X-country across the country?

Wouldn't it be great if cross-country skiing meant we'd go 'cross the country and spend some time with all of you in the West?



Dad & I went cross-country skiing first thing yesterday morning. This is how he likes to celebrate his birthday and he was SO excited that he'd recovered enough from all the surgeries to go. He decided we should go early enough that the snow wasn't melting. Well, it was so cold that we had to stop every few minutes to pull our fingers into the palms of our gloves to warm them up so enough that we could go again.



YIKES it was cold!!! Still, we had a great time - We were the only ones in the park and it was barely light. We skied past a small stream and paused to listen and enjoy. It was a beautiful way to start our day. I took some video of Grandpa skating - You can check it out on the grandma blog.

The FUNctional Family

There is a FANTASTIC article in the February Ensign magazine - You can access it online at http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=bd959d9ff732f110VgnVCM100000176f620a____

The guy who wrote it was in my parents' ward when my Dad was bishop and I was attending BYU and later, when I worked at BYU after my mission, he worked across the hall from me . He's a great guy. This article is about functional families and it has so many great suggestions about parenting. I read it twice so far because it has so much great, useful information. At the beginning of the article he wrote:

"All families face challenges in dealing with the unique personalities of family members. However, in a family that functions well, family members recognize that they have weaknesses, and they work to improve their relationships despite their weaknesses."

Here are some guidelines he covers about being a functional family:

Parents focus their energy on teaching their children correct principles and allowing them to exercise their agency.
Parents intentionally strengthen their families.
Relationships are of supreme importance.
Parents are active teachers.
Parents lead by example.
Parents teach their children faith in our Heavenly Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I hope you'll read it and share your thoughts.

love you!