Happy 11th Birthday, Conrad!

Where has the time gone?

Conrad bought a Kindle for his birthday with the money Nana and Poppi gave him.  

(We also contributed to the present.)

I took Conrad on a little date to Chili's.  He's a fun date!

I'm so grateful that Conrad is in our family

This is the funniest picture.  I laugh every time I see it.  

Love this kid.

Randomness

Harrison's new look!  His haircut makes him look older:(

Meanwhile, Jaylee's hair is getting so long:)

Group piano lessons.  With popcorn, of course.

Ping pong at the rec center. 

We had a ping pong table before we moved to Ohio...

Fondue Friday 

Waverly giving Conrad a beat down.

(He's a gentleman.  He let her win.)

Friday Night Fun

Waverly is a very talented smoothie maker.  

She loves fruit and would make smoothies for every meal, if I let her. 

She also likes to make Slim Fast shakes with peanut butter and chocolate syrup.  

Obviously an ironic combo.   

Barnard boys.

Wavy has been obsessed with science experiments. 

 Right now she is doing one with string, hot water, and baking soda.

Matt, Jaylee, Conard & I playing Phase 10 Dice.

 We're a game-playing-family. 

 I hope the kids grow up having fond memories of game nights.  

Drawing 101

I found this drawing book at our local half-priced book store.  

We needed a break from our normal school subjects, so I pulled this out.  

Let's see if the title is true.  

Can ANYONE draw??

First project.  BOX with shading done in pencil.

The results.

Second project.  CIRCLE with shading done in charcoal.

The results.

Third project. VASE with shading done in pencil.

The results.

VASE done in charcoal.

 So, can ANYONE draw?  

Anyone can draw...just maybe not very well:)  

We had a lot of fun.  We'll go through the book and see if we can improve our talents over time.

Missionary Devotional at the Kirtland Temple

December 1, 2013

            Kirtland, Ohio Temple.  Dedicated on March 27, 1836 by Joseph Smith, Jr.

                                         

           Tonight we had the privilege of attending a missionary devotional at the Kirtland, Ohio, Temple.  What an amazing night!  We heard from several people who were recently baptized into our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.)  Our friend Dayana, shared her conversion story and bore her testimony beautifully.  President Vellinga, the mission president, spoke about some of the amazing events that have taken place in the Kirkland Temple.  President Titera, our stake president, was the concluding speaker.  He referenced the Bible and talked about temples and prophets of olden times and modern times. 
 I wanted to learn more about the history of the Kirtland Temple.  This is what I've found~

~The Kirtland Temple was the first temple built in this dispensation.  

~In this temple, Joseph Smith saw a vision of the celestial kingdom (D&C 137).  This is how we know that children who die before the age of accountability are saved in the kingdom of God. What a comforting aspect of the Gospel.  

~On April 3, 1836, the Savior appeared and accepted the temple as a place in which He would reveal His word to His people (D&C 110:1-10).  We were in this SAME room!  So awesome.

~Afterwards, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received visits from Moses, Elias, and Elijah, all of whom gave them certain priesthood keys and important information (D&C 110:11-16). The members of the church used this temple for only 2 years before they had to flee Kirtland because of persecution.  

  You can't see them very well, but here's Jaylee, Conrad, Waverly, and Harrison.

    

The speakers were amazing, but for me, the music was even more powerful.  We sang "Praise to the Man", "Silent Night", and "The Spirit of God".  The first two songs were great, but "The Spirit of God" was so special.  All of the area missionaries, young and old, stood in the front and sang the first two verses.  A youth choir joined in for the third verse.  The congregation was to sing the last verse with them.  Without any prompting that I could see, the whole congregation rose together.  The Spirit in the room seem to multiply...at least for me it did.  I couldn't help but think of all of the people who had sang that same song before me, in the same exact spot as I was standing.  I truly believe we were standing on holy ground.  

I hope our fidgeting, not-always-reverent children remember the way they felt inside the temple tonight.  I hope they remember how amazing missionary work is, and serve 2-year missions when they are old enough.  I hope I will always remember how amazing it felt to stand and sing "The Spirit of God" in the first temple of this dispensation, dedicated by our Prophet Joseph Smith. 

For more information about some of the miracles that happened in the Kirtland Temple, click  https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/regional-studies-latter-day-saint-church-history-ohio-and-upper-canada/2-faith-and-devotion

Temple Facts

The School of the Prophets, a forerunner to temple worship, was established three years before the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.

The early Saints referred to the Kirtland Temple as simply the "Lord's House," as the term templewas not in general use at the time.

Log construction was proposed for the Kirtland Temple in early discussions.

The design for the Kirtland Temple was received by detailed revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith and others. The temple included a lower hall for worship and an upper hall for education. Both featured pulpits on either end with initials representing priesthood offices.

During construction, the Kirtland Temple was guarded at night to protect the building from threatening mobs and vandals.

The Saints crushed glass and chinaware into the stucco applied to the exterior walls of the Kirtland Temple, which glittered in the sun.

During the weeks surrounding the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, the Saints experienced an outpouring of heavenly manifestations, which included the appearance of angels and the Saints seeing visions, uttering prophecies, and speaking in tongues.

On Easter Sunday, April 3, 1836, during the Jewish Passover, the Lord appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, accepting His house. Priesthood keys were then restored through three ancient prophets: Moses, the keys to the gathering of Israel; Elias, the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham; and Elijah, the sealing keys.

Two years after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, the Saints had largely abandoned Kirtland, and the temple became the venue of both private worship and public function. For a short time, the upper floors hosted a variety of public events while the basement was used to keep farm animals. The temple was later leased for many years as a public school.

In 1880, the Community of Christ reestablished ownership of the Kirtland Temple, and the building was restored as closely as possible to its original condition.

LOOKING BACK

November 24, 2013

Sister Herod called me Friday and asked if I would speak for a couple of minutes about how faith has help me overcome trials.  I know that she was inspired to ask me.  I was on the tail end of a two week pity party and my Heavenly Father knew I needed this. Today we are celebrating our 13 year wedding anniversary and our 1 year living in Ohio anniversary

Probably like most people, my life has not turned out exactly how I thought it would. When I got married, I thought that I would be a stay-at-home mom, my hard working, smart husband would make enough money to work one job, my kids would go to public school every day, and we would live in the west by family. Pretty basic stuff. 

President Monson said that “no person has ever lived entirely free of suffering and sorrow, nor has there ever been a period in human history that did not have its full share of turmoil and misery”.  I know that a lot of people have much more difficult trials than I have had.  I know that a lot of people appear to not have had as many trials as I have had.  Some trials I’ve brought upon myself.  Others I have not. 

I made a list of some of the more memorable trials~

 

Jaylee’s seizures

Conrad hospitalized with RSV at 6 weeks old.  Asthma treatments for a couple years after.

Harrison was born not breathing.  He had to be revived.  Very scary.

Harrison had torticollis.  Year of physical therapy, had to wear a collar, and a Botox injection.

Jaylee was diagnosed with a reading disorder or auditory processing disorder.

Four not fun C-Sections.  Little issues with each one.

I had panic attacks that landed me in several ERs. 

Matt totaled 2 cars.  1 car started on fire with him still in it. 

Matt fell off our 30-ft roof and broke the right side of his body.  He was wheelchair, used a walker, then crutches.  He was unemployed for 8 months while he recovered.

Matt has been out of work 3 different times.       

Matt has worked 2 jobs for 12 out of the 13 years of our marriage.

I’m not complaining.  I know that my trials are small in comparison to what they could be.  In dealing with our trials, Heavenly Father has lead us down wonderful paths that I did not expect~

Moving to Ohio for employment.

Homeschooling our children.

Graduate school for Matt and I.

Paper routes, graveyard jobs, teaching piano and babysitting. 

A scripture in the Book of Mormon has been my mantra~ Ether 12:6…Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.  We’ve put this scripture to the test many times and we’ve always come out with an abundance of blessings and stronger testimonies.

Today at the dinner table we all went around naming the blessing that we’ve received since moving to Ohio.  Here are some of them~

We’ve grown closer as a family.

Matt has only 1 job.  He is able to do his calling and spend more time with the family.

Matt works for an amazing company. He loves his job and the people who work there.

We have a swimming pool that we enjoy all summer. 

We’ve met amazing people who inspire us.

We’ve made new friends who love us and support us.

Ohio is gorgeous.  We love the metroparks.

 

And most of all, we love the missionary work that is happening around us.  It is changing our hearts and minds.  We love having the missionaries over and our testimonies are strengthened when we see new people join the church. 

NOW, my new mantra needs to be, “Never dwell on what I am lacking, rather, always be deeply grateful for my many blessings.

I’m so grateful for my life.  Heavenly Father has made my burdens light, even as He did for Alma and his brethren long ago.  Mosiah 24:15, “And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”

I Love To See The Temple!

There are some events that you will never forget.  This was one of those events. Matt and I had the opportunity to take our sweet Jaylee and Dayana to the Columbus, Ohio Temple.  This was the first time for both of them.  Dayana was baptized into our church only a month ago.  It was so amazing to be able to watch these beautiful young women experience the beauty of the Temple and what goes on there.  

               

To add to the awesomeness, Jaylee had found 8 family names to be baptized for and Dayana got baptized for her aunt.  Matt was also able to baptize them.  Our friend Dorothy was over the session, so she was able to help us.  The Spirit was so strong.  Even little things like hearing Matt call Jaylee, "Sister Barnard" was awesome. 

The Temple is far enough away that we cannot visit as often as we would like.  I've really come to appreciate the times I've been able to go while living in Ohio.  

Dayana and Adrian.