When the Cat Is Away, the Kittens Play...

Now I know what they do when I am at work...

We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet

Gordon B. Hinkley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, died last night with his family at his side.  I believe that he was a prophet of God and communicated with Him in a way no one else can.  President Hinkley did so much to bring the church out of obscurity and to improve the world view of us.  He dedicated his life to the church and spent the better part of the last 40 years in full time service to the church.  He was the most humble man I can think of.  He was not interested in creating a legacy for himself, he only cared about furthering the cause of Jesus Christ here on the earth.  His vision for the church was truly inspired and his accomplishments on behalf of the church are staggering. He was the most traveled of all the prophets, which is not an easy feat for a 97 year old man.  I loved his self-deprecating humor, it was so endearing.  He missed his wife Marjorie so much after she died.  I still remember listening to him speak once after her death and he said something like, "When I married her I married the girl of my dreams, and now she is the girl of my dreams again".  I am happy for him that he is now with her again.   He will be greatly missed by the church and he will be greatly missed by me.  My tears at his passing are selfish, I know that he is happy.  I loved President Hinkley so much, more than I love anyone else that I don't really know.  He is part of the reason I returned to the Church.  Any time my faith was low I could think of him or listen to him and my faith would be renewed.  He was so faithful, so sure of the truthfulness of the gospel, so sincere.  He was never self-serving, he always knew where the glory belonged and worked tirelessly to glorify Jesus Christ.  I thank my Heavenly Father that I was blessed enough to live under the tutelage of Gordon B. Hinkley.

Friend and Family Blogs

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Happy Birthday Elliot!!

Elliot turned 3 this past Sunday.  I can't believe he is already 3!!  Sometimes I look at him and am so surprised by how big he is.  We had a fun party after church with just our family.  Grace seemed to enjoy the presents as much as Elliot! :)  Elliot loved his train table, now he can play with his train set grandma and grandpa gave him for Christmas anytime he wants!  Ray was teaching him the finer points of basketball!

Sick, sick, sick

We have been living in the cycle of sick children at our house.  It all started with Maggie getting an ear infection about 3 weeks ago.  Then Elliot got an eye infection.  The Grace started complaining that her head hurt, which turned into a fever that lasted about 8 days!!  I took her to the doctor twice, only to be told that it was "just a virus".  She missed a whole week of school.  About the time Grace was getting better, Maggie started getting sick again.  She has a horrible cold, has had a fever and we found out today that she has pink eye!!  Elliot was diagnosed with a double ear infection today.  Will it ever end?!  I don't even want to think about how many times we have been to the doctor/urgent care (on weekends).  Thank goodness for insurance, that's all I have to say about that!  This has made me realize that I really need to be more diligent about hygiene-every time I pick up Grace at school she will get her hands wiped down and use hand sanitizer.  The same goes for church, grocery store, friend's houses, etc.  If anyone has any suggestions for a homeopathic immune system booster for kids I am totally open to it!

On a lighter note, Maggie had her 9 month well baby visit today (how ironic is that) and she is in the 35th % for height and the 95th % for weight.  How cute is that!  She is so roly poly and squishy.  I love it!!

VanderLouw Family Blog

This is our family blog. A way for us to keep in touch with our family and friends who live far away. We hope you enjoy... and keep in touch!