Ponder

I read this quote tonight in the visiting teaching message for September in my church's magazine The Ensign. It's given me some food for thought. There are definitely ways I could better apply this in my daily interactions with others. The quote is from one of the apostles, M. Russell Ballard. 

"At the heart of the English word atonement is the word one. If all mankind understood this, there would never be anyone with whom we would not be concerned, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, or social or economic standing. We would strive to emulate the Savior and would never be unkind, indifferent, disrespectful, or insensitive to others."

I really like how he takes these sweeping notions (kindness, concern, respect, sensitivity) and brings them down simply in how to apply them: one by one. Not one kindness or one act of respect at a time. But one person at a time. Because ultimately that's what the Savior is all about: one soul at a time. 

Cub Camp Fun: It's Sam's First Year!

So it finally occurred to me tonight that I have posted all of my Cub Scout Day Camp pictures in the private FB group, so nobody near and dear to us has seen very many of the pictures. Voila! Here they are.

Rex taught him to shoot BBs. Looks like they were pretty successful!

This was a fun game that involved lots of water.

And they made Earth Slime, which apparently was great fun to put on your head and face whilst still in its bag...I suppose that's probably a good thing.

Shooting went well, too. He had a great teacher (one of the other boys' dads, who was with us for the day).

Poor Sam! He hit one of the target balloons, but there wasn't quite enough oomph! behind it, so the arrow bounced off of the balloon instead of popping it. He is anxious to try again though!

This is me being corrected very rightfully by a Boy Scout about a third of my age for not keeping my bow aimed down range. Oops.

Our big girl is in the Siblings Den, and gets to do all the things the Cub Scouts do. But she stops to visit with me and hug me every now and again.

She's beautiful. P.S. Boomer Sooner!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Lizzi Dear!

Our beautiful Lizzi turns 18 today! She is brilliant and beautiful, and she makes me smile daily. This is probably my all-time favorite picture of little Lizzi. She was 2, and this captures perfectly the little glint she always has in her eye. I love this beautiful young woman. I have loved every minute of watching her grow into someone who is sassy and independent and caring and full of faith. And the next picture is my favorite from her senior session. So much personality!! So Lizzi!

Water Fun with Madeline

Friends took us swimming on Friday, and Madeline and I had the best time splashing and eating.

 

Those eyelashes!!

Doctor Visit

Sam got his ears cleaned today. It was the semiannual visit. That kid has more wax in his exceptionally tiny ear canals than anyone I know. In the mean time, Madeline entertained herself—and everyone else in the office—by hiding under the chairs and pretending to be a "goggie" (doggy).

Because ... Play-doh & Catan (Duh)

Class of 2019?

I don't think Lizzi cared for Caleb taking over her graduation pictures.

2

Grand Family

Even Hannah was there....

From Grammy's Eye

I totally ripped off all of Grammy's pictures from their visit here, because hello, fun!!

The Other Three...

...weren't as patient as Rex and Madeline, lol.

This is Sam after the first picture. The rest of the pictures got progressively grumpier. :)

The "Many" Moods of Rex

Rex takes a little bit to warm up ... and I got the best pictures after I told him to absolutely not smile at all. Whatever words. Shrug. And by the way...it wasn't hot...it was super muggy, and they were "sword" fighting, hence the dripping face. Welcome to Georgia. Also...as of yesterday he has very little hair. I halfway thought about doing that to myself, too. Oh, and all his freckles are my favorite!!!!