Disneyland 2012

 Those of you who know me well know how much I love to go to Disneyland. If we lived closer, I'm sure I would have an annual pass to go far more often! But for now, I'm happy to have just gone with my kids for a great weekend together at The Happiest Place On Earth. It's a special place for our family and we had a great time! Here are a few photos to document our latest visit.

The boys were so excited to ride the new Star Tours. It was pretty crowded, so it was hard to get a picture without anyone else in the shot. So, as Gary would have said about the person on the left, "What about THAT guy?"

They were SO excited when we saw a couple of Storm Troopers. Luckily we weren't the droids they were looking for...

Gotta love the Jungle Cruise!

Kind of a blurry photo, but it shows Carson's awesome hair after California Screamin' (and those awesome chops as well)

It's hard to think of something new for the photo each time we rode Space Mountain

Carson's always creative :)

It's not a trip to Disneyland for the Hatch Family without a picture of these characters (the animals, not the kids)

I'm fine on The Tower of Terror as long as I can hold on to someone, or in this case, two someones

 

Waiting to take off on California Screamin'--LOVE this roller coaster!

 

So sad that this one turned out blurry :(   But it was pretty late and pretty dark, so the camera had a hard time picking a setting and since the person behind us in line took the picture, I should just be glad we're all in it and smiling :)

Injuries and Healing

I've been thinking quite a bit about injuries lately. Yes, my face hitting the pavement 3 weeks ago has prompted a lot of this thinking. (For those of you who don't know, I tripped on some uneven concrete in my driveway very unexpectedly. First my knees went down, then the right side of my face. I was carrying out the trash, so my hands were full and no help whatsoever--I scraped them up and sprained some ligaments in my right hand.) At this point, nearly all the outward appearances of my injuries are gone, but I am still sore and tender on the inside. I can't kneel down, my knees are still bruised. One spot on my cheekbone is tender enough that I can't rest my face on my hand on the right side. My hand hurts when I do certain motions. These are all things that can't necessarily be seen on the outside but will heal with a little more time.

 But what about injuries to our heart, our soul, our very core? These kinds of hurt aren't usually seen by those around us. We don't usually tell very many people about them. They can be deep pains felt for long periods of time. How can we be healed from those kinds of pain? Only through our Savior and His atoning sacrifice. How grateful I am for Him and all He did for me so that I can be healed and made whole again.

The Gentle Christ by Del Parson

Why I'm a Mormon by Jason Wright

I read this column today and it really resonated with me (You Know I'm a Mormon, But Do You Know Why? by Jason Wright, Deseret News 2/9/12). I feel the same way as the author, but he states it so much more eloquently. It's worth the few minutes it will take you to read it, which is why I'm posting most of the column here rather than just the link.


Simply put, I am a Mormon because over a long period of time, and after many accumulating spiritual experiences, I have come to my own understanding that the faith is true.
I like to think of my personal faith as a lengthy, never-ending manuscript. A single page, on its own, probably isn't of great significance. But over the course of weeks, months and even years, those individual pages multiply with my hard work and become something weighty and valuable.
This is how my testimony has grown. It didn't happen overnight in a singular burst of revelation from the Holy Ghost or after a weekend of nonstop reading in the scriptures. My faith has grown like that manuscript, through countless prayers and moments of worship and service. Together they've accumulated into something beautiful that I enjoy sharing with those around me.
I am a Mormon, in part, because it is the faith of my fathers. It is among the greatest blessings of my life to have been born into a good Christian family with a long heritage of worthy membership in the church.
When I was a child, my parents took me to church on the strength of their own testimonies, forged through their own long lives of obedience to God's commandments. Like all parents, they hoped and prayed that one day my siblings and I wouldn't need to rely on mom and dad's faith.
Their prayers were heard. As a young man, I began to realize that I could no longer survive strictly on the strength of my parents' spiritual manuscripts. I had to write my own.
Thus began my own journey to knowing. Day after day, year after year, here a concept, there a principle, here a doctrine and there a covenant. Each new spiritual experience refines the ones before it and adds breadth and depth to my own testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am a Mormon because I believe that God loves his children today just as much as he loved our ancient ancestors when Peter, James and John walked the earth and preached with his authority. I believe that in preparation for the return of the Savior, our Heavenly Father speaks through modern-day apostles and prophets who are no different than those we read of in the holy scriptures.
Because of this, I know that God has today organized his church to resemble the church that Christ founded when he walked the earth. If he had apostles and prophets during the early days, why wouldn't he have them during the latter?
He would and he does. I am a Mormon because that organization and the priesthood keys to act in his name are found in my faith and in my chapel each Sunday.
I am a Mormon because I believe that just like the Bible, the Book of Mormon is also the word of God. It is, truly, another testament of Jesus Christ. What a blessing that we have it alongside the Old and New Testaments to learn of his ministry and promised return.
I am a Mormon because I have gotten on my knees and asked to know if he hears me, if the ancient scriptures are true and if the words and counsel of today's prophets and apostles will lead me closer to the Savior.
Sometimes the answers are overwhelming and bring me to tears. But more often, the assurances come in gentle whispers, just one more page to add to the others.
I am so thankful that this manuscript gets better each time I pay attention to it.
But I know that I'm not writing alone. I know he is with me, word by word, writing and willing me to return and live with him in the eternities.
Let there be no doubt: my manuscript and I are far from perfect. But his gospel is.
And that's why I'm a Mormon.

So here's to continuing my spiritual manuscript, each and every day.

Lesson from a Children's Book

Yesterday I ran across a book at the library that caught my eye and I just HAD to read--Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. Here's the description from Amazon:
 "Scaredy Squirrel never leaves his nut tree. It's way too dangerous out there. He could encounter tarantulas, green Martians or killer bees. But in his tree, every day is the same and if danger comes along, he's well-prepared. Scaredy Squirrel's emergency kit includes antibacterial soap, Band-Aids and a parachute. Day after day he watches and waits, and waits and watches, until one day ... his worst nightmare comes true! Scaredy suddenly finds himself out of his tree, where germs, poison ivy and sharks lurk. But as Scaredy Squirrel leaps into the unknown, he discovers something really uplifting ..."

And the review from Booklist:
"In a tongue-in-cheek tale that may help to prod anxious readers out of their hidebound routines, a squirrel discovers the pleasures of leaping into the unknown. As the world's a scary place, what with the killer bees, green Martians, tarantulas, germs, and sharks that might be lurking about, Scaredy Squirrel keeps to his tree, and to a precise, minute-by-minute daily schedule--until a supposed "killer bee" actually wanders by, causing Squirrel to dislodge his suitcase-size emergency kit. A wild lunge to rescue it turns into a long glide (portrayed in a gatefold), as Squirrel discovers to his astonishment that he is a flying squirrel. Eventually, Squirrel returns in triumph to his tree and from then on adds a daily glide to his accustomed rounds."

It was a cute little book, geared toward the 4 & up crowd, and I just LOVED it. I kept thinking about how much I am like Scaredy Squirrel--comfortable in my safe, little "tree" but when something unexpected, and even "dangerous," happened, I was able to find out something amazing about myself I hadn't known before.

I'm thinking this book has to become part of my personal library.

Visitors Galore!

We had lots of visitors this holiday season. We kicked it off with Dad & Georgia coming on Dec. 16 to help celebrate Aubrey & Carson. My niece, Jacy, was here from BYU on the 16th as well. She stayed until the 22nd when the rest of her family came from Wisconsin. It was great to have Susie, Eric, & their family here from Wisconsin. Although they didn't stay with us, we were able to see them quite a bit. Chris & his family came to visit for a few days on the 26th (I learned that my house isn't really baby-proofed, something that will have to be remedied once grandchildren enter my life). Then on Tuesday Dec. 27th Mikkel & Lise (nephew & his new bride) came through town on their way to Rexburg. We had a big family dinner that night, which was fun to see all the cousins that were here. On Wednesday I ended up picking up another niece at the SLC airport because her ride fell through. She was spending a few days here in Utah County with a friend before heading up to Rexburg. We were able to spend most of the day with her, Mikkel, Lise, Chris, Jill, & kiddos. When Susie's family left to head back to Wisconsin on Friday, they left their two college kids here with me. It was fun to have Nick & Jacy here for a few more days until their BYU apartments were ready.

I didn't get any pictures from most of this--what was I thinking? I do have one of all the cousins that were here on the 27th--pretty fun to see their personalities shine through.

Christmas 2011

I feel so blessed this Christmas season. I have my son home from his mission. I have 3 awesome kids who bless my life. I have extended family who love me. I have good friends who are there for me when I need them. I have a job I love. I have a warm, safe, comfortable home to live in. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ to teach & guide me. And it's Christmas! I love my Savior, and love to celebrate His birth this time of year. And as a bonus, Christmas is on Sunday this year--what a wonderful day!

Quick Trip to Texas

Aubrey and I traveled to San Antonio on Monday Dec. 19 for one nephew's baptism and another nephew's wedding. (Kind of crazy for Aubrey to hop on a plane less than a week after getting home.) Jacob was able to be baptized on Tuesday and then Mikkel & Lise were married on Wednesday. We had an EARLY flight home on Thursday, so it was a very quick trip. I'm so glad we could go to support them on their special days. I hope it was a help to Fred & Nanette as well. (Plus we had some yummy Texas barbeque, always a good thing.)

Jacob & Fred at the baptism

Jacob with his Papa & Lola

Mikkel & Lise coming out of the temple (with a candid of Dad & Nanette on the side)

Happy Bride & Groom!

The little kids weren't so happy, even in their fine-looking clothes!

It was SO cold! I was (unsuccessfully) trying to keep them warm while waiting for the pictures

It was hard to get a good picture of these guys--Abby & Daniel were NOT happy campers!

Cute shoes! LtoR Abby, Nanette, Isabelle

Daniel wanted me to take a picture of his shoes too :)