Small Flecks of Gold

Today I read this talk and realized that I'm the merchant in the story:

"Oftentimes we are like the young merchant from Boston, who in 1849, as the story goes, was caught up in the fervor of the California gold rush. He sold all of his possessions to seek his fortune in the California rivers, which he was told were filled with gold nuggets so big that one could hardly carry them.

Day after endless day, the young man dipped his pan into the river and came up empty. His only reward was a growing pile of rocks. Discouraged and broke, he was ready to quit until one day an old, experienced prospector said to him, “That’s quite a pile of rocks you are getting there, my boy.”

The young man replied, “There’s no gold here. I’m going back home.”

Walking over to the pile of rocks, the old prospector said, “Oh, there is gold all right. You just have to know where to find it.” He picked two rocks up in his hands and crashed them together. One of the rocks split open, revealing several flecks of gold sparkling in the sunlight.

Noticing a bulging leather pouch fastened to the prospector’s waist, the young man said, “I’m looking for nuggets like the ones in your pouch, not just tiny flecks.”

The old prospector extended his pouch toward the young man, who looked inside, expecting to see several large nuggets. He was stunned to see that the pouch was filled with thousands of flecks of gold.

The old prospector said, “Son, it seems to me you are so busy looking for large nuggets that you’re missing filling your pouch with these precious flecks of gold. The patient accumulation of these little flecks has brought me great wealth.

This story illustrates the spiritual truth that Alma taught his son Helaman:

“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. …

“… And by very small means the Lord … bringeth about the salvation of many souls” (Alma 37:6–7).

Brothers and sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple, no matter how much we try to make it complicated. We should strive to keep our lives similarly simple, unencumbered by extraneous influences, focused on those things that matter most."

I won't elaborate too much on all the things I learned from reading this talk. Lets just say that it was exactly what I needed to hear...again...and probably again in another few weeks. I just wonder how many times I'm going to have to re-remember this principle (is that a word?).

Watch Out for the Crazy Squirrels

I was all ready to start blogging about our vacation tonight but then I remembered that all our pictures are on the laptop which is currently with Andrew. However, I did find this picture:

In Yosemite, it is a big deal to keep all your food or anything with a scent in the bear locker. We tried to be really careful, but I guess I forgot about some m&m's in the pocket of my diaper bag.

Forget the bears, it was the squirrels that were the real danger! I came back from a hike to find that they had completely demolished the side pocket of my diaper bag and ate every single m&m. It seriously grossed me out. The pocket was open on top so the dumb animals didn't have to bust through the side! Oh well, I took off the pocket and you can hardly tell I suffered such a severe misfortune.

So if you ever go to Yosemite, beware of the squirrels. They are honestly the craziest squirrels in the world. Even though we wouldn't admit it out loud, I think after this incident we were both afraid the squirrels would go after Cam next.

4 months (actually 4.5)

Before I go through the gazillion pictures from our vacation, I have to make sure I post about Cammy's 4 month milestone (which actually happened 2 weeks ago, but better late than never). I'm a little foggy on the details but I think at his appointment he was 16.7 pounds and 25 3/4 inches tall (and I never pay attention to head circumference...his head looks fine to me :)). 75th percentile still.

Yes all these pictures are different because they show Cam's personality quite well. You can get him to smile but he quickly returns to "serious" face. We've only been able to get a few chuckles out of this kid but that's okay. I think he will balance out Luke quite nicely. I'm hoping when he gets older he will help me keep Luke from running out into the street.

Cameron now can roll from stomach to back, pick up his binky with his hand, and sometimes fall asleep by himself in his crib. I'm slowing getting him weaned from sleeping with me but I think I'm having a harder time with it than he is. I like having one less person in the bed but he is SO cute when he sleeps and I love how he always has to have his hand on my face or on my hand. He still cries a little more than the average baby but I think it is because he is tired and needs absolute silence to sleep. I put a white noise machine on in his room today and he slept for 3.5 hours!

Luke is seriously the best big brother a boy could ever want. He always uses the highest voice possible to talk to Cam and always says, "hi Cammy!" whenever he sees him. Luke is very concerned whenever Cams is crying and he tells me, "Cammy's sad!". Then he tries to make him feel better by forcing a binky in his mouth or giving him hugs. Cameron seems surprisingly calm when Luke is around and smiles at him a lot. Honestly, I've never seen such perfect love in action. There is really nothing better than watching your kids love each other.

Evidence of a Good Vacation

We are still on the longest vacation of all time...and having a blast!

I think we probably have about 400 pictures so far but I thought I'd share one of our favorites:

I'm not loving the car that decided to drive by when this picture was taken, but I love the dirt all over Luke's face. You know your son is having a great time when you are constantly having to wash his face :)