"It is within our families that we learn unconditional love, which can come to us and draw us very
close to God's love. It is within families that values are taught and character is built,"

-Elder M. Russell Ballard

Friday, July 20, 2012

The count down to paradise

I am extremely happy to be done with school and have a little break before the Fall semester. In exactly one week we will be in Hawaii with Jason's family. I am so excited and anxious! I can't wait  for lea to see her cousins and play with them in the sand and water. 

Saturday, July 14, 2012

FPP: Challenges and opportunities


This is the last week that I will be sharing some thoughts that I've had from my Family class. I’ve learn so much and I hope you guys have enjoyed it.

Many of us will be or has already been challenged to defend Family Proclamation Principles. It is not always easy to share and defend those, especially in these times. President Spencer W. Kimball said:

“The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us”

As we learn to truly understand the principles taught in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” we will be able not to only strengthen our family but we will also be able to share them more comfortably with others.  We will be questioned about our beliefs and more specifically about the way that we live our lives. Sometimes we may feel attacked by individuals questioning our beliefs, but when those times come we need to ask for the spirit to be with us. It is our duty as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father to stand up for the family. As members of the church we have so many more eternal truths than so many people. It is not easy to share what we believe to be true, but we owe it to Heavenly Father.  He has given us so many things, more than we can even imagine, and one thing that he asks of us is to help his daughters and sons return to him. The perfect way to do that is to share the truth with everyone around us.



Lastly, I want to share a little bit about LDS Family Services.   It is more than an adoption agency. It is truly an institution that brings family closer together. LDS Family Services does focus much on adoption but as well in counseling and addiction recovery programs. In my class we primarily focused on adoption. Something that I would want to share is that “adoption is an unselfish, loving decision that blesses both the birth parents and the child in this life and eternity”. Adoption is more than given a child away ; it is about love, maturity, and being selfless.

LDS Family Services is about helping individuals when challenges arise. Many of us might be embarrassed to ask for help, but we can’t have that burden with us always. Sometimes we need to let go of our pride and seek for individuals to help us. LDS Family Services is able to do that for each one of us. If you would want to look at the services they offer here is the link: LDS Family Services.

I hope you have enjoyed my posts! 

Thursday, July 12, 2012

4th of July

We had an awesome 4th! We fist woke up early like always and got ready to go to the Rexburg parade. It was so packed that we were scared that we wouldn't be able to get a good spot. But we did! Lea got lots of candy which Jason and I got to eat! The parade was a blast. It ranged from huge shopping carts to missionaries. 


After that we walked around town and headed to Porter Park to see all the activities that were going on. We eat lunch at a new place called Shake out. It wasn't the greatest to say the least. After that we hung out at home and had a BBQ with some friends. It was a nice and relaxing day!


Monday, July 9, 2012

Egin Lake

We went to Egin lake a few weeks ago with our friends, Andrew and Emily. We got a little lost on our way, but we had fun. It wasn't really what we expected, but lea loved it. She loved the water! Here are pictures of our adventure. 

Thursday, July 5, 2012

a little late...

About a month ago we went down to Bakersfield, CA for Parker's baby blessing (Jason's sister's baby). He is adorable! We had amazing, hot days swimming in the pool.We had so much fun with Jason's family. Lea loved playing with Colby and we can't wait 'til Hawaii so we can be with them again!


Friday, June 29, 2012

Hi

Lea and I just wanted to say 'konnichiwa' (Hello)!!!




Ps: That is not how you spell it..lol

FPP: Family Principles


We have heard the term ‘wholesome recreational activities’  many times in our lives as Mormons. But what does it mean? Going outside and playing in the sun? Or watching TV as a family. Well.. It can be both. Wholesome recreational activities are meant to strengthen the family unit.

Now days we have so much technology that we disconnect ourselves from each other. Wholesome family recreation allows us to be with each other and come closer as a family unit. The book for my family class said concerning wholesome recreational activities,

“ Meaningful recreation doesn’t just happen; it must be prepared for, cultivated, and privately defended.”

We need to avoid meaningless leisure. Many of us are very busy but we need to plan for the activities that we want to do as a family. They don’t have to be huge plans, but activities that will reunite the family.  We live in a time that provides many activities that we can do as a family, but we need to find activities that will help us grow stronger, build relationships, build faith and happiness.



Forgiving is such a strong principles. It is easy to understand, but hard to act upon. Many of us have been hurt in many different ways. Sometimes it is the hardest when someone that we love has hurt us. There are many behaviors out there that are very difficult to forget  about and eventually forgive.

I was able to learn how important it is to remember all the things that an individual that has hurt us  has done right and not just focus on the one thing that they did wrong. As we look at it this way, it will be a little more easier for us to forgive that individual.

In my family book  it talked about what Christ taught about forgiveness:

"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."


I loved that. Even though we may be hurting it is important to forgive so our healing process can be more peaceful and when we do something wrong our Heavenly Father will forgive us because we have forgiven others. 

No one on this Earth is perfect. I think that we should be willing to forgive all. It will be hard at times, but we need to leave that judgment to Heavenly Father. In the Doctrine and Covenants Heavenly Father says, “ I will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” 


I hope you enjoyed it! Have a great weekend. 



Thursday, June 21, 2012

Lea: 9 months!!!

I can't believe that in 3 months my baby girl is going to be a year. That's crazy. She is a very active baby. She crawls everywhere, she stands up against furniture, she says: momma, dada, papa, hi, baba, popoo. She is super loud, especially at Church. She is so cute and has a beautiful smile. She makes a mess everywhere. She loves to pull things out of my purse and backpack. And especially our movies and cards. She is a doll! 
Playing with daddy's car!