General Relief Society Meeting

I went to the General Relief Society Meeting with Melissa and Brittany Saturday. It was at Melissa's Stake Center and we had a nice dinner before the broadcast started. I was uplifted and encouraged by the messages given. Some of the things that stood out to me were...


Sis. Julie B. Beck

-Increase Faith and personal righteousness
- Strengthen home and families
- Serve the Lord and His Children
-Seek, receive and act on personal revelation

Each woman is needed to prepare for Christ's Second Coming. "In fact, the Lord cannot accomplish his work without the help of his daughters. Because of that, the Lord expects us to increase our offering. He expects us to fulfill the purpose of Relief Society as never before."

Sister Sylvia Allred -Temple Worship

"The covenants we make with the associated ordinances we receive in the temple become our credentials for admission into God's presence...These covenants elevate us beyond the limits of our own power and perspective. We make covenants to show our devotion to build up the kingdom."

Sister Barbara Thompson -Relief Society -An Army of Righteous Sisters - It is time to step up!

"Relief Society magnifies the talents and faith of each woman through offering the opportunities to bless the lives of others."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -Creating and Compassion

-Women who find ways to create and to serve others will emulate the Savior.
"As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you."
-Serving others opens the windows of heaven.
"As we lift others, we rise a little higher ourselves."

I am thankful to be a member of the Relief Society, the largest women's organization in the world. I have been blessed throughout my life by this great organization. I have been served and strengthened by so many dear sisters. I have seen the example of my mother, mother -in-law, grandmothers and daughters as they have served others. It is such a blessing to be a woman in the church today and to be a part of the Relief Society.

CornBelly's!

We went to Salt Lake for a Midwest Reunion.
We had a great time visiting with other CES (Church Educational System) couples who
had lived in the Midwest while we were there.
It was fun reminiscing about our time and experiences there.

On the way home we stopped at CornBelly's.
Carly had a friend tell her at school that it was only
$1.oo to get in this Saturday.
So we took advantage of a fun and cheap family activity!




We felt a little silly in the over sized rocking chair but it was a fun photo anyway!

Walking through the David Archuleta corn maze.



The corn maze design has a picture of David Archuletta singing.
You can go to www.cornbellys.com to see the maze design.

They played various David Archuletta songs as we wandered through the maze.
And I do mean wondered. I think we were walking through the maze for at least 30 minutes before
we found our way out!

I

Ma and Pa Smith down on the farm!

We had a fun time at the Corn Maze and the weather was perfect!

~September Memories~

I love the month of September!

Some of the things I enjoy the most about this month are......

~The cooler fall temperatures.
~A new beginning - I like to set goals in September.
~My birthday - I like to reflect on the many blessings in my life.
~Beautiful Sunsets.
~Sunflowers blooming.
~Leaves changing colors.
~The Harvest Moon.
~Peaches!



When I was growing up I would come home from school and see rows of bottled peaches on the counter.
I loved the site of them and especially the taste. I had no idea the time it had taken my mom to
bottle all of the peaches. I just enjoyed the end product all winter long.

Later when I had 3 of our children and was expecting my 4th I decided I also wanted to bottle peaches.
I am so thankful for my Grandma Spencer and the service she gave to me at this time.

She came to my house for several days and helped me bottle peaches and pears.
It was an enjoyable time visiting with her as we worked together.

I didn't know until I was typing up her journal last year that she served many others the same way.
She listed in her journal helping her sisters or sister -in-law canning peaches and pears.

She would list the number of jars that they had bottled and it was many.
I appreciate her example of service to me and so many others.

This is the first year I have bottled peaches in a long time.
I love seeing them on the counter and it brings back a
flood of sweet memories to me!

Birthday Celebrations!

Happy Birthday Grandma Smith -September 21st
and Happy Birthday Lisa - September 24th



We went to Kim and Guy's house to celebrate
Grandma Smith's Birthday on Sunday September 21st.

Lisa and Bill, along with there family, were visiting from Colorado.
We were also able to celebrate Lisa's upcoming birthday!

It was fun to visit with the family.
We haven't seen Lisa and her family in over a year.

We are thankful for Grandma Smith. She is a wonderful
mother, grandmother and great-grandmother!!

She is a great example of love and kindness to all of us.

We look forward to celebrating her 80th birthday next year
with the rest of the family!

We couldn't get everyone in the picture so we took two.
I think we still missed Guy in each one!



Mick and his baby sister, Kim.

Kim and Guy are great hosts!
They always open their home to
all of the family.

Thanks for a fun afternoon!!

Happy Birthday Diane!!

I can't even believe that Diane is celebrating her 40 something birthday this year. If I said she was born on September 7, 1962 though I wouldn't actually be telling anyone how old she was, unless your math is really good. Soooo...

My life with this incredible woman has been fantastic. She is the love of my life, and walks hand in hand with me as we follow the Savior and his teachings. My life has been so blessed with seven beautiful children, almost seven grandchildren, and amazing memories of time spent together. We have walked the streets of Jerusalem, sailed down the Nile River, walked through the Coliseum in Rome, and traveled the sacred spots of the Restoration side-by-side. This picture is of Carly and Kaylie, Diane and I sitting in Saucilito looking back towards San Francisco. I love being with her.

Here she is showing her talents as a weaver of hats. I love that smile, and the sense of accomplishment when she and I have worked together to do something we are both proud of. It may not be much, but there was a lot of love and togetherness as we did the service project at EFY this summer.

The Golden Gate Bridge is over our shoulder as I tried to take the arm-length photo. I truly love spending time with her. We figured the other day that without CES, EFY, and BYU travel in our lives, we wouldn't have traveled too much, but as a result of those opportunities we have gotten to see much of the United States, and parts of the world. We love to travel and look forward to spending time as a missionary couple one of these days.

Here we are waiting to get on the Cable Car this past summer in San Francisco. It was another one of those fun family trips where we spent a week traveling around the area after our EFY session.

I don't want to be too cheesy, or too personal, but hope that this tribute expresses even a portion of what I feel for her. Twenty seven years ago I saw her across the dance floor and knew she was the one I was to marry. She is my love, my friend, my support, my strength, and my happiness. As Dad always said, "Without my family, the gospel wouldn't mean what it does, and without the gospel, my family wouldn't mean what it does." Diane has been such an incredible strength for our family. We have testimonies of father's interviews, family home evening, temple attendance, family scripture study, and on and on because of her constant encouragement to do those things that will draw us to the Savior and his teachings.

She has taught our children how to serve in the home, how to care for families, and how to set the Lord as the center of our lives. For that I am eternally grateful. I will always be grateful that she was willing to say, "Are you asking?" when I asked her the marriage question so long ago. My life has been blessed ever since.

Diane, I love you forever, and always. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!