Hi Cole!
It's your week to be even more special than usual. Hurray for you!
Well, you probably saw the picture of our new puppy that I sent your mom. We named her Dash for two reasons. First, Dash was the name of Queen Victoria's childhood dog. Since I love anything Victorian, it was a shoe in. Second, she dashes all around; it's too cute. So, we really like her a lot. BUT...dun...dun...dun...so does the neighborhood coyote. Or at least that mangy beast would like to get ahold of her. He climbed the fence into our backyard, while we were eating dinner. Dash barked and growled from the safety of the breakfast nook. Needless to say, we don't let her out of our sight.
Still she has lots of fun. Tonight we met a lady down the street who has a Yorkshire Terrier a month older than Dash. The two had a great time running around and chasing each other. Puppies are so much fun...BUT...the are also a lot of work. They have to be walked twice a day, fed, groomed (including brushing their teeth), house broken, chew toy directed, and obedience trained. Plus, you have to scoop their poop. It's not so bad with a little dog like Dash, but big dogs...um...well...you get the picture.
We wonder what you are up to lately and what sorts of things you are interested in doing. We like to do all sorts of things. Right now I am trying to watch fewer movies, so I am reading, biking, dog training/walking, and gardening more. Life is so fun and engaging, when we turn off electronic, mind-sapping, pseudo-entertainment. Did you know watching TV can cause people to have trouble concentrating. AND TV watching causes your brain to be in a submissive, passive, suggestible state, which advertisers exploit. Another study says it's even worse than that, because the brain slips into the same type of inactivity as deep sleep without getting the actual rest. When I remembered all this, I decided to change my bad habit. I'm enjoying life and feel a lot happier now.
Another thing I'm doing is being a volunteer grandma at a local preschool. It's a blast, playing with all the little children. I help them learn their sounds and listen to the readers practice.
This year our Stake is memorizing The Living Christ. Although I helped some of my children learn to memorize, I haven't done much memorizing in many years. I almost gave up until the Holy Ghost whispered a solution. I once read in the book Cheaper By the Dozen about a father that taught his children all sorts of things by posting them in the bathroom. Yup! I put a copy of The Living Christ in our bathroom. Every time I go in there, I spend a minute or so reciting. In less than a month, I've learned four sentences. I'm going to catch up with everyone else before too long. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father cares enough about me to direct the Holy Ghost to inspire me. There are billions of people on this earth, and He cares enough to help me be obedient to my Stake President's direction AND find me the perfect little dog. Some say things like this are coincidence. Well, they can think what they want. I KNOW my Heavenly Father answers my prayers and loves me personally and intimately. How about that!
Well, Cole, choose to be a builder in your family. Build up love with your sisters. Build obedience and trust with your parents. Build kindness and more of your fun loving ways. Smile and encourage others. We love you, and don't you forget it.
