The Atonement

This past Sunday Mike and I spoke in church. Our talk was on the Atonement with a Christmasy feel - (As a side note I haven't had a voice now in four weeks. At first it was totally gone, and now it's squeeky at best. I thought it might get me out of talking but nope. I squeked through the whole thing!)

I debated about posting this, but when I went in for my recommend interview the last time one of the things the Stake Presidency talked about was sharing your testimony for your children and friends - so here's my talk.

Brothers and Sisters I’m thankful to be here today, please excuse my voice, I lost it about 4 weeks ago and I’m not so patiently waiting for its full return. Hopefully I’ll make it through my talk, if not Mike can have some extra minutes.

Today I’d like to talk about the one. The one for each of us could be different, and If you are anything like me, at this time of year you may find yourself focused on one or more of several different things- whether its making sure you do that one family tradition before Christmas, getting your spouse that one last gift they haven’t asked for, but you know they’ll love, getting your child that one gift that will make their holiday perfect, getting Christmas cards out, making sure your children know the true meaning of Christmas, serving others, getting neighbors holiday treats or visiting temple square to see the lights. As a child I remember my family’s yearly trip to Preston to see the lights. We would normally go the first week in December over my mom’s birthday and it was a tradition we looked forward to each year. One year there were so many things going on Christmas was drawing close and we still hadn’t made it up there. My older brother and I pestered my parents until finally on December 23rd we headed up to see the beautiful lights decorating the city. My mom always made sure that was part of our holiday experience. I remember many years the roads were terrible and at least ½ dozen times my dad stating that was the last year he was driving up there, and the following year he’d haul us back up there – searching for the house with the most lights and decorations.

While traditions are important, sometimes we have so many things going on it’s easy to forget about the one true meaning of Christmas. The first Christmas- the star, the angel, Sheppard’s, wise men, Mary & Joseph and baby Jesus, our Savior -born in a manger in Bethlehem.

This past week Mike and I took our kids to Salt Lake and visited Temple Square. It’s one of our favorite things to do at Christmas time, I love the lights and seeing the beautiful temple surrounded by them makes happy. We stopped and listened to the Christmas story and made sure Grace and Max understood how special Jesus is. How the holy man who gave so much started out as a baby, meek and mild, born in a stable – we talked about the gifts the wise men brought and explained that’s why we give gifts at Christmas time. The account of the Saviors birth is heartwarming, miraculous and special.

Throughout Christ’s life he taught, he led by example, he showed us how to live. The history of his life serves as a lit pathway for us to return to our Heavenly Father, but without the one, great sacrifice – it wouldn’t be possible. President Hinckley said “None of us fully understands the Atonement. I think it is beyond the comprehension of any man. But we know something of it, and we know that as a result of it we will be resurrected from the grave, and that those who walk in obedience to His commandments will be given the opportunity of going on to eternal exaltation.

There is a General Conference talk titled The Atonement and the Value of One Soul given by M. Russell Ballard in 2004. His talk references the sudden loss of his grandson, Nathan, in an airplane accident shortly after he was married. He said “The Savior’s precious birth, life, Atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane, suffering on the cross, burial in Joseph’s tomb, and the glorious Resurrection all became a renewed reality for us. The Savior’s Resurrection assures all of us that someday we, too, will follow Him and experience our own resurrection. What peace, what comfort this great gift is which comes through the loving grace of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. Because of Him we know we can be with Nathan.” For those of us who have lost loved ones, the atonement can offer us the same peace as apostles.
Brothers and Sisters, there is no greater expression of love than the Atonement. “Jesus Christ courageously fulfilled this sacrifice in ancient Jerusalem. There in the quiet isolation of the Garden of Gethsemane, He knelt among the gnarled olive trees, and in some incredible way that none of us can fully comprehend, the Savior took upon Himself the sins of the world.”

As a parent I cannot imagine the anguish Heavenly Father must have felt during the time Christ was suffering. Over the 4th of July my son Max fell into my parents brick entry way while we were lighting fireworks– he put his bottom two teeth through his lip and it was evident he would need medical attention. My gut reaction was to hold him, comfort him, and make the pain go away as quickly as possible. I held him tight the whole way to the hospital and while the doctor treated him. The wound had to be cleaned and the doctor and nurse opened the cut several times, each time making it bleed more and more. I wanted to shout “Stop! It’s clean, just sew it up so we can be done with it”, but I knew they were trained to treat these wounds, and to ensure it mended properly and didn’t get infected they had to open and close it several times. I love my son, I’m thankful I could hold him during his time of pain and discomfort. I’m certain Heavenly Father wanted to put his arms around his one, perfect son, to take the pain away – to make it stop. But because both Heavenly Father and Jesus love each one of us- he didn’t stop it.

M. Russell Ballard states – “Even though His life was pure and free of sin, He paid the ultimate penalty for sin, yours, mine, and everyone who has ever lived. His mental, emotional, and spiritual anguish were so great they caused Him to bleed from every pore. And yet Jesus suffered willingly so that we might all have the opportunity to be washed clean- through having faith in Him, repenting of sins, being baptized by proper priesthood authority, receiving the purifying gift of the Holy Ghost by confirmation, and accepting all other essential ordinances. Without the Atonement of the Lord, none of these blessings would be available to us, and we could not become worthy and prepared to return to dwell in the presence of God.

In the same conference talk he spoke of the beatings and agony the Savior experienced before his death – but he highlighted one critical point I’d like to address also. “No one had the power to take the Savior’s life from Him. He gave it as a ransom for us all. As the Son of God, he had the power to alter the situation. Yet the scriptures clearly state that he yielded Himself to scourging, humiliation, suffering, and finally crucifixion because of His great love towards the children of men.”

The Atonement was part of Heavenly Fathers plan for our salvation. “How grateful we should be that our Heavenly Father did not intercede but rather withheld his fatherly instinct to rescue His Beloved Son. “ Why did he do this? Simply because he loves us. You, me, each and every single one us. His love is divine and eternal. It is given freely, no matter our status or our choices.

In Mormon 7:7 we read – And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end. President Hinckley stated, “Of all the victories in human history, none is so great, none so universal in its effect none so everlasting in its consequences as the victory of the crucified Lord, who came forth in the resurrection that first Easter morning.”

In 1820 Joseph Smith saw the two heavenly beings – the first thing the Father said to him was “Joseph.” He called him by name – We are part of his family, he is the Father of our Spirits. He knows each of us. Doesn’t it make sense that if he knows each of us, and loves each of, that he would want each one of us to return to live with him?

In the conference talk I referenced earlier M. Russell Ballard states, “Brothers and sisters, I believe that if we could truly understand the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we would realize how precious is one son or daughter of God. I believe our Heavenly Father’s everlasting purpose for His children is generally achieved by the small and simple things we do for one another. At the heart of the English word atonement is the word one. If all mankind understood this, there would never be anyone with whom we would not be concerned, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, or social or economic standing. We would strive to emulate the Savior and would never be unkind, indifferent, disrespectful, or insensitive to others.

“If we truly understood the Atonement and the eternal value of each soul, we would seek out the wayward boy and girl and every other wayward child of God. We would help them to know of the love Christ has for them. We would do all that we can to help prepare them to receive the saving ordinances of the gospel.

“Brothers and Sisters, never, never underestimate how precious is the one. Remember always the simple admonition of the Lord: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.’ Always strive to live worthy of the sacred full blessings of the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In 2nd Corinthians 9:15 we read- Thanks be to God for this unspeakable gift. President Hinckley may have said it best when he said, “Christmas means giving. The Father gave His son, and the Son gave His life. Without giving there is no true Christmas. Without sacrifice there is no true worship.”

I want each of you to know I have a testimony of the sacred Atonement - I appreciate a loving Heavenly Father who prepared a way for us to return to Him. I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves each of us. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Telling Daddy

Orginally written September 15th~

After the happy shock of finding those two, blessed pink lines I wondered how to tell Mike. Part of me wanted to keep it to myself, but I couldn't. I knew he'd be excited too.

After thinking about it all day I decided to spell it out in fridge magnets. The scouts brought a note for Mike about pack meeting so I hung it on the fridge right below the announcement, I'm pregnant.

When Mike got home from work we hung out in the kitchen for a minute then he went in for a shower. I waited so patiently, then we went in the kitchen. I had dinner made and told him there was a note for him on the fridge. Immediately he saw the scout note and read it. When he was done I asked him if he saw the other note. It took him a minute to find it, then he turned to me and he said "Are you really?" I said yes. And then he just stood there. He took several deep breaths and looked like he was going to pass out. I thought he'd be giddy, instead he said "What are we going to do?"

Um, lets just say not what I expected, at all. Then he said he was happy, that after 6 months he'd just given up on the idea and figured we'd always just have 2 kids. He reassured me all night that he was happy. Later that night he said, "You know, some girls come up with creative ways to tell their husbands they are pregnant." Really? I thought I was creative. With Grace I took 3 tests and asked him to pee on the stick so I could see what a negative result looked like, with Max I brought the positive test all wrapped up for him, I thought fridge magnets was pretty creative. We'll see how long we can keep a secret.

Rubbish, Auk's & Beer.

I really need to do better a writing down the funny things my kids say -

Right now I'm loving that Grace walks around Singing "Praise to the Man" all the time. She doesn't however get all the words quite right - she sings "Jesus anointed the prophet of beer." EVERY SINGLE time. I can't wait until the primary program on Sunday to see if I can pick that out through all the other sweet little voices.

At program practice Grace knew her part and when the leader to help her she threw her hand up and said "No, I know my part!" Makes a mamma proud.

Her sunbeam teacher is from England and has a really heavy English accent - she was teaching children about Noah and the ark, but I guess it was kind of hard to understand, to hear the story it sounded like "AUK". Half way through class Grace said "Teacher, whats and Auk?" They started calling it a ship after that.

The next week Grace came home from church and pointed to some garbage, "Do you know what that is?" I said it was garbage, she said "No, it's rubbish. In England they call it rubbish." I said I knew that and Grace said "No you don't. Only people in England call it rubbish and you're not from England."

Last night I was cooking dinner, I was making Rice-a-Roni and Max comes in and says smells like Ramen noodles. I said nope, it's rice. He said "Ahhhah. I want Ramen." Which I think is gross, but you know when I'm making rice, chicken, grilling cabbage and going all out and he wants ramen. Why do I bother...

Our new little one

We have a new little additon coming in the spring. And we are so excited! I am due May 16th and just can't wait to have a little late spring baby!

I wanted to write down my pregancy, but for obvious reasons dind't want to tell the world for a little while, so now that I'm officially 12 weeks I'll share some of the last few "hidden posts".

Day 1 - Written September 13th.

Literally, I've taken at least 20 pregnancy tests in the last 6 months. I learned I don't like being told no, and some months I would take 5-6 tests in three days, just in case they were wrong. I wanted to be pregnant so badly.

In November I felt the Spirit prompt me so hard that now was the time I needed to start trying, but we had a family vacation to Disneyland in March - and I've done that pregnant before - surely it could wait until March. I made the first available appointment to have my IUD removed after our vacation - and just knew I'd have a Christmas baby.

Growing up I had been told by doctors I may have a difficult time getting pregnant because of problems with cysts and endometriosis. But with Grace I went off birth control in April and found out I was pregnant on Mothers Day. With Max I was still on birth control - so I never dreamed I wouldn't be pregnant by April or May.

But I wasn't, and each month when I saw those negative pee tests it made me sad, and each month when I started my period I cried. I started to wonder if because I didn't heed the Spirit in November and December, I was being punished. In August I cried so hard - I know it had only been 5 months, and many, many people have waited so much longer, many never have their own and others struggle for years and years. I felt foolish for even feeling bad, but I did. I can't help it.

So many people I know have had babies in the last 6 months and I found myself so jealous of each of them. Some of them would complain and complain about being pregnant, only to complain and complain about their little babies, I wanted to scream "I want that!" Instead I didn't tell anyone until August. Mike knew and other than that every time someone asked if we were going to have another baby I just shrugged and said maybe someday, but not right now. I wanted so much to say, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Three days ago I became very nauseous and it won't go away- so when I woke up this morning I took a test. It was my last one. I promised myself I wouldn't take it until after my expected period, but I couldn't wait. After a 2 or 3 minutes or so there was only one pink line. I put it back in the wrapper and into the garbage can. I went about my day, cleaned, got the kids ready and took them to preschool.

I had a feeling to check the test again - and there it was, 2 PINK lines! I checked it again, yes. Tears started to flow and I fell to my knees and thanked Heavenly Father.I checked the test again later that day, and again in the evening, just to make sure but yes, two lines! I don't want to take a minute of this for granted, I've been blessed and I'm so happy and grateful!

Tracy Aviary

On Halloween Mike's mom, sister and I took the kids to Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake. The kids did a scavenger hunt and got to look at the birds. It was decorated for Halloween and there were lots of kids in their costumes.

Grace opted for a dress up from Grandma's house, and turns out she makes a stinkin cute little bride.

It's always a headache in the making trying to get these kids to look at the camera at the same time, I pretty much gave up and just took action shots.

Grace, Max and Daisy - Daisy was a pirate, and just darling!



Grace and Max had fun chasing some of the birds-




We watched a little bird show, and they demonstrated how much weight a common chicken egg could take. Max got chosen out of the audience to put a weight "carefully" on the egg, well - not so carefully- but he didn't break it. The egg held almost 60lbs of weights before it broke.

Grace did not get chosen and it made her quite upset - holy cow she was mad. She kept saying that girl was so mean! Meaning the girl who picked the kids -




The kids picked milk weed and had fun blowing it in the breeze.

Tyler Family Halloween Party

I love the yearly Halloween party Mike's family has at North Davis Gymnastics. The kids dress up, have a Halloween parade, break open pinatas and we have dinner. It is a really fun night.

Max couldn't sit still for anything. He was Buzz Lightyear this year, much to his dismay. I bought both of the kids costumes in Disneyland in March, and I wasn't going to let them change. They were pricey and using them as costumes was how I justified the purchase. Max really wanted to be a jedi, too bad so sad.

Grace was Princess Tiana, she had a crown, gloves and a purse too.


The little kids break open one pinata and the older kids break open another, the first few swings are always cute, the youngest kids start and can barely pick up the pipe. Max thought it was quite funny to hit a pirate with a pipe.

So then Grace gets up and she hits that pirate so hard - on her second time around she whacked or "sliced" as she called it the pirates head off.

She was so proud of herself, she took the head home and named it Pirate Friendly.

Boondocks

I don't know why it won't let me type above my first picture... And I just may get all caught up today! (But I'm guessing not.)

My brother in law is a hunter, and I guess there is nothing to hunt in California so he had to come to Utah to hunt. But, no one complained because it meant the Anderson's had a reason to come home for a while. While they were here we went to Boondocks, they had never been- and I think they all enjoyed themselves.




While Bracken was trying out the batting cages Max, Grace and Adi tried out the batting helmets.

Ty and Nayvie played on the kiddie go carts, Nayvie's picture didn't turn out as well.

Grace and Emery in the Jetson space car.

Leaves and Trees and cousins

My parents have a couple really big trees in their yard, perfect for jumping in! The kids were having a leave fight while Grandpa was trying to get them cleaned up, lets just say it didn't happen! He was so good to let them play. Pictured is Grace and Max, my nieces Maggie, Libby and Adi and nephew Tytan.












And sweet Emery- who for some reason didn't get to come out and play. We sure missed Nayvie who was having fun at a friends house!

Preschool Parade

The kids had a preschool Halloween parade last week, just the first of many times they got to wear their costumes. It was such a nice day, but so bright outside!




The little Trick-or-Treaters. On a funny note, the kids didn't have any homework because they were having a Halloween party at school, you would have thought it broke Grace's heart. She loves to do homework!

Publish Post

Carving pumpkins

On the Monday before Halloween we carved pumpkins, does anyone else think this is a stressful activity? Max's white shirt is ruined...stained orange pumpkin forever. Seeds ended up everywhere, despite my attempt at keeping them on the cookie sheet- I had the tools the day before and then when we went to carve I couldn't find them so while Mike cleaned out the guts Grace and I ran to Wal-mart to buy new pumpkin carving tools. The kids had fun though, and that's all that matters.

Yes, Max always ends up almost naked.The first pumpkin is the grim reaper and the second is a cat. Not too shabby, considering.