Blessing Day For Rachel Anne Baadsgaard

My wonderful granddaughter Rachel Anne Baadsgaard was given a name and a blessing on Sunday.
 Don't you wish you could kiss those cheeks?

LDS Church History Tour



In the garden next to the visitor center in Nauvoo.

Kanesville or Council Bluffs was the headquarters for the Church between the time they left Nauvoo and their arrival in the Salt lake Valley.

Brigham Young was sustained as President of the Church here.
Five hundred men left here to fight in the war with Mexico better known as the Mormon Battalion.

Statue to honor the Mormon pioneer family.

At the Kansas City Temple with my sweetheart Ross.

Winter Quarters Temple.

A cabin at Mount Pisgah.

Garden Grove was a camp site in Iowa during the great exodus to the valley in Utah.

This is the trail that the sanitstraveled as they were

This is Parley Street - the road the Saints traveled as they left their beloved city and temple. They were forced out of their homes and farms by violent mobs.

This is the Carthage Jail where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered by angry mobs.

This is Joseph's Smith's Red Brick Store where we sang "Praise To The Man".

This is the Mansion House in Nauvoo where Joseph and Emma lived for a time.

This is a statue of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum as they rode out of Nauvoo to Carthage Jail where they would seal their testimony of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ with their blood.

The reconstructed Nauvoo Temple just before the Pageant.

Where Adam and Eve dwelt after leaving the Garden of Eden. Where Christ will appear in glory.

Far West - one of the places where the Saints were living when they were
expelled from Missouri. This is a site of a future temple.

Independence Missouri where Zion or the New Jerusalem will be built.

Looking out over the fields at Adam-Ondi-Ahman.

Far West - where the Saints gathered after being expelled from Jackson County Missouri.

Trail to a monument honoring the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith -the prophet God used to restore of gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter-days.

Liberty Jail
Joseph Smith was wrongfully held here
while the Saints were being expelled from Missouri.
The Saints later found refuge in Quincy Ill
and later founded a city called Nauvoo.

From this prison came some of the most beautiful scripture ever written
D &C 121 and 122.

Celebrating July 4th at Colonial Days in Orem Utah

I attended Colonial Days in Orem with my amazing daughter Arianne and my grandchildren.
Arianne is not only a wonderful wife, mother and photographer, she spins wool, makes her own soap, gardens and preserves her own food, paints beautiful pictures and creates home-made wood and cloth toys.
She also home schools her five children.
I just had to share these amazing pictures that she took while we were there.

July 4th Hike to Maple Mountain

On the way up the mountain

My son John on the top of Maple Mountain

My granddaughters Emily and Sandy on top of Maple Mountain

My family on the top of Maple Mountain

Ross with John and Alisa on top of Maple Mountain

MOTHER'S BLESSING

1. 
   We had a "Mother's Blessing" for my daughter Ashley last night. She is about to have her second child and all the women in our family gathered to honor her. This is not the standard baby shower where the attention is about cute decorations ...and baby clothes. This is a rich and powerful evening where the women who love Ashley in a deep and meaningful way came together to share our strength and love. We organized visits and meals to be brought to her after delivery. We shared our most sacred birth or motherhood experiences. We created a bracelet engraved with words of power and strength for her to wear when she needs to feel our love. 
   

   

   Ashley will soon put her life on the line to bring a new daughter into the world and devote the rest of her life to nurturing her soul. The world is confused about the true nature of power. Love is the greatest power in the world. My newest grandchild will be named Eden a tender reminder of our mother Eve . . . and the honor, power and strength of motherhood from the beginning of time until the end of days.