Faith

Nicole and Melanie have been working super hard this summer to finish up their Personal Progress.  This is a program that our church provides for young women to help them set goals that allow them to grow and develop in several areas:  Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice & Accountability, Good Works, Integrity and Virtue.

Nicole wrote this marvelous poem on faith that I wanted to share.

Cool.  This is one proud mother!

Campout

Just wanted to publish this adorable picture of Harrison and Ryder from the campout they went on with their dad this past weekend.  The last 2 Stake Father & Sons Campout have been rained out.  Last year they all drove home in the middle of the night when a huge thunderstorm hit them.  I'm told that Ryder slept through it all.  This year though the weather was FANTASTIC!!!  Sunny, clear and 80 degrees.  The night didn't get too chilly either.  They had lots of fun playing football and participating in a service project to clear the campground of its overgrown brushy areas.

They cooked on the camp stove (campfires were prohibited due to high fire danger - if you haven't seen in the news lately there are huge fires burning thousands of acres near Fort Worth).  Dinner was Dinty More Beef Stew with S'mores for dessert.

All in all it was a great trip for them - if you don't mind the creepy crawlies that were there in abundance.

A mass of daddy long legs hanging out in the restrooms.

There were also milledpedes everywhere - this one was resting. 
I suppose it is quite tiring making 1000 legs move all day long!

Ryder's Baptism - It's Great to Be 8

On Saturday November 27, 2010 our youngest child, Ryder, was baptized and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It was a wonderful way to end Thanksgiving week. The Toninis (Uncle Greg & Aunt Raena and cousins Drew, Jacob, Corina & Carson) drove up from Houston to stay with us for the holidays, so they were able to be there along with Kimball, Angela, Maya, Adrienne, and Morgan Romney.

There was lots to do in order to prepare since it wasn't part of the regularly scheduled Stake Baptism Day.  Programs, talks, music, etc. all had to be prepared in advance.  With so much going on something did get overlooked - we forgot to bring Ryder's white baptismal clothes to the church!  We discovered this at 10:45 when Ryder went to change and get ready.  Soooooooooo, with only 15 minutes until it was time to start, I drove very quickly home to retrieve the forgotten clothing.  I managed to make it back just after 11:00 (no speeding tickets, thank you very much). Ryder did a quick change and then proceeded to have a very special day.  During the actual baptism, when Ryder was in the font with his dad, he actually got to be baptized twice just to make sure the wording of the baptismal prayer was said correctly. All these little hiccups made for a baptism day that we will remember for years to come.