Joy +, Alex spoke at Stake Conference, and it's our 29th anniversary

A few pictures from Andrew from Christmas break when they were in Mesa:

at the zoo

So Ryan and Eric made it back safely to BYU-Idaho after Christmas break and have started school again.  School here is now in full swing, too.

Alex and Glen just got back from the annual Utah Theatre Conference trip last night. This was the first time I haven't gone with Glen since 2001 (when Alex was 3 months old).

This was Alex's first time going. Glen had 18 other students there. Besides going to workshops, they saw 2 musicals: Tarzan and Curtains. They really loved Curtains. They say I do a better Tarzan yell than the actor who played Tarzan. Well, I've had more years of practice, so I'm not surprised they think that. Ask me to yell for you sometime, and if I'm not laughing too hard, I'll give it a try.

We had Stake Conference today at church. That happens 2 times a year where the wards of our stake (I believe we have 7-8) gather for one big meeting. So I don't know...maybe 1,000 people were there. It was a fabulous meeting today. Alex had been asked to give a 5 minute talk. He nailed it. I told him that if he weren't my son, I would want him to date my daughter.

Notes I took from his talk (which don't really do his talk justice, but you'll get the gist):

He was asked to speak on putting Christ first in our lives (which was the theme for this weekend's conference). He said his first thought was scripture study. Sometimes at night he feels exhausted but when he chooses to read the scriptures anyway, he feels the spirit and his sense of gratitude is increased. He said if we choose to read and reach toward God, we will be blessed.

His second thought on the topic was Sabbath day observance. He said there is a greater sense of peace and love when we observe the Sabbath. As we attempt to draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (Doctrine and Covenants 88:63 and James 4:8). The Lord's arm is always stretched forth and when we stretch to Him, He will stretch more to us. (he remembers his brother teaching that after recently returning from his mission).

Great job Alex!

And yesterday marked 30 years since Glen and I met. He got me a lovely bouquet of flowers for that. And today we are celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!