A Little Cramped

Spencer got leave this week to come out to Las Vegas for what I like to call a Sports Expo. I think he calls it a convention, but whatev, right! We left Huachuca on Monday and camped that night at Lake Mead. We got there just before dark because they only accepted cash at the campsite, so we had to drive to get gas before we ran out and to an Albertsons so we could get cash. Because of all that, we got to put the tent up and get a fire started, not because it was cold, but so we could eat, with the little daylight that remained. This meant that we roasted hot dogs and had smores by fire and flashlight. It was a little of a challenge, but definitely memorable. I've never camped anywhere hot before. I'm used to freezing to death, but this was just opposite. We all started the night out on top of our sleeping bags and didn't get in them until about 2 in the morning when it finally cooled down. I think I prefer freezing.
The morning was great, though. It was nice and cool, we had a great dutch oven breakfast, broke camp, and the kids and Spence rode their bikes down to the lake while I walked behind. (I've really got to get a bike sometime.) It was way cute, because Spencer rode down with Isaac on his back in the baby carrier. Isaac thought he was in Heaven and laughed almost all the way down. When we got down to the water, we all took our shoes off and waded in the water, but the kids couldn't stand it. They were completely submerged before too long and having the time of their lives. It made the mishaps of the night before completely worth it.
We headed out at about 11 and drove the 20-30 minutes to our hotel. It was nice to get cleaned up and this hotel is awesome. It's the nicest place I've ever stayed, that's for sure. There's a full kitchen, a washer and drier, and a separate living area where the kids sleep. They're really digging the pullout couch. It's been really nice, too, because we've been here during the day while Spencer is gone. Spencer 2 has room to do his homework, Audrey has room to dance around, and Isaac has room to be totally funny and crazy.
Our time hasn't been without adventure, either. Just this morning, Spencer knocked a vace over and cracked his head open. As soon as he realized there was blood, it was a life or death situation. The crack isn't too big and he'll be fine, but it was defintely an adventure. The funny part is that Isaac cracked his head open last week, too. It's only funny because they're both okay. It's a good thing the Taylor boys have hard heads. :)
Tonight is our last night here and I'm pretty excited to get back to regular life. I've really come to appreciate public education in a whole new way and I think Spencer 2 has, too. It'll be nice to be back home. The only downside is that we have to speak on Sunday, so maybe we'll break down somewhere along the way and I'll get out of that. Here's hoping.
I know this post is long already, but it's been cracking me up to watch Audrey make up dances and I've realized just how much and how fast she is growing up. I was remembering her "friend" Codom that hasn't been around for at least a year and a half. She's still just as creative and inventive, but I miss having Codom around. She never really could figure out the gender, what it looked like, or even the size, but they were inseparable. Maybe she and Spencer will be like that someday. :) Until then, here's hopin'.

Whisperings

I was driving to the post education center to drop off some paperwork toward the end of my work day when I started thinking about a particular Brother in the quorum. The Elders quorum former secretary and I met with he and his family awhile back and I also spoke with him at Church on Sunday. Other than that though, I'm not really sure why I started thinking about him. I wondered how he's doing since I know of a challenge he's facing in his life right now. I thought I should probably talk to him again soon to see what we, as a quorum, can do to support him and his family.
I pulled into the education center and, as I was approaching the building, out walks this brother with his two sons. I felt a rush of the Spirit and was able to sincerely tell him, "Hey, I was just thinking about you...". We talked for a minute and hopefully he felt a boost of support from us, his brothers. It was a neat experience but most of all it helped me understand just how much Father loves each of us, as His children, and how willing He is to help us help each other.
I'm sure I would have seen this good brother regardless of whether my thoughts were turned to him and his family but I was a little more prepared to support him because of the guidance I received just before running into him.
What a blessing it is to be involved in the work of the Lord. He really does love us, every one.

Ahh, Humility!

Audrey is the best at slicing up the humble pie for me. This morning we were walking back from dropping Spencer (I still just can't get used to that) off at school and she said, "Mom, everybody's mom is better than you, huh?!" What do you say to that? It's good she keeps me humble!

Fortress

You gotta love the book of Alma. I suppose if you didn't you'd be not loving about a third of The Book of Mormon so, if you're in that boat, you'd best keep that to yourself! Of course I'm sure each of you share my love for the things we've been studying in Sunday school lately, which come from the war chapters in Alma. I suppose part of the reason these chapters mean so much to me is that I'm a soldier fighting in a war that many have called immoral. It's done my heart good to read about the motives of the righteous warriors who fought so long ago. A few weeks ago we were studying in Alma 43 and I came across what I now refer to as 'The reason I fight'. The verses are 46-47 if you'd care to look them up.

The reason I wanted to write this article though is to share something I thought about quite a bit last night as I was reading in Alma 50. The first 15 verses or so focus on the fortifications that Moroni led which prevented the Lamanites from fulfilling the wishes of their king to take the Nephites into captivity and to make them slaves. As I read these first verses of chapter 50, it occurred to me that a great parallel or 'likening' exists in the fortifications that protected these ancient 'saints'. I can't even imagine how much work they put in just to get the trenches around the city dug, let alone the effort it must have required to install the timbers atop the city walls that were, "the height of a man" (vs 3). As I read of the effectiveness of their labors though, it made me want to fortify myself and my family to the same extent, only in a spiritual way.

As I considered the fact that we are just as much under attack today as were the people of Nephi in those days, only that our enemy lurks in invisible shadows and creeps into our homes in the most careful and subtle ways, I felt a sudden urgency that I must always be striving to improve the spiritual security that can surround my wonderful wife and children in order to actually fend off the adversary and his minions. I can't help but think that our homes are under attack in a similar way as is pictured in the first image in this entry. The enemy is climbing our walls and trying to burn everything around us in order to flush us out or to get us to surrender. So, what specifically can we do to build such fortifications around our families?

Though it rings familiar and so may lose some of its excitement, the answer has been known to each of us most of our lives. The key is in the actual implementation. There are really three things I believe must lay at the foundation of our castle, our home.

First is the powerful practice of family scripture study. I suppose this could be likened to the deep trenches and high mounds of dirt the Nephites installed around their cities. One of the more powerful things we can do is set an example for our Children. President Eyring reflected, in a 2005 discussion about scripture study, that, "I think our children have sensed that it wasn’t a duty for us to read the scriptures—it was a pleasure". So it seems there is a key that I'm sure I've missed from time to time. We not only have to gather the kids around the table or the family room and hammer out a few verses but we need to show a positive example and leave no doubt in their minds that we actually love the scriptures and hold them as valuable gifts in our lives. Another interesting thing he said was, "Once you get used to regular scripture study, you miss it if you don’t have it. It’s like food—you have to have it. I know that I need the scriptures like I need food. I don’t miss a regular meal, and I don’t miss regular scripture study". If you'd care to read the rest of the article, find it here: http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=34c82ee01e31c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a&hideNav=1)

Second is the practice of family prayer. I clearly remember how begrudgingly I attended family prayer during my teen years. I felt so inconvenienced at times as I thought I had more important things to do and yet, now that I'm an adult, there lies within me an almost instinctual reaction to pray each morning both by myself and with my family (though I can certainly be better about the latter of the two). Family prayer is like erecting the great timbers atop our home fortress and, I believe, represents one of the things the adversary dreads most. If we persistently pray as a family, I'm confident we will come off conqueror as spoken of in D&C 10.

Third, as I'm sure you've guessed, is family home evening. In verse 5 of Alma 50 it talks about pickets that were placed on top of the timbers I referred to earlier. These pickets, in my mind, are family home evening. As we meet together each week and talk about spiritual things, it's a critical opportunity for us to help our kids know just what is most important to us. When was the last time we bore our testimonies to our children? Hopefully this is something we're doing on more than just Monday night but FHE creates a unique environment where we can freely testify to the doctrines most dear to us.

As we implement 'the big three' I've talked about here, our homes will become more like Fort Knox, pictured above. I was watching a special on the discovery channel (during my last trip to Texas) and was fascinated as experts speculated about just how impossible it is to actually break into the structure at Fort Knox. I think the adversary and those who work with him will be, as were the lamanites the first time they saw one of Moroni's incredibly fortified cities, "Exceedingly astonished at [our] manner of preparation for war". The battle is already raging but it's not too late for us to increase the spiritual security and barriers around our homes and our hearts. We have all the tools and, most importantly, we have the truth. I hope and pray that we can each build our own mini Fort Knox's which will make Satan shudder where he stands as he realizes we're not letting him in, no matter what.

Catch Up!

One of the great things about the military is that I have opportunities to meet new people. They are mostly people I meet at church, but they are wonderful people that are giving and good. Tonight one of those people is watching the kids for me for a few hours so I can have some Jaime time. Spencer has been gone since Monday and on Tuesday I went to a sister's house in preparation for our Super Saturday that is coming up. While there, Jessica Patterson, who is such a great friend and amazing person, asked if she could take the kids for a few hours today and then invited us for dinner. I'm thankful for her and her unselfishness in watching my 3 along with her two. Thank Heaven for good friends. (Especially when you're away from family!!) -That was kinda mushy, huh?! (This picture is the whole Patterson gang. It's an especially nice picture of Dan's hand in front of Jessica's face.)
So, since I'm having this break, I've cleaned out the car and I get to catch up on my blogging. I am, however going to have to change the name of our family blog, because we've got number 4 on the way. As of today, I'm 13 and a half weeks along, so I've got FOREVER left. I'm glad it takes 9 months, though, because although I am excited for number 4, I am also very nervous. Especially since Spencer will be traveling so much more next year. (Thank Heaven it isn't Iraq!) I am most excited at the prospect of this being the final Taylor for us. Of course we will have more if we feel it's right, but having all the kids out of the house when we're 48 is pretty appealing. Only time will tell, right?!
Well, this is a boring post, so let's see if I can liven it up a bit. Brigham started Kindergarten this year and I cried like a baby when I dropped him off and even harder when I picked him up. It was one of the more embarrassing things I've done. His teacher, I am sure, thought I was a lunatic, but it was hard seeing my little Brigham all grown up. (By the way, he asked me today if I could start calling him Spencer. I just don't know if I can do that after 6 years of Brigham, but I will try.) Anyway, he's really liking school and is doing really well. Parent teacher conferences are next week, so I'm anxious to hear how he's doing. I'm sure he's fine, though.
And for Audrey, she has been driving me crazy!!! I must have been a really difficult four year old, because it's all coming back to me, I think. She does whatever she wants and doesn't care one bit what I say. We walk to and from school with Brig, I mean Spencer, every day and today she insisted on walking. She did pretty well until we were on our street on the way home and then she just stopped and waited. I'm not sure what she was waiting for, but there was nothing I could say to get her to come. She just doesn't care. It's the most amazing ever! Hopefully it's a stage, because it's becoming more and more possible that she becomes the reason I start swearing.
And for Isaac... He has turned in to quite a screamer. He screams when he wants something, when we're going somewhere, and when we get to where we're going. So, pretty much, he screams ALL the time! He's cute, though, so I guess it's o.k. And if it wasn't so loud, it could probably be funny. We were at the commissary the other day and he saw something he wanted, so he let out a pretty good scream and scared the old lady next to us. I thought she was going to jump out of her skin. One of my favorite things Isaac does is take a 3 hour nap every day. How did I ever get to be so lucky?!