Maxwell's Special Day

Today we blessed Maxwell at church. Unfortunately a huge snowy blizzard decided to hit Saratoga Springs and my parents had to drive to and from SLC in the wild weather. Yikes! Fortunately they were safe. I was so grateful they could be here. They have been able to attend all our baby's blessings - one in Florida, one in Arizona, and then Maxwell's here in Utah. We are excited to have them close by.

With Maxwell's blessing, thoughts come to my mind of my desires for my children. We talked with Hannah and Abe about the various wishes we have for our children... to obey their parents who will teach them about the gospel so that they will learn to obey Heavenly Father... to be baptized... to gain an education... to teach the gospel to others... to listen to the Holy Ghost to be strengthened to withstand temptation... to marry a righteous person in the temple... to honor their priesthood... to raise a family... and to be happy in their righteous choices. None of these desires revolve around fame or money or worldly pleasures. It reminds me of what is important in my own life and what I teach my children through my example.

In Jimmy's testimony today he shared his thoughts about the plan of salvation. With President Hinckley's passing and the arrival of our new baby, it gives us eternal perspective about birth and death being a part of life and part of the plan. Birth is such a joyous event and death, when viewed in the eternal scheme of things, is a joyous step to be reunited with our Savior and other loved ones.

My dad shared with Hannah some of the times when he met President Hinckley. When President Hinckley looked out his office window he would see so many quickly walking by all the beautiful flowers on temple square without hardly noticing them and so he told the group of students my dad was with to "stop and smell the flowers (especially because they cost alot of money)." So as the students passed by his window, President Hinckley gave them the thumbs up "Good Job". He is a great example of optimism.

Maxwell is almost 7 weeks old and is full of smiles. This past week he seems to realize that he is part of something - our FAMILY! I love when he smiles at Hannah and Abe (when he isn't being smothered by them!) I think Maxwell actually might like us!

Isn't it interesting that one of the first things a baby learns (other than focusing their little eyes) is SMILING! Smiling must be an important aspect of 'becoming as a little child' so pure and sweet and straight from heaven.