On Sunday, June 23rd, my family I were sitting in our chapel watching the new mission president’s broadcast.  We showed up early and watched the live broadcast at 3, instead of coming with the rest of the ward at 5.  Alone in the chapel, we were hoping to see our Provo MTC missionary singing in the choir.  Though I did not see him, it was an amazing broadcast. I was particularly touched… Read More

photo credit: worldcongress.org Today the Supreme Court of the United States of America handed down its decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and declaring a lack of standing for the Proposition 8 case in the state of California, which affirmed that marriage is legally recognized as the union of one man and one woman, and I put up a post about left-overs. I am saddened deeply by the news. … Read More

Do you ever get totally frustrated with the left-overs in your refrigerator or the odds and ends in the cupboard?  With just a few little tricks you can eliminate waste, create new dishes, and save some money. Similar dishes use almost the same spices and can usually be combined without problems because the flavors are closely related.  For instance, basil, garlic, onion and tomato are used in most Italian dishes—spaghetti, lasagna, pizza… Read More

photo credit: flickriver.com Recently I have been concerned with the casualness with which some young adults approach the law of chastity.  I won’t go into the details as to why it is bothering me and I have been thinking about it, but the Lord’s standards, given through His prophets, are clear. The Lord and His prophets condemn sexual immorality. All sexual relations outside of marriage violate the law of chastity and are… Read More

#1:The baby broke my digital camera.  Ugh!  A few days before he broke it, he took these photos of himself.  They are very cute and he is in his ‘Uperman’ shirt.  He loves it so much I can hardly get it off of him to wash it.  He wore it for about a week the first time, even to bed, under his PJ’s.  He hasn’t ever seen the movie or anything that… Read More

empowernetwork.com Yesterday I posted The Saga. Today we are discussing some of the things I have learned from my experience and some of the doctrinal principles that apply. We’ll jump right in: Though I have completely curbed my ability to cut into another person, because of the things I did say to Ms. P, she is sure that I hate her.  Now this is just not true.  I have never hated her. … Read More

thepeacefulbirthproject.org I hesitated sharing this publicly on my blog.  Then I realized that some of you readers have heard the other side of the story, so you should at least have both sides.  Those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, just enjoy the story, learn from the doctrinal principles and apply them to your own relationships. 🙂 Here goes:There is a particular person in my life who… Read More

wfarthingandsons.com In our school district, the acronym GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Education.  When I was growing up, they called it TAG (talented and gifted).  Functionally this is the district’s attempt at recognizing those students who have ‘gifted’ learning abilities.  They are usually the kids who get their work done quickly because it comes easy to them or they are the ones who blow the curve in your high school or… Read More

Little people are just that……..LITTLE  PEOPLE.  They have feelings, emotions, ideas, agendas, thoughts, hopes, dreams, etc…  All of the psychological characteristics adults have, children do too, and babies.  They may not have the cognitive abilities to plan in the long term, or the vocabulary to express what they want, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have an idea about what they need and how they want it.  Just ask any two-year… Read More

photo credit:  wallpink.com  President Packer taught this idea when he shared this story during the last general conference: The back windows of our home overlook a small flower garden and the woods which border a small stream. One wall of the house borders on the garden and is thickly covered with English ivy. Most years this ivy has been the nesting place for house finches. The nests in the vines are safe… Read More