Tribute to President Hinckley

I'm sure you've all seen different tributes to President Hinckley ... here's a beautiful five minute tribute if you'd like to watch ...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7433508959787481703&hl=en

The Hinckley Challenge ...

Hi everyone, I found this website: www.hinckleychallenge.com this afternoon and would love to invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days ... in honor of our much loved President Hinckley. I've pasted the information from the site below ... you can log in and sign-up and accept the challenge if you wish! You can also track your progress on the site ...

Also, I heard that there will be broadcast tomorrow (Monday morning) at 10AM in regard to the new First Presidency. I love you all! — Carrie
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Taken from the website: www.hinckleychallenge.com ... As of today, you must read 5.42 pages/day to finish by May 11, 2008

President Hinckley often stressed our making the Book of Mormon part of our lives. He was 97 when he passed away, and we would like to celebrate his life and teachings by reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days.

President Gordon B. Hinckley on the Book of Mormon:

"I take in my hand the Book of Mormon. I read its words. I have read Joseph Smith's explanation of how it came to be. To the unbelieving it is a story difficult to accept, and critics for generations have worn out their lives writing books intended to refute that story and to offer other explanations than the one given by Joseph the Prophet. But to the open-minded, this critical writing has only stimulated them to dig deeper; and the more deeply they dig, the greater the accumulation of evidence for the validity of Joseph Smith's story. Still, as has been demonstrated for a hundred and fifty years, the truth of the Book of Mormon will not be determined by literary analysis or by scientific research, although these continue to be reassuring. The truth about the origins of the Book of Mormon will be determined today and tomorrow, as it has been throughout the yesterdays, by reading the book in a spirit of reverence and respect and prayer." — ("Praise to the Man," Ensign, Aug. 1983, 4)

Before/After

Just to give ya an idea ... here is our little picnic table (with a flower pot on top of it) ... 'before' taken after the snowfall on Sunday, and the 'after' which I took this morning about 8:00 AM ... this is hilarious!

... More Snow ...

Okay, here are some more fun pictures of the never-ending snow fall ... we got another 7" last night ... to add to the already 20" we got on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. There's so much snow, even when they plow, there is no where to put it - so it's just sitting in the middle of the streets.

Jim usually goes out the back door to work, but as you'll see, the back door is completely blocked. The snow is so heavy on our big trees, that this HUGE branch broke off some time during the night ... it's CRAZY! Jim had to go out the front this morning, and will have to use a chainsaw to break the branch down in order to get it out of the yard. Oh my!!!

Beloved President Hinckley ...

Dad just called with the bittersweet news that President Hinckley passed away this evening ... I am so sad that he's no longer here with us, but I am so happy for him ... to return to our Father in Heaven, to have so beautifully passed the test of mortality and to be reunited with his sweet wife ... I'm certain there is much rejoicing to have his humble spirit home ... I loved President Hinckley so much! I am so very grateful to have lived on this earth under his stewardship ... what an honor and a privilege!

I was sitting here typing this and saw my copy of "Stand A Little Taller", and I couldn't help but smile when I opened it and glanced through a few pages and read one of our family's favorite scriptures ... "A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." - John 13:34 ... to which President Hinkley added, "Let us from this day forward be a little better, love one another a little more, treat one another with great kindness and look to God and live." ... that pretty much says it all.

Last Minute Cookies ...

I made some cookies for Jim to take to work tomorrow, as a 'thank you' to some of his co-workers ... And because I didn't have much advanced notice and I didn't want to make another trip to the store this weekend — I just baked off some cookie dough (that I'd made earlier and had frozen in single scoop portions) ... and threw some melted chocolate on them. Literally! It only took about an hour - super easy, and super sneaky!

Let it Snow ...

... It's been snowing non-stop for the past 36 hours ... It's so crazy, it's hilarious. I know we're all used to snow like this - but they say it hasn't snowed this much in Coeur d'Alene since 1992! Ha ha ha ... it's pretty amazing ... Jim and I 4x4'd (is that even the right term!??!) to church this morning and saw so many fun sights along the way that after church we came home and grabbed the camera ...

hApPy BiRtHdAy eRniE!!!

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me HAPEEE when skies are gray ..." Happy Birthday my beautiful sister. I love you more than words can say. You make me laugh, you make me cry ... You make my life so much sweeter ... I love you bunches and tons! And for the next few months — you're only one year behind me ... ha ha ha ha ha ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... (this is one of the laughing times) ... ha ha ha ha ha ha!

... Icicles ...

Okay, these are the weirdest icicles I've ever seen. They're coming off the front of our house ... but as you'll notice, there are two rows of them - pointing in two different directions. Because we have a metal roof, they freeze in place and then as the metal heats up during the day, they slide and 'curl' under the roof, without falling off ... so when more icicles form - pointing toward the ground, you've got the 'curled' set that are now facing the house ... and then the new set that are facing the ground ... so weird ... had to snag a photo to share ...

... The Santa Cruise ...

So every year ... Santa and Mrs. Claus bring the North Pole to Lake Coeur d'Alene and welcome boats to come and visit ... the ships fill with children (young and old) at the resort, and then it's a fifteen minute boat ride out to the North Pole ... It's after dark, so as you look back at CDA, you see all the lights in the marina ... and as you get out to the North Pole, Santa reads off his "nice" list and just happens to name everyone on the boat! (They get a list of passengers ahead of time, and 'Santa' is a good friend of ours in the ward ... so when he got to Jim's name, he mentioned, "I'm not sure if he's on the right list" ... it was pretty funny) ... it's mostly for the kids, but our good friends, the Clark's, took us and Jim's parents with them and their kids to visit the 'North Pole' ... it was a blast!

... A Visit with Jim's Mom & Dad ...

Here are some fun pictures of Jim's mom and dad that we took while they were here ... They came to visit the week before Christmas, and it was so nice to have them here! We don't get to see them very often ... so we made good use of the six days they were here. We had Christmas a bit early and without mom's help, I wouldn't have been able to prepare for Sharing Time in such an expeditious manner! Whew! She was amazing! We were so grateful to them for coming to share the snow and lots of fun memories with us...

O Christmas Tree ...

... so after almost four years of marriage, and five Christmas holidays together, we finally put up our first tree! On Monday night, Jim surprised me with this beautiful tree he got from a local boy's group ... It was so fun putting the lights and the ornaments on it for Family Home Evening ... Then yesterday when I got home, the whole house smelled like a pine forest - it was awesome! I'm loving it ... ... John and Sharon (Jim's mom and dad) will be here on the 18th, so we're tying to be festive this year. It will be really fun having them as we only get to see them once or twice a year. I just hoping they don't freeze! Last week it was 80 degrees in Florida ... so they're in for quite a surprise. Yikes.

... Bozeman or Bust!

... On to the next adventure! We're pretty grateful and humbled by our tremendous blessings ... It makes my eyes well up with tears to think that within a few months, Jim will be starting a new job - doing what he loves - and we'll be able to drive to Idaho Falls in just a few short hours ... We've prayed for this for a long time.

Our trip to Bozeman on Friday was pretty sweet. Coeur d'Alene was supposed to have 4 to 6" of snow on Thursday night ... and much to our suprise, and as an answer to lots of prayers, the storm had taken an unexpected turn south - and we only received a skiff of snow. The roads were pretty bare and our six hour drive to Bozeman in below-freezing weather was better than we could have hoped for! Jim had a wonderful meeting with the fire chief and the chief told him that he'd hand-picked Jim (and a few others) out of 80 applicants to join the Big Horn Fire Company ... it's a private, federally contracted fire department. With all of his teaching and training experience, Jim will be one of the leads in the department. I'm so thrilled for him and excited for this wonderful opportunity ... Montana, who knew? ... we'll keep you posted.

Thank you all for being so supportive to Jim and I. Your words of encouragement and your prayers mean so much to us! Thank you, thank you ... thank you! We love you all very much.

Woo-hoo!

I'm so excited! We hired a new designer! I met with him last week and offered him the job this morning! Yeah! I know this isn't a big deal to everyone else ... but I can't tell you how relieved and excited I am to have some help!?!?!? His name is Ben, he lives in CDA with his wife and he is really nice, very easy going guy. He's only thirty and has got nine years design experience in print and he showed a great portfolio. Aahhhhh .... he starts the Monday after Thanksgiving ... so now J and I can come down and actually ENJOY the holiday weekend with our fabulous family! Woo-hoo! Whew ... there is SO much to be thankful for ... and this is pretty good start!

To follow suit, I'm also very grateful for:
1. Mom and Dad ... I don't know what I'd do without their words of never-ending encouragement and unconditional love. Words can't express how very grateful I am for my family, for my upbringing, for the truths that were taught in our home growing up ... in the crazy world of today, I am so thankful that our family is a strong, united front against the evils of modern day. I love watching my brothers and sister teaching their beautiful children these same important gospel truths. As everything life can quickly change ... I am so grateful that the things that remain CONSTANT in my life are my family and the gospel of Jesus Christ. It isn't by chance that we learn through the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we have the opportunity to be with our families forever ... How beautifully the two intertwine one with the other.

2. Missionaries ... we had the elders over last night and had a great talk with them. I am so grateful for these young men and women who serve The Lord. What a tremendous example of selfless service. With Nate coming home this week, I've thought alot about missionaries and the families of missionaries. It makes me want to open my home to them often and treat them how I would hope Erin, Cami, Mark, Eric, Rod, Adam, and Nate (and so many others!) were treated while on their missions - especially throughout this holiday season. I hope everyone will keep the elders in mind in the coming weeks and maybe even make them a little holiday treat or just thank them at church on Sunday ...

Okay, that's enough from me! I hope no one dozed off while reading - if you did - I'm sorry but I'm sure you'll get over it. I love you all! Have a wonderfully cozy, warm and happy weekend.

Once a Year ...

... you get to dress up like a complete idiot and get a way with it!!! So Jim and I took full advantage this year and dressed up for our ward's trunk or treat ... I found a couple of wigs on my lunch hour, and the rest just happened ... good times. Jim aka "Youse don't know Jack" cracked everyone up ... and none of the primary kids knew who I was ... they were wondering why I knew their names ... when I told them it was 'Sister Nottingham' ... they giggled, and asked me if I was supposed to be a 'drama queen' ... that made me laugh. It was fun.


Yup ... it's Jim's own beard and eyebrows ... he touched them up some black face paint to have them match the 'fro' ... now that's dedicating yourself to the part ... ha ha ha. I couldn't stop laughing ... when he put on the blonde wig, I couldn't decide if he looked like "Dog" the Bounty Hunter or a caveman version of Fabio ... Hmmm ... he's a purty man ... hee hee.