Our Christmas Blog!

2012 was a wonderful year for our family.

I'll start out with the last Family picture we'll have for four years, if all goes as planned, of course.

Joshua started out the year with a bang by leaving in January to serve a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the El Salvador San Salvador mission.

He has been in several areas, including Moncagua, Sensuntepeque, Amatepec, and now he's in La Union.  His companions have been great, and he has had many baptisms.  One of his favorite was the Argueta-Cruz family - a mom and a dad, and two children - from his first area, Moncagua.

He even got to have lunch with them when they came to visit him in La Union.

Josh and his companion Elder Encarnacion from the Dominican Republic.

He is now training a new missionary from Mexico, and they are teaching, baptizing, and learning a ton!  His service has been an incredible blessing for our family.

Joseph had a big year!  He was one of the audience favorites in the school production of Oklahoma!  He played the father of Ado Annie, Andrew Carnes, and he really played it well!

He graduated in May with many happy memories of his high school years.  This is one of my favorite pictuers of his graduation - hugging his soccer teammates.

Joseph and Oscar

One of the highlights of his year was to go with our good friends Laren and Caralee and their family to be in the Nauvoo Pageant.

 In September, he went off to college at BYU-Idaho, and had a fantastic semester there.  He got a 4.0 in his his first semester in college.  Who does that??

Joseph and his best friend Jacob, from Ohio

The Friday before General Conference, he received his mission call to serve in the Argentina Mendoza mission!  He went through the Temple the Friday after Thanksgiving.  He served faithfully in the Rexburg Temple - from the time he got his call in early October, with very few exceptions, he attended the Temple every day. Joseph said that in the Nauvoo Pageant, he came to love the Temple as they built the set during the show every night.

Now he has two months at home while he prepares to leave to the MTC in Provo on Feb 13th (this was moved back three weeks from his original report date of Jan 23rd).

Jesse is in the middle of her Senior year in high school, with all it's exciting memories, big decisions and preparations.

She has narrowed her focus this year by not trying out for Show Choir, which was a hard decision, but she has not regretted it.  All her work, besides keeping up a 4.0 grade average, has been dedicated to preparing for the Piano Performance audition at BYU in January.

She has paid for her own lessons with the dean of piano performance at BSU, and practiced at least two hours a day (during the school year), and 4-6 hours a day during the summer.  She also teaches 5-8 piano students a week, in addition to being the Ward Organist and the Choir Accompanist.

The one extracurricular activity she did not let go of in order to practice was Madrigals.  She wouldn't dream of giving that up because she loves it so much.  In her 3rd year as a Madrigal, she is the only returning Alto, and has been a great leader for her section.

Last Monday, she sang with the Madrigal Choir, and accompanied one of their songs, and then accompanied all the choirs and audience members in the Hallellujah Chorus.

Mary is a sophomore in high school right now, and has six LONG months until she can date.

She is having the time of her life right now - dancing in the Show Choir, singing in Madrigals with Jesse, and going to ballroom dance classes on the weekends.  She has been helping friends with Math and other classes, and they really appreciate her help.  Jesse and Mary got to be in the Youth Cultural Celebration for the Temple Dedication.  They both sang in the Choir and loved it!

Mary has really grown up a lot this year, and Bruce has to sit on her every once in awhile to keep her humble.  (If you don't know Bruce that may seem like unsavory comment, but, well - it's just Bruce...)

Peter, who is in 6th grade, is getting "all growed up"!  In the last few weeks he started to gel his hair in front.  He even takes his gel and brush to the Temple on Fridays to fix it after he does baptisms for the dead.  Ha ha!  Peter loved riding horses this year!  His favorite is Lady, but he'll ride other horses too.

He and his friends built a "fort" out in some empty property behind our subdivision, and he is planning on going out there to sleep in the next few nights to get his "Wilderness Survival" Merit Badge.  He is progressing nicely in Scouting and doing a great job being self-motivated.  He also started playing the violin this Fall!  He is now taking private fiddle lessons, and he has come a long way in a few short months.  He also loves playing soccer and is developing into an awesome midfielder!

Libby is part cat and part human right now.  She and her friends are into the "Warrior" book series, by author Erin Hunt, and they are all about cats and their clans.  Every day at recess she plays an elaborate game with her schoolmates, and they have their roles, games, etc. that go along with these books.  Sometimes we have to tell her to turn off the cat stories...  :)

Joseph and Libby "slow dancing" at the Street Dance

She LOVES her 5th grade class at school, partly because she has one of the best teachers on the planet.

Libby started out the year moving up to a competitive gymnastics team, working on Level 3 and Level 4 routines.  She loved it, and worked hard enough to get the "star" almost every week.

Unfortunately, the cost became prohibitive, so we switched her to a ballet/tap dance class that was a little more reasonable until we can get back to gymnastics.  The dance experience is good for gymnastics anyway.  She is still playing the piano, and doing great at that also.


Bruce is enjoying his work as a software engineer, and especially because he gets to work from home.  He loves the fact that he can go out and feed the animals, repair fences, or do other farm work for a few minutes here and there between work meetings.  He does a great job teaching Gospel Doctrine, trading off with another teacher every other week.

His prize Christmas present this year is a 5th saddle, so now we can take all five horses out at the same time.  Yeah!

I, Lorena, have had a marvelous year of growing and learning, loving and taking care of our family and others, and being taken care of.  Besides caring for the home and children, I have been taking classes and teaching classes, learning about new healing modalities and connecting with many new cherished friends.  One of my favorite things was to start a new blog, oilslorena.com, which has been a ton of fun.  My love for the Savior, and appreciation for this latter-day work has grown tremendously this year.  One of the highlights of my year was going to Indiana and Nauvoo to see my friends Shauna and Teresa, and to see Joseph in the Nauvoo Pageant.  Going through a session at the Nauvoo Temple was something I could cross off my bucket list!

Lorena on the steps of the Nauvoo Temple

I hope this year coming up is just as good as this one has been!

My Mom and Dad moved here in March, and we've loved having them around!

Jesse's 17th Birthday - Grandma made the cake!

4th of July with the "Uncle Claire" look-alike!

Mom is productive - always!

Here are a few pictures of fun family trips and reunions:

When we took Jesse down to Summerfest Music Camp at BYU, we stopped by my old stomping-grounds when I was a Freshman - 174 Carroll Hall!

Peter and Libby at Thanksgiving Point

Our first family picture from the iPad

Family Pack Trip to Jenny Lake

Beautiful meadow by Jenny Lake

My side of the family - pack trip to Blue Lake!

Bruce's side of the family - reunion on the beach at Yahatz, OR

A whole bunch of cousins!  This was the day of Joshua's farewell.  I LOVE this picture.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Parties, Concerts, and College Goodbye's

We had the Relief Society Christmas party here up in our ER (what we affectionately call the Entertainment Room).  We had a White Elephant Gift Exchange, which was tons of fun.

Colette with her prize - the huge loaf of homemade bread

Julie, JoAnn, Mary Jean, Donna, Maureen

Barbara, Rochelle, Angela, Tanya, Vickie

Amber, Ginger, Joanna, Julie, Kali, Wendy, Shelly, Lori, Maria, Shelsie

Deanna, Stephanie, Abby, Lynsie, Erin, Melanie, Lorraine

Colette, Melinda, Krista, Kendra, Mary Jean, and the Sister Missionaries

The next night we (the Relief Society) were in charge of serving a dinner for the community over at the local Methodist Church.  The youth came and helped serve.  Jesse had some help from Jenny and a little guest playing Christmas carols.  The piano had no pedals, so it took some extra skill!  One lady said she'd been in that Church for ten years and never seen it played.  It's about time!

Libby had a solo in the school Christmas Concert this week!  She sang the first part of Waltz of the Flowers!  She came home sick from school that day, so her schoolmates were surprised to see her that night.  A good dose of essential oils helped her be functional that night!  I was a little worried that she would be tired or weak, but after the concert she was hopping around and chattering just like normal.  :)

 At the end of the week, I went over with our neighbor to pick up Joseph and their daughter Shailor from college.  Yeah!

Joseph and Jacob - best buds at college

Saying good-bye to Apt 302

The view from his apartment window

What a great place to go to school!

Joseph got a 4.0 this semester.  Who does that their freshman year?!?!   How about that!

We got to see little Hannah before we left.  Don't you love this downward dog Yoga pose?!

 She sat like this for at least five minutes, and finally I was laughing so hard I wanted to remember it with a picture!  Can you see she's up on her tippy-toes?  She was like that for a LONG time!  My brother and his wife were a huge help to Joseph this year.  They had him over for Sunday dinner on a regular basis.  Thank you!

And finally, I end with this painting and quote of a post-mortal Joseph Smith speaking to the Prophet Brigham Young in a vision:

“Tell the brethren to be humble and faithful and be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord, that it will lead them aright. Be careful and not turn away the still, small voice; it will teach them what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their heart open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits—it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts, and their whole desire will be to do good” (quoted in Juvenile Instructor, 19 July 1873, 114).

This is my main focus in life right now - to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and act on them.

Oh, I was going to end, but these quotes I have are just too good.  I gathered them for a Relief Society lesson on following the Spirit:

"The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life."   Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society, “Guardians of the Hearth”: Establishing, Nurturing, and Defending the Family

"In raising our family, we decided that our most important goal would be to help our children establish their own connection to heaven. We knew that ultimately they would need to depend on the Lord, not on us. Brigham Young said, “Were I to draw a distinction in all the duties that are required of the children of men, … I would place first and foremost the duty of seeking unto the Lord our God until we open the path of communication from heaven to earth—from God to our own souls."  2012 April General Conference, Only upon the Principles of Righteousness, Sun. Afternoon Session -  Larry Y. Wilson

57 For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. Doctrine and Covenants, Doctrine and Covenants, Section 45


And finally, to end with one of my favorites:
When Satan is bound in a single home—when Satan is bound in a single life—the Millennium has already begun in that home, in that life”     (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 172).

December Happenings

 Today we had our dear friends Greg & Rachelle and their children over for dinner.  We celebrated the one week birthday of their new little baby boy - Max! What joy a little one brings.

Peter started fiddle lessons this week from David, a friend of his who is an awesome fiddler.  He's really excited about it!  Last week Peter told me that he wanted to be a professional violinist/fiddler.  Wow, I didn't expect that!  But I know he has been having fun with it - picking up the violin and playing all the time.  When you do that, you start to get good really fast.  When it's fun, and not a chore - what a difference that makes!  Peter had about a month of it being a chore (practicing for school), and since then, it's started to be fun.

Mary had a miracle happen this week.  Because of some service that she has given, she found out about a performance team doing couples dances, and she was invited to participate.  We went last night, and afterwards, she told the instructor that she had a dream to be on the BYU Ballroom Dance Team.  He was very excited and talked to Mary for about 20 minutes about what she needed to do to prepare.  He said if you dance for 10,000 hours, you are a pro.  To put that in perspective, 40 hours a week for a year is 2000 hours!  So you can imagine how many hours of dancing that is.  He challenged her to start out with 10 hours a week.  Thankfully we have this mini-dance studio upstairs that will work perfectly for that.  What a blessing!  He also was very positive about training her and bringing in the right people to teach her dances and getting her ready.  After that conversation, we both got in the car and said, "Wow!!".  She feels like it was not a life-changing conversation, because she was already headed that direction, but it really focused.  And now we feel like she can get the direction and help that she needs.  Yeah!

Joshua is staying in the same area for this transfer with Elder Z.  He was happy about that, because he wanted to complete the training with him.  Their investigator Manuel didn't get baptized this week because he wanted to provide a "refrigerio", or refreshment for everyone at his baptism, and he couldn't afford it yet, so he wanted to wait.  Joshua tried to explain to him that it wasn't necessary, but, Josh said, "He is old.".  :)  This means he likes things done traditionally.  I'm sure his time will come soon enough! Joshua also said something profound in his letter, and that is that "the only way to take advantage of that atonement is through the gospel, the obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel."  And he referenced Doctrine y Covenants 84:19-21, which says,

19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.

 20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.

 21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;

In our Stake Conference last Spring, the visiting General Authority, Elder W. said that the power of godliness means the power to become like God.

Joseph got to go through a session in the Temple with my brother this week.  That makes me so happy.  The other days of the week he has gone and done baptisms for the dead - only now he is the one doing the baptizing.  He is heading into finals this week, so we will pray that he does well.

Jesse had a miracle happen too!  She was very stressed out because the local community college had not sent in her transcript for the college credit that she had.  She called them and got the run-around for 2-3 days and many, many people.  She was so frustrated!  But in the end, she had done the best she could and the transcript was still going to be postmarked two days late.  She just prayed and left it up to the Lord.  The due date was on Sat, December 1st.  Well, on Monday morning she learned that the priority deadline for BYU applications had been extended to the 3rd, since the 1st was on a Saturday, so that left the transcript enough time to be postmarked that day!  What a relief!  It wouldn't have been the end of the world to not get the application in for the priority deadline, but it was important to her, and her prayer was answered.

Libby - in between reading books

Libby is in to the Warrior series, by author Erin Hunt.  She and her friends at school act out the roles in the book every day at Recess, and they've set up an elaborate game that has been going on for months with intricate rules, roles and competitions.  It's pretty amazing!  She read a whole book in one day this week.  Hmmm... this reminds me of some other little girl at ten years old reading Nancy Drew books in a day.  That was me.

Bruce has had crazy days with work this week.  He is the "problem-solver" at work, and gets a long list of problems to fix every day.  He also has a release coming up, which makes for long days on the computer.  He is amazing at his work.

I have had a great week working with people and learning a lot.  A lot!  I had some great experiences with understanding the power of working with the feet.  I am so grateful to be involved in work that keeps me learning, allows me to meet new people, and gives me the chance to deeply connect.  I shake my head every day in wonder that this is what I am blessed to do.

Our family is so thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We love our Heavenly Father, and our grateful for his constant care in our life.  We are thankful for the guidance of the Holy Ghost.  What a miracle to have on our side the three most powerful beings in existence.  How can it get any better than that?