Spring? Well, almost

So alas Emma still can't get enough of Elliott and insisted on sitting on brad's lap while he was holding him. She LOVES taking care of Elliott. It's pretty cute. And can i just say look at those cheeks on Elliott!!! LOVE IT!!


So Emma's been dying to wear her sandals that we got and it was finally warm enough to let her (key word "was") but i also tried to get her hair in a pony tail and to see if she could stand a head band. The head band didn't work, but her hair is getting SO long!


Another Potty moment on St. Patty's Day. She was asking to go and then recently hasn't wanted to. I'm not going to force it on her but it's fun when she does.


Enjoying the day with josh. Except their Frisbee got stuck in the tree. Emma tried to get it down but to no avail. It's so fun watching these two grow and learn and take things on. Especially when Josh decided he wanted to eat dirt...Dee LOVED that;)


Visiting with aunt Rhea and St. Patty's Day


Being a silly monkey and going "night-night"


On a walk with the BFF


She insisted on holding hands.


Josh's Daddy was nice enough to give the tots a ride on his bike. Emma LOVED it and looks distressed because the ride was over.


Playing at the park. I love this cause i told her to smile and this is what i got:) Oh and BIG shout out to Ashley and Parker who seem to keep my child in style. They recently sent us these ADORABLE dresses and Emma immediately wanted to wear them. Thank you SOOO much, love you guys!





This is a special message for our friend Parker! We love you!!!

That which we hold dear...

The following video and later statement is a message from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints about the sacredness of the temple in our faith. The video is about 3 min and offers insights from members of other faiths as well as our own about temple worship. I would just like to add my personal testimony that i know that temples are sacred houses of the Lord. How grateful i have been to be able to go there and meditate and feel the spirit of the Lord. I know he loves all his children, and i know he has established his gospel on the earth for our greater happiness. He is truly a loving Father who watches over and cares for us all. He is no respecter of persons, but like any loving parent, has established commandments or rules for our protection and happiness. I love his gospel and his son Jesus Christ. How grateful i am for his atoning sacrifice and the peace and comfort it has brought into my life. I am not ashamed of the gospel and its teachings and promise greater joy and happiness to those who will seek to learn more of Him and His plan for us. I love you all and hope you can take a few minutes to watch this video. Thanks!

SALT LAKE CITY 9 March 2009 Like other large faith groups, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometimes finds itself on the receiving end of attention from Hollywood or Broadway, television series or books, and the news media. Sometimes depictions of the Church and its people are quite accurate. Sometimes the images are false or play to stereotypes. Occasionally, they are in appallingly bad taste.

As Catholics, Jews and Muslims have known for centuries, such attention is inevitable once an institution or faith group reaches a size or prominence sufficient to attract notice. Yet Latter-day Saints – sometimes known as Mormons - still wonder whether and how they should respond when news or entertainment media insensitively trivialize or misrepresent sacred beliefs or practices.

Church members are about to face that question again. Before the first season of the HBO series Big Love aired more than two years ago, the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons. However, Internet references to Big Love indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous. And according to TV Guide, it now seems the show’s writers are to depict what they understand to be sacred temple ceremonies.

Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding. Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Time Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series. As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness.

Not only is this the model that Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated in his own life, but it also reflects the reality of the strength and maturity of Church members today. As someone recently said, “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore.” In other words, with a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly. The Church’s strength is in its faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church.

Examples:

• During the Mitt Romney election campaign for the presidency of the United States, commentator Lawrence O’Donnell hurled abuse at the Church in a television moment that became known among many Church members as “the O’Donnell rant.” Today, his statements are remembered only as a testament to intolerance and ignorance. They had no effect on the Church that can be measured.
• When the comedy writers for South Park produced a gross portrayal of Church history, individual Church members no doubt felt uncomfortable. But once again it inflicted no perceptible or lasting damage to a church that is growing by at least a quarter of a million new members every year.
• When an independent film company produced a grossly distorted version of the Mountain Meadows Massacre two years ago, the Church ignored it. Perhaps partly as a result of that refusal to engender the controversy that the producers hoped for, the movie flopped at the box office and lost millions.
• In recent months, some gay activists have barraged the media with accusations about “hateful” attitudes of Latter-day Saints in supporting Proposition 8 in California, which maintained the traditional definition of marriage. They even organized a protest march around the Salt Lake Temple. Again, the Church has refused to be goaded into a Mormons versus gays battle and has simply stated its position in tones that are reasonable and respectful. Meanwhile, missionary work and Church members in California remain as robust and vibrant as ever, and support for the Church has come from many unexpected quarters — including some former critics and other churches.

Now comes another series of Big Love, and despite earlier assurances from HBO it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show’s fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints.

If the Church allowed critics and opponents to choose the ground on which its battles are fought, it would risk being distracted from the focus and mission it has pursued successfully for nearly 180 years. Instead, the Church itself will determine its own course as it continues to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

Visits and a taste of what's to come...

Aunt Katie came and visited us last fri and sat and we LOVED having her to play with:)


So Sara is back at work now and we get to watch Elliott a couple days a week. Yesterday was our first day and we had lots of fun. It's definitely given me a taste of what it's going to be like...a little crazy, but i'm still excited. Here's Emma enjoying his car seat. One of the rare moments in which she isn't all over Elliott.






Tickling his feet:)








So this is from last week when Emma was sick and doped up on meds before bed time. Thus the extreme giggles. This sound is music to my ears and i'm glad i was able to catch it. (Daddy was being silly and throwing a Kleenex up and catching it. Emma thought that it was hilarious)

Blueberries and Pumpkins

Can i just say i've been doing pretty good at keeping up with the blog lately? Well this past week's been a little rough. Emma came down with a nasty cold on Saturday and then Monday we found out that Josh (emma's best friend) was being admitted to the hospital for RSV. Needless to say we've been holding our breath that Emma's was just a cold and not RSV. So officially today she is RSV free and just has a bad cold. Josh finally got out of the hospital yesterday and is doing good. Poor little guy had to get his nose and lungs suctioned out ever 3-4 hours and was on oxygen:( We miss the little guy.

So I gave emma blueberries the other day and then she kept asking for more "booby." I was cracking up and ran to get the camera. So on this video she only says it once at the very beginning and then starts calling them "boboos." It was just one of those funny moments. She's a great talker and will try and say anything you ask her, so it's fun





So this is from last night, she got out her Halloween pumpkin and was walking around with it on her foot. We sure love our little emma:)

Numa Numa & Sunny Days

So for those of you who don't know, Numa Numa (that's not the actual name i don't remember what is) is some European club song that is really silly. By accident i came across a yo gabba gabba episode with elijah wood in which someone had dubbed this song over so it looks like elijah and co are dancing to this song. Anywho, Emma LOVES it and LOVES dancing to it. Here brad was watching the actual music video and laughing at emma dancing to it.





So the weather has been fairly spring like these past couple of weeks and we've been trying to get out as much as possible. Last week we made it to the park with Josh and had some fun!


Feeling the love:)























So my dad told me i should post this. It's basically Rheanna getting a kick out of annoying emma. I was trying to write a recipe for Rhea and so she was playing keep the camera away from emma.