Let Us Cheerfully Do All Things

There was a beautiful and fascinating tree near the Bob White Covered Bridge. It is the far center tree in the photo below.

It stood tall and regally among the other trees. The trunk was rather straight and its branches were laden with leaves of exquisite fall colors. The thing that made it stand out to me was its roots. Its roots were exposed to the elements, wrapped around rocks and dug deep into the earth below. This tree did not waver. It was sure footed even amid the less than ideal circumstances of its location. Those roots held it steady, strong and still.

Those roots reminded me of the scripture in Doctrine & Covenants 123:17.

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethern [and sisters], let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

We may also stand tall and regally among the children of God. With our soul's straight and focused while laden with our exquisite talents and virtues. Though we may be exposed to trials, heartbreaks, and struggles of mortality we can wrap ourselves firmly around Christ, the rock of our salvation, and dig deep. We need not waver. We can also be sure footed amid the less than ideal circumstances in each of our lives. 

May we each be steady, strong and still.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge some people I feel have exemplified D&C 123:17. They each "cheerfully do all things that lie in [their] power" and embody the virtue of standing still.

1. My dad, Matt, is an exemplary man who has sacrificed so much for his family. He has worked as a carpet installer for more than 36 years creating masterpieces in other people's homes in order to provide for his wife and four children. This job may not be the career of his dreams or glorious yet he has done it without compliant or negativity because he determined to be happy years ago. He lights up any room he enters and is sunshine in my life. My dad is successful, talented and the hardest working man I have ever known. He has always given all of himself cheerfully to anyone in need.

2. My dear friend, Kim, is just a gem. She serves others as a teacher and cares for her darling family joyfully without expectation of anything in return. She loves others generously and creates a realm of sweetness around herself. She has taught me that life without laughter and smiles would truly be empty and shallow. This scripture is one of her favorites.

3. My childhood best friend, Christina, is long-suffering and kind. She is patient and weathers the storms of life with her eye focused on the Lord. She brightens the day of so many while relying on and strengthening her own faith. Having known her my entire life, I can never recall a time when I heard her murmur or complain. She is a choice woman.

4. My incredible friend, Buck, truly encompassed the meaning of this scripture on a daily basis. It will have been 7 years since he tragically passed away on January 18, 2006. He died at the age of 26 leaving behind his lovely wife and two darling sons. Buck was the most infectious person I have ever known. He was full of life, laughter, and always in pursuit of quality fun. He was a great man. Buck chose to be cheerful, kind and considerate toward everyone he met and in all circumstances in life. He even exemplifies "cheerfully [doing] all things that lie in our power" in his favorite quote.

"The most evident token and apparent sign of true wisdom is constant and unconstrained rejoicing." Michel de Montaigne

5. My distant friend, Lisa, emanates grace the likes of which I have never beheld before. Her darling, cheeky 10 year old son, Noah, passed away October 2011 and then her beloved, fun-loving husband, Aaron, suddenly died in January 2012. Even in the midst of all this sadness she still inspires and enriches the lives of so many individuals around the world through her lovely family blog, The Kings. She talks of family, love, healing and faith regularly.  She has never sought for the attention, but her example has uplifted and taught me in more ways than she will ever understand. She is truly an elect lady (D&C 25) and a chosen handmaiden of the Lord.

These men and women inspire me to be better and to make more of an effort to "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power" so I may fill the measure of my creation. It has been a very difficult year and I am resolved to do better at cheerfully doing all things in my power to brighten my life and the lives of my sweet children. Thank you for the beautiful examples of lives well lived! 

Bob White Covered Bridge - Woolwine, VA

The Sunday before the presidential elections we took a mental hiatus. (Things got really heated and critical before this year's elections.) We decided that a lovely drive through Virginia is just what our family needed. Hotch noticed on the map that there were two covered bridges nearby as we headed toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. We love checking out rare attractions so after a unanimous family vote we headed through back roads to them.

After driving through the most gorgeous countryside and seeing such picturesque views as in the photos above we arrived at the Bob White Covered Bridge. It was just far enough off the road that we almost missed it.

Honestly, these are my favorite people because they are such a unique brand of awesome. I love how their personalities show up in these photos.

Delaney and Braxton were nervous as we crossed the bridge on foot because the boards creaked and moved beneath us. Hotch started jumping on the bridge to make it shake which really didn't help at all. Leave it to Hotch to enjoy himself thoroughly at our expense! The little ones took lots of pictures once they noticed the creek below through the cracks in the bridge.   

Let it be known that I love bridges. Covered bridges are especially full of charm and even a bit eerie. (They always remind me of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving circa 1820. Love Walt Disney's 1949 cartoon version.)

My favorite part of bridges are their beautifully symmetrical trusses. The light inside the bridge lent itself to some great truss shots.  

On our back to the car Delaney discovered Pride Rock. You can't discover Pride Rock and not reenact the scene from The Lion King.

Watching my gorgeous girl while in this gorgeous location made me sad that she is almost a teenager. Miss her being a little girl.

Aren't these fall leaves exquisite! I love all the different hues. 

We really enjoyed this gorgeous place. Since we had a blast at the first covered bridge of the day we were stoked to get to the next one. 

Presidential Election 2012

We believe in teaching and involving our children in politics. It helps them better understand the world they live in and to be more open-minded. Children need to be taught how government works, how to determine which laws are beneficial and how to choose trustworthy leaders. Another important lesson that children need to learn is that people can differ in opinion or beliefs and still get along. Respect for differing beliefs and opinions is important in thriving in a global world. Hotch and I differ in our political affiliations and some of our political views, but we have always had mutual respect for each other's personal beliefs.

This year it was a blast getting the kids involved in the Presidential Election. I loved that our kids knew who the Presidential candidates were and that they asked tons of questions about the candidates. A family tradition I really look forward to is taking the kids with me when I vote. We talk about the process and I let them help me vote. We were pleasantly surprised that at the voting center there was a children's vote for our county. They were so excited to get to place their vote for President. We love Barrack Obama so four votes were cast for him. Too bad only one counted in the real election!

My Hotch is not always the most responsible man. He forgot to change his address on his voter's registration (even though I reminded him to check it) which made his voting location 40 minutes away. We made it into a voting date.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long to vote. Now we have five votes for Obama from Hotchkiss Home.

We love staying up late watching the results of the election roll in. 

And the winner is...Barrack Obama!

It took what seemed like forever for Mitt Romney to concede the race to the clear cut winner Barrack Obama. My kids stayed awake long enough to see who won and then the little ones fell asleep half way through Obama's speech. (It was about 1 AM.) Alyssa was my pal for the acceptance speech. 

So grateful that the best qualified, most honest and our personal favorite, Barrack Obama, won the 2012 Presidential race!

"I believe we can keep the promise of our Founders. The idea that if you are willing to work hard it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight. You can make it here in America if you're willing to try. I believe we can cease this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America."

President Barrack Obama 

Halloween 2012

We love Halloween here in our home! It is our favorite holiday of the year. (St. Patrick's Day comes in a very close second.)

Unfortunately, on October 29th the Mid-Atlantic and New England States were hit by the terribly destructive Hurricane Sandy. Its impact was felt in at least 24 states, but severely in New Jersey and New York. Those states suffered unspeakable hardships due to ocean surge, flooding, wind gusts, fires, toppled trees and power lines, etc. Millions were left without electricity, thousands lost their homes and businesses. Sadly, at this time the death toll stands at 113 in the United States. There has been over $20 billion worth of property damage and $10-$30 billion worth of lost business.  

Since there was so much sadness swirling around the East Coast on Halloween it seemed so trivial to go trick or treating. We kept the festivities to a minimum out of respect for those in such devastation, shock and suffering just north of us. We did carve jack-o'-lanterns and the kids went trick-or-treating with Hotch. When they came home we watched scary movies until the wee hours of the night. Even though we didn't do all of our family traditions this Halloween it was still a success in the eyes of our kids.

This year the kids were really excited to carve their own pumpkins.

They did an amazing job! Each jack-o'-lantern mimics their personalities.

Watch out for these vicious creatures!

These jack-o'-lanterns were so cool all lit up!

Delaney made a scary vampire jack-o'-lantern named Creepy. She loves vampires right now and always wants to watch Twilight.  

 Braxton made a sweet, cute jack-o'-lantern named Jonathan.
(His favorite names: Jack, John and Jonathan.)

Alyssa created Wicked Jack with the Butt Crack.

When Alyssa came home from the store she let me know that she chose this pumpkin because it looks like it has a butt. (Nice language, Lyss.)

Here they are all ready for trick-or-treating. We always go to an awesome neighborhood in town where everyone gives out candy.

Alyssa chose to be Juliet since she just finished Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. She loved the play and memorized so much of it! Her insights into the immaturity and frailties of teenagers were so awesome. 

Delaney chose to be a vampire because she loves blood red and vampires.

Braxton chose to be a mystery jedi. He kept changing his mind which made it really difficult to work with him this year. All day long he would come up with new costumes. He went through five or six different ideas just in the hour before they left. He settled on being a jedi, but he was no ordinary jedi. No Braxton was a mystery jedi! When he got home Brax was stoked that no one knew which jedi he was. So glad that he still fits into his Yoda sweatshirt and that we have multiple lightsabers to choose from.

Hotch was such a sweetheart by taking the kids out on his own. After multiple years of trick-or-treating alone with all three kids in tow while we lived in Utah, we decided I was due a Halloween off duty. Thanks babe! I really appreciated it. I enjoyed my time watching a creepy old movie called The Legend of Hell House (1973). 

They had a blast trick-or-treating and here's their spoils. 

Hope that those affected by Hurricane Sandy find relief soon and that next year there are no devastating hurricanes. That will make  Halloween much more enjoyable for all. Grateful the kids had fun this year anyways.