Thought for the Day

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008):
“Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. … Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts. They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried” (Ensign, October 2009, 69).

It helps me so much as a mother to know that God knows my children better than I do, and He can teach me who they are, what they need, and how to help them. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said, "God will send aid to no one more readily than He will send it to a child—and to the parent of a child." (For the rest of that wonderful talk about children, go here.) I know that God hears and answers the prayers of parents for their children. I am so grateful for that.

More Janie

Janie's Grandpa Strickland was kind enough to come over and take some more pictures of Janie in her blessing dress. Here are a couple of my favorites. What a pretty girl!

Janie's Blessing Day

John blessed Janie in his Grandma and Grandpa Hiatts' home last Sunday, September 13. (We took the opportunity to bless her while Tyler and Sam were still in town after their reception.) It was a beautiful blessing. She is a special little girl and we are so grateful to have her in our family forever. We love her.

Janie's Grandma Brooksby made her beautiful blessing dress, and photos of the special day were taken by her Grandpa Strickland. Thanks so much, both of you!

Janie's announcement

The picture was taken by my dear friend Cosette (who also happens to be a photographer with Still Life Studios). We love it!

Good Car For Sale - SOLD!

Introducing Clarence, our trusty 2004 Chevy Malibu Classic. This reliable car has been a blessing to us for nearly five years, and now that we have outgrown him, we feel it is time to pass the blessing on to someone else. We're only listing it on our blog right now, so our friends and family have a chance at it first.

Details:
2.2 L 4-cyl engine, automatic transmission, cold a/c, fully automatic headlights, power windows and door locks, remote entry, AM/FM radio, CD player, new battery.

We bought this car with about 23,000 miles on it, and it now has almost 76,500 miles and gets (we've calculated) roughly 24 mpg city and closer to 29-30 mpg highway.

John has taken great care of this car, and changed the oil every 3,000 miles/3 months, rotated the tires, etc. The last oil change was just a couple of weeks ago. He has also cleaned it very thoroughly and it is so clean, we don't think you'd be able to find a cleaner used car anywhere. It shines!