Happy 10th Birthday to My Baby Girl

Wow!!!! 10 years to the day when I first held you in my arms. You were so small and innocent. I knew from then on I would always love you. You have a tendancy to stretch mine and your mother's patience, but we love you more now than we ever have.

I know I have done this before I will do it again and again but I want to impart more wisdom from an ever aging old man. I know what it was like to be picked on. I know how it felt to be laughed at, made fun of, and ridiculed. I never wanted that for my girls. And now I see history unfolding in front of me in you.

If I could go back in time and tell myself one thing, and I will tell you too, that is let go of the little

things. Always be patient and friendly. Don't take everything so seriously. I know that if I had

but done these things life might have been better for me. I hope you will listen to your dear old dad and try these things as well. Just remember though, never lose a sense of yourself and what you are. You are a Daughter of God and should always present yourself as such.

You are my baby girl and always will be. You are the eldest an as such you set an example for your younger sisters. I love you more than anything my dear sweet Emma. Happy Birthday and may all your dreams come true.

Love always and forever,

Your Father

Happy Mothers Day

My Dearest Mom,

I found these sayings that would best describe you and what you mean to me on this Mother's Day. I love you.

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.

~Tenneva Jordan

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,

Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,But only one mother the wide world over.

~George Cooper

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.

~Irish Proverb

"Men are what their mothers made them." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Mother's Love

Your arms were always open when I needed a hug. Your heart understood when I needed a friend. Your gentle eyes were stern when I needed a lesson. Your strength and love has guided me and gave me wings to fly.

- Sarah Malin

And Finally...

M-O-T-H-E-R
"M" is for the million things you gave me,
"O" means only that your growing old,
"T" is for the tears you shed to save me,
"H" is for your heart of purest gold;
"E" is for your eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right you'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.

Love you Mom,

Your Eldest 'Baby'

Happy 8th Birthday to my Middle Daughter

My dearest Abbey,

Congratulations...you have made it to the age of 8. This is going to be a defining year for you my love. You are going to experience many new things that your older sister has been able to do including your baptism. I hope you are excited about your baptism as it is a very important part of your life as well as your confirmation.

I have been so proud of your accomplishments this past year. You have made your mother and I very proud to be your parents. I look at you today and marvel at the young woman you are becoming. I remember first holding you when you were born and cried my eyes out. You were so beautiful and precious and innocent. My love for you has only grown as I have watched you grow and learn.

I know I imparted some wisdom (if you can call it that) to you the last time I did this, I would like to do so again. You are about to be baptized. You will have my hands placed on your head to receive the holy ghost. Once you have received this most precious gift please listen to Him. Follow the Holy Ghost's counsel. He will always be with you as long as you listen to that still small voice. Let Him guide you and you will never be led astray.

I love you more than words can explain. You have been and always will be my baby girl. I hope you have a wonderful day on this your birthday.

Love always and forever,

Your Father

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Wife

My dearest Love,

Today is your special day. You are now another year older, another year wiser, another year more beautiful in my eyes. You have been my best friend, my lover, my comforter, and most of all my soul mate. We have been through the refiners fire more times than I wish to count. But through it all we have become closer as husband and wife, mother and father, and of course, as best friends.

Happy Birthday to you and I wish the very best today on your day. I wish I could give you the world today. I hope you will settle for the gift I do have for you. I love more and more every day and thank our Heavenly Father for the precious gift He has given me in you and your eternal love.

I love you always and forever,

Your Romeo

Happy 9th Birthday to My Emma

My Darling Baby Girl Emma,

Wow, where has the time gone? I still remember holding you in my arms when you were born and saying a silent prayer to Heavenly Father, thanking him for the little blessing I held in my arms and asking him for strength and guidance as I started on this new path of being a father.



I still remember you crawling around on floor when we lived in Thatcher with a smile always on your face. I remember how you used to frustrate mommy and daddy every time you pulled the movies off the shelf.


And then time went on and your sisters inevitably followed after you. I think you have found that being the oldest has its privileges... as well as its downfalls. One thing is for sure and that is that I will always love you with all my heart. You are my eldest and will always hold a special place in my heart. You were a beautiful baby girl and you have continued to blossom into a

beautiful young lady and I can only suspect that you will grow into a beautiful woman, inside and out.

When I did this for your sister, I tried to impart some of my knowledge to her. So I will do the same to you. My one true wish for you is responsibility. As I have said before, you are the eldest. Your sisters look up to you to lead them and teach them. In order to do that, you must first be responsible for your own actions and their consequences. You have been baptized. You have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Listen to His still small voice and you will always make the right choice. He will help you be more responsible. He will help guide you as you help guide your sisters.

I love you my eldest baby. I have watched you grow and marvel everyday at what the new things you learn. Don't forget our Heavenly Father. Thank Him, pray to Him for all that he has given you. Study your scriptures and I promise that you not be led astray.

I will always Love you. I will always be here for you.

Love always and forever,


Your father

Happy Mothers Day

To my dearest Mother,

You have always been there for me. You have shown me right from wrong. You have helped me become the man, husband, and father I am today. Because of the tenderness, love and compassion that you had shown me, I have been able to pass those same feelings unto my children and wife today. Because of the lessons I have learned from you I more fully respect and honor the sacred power of womanhood and am able to more fully love my wife the way a man of God should.

I wish I could put into words more of how grateful I am for all the sacrifices that you gave to us.
I love you more than anything and I hope you have a wonderful Mothers Day.

Happy Mothers Day Mom!!

Love Always,

Your Eldest 'Baby'

10 Things I Love about you!!

My darling Wife,
Today marks our 10th Anniversary of marriage together. Since we are celebrating 10 years of wedded bliss, I thought I would share the 10 things I love about you. Now there are hundreds of things that I love about you so lets say that these are my top ten.

1. Your steadfast faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ
2. (Dare I say it?) Your hot bod. lol
3. Your beautiful blue eyes that shimmer as the ocean
4. Your enduring smile.
5. Your tenderness and love
6. Your continued friendship
7. Your wonderful laugh, lets me know that I can still make you happy every now and again. ;)
8. Your longing to teach our children right from wrong, truth from lies.
9. All the times that we have shared together.
10. The very thought that I get to spend Eternity with my best friend.

I love you with all my heart, my eternal companion, and look forward to spending eternity with you.

Your ever loving Husband

My Darling Baby Girl, Abbey

To my middle daughter Abbey,
Happy birthday my sweet. You have such a wonderful personality and such a beautiful smile. I love you more than life itself. I can't believe you are turning 7 years old today. It just seems like yesterday I was holding you in my arms and rocking you to sleep while singing "Take me out to the ballgame."

I know life can be hard as the middle child. You feel like mommy and daddy don't love you because we are busy discplining your older sister or wrestling with your twin sisters, but know this, mommy and daddy love you with all our hearts. You are as precious to us as the love of our Savior is precious to us.

I want to impart some wisdom unto you on this special day. Be Patient. Be patient with your sisters, your mother, your father, and most of all with your Father in heaven. I know that he answers prayers and he know the wantings of your heart. Be patient and he will answer those prayers. He answered mine when he gave me you for my daughter. I will forever be in debt to our Heavenly Father for such a precious gift.

I bear my testimony to you, my dear sweet daughter, that I know our Savior lives. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is the true church of Christ. I love the savior with all my heart. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that President Thomas Monson is our prophet today. I know that by following the principles set forth by Christ, we can all be much happier.

Please know how much I love you and I hope you have a wonderful day on this your Birthday.

Love always and forever,

Your Father

Love Letters to Sis. Mo. (Take Five)

My dearest Sis. Mo.
Sometimes we get blinded by the everyday grind and stresses. Sometimes we get offended by the other because of something that was said or something that was not done, or not done correctly. Sometimes we say things we don't mean or say things that come out wrong and are taken the wrong way.
All these things tend to make us lose sight of what is most important, each other, our marriage. I found these lyrics and wanted to share them with you. I know you go through a lot during the day. But as you read these lyrics by Garth Brooks, just picture us in the living room holding each other, its night time and all the kids are in bed, dancing slowly as this song plays on, and listen to me as I whisper these words in your ear:

"When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I would offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love....
....I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the aisle for you
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love....
....There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Make you happy, make your dreams come true
To make you feel my love"

Bro. Mo.

Our 8 year old daughter was baptized recently. And one day after that she decided to throw a huge temper tantrum. I was able to take her aside and explain to her that even though she may be sorry to mommy and daddy, we are not the only ones she has to apologize to now. Now that she is baptised she needs to truly repent of what she had done wrong and basically apologize to heavenly father and promise not to do it again.
It was the perfect opportunity for me to teach about repentance in a loving and compassionate way. Too often we let emotions cloud our judgement when disciplining our children and consequently we are not led by the spirit. But I truly feel that the spirit guided me that day.

As I was pondering faith and repentance today I came across this quote by President Ezra Taft Benson:

"Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation upon which sincere and meaningful repentance must be built. If we truly seek to put away sin, we must first look to Him who is the Author of our salvation."
Ezra Taft Benson, "A Mighty Change of Heart," Ensign, Oct. 1989, 2

May we all strive to have more faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ and the plans that He has for each and everyone of us.

So yesterday I was home all day with the kids while Nora went to work and I didn't get the chance to get on the computer. So here I am now on and I have this to share.

Last night as we were saying our family prayer, Nora said something to the effect of "help our children to be chaste" or something to that effect. Right after the prayer Abbey gets up and asks, "What does chaste mean?"

Naturally, that caught us off guard for a second. So Nora decides to go ahead and try and explain the "birds and the bees" to our 8 year old and 6 year old. I know some parents are thinking, what are you doing? You don't bring that up to an 8 year old and a 6 year old. Unfortunately, in this day and age my 6 year old already knew some about sex. She learned it in school from her kindergarten classmates.

So I went searching, letting the spirit guide my search and came upon this article on lds.org titled "Teaching about Procreation and Chastity."

It is imperative that we teach our children these things early because we never know where or when they are going to hear it first. For any parent who feels that an 8 year old and a 6 year old are too young to start learning these things needs to read this article. I feel strongly that what my wife did by explaining further to them was completely correct and I know with a surety that she was being guided by the spirit last night. I hope that all who read this will read that article, but I also wanted to add this quote from that article.

Elder Mark E. Petersen explained:
“Sex education belongs in the home, where parents can teach chastity in a spiritual environment as they reveal the facts of life to their children. There, in all plainness, the youngsters can be taught that procreation is part of the creative work of God and that, therefore, the act of replenishing the earth must be kept on the high plane of personal purity that God provides, free from all form of perversion.

“Unskilled parents can learn to teach their children properly. In fact, God commands it, and who are we to disobey?” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1969, p. 64; or Improvement Era, June 1969, p. 78).

So for Sis. Mo., you did great babe. Keep it up.

In my defense I did have a campout with the Young Men this weekend so that was why I missed Friday and Saturday, but I have no excuse for the rest of the time. Anyway, instead of a scripture today I wanted to post a web gem that I get from lds.org on the Book of Mormon. This is a quote from Craig C. Christensen and it exemplifies all of my feelings about the Book of Mormon. Here it is:

"I express my solemn witness that the Book of Mormon is true. It is a book that has brought about a mighty change in my life. I know that God lives. Jesus is the Christ. His gospel has been restored to the earth. President Thomas S. Monson is His prophet and living oracle at this time. The Spirit I feel as I daily read, ponder, and pray about the Book of Mormon strengthens my understanding and testimony of these things and reaffirms to me that they are true."

Craig C. Christensen, "A Book with a Promise," Ensign, May 2008, 107

My Family and I read scriptures together at night and last night we were reading out of Chapt. 9 in 2 Nephi. We got to verse 27 adn stopped because of how long of a chapter it is and how late it was. But I read ahead a little and came across this verse and I made sure that I remembered it so that I could post it today.

Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.
(2 Nephi 9:52 Book of Mormon)

Love Letters to Sis. Mo. (Take Four)

My Dearest Love,
As you have noticed, I have changed my layout. Not only did I change it because I love Lighthouses, but because it represents everything that is important to me. My Savior, my Church, my Family, and most of all, My Wife.
Just like the Savior, Jesus Christ, is the Light and Life in our darkness, so are you My Light when I am darkened by everyday troubles that come up.
You are the Light of my Life. You brighten my day when I see that beautiful smile.
You light my heart with your everlasting love and bring unequaled joy to my soul. You bring everlasting peace to my being even when it seems there is no peace to be had.
The Savior is the Light and Life of this world, but you are the Light and Life of my world.
I love you.

Your Romeo

Found this while reading Alma this morning. It really made me think of how grateful and humble I am for a loving Heavenly Father, for the family that I have and the loving and supporting wife that I have. It makes me truly thankful for I have.

"....then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me."
(Alma 29:10)

I am going to freak out my wife

My wife is going to freak out because I am actually posting again. I thought I would do something different. I want to post a scripture, mostly from the Book of Mormon, everyday. This gets me to post everyday and I think it will help me get closer to the B of M as well. So my next post will be my first scripture.

Protests against Latter Day Saints

Lately I have been reading all the articles on protests and in some cases vandalism of Latter Day Saints and thier property. I find it interesting that Latter Day Saints are be protested and no other church that supported Prop 8 or Prop 102 is being protested. Part of me wants to be mad but as I was sitting in Sunday School, our teacher said that this is only the beginning before the end. That made me realize anger will not solve anything. As Latter Day Saints we will be tested much more as we get closer to the Second Coming. We need to be able to turn the other cheek as the Savior taught us no matter how hard it will be.
I testify that I no this wonderful Church is true. I know things will get worse before they get better but as long as we keep our faith, the reward will be well worth it in the end.

Love Letters to Sis. Mo. (Take Three)

My Love,
You always ask me why I stay with you when you have a bad day. It is so hard for me to put into words how I feel about you until I came across the lyrics for this song called "Its Your Love."
These lyrics put into words everything that I feel about you. It is because of your love that I am who I am today. Please read these lyrics and picture me holding you in my arms as I whisper these words to you.

Dancin' in the dark middle of the night
Takin' your heart and holdin' it tight
Emotional touch touchin' my skin
And asking you to do what you've been doin' all over again
Oh it's a beautiful thing
don't think I can keep it all in
I just gotta let you know what it is that won't let me go
It's your love
It just does something to me
It sends a shock right through me
I can't get enough
And if you wonder About the spell I'm under
Oh it's your love
Better than I was, more than I am
And all of this happened by taking your hand
And who I am now is who I wanted to be
And now that we're together,
I'm stronger than ever I'm happy and free
Oh it's a beautiful thing,
Don't think I can keep it all in
If you asked me why I've changed,
All I gotta do is say your sweet name
Oh it's a beautiful thing,
Don't think I can keep it all in
I just gotta let you know
what it is that won't let me go
It's your love
It just does something to me
It sends a shock right through me
I can't get enough
And if you wonder
About the spell I'm under,
IT'S YOUR LOVE!!!!!

Love Letters to Sis. Mo. (take two)

My dearest Love,
Sometimes we get so caught up with our daily lives that we never have time for each other. Playing the Wii with you last night was so much fun I didn't want it to end. Then I go and ruin the fun we had by being short with you the next morning. I am so sorry for how I acted. I am sorry for what was said. I never want to hurt you. You are the love of my eternal life. You are the mother of our beautiful girls. Sometimes I get selfish and forget that.

I want you to know how much you mean to me. Nothing means more to me than you love and faith in me. You will always be my Juliet.

Love always,

Your Romeo

Fatherhood

Today reminded me how important it is to be a kind and loving father and husband. I was short with both my wife and my eldest daughter this morning, The minute I climbed in my van to help someone move I istantely felt horrible. How could I talk that way to the mother of my children? How could I be short with my daughter when all she wanted was some breakfast? I had to go to work after I helped that brother move and I heard a song play that just broke me down to tears. It is called My Little Girl by Tim McGraw. I then heard Its your Love by Tim Mcgraw and Faith Hill. After hearing those songs I knelt down in my office and prayed for forgiveness.
I then found these words from President Howard Hunter. I have also added a playlist with those two songs mentioned above. You father listen to those words if you have daughters.
Love your daughters because you never know when you are going to lose them. Love your wives because they are one of the most precious gifts from the Lord that we will ever recieve.


"A man who holds the priesthood shows perfect moral fidelity to his wife and gives her no reason to doubt his faithfulness. A husband is to love his wife with all his heart and cleave unto her and none else

A man who holds the priesthood has reverence for motherhood. Mothers are given a sacred privilege to “bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of [the] Father continued, that he may be glorified”

A man who holds the priesthood regards the family as ordained of God. Your leadership of the family is your most important and sacred responsibility. The family is the most important unit in time and in eternity and, as such, transcends every other interest in life.

Tenderness and respect—never selfishness—must be the guiding principles in the intimate relationship between husband and wife. Each partner must be considerate and sensitive to the other’s needs and desires. Any domineering, indecent, or uncontrolled behavior in the intimate relationship between husband and wife is condemned by the Lord."

President Howard W. Hunter