President Gordon B. Hinckley

We were saddened by the news Sunday night that President Gordon B. Hinckley had passed away (he was 97). Our family loved President Hinckley and we will miss him. We looked forward to General Conference when we could hear our prophet speak. We loved his humor and eloquence; he always made me want to work hard and be a better person. President Hinckley has been the prophet for 12 years, the only prophet in Jackson's and Justin's life time, so I asked them what they remembered about him.

Justin remembers when we wrote a special verse of the song Follow the Prophet for President Hinckley, it went:
Now we have a prophet who listens to the Lord,
His Book of Mormon Challenge said read every word,
Building many temples, the most in history,
Gordon B. Hinckley knows the Way to Be!

Jackson remembers giving a Primary talk the week after General Conference in April of 2007 and he bore his testimony that he knew President Hinckley was a true prophet.

This is President Hinckley's testimony:
"I hope that all of you will remember that on this Sabbath day you heard me bear my witness that this is God's holy work. The vision given the Prophet Joseph in the grove of Palmyra was not an imaginary thing. It was real. It occurred in the broad light of day. Both the Father and the Son spoke to the boy. He saw Them standing in the air above him. He heard Their voices. He gave heed to Their instruction.

"It was the resurrected Lord who was introduced by His Father, the great God of the universe. For the first time in recorded history, both the Father and the Son appeared together to part the curtains and open this, the last and final dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times.

"The Book of Mormon is all that it purports to be—a work recorded by prophets who lived anciently and whose words have come forth "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations" (Book of Mormon title page).

"The priesthood has been restored under the hands of John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John. All the keys and authority pertaining to eternal life are exercised in this Church.

"Joseph Smith was and is a prophet, the great Prophet of this dispensation. This Church, which carries the name of the Redeemer, is true.

"I leave you my testimony, my witness, and my love for each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

President Gordon B. Hinckley
April 1, 2006, Sunday morning session of the 176th Annual World General Conference

2008 Pinewood Derby

The Cub Scout Pinewood Derby was last Wednesday. Justin won first place and his best friend Tommy won second place. Jason helped a boy in our ward (Jaime) make his car, and he won third place. I guess by the 4th Pinewood Derby, Jason has learned how to make a fast car! We have eight more Pinewood Derby cars to make before all our boys will be done with Cub Scouts!

Savannah Loves to Sing

Savannah is 5 months old and she loves to sing and croon. I caught her doing it with the video camera today. She comes with me to singing time and loves to lay by the piano and sing along with the primary kids. She also loves to suck on her toes now that she is strong enough to get them to her mouth. She is a lovable baby!

Jared's Update

Jared turned 3 years old today! Finally... it seems like Jared has been three for the past year. We took the family bowling for Jared's birthday party and the kids had a blast! Unfortunately, real bowling is a lot harder than bowling on the Wii. We had a Wii bowling tournament for Family Home Evening and Josh beat everyone by scoring a 190 (he didn't do quite so well at the bowling ally).


Jason and I went to parent teacher conferences for Jackson and Justin on Thursday. They are doing great! We are grateful for their wonderful teachers who are interested in helping them succeed and excel in school.

Justin is working on his Pinewood Derby car, Jason has decided to build one too... Boys will be boys! We'll let you know how it goes next week.

I have been the primary chorister in our ward for almost 4 years (I finished my fourth primary sacrament meeting program in October). I love my calling, I love music, and I love primary kids. Too bad I can't sing... There is a fun website that has great ideas for primary and Young Women called www.sugardoodle.net if any of you need ideas. I put away our nativity costumes for the year (31 angel costumes, 21 shepherd costumes, 3 wisemen costumes, Mary, and Joseph). I made these costumes four years ago and they have been used by the primary for sharing times and Ward Christmas parties every year. I still enjoy taking pictures, here is our 3 year old Jared!

Justin's Update

I've been waiting to do Justin's update until I could tell you about his baptism. Justin was baptized on Saturday, January 5th, 2008. It was a very special day with lots of family in town. Justin was baptized and confirmed by his dad. Jason and Justin also sang a special musical number "When I Am Baptized." It was so neat to see father and son (both dressed in their white jumpsuits) singing together. We had a big luncheon afterwards and Justin enjoyed playing with his cousins. We appreciate the love and support of all our family and friends who came to support Justin. We are so proud of him!


I have to share a funny comment Joshua made to our bishop (Bishop Fife) at the baptism. The bishop was discussing the 4th article of faith that talks about the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. He asked the kids what an ordinance was. Josh promptly raised his hand and told the bishop they were round things that you hang on your Christmas tree to decorate it. He was so genuine and innocent we all started laughing. Ornaments and ordinance do sound alike....