Blood Moon

Have you noticed how many lunar eclipses we have had this year.  I think it's a record number.  Today was a complete lunar eclipse.  The second one of four within a two year period here in the United States called the tetrad. The next one showing some time in April 2015 and the last in September 2015.

"Lunar eclipses occur when the full moon passes through Earth's shadow. Instead of blotting out the moon entirely, the moon turns a rusty color because of the way light from the sun seeps through the planet's shadow."

I woke up this morning around 4am and got my camera out.  It took me a while to get the settings right and one day I'll be able to have some amazingly crisp clear images, but for now I'll enjoy what I have. It was gorgeous!  It was a fall themed moon! The boys wanted to see it as well so I woke them up and they looked for a minute then went back to bed.  I should have set the telescope up last night before I went to bed.  I couldn't find the moon in it at all. They would have been even more impressed.

UPDATE: After I posted this photo on Facebook a neighbor gave me a call and told me I had also captured a unique photo of the planet Uranus. (The blue star to the left of the moon.) Because of it's distance it is hard to see with the naked eye. What can I say, sometimes you just get lucky!

Sunday Drive

We drove up Santaquin Canyon to check out the leaves on a lovely Sunday drive. The brilliant red and orange were missing but the yellows of the quakies were fabulous set up against the evergreens and the blue sky! The sky was an incredible blue!  Gorgeous!  I love the changing seasons.  I love the crisp cool air.  I love the warm days and cool nights.  Hot cocoa and pumpkin muffins!  Love Fall!!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love quakies?  I love the sound the leaves make in the wind.  

Check out that beautiful sky!!

And I love conference weekend!

All week our family tried to adhere to a media fast in preparation to this weekend. In some way each of us sacrificed some form of media to prepare ourselves.  It was a nice week, less bickering, more quality time together.  I really enjoyed watching each session.

What a blessing it is to have apostles and prophets on the earth! We are so blessed to have the guidance we need in this world (the contrast we felt this week). I know this is Christ's church, that He leads it through His servants the prophets.  It was a unique session in that some speakers spoke in their native language.  For some reason I appreciated hearing the talks in English even more.  I appreciated that when we listened on the radio that I could recognize the voices of the members of the quorum of the 12 and the first presidency.  The thought came to me that when you have it translated you miss the familiarity of their voices. I never appreciated that before.

Hope

"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey towards it casts the shadow of our burden behind us. Hope sweetens the memory of experiences well loved. It tempers our troubles  to our growth and our strength. It befriends us in dark hours, excites us in bright ones. It lends promise to the future and purpose to the past. It turns discouragement to determination." Hope an Anchor of the Soul. Ensign, November, 1999.

It's turning our faces toward the SON, letting the wind blow at our backs and standing tall and strong.

The Sun and The Wind

THE WIND and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger. Suddenly they saw a traveler coming down the road, and the Sun said: “I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveler take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger. You begin.” So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveler. But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveler rap his cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair. Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveler who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.

A very talented sister made this flag for our girls camp based on our theme of The Sun and The Wind

I love this flag!  When I look at her I think of strength,  integrity and confidence. She is steadfast and immovable! Her face is turned towards the sun letting the wind blow at her back. She is also a symbol of hope. Hope gives meaning to our suffering and purpose to our actions. I want to be her!

 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.” 2 Tim. 1:7-8

The Fence

A couple weeks ago we talked with the young women a little bit about the law of chastity. One of the other leaders created a fabulous visual!

If you have noticed there are often beautiful fences going around the temple grounds. That fence is like chastity. It defines the boundaries of the world and a Holy Place. 

This picture popped into to my mind. To me it represents the wonderful blessings that can come from keeping within the boundaries that the Lord has set for us. Both before marriage (abstinence) and after marriage (complete fidelity). What a wonderful blessing! I will never look at his photo the same way again. 

SquashHead 4H

Afton had to meet at the Fair early to wash and finish getting the sheep ready to show.  They washed them, then ran some kind of squeegee over them to get rid of most of the water. Then they used these high powered driers to help get them dry before putting the blankets on them.  Right before the show they fluffed their hair and their legs and gave them a bit of a trim.  They looked so good!

Their club did great!!  The light purple ribbons were runner up but the dark purple is best in show.  Afton was able to do a great job managing her lamb.  It was a younger animal and didn't do as well in the rankings, but she had fun helping out!  

The project that the club put together showing all the activities they did this year won a purple ribbon as well.  It's been such a wonderful experience!  Their leaders Kaeli and Dave Robbins are amazing!  They have put in so much time to help these kids learn. They were honored by the Mayor and City Council on Wednesday night and given a plaque in recognition for all their service and hard work this year.

A Day at the Fair

Last week we went to the State Fair to watch Afton show sheep with her 4H group.  It ended up costing us a pretty penny, but the kids had a blast.  I got a little sun burned as well, but it's all good.  We walked around for a little while and saw all the exhibits and animals.  There was also a little FFA exhibit that had the kids do some fun activities.  They also made wool bracelets.  Then there were of course the rides.  So much fun!!

Sheep that the girls put together.

Bonnie went on this giant slide once and was done.  She didn't like big slides! The other kids went on it several times though.

Isaac said this was his favorite!

This sickening thing was Khora's favorite.  She is such a thrill seeker!