Carter

 

We had a big birthday in our family last month. Carter turned 8!! He made the choice to be baptized, and we decided to do it in Utah when we made our July visit so all the family wouldn't have to make the trip to AZ in the middle of summer. Carter was so focused on trying to feel the spirit on his baptism day that he forgot to smile for his pictures. ;) 

 I must admit, I love the face he is making in this picture. What a goof. 

Although Tristan had a huge meltdown right before/during the ordinance which was stressful and distracting, Carter's baptism was an amazingly spiritual experience. I did not expect to feel the spirit so strong. It made me realize what an important decision this was for Carter. I got the feeling that God has big things in store for this special guy. I was also very touched by all the family that came to support him. It meant a lot to Andrew and I, and am sure it did to Carter as well. A big thanks to all that came!

 This was the day Carter turned 8. We tried really hard to make it a special day for him. Hopefully we succeeded!

Practicality

 A few months ago my Grandparents came down from Utah for a visit. While taking a tour around our house my Grandma said to me, "This house could sure use some decorating." I groaned internally and thought, "Did my Grandma just tell me my house had no style?" She was right, of course. Love you Grandma! I have never been one to spend money on non essentials. I must admit that 95% of the decorative things that we own have either been given to us or we have gotten them for free. I even have fake plants in my house. I know they are out of date and tacky, but I like the look of green leafy things in the house and for the life of me I cannot keep a live plant without killing it thoroughly. So the fake plants stay.
But if Grandma thought my house needed help, I would give it some sort of effort. So I set out to make my home more stylish. While perusing the isle of the home decor section of a near by department store, a beautiful vase caught my eye so I checked the price tag. What?! You want me to pay how much for that? That could feed my family for a week! It better do something spectacular, like grow it's own flowers spontaneously according to the season.  I did not buy the vase, nor did I buy anything else.
 I know that there are ways to get around spending lots of money on things like vases or picture frames or artwork. Things like checking my local goodwill, or making my own. I am realizing that is probably the route I am going to have to take, but my motivation for spending countless hours doing those things sounds exhausting. So for now if you come to my house, come expecting the plain and simple. I'm okay with it.