Kelly Times Two

Hopefully this title, Book of Mormon Stories Pool Party , does not sound irreverent, because as an Activity Days leader, I felt compelled to come up with a fun end-of-the-summer event that is also uplifting, and after all, who doesn't love a splash in the pool on a hot day in August?  My current church calling, or official role that I volunteer for, allows me to plan two activities each month for girls ages 8 to 11, that will encourage them to learn and live the gospel, serve others, and use the talents Heavenly Father has given them, to learn to do many good things.  This year's seminary course of study for high school students is The Book of Mormon, and since I am a huge fan of this inspired book of scripture, I came up with this idea to have each girl show up to my house with a written summary of one of her favorite stories from within its many pages, and share it with the rest of the girls, while outside in our swimsuits near our backyard swimming pool!  As each girl ...

Some areas that I was reminded to focus on after attending stake conference this past weekend include studying the scriptures daily with our family and having Family Home Evening consistently, every Monday night, rather than hit and miss. The General Authority who was visiting our stake said he couldn't fathom his children leaving the house each day without first having family prayer. There can always be an excuse for why we could easily skip one of these important areas that help to strengthen home and families, including busy schedules, not everyone being at home or awake at the same time. I recommitted to having family prayer with my kids each morning, even if it means that the rest of the family isn't there, or is asleep, or what ever the distraction may be. Those who are at home or awake can still do this regularly. After all, there is a great scripture that says to "pray always." “Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shal...

Here am I (five months pregnant), with Hannah, Kelly, Lindsey, and Christopher, walking out of the San Antonio temple after our new daughter was sealed to us for time and for all eternity during a special, sacred ceremony, this past Saturday afternoon.  We were happy to have a wonderful group of guests in attendance with us, Kelly's two sisters, Debbie and Brenda, my sister, Julie, Kelly's mom and dad, my mom, my good friends Lorraine and Stewart, Carol and Rick, and one person from our ward, my buddy, Sue. Dinner later that night consisted of a feast at the Salt Lick in Driftwood, Texas, for some incredible pork ribs, cole slaw, and more. We strolled along the Riverwalk to show our visiting family members one of San Antonio's popular tourist spots.  It was a beautiful, windy day, the Saturday following Thanksgiving, in San Antonio.  We tried to find a corner with less wind to blow in our faces.  More photos of the family.  The family, strolling along th...

It's been a while since I updated my blog because my personal computer died and I've been so disappointed to have to use the laptop.  So many exciting events keep occurring, like our daughter's baptism, so I am forcing myself to keep journaling these important moments in our family.  Congratulations to Hannah on her decision to be baptized!  She was baptized on Saturday, July 23, in Zhubei, Taiwan, at 2:30 in the afternoon by her Daddy, who for the first time ever, said the baptismal prayer in Chinese.  He had rehearsed it many times in this foreign language, but had a bit of trouble remembering some words, then on about the fourth try after repeating Hannah's full name, it came back to him and the ordinance was beautiful.  The missionaries in our ward, Sister Carroll, from Utah, and Sister Choi, from Korea, helped to teach Hannah and were able to share their talents with playing the piano and leading the music for the baptism. Hannah was so excited for her b...

On July 1 and 2, I hosted a youth activity for the teenage girls from our church that began on Friday at 10 am and ended on Saturday at 8 pm with a sleepover at my house while the rest of my family was traveling.  After a recent survey, I determined that this was something they all were extremely eager to do, so I planned it right after they finished school for summer vacation, just prior to the US Independence Day holiday weekend, and tied in a stars and stripes flag theme .  After all, that's where the golden plates laid hidden for hundreds of years.  For fun, I ordered a bunch of t-shirts and shipped them to the hotel when Kelly was on a recent business trip to the States. It was an incredible two days with these righteous, lovely young women.  Their souls delighted in the scriptures.  They really felt an appreciation for the truths they discovered in the pages of The Book of Mormon, as they pondered over these words from paragraph six of its intro...