Red Hibiscus

Our Presidential Red hibiscus had a hard time for the first month of winter. It lost a lot of leaves and started looking pretty shabby. It seems to have adjusted now though. We got six blossoms on it today.

Cold

I sometimes forget that even here in Texas, it gets cold.  In the middle of August when it seems like I can't get enough Popsicles and ice cream, a high of 34 degrees seems inconcievable.  It isn't. We haven't broken forty in two days and right now it is 28 degrees.

I know that for some of you, 28 might seem balmy, but I am freezing my socks off.  I have no coat, so that might be part of the problem.  I'm hoping Santa will rectify that situation in a few days. Fortunately, we will be back up to highs in the seventies by the 26th.  Unfortunately, plants don't do well with the wild temperature swings that come around this time of the year.  There probably won't be many more pictures of beautiful flowers.  My roses are dying, my vincas are dead.  My azaleas are drooping.  Everything seems to be crying for Spring.  Fortunately, Spring is just around the corner.  Two more months and winter will be fading away.  In the meantime, stop by my other blog, The Texas Terrors.  There will be plenty of posting there of the boys and their exploits.

Christmas Decor

Our high voltage plant decided to give us a little Christmas gift this season. It has five blossoms on it. That is the most we have ever had at one time on this plant. They are all really big and beautiful too!

Red Rose

It has been really cool weather for the last month or so. The roses have started slowing down their growth and preparing for winter. In spite of that, we got one last big beautiful blossom from our red rosebush. It is really big. The only thing that is better than the looks of it is the smell. It is extremely fragrant.

Tall Rose Cane

We had to trim back our rosebush. It was getting so tall and gangly that in the strong wind, the canes would bend over and get tangled up in each other. After I cut this one, I had Ben pose with it to show the scale. This is not even the whole cane. We cut it back about 2/3. If we had cut it all the way to the base, it would have been nearly as tall as Ben. We cut two canes this size off of the bush and now it looks much better and I have several cut roses to enjoy in my vase.

Pink Hibiscus

My high voltage hibiscus bloomed this morning. Last night I brought my bushes into the house because it dropped to 36 degrees for the low. Due to the cooler weather we have been enjoying, the high voltage blossoms have been showing a lot more color. Although the white hibiscus blossoms are pretty, I love the dark pink the cooler weather brings out.

Rose Bush

When we looked at the house we are living in now and decided to buy it, I was very excited to have a mature rose bush growing in the backyard. It was invested with black spot and half of its canes were dead, but I still had great hopes for it.

It has been a year since this picture was taken.

Now it is doing much better. This picture shows how much it has grown. The one big cane is taller than Ben.

It is healthy and produces huge blossoms. This one, you can't tell from the picture, was the size of a soft ball. It was really beautiful. A little TLC and a lot of Miracle Grow and this rose bush has really put on a show for us.

Baptism for the Dead

On the news today there is top headline regarding Jewish opposition to our church's practice of baptism for the dead. Baptism for the dead is such a fundamental part of my faith and world view that it is difficult for me to understand why anyone would not see it is a beautiful and selfless act of love.

In order for people outside the church to understand baptism for the dead, they must understand our doctrines. We believe that Christ spoke literally when he said that every man must be born of water and of the spirit in order to enter into his kingdom. Every accountable man woman and child must be baptised in the name of Christ by one having authority from him or be eternally limited in progression. We also believe, as does the rest of the Christian world, that God is a God of great mercy and is perfectly just. However, the problem is clear; the two statements are contradictory. A merciful and just God could never punish those of his children who never had the opportunity to be baptised while living on Earth. How could a loving and merciful God allow billions of his children to be born, live, and die without ever having an opportunity to learn of him and yet still hold them accountable for not being baptised in his name? It causes you to wonder why he even made the baptism requirement if it created this quandary.

Speaking of quandaries, the baptism dilemma brings to mind another dilemma. In the Old Testament Jehovah wrote upon tablets of stone ten great commandments which the children of Israel were commanded to obey. The law was clear and yet the people fell short. All of us fall short of the law. Some believed that because of their superior understanding of the law or their illustrious parentage as children of Abraham that they would be saved in spite of their shortcomings, but those who had a clear understanding of God knew that there must be a way to save the repentant sinner. Before Jesus Christ was ever born, those with spiritual understanding knew that an atonement must be made. When the Savior was born and declared his role as mediator with the Father and forgiver of sins, some declared that they had no need of saving. They spurned his gift and refused his sacrifice. They mocked him, persecuted him, and even crucified him because he dared to love them and declare that love openly.

Just as God had fore-ordained Jesus Christ to be the Savior of mankind to help them do what they could not in making an atonement for their sins, he also has provided a way for his children to be exalted in his kingdom without being baptised in the flesh. Just as we must rely on the Savior to help us back to God, the dead rely on the living to make it possible for them to be exalted. Those dead who have not been baptised in the name of Jesus Christ by an authorized servant while living may accept a baptism that has been performed by a living person standing in for them. Right now in temples around the world, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are being baptised for those people unable to do it for themselves. They are unlocking the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven for people they have never seen simply because of a love for mankind and a desire to see the plan of salvation become the plan of happiness for their fellow brothers and sisters.

It is important to realize that this is not motivated by a desire to convert the whole world to Mormonism through proxy baptism. We do not assume that because we baptised Abraham Lincoln in our temple that he is now a Mormon. He has the opportunity to accept or reject the offering made for him just as he has the right to accept or reject Jesus Christ's atonement. This is a solution to the quandary of baptism which God himself has revealed to his church. There is no way around it. If people choose to be offended by it, just as the Jews were offended by the atonement in Jesus's day, that is their choice. A Buddhist might just as well be offended that Jesus Christ suffered for his sins as that he was baptised by proxy after his death. The fact that the conditions of his salvation have been made possible by those who love him and desire his welfare does not rationally give him reason to be offended. Quite the contrary, if in a thousand years a benevolent Buddhist sect decided to do a religious ritual in my behalf because they believed it would help me in the next life, I would be flattered and impressed by their compassion for me. To be offended by it would be ungrateful.

Some may object to our baptism of people who have been baptised in a different Christian church. Why are we rebaptising Christians? The answer to this question is simple when one understands the apostasy and the procedure God uses to bestow and pass authority among men to act in his name to perform ordinances that are acceptable to him.

Just as Able's sacrifice was acceptable to God and Cain's was not, some ordinances are acceptable and some are not. In Old Testament times, the rituals were performed only by members of the tribe of Levi. These Levites held the Aaronic Priesthood, or the authority to act in the name of Jehovah in performing certain ordinances. If a member of the tribe of Judah or Benjamin tried to perform an ordinance, it would not have been accepted because it was not done according to the Lord's established and authorized method.

John the Baptist had the Aaronic Priesthood and was a Priest because he was a descendant of Aaron. He performed authorized baptisms before and during the ministry of the Savior. When Jesus Christ established his church, he was given the higher priesthood or the Melchizedek Priesthood on the Mount of Transfiguration. This gave him the authority to ordain others to the Priesthood and with it, the authority to perform authorized baptisms. The Melchizedek Priesthood was given to the twelve apostles, but when they were killed, it was taken with them. The Apostle John was still alive of course, and he had the Priesthood, but the Christian church as a whole was no longer governed by those holding the Priesthood and the church fell into apostasy.

When Constantine assimilated the remnants of the Christian church into his empire, it was no longer the authorized Christian church that Jesus Christ created. The scattered pockets of believers were leaderless, lost, and confused by the time Constantine got to them. When the Nicene Creed was done, the church that was created was not the authorized church that Jesus Christ established, it was a tool to be used by Romans to strengthen and unite their empire.

Fortunately, God did not abandon the human race. On the banks of the Susquehanna River on May 15, 1829, the resurrected John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in answer to a prayer on the subject of baptism. He conferred the Priesthood of Aaron on them. Since then, the Priesthood has been conferred on millions of worthy male members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When they advance to the office of a Priest within that Priesthood, they are given the authority to perform baptisms; the authority that was lost to Christianity with the death of the apostles two thousand years ago.

The truth may seem audacious at times. When Jesus walked the Earth and claimed to be the only way mankind could be saved, nothing could have appeared more audacious. The idea that even Moses himself would have to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior in order to be saved must have completely floored the Scribes and Pharisees. Fortunately, Jesus is the Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the light, and just as he declared the truth openly without fear of offending the world back then, so do I. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of God and the work of baptisms for the dead will march on. Nothing will frustrate the work of the Lord even if all Hell shall conspire against it. The day will come when every child of Adam born into this world who has attained the age of accountability will have been baptised. No one shall be barred from entrance into the Kingdom of God because of circumstances, only because of their own choices as is just and merciful.

I Believe in Christ

Election

Well, it is kind of obvious who is coming out ahead in the election-- the Democrats. It is largely accepted that the reason for this is the widely held dislike of President Bush. The question is, why do people hate President Bush?

I actually find him quite a likable man. We see eye to eye on nearly every issue, so that may be part of it, but not all. I find Obama to be quite a likable man too although we disagree on most issues. President Bush has been an adamant supporter of traditional marriage, the rights of the unborn, and fiscal responsibility. The military, under his command, is successfully fighting an extremely dangerous and difficult enemy. He is a family man who obviously loves his wife and daughters. He did the very best he could in what is possibly the most difficult job in America. What is there to hate?

It's possible that we simply expect a great deal of our leaders and he fell short. He didn't communicate with the people as I think he should have, especially when the war was going poorly. He failed to realize that the people are the ones making the sacrifices in war, and we deserve to know what is going on. National security is important, but so is public morale. There were obvious policy mistakes in the handling of the war and many embarrassing and highly publicized disasters like Abu Garib, but not all of these can be legitimately Bush's fault. People do fault him, and yet they fail to give him credit for things that have gone well. The economy is recovering, thanks in part to his timely action to rescue the banking system. Since September 11th, there have been no successful terror attacks on American soil. The war has been difficult, but the surge succeeded and there have been several major Al Qaeda terrorists that have been captured or killed in the last six months. Overall, the country seems to be doing well, and yet there is this hatred for the President.

The question is, where will we go from here? Dare I say it. . . President Obama is in for a rough four to eight years. Basically, if things don't go well most of the time, people are going to blame him and they are gonna hate him. That is not an easy place to be. He looks young right now, but I am willing to bet that that handsome face of his is going to get a lot more lined and that black hair of his is going to go gray, just like George and Bill. One thing is certain, the President of the United States is no easy title to bare.

The Inheritance Trilogy

When I was teaching school, I was always on the lookout for good children's books to recommend to my students. It came to my attention that a new fantasy series had come out about dragons. It was written by a fifteen year old boy who showed tremendous talent as a writer. Unfortunately, the books at the library were always checked out and I couldn't justify buying them at the time. Shortly before my wisdom tooth extraction, I went to Walmart to buy a couple of books to keep me entertained during my recovery time. The latest installment of the series, called Brisinger, had just come out in September. They were selling paper-back copies of the first book, Eragon, for only $8, so I decided to buy it.

After my surgery, I had to make do with the other books I had though, because Ben got to Eragon before I did. He would take it to work with him, so I couldn't get to it. Finally, he was finished with it and I started reading it. Ben got the second book in the series, Eldest. Anyway, after several sleepless nights, and much theorizing we finished Eldest. Now we are waiting for Brisingr to arrive in the mail.

In this series there is a group of people, the elves, that are very interesting. They live forever and they are powerfully magical. They do not have to worry about survival because magic can provide them food and shelter. Elvish children are few and far between. They spend their time bascially perfecting skills, magically improving their good looks, and gaining knowledge. They have an overall sense of superiority over the other races of dwarfs and humans. One of the distinctive differences between the elves and the dwarfs and humans is their aethism. They do not believe in a supreme being or the immortality of the soul.

Oromis, an elven dragon rider and Eragon's instructor, has an interesting discussion with Eragon about the soul and whether it can exist outside of the body. Oromis outlines his beliefs on the subject which are very like aethistic beliefs of mortals in our own world. He speaks of evidence and science, the manipulative nature of religion and its threats of heaven and hell, and finally the misery and suffering that a supremely powerful creator could prevent and yet does not. Oromis is a very compassionate, practical, and wise man.

At church Sunday I was thinking about Oromis and the elves. How could they not see the evidence of God? With all their wisdom and dedication to improving the condition of the living creatures around them, how could they not see the undeniable facts of the creation, the existence of divine law, and the immortality of the human soul? It could be argued that these books are works of fiction and that perhaps this world of Alageasia has no creator. Such reasoning does not make sense. In order for life to exist, and especially sentient life, there must be a creator and a purpose for existence.

The answer came to me all of a sudden. They do not need God. Humans and dwarfs are dependent upon crops, seasons, rainfall, and temperate weather for their survival. They have many children which may or may not survive. They face the inevitability of death and decay in the world around them. These experiences inspire thoughts and hopes about God and the existence after death. These conditions inspire fervent petitions to the Almighty for help, and when those prayers are answered, faith begins to grow. The evidence of God is only given to the humans and dwarfs because they must exersize faith first to ask. Because the elves have no reason to pray, they have no evidence of the answers to prayer. If the conditions of death and decay were absent from our world and society, I would hypothesize that we would all be more or less atheists.

Of Toilets and Flowers

Sometimes getting through the day without murdering them is a success. This is one of those times. Today I was busy helping Devin beat a level in Mario and making a pumpkin roll for the Relief Society recipe swap tomorrow, when I looked out the window and saw that instead of gleefully running down the hill like he was a moment before, Layne was ripping apart my Snapdragons.

Then, after I put Layne in his room so I wouldn't kill him, I went into the bathroom and found that Devin had found a new fun place to put the toilet paper roll-- in the toilet. Fun.

Family Blog

Check out the cutest little little lion and monkey you ever saw on our family blog at http://bandbburbank.blogspot.com.

October Garden

Garden

Mindie got me a bunch of plants for my yard. I also bought a bunch. I got a few dozen pansies because I knew they would live through the winter. I planted them in the serpentine flowerbed on the back fence. They aren't much to look at now, but by this winter, they should be pretty gorgeous. I also got some snap dragons. I have always wanted to grow snap dragons, so this is my big chance. I also got a few perennials including a chrysanthemum, a blue sage, and some daisies. Planting them has been difficult because I have been laid up by my surgery, but hopefully I will get them in the ground soon.

I have been dying to take some pictures, so I braved the big complicated camera. There are some pretty good shots. My rose garden has really taken to the cooler weather. Ben dug out the hideous marigold plants that were threatening to take over. Now the rose bed looks orderly and nice again. It is amazingly satisfying to go out to the garden every day and see new roses blooming.

Wisdom Teeth

I got my wisdom teeth out last week and I have been surprised at how long the recovery has been. Fortunately, Ben has been wonderful. He took a day off of work and took care of me all through the weekend. Today I am finally feeling close to normal again.

On Saturday Ben got me a card and an azalea plant. I was so excited. I love azaleas and I couldn't have picked a prettier bush myself. What a sweet guy!

Plates and Milk

It has been a while since I have posted. The loss of my camera has effected my interest in blogging. Not being able to zip out to the backyard and take a few snapshots of my flowers or videos of the kids has got me wondering what to write about.

Lately, Devin has been asking a lot of questions. He asks why about everything. "Why are you doing that Momma?" is his constant chant. Today Devin and I were eating lunch. Layne had already fallen asleep, so it was just the two of us. I was eating my sandwich without a plate. Devin said, "Why you not have a plate Momma?"

I said, "I didn't want to dirty a dish. I don't need a plate." He pointed to the plates in the cupboard and asked, "Are those plates clean?"

"Yes, those are clean plates my son."

"Why don't you go get a plate to put your sandwich on?" He persisted.

"You really want me to use a plate, don't you?" I went to the cupboard and got a plate and sat down at the table. "You can set your sandwich on it Mom. Then you can drink your milk." He was so pleased with himself, like he had taught me the novel benefits of using plates.

The phone rang and I answered it. When I hung up, Devin said, "You should drink your milk Mom. Then you will feel better."

I really have a very sweet and sensitive little boy who looks out for his mom.

Twilight

Unfortunately, I won't be posting any pictures for a while. While I was reading the other day, Mindie found Layne in the computer room on top of the desk poking his little finger into the lens of our camera. Nothing is safe anymore! So, the lens cover is now stuck and the camera will no longer work. I guess we will have to see if we can get it fixed.

The last two weeks I have been obsessed with the Twilight series. For those who don't know, it is a series of four, soon to be five, books about a vampire family and a teenage girl who falls in love with one of the vampires. I have never read a vampire story before, and I must confess, there were some things that were a little weird. Overall, I really loved the books. Incidentally, the fifth book is published in part on the author's website. For any enthusiastic fans who have read the first four books, but not the fifth, you can find it here.

Stephenie Meyer is especially good at fleshing out her characters. They are very real to the reader. Because of this, I found myself crying, laughing, and worrying right along with them. I couldn't help but notice how, even in their most desperate hour, waiting for death, none of the characters ever considered saying a prayer.

This is not a criticism of the characters-- I don't want any hate mail-- it is just so different from what I would expect. After all, they are a very caring, compassionate, ethical group fighting against the blackest of fiends. Why shouldn't they implore the powers of heaven on their behalf? Were they afraid? Did they think they were unworthy? I don't know. Seeing the world through their eyes, I could see death as this terrifying black chasm before them. Without faith and an understanding of their creator, how could they face such a chasm? It opened my eyes to the fear that death holds for people who do not know what I know. It makes me wish I could share it with them that they might be able to look with some peace into that chasm, some understanding of what lies beyond this world.

One of the students in my primary class was baptized and confirmed last Sunday and I was invited to speak about the Holy Ghost. My testimony of the Holy Ghost and what a difference this gift has made in my life was strengthened. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is such an incredible blessing. The Spirit sustains religious conviction and helps us cast out doubt. He can reveal to our minds what lies beyond this life and give us courage to resist temptation even within the shadow of death for ourselves and our loved ones. What an incomparable gift!

I imagine to myself what I would feel if I did not have it. I would wander from church to church, satisfied for a time perhaps with the doctrines taught, but never for long. Reading the Bible over and over for understanding that at times might enlighten my mind, but never totally answering the questions burning in my mind. What is God like? What does he think of me? What lies in store after this life? No one to answer to these most vital questions. Only through that incomparable Gift of the Holy Ghost can He begin to unravel these mysteries. Only after years of study and prayer, can such understanding be earned, but it is available. The Gift is available to all who will receive it.

Mankind has always had such questions, and God has always stood ready to answer them. Joseph Smith was one who asked God such questions, and he received answer after answer from God. Unlike others who have claimed to speak for God, he did not insist he was the only one with a claim to divine revelation, he taught that it is available to all. He was right. There are many who would speak ill of Joseph Smith, but they are misinformed. He was a prophet of God and those who contend against his church fight against God Himself. I know that Jesus Christ lives, and he loves all of us. He wants us to seek to know him. He wants to reveal his secrets to us. The question is, do we want to know? If so, how badly?

Closet Cyclone

Forget Hurricane Ike. The only natural disasters here at our house are man made-- or kid made I suppose. Devin used the ladder to his bunk bed to access the clothes hanging in his closet. He took most of them off of their hangers too, so it made a nice long project for me to get them all hung up again. This particular episode along with one a couple of days ago where he emptied his dresser drawers, lost Devin all privileges. He has had to earn them back with good behavior.

Moonstone Rosebush

The Moonstone rosebush that has struggled so much finally had it's first blossom. It is doing really good now and we hope to see more flowers this fall.

Seven Inches

The hibiscus bloom that opened this morning on our High Voltage bush was one of the biggest we have had. It is seven inches in diameter.

More Garden Pictures

Since the weather has gotten cooler, the high voltage has been putting out some really beautiful pink petals. This is one blossom opening this morning.

The blossom at the top of this picture is the same as yesterday. It stayed open and beautiful all night! The cooler weather has really helped this plant.
The Cherie plant is doing well. The color of this blossom is darker than the ones previous. The colors are very bold.
The Presidential Lincoln rose bush is doing much better. It likes the cooler weather. All of the red leaves are new growth.
This rose bud is really big and velvety looking. The picture doesn't do the color justice. It is really pretty.

Gardening

I haven't taken many pictures of my plants lately because nothing is really new. My vinca, hibiscus, roses, and canna plants keep growing and flowering. Today this High Voltage blossom opened and provided a little change. It has a nice pink blush because of the cooler weather we have been enjoying. When the weather was hot, the blush bleached to almost pure white.

Tasty fruits and vegetables and beautiful blossoms are the joy of gardening. If only it was all fun and games. I have decided that compost piles are not for the squeamish. The experts say that a well constructed and tended compost pile will not stink or become an insect breeding ground. Unfortunately, mine has become just that; a reeking mass of rotting plants, food, and grass clippings, teaming with grubs and ants. I dumped it out today in an attempt to improve it. I added some peach peelings and plenty of dirt. Hopefully the dirt will help the smell. I have great plans for my compost this fall, so I hope it shapes up.

August Funnies

I haven't posted any funnies for a long time! Sorry. Here are a couple of good ones. I really relate to the "Rose is Rose" one because I am that way with the Legend of Zelda. Mindie and I now joke about the "repeat steps 4, 5, and 6" when Devin and Layne start fighting. Funnies are great!

Real American Stories

The news is usually such a negative thing. We see all that is bad in our nation displayed across a web page or a television screen. Murders, robberies, celebrity sleaze, war, natural disasters, and human suffering of all kinds are commonplace on the daily news. When you read something positive on the news, something that displays the virtuous and lovely in the face of cynicism, it is truly worth taking note of.

When I read that Fox News is doing a program called Real American Stories, I was curious. I read one about a man named Ken Krimstein of New York. I have a quote by him on my the side bar of my blog now. His story about September 11th and his feelings immediately afterward were inspiring. Now they are doing a story on a woman named Launa Costly. She is a history teacher who lives in Orem, Utah. Her great-great grandfather moved here because his village in Sweden disapproved of his new faith. He immigrated to Utah. It doesn't take an investigative reporter to guess what this disapproved faith was.

Her story was one of gratitude and love for this wonderful country. There are many things to be grateful for in this land of liberty and opportunity and I am grateful that Fox News has started this program. I encourage you to check out Launa Costly's story along with others at this website:

http://www.realamericanstories.com/

Headache

Occasionally your child will do something so unexpected and so painful, you hardly know what hit you. This was my experience last night.

Devin and Layne have been sharing a room and have a hard time going to sleep at night. Devin will wake Layne up just as he is drifting off to sleep and he will cry. Ben or I will go in and put him back in bed with a lecture that does absolutely no good. It has been a frustrating situation. Last night, Layne began crying again. I opened the door and peeked my head in before taking a step to enter the room. All the sudden I felt this blinding pain in my head. Devin had taken the door at a run and slammed my head between the door and the frame. Devin's usual lecture was a bit more animated last night.

Later that evening I reached into my hair to reposition my clip and couldn't get it to open properly. I realized that Devin's door assault smashed my clip and bent it. I thought I would take a picture, along with an unbent clip, and post this experience to my blog. Parenthood can be a real headache!

Knowledge

We are so happy to have Mindie here at our house. She brought the cool weather down with her. It has only been in the triple digits once since she arrived. Today it was 97 degrees and you wouldn't believe how cool it felt compared to 105. Our electicity bill last month was almost four hundred dollars, so cooler weather is a very good thing.

I was writing in my journal and thought I would post some of my musings. My gospel study has been very good the last week. Ben and I studied together on Sunday and set some goals. That was so good for me. The increase in spiritual strength has really helped me deal with my life. I have more emotional energy to get the stuff done that I need to do. The house is so clean right now. That is also partly Mindie’s doing. She is a wonderful help to have around.

I have been reading the last couple of days in the Joseph Smith Priesthood and Relief Society manual. The chapter on Knowledge has been very enlightening. Faith and works are often discussed, but adding knowledge into the mix clarifies and improves understanding about the other two. You might consider knowledge to be a part of faith and works rather than a separate concept, but I think it is worth looking at on its own in relation to the other two.

First I have to clarify. The knowledge that I am talking about is not the times tables, Newton’s law of gravity, or even the date of the Savior’s birth. Not all knowledge is equal. If we assigned monetary value to the times tables we might speak of dimes, the knowledge that I speak of would be more like thousands of dollars. Some people spend their entire lives collecting and amassing dimes. Their brains are chucked full of facts and information that adds up to very little value on the eternal scales. In Paul’s epistle to Timothy he speaks of the last days when we are, “ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Paul is speaking of the knowledge I am writing about in this journal entry.

Knowledge in this sense is only acquired through the spirit. We receive knowledge of this kind not only through our minds but also our hearts. It is acquired by those who have paid the price in righteous living, repentance of sin, and keeping an eye single to the glory of God. Such a person must also take the time and effort to seek for knowledge. This knowledge is like a living thing, a plant or a candle if you will. It requires care and nurture or it will die. You could also refer to this knowledge as a testimony. Using the term knowledge simply allows us to examine testimony from a more academic perspective rather than a faith perspective.

However, faith is essential. Without knowledge we could have no faith, and without faith, our knowledge looses importance and value. Work is also vital to the acquisition of knowledge. One has to open the books, devote the time, and focus the mind to learn. According to Joseph Smith, this knowledge is vital to our salvation. We must have understanding of these spiritual concepts to be saved.

I think I am prone to underestimate the importance of gaining knowledge. I have always defined faith and works too narrowly. I have defined faith as belief, and works as service. Faith is that surety that makes spiritual knowledge stick. It also helps the human mind put spiritual things in their proper perspective. The carnal mind does not value the things of God and faith challenges carnal priorities. Faith gives value to knowledge through this re-prioritizing process. Works encompass more than service, they also encompass things like prayer, fasting, and gospel study. The faith within us inspires us to do works which then feed and increase our faith and our store of knowledge.

Pondering on these things makes my heart swell with gratitude for the incomparable Gift of the Holy Ghost. Without it, faith and works are crippled and weak. Knowledge is sketchy at best, and mankind is left to wander in the darkness. What a tremendous blessing and responsibility it is to be a part of God’s Kingdom here on the Earth and be given the tools necessary for our salvation.

Blue Ink

Layne went on the rampage in the computer room last week while I was making dinner. He climbed on top of the desk, scattered all the papers, threw the slightly less than empty blue ink cartridge on the floor, and left Devin to finish the mess.

Devin likes to climb on top of the folding table in the computer room and jump off of it. (This is against the rules, by the way.) Unfortunately, the ink puddle happened to be in his jumping path. He jumped into the ink and then tracked it all over the living room. I was oblivious to this until Devin came into the kitchen and said, "I'm blue Momma!"

Ben didn't come home until several hours after this incident. I had gravy and hot oil on the stove, my son and my floors were covered in ink, and I had absolutely no one to help me. It was a tough night.

I cleaned up Devin and threatened him with his life not to touch any ink stains and put Layne in his room. He was not happy about that. I finished dinner, fed everyone, and when Ben got home he helped me put the kids down. I wasn't able to work on the ink stains until after the boys were in bed. Fortunately, a mixture of Oxiclean, water, and rubbing alcohol took the ink out. There are only a few faintly blue spots where the stains used to be. At least we don't have brand new carpet.

The joys of having kids!

The End of a Battle

Today we can celebrate the end of a battle. It has been a tough one for two Houston families who should be having two beautiful young girls graduating from high school, going off to college, and dating young men. Instead the Ertmans and the Penas had to go to the prison to watch a man be executed for their daughters' murders.

Execution, regardless of how just the punishment, is always a tragedy. The tragedy starts with choices and ends with consequences. All of us have choices to make. In dealing with my children, I find it helps me to think of things in terms of choices. Devin chooses to disobey a rule, I choose to give the punishment. It is about choices. If I fail to enforce the rules, that is a mistake on my part. When I choose to be consistent in following through with set consequences, I am making the right choice.

What Jose Medellin did to those young girls defies description. I will not go into the details here as I am still sick just from reading about them. They were innocent, they were loyal, and they died in the worst possible way. There is no question as to Medellin's guilt. The facts of the case are transparent. There was a confession, there were witnesses and accomplices. The fact that the Mexican government has fought us on this execution is unthinkable. This man invaded our country, committed heinous crimes against our children, and then, instead of hanging their heads in shame that such filth could have come out of their country, the Mexican government tries to prevent justice.

This is about choices. Jose Medellin made a choice. The law enforcement and justice officials chose to do their job in apprehending the suspects and convicting the perpetrators with due process of law. Medellin was not told he could go to the Mexican Embassy for help. Were Jennifer and Elizabeth allowed to visit the United States Embassy before they were executed? No. Aliens who enter this country illegally and commit crimes should not be given special privileges in our justice system. I can understand Mexicans who have immigrated here legally, but if they are illegal, there should be no leniency. The right choice for Texas was clear, justice required the blood of this man. Justice was served and Jose Medellin was executed last night. Justice was done, but the tragedy remains. It is all about choices.

Fertilizer Mess

On the Hidden Valley Hibiscus website, they sell some fertilizer that is specially formulated for hibiscus plants. It is supposed to be really great. When I ran out of my other fertilizer this month, I ordered some from Hidden Valley Hibiscus. It arrived yesterday. I was out fertilizing my hibiscus plants with the brand new container of fertilizer when Devin ran outside screaming that he had to go to the bathroom. I put the lid securely on the fertilizer and ran inside the house to help Devin.

The bathroom door down the hall had been locked from the inside so he couldn't use that one. There was a child door handle on my bedroom door, so he couldn't get to that one either. We dashed into my bedroom and got Devin on the potty just in time.

When I came back to finish my yardwork, I found Layne had grabbed the fertilizer off of the shelf and dropped in on the ground. I guess I should just be glad he didn't eat any, but I was very frustrated. It had scattered everywhere. Fortunately, I was able to get almost all of it back in the container. As I recently commented on a friend's blog, Motherhood is 2% childcare and 98% damage control.

Pickens Blog

When I joined the Pickens Plan, they gave me a blog. I posted for the first time today. Rather than paste the post here, I decided just to provide a link to it. Enjoy!

http://push.pickensplan.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2187034%3ABlogPost%3A511529

Triple Digit Heat

I just read a really horrible story in our local news today. A family in Denton went out Sunday for a day at the waterpark. On their way home they got some lunch. When they got home, they went inside to eat the food, and forgot to get their little 14 month old baby out of the minivan. He was only in the van for an hour, but he died.

It was 102 degrees yesterday and today it is 101. It is hard to imagine how hot the inside of a car must get in that kind of weather. It is difficult to think of his little cries, unheard and unanswered as he suffered. There is no one to blame. The parents made a mistake, that is all, and I'm sure no one is more sorry for it than they. At times like these, it is easy to blame God who surely knew the plight of this little one and could have saved him.

Little children have always been especially vulnerable in this precarious existence. Whether through accident, disease, or even sometimes abuse, the graveyards are full of little headstones with dates revealing tragically short lives. I remember cutting through the cemetery at Utah State University on the walk to my apartment. Sometimes I would glance at those headstones and cry as I saw families some with five or six infant children buried next to their parents. How their hearts must have broken to put those children under the ground!

I was reading in the Joseph Smith manual the other day and I came across chapter 14 entitled "Words of Hope and Consolation at the Time of Death." Poor Joseph and his wife Emma had nine biological children and two adopted children. Of those eleven, only five lived to maturity. Many of them were still born, others died within a few years of birth. I'm sure the comforting words in this chapter were as much a balm to him as they are to us as we read about the guaranteed salvation accorded to little ones who die before the age of accountability and the blessing that righteous parents will have of holding their little ones once more after the ressurection.

We would not be human if we did not mourn the loss of a child, but as Joseph says, we do not mourn without hope. The God of heaven heard the cries of that little Denton boy, and he took him home to himself. I encourage all who read this post to keep the family of this child in your prayers.

Topsy Turvy

I am a news junky. I confess it. Checking the news online five and six times a day is not uncommon for me. Love and concern for my country is so strong that I find myself obsessed with knowing what is going on in it. Unfortunately, what I find is often troubling.

Today I had this strange sensation that the world is being turned upside down. The number one song in America right now is called, "I Kissed a Girl." It is apparently about a girl who kisses her friend to get her boyfriend's attention. Bi-sexual relationships, swinging, drugs, and partying seem to be not just tolerated or accepted, but hip. Responsibility, committed relationships, healthy and uplifting recreational activities, and family are just not cool right now.

In a video I watched on Fox News, the anchorwoman commented on Christian Bale (the star of the movie Dark Knight, for those who don't know) and his alleged assault of his mother and sister. She said, "Maybe they just got a little taste of the courageous caped crusader." Of course, a grown man attacking two women is very courageous. Upside down thinking? Absolutely.

In that same video, they turned to a story about Britney Spears being photographed in her bikini smoking a cigarette while her young son, Sean Preston, looks up at her while holding her lighter and pack of cigarettes. This picture has generated renewed disgust at this woman's blatant lack of concern for her children's wellbeing. The anchor said the real travesty was that "thanks to toxic tot Sean Preston, absolutely no one is talking about how freaking fabulous Britney's body looks." Toxic Tot? How dare he interfere with gossip about his mother's looks! Where are our priorities?

I had really hoped that the economic problems our country is facing right now would get us to take a serious look at our values and what our standards of decency have fallen to. Watching Fox News has me doubtful that this will happen. I hope I am wrong.

With all the confusion about values, where even Christian churches are caving in to the tidal wave of cultural smut, I want to testify to you that God never changes. What is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong. We can know that his true gospel is ever constant and unchanging. Regardless of what is fashionable and in style, there is only one path to happiness in this life, and the life to come, and that is through living a clean and virtuous life and engaging in loving, unselfish, committed relationships which are fostered through responsible, dedicated, and loving service. Those of us who believe this is true have to stick together regardless of our differences.

God bless America, and God help us change the course we are on.

Moonstone

This is the first Moonstone blossom that has really turned out nice. You can see the beautiful pink blush in the center petals. I love this flower!

Yesterday's Journal

I was writing in my journal yesterday about Devin and Layne. I thought I would post it, so you could hear the latest craziness:

Today I found Layne smearing blue Spiderman toothpaste all over the living room table
and in his hair, playing with knives on the kitchen counter several times, swinging the dining room chandelier while standing precariously on top of the table several times, squirting dish soap all over the kitchen counter, and coating his hair in sun block. He also dug all the chapstick out of my favorite tube, ate some of my toothpaste, and dragged my facial hair remover cream out of my drawer. He loves my perfumes and frequently drags all of them out and takes the lids off. I haven’t been able to find one, but he evidently sprayed it on himself because he smelled very strongly of perfume for a couple of days. Yesterday he took the butter off the table and smeared his legs with it.

Devin has been aiding and abetting Layne’s insanity in turns. The other morning, I took a shower while the boys were watching a movie. I stepped out to towel off and I heard Devin screaming. I went out to see what was going on and the front door was wide open, Layne was standing out on the curb waving at passing cars wearing nothing but his diaper, and I was completely naked. Apparently, Devin had decided to rescue his Thomas the Train DVD out of the mailbox. It was on its way back to Netflix. Although the door was shut and deadbolt locked, he managed to unlock it since the key was still in the lock, and open the door. When Layne tried to get out, Devin panicked and tried to close the door, but his foot was in the way. He has a bruise and a sore on his little foot now. So I dashed about putting on whatever clothes I could find laying around so that I could go rescue Layne. That was a relaxing shower!

So, I put Devin in timeout for opening the door. After I had calmed down, I went in and talked to him about why he should never go in the front yard without me there with him. I told him that Layne could have been hit by a car and died. I said a bad man could have taken him away from us. He really grabbed onto that idea. For the last two days I have heard little else but what clever ways Devin is going to “stop the bad man from taking our baby.” “I will trow a toy at the bad man!” he says furiously. He picks up his Mickey Mouse golf club, “I will hit the bad man!” He hefts his play grocery cart threateningly, “I will trow THIS at the bad man and he will run away!” I half wonder if he might venture into the front yard without me just to confront the bad man he likes the idea so much.

He is getting a more sophisticated idea of time. He is always saying, “not yet.” Daddy will be home, but not yet. Today, he took three cars and he assigned one to Layne, one to me, and one to himself. He said we were going to have a race. He lined the cars up on the table and announced, “We have a race, but not today. Not yet! We have a race tomorrow night.” Later he found another car and assigned it to Daddy. It joined the lineup to wait for tomorrow’s race.

What an adventure Motherhood is! Today, I bathed them both and washed all the toothpaste, dish soap, sunblock, and margerine out of their hair. They both looked and smelled so good, you would never have guessed what they looked like last night. Unfortunately, I only took one picture. I just get so focued on the mess and go directly into cleaning mode before I think to take any pictures. I really need to, because words just can't describe the disasters we endure here at our house.

Lily and Hibiscus

Our Presidential Red Hibiscus gave us quadruple blossoms this morning. I was amazed! This is the first time of the season that we have had four blossoms on one bush.

We only had two lilies sprout out of the six bulbs that I planted. Of those two, this one is the only one that has produced a blossom. Hopefully next year we will have more.

Crape Myrtle Tree

I had to take a picture of this tree in full bloom. It doesn't always look like this as the blooms seem to go in cycles, but it is amazing! These showy flowers really catch your eye coming down the road.

An Open Invitation to Grandma

Four Hibiscus Blooms

We had a set of twins on our High Voltage and a set of twins on our Presidential Red bloom today. The flowers are about the same size. The high voltage has a ruffled edge to its petals. Which do you like better?

Sample Letter regarding CNG Act

This is a letter I drafted today encouraging my legislators to support the Drive America on Natural Gas legislation. I thought I would post it in case anyone else needed a few ideas for their letters. Incidentally, I found out today that T. Boone Pickens answered questions on his natural gas plan for the Senate. I wish the news would let us know these things.

Senator John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510


Dear Senator Cornyn,

As the fuel crisis in our country continues with no immediate relief in sight, we are seeing the economy suffer, the dollar drop in value, and individual spending power plummet. Something must be done now.

I am a member of the Picken’s Plan, a movement organized by T. Boone Pickens to move the country to more sustainable energy sources like wind and natural gas. Natural gas is an inexpensive, clean burning, domestic fuel that is already used as a transportation fuel in many countries and even some government vehicles here in the U.S. Why has this fuel not entered the market to compete with oil here in the U.S.?

There are several hurdles that are keeping natural gas from being a viable competitor with oil, all of which are addressed in the Drive America on Natural Gas Act that Senator Inhofe introduced on July 17th. I encourage you to do all in your power to get this Act signed into law with all speed.

Please pay particular care to the section about the retro-fitting of existing vehicles. The EPA’s current certification and testing in this market are very laborious and expensive. The EPA needs to focus their testing on the emissions that come out of the pipe, and not waste taxpayer dollars getting involved in the process. Retro-fitting of existing vehicles is the only way most Americans will be able to afford a natural gas car in the short term and so it is vital that the EPA’s regulations are streamlined and simplified.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,




Bridgette Burbank
628 Dover Heights Trl
Mansfield, TX 76063

July Garden

Barren Rose Bush

At the end of April, I bought two roses bushes for half price on Home Depot's website. They arrived bare root with no leaves at all. I worried that they wouldn't be able to get sufficient roots before the hot weather arrived. One of them did quite well. It lost all of its leaf buds a few days after it was planted, but in a couple of weeks, it was sprouting new ones. The other bush never showed a sign of life. After about a month and a half, it started loosing canes. Slowly the canes were turning brown. I thought the bush was dead or at least close to it. I stopped fertilizing and taking care of it because I thought it was a lost cause. I had even started thinking about what color of rose I wanted to replace it with.

You can imagine my surprise when I was looking over my plants and saw a leaf bud sprouting leaves out of my barren rose bush. Middle of July, and it decided it would come out of dormancy and produce some foliage! I was elated. Of course, it has had a rough time. I have shade over it always to help it retain moisture and protect it from the brutal Texas sun, but it is doing well. It now has nearly ten leaf buds with new growth.