Ruby's Baby Blessing

 Sunday, February 15th was Ruby's baby blessing.

She looked beautiful and Sean did a wonderful job blessing her.

Seriously, it was a beautiful blessing.

I snapped a few picture of her in her very long dress before church.

 

 

 

 She has the prettiest blue eyes and most adorable round cheeks. I'm just so in love with this girl!

 

 

 

 Ruby was ready for a nap so she wasn't happy.

I tried to get pictures of Ruby with whoever was around before she started crying.

I wish I had tried to get more pictures taken later.

 

Ruby with my dad.

 



I need to find the pictures I took of Sean with Ruby.

 

Three generations.

 

Here's all our family that came. We are so grateful they came to share this special day with us.

 

 

Our little family. One out of four kids is looking. That's totally normal.

 

 

My college roommates Mary Ellen and Hannah came. It was so great to have them there.

 

 

I have the best husband and he's so handsome too!

 

We love you Miss Ruby Morgan!
 

 

Here's the post I did about Eli's blessing, and the post I did about Avery's blessing
and the blog post about Lexi's baby blessing.





Random Pictures from January

 January was the busiest month ever! I should take a picture of my calendar.

Practically everyday had multiple things going on. It just flew by.

Although not many eventful things happen.

Here are a few pictures that I took of us just hanging out at home.

 

The girls love drawing on our white board. Lexi made this picture of our super hero family.

 



I spend a lot of my day just loving on this baby girl.

 



I love Ruby's tiny toes.

 



 

Another white board picture. Avery's people are on the top and Lexi's are on the bottom.

The girls went to a Frozen themed birthday party and came home with awesome face paint.

 



 

Eli loves looking at the Primary song book and pretending to sing or play music.

 

I love Eli's concerned face.

 



All four kids were bathed and clean at the same time! I had to document it.

 



This is what happens when you try to take a picture of four kids together.

 



I'm trying to get in front of the camera more. I want more pictures of me with my babies.

 





Two Months Old

On January 25th, Miss Ruby Tuesday turned two months old.

It's gone by so fast!

I swear the last two weeks of my pregnancy went by slower than the last two months.

Ruby is an fantastic baby! So far, she's pretty easy going.

She is fine with lots of noise and kisses and her siblings constantly in her face.

She is getting really smiley. And she laughs now too. Not at anything in particular though.

...

Ruby is a good sleeper. She sleeps a lot!

We don't have a set napping schedule during the day.

She just kinda sleeps whenever and where ever.

But she usually goes to bed at night around 9:30 after nursing.

And she usually wakes up to nurse two times in the morning before we get up for the day.

...

Ruby is wearing size 3 diapers! They look a little big on her but she kept having blow outs in size 2.

She is starting to wear some 6 month clothes.

Other than her feetie pajamas she can still wear most of her 3 month clothes though.

...

Eli is the sweetest with Ruby. He loves her! He always wants to know where she is.

And he always gets so excited when she wakes up.

He loves holding her and laying in bed with her.

And he's always trying to kiss and hug her.

He's such a good big brother. I hope they are best friends.

...

Last Monday, Ruby had her 2 month check up.

I have no health concerns with her at all. She's perfect.

She was being so cheery at her check up until she got shots.

She got one oral vaccine and three in her legs.

She continues top the growth charts.

Ruby is now 23 1/2 inches (88%) and 12 lbs. 3 Oz (69%)

and her head is 39 cm (71%).

...

Eli at this age was 24 3/4 inches and 15 lbs. 11 Oz.

Avery didn't have a check-up when she was 2 months old.

She had one when she was nearly 3 months old. And then she was 23 1/2 inches and 11 1/2 lbs.

Lexi at her two month check up was 10 lbs. 8 Oz and 22 inches long.

...

 

Here's Ruby on the same blanket over the past two months.

These aren't the best pictures but you can tell that she's growing.

 

 And here's pictures of all three of my girls in the same outfit and at same age.

Sam's Sacrament Meeting Talk 1-25-15

Embark

I would like to begin by bearing my testimony. I know that I am a Child of God. I know that my Father in Heaven loves me. I know it because I feel His love when I see the sunset. I feel His love when I listen to the Hymns and Primary songs. I feel His love when I look at the family that He has blessed me with. I feel His love when I listen to our Prophet. I feel His love when I walk on the temple grounds with my children. I feel His love when I am among the members of this Branch Family.

I know that the gospel brings true, fulfilling, pure happiness to our lives. I know this because in my own life I have been the happiest when I am keeping the commandments and when the spirit is present in my life. I know that the commandments bring us freedom and happiness. Sin brings bondage and heartache.

I testify that serving others is one of the greatest ways to bring happiness to our lives and also bring us closer to God. It is through serving others that we find meaning, purpose and direction. I know this from personal experience.

…

Doctrine and Covenants 4:2 states, “Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.” This is the theme for the Young Men and Young Women this year.

The work embark is a verb. It’s an action word. It means to start a venture. It’s the beginning of a journey. When you are embarking in the service of our God, you’re joining the greatest journey ever! You’re helping God hasten His work. And it’s a joyful and enriching experience. Serving and building the kingdom of God is truly a marvelous work. And it’s a sacred privilege to serve our Father in Heaven.

So how do we embark in the service of our God? And when is it the right time to do so? Now is the time to serve God “with all your heart, might, mind and strength.” To serve with all your heart means that your service is motivated by your love for God and His children. Ezra Taft Benson said, “Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.” By keeping the commandments we show our love for the Lord. We also demonstrate our love of the Lord by serving in our homes and by strengthening our families, by reaching out to those in need, and by serving the best that we can in our callings and church responsibilities. We also show our love to the Lord by taking family names to the temple.

We are asked to serve will all our might. Diligent effort and physical labor are required. Missionary work requires stamina and endurance. By attending to the needs of others, you are serving with your might. In Mosiah 4:26, we are instructed to help others in many ways, “such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally.”

We are also to serve with all our mind. Your thoughts must be pure and clean and centered on the Savior. When we are baptized and when we take the Sacrament each week, we covenant to always remember Him. Through scripture study and prayer, you seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost. As you align your thoughts, words and actions with the mind and will of God, you become aware of the needs of others and are worthy and ready to serve.

Finally, we serve God with all our strength. One way we can receive strength is by exercising faith in the Savior’s Atonement. You repent and sanctify yourself through obedience to His commandments. You feel the Savior’s enabling power and witness miracles as you serve in the strength of the Lord.

As you serve God with your whole soul, He promises that you will be cleansed from sin and prepared to stand before Him and receive His eternal glory.

Service is an essential part of our growth here on earth and our eternal progression.

In the October 2009 General Conference, President Monson counseled: “Fill your minds with truth. Fill your hearts with love. Fill your lives with service.” We must reach outward. As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. President Monson counseled that to find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man.

“Love thy neighbor” is more than a divine truth. It is a pattern for perfection. This truth inspires the familiar charge, “Go forth and serve.” We cannot escape the influence our lives have upon the lives of others. Matthew 25:40 reads, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” There is no road to the heart of God that does not lead through the heart of man.

In this month’s issue of The Friend, President Uchtdorf shares of story of a city in World War Two when a large statue of the Savior was severely damaged during a bombing. The townspeople mourned because the statue had been a symbol of their faith and of God’s presences in their lives. Experts were able to repair most of the statue, but the hands had been broken so badly that they could not be fixed. So at the base of the statue, the people added a sign that said, “You are my hands.”

There is a profound lesson in this story. When we picture the Savior, He is frequently standing with outstretched hands. He is reaching out to comfort, heal, bless and love. He always talked with people and never down to them. He loved the meek and humble and walked among them, ministering to them and offering hope.

That is what He did during his mortal life and that is what He would still be doing if He was here today. And that is what we should be doing as His disciples. We are the Savior’s hands. We are His hands as we emulate His perfect example. Our eyes become His eyes. Our hearts can become His heart.

At the beginning of the year, we had a Family Home Evening lesson where we discussed the idea of being the Savior’s hands. Now every week at Family Home Evening, we all share what we have done that week to be the Savior’s hands. We trace our hands on a piece of paper and write down our services on them and put them up on our living room wall to display. We are getting quite the collection of hands. It’s a wonderful reminder that we are embarking on a great journey. We are privileged to be numbered among the Saints in the service of God.

As disciples of God, love should be the motivating force behind our service. David O. McKay said, “True Christianity is love in action.” As a mother, it’s my job to teach my children; to teach my children about life and the gospel. I’m regularly teaching and re-teaching my girls to show compassion and kindness, especially to each other. George W. Young said, “The greatness of a man can nearly always be measured by his willingness to be kind.”

It is true that when we lose ourselves in the service of others that we find ourselves. The Savior taught his disciples, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” The Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish- and in effect save their lives.

“When you help someone up a hill, you are a little nearer the top yourself.” Service in the gospel brings happiness. L. Tom Perry said, “The greatest satisfaction in life comes from what we do for others.” I’m a stay-at-home mom; all I do all day is serve my children. I feed them, dress them, play with them, chauffer them, clean up after them, and comfort them. It is in continually serving them that I grow to love them more and more. The same is true in all relationship. We love those at we serve.

President Monson reminded us in the October 2009 General Conference that “the needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help.” We are all capable of uplifting and loving another.

In the April 1990 General Conference; Derek A. Cuthbert counsel on the spiritually of service. Service changes people. It refines, purifies, gives a finer perspective, and brings out the best in each one of us. Righteous service is the expression of true charity, such as the Savior showed. Service will increase our own spirituality. Brother Cuthbert suggests 10 ways that service will increase our spirituality.

1.      Service helps us establish true values and priorities by distinguishing between the worth of material things that pass, and those things of lasting, even eternal, value.

2.      Service helps us establish a righteous tradition. This is so necessary, especially among young people.

3.      Service helps us overcome selfishness and sin. Have you ever realized that all sin is selfish? Sin is for one’s own end, not another’s. Service, on the other hand, is unselfish.

4.      Not only does service overcome selfishness and sin, but it helps to recompense for sin.

5.      Service helps us generate love and appreciation.

6.      Service is the principal way of showing gratitude to the Savior.

7.      Service channels our desires and energies into righteous activity.

8.      Service helps us cleanse ourselves and become purified and sanctified.

9.      Charitable service helps us do as the Savior did.

10.   Service helps us to grow to get to know the Savior. Mosiah 5:13 states for “how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served?” As we immerse ourselves in the service of others, we find our spiritual selves and come unto Him.

In all these ways, righteous service brings us nearer to Christ. Doctrine and Covenants 58:26 and 27 states, “ Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” The wonderful thing about service is there is no end to it.

            Ezra Taft Benson said, “Therefore, let us serve one another with brotherly love, never tiring of the demands upon us, being patient and preserving and generous.” I have seen members of our branch serve willingly and happily time and time again. How grateful I am for your examples, love and service on my behalf.

It is my prayer that each of us can follow the Savior’s selfless example of love and service as we embark on this journey we call life. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sean's Sacrament Meeting Talk 1-25-15

I Will Sail My Vessel

Proverbs- 3:5-6

 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Our lives are like unto a ship, in which we chart our own course.

We must take the helm of our own lives; we cannot let anyone else take the helm. We make our decisions, and we face the consequences. We steer our own ship. We keep it on course, or steer it towards the rocks. We are ultimately responsible for our own decisions.

Our Heavenly father loves us, and has set up plenty of guidance in our lives to make the proper decisions. And because of this love we have been provided plenty of resources to chart our course and avoid the proverbial troubled waters. These resources include:  prayer, loving parents, scriptures, the ensign, the Holy Ghost, living prophets, home teachers, visiting teachers, relief society presidents, primary teachers, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, ward clerks, local church leaders and many more.

 We are not left rudderless in life. Every person who enters life is blessed with the light of Christ, a guide and gift for all of Heavenly Father’s children.

Christ will not take the helm, but he stands behind us being our navigator and pilot. We always have the ultimate choice, because agency is and always will be an eternal principle. We can choose to follow Christ, it doesn’t matter our circumstances.

The Poem Winds of Fate, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox illustrates this point.

 

One ship drives east and another drives west

With the selfsame winds that blow.

‘Tis the set of the sails

And not the gales

Which tell us the way to go.

 

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,

As we voyage along through life:

‘Tis the set of the soul

That decides the goal

And not the calm and the strife.

As I said, we make our decisions. A boat can go any direction, even with a variety of winds. We have agency to overcome our circumstances. Especially, with the Lords help.

We read in Job-23:

 8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

 10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

We cannot always see our heavenly father’s influence in our life, but the influence and guidance is always there. If we use the tools provided by our heavenly father, we can be successful in this life and ultimately return home to live in his presence.

We must learn to take our own helm, and teach our kids, and our church family to take their own helm as well.

Even though I am no Mariner, other than as a Baseball fan, and don’t know how fast a knot is. Nor am I very good at tying knots. Let’s continue with this cheesy sailing metaphor.

Whenever you embark on a voyage; you must have provisions.

Without provisions you will end up very hungry, sad and smelly. In short, you won’t have good time.

In our own journey in life, we also must prepare ourselves, our family and friends with the needed spiritual provisions. So we don’t end up spiritually hungry, sad and smelly.

Every person will encounter the storms of life. We will face temptations. We will have struggles and trials all of which will promote growth, but we must remember Pain and Suffering is required; misery is optional. Spiritual provisions will help us find joy in the journey, and have the perspective needed to smile even through trials.

Let me suggest important areas we can focus on to have the spiritual provisions needed.

1. Our Self:

Our first priority has to be to prepare ourselves with adequate spiritual provisions.  Life is a very long journey, and there is no way to stockpile enough in one grueling effort.

We need to develop daily habits, which we would all classify as “primary” answers. Such as scripture study, prayer, and going to church meetings. “As we all know it is much easier to believe in eternal progression than to practice daily improvement.”

I would suggest that these habits are more than just doing them, but learning how to get more out of the effort, than just going through the actions.

We cannot be complacent; we must all stand a little taller. Try to be a little better each day. “The soul is like a violin string: it makes music only when it is stretched.” (Eric Hoffer)

We need to use our time wisely. As Elder Oaks once said, “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better, and your better is best”.

There are many great activities, and things to do in life. There are so many things to learn. But remember, “Even learning useful things has often diverted mankind from learning crucial things.” Our most important provision on our journey is our testimony. Learn, study, and pray to know the gospel is true, and that this is the restored church of God. That knowledge is crucial as we embark and take our own he 

2. Our Family:

This is an area I focus hard on, and is very near and dear to my heart. I like Nephi was born to goodly parents who loved the Lord. I know I was extremely blessed to have had great parents. I know many of us come from very different situations. We all have different challenges, based on our current family arrangement. We have single members, single parents, empty nesters, partial member families, partially active families, big families, small families, families with dogs, homes with both parents active, combined families from different marriages, young families, old families, families with no kids, families with kids, recently divorced, newlyweds, and many more unique situations.

I bring this up, because the gospel is for every one of these situations. The gospel can bless our lives if we chose to live the teachings in our homes. It is not the winds, but the sails that chart the course.

There is no better place to stock up on spiritual provisions than our own home. Every situation is unique, and we need to find away to incorporate family scripture study, and prayer. We also need to find a way to have family home evenings. If we do these things our homes will be a place of spiritual growth.

Joseph F. Smith said, “There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from the home, and every effort made to sanctify and preserve its influence is uplifting to those who toil and sacrifice for its establishment.

My family life is always happier, when we make the effort to have the gospel in our home.

3. Branch Family

David O McKay said, “True Christianity is love in action”.

When we love someone, we serve them. We have so many opportunities in our branch to receive and give spiritual provisions.  I have been asked many times by people not of our faith; why does someone need to worship in a congregation? Why can’t I just do my own thing?

Brothers and Sisters having relied on so many of you for my spiritual growth the answer seems clear. I want to share with you a quote from President Eyring. I have edited it slightly. I just want to say to that individual who doesn’t understand how important a congregation is for spiritual growth..  Quote “"Well, come with me to 7^th Branch." And I may not be able to show it to you, and I may not be able to prove it to you, but you'll feel it. There will be a spirit here, I so testify, because of the love of God for all of His faithful children. And those blessings will be poured out here in rich abundance.”

Brothers and Sisters I have seen with my own eyes the blessing that our branch is in so many lives. I realize many are hear just a short time, but our job is make every person here a little stronger in the gospel. I look at the 7^th branch as a missionary training center. We ask a lot of many who have never been asked so much.  But by being faithful we have all grown, and increased our spiritual provisions.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Our 4. Community:

Elder Holland recently said in a conference talk, “You may not be your brother’s keeper, but you are your brother’s brother”.

We have a duty and responsibility to help others not of our faith to increase their spiritual provisions. Not all missionary efforts leads to baptism. Actually, most missionary effort doesn’t lead to baptism.  We preach the gospel because we love our fellowman, and understand we are all children of God. We also understand the gospel blesses lives, and will benefit all who receive it.

Many people will not want the gospel in there in lives. They will shut us an out. One of my favorite poems says:

“He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout

But Love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in.”

Our job is to include people who do not want to hear. If we show love and understanding, we can make inroads. We can be the difference. We should always be inviting others to come to church or activities. All people have a need to be needed. We should not look upon others self righteously, but instead with love and compassion. Our heavenly father doesn’t need self serving nobles, but instead selfless noble servants.

Joseph Smith said, “A man filled with the Love of God is not content with blessing his family alone but ranges through the whole world anxious to bless the whole human race”.

Brothers and Sisters, we must find that love.

I also believe missionary efforts bless our own lives. When you help someone up a hill, you are a little nearer the top yourself. Your spiritual provisions will grow as you try share the gospel.

One of my favorite foods is pie. Specifically, Pumpkin pie. The Gospel is like pie, because it is delicious and will make you happy. The difference is when you share pie you have less, but when you share the gospel your joy and happiness grows. The gospel is pie that gets bigger the more you share it. That is my kind of dessert.

Conclusion:

To conclude I want to share a thought from a book entitled, “All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience”, by Neal A. Maxwell.

Elder Maxwell wrote:

“Eventually, the veil that now encloses us will be no more. Neither will be time. Time is clearly not our natural dimension. Thus it is that we are never really at home in time. Alternately, we find ourselves wishing to hasten the passage of time or to hold back the dawn. We can do neither, of course, but whereas the fish is at home in water, we are clearly not home in time, because we belong to eternity. Time, as much as any one thing, whispers to us that we are strangers here.”

I share this thought, because as you know my family’s time is short here in the 7^th branch. Our days are numbered, and I want to enjoy every last minute of our time in the branch. I have learned to love every one of you, and some of you have learned to love me. I hope each of you make the most of your time in the branch. It is a place where people love one another, and look out for each other. Be the Lord’s servant. Love his children no matter what their situation is spiritually, socially or economically. I testify if you make the most of your time on earth, in the branch, and embark in the service of the lord, you will be happy. We will share in an eternal inheritance. We will return with our heavenly parents, our earthly family and friends. The plan of salvation is real.

Testimony….