Blast From the Past- Cute Beckett Birth Pictures

I found these sweet pictures of our sweet little Beckett, right after he was born.  He was/is such a beautiful little boy, both inside and out.  I remember thinking how different he looked from the other 2 when he was born, and how big he was.  I can't believe he is almost a year old.

 

St. Patrick's Day Recap

The St. Patrick's Day Leprachaun visted our house this year.  He painted the kid's faces, and went potty in our potty.  Silly little Leprachaun!  ;)

Baby Bunnies

We found these cute little bunnies in our backyard last spring. Their mama had made them a nest, by our fence. Their mama had abandoned them, so, we hand fed them and took care of them for a few days. Until, one day, we went outside, and the bunnies were gone. We are hoping they were strong enough to go out on their own. At least, that's what we like to think, rather than the alternative.

Blast From the Past- Kindergarten Graduation

I'm playing blog catch up--which means my posts will not be in chronoligcal order.  At this point, I am not going for perfection, rather, I am just going to focus on recording as much of our family's history as I can remember.

I found this picture on my computer.  Isn't he cute?  This is Brody's Kindergarten Graduation picture, taken in May of 2012.

Elizabeth Smart

Thursday night, I had the opportunity to go with a group of wonderful ladies, to go and listen to Elizabeth Smart speak about overcoming adversity.  Since her dissapearance in 2002, I have been fascinated with her case, and her life after her return. 

We were fortunate enough to attend a VIP pre-reception, where we were able to meet Elizabeth, and take pictures.  Afterwords, we ate dinner, and then listened to her tell her story in an hours time. 

Her story was quite summed up, due to the lack of time, but I feel like I took a lot from it.  The two keypoints I took were:

• Teach your children to fight if anyone ever tries to hurt them. Punch, kick, scream, poke the captor's eyes...do any means necessary to stop them.  They have nothing to lose, once under the hold of a kidnapper.  Nick and I have been telling the kids this since they were old enough to talk, and will continue to ingrain this in them. 
• Be happy.  Nobody can take your happiness from you.  She said after she was rescued, her mom told her "That man did a lot of bad things to you, Elizabeth, and justice may not be served in this life, but it will in the next life.  The best punishment you can give him on this earth, though, is to be happy.  To live your life, and follow your dreams."

Along with an uplifting, talk, and great food, I was able to spend time with some wonderful women.  Angie Chase, Valerie Chandler, Aly Clark, Kate Wilcox, Michelle Douglass, Laura Sasine, Sharon and Alex Fife, Mardee Clive, Erin Edginton, Kathy Travis, and Tara Fleming. 

New-Tah

I wish Peyton still called Utah, "New-Tah".  That was one of my favorite "words" of hers from last year.  Unfortunately though, she can pronounce the word correctly now.

We went to Utah this summer for about 8 days.  It was our last visit with Jordan, before he leaves for his mission (this Wednesday) in California.

We were able to spend the 4th of July with the Higgins family, and Amanda Chase.  We had a blast!  The kids loved sitting on the roof of Bobby and Julee's garage to watch the fireworks (I, however, was not as big of a fan of the heights).

Other highlights of the trip include going to the Jordan River Temple, taking the kids to Lagoon for the day, touring the BYU campus and Provo (thanks, Amanda!), and spending the day in Salt Lake City.

Thank you, Bobby and Julee for another wonderful summer in Utah!

Temple Site in Independence

The first historical church site that Nick and I toured this weekend was the Temple Site in Independence, MO.  This site was right around the corner from the hotel we were staying at.  We were not aware of its existence prior to arriving at the hotel.

The Community of Christ Church (formally known as the RLDS Church) houses a Temple right behind the Higher Ground Hotel, where we stayed.  Across the street is an LDS Visitors Center.  We went into the Visitors Center and asked the Sister Missionary about the land.  She stated that the land we were standing on was of the original 63 acres, purchased by the church for the establishment of Zion in Independence.  However, when church members were driven out of the land in the 1800's, they lost much of the land, and today, only own 20 of the original 63 acres.  The other 43 acres is subdivided between the RLDS (Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which broke away from the Community of Christ Church, when they changed their name and their doctrine), and the Community of Christ Church.

This is their Temple:

We discussed the prophecy that Joseph Smith had of a Temple being built in Independence.  The Sister Missionary let us know that Joseph Smith did prophecy the building of a temple around the area where we were at, and that the land had been set apart and dedicated for a temple, but because the church members were driven out of the area, the Temple had never been built.  The land that was dedicated by Joseph Smith was then obtained by the Community of Christ Church, who still holds claim to that land today.

Although it has not been developed, and there is not an LDS Temple on this site, the feelings I felt while walking on the grounds are indescribable.  First, just knowing that the Prophet Joseph Smith had walked on these grounds, and had dedicated them for the building of a Temple was mind blowing to me.  The Spirit felt there was so strong, and I could tell how sacred these grounds were.  Despite the fact that it is on a corner lot in the busy downtown area, it seemed the way being inside a temple does, like I was away from the world while I was walking around the area.

I really enjoyed this experience.  It, along with many other experiences I had this weekend, really helped me to build my testimony of the truthfulness of this church.  I can't help but learn about church history and hear stories about the pioneers, and recognize that this church is true.  Very few people would go through what the early pioneers went through...the persecution, the deaths of their family members, the long treks across the plains, giving up everything they owned, being driven out of their land, and so on...if the church wasn't true.

I hope to continue to go back to Independence often, to be able to feel the sweet spirit I felt being on this Temple Site.