Happy New Year

Happy New Year!! This year we have had some fun adventures, but getting Christmas cards with an insert out was NOT one of them. So here's my online version. :)
Starting with the oldest--Boyce is still working at Google, taking pictures when he has time, rock climbing (mostly indoor), riding his bike here and there and everywhere, and spending plenty of time being a DAD. He loves to wrestle with the kids and they all love Daddy time. He's also the Elder's Quorum President in our ward.
Stephanie continues to homeschool the kids and has become a bit more involved in the local homeschool group. She has had more time to practice and play piano and is teaching piano lessons as well. She bravely took the kids to visit her family this spring (17 hours each way), and they had a blast! She also coached soccer this Fall, and loved that. At church, she lucked out and is still doing her dream calling--teaching Primary kids music (and playing organ for the main meetings). She also is proud to say she survived last winter's snowpocalypse (with a broken toe and no transportation of her own for awhile). Barely survived. hahaha.
Laura has grown up so much this year! She turned 9 and is excelling in gymnastics. She has chosen not to be on the team, though they continue to ask for her. She does it for fun. This year at the end of 3rd grade, she rocked her state testing (local laws require homeschoolers to be tested in 3rd grade)! She's also involved in music, having accompanied our Primary on the piano for our Sacrament Meeting presentation, and she sang a solo in our community Messiah concert. She enjoyed going to Knott's Berry Farm this year and has become a little roller coaster rider!! She's a great helper to her mom, an avid reader, and she and her sister are best buddies.
Adele has grown a lot this year, too. She started learning to play the violin, but has gone back to piano. She plays very well by ear and is able to pick out songs on her own. She has also been working hard in gymnastics this year, but took a break this fall to do soccer. She is definitely an all-around athlete. She loves cooking, reading, being silly and she loves hanging out with her sister. She also loves roller coasters and thrill rides.
Edmund turned 5 this year and has started learning to read. He's still not super confident but does a great job when he has to. He is a whiz at adding and subtracting and counts to 1,000 for fun. He also played soccer this year and was a star!! He is very coordinated and a natural athlete, and scored MANY goals during his games. It probably helps that he's very tall for his age, too. He also got to ride his first roller coaster this year (though he wasn't so sure it was a good choice once he was on the ride).  He enjoys riding his bike all over town, playing with his cars and trains, and he LOVES his little brother. He's a sweet little guy, but growing up fast.
Little Westley is getting so big!  This year he turned 3. He started writing his letters, talking and telling us all about EVERYTHING, and he started picking out songs on the piano all on his own. He's a little musician, and it is super fun to watch. He loves being read to, going on the log ride at Knott's Berry Farm (he talked about it afterward for months until we went again), snuggling with mom, teasing his siblings, riding his little balance bike and NOT going home.

We had a great year--2 trips to California (one with Boyce), a trip to Fort Stevens to go camping, swim lessons (for all 4 kiddos), watching the solar eclipse, visiting Bellingham (where we used to live), and having a great time seeing things around here, too. :) It has been a good year.

God hears me

Sometimes people wonder if God really hears their prayers, especially during struggles and hard times. Why won't He just take the difficult things away? Why isn't He giving me my request?
One such time I had was very soon after I learned my parents, married for 29 years, we're getting a divorce. When they told me, I thought they were joking, but realized I was completely oblivious to any issues they had. I had just turned 18, so I might have noticed more...
I was really struggling, and one particular night my mom was complaining about my dad, and my dad was complaining about my mom. I felt like no matter where I went, there it was: my safe haven, my wonderful reality, shattered. I went to my room, the only private place I could think of where neither parent would bother me for awhile.
I prayed.
I sobbed, pouring out my heart to God, telling Him everything I was feeling. Loneliness. Anger. Disappointment. Worry. Heartbreak.
When I finally finished, my scriptures were sitting on my bed. They opened up to John 14. The first verses I read were 26-27.
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father shall send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace give I unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
God spoke to me in those verses. He reminded me He had sent the Comforter to give me peace, and that I needn't be afraid. Scared. Angry. Worried. He loved me and I knew it.

That was enough for me, but apparently He wanted to be really sure I knew He was there. Right after that, I went for a run (my stress reliever), and along my way my best friend met me on my trail. She said she felt she needed to go walk that way and find me, but she wasn't sure why.
Twice.
In the same day, during the same cry for help.
This doesn't happen every time, but I can remember when I'm struggling that He has answered me. I can have faith and hold on until He does again, for He is constant.

I'm so thankful for a loving God who knows His children and wants them to be happy.

Feasting on the Word of God

"There's a difference between just reading your scriptures every day; just reading your five minutes to fulfill your...obligation. [Joseph Smith] said it came with feeling and with power and force, and he reflected on it again and again, taking that reflection right into the grove. The power is going to be in the depth of the scriptures. Occasionally, we can just glide through and do something to sustain us for the day, but the real impact is going to come when we reflect and dive down in those feelings." Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Facetoface March 2017).

When we really read and FEEL the scriptures, then we are able to build our faith in God and draw closer to Christ. We can't be casual all the time. We have to really dig in and read with our spirits. I LOVE that God will help us know the truth and will give us answers if we truly seek them.

Built on the foundation of apostles and prophets

I love General Conference. Every six months we get to hear from the leaders of our church, those whom we sustain as prophets, seers and revelators. Some people might find it strange to have prophets or think we may not need them in our time, but I think, if they had them in the old times, why not now? We're definitely not more righteous than those back in the Old Testament.
In Ephesians 2:19-20 it says that Christ's church was "built on the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone..." and I believe thing were that way. I believe it is today, too.

The Bible also tells us that "By their fruits shall ye know them" and from the things I have seen these modern-day men do, I believe they are true followers of Christ. Thomas S. Monson has dedicated his life, since the age of 36 (I'm almost 35...) to going throughout the world and telling people about Jesus Christ and His mission. It's been 53 years since then, and he's been a busy man traveling the world over, helping people and sharing Christ's love.
Some people call our leaders "out-dated" or "old men," but Gordon B. Hinckley (the prophet before President Monson) said that they are old, but "isn't that wonderful?" They've seen more of the world and its trends and patterns. It seems our culture is all about the new, the exciting, but I also see that we don't really respect our elders as being wise as many other cultures do. We mock them for being "old fashioned" and "out of touch" and we all too often put them in nursing homes and "visit them weekly... or monthly... or just ignore them rather than bringing them into our own homes and making sure they are REALLY getting proper care. Granted, there are situations where they really do need extra attention from medical personnel or the safety provided in a nursing home, in which case nursing homes have their purpose. 
I feel so blessed to know that Christ is guiding these leaders and encouraging us, through them, to follow Him and serve Him. We are to be His hands.
If we're struggling, they counseled us to seek direction from the Lord. Sometimes we don't get answers when we want them, but we should doubt our fears before we doubt our faith.
My favorite piece of wisdom from the prophet was "Choose the harder right, not the easier wrong."

It's easy to choose what everyone else is doing, even if you know it's wrong. But as Christians, we need to defend the right, especially in the last days as Satan gains more power over the earth. Dare to stand alone... for we're never really alone when we stand with our Savior.

Finding Peace

"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54:13

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but, um.... our world of kind of scary. Like wars, random crazy shootings, scary nasty super contagious diseases, financial insecurity, kids thinking they should be able to get handouts because they exist, lack of respect of anything or anyone, and the list goes on. Life is hard. And can be scary. But we can have peace.

As a parent, I can see that my kids are going to have to deal with an even crazier world. I want to send them into that world with as much as I can give them. I wouldn't drop my kids off for a long hike without water, food, shoes, a map or compass, so why would I want to send them into the scary unknown without a way to find peace??
Christ is the giver of peace. Without Him, there is no purpose in life. There is no hope. Only He can give us the light in our dark times. I hope, if there's one thing that truly sticks with my children, it is Faith in Christ. Hope for good things to come. So when things aren't looking so good, they can find peace.

"Cast not away therefore your confidence"

Sometimes things are tough. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. Difficult things help us see what we can get through and help us understand who we really are.
However, when the tough times arrive, you have to be prepared. You can't start preparing then.

For me, a personal testimony of Jesus Christ and the Restored Gospel as found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is especially important. As things change in the world around us, we have to be grounded in our faith and really have come to KNOW that what we believe is true. Otherwise, when challenges arise, and they will, if we haven't built on solid ground, we can be more easily shaken.
Sometimes there are things that are hard to understand. We can't see with our limited view the reason for certain events. Isaiah 55:8-9.  We can, however, have faith that in time, we'll come to understand all things. If you have prayed to your Father in Heaven and received your witness of truth, when the hard times come, you must rely on that. One of the latter-day Apostles said "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2013 General Conference)."
I think we tend to forget to do that.
We have a personal trial where we just can't understand why it would happen to us.  Somebody says something that we don't agree with, but they're a leader, so we're supposed to follow them.  God tells us to ASK him. He'll help us understand in due time.
In The Book of Mormon, one of the first stories we read about is Lehi receiving a vision (a dream) that his family needs to pack up and leave Jerusalem. His son, Nephi, goes along without heistation, following his father's counsel. He later says, "I know that [God] loveth His children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."
Sometimes, we need to take a step into the darkness before the light comes. If we look back at the things we've felt, the things we've been assured of, we can use that testimony to get us through until we're feeling strong again. If you have read The Book of Mormon and you received an answer that it was true, and that God restored His Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith, you can trust that and pray for understanding of things that come that are difficult. As Paul says in the New Testament, "Cast not away therefore your confidence." (See Hebrews 10:35)

I have felt the Holy Spirit tell me that The Book of Mormon is true. Joseph Smith translated it. I have also had a witness that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet for our day. I have to trust that God has a reason for all He does, and that someday, I will understand. For now, I can seek for peace until the understanding comes. I have had experiences with that. I don't always understand why, but I know God does, and that is enough.

Family History

A while ago, I printed off my ancestry fan chart and was given the challenge to fill in the holes. Since then, I've tried to get some help. I have no idea what I'm doing, so I've asked to have family history consultants come teach
me. A few times. And it's been a few years.
Today, I got online for 10 minutes, clicked on a few things, and was able to find a generation that wasn't on my list. Parents of one of my great great grandparents. I've heard that when you want to find people, their spirits assist you from the other side. This is my first experience, and I had no clue what I was doing, so I believe they were there guiding me to find them. All it took was a few minutes today.
I know not every time will be like this, but I'm amazed that God let me have this little experience to show me how important my family is. And how important temples are. That is where we bind our families for eternity.