Corneal Refractive Therapy

I know that I just told everyone where they could go to get a pair of glasses for $8, but I found something else that I really like now. I went to see about getting Lasik at the end of last year and I wasn’t the best candidate. My corneas were below average thickness. Not to mention the fact that I really didn’t want to pay $3,800 for the procedure. There was also the whole not wearing contacts a month before and no make-up and no eye rubbing. I just didn’t sound like such a great option for me. I looked into CRT lenses. That is corneal refractive therapy. They are contacts that you sleep with them in at night and then you take them out in the morning and you can see. It is pretty slick. They are hard, gas permeable lenses that are between the size of hard and soft lenses. The whole thing was about $950 which is 25% of the cost of Lasik. You might want to check it out if you are tired of wearing glasses.

Draper Temple Open House

Last night I went to see the new Temple in Draper. It was gorgeous. If you are endowed you could wait until it is dedicated to go but last night I realized that if you have any non-member friends or unendowed little ones you NEED to take them to see it. The church does a fabulous job making these events very professional. You start out at a nearby chapel where you watch a short video about temples around the world and it talks specifically about the Draper Temple. Then you are bused to the temple site where they have a heated walkway to the temple. Then you walk through the temple. WOW! There is a short message in the sealing room about how families are eternal. Then afterwards you go to the stake center across the way where they have missionaries to answer your questions, water and cookies. The gymnasium is hardly recognizable as it is very nicely decorated. I hope you all get a chance to see it soon! You are supposed to have a ticket to go but they aren’t checking anyone’s tickets. I do have a reservation for 4 on Saturday march 14th at 10:00. They will go to the first person who requests them.

LOVE HIM!

This is my adorable nephew.

Christmas Gifts

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Matt 2:9-11 For my Christmas message to everyone this year, I wanted to focus on the gifts of the three wise men. I learned some things about the gifts they gave to The Savior and I want to share them with you. I also want to give you a few questions to ponder this Christmas Season.

All the gifts given were costly which showed that these men were willing to sacrifice for him. We also know they traveled a great distance to worship the Savior and may have traveled years to find him and be witnesses of his mortal life. I think that there was more to it though. I think there is a reason why their gifts were listed in the scriptures. Gold obviously has significant monetary value but it was also used to adorn royalty. Did these men give gold to the Christ Child because they knew that he was to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords? (Rev 19:16) Frankincense was from Arabia and was an ingredient in the holy incense for sacrificial purposes. Did the wise men know that Christ was going to be about His Father’s business, and spend much time in his Father’s house? Did they know that he was going to be the great and last sacrifice? (Alma 43:10) Lastly was given Myrrh. This was from Arabia and eastern Africa. Myrrh was something that was used often in embalming the dead. Did these men know that Christ had come to die for the sins of the world? I think they knew all of these things and more. I think that is why they traveled so far to worship him and bestow these gifts on him. We have great reason for rejoicing this time of year because we can reflect on the fact that we have already been given the best gifts one can bestow.

I hope you have a very joyful Christmas!

Who has the cutest niece?

I think it is pretty obvious don’t you? There is no need to argue about this.Cate gets credit for taking these gems, and Joan gets credit for being so photogenic.

Bright Gal Talking About Her Mormon Faith

This is a video of my friend Ester's cousin who is a 20 year old student at Harvard. It is about 21 minutes. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

Fun in MN

Here are two of the biggest reasons I decided to spend this last weekend in Minnesota. I just happened to take this picture at just the right time. It was quite cold in Minnesota this last weekend. I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been for the weather but we weren’t outside much. We found plenty of ways to have fun inside. My mom Marie and me decided to head to the bowling alley. Check out my mom’s form. Then this is Marie right after she scored a strike. Before I left Cate, Marie and me played Lips which is some new karaoke video game. That was out of control. Who needs a smoke filled karaoke bar when you can sing in the comfort of your own home.
Marla and I went to see the Holiday display at Macy’s and I was able to send my wish list safely off to Santa. It was good times for sure.