A Fond Farewell to President Gordon B. Hinckley

When I heard of the recent death of President Gordon B. Hinckley, I was filled with so many emotions. I will miss him, his wisdom and inspiration, his humor and love, his leadership. My heart is full of gratitude for the things I learned from him. However, I also know that he is enjoying the long-awaited reunion with his sweet wife. And can you imagine the welcome he is receiving right now? "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

In tribute to him, here are 5 ways he touched my life:

1. My Very Happy Marriage! When I was dating T, I found this quote by Pres. Hinckley in T's wallet: "I am satisfied that happiness in marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one's companion. Any man who will make his wife's comfort his first concern will stay in love with her throughout their lives and through eternity yet to come." Any wonder I married T? And I can say with a surety that T's following the counsel of the prophet has given us 8 1/2 glorious years together...with plenty more where that came from! (T still keeps that quote in his wallet.)

2. The document "Family: A Proclamation to the World". What a prophetic and much needed statement! There are so many times I've looked to that for direction and answers in this shifting world. I've also loved his talks about the preciousness of children. One of my favorites: “Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. Now, love them, take care of them. Fathers, control your tempers, now and in all the years to come. Mothers, control your voices; keep them down. Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts. They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried. Never forget that.”

3. The Perpetual Education Fund, providing loans for students in developing countries, who could otherwise not afford an education. Maybe in lieu of flowers, we could donate? Go to this website to donate.

4. Temples, Temples, Temples! In the 12 years he was President, the world went from having 50 temples, to now having 122 working temples, with more under construction! Because of his leadership on this front, I was able to attend the temple regularly in Spokane, and was blessed to work in the temple in St. Louis. Neither were there prior to 1995.

5. He was an unceasing witness of Jesus Christ! Whether on 60 Minutes or the Larry King show, whether it was by emphasizing the name of Jesus Christ in the Church logo or in creating the document The Living Christ with the other apostles. President Hinckley never let anyone doubt of His faith in our Savior!

Thank you President Gordon B. Hinckley!

I just LOVE topics that are TABOO!

Don't people say that one should never bring up religion or politics in a social setting? I guess I'm just a rebel, because those taboo topics are my favorite!

Thanks, Jen, for sharing this very interesting article about Mormons and the election. What do you think? Is it on target or way off base?

"If you denigrate a racial group, you're racist.
If you denigrate women, you're sexist.
If you denigrate Mormons, you're hip."

Check out the complete article: http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695242228,00.html


Now, on a less visceral, but very informative note, Mitt Romney gave a great interview on NPR today. I haven't made a decision about who I will vote for, but I was very impressed with this. Enjoy listening! It's well worth the 5 minutes. http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=2&t=4&islist=true&id=2&d=01-16-2008

My Daughter...The Potty Hero

Gosh, I didn't think I was keen on bathroom humor, but sometimes sanity in mothering requires finding the humorous in all of our blessed experiences. I so set myself up in my last post about A. and 1st Grade. If you haven't read it, you'll need to read that one first. But if you have, here goes Part 2:

Day 2 of First Grade: I got a call from A's teacher that evening. She was concerned that A. might have been traumatized by the bathroom event earlier that day. A. hadn't mentioned anything to me at all, so I asked the teacher to fill me in. Apparently as A. was using the bathroom during school, she overheard some other girls talk about a TP roll floating in the toilet and how afraid they were that it would overflow. A. thought they were talking about her toilet and knew that she had to single-handedly save the school bathroom. She knew that if she got off the toilet that the automatic flusher would make the toilet go, and then overflow! So the hero that she is, she decided to stay put. She sent the girls to go tell their teacher. Of course the teacher comes in and is trying to figure this all it. "Is the water touching your bum?" No, but she's sure it will overflow if she gets off. The teacher can't get into the stall because it's locked and A. won't lean forward to unlock it because if she does the toilet will flush! A. suggested that the teacher call the school maintenance man, but the teacher didn't think that would be a good idea. Even with all kinds of persuasion, A. absolutely refused to get off. The teacher was about ready to crawl under the stall herself, but luckily a 2nd grader came in and agreed to crawl under and unlock the stall door. With her teacher there she decided to risk the automatic flusher and...Whew! No overflow! As A.'s teacher was telling this all to me, I was just busting up with laughter!! I could visualize it all and I was so glad I wasn't there!! But wasn't A. a hero?

Can't Stop Thinkin' About It

I listened to the best talk on CD in November, and I still cannot stop thinking about it! It was so good. So if you get a chance, I highly recommend listening to "The Savior Heals Without a Scar" by Sheri Dew and Wendy Watson Nelson. Have any of you heard it? What were your thoughts?

My Daughter's First Week of 1st Grade

Congratulations to Avandra, who started her first day of 1st grade today! All the adults are ready for this to be a permanent change, but A. misses her Kindergarten friends and is less sure about this transition. So this week is a "practice week" with the intent that this will be a permanent move.

This week is going smoothly, but I'm reminded of a slightly less smooth entrance into Kindergarten in September. Shall we reminisce together?

1st Day- (Photo Shown at Left) I had horrific memories from the previous year of A. kicking and screaming as her preschool teacher bodily forced her into the classroom while she's still saying goodbye to me. So although I'm acting cool as I walk her to the bus stop, I'm gearing up for the big "FREAK OUT" at some point. But...the bus comes. A. gets on and waves goodbye. The bus drives away. WHAT??? How could I just let my little A. drive away from me like that? So OF COURSE, I quickly grabbed K and S and we ran to our house, I threw them in the van (but there really is no throwing kids in because there are all the straps and hooks of the car seats that have to get untangled at just such dire moments as these) , and followed A's bus to school. Luckily, she made it just fine. Whew!

2nd Day- You'd think the second day of school would go a lot smoother, right? You'd think. But as A was using the potty right before we had to leave, she calls out, "Mom, can you get me some toilet paper? We're out in here." Oh, no, I assure her. There's a huge pile of TP right on the floor under the TP holder, where Little Miss S had unrolled it all the day before. I just saw it earlier that moring. "No, Mom. There isn't any here anymore." Oh no...my brain starts whirring. Shad used the potty right before A. "S? Did you throw all that toilet paper into the toilet?" Why yes, she had. "Okay, A, whatever you do, DON'T flush the toilet when you're done, or else it will clog and overflow." Then I rush around putting K in the stroller and making sure S has her sandals and then I hear, "MOM! I FORGOT AND FLUSHED THE TOILET!!" I rush into the bathroom and lift her off of the toilet seat lid where she had scrambled for sanctuary and in the nick of time I stop the water in the tank from causing the toilet to overflow. Huge mess and BMs were definitely involved, but at least it all stayed in the toilet. Amazingly, we even made it to the bus on time. I tried to unclog the toilet all that day when I would get a free moment or two. No luck. So when T came home that evening, he took it to hand (or plunger as the case may be) as I got ready to head to Young Women's presidency meeting. I'm about ready to head out the door when I hear, "QUICK! GET SOME TOWELS!" "NOOOOO!" I scream and I dive into the bathroom to try to stop the water from leaving the tank, but it was too late. The previously mentioned bathroom mess was all over the floor. On the one hand, I was disgruntled that someone as smart as T didn't know how to stop the water from leaving the tank. On the other hand, I was late for my meeting, so sianara T! Have fun cleaning up the mess! But I did get him some towels before I left. T did say that my NOOOOO! may have caused him permanent hearing loss.

3rd and 4th day- I forgot to send the nutrition break snack and A got a bee sting!

Let's pray the transition to 1st grade goes better than the entrance into Kindergarten!!