Mark wrote a book a few years ago about the symbology of hands. I finally finished reading it yesterday. But a few days ago, I found my favorite passage in it. I want to share it here. Mark wrote:
Once Jesus Christ reunited with His physical body, He ascended and presented Himself to the Father. Not knowing much of this event we can be sure it was a glorious and wonderful reunion. It would not be hard to assume that Jesus appeared before the Father in humble similitude, and stretched out His hands and showed the Father the prints in His hands that evidenced His great and last sacrifice. In acceptance of the Son’s sacrifice, the Father may have stretched out His hands and took a hold of the hands of His Only Begotten Son and pulled Him close in a loving embrace.
I've been trying to know the Savior and Heavenly Father better these last few months. This Christmas I focused my thoughts on the miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ. So reading this passage really touched me. It really made me so grateful that I have a Savior. It made me so humble to know that I am a daughter of a Divine Being.
This passage was on my mind Sunday night when I went to a fireside presented by David Christensen, a counselor in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Presidency. He testified of a lot of things. But the thing that vibrated in my soul was when he testified of our Heavenly Mother. The thought came to me that it was probably not only a glorious thing when the Savior returned to Heavenly Father, but I'm sure it was glorious when the Savior returned to His Mother as well.
I am so grateful that I am a daughter of God. I am so grateful that I know of the plan of happiness. And I am so grateful that if I live my life the right way, I can return to my heavenly home and to my heavenly parents.
I turned 31 this year. And I've been celebrating it most of the month. We just went Tucano's for dinner on Monday to use one of the "free" meals I signed up for. Let's see...I went to lunch with a friend and got a free noodle bowl at Noodles & Co. I got a free ice cream at Baskin Robbins. I got a free ice cream at Cold Stone. I got a free meal at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill. And we went to Red Robin for dinner on January 7th with a bunch of friends because I got a free burger.
Mark told me I wasn't going to get anything for my birthday since I got a great camera and all the works for Christmas. But, he lied. He got me a gift certificate for a massage. Bless him! He's so great!
On my actual birthday we cooked dinner together. We made Monte Cristos. What are they? They are battered deep-fried ham, turkey, and swiss cheese sandwiches. After they are fried, they are dusted with powered sugar. They are generally served with currant jelly or some other fruit jelly. We used a raspberry jam my parents made. It was good. But what was even better was the jalepeno jelly that has been in our fridge for a very long time. Jalepeno jelly and Monte Cristos are made for each other!
We also made a yellow cake and chocolate frosting from scratch. I tried making it in a bundt pan--but I didn't grease it enough. So, we ended up piecing it back together. Mark also carved the "0" from last year's "30" to make a "31". I was cracking up. I loved it.
The doctor says Zachary is handsome as can be. The doc is very pleased with Zachary's coordination and strength. He noticed that Zachary prefers standing to sitting. He said that it's perfectly fine, and in fact strengthens his muscles. He said that people may tell me Zachary will end up bow-legged, but that's just not true.
Zachary's statistics are....
Height: 27.5 inches (off the chart) Weight: 16 pounds 5 ounces (on a very, very empty stomach) (90th percentile) Head circumference: 43.7 centimeters (75th percentile)
The doc suggests exclusively breast-feeding him for two more months. I'm okay with that. I can wait for the stinky poop. The doc said that my milk has the best all-around source of nutrition that Zachary needs right now. So, we're still going to wait for the day when his high chair becomes the feeding station.
And now I must tend to the little one--he's in a lot of pain (teething). Poor guy.
Dear Zachary, You turned four months old on Sunday. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to the doctor for your four-month check-up. They'll tell us then how much you weigh and how tall you are. In the meantime, I want to just tell you how much you've learned in the last month.
On December 30th, you started reaching out and grabbing things. Since then you've gotten much better. You still have some problems, but you're amazingly good compared to a month ago. You also pull on your hanging toy.
On January 13th, you started rolling over. Crazy. That was a Wednesday. You rolled over your right shoulder from your back to your stomach. Every time I would lay you on the floor, you'd roll right over. It was not only exciting for me, but it was funny too. Why? Because you hate being on your tummy but you still roll over all the time. The thing that surprised me even more was the next day, Thursday, when you rolled over to your tummy from your back--and then you rolled BACK to your back! Twice! You did that in the morning. I thought you were going to be a rolling maniac both ways all day Thursday. But, you only did the tummy-to-back roll twice. Just about an hour ago you finally rolled over your third time.
You've also started moving. You're not exactly crawling--but you sure aren't staying in the same place. Tonight you were all over your bedroom floor. I'm nervous about how quickly you're learning this stuff.
A few weeks ago, I had you on my lap. You were looking across my shoulder, not at my face. But, I wanted to talk to you with eye-to-eye contact. So I said, "Look at me" and put my face in front of you. You turned your head. We repeated this for at least a whole minute getting faster and faster. Finally YOU busted out laughing. YOU thought it was a funny game. It was so great. You made me laugh. We bought you a high chair yesterday. It straps to a regular chair. I think you like it. I think you like that you can play with your toys without being on the floor. We haven't yet decided when to start you on solids officially.
You're still wearing cloth diapers. They are working well for us. However, I've caved and decided that you need to wear disposables at night. They just seem to hold your pee better. I think you'd prefer to stay "dry" than to be swimming. I know I prefer that your bed and clothes are not wet.
We're pretty sure you are teething. But, I can't see anything. It's just that you drool like a mad man and you have these cranky periods that can only be explained by teething. You also like to chew on Jerry the Giraffe or my finger. You haven't yet agreed that the teething rings are good for teething. I feel really bad when you are so sad. In December we left you at Uncle Jarom's house for an evening so we could go to the temple. Just last week we left you at one of my friends' house for an evening so we could go to a play. I was worried that you were going to cry the whole time because you cried at Uncle Jarom's house. But, Pat (the lady) told us that you were good for her and that you liked to blow bubbles. To this momma's ears it meant that you were happy there. What a relief.
Oh yah, this past month you experienced your first Christmas. It was a good Christmas. Mostly you got toys. You didn't get a whole much because you don't really need much right now. The best thing you got was from your dad. It's a ball that has shapes to push into it.
Throughout December you slept through the night for about three straight weeks. Even in Ferron you slept through the night. Then, after your dad and I went to bed after bringing in 2010, you woke up THREE TIMES THAT NIGHT! Three times. Sheesh. Until the last two nights, you’ve only slept through the night once. Most nights you wake up starving one or two times. I hope the last two nights are an indication of the future. I figure you’ve just been growing and needed the extra midnight food. Well, I love you. You have been so much fun this last month. I’m so excited and happy for you. I love you!
* Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you. * When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God. * In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take. * First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don't permit anything to detract you from this awareness. * You cannot communicate with God unless you have first sacrificed your self-oriented natural man and have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness, to become acceptable for the Light of Christ. * Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul. * Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for him by diligently serving in his Church. * God knows that you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve. * God knows better than you what you need. He always attempts to speak to you. Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us--everything will fall into its place. * Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin. * When you cannot love someone, look into that person's eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in him. * Never judge anyone. When you accept this, you will be freed. In the case of your own children or subordinates, where you have the responsibility to judge, help them to become their own judges. * If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again. * Avoid at all cost any pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts. If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm. On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity but never doubts. * Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words. Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet. Be aware of that as you enter places of worship. * Be not so much concerned about what you do, but do what you do with all your heart, might, and strength. In thoroughness is satisfaction. * You want to be good and to do good. That is commendable. But the greatest achievement that can be reached in our lives is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost. Then he will teach us what is really good and necessary to do. * The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it. * Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve. * And finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better.
Cornflakes and Snowflakes was a success--if you ask me. We had our initial celebration on January 16, 2010. We held it in West Valley City, Utah. There were 26 people who attended (including us).
Another Cornflakes and Snowflakes celebration was also held in Ellensburg the same day. This celebration was provided by Mark's mom.
We played some great games at Cornflakes and Snowflakes. We played
Match Boxes (matching the top half of the cereal box with the bottom half of the cereal box)
Snowflaking (cutting out snowflakes)
Captain Coloring (coloring Cap'n Crunch and Cornelius Rooster)
Toucan Toucan't (Red Light, Green Light: Toucan! Toucan't!)
Tony - Diggum - Buzz (Rock - Paper - Scissors: the tiger gets the frog, the frog gets the bee, and the bee gets the tiger - all with full-body actions)
Snap, Crackle, Pop Relay (blow up the balloon and snap the end tied, get crackin' down the gym floor to the chair, and pop it by sitting on it)
The only game we didn't get to was Mateys (partner tag).
Pretty much everyone played, which is good because that was one of our rules.
I think my favorite one was Toucan, Toucan't! The little kids totally loved that one. They were so stinkin' funny.
I'm looking forward to our holiday again next year!
So, the day before we announced to Andrea's family that we were getting married, we went tubing/sledding outside Cedar City. I promised Andrea that I would make a video from the pictures and video that we took up there. Well, I finally did it.
