The Book of Mormon

      In the beginning of February I made a commitment to myself to read the Book of Mormon, and I knew in order to accomplish this (in a timely manner) I would have to set some parameters to help me reach my goal.  I decided that in order to stay committed, I would need to put a hold on reading any other book for the time being.  That challenge was hard, because I love to read!  Getting started on my goal was the hardest part though.  Since I couldn't spend my time reading a fictional novel, I decided to peruse Netflix and Hulu Plus; anything to occupy my free time other than reading the scriptures.  That sounds really bad, but I'll admit I wasn't exactly jumping at the opportunity to immerse myself in the scriptures.  Then I finally did...

      I don't know how many weeks later it was until I finally bucked up and started reading but once I did, I truly found joy in them!  I was reading all the time; better yet, I was taking notes, and by taking notes I feel like I have really absorbed the stories found within.  And what powerful stories they are!  A lot of things struck a cord with me during this time, but hands down the most important piece I took away from this experience was remembering how Christian this book truly is!  The moral of every story in every chapter always centers around Jesus Christ.  In fact the entire book showcases exactly what life is like when you have faith in Christ, and what its like when you don't.  I came across a scripture I really liked in Helaman 12:1; it says, "...yea, we see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him."  Today's world is scary; but it feels great to know that we can choose to align ourselves with Jesus Christ, and put our trust in him!

      Other important principles that the Book of Mormon taught me:

      I was reminded how important it is to keep a journal, or in my case a blog.  I may not be writing "scripture" but I certainly want others to know what I treasure and hold dear; who I am; what my struggles are; and how I find peace during those times.  Sharing those experiences with others is worth it if I can bring even a tiny bit of understanding and hope to just one person.    

      It really hit me how much the things we say and do can affect others.  An example of this is Abinadi's testimony.  We never really know who is watching and listening to us.  I guess what this means to me is that I need to be more willing and courageous to share the gospel with others.  Not just in a "safe" place like testimony meeting at church.  You just never really know who is standing back in the shadows listening.
 
     Finally, another really, really important piece I learned from the Book of Mormon is to NEVER give up on people.  There are several examples throughout the entire collection of scriptures that proves this point, but more specifically it was Alma the Younger and Mosiah's Sons who really drove this one home.  I have two older brothers who are not only in-active in the church, but who, at one point or another, successfully went out of their way to pull many people away with them.  I feel like over the years I lost hope of their return to the gospel and finally came to accept their decision.  I also stopped praying for them to find their way back.  And what's sad is the fact that I just now realized that I haven't shared even just a tiny bit of my testimony with them for a really long time.  That's not right!  I need to do everything in my power to bring them back, whether they do or not is up to them, but I need to never give up trying!    

      So in conclusion, I must say that I love the Book of Mormon!  Reading it definitely drew me closer to the Savior and it will you too.   Understanding the words that are written inside will encourage anyone to never lose their faith in him!   

Spring Break Activity - Zoo Trip

      Spring Break almost wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Zoo, so we decided to go on Thursday, along with the rest of the Portland-Metro area.  Surprisingly though, the Zoo didn't feel that over-crowded.  A few of the highlights from our day include:  Getting to see the new baby elephant, Lily, who was born December 11, 2012.  I had never seen a baby elephant in person before and she was certainly cute!  The other highlight was seeing a baby monkey.  The first time we walked by the exhibit Momma Monkey wouldn't let anyone catch a glimpse.  But when we walked by later baby was out.  As we were standing there watching the two monkeys the baby took a step towards Mom and started to fall off the tree branch.  The Mom's hand reached out so fast to catch her baby and just as fast pulled baby into her body.  The protectiveness was sweet to witness.  I do love going to the Zoo, but I'm a in-and-out kinda girl.  2.5 to 3 hours is plenty for me! 

Spring Break Activity - Hiking Multnomah Falls

      On Monday of Spring Break I took the kids along with Megan & Caylin to Multnomah Falls.  The weather was gorgeous and perfect for the 2.6 round-trip hike.  It didn't take us long to climb to the top and I was really impressed with how well all of the kids did.  There was no whining or complaining, in fact, they all but raced to the top.  Seriously, I hope I can keep up with these kids when they are teenagers and their real competitive nature comes out.  It was a joy to have Caylin & Megan with us as well.  Since I don't have any daughters of my own, I feel grateful to be so close to those girls.  As we were leaving the Falls, Andrew climbed on top of a rock and assumed a meditation pose.  He called it, "His Inner Peace".  A little too much Kung Fu Pandpa, maybe!?

Spring Break Activity - Archery

      I realize I'm a little late in posting this stuff, but better late then never, right!?  Anyway, during Spring break we managed to get in a few fun activities.  On the first day, which was technically Friday, I took the kids to an archery range in Rainier so they could all shoot their bows.  I think they could spend all day there, they love it so much!  Plus, it's an activity that our whole family enjoys.  Austin was fitted for a new youth size bow and Spencer made a deal with him that if he worked really hard in school he may be able to get it for his summer birthday.  He took that deal to heart and the improvement he has made in school has been remarkable! 

Preschool Easter Party

      I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this is Andrew's last year of preschool and that next fall he is off to our neighborhood school with his older brothers.  Although I'm excited for him, I am afraid that I'm going to miss all of the little kid things he does now.  The endless parties at school, and the cute little arts & crafts that he does there as well.  Oh, wow, I can't believe the feelings that are stirring inside me now just thinking about it.  Good grief!  Anyway, his preschool had a great Easter party.  They were lucky to have an egg hunt outside because the weather was nasty that day.  After the hunt they played several fun games indoors and had a super cute snack (a peep in a sugar cookie nest with coconut and chow mien noodles).  So fun!

Pacific Beach, WA

      About a month ago our friends from Seattle, Mike & Amanda, called and asked if we'd like to share a beach house with them for the weekend.  Absolutely!  Mike found a house online located at Pacific Beach in Washington, just north of Ocean Shores.  We left early Friday afternoon and stayed through Sunday.  The house was gorgeous!  It comfortably fit our two families and the boys' room was equipped with an Xbox 360.  Needless to say they were in heaven!  Mike & Amanda have 4 boys all under the age of 6!  Hard to believe!  They are the most adorable kids too.  Despite being in a house full of kids it was such a relaxing weekend and the kids absolutely loved combing the beach for sand dollars!

      I really enjoy this particular friendship because Spencer and I have known Mike before either of us were married and had kids.  We all met around the same time in a singles ward.  We hung out then and we continue to hang out still.  Several years later, Mike met Amanda and she is wonderful!  I just wished we didn't live so far away from each other! 

Family Vacation - Day 6

      On our final morning we woke up at 8:30 a.m. docked in Miami, signifying the end of our cruise.  We lazily made our way out of our room and upstairs for breakfast before debarking the ship.  I was sad to leave!  It was around 11:00 a.m. when we arrived at the Ft. Lauderdale airport and our flight home wasn't until 4:00 p.m. so we decided to rent a car and go to the beach.  We had about 3 and a half hours to play before we needed to be back.  The first hour was spent walking along the boardwalk shopping.  After that we played on the beach and in the ocean before stripping our clothes off in the car (literally) and found a place for lunch.  We ate lunch at Ernie's BBQ which was so good!  Spencer said it reminded him of Texas BBQ joints from his mission days.  The flight home felt long!  We were all just beat from playing so hard, but they boys were perfect little travelers.  We had several people tell us how impressed they were with our kids on such a long flight.  That was nice to hear!  I have to say, this trip was probably one of the best trips ever.  I loved every minute and the boys can't stop talking about it.  We will definitely be taking another cruise with the kids in the not-so-distant future!   

Fishes made out of water bottles.

Family Vacation - Day 5 (Sea Day)

      We spent our last full day on the cruise at sea, and it was a super cloudy and windy day.  So windy in fact that the whole upper deck was closed off, which meant no water slides or mini-golf.  It really didn't bother us any though because there was so much onboard entertainment to keep us occupied.  We played games as a family, watched an ice sculpturist, I learned the Thriller dance, and the kids were in and out of Camp Carnival all day long.  Later in the evening the boys attended a kid-only dinner and farewell party which allowed Spencer and I to have dinner by ourselves and catch a show.  We picked the kids up at 10:00 p.m. and made some final rounds of the ship ending up, yet again, in the dining area for pizza and ice cream cones.         

Family Vacation - Day 4 (Cozumel)

      Cozumel was one of my absolute favorite parts of the trip.  For our excursion we chose to go snorkeling at Chankanaab Park.  The boys had never been snorkeling before so we thought this would be a great adventure for them.  Chankanaab Park was beautiful!  It's considered a conservation area and was decreed a National park in 1980.  It's ideal for snorkeling, diving, wildlife watching, and for a fee you can even swim with dolphins.  We had an absolute blast there!  The boys loved snorkeling.  Some of the wildlife they saw while in the water include: a huge barracuda, an octopus, a ray, and lots of tropical fish.  Austin even dove down in the water when he found a shell, and was disappointed when we told him he couldn't keep it.  We played football on the beach;  Spencer and I got 30 minute massages for $20 in the spa;  and the wildlife we found in the lagoon was awesome!

      After our fun day in the sun we went back to our ship and got cleaned up in a hurry so we could do some shopping in town.  We bought tons of souvenirs and it was fun just walking around showing the boys a different culture.  We planned on eating dinner out and went to a couple of restaurants, but when we previewed the menu we thought, why are we about to pay lots of money when we can eat for free on our ship?  So we came to the decision of eating on board.   

      We pulled out of Cozumel around 10:30 p.m. and shortly thereafter was a huge deck party & Mexican buffet on the Lido deck (where the pools are).  Now, I LOVE to dance, but what surprised me was how much Cameron & Andrew LOVE to dance as well.  And, they're good!  We had so much fun dancing.  The deck was packed, you wouldn't know it from the picture below, but it was.  With the exception of Austin I had my whole family out there shaking it.  This day was hands down the funnest day of vacation for me!