day at the zoo

we took the girls to the zoo for there birthdays and we had a blast despite the 100 degree weather and walking 10 miles at least. We asked lauryn what her favourite animal was and she said the merry go round!! The zoo was great as it was very interactive. Lauryn was nearly intears at one point as she despiratley wanted to feed bambi but the goats kept getting to the food first. so this photo was taken after matt had thrown food at all the gready goats to keep them occupied! Elyssa on the other hand was more interested in eating the food herself!! we managed to aviod being eaten by the lions and being pooped on by the birds so all in all it was a great day.

Day At Tha ZOO

On Lauryn's Birthday we took the girls to the zoo. We endured 100F weather and walked for miles but had a blast.
At the end of the day we asked Lauryn what her favourite animal was she said the merry go round!!! She's sat on the elephant as she thinks its dumbo.
The zoo was really interactive which was great. Lauryn got quite upset as the goats kept eating the pellets and not bambi. this photo was taken whilst matt was chucking food at all the goats so that lauryn could finally get to feed bambi.
Then the

Temple

Thoughts from Mum and A. Jan

From: Janet Hough

Dear Family,

I wanted to write to all of you those in Australia as well and say how much l love you. Why am l emailing at this time, l don't know only that l want you to know l have a testimony of the Saviour and of his restored church through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that it is the Kingdom of God for me and nothing else.

This morning l had a quick chat with Rich at church concerning a young man in the ward who is struggling to stay active, Rich mentioned that it was complicated! It got me thinking of the lesson l gave this morning to the new members and investigators. We read in John 8:28," When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that l Am He, and that l do nothing of myself." I said to them," When you can't get out of bed on a Sunday and go to church l hope you remember that scripture, and that it was for you and me that the Saviour hung on the cross and did what he did so we might have eternal life, let nothing keep you from attending church. No it is not complicated if we focus ourselves and our families on the Saviour Jesus Christ

I have truly learnt that Jesus Christ is my Saviour, that through him and by him I can be made perfect. I love him, he has taken upon himself my sins and if I serve him and live up to my covenants I can be made perfect by him.

When I look back there have been 3 significant spiritual growth periods in my life. The first when I joined the church and knew it to be true, that experience is still as fresh in my mind as if it was yesterday. How grateful I am to the two missionaries who knocked on my door, and how precious that early testimony was.

The second was my mission where I learnt obedience counts, plus hard work. I learnt about being spiritually converted.

The third at the age of 50 when I truly understood the atonement. That I should not be discouraged with my imperfections but to keep trying to learn and grow. That above all the Saviour is my partner and friend. I feel at peace with myself I am coming to terms with who I am.

Some other things l have learnt, when we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our needs assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves!

We need to have a vision a perspective of what we hope to accomplish it will bring great blessings into our lives.

President Benson said to the single sisters of the church in [1988] but for me it applies to us all

Be fully involved in the church, reach out to others, rather than turning inward, forget self and really serve others in your church callings, in personal deeds of compassionate service, in unknown unheralded personal acts of kindness. If you really want to receive joy and happiness, then serve others with all your heart. Lift their burden and your own burden will be lighter.

I feel so greatly blessed in you my family no words can describe the joy it will be to spend the eternities together. Next year l am 60 years old and perhaps l did not want any more grass to grow under my feet without sending this. I hope you will save it and read it now and then and share it with the Grandchildren and G. nieces and nephews. I want to finish with the Refiners Fire l have sent it before but l feel it is a good reminder of life.

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

God Bless You, I send my love

Mum and Auntie Jan

It will be nice to have a tan in October!

ANOTHER Pina Colada; Jen beginning to bronze; Sam ready to snorkel.

The real Captain..Birdseye (",); Midnight walks on the beach; Chichen Itza

Hi all, we just had to tell you all about our holiday to Mexico. We had an amazing time!

Given that our honeymoon was to a freezing cold, sub-standard hotel in Tunisia (nobody go there!), we felt we deserved one last hurrah before we try and grow our little family. We booked Mexico one day before we left and never looked back.

Mexico is a paradise. We stayed in a 5* luxury hotel and you could really tell. The workers treated us like we owned the place. Uncle Sam needs to learn how to tip, though (Scrooge)! They would serve us drinks whilst lying on the private beach, as well as making us feel very welcome. Sam must have drunk two or three pina coladas per day, with Jen’s drink being the Miami Vice (sin alcohol of course).

The room was heavenly with a double king-sized bed and a double Jacuzzi. We had to shout to each other when in bed, just so we knew where the other one was!

We spent most of our time on the beach, around the pool, in the luxury spa and in the sumptuous restaurants. We are very brown, although Jen is the brownest by a long way. She has come home looking almost like a Mexican herself.

Our highlights included Chichen Itza and a snorkelling adventure on the second largest barrier reef in the world. The fish were breath-taking and would swim around you as if you weren’t even there. We felt we were in a tropical fish tank like in some shopping centres! Aunty Jenny definitely needs to grow her sea-legs though. Blimey! We also swam in an underground cave called a Cenote. We will have to talk you through it!

Chichen Itza is one of the newly classified 7 wonders of the world, along with Rome’s Colosseum and the Great Wall of China (that Lou saw this year). We should see if the Hough family can visit all seven! Only Peru, Jordan, Rio and India to go! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Seven_Wonders_of_the_World

Chichen Itza was built by the Mayan people who lived only 200 years after Moroni buried the golden plates! Whilst they were deep in apostasy with heathen gods for everything (sun, moon, fertility, famine, etc) they revered Kulkulcan, who was seen as the one true God! Based on his teachings, their calendar prophecies that Kukulcan will return on December 23rd, 2012. At that time, he will reign upon the earth, all knowledge will be restored, and He will usher in a generation of peace between Man and Beast (!!!) Uncle Sam says he is going to take the 22nd off, that year, and spend it repenting. Awesome eh? Apparently that year all of the planets line up too (verified). Pretty spooky.

Sam had to take his Blackberry with him and so could still answer Bishop emails. There is no out-of-office for a Bishop unfortunately. He says it is a lot easier though with a Pina colada in one hand and 5,000 miles of distance.

Finally, on the last night, Uncle Sam surprised Aunty Jenny by booking her a full-body massage (he had one too). It was incredible. It left us unable to speak for several minutes….but then we had to order more Pina Coladas!

Needless to say that we had a wonderful time and recommend it to everyone. We are extremely relaxed, very happy and thrilled to take on the next 12 months.

Love always, Sam and Jen. X