Madison Grace LITTON!

It's official. Madison is now a Litton, daughter to Brock and Melody "as if she were born to (them)."

So now they have FOUR beautiful children of their own: Braxton, Madison, Jessica and Blake.


Now all they need is employment! Anyone hiring?

National Library Week

The calendar on my wall labels the week ahead as National Library Week. I never knew there was such a thing. But I support the designation a hundred percent. I think we should celebrate, even honor, the creation of libraries. I can't imagine my life without them.

I remember, as a child, riding my bike (or sometimes walking, though it was a long ways) to the city library. I would take a bag, usually a grocery sack, and fill it up, after spending hours reading front flaps and back covers to choose just the right ones. The trip home was complicated by the lopsided load and occasional sack breaking. But it was worth it. The rest of the day was filled with stories, histories, poems, ideas, plays and adventures found inside that bag full of library books. My favorite place to read was in our back yard, next to the creek in the shade of our many trees. Or, if the weather was bad, I might spread out on my bed or the front room floor. It didn't matter much where I read, only that I read.

I won a set of encyclopedias when I was about ten years old. I remember holding those new books in my hands, enjoying the texture of the cover and admiring the strong binding. I loved the smell and feel of the pages. For a time, it was in those encyclopedias that I searched for the answers to all my homework questions. Eventually, though, they became outdated and it was back to the library for updated information and a broader spectrum of study materials.

A library is a place of wonder, a place of information and imagination, a place of "what for" and "what if" and "why" and "how" and "where" and "when". A library holds a wealth of possibilities. No one home could hold (or possibly afford) the vast number of books, magazines, briefs, maps and other resources that are found in a library.

So take the opportunity this week to visit a library. Use this valuable gift we have been given to expand your mind, to increase your imagination, to entertain a child or answer your questions. And while you are there, thank those wonderful librarians that work tirelessly to catalog and shelve and order, making those vast resources accessible.

Life is Good

So it's Sunday
and Easter
and General Conference
and the sun in finally shining again.
It doesn't get much better than this!

Two thoughts for today:

"When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!"
(Stuart K. Hine)

"God believes you are worth loving,
even with your sins
....even with your shameful past....
Even if you were the only sinner in the world
....Jesus would have died for you alone!"

I am so blessed. I am so grateful.
Life is good.

CHS PROM NIGHT

Here's a few photos from Mariah's junior prom. Her escort was Derrick Moody, a very nice young man who graduated last year from Cokeville High school.

Beau Petersen and Mariah were the Junior Class Attendants to the prom king and queen.
The promenade was a masquerade. Mariah's mask was awesome.
We had a pre-prom photo shoot at the house, too. Mariah found the perfect dress for her, with a small adjustment made by her Aunt Sandra.
Her gloves and earrings and shoes were just the right touches to complement the dress.
I don't often get to look down at Mariah anymore. But this was a nice angle for a look at the skirt.
Now that is one "POOFY" dress!
It took more than "bibbidi bobbidy boo" to get this Cinderella ready for the ball. But it was a magical evening for our youngest daughter.

"These Two Commandments...."

" Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40

I don't know how many times in my life that I've heard or read these words. But today, as I pondered them, I realized that I could base all my plans and choices on these two commandments alone. I could use them in my daily personal evaluation of progress. If I believe Christ, and I do, then I must believe what he has said. And many times He repeated that loving God and loving thy neighbor "as thyself" are the sum of the gospel.

So I've decided to begin each day asking myself three questions: What can I do today to increase my love of God? What can I do today to show love for a "neighbor"? What can I do today to improve myself (so I love myself) ? At the end of the day, I will account to myself on the completion of those goals.

It's simple. It's daily. It's in line with my belief. It's measurable. I like it.

The Creation

I taught a Relief Society lesson today about The Creation........like the creation of the world and all that is upon it (as well as other "worlds without number", but that part is for another discussion). It was a wonderful, humbling, eye-opening opportunity to first recognize the power of God, then marvel at His wisdom and ability and thoroughness, and finally to gratefully acknowledge that He did it all for me and you.

Have you ever thought about the miracle of life? Not just human life, but all life---grass, shrubs, trees, fish, birds, animals, insects, even the earth itself. Each little detail that allows a species to not only exist, but to adapt and thrive and "fill the measure of it's creation", to reproduce it's own kind and "find joy there in."

I pondered on the way all things on the earth are inter-related, how often one species relies on another to survive. I searched through a plethora of photographs and videos of our world, recognizing the diversity of God's creations and the beauty in each. I delighted in the blessing of living life here in this wonderful place we call home.

I believe that Jesus Christ created the world under the direction of God the Father by the power of the holy priesthood he held. I believe earth was created to open the way for all of us, His children, to have life in physical bodies like His and form families and become like Him. I believe it was created in six periods of time (days, if you will), each in an organized order allowing the next to be possible. And I believe that after creating man and woman, his greatest creation, God rested knowing we could now follow His plan for us.

I am so thankful for life. I am thankful for the earth and all that is in it. I am thankful for a knowledge of God's love for me and recognize it in the world around me.

Take a few minutes to view the video presentation in the link below. Relax and bask in the majesty of this earth that is our home:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHIfRLNYUGw&feature=related

Making Memories

Over the past few weeks I've had Sarah's boys over regularly to play, giving her a chance to nap and regroup after the birth of her new baby girl. It's been fun.

One day I had just Gavin while Jaxon and Nathan were at school. Gavin is two and a half. He doesn't say much, but has found many other ways to communicate his wants and needs. His latest obsession is to play games with me...dominoes, yahtzee, jenga, etc. So this day, he ran in, shed his boots and coat, stole a candy from the office desk and headed for the game shelf, pointing out the one he wanted.

We play most games with widely modified rules and often abandon the actual game for building forts or towers with the game pieces. Gavin has quite a sense of fair play, always insisting that I take my turn. He is beginning to understand my requirement that one game be put away before another is pulled out.

Anyway, we spent nearly an hour playing a variety of games before opting to read books. This is another favorite at my house. I recently moved the children's books to a lower shelf next to the grankids' toys. Now the kids can more easily see what is there and pick out the ones they want. Gavin chose four or five "Critter" books. He climbed up next to me on the couch and we read them all.

The next thing on his mind was food. Opting for strawberry milk and cheese and crackers, Gavin was contented at the kitchen island for a long time. He likes to put his own flavoring in the milk and stir it up. He also prefers to lick off the squeeze cheese before eating the cracker.

After the snack we played air hockey, cheering every time the puck went into the goal. It never matters whose side. Then it was Gavin's version of billiards, that involves putting all the balls up onto the table and into the holes and watching them come out again.....repeated over and over and over again. It's a very loud game!

All too soon it was time to go home. On went the boots and coat. There was a quiet hand in the candy dish and a big smile flashed my way as he headed out the door.

Our visit was over, but I'm amazed how often the memories of those simple moments together have come to my mind and brought a smile to my face. Childhood doesn't last very long, but those memories will be mine forever.