Princess Ball

Tonight, our Stake held it's annual Princess Ball. Poor Grace was recovering from the flu and was unable to attend, but Travis and my Dad escorted our 3 other beautiful princesses to the ball (this was Bethany's second and Kaylee and Cambree's first ball).  (My mom, Grace, and I had a fun time at home watching a movie, painting nails, and eating pizza.)

 

The princesses and their escorts:

 

 

Prince Travis and Princess Bethany:

 

Prince Travis and Princess Kaylee:

 

Prince Travis and Princess Cambree:

 

 

 

The ball included some lessons (for the dads and the girls), pictures, a dance, and refreshments. The girls had a great time dancing, playing, and eating crackers and rice crispy treats. :)  It was so sweet to see them walk in the door when they got home, with gold crowns on their heads and the biggest smiles on their faces, from having a wonderful night out with their princes.

 

 

Snow Day & Valentine's Day

We got hit with over a foot of snow last night so school and even work got cancelled today, yay! And what do you do on a snow day? Go out and play in the snow!

 

Kaylee:

Cambree:

The snow was so deep that poor Kaylee and Cambree had a hard time even walking around in it, but they still had a good time.

Grace found a "F" shaped stick for one of our snow man's arms. "F" for snow fun! The last time we went out to play in the snow this winter, Grace was at school, so she was happy to be in on the fun this time.

Travis, our resident snow man master builder! He whips these puppies up in no time! And all the girls love to help him build them.

Grace helping make the snow man's (first) face:

All the girls had fun using the little shovels to scoop the snow too:

I think Bethany's favorite thing to do in the snow is have snow ball fights. ;) It's so funny to see her sneak up on you and giggle before she throws her snowballs.

Sweet Travis gave all the girls a couple rides on the sled as well. Kaylee:

Grace loving the sprint to the finish on her last ride:

Bethany kept exclaiming how fast it was "woah!":

Cambree:

Kaylee telling Travis how easy it is to build a snowman, as he was putting together snowman #2. ;)

 

 

 

 

 Travis with his snow man creations: our biggest yet!

 

 

Valentine's Day

Travis was at a work conference in Texas the 4 days leading up to Valentine's day, so we thought it would be fun to "heart attack" the girls each night he was gone, to let them know how much we love them and what we love about them. It was fun to think of something specific that we love about them each day, and they loved seeing the new hearts and hearing our words of love too.

 

 

Then on Valentine's day, the girls woke up to see their last "heart attack" hearts on the table, with a marshmallow heart treat, balloons, and their favorite breakfast (cinnamon rolls), as well as the best present of all: having daddy home!

 

 

We feel so blessed to have our sweet little family, and to be all together again!

30 Day Challenge: Day 30

Question: Should I continue to teach Zumba.
I had prayed about this before and felt like I had received the answer that God would strengthen me to be able to do it, but over the last several days I had also felt strained after doing simple physical activities and I was concerned about the health of our baby.

Answer: Yes. 2 Nephi 9:18, 21, 26 and Moroni 3:1-4
When I first opened to 2 Nephi 9. I read about people perishing and saw the words I had written previously in the sidebar "Don't do this!" and I thought "Ooh, maybe I shouldn't be teaching anymore." But then as I turned to read the highlighted verses on the opposite page, what I was reading was put into context, and my answer became clearer.
Verse 18: Speaks of the righteous saints who have believed in the Holy One of Israel and have endured the crosses of the world who will inherit blessings and joy. To me, this meant: believe and have faith in God's promise to strengthen me to be able to do my job, and magnify my physical weaknesses. And that I will be blessed and receive joy from it.
Verse 21: "He may save all men if they will hearken to His voice, for...He suffereth the pains of all men" = He will bless me if I hearken to His promise and do His will, and will take my pains (physical afflictions) upon Him (from me).
Verse 26: "The Atonement satisfieth the demands of justice...that they are delivered from that awful monster." = God's Atoning grace will magnify me, and He will deliver me from physical strain and strengthen me to do His will.
After reading these highlighted verses, I felt that the first verses I had read were a warning against not heeding God's counsel and wisdom (to continue to teach).
After reading from 2 Nephi and being a little confused at the conflicting messages I had read at first, I prayed again for Heavenly Father to let me know (either way) what I should do and to give me a positive answer (along the lines of doing His will) if it be right, and a negative answer (like death, destruction) if it was right for me to quit. Then I opened to Moroni 3:1-4.
Verse 1: ordaining teachers = I have been called to be a Zumba instructor.
Verse 2: Speaks of praying to the Father (as I just did for guidance).
Verse 3: "In the name of Jesus Christ...I ordain you to be a teacher, to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end." = God has called me to be a Zumba teacher at this time, to be a light and help to others, and I should endure, in faith, until it is time to stop teaching.
Verse 4: Speaks again of ordaining teachers, according to the "gifts and callings of God" = God has given me a talent for dance and a calling to teach Zumba.
I felt like this was the direct answer I needed and had prayed for about doing His will.

 February 10th update: Heavenly Father was good on His promise to give me the strength and energy to teach my Zumba class today, and to recover quickly from my physical strain, which is truly a miracle considering how strained I have felt after doing lesser activities this last week.

30 Day Challenge: Day 29

Question: Should we go to the temple once a month?
I had prayed previously to know if we should go more often, and was seeking to know if this was the right frequency (praying for a "positive" answer if it be right).

Answer: Yes. 2 Nephi (forgot to write the chapter :/) verse 26-32; 23
Verse 26: Speaks of consecrating that Jacob and Joseph should be priests and teachers over the land of my people = That Travis and I will be "saviors" to our ancestors (our "people") as we regularly do their temple work.
Verse 27: "We lived after the manner of happiness" = this was the positive answer that I had prayed for. I also interpreted it as that attending the temple regularly will bring us greater joy and peace (as we have been taught recently at both stake and general conference).
Verse 30: Speaks of God commanding Nephi to make other scriptures, and write things on them which will be "good in my sight, for the profit of thy people" = This felt like God counseling us to go monthly, that doing so will be good in His sight, and will be for the profit of (will benefit) us and our ancestors.
Verse 31: Speaks of Nephi being obedient and making more plates = we too, like Nephi, should be obedient to God's counsel, and attend the temple monthly.
Verse 32: Again speaks of Nephi doing God's will and writing what is pleasing to God. And says that if Nephi's people are pleased with the things of God, they will be pleased with his engravings = again, doing God's will and being obedient. Also, that if our ancestors have accepted the gospel in the Spirit world, they will be please with us doing their temple work. And if WE are pleased to do God's will, we will be willing to be obedient in this.
After reading and pondering these verses, I looked at the highlighted verses on the page:
Chapter 6 verse 5: Says "The words which I shall read are they which Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel" = which I interpreted as meaning that the scriptures I just read in answer to my question are those which the prophet (or God, since He speaks through His prophets) speaks concerning the house of Israel (or us, as members of the house of Israel).
Chapter 5 verse 16: speaks of Nephi building a temple. How fitting that I should read about the temple!
And Verse 23: Says "And the Lord spake it, and it was done" = the Lord has given me my answer, and I should do it.
I have faith that Heavenly Father will make it possible for us to financially afford the monthly trip to the temple and bless us for our efforts.

30 Day Challenge: Day 28

Question: How can I still honor the fast even when I am unable to fast (being pregnant)?

Answer: Mosiah 26 & 27
Chapter 27 verse 4: "Every man should esteem (love) his neighbor as himself" = by having my heart open and full of love to others (especially my family and those at church) and serving them.
As I looked around the page some more, I saw several other highlighted verses:
Verse 7: "And the Lord did visit them and prosper them" = Be open to His Spirit (humble, teachable, ready to learn) and His blessings.
Chapter 26 verse 39: "Pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all things" = to keep a prayer in my heart (pray always) and express gratitude to God for all my many blessings.
Verse 38: "Walking in all diligence, teaching the word of God in all things" = keep the commandments (including keeping the Sabbath day holy), and to pray for opportunities to testify and teach the gospel (including in primary, at home, and on facebook).
Verse 29-31: Repent and forgive others (and thus partake of the sacrament worthily). I can also pray to know what else to repent of and who else to forgive (as we were counseled to at last general conference).
Verse 26: Exercise faith in God and let my heart be open to "testimony treasure"/testimony growing opportunities.
Not surprisingly, many of these answers reflected the answers I received in my Daily Question about how I could make the Sabbath a delight.

I went to church today with an open heart, in an effort to heed the answer I had been given this morning, and it led to a beautiful experience. Being open-hearted allowed me to invite a new sister to sit by our family for Sacrament meeting, and to speak to a less-active sister who was sitting alone before the meeting began. Being able to brighten their day a little brightened mine. And as I sat down (as the meeting began), I had the thought "I wonder if my dad saw me reaching out just now, and if it made Him happy and proud (both as a bishop and a father). And then I thought, I wonder if it made my Heavenly Father happy and proud too? I got emotional as I realized that it did--that my actions DID please Him. And I so dearly want to please Him and do His will.

30 Day Challenge: Day 27

Question: How do I improve strained relationships with certain people in my life?

Answer: 3 Nephi 2: 12, 14, 19
Verse 12: Says they "did unite with their bretheren."
Verse 14-15: Speaks of the Lamanites being united with the Nephites and thus having their curse taken from them.
Verse 19: Says that they were in this situation because of their iniquity = meaning our relationship is strained because of the grudges I currently hold against them. I need to repent and forgive them for their "offenses" against me (after putting myself in their shoes first and understanding why they did what they did, and that it wasn't with malicious intent). I then need to open my heart in love to them (be united in love).
I then turned to the Index on "unity" for more insight, and read:
*"Be determined in one mind and one heart, united in all things" = I need to be empathetic and put myself in their shoes, to understand their motives and desires (see above).
*That people should have their "hearts knit together in unity and love" = I need to be on their team and seek their welfare. Most importantly I need to open my heart in gratitude, trust, GENEROSITY, and love to them, and to love and treat them as I treat myself.
*"Disciples unite in prayer and fasting" = that I can pray and fast to be able to improve in the above ways.
Update: I've acted upon several of these answers and am already seeing an improvement. What a blessing it is to have the Holy Ghost to be our honest friend and gently guide us in how we can improve.

30 Day Challenge: Day 26

Question: As I was reading Alma 32 in preparation for my lesson yesterday, I was curious about verse 23, which talks about how angels impart God's word to men, women, and children (as I had always understood us as being spoken to through the Spirit). So my question today was, how do angels do that?

Answer: Joel 3:16 and 2:28-29
My interpretation:
Verse 16 says" The Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake."
And Verses 28-29 says "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit." (which is a similar message to that in Alma 32:23)
So, by the command and power of God (v.16), and through His Spirit (the whisperings of the Holy Ghost) (v.28-29), do angels speak to us.

30 Day Challenge: Day 24

Question: Should we attend the temple more often?

Answer: Yes. Helaman 5:9 (I again felt I should read my ponderize scripture first today)

*"King Benjamin spoke unto His people" = I realized as I read this that he gave this sermon near the temple, with his people facing the temple to listen (in symbolism of our lives being pointed to the temple, ever focused on eternal families and our covenants).
*"There is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved" = Only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and living His Gospel--which includes baptism and making and keeping sacred temple covenants--can we return to live with Heavenly Father and become like Him.
*"Redeem the world" = Only through making temple covenants can we be redeemed, or have the signs and tokens (ability and "keys") to enter God's presence.

As I was praying to confirm (through opening the scriptures as I usually do) that the answer was "yes," the words of a Christian song popped into my head: "Love unsinkable, joy unstoppable, anything is possible." Then I opened the scriptures to the word "unshaken" (steadfast) in the index, which further read:
*"Ye have not gotten into the straight path save by word of Christ with unshaken faith in Him"= I have gotten my answer (straight path, meaning "yes") as God's word, because of my faith.
*"By searching the scriptures our faith becomes unshaken" = by reading the scriptures again for confirmation, my faith/knowledge that the answer is "yes" becomes firm/unshaken.
*"Faith of Enos becomes unshaken in the Lord" = again, my faith/knowledge in God's answer of "yes" becomes unshaken.

Reflecting again on the words of the song that came to my mind, I feel they mean that going to the temple more often will bring me greater love for my ancestors (will turn my heart to them) ("love unsinkable), greater joy in doing their work (both now and in heaven) ("joy unstoppable"), and that anything is possible (our concern, and the reason why we have only been going to the temple quarterly, is that we've felt that we couldn't afford to go more often. But this felt like God telling us that anything is possible in Him, and that if we make the effort to attend the temple more regularly, He will make us financially able to.)

Then my daily scripture study in 3 Nephi 15, also spoke of temple work through: covenants (verse 8: covenants not being fulfilled or temple work needing to be done); the gospel plan (following Christ and enduring to the end and thus receiving eternal life)(verse 9); keeping the commandments (we have received counsel several times lately to attend the temple often, which had inspired my daily question today) (verse 10); us being God's disciples (fellow saviors on Mt. Zion, having covenanted to help save our fellow men) and a light to the remnant of the house of Joseph (to guide and gather His lost children back home to Him through temple work) (verse 12); (The song that had popped into my mind earlier also says "we were made to shine" (we were made to be a guide and savior to our fellow men--our eternal family); and "land of inheritance" (eternal exaltation, being sealed through the generations through temple work).

It was so neat to receive layers of inspiration as I read not only from where I had been inspired to open to in regards to my question, but also from my ponderize scripture and daily study.

30 Day Challenge: Day 23

Question: What should I tell Helen's daughter Diane to convince her to let us do Helen's temple work?
My paternal grandfather (Roger Reed) had 3 marriages, the first to my dad's mother (Bernice Leach), and the last to Helen Doss, who he was married to for most of my life. Helen passed away over a year ago, and my heart has been touched the last two stake conferences to be proactive in performing her temple ordinances. The only catch is that we need permission from a close family member to do her work, and I have never (to my memory) spoken with a member of her family. However, my dad suggested the name of one of Helen's daughters (Diane) that they have had minimal contact with and gave me her telephone number, and I determined that I would contact her. But, never having had a conversation like this before, I decided to make how to approach this with Diane my question for the day.
Answer: 1 Ne 10:9-14
v.9-10--speaks of Christ being baptized by water, and that He should take away the sins of the world = Tell Diane that we believe that we are to follow Christ's example and to be baptized by immersion as He was (to wash away our sins and make us perfect as He is).
v.11--"Speak concerning the gospel" = Tell her that we believe that in order to return to God's presence, we must make special promises, or covenants, with God to metaphorically "unlock" the gate to heaven and let us enter.
"And after He had been slain He should rise form the dead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles." =  tell her that we believe that God loves each of us so much that after Christ died, He set up missionary work in heaven, to teach the gospel to those (in spirit prison) who didn't have the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel on earth. And that He has had temples built today so that we can vicariously make covenants with God and perform sacred ordinances for those who have died, so our beloved dead can also unlock the gate into heaven.
v.13--tell her that we believe that Heavenly Father dearly loves Helen and want her to be "led into the land of promise" (to be able to live with Him in heaven).
v.14--Tell her that we believe that Helen has heard the gospel in the spirit world (spirit prison) ("come to the knowledge of the true Messiah") and that she wants to be baptized and make those promises with God so she can return to live with Him.
(This answer reminded me of the speaker who had inspired me this last stake conference to do temple work for Helen, who had shared her experience asking her father for permission, and how she had explained to him that she believed their loved ones were in spirit prison and she felt the need to set them free.)

I then received some more guidance as I was reading about a woman's open-heart experience from "A Heart Like His this afternoon: "I began to pray before contacting her. I prayed about my heart, and I tried to be aware of it. I wanted the Lord to help me open my heart, to fill me with His love so that it would overflow to her. I prayed to see her as the Lord sees her." I realized as I read this that I should do this with Diane (and also with my kids, so I can see and love them as God does).

And as I re-read my goal list this morning, I felt more of that love as I was reminded that "my joy is found in my family and my covenants, and in helping others make and keep their covenants." My joy is found in helping my deceased ancestors, like Helen, come unto Christ.
I hope that my heart can be full of love for Helen and Diane as I speak with her, that Diane can feel of that love, and that her heart can be softened to grant me permission to do Helen's work, so Helen can be sealed to my Grandpa Roger and to the rest of our family eternally.

Out of the mouth of babes

Cambree has said the cutest things today, and I wanted to make sure to record them.
Bethany often loves to give Cambree and Kaylee a hug at breakfast. This morning, after getting a hug, Cambree leaned into Bethany and give her a hug back then said "I love you Bethany," then turned her head and gave her a kiss. She did this several times! It was SO sweet!
Then after lunch, Kaylee called to her several times (since Kaylee was still eating and Cambree had already gotten down). After a minute, Cambree walked into the room and said "Waz up? Waz up? and then jabbered back and forth with Kaylee for a minute." It was so funny!
Then later in the morning, after she finished putting on some new Frozen sandals, she said to herself "Looking good!" It was too cute!
And then as I was walking out of her and Kaylee's room after tucking them in for a nap, she called to me "Bye bye, see ya, have a good day!"
I sure love my funny, sweet girl!