The Love of God

Wow. I am blown away right now with the words of Deiter F. Uchdorf. On October 3rd my church had the semiannual General Conference. I was at the marathon while this talk was being aired, so I missed it.

I just watched it online and am totaly filled with peace in my heart and love for God. What a powerful talk.

Watch the video here.

Here are the quotes that were especially meaningful to me:

Why should we love God?

"God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration.

No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

For what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do.

What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."

Why Does God Love Us?

"He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.

What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us"

How Can We Draw Near To Him?

"My dear brothers and sisters, don’t get discouraged if you stumble at times. Don’t feel downcast or despair if you don’t feel worthy to be a disciple of Christ at all times. The first step to walking in righteousness is simply to try. We must try to believe. Try to learn of God: read the scriptures; study the words of His latter-day prophets; choose to listen to the Father, and do the things He asks of us. Try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible—and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you."

We're going to London!

Great news. Chris is going to a conference in January and it just happens to be in LONDON! So I decided to tag along and see the sights while he is hard at work inside of a conference center.

I am so excited. Chris and I haven't had a lot of vacations where it was just the two of us...wait...let me think. Yep - our last vacation as a couple was our first anniversary and we went to a little cabin in Wyoming. Wait, my brother Justin and his wife Kathryn... and their baby were there. It is time for me and the Mr. to set out and explore the world.

If you need me from January 8th - January 18th I will be touring galleries, watching guards do their changing thing and so much more.

Musical of the week: Summer Stock and Calamity Jane

Our family has begun the tradition of watching a musical every week. Most the time we watch them on Sunday after church. This week we watched Calamity Jane after church on Sunday and we watched Summer Stock on Tuesday.

Summer Stock stars Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. The story is set on Jane Farbury's (Garland) farm and her sister Abigail surprises Jane by bringing a whole cast and crew to the farm to rehearse and perform a musical right there in her barn. Gene Kelly plays the adorable director who is dating Abigail. I loved this movie! Not only did Gene Kelly and Judy Garland deliver memorable dance scenes, but the story captivated me.

Calamity Jane is a musical I have been watching since I was 6 years old. It stars Doris Day and Howard Keel and is set in the Black Hills of South Dakota in a mining town appearantly filled only with middle aged men who all congregate at the saloon to gawk at female performers. (now that I write that out it doesn't sound appropriate for a 6 year old, oh well) It is filled to the brim with great songs and a few dances. Doris Day really got into this role and carried with her the same conviction as Martha Jane Cannary-Burke who was the real life "Calamity Jane". The saloon where it took place, the Golden Garter, was designed by Harper Goff the man who designed the saloon at Disneyland - the Golden Horseshoe. This movie was a major part of my childhood musical exposure and will always hold a place in my heart, even though Chris described every scene as very Lawrence Welky.

St. George Marathon

(This picture of Chris is at mile 26 and he looks fresh as a daisy)

It is done. We are back in Michigan from our travels out west where Chris and I both did the St. George Marathon. It was a great course. Absolutely beautiful. And I went faster than I ever have before (thanks to the huge hills). The speed was scary at times. On some hills, they were so steep and long I would be riding the brake and still going 35 mph. Yikes. It helped to balance out the uphills where I could not even break 3 mph. It was an amazing experience. Finishing this race in 1 hour 59 minutes qualified me to compete in the Boston Marathon in April.

Even though Chris injured his foot a month before, he was able to run and he finished strong. He and my brother in law Brandon stayed together for the first 14 miles, and finished only about 10 minutes from each other.

I've grown something edible!

These two tomatoes are the first of the crop. Actually its only one plant. We were so excited when the plants turned orange overnight. They had been green for so long. The boys were excited to see and touch the tomatoes but Aaron made it clear his intentions by saying "I don't want one of those" He had a carrot instead.

I could get used to this. I just keep smelling my hands. mmm...earth.

Master Shifu

Kung Fu Panda was a big hit. After a week of solid begging, I made Alex a kung fu robe based on this Master Shifu toy we got from McDonalds. He loved it. It makes me happy when I costume takes 30 minutes to make and provides hours of entertainment.

Alex's First Day of School

The day has come. Alex is a school kid now. He has been ready for a while now so it was a very natural transition. Plus, his friend Kate from church is in his class.

He has a fantastic teacher, Mrs. Shannon, and he goes to a public Montessori School called Edgewood. At this school they group together multi grade groups into classes. So he is in a classroom with 3-5 year olds and the next class up is 1st-3rd graders, then 4th and 5th graders. I am thrilled for Alex to have a classroom where he can learn to be a mentor as well as a student.

Alex has been taking big steps in his "grown up" mentality in the last week. He has been taking better care of younger children, he has been helping with chores around the house, and playing well with older children.