Here are a couple pictures at Tulum. It iwas a beautiful Mayan city right next to the ocean.

Here are some pictures of our cruise. I am having a hard time doing pictures on the laptop so I just picked a couple of Kimball and I. Mom and dad will have to post some too.

Here is a pictures of Halloween finally and Emma's preschool Christmas program.

I have been meaning to put some pictures of our family since Halloween but my computer with our pictures on it will not connect to the wireless internet so Kimball brought me home his old laptop but I have not taken the time to put some on a disk to put in this computer to add to the blog. I would also like to put some on of the cruise but dad will probably beat me to it. We had a wonderful time and it was hard to come back to the cold. We are so busy with all the Christmas things going on this month that we don't have time to miss it too much. Our kids are so excited for Christmas. They sing all day long and Edison is now singing "Felize Snoopy dog" because he thinks that how it goes. He is so funny right now. I wish we could have seen more of Liz's family when they were here and are excited for the time to spend with everyone else soon.

Thanks for everyones prayers and unity on Tuesday for Bob Bement. He is home now and felling a bit better. He has been diagnosed with Lymphoma (or however you spell it) which means that it is cancerous. I guess that there is another kind that is very bad and even this kind can be aggresive but does not seem to be. So even though it is not the best news it is certainly better than it could have been. On Monday the 11th Bob is suppose to meet with his doctor to identiy how they will approach this. Mom and I are excited that we will be able to be with all of you sometime during the holidays and look forward to that. They are coming fast. Jeff and family will be headed this way in a week and that will be fun for all of us. Mag's will be home from school for the holidays on Wed night this week. We are all fine and doing well. Love you all, Dad

Ryan and I closed on our house on Friday. It is supposed to fund tomorrow and then it will be official. Everything has been going great with the house. We are totally excited and I'm anxious to have everyone over when we get settled. We don't officially move in until Friday. We are having new carpet put in that will take Wednesday and Thursday to do. And then Friday will be a great day of loading, unpacking, and cleaning. But we are planning on being settled for a while so we are really excited. No more carring junk around just incase we might need it in our next house. So that's our really exciting news.
It was fun to spend Thanksgiving with Katherine and Dan, Mom and Dad, and Mags. We had a lot of fun. Thanks mom and Margaret for going shopping with me on black Friday. You know I look forward to that day. And if I wasn't needed to pack the house up I would have already started sewing up that fabric I bought on black Friday. I was glad I got to see Rebecca but we didn't really get to see them much. I'm excited for mom and dad to come at Christmas time. Hopefully we'll be able to see Jeff and Kaynel that week too. I love you all.
Liz

It is time for Mom and I to go on the cruise so I thought that I had best get this done before we left.

Elder Dieter T Uchtdorf

Our firm personal testimony will motivate us to change ourselves and then bless the world.

Our motives and thoughts ultimately influence our actions. The testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the most powerful motivating force in our lives.

For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term testimony is a warm and familiar word in our religious expressions. It is tender and sweet. It has always a certain sacredness about it. When we talk about testimony, we refer to feelings of our heart and mind rather than an accumulation of logical, sterile facts. It is a gift of the Spirit, a witness from the Holy Ghost that certain concepts are true.

As we acquire a deeper knowledge of these truths and of the plan of salvation by the power and the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can come to "know the truth of all things" (Moroni 10:5).

How Do We Get a Testimony?
No good thing comes without effort and sacrifice. If we have to work hard to obtain a testimony, it will make us and our testimony even stronger. And if we share our testimony, it will grow.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "Every Latter-day Saint has the responsibility to know for himself or herself with a certainty beyond doubt that Jesus is the resurrected, living Son of the living God" ("Fear Not to Do Good," Ensign, May 1983, 80).
So how do we receive a personal testimony rooted in the witness of the Holy Ghost?
First: Desire to believe.
Second: Search the scriptures.
Third: Do the will of God; keep the commandments. Fourth: Ponder, fast, and pray.
Fourth: Ponder, fast, and pray.

Our personal testimony is a protective shield, and like an iron rod it is guiding us safely through darkness and confusion.

This is our time; these are our days. We are where the action is. Our firm personal testimony will motivate us to change ourselves and then bless the world.

I know that I need to have the shield of a strong testimony of the gospel. I also know that I have been motivated by my testimony since the time I made the decision that the Lord wanted me to go on a mission and serve others to strive to do what the Lord wants me to do. I find that as the years go by it is easy to say been there done that and to not have the fire of the gospel truth to burn as fervently as it once did. I pary that I will have the courage to endure to the end in the strength of my Lord

President James E Faust (Priesthood Session)
We need to increase our spiritual nutrients—nutrients that come from the knowledge of the fulness of the gospel and the powers of the holy priesthood.

Spiritual nourishment prepares us for baptism. This preparation includes humbling ourselves before God, having "broken hearts and contrite spirits," repenting of all our sins, being "willing to take upon [us] the name of Jesus Christ," and manifesting "by [our] works that [we] have received of the Spirit of Christ."
Our most important spiritual nutrient is a testimony that God is our Eternal Father, that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, and that the Holy Ghost is our Comforter. This testimony is confirmed to us by the gift of the Holy Ghost. From this testimony we derive the spiritual nutrients of faith and trust in God, which bring forth the blessings of heaven. Spiritual nutrients come to us from various sources, but because of time constraints I would like to mention just three.

Some years ago a priests quorum decided to gather food for the needy as a service project. Jim, one of the priests, was excited to participate and was determined to collect more food than anyone else. The time arrived when the priests met at the chapel. They all went out at the same time and returned at a specified time later in the evening. To everyone's surprise, Jim's cart was empty. He seemed rather sober, and some of the boys made fun of him. Seeing this and knowing that Jim had an interest in cars, the adviser said, "Come outside, Jim. I want you to look at my car. It's giving me some trouble."
When they got outside, the adviser asked Jim if he was upset. Jim said, "No, not really. But when I went out to collect the food, I really got a lot. My cart was full. As I was returning to the chapel, I stopped at the home of a nonmember woman who is divorced and lives within our ward boundaries. I knocked on the door and explained what we were doing, and she invited me in. She began to look for something to give me. She opened the refrigerator, and I could see there was hardly anything in it. The cupboards were bare. Finally, she found a small can of peaches.
"I could hardly believe it. There were all these little kids running around that needed to be fed, and she handed me this can of peaches. I took it and put it in my cart and went on up the street. I got about halfway up the block when I just felt warm all over and knew I needed to go back to that house. I gave her all the food."
The adviser said, "Jim, don't you ever forget the way you feel tonight, because that's what it is all about." Jim had tasted the nutrient of selfless service.

I know that my soul desires to be nourished. I don't seem to have much difficulty making sure that my body gets fed on a very regular schedule. I do not work so diligently to do the same for my spirit. I also know that it is true that when we have done it unto one of the least of God's children we have done it unto Him. I do not serve with the same enthusiasm I once did and know that I need to work on this in my life. I know that there really is nothing so sweet as the feelings I get when I do serve another. That is when we really find out the truth of the gospel and who the Lord would want us to be.

Margaret S Lifferth

In today's world, children will need . . . each of us to protect, teach, and love them.

Who are the children in your home or in your neighborhood? Look at them. Think of them. The Savior teaches us that to enter the kingdom of God, we must become as a child, "submissive, meek, humble, patient, [and] full of love" (Mosiah 3:19).

As we seek Him and His Spirit to help us, we will see a miracle. We will recognize that our own hearts are changing and we too are becoming "submissive, meek, humble, patient, [and] full of love" (Mosiah 3:19). We too will reflect the light of the gospel in our own countenance. We will come to understand these words of the Savior: "And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me" (Matthew 18:5).

Oh what sweet children we have in our family. I am so happy that I know that they are being taught the gospel in their homes. Keep up the good work; I love all of you so very much and hope that we can be diligent and not loose even one of our precious little ones. The enemy desires them and we must be so vigilent in trying to protect them and help them to learn to build their foundation on Jesus Christ. God bless each of you in your righteous efforts to do so.

A. Roger Merrill
Sunday School General President
When we focus . . . on seeking and receiving the Spirit, we become less concerned about a teacher or speaker holding our attention and more concerned about giving our attention to the Spirit.
We often focus, appropriately, on the importance of teaching by the Spirit. But we need to remember that the Lord has placed equal, if not greater, importance on receiving by the Spirit.

As President Boyd K. Packer has said, "No message appears in scripture more times, in more ways than, 'Ask, and ye shall receive' "

First, they seek.
Second, those who receive, feel.
Third, those who receive by the Spirit intend to act.

I think that it is easier to seek and often times even feel of the truth but it is not so easy to intend to act upon it because that takes effort. I hope that I will not be too comfortable in the gospel and simply sit back and say all is well in Zion. I know that I need to intend to act upon his promptings that I can truly help Him to move His gospel plan forward in these latter days.

President Gordon B. Hinckley
My beloved brothers and sisters, what a miracle these conferences are.
We wish that there were peace in the earth and constantly pray that it may come.
Now, our beloved associates, we leave with you our love and our blessing. May the Spirit of the Lord dwell in your homes. May love govern your family relations.

It is so special to have a prophet to guide us in these troubled times. I know that he is Gods mouth peace on the earth. I know that he wants each of us to feel the spirit of the Lord and to be prompted to act appropriatley upon that spirit. I know that having the Lords spirit in our homes is so important. I know that the Lord wants us to be happy and to love one another. I pray that each of us will have that love in our homes and be directed by it as the prophet has prayed in our behalf.

I know that this is quite a lot to drop on each of you but unlike my intentions I allowed things of the world to get in my way and did not get these thougts out to you a little at a time. I bear witness to each of you that God does live and that we were wise and chose to follow His plan and come here to exerience mortality. I know that the gospel has been restored thru Joseph Smith. I know that President Hinckley is Gods chosen one to lead us today. I know that true joy and happiness comes thru serving others and following the spirit of the Lord. May we all be blessed with His sweet spirit in our lives and homes. Love you all and pray for you each day. I thank God each day that I have the blessing of having each of you in my life. Have a wonderful holiday season. Love dad

President James E Faust

One of the greatest blessings of life and eternity is to be counted as one of the devoted disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The word for disciple and the word for discipline both come from the same Latin root—discipulus, which means pupil. It emphasizes practice or exercise. Self discipline and self control are consistent and permanent characteristics of the followers of Jesus, as exemplified by Peter, James, and John, who indeed "forsook all, and followed him."

What is discipleship? It is primarily obedience to the Savior. Discipleship includes many things. It is chastity. It is tithing. It is family home evening. It is keeping all the commandments. It is forsaking anything that is not good for us. Everything in life has a price. Considering the Savior's great promise for peace in this life and eternal life in the life to come, discipleship is a price worth paying. It is a price we cannot afford not to pay. By measure, the requirements of discipleship are much, much less than the promised blessings.

The words of a beloved Primary song resonate with all who follow the Master:
I'm trying to be like Jesus;
I'm following in his ways.
I'm trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
For most of us, however, what is required is not to die for the Church but to live for it. For many, living a Christlike life every day may be even more difficult than laying down one's life.

Our true claim as disciples comes when we can say with certainty that His ways have become our ways.

I know that it can be hard to try to be like Jesus in all that we do and say but I also know that it is worth it. I know that I have a lot of trouble with my discipleship. It is so easy to let the things of this world take 1st place in my thoughts and actions. Today is the Sunday choir broadcast after Veterans Day and as I watched I could not help but think with tears in my eyes that Freedom is far from free. Another of the wonderful blessings that the Lord has allowd me to enjoy but I allow myself to consider it a free gift. Everything that is worth anything has a price to pay. I hope that I can learn to be willing to pay the price of discipleship because I know that the blessing attached to this is eternal. I do pray each day that each of us will allow the gospel light to shine through our actions. I add my testimony to that of President Faust and pray that each of us will make His ways our way for I know that it will bring us joy today, notwithstanding the price, and joy forever as we have the blessing of association with the Father and the Son forever and ever. Love Dad

Elder Dallin H. Oakes

The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ . . . is available for every affliction in mortality.

Each of us carries our own burdens. To each of us our Savior gives this loving invitation:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28–30).

Matthew writes that He healed every sickness and every disease among the people.
The Savior teaches that we will have tribulation in the world, but we should "be of good cheer" because He has "overcome the world" (John 16:33). His Atonement reaches and is powerful enough not only to pay the price for sin but also to heal every mortal affliction.

The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it removes our burdens or strengthens us to endure and live with them like the Apostle Paul—is available for every affliction in mortality.

"Commune with the Lord. . . . He is your best friend! He knows your pain because He has felt it for you already. He is ready to carry that burden. Trust Him enough to place it at His feet and allow Him to carry it for you.

As we struggle with the challenges of mortality, I pray for each of us, as the prophet Mormon prayed for his son, Moroni: "May Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, . . . and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever" (Moroni 9:25).

Wow is that powerful. I can not even express the love I have for Jesus Christ. What love He has for all of us. I have not always understood that He not only paid for my sins but for my pains, my sorrows, my afflictions, my burdens. I know that each of us carry some heavy baggage that we need to put at His feet so we may have the strength to carry on and endure to whatever our individual end will be. When He promised that His yoke would be light it is because He pulls way more than His share. I know that He has already paid the price for me so I hope that I can show my love for Him by taking advantage of His great atonement. I know that I need to ponder this deeply as I take of the sacrament each week. I feel that I have done a better job of thinking of His sacrifice but feel that what I need to spend time thinking about is my Lord triumphant; He has already won His battle and now waits for me to rely upon His love and mercy and use His sacrifice to lift myself from the state of the natural man. To truly have the broken heart and the contrite spirit and to humble myself before Him, to accept His offering of love. I hope that I can learn to repent daily and by so doing in small steps become more like Him.

May God grant all of us a better understanding of His atonement and His great love for each of us is my prayer for us all. God Bless, Dad

I am excited to get started sharing this conference with each of you. As I look over the past blog’s and see that each of you try and want to lift one another and help each other in any way that you can my heart is full of thanks to Heavenly Father. As I read through a few of them I did so with tears in my eyes. I love each of you so much and desire the Lord’s spirit to be with you and to guide you in all that you do.

These are our prophet’s opening words to the church.

Circumstances change, but our message does not change. We bear testimony to the world that the heavens have been opened, that God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, the risen Lord, have appeared and spoken. We offer our solemn witness that the priesthood has been restored with the keys and authority of eternal blessings.

The Lord is richly blessing His Church, and our duty is to do all we can to move it forward.

My prayer for each of us is that we can work a little harder this next 6 months between conferences to stand a little taller in His kingdom; to reach a little higher for opportunities to share His truth with everyone; to spend more time each week on things that are eternal in nature. May God bless each of us as we try to stay the course that leads to eternal joy? I pray daily that each of us can overcome the evil one. Know that Mom and I love each of you and your families with all our hearts.

I know that eveyone is really excited about not hearing from me on the last general conference but I have been thinking about it all month long. In doing the math there is no way that we can get all the talks done by next conference doing one a week. I think what we will try is to give each family a month and then share the talks eaqually from there. Jana and I and Margaret will take November.
Jeff Chase Family Dec: Elder Winkel; Elder Hales; Elder Scott; Pres Monson Priesthood Session; Elder Perkins; Elder Cardon
Hodges Jan: Elder Pieper; Elder Wirthlin; Elder Eyring; Pres Hinckley Priesthood Session; Elder Nelson; Elder Clarke
Jenkins Feb: Elder Baxter; Sister Elaline Patton; Elder Christofferson; Pres Monson Sunday Morning; Pres Hinckley Sunday Morning; Elder Edwards
Butlers Mar: Elder Robert Oaks; Elder Bower; Elder Nash; Elder Perry; Pres Packer; Elder Gibbons
Mom and I and Margaret will take November and we have that broken out. I just went through the speakers like last conference and assigned them in the order that they spoke and the order of our family.
I have 30 minutes to shower and get ready for church so best get going. We will get started with our assingment and hope that this works out ok. There are more talks than weeks so however each family wants to do them is fine. It would be fun if there was one or more each week but whatever works will be a great blessing to all of us. Know that I love you all very much and that you are in our prayers constantly. God bless each of you with his richest blessing and an abundance of his spirit to guide you in all that you do.
Dad

So am I just a big loser. I check out the blog everyday still. So I guess I should leave a post, I just hope that somebody reads it. Ryan and I are buying a house. At least we are in the process of. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. If all goes as planned it will be December when we move in. Not excited to move in the cold but excited to get out of this piece of junk. We have been without heat for two weeks. The first week and a half it was just cold. Then the rental company finally brought us some space heaters. Then the breakers kept popping in the kids rooms, which is where we had the heaters at night to keep the kids warm, so it was freeing all night for everybody. Hopefully that finally got fixed tonight. It has been a cold two weeks. But I called the management place today to tell them that the kitchen faucet was leaking and the fan in the master bath didn't work, which I had already told them before. I can't wait to get out of this disaster of a house.

Anyway, on a much happier note, Tiana had her baby. A little girl, Brooklyn Tiana Nelson. Also thank you Katherine for saving me lots of money with coupon sense. My last shopping trip I bought 48 items for $30 and I'm still getting a $10 mail in rebate so it will really only be $20 for 48 items. I get a huge rush every time a get a really good buy like that. Thank you Katherine. I love you.

We also got another turtle. This one is a boy turtle. So now we have a girl turtle, Mimi, and a boy turtle, Flopanese. I know they have funny names. The kids have imaginary friends named that, they just made up the word flopanese. So now they aren't so imaginary anymore. And yes the two turtle could mate but it isn't likely they would. But we think it would be fun to have a little baby turtle. They are about the size of a quarter when they are born. It has been a lot of fun having turtles. Although our new boy turtle is a lot stinkier than our girl. Big surprise.

The kids are doing great. Benjamin still isn't walking but he is doing a real good job trying. He has been incredible when it comes to sleep. When he gets tired he begs me to put him to sleep. He waves when I tell him it's night night and he is so excited when I put him in bed. It is so cute and nice for me. Both Charles and Joseph both just had ear infections. It was horrible. They were both in so much pain I couldn't even get tylenol to work. Anyway, I love you all. Hope to hear from you too.

Here are some pictures from Benjamin's birthday, and Katherine a picture of Ben and I wearing our matching shirts. He had a good birthday. Not that he cared it was his birthday or anything. Grandma Butler gave him a play phone and the older boys won't stop fighting over it. Mom gave him some Dora books and they won't leave those alone either. I finally had to put them up so they aren't ruined before Ben can even enjoy them. I made that blanket for Benjamin if you can even see it in the picture very well. It's fun for me to see how much better I've gotten since I first started making quilts. I don't know why I love it so much.

Also when mom and dad were moving I found a cassette tape of Margaret singing when she was little. It was so cute and hilarious. Here are the links to go listen to her.
http://www.licotto.com/ryan/margaret1.mp3
http://www.licotto.com/ryan/margaret2.mp3

Hope you enjoy them. She was very picked on as a child. Also Jeff and Kaynel, did you get your computer up and working? Let us know if you need anything. We'd be happy to show you how to use Pro Show, the picture slideshow program. It's a lot of fun. I'm making slideshows with my Beehives right now for mutual. I'm pretty excited. Well I love you all and hope that I will soon be posting a picture of our house, or possibly a lot, who knows. Pray for us. We're anxious to get into a house but can't seem to get all the bugs worked out of any situation to where we feel comfortable with what's happening.
Love
Butler

Hodges Family

Well we have not been up to a whole lot lately so we haven't written in a while. Besides the trip to Bear Lake, Kimball has been gone part of every week the last five or six weeks so we haven't been doing a lot around here. He does tell me he is done for a while so I hope that a while means the same to both of us!!
Kimball was just put in as Executive Secretary so he is very busy and overwhelmed with that. He can't believe how much paperwork goes on behind the scenes.
Emma just started preschool and that is fun for us. There is a little boy in our ward in her class and we just started carpooling and it is wonderful to only have to drive every other week. She likes it and seems to be learning a lot. Her gymnastics is right after preschool at the same place so I only have to drive to gymnastics every other seek as well. Emma also took a soccer class for the month of September. It is a parent child class so she and Kimball have been able to spend that time together. Kimball says they practice the same thing every week and kids are always crying but Emma says she has fun and shows me all her moves. She also started ballet and loves it. All the girls are dressed up so cute every week and her teacher is really sweet and good with the girls. I think that is what I am most excited about her doing this year.
We got season tickets to the BYU games for Kimball, Emma, and I. Emma dresses up in her cheerleader outfit every week and Kimball trys to get her to let him hold her up to do a cheer in the crowd. It is pretty cute.
Edison is a crazy man. He is not a baby anymore and there are a few moments it makes you sad and then I remember what a bad baby he was and am glad he is growing up. He is so cute now. He tells us everything in sentences and teases us and laughs all the time. I'm glad we didn't give him up that first year. He wants to do everything Emma does and is sad when she goes to school or to the neighbors to play. He loves shoes and tells me "cute" when I get him dressed in the morning. You can tell he spends most of his time with girls.
We are loving our ward and neighborhood and house. the basement is still almost finished. Kimball's brother is going to finish the bathroom and the cabinet guy is supposed to finish the last set of cabinets this week. Theres still touch up painting and organizing and canned lights for the kitchen, etc. but everything is livable now and we are enjoying the space.

Sorry Katherine I typically look at the blog at least once daily but I haven't posted for a long time. But yes we do have things going on. Joseph just turned 3 and he had a great birthday. Thanks mom and dad for the train blanket and train. He has had a blast playing with it. I'm sure he would like an actual train track to put together because he loves to play with the neighbors train track but I like the blanket better. He uses it as a blanket too and it isn't as messy as a track set. He also got some tools and a toolbox. He loves tools. So he had a good birthday.

Benjamin just got his first haircut. That's the picture of him after his haircut. His birthday is in a couple of weeks and he is a joy, most of the time. He is ready to walk but isn't yet. He practices walking between me and the couch and just loves it.

Ryan and I are tired of house hunting. There are not a lot of options here in New Plymouth for houses. We are finding houses we want to buy but can't seem to make things work out. It is getting really frustrating but hopefully something will work out soon. I'll post again when we actually find a house that we get to have.

Anyway, we are doing good and are excited for things to happen in our lives. Oh and I put the picture of Grandma and the kids in here since she is staying with mom and dad right now I thought she would like to see it. I use that picture as the wallpaper for my computer. Charles loves it and always talks about going to her house and the things we did there. I love you all.

I couldn't wait any longer to pick names for Christmas. Mom and Kaynel said I could just draw and post it on the blog. So here you go.
Ellie -- Joseph
Maeli -- Benjamin
Maren -- Edison
Emma -- Charles
Edison -- Aspen
Cameron -- Emma
Tristen -- Maeli
Aspen -- Maren
Charles -- Ellie
Joseph -- Cameron
Benjamin -- Tristen

I hope this is okay with everyone. I am inpatient. I want to get started on it all. I hope everyone had a good time at Bear Lake without me. I hope someone will put some pictures up so we can see what you got to do. Ryan and I got the loan to build a house. So we are obviously excited about that. We also got a turtle. Her name is Mimi the friendly turtle. Mimi is the name of there imaginary friend and Joseph really wanted to use it. Charles wanted to name her friendly so we named her Mimi the friendly turtle. We call her Mimi for short. Anyway it has been fun to have a pet. The kids love it. She quiet and pretty low maintenance so that's nice. Maybe going to the zoo was a bad idea. Ryan and the kids really wanted a pet after that and we decided on a turtle.

Dan and Katherine thanks for the baby blessing party. It was so nice to see family. Dan it was really fun to see some of your family that we have not had a chance to visit with for a while. We are waiting for some pictures to hit the blog since we failed to bring the camera again. We love the camera and then leave it home. I will not ask for any comment on that issue. Margaret has heard from Jeremy so we are happy to know that Jeff and family are home safe. Love everyone and look forward to to seeing you at Bear Lake.

I have a HUGE favor to ask of everybody. I am trying to find a video slideshow of the Prophet Joseph for seminary and I have three different ones for you all to look at. Would you please watch all three of them and let me know which one you like the best. I am just putting the links on the blog so you don't have to wait for all three of them to load up at once. Plus, Mike & Jana, if you could make sure that Margaret watches this also, I want her "still close to high school" opinion. Thanks and please reply via the comments and let me know which of the three you like best. Here are the links:
Superman
Praise to the Man
Go With Me

Thanks!!!!!

Here is a video clip from the stick horse race at the rodeo that the two New Plymouth wards had to celebrate the 24th of July. It was a lot of fun and I hope this video works!! (Hint, it will take a minute or two to load, so click play once, wait a minute or two, then click play again...it should work, I just tested it)

These are pictures of the latest quilt I've made. It is for my sister-in-laws wedding. Mom wanted to see a picture of it when it was finished, not that's it's really finished because it hasn't been quilted yet, but anyway I am so proud of myself I just wanted to show it to everyone. I had a few mess ups along the way that were pretty frustrating but I learned a lot and I think it still turned out nice.
Ryan has strep throat right now. It has been a long week. So far nobody else has got sick so we're crossing our fingers.
Our relief society went to Starlight mountain theatre last night. We got to see Oklahoma. It was a lot of fun. Ryan is so great to let me go and stay home with all the kids when he has strep throat.
Tomorrow we are having a pioneer celebration. The kids are really excited. We signed them up to do the chicken chase and the stick horse races. Charles and Joseph are both old enough to do the muttin bustin too but I'm too scared to let them try. Joseph probably wouldn't do it anyways. I'm not sure Joseph will do the chicken chase either but it will fun to see. I'm sure I'll let you know how that goes.

Here is another picture of the great big mable with I think nine people on it so you can see how big it is. We are excited to spend the week with our family.

Here are some pictures from boating that mom was talking about. Kimball would zoom in on each picture and they got pretty funny. If you look in Mikes glasses you can see me in a bikini from the back so it looks like that is why Mike has a grin on his face. It was pretty embarassing for him. There were some other funny faces and poses so with three Rebels at Bear Lake we are planning to do a few slide shows there as well.

And that is about all that is going on here, alot of boating. Kimball and I are going to Bear Lake today and taking the kids with us to Lake Powell next week. We are also trying to finish our basement. Painting is about the only part we are doing ourselves and it is taking forever. I wish we would have paid someone to do that too. It will be exciting to have the space soon though.

I was also wondering if anyone or everyone wanted to go swimming at the pool the blessing weekend in August. I bought a punch pass and we have only gone once so I thought it would be fun while everyone was here. Let me know if that sounds like something people do or don't want to do. I know Jeff wants to golf but I am thinking of going to the pool for just a few hours on Saturday, not all day.

So I just got done telling mom the other day that I didn't have anything to post on the blog. Although I did have a great time while we were in Utah. Thanks mom and dad, Rebecca and Kimball, and Katherine and Dan for letting us hang out and stay at houses and stuff. We had a lot of fun. Charles and Joseph both miss Emma and Cameran.
Anyway, back to pictures. Joseph thought he would make our 4th of July a little more exciting. He was playing in our bedroom and turned on one of the bedside lamps we have. This one happened to be an open faced lamp. He turned it on and set it face down on the bed and left the room. When I went in my bedroom I could smell the smoke. Luckily it only smoldered some and didn't actually burst into flames. Not so lucky, we lost our sheets and mattress pad and obviously have a hole in our mattress.
Well I hope everyone else has a less uneventful 4th of July. So happy 4th of July.

Hey everybody. I wish I had some pictures from boating yesterday. We really laughed when we saw the slide show at Becca and Kimball's. I was the photographer. I used up all of the photo card. I can't wait to get some great pictures at Bear Lake. The Big Mable was really a riot yesterday. I would like to hear from everyone when they will be at Bear Lake. I think I have an idea but it would be good for me to get it on a calendar. Who is interested in going to Pickleville Playhouse? The only show playing the week that we are there is "Tied to the Tracks". It is a musical melodrama. It plays wed. thru sat. Prices are $13 for adults $7.50 for children 11 and under. Children under 3 don't need a reservation if they will be on a lap. Dinner and a show are $25 for adults and $15 for children. Let me know if you want to go and what nights. I think Margaret would like to go.
Dad and I have a calling in our ward now in case someone doesn't know. We are the over the young singles.
I am looking forward to going to Boise next weekend and visiting Jeff and the family. I hope we can see Liz and her fam too.
We are still trying to get settled here. I don't know how much we will be able to get done here until the house in Kuna gets sold. There is just too many things I want.
We hope everyone has a great 4th of July.
Love, Mom

Katherine........ Happy Birthday!

We seem to be getting younger and better looking every year. Wakeboarding keeps you young at heart. It was nice to see you guys yesterday. Have a great birthday.

I am not sure I remember for sure where we are at so I am going to share Elder Boyd K Packers talk I will remember your sins no more

Elder Packer relates the story of Alma and his son Corianton who sinned while on a mission with his father and others. After a bit of a rebuke here are a couple of the quotes from Almas testimony to his son.

"My son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people" (Alma 39:15).

He explained that "the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also" (Alma 42:15).

Alma knew personally the pain of punishment and the joy of repentance. He himself had once greatly disappointed his own father, Corianton's grandfather. He rebelled and went about "seeking to destroy the church" (Alma 36:6). He was struck down by an angel, not because he deserved it but because of the prayers of his father and others (see Mosiah27:14).

Alma felt the agony and guilt and said: "As I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

"Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

"And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

"And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

"Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy. . . .

Alma said: "O my son, I desire that ye should deny the justice of God no more. Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins, by denying the justice of God; but do you let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility" (Alma 42:30).

Now Alma, was the father pleading with his son Corianton to repent.

After sternly rebuking his son and patiently teaching the doctrine of the gospel, Alma the loving father said, "And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance" (Alma 42:29).

In agony and shame, Corianton was brought "down to the dust in humility" (Alma 42:30).

Alma, who was Corianton’s father and also his priesthood leader, was now satisfied with Corianton’s repentance. He lifted the terrible burden of guilt his son carried and sent him back to the mission field: "And now, O my son, ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people. . . . Go thy way, declare the word with truth and soberness. . . . And may God grant unto you even according to my words" (Alma 42:31).

Corianton joined his brothers, Helaman and Shiblon, who were among the priesthood leaders. Twenty years later in the land northward, he was still faithfully laboring in the gospel. (See Alma 49:30; 63:10.)

Satan is the deceiver, the destroyer, but his is a temporary victory.

Christ is the Creator, the Healer. What He made, He can fix. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of repentance and forgiveness (see 2 Nephi 1:13; 2 Nephi 9:45; Jacob 3:11; Alma 26:13–14; Moroni 7:17–19).

Could there be any more sweeter or more consoling words, more filled with hope, than those words from the scriptures? "I, the Lord, remember [their sins] no more" (D&C 58:42).

I add my testimony to that of the scriptures and Elder Packer, Christ loves us and has made it possible for us through repentance to have his mercy poured out upon us and has promised us that he will remember our short coming no more if we will repent and call upon his name and walk in humility before him; he will remember my sins no more; how sweet these words are to me.

May God grant each of us the wisdom to take full advantage of the atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength to overcome the deceiver’s tantalizing invitation to stray from that which we know to be right and true; may we center our lives on Christ and live forever with Him and the Father.

I send you all our love from Mom and Dad

It's always good to hear what everyone is up to. We haven't been doing anything too exciting. Trying to help mom and dad get unpacked but that is a scary situation. We are excited to have them close though. We have been spending most of our free time boating (and that will probably be my post all summer). I am truly thankful for Sunday being a day of rest right now, and Kimball is out of town tonight so two days to recover before we head out on the lake again. Both of our upper bodies are so sore but worth it (I guess!). We got out the Great Big Mable tube on Saturday and it is big. I think it will be fun for Bear Lake. We had five people on it and they were out there doing head stands, pretending to surf, and jumping around and it was pretty safe. Our yard has been neglected since we got the new boat but the sod is about ready to be mowed so we are going to have to get back to it shortly. We are excited to have a yard.
Emma is our sweet little princess. She is so excited to start preschool in the fall and we are trying to find her a dance class to start as well. She is taking swimming lessons next week. She is a little timid in the water but she has been practicing sticking her face under water in the bathtub. She is also excited to have grandparents close and asks all the time when we are going to leave so she can go stay at their house! Emma can also buckle her own seatbelt and open and close the car doors. She no longer wants any help with it and it's kind of nice to send her in and only have to worry about buckling one kid.
Edison on the other hand likes to pull his arms out of the top part of the seatbelt while we are driving and no matter how tight I try to make it, he is rarly fully buckled when we arrive somewhere. Edison is our water baby. Kimball is sure he is a future wakeboarder. He loves the water. Even when it's cold and his lips are purple, he wants to stay in the water and freaks out when you pull him out. As soon as the boat hits the water he is climbing out to get in the water. They were showing some water safety thing on TV this morning and he was screaming "water, water!!" from his high chair because he wanted to get in so bad.
Love you all.

Conference talk #5
President Monson: True to the Faith

This was a great talk. Ryan and I had a good discussion about this talk last night. We decided to both write down some thoughts. President Monson talked about the maka-feke. The maka-feke was an octopus lure that Tongan's use to catch octopus. Pres. Monson used the maka-feke as an example of what Satan does to lure us in. He talks about four maka-feke's in his talk, immorality, pornography, drugs and alcohol, and debt. Ryan is going to talk about those.

As we discussed this talk we started discussing other maka-feke's that are in our lives. Like the maka-feke of procrastination. Preperation is important in a lot of things in our lives, getting ready for church, preparing our activities for callings, and lots of day to day things but most importantly we need to prepare for eternity. We need to not procrastinate reading our scriptures, saying our prayers, and spending time with our families.

We thought that another difficult maka-feke was selfishness. I know that selfishness in marriage can cause a lot of problems. But when we think of others that can strengthen marraiges and any other relationship.

We talked about the maka-feke of the Book of Mormon, pride and materialism. We know from reading the Book of Mormon that this was the fall of the Nephites. This tells us that we should tread carefully around our material things. We should be careful about how much value we give to them. For example, a silly fabric book that you feel the need to show everyone cause you want to hear how cool you are. I know that book isn't of much value but sure am proud of it.

As I was just thinking of pride I thought about how much I love ice cream and sweets in general. I hide them and eat them without sharing. So what about the maka-feke of the word of wisdom. I certainly don't follow the word of wisdom when I shovel sweets into my body and don't exercise and just continue to gain weight. I know I often think I'm doing great with the word of wisdom because I don't do drugs, drink alcohol or coffee and tea. But I know I have a problem with sugar and junk food. Ryan mentioned that last night as we were discussing this.

The last one I just want to mention is the maka-feke of covetousness. I don't know if that's a real word but I'm using it anyways. I am constantly wishing I had more. More money, more house, more clothes, more food, junk food of course, more car, not more cars but a more expensive car, and just nicer things. Truthfully, we have everything we need. Not that I think it's bad to have those things if we can afford it, as long as we don't stick our noses up at others and feel like we'd die if we didn't have it.

This talk was a great talk for Ryan and I to sit down and talk and reflect upon our lives and the maka-feke's that affect us. It was kind of hard at the same time because I don't like to look at the things that I'm doing wrong. And this short list I made was only a small portion of the things we talked about.

Thanks dad for getting this started. I've enjoyed preparing for our talk and reading about others. I love you all.

President Monson talked about four maka-fekes in his talk. The first was immorality. While there isn't an issue with this in our families, I do think that this maka-feke is larger than we give it credit for. The First Presidency has made it very clear that we are not to participate in any media that glorifies or justifies immorality. At last general conference I remember Elder Bednar speaking to us and saying that we ought to look at the media that we allow into our home. So, if we evaluate what we are watching and see if it glorifies or justifies immorality, then we are guilty in allowing and even supporting immorality. So, this maka-feke is something that we can be guilty of if we encourage it through watching these types of media.

The next maka-feke is pornography. President Monson speaks of the evils of pornography and I hope that these evils have been preached in our churches and homes. However, there is another viewpoint on pornography that ties back into media and our participation in the various types of media that are available to us. Elder Nelson's quote that when young women are dressed immodestly they are pornography has become somewhat of a mantra amongst young people in the Church. Consequently, if we view media that promotes immodest dress and action, we are once again guilty of viewing pornography. So, what is immodest dress, since that is the definition of pornography given us by Elder Nelson. The standard that is easiest to quote is that if any clothing is not "garment appropriate" then it is immodest. That is a very sobering thought and really makes me sit back and re-evaluate what my family watches on the television and in the movies. Can it be said that we are viewing pornography? I sincerely hope and pray that we would look at what we watch and how we can eliminate it from our homes and lives.

President Monson next speaks of the maka-feke of drugs and alcohol. There really shouldn't be any questions about that, but I thought that we should be aware of any and all addictions that we might have. Whether it be sweets, exercise, a television show, soda, or anything else, any addiction can be as dangerous and harmful as drugs and alcohol.

Finally President Monson speaks of the maka-feke of debt. One of my favorite scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants is when the Lord commands the prophet Joseph to pay off his debts and free himself from bondage. I look at the lives of so many members of the Church and question if we understand the tie-in between agency and debt. If we have debt, then we lose a portion of our agency. Elder Wirthlin stated quite simply in general conference that it is acceptable to go into debt for a home, education, and a first car. Debt is truly an enslaving principle and is contrary to having Zion in our homes, wards, stakes, and country. When we read in 4 Nephi of the characteristics of the no-ite Zion society, we see that one of the characteristics was that nobody was in bondage with regards to debt. In today's society, it requires some enormous sacrifices for a family to eliminate debt in their lives, but I know that since the Lord has asked it of us we can accomplish this commandment in our lives. I hope that we can all look at our lives and see what we can do to eliminate debt in our lives, including our homes and cars, so that we can be free from bondage and be prepared for anything that might be coming our way in the future.

As we look at the four maka-fekes mentioned by President Monson, I hope that we can understand that there is not a single aspect of a general conference talk that cannot be applied to our own lives as we sit and ponder on what the Lord had in mind for me and my family. This we most certainly let us draw nearer to our Heavenly Father and let us draw nearer to creating that Zionistic home that we should be striving for in each one of our homes.

Emma had her tonsils and adnoids removed on Wednesday. This is a picture of her right before she went into surgery. She is doing very well. She hates taking medicine and would prefer the pain to swallowing one teaspoon of it, but she is much happier when she takes it so we bribe her three times a day. I am afraid by the time she recovers she is going to be used to being spoiled and we are going to be in trouble. It really is amazing how quietly she sleeps now. I was checking on her last night and I had my ear down to her face and I wasn't sure I could hear her breathing. Kind of scary since before you just had to go to her door and know she was okay. The doctor said her tonsils were big and her adnoids were huge so she only had a very small hole to breath through. Crazy to wonder what the difference must be to her.

We are working on our house this weekend. We have a guy putting in sprinklers and another couple guys framing, wiring and plumbing the basement. We are excited to have things moving forward. Both kids are super ready to be out playing in the yard.

I don't know how often everyone checks the blog anymore but I'm not very good at phone calls since it is 7 in the morning and people probably don't want me to call right now while I'm thinking about it. Anyway, Jeff, Ryan heard you say you want a pool table for upstairs. So I just wanted to mention to you that there's a pool table here at a store in New Plymouth. Crazy I know. But it is $100 or $150 I can't remember for sure. It's a beautiful table. It's a discount store and they get some great stuff sometimes. Anyway, just thought I'd mention it to you.

Just real quickly since I'm on here. We are doing great, except Benjamin's teething and that isn't fun at all. He's got a faucet on his nose and mouth and I can't find the turn off knob and he's got a fever. But beyond that I wanted to post our plans since people have asked me. We aren't moving into the house we planned on. We could possibly be moving soon or possibly not be moving soon. We have no idea right now. We have a few things we're waiting to see what happens.

Love you all and it was great being able to see everyone at Maren's blessing. Jeff, could you post some pictures, especially the family picture from the blessing. Also I want to make my kids a book of family pictures. If anyone has a good family picture and some cute pictures of their kids I would love for you to post them so I could use them in a book. Thanks

I'm going to try to put some pictures of our little prom queen. What a nice surprise. She had a great time on her date.
Just thought I would add a pic of her car. It should be finished by now but I didn't have any money and he hasn't called me yet. It was worse than the first time.
Didn't she look beautiful?

3rd Conference Talk
(Jeff & Kay - we left you #2 so you can catch up when you get a chance!!)

Julie B. Beck - An Outpouring of Blessings

She talked mainly about the blessings of the priesthood in our lives. She said, "Priesthood blessings are the great equalizer. Those blessings are them same for men and women, for boys and girls; they are the same for married and single, rich and poor, for the intellectual and the illiterate, for the well-known and the obscure." (baby blessing, baptism, receiving the holy ghost, taking the sacrament, patriarchal blessings, temple ordinances.)

President Benson said: when we go to the temple and are married and receive those blessings of the marriage covenant, we enter into the same order of the priesthood that God instituted in the very beginning with father Adam.

She also talked about how we receive equally in the blessings of spiritual gifts. Not that we all receive the same gifts, but all have spiritual gifts to bless others. She said, "Spiritual gifts are numerous and varied and come to us as we seek them and use them appropriately." She told a story of being sick frequently as a child and how her father was always willing and worthy to give her a blessing and how her mother also had been gifted to find answers about medical treatment and to comfort her.

We just want to challenge everyone to take a minute to think about and be grateful for all the times that you have been blessed by spiritual blessings and to think about something you want to ask Heavenly Father to bless you to become better at that might help you and others. Love ya all,
the Hodges Family

Here is a picture of our family on Easter Sunday and a couple other random shots. We are loving our new home and having some new furniture to go with it. We love not having to sit on the futon!! We are ready to have a yard though so hope we can get started on that soon.
Edison is teething again and making life miserable for all of us. He hasn't got any for a long time (and I guess i'm grateful for that) but forgot how bad it is. There is snot everywhere. He is wearing the new furniture in quickly!! He is such a big boy. He has gone potty in the big potty three times now! Actually he is just having some bowel issues and not too happy about using the big potty but we are so proud of him anyway. What an achievement to let us know when he has to go so early!!
Emma is a cutie. She just got her hair cut and looks much better without all the long uneven thin hair at the bottom. She never forgets anything and we are loving the things she remembers to tell everyone. She asked me why I was always wearing my jacket and I said because I am a "big baby" and cold all the time so now at correct context times but wrong situations that have nothing to do with being cold she tells everyone all the time that her mom is a "big baby". She also likes to tell everyone about the new baby girl we are going to have and what a helper she is going to be. When we talk in detail she always tells me (because I have explained this) that she's coming when she gets bigger, but she fails to mention that to anyone else. Emma has really been wanting us to go on another cruise so she can stay with the grandma with Ellie and Maeli. She loves the girls and wants them to come stay at her new house really bad.
Kimball is still commuting to Ephraim half the week so we hope now that we are up here they can get the office in Orem running and not have to leave so early and be able to get home sooner.

Here are a few pics of Hawaii. I guess Dad wanted me to put a few on here. The first is at the PCC at the Aeotera village, the Moaris. Mags and I look like drowned something at the Arizona memorial. It was pouring rain. Dad and I on the balcony of our hotel. It was a fun surprise to see the Stewarts at the temple. Mags and Dad preparing to snorkel at Haunama Bay. We didn't get to the beach until Sat. before we left. More pictures to come later if you would like to see more.
Love, Mom

The 1st conference talk is Elder Robert D Hales and the subject is on agency; I am going to past a few thoughts that impress my spirit and then after each quote make a few observations:

"men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil." This sacred instruction began in the heavens. There, in a Grand Council, our Heavenly Father would continue the gift of agency to prove us here in mortality, "to see if [we] will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command."

As you know agency is what our Heavenly Father wanted each of us to have and our ability to have this great gift is what mortality is all about. Now we must choose whom we will follow, whom we will listen to, whom we will obey

Now we are here on earth, where opportunities to use our agency abound; for here "there is an opposition in all things." This opposition is essential to the purpose of our lives. As Lehi explained, "To bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, . . . the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other."

This one is very obvious; without opposites we can not make choices.

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."
Sometimes we forget that our Heavenly Father desires that each of us have this joy. Only by yielding to temptation and sin can we be kept from that joy. And yielding is exactly what Satan wants us to do. President Spencer W. Kimball said the adversary can never have joy unless you and I sin."

Hevenly Father wants us to have joy and satan wants us to be miserable like he is; what do we want joy or misery?

the adversary cannot make us do anything. every decision we make, we are either choosing to move in his direction or in the direction of our Savior

I know that sometimes I sure feel like the adversary can make me do things but I really do understand that all he can do is entice; I make the choice thru my weakness to yeild to his temtations or thru the strength of God run from him as Joseph did and seek peace in my Lord

Are we following on the strait and narrow path that leads to God and eternal life? Are we holding onto the iron rod, or are we going another way? I testify that how we choose to feel and think and act every day is the way we get on the path, and stay on it, until we reach our eternal destination.

This is a good to day to answer this question for ourself. What path am I on?

Now, none of us are on the narrow path all of the time. All of us make mistakes. That is why Lehi, who understood the Savior's role in preserving and reclaiming our agency, taught Jacob—and us: "The Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon."

Oh how thankful I am for our Savior; truly as we follow him we will be free forever.

The promptings that come to us to flee evil reflect our Heavenly Father's understanding of our particular strengths and weaknesses and His awareness of the unforeseen circumstances of our lives. When these promptings come, they will not generally stop us in our tracks, for the Spirit of God does not speak with a voice of thunder. The voice will be as soft as a whisper, coming as a thought to our minds or a feeling in our hearts. By heeding its gentle promptings, we will be protected from the destructive consequences of sin.

I testify that there is no greater gift God has given us than his spirit; we can know all that we should do as we follow his promptings; is there a greater blessing than to be protected from satan and his influence and consequences (misery)?

May I suggest a few basic choices that you can begin to make now—this very day.

Choose to accept—truly accept—that you are a child of God, that He loves you, and that He has the power to help you.

Choose to put everything—literally everything—on the altar before Him. Believing that you are His child, decide that your life belongs to Him and that you will use your agency to do His will. You may do this multiple times in your life, but never, never give up.

Choose to put yourself in a position to have experiences with the Spirit of God through prayer, in scripture study, at Church meetings, in your home, and through wholesome interactions with others.

Choose to obey and keep your covenants, beginning with your baptismal covenant. Renew these covenants weekly by worthily partaking of the sacrament.

Choose to prepare to worthily attend the temple, make and renew sacred covenants, and receive all of the saving ordinances and blessings of the gospel.

Finally, and most importantly, choose to believe in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Accept the Savior's forgiveness, and then forgive yourself. Because of His sacrifice for you, He has the power to "remember [your sins] no more." You must do likewise.

Finally, remember our agency is not only for us. We have the responsibility to use it in behalf of others, to lift and strengthen others in their trials and tribulations. Our use of agency determines who we are and what we will be.

I add my testimony to Elder Hales; I know that following his suggestions above we will find freedom from the influences of satan and joy in doing the things that the Lord wants us to. May each of us find this joy and share it with each other and those we are blessed to come into contact with each day.

Love Mom, Dad and Margaret

I need a small reprive from the 1st conference talk. I have read it and have some ideas but will not have time to get with mom and mag's; so I will talk with them this weekend and get the 1st talk out by Sunday April 16th. I am just swamped here at work and have to go to Fillmore for a couple of days. Love you all. Dad

I am a little behind on notes on the blog so instead of trying to comment on individual posts I thought I would just drop this note to everyone. I am so happy to hear from everyone. This is a great way to stay in touch and know what everyone is up to.

Although mom and margaret and I ended up in Hawaii at the end of over 40 days in a row of rain, we had a great time. I have some special memories from being there a few years ago on my mission; and I emphasize a few years ago. I hope that mom will put a few pictures on the blog so you can see that it really did rain and also how pretty things are over there. We really did enjoy our trip. The PCC is such a wonderful place to learn about the culture of a number of polynesian islands and also to know that it helps the kids with their education. The sunny day we were blessed to have on the beach was awsome. We loved snorkeling and body surfing. It would be fun to get to the island with the whole family one day.

About conference talks. I will start things out as soon as I can find the talks on the internet. I have to go to Fillmore for a couple of days but will try to look at the internet on Sunday and do the first talk. I looked today and they are still not posted for reading. I will visit with mom and margaret and get some ideas from them and then post on the blog. The idea is for each of us to internalize the confrence talks and directions from our leaders. It is my hope that when it is my turn to post a talk that I will have the blessings that come from trying to help the family find what I think is important from the talk. When each of you post it is my hope that I will have read and discussed with mom and margaret the talk for the week and then be doubly blessed by what each of you have to teach us about the talk. I hope that this will bless each of our lives and that we can make it a growing and rewarding experince for each of us. I do not want it to be some huge production that we dreed or wish we did not have to deal with. I think that as we are moved with ideas from each others comments that we should share those thoughts and feelings with each other that we might grow in understanding and feelings for our Father in Heaven and for His only begotten. To respond to Rebecca's question; next would be Jeff and Kaynel and so on back to mom, margaret and I.

I too love to hear about what each family is up to and it is always fun to see pictures. It will be fun to have family together the 1st of May. Love you all, Dad

I also enjoyed what I heard of conference. Ryan was diligent in taking notes and I just tried to stay awake. I think we should get the talks off the internet and get started right away. I am excited to get this started. I just have to say Charles was really cute during conference. Starting with the Saturday afternoon session we had some bingo cards for him. He played bingo over and over again and listened really carefully for someone to say the words on his card. When we weren't watching conference he was asking if we could watch conference. He got a little wild when Joseph was awake because Joseph wouldn't sit still for nothing. Anyway, it was just fun to see Charles be excited, even though he just wanted to play a game.

So when are we starting the conference talk sharing and how is it going to work. Kimball must have been inspired in conference because he is talking to me about setting some spiritual goals and how we can make our home a better place. Like we aren't perfect or something. It's crazy!!! Anyway this is what I got out of the plan and tell me if I am wrong. One family is assigned to a conference talk for the week and shares their ideas and feelings on that talk and others can comment if they desire. So like Dad, mom, and mags would do the first conf. talk week 1, Jeffs fam would do the second talk the next week and so on. Is that right? and what about the financial talk, etc.? and do we start now and get the talks off the internet or are we waiting for the ensign? Anyway conference was good what I heard so I think it will be good to read and ponder.

I really don't have anything to add to dad's idea beyond what Jeff and Rebecca already said. I agree with them. I am excited to hear more from everyone else, both spiritually and just day to day stuff. I am excited for everyone getting ready to move. Katherine is the only one not in transition mode. I am really sad to see mom and dad moving. I'll probably still call mom a lot and bug her but now I won't be able to jump in the car and drive down for a day to hang out. It was always nice for me when I needed to get out I could go to mom's and hang out or she could do some sewing for me. I don't know what I'll do now.
Thanks for posting some pictures of your houses. That was fun for me to see them. They are both nice. The house next door to us that we're moving into is scheduled for May 12. We're hoping they can push it and get it done by May 1.
Also I want to hear of anyone's ideas for things to do with their kids. Like when Kaynel made play dough with her kids maybe posting the recipe for everyone. I need some ideas to keep my kids entertained and things. Ryan found a product called miracle music. They have a cd that first tells you what daily task you need to do and then plays a song. If you accomplish the task before the end of the song you get a sticker on this board. Once you've filled up the board you get to go on a date with mom or dad. It's costs $30 and I didn't want to pay for it so I've been trying to make one myself. I'm having a hard time getting it done with Benjamin sleeping in the same room as the computer. I rarely get on it anymore. Anyway, I want to hear about others ideas and stuff. That was just one I was going to try out.
Benjamin is getting so big. He loves to eat and he's rolling all over the place. He can get from one side of the room to other now. It's crazy. Charles and Joseph have such great imaginations. Joseph is working on his abc's and 123's. It's pretty cute. Charles is asking a lot of questions, sometimes too many but I'm glad he's curious and wanting to learn.
We love all of you and look forward to when we'll see you at baby blessing time.

Here are some pictures of our new house. We should be moving in Easter weekend if not sooner and then we will finish the basement the first of June. Hopefully we can put in sod and a fence soon and actually have a yard for our kids to play in (probably only a yard, no toys, but at least a yard). Our kids are excited for a new house and their own bedrooms but not as much as we are!! Emma is getting a queen bed and when I ask her if she likes some bedding she says no because it doesn't have enough pink so it's a good thing she won't be sharing with Edison.
We found mom and dad a house and are putting an offer in tomorrow in case anyone doesn't know so that is crazy exciting. So pray for them to sell their house quick.
Not too much else happening here. We are just excited to move and be able to come see everyone in May. Emma needs to have surgery to have her tonsils and adnoids removed and we will probably do that right after Maurens blessing. It doesn't sound like a fun process but at least we will have comfort that she shouldn't stop breathing during the night.

As all of you know it is not a good thing for me to have too much time to think about things cause I get too many ideas flowing. I just sent an e-mail to all and am following thru by putting the challenge I made in the e-mail here for all to comment on.
Will each of you committ to take a turn reading and putting your thoughts on the blog from the April conference talks?
Will each of you take the challenge to each week make a few comments on what was posted by a family member so that each week each of us have the opportunity to put our thoughts about the talk for the week on the blog. I am hoping that this way each of us get the opportunity to be involved and grow and to internalize what the Lord has sent us through his servants.
It is important that you do this as a family. That means that husbands and wifes will sit down and talk together and then make comments. Jana and Margaret and I will need to do the same. Obviously the idea is to keep the gospel and its importance as an active part of our being here in mortality.
Here comes the too much time on my hands part. I have wanted to for a long time do something together as a family with family history. After reading Jeff's post and hearing him bear his testimony a few weeks ago I thought that I would throw this idea out for some input as well. I think it would be fun to work towards working on some family names and then arrange a time to go to a temple together as a family and do the work for those names. I know that this will be a lot of work and will take a ton of coordination to make it happen. Please let me hear from each of you on this matter also.
Ok dad is thru for the time being. Oh how I love each one of you and how I pray for your happiness now and forever. Share my love for each of the grandchildren and feel free to give them each a big love and kiss from grandpa.
God bless, dad