Mormon Bloggers

Just finished reading Luke, chapter 2 in the New Testament this morning.  It’s 3 a.m. (Mountain time) and I’m about to pack and take off on a 15-hour road trip to go back home. (Provo, UT to Grants Pass, OR) I couldn’t resist the warmth coming from the Christmas story, not only the birth, but the endearing account of a 12 year-old wowing the sophisticated men of the day.  There is no doubt that neither Luke nor Christ are Trinitarians.  Neither one embrace or teach that doctrine.  But that’s another topic. Do we not love Christ all the more, because of his very humble start in life?  Born in an animal’s stable, no room for Him at even a simple Motel 6!  He ended up being born in a garage, in the parking lot. He could have easily arranged for a birth in a palace, with luxury and no material lack.  There is something rich and symbolic about the circumstances of his birth.  Also, the angelic announcement came to poor,... Read the rest of this entry »

~by Jeanette Green You can read a bit more about Jeanette, the mother of a daughter with microcephaly and another daughter who is adopted, here. Now that it’s February, perhaps many of us are, sadly, done talking about our resolutions. Perhaps our ideas and plans for the year, our goals for self-improvement and personal progression, have faded — or are beginning to, anyway. I have always been goal-oriented, so for me, I enjoy the New Year’s tradition of setting resolutions for the year. I like the tradition, but I don’t necessarily join in. I usually find that I have ongoing goals and so I use the New Year to remind and recommit myself to some of those goals I’ve already made. But, even though I’ve never been a New Year Resolution Die-Hard, surprisingly I have always been a bit sad when others have declared their feelings that New Year’s Resolutions are a silly idea. This last Christmas, after the gifts had been torn open and we were lounging about, I decided... Read the rest of this entry »

While taking down the Christmas decorations and putting them away for yet another year I found myself reflecting on the holidays and the blessings my family are grateful for. Having moved several thousand miles from friends and family 2 years prior, this was the second Christmas my husband, our three boys and I spent alone. The first year we each came up with a new tradition…that would mark the holidays in a way that was unique for us and perhaps ease the pain of pining for those back home. Incorporating these new traditions with those bestowed upon us from our parents, we have managed to carve out a Christmas season that pays homage to the rituals of old and delights in the ones we have created for ourselves. As we practice the old traditions in the absence of those who first taught them to me and my husband, they have taken on a more special meaning in our hearts. Our children have embraced the importance these traditions hold for us and have in turn placed equal value on the... Read the rest of this entry »

Go to CA Girl’s blog to link up:Now on to some anonymous FB statuses (status’, status’s?) I’ve been collecting.It kind of looks like a big elf threw up in my living room. But that’s how we decorate in this house and I like it!Joy to the world the Barneys dead they BBQd his head!! Dont worry about his body they flushed it down the potty and round and round it goes……ha ha ha I LOVE Christmas  Read More →

When we got to Grandma and Grandpa’s, I found that I had even more presents to open! I was really excited, but then I opened my stocking and found these: Eating dried pears I immediately wanted them opened. I love fruit, especially these! Mommy opened them for me, and I happily chewed away while everyone else was opening presents. Mommy kept annoying me, trying to get me to open presents, but I had found all that I wanted. In the end, Mommy and Grandma helped me open my presents. Oh, boy! I sure got a lot of great things! Clothes, toys, more toys, and a very special present that I’ll show you tomorrow. I was pretty tired at this point, so I was being kind of whiny, but this got me into a better mood pretty quick: Let the wrapping paper war begin! It’s a tradition in Daddy’s family to throw your wrapping paper at each other once all your presents are opened. Bryson and I hadn’t quite finished unwrapping everything, but everyone let us help anyways. It was... Read the rest of this entry »

I think Aurora did a pretty good job describing our experience at Great-Grandpa’s. I’ll add that I love the book I got and the chew toys. (Thanks Great-Grandpa and Nathan!) They came at just the right time to help me push my teeth through! Once we left Great-Grandpa’s house, Aurora and I took a nap while we headed south. It seemed like only a minute before we were at Grandma’s. I felt pretty refreshed from my nap, so I dug right in my stocking: Full of fun surprises! It was lots of fun opening presents: Socks rock! Mommy and Daddy loved their presents too. We were all really spoiled! Daddy especially loved this present: Move over, Jack. Cassie-in-the-box is this year’s greatest toy! I got lots of cool things: stuffed animals, toys, clothes, rice cereal, pears, juice, and matching jammies: We like to monkey around Thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts, Grandma and Grandpa! They are all so thoughtful!  Read More →

After leaving Gramsie’s house on Christmas, we headed up to Great-Grandpa’s. It takes forever to get to his house – almost an hour! I tried as hard as I could to stay awake, but I ended up falling asleep just a few minutes before arriving. I woke up pretty quick, because he has tons of fun toys! When everyone arrived, we ate sandwiches and I got to drink juice straight from the can: Delicious! I felt very grown up. We then opened presents. I was so excited to get legos from Great-Grandpa! Daddy and I like to build towers and I knock them down, so it was a perfect gift! (Thanks so very much Great-Grandpa!) I also got a cute baby doll that giggles and shakes from Daddy’s cousin, Melissa. (Thank you!) I was a little distracted with all the other presents others were opening: "My presence is present enough" So I didn’t notice until later, but someone else was really enjoying it: Who, me?!? Couldn't be!" Thanks for the fun party everyone!  Read More →

Like Cassie, I was very spoiled with presents. And I didn’t understand why everyone was looking so hard for their presents. I noticed that all you had to do was sit on the ground, and presents appeared before you. Some of them weren’t mine, but I thought I would be helpful and unwrap them anyways. It was very exciting to open presents and find clothes, a sock monkey, and toys! I would say, “cuuuute!” “coool!” and “awwww!” since I was so excited about what I got. While everyone was getting breakfast ready, I took around the appetizer for people to eat: Olives, anyone? And after getting dressed, I still had time to play with Grandpa S before the food was served: Peek-a-boo! But the food was definitely worth the wait: We stuffed ourselves full Thanks for the great time, Gramsie and Grandpa!  Read More →

After Aurora and I opened our presents at home, we went to Gramsie’s house to eat breakfast. When we got there, we found ourselves with a little chore to do: we had to find paper stockings and our Christmas presents. Mine were kind of hard to find – Mommy had to sit me on the couch for me to reach the pile. Everyone else had a much easier time. They were able to walk around looking behind couches, pictures, and in the fridge to name a few places. Once everyone had found their presents and stockings, we were able to open our gifts. I was very spoiled! I got candy in my stockings, cute outfits, some bibs, a set of keys, a sock doggy, and this: Unwrapping the first present Everyone was very impressed with how well I unwrapped the presents. They just didn’t understand how bad I wanted to eat the paper. But it’s a good think I was more interested in the paper: Aurora shares the blanket Thanks for all the presents, Gramsie!  Read More →

Christmas has passed and that means that there are stacks of new toys, clothes, appliances, etc. hanging around the house. It can look overwhelming, and I know that when my house is cluttered I am grumpy and discombobulated. Even though it isn’t spring, it is a good time to consider a large “spring cleaning” project with your children while you have them home. It’s the best time to get their help so you don’t have to do it all on your own. If your children won’t help, you can even hold their new gifts hostage until their closets and toy chests are cleaned out and organized. A few things that can help you organize your children’s closets and your home in general are: -         Make sure there’s a place for each toy. If the toys have a specific home it is easier for your children to stay organized. Shoe box organizers stack neatly and are often clear so it’s easy to know what is inside. Labels are also wonderful. -        ... Read the rest of this entry »

I have to apologize for posting a day late, but I was a little busy trying to get one of my Christmas presents ready to use yesterday. But have no fear, Cassie and I will continue to tell you about our Christmas experience now. So it all started at about 8:30 on Christmas morning. I heard Mommy and Cassie in the front room, and it sounded like they were having a lot of fun without me. I decided to investigate, and found Cassie wrapped in some paper, and Mommy wrapping a big box with some other paper. She could tell I was confused, so she told me it was a present. I kept repeating “present?” to make sure I heard her correctly. I was very excited to see what was in the paper, but Mommy said I had to wait until Daddy was up. I went in and got Daddy, and started opening my present: Tension builds as the paper is pulled away I was very excited that Mommy let me rip the paper without me getting in trouble! Wripping the wrapping The present was so awesome – a cart just like... Read the rest of this entry »

I know that you will be shocked to see that I have written a blog post two days in a row . . . something that I haven’t done for a while.  Well, I hope to get back into the swing of writing here more frequently for those of you that do read it.  Things have just been quite busy the last month with my becoming one of the district leaders here in the Referral Center and with everything going on during the Christmas season.  However, that is one thing that I love about my mission: being busy and always having something to do to further the work that Christ has given us.  As I have strived to do my best in every task and opportunity that I am given, I have seen how Heavenly Father has blessed me to accomplish these things in at time and a manner that I know I wouldn’t be able to do without His help.  I have definitely seen that over the past month with everything that I have been doing. I thought I would go ahead and write about my Christmas experience before... Read the rest of this entry »