and the kids can be as loud as they want without disturbing the neighbors.

Let's be optimistic and say that I'm going to post pictures from the trip soon. :)

Some May highlights

That was so fun I think I'll post some more!

Lily started piano lessons on May 2nd.

We've been thinking about her learning piano for a long time, but we didn't think it would be practical since we don't have a piano ourselves or even much room for a keyboard. Plus I wasn't sure how well a kid could learn piano if their parents didn't play. But after awhile we just decided it was important to us that she learn that skill, so we enrolled her. My friend Karla has been gracious enough to let Lily practice at her house several times a week.

Lily really didn't want to take piano lessons, but after the first session she was hooked. Her teacher, Janel Dayton, makes it really fun and after two lessons Lily asked if she could go more than once a week. We now have her set up to take lessons twice a week.

And when you live in a town so small you can get to piano lessons in one minute by car or five minutes by bike, it's really no big deal to schedule it twice a week.

Lily has really been getting interested in photography since Santa brought her a little camera for Christmas. She takes lots of pictures; sure makes this Mama proud! It's always a treat to download the images off her camera because I never know what I'll find. Last night I discovered this gem from May 1st of Mack & Amelia ready for church.

Mack saw this and said, "That Mee-yah Dee-yah (Amelia Bedelia) and Mackey. Got big owie on it." Mack got a little road rash playing table tag at the park.

After his scab came off Amelia was looking at the pink spot left behind and said, "Mama! I think I can see his spirit. It's pink!"

Mack recently got a haircut and a new T-ball set. Mostly he just tries to whack it as if he's got a machete in his hand.

The little ones and I have been getting out more now that the weather is finally improving. We go out walking and Amelia rides her bike.

This particular morning Mack insisted on bringing his rope.

Which turned out to be a good idea since we ran into a cattle drive on the way back home!

Ron Teichert and most of his kids were moving their cows to greener pasture and his daughter Mary kept driving up the road, in the lead vehicle, and warning us about the cows coming. She offered to give us a ride back so the kids wouldn't get scared. I assured her that my kids would get a big kick out of being right in the middle of the cows.

In case you're wondering, no, we didn't get a dog. That's Brian & Becca's dog Skyley. She often follows us, looking for some adventure.

I cannot tell you how HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY I am that Spring is finally here! We still don't have leaves on the trees, but the grass is getting greener and Karla had daffodils up in her yard yesterday. I will plant my garden in a couple weeks and before long it'll be hot and we'll all be cussing about the mosquitoes!

Amelia's Preschool Graduation

It's been ages since I've posted. I was talking to Dan tonight and he asked me to post some pictures from Amelia's preschool graduation on my blog. I suggested emailing them and he asked, "What do you have against your blog these days?"

Good question. I guess mostly I just feel so behind and every time I think about posting something it seems too overwhelming. I love to write all the little details and the perfectionist in me has a hard time just posting pictures and walking away.

But that's exactly what I'm going to do tonight (Dan, aren't you proud?). Amelia graduated from preschool tonight, May 16, 2011. Here are some pictures and videos:

2010 Photo Review

Click here to view this photo book larger

I designed this year-in-review 8x8 photo album for all the grandparents for Christmas. I used Shutterfly and got a great 50% off deal. The site is very easy to use. I would have liked a little more flexibility in the templates, especially with text placement and more options for vertical photos, but overall it was a great site to use. I'm really pleased with the print quality and I plan to print a 12x12 book for our family.