This has been a great week. We loved Conference weekend. There were several talks that really struck me and inspired me. I loved the Priesthood session. I was able to attend with my father, a friend from the ward and a friend of his came along as well. I loved President Uchtdorf, President Eyring, and President Monson’s talks. I also enjoyed hearing Elder Bednar’s talk on Sunday (improving our prayers to be more meaningful and effective).

The kids and I took a walk around the neighborhood and took some pictures. Here are some photos we took at an old LDS meetinghouse. I’ve wanted to take pictures for awhile. It is on 500 West 200 North in Provo. It is now Discover Academy (a school for troubled youth — I think). Anyone else know?

Mom and Dad came up for Saturday afternoon and evening so that Dad could come to the session with me. It was nice. I enjoyed having him there. Maybe we’ll be lucky and I’ll get the privilege of having Dad and Oscar with me at the same time; however, I don’t think that will be likely since Oscar is only 5 years old.

We bought some bunk beds this weekend and we started to paint them. We’ll have to show some pictures. The person we bought them had painted them halfway from red to white. It looked funny so we decided to paint them all white. Which is taking a few layers of paint. I think maybe one more good paint job. I did another this morning but I think we need one more. It will be nice to have them up. I know Oscar and Lily are excited about having them up (hopefully Oscar doesn’t fall from the top bunk too much).

Other news from the week: we are planning our trip to Disneyland for April 25th to May 2nd. We are going with Marlene’s mom and it should be a great time. I hope that Rachel can get away and come with us. Also we are looking forward to the Scoville Family Reunion in Richfield. We should plan a day of fishing or hiking as family. I know Marlene doesn’t want us (guys) to be gone exclusively on the 4-wheelers and (the ladies) get to watch the kids.

I am almost done with classes here at the Y. My last semester. I am excited. I still have to finish these classes, my comps, my dissertation prospectus and defense and then hopefully officially graduate in April 2009.

I am thinking that we’ll be staying around here for the next year doing my internship. If things can be arranged to work for one of the companies I worked for last summer I think I’ll be staying here.

Henry has passed his 2 month checkup. He is growing and happy. Here are some nice little pictures of him. Oscar and Lily love him (to death) almost. Or least he needs lots of space when they are around smothering him with loves, kisses and hugs. Big H (Henry) is a whopping 12 pounds and 6.5 ounces and 23 inches long. He is a beast compared to our two other kids when they were 2 months old. I’ll have to find some pictures and put them up.

Oscar at around 2 months. He looks so skinny. Marlene will have to comment and tell us his weight and height as I can’t find it and can’t remember. He was 6 lbs 11 ounces when he was born and 19.5 inches long. Then at the two month check-up he was 8 lbs and 21 inches long. Big difference.

Lily seemed to be health and okay at this time, but she also was born 6 pounds 9 ounces. (Mar found from our baby book for her that she was 12 pounds 6 ounces and 22 inches long). Wow! Just about identical to Big H. We’re hoping the trend continues well after the 3 month that he continues to gain.

The weight for both Oscar and Lily normalized and stabilized over time and now they seem to fit in with their peers, but their is so much pressure when they are young to make sure they are growing and developing in weight and height as they should.

In MFT School News:

I presented two posters at a BYU Research Conference, Mary Lou Fulton Mentored Student Research Conference last week. It went well. I’ll link my posters here.

Perceived and Used Work Flexibility and Work-Family Fit: Personal, Workplace, and Marriage-Family Vitality Outcomes

Costs of Treating Anxiety Disorders: A Structural Equation Model for Individual versus Conjoint Therapies

Let me know if you have any feedback.

Dr. Crane just sent his to me. How many kids can you take on? If you so dare, you can see how many you kids you’d fight.
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And I haven’t even mentioned it but what about the NCAA Final Four games last Saturday. Total surprise by both teams that lost. I thought North Carolina and UCLA would win and play much better. I hope that Memphis plays well tonight.

**Note at 10pm (Memphis almost won in regulation. I thought they had it, but Kansas tied the game and won in overtime. Excellent game. Proof: That it’s not over until the fat lady sings (or in-other-words, until the buzzer sounds). Never give up. Persistence.

We’ve been enjoying Eli Stone, especially since Lost hasn’t been on the air for a few weeks. You can watch many of the episodes for Eli Stone at the ABC website that I linked above. You can also see all the episodes of Lost at the above link from all 4 seasons, thus far.

Controversy about the reality of an actual photograph or a photo of a painting of the Prophet Joseph Smith. What is real? I haven’t found out definitive answers but here are two sites that provide “research” for their given belief.

Some say the photo originates from a painting of a daguerreotype from just before his death. Read more at Joseph Smith Painting. Others say it comes from a photograph of the daguerreotype which was commissioned by one of Joseph’s sons. Check out their research here.

Both sites say the daguerreotype, regardless of the subsequent format of this photo (painting or photo), was about the size of postal stamp. Really small! I think this is pretty interesting.

The church’s response to this controversy has been recorded in the Deseret News. To read the article click here. Post comments below on the subject.

We had a great day yesterday with friends and family. Henry was blessed in church. It was great to have my father, Rodger Scoville, my brother Spencer, my brother-in-law Aaron, and Brother Chris Pelissie assist me as I gave him a name and a blessing.

Those that attended from our family: Grandpa Rodger and Grandma Mary Scoville; Uncle Aaron, Aunt Juliette, Alex, and Shaelea; Uncle Spencer, Aunt Jonene, Abbie, Kenzie, and Ella Scoville; Aunt Sarah Scoville; Aunt Rachel Scoville. It was wonderful to have them all there. Many from the ward are friends that we wanted to be there as well.

I was happy to see that our friends and neighbors were blessing their baby girl, Cadence (I hope I spelled this right), as well

Henry was a good boy as we blessed him. He was dressed in the little outfit that Oscar wore for his blessing, although Oscar was smaller. Henry filled it out nicely and wore it more like shorts than pants like Oscar.

Many indicated that the blessing was “nice” and “beautiful”. Marlene took notes that we’ll have to write down in his journal for him. I enjoyed giving the blessing and loved having my dad next to me in the circle. I feel that I am bit long-winded and slow when giving blessings and I felt bad for Dad, but he said that he was happy to be there to assist in blessing Henry.

We are trying to decide what the best thing to do for our internship is (do we go out-of-state or do we stay here so that we can be close to my parents and family). Because we don’t know how much time we have left with my dad and I want my kids to have the opportunities to be around him as much as possible.

I must confess that it is sad to see Dad in pain and we hope that he is feeling better soon; I don’t know if it is the chemotherapy that is having the biggest effect or if it the actual pain from the pancreatic cancer.

I want my parents to know how much I love and appreciate them and their concern for us and children. They have been a standard of truth and an example to follow for the rest of our lives. I hope that our kids can remember always the example that their grandparents on both sides of the family have left for them.

We took some pictures but I haven’t posted them on flickr yet. I’ll update the blog when we have the pictures available to see.

We missed having JP, Mary Ann, Max, and Ian there but glad to know that they made it safely to Delta on Sunday evening. Marlene and the kids are actually in Delta and having a great time with the family there. Maybe Jonene and the girls will be coming over. I’m sure that they are having fun and that my parents love having them there. Oscar and Lily love going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. There is so much room to run-around and play in. It wears them down. We need to get into a house that is larger than what we have. We’ve been waiting for the warmer weather to appear and happy that it has come and Oscar and Lily get to play outside a lot. They love it. They have been asking to jump on the Black’s trampoline all winter long. “Daddy, can you jump on the tramp with us?” My response: “No, Lily, there is a foot of snow on the tramp. We’ll get soaked.” “Why, Daddy? Let’s go jump on the tramp.”

Another great quote from Lily. “Dad, what are you eating?” “Gum, Lily.” “Mmm. Can I have some of your gum, Daddy?” How can I say no. Although it isn’t too sanitary to share already chewed up gum. What do I do? I give her a little from my mouth and she says. “Mmmm. Thanks, Daddy.”

Oscar’s quote of the week: “Daddy, can you play with me this morning?” He asks this about every morning. He is a great kid and loves to learn. He has so much energy. I wish I could just bottle it and put it into an energy drink so that I could use some of his energy. I love him so much. He makes me so happy. He has been enthusiastic about his gifts from his birthday, washable Cars markers and coloring laminated coloring sheets and Spider-man coloring book and marker brushes. He can color and draw for hours on end.

Here is the news conference announcing the Prophet and President of the Church. He has selected Henry B. Eyring as his 1st Counselor and Dieter F. Uchtdorf as his 2nd Counselor.

We received a call from my mom telling us that President Hinckley died. We have been listening to the news on KSL News Radio and on KSL Television News. We were surprised, but yet realizing that he has been our Prophet and has been waiting to return to his wife, Marjorie. She died passed away on April 6, 2004, just about 4 years ago.

Here is a link to his last testimony that he gave in this last October General Conference 2007. Gordon B. Hinckley’s Testimony. We felt that maybe he was preparing for this day, not that he knew but understood that he was “in the sunset” of his life. We love him and pray for his family. Oscar and Lily don’t quite understand but were sad to hear about this happening.

The church’s official announcement.

Another video with President Hinckley.

Here is the KSL news report.

We look forward to seeing the process of reestablishing the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. We were surprised when our beloved Elder Eyring was made the 2nd counselor in the First Presidency. Now we’ll see how the Presidency is reorganized.

It was fitting that the BYU Alumni center was finished this last year before he died. We love him and his optimism and joy that he brought to the membership of the church while he has been president, counselor, or member of the twelve.

I’ve not always been interested in conspiracy theories, primarily because discussions about them have always left me feeling uneasy, or as if I have been doing something wrong.

As I read a blog entry by my cousin, Jeff Milner, a few days ago. He mentions an documentary called Zeitgeist and how it asks some important questions about the history of religion, September 11th, 2001 and other things. I actually only saw portions of the first two parts (there are three total).

I have to admit that what it talked about continued my feeling uneasy about certain aspects of what it mentions. In particular, regarding religion. The video indicates that there have many figures in history, with different names, that have similar characteristics of the Savior Jesus Christ. Now I have to say, I don’t  feel that what they are presenting is not presented without bias, but I also have to underscore the faith required to comprehend and follow in faith the Savior of the world and seek out confirmation to answers to questions that seem difficult to understand. I won’t claim that I know everything, but I will say that I have received answers to prayers and that I’ve felt led and guided in certain areas of my life. I use my faith to believe in the one and only individual that we can receive eternal salvation from (this isn’t commentary on other religions or philosophies of living). I also believe in the Prophets of ancient times as well as those today. I know the Prophet Joseph Smith restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this earth. I have felt the confirming feeling of warmth and spiritual guidance in this direction.

Also on this documentary they talk about September 11th, 2001 and the many theories that brought about the terrorist attacks on the United States and what happened during the time. I don’t claim to fully understand what happened that day and if there is information that we don’t understand. I hope that anyone responsible for lives lost that day that they will be fully accountable for their decisions. I mourn those losses and admit that New York City looks different without the WTC Twin Towers there. The work that is being done now is moving along but it is also sad to see. Marlene and I went to NYC in November and we passed by and took pictures (unfortunately part of the pictures that were lost with the harddrive formating mistake mentioned earlier on the blog). 

Here are a few sites to read more about these topics.

On the LDS or Mormon church: www.mormons.org or www.lds.org.

Memorial site to 9/11/2001: http://www.september-11th.us/

Documentary "Zeitgeist": http://zeitgeistmovie.com/

<p><span style="margin: 0px auto; display: block; width: 425px;">  <embed width="425" height="350" flashvars="docId=5547481422995115331&amp;playerMode=simple&amp;hl=en" wmode="transparent" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" allowscriptaccess="never" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://widgets.vodpod.com/w/video_embed/ExternalVideo.469100"></embed>   <span style="float: left;"><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331">from video.google.com</a></span>  <span style="font-size: 10px; float: right;">

Finishing up the commentary about conspiracy theories, I continue to feel that finding out truth is important and using as many means to understand things is important, but I also feel that sometimes we can get overboard and lose sight of the importance of what our purpose in life is about.

My sister, Sarah, sent me an email yesterday informing me that Marlene and I have a wedding picture that I posted on Flickr up on a wiki about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You’ll need to scroll down to the section that talks about temples and preparation for marriage and you’ll see us. This was one of the excellent photos taken by our wedding photographer, Jonas Otsuji. His professional website is FeelThePhoto.com. He does wedding throughout the world and his philosophy is based on the idea of letting people enjoy their weddings and then you’ll get the best pictures as opposed to making them stand up and do lots of unnatural poses. We loved him as a photographer. He was recommended to us by some of our friends, Hiedi and Josh Blackwelder.Link to photo itself on the wiki.  And then here is the photo posted to my flickr account. This is a link to the album set of our wedding photos on Flickr. *I apologize for the lack of posts lately — I am trying to recover our pictures and music from my external hard drive that accidently erased, which was the only copy that I had. I’ll post about New York and Philly and Thanksgiving soon. I want to have the pictures to do so.

And now you know the rest of the story.

 

Wide view of the Brethren seated and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

I was doubly blessed to be able to attend the first session on my press pass with my camera. Those who were watching the proceedings of conference on television were not able to see what happened when the new callings were issued to President Eyring and Elder Cook. I wanted to show you some of what I observed.

Elders Bednar, Uchtdorf and Eyring just minutes before the new calls were issued.

There is a love that exists between the leaders of the Church that is rarely found in any other organization or group in the world.

President Monson and President Hinckley with the empty seat where President Faust sat for 12 ½ years.

I was up close—not only with my camera and a 600mm lens, but with my own eyes.

The moment right before the calls were issued.

I was observing the faces of these leaders I pray for every day. It was astounding.

President Hinckley called for the sustaining vote of the new member of the First Presidency and a new member of the Twelve.

As President Hinckley sustained Henry B. Eyring as the Second Counselor in the First Presidency, I watched as Elder Jeffrey R. Holland immediately put his hand on President Eyring’s arm to comfort and steady him. They had been seat mates for 12 ½ years. This was an emotional moment for both of them. Then Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf put his hand on President Eyring’s other arm.

Support from apostles on either side of President Eyring.

For a brief moment, President Eyring was supported on either side by these loving, kind, fellow apostles of the Lord.

President Eyring is called to take his seat as second counselor in the First Presidency.

As Elder Quentin L. Cook made the long walk from a few rows above the Twelve to take his proper place, I watched this amazing moment where President Eyring left his chair to take the seat where President James E. Faust has been for 12 ½ years.

President Eyring walks to his new seat. Elder Uchtdorf begins to move to his new seat.

I then watched as Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf moved over one chair and then Elder David A. Bednar moved over one chair. This moving to a different chair in this quorum is a rare event.

Elder Bednar takes his new chair. Note the warm greeting from Elder Holland to Elder Uchtdorf.

Elder Cook was being greeted and hands were extended from every side as he made his way to the now empty chair for the junior member of the Twelve.

Elder Quentin L. Cook makes the long walk to his new chair and his new quorum.

Elder Bednar and Elder Uchtdorf warmly greeted Elder Cook.

Elder Cook takes his place as the junior member of the Twelve.

President Eyring took the empty chair occupied so long by President Faust. President Eyring is the 24 th man to be called as a second counselor in the First Presidency.

President Eyring awaited President Hinckley’s return from the stand, not knowing what

President Hinckley finally left the stand to come back to his chair. As he made his way the ten or twelve feet to his chair, he stopped briefly and raised his cane up in the air over President Eyring’s head—almost as one would picture being knighted by the sword of the King—and he gently touched him on the head!

In a way, this was such a surprising moment, but then again, knowing President Hinckley, it was not!

It was so sweet to see our venerable, 97-year-old Prophet do this little thing. Those who were in the Conference Center roared in laughter.

President Eyring took the small and loving gesture so well from President Hinckley.

President Eyring lowered his head a bit but took the small tap of the cane and smiled as big as he always does. It was endearing and memorable.

From my angle is certainly appeared that the cane actually touched President Eyring’s head.

The press photographers on either side of me were going nuts taking their pictures—I captured it as well, but more importantly—I captured it in my heart.

President Hinckley finished and walked to his chair.

I think I was enjoying the moment so much I didn’t concentrate on holding the camera as steady as I would have liked.

President Eyring gave President Hinckley a loving pat as he walked by to his chair.

Changes come—but on this day of conference when new leaders were sustained—I saw such love, such tenderness, such a bond of brotherhood and unity.

Now the First Presidency is complete again with no empty chair.

I shall truly never forget what I saw nor what I felt.

The Choir sang the next number and the conference proceeded on as scheduled.

The past month has been a busy one for us. We have been doing quite a bit. I have been busy with projects at school — completing research for presentation this coming month. Marlene and the kids have been busy around the house, with preschool, and the pregnancy sickness and getting things ready for winter and the new baby to come. 

Oscar and Lily are very excited about the prospect of a new little one in our home and helping Mom with the new baby.

This was a nice weekend. We listened to conference and really enjoyed the talks. I, in particular, liked Elder Eyring’s (*now President Eyring) talk in the priesthood session on getting answers to prayers. I am excited that Elder Eyring was called as a member of the first presidency. Marlene and I have always enjoyed listening to him and feeling the spirit as we did. I also enjoyed Elder Bednar’s talk. Lastly, President Hinckley gave a great talk on the prophet Joseph Smith in Sunday’s morning session. I can’t wait to listen and read those talks again (lds.org already has the mp3′s available to download for most of the sessions). 

The family had planned on coming with me to my conference in Long Beach, CA this coming week, however, we decided that we would forgo that trip and that Aunt Rachel is going to come up and visit with Marlene and the kids while I’m away. Marlene and I will be making a trip to NYC and Philadelphia for a conference the week before Thanksgiving this year. It should be a lot of fun (thanks to both Grandparents who will be tag-teaming to watch our kids).  

That is good for now.