The Cafinator

Reminiscing

How funny is this? I found a box of my mission memorabilia and came across this picture of me and Mike. It was taken in 1996 at the Chicago Temple during a Mission Temple Trip. Fun memories. I wonder what we'll look like in 30 years when we serve another mission (together). I can't wait;).

Monday Funnies

Who Needs One of 'Dem Modern Ones?

A Thought for Sunday

Recently in general conference, Richard G. Scott gave a great talk on prayer and how prayers are answered. His talk provided guidance as to what certain things may mean when we are seeking answers to prayer (for example, when you feel like you are not getting any inspiration, etc.). If you didn't have the chance to hear the talk live, I recommend that you read the conference talk in the May Ensign. Thinking about that talk, I came across an old lesson handout in my scriptures. It is from a talk given by Elder Boyd K. Packer in the October Conference in 1979. Speaking about prayer, Elder Packer said the following:

"Sometimes you may struggle with a problem and not get an answer. What could be wrong? It may be that you are not doing anything wrong. It may be that you have not done the right things long enough. Remember, you cannot force spiritual things. Sometimes we are confused simply because we won't take no for an answer...

Put difficult questions in the back of your minds and go about your lives. Ponder and pray quietly and persistently about them.

The answer may not come as a lightning bolt. It may come as a little inspiration here and a little there, 'line upon line, precept upon precept' (D&C 98:12).

Some answers will come from reading the scriptures, some from hearing speakers. And, occasionally, when it is important, some will come by very direct and powerful inspiration. The promptings will be clear and unmistakable."

As Elder Packer has said above, and Elder Scott recently discussed in General Conference, answers to prayer comes in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is direct and powerful, sometimes it is by small whisperings of the Spirit, and other times the Lord allows us to make the decision for ourselves and we must have the faith to move forward. Regardless of how the Lord chooses to answer our prayers, we must always strive to have the faith to listen to the answer the Lord gives us. And as we do, we can always be assured that the Lord will bless us. Remember that faith is a principle of action. Thus, we must act on the answers we receive having faith in the guidance that He gives us.

A Tribute to Rachel's Famous Cookies

As many of you may already know, Rachel Wurtz makes the greatest chocolate chip cookies ever!! If you have never had the opportunity to taste these delightful treats, do yourself a favor and ask her to make you a batch, or at least get the recipe. I promise you will never regret it (other than the fact that you may gain a few extra pounds because you won't be able to stop eating them). Anyway, being that I have an insatiable sweet tooth, I do my best to try and get Tina to make cookies every now and then. And, no they can't just be any old cookie, they must be Rachel's of course. Recently I succeeded in getting Tina to make me a batch and below is a picture those tasty treats!! Thanks Rachel for introducing my taste buds to these little pieces of heaven!

Sleepy Heads

For the past month, ever since Spring Break, bedtime has been crazy. It's been a struggle to get the kiddies to bed on time. Even if the girls were in bed on time they would talk and giggle and it would take us separating them before they were quiet. This was unlike earlier times where they would be out before their heads hit the pillow. The other night Logenn even tried to get away with sleep walking. Yeah right, nice try! She had only been in bed for maybe 5 min. :)

Hopefully last night was a sign of bedtime getting back to normal. They were so tired. Everyone cooperated for the most part and lights were out at 8:11. Woohoo! Even Braeden was asleep by 8:30.

Anyway, I had to get pictures of them sleeping. I love to watch them sleep. They always look so peaceful. (I wonder what they are dreaming about?)

Monday Funnies

How to tell when someone's lying . . .

Sunday food for thought

I was trying to think about what would be a good thing to post for Sunday. Usually throughout the week we post something that reflects what is going on in our lives or something kinda funny that we came across. But, being that it is Sunday, I felt that it would be appropriate to post something that is a little more in the spiritual realm. After all, it never hurts to have a quiet moment to reflect on something spiritual on a Sunday.

Having said that, here is something to think about:

Speaking of prayer, President Hinckley once said, "[b]elieve in prayer and the power of prayer. Pray to the Lord with the expectation of answers. I suppose there is not a man or woman in this entire congregation today who doesn't pray. I hope that is so. The trouble with most of our prayers is that we give them as if we were picking up the telephone and ordering groceries-we place our order and hang up. We need to meditate, contemplate, think of what we are praying about and for, and then speak to the Lord as one man speaketh to another. 'Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord' (Isaiah 1:18). That is the invitation . . ."

What would our lives be like, and the world for that matter, if we took it upon ourselves (including our world leaders) to always approach the Lord in this way? It's something to think about.

Playground conversation in the 21st Century

Who left the door open?

I know we post about Braeden quite often, that's because he's our daily entertainment. I'm constantly reminding everyone to KEEP THE BATHROOM DOOR CLOSED!!!
This time Mike and the girls are at school. Where's Braeden? In the bathroom. Who left the door open? Tina. WHO? Tina. Yep, this time it was my fault. Thank you family, for doing as I say and not as I do. As for Brae, he had a ball.

A Spiritual Thought for Easter Sunday

Elder M. Russell Ballard taught, "Individual, personal testimony of gospel truth, particularly of the divine life and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, is essential to our eternal life . . . Life eternal is predicated upon our own individual, personal knowledge of our Father in Heaven and His Holy Son. Simply knowing about them is not enough. We must have personal, spiritual experiences to anchor us. These come through seeking them in the same intense, single-minded way that a hungry person seeks food." May we take Elder Ballard's message to heart and commit to obtaining a more personal testimony of our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ as we celebrate the life and resurrection of the Savior this Easter Sunday.

LET IT SNOW!

T'was the day before Easter and to our surprise, Texas size snowflakes fell from the skies.

They covered our rooftops, our cars and our lawns, making it difficult for egg hunts to go on.

Our children, so delighted to see such a snow, bundled up quickly and ran out the door.

Inside they came with frozen little paws, warm cocoa was served to help them thaw.

Today we enjoy the snow while it lasts, for tomorrow will be Spring like in days past.

Braeden's Day

Isn't it funny how when baby's are born, we generally keep track of their age on a monthly basis up until they are at least 1 years old. Wouldn't that be fun (at least for while) to have a birthday every month. Come to think about it, maybe it wouldn't be all that great because then I would be even more aware of the fact that I am getting older. :) But kids don't mind.

Today marks another mile stone for our little man. Ten months ago today, our family was blessed with the birth of this little guy. He has been a complete joy to our family. He brightens our day and brings smiles to all our faces. Happy 10 months Braeden, we love you!!

Which way do I go?

Now would be a good time to pray.

A Positive Way

How do you keep yourself positive when the people around you are so negative? How can you maintain a positive approach when the situations and events around you are so troublesome?

A sincerely positive attitude is not a reaction to the way things are. Rather, it is an expression of the way you choose for things to be.

Being positive is not an unrealistic or naive view of a negative world. It provides you with a solid foundation for making real improvements in the world and creating meaningful value.

Being positively focused enables you to see, and to make the most of, opportunities that would otherwise be invisible. Being positive gives you the energy to move forward no matter what the obstacles may be.

When you focus on the positive aspects of a situation, there will be plenty of people who disagree with you. But that is their problem, not yours.

Look beyond those who argue for defeat, and find the path to victory. Whatever the current situation may be, you can always choose a positive way forward.

-Ralph Marston

Something to think about

Wonder what would happen if we treated our Book of Mormon like we treat our cell phones?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we turned back to get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we spent an hour or more using it every day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it as we traveled?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?
This is something to make you go....
“Hmmm....where is my Book of Mormon?”

Oh, and a few more things.
Unlike our cell phones:
One Plan fits all.
Unlimited usage.
No roaming charges.
You always have reception.
You don’t have to buy batteries.
No weak signals
AND
We don’t ever have to worry about our Book of Mormon being disconnected because Our Savior already paid the bill!

Bluebonnet Sunday

Today was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the temperature around 80 degrees, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Being such a pretty day, we decided to take the kids out and capture some pictures of their cute little faces. As we drove down a rural road in an area near our home, we found a field of Bluebonnets where we decided to snap the pictures.