The End of Childhood

My Emma turns 13 this week. She'll officially be an teenager and I'll officially be OLD. I've earned all these gray hairs! I wanted to publish these pics that my friend Kate Watkins took a few years ago. I think she and Jim came to visit us 3 years ago, so Emma must have been 10. She's grown so much, but she's still the sweet girl I love.

Emma may be a Daddy's Girl, but she'll be MY daughter forever. I wanted an oldest daughter so badly and the Lord blessed me with Emma. She's a good friend, although she doesn't really realize it yet. She makes me laugh and she gives me a hard time. She makes me look at myself realistically. She keeps me honest . . . there's no 'embellishing' a story when I'm teaching in Young Women, with her around! She's so fun and I love being her mom. She doesn't let me hug her much anymore, so I catch my moments when I can!

I think this is a super tender photo of us. I don't think I even knew Kate took it! I'd better give Emma a framed copy for her birthday or a magnetized one, for her locker. I don't want her to ever forget how much I love her!

Eric and Emma

My littlest brother, Eric and my oldest daughter, Emma have brought me some very 'Exquisite Moments' during the last few weeks, because of their choices and decisions.

Eric has been preparing to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints his whole life. He's really made it a priority and focus over the last year. I've seen marked growth in his maturity and spiritual stature. I am so very proud of him. He received his mission call to the LA, California Mission, Spanish Speaking. He'll leave July 29th. I'm so happy for him and he's so excited. I can't wait to spend a little time with him before he leaves for 2 years. Although we'll miss him, I know his service will bless the lives of others, including our family!


This is my FAVORITE all-time photo. I've been waiting for the perfect moment to "unveil" it on my blog. It's of Eric (about 7), Emma (about 6 months) Daniel (about 10) and me. I had bangs and no fat on my neck. I love this picture. Isn't Emma a little IMP in it?

Emma just turned 12. In our church, that's a huge milestone. You "graduate" from the Primary (our children's organization) to Young Women's (our girl's youth organization). Now, on Sunday's Emma associates with the 12-18 year old girls. She is SOOO happy. She's been waiting a long time to move up. Here is another cute shot of Eric, Emma and Daniel (my other baby brother!)

Last week, Emma was able to go to the Temple for the first time and I got to accompany her. She was so excited and enjoyed her service there so much. She came home very anxious to do genealogical research with her Grandpa and Uncle Justin (our family historians). She can't wait to do temple ordinances for her ancestors, the next time she visits the temple.

It was fun to be at the Temple with Emma. She was overwhelmed with joy and peace. She REALLY wanted me to sit near her, at all times and she'd snuggle on my shoulder or hold my hand. I loved it! She usually isn't very demonstrative and it was nice to feel so loved and needed! I am so proud of Emma. I'm proud that she's worthy to go to the House of the Lord, the sacred Holy Temple.

My Goold Family

Have I published this photo before? I just love it! This is my mom and her two daughters (My younger, curlier sister, Briana and me!!) It is so fun having one sister. . . I'm grateful the Lord blessed me with her, amidst all those 5 brothers!!

I'm not sure I've published this picture either. . . my parents are so cute. They've been married almost 36 years and I love them very much!

We took this family photo right before Daniel left on his mission, 2 years ago. So much has happened during this time!! Two Weddings (Michael and Briana), one HS graduation (Eric) and one Masters Degree Earned (Jonathan). My brother Paul and I have just been raising our kids and plugging away at life. I adore my family and hope they had a wonderful Christmas.

If you are interested in who is who:

Dad, Daniel, Paul, Sarah, Michael, Eric, Mom, Briana and Jonathan Goold, Jan. 2007

Ben and Blessings

Benjamin has been pretty sick lately. First, he was under the weather from his Pre-School immunizations, then he caught a lingering cold, then the flu, Strep Throat, and NOW another cold! He just hasn't been himself lately!! I finally asked him if he'd like his Daddy to give him a Priesthood Blessing.

I believe that God's Priesthood has has been restored to the earth and given to worthy men, by those in authority. Worthy men with the Priesthood of God can act in God's name to bless others. Damian has the Priesthood and occasionally uses it to bless our children and me, as well as others in our congregation/ community.

I wasn't sure if Benjamin had been taught/understood much about the Priesthood. I was surprised when he got very excited about the idea of having his Daddy give him a blessing. When I asked him what a blessing was he said, "Daddy will put his hands on my head and make me better with the words he says. I saw that on the missionary movie. One missionary had his foot hurt by HOT LAVER and the other missionary blessed him and he got better!"

I guess the things I'm supposed to be teaching my son are accomplished through my great TiVo skills! My kids recently watched The Other Side of Heaven (A Disney movie about an LDS missonary in Tonga that had many miraculous experiences.)

Ben understood the lesson taught about the power of Priesthood Blessings, but was a little confused on the details. There is no HOT LAVER (hot lava) in the movie, the missionary gets bitten by red fire ants. He does get a Priesthood Blessing and is healed!

All day, Ben kept asking when his Daddy would be home to bless him. He was very reverant during the actual blessing. After, he informed me that he'd be getting better right away. He is full of a sweet faith and has taught me much!

RS Gen. Broadcast

My mom and I went to the Relief Society General Broadcast on Saturday night. We met up with my mom's best friend from Valdez, Jeanne W. afterwards. I haven't seen Jeanne for 14 years and I've really missed her! She has always been a second mom to me. We've kept in touch by phone, letters and emails over the years, but now that she lives in Utah, I hope we'll SEE more of each other!

The conference center was packed. It was AWESOME to be surrounded by ALL women. Did you know the 21,333-seat Conference Center auditorium is believed to be the largest theater-style auditorium ever built? The second-largest, the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico has about 11,000 seats. Anyway, when all the women stood up to sing, the wonderful accoustics overwhelmed me!! There is a lot of power in Sisterhood, I tell you! I almost wanted to get out my video camera and record it to show you. But I was having too much fun singing my heart out, with my 21,000 sisters in Salt Lake City. And the Prophet. He was there too.

You can listen to it Here, if you missed it. It's available in 59 different languages. My favorite talk was my President Utchdorf. He made fun of his own cooking and made us all laugh about some of the differences between men and women. He said something profound, though:

"In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness; but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair, let us feel the silent prayers of others around us and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers."

I really loved that!! My cousin, Lana, posted her notes from his talk on her blog, if you're interested in them before the General Conference talks are published online next week, click here.

Rachel's Baptism

Rachel and her daddy, before the baptismal program started. I love her cute little face!

My parents came to support Rachel. Grandma spoke about Baptism. It was the most wonderful baptism talk I've ever heard. Grandpa offered a beautiful opening prayer. Rachel loved having them make a trip JUST FOR HER!

Of course, Rachel's Bosom BFF and cousin was there. Sitting on the front row with Rachel. She made her a special baptism tote, full of goodies and fun gifts.

Emma and Josh took turns playing prelude music, FROM THE HYMNBOOK. I've calculated the cost of their piano lessons over the years and you don't want to know what their accomplishments have cost me. But I was very proud that they are talented enough to do that!

As the friends and family started to arrive, some brought little cards and tokens, and Rachel enjoyed quietly reading them.

Then, the program started. All Rachel's Aunts played or led the music. Grandpas prayed, Grandmas spoke, Uncles Witnessed the Ordinance of Baptism, performed by Daddy. Mommy cried through the speakers/baptism (and Rachel came out of the water GLOWING, and a bit choked up, with the excitement and the spiritual feelings of her heart)

Our Elders presented some things we believe as a sort of refresher course, while Rachel changed and I did her hair. They are a dynamite pair and we've enjoyed having them in our home.

When it was time for Rachel to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, that will comfort, protect and guide her through her life, her Daddy was overcome with emotion, as he gave her this gift, as well as pronounced some blessings on her head. He hasn't felt that sort of emotion since he blessed Josh as a new baby, it was very tender. Rachel spoke to me later about her strong spiritual feelings during her blessing. She enjoyed the experience.

One of her favorite parts was putting on a BEAUTIFUL pink dress that we borrowed after her baptism (and having her hair flat ironed!) She really felt so lovely in the dress, like a princess. She received some pretty baptism jewelry (faux pearls and diamonds) and she LOVED them, too!

Our babysitter, Miss Hillary Brown came, and then spend the afternoon with us. Rachel adores her.

A new friend from our Ward came. She's been spending a few hours every afternoon at our home, until her mom or dad make it home from work. Rachel loves her very much.

Here is our cute Emma, with the newest Idiart, Baby Lovable. The oldest Idiart Grand baby and the youngest. There are 13 now!!


The newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (for probably a few seconds, I think!)

Rachel, we love you so much and are so very proud of the fine life you live. You made an important decision today and we are thrilled for you!

Temple Date Night

Tonight, Damian and I went on a date to the Temple. We performed baptisms for relatives on his mom's side. Usually baptisms are performed by teenagers, but tonight we were with a group of adults doing temple work for their deceased family members. It was really special.

This is the baptistry in the Rexburg, Idaho temple. The following picture depicts the baptistry in the Nauvoo, Illinois temple. The twelve oxen, with the baptismal font on their backs, represent the twelve tribes of Israel. In the temple, we all change into white clothes. I love how everyone looks the same there. We are all symbolically pure, clean and equal before the Lord. It's beautiful imagery.

I learned that the stained glass in our temple was made in England by the same company that made the stained glass in the Sistine Chapel. The beautiful chandelier in our baptistery is made of Alabaster. I googled a similar chandelier and it was selling for close to $6,000. My church spares no expense in these beautiful temples. We call the temple, "The House of the Lord." There are 126 temples in operation all over the world and 14 under construction. Temples offer the members of my church a special place to worship, to leave the world behind and step into a beautiful, quiet, holy place. A place where we can be closer to our Heavenly Father and our elder brother, Jesus.

I am so thankful for the temple and the blessings it brings to my life. I'm so glad I only live a mile away from my temple! I'm always at peace in there and I learn so much each time I go. I'm so happy that through the temple I've been promised that I can be with my family forever.

I'm grateful we had the chance to be baptized for Damian's family, tonight . . . we believe the ordinance of baptism, by one with the proper priesthood authority, is essential to returning to live with our Heavenly Father, and his son, Jesus Christ. I believe Damian's ancestors can choose whether they want to accept the work we did for them tonight, and I hope they do. I can't wait to meet them all, when we pass to the other side, and tell them how thankful I am for their wonderful GREAT Grandson, Damian! And, I can't wait to laugh at all their weird last names, to their faces. I got plenty of mileage out of their names tonight, those Basques have goofy names, let's face it!