April 2022 Conference Thoughts

 Russell M. Nelson
– we’ve covenanted to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of peace
- we can control ourselves ~end conflict in your own life
Ideas to Maintain Spiritual Momentum
1) Get on the covenant path and stay there 2) Discover the joy of daily repentance – a key to progress
3) Learn about God and how He works – nourish your testimony, we need daily experiences with God
4) Seek and expect miracles 5) End conflict in your personal life – exercise the strength and humility required
- what has the spirit spoken to you? - life is uncertain, many things are beyond our control, we can control how we spend our time
- “one hour is in thine hand – the now”, only now we can do, we can bless others - there will always be opposition
- positive spiritual momentum – Seek the Lift

M. Russell Ballard – leadership = service, patience in affliction – I’ll make an instrument out of you

Reyna Aburto – RS not a room in a chapel – women accomplish God’s work by providing relief

David A. Bednar – Take courage, the Lord is on our side! – covenants and ordinances act like a compass

Neil L. Anderson – the blessing and challenge of the internet – what are the words I amplify on social media?

Eduoardo Gavarret – how do we maintain a mighty change of heart?

Larry S. Kacher – there is simplicity on the other side of life’s complexities as we remain steadfast in Christ

Henry B. Eyring – Come Unto Him – a personal invitation to come to Him for peace

Jeffrey R. Holland – Jesus really does want you for a Sunbeam!

Patrick Kearon – Will you make it through your own survival story? You can have a new beginning in Christ

Marcos A. Aidukaitis – we can all participate in the gathering

Gerrit W. Gong – we each have a story, do you know your story? (Family History – bring your family home)

Adrian Ochoa – the plan of happiness becomes more real when you’re helping others to live it

Kevin S. Hamilton – one of Satan’s greatest lies: :”men and women can’t change” – we can become new creatures in Christ!

Quentin L. Cook – What are the consequences of conversion?

Susan H. Porter – come to the Savior and learn

Rebecca L. Craven – boss your brain – choose to be the 99, stick together, help each other

Jean B. Bingham – we must choose to be anchored to our Savior

Dale G. Renlund – we’re all needed on the Lord’s team – The YW Theme

D. Todd Christofferson – covenants/blessings not a cosmic vending machine – don’t get angry with God, get close with God

Amy A. Wright – go forth and change, we all have something broken in our lives, trust God and His timing

Gary E. Stevenson – what we do is in our control

Michael T. Ringwood – Old Testament stories – the role of prophets in uncertain time testifying of our Savior

Ronald A. Rasband – If religion isn’t there to teach character, who will be? Champion the cause of religious freedom

Hugo E. Martinez – self-reliance – a doctrine, not a program – work with children to set goals

Dallin H. Oaks – exaltation is a family matter, we honour agency

Adyinka A. Ojediran – covenants and ordinances keep us aligned to Christ

Jorg Klebingat – “It’s a good day to be good” – be faithful not fearful

Mark L. Pace – your experiences with the scriptures must be your own, what is the Holy Ghost trying to teach me this week

Ulisses Soares – Ye are spiritually begotten – the children of Christ

Randy D. Funk – laws = safety – we need to choose to come into the fold of God

Deiter F. Uchtdorf – being a disciple is not one of the things we do, balance and lift come from pressing forward, let some things go and some things grow, sacrifice – give something up for something more valuable, we are asked to consecrate our lives, let us not be weary, we’re laying the foundation of a great work!

The Bunny is Back

 Everything about this pic makes me happy!

March Break - The Beginning or The END?

A week ago or so when I was thinking about March Break my breathing got quicker and I felt anxious and weepy, I wondered what lay ahead. Two years ago after March Break the world shut down. Last year after a delayed March Break - Mapril Break, the world again shut down.

On Wednesday the provincial government announced that beginning March 21st the mask mandate would be lifted. That means when we go back to school after March Break - no masks! The school board sent out a letter to staff and families Wednesday night saying that masking would no longer be required, but if you still wanted to wear a mask, masks would be provided until the end of the year.

I don't know what to think, what to feel? My first feeling was excitement. Pure excitement. I'm really, really done wearing masks. But are we ready for that? I hope so! Time will tell. When will we really truly not have to worry about case counts, hospital admissions, icu occupancy? When will we no longer be controlled by this virus? 

I feel really grateful for a week off with my girls. I week to not have to think about school! I feel really, really grateful that I have so much time off, and I really wish that everyone was able to have the time off they deserve.

Happy Birthday Alice!

We started the day in Stirling, and finished the day in Ajax. It wasn't the most exciting birth-day ever, but I think Alice had a good day!

The shirt - there's this online game Tee-KO. It's a game where you design t-shirts and then the t-shirts battle against each other. Not sure if that makes sense. You draw a bunch of silly pictures, and you come up with silly slogans to put on a shirt. The pics and slogans get randomly distributed to all the players and then you put together a pic with a slogan and then they do battle. Andrew drew a picture of a pig, Andrew came up with the slogan "avenge me" and then Alice put the two together. We've played the game several times, but this particular shirt/slogan combo was created on Kate's birthday. Alice put the slogan and pic together and the "avenge me" shirt was born. The cool thing is, you can actually order the shirt that you created in the game. At first this was the only thing that Alice wanted for her birthday! She opened it last night and wore it today.

Next up, Alice's Christmas earrings. Alice has had some earring/ear issues, and has just worn her little gold hoop sleepers for a couple of months. For her birthday she finally wore the earrings that Uncle Andrew gave her for Christmas. They're cute little amethyst hearts surrounded by little diamond like stones.

We got home from our weekend away earlier than I thought we would. The girls were all really tired from the weekend, and nothing was open - except Shopper's Drug Mart, so with one errand undertaken, it was an un-packing, laundry, video watching/playing quiet afternoon.

At some point I messaged Andrew just to say Happy Family Day and to tell him it was Alice's birthday today - I was supposed to give him two weeks notice, but I forgot. Anyway, it turned out he was able to come out to us and go out to dinner with us, so he did. And he saved the day by picking up a DQ ice cream cake. (Ken was going to make cinnamon buns but he didn't have the right flour!)

Alice really wanted to go out for Dumplings, but settled on Lone Star for the whole family to go. (She and Ken will go for dumplings tomorrow.) We had a fun dinner, and then Cookies and Cream ice cream cake afterward. 

We love you Alice! I love that it was Family Day today, a memory of you joining our family on Family Day eleven years ago. We love you so much, and we're so happy you're a member of our family. Here's to an awesome 11th year!

The Birthday Questions - Alice - Age 11

1. What is your favourite color?

orange

2. What is your favourite toy?

            phone

3. What is your favourite fruit?

            peaches

4. What is your favourite tv show?

            YouTube channel – LD Shadowlady

5. What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch?

            Pizza

 6. What is your favourite outfit?

            Black pants, avenge me shirt, grey roots sweatshirt

7. What is your favourite game?

            Clue

8. What is your favourite snack?

            Hard Candy

9. What is your favourite animal?

            Narwhal

10. What is your favourite song?

            Pompeii - Bastille

11. What is your favourite book?

            Number the Stars (by Lois Lowry)

12. Who is your best friend?

            Adelyn, Leila, Lauren

13. What is your favourite cereal?

            Cinnamon toast crunch churros

14. What is your favourite thing to do outside?

            Jump rope

15. What is your favourite drink?

            Shirley Temple

16. What is your favourite holiday?

            Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

            Henley (squish mallow alicorn)

18. What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast?

            Rainbow bagel with cream cheese (it has to be rainbow because it’s better)

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?

Dumpling King (She’s going to go out for dinner with her Dad tomorrow for dumplings and as a family we went to Lone Star tonight)

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

            Small business owner – making earrings

Family Day Weekend - Wingfield Road, Stirling, Ontario

The beginning! FRIDAY we all drove up and met at the house! We were supposed to get together over the Christmas break but with Omicron raging our Christmas plans were cancelled. Fiona was devastated. In January when things started to settle down we made plans. Emily looked out for some airbnb's and found this fun place the next town over from where Ken grew up in Codrington. 

We had a big dump of snow Thursday night into Friday, and so the last little bit of the drive was snowy and icy, but we all made it safely and the party began! The kids and dogs were all so excited to see each other! (Grown ups too!)

SATURDAY morning Ken made pancakes, eggs and bacon. It was kind of fun to see what the place actually looked like since we all got here in the dark. It was really cold and windy. Emily went to ski a little bit, but skiing in the driveway and in the road wasn't much fun. After her quick jaunt we walked up the road a bit with the dogs.

The kids played and had fun. John Inca tested out the record collection and played DJ. 

Next up, Water Buffalo! John Inca made an appointment to go visit the Water Buffalo farm and Buff Stuff Store a few roads over in Stirling. The kids needed some cajoling, but in the end we all went and it was so fun! The calves were so adorable and so friendly!

Next up was Empire Cheese and the squeakiest cheese curd!

Then onto Campbellford. This is where Ken was born. This is also where the artist who designed the toonie was born. We went to pose by the toonie and the sun came out just before the kids were about to lose their minds. The wind was nasty cold.

I now need to find the pics from when Ken and I went twenty years ago...

Then it was back 'home'. Jinx and Emily did some skiing in the field next store (with permission from the owners), and there was play, play, play and hanging out. And a lemon meringue pie.

SUNDAY morning, Ken said he would go for a walk up the road with me. And  I thought we were going to go, but then Ken disappeared, so I got ready and grabbed the dog, but the dog wouldn't leave the driveway. So I went back to the house only to find Ken ready to go, and he suggested we just leave without the dog. Which we did, only to start walking a little bit up the road and the dog came bounding up behind us. Milo had watched us walk away, barked to be let out of the house, and bounded up the driveway much to everyone's horror - Alice and Jinx came chasing after him and Jinx had the leash so we kept walking, with the dog!

We let the kids pick between ZOOM church and home church and they chose home church. Emily and I each shared a little bit of Come Follow Me, Holden, Alice, Fiona and Hazel bore their testimonies, Hazel and Fiona sang Follow the Prophet, and Kate and Lauren said prayers. The dogs cuddled on the floor behind us while we sat around the table for our church service.

Then it was back to play and hanging out.

Emily took Alice out for a cross country skiing jaunt. Alice loved it!

Ken suggested going to see a suspension bridge that crossed the Trent River. None of the kids wanted to come with us so we had a grown up outing with the dogs. 

When we got back Emily got all of the kids outside, and the fort building began! Holden built his fort up the hill beside the house. Hazel and Fiona in front of the house at the top of the slope. Kate had her kingdom against the fence at the bottom of the hill, and just around the corner along the other side of the house was the domain of Alice and Lauren. 

Then it was a dinner of pasta, cheese sauce, veg, chicken strips and "would you rather?".

Then it was birthday celebrations one day early! Alice was born 11 years ago tomorrow on Family Day! And tomorrow is Family Day again! YAY! It was fun to have an early birthday with the Lim-Andersons! 

Emily got some amazing pastels and pastel drawing paper for Alice. And we gave her the t-shirt she requested.

Then it was a spontaneous dance party and a big game of Cards Against Humanity family edition.

And then before we knew it, MONDAY was upon us, and it was time to tidy up and go. Emily and I took the dogs for a walk, and then men began to clean and get the kids to pack and get organized.

Emily gave Alice a quick lesson in shading with her new pastel chalk.

And then it was goodbye. We took - or rather, tried to take a group shot. I call it  the "this is what you get when you force sleep deprived children to take a photo" photo. 

Milo was not interested in getting in the car poor little guy! He still doesn't travel well (he gets car sick - we didn't feed him before we left, and thankfully, he wasn't sick on the way home like he was on the way there!)

We drove through Campbellford and Codrington again on the way home. We drove past the hospital in Campbellford where Ken was born, and we drove past the three homes that Ken lived in. I didn't take pics of the second home, or the third home - I think I have other pics of both, but I did take a pic of the farm and house that he lived in when he was born. I don't remember him showing me this house before - although he might have!

We all had a wonderful Family Day long weekend away with friends. Possibly Milo had the most fun! He loved the huge yard and his buddy Bella! We're so thankful for good friends!