Luke turns 13!

Luke turned 13 this week!  We made breakfast in bed,.  They had a party at school for him and he got the blue card.  Then I took him to get yaki-soba and we got a bunch of red, yellow, and blue helium balloons.  He loved it.  Then Tim took him shopping to get some things he likes.  He wanted cupcakes for his birthday cake.  We sang the family birthday song to him and he had fun blowing out the candles.

I went to Stake Women's Conference this week.  The keynote address was given by a lady who talked about trials.  She talked about the importance of acknowledging our trials, but then looking for the good and for the things we are grateful for.  I went to three more workshops.  One was on De-cluttering our lives. She emphasized putting our trust in the Lord and doing what He would have us do as a way to simplify and do those things that matter most.  The second talk was about Family History work.  She gave lots of quotes about how those who have past on are able to connect and communicate with those still living in order to help us while we are on this earth.  I did some work in Ancestry.com this week.  It is so much easier for me to use as a search tool than Family Search and yes, I can feel the spirit so strong when I'm working with our ancestors who have passed on.  It is a great work!  The last class I went to was on strengthening our family relationships and also about teaching our children how to have proper relationships while dating.  Todd, Amy, and I have been having great conversations about dating.  It has been good.

Tim and I went on a date to see the movie "Selma".  It is a true story about how Dr. Martin Luther King helped to get voting rights for the African American people in Selma, Alabama.  It was excellent-we learned a lot!

Pictures of Luke as a baby!

Grandma Stout went to the hospital and got her gall bladder out.  While they were in there, they found some pulps on her liver and kidneys and they are doing a biopsy to test for cancer.  We should find out the results next week.  She has been in so much pain during the past four months or so.  It's been a blessing Tim did not get sick because he has been able to be at the hospital quite a bit.  He is there now!