Colorful observation

Whereas all of my old photos have the trendy antique filters applied to them!

Finding your happy place

It's been a while since we visited the monks of Not Quite Zen.

Practice makes perfect

Do you think Moroni had any inkling that he'd be topping temples all over the world? I have it on good authority that his father did!

Sketchbook: We claim

There are few things more disorienting than discovering that another family is sitting in your regular spot at church!

Time is fleeting

The same thing is true in Gospel Doctrine, except we have more instruction time than we used to. It's still a challenge to get them to settle down some days!

Sportsman of the year

There's one way to avoid getting in to trouble during church ball — don't play!

From half a world away

We had our first non-holiday Preparation Day phone call with our missionary, and it was wonderful! There was no stress or pressure that comes with the holiday calls, and we were able to talk with him about his work. Love it!

The world has need

The Family Search site makes it super easy to find names for the temple. Even with all the aids, it can still be a struggle sometimes to find names of people to take to the temple. But where there's a will, there's a way! 

Lift up your voice

Actually I think that's true for pretty much every calling I've been involved with...

Sketchbook: Every week is Christmas

There's a lot of wisdom in the recent announcement that missionaries will be able to contact home on Preparation Days. And I'm not just saying that as a parent of a missionary! It will really help some of the missionaries make the transition from being at home to being in the mission field. It will also help families feel more a part of the work that the missionaries are doing.

I'm just glad that our missionary is in a close time zone rather than stationed on the other side of the planet. I love him and all, but do I love him enough for a weekly phone call at three o'clock in the morning?

Mormon prom

At sixteen he could lead an army, but in our time he wouldn't be able to vote. 

It's all in how you say it

I suppose you could study the scriptures agnostically or irreligiously. But why?

But does it really count?

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Personally, I don't remember Valentine's Day being that much of a thing as a missionary. Until the package of notes from the kids in Primary came about three weeks later.

It's like a piece of me

This reminds me of an old Fox Trot cartoon where Jason wanted to take a more realistic approach to his valentines. He cut up little pieces of meat that he glued to his cards and said, "Here's a piece of my heart for Valentine's Day."

I suggest we stick with tradition.

A commercial interruption

Wait! Just east of Temple Square are the Church office buildings! And what's that book he's holding? Why, it's That's One Small Step for a Mom, One Giant Leap for Missionarykind, a collection of missionary-related cartoons by none other than yours truly! (Yes, this is a shameless self-promotion!)

It's available now on Amazon, just in time to send as a belated Valentine to your missionary serving in the field! Grab your copy today!

Sketchbook: Hastening the work

You can tell this is a work of fiction. No missionary ever gets that much mail!

Fits and giggles

For deacons, the sound of flatulence is the funniest thing in the world. Come to think of it, that would probably get the elders quorum giggling, too.

Two for the price of one

There should be a banana in there someplace.

Missionary splits

Two of the four missionaries we've sent out have written home about splitting out the seam of their pants. It's something most missionaries experience.

As for my experience, serving in Korea we usually sat on the floor with the family we were teaching — cross-legged. It's a devastating way to find out that your seams haven't held up!

Jurassic Nursery

Nursery can be a blast sometimes, especially when you hit that sweet spot when all the kids play together. Sometimes!

Working on my core

Sketchbook: Just a little late

Just a few weeks ago and this one wouldn't have made much sense. Our Gospel Doctrine teacher still struggles with the concept of no opening prayer. On the other hand, our elders quorum has tried twice now to get away without having any prayers at all!

We'll get it figured out, eventually!

Who's on first? What's on second?

I have a hard enough time trying to remember which is fast Sunday, let alone knowing what's going on for the third Sunday!

Shod with something comfy

Because you have to be comfortable when you're fighting off the fiery darts of the adversary!