Jeppesen Family: August 2008

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Finally, Some New Posts!

So I got sick of everyone asking me to update my blog and so I spent all night tonight doing it. :) I meant to do it for awhile, but things have been hectic with moving and everything. I pretty much posted our whole summer happenings. I can't believe it's basically over, but we are excited for Fall. We will be having our baby Oct 7th or 8th which is coming right up. I am big and fat as ever and can't wait to not be pregnant. I know Riley and Luke are excited to have me normal again and not constantly asking them to pick things up for me. I know Trevor is so ready. We can't wait to find out what our little surprise will be. We've had a great summer. Here are the kids jumping on our new trampoline. They spend so much time on there and can do flips and everything already. It's kind of nice to have an outlet for all that energy instead of our poor couches. Now that I've done all my postings I can finally check out everyone else's blogs again. Sorry I've been so behind.

Pics of My Family Reunion in Bear Lake

The Box Elder County Fair

Last Friday we went to the fair with Bill and Mitzi and our friends, Jade and Todd. Our kids had so much fun with Porter and Marli at the carnival.

The Dinosaur Park

We got to go to the Dinosaur Park once again with my sister Julie and her kids and our friend Tricia and her kids. We had a great time with 7 kids under 7.

Luke's 3rd B-day

Luke had an action packed 3rd B-day. First he got to open a few gifts and was so excited to see all the Wall E. decorations all over the house. In the breakfast blessing he said "And thank you for Wall E. and Eva...". Anyway, then we met Chelsea and Lindsay and all their kids at McDonald's for lunch. He had so much fun playing with his cousins and loved his new Wall E. pillow and lunch set from Chelsea. We had a little party that night at our house. He finally got his little robot Wall E. he's been wanting. He played with it in his bed until about 11PM. Then we finally ended our long fun Birthday. We love our little Lukey!

The Wall E. B-day Party

The Wall E. Cake

Luke has been begging for a Wall E. B-day Party ever since he saw the first preview for the movie Wall E. He is obsessed with everything Wall E. So, he got to have a Wall E. Party and I made a sad attempt at his Wall E. Cake. Good thing he's only 3 and didn't know any better.

B-Day Party

He had a fun Wall E. B-day party that night...

Fishing

As part of our Reunion we went to my Dad's big work party where the kids got to go fishing. They each caught 3 fish.

Our Family Reunion

Here are some pics of my family reunion in Bear Lake. Some of the highlights for the kids were hiking up the canyon with my Dad and riding in Uncle Kacey's semi, playing at the lake, and going fishing.

Playing at Bear Lake

We had my family reunion in Bear Lake a couple weeks ago. Here are the kids at the beach. They had a great time with this poor little frog they found which incidentally died in the end. Yes, Riley is even kissing him. Where is her mom? Oh yeah, taking pics...

Our New House

We officially moved to a new place last month. We have rented out our townhouse and now get to live in a real house again. It is so exciting to have a garage and have everything on one level (besides the basement). We love our neighborhood and are so excited to have our friends, Tricia and Callin, living just 4 houses down the street now. Our kids love having a yard and a place to ride their bikes and lots of neighbor friends. We are really enjoying living here!

Riley's Coloring Contest

Riley and Luke both entered the coloring contest at the Circus we went to. It was so fun when the guy on stilts came out and announced that Riley had won the contest. She got to go up and get a toy trumpet. She was so proud. Luke pouted the rest of the time because he didn't win, but he got to play with the trumpet too. It was so fun to have her win her first contest. She says she won because her clown looked just like a real clown so they picked her.

The Circus

We went to the funnest little circus this summer. It was one of those little ones inside the big tent where you can be really close to everything. Our kids loved it. They even got to ride ponies there.

One of our Last Days in our Townhouse...

This is us just sitting outside before church on our last Sunday in Brigham City. (Luke is trying to cut my hair because I had just gotten done cutting some of his little stragglers off.)

Riley's T-Ball

Park City

Playing Tennis

Riley and Luke played tennis for the first real time this summer when we went and stayed in Park City with Trevor's parents and Ryan and Chelsea. They absolutely loved it and did pretty well. With a Grammy like Mitzi they are bound to do well at it I hope. (Unless they got my genes in that area!) Anyway, with Riley's cute tennis outfits, I don't care if she's good or not. She sure does look cute playing anyway. Luke keeps asking for a tennis outfit for him. I'm not sure what to do for that. He looks cute enough with his little racket.

Swimming Lessons

Dinosaur Park

4- Wheeling In Mantua

Riley's T-Ball

Riley played T-Ball for the first time this summer and really liked it. I think the treats at the end of each game were her favorite part, but she did pretty well too. Luke loved going and watching, but he really wanted to play. He still asks me when he will have his own baseball team...

Our Religion

We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. One of our apostles, M. Russell Ballard, described our beliefs best in his Oct. '07 Conference Address. (If you want to post this to your blog, feel free to copy and paste) Facts * • First, “Mormon” is a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members are often referred to as “Mormons,” “Latter-day Saints,” or “LDS.” The term “Saint” means “member.” * • Second, the Church was restored in 1830 in upstate New York with Joseph Smith as its first prophet and president. Today it is headquartered in Salt Lake City, with President Thomas S. Monson as the present prophet. * • Third, there are now over 13 million members in 176 countries and territories. About 6 million of these are in the United States, making us the fourth largest Christian denomination in America. As one of the fastest growing Christian faiths in the world, we complete a new chapel every working day. Members pay a tithe, which is 10 percent of their income, making this and other programs possible. * • Fourth, local congregations are led by volunteer, unpaid members. Both men and women serve in assigned leadership positions. * • And fifth, Mormons are well represented in politics and government. (In the United States, for example, there are 16 members in Congress, from both political parties.) Members also serve in high and trusted positions throughout the world in business, medicine, law, education, media, sports, and entertainment. Faith Next, people need to know something of our faith as committed Christians with strong traditional values. Along with the Articles of Faith we need to emphasize that: * • We believe in the eternity of the soul, that God is the Father of our spirits, and that we can return to Him after death. * • We believe that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior, and we try to model our lives after Him and His teachings. We commemorate Christ’s atoning sacrifice in our Sunday worship services, similar to taking communion in other churches. We accept as fellow Christians all who believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and the Savior of all mankind. Many Christians do not understand that we have much common ground with them. Joseph Smith taught that Jesus Christ is the core of our belief, and everything else is an appendage to it (see Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 44). The name of the Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. * • We believe the original church that Jesus established was lost and has been restored again in our day. The priesthood, the authority given to man to act in the name of God, with apostles and a prophet to lead us, has been restored as have all necessary ordinances of salvation. * • We believe in and we use the Holy Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. * • And we believe in the Book of Mormon and other books of scripture which support and authenticate the Bible and testify of the ministry and divinity of Christ and of God’s ongoing revelation to man. Indeed, the Book of Mormon is “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” Family The next thing it is good for people to know is how family-centered our theology and our lifestyles are. Once again, simple statements are helpful to someone who is uninformed but curious about the importance we place on families. * • Mormons place particularly strong emphasis on family as the basic unit of the Church and of society. We have a deep commitment to marriage (defined as a union between one man and one woman). Polygamy, a limited practice in the early pioneer days of the Church, was discontinued in 1890, some 117 years ago. * • Families and individuals, whether members of our faith or not, can attend Sunday services in our chapels. Here we worship together, instructing one another from the scriptures. * • Latter-day Saint families are encouraged to hold family home evenings weekly, usually on Monday nights. This provides a regular and predictable time for parents to teach values to their children and to have fun together. We invite those not of our faith to adopt this practice with their own families. * • The Church has auxiliary programs for women, youth, and children as a support to the family. These programs provide such things as religious instruction, opportunities for Christian service, sports, drama, music, and Scouting. * • And there is also much focus on extended family, genealogy, and personal family history, providing young and old with a stronger sense of roots, identity, and belonging. The highest and most sacred ordinances of our faith relate to our families, both living and dead, and some of these ordinances take place in our temples. Fruits Now, even as someone begins to understand a few facts about us and comes to know us more accurately by our faith and the importance of family, it was the Savior who said “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20; emphasis added). A church, or any way of life, should be judged by the fruits or the results that it generates. Here are a few examples based on United States statistics. But these would be similar throughout the world among practicing Mormons (by which we mean those who attend church and the temple regularly): * • One of the fruits is a longer life. Studies show that practicing Mormons are healthier and therefore live longer than the national average. In 1833 the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith the Word of Wisdom, which is the way to live in order to enjoy a long and healthy life. * • Second, those who are married in and attend the temple regularly have a divorce rate far below the national and world average. * • Third, we achieve an educational level that is higher than the national average. * • Fourth, over 70,000 members volunteer at their own expense to serve for 18 to 24 months in humanitarian efforts, Church service assignments, and full-time missionary service throughout the world. * • And fifth, we place strong emphasis on self-reliance and a solid work ethic. We encourage active involvement in our communities and in providing service to others. The Church continues to donate substantial money, goods, and services to humanitarian causes around the globe, including untold hours of labor donated by members to assist in disaster cleanup and relief.