Hungry?

Joshua, Mary and I were talking in bed this morning. Mary asked Joshua if he had eaten breakfast yet. Joshua looked at Mary and said, "No, Mom. I'm fasting."

Mary and I started laughing with Joshua. Then he said, "I'm just kidding."

Coming Home

Mary and Ruth came home on Monday morning, August 8th. I forgot to post some pictures from leaving the hospital.

I love how Rebecca is trying to help out in this picture. Also note, the nice male pattern baldness going on the guy! Mom and all her daughters before leaving the hospital. Dad and all his precious little girls. Rebecca has been very watchful of Ruth from the time she came home. Here she is holding Ruth.

Because This is How We Roll

Rebecca and I are in the same fan club.

Like a Baby

Last night, Ruthie "slept" at home for the first time. She had a good spell of sleep to start the night. She stayed awake for the rest of the night. That it what it means to "sleep like a baby," but that is not what people mean when they say it. But it is the truth. At any rate, here is a picture of her sleeping for the first time in her crib:

First Day at Home

For a family activity tonight, we went and got ice cream. This was Ruth's first trip out and about. I think everyone had a good time. (Ruth is in the stroller.) After ice cream, we came home and I helped Grace and Caleb work on math problems. Joshua took advantage of the situation and spent some time with Ruth. Rebecca spent the time hopping around the family room in a bunny rabbit costume. Unfortunately, the picture of Rebecca turned out even worse than this one.

Meeting Ruth

The children got to meet Ruth for the first time today at the hospital. Here are some pictures from the trip. Rebecca could not have been more excited to meet Ruth. She kept asking if she could have another turn holding her. Joshua was patient in the beginning, but he demanded that he had a turn holding Ruth. Caleb loves to hold newborns. We have a nearly identical picture to this one of him holding Rebecca. Grace told me that I needed to leave her at the hospital so she could hold Ruth. Here are some different group photos. A trip to the hospital would not be complete without someone having fun. Caleb had to try on Mom's bathrobe. The star of the show is little Ruthie Jayne:

Little Ruthie

Mary was fortunate enough to take a nap today. When she woke up, her contractions started to pick up. So we dropped all the other kids off at a friend's house and headed to the hospital. We checked in at 6:15 pm. At 7:22 pm, little Ruth Jayne was born. This was taken right after she was born. Mary was elated to finally meet this precious little one. Dad was excited, too. (We called to let the other children know that they had a brand new little sister and you should have heard the wild rumpus in the background! I think it is safe to say they were excited, as well.) Ruth weighed in a 7 pounds 9 ounces. She is 20 inches long. I love those tiny little hands! In this picture and the previous one, you can see that she has dark hair. Will Caleb have a sibling with the same color hair that he has? Only time will tell. Love a sleeping baby. Here she is in her isolette after her bath. I can't wait for her to meet her siblings.

Devotion

Each night, I check on the kids before I go to bed. I like to tuck them in and give them a kiss good night. I found Joshua sleeping like this last night. He loves his blanket.

Cousins

We had a lot of family in town for Caleb's baptism. I need to put up more pictures from the event, but I thought I would start with this teaser. That way, if I never get around to posting more, there will be reminder of what I intended to do and never could. At any rate, here is a picture of Chase, Jayson and Caleb. Chase and Caleb got baptized together and Jayson came to visit all the way from California. We had a great visit with all of our cousins!

The Adventures of Hucklebetty Finn and the Grillmistress

This is what I found last night when I came home from work. Becca was running around and Grace was ready to cook some burgers.

Travel Adventures

We recently spent a weekend camping in the Berkshires. We had a great time and really enjoyed the evening concert at Tanglewood. Even Mary enjoyed it. And I don't think that camping is always the priority for women who are 36 weeks pregnant.

On the way back home, we took a toll road. Mary asked Grace to gather up some money. Grace asked Mary about the "troll plaza.". Mary laughed and told her to be on the lookout for trolls. I recommended wingardium leviosa if she saw one. (It worked for Ron, right?)

Upcoming Events

You all have seen the new trailer, right?

We have downloaded the huge version and have kept it minimized on our computer for the last week or so. The other morning, Caleb started to watching while Rebecca was walking into the computer room.

Caleb said, "Harry, be safe."

Rebecca immediately said, "Be strong."

Yes, we are eagerly looking forward to the new movie and we definitely have issues.

It's Magic!

A few days ago, Grace and Caleb were talking about Santa. They were going over reasons they believe or doubt Santa's existence. They did not reach a definite answer as to whether or not Santa exists. As they were discussing this, Grace put forth some evidence for why Santa might not exist.

She said, "Santa can't be real because Mom has voodoo power over Santa?"

I didn't know that Mary was into voodoo. (Mary may have told Grace that she has "veto" power over Santa and writes him a letter of things not to give the children.) At any rate, this quote made me laugh.

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This conversation reminded me of the picture that I took last December. I came home from work and found these letters on the counter. It made me smile.

The Grand Slam

In many sports, the grand slam is the ultimate goal. In tennis and golf, it has been years since anyone won all the major titles in the same year. In any given baseball season, you don't see a ton of grand slams. Grand slams don't happen that often.

Did you know Grace and Caleb have hit the spectator's grand slam? The Patriots won in 2001, 2003, and 2004. The Red Sox won in 2004 and 2007. The Celtics won in 2008 and the Bruins won in 2011. Neither of them is double digits in age yet, but their local teams have all won in their lifetime. That is crazy. I certainly could not say that about my local teams growing up.

Who would have guess back in 2004 that every other major Boston sports team would have won a championship before the Patriots won again?

Stanley Cup, Game 7

It is the 2nd intermission right now and Boston is currently leading Vancouver 3-0. I have no idea who is going to win this game because all the games in Vancouver have managed to swing the Canucks' way late in the game.

But I do know who won tonight. It would be my kids. Joshua stayed up until about 10:00 pm to watch the first two periods. Grace and Caleb are over at a neighbor's watching with about seven other kids. Is it a school night? Yes, it is. Are they going to be tired and grumpy tomorrow? Probably, but how often does your home team play a game seven in the Stanley Cup Finals?

Hopefully, they will realize that they are getting a HUGE privilege.

Walking Home

We were walking home from a school picnic yesterday evening with some friends from church. Out of the blue, one of the little girls in their family yells out, "Mom, I saw a parasite!"

Need a Hand?

Rebecca's bedtime routine includes reading a story or three with Mary before she goes to bed. Tonight I found her trying to get some books for story time. Step #1: Climb up the bookshelf! Step #2: Grab the book. Step #3: Pull the book off the shelf. Step #4: Drop the book on the floor. And in case you are wondering about the socks, she won't go to bed without them. This means that she is definitely not related to Mary because Mary's feet need to breathe at night.

The Guardians

Many people are superstitious and put something by their door to ward off harm. Though you may not believe that it does much, does a guardian angel do anyone harm? Meet our guardian angels aliens.

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Do you like covers? Want to waste some time on YouTube? Then you should check these guys out. Their names are Michael Henry and Justin Robinett. Some of their covers are really good.

Birthdays

We have had a couple more birthdays in our home recently. Here are a few pictures, starting with Mary enjoying a doughnut for breakfast on her birthday. Here is the family enjoying doughnuts. Here is a picture of Jared on his birthday. I know you are digging on the birthday hat. Here is a picture of Jared with Caleb and Rebecca. Rebecca likes Jared's birthday present. Isn't she ready for some soccer?

Did Somebody Say False Doctrine?

I was asked to speak in church last Sunday. I have never posted a talk to the blog before, but I thought I would do it this time. If you are not interested in my take on religion, you can skip this post.

"Good afternoon brothers and sisters. When Brother Sundahl asked me to speak he was less interested in the topic than the fact that this is my first talk as a high priest. He instructed me that this means that I need to be esoteric, boring and theoretical. I told him that I was grateful that someone finally asked me to play to my strengths. Actually, Brother Sundahl did not say that, though it would have been awesome if he had. He and Bishop Thompson have asked me to speak about the themes of bondage and deliverance in the Book of Mormon.

The theme of bondage and deliverance is a universal scriptural theme. It is a great metaphor for many aspects of life and for life in general. It is a scriptural theme that repeats often in the Book of Mormon. The story of bondage and deliverance repeats itself in the stories of the following people: the people of Limhi, Nephi/Sam, Gidgiddoni, Alma the Elder, the Lamanites during the time of Samuel, Captain Moroni and Mormon and the remaining Nephites. Each of these stories has a common theme while adding different colors. I have been asked to focus on the story of Captain Moroni and discuss how it relates to our life today.

The Lamanites had a large presence in the Nephites’ land when Captain Moroni was the head of the armies. Captain Moroni was charged with maintaining the safety of the land while the Lamanites were attacking on multiple fronts and doing so in somewhat unorthodox ways. For example, the Nephites knew they were under attack, but they had always assumed that the center of their land and the capitol was safe. This assumption proved to be false during this time. While the actual warfare was stop and go, the threat of war was constant. Under such circumstances, Captain Moroni faced a tactical question: How do I best protect a land when my opponent is attacking on multiple fronts in unexpected ways when I don’t know how much time for preparation I will have before they attack again?

Given the way I have worded the question above, I think all of us as individuals, as parents or members of families, and as members of the church can relate to this struggle in a religious context. Satan’s influence in the world at large shows no signs of diminishing. Our modern life is suffuse with evil influences that are more complicated and ingenious than those that have been seen in years past. While the attempts to sway us are more subtle than in times past, these forces are also more blatant and constant in our lives than ever before. Some of the language used today, behaviors and the manner in which we treat each other, and the topics in vogue in current conversations would have been considered taboo in years past. Satan has worked hard to change the context of our conversations and the world has ceded ground to him. What suggestions from Captain Moroni can we implement in our lives to increase our chances of successfully overcoming Satan in such circumstances? Let’s listen to the description of what Moroni did during a break between times of war in Alma chapter 50 verses 1 to 6 for ideas:

“And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites; for he caused that his armies should commence in the commencement of the twentieth year of the reign of the judges, that they should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities, throughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephites.

And upon the top of these ridges of earth he caused that there should be timbers, yea, works of timbers built up to the height of a man, round about the cities.

And he caused that upon those works of timbers there should be a frame of pickets built upon the timbers round about; and they were strong and high.

And he caused towers to be erected that overlooked those works of pickets, and he caused places of security to be built upon those towers, that the stones and the arrows of the Lamanites could not hurt them.

And they were prepared that they could cast stones from the top thereof, according to their pleasure and their strength, and slay him who should attempt to approach near the walls of the city.

Thus Moroni did prepare strongholds against the coming of their enemies, round about every city in all the land.”

Were there any phrases that stuck out to you in this passage besides the multiple uses of words with the root of “commence” in the first verse? Some phrases that stuck out to me were “digging up heaps of earth,” “timbers to the height of a man,” “towers,” “places of security,” “every city” and the description of fighting the fights from the tops of the towers. Moroni gave his people tools to protect them and gave them the means to dictate the terms of battle to those people that were trying to overthrow them. An interesting question is was this new technology and did Moroni adopt the newest technological step in warfare in order to protect his people? I believe that the answer is no. Walls had been around long before Moroni used them to thwart the Lamanites. Cities had been built on mounds with single entrances for generations in the old world. Moroni may have taken old technology and used it to his greatest advantage, though. And I think this is a lesson we can use in our families. Let me share an example from my personal life.

Two or so years ago, President Low counseled us to watch General Conference with our families. I was excited that it made for much easier preparation of Family Home Evening lessons since I only would have to lead a discussion, but I was much more apprehensive than excited. Didn’t President Low understand that I have small children? Doesn’t he know that they have a REALLY hard time sitting through conference speakers? We often come up to the chapel to watch the Sunday morning session of General Conference. The most our little family has accomplished is disrupting the viewing of the other members in the chapel. Mary and I believe General Conference is important to us and our children, but I was not convinced that watching more General Conference was going to be the answer. Mary and I talked about whether or not we should follow and obey President Low. In the end, we decided to give it a shot though there was some skepticism on my part. We decided that we would watch one talk on the computer each week for family home evening and discuss it. I wish I could say that from the first week it was a success, but it was not. But I can say that over time we had many more successes than failures. Not only that, but Grace and Caleb learned to recognize the voices of our leaders. Those two knew more about the church because they listened to the leaders. Joshua fell in love with the songs of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and learned lessons from those songs. Mary and I learned the wisdom that comes from obedience to an inspired stake president. But let’s think about the advice for a second. Is the advice to listen to General Conference particularly new? Have we ever heard that we need to listen to the words of our modern prophets? I think if you have been a member of the church one year or ever met with the missionaries, we all know that this is not novel counsel. Maybe we don’t always hear to review talks in family home evening, but that certainly has been suggested before. I believe that President Low’s council was not new technology, but an inspired use of currently available technology.

One thing I have learned from studying Captain Moroni’s approach is that it isn’t the latest technology that will save or condemn me. What will save me is taking the current technology (inspired counsel, in this example) and adapting it to my circumstances. As I do so, I need to make sure that I am proactive in building up towers, places of security, and circumstances to dictate how I engage Satan and how my children do as well.

Let’s read one more passage from Alma, verses 7, 9 through 12, from chapter 50.

“And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his armies should go forth into the east wilderness; yea, and they went forth and drove all the Lamanites who were in the east wilderness into their own lands...

And it came to pass that when Moroni had driven all the Lamanites out of the east wilderness... he caused that the inhabitants who were in the land of Zarahemla and in the land round about should go forth into the east wilderness, even to the borders by the seashore, and possess the land.

And he also placed armies on the south, in the borders of their possessions, and caused them to erect fortifications that they might secure their armies and their people from the hands of their enemies.

And thus he cut off all the strongholds of the Lamanites in the east wilderness, yea, and also on the west, fortifying the line between the Nephites and the Lamanites...

Thus Moroni, with his armies, which did increase daily because of the assurance of protection which his works did bring forth unto them, did seek to cut off the strength and the power of the Lamanites from off the lands of their possessions, that they should have no power upon the lands of their possession.”

These verses are a powerful reminder of what we can do to make sure our families and our lives are successful. Moroni cleaned up and cleared out things that would make it difficult for the cities to be viable. He cleaned up the wilderness and did so much that others would flock to him because of the protection from outside influences. I think that is something we would like for our families. This has also forced me to think about the influences that I bring into my home. Katherine Poulsen recently spoke about how a tiny device could bring a whole world of good and bad into our homes. I had to ask myself what influences am I escorting into our home with my latest purchases? Would Moroni be inspired by the things I have done to protect my home or would he see a vulnerable home?

I know that he would not think that I always measure up. Our Bishop has asked us to set aside 20 minutes a day to study the scriptures and ponder what God wants us to do. I have not consistently done this. I believe that I am missing out on blessing because I am not following the counsel of our Bishop. If my life and the life of my family is going to be more safe and secure, I need to follow the Bishop and gain a testimony of how I can implement this time for reading and pondering in my life.

There are many other lessons that we can learn from Captain Moroni, but there was one last lesson that I have learned that I wanted to share. You will remember that the king-men were trying to overthrow the government of the Nephites near the end of Alma. Many of us may be able to relate to the idea of a “house divided” either in our personal lives, in our families or during the course of our life. What should I do in such circumstances? I have learned that I must adapt this oft quoted counsel in Alma 60 verse 23: “Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also.” While Captain Moroni and Pahoran used this as a justification to make the king-men submit, that is not what this passage of scripture has come to mean to me. I have learned that this means that I have to be the first to repent. If I am going to doing any cleaning in my home or anywhere else, I won’t be able to do it until I have repented, remain penitent and become humble. If I don’t maintain that disposition, my efforts are invariably fruitless.

While most of this talk has been couched in the language of the war chapters of Alma, I hope that is not the message that you take away. I am hesitant to use a war metaphor even though we are at war with Satan. This is not a call to fight, but a call to proactive fortification. The world is out there. We can change the world through our interactions with it, but the world’s course won’t soon change. But we can fortify ourselves and our families. We can do this by listening and obeying our leaders, using all the old technology we have and repenting. This is nothing new, but it is more than enough to save us. It has helped save me and continues to help me in my life. I know that following the little advice can have the biggest impact on whom and what we become. For me, the most significant decision I have made in my life was the decision to marry. I read my scriptures, prayed and attended the temple to try and find an answer. When it came time to make a decision, I fasted and attended the temple one more time. While I was there, I had a revelatory experience that helped me understand more about the gospel, the temple, and what I needed to do in this life. It was a clear answer to my question about whether or not I should be married. I knew that I should. I use this experience both as a description and a prescription. It is a description of how the ideas in Alma 50 changed my life and a prescription of how it can help you when you need clarity in your life. The same Sunday School answers of reading the scriptures alone and with your family, praying alone and with your family and attending the temple and church, are magnificently powerful when employed by the faithful in seeking those things that God wants to reveal to us.

I have a testimony of the power of inspiration over the leaders of our church and the power of obedience to that counsel by the faithful. I know that God watches over us and want us to grow in safety and love. I know that God cares about our families. As we fortify our lives through implementing the truths of the gospel, I know that God will bless us and our children. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."