Monday, February 8, 2010

Weekly news from Vancouver

Not much has been going on with us here in Vancouver. We are hearing a lot about the Winter Olympics that are going to start this week in that other Vancouver--and we wish we could go--but it is not going to happen. We will watch it on TV--but it brings to memory the time we went to the Winter Olympics in SLC eight years ago. Cameron was just leaving the MTC for Hong Kong and we just found out that our good friend, Becky had cancer. Thankfully she survived treatment and is still with us and Cameron served an awesome mission.
We just got some good news a few minutes ago. Chase just found out that he has been accepted to BYU-Idaho and he and Shyla will be moving to Rexburg next summer to start school there in the fall. CONGRATULATIONS to them.
Like I said --not much going on with us this week. I made several trips to the Dr. for various reasons and everything is pretty much up to par for me. My liver is still huge with 10-12 cm cysts and a CT scan just showed that there may be a cyst on one of my kidneys. The dr. doesn't seem to be too concerned and I will get re-checked in 6 months. We went to see Avatar on Saturday and that was pretty awesome. We didn't see it in 3-D because the theater we went to didn't show it in 3-D--but it was still awesome. I was more impressed with the scenery and the technology of the Avatar's than the story-line--but the whole thing was still pretty fun to watch. I would recommend it.
The super bowl was yesterday--but really--who cares. It doesn't really matter much in the whole eternal scheme of things. While studying in Alma this week for my Institute class I came upon a thought about faith from President Joseph Feilding Smith. "If we want to have a living, abiding faith, we must be active in the performance of every duty as members of this Church". Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught, "Faith exists when absolute confidence in that which we cannot see combines with action that is in absolute conformity to the will of our Heavenly Father. Without all three--first, absolute confidence, second, action; and third, absolute conformity--without these three, all we have is a counterfeit, a weak and watered-down faith". I am trying to do better about understanding what my Heavenly Father wants me to do with the time that I have left on this earth. I know that in order for my faith to be strenthened, I must do all I can to obey the commandments and serve in my callings. My hope for my family is that we can all try each day to gain a stronger faith in the things that really matter. Love, Mom