Family Photos and Thoughts on the Future

I have to say I have the hottest hubby around. Sorry ladies. He also keeps me and our kids in stitches...which if you know me is a blessing as I have a tendency towards intensity. Speaking of...Brent had our church congregation quite amused recently...

We both spoke in our Church on Sunday. I spoke first, speaking about the power of examples, how each of us should strive to let our light shine a bit brighter to help draw others to the saving light of Jesus Christ. It went well. I felt the spirit helping me. Upon my conclusion, Brent began very graciously expressing his love and affection for me...and then the following:

B: When I met Rebecca, as you can imagine, I was not the only suitor. In fact there were quite a few with whom I had to compete to win her. My only hope lay in her propensity towards short, bald men.You can imagine what followed... More importantly what followed that, was a beautiful talk on the importance of being examples to our children. He spoke of how as a family we are striving to instill in our children core principles and ideals.

• Physical/Spiritual Health: Both are crucial. They cannot be separated, just as the body and the spirit. If we do not teach our children to treat their bodies sacredly, nourishing them properly with food and exercise, their spirits cannot be nourished. The Word of Wisdom is a principle with a promise:
  

Doctrine and Covenants
"All saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones...And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge...And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. "

• Proper Education: From the age of six, our children will leave the home to be educated in so many ways. As parents we must be vigilant, active participants in what they are learning, intellectually and socially. (On my own personal note...I am dreading Ellery leaving me next year for first grade. The idea of her being swept away from me for so long and for so many years....I must find ways to hold her close.) Elder Russell M. Nelson “Because of our sacred regard for each human intellect we consider the obtaining of education to be a religious responsibility.”
  

• Media/Entertainment: The average American watches over 4 hours of television day. This equates to 2 months out of the year, or if you reach the age of 65, nine years of your life is spent in front of the television. (Personal Note...This is extremely disturbing. We have never been big television people, but in the last 6 months the time we spend with it has been nearly eliminated. Too many other more productive uses for our time...think blogging, reading and recipe experimenting :-))

Elder M. Russell Ballard
"The choices we make in media can be symbolic of the choices we make in life. Choosing the trendy, the titillating, the tawdry in the TV programs or movies we watch can cause us to end up, if we're not careful, choosing the same things in the lives we live...If we do not make good choices, the media can devastate our families and pull our children away from the narrow gospel path..."

• Fiscal Responsibility and Preparedness: The concepts of sacrificing and building for a better tomorrow have been pushed aside for living for today, easy credit and a consumption-oriented society. Many Americans have never seen a rainy day and therefore simply never choose to save for one. We want things to be different in our home.
  

President Ezra T. Benson
“Each of us should make every effort to become economically independent, at least within the family unit. Avoid looking to government for handouts or future security. A government which is unable to pay it’s own bills can hardly be depended upon to pay yours. Any government powerful enough to give the people all that they want is also powerful enough to take from the people all that they have.”

Clearly, I have been richly blessed by the Lord. My husband is a bastion of spirituality, strength and heart. My children bring me a fullness of joy I never anticipated. I am unabashedly adoring of all three. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for these gifts, and the knowledge we will be together through eternity. I pray fervently to be ever worthy of this abundance.