Visit to the West Coast

Chris and Tracy came for a visit back home to the west coast. It is home, right guys??!! We had a lot of fun together and got together with Nana, Papa, Great Grandpa & Dorothy, Jeanette & Dan, Tracy’s sister’s family… Lots of happy times together. Can’t wait to see you all again!

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Brite Music Review

When I was young we loved to listen to the Safety Kids on tape. I think there was only one in the series back then, and now it’s known as Personal Safety. The tape started with a club meeting of some kids and they discuss the importance of learning your phone number, staying safe from strangers and people who try to invade your privacy, and never going out alone. The topic is a fairly common one when discussing safety with kids, but by having the lessons taught by children and through songs, I was more easily sucked into the topic and able to remember the songs that went along with them.

My mom came across the tape when Hunter and Emma were toddlers and gave it to me. They loved it just as much as I did. We played the tape over and over until it started to sound weird and distorted. Several months ago I ordered Personal Safety on CD and discovered that there are also two more in the series, Stay Safe From Drugs, and Protect Their Minds. We have loved all three CDs and know all of the songs by heart. I have already heard the kids talking about why drugs are bad at times when we’re nowhere near the CD, and I had to laugh when someone brought up the evils of pornography in church and Emma looked up at me bright eyed and said, “pornography!” She was excited to know what the word meant now. We also have another CD called Show a Little Love that has some really good songs. Here are some clips of our favorite songs:

Personal Safety: Yell and Scream, The Telephone Song

Stay Safe From Drugs: All You Gotta Say is No, Go For a Natural High

Protect Their Minds: I Want to Have Clean Thoughts, See No Evil –the link is broken on this one 🙁

Show A Little Love: Show A Little Love, Never Tell A Lie

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It Arrived Today

It arrived via a large truck in half a dozen large boxes, the latest addition to our family… A bunk bed for Emma and Hannah to share.  Sabrina will now get the blue bear bed that all four of our kids have used as toddlers, and Hunter will continue to plead with us to get him a loft bed. Guess you know what Rob will be doing tomorrow…

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My Movie Debut

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZgwKueCWxc

I have been jealous of all the great videos I see on people’s blogs, and decided it was finally time to give it a try. This was my first attempt at editing some video I found from a while ago. The music is what Uncle Matt wrote for Emma’s talent show song last year.

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It’s Great to be Eight

Tonight was Emma’s “Great to be Eight” night. All of the children in our stake turning eight years old this year came together to learn about what their baptism will be like. There were several speakers that gave short talks about different aspects of baptism and the logistics of their actual baptism day. So mark your calendars, Emma is scheduled to be baptized on October 11, 2008! We are ready to welcome as many visitors as we can for her special day. She is so excited to make this important step and wishes she could do it now!

Article of Faith 4

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Mark Chapter 1: 9-11

9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

I found this great letter in a Friend magazine from 1971 and took the liberty of substituting Emma’s name for the original “Tommy.”

Dear Emma,

I have just heard that you were baptized this month, on your birthday. It made me happy indeed, because your baptism will mean so much to you all the rest of your life.

When we are baptized, when we reach eight years of age, we enter the Church of Jesus Christ, and we receive the many blessings of the Church. We must be baptized to fill the Lord’s commandment.

Baptism is not just a custom in our Church. It is something we do because the Lord commands it. Baptism is as old as the gospel. Adam was baptized, and by immersion, just as you were. And millions of people since that time have also been baptized.

It was Jesus who gave us baptism. He gave it to Adam, and he gave it to all of us who have lived since that time. And he himself was baptized, to show that everyone over eight must receive this ordinance.

Do you know why it is that we are immersed in baptism? Some churches believe in an ordinance which they call baptism, but it is merely the sprinkling of some water on the head of a child.

Immersion is the only true way of baptism, and it has a real meaning. All your life you have believed in Jesus. You have learned how he taught the people, blessed little children, and even raised two boys and a little girl from the dead. But then he was taken by cruel men and crucified.

Our Heavenly Father used that crucifixion, though, to bring us many blessings. Jesus suffered greatly when he died, but his Father, who is also our Father in heaven, permitted Jesus’ suffering to pay the penalty for our sins if we repent of them.

It is when we are baptized that our Heavenly Father allows Jesus’ suffering to pay for our sins. In this way we receive forgiveness through baptism.

But why are we immersed? It is to represent the burial and resurrection of Christ. As he was buried in the tomb, so we are buried in the water. As he came forth from the tomb to a newness of life as a resurrected person, so we come forth from baptism in water to a newness of a religious life on earth, serving the Lord and keeping his commandments.

So you see, our immersion is to help us remember the burial and resurrection of Christ. This is one reason baptism is so important to us. It will always remind us that Christ died for us, and that he was resurrected. As surely as we come forth from the waters of baptism, just so surely will we all come forth from our graves after we die, and live forever with the Savior who made all of this possible.

So Emma, be thankful for your baptism, and know that now you are a true member of the Church of Jesus Christ. He expects that from this day on you will always remember him and keep his commandments, so that someday you may see him and live with him in the eternal heavens above. May the Lord bless you always, is my prayer for you.

          Yours sincerely,

          Mark E. Petersen

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Two New Bloggers

Welcome to the blogging world Erica and Emma!

Erica called me today with some questions about getting a blog going, and now she’s up and running!  (Sorry if I outed you before you were really ready, but I’m so happy!) I know it will just keep getting better and better from here on out.  How can it not, with those cute kids’ faces all over it?

As I was on the phone discussing possible names for the blog, Emma insisted on getting her own too.  So she came up with the name and has already written her first post.  Creative writing has always been a strength of hers, so I look forward to her stories too!

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