Time Flies

Last Wednesday Justin turned 18 months old. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It seems like we just brought him home from the hospital. At the same time part of me feels like he has been a part of our family forever. Funny how time can be like that sometimes. Here are some pictures that I took of him on Wednesday.

Sorry, the picture is a little off center. Most of them are like that because he moves around so much

Outside with Daddy

The other day Brad went outside to rake the leaves in the backyard. Zachary immediately went upstairs and got dressed so that he could go "help" Daddy. When they were all done Zachary decided to play in the leaves.

My Poor Little Justin

My little Justin hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days. He seems to be getting better now, but he has a nasty cough. He has been taking a lot of naps though.

He is so cute when he goes down for a nap. He puts his two fingers in his mouth, grabs the corner of his special quilt, and tickles his lip with it. I just had to take a picture and share it with all of you. Sorry, the picture is sideways. I couldn't get it to flip the right way. It's one of the cutest things I've ever seen, but I may be a little biased.

Enrichment

Last night we had our Relief Society enrichment meeting. The whole program was based on the Parable of the Ten Virgins. It was a wonderful program. There was a narrative of the parable with several reading parts and a power point presentation, a special musical number, and then the bishop gave his thought on the parable and how we can "get oil for our lamps".

Last night was very special to me. The reason why is that I have been struggling with Bronchitis for the last month, and I was asked to do part of the reading and to sing a duet with another sister in my ward. I agreed to do both, hoping that my voice would be better by the meeting. Up until right before the meeting started I was coughing and was having a hard time even speaking. I was a little concerned but just had a hope that everything would work out.

Well, the meeting went well. I got through the reading without my voice giving out, and then it was time to sing. I am so grateful for the help I received. My voice was completely normal as we sang, and at least half of the women were crying by the end of the song. It was amazing to be a part of the whole experience.

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me opportunities to serve and then giving me the ability to follow through. I'm glad I made it through the song, and I'm really glad that I had such an amazing testimony building experience.

Primary Program

Today was the Primary Program in our ward. This is the first time that Zachary has been in the program, and I think I was more nervous than he was. He did a great job. He sang all of the songs and had a speaking part. His part was to say, "I'm trying to be like Jesus by helping my mom." He memorized his line and spoke clearly into the microphone so that everyone could hear him. I was so proud of him. They couldn't have given him a more appropriate part. He does help me a lot. He was a little wiggly, but what can you expect from a sunbeam. I confess, I was laughing, and crying through the whole thing. I love Primary Program Sundays!

Needed Something Girly

Okay, so I know I have two boys, and my blog name is not all that feminine, but I had to add a little bit of a girly influence to my blog. I am after all a girl. That is why I now have flowers as my background and a flower picture in this post. I love my boys, don't get me wrong, but sometimes there is way too much male energy surrounding me. So, today I'm going a little bit girly.

Separation of Church and State

I very seldom delve into political matters because I hate the contentious spirit that can creep into a political conversation. People usually have their own opinions about things and very seldom will strive to understand another person's views. I can't allow myself to take a back seat this time around. There is so much being said about the church that I belong to (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in reference to the recent Proposition 8 passing in California. The church took a stand on this issue and worked very hard to spread the word and encourage people to vote for the state constitution to define marriage as a union between one woman and one man. Many people are outraged because the church had so much involvement in spreading the word. I recently read somewhere that in some people's opinions the church has violated laws in relation to separation of church and state.

This is an issue that is often misunderstood. So many people, politicians and lawmakers included, don't understand where or why this idea was introduced into our country. This idea was implemented to protect religion from government, not the other way around.

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State." - Thomas Jefferson

I just wanted to point this out because I know that what the church did was not unlawful. No one in our church forced people to vote in favor of Prop.8. What is being said about the church is wrong, and has made me feel the need to say something on this matter. We are a church made up of people who have their freedom to choose and to speak what we believe. That is not illegal, and I hope it never will be.