10 things that happily married couples do

Thanks to Valentines day, February is typically a month to think more about love and romance. There is so much written on the subject, but one thing is clear. Marriage matters for many, many reasons. As marriage drops in popularity in our country, so does the moral fabric of our civilization. I just read this article in Time magazine this morning while I was eating my oatmeal: "We are casting aside the institution of marriage and with it the notion that children should be raised in stable two-parent families. This is a social catastrophe."
To counter that trend, I also read this week another great article about 10 things couples can do to make or keep their marriage strong. I think they are worth mentioning here:

1. Have positive conversations.
2. Show affection.
3. Remember that you are each other’s therapists.
4. Be humble and cultivate Christlike attributes.
5. Date frequently.
6. Enrich your intimacy.
7. Spend time with children and grandchildren.
8. Seek feedback and help each other.
9. Eliminate anger.
10. Be sensitive to each other’s stress levels

My all-time favorite short piece of counsel on marriage came from President Gordon B. Hinckley, who shared this important key to a great marriage: “A happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion." If you want a happy marriage, do what happily married couples do.

Charlie's adoring fans

Courtney's sister Kim had her baby boy just a few days before Courtney. Her parents have been busy helping both daughters. Another sister is in having a baby in the next few days, so these little cousins will be very close in age. How fun!
We can't wait to meet little Charlie! What darling little boys.

Young Women camp

I've mentioned before that I've spend a goodly amount of time in my life with girls at a summer girls camp up in the mountains not far from here. I'm preparing to go again. I'm pretty sure that this will be my 20th year...yikes!
Our wonderful ward president and I have been attending some camp training. Even though I've been so many times, I always learn something new when I go to a camp training meeting. At the very least, it helps me to remember why we do what we do. As I've mentioned before, it has less to do with actual camping (although we do plenty of that) and more to do with getting the girls out in nature so that they can feel the spirit of our Heavenly Father. These goals really are at the forefront of our preparation and planning for a great experience for our Young Women:

• Draw closer to Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
• Feel the influence of the Spirit.
• Serve others.
• Build friendships and unity.
• Learn skills.
• Appreciate God's creations.
• Have fun!!!
  

Our stake joined together with the surrounding states over 40 years ago to purchase property in the mountains for this purpose. Recently, we were made aware of this fantastic web site that is for all who need ideas for girls camp preparation, as well as containing policies and procedures for this particular Camp Shalom. Check it out here. It's a great resource if you are or will ever be a Young Woman leader who "gets" to go to girls camp. Be sure to scroll through the handout section because it contains a lot of good information.
Plus, we got to listen to this classy and amazing woman and hear her thoughts on the subject. It was truly inspirational.

An enchanted evening

My sweet valentine surprised me with a Friday evening date that was superb! He told me to dress up and be ready to go at 4:30 pm. We drove to SLC. We parked in the new City Creek underground parking lot. We crossed the street and went in to this building:

and enjoyed a lovely dinner at:



complete with a buffet of many delicious foods prepared to perfection. Who doesn't love the Lion House rolls and the creme brulee served there (not to mention the prime rib, honey glazed ham, fresh shrimp, salmon and all the fixings.) We watched the sun set from our birds-eye-view of the Salt Lake City temple. What a romantic evening!

We walked around the temple grounds where we married, browsed in the LARGE and beautiful Deseret Book downtown and than meandered over to this location:

to watch this amazing performance, by this talented group and guest pianist Andre Watts:




The sold out crowd gave a 5 minute standing ovation at the conclusion of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, and the reviewers showered the performance with a praise and a great review.

My oh my...it was some enchanted evening to spend with my sweetheart! He outdid himself this year, seriously.

Introducing...precious little Charlie!

The proud parents...Dave and Courtney. They named their little boy Vernon Charles after their grandfathers and they will call him Charlie. How wonderful! He weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz and was 21" long. He was born on February 11 in the evening. They are going to be/are such wonderful parents. Charlie is such a lucky boy to be born into their loving care.


Dave's sister Jordan paid them a visit and met her new little nephew. He is the first grandson to be born in our family and we are so anxious to meet him.
Isn't he just the sweetest?


Newborns have the best little hands and feet! I just love seeing them. Another little spirit has come to earth and we are so thankful for his safe arrival!