Will's Baptism February 20, 2010

On a cool February day my boy chose to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He chose to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ, and be baptized. He made promises that day to follow the Savior's example and to love others. He promised to forgive and to turn to Heavenly Father and repent if he himself made a wrong choice. He is on his life's journey and this choice will bring him great hope and focus as he moves forward with faith and determination to choose the right for his own happiness and in so doing will bless the lives of others. I am so proud of him. I know it was the right choice as the spirit confirmed it to everyone there that day and no one can deny it.

What a joy it is to have William in our home. We are so proud of you.

The meeting was beautiful. The program was presented by family and each child in the family was able to participate. Owen shared the first article of faith regarding our basic beliefs in God the Eternal Father, His Son, Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost. William's Uncle Robert shared a talk on the blessings of choosing to be baptized and how it will and can affect your life. Thanks Robert. Emma then beautifully sang a solo "I Want To Be Baptized." Following that William was baptized by his father, Richard, and the witnesses were Tom Cooper and Scott Stowell. William was perfect: allowing his father to submerge him so that he might become clean and spiritually reborn. He rose with a beautiful smile. Following that Lily played the piano for the group, as William changed his clothes.

Afterwards, Lily shared the fourth article of faith and then Will's Aunt Linda shared a beautiful talk on the blessing of receiving the Holy Ghost. She discussed all aspects of the gift that William was about to receive. Thank you Linda. William was then reverently and humbly confirmed with the gift of the Holy Ghost by his father. William was sensitive to the spirit. He was calm and joyful. He took the time to hug each member of his family who stood in the circle to assist and support in confirming that sacred gift. I too felt a great feeling of joy in witnessing his humble gratitude for the presence of loved ones and for the spirit that was there that day.

After which Brother Scott Cadman, who was conducting, shared his testimony with William. We were grateful for his presence that day and for his testimony. It touched us all. Family and friends were invited to share. The first one up was Emma. Emma was very touched by the spirit and by the events of the day. With tears in her eyes she shared her love for her brother stating she was proud of him and then ran to him to hug him tightly. It was very sweet for William. He is such a tender heart. He hugged her back with just as much love and appreciation.

We were very grateful for the support of our dear friends who came to support us that day. The Merkleys headed out early that morning driving from Ventura to attend. The Slemboskis, Stewarts, and we felt the love and support of other friends and family members that weren't able to come but wanted to. Thank you our dear friends. You helped make this beautiful day so memorable.

Emma's Dream Comes True!

From the moment that she could communicate, Emma began entertaining our family, friends and countless of imaginary audiences. She has a very vivid imagination and can propel herself into any scenario and make it come to life. Before she could walk and talk she pretended to have full length conversations with us in which she would wow us with her witty personality speaking gibberish all the while and then cracking up at her own jokes. We still enjoy her sense of humor and she entertains us daily with stories about school and life.
From the first time she saw the 4th grade show she has wanted to be "Becky" in "Gold Dust or Bust" a play about the California Gold Rush. Starting last year she set goal to achieve the part. She communicated to her teachers that she wanted the part and began memorizing the lines for the audition until she could recite them in her sleep.
Her teachers, who know Emma to be quiet and very reserved in the classroom, were supportive but felt the part would go to a far more outgoing student. She was prepared for the audition and to her teachers surprise, she came to life as the character Becky. She was voted by her peers to receive the part for the show.

Emma had the support of her grand father, The Big Guy, and her aunts and uncles and cousins here in California and Utah. Thanks so much to The Coopers for coming out to support her performance. Special thanks to Natalee who helped curl the ringlets in her hair.

Emma blew us all away with her energy, her personality and her expression. The play was a great success because of all the performances, but we are especially proud of Becky

By the time the play was over we all knew her lines. Emma standing with her dear friend Jayden who also got the part of Becky for the other class. They both worked together to study their lines. Emma was in heaven.

Sir William The Brave Heart

This month my second born son will be getting baptized. I feel such gratitude for having the blessing of having him in my home.

I can't believe that 8 years have passed since you have joined our family. Smiling broadly from the very beginning.
You have always been such a tender heart and such a cuddle-bug, enjoying every moment in my arms and those of your father. I teach you to be strong of heart, and strong of mind. I teach you to choose the right, and to be honest. I teach you to be brave and obedient. I teach you that your Heavenly Father loves you with a perfect love and he will always be there for you. I teach you to trust in Him and your Savior. I teach you to be prayerful. I hope I show you these things too, and that you see that I believe. I do my boy...I Believe.

Be strong my Brave Heart. I love you.

Mom

An UGLY Makeover Competition

So when the rains come down and shower sweetly upon our day and we are stuck inside, my kids really start getting creative. Today after the dance recital, after the pop star pretend play, after shaving with the shaving cream, my Emma decided that they should have an Ugly Makeover Competition. While vacuuming, Emma comes down with painted face, panting exuberantly, "Look mom we are having ugly makeovers."

Upon first sight, I was shocked and excited about it all at the same time, and of course, I said let me go and get my camera.

Each girl is allowed to makeover one of the others and it is up to you to decide who wins. The girls are excited and want your input. I will show a before and after shot of each girl and a shot with her make up artist. First up is Emma.
Emma Before:

Emma After:


Next up is Tay

Tay Before:


Tay After:

And now Lily

Lily Before:


Lily After:


One last look of all three before you make your choices:

Roller Skates

Yesterday it rained cats and dogs. The kids were home for the MLK holiday and what to do? What else? The roller rink. I've been there, blogged that as you might say so I didn't come prepared with my camera, but my friend Kristine did and took all these shots with her iphone (I gotta get me one of those some day) She is a mom, artist, photographer, friend who is very talented. If you want to see her work look here.

I roller skate. I do. I did when I was little: I had a few pair of white lace up skates with metal wheels. I would skate around the neighborhood until the wheels were dented and so worn they took the shape of an octagon. Good times. So when I enter the rink, I feel confident. I can slip those babies on and lace them up and up I go towards the rink and pray no one jets in front of me because as confident as I may look up on them, I really don't know how to stop. It takes a little while to get the hang of it, but give me a few laps around the rink and then I start to feel comfortable, like riding a bike but instead of two wheels you have eight.

Although I skated as a little girl, I didn't do it in a rink. I did go every now and then for a party or a special occasion, but not often like some have, so I didn't get into the whole roller disco thing as some did. I mean I love the music and the dancing, I am just not good at it, although I would like to be. You know what I am talking about, the funky tunes are playing on the PA system and skaters effortlessly glide and dance on the floor as if they hover over it. This is a little of what I am talking about:
I watch these funky phenoms skate around the rink and admire their grace and fluidity. I can't help but smile as they glide past me like water in a stream, rippling and rolling to the music, totally in their element. Do you know what I am talking about? I mean, appreciating something that someone does, a unique expression of themselves, a celebration really. I Love it. It totally made me happy, well that and the exercise. I need the exercise to deal with stresses of life. I am confident that in life, if we want to be truly happy, we need to find what out what we need to express. What gifts do we have to offer that are so uniquely ours. That is our journey, to find those and express them with love and all that good energy to bless the lives of those around us. We have to explore and experience and get ourselves out there because each of us is a unique gift one to another.

I guess my job as a mom is to provide as many opportunities for my kids to find that love,that gift that they need to express so that they might experience true joy. And to love them along the journey so that they might have the confidence to keep going even when they stumble and fall. Not an easy task, but so important.

Well if my kids didn't figure out if roller disco is their thing, they get another chance tonight because I am taking them with the free passes they got from last monday. Thats another thing a parent does--takes advantage of those freebies that are worthy of our time.

I happened upon this video that reminds me of my youth and the kind of skating that i did when I was young. enjoy.

Breaking News

Major Pile Up at In n Out Burger Rancho Cucamonga!


Will approached me with this card and said, "Look, this is the biggest car crash in da ho woowld!" I like how because it happened at In n Out, everyone in the pileup still has a big smile on their face. Besides Disneyland In n Out is the happiest place on earth.