The American Form of Government

This was something that was forwarded to me by a friend. Food for thought in these quickly changing political times.

http://ioseph-locksley.livejournal.com/24267.html

Happy Birthday D.H.

Today we joyfully celebrate David Hyrum's first birthday. Zach had to make a trip to D.C. so we will postpone the actual family birthday party, but we did put a candle in his birthday blueberry pancake breakfast. He has been such a wonderful addition to our family this past year. We love our little one to pieces. Some things that we just adore about DH:

When we put on music, play the piano or sing he will wiggle, dance, and smile
He is learning his first baby signs including "all done" waving "hi or bye-bye" "telephone" and "want".
David Hyrum is a very snuggley baby who gives great hugs and (open mouth) kisses
He is easy to put to sleep and has (finally) started sleeping through the night on a regular basis.
D.H. loves to copy his brother. If Gabe wears an eye patch or a hat David hands it to me to put on his head. David also loves to bounce on the bed like his older brother but has to do it on his bum since he can't jump yet.
He can entertain himself for long stretches of time just exploring or playing with toys.
David just took his first steps a week and a half ago. He's no speed demon yet but I'm sure he'll get there.
He loves to ride around in the little tikes car that we bought a few weeks ago. Fast or slow the kid likes to cruise. He also loves playing with little cars and trucks and buzzing his lips to go "vroom, Vroom." (When I make his cake it will probably be shapped like a car)


David Hyrum is a blessing to care for. Thank you Heavenly Father for sending us this wonderful little boy.

Do we smile because we are happy, or are we happy because we Smile?

The leadership in our church has asked our youth to do an interesting thing this year- SMILE! They have also asked the youth to pray and read the Book of Mormon for at least 5 minutes daily. These three simple things are supposed to encourage these wonderful young people to "Be thou an example of the believer in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith,and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12) which is our current theme.
Why ask the youth to smile? A few thoughts ran through my head. It is one way to hold up your candle and not hide it under a bushel. A means to share your testimony of Christ through your countenance. It also makes other people happy. Smiling is contagious. If we truly desire to help and lift our neighbor, the easiest place to start is by smiling at them. One of the girls in class also suggested that one of parents favorite things about having kids is seeing them smile. As a parent, I know this is the case. It brings joy to my heart to see my boys smile.Heavenly Father loves us more than we could ever love our own children and of course wants to see us happy. That's why He gave us the plan of happiness, so that we could enjoy full felicity.
From what I have read and heard about smiling just using the muscles in the face to turn your cheeks upward releases endorphins that aid in creating a positive mood. The opposite is also true, scowling inevitably creates a dark mood even if nothing externally wrong has happened. Interesting case study: Imagine two groups. One group is asked to put a pen between their teeth and make sure their lips can't touch it (producing a smile). The other group is asked to put a pen in their mouth and make sure their teeth DON'T touch it, so that only the lips are holding it (and thus pulling on the face). The two groups are shown a joke. The group that is smiling thinks its a real knee slapper, the other group is not amused.
So do we smile because we are happy, or are we happy because we smile? I would say both, two sides to the same coin. So toss the coin and say cheese!