There is no need to fear

As we remember the terror attacks on the twin World Trade Center towers 7 years ago, there might be a tendency to look back with fear. Fear about what else might have happened, fear for loved ones who were involved in the tragedy, or even fear for loved ones who just were not close at hand at the time. This fear may be normal, but more than a little of it can be debilitating.
How can we face this increasingly hostile and ever changing world without fear, but with calm strength and firm hope? We can look to the source of all hope, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Christ has laid out a path, that if followed, leads to great joy and peace. There is no room for fear next to this kind of joy and peace. It all centers on His loving sacrifice on our behalf, "perfect love casteth out fear."(1 John 4:18) Because of His sacrifice, in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, we need not fear God. We can come to Him in humble repentance and receive mercy and forgiveness for our errors. We can also find guidance and answers to our questions, find strength to succeed, and find healing for our soul. There is no club or membership fee for these blessings, they are freely available to any and all who ask. Sadly, many do not ask. If we ask, He will take away our fear and replace it with love.
Some do not fear for themselves,but rather the idea of being separated from and loosing loved ones. There is no need to carry this burden of fear, however. A modern day prophet, like Moses of the Old Testament, has brought salvation from God. Just as Moses freed the ancient Israelites from the fear and bondage of the Egyptians, Joseph Smith has freed us from the fear of death and separation. This was done by restoring the priesthood authority to bind families together forever. Not only will we be resurrected and live again after death, but we can live with our families as a family and enjoy the associations we have enjoyed during this life even more. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ we need not fear being lonely.
All we must do to receive this peace that is promised through the gospel is to do what the gospel asks:

1. Have faith in Christ
2. Repent
3. Be baptized
4. Receive the Holy Ghost
5. Keep trying until the end

The Lord Himself said, "Therefore, let your hearts be comforted; for ^aall things shall work together for good to them that walk uprightly, and to the sanctification of the church. For I will raise up unto myself a ^apure people, that will serve me in righteousness;

And all that ^acall upon the name of the Lord, and keep his commandments, shall be saved." (D&C 100:15-17)
So even when events of terrible hatred and malice occur, we can face it without fear because we have a sure, strong source of hope and guidance for the future. We can tap into that source at all times, and we should! As we do, we will find that fear is quickly driven away by unspeakable peace and assurance that God loves us, and will not leave us.

Uncles... again

Uncles are dangerous. They will corrupt your kids, teaching them all kinds of "bad" things; like how to jump on furniture, how to mess up the bed, and other horrible things. I was merely a casual observer to these events and bear no responsibility...

Baby P

J and C had their baby (in May I think...) and we got to go to the blessing. Afterwards we all went to the park to eat lunch together and talk. We all had a good time, and P got just enough attention. Congratulations to the parents and grandparents, and good luck. It's hard at times, but oh so worth it!

Lady Bug turns 2

Here are some 2 year pics of Lady Bug that I took in our back yard. Her birthday was last Friday. She is a cute two year old and loves to run around and play with her brothers. She is very feminine and loves pink, purple, and princesses. She is talking very well. The other day we were at the pizza store and she started to run around in circles singing "we get pizza, we get pizza, hurray! hurray!" I had to look twice because I couldn't believe it was coming out of her mouth.

Uncles...

J is holding a very tired Lady Bug, she is so tired in fact that she doesn't even protest when J tries to eat her caterpillar.

The house is different

After much deliberation and agony choosing colors, as well as a few delays, the house is finally a different color. I like the new color, it really grows on you. It is much different from the white it used to be. The painters did a very good job with it too.

Camping in Narnia

We went to Narnia! This is the Lantern Waste in western Narnia; if you keep going up the path to the right, you will get to the wardrobe...

The boys and I went camping at Anderson park in Pleasant Grove this weekend for the fathers and sons outing. They thought it was the best thing ever, there were other boys to run around with, a canal to through things into, dirt, and food. What more do you need.

Cabela's

Cabela's is a great place to take the kids when you need to get out.

fire-man pole

Lightening and Spidey are getting pretty good at the playground toys. Getting ready for preschool...
Of course Lady Bug won't be too far behind. She holds her own on the rope bridge and slides.

Huh?

One of Lady Bug's favorite new words...

Lightening and Spidey's dance recital

The boys sure had a lot of fun doing this. I'm glad they had the opportunity.

Spring time!

My irises have bloomed! And so have everyone else's in the neighborhood. I think they are very pretty flowers anyway, but they always remind me particularly of Grandpa Dover and going to the iris shows with him as a kid. Now I just need to get some different varieties to give a little more color.

Creepy Crawlies

Small creepy crawly things are fascinating to the kids right now. Every rolley polley bug, ant, beetle, and spider gets instant celebrity status when they spot it.

Like mommy like daughter

It was dessert night, and a little late; and mommy was feeling a little crazy...

Mommy's little helper

When Rachel got the stuff out to give the boys a hair cut, Lady Bug started following her around and trying to get her own apron out. So Rachel found the smallest one we had and tied it on Lady Bug as tight as it would go. Then Lady Bug had to observe how it was done, and make sure it was done right.

I have survived

Summer is finally here! My first two semesters of graduate school are over. I'm a little battered but none the worse for the wear. The first semester I learned that even though you take fewer credits, the work load is at least twice the undergraduate load. I had to try and cut back on extra things like movie nights, late nights, web surfing, and pleasure reading to focus on getting my work done in class and in the lab. We'll see if any of the sacrifice has paid off when grades come in next week.
I'm trying to get my committee together this week and write my prospectus which will serve as a road map for my project. It is hard to narrow down the aspects of the work our group is doing into a concrete set of goals for a project. Even my advisor agrees with me on that. It's been a little difficult to get used to the idea of doing an applied physics project. It seemed a little too 'engineering' to me at first, and I thought that I would have a tough time selling the idea to a committee. After talking with my advisor and others, I have learned that what we are doing falls very nicely into the field of applied physics, and no one but a theoretician would bat an eye at it.

Finals Week

It's finals week next week, and, of course, I don't think I am quite
ready. Maybe if I had another week or two... Even then I wouldn't be
ready. I think I am doing better in my classes this semester than last
semester. Last semester was a big shock on the system, especially after
being out of school for 8 months. The time a grad student is expected to
dedicate, and what they are supposed to accomplish in that time is nuts
it seems. Yet we all press on, and they haven't kicked me out yet.
I have to get a committee together, approve my study list, and write
and approve my prospectus in the next 2 1/2 weeks as well. The trouble
is that my project, while a good one, isn't well defined enough for a
PhD project. PhD projects are supposed to contribute something new to
your field, but so far what we're doing is just take existing, tested
materials and put them in a different shape. Nothing new about it. If we
can find some more uses for the shape we want to create, then I might
have something for a project.

Ah, the life of a grad student...

Rachel's art

The boys thought it was sooo much fun to shovel snow with me. I only hope their enthusiasm lasts when they are older.


I want a T-shirt out of the top right card. In case you can't read it, the word across the middle says "Legendary".

Takin' care of kids...

If only it were always this easy. The Friend has been a good thing so far. (that is what Rachel is reading to them here) They get so excited when 'their magazine' comes in the mail, just like mommy's and daddy's. Unfortunately, this didn't last long enough. As soon as the story was over they scattered to wreak their separate mischief on the house.

magic olive fingers

You can remember doing this when you were this age... (we all know you did, so don't try to act all sophisticated)