Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration

I love this remarkable movie about the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Quick Campout

We promised the kiddos to go camping...so we hopped in the bus on Friday night and drove 15 minutes to the White Tank Mts. for a little family fun.

It was cold and windy overnight, but we woke up to glorious sunshine and breakfast burritos.

John carving wood.

It's been years since we've been desert camping.  I guess we don't really consider this as "camping" since we were so close in town.  But the view of the Phoenix skyline was beautiful and we made s'mores.

It's a very urban campground as you can see.

But the park is nice and we ventured out for a hike.

Adam and I were joking about how old we are getting.

We love it.

Monie baby LOVES camping.  She went into a deep depression when we got home.  She sat in the bus and gave us a very dirty look when we made her get out.

I think Ella's favorite part was the food and sleeping "upstairs".

Spring is wonderful in AZ. 

Gorgeous cactus blossoms.

Ok, here's our hike...Ford Canyon.

The saguaros are everywhere.

Down the wash.

Little bit of spring.

The birds love the cacti.

And the diamondback we almost stepped on.

Can you see it?

You Will Be Freed

March Madness...Meeting and Apostle

It's a completely full month with appointments, projects, school....

Ella will be turning 6 next month which is so crazy for us!!  Our baby is growing so fast.
People have been asking about John's neuro appointment too so here's the update:  We're waiting on an EEG at St. Jo's scheduled in April, then we'll be able to see some of the activity his brain is having.  Seizures are quite common with autistic kids, but we'll see.

DID YOU KNOW?  Autism Awareness Day is April 2nd.  On April 1st and 2nd, people all over the world will be participating by wearing BLUE, the official autism color.  You can also replace your outdoor lightbulb with a blue one to show support!  The NY Empire State building will even be participating with blue lights.

Learn more about it a http://www.lightitupblue.org/

We decided to skip vacationing for spring break and work around our house. Our goal lately has been to make our home more like the temple, so we began with the floors.

We began replacing our frisee carpet. It was very worn and stained. Maybe you can't tell in the photo but trust me, it was nasty.  We've only been in the house for 5 years, but with kids and pets it was time to toss.

 

Adam and I replaced the family room carpet with a new pad and beautiful Shaw loop and cut pattern carpeting.

We ripped out carpeting in the front room and bedrooms and began installing laminate flooring which we love.  We still have 3 more rooms to do and it's a LOT of work!  Removing baseboards, cutting, hammering...whew!

A sneak peek of the floor in the master bedroom - still not completely finished though.

We also had a visit from Elder Andersen and his lovely wife (celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary while visiting)!!

He came and spoke at our stake conference which was amazing.  Adam and I sat 3rd row for the adult session (thanks to Algers for helping us with seats).  Elder Andersen came around the benches (out of his way) to shake our hands afterward.  I didn't know what to say to an apostle, but I asked him if he gets tired of shaking people's hands and he said in the most humble of voices "No, I love it." 

I cannot explain how much I learned from this wonderful man AND his wife.

The next morning we got ready early to be seated 1 1/2 hours before the session started.  Elder Andersen was talking with the youth so Adam walked John over to him. 

He said "What's your name??"  and John (with his gel combed hair and black suit) responded "John" in a very clear voice (which is quite unusual seeing that we were in a crowded room).  Elder Andersen looked right at him and said "That's a GREAT name."

I asked John if he could feel the spirit and he was in awe.  With a big smile on his face he said he felt the Holy Spirit way, way a lot.  Ella was a little shy so she stood and watched from a distance with me.  She kept saying "I see him!" and asking "Does he know my name??"  She was particularly impressed with Sister Andersen, as all of us were.

We knew what a blessing it was to have an apostle come and visit. 

I'll treasure this experience forever.

What a WONDERFUL March!

Anniversary

10 years of worry and wonder....

... ups and downs ...

... teamwork ...

... adventure ...

and 10 GOOD years of slap happy giggles.