Proud Pappa---Say Cheese

I know I am just a proud Daddy but I must say my little angels are soooo adorable! Ryn’s vocabulary is exploding, both French and English. Today we were at the grocery store and she was standing in the cart as we were zipping around. We went down the juice aisle and she just started saying ” bonjour” over and over again to everyone we passed. She was soo cute, she melted everyone. And just the other day Ryn and I headed out to get some bread at the Boulangerie( It’s just 30 steps from our house:), it had just rained so we decided to do some puddle hopping. As we were doing so I started counting out-loud as we stomped in each puddle and as I said 1, she said 2, and so on all the way to 10. Yep I must brag because she already knows her alphabet and when we drive around town she’ll rattle off the letters she sees on the signs. I didn’t even know that she could count like that, I’m so proud(if you can’t tell ha ha). All this is of course thanks to a great Mommy that spends a lot of time with her, reading, counting and practicing her letters and playing fun games with her that keeps her giggling all day long.
Elle on the other hand is having a very hard time right now with what we are guessing is her teeth coming in. She will be totally fine and then all of a sudden break into this blood curdling scream. It’s so sad because she is so sweet and even though she is in pain she will still warm your heart with the cutest smile ever. I LOVE her smiles and her big twinkling eyes and yes, both my girls endure countless kisses. I just I can’t help myself:)Last night I stayed up with Elle til 4:45am and was dead tired so Kit let me sleep in as she fed the girls and got them dressed. When I woke up we had a special visitor come to our door, one that we’ve been waiting for for a longtime-(with the sweet strike that was going on here, we were notified that the camera was at customs at the Roissy airport). You see our very good friend Michelle is big into photography and very good (if you would like to see what I mean please visit http://thebelovedchild.com/index.html she does all her own photography and most of the pictures are of her very cute kids)Anyway she is like a big sister to us and she’s the kind of person that when she finds something she loves, she wants to share it with everyone and so in this spirit she decided to loan us her sweet Canon digital camera. She had just upgraded and we were asking some questions about camera’s when she thought “I will just send them this one”!!!!!! I was so excited. For the longest time I have been a wannabe photographer, just ask Kit about our trips to Holland to see the tulips and of course since we have had our girls all I can think about is –How do I capture this moment?—– Well thanks to Michelle we will have some very good (high quality) memories. Thank you Thank you Thank you! If you can’t tell I am excited in fact I read practically the whole manual online today to get acquainted with all the features of the camera. So come my next entry be prepared for some stellar photos–ha ha yeah right I am still a novice! But thank you again we will make you proud!
To the hard-court—Unfortunately we are in a bad decline right now because of the lame-O government. Let me explain- In order for me to play(work) in France I must be cleared by what is in a way the city hall for this region of France. Anyway it is sooooo slow and so ridiculous, (they love their little power trips) so I was not cleared to play by the French Basketball Federation because of the hold up at this place of my work visa. A lot of times your file lands on the desk of someone who is not very fond of payed pro players and so they will take forever. Because of this I missed last game and we got killed and then I will miss tomorrows game as well. Two losses in a row really hurts and we only have one more after that before the big one month Christmas break when we head down to Brazil.
Below are a string of cute videos of the girls please enjoy–The 1st is of Ryn telling me about the pictures of Jesus in her room- The 2nd is of Ryn singing with her microphone– And the 3rd is of play-dough time with Mommy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BuLn0GuOFU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRtRtvXNXzI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNvHoD0k5eg

Kit's stake conference talk!

Being committed in order to vanquish adversity

In English we have an expression that says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Sometimes for me, one word is worth a thousand pictures. That’s what happened when I heard the topic I was assigned for this talk: being committed in order to vanquish adversity. Immediately when I hear the word VANQUISH, the image of a knight vanquishing a dragon and others like it flash through my mind.
VANQUISH doesn’t mean run away from. VANQUISH also doesn’t mean to fight for a while and then give up to be beaten by your adversary. VANQUISH means to conquer, defeat, win, beat or triumph over. In order to reach this goal of completely VANQUISHING adversity, it is true that we need to be completely committed. What kind of commitment do we need? How can commitment change our capacity to vanquish adversity?
To find the answers to these questions, I would like to share a story about three Georges: George the Weak, George the Mediocre, and George the Devoted. All three received their knighthood after proving themselves during years of training and trials. The day they were knighted, they swore allegiance to their king and to their Code of Chivalry. This code requires them, among other things, to: repent of all weaknesses, to be at all times and in all places the defender of the right, to stay strong and firm in adversity without losing courage even until death, to be ever faithful to the King, to never be arrogant rather humble in every way, and to always protect the weak, the poor and the widows. All three Georges have been chosen by their king to vanquish specific dragons according to their individual capacities.
Let us begin with George the Weak. Even though he accepted the title of knight at the ceremony, as well as the oath and code of chivalry, in his heart George is not much more than a mercenary. He moved to the kingdom of this king because he had heard that his knights were well paid. Upon his arrival, George doesn’t spend any time in preparation for battle because he doesn’t think he’ll be chosen to fight any dragons. His armor is covered in dust because he feels he has earned an easy life after all the years he has already spent in battle. The king, however, knows George very well, and knew him even before his coming. He had consistently followed his progress during all his years of training. For this reason, he has much confidence in George and knows that he can succeed. Unfortunately, when George the Weak receives his assignment to vanquish his dragon, his response is, “NOT ME!” Telling himself that his king was foolish to give him such a terrible dragon to fight, he flees the country without even trying to fight or talk about the situation with his king.
Moving on to George the Mediocre….Having lived in the kingdom for many years, George has great respect for his king. He has observed on several occasions that the king is good, intelligent, generous and just towards his subjects. Therefore, George knows he can have confidence in his king and when he swore to serve him, it was his sincere desire. The king has already voiced his confidence in George’s abilities, making George even more proud and eager to prove himself. Being a knight has been George’s life-long dream because they are brave, they do good and even more, they’re rich and have their pick of all the maidens in the kingdom. George takes great care of his armor, making it as shiny as possible, and he trains every day to impress his king (and the maidens) with his skill. Happy to be chosen to defeat his dragon, George sets off, dreaming of the eternal gratitude of the population he will save. When the moment of battle arrives, George goes to salute his king, who tries to give him some last words of counsel for this particular dragon. George, though, feeling prepared and strong enough on his own, pays no heed to his Lord’s advice. Face to face with the dragon George fights with all his might. He wounds the dragon several times, but suddenly, the dragon strikes back with his fiery breath, burning George severely. Humiliated and in agony, George cries, “WHY ME?!?” He gives one final blow to the dragon, who retreats, wounded but determined to return and seek his revenge. Afterward, George avoids the king and everyone else. He feels like the king abandoned him in his hour of need and was unfair to give him a dragon that was so much stronger and more difficult than those given to the other knights. He is filled with doubts about his abilities, his king, and his future. Finally, we arrive at George the Devoted. This George loves his king. They have fought, side-by-side, in many terrible battles. The king even saved George’s life. Because of this relationship, George’s heart is wholly committed to serving, obeying and defending his king, and he fulfills his commitment with humility and devotion. When someone is needed to defend the kingdom, George is always among the first to volunteer–not for riches or glory, but to prove his love and to protect his king, his family and his friends. He knows that he will have more dragons to fight than the other knights, and that he will surely be wounded and maybe even killed in battle, but he accepts each dragon gladly as an opportunity to prove his faithfulness and to progress. He knows each dragon will be different and more difficult than the last, and so George prepares himself as well as he can. He strengthens his armor, he spends hours training, and he seeks advice and counsel from his king, knowing he is not strong enough or wise enough on his own. The king recognizes the strong and immovable commitment George has made and stands ever ready to help him in his fight. And so again today George fights his dragon with all his might and, with the help of his king, vanquishes the dragon. This experience, as well as all dragons past, make George even more confident and capable to face the next.Like the 3 knights, we have taken a name upon us at the moment of our commitment. At baptism, we took the name of Christ to be our own and we committed ourselves to serving him, obeying him and following him–at all times and in all places. We promised to repent of our sins and weaknesses, to remain humble, and to stand for the right. This commitment, if it is founded on love for our King Jesus Christ, will be strong and immovable even in the face of adversity. In fact, it is this very commitment that will give us the strength we need to vanquish all adversity because it will lead us to change 2 very important things: our attitude and our effort.
1. Our attitude will not be, “NOT ME!”, or even “WHY ME?!”, but rather “Here I am, SEND ME!”
When the current temptation or trial becomes even more difficult or when it is not immediately relieved we will not feel abandoned. On the contrary, we will feel even closer to a perfect Savior who suffered ALL THINGS to save us and we will be humble and thankful to be able to become a little more like Him.
We will be full of faith because we will recognize the intent of a loving Heavenly Father in letting us pass through adversity. As He said in D&C 98:14, “Therefore, be not aafraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will bprove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, ceven unto death, that you may be found worthy.” So every challenge we face is a chance to prove our love and commitment to Him.
2. Once our attitude has changed, we will increase our efforts before, as well as during the fight with adversity. We will make every effort to prepare ourselves by putting on the whole armor of God as Paul counseled the Ephesians. We will consistently consult with our King through fervent prayer and diligent study of His words.
In the battle itself, we will not give up until the current challenge is completely defeated because a wounded dragon returns with an even stronger fire. If our efforts to vanquish adversity slacken before the job is done, Satan knows he will be able to use that against us the next time.
When we are able to reach this level of commitment, we will be rewarded as George the Devoted–who was much like the people of Alma in the Book of Mormon. While these people were still in captivity, they submitted themselves to ALL the will of the Lord with cheerful hearts and with patience. When their captors forbid them to pray, they poured out their hearts to the Lord. His response is found in Mosiah 24:13-14.
“Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
“And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.”
I testify to you that I know WITH SURETY that the Lord intervenes in our favor while we are IN our afflictions because He loves us and because He recognizes our commitment. I know that every time I respond to adversity with patience, faith and trust in Him, I am strengthened. He then makes me stronger, more confident, and more capable to face my next dragon. If we will be faithful to Him before, during and after each moment of adversity, we will be lifted up in this day and in the last.

Thanksgiving list

In Kit’s family they have a Thanksgiving tradition that we have adopted. We watch “SCROOGE”(Albert Finney musical version–soo good I cry every stinkin year) and before the big meal we go around the table and list the things from that year we are thankful for.
Thanksgiving is really close to being my favorite holiday of the year. I love the food, family and the fact that this is when the Christmas season officially kicks off. The football and basketball going on are just bonuses:)
The Food: My moms cornbread stuffing is devine- the mashed potatoes, olives, vegetables, and one can’t forget the oh so good Tom fruitsalad and also the pomegranate salad all to be washed down with the famous Linkous punch. The pies are so yummy too at our house it’s pretty simple pumpkin and apple although I do love a pear pie that Kit’s mom introduced us to. Much the same as apple pie but with pears instead of apples. YUMMY! And of course one of the greatest things about thanksgiving is the leftovers ….mmmm!
Family: I love this holiday for the simple fact of being with family. When I was younger we always used to go to Vegas to celebrate with my moms sister and her kids. But just hanging out, playing games(pool), shooting hoops and throwing the football, watching some games on T.V, and enjoying the great food together. It’s such a warm holiday feeling, with the weather getting colder outside . We also take this time to get some good Christmas shopping done, and since I love to shop it’s very fun. I LOVE when my mom breaks out all her amazing Christmas decorations. She turns the house into a magical place and I can’t wait for our girls to be able to share in this. I remember spending hours helping her set up the christmas village and tree(if you have not yet ever seen one of her Christmas trees, they are a sight to behold she actually hangs statues in the tree!)
As for my Thanksgiving list–(in no particular order)
1.A healthy beautiful Family 2.My adorable little angels 3. A great start to the season 31pts/game 4. getting to go to Brazil for Christmas 5.The chance to serve in this great Ward 6. To have the sweet example every year that my wife is to me and my daughters 7. St Moret cheese and good French bread 8. My Slingbox 8. My good family and their loving support, ALWAYS 9. chocolate mmm 10. Great friends and the part they play in our lives 11. The amazingly generous and oh so awesome loaner from Michelle and Erik :)12. Having a knowledge and testimony of my Father in heaven, His Son and His gospel. 13. This job that I have which allows me so much precious time seeing my girls grow and having them really know me, and not missing out on anything they do. 14. I am thankful for being thankful
Happy Thanksgiving!

Little by little-Line upon line

We’ve all heard the saying,” You must crawl before you can walk” and “Little by little, line upon line”. Well these are all thoughts that ran through my head this weekend during stake conference in Angers. Elder Camargo (Area 70) spoke to us and taught us some great stuff. His talk was about experience and how important it is in our lives and the lives of those around us. He mentioned that he has had kidney stones 4 times and his wife has had them also, so when their children get them ( He thinks they have no chance of escaping them) they will know how to give them comfort and advice. He also talked about the adolescent years and how trying they can be for both teens and parents. “These are all experiences that we would rather avoid, BUT how would we be able to help others who will pass by these same things?”

That did make me think about when our girls will be old enough to date and have to deal with all the pressures of teen years ( Oh yes, you guessed it- instant ulcer and I could actually feel the grey hairs boinging out). Our experiences as teens will hopefully be able to ease some of the difficult times but it is also a time to learn for our girls so we don’t want to remove everything from them. They will need to go through things on their own, make decisions of their own and that is why the scripture in Proverbs 22:6 is so reassuring—”Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”—

This also made me think alot about why we are given certain experiences- They are given, of course to test us, prove us, and help us grow but also help others and be a guide and support through a difficult time. Losing Darren obviously comes to mind. What we went through on that roller-coaster of a day, our wedding day is so hard to explain, the emotions were all over the place. From complete and total elation and joy to the most suffocating feelings of sadness and loss. In one instant our family was added upon and in another a piece was taken away. But what we learned from this experience has allowed us to be more sensitive to the loss others deal with and to be a comfort to them. As Elder Camargo explained and as we know from the Saviors experience in Gethsemane, we will know how to help others more deeply if we have already passed through what they are experiencing.

These experiences are necessary for our growth, although when I think of boys calling our house to ask out our daughters all that comes to mind is neceSCARY! God is so good to us as he does allow us to gain experience little by little and line upon line. Even though Joseph Smith did so much in so little time, he was always able to learn and grow from his experiences. When I look at Ryn and Elle and think that only 17months separate them it blows my mind to think that Ryn has learned so much since she was Elle’s age(which seems like just yesterday). And that Elle will be doing alot of the things Ryn does now in a few months it is so crazy. With them so close in age and stages though it really does allow you to see how laying those important foundations and anchors help them grow and build for the next stage.
Parenting is tiring and demanding and hard BUT I can’t say it enough it is so rewarding and eye-opening . I LOVE IT! I am so thankful for all the great parents that we have had and been able to be around- from our own amazing parents to our siblings and learning from them to our good friends and seeing how they do things…. we are so blessed and our daughters will be better for it:) so thank you !

Writers blog :)

Yes,I do admit that my postings are far from regular. The problem with me is that during the week all these adorable things happen or we have some fun news and by the time I get around to typing up an entry I forget everything I wanted to write about. So I am going to try and be better about being more regular, to keep everyone in the mix and also for my own sanity.
This past week has been a rollercoaster of stress and excitement. We decided to go ahead and get our tickets to go to Brasil for Christmas. The problem was that we had totally spaced it and forgot that we needed visas. The visas are 100 euros per person(kids too). But the major concern was that we had to get our visas here at the consulate in Paris, but in France they require you to have a current resident visa. Well ours must be renewed next week and we were worried that they would not accept ours because in France everything takes so stinking long. Anyway to make a long story short, we woke up early tuesday morning and drove up to Paris and turned in our request and they told us everything was good and to pick them up in one week!!!! Woo Hoo! We are going to Brazil for Christmas!!! We are so excited we can't stand it. The girls will get to spend some quality time with Grandma/Grandpa Ellis, Em,Spence and Rae and we even get to see Rob and Christa too!!!! YEAH! We leave Dec 10th, go through Milan and come home Dec 31st.
Now for the weekly Linkous girls update--We will start with my 1st angel-Kit was asked to speak in stake conference and will be talking about "Overcoming adversity". I like to think that I have not given her any experiences for her talk but we will see:) Kit is sooooo excited for Bresil(don't get me wrong we all are) that she gets giddy at the most random times, she'll just start squeaking and saying ,"I can't believe it's done, we finally got the tickets and are going to be with my family for Christmas". It did take awhile for everything to come about and it wasn't until Kit was talking to Mr. Robert K. Ellis (future supreme court judge) about Christa's lost purse that we realized we needed VISAS!!! We barely got it done in time, so now it's official.
Ryn has been her usual adorable self. We have been enjoying the park, working on her alphabet(she knows most of her letters and keeps us laughing when she says the sound of each letter, especially W and V) and of course wearing skirts and working on her golf swing. Here are a couple of video clips.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7Sa-cCUwZg]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbsxTvbyzX4]
Elle is growing more and more everyday if not in leaps and bounds sizewise, her personality is exploding. She LOVES giggling and lights up when you talk to her in a high silky johnny cat voice.We can't wait for everyone in Brasil to be able to spend some time with her, she is changing so much.She does the most adorable coos and ahs.
For me ,we won 94-69 on Saturday so we are now in 6th place I finished with 25pts. This saturday we play the 1st place team they are 7-0 so hopefully we can fly under the radar and steal one from them. We invited this sweet man from our ward to our house for dinner on Sunday. His wife just past away and he is very sad. He loves our girls and they are soooo sweet with him. He was my branch president in Niort when I was on my mission(small world huh). I am just so thankful everyday for the opportunity that I have to spend all this time with my 3 girls and make memories with them. When I leave for practice Ryn usually is standing at our glass door with her hands on the glass saying," Daddy Work". I hate to leave and I go play basketball! They are just so yummy!!!