Winter Wonderland

Here are a few pics of the snow at our house from yesterday's snow storm. It looks like it is going to be a white Christmas!

news about Kate (again) & Brandon

Thursday Kate's ears were perfect. On Monday, the infection had returned even though she has been on antibotics since Thursday. They were able to take a swab and have it cultured. We are hoping that this might be the key on how to get our little angel better.

Brandon had a freak snowmobile accident yesterday where when he hit a rock, he flew off and the snowmobile flipped and rolled on top of him and then off. He is really sore, but fine. We are definitely saying our prayers everyday!!!

Love you all!

Miss Kate's UPDATE from SLC

For all of you who have been praying for Miss Kate, here is the latest on her condition.

SLC, btw, was a quick, fast trip! We forgot her medical records and ended up turning around and meeting a family friend halfway and then driving 90 (I NEVER do this!) pretty much the rest of the way.

Dr. Muntz checked her ears, which (it so happens) were clear and beautiful yesterday! He throughly explained why we would want to do such and such etc. I was pretty empressed. There was a joke going on about how it's genetic, so we can't blame Kate, we can just blame mom. LOL!!! So, here's what we are going to do:

1. As much as I don't like antibotics, we are going to put her on a maintenance dose of antibotics (one that she hasn't been on before and also one that is good for those tough bugs that don't stay away) because the research shows that more than 50% of the kids that can keep an infection away for 3 months don't ever get another infection.

2. If the infection does come again, we are going to get a culture of it to see if what kind of bug it is OR if it could be a yeast. We will just go to our doctors here in Pocatello and they will send it down to UT (or at least the result down). This will help us in the future if the bug just doesn't stay away or could change what we did.

3. She is also going on Nasonex and Singular to help control any swelling that might occur in her nasal passages or throat passages that will hopefully help the drainage that we have been seeing in her ears. The research on this is not great, but is promising that this will give help where help is needed and pretty much couldn't hurt.

4. We will meet with him again early February to see how she is doing and re-evaluate her.

She is such a joy and blessing in our lives. We hope and pray that she may continue getting better and to grow up to be a healthy lovable girl.

TRICK-OR-TREATERS!

Per many requests, here are my cute trick-or-treaters! Hope that you had an awesome Halloween (now that it's December)!

ANNIVERSARY GIFT - MUSIC TO MY EARS

The piano . . . (it's okay to make noises - ahhh, it's beautiful!)

Faith & Kate 'practicing' and making beautiful music in our home!

For those of you who know me, I love music! Really, I do! I have been playing the piano since I was 8 years old. When I was 11, I started accompanying my mom in church when she would sing; I also started playing the flute. I have always loved music. Brandon and I were married 9 years ago this November. I haven't had a piano to practice on for 11 years. Not for my lack of trying. So imagine my surprise when I got home and saw this gorgeous piano in my front living room. It is a Fisher 1899 upright grand piano. The action of the keys is amazing; the sound is one of the best I've ever heard. My husband found it in Boise and surprised me with an early anniversary present. I love him so much and can't wait to celebrate many more anniversaries!

October 11th - FAITH'S BIG DAY

This day was a crazy one for sure! We woke up to beautiful white snow and windy conditions. We arrived at the stake center early because there were 11 children being baptized that day. After many problems, things started.

Grandma Cindy and I did the musical number on short notice. We read a short biography of Faith. Then we waited, waited, and waited until the last to be baptized. The baptism was perfect. Grandpa Kelly and Uncle Justin were the witnesses. After Faith came out of the water, she said, "I want to do it again!" We had to wait a LONG time for the boys to come out to do the confirmations. Her confirmation was beautiful and Brandon did a wonderful job. We then had a luncheon with our family and a family friend. There were 43 people there to watch Faith get baptized. Faith had lots of support and she has already written about her day in her journal.

OLD PICTURES - NEW TO BLOG

This is our family picture last year.
I have to give a BIG THANK YOU to our great photographer Jared Cooper.
He did such a wonderful job with them.
This one is of the whole fam.

This one is baby Kate AKA monkey. She is about 9 months old here and loving the leaves!




This is our lovable and emotional boy Dawson. He never fails to put a smile on our faces.
He is 4 years old here.


This is beautiful, eager to please Faith. We love her too!
She is 7 in this photo.

We hope you enjoy seeing our cute family!!!

Kate's surgery update

Just wanted to give a quick update on Miss Kate. She is doing really well and is home resting! Her adnoids were enlarged, but not terrible; her ears were full of gunk and now there are cleaned out.

I LOVE THE TEMPLE

Below is an email that I received about Proposition 8 in California. I had heard a bit about it through a friend, but then it really came to light in the email. Read it, and let your friends know. I love the temple and would be very sad if the doors were closed!

The Danger of California's Propostition 8 by Candace E. Salima

The Danger of California's Proposition 8
Posted by Candace E. Salima http://candacesalima.blogspot.com/

Many people have asked me for my opinion on California's Proposition 8 which threatens marriage and family as we know it today. I emphatically state that I strongly support Proposition 8. The reasons are wide and varied, some of which are details in an email I received today:

I don't know if you're aware of what's going on politically here in California right now but for the first time in my life I've seen the church take a stand on a political issue to the extent that we've had Ward gatherings for the past three weeks to physically canvas neighborhoods and make phone calls to registered voters to educate them about the language and affects of Proposition 8.

I guess I was kind of oblivious to the wider reaching affects that this could have on all church members but found this informative e-mail interesting and decided to forward it on to you. In a recent LDS Sacrament meeting in California, the focus was on Amendment 8 (The gay marriage issue).

One of the speakers who, was an LDS judge in the area, had statistics that were 'mind blowing.'

For example, in Boston, MA (where gay marriages are now legal,) the Catholic Charities have closed their doors because the state has required them to allow adoptions to same sex couples, and they refused. They are a large and worthwhile charity with great power in the state and they were overruled.

A Methodist church has lost their tax exempt status because the minister refused to perform a marriage of a same sex couple (they were not of his congregation). A physician who refused to do fertility treatments on a same sex couple because of religious reasons was sued, lost and the state is requiring him to treat everyone as equals.

Our schools will be required to teach, starting in kindergarten, that marriages make up many different combinations. The consequences are horrible.

Directly tied into ALL of this is our right to continue to go to the Temple.

If Gay Marriage is supported by the government, then those who are same-sex married, who are 'LDS' and legally recognized as married by the government, can sue to be married in the temple;

It is my opinion that the church will not bend on this issue, and our rights to go to the temple will be in jeopardy.

AND goodbye to those religious tax-deductions. Tithing, fast offerings, etc. We will lose our tax-exemption status if the government legally forces the church to support same-sex marriage'These effects are far-reaching!

I hope no one is upset by this Email, I would not want to offend anyone, but I believe this issue is not a political issue at all, but a moral issue that affects all of society.

The Proclamation on the family clearly gives a warning voice on this matter. I pray that this issue on the ballots will overturn the gay marriages occurring right now in that state, and help prevent other states from adopting this stance. I believe that it is important to support and defend traditional marriage, home and family.

Another friend says that her relatives in Sweden are even watching what goes on in California. Friends in Canada are watching. The whole world is watching to see what happens.

Let me make this as clear as I know how. All who follow the teachings of the Holy Bible will be outlaws unless we accept and support homosexuality. We will not be allowed to emphatically state that we believe homosexual behavior to be a sin, witness the preacher in Canada who ran into this same problem. The statements listed in the email are very real possibilities.

Are Latter-day Saints ready to have the temple doors shut against us because freedom of religion and all the constitutional rights which come with that, will be gone? I am not. I treasure my time in the temple and would be lost if I could not attend. But what else would God do? He cannot bend on His own dictates on the matter and neither can His Church. The prophet would have no choice but to close the doors of the temple rather than sanction an abomination such as same sex marriages.

The proclamation on the family issued by the First Presidency, under President Gordon B. Hinckley, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints clearly states:

The Family: A Proclamation to the World© 1995, 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. English approval: 5/08. 35602

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

All Latter-day Saints must stand, shoulder to shoulder, and support the Church in this fight against what could surely be the end of temple marriages for all, if Proposition 8 is NOT passed on November 4th. Fight for all your worth, for God will not be mocked.

getting ready

We are getting ready for Faith's big day on Saturday! We just had the Bishop's interview (it went well) and now we are getting a few last minute items ready to go. We are so excited that this big day has finally come for her. We hope to see you there!

Our family's tradition

So it's not original, but it's probably our family's favorite tradition - General Conference Weekend.

About 2 years ago, I realized that yelling at my kids to sit down, be quiet, and listen wasn't working. Infact, it was probably making it miserable for everyone. So I started researching ideas from the ensign and internet. Here are a few things that we do to make this weekend a fun one.

The family home evening before the weekend, we always talk about King Benjamin and how the people gathered their families and pitched their tents facing the temple so that they could hear the prophet. We talked about how we don't have to go to the prophet now; we can watch it on TV or the internet. We also talk about what the prophet might tell us when he speaks to us and what King Benjamin told his people.

Friday I prep 'holiday' food. We eat special food such as turkey, pumpkin roll, homemade rolls, etc all weekend long. That night, we set up our tent inside and sleep together as a family. Sunday, we take the tent down and the kids ALWAYS groan.

During conference, I give the kids an 'activity packet' that they can color and do. It helps them to be quiet and for the older ones (right now, Faith), it helps them write key words about what the speaker is talking about. They also get a treat sack. It is filled with fun treats for them if they sit and listen to the speakers. I buy specialty things that I wouldn't normally buy for them.

This has been such a success in our family and has helped keep the spirit in our home so that we can receive the messages. Last conference, Sister Beck talked about 'mothers who know'. During the middle of the talk, Faith turned around and said, "Mom, this lady is talking to you."

Good luck making conference weekend 'special' for your family!!!

Don't believe everything on the internet!

So, this weekend was the Morrill family reunion. We headed down to Crystal Hot Springs (Honeyville, UT) to camp over and swim. The pictures on the internet on this site were beautiful. IRL (in real life) this place was an absolute dump. The benches under the pavillion were held up by 5 gallon buckets, broken tables heaped in a pile that of course attracked the kids' attention, and of course the swimming pools. As you left the locker room, there was a sign that basically said:

"Our pools consistently exceed the baterial limit for the state of Utah."

WHAT??? How can a place like this stay in business? Of course, they tell you this information AFTER you pay and then they don't give you a refund.

Anyways, don't ever go to Crystal Hot Springs and pay money for it! Does anyone know any other great places to camp and have family reunions???

Faith's baptism photos

Here she is at Stephen's Performing Arts Center in her new white dress. She will be baptized October 11th, 2008 as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.