The Lamoreaux Family

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mother's Day

This week, I've been looking through our old pictures, and I decided to post some of my favorites, that show what we as mothers do for our children.

What might our children say about us?

She encouraged me in life's adventures...

She counseled me to choose good friends

She helped me develop my fashion sense

She put up with all my pets...

She helped me love to learn

She taught me to work hard...

But never bite off more than I can chew...

She encouraged me to "fly"

And to develop my talents

She taught me to love people despite their quirks...

She loved me when I was feeling beautiful...

...and on my "bad hair days", too.

Yes, mothers are there to love you in good weather...

...and bad

To love us from when we are young...until we are old...

To help us through the storms of life...

And to support us in everything we do.

“Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world.”

--David O. McKay (Gospel Ideals, p. 452.)

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Happy Abby

I love this picture!

The double chin is especially great.

She always wakes up so smiley now. It is fun to get to the point where she responds to us.

For family home evening, we all sculpted with Aliysa's new 8 lb. package of sculpey clay. Bob had to sculpt something for one of his classes, so we joined him for a great family activity. I wish I would have taken some pictures of Aliysa's creations, they were super. Jace took this picture of his & Bob's sculptures after we had all squished ours.

We've had a round of stomach flu here. Zach had it first, then Andrew. Aliysa & Jace both felt queasy one day, but that was it. Poor Andrew could hardly keep anything down for three days. He got skinny & really lethargic, but he kept just enough water down that we didn't feel that he was too dehydrated. I'm hoping Abby won't get it, she doesn't seem to feel real well today, but it may be from the stuffy nose she has.

Signs of spring!

Jace has about five of these frogs, they live outside.

Aliysa also just found a baby salamander-my favorite pet--really! (they eat spiders)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Here is the weather out our window today, May 1, 2008.

We really are thankful for the moisture. (Sigh)

Jace is supposed to go on a campout tomorrow night.

They didn't plan on it being a winter campout!

Here are a couple of pictures of Abby:

She is learning to smile now. She will smile for Bob the most.

I almost caught her smile with this picture, this is the end of it, as it is fading away.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Abby's blessing day

Pictures from Abby's blessing day (April 13)

Grandpa Hahn

Grandma Hahn

Abby, Courtney, & Mallory

Mom & Dad with Abby, I like how she is posing for this picture.

What a fun group! We are so blessed to have such wonderful families!

No age is too young to get hooked.

Family weekend

Here's some pictures from last weekend

Aliysa going over the jump on her bike

Bob getting some air

Dan getting some air

Grandpa H. getting some air?

Boys playing with fire

Courtney and Makayla

Jace's biking injury

Saturday (April 12) was Zach's birthday.

This bike was his birthday present.

He didn't go over many jumps, but he still felt as big as could be!

Zach, Tyler & Andrew

Zach's roasted birthday marshmallows.

That's what he wanted instead of cake. Easy enough!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

April Showers?

Here is a picture of the nice weather on Saturday.

It was even nicer yesterday, Monday. We went out & weeded our garden spot.

And, here's the weather today! Brrrr!

All this snow came down in a period of about 3 hours.

I bet these pictures make Gumby & Kristi so excited to move here!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Easter

Well, I'm finally getting Easter pictures posted on here.

Here is Zach with his eggs. He scribbled a bit on each one, asked me to write a "Z" on them, and that was it.

We decided to actually "color" our eggs this year, instead of dying them. How creative! (Actually it was because it was already bedtime and I had to think of a quicker & less messy way to get the eggs done. We had a hectic day. I don't know if it ended up being quicker, but the kids had fun.) Now that Bob has outlawed Easter grass & plastic eggs (call him the Easter Grinch), things really do go quickly for this holiday.

Spencer's "football" egg

Andrew liked poking holes in the egg carton.

The kids lined up & ready to go down to get Easter baskets. Usually we do this on Saturday, but this year, well, even Sunday was pushing it a bit. The children all got new scriptures for Easter, so I didn't feel too bad about doing it on Sunday.

Andrew wasn't too sure about all this. When I asked him to "smile!" this is what I got.

Andrew & Zach with their mouths stuffed full of candy or gum. I told Zach, "you don't have to eat your whole package of gum at once, you can save some for later, or for tomorrow." He looked at me for a second, then replied "no, I don't want to", as he stuffed another piece of gum in his mouth. Luckily it was dental gum, with xylitol, so it has to be healthy, right?

After everyone stuffed themselves with candy, I sent them out the door to church with Bob, their new scriptures, and a sugar high, while I enjoyed three hours of peace & quiet with Abby. I'll be going back to church on her baby blessing date, April 13th.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Catching up

Well, I'm way behind on updating our blog. Here are a few pictures from the week I had Abby.

Aliysa's favorite hobby is sculpting with bake able clay. She has made dozens of little snakes & accessories for her friend Amanda (who hates real snakes). They are all different character snakes. It is hard to get a good picture because they are so small, but here are a few.

Snake band

Nurse snake & patient snake

Snake's living room furniture

Science with Grandma: Snap circuits. These were a group birthday present for our four oldest kids from Grandma & Grandpa. The kids love them! They have made a motion-sensor alarm, flying disk machine, doorbell, etc. It is great fun & educational!

Zach with his snap circuit creation

Grandma's car got TP'd when she was leaving!

Who could have done that?

We were all sad to see Grandma leave.

Fill the spiritual needs

“some parents become so expert at filling every physical desire for their children that they begin to suppose that all is well in this life and that their eternal stewardship is progressing right on schedule. … I believe that we must pause and take a careful inventory to determine how well our families are doing spiritually. We could ask how well are we feeding, nurturing, training, and exercising the spirits of our children; or how well have we taught, trained, loved, and inspired our children to build their spiritual muscles and strength? … Remember, eternity is now, not a vague, distant future. We prepare each day, right now, for eternal life. If we are not preparing for eternal life, we are preparing for something else, perhaps something far less.”

–M. Russell Ballard

Pray with your little ones

"Behold your little ones. Pray with them. Pray for them and bless them. The world into which they are moving is a complex and difficult world. They will run into heavy seas of adversity. They will need all the strength and all the faith you can give them while they are yet near you. And they also will need a greater strength which comes of a higher power. They must do more than go along with what they find.

They must lift the world, and the only levers they will have are the example of their own lives and the powers of persuasion that will come of their testimonies and their knowledge of the things of God. They will need the help of the Lord. While they are young, pray with them that they may come to know that source of strength which shall then always be available in every hour of need."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Be Wise In Our Diet

“…let us consider our relationship with ourselves. We must each take proper care to see that the little things regarding our personal life are in order. We must learn to care for our health and our mental well-being. Do we maintain proper exercise to give us the energy and alertness of mind necessary to keep our spirit strong & our attitude positive? Are we wise in our diet? Do we avoid the unnourishing snack that might keep our stomach full but our health quite empty?

–Joseph B. Wirthlin, Finding Peace in Our Lives, p. 59

Turn it off, walk out...

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

“Tragically, the same computer and Internet service that allows me to do my family history and prepare those names for temple work could, without filters and controls, allow my children or grandchildren access to a global cesspool of perceptions that could blast a crater in their brains forever. . .

“Along with filters on computers and a lock on affections, remember that the only real control in life is self-control. Exercise more control over even the marginal moments that confront you. If a TV show is indecent, turn it off. If a movie is crude, walk out. If an improper relationship is developing, sever it. Many of these influences, at least initially, may not technically be evil, but they can blunt our judgment, dull our spirituality, and lead to something that could be evil. An old proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so watch your step.” (Place No More For the Enemy of My Soul, April 2010)

Only a teacher

"If any parent needs added inspiration to commence his God-given teaching task, let him remember that the most powerful combination of emotions in the world is not called out by any grand cosmic events nor found in novels or history books—but merely by a parent gazing down upon a sleeping child. That glorious biblical passage, 'created in the image of God,' will acquire new and vibrant meaning as a parent repeats this experience. Home will become a haven called heaven, and loving parents will teach their children 'to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.' (D&C 68:28.)"
--Thomas S. Monson

Quote

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. …”
--C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Raise up patriots

The importance of teaching & training

"In 1904, President Joseph F. Smith said to parents: “Do not let your children out to specialists … , but teach them by your own precept and example, by your own fireside. Be a specialist yourself in the truth.

… Not one child in a hundred would go astray, if the home environment, example and training, were in harmony with the truth in the gospel of Christ, as revealed and taught to the Latter-day Saints.”

The ideal way to transform your home into a house of learning is to hold family home evening faithfully. The Church has reserved Monday evening for that purpose. In 1915, the First Presidency instructed local leaders and parents to inaugurate a home evening, a time when parents should teach their families the principles of the gospel.

The Presidency wrote: “If the Saints obey this counsel, we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influence and temptations which beset them.”

President David O. McKay gave the same promise in 1965 and added that the youth will gain power “to choose righteousness and peace, and be assured an eternal place in the family circle of our Father.”

In 1976, the Presidency reaffirmed that “regular participation in family home evening will develop increased personal worth, family unity, love for our fellowmen, and trust in our Father in heaven.

Considering these glorious promises, we would expect every faithful member to be exceedingly diligent in following this prophetic counsel. But, of course, we are all human, and our best plans don’t always materialize. Why not? Let it not be for lack of commitment."

--Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Spiritually Strong Homes and Families

Our Health Duty

“I am grateful to understand that my physical body is an eternal component of my eternal soul, and that I have a duty to honor and respect and care for it, and to refrain from knowingly imposing upon it any treatment or substances deleterious to it. While I could not choose nor govern the condition of the body into which I came, I have the responsibility to give it the best care I can, and if I do not I am acting in derogation of a great gift of God.”
--Marion D. Hanks, “For Man is Spirit”

Come to the Temple

"The season of the world before us will be like no other in the history of mankind. Just as this is the dispensation of the fullness of times, so it is also the dispensation of the fullness of evil. There is no safety in the world: wealth cannot provide it, enforcement agencies cannot assure it, membership in this church alone cannot bring it. We must come to the temple for light and safety. There are hosts of unseen sentinels watching over and guarding our temples. There will come a period of time when even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. They will long to bring their children here for safety's sake. The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death: we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountain. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm, we will mount up as on eagle's wings."
--Vaughn J. Featherstone