Ninjago

This is what the boys wanted to be for Halloween this year:

They love the Lego Ninjago guys and each wanted to be one of the characters.  (Weston didn't really have a choice.  The boys decided for him.  I think he likes acting like a ninja, but didn't want to wear the mask or symbol.  He probably would have preferred to be a dinosaur...)  Each of the characters have a color, name, and symbol.  I had high hopes of finding costumes on-line for cheap, but really was only finding costumes for $15-25 each.  I'm not spending $100 on costumes!  I next attempted to find solid colored pj's or sweatsuits, but didn't have much luck.  They were still going to cost about $12-15 each and I would still have to do the accessories.  I even looked at the thrift stores, but no luck.  Okay... that left one option.  Make them.  Fabric is still expensive too, but I found colored sheets at the thrift store.  Next problem:  I had never sewn pants or shirts before.  But the on-line resources are great!  I found step-by-step tutorials.  The one site I ended up using was http://www.danamadeit.com/tutorials.  She has tutorials for lots of kids clothes and some printable patterns as well.  I needed bigger sizes than her patterns.  Her suggestion was to take some clothes they already have, turn them inside out, and trace a pattern from it.  I thought I could at least put together something suitable for a costume.  They definitely look homemade, but they're good enough for the boys.  And they only ended up being about $6 each.  

We got invited to a halloween party this past weekend.  They had some fun games and lots of yummy food - loved the mummy dogs and ice cream eyeballs.  Nathan is trying to eat a donut off a string without it falling off.  

I decided to make some last minute attire, a knock off version of what you can buy on-line (again for much more than I wanted to spend).  I attempted to do my own.  The glow-in-the-dark paint faded quite a bit when it dried.  Probably should have done white paint and then some glow-in-the-dark on top of that... but I think you can still tell what it's supposed to be.  :)  

I am a Christian!

With the upcoming election, there has been a lot of focus on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon church) due to Mitt Romney's membership in the church.  The attention has brought on both positive and negative effects in the general image of the church. There are in many ways a lot of positive things being said about our faith.  But of course, there is opposition in all things, and the negative attacks keep coming.  One of the things that bothers me is the continued assertion that Mormons aren't Christian.  I don't understand how one can make that statement, other than just lack of knowledge about the church.  Even the very name of the church, The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints, should give you an idea of what we believe in.  I suppose it's our belief in the nature of God that sets apart from the other Christian faiths, but that doesn't change the belief in the same Jesus Christ who came to earth, taught us how to live and established His church, and died on the cross and atoned for our sins.

What is the definition of a Christian, by the way?

Here is one:
Chris·tian  (krschn)

adj.

1. Professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

2. Relating to or derived from Jesus or Jesus's teachings.

3. Manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus; Christlike.

4. Relating to or characteristic of Christianity or its adherents.

5. Showing a loving concern for others; humane.

n.

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.

I wish that instead of judging us on our interpretation of the nature of the Godhead, we would be judged on how we are living our lives, on our faith in Jesus Christ, and how we are living the teachings of Jesus. (I know, you're saying we shouldn't judge!  But we do have to make judgments every day, on what type of friends we'll have, what type of environments we'll put ourselves in, etc.  We have to make righteous judgments all the time.)

All of us as Christians have to ask ourselves how well we are living as Christ taught. I love this recent general conference talk by Elder Hales, "Becoming a More Christian Christian."  This articulates well what we believe, but also that there are varying degrees that we as Christians are at in following the teachings of Jesus.  How are you doing in the areas of love, faith, sacrifice, caring, service, patience, peace, forgiveness, conversion, and enduring to the end?

I know there are many ways I can improve, but I have to proclaim that I am a Christian!  And, by the way, there is a Christian candidate for president!  Call him what you want, but don't be afraid to elect someone who is striving to follow the teachings of Jesus.

   

just some pictures

Just some random pictures.  The one of Nathan is with his Flat Teacher, like Flat Stanley.  We had to take him somewhere locally for a little project on our county.  Still love how the boys can sometimes fall asleep anywhere.  Jared, Owen, and Weston got silly with the capes one Sunday after church.  Weston is becoming quite the ham (and at times a real challenge).  He is quickly replacing our ornery Owen, who is slowly growing out of his "terrible" stage.  Owen still has a great personality - in the video we were trying to capture his adorable w's for l's, but he mostly ended up making his funny face.      

 (Owen still loves his boots.  They're almost too small though.  Grandma/Baba might have to find some new ones for his b-day??)

Dinner with Ann Romney?

We had the unique opportunity to go to a fundraiser dinner with Ann Romney as the guest speaker.  Normally we would not have been able to attend, as the tickets were very expensive!  But we have a good connection with a fellow church member, so we were able to go for significantly less donation.  We had hopes of actually meeting Ann Romney, but she wasn't there very long.  We chatted and enjoyed appetizers, waiting for Ann to arrive.  When she got there, she mingled with some of the VIP's for a few minutes and then gave her speech.  It was a condensed version of her speech at the Republican National Convention.  Immediately after her talk, she headed off to her next event.  She's a busy lady!  I was hoping to ask her how she was able to send on missions and successfully raise 5 boys... because I know that's no easy task.  Maybe another time.  I admire her for the role model she is, for staying home to raise 5 boys, for her strength  through trials, and many more things.  She's a strong woman!

We enjoyed dinner after her speech (and pretending we were important).  Well, we are important, but not rich important.  :)   I was embarrassed to ride off in our Honda Civic (with a dent in the front bumper and cracked windshield) amongst all of the fancy cars.  We didn't use the valet!  We at least had a nice evening without the boys and got to dress up a little bit.  (I tried to find something decent to wear, but everything just didn't look great with my big belly.  Alex was sporting his well used church shoes and kid-shoulder-stained suit.  I don't think we were fooling anyone, but we felt VIP for a little while.)  We were on THE LIST to get in - that was pretty cool, just getting through the gate.  And I was reminded how good Alex is at hob-knobbing.  He can talk to anyone!    

30-something

Back in business with the blog and pictures... we bought a new computer on my birthday.  It wasn't fun shopping with the boys, but ice cream was a pretty good bribe for good behavior.  

listen to a living prophet

It's general conference weekend!  Join in on www.lds.org.