Calvin's First Talk

Well it's official, Calvin is one of the youth! He was asked to give his first talk in sacrament meeting a few Sunday's ago. I am so proud of him. Eric showed him how to look talk subjects up on www.lds.org and then how to skim them for content and which ones would apply best, then Calvin did the rest. He found 2 conference talks to read and wrote his talk all by himself. He typed it and everything! I think he was proud of himself, too. His subject was repentance and he did an amazing job! It is so fun to be a spectator in the events of his life! I love to see the young man he is becoming. I love you Calv!
Here is his talk if you would like to read it:
Calvin’s repentance talk
I am Calvin Nicol and I was asked to give a talk on faith in the lord Jesus Christ or repentance I chose to speak on repentance. OK first of all what dose repentance really mean? Well according to the bible dictionary it means: forgiveness or the remission of sins. So now that we know what repentance means, we can go into how you repent. There are six steps to repenting, the first step is to realize that you have done something wrong, then to determine how bad of a sin it is. The second step is the atonement of sin, this is a permanent effort to not do the sin ever again. The third step is the confession of sins. You always need to tell your heavenly father if you have sinned if there is a big sin that needs to be confessed to a bishop or a stake president. The fourth step is the restitution for sin. You must restore as much as possible all that is stolen or damaged from the sin. The fifth step is to follow all the commandments. Full obedience brings the complete power of the gospel into your life with strength to focuses on the abandonment of the sin. Step six even though it is the last step it is still extremely important, it is recognition of the savior. This is very critical part in repentance so that you know that only on the Saviors terms you can be forgiven. So that is how you repent, now I would like to share a story that I found in the 1995 May ensign, Elder Richard G Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles shares this story, “Recently, while traveling on an unfamiliar road, I encountered a large temporary sign declaring Rough Road Ahead, and indeed it was. Had I not been warned, that experience would have been disastrous. Life is like that. It’s full of rough spots. Some are tests to make us stronger. Others result from our own disobedience. Helpful warnings in our personal life can also save us from disaster. A damaged road presents the same obstacles to every traveler until others repair it. The highway of life is different. Each one of us encounters unique challenges meant for growth. Also, our own bad choices can put more barriers in the path. Yet we have the capacity to smooth out the way, to fill in the depressions, and to beautify our course. The process is called repentance; the destination is forgiveness. If you have ignored warnings and your life has been damaged or disabled by a rough road, there is help available. Through that help you can renew and rebuild your damaged life. You can start over again and change your course from a downward, twisting, disappointing path to a superhighway to peace and happiness.” I like the comparison of the rough spots in the road and hard times in life because I know life is hard but I know through repentance we can be forgiven by the Savior. The next story I would like to share is found in the April 1997 New Era talk given by Elder Neal Anderson of the Seventy, he shares his story, “I remember my father awakening me one cold night in February when I was about 16. I remember feeling startled; I had only been asleep about an hour. He explained that a steer from our farm had wandered onto the highway and been hit by a truck. The animal was dead. To save the meat we would have to act quickly. We dragged the steer to an open shed with our old tractor. Our next task was to hoist the animal up. We tied its hind feet together, then threw the rope over a beam. I remember struggling to get my arms under the animal’s hindquarters and lift as my father pulled. To lift with any effect required wrapping my whole body around the slippery animal. By the time the body was hung, the mud and stench was ingrained in my clothes. I felt miserable, but our work had only begun.Together my father and I cleaned the dead animal. We didn’t finish until about three in the morning. The smell, the slime, the dirt, and the filth clung to me as I went back to the house.Although it has been more than 25 years, the events of the next hour are vivid in my mind. I remember the satisfaction of removing my shirt. Peeling off each layer of clothing brought relief. I began washing—first my hands, then my arms. It was not the kind of dirt that disappeared quickly. Then I showered, first washing the ears, then the hair, back to the hands and fingernails, and to the hair again. It was some time before the cleansing was done.Slipping into clean pajamas, I lay awake for a while. It was four in the morning. I was exhausted, but the tiredness did not approach the satisfaction of being washed and clean.Yet as memorable as that experience was, there are feelings far surpassing the physical feelings of that cold winter night. I speak of marvelous spiritual feelings that come through the gift of the Savior’s atonement as the layers of sin are washed away and we come to feel spiritually clean. This story reminds me of baptism because when your baptize you feel spiritually clean. Each week we take the sacrament and renew our baptismal covenants and renew the good feeling we had after. I would like to bear my testimony that the church is true and through Heavenly father’s help we can repent and be forgiven for our sins. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Chloe- Bo 4 months old!

I love to play the Wii with my big brother!


Chloe turned four months on Sunday so yesterday I took her to her 4 mth check up. Yes, she is finally 10 lbs! Actually she is 10 lbs and 1/2 an ounce. Hey evey little bit counts. The doctor said she is small but he is not worried she is actually very strong and a little ahead for her age on her milestones. She is already getting stranger anxiety and I always feel bad when it happens. (The doctor said it doesn't usually start until 6 months when they are more aware of their surroundings, but she is already very aware of her self and others.) There is no rhyme or reason to who she is going to cry at and who she is going to smile at. But the doctor came I yesterday and she just started crying. She cried at a lady at school the other day and a little girl. I guess certain features just make her scared. She is usually pretty happy now, thank you chiropracter, but she still screams in her carseat. She loves her exersaucer and loves to play with Calv, Kenz, and Corb. She is also giggling more but I still haven't been able to get it on video. She also has some pretty strawberry hair. we think she might be a red head. Time will tell. Happy 4 months Chloe!

Corbyn's Opinion of the New President

I had to write this funny comment Corbyn said this morning. (First a little background) At school the kids have all been having class elections and learning how the voting process works and who the canidates are. Well, Kenzie and Calvin have both been vocal about who their friends are voting for and who they would vote for and why, Corbyn not so much, until this morning. The kids came running up stairs asking who won and we told them Obama. Kenzie and Calvin both groaned,"NO!" They then went down to tell Corbyn and as Corbyn is coming up the stairs this is what I hear..."Oh great, he's gonna raise taxes. I bet he's raising taxes right now!" Kids! I love her she always has something funny to say. And just FYI she thinks he is going to raise sales tax so she feels this is horrible to pay over 8 cents on the dollar for the things she wants to buy. Now you cna see where the frustration comes in.:) I love this kid!

It's BACK!!!!!!

Say what? The snow is back? Where are my ski clothes?

Off to the bus stop in the snow, how cool!




We woke up this morning to Corbyn yelling, "It's a blizzard outside, it's a blizzard!" Yep, the snow is back! My kids couldn't be happier. Calvin said,"Mom it better not be melted by the time we get out of school." I said it won't be and calvin replies,"that's what you said last time and church was only 3 hours long!" Well it is still coming down quite hard and I don't see the sun in sight so I think I am safe. I think we have at least 1' and 1/2 right now. It goes up to Corbyn's knees! We love Utah and the snow! Fun times!

What do you get when you have 10 divas, lots of presents, hot dogs, smores, birthday cake, and a beautiful Fall day?

Kenzie's Party! What a great day! It was about 72 degrees outside and the fall leaves cover the ground to make a fun time for the girls. We went to American Fork Canyon with 8 of Kenzie's friends to roast hotdogs, smores, eat birthday cake, and have fun in the canyon. Calvin was the fire starter and as a first class scout, I have to say he knew what he was doing. Good job Calv! It was great, the girls ran around playing hide-and-seek, and hiking around the area. After it got dark we made smores and Eric told a scary story around the fire. We then went back to our house to open presents because it was too dark at the canyon. It was a great time. The perfect birthday for the nature girl! Happy Birthday Kenzie!

To my Sweet Birthday Girl

We have been partying all weekend but I wanted to let my sweet birthday girl know how proud I am of her and what a sweet 9 year old she has become. I can't believe it has already been nine years since her sweet spirit entered this world. Kenzie turned 9 on Saturday and has been so excited about her birthday all week! She is such a fun-loving, sweet spirited, compassionate, and bubbly girl. She has friends in more cities than I can count and here is no different. She is loved by all and I am so glad she is apart of our family. I can't wait to see what the next five years bring. I know it will include a lot of hiking, camping and enjoying nature. Oh, and don't forget recycling. If you don't know already, Kenzie is our little tree hugger. She loves her world and prays for it everyday. What a sweet girl!

Halloween Night

What a fun night...chili, cornbread, cupcakes, candy, trick-or-treating, and fun, fun, fun!

"Hobbes," isn't that the cutest Hobbes you have ever seen?

Kenzie as Sharpei. Fabulous!

Corbyn as a punk rockin' "Rock Star." I know so Corbyn!

Calvin as himself...Calvin!

The dynamic trio! Lovin' Halloween!


The cutest duo ever...Calvin & Hobbes


The party! We are so glad we had such a great turn out but we did miss those that couldn't make it, but we look forward to seeing you all again soon! Thanks for coming and I look forward to next year! Here are some highlights of our fun night!

Calvin and his friend, Mason. They are the only two 12 year olds in the ward, good thing they really get along!

Cutie Chloe!

Annie and Little Luke!

Bradley playing with Chloey-Bo!

Where is Charlie's space helmet? Oh there it is!

Everyone loves the space helmet, even Kenz!


Jack, Sam, Charlie, Corbyn & Kenzie check out their candy and trade away!

Sam the Penguin.

Julius Ceasar aka Luke!

Getting ready to go Trick-or-Treating! Yeah!

Ashley and the buff, and getting buffer, firefighter...Bradley!

Judy and Chloe. Yes Chloe is determined to suck her thumb!

My kids favorite babysitters...Judy and Annie! They were trying to schedule them all night, of course, they wanted to include making cookies and having fun!

Cameron, Steven, and Calvin loving the picture thing. Can you believe that Calvin and Cameron are only a year apart! Crazy!

We are so glad Aunt Laurie and her family moved back to Utah. We know Aunt Laurie loves pictures, so we are very glad to have this one. Veronica, we missed ya, but we know you're having a great time at school!

Little Darren, isn't he the cutest giraffe you have ever seen!