Saramarie's Visit

Saramarie came to visit this past weekend for the wedding of a former roommate. It was so fun to have her around; she's still our sunshine Sara. Here are some photos of the gang.
And the old folks at home. (Notice the cool wall hanging sitting on the mantel on the left.)

We did lots of fun things, including watching some short films. Here's one that Saramarie introduced us to:

Christmas Leftovers

Now that things are really starting to heat up for 2010, I thought I'd finally post some of the Christmas photos we took:

The house looked really good - thanks to Antie M.

And this is what we woke up to Christmas morning (and none too early).

This is one of the presents we got each other for our anniversary.

I don't know if you can actually have too much chocolate - but you can see it from here. Fortunately most of this went out the door to better homes.

Christmas 2009

We are very thankful for the wonderful gifts we received. Here are just a few photos:

From Leigh-Ann & Peter: a really nice wall hanging.

From the Comeaus & M.

My truck.

My other truck.

Jerusalem, The Eternal City

I am just about finished with reading a book with the same title as this post, authored by Kelly Ogden, David Galbraith, and Andrew Skinner. It is a wonderful book that I have thoroughly enjoyed - as evidenced by the fact that, unlike most books I begin to read, I will actually finish this one. I thought I would share here a quote from page 401 of the book as it really struck me as a pretty succinct statement of why things are so difficult in Jerusalem, and, by the way, why it is so very important to the world that there be a true prophet on the earth; someone who can, with authority, speak for and represent God:
"While law is technically an instrument for resolving conflict, in the case of the holy places in Jerusalem, it appears to be less applicable. Part of the problem is that religious precepts by their very nature reject compromise. An individual may waive personal interests, but no individual may waive rights on behalf of his God. In disputes over holy places, the principal litigant - in this case God - is absent, as it were, and is represented by mortals who, rightly or wrongly, believe that they are not at liberty to yield anything on his behalf. Therein lies the crux of the problem with Jerusalem. Additionally, a secular state with a religiously mixed population must be neutral in religious matters. That requires the state to be both liberal and tolerant - a position that satisfies no one."

Thankful for the Spirit of Christmas

This year's celebration really has been a grand Christmas for us. Although we have dearly missed our children and grandchildren, we have made it even more service-oriented than in the past. We won't tell you how, as that would spoil it, but part of it was tending to poor M who had a bunch of teeth pulled just before Christmas. She is doing better now and we look for full recovery before 2010.

As I was looking at some of the Church's videos on Christmas morning as I made breakfast, two really stood out for me. I love the message of this first, as it puts Christmas gifts in perspective:


And this other is one that I think I will review on a regular basis throughout the year - just to help maintain my perspective.