Happy New Year

It's been an interesting ending to 2008 and beginning to the new year. The weather has been very unpredictable. The excessive cold, ice and snow brought us cancelled tickets to San Antonio, so we spent time at home, glad to have all of us together, healthy and happy.

And although we missed our family time in Texas, it felt good to have our little family together, enjoying every second of Erin's time at home.

Today, we are experiencing record amounts of rain, and school being cancelled once again because of weather. My heart goes out to all the families who have had to evacuate their homes in the valley because of the rising river levels. Hopefully, we will get back to some normal weather patterns this winter.

We are all grateful for the time we spent this holiday with friends and family. We look forward to all the wonderful things we have to look forward to in the year 2009.

Never Give up Hope

I just read a great article in the Deseret News that gave me a lot of hope. Everything we hear in the news and in our lives is always so negative. There's wars, high gas prices, falling stock markets, rising unemployment, and a housing crisis. The list goes on and on. But the latest devotional message delivered at BYU was worth repeating.

"We are the people of hope," said Bishop Richard Edgley. "We are the disseminators of hope. This is our mission...We have hope for the now in our lives. We have hope for the foreseeable and unforeseeable future. And we have hope for the eternities ahead."

Some may wonder if there is a happy future for us and our families. We've been assured that we absolutely have everything to be grateful for, and it is a marvelous time to be alive! President Thomas Monson recently said, "the opportunities today are limitless, many things are right, and we have much to be grateful for."

Bishop Edgley added, "As disturbing as some news is, what might be most alarming is an increasingly Godless society where the righteous are accused of being intolerant and without compassion. Those attempting to live the time-honored teachings of Christ are often considered out of touch and uniformed. Those staying true to our most sacred principles are ridiculed and sometimes even persecuted."

"We have every reason to be optimistic and full of hope--hope for this life, hope for our children and hope for the eternities to come....Never, never, never lose hope. And never, never, never give up believing in yourself. Ours is the opportunity to be a carrier of optimism, of faith and to spread the hope of the gospel to others throughout the world. After all, that is what Jesus died for."

End of the Summer

It's been a wonderful summer together. We worked hard and played even harder. When we could find the time, we spent our twilight hours on the boat wakeboarding and thrashing the kids on their innertubes. After an unforgettable week on the island of Kauai, we returned to our home and the reality of school, work, life and death. Yesterday we welcomed our newest nephew Nolan Ryan Johnson to our family. This morning we say good-bye to our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother Emily Wright. She was 97 years old. And as I make preparations to attend her memorial service in Salt Lake, my husband is driving our daughter back to school. I am amazed at the momentum of our lives. I am grateful for every experience that makes me a more complete person. I am thankful for my family, the people who make everything worth it.

A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear,

our presence automatically liberates others.

The James Family

What makes us happy?
What makes us laugh?
What do we like to do for fun?
Anyone in the James family will tell you that what we like best is to be together.