Temples, Media, and the Truth

So, I'm not sure if a lot of you have heard, but that T.V. Show, "Big Love" That talks about polygamy and references its main characters as Mormons recently aired an episode about Temples. In this episode, it apparently went through rituals and ordinances that we as Latter Day Saints deem to be sacred. I don't know the extent to their exploitation, or how accurate or inaccurate it was, but I do know that it was uncalled for, and that The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has issued many press releases and now a video in response. As a member of this church, and with an education in Public Relations, I must say how proud I am in the way this situation was handled. It was handled with grace and dignity. The brethren of the church did not lash out, or organize any sort of abrasive or forceful retaliation, but instead sought to bring forth the truth! This video explains Temples; why we build them and what they're for, in the most simple form. I am proud... no, grateful to be a part of this church, and have been thinking about blogging my testimony for some time, and I believe that time has come. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Mormon church, the LDS Church, is the only true church on this earth at this time. It's teachings are directly out of the Bible, with information to reinforce those teachings from the Book of Mormon. I believe in the Bible, I believe in the Book of Mormon and the other revelations that have come forth specifically for our time. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and was the instrument through which God's teachings, and gospel in their entirety were restored. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that he came, died, and lived again and that we all will live again as well. I believe that Christ suffered for our sins, that we may repent and come to live with Him. I believe in personal revelation, and that you can come to these same conclusions by praying and asking of the Lord. These things I know with all my heart, and I know that Our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ know each of us individually and love each and every one of us. I know that there is a plan in place for each of us. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.

hmm... can't think of a good title.. might be 'cause of my headache

OK, so it's been awhile! And for those of you who have been checking back, that last post was started in January, but I never posted it, so that's where it came from! Anywho... there's still soo much that needs to be updated, but let's face it, I'm never going to get around to giving a detailed recall of my last however many months, so here's the memorable things that have happened:
We had an awesome summer, lots of fun, got closer to some friends, played with the kids, lots of trips to Waterton and Raymond. I don't think anything spectacular happened last fall, but for Christmas we got a puppy! Her name is Roxy & she's a Chihuahah shitzu cross. She was only like 2 pounds when we got her and sooo cute! She's now up to just about 4 1/2 lbs and won't get too much bigger. We got her the beginning of December and she was born in late September. It took a bit of training, and very stressful days, but she's litterbox trained, and soooo good with the kids! She also obeys a few commands like sit, shake, lie down, and beg. She'll also come when we whistle (unless she knows you're mad at her). After the novelty wore off, I started to regret getting her, but now that we've trained her, she's a wonderful dog, and I love her! Speaking of training... guess what?! OLIVIA IS POTTY TRAINED! It only took me how long hey? She's officially potty trained and has been for about a month or so now. (I was scared to blog about it, thinking it might somehow jynx it!)She's been really good, and no accidents, not even when we go shopping! She's not night trained yet, but I'm not ready to venture into that quite yet! One less poopy diaper to change! Sooo great! So, I think all in all that's about all the new and exciting things with us... oh... Friday, I GOT A NEW COMPUTER! We've been talking about getting one for some time now 'cause I've been doing a bunch more graphic and website design for people, and my old computer was having trouble keeping up with all the Huge files & programs I was running, so, I got the brand new Macbook Pro with 4gb of ram, and a graphics card that's 5x faster than the last one I had, and this week I'm getting the new Adobe CS4! I'm sooo excited! I know... I'm such a techno geek, but I love it! Well, that's it for the updates, now I can blog about the more fun things again! Like all of my rantings and ravings and whatever else pops into my mind. Scary place that is.. my mind!

Olivia just ADORES Roxy, she carries her around everywhere and plays with her, and just loves her to pieces! And Roxy's such a good sport about it too! They really are the perfect match.


-(after her first bath) She was sooo NOT impressed!)




My new computer!!!!!

A night out with the girls!

So, it's not tomorrow.... big deal! lol. Being sick took a whole lot out of me, and then working like mad didn't help. I did manage to get a girl's night out though which was absolutely awesome! We had sooo much fun! I am absolutely LOVING my ward and all of the wonderful women in it! I became much better acquainted with a few women that I've been wanting to get to know better but jusn't haven't. It was also nice knowing that I'm not the only fake extrovert out there! (I may appear all outgoing and such on the outside, but inside I'm really fairly shy...) Anywho... there was food, laughter and chocolate... all the things that constitute fun with women! I loved that we didn't even have to really be doing anything, just sitting and gabbing was amazing! It has helped me to remember how much fun being social is... and is causing me to want to break out of my hermit shell again lol! So... I vow to throw parties and have a good time with good friends! Nick & I used to have parties and get-togethers all the time.. but not since we moved here.... I mean, we still have people over for dinner and get together with our best friends, but I want to get to know more people! Anywho... that's what I've been up to, but I did promise to continue to do some updating, so, let's see... where were we? Ahhh... Livi's birthday.... so last August!
Well, we got Zoo passes last year and spent a lot of time there... here are a few pictures from some of the times we went:
Ganesh... and Livi with her finger in Ganesh's belly buttonThe Baby Elephant!
Feeding a Giraffe!
At the Zoo with the Hughes: