What gifts will you give? I hope you'll receive this one!

HE IS THE GIFT!  I'm taking a pause in my blog catch-up to wish you a Merry Christmas!  Click on my first sentence to watch an inspirational video.

October Decor

We have a lot of decorations for the holidays.  Before our next move I'll need to purge many of them, but for now the kids love the fun of each season- and I do too!

Noé made these cute little characters!

When I Grow Up...

I want to be...

 

A baker or a computer engineer,

A dance teacher and a mommy,

A light saber maker,

A tea party restaurant guy,

An airplane flyer (pilot),

A dancer or a hair model.

Sleeping Beauty

Watching a baby sleep is so peaceful.  It's too bad that my sleeps aren't so peaceful as she wants to party then!

Crazy Hair

It looks like Ali got the long hair gene that Noé got (none of my boys did) and I love her crazy hair!!

She is such a busy little lady always moving and dancing!

 

I had to add a couple more shots with her hair a bit tamed with her big bow.

Doesn't she look like she's ready to jump straight to the sky?

Adopted Family

Ever since we moved to Ottawa (12 years ago) we've felt that the Cameron's, Martin's (and the Woolsey's who now live in Toronto) are our adopted family.  It had been way too long since we had them over for dinner, so we finally planned a date.  Lucky Tasha and Ali joined the grown-ups table.

The kids table.

Hiram excused himself and went upstairs to take a nap.  I still can't believe he does that!

Katie and Tori are all grown up and were at the Singles Ward then.  As I'm typing this Katie is on her mission!  What?  I first met her when she was 7!!  We sure love these families!

Ali @ 4 months

At 4 months old, Ali has a lot to say and is such a chatty girl.  She also wants to be on the go and is always moving around.

We just love her so!

Miss Pelula and Mr Whigby

I sent Leonard this teddy bear while he was serving his mission, so he could hug it in place of me (yes, I've always been cheesy!).  We got this bunny rabbit on our honeymoon from the West Edmonton Mall.  The two of them have sat on our bed ever since.  They got a new flower corsage and bowtie, so I had to take a picture of them.  We have way too many stuffies in our house and we need to give lots away, but I hope we always keep these two.

The Moral Force of Women

"A pernicious philosophy that undermines women’s moral influence is the devaluation of marriage and of motherhood and homemaking as a career. Some view homemaking with outright contempt, arguing it demeans women and that the relentless demands of raising children are a form of exploitation. They ridicule what they call “the mommy track” as a career. This is not fair or right. We do not diminish the value of what women or men achieve in any worthy endeavor or career—we all benefit from those achievements—but we still recognize there is not a higher good than motherhood and fatherhood in marriage. There is no superior career, and no amount of money, authority, or public acclaim can exceed the ultimate rewards of family. Whatever else a woman may accomplish, her moral influence is no more optimally employed than here."

D. Todd Christofferson

“The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.”

Margaret D. Nadauld

To read the rest of the talk click here: The Moral Force of Women

Living the Gospel Joyful

"The infinite and eternal Creator of light and life knows you! He is mindful of you.

 

Yes, God loves you this very day and always.

 

He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed—even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you.

 

And God knows of your successes; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens—even when you are struggling with your own.

He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly—He knows you as you really are. And He loves you—today and always!"

 

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

 

To read the rest of the talk click here:  Living the Gospel Joyful

Palmyra, we love you!

A couple weeks after we got home the youth in our ward took a trip to Palmyra, New York to serve in the Temple, to visit the Smith Family Farm, and the Sacred Grove.  Leonard drove Kaleb, Noé, and some of their friends, and helped in the baptistry.

Group shot.

With the

Angel Moroni.

Let's go to the Sacred Grove!

Our Bishop and lots of lovely young ladies.

The three musketeers.  I can't believe they have known each other since before their first birthdays!

The next day at church Kaleb gave a talk in Primary opening exercises.  I wanted to share it here:

 

Yesterday, I had the privilege of going to Palmyra, New York with our ward to do baptisms for the dead. This was my 6^th opportunity to do this, since I've turned 12. Back in May, I went with our ward to Montreal, Quebec. During the summer, I got to serve in the Cardston, Alberta temple with my dad, sister, uncles, and cousins. My dad also took my sister and I to serve in the Boise, Idaho; Provo, Utah; and Las Vegas, Nevada temples too.

I have enjoyed serving each time in the temple, however yesterday was extra special because yesterday I got to do baptisms and confirmations for my own family. Noé and I were able to serve my mom's grandma's brothers and sisters. It is so wonderful and important for us to provide these saving ordinances for our own kindred dead.

Serving in the temple blesses many people. It blesses me, because I feel the spirit and have my own testimony strengthened. It blesses my immediate family, because we are reminded that we want to be a family forever and it helps us to be more kind and patient with one another. It also blesses my extended family that have passed away, because now they have the opportunity to enter the Kingdom of God.

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to be a member of His church- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am so grateful for the many, beautiful temples throughout the earth. I am so grateful that through the temple ordinances we can become families forever.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

*With our temple (Montreal) being closed for renovations our family has been taking a monthly temple trip.  Our family went back to Palmyra the following weekend to continue the work for my Granny Barlow's siblings.  We are so lucky to get to go to the temple so often!

Little gem

I am so glad this little girl joined our family.  I love each of my children, but babies are extra special!

 

Daddy-Daughter

We came home from church, and I caught these two like this.  They were in the same pose without even realizing it.  What cuties!

Back-to-School

The day quickly came for the kids to go back-to-school.

Cute little stair steps!

Kaleb

7th Grade

Noé

7th Grade

Gavin

2nd Grade

Teague

SK (Senior Kindergarten)

Hiram

My buddy

Ali

My missy

Our kids aren't eligible for the school bus until the middle of October, so we drive them to and from each day until then.  However, the first day is a special day so we all walk them.

This is how we all felt when we had to say goodbye to the big kids.  I miss my kiddos when they're at school and I miss the freedom of being on our own schedule once school starts.  How many days until Christmas break?