Homework and Knock-knock jokes

This morning Alex told me a knock-knock joke he had heard from one of the kid’s books that had a punchline involving “poop”.  I chuckled, but when he started creating more “poop” jokes I had to explain they weren’t very nice.  I encouraged him to think of nice jokes.  He looked around the room and then said, “Knock-knock”. “Who’s there?” I replied.  “A picture of your family.”  “A picture of your family who?” “Jason...and David...and Keith...and Rebecca...”. The “punchline” continued on and on and I started to wonder if I should have just let the poop joke slide.😉

Lucy brought this assignment home yesterday.  I got quite a kick out of it!  Especially her answer to number 3.

Faith and the Creation

I have been coming to a deeper realization of the importance of understanding the Creation.  Even those of us who have faith in a higher power struggle at times to submit our will to God and to seek His will in our lives.  Yesterday, I had this thought.  If we believe that God created this world, wouldn’t He be the first one we would look to for how to successfully navigate life here.  AND.  If we believe He is also the Creator of all mankind, wouldn’t  we look to Him first to learn how best to deal with the people and relationships in our lives?  

Before I shared this thought with my kids, I asked them this question.  “Who would be the best person to ask for help if you wanted to know how to beat a difficult video game?”  They all said, “Jesus.”  Haha!  I told them he probably knew about video games, but probably doesn’t care too much for them and might not be the best one to ask for help.  I rephrased...who would be the best person on earth to ask for help?  One of them said, “The person who created it.”  Yes!  If we want anything, the person who created it is the the best person to look to for help.  They understand the patterns, guidelines, tricks, and rules for success...BECAUSE THEY CREATED THEM!  I am SO grateful to know that God created this earth, knows the secrets for success, and is very, very excited to share them with us!  All we have to do is ask.  He is the one who gave us the invitation.  “Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.”

North Carolina

Last week my Mom and I enjoyed taking a trip together to North Carolina.  It was so wonderful to have the time with her!  We took one of our dogs to her new home in North Carolina, visited with the Barry’s, and stopped by the Smoky Mountains. I don’t think I have ever seen a more beautiful, magical place!  The leaves were brimming with splendid colors!  It was amazing!  It topped off the incredible gift of having a trip to enjoy several days of uninterrupted time with my mom!  She is an amazing person and the time with her was even more magical than the beautiful views we enjoyed.

Mom was gifted this gourd by a kind country man near the Smokies who insisted we would be safer to hike at the community college than in the woods.

SO BREATHTAKING!  It made me want to take up painting!

We ate lunch with Addie at Jason’s Deli.  It was delightful to have the time with her and her family!  She is growing into an accomplished and confident young woman!

Morning Scriptures

This morning I was reading to the kids from Mosiah about how Jesus is the life and the light of the world.  It led to a conversation about resurrection and how we will all get our bodies back after we die because of Jesus.  Lucy was listening intently and asking questions.  At one point, she got really quiet and stared for a bit.  Then she announced, “My mind told me ‘Yes’.” I said, “Lucy!  That is the Holy Ghost!”  She smiled and said, “Yes!”  Then Henry got all excited and nodding said, “Yes.  Yes.”  And then something about Jesus that I couldn’t understand.

Jacob’s school

LaMonte-“Jacob, how is school going?”

Jacob-“Great!”

LaMonte-“How are you doing with reading?”

Jacob-after contemplating “It’s developing”

Conference Weekend

This weekend we were able to watch General Conference together as a family.  It was amazing!  Many of the talks dealt directly with some of the challenges I have been facing.  David had an experience where he started dozing off in one of the talks.  He felt like he was running and fell.  He woke up with a start.  Just then the speaker said something that answered the question he had been thinking of.  I felt a strong sense of the power of Christ available to help.  And that even in doing our best and with His help there will still be times of pain, sorrow, and failure.  

Mission Call for Keith

Tonight Keith opened his mission call.  For the next two years he will be serving in Mongolia!  We were all pretty shocked!  I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even know where Mongolia is.  We had lots of friends come to be with us when he opened it.  Everyone put their guess on a notebook and Risk game.

We also had family participating through FaceTime and a Google Hangout.

He faked us all out when he started reading it.. making it sound as though he had received his first two batches of names for indexing.  Hahaha!


I am really proud of Keith for the work and dedication he has put into getting prepared for his mission.  I am grateful for him and excited that he will have this opportunity!  I am especially thankful for the Lord.  He has such an amazing plan for His children!  What a blessing it is to get to be a part of His work!  I really do love my Heavenly Father and Savior!  I also really love my Keith...my future Mongolian missionary!