Thoughts on the Viewing of President Hinckley

I was thinking about how we aren't sure how much longer we are going to live in Utah. And, the viewing of President Hinckley was today so we wanted to take advantage while we could and go to (besides the fact that I really felt the need).
I wasn't exactly sure where it was, but that was no problem since we drove past the conference center and saw hoard of people in a line(expected around 60,000 or so a day). We figured they could at least guide us. Steve did the parking and I took Andy--all bundled up and waited in line.

Andrea had the best spirit about her. She was smiling and giggling, and making those around her happy as we were standing in the absolute freezing cold. I tried to keep the wind from blowing her. I know, she looks like a little pioneer--but it was blocking the wind (she even wore a dress, but you can't see).

(this was us waiting outside in line to get in--it was really cold)
We were not allowed our cameras inside, just while we were waiting...

An older man (an usher of some sort) came up to us and said "would you please follow me." Ok, what is going on.

We followed him to a heater. We stayed at the heater for about half a second when he guided us inside. I was so worried about having her in the cold, and someone must have felt that and did a tremendously good deed and let us go inside and not even wait in line. It was then I realized "wait, we have our baby with us at the conference center. Wait, there are other babies."

I then went to an usher and asked how the whole thing worked. She said that we would go in the conference center, and be seated and wait to ride the escalator to go to the presidents hall to see our prophet. This is the hall where they have all the paintings of the apostles and first presidency.

This is one of the few, if not the only event that we could bring little andy to. I thought that was amazing--how wonderful that she gets to be a part of it with us---and interesting that this is the ONE thing she can.

I was thinking about that as we were sitting in the conference center...looking around at all the people there to pay their respects . They had the motab playing in the background and everyone was very reverent. There was a very calming spirit there. Just peaceful and wonderful to see how loved he was.

We went to the hall of prophets and waited in another line. In this line they had pictures of the apostles and first presidency. Steve stayed in line while I took Andy around and showed her all their pictures and explained who they all were. She had a smile on her face the entire time. Everyone could feel of her little spirit. WE then went were Pres. Hinckley was and got to see him very briefly.

As I looked at him all in white, I was thinking about the temple and how I just love that he was in white. I thought of how Steve wore white for our wedding, and was loving it even more. I started my eternity with him and I all in white. Hinckley was passing through to another part of his eternity all in white.
It was all very brief, maybe 20 seconds, and we were told we had to move on. It was peacful as we walked and saw flowers from his family, and cards from primary kids. I didn't count ALL of his great grandchildren, but I got to 64 when we had to move on.

I am so glad we were able to go. I just needed that spiritual moment with my family. I will forever be grateful for the Prophet President Hinckley and his impact on all our lives. What a man of integrity. I will love to share with Andy when she is older that she was able to go and see President Hinckley with her mom and dad. What an experience that we were so grateful to attend, and hope that those are family who wished there were there could somehow go vicariously through us.

Living with Perfection...

When you see that beautiful smile, how does your heart not just melt?


Babies truly are perfect...think about it...They can't sin, they don't know how to be bad. They are perfect beings here to bring joy to everyone around them. Steve was commenting to me the other day that "wow, we are living with a perfect person. Can you believe that?"

I really can't believe it! She is just the happiest girl and is learning so fast. Whenever Steve comes home she just smiles and lights up. It is so fun to watch. She cannot yet sit up or crawl, but somehow she manages to move from one position to another, and face different directions. I am in no rush for her to be mobile, yet want her to get the hang of it soon...hmm.. Andy does this little grunt thing that I can't quite understand. She just grunts. We laugh when she does it. It is her form of communication. I love my little ball of perfection!

“When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way.

He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother.

And then God puts the idea into the mother’s heart, and she puts it into the baby’s mind. And then God waits.

The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies.”
-E.T. Sullivan, quoted by President Hinckley

Elections and MITT ROMNEY!

So I wasn't going to start this on my blog cause I was just going to keep it family stuff (which is why I have a whole blog for IDOL). ..(Although it is fascinating that I have had more hits and comments on my idol blog than the family blog..just an interesting little insight.) After reading my sister's blog, I felt I needed to just rant on my own. This is kind of a mini journal and elections is what happening at the time, so why not?

I love ELECTION YEAR ! I love how it makes me feel patriotic. I remember the last election. I was in a political sociology class (perfect for election year). My teachers were telling me how my vote statistically doesn't count, yet I really need to vote, in fact it was my grade. How contradictory! We watched the elections and had a big AMERICAN flag that we colored after the results were posted! Fun TIMES! Anyway--I am going to come out and say it! I support Mitt Romney 100%.

I did not fully support him originally simply because he was a Mormon. I do not feel you should support someone just because they are the same color or gender as you, or whatever... So, I did not want to back someone up just because he was my same religion (in other words, I didn't really know about him at that point and what he stood for). I heard of too many people liking him ( just like they go with other candidates) simply because he was mormon--which, sad to say, does not necessarily make you a good candidate (however, in this case, it does cause he is great)! I want to back up a candidate because I know the issues and I know how they handle it, and believe in what they are doing and how they stand for it.I agree with my sister that the system is broken. The way we handle elections really is not for our one voice---it worked when it was first set up, but times have changed...AMERICA is BIGGER...etc..

I am not going to rant about how good or bad any candidates are. This is not what this is about. I think everyone should decide for themselves. I think it is beyond party. Just because someone is a democrat or republican does not mean their views are accurate simply because you are a republican or democrat yourself.

We need to get involved, and know the issues, and not go in blindly voting. We might have to study it out ourselves, and remember that Media is not always accurate. Media tells you what they want you to believe. It is fascinating how in one story 40% is nothing, and in another it is huge! Statistics can be misleading.

I don't want to talk about this on my blog too much cause it is too big for me. I do not claim to understand the process or all of the situations. I do believe I have a voice and an opinion. I believe that some politicians can be bought or will shake your hand simply for a vote. I also believe that others, such as Mitt Romney, will not sway from what they said, or put on a show simply to put on a show.

I just want to again say that I WILL BE VOTING and I WILL BE DOING MY OWN RESEARCH. I urge you all to do the same. Do not be ignorant--get involved. I believe our voices can be heard! I believe that we should get involved in what is happening in our country...and my voice will be heard!

Don't grow up too fast!

I know all I ever post about is the baby and me but since I am a full time mom and that job NEVER stops, even if we ever get a babysitter---it is my entire life.

Last night I had an interesting experience. Andy sleeps in a little play pen right next to our bed (it is the only thing we can afford and the only space we have). She cried out and I leaned over to look at her and she seemed fine, just wanted to cry or something. So I tried to go back to sleep. This continued for a while and then I finally got her out of her play pen.

I am not sure exactly how much time had passed since I think I fell back asleep. When I picked her up she was wet all over. I kept thinking--"how in the world did this happen?"

Come to find out, her diaper was only HALF on. I half laughed half cried at the thought of how this could have happened as I swear I was careful with her diaper!



On that note, I find it interesting that my feelings for my baby can be somewhat of an oxymoron. See, of course I want her to get big and learn to crawl and talk and walk. At the same time, I love having my little baby. I love that she NEEDS me and get tired of it at the same time. I tell her that she will never understand just how much I love her (that is until she has her own little girl). They grow up too fast for my liking. She has gotten so big in just a few short months I just can't handle it!

(One day our ENTIRE Family will be in a pic again)---we hope soon!

I love how much joy she brings me and happiness to our home. I love that what she says goes--literally she rules the house. I love that I can tell her about everything and even though she can't tell me, I feel she understands.

---More on the Prophet----

The other day I was so sad about our prophet dying that I just had to hold ANDY and tell her "Now, this was your first Prophet. I know you won't remember him much, but he was a wonderful man. And momma is sad right now."

I want to go to his viewing this week, so if we end up making it, I will definitely have some feelings to share. Last night they did a tribute to President Hinckley and showed a man of integrity . I watched it while Steve was at work. Now, I have seen it before several times. Of course it took on a new light after his death. He truly was a remarkable man and did so much for the church and for everyone he knew, including the students of BYU. I feel I need to go through my own mourning process. I forgot how he had the best sense of humor. I don't remember laughing so much during conference and other talks.

Little Andy will have a new prophet that she can listen to. I will, however, tell her stories of her momma's prophet and how he touched her life. For now I am just so grateful for the joy Andrea brings to our lives and just pray for her happiness and well being.

We Thank Thee Oh GOD For A PROPHET

I just heard the news that President Hinckley has died!
I wish I had the words to adequately describe my thoughts and feelings at the moment. I just listened to a news broadcast on channel 13 fox where the broadcaster said that "President Hinckley has done more and seen more than ANY other LDS Prophet, save Joseph Smith alone." I could not agree more!

This man was beyond remarkable for me. He is a true leader and a true example and servant of the Lord. I know there is an order in the church, and we will all be fine and there will be a new prophet, but for the moment I am mourning the loss of one of the greatest men in existence.

I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that he was MY PROPHET. By that I mean that he was the prophet that I remember. I was really young for all of the other prophets. President Hinckley has been the prophet of my youth, young adult and adult years. He has been the one that I have listened to, that has known what I needed to hear through these growing years in my life.
He has been the prophet that has been around the longest for me. He has been so very active and highly involved. I am so saddened, he is truly going to be missed. I am happy that he gets to be with his wife. He has spoken many times of how much he misses her.President Hinckley has done so much for Brigham Young University. He made an impact on what it stands for and means. I hope you can click the link and see BYU's Tribute to President Hinckley.

One experience I remember with President Hinckley was in 1997 after the HUGE PIONEER TREK had ended in Salt Lake at the 24th of July Parade. President Hinckley spoke. He wore a cowboy hat and a huge smile. I remember him winking at the crowd, and thinking--"wow--I didn't know they could wear cowboy hats and be so cool!"

President Hinckley was a true leader and follower and testifier of Christ. He lead by example and testimony. He didn't just talk about doing things, he went and did them himself. He was known for so many things. Not only for helping dot the earth with temples, for traveling far and wide to visit those in need and desiring to see him...countless things will never be forgotten.
One thing that he seemed to reiterate was his List of BE'S:

1. Be grateful.

2. Be smart.

3. Be clean.

4. Be true.

5. Be humble.

6. Be prayerful.

The thing I will remember most is his testimony of the Savior and his love for ALL men. He truly was an inspired man of GOD with a happy, grateful heart and zeal to serve. The only thing I have left to say is to quote the hymn page 19:

"We thank thee Oh God for a Prophet to guide us in these latter days. We thank thee for sending the gospel to lighten our minds with its rays. We thank thee for every blessing bestowed by thy bounteous hands. We feel it a pleasure to serve thee and love to obey thy command."

I know that President Hinckley IS a PROPHET of GOD. I am so grateful for his leadership and council, wisdom, and example. I know that the church is true and is lead and guided by a prophet of the LORD who speaks the word of the LORD and testifies of GOD. I truly and grateful for a prophet that guides me in these latter days.

A collague of the cuteness...

When to keep your mouth shut!

Do you ever feel like you don't think before you speak? Usually, when I have done this I say something I regret. This seems to be happening to me a LOT lately. I feel like Meg Ryan during "You've Got Mail" in the scene where she says she never could say what she really thinks, and then when she does she regrets it.

After it is out there, then that is it...you have put it out there. What you say could lead to someone thinking or feeling something you did not intend, and then start a whole slew of things that you would not want. So the lesson here is to not only THINK before we SPEAK, but also to just think about the NICE things that we can say. It is amazing how a nice word will go a long way. I hope it is the NICE things that people remember about me.

DInners Ready--Oh, Just Kidding!

Here is my story, and I hope you get a laugh out of it. So, my sister calls me up and says, I know a good crockpot recipe that you should use sometime. She tells me the ingredients and I realize that I have all the ingredients for this feast. I was so worried about what to make for dinner that I was not going to make it. It is a thing called beef stroganoff .

I wish I could fully express how huge this excitement for this anticipated meal. I was pumped, ready, excited and the anticipation was probably an even bigger build up than the actual meal. I picked Steve up from school and that was the first thing I said to him--"dinner is cooking, I am so excited. It should all be ready by 6."Ok, so this is too much build up cause we all know what happened right? I decide that I am going to make the noodles as 5:30 and make some rolls. Before I do this, I want to check on our little feast. I look in the pot and see that the meat is still raw...WHAT? How is that possible? Did I do something wrong? The answer is YES! In fact, you need to not only turn it on, but plug it in. Oh yeah, another clue would be if you could smell it cooking, that might give a little hint.

Needless to say I am trying to get a laugh out of it. I actually was quite upset about it at first. I really was looking forward to eating right then. The good news (besides the fact that I am so HILARIOUS) is that it will get eaten, just four hours later and it will be just as good! So, please laugh with me. We have all been there. Or is it just me? The greatest part is that, as usual, my husband has the best attitude about it and will laugh with me...another reason to love him more..