A Gift to the World

I love this time of year!  The spirit of Christmas is so wonderful.  I especially love the spirit of giving.  I am so excited to spend these next few days with our families celebrating.  I used to be sad as I got older because it seemed like the magic of Christmas faded but now I recognize that even if the magic fades the spirit has only grown stronger.  The excitement of presents had definitely lessened, but the joy I get from the little things has grown.  I love the music, lights, food, family, friends, and giving to others.  

I really loved watching this video, it makes my heart swell and is the greatest part of Christmas in my mind.  No presents can compare to the gift of my savior.  

Merry Christmas Everyone!

My giggly 7 month old

As always I am late with this post, but the 7 month mark has hit!  This little guy is growing so fast and getting more and more handsome.  He has a third tooth breaking through and the gums are very swollen.    

He is still not mobile yet but we still have begun to baby proof in ways we never expected. Anything within a one foot radius of us will either be drooled on, thrown on the floor, or banged to death.  This includes cell phones, lap tops, food, Mozzie, pretty much anything and everything.  You learn to baby proof your life in ways you never thought of.  For example after I got out of high school I never imagined I would have to hide my phone while texting, or playing games..but I do it constantly now!  I always try to text literally behind Liams back so that he wont grab my phone and drool all over it.  I have accepted it is only a matter of time before it breaks from drool.  He gets very frustrated if he does see my phone and I won't let him have it.  I have tried giving him older phones and they just won't do.  It has to be the phone that is in my hand at that exact moment or the world will end!

The past few weeks have been a blast though.  Liam is such a happy little guy that loves to play and laugh.  He is still very much a daddy's boy but loves to dance and play with mom when dad's at work.  We especially love to jump up and down to songs like gangnam style.  Liam laughs so hard and if you have heard his laugh you can't help but laugh too. 

Liam's got a pretty awesome sleeping schedule down and it is the bomb!  I cannot express my gratitude to this little heavenly boy for being a good sleeper.  

We are just trying to enjoy every single day with him because time is going faster and faster and I am realizing I literally cant take one second for granted.    

Here are some pics of him at 7 months.  He was a little tired when we took him but I got one good smile showing his cute bottom teeth.  

Opinion: I think I'll leave my skirt on

I have recently heard of a feminist movement by some of the women in the LDS church.  Apparently they feel the gender roles in the church are too rigid for them and they need to make a statement by wearing pants to church last Sunday. It really makes me sad that some women feel this way and are choosing to act out in this manner.  A few thoughts...

1. Yes we typically wear skirts and dresses to church.  This is not because the men insist on it.  We have woman leaders in the church as well and I am pretty much 100% positive they would recommend the same thing.  Also if you have ever paid attention you would probably notice they recommend a dress code for the men as well.  Have you ever seen an Elder in a florescent shirt and purple pants?  Doubtful.  This is because we "choose" to represent our savior as well as ourselves.  The best way to do this is not by being overly outrageous in our dress but simple, tasteful, and modest.
2.   Our church meetings are for worshiping our Savior not for your own agenda.  The sacrament is for renewing our covenants we made at baptism and is sacred.  Christ should be the sole focus, not clothing.
3.  If you have an understanding of this gospel I am not sure how this is even a discussion.  Our faith continuously highlights the importance of woman in the church and how wonderful they are.  In the Daughters of Our Kingdom manual pg 143 Gordon B. Hinckley said,

"Let me say to you sisters that you do not hold a second place in our Father's plan for the eternal happiness and well-being of His children.  You are an absolutely essential part of that plan.  Without you the plan could not function.  Without you the entire program would be frustrated...

Each of you is a daughter of God, endowed with a divine birthright.  You need no defense of that position...

There is strength and great capacity in the women of this Church.  There is leadership and direction, a certain spirit of independence, and yet great satisfaction in being a part of this the Lord's kingdom, and of working hand in hand with the priesthood to move it forward."

Our role as woman in the church is of great importance.  I know our leaders love and support us and would never wish for us to feel inferior to them.  We are to work together to bring this great work forth and to serve one another.

Coming Home to Avert Disaster!

On our arrival home from Thanksgiving I walked into the house and yelled back at Jason, "somethings wrong!"  As soon as I walked in it felt like I opened an oven door and all the hot hair overwhelms you!  Typically in Logan when people head out of town they are afraid their pipes will freeze and break, then flood your home.  We had the exact opposite.  Our furnace wigged out and the heater ran on full blast non-stop for I don't know how long.  The thermostat couldn't even read the temperature in the house because it was too hot, but I am estimating somewhere over 110 degrees.  It was really a weird experience because literally everything was hot!  The tile on the floor felt like walking on hot sand, the counter tops and walls felt heated, the carpet felt like it was just pulled out of the dryer, but I do have to say I enjoy a heated toilet seat!  At first I got a huge pit in my stomach thinking about the massive gas bill heading our way, but putting things in perspective we are so blessed our home didn't burn down! It took two days to completely cool off the house and as of now the furnace has been working fine. Just to be safe we are having the heating specialist come look at everything and hopefully explain to us how this happened.  Here are some pics of the evidence.

Our bathroom was the hottest room in the house, so our little bamboo plant that we have had since we got married sadly died!   

 The heat changed the pressure too so all the bottles and such in our bathroom were swollen and some looked like this bottle of hand soap.  

Most the water in the toilet evaporated.  

 My candles were all completely melted.

 My waxing pot was melted and ready to go.  

This large candle was also melted.

I just found this yesterday while looking through decorations.  These are not even real candles, they are the ones with the battery operated lights.  I couldn't believe they melted because they are a combo of wax and plastic, and I am pretty sure the whole point of them is so they wont melt.  The funny part is that it still turns on!  ha crazy.

Well I am grateful we still have a home and hope this never happens again.  If your reading this I am interested if you have ever heard of this happening before?  If so do you know why?  

Thanks!