Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Halloween
I am not sure what happened but I don't have one single picture from Halloween. To be honest I have to remind myself that Halloween actually came and went. I think it will take us a few years to get adjusted to the climate. The falls leaves and the crisp air that used to be the indicator that Halloween was around the corner were missing. We went from looking for Halloween costumes that were warm and fuzzy to keep the kids warm to finding something with less layers. Teegan wore the batman costume to our ward truck or treat and just about passed out. It was a warm evening in the 90's :). Since Halloween fell on Sunday this year we didn't do any neighborhood trick or treating. As I mentioned we went to the ward truck or treat during the week and got plenty of candy and on Saturday we went to a Halloween party. The kids were really good sports about it and didn't complain once (OK maybe Teegan did once). It actually ended up opening some good experiences for the kids. The next day in Landon's class he was asked to read his journal entry in front of the class. He mentioned that he had not gone trick or treating. When he was walking back to his seat his teacher started to ask him why but then stopped and said "I guess I should not ask you that". Landon said "it's OK you can ask". She said "do you not trick or treat because of your religion"? He said "no, we can trick or treat, it was just Sunday".
Whitney was asked to give a talk at Evening in Excellence (a night for the girls and their parents) on integrity. She was able to use her experience in her talk. Here is what she said:
Whitney was asked to give a talk at Evening in Excellence (a night for the girls and their parents) on integrity. She was able to use her experience in her talk. Here is what she said:
This Halloween I decided to not go trick or treating because it fell on a Sunday . Living in Utah they go trick or treating Saturday night when this happens. That Monday I went to school and was asked by my friend in class if I had gone trick or treating. When I said no, she had a look on her face like are you serious? Then the words that came out of her mouth were “Oh is it because your mormon?” I told her yes and she understood. The next day in soccer I was getting ready when I got a zip lock sandwich bag of candy thrown at me. I looked up and it had came from my friend that I told I had not gone trick or treating. She said "I got plenty and I want to share". Standing up for who I am and what I believe has a whole new meaning for me. Moving here from Utah has been a really eye opening experience. Not just the questions people have asked me but also choosing the right when you are asked to do something that you know is wrong. I feel like I have integrity now but know that it will keep growing stronger as I choose the right.
So since I have no pictures from this Halloween I decided to share some from Halloweens past.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wish us luck
We made an offer on this house today. Kind of scary! It is a lot like our old house in that it will keep me busy for years to come. But you know me, I love a project :).
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Grandma and Grandpa Maxfield Visit
Grandma Susan and Grandpa Laurie came to visit us
They explored downtown Austin while the kids were in school. We visited a few restaurants, made a visit to Hamilton Pool and watched Landon's last football game. I hate to say we spent an entire day at the biggest outlet mall I have ever seen (and I have seen a few in my day). The trip went way to quick and we are already planning on having them back soon.
They explored downtown Austin while the kids were in school. We visited a few restaurants, made a visit to Hamilton Pool and watched Landon's last football game. I hate to say we spent an entire day at the biggest outlet mall I have ever seen (and I have seen a few in my day). The trip went way to quick and we are already planning on having them back soon.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Mormons ?!?!
My 3 short months being a member of the LDS church and living outside of Utah have been a very eye opening experience. Not only for me but for our whole family. It never ceases to amaze me the misconceptions people have about our religion. One of the first few days of school Whitney overheard a group of boys talking next to her in class. 3 boys were talking about making the basketball team. One asked if another friend had made the team and the other one replied "no because he is Mormon". The other one said "didn't he move here from Utah?" The other one replied "yes, that's were all those Mormons live".
Things were different here and we were going to have to be strong. There are curious people that have heard crazy things and we were going to have to be good examples and share the truth.
Whitney has had numerous situations where once they realize she is Mormon they ask her things like, what does your family "make" (like the Amish), I heard they don't use protection (she was not even sure what they were saying let alone how to answer that), I heard you can't date, once while sitting by a friend from the ward, another friend of Whitney's asked how they knew each other, Whitney told her church, She said "wait you guys are Mormons? I didn't think you could touch the opposite sex?" Whitney poked him "touch", one of the best yet is, I heard you can't look at boys! (her parents wish :)). I do feel that although people are misinformed they seem very accepting of it and don't judge you.
The interesting thing to me is that they know (or think they know) a lot about us but yet we are still so small in numbers. We live in a pretty big neighborhood and there are no members right around here. I could not wrap my mind around this. I knew it was not going to be like Utah by any means but I figured they were planted around at least 1 in a neighborhood. And like any city there are definitely neighborhoods in our ward where a large group of members ended up (interesting note, my observations are the neighborhoods that have the "family" feel) . I learned from a conference talk that the Book of Mormon makes it clear that we never will dominate by numbers. At 14 million members, we are a tiny fraction when compared to the billions of people on the earth. But, we are who we are, and we know what we know and we are to go and preach the gospel. -Pres Boyd K. Packer. So where are these people getting all their information? (light bulb moment) This is why it is so important for their to be members out in the mission field. There have been 2 incidences where I have felt very strongly and have shared with Whitney that this is why we are here, so that one girl who thought Mormons couldn't look at each other can say she meet a Mormon and they are normal, they are OK and maybe one day when she meets the missionaries she may take a second to listen to them because she once knew a cute, nice, fun, NORMAL girl who was Mormon. And as Landon says "Mom we didn't move here for the church" (no light bulb moment for him). I realize what a blessing it is.
So, I ask myself "have I taught my kids well enough that they can answer the questions?" The answer is no, because although basic, these are questions I have not really ever been asked and had to explain. So we take the opportunity to find out the answers, teach in family home evening, ask our friends "how would you answer this?", Listen better in Seminary and church classes because we aren't somewhere where everyone knows and doesn't ask the hard questions. We are in a sea of fish and instead of swimming downstream with everyone else we are now swimming up stream against everyone. We are being asked "what do you believe?" and we have to be strong enough to answer that even though we are 11. We have to learn to share that burning feeling in our hearts.
I never expected to have this kind of experience living my religion outside of Utah. I realize how naive I was and although I have a strong testomony, how easy it was to be a member and attend meeting when everyone else was. Last Sunday I sat next to an investigator and got an opportunity to listen to why she wants to join the church and all that she has been through and is willing to give up. I watched her as the relief society lesson was being taught and as she kept nodding in agreement as the spirit testified to her that it was true. I was so impressed with her spirit and her enthusiasm. I don't think I have ever had that kind of experience before. I am thankful that my family has the opportunity to live in the mission field, to be good examples and learn the answer all those hard questions.
Things were different here and we were going to have to be strong. There are curious people that have heard crazy things and we were going to have to be good examples and share the truth.
Whitney has had numerous situations where once they realize she is Mormon they ask her things like, what does your family "make" (like the Amish), I heard they don't use protection (she was not even sure what they were saying let alone how to answer that), I heard you can't date, once while sitting by a friend from the ward, another friend of Whitney's asked how they knew each other, Whitney told her church, She said "wait you guys are Mormons? I didn't think you could touch the opposite sex?" Whitney poked him "touch", one of the best yet is, I heard you can't look at boys! (her parents wish :)). I do feel that although people are misinformed they seem very accepting of it and don't judge you.
The interesting thing to me is that they know (or think they know) a lot about us but yet we are still so small in numbers. We live in a pretty big neighborhood and there are no members right around here. I could not wrap my mind around this. I knew it was not going to be like Utah by any means but I figured they were planted around at least 1 in a neighborhood. And like any city there are definitely neighborhoods in our ward where a large group of members ended up (interesting note, my observations are the neighborhoods that have the "family" feel) . I learned from a conference talk that the Book of Mormon makes it clear that we never will dominate by numbers. At 14 million members, we are a tiny fraction when compared to the billions of people on the earth. But, we are who we are, and we know what we know and we are to go and preach the gospel. -Pres Boyd K. Packer. So where are these people getting all their information? (light bulb moment) This is why it is so important for their to be members out in the mission field. There have been 2 incidences where I have felt very strongly and have shared with Whitney that this is why we are here, so that one girl who thought Mormons couldn't look at each other can say she meet a Mormon and they are normal, they are OK and maybe one day when she meets the missionaries she may take a second to listen to them because she once knew a cute, nice, fun, NORMAL girl who was Mormon. And as Landon says "Mom we didn't move here for the church" (no light bulb moment for him). I realize what a blessing it is.
So, I ask myself "have I taught my kids well enough that they can answer the questions?" The answer is no, because although basic, these are questions I have not really ever been asked and had to explain. So we take the opportunity to find out the answers, teach in family home evening, ask our friends "how would you answer this?", Listen better in Seminary and church classes because we aren't somewhere where everyone knows and doesn't ask the hard questions. We are in a sea of fish and instead of swimming downstream with everyone else we are now swimming up stream against everyone. We are being asked "what do you believe?" and we have to be strong enough to answer that even though we are 11. We have to learn to share that burning feeling in our hearts.
I never expected to have this kind of experience living my religion outside of Utah. I realize how naive I was and although I have a strong testomony, how easy it was to be a member and attend meeting when everyone else was. Last Sunday I sat next to an investigator and got an opportunity to listen to why she wants to join the church and all that she has been through and is willing to give up. I watched her as the relief society lesson was being taught and as she kept nodding in agreement as the spirit testified to her that it was true. I was so impressed with her spirit and her enthusiasm. I don't think I have ever had that kind of experience before. I am thankful that my family has the opportunity to live in the mission field, to be good examples and learn the answer all those hard questions.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
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