A Beautiful New Granddaughter!

Juniper came a week earlier than planned! We drove up to Provo last night to meet her. She and her mom are both doing wonderfully! From "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," we read, "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. 'Children are an heritage of the Lord' (Psalm 127:3)." I am grateful that my new granddaughter has a loving mother and father. She also has a big sister, Lily, that wants to keep holding her. When I think of Lily wanting to hold Juniper, I think about us wanting to hold on to each other and to the covenants we've made so that we can be together forever.

An Impenetrable Army

On Monday, I attended the funeral of my brother-in-law. My sister is way too young to be a widow...she turned 47 on Sunday. The support she and her children had from her ward and her family was amazing. Another little sister summed it up beautifully. She posted the following along with a picture of my 14 siblings and me, "If anyone ever wondered about the benefits of a big family, look no further than this picture. We have not been together as a collective group in over 20 years. We are heartbroken that it took such a tragedy to get us all here, but here we are. And as I looked around today, I saw an impenetrable army that would protect, support and love each other through anything. I am so thankful Laura and her kids had this army around them today as they faced the hardest challenge of their lives. I am also glad I have this army behind me, should I ever need them for anything." What is amazing about this "army" is that the oldest 5 are all "whole" siblings. The next ten are half siblings to the first 5, but 6 (of the 10) are not related at all to the other 4....long story; but they all love each other. I love FAMILY!

Three More Children! :)

I have posted pictures of all of my children except three. There's Joseph who returned home from a mission to Guatemala a year ago, Caroline (long brown hair) who was just called to serve in the France Paris Mission, and Anna (purplish hair) who is expecting her second daughter any day now. (Alyssa, the bride, was in an earlier post). All of my children have such different personalities, strengths, and gifts. I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to guide, teach, and love them and watch them blossom into wonderful people. Parenthood is hard, fun, hard, rewarding, did I say hard? and the best thing I have ever done!

My Heavenly Father, My Earthly Father, My Husband, My Sons...and the Priesthood!

From the Proclamation on the family, "In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father... By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families." I have been blessed to have been raised by a loving father. I married a wonderful man who is a great father, and I have four awesome sons, three of whom are now fathers. I love these men. They provide for their families, love their wives and children, and teach their children to love Heavenly Father and His Son. I love my Heavenly Father who has made it possible for us to make and keep sacred covenants so that we can be eternal families.

From The Family: A Proclamation to the World, “'Children are an heritage of the Lord' (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations." Our children are precious, and we must protect them, nurture them, and love them. These are a couple of my grandchildren at our family reunion this week at Bear Lake, UT.

Marriage Between a Man and a Woman

In our class we have been talking about the importance of marriage between a man and a woman. This video of Elder David A. Bednar covers, beautifully, everything we've learned.

My Heavenly Father Loves Me!

I'm sorry for posting so many videos, but I really like this one. It doesn't really have anything to do with my class, but I had "moment" with it. When I was little girl, my grandparents had a cabin at Lake Arrowhead. I would rather go there than Disneyland. Being at the cabin with my grandma and grandpa was the greatest feeling ever. When I watched this video and Sheri Dew asked, "If you've never asked the Lord how He feels about you, that is a great question," I immediately felt those same feelings I felt as a little girl at my grandparents cabin...loved, protected, and that I was capable of great things.