Gluten free anyone?

Wow, it's been awhile since I've written:) Well...our biggest life ajustment now is (no I'm not pregnant again:)).....we are looking into food allergies for Jacob. His skin has been horrible for the last couple of months. My doc said to give him some steroid cream, but I wanted to see if there were some other food issues first(I heard that wheat in particular is related to skin problems). So, I had him tested with a naturopath. I'm not sure I completely trust the results, but were are in the process of trying to figure it out. He tested as being allergic to wheat, dairy, canola oil, msg, and soy....what in the world do you eat then:) We're trying it out and subsequently our fruits and vedgies intake has gone way up and we have found lots of other different grains out there. Kind of interesting....it way take up to 6 mo. to really get a handle on this so we'll see:)

Little Racers

The race is on!!!

Construction

This is a picture of Brent taking down half our porch.  We needed to do this in order to make way for what will be a future addition out.

This is underneath our house.  Brent was getting some pictures for a structural engineer to look at.  We need to see what sort of foundation was needed to add the second story.

Dallin, Joseph, and Jacob watching as a big cement trucks rolls into our yard to pour cement for the root cellar in the back.  

Here's our plans on paper.  This is the second story.  We've got three bedrooms and two baths on the left.  On the right is room for a future addition of two more bedrooms.  We want to start this part in five years or so.  We are also going to finish the attic and use that as another room for now.  

So there it is.  The plans are turned into the city....I have to admit, though, we are much better at tearing down than building:)  But, the root cellar is coming along, and the foundation is almost done.  Poco a poco.

Music Man

The boys bathroom

So Joseph told me I couldn't use the bathroom the other day. I asked him why. He said I couldn't use the boys bathroom. Hmmm...I guess that's what I get for having four boys.

Happy Spring everyone.  I love this time of year, and I love watching my flowers grow.  These actually poked their faces up about a month ago.  It's fun to watch them grow even when it snows.

My Allegiance to the Prophet

Last evening, we viewed an introductory documentary on the life of President Thomas S. Monson, President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the same church of which my wife, Rachel, and I are practicing members. I much appreciated the brief overview of some of the key events from his life. I suppose I'll have to wait for a biography to come out to get a more complete overview of this good man's life.

Now, all this said, I'm fully aware of the arguments about propaganda and church-sponsored media, and how it can tend to be said that such media is lop-sided and biased. Perhaps the stories are too rosy and idealistic for some to beleive them to be true.

However, with this in mind, I wish to voice my simple, happy convictions this evening. That Spirit of truth, which Christ promised to his disciples anciently, lends witness to His personal involvement in our lives today. I know that Thomas S. Monson has been prepared to be an emissary for the Lord Jesus Christ in our troubled day.

For as long as I can remember, President Monson has been a consistant voice of witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. In such a time when so much hypocracy and deciet exist in our world, I am one that knows that there are also men of integrity and conviction. President Monson is just such a man.

I think I'm beginning to grasp the meaning of some of his oft repeated messages like "Do your duty, that is best; leave unto the Lord the rest,"(quoting some old adage) or "Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence," (quoting from an LDS book of scripture, the Doctrine and Covenants).

With President Monson at the helm, I very confident in the ability of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to withstand the corruptions of our day and to continue to sail forward in preparation for Christ's return to earth. This is not blind obedience. On the contrary, this is the conviction that comes from active involvement in the cause of Christ.

To any of our friends or acquantances that are not of our faith, there remains an open invitation to learn more. Ultimately, we hope that as many as will may join us in this excellent journey.

T0 view the documentary on President Monson, click on the follow link: On the Lord's Errand: The Life of President Thomas S. Monson. The video runs about one hour online and requires a Move Networks plugin to watch it in your Internet browser.