Baby Noble

Baby Noble is 11 weeks old, almost 5 whole centimeters from head to bum, and has a strong, healthy heartbeat!

Word to the wise

Just a little bit of automotive advice....

Before hiring a mechanic, before bumming rides off of co-workers and ward members, before taking away your sister's access to a non-airconditioned vehicle for 2 weeks, before complaining to everyone about how inconvenient unexpected car troubles are, before buying a $560 fuel pump, and before you have your hired mechanic install that mechanical rip off under the back seat of your car....

Check to see if you are using the proper key. 

Such a simple task may require that you tear up your house in sheer frustration hoping you didn't accidentally throw your keys away like Chad did his wallet... It may shine light on the fact the Chad doesn't really have the special automotive touch that allows him to turn the car on and Rachel to not like he may have once thought.... And it may keep you up at night wondering why in the world you would ever have put the keys in the pantry with Nike's dog leash.... But it will save you $700. 

Trust me. It's worth it.

Do you have flat arches?

We forgot hiking shoes, water shoes, a laptop cord, our river rafting reservations, matching Sunday socks, glasses holders for the river, water bottles, a backpack, an extra pair of garments... and utensils. But we were extremely creative! Chad here demonstrates how coffee straws can be used as chopsticks... chopsticks that shovel microwavable mac n' cheese into one's mouth after the cup has sufficiently cooled. We also used pieces of cardboard on which to microwave hot dogs. When we ran out of toilet paper (Chad doesn't trust the maids, so the "Do not disturb" sign hung on our front door for four days), we ransacked Chad's car and as miracles would have it, we even found an extra roll.

I was too slow to catch the cow in the middle of the road on our way to Canyonlands, but my finger made it in the picture just fine. 

The time spent in the motel was full of "constructive" activities...  like building a house of cards. 

And of course a rambunctious game of Solitaire for me while Chad watched the NBA Playoffs.... I take after the Utah Jazz... I lost before I even started... I'd like to blame it on the fact that I realized partway through that I didn't have a full deck...

Double Arch in Arches National Park. From our final drive through before we left Tuesday morning. 

The view from Dead Horse Point. Luckily no horses today.

 My new friend Manny. 

 We're so happy, we're "glowing!" Taken from the Dead Horse Point overlook.

 Us being silly in the motel before hiking Delicate Arch Saturday morning. Chad tried to help me "fix" my hair. Turned out lovely...

Window Arch in Canyonlands on Sunday. Beautiful. 

If you look really close between the two people on the right, you'll notice that Chad and I are not in this picture. That's because we have neither a waterproof camera, nor a way to be in a raft and on the shore taking pictures at the same time. We did, however, go through a Class III rapid at the beginning of our half day river run on Monday afternoon. They even let us out half way through and fed us some BBQ'd food at a lodge for the extremely rich. It was a very windy day, and had we not paddled, we still would have been in the same place we started.

Shoeless in Arches

 Window shopping on Main Street in Moab... Whose teeth look better? Or at least, less freaky?

 Chad's good eye spotted us several big green frogs!

 I am so outta shape...

 Chad saw Delicate Arch before me because he peeked through this one first....

 A nice lady from Cincinnati took our picture in front of the arch. 

The country store has a lot of great items, including gym shoes and water shoes (I forgot both and Chad forgot his gym shoes), but I'm thinking maybe we should stay away from the maple bars.... That is, unless you like licking the frosting off the bottom of the box!

I would highly recommend letting my people go...

I learned so much from studying the story of Moses and Pharaoh this week! Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to share it other than in a chart. But I still feel I need to give a little background to ensure that it makes sense. So here it goes... 

In Exodus Chapter 3, Moses asks Jehovah what to tell the people when they ask who sent him. Jehovah responds: "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me." A very odd name, you might ask? I think a little Spanish lesson comes in to play here. The Spanish verb 'estar' translated into English means 'to be.' In the every day usage of the Spanish language, the verb endings change to reflect whether or not the verb is referring to the past, present, or future, but the root word "est-" always stays the same. Now back to Moses. If God was speaking Spanish, I think he would have said something like this: "Tell them that 'estar' sent you." I think He would have used the non-conjugated verb, demonstrating the word's capacity for past, present, and future tenses. The English translation? "Tell them that 'I was, I am, and I will be' sent you." I think He's preparing the people to understand His eternal nature, as well as the role that He has played in their past (the Creator), His relationship to them in the present (their Savior), and the significance of His existence to their future (their Salvation)!

Keeping this is mind, I then did a study on the meaning of the 10 plagues. I mean, God could have chosen anything, so why lice and boils? To sum up my study (and the chart below), I discovered that Jehovah both defied Egypt's powerless Gods AND testified of Himself as the true omnipotent Creator and Savior through the use of those specific plagues. 

God is amazing! But that shouldn't surprise anybody. 

I recognize there are holes and stretches below, so any insight and thoughts would be helpful!

**A cleaner copy of this chart can be downloaded from Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/taihles5l32tr4d/Plagues.docx

Plagues	Egyptian Gods Defied	Symbolism of the Savior	The Creation “Undone”	Further Witnesses of the Savior for the Hebrews
Nile turned to blood	Apis- God of the Nile	Living Water Blood of Atonement	Day 2- Separation of water from land	Moses gets water for the thirsty Hebrews from a Rock
Frogs	Heqet- Frog-headed God of birth/fruitfulness	JESUS AS CREATOR =>	Day 5- Creatures of the sea
Lice/Gnats	Geb- God of Earth	JESUS AS CREATOR =>	Day 5&6- Every living thing
Flies	Re/Uatchit- depicted as flies Khepri- God of rebirth & Creation	“You must be born again” Jesus created the earth (See the section to the right for more thoughts)	Day 5&6- Every living thing (Note that man is given dominion over animals after the creation, but that man obviously has no control over the animals during these plagues)
Death of Livestock	Hathor/Apis- depicted as cattle	LIVESTOCK- Food=Bread of Life Beasts of burden=”Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden…”	Day 6- Land animals	The Hebrews are fed “bread of life” thru manna while in the wilderness
Boils	Sekhment, Sunu, Isis- Gods of Health and Disease	Jesus heals all manner of disease (Matt. 4:23-24)	Day 6- Man	Those who look on the raised up brass serpent are healed (Note that the Lord commanded Moses to turn his rod into a serpent before the 1st plague)
Hail/Thunder/Fire	Nut- Sky Goddess Set- Storm God	JESUS AS CREATOR =>	Day 3- Dry land and plants	Led by God in a pillar of cloud by day
Locusts	Osiris- God of crop fertility Serapia- Protector from locusts	JESUS AS CREATOR =>	Day 3- Plants
3 days of darkness	Re- The Sun God (also a symbol of Pharoah)	Light of the World; 3 hours of darkness associated with crucifixion	Day 1&4- Light from darkness; sun, moon, stars	Led by God in a pillar of fire by night (I also love how it says they had light in their houses during these 3 days of darkness)
Death of 1st Born	Isis- Protector of children	Heavenly Father sacrificed His first born son to save the rest of His children	Day 6- Man	Unblemished lamb’s blood saved the Hebrews

The Law of the Fast

This is my limited interpretation of the amazing talk Jen gave in Sacrament meeting on Sunday on the Law of the Fast. I wish you all could have been there! She said it so beautifully.

Before you read on, I would suggest you read Isaiah 58!

“…they seek me daily…”

“…and delight to know my ways…”

“…delight in approaching God."

"Wherefore have we fasted." 

From these scriptures, we can conclude that the children of Israel at this time were consistent in participating with the spiritual rituals of scripture study, prayer, and fasting.

And yet the Lord sends His servant to show His children their transgression- they have not appropriately been keeping the law of the fast. 

When they fast, they...

-take pleasure in their own interests and activities instead of doing the Lord's will

-are not kind to others and end up quarreling

-fast without spiritual motivation, which causes discomfort and irritability

The Lord then reveals the type of fast that He has chosen. A fast that...

 -Loosens the bands of wickedness: Jen stated that this sounds like a process, rather than an immediate release from our sins. 

Elder Worthlin:

“Fasting and prayer can help develop within us courage and confidence. It can strengthen our character and build self-restraint and discipline. Often when we fast, our righteous prayers and petitions have greater power. Testimonies grow. We mature spiritually and emotionally and sanctify our souls. Each time we fast, we gain a little more control over our worldly appetites and passions.”

 -Releases ourselves and other from heavy burdens, and lets the oppressed go free: Jen gave the following definition of oppression- "The feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions or people, and anxiety." She stated that we all have probably experiences these feelings before and suggested that we are not only to release others from their heavy load, but to enjoy the fast as a way to help free us from our own yoke.

Helaman 3:34-35:
“And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction. Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling theirs souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts to God.”

-Encourages us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked: Part of the law of the fast is paying a generous fast offering.

Elder Worthlin:

“When we fast, brethren and sisters, we feel hunger. And for a short time, we literally put ourselves in the position of the hungry and the needy. As we do so, we have greater understanding of the deprivations they might feel. When we give to the bishop an offering to relieve the suffering of others, we not only do something sublime for others, but we do something wonderful for ourselves as well. King Benjamin taught that as we give of our substance to the poor, we retain “a remission of [our] sins from day to day.”

-Involves spending time with family

These are the blessings that the Lord promises to those who fast in His way, rather than just as a monthly habit:

-You and your life will be full of light

-You will have better health

-It will be accounted unto you as righteousness

-The Lord will be with and protect you continuously

-You will receive answers to your prayers

-Your soul will be satisfied, even in times of trouble

-Your posterity will be blessed

I can do cute things

"I can do cute things." Sheri Dew 

Okay, so maybe the original quote was "I can do hard things" but to me cute and hard are often one in the same.

I just wanted to share my realization that it is 1) possible to create something from nothing, and 2) that confectioners sugar is not required to make frosting. I know, did that totally blow your mind? 

So I realized it was a friend's birthday today and I had nothing in the house to give to or make for her.... And I definitely wasn't going to go back out and go to the store. So I did what anyone would do at 4th down and 1.... I punted. (Right dad?) 

I found a snack size sugar cookie packet from my wedding in the back of the cupboard- you know, the ones that taste pretty gross- and was relieved when I discovered it did not require eggs. 

Here are some fun facts: 

Did you know that Dr. Seuss glasses do not make very good rolling pins? 

Did you also realize that sugar cookie dough from the packet sticks to the counter no matter how much flour you use? 

Did you know that small stars are the ONLY shapes that keep their shape even though you have already planned out a spring cookie theme in your mind? 

And do you know how frustrating it is to realize you don't have powdered sugar until AFTER you've already made those useless little star cookies? 

So here it is... A frosting recipe that you can use when you have no powdered sugar... And it actually tastes pretty dang good (if you can get over the sugar grain texture). 

INGREDIENTS: * 2 tablespoons flour * 3/4 cup milk * 3/4 cup butter * 3/4 cup sugar * 1/8 teaspoon salt * 1 teaspoon vanilla (I used almond of course)

 PREPARATION: In a saucepan add a small amount of the milk to flour then stir to make a smooth paste. Add remaining milk. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Cool. Cream butter using medium speed of electric mixer. Gradually add sugar and salt; beat well. Add cooled milk mixture. Beat until light and fluffy; add vanilla. Frosts a two layer cake.

And now for the miracle:

...... Cookies that were both taste and somewhat look-worthy of being given to a friend for her birthday! All made from random things I found in the back of various cupboards. 

See.... I CAN do hard/cute things!