Saturday, October 31, 2015

No stone unturned

In our house, it was more of a contest between the kids and the parents as to who would eat all the giveaway Halloween candy first!

Happy Halloween! Be careful out there!

Friday, October 30, 2015

I dig it.

If you don't have skeletons in your closet, you probably have them somewhere else!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

There I am, all over!

Family history: it brings people together.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Monday Sketchbook: Practice Time

I've heard of kids who try to go out the day after Halloween (like if they were sick or something), but I hadn't considered a trick or treat warm up exercise. Maybe we'll have to give that a try!

Sunday, October 25, 2015

They're coming for you

Just a reminder that you should do your home teaching/visiting teaching before it's too late!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Sunday, October 18, 2015

You knew this was coming

Someone pointed out that the first point of Bro. Durrant's General Conference talk was the suggestion that each of us save money every week. How many of us are doing that?

Friday, October 16, 2015

Mystery meals

Our family has a tradition in which we have "spooky dinners" one day each week during the month of October. You may have seen examples on Pinterest or in recipe books near the checkout stands in the supermarket.

We had the missionaries over for one of our spooky dinners just last week and it was a disaster. Our menu was spider dogs, eyeball salad, Jell-o worms and witch hand cookies. The stove broke, and when one thing goes wrong, the troubles just cascade. The elders were good sports about it, but it was — perhaps — more of a scary dinner than we had planned on!

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Time to take stock

Word to the wise: keep up on your year's supply. Never run low on frog spawn. 

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Roseburg

It's hard to comprehend what happened just a few days ago in our Roseburg, a city just a few hours south of here. We were shocked and stunned at the tragedy.

I'm reminded of what Mr. Rogers is quoted as saying: "Look for the helpers." In other words, look for the people who are doing good things — the first responders, medical personnel, the people who brought food and water to the students and faculty who were evacuated, the thousands who have offered love, prayers and support to the community.

One of our local high schools sponsors a marching band competition each year, the Pacific Coast Invitational. That happened this past weekend. Roseburg was among the high school bands invited to participate. However, all extracurricular activities were canceled for the week at their school. About half of the band members decided to come up to the the competition anyway — not to perform, but to show their support for the other bands.

The 11 other schools presented the Roseburg contingent with a huge poster signed by every single member of the other participating bands to show their support. And although the Roseburg band didn't play, they were presented with the Spirit award and received a standing ovation from all who were in attendance.

Thoughts and prayers may seem simple, but they are powerful. Don't forget to pray.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Three new ones!

One of the highlights of General Conference for me was the calling of three new apostles. It was interesting to see what the outside world said about it, how we missed a chance to diversify and other things like that. If you look into their backgrounds, though, they're a lot more diverse than they appear on the outside. Amongst them they've lived in several different countries and speak multiple languages. But the bottom line is, it's the Lord who calls them — and that's what makes the difference!

Monday, October 5, 2015

Monday Sketchbook: General Conference Notes

Here are my notes from the Sunday sessions of General Conference. There were so many wonderful messages!

I've also created a PDF with the complete notes for all six sessions that's available for download (via Dropbox). It's suitable for personal review, Family Home Evening, seminary, Sunday School or whatever you'd like. Personally, I like to go over my notes, and then use Arie Van De Graaff's Conference Recap to test my knowledge!

Whatever the case, be sure to review the talks when you can — they're already posted on the Church website. It's good for you!


Sunday, October 4, 2015

Sketchbook Special Edition: Saturday General Conference Sessions

Here are my notes from the Saturday sessions of General Conference. And come back tomorrow for the Sunday sessions, and everything compiled into once handy document.




Then there's the session everyone was waiting for, with the announcement of the three new members of the Quorum of the Twelve...




And, of course, the Priesthood Session —


Friday, October 2, 2015

If you thought Team Jacob/Team Edward was bad...

And that's why they don't sell GA-themed T-shirts on Temple Square!

This is the second time that fellow Mormon Cartoonist Arie Van De Graaff and I have had similar ideas for General Conference cartoons. It happened last October as well, when he ran this one and I ran this one, both with a ComicCon theme.

Thursday, October 1, 2015