First Day of School.. Woo Hoo

Riley is a senior this year... hard to believe... my baby could be that old!

Sunday Thoughts....

John A. Widstoe quoted by Elder David B. Haight in November 1990 Ensign:

“I believe that the busy person on the farm, in the shop, in the office, or in the household, who has his worries and troubles, can solve his problems better and more quickly in the house of the Lord than anywhere else. If he will do the temple work for himself and for his dead… a blessing will come to him, for at the most unexpected moments, in or out of the temple will come to him, as a revelation, the solution of the problems that vex his life. That is the gift that comes to those who enter the temple properly.”

Experience of Michael Wilcox:

He and his family had just moved to a new city.

His children were young teenagers and he knew that critical years were ahead of them.
“I went to the temple to ponder and seek guidance regarding my children. I told the Lord I was willing to offer Him any sacrifice if He would protect my children from Satan’s power and bless them with His spirit. An answer was given with the required sacrifice. I thought the Lord would demand some great thing for the blessing I was asking, but the spirit simply whispered: “Be in this House FREQUENTLY, CONSTANTLY, CONSISTENTLY, and the promised protection you seek, that this House has the power to bestow, will be extended to those you love.”

For that blessing alone I will be in the temple as often as I can.”

“…we will be a better people, we will be better fathers and husbands, we will be better wives and mothers. I make you a promise that if you will go to the house of the Lord, you will be blessed, life will be better for you.”

-President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign July 1997

Big Week for the Family..

Mike was released as Bishop of the Ward..

It has been five years.

In some ways a short five years.

My favorite scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 84:88

... I will be on your right hand and on your left,
and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

Sums up the last five years...Our family has been supported by angels...
We have been blessed while Mike has served.
We are grateful for a wonderful ward and happy we will still be here.
Now we are onto something new in life - Not sure what, but we know it will be an adventure!

This was a typical scene in the last five years... Mike standing afar on the phone.

AND also this week...

Sam celebrated his one year mark by burning one of his lovely shirts!

Kindness....

Take some time out this week for random acts of kindness.
In celebration of Be Kind to Humankind Week.
Held August 25th through the 31st, it’s a time to appreciate and help those around us.
Each day of the week has a specific theme, so if you’re not sure where to start, you can base your activities around the theme of the day.
Here are the themes as listed on the official website, bk2hk.org:

Sacrifice Our Wants for Others’ Needs Sunday
Motorist Consideration Monday
Touch a Heart Tuesday
Willing to Lend a Hand Wednesday
Thoughtful Thursday
Forgive Your Foe Friday
Speak Kind Words Saturday

Catching up - Seattle

Katie & I took a quick mother daughter trip to Seattle.

Victoria, Katie's childhood friend from second grade days got married.

What a treat to be there for her wedding and to see her family.

As long as were were going we stayed a few extra days to see the sights.

It is always fun to spend time with Katie, my favorite daughter.

It has been ONE year!

Sam, my favorite missionary, has been out for one year today!

Woo Hoo!

He was just transferred to Leesburg, a more rural area.

Luckily he just sent more pics!

It always makes my day.

Excerpts from the boy's letters:

I can still remember my first day out here! It seems like yesterday! I remember the first door that I knocked on too! And now I basically have a year left. I sure have learned a ton. I've really learned the importance of the Gospel and being obedient. The Gospel is so simple but at the same time not. All we have to do is follow the principles and the commandments and then we can get eternal life. Its actually doing that, that can be hard. But it sure does motivate you to do all you can. A scripture that I have studied lately is Matthew 14:30-31. Its when Peter is walking on the water and starts to sink. And the FIRST thing that he does is cry to the Lord. And he immediately pulls him up. It s a pretty cool story.

We went out to tract. and we found 3 new people. so it was pretty sweet. it was really good tracting though cause i felt the spirit a lot. and that's one of the most important things we need as missionaries.

you sure do meet some interesting people out here. but a lot of nice people. after lunch we went to an appointment with a lady they have taught a couple times. we went into the lesson just planning on following the spirit. so we start reviewing the restoration with her and making sure she understands it. then we end up talking about baptism. and before you know it elder Beckett was extending the Lords invitation to be baptized. it was sweet. so we sent a baptismal date with her for 9/11. so we are pretty excited for her.

That night for dinner we had FISH and SHRIMP!!! I couldn't believe that i ate it. the fish was talapi and it doesn't have the fishy smell. so that wasn't too bad. and he cooked it with a lot of spices. but the shrimp oh man. it wasn't too bad. but i wouldn't ever eat it for fun! sick sick.

the rest of the day we rode our bikes. the zone leaders committed the zone to one day a week not use the car. sa ya. and oh man was it stinkin' hot. it was crazy. my face was like something you would see on a gatoraid commercial or something. it was crazy. but it was pretty fun tracting.

and oh man we almost got eaten by a dog. it was nuts. we were walking up to a house and from around the corner this dog come bolting out towards us barking like crazy. and it was a angry bark too. he was like 6 inches away from my forearm gong crazy. i thought for sure he was going to take a chunk out of me. it was intense. but like after 10 seconds of barking he is wagging his tail and licking our hands. that dog was like bipolar or something.

anyways the computer is about to kick me off. but i love you all so much. you are all the best. we really do have the best family. and i'm so grateful that we get to have eternal life together. it couldn't be better. that what motivates me to be obedient to the gospel. thank you for all of your love and support. i hope you have a great week. i love and miss you all