A New Blog

I believe that God speaks to us through prophets.

So, when prophets speak, I want to listen.

Several months ago, President Russell M. Nelson, God's prophet on the earth today, said, "The Lord has impressed upon my mind the importance of the name He has revealed for His Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

From a church website:  The official name of the Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the term "Mormon Church" has long been publicly applied to the Church as a nickname, it is not an authorized title, and the Church discourages its use. Thus, please avoid using the abbreviation "LDS" or the nickname "Mormon" as substitutes for the name of the Church, as in "Mormon Church," "LDS Church," or "Church of the Latter-day Saints." When referring to Church members, the terms "members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" or "Latter-day Saints" are preferred. We ask that the term "Mormons" not be used.

In an October 2018 General Conference talk, President Nelson expounded on the subject. Here are some of the things he said:

• “For much of the world, the Lord’s Church is presently disguised as the ‘Mormon Church.’ But we as members of the Lord’s Church know who stands at its head: Jesus Christ Himself. I realize with profound regret that we have unwittingly acquiesced in the Lord’s restored Church being called by other names, each of which expunges the sacred name of Jesus Christ!”
• To those who consider it unwise or unrealistic to restore proper usage of the name of the Church, President Nelson responded that “if this were a discussion about branding a man-made organization, those arguments might prevail. But in this crucial matter, we look to Him whose Church this is and acknowledge that the Lord’s ways are not, and never will be, man’s ways.”

So, in an effort to obey the Lord's counsel, given through His prophet, I am changing the blog. Again. If you're still interested in following, you can find our latest updates here:  Normal Latter-day Saint Family. 

It doesn't have the same ring as Normal Mormon Family did. But I'm trusting in this promise given by President Nelson: “If we will do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord’s Church, He whose Church this is will pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints, the likes of which we have never seen."

I'm way behind. But I believe in documenting our lives. And I hope to slowly get caught up. 

What May Looked Like

I think it's so cute when Care Bear falls

asleep with a book in her hands. Awwww....

Prom number two of three.

Such cuties!

Andrew had too much vacation time, so I convinced

him to take a day off and play with me.

We went up to Guilford Courthouse Battleground

and went for a walk.

BYU Ballroom dance team came to Raleigh.

Whitney and I went to watch.

It was SPECTACULAR.

Loved every minute of it.

The most popular hymnbook at our local used bookstore:

LDS Hymnbook.... Not sure how I should feel about that.

My mother's day smoothie from my girls! So thoughtful!

Happy mother's day to me!

May = Strawberry season. Yummy!!

One of my mother's day gifts:

cute little dogwood flower earrings.

GNO and baby shower at Martha's.

LOVE these ladies so much!!

Brandon wanted to tour NC State.

They have an AMAZING library.

This is part of their robotic shelves.

Cool chairs to relax in while you read.

Very visually pleasing.

B's last band concert of the year.

 This was one of my favorite songs.

Brandon didn't like it.

Bring your Mom to dance night.

Hilarious.

Those girls work HARD!

We've had our lawnmower since we moved here in 2002.

Look how rusted out it is!

But it's still chugging along.

So I keep using it!

Ballet company service project at the nursing home.

One of our last days of seminary!

It has been a GREAT year teaching the 

Book of Mormon.

Pedicures with my girl!

We both went with coral/orange polish.

Ready for summer!

Geocaching date night

We found a turtle trying to hide.

And ONE of the three caches we looked for.

This puzzle took us MONTHS. I think we've been working

on it since Feb. But we finally finished! Yes!

In our family, when you turn ten, you can start sitting shotgun.

On the morning of her birthday, C couldn't wait to give it a try!

Went to Spare Time for a little while on C's birthday.

It was a good birthday!

We had dinner at Golden Corral.

And then we got a little piece of cake for her because

she wanted to do this:

Silly girl!

Fire pit night!

S'mores

 

Whitney's last middle school chorus concert.

Their middle school chorus is SMALL, but powerful.

Here's she's being recognized for making All-County,

All-State and getting into the high school for next year.

Woo hoo, Whit!

Recital 2018

It was another FABULOUS recital. Whitney is such a beautiful dancer. I LOVE watching her. Shelley had someone taking video for the studio, so I focused on taking still pictures at dress rehearsal so I could enjoy the live performances. Whitney's solo was the only one I filmed. Here are a few (hundred) of my favorites shots.

Preschool Tap and Ballet: Whitney's teaching job

I was working backstage during the Junior Recital,

so didn't get to watch these cuties perform.

But Whit did a great job helping them and was happy

with how they did on their big day.

Contemporary:  Pirates of the Caribbean

Ballet Company:  Glorious

 Ballet Company:  Star Wars

Whit was Princess Leia and Skylar was C3PO

Whitney's solo:  Popular

Hip Hop:  Hogwart's Dance Battle

Ballet V:  Lion King

Ballet III, IV, and V:  Phantom of the Opera

Shelley needed male dancers again.

We thought Brandon had a conflict, but

at the last minute was able to step in and partner Whit again.

They did awesome together!

Meet and Greet with Whit's adoring fans. :)

Lauren, Heather, and Ethel all came out to 

watch Miss Whitney. 

I am so grateful that Whitney can share her talent with us and so many others. She is a beautiful dancer and it makes me happy every time I get to see her on stage.