BRRRR . . . . I think we are all in a deep freeze! This weekend has been super cold for us - this morning on the way to Church it was 2° and we currently stand at 6°. 

Kate and Jonathan have had an especially cold and snowy week. They have had a ton of snow, freezing rain, and, wind chill temperatures that dipped to 30 - 45° below 0.  

Currently, Park Ridge is -7° and Salt Lake is a balmy 34°.  Everybody BUNDLE UP!

                                              

Clementine, up to her tummy in snow

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAKE!    

Jake turned 8 this past Thursday.  He has certainly brought a lot of fun and laughter to our family.  He also has the kindest heart and says the very best prayers.  We love you so much, Jake!

AND Jake was baptized on Saturday by Max

It was a wonderful weekend and we loved so much spending time with Chris, Kim, Max, Grant, and Blythe.   Their stay was too short, but hopefully, we will get to see them again before too long.  Emma stopped by with her friend, Sean, on Saturday evening and it was fun to visit with them for a few minutes.  We really missed those who weren't with us! 

We finally got to see Max!

Sendai loved Grant

20° outside and Paul in shorts

Cute Sammi

Good-looking Grant

Emma and Sean

Conspirators in the laundry room!

Tonight it was so fun to visit with Max!  Blythe had shared with him President Uchtdorf's talk in April 2016, titled, He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home.  Max forwarded it to me and I don't recall hearing it before, but after reading it, I wanted to share some of his thoughts - 

"It matters not how completely ruined our lives may seem. 

It matters not how scarlet our sins, how deep our bitterness, how lonely, abandoned, or broken our hearts may be. Even those who are without hope, who live in despair, who have betrayed trust, surrendered their integrity or turned away from God can be rebuilt. There is no life so shattered that it cannot be restored.

Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves you.

He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears.

It matters not how you became lost—whether because of your own poor choices or because of circumstances beyond your control.

What matters is that you are His child. And He loves you. He loves His children.

My dear brothers and sisters, my dear friends, I testify that God sees us as we truly are—and He sees us worthy of rescue.

You may feel that your life is in ruins. You may have sinned. You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt. But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only lift up your heart to the Savior of the world, He will find you.

He will rescue you.

He will lift you up and place you on His shoulders.

He will carry you home.

If mortal hands can transform rubble and ruins into a beautiful house of worship, then we can have confidence and trust that our loving Heavenly Father can and will rebuild us. His plan is to build us into something far greater than what we were—far greater than what we can ever imagine."

I love that the Gospel can give us hope.  Hope that we can always become better than we are at this moment, and if we take a step backward, the Savior is always there to help us find our way back.  I don't know about you, but every day, even when I have the best of intentions, I always slip, and I'm always making mistakes, saying or doing things that might not be the best.  However, as we have often said in our Addiction Recovery meetings, "If our feet are pointed in the right direction, and we are moving forward, we can find hope and peace in the Savior's love".