The Book of Mormon v. the Cell Phone

I heard this at a fireside last night with Alex Boye. It was originally written by a preacher. The Book of Mormon has been inserted in the place of the Bible.

Cell Phone vs. Book of Mormon
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Book of Mormon like we treat our
cell phones?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we used it to receive messages?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it as we traveled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

What if we upgraded it to get the latest version?

This is something to make you go, hmmm, where is my Book of Mormon?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cellphones, we don’t ever have to worry
about our Book of Mormon being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!
It is free, unlimited minutes night and day, any hour. There is no peak time. You won't get disconnected. No hidden fees. No roaming. No voice mail. Heavenly Father is there live to listen, to bless us, and to love us every time we make the call!

Summer Catch-up Part 2

Here are some of our adventures from summer:
Sam went swimming for the first time and loved it. After that, he swam and swam and swam!

We had the opportunity to go to the Crane reunion and see many of our relatives from Nic's side of the family. Also, that weekend we went to Draper Days which is always so much fun with a parade and city fair.

Heidi and the kids were in town the next week and it was a whirlwind of adventures. We went swimming, drove go-karts, played miniture golf, floated down the Draper canal on inner tubes, and many more adventures! It was great to hang out with Aunt Heidi and all of the cousins.

The next weekend, we went to Nic's last Smiths/Primary Children's golf tournament. Smiths is making a lot of changes and so Nic's role with Smiths will no longer exist soon. I know Nic will figure things out as far as work goes and make things work, but it has been very stressful for him. The tournament had a different feel to it than usual, because many of the people there knew that it would be their last and that their jobs most likely wouldn't be around for long.
Nic's friend, Kris, was also in town that weekend from Ohio, so we went from the golf tournament to visit with them. Kris' husband, Chris, is in the millitary and is in Iraq right now. It was fun to see Kris and the kids. They are such a cute family!
Other fun things:

• Youth Conference
• Dad's cool cast with camouflage/Sam-print design
• Reno
• Tuacahnn

Summer Catch-up (and Mayo)

Okay, here goes a super long, adventure-filled post about all that we did this summer. Well, most of what we did...I'm getting older and my memory sometimes fails me!
At the end of June, I went to Girl's Camp. It was at the Heber Valley Camp, and with cabins, running water + the opportunity to shower as wanted, good food, and gorgeous surroundings, it was some pretty plush camping. While I was gone for the week, Sam went and spent a fun-filled week with g-ma M, g-pa M, J, and Nanny. I have to be honest right up front--Sam had a blast and came home with some cute new outfits. Mom, on the other hand, may have got a little Sam-sick and shed some tears! Cell-phone coverage was pretty much non-existent except for in random places, my favorite place being a long, uphill hike to what I called 'Cell-phone bush'. So every night, even during an electrical storm (not smart, but, hey, I was missing my baby!), I would hike up the hill to 'Cell-phone bush' and call home and cry.
I had a good time though. We did skits, sang songs, did crafts, hiked, canoed out onto this lake, sat around the campfire, blazed a new trail, played games, went to firesides, and all the other fun things you do at girl's camp. We have some amazing young women in our ward. We had five girls up at camp with three leaders, but I love our small numbers. I think it helps us be closer-knit together. Anamarie, our young women president, is awesome. She is one of those rare go-getters who really carries our program on her shoulders and gets things done. She is amazing. And I discovered that we have many similar personality traits. We were the 'tough' love leaders! Heidi, the other leader at camp, is so much fun. I especially enjoyed getting to know her better. She was eight months pregnant at camp. People were so shocked to see her there. She was a real trooper, I have to say! One lady came up to her and said, "Is it true that you're due this week?" (The rumors were flying!) I told Heidi that she should have told the lady that she was actually two weeks overdue! I feel so much closer to the other leaders and the girls now. Before camp, I was really nervous and prayed a lot about going because I didn't feel like I was a fun enough person. I'm just not one of those bubbly, out-going people and worried that I was too boring. But I ended up having a great time and strengthening my friendships. I became the camp hair stylist and bandana expert!


Also during camp, we had a couple of good spiritual experiences. One of the girls at camp with us is a non-member. She also has a slight disability that makes it hard for her to walk really well on un-even surfaces. The very first night at camp, she fell going in to the cabin and twisted her ankle. Granted, I felt that it was a little more drama than injury, but it was neat for me to see how people just served her, no questions asked. One of the stake presidency and our stake high councilman actually carried her up this really steep, long hill to get to the pavillion for a stake devotional. I was just so impressed with these men and the thought came to me of how much the priesthood carries all of us in our lives. The next day, we told the girl that she had to walk for herself or go home (there's the tough love I was talking about =). Her ankle felt better right away! One of the nights the stake had a fireside with a program done by Jenny Phillips. She has a wonderful talent for writing songs that can really invite the spirit and touch your heart. I hope that our little non-member girl felt the spirit--she was one of the first ones down after the program to get autographs!
Another experience was with our bishop. A couple days into camp and we could tell that our bishop really wasn't feeling very well. He was having extremely bad headaches and just wasn't his usual active self. So finally, Anamarie and I talked to him and told him that if he needed to go home he could. He took us up on the offer (another fact that confirmed that it was serious). Before he left, the other two stake guys came and gave him a priesthood blessing. That night, we had a special prayer for him that he would be okay. It was a comforting spirit after that prayer. It turned out that the bishop had liquid on his brain and actually ended up in the hospital as soon as he got home. I'm so glad that he made it safely and know that was an answer to our prayers. Later, the bishop had to have a hole drilled in his skull to relieve some of the pressure but is pretty much back to his usual self now. He is such an amazing, good man. I'm glad that he is doing better now!

The weekend of July 4th we had our first Independence celebration with Sam. First, Sam and I got up early and went to the ward flag raising ceremony and breakfast. It was a really nice program and great food. Then we got Nic out of bed and went out to G-ville for the parade and activities at the park. I totally got pegged in the head with a piece of candy confirming Nic's belief that no one from where I'm from can catch! G-pa was working the Sons of the Utah Pioneer's booth at the park and tried to give Sam some fish, to which mommy said 'no'! After the park, we went to my parent's house and had hamburgers and homemade rootbeer that my brother made. It was all a lot of fun, that good old fashioned kind of fun. Then we went to a birthday party for Clay's dad and then to a barbecue at Clay's house. By the end of the day we were so tired that I don't think we made it to the fireworks!

Okay, the boss man is yelling at me. I gotta go! =) To be continued...

A Visit with Infertile Myrtle

Long time no post! I promise that there is a post on its way that will re-cap our many summer adventures and be plumb full of adorable pictures of Sam. But right now I have other things on my mind that need to find the words. I want another baby! There, I said it. Now people are thinking, "You already have your miracle...Sam is only nine months old...just be happy with what you have...don't worry about it..." And I am so happy. Sam is the stuff dreams are made of. His personality is really starting to shine, and there are so many moments each day that he just steals my heart away. He's starting to say, "Mama" more consistently, especially when he really wants me to pick him up. (His first word was "Dada". He would babble dadadadada all the time, but one morning, I pointed to a picture of Nic and asked, "who is this?" Sam replied, "Dada". He sees Nic and says "dada" all the time now). The other day, Nic said, "That little boy is so in love with you!" And I began to notice how he watches me and listens to me and loves to be with me. He's started doing this thing now that when you hold him he will rest his head against your shoulder and pat your back with his little hand. I'm so in love with that little boy!

So, yeah, life is good. I'm happily married. I'm a happy mom. But I'm starting to get those urges for another one. I've been trying to keep it under control, not let it get the best of me. But I will admit, that lately when I start my period each month, it's disappointing. It's starting to ping at my heart again. I guess I was subconsciously hoping that now that I've had one baby, voila, my womb would be made over into this amazing baby-making machine! I loved being pregnant, and my body was good at it. There were the back aches and sore hips, but pregnancy rocked. I loved the feeling of life growing inside of me. And for the first time in my life, I felt like my body and I were on the same side, like we were friends not enemies. So I assumed that my new BFF and I had a good deal going. Not so much.

In my defense, I think these urges are from a divine source. Last Sunday, in Young Women, we had the dreaded Procreation Lesson. I was just glad that I didn't have to teach it. Anamarie taught the lesson and did an amazing job with it. It's such a difficult topic! Anyway, something that Anamarie said really stood out to me. She talked about how urges for physical intimacy are part of Heavenly Father's plan and that they can be divine, depending on how we act on them. Heavenly Father commanded all His creation to multiply and to Adam and Eve it was given the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth. Who am I to resist divine urges? I want to multiply!

I want Sam to have little brothers and sisters. I have always wanted a big family. I don't know if I could wait another five years for another one. But that's what I said many years ago before Sam, and I did it. I could do it again. It took my mom five years to have me and then another nine years to finally have my sister. Nine years?! I'm 32 1/2 years old right now. That would put me at 41 years old. Yikes. Sometimes I think that maybe the Lord wants me to really focus on adoption right now. I don't know. I don't think I could go down the IVF road again. I have the plaque hanging in my dining room: "Faith in God includes faith in his timing" (Neal A. Maxwell). I just need to hang it on my heart.