Sweden Penelope is Blessed

 

 

On September 17, 2017 Sweden Penelope Snarr was given a name and a blessing by her daddy. It took place at San Pedro Ward and the following men stood in the circle to bless her: Jeff Foster, Gary Ellsworth, Randy Cardon, Robert Hernandez, and our bishopric, Bishop Bruce Ballio, Bob Beck and Gamble Money.

Sweden wore a flower crown and a simple and pretty white dress that I made. After the blessing the men all commented how slippery she was because of her dress... thank goodness she wasn't too squirmy and didn't fuss at all, if so, she might have slipped right out of their hands.

The blessing was beautiful and we were able to take some sweet pictures of her afterwards. My favorite is this one, where her brothers are kissing her head and her face is all content and she's holding her arms and chubby little fingers in such a girly way. 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

Fox is blessed

Fox Hampton Snarr was given a name and a blessing on the morning of December 13, 2015 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, San Pedro Ward. 

Good friends and family stood in the circle to witness and to hold Fox as his daddy, Benjamin administered the blessing. Grandpa Capson, Spencer Snarr, Jeff Foster, Bishop Gary Ellsworth, Jim Neville, Randy Cardon and Robert Hernandez all stood in the circle. Benjamin gave Fox a beautiful blessing and Fox smiled the entire time, not letting out a peep. 

Since the blessing shoes didn't fit Fox, he wore his Texas flag socks… because he is a proud lil' texan and it's something we'll always remember about the day.

Grandpa and Grandma Capson traveled from Connecticut to visit us and to be a part of the blessing day. Because they were there, the day was even more special. 

Teaching Seminary

Last  year, our home teacher asked our family to pray daily for service opportunities. We followed his counsel and service opportunities definitely came, one in particular: the call to be Seminary Teacher. Now, that's not quite what I had in mind for service! I hate to admit it but when I received the call I immediately thought I couldn't do it, and that I would turn it down. But I could never bring myself to turn down a calling, knowing that by doing so, I would be turning down opportunities for growth and blessings. My thoughts were that it may be difficult to teach because of the toddler I care for each day, the fact that we were trying to have another child, and that we may move within the school year. Well, it turned out that there was no need for concern, the Lord knew I could serve in this calling and that I just needed to put my trust in Him. I did end up pregnant for pretty much the entire school year, however the baby is due just after school lets out. It turned out we wouldn't move out of our home until after school ended as well. Planning lessons daily proved to be tough, especially since I was exhausted from waking up early and being pregnant, so exhausted that I wanted to nap when Finn napped. That didn't leave much time for planning my lessons.  It seems I managed though and the Lord made up the difference, He definitely made up for where I lacked. 

We held seminary in my home, because we had the space, and because it made it so much more convenient for me. However, we tended to be pretty loud and Ben and Finn had a hard time sleeping through the class.  My class consisted of about 20 students from the San Pedro and Sonterra wards.  I grew to love those students and their testimonies. They taught me, I like to think that we all learned together.  I commended them for their commitment to attend seminary and testified that I know that they are being blessed for their attendance, and they may not even realize it.  The spirit can be with them throughout the day because they started their day out with the Lord. I strongly believe that I was spared from so many evil influences in my High School years because of seminary. I know that is the same for my students. 

(I know, I know, I blend in pretty well. Lol!)

We studied the Doctrine and Covenants this year and so my appreciation for the early saints and the Prophet Joseph Smith has grown immensely.  I am in awe of the hardships that they endured and through it all, their faith did not fail them.

Do I, do my students, do we, have the faith that will not fail when the hardships arise in our lives?  Will the tests and the trials weaken us and bring us to question our testimony, or will they make us stronger in the faith, more reliant upon the Lord? 

I love the story of John Tanner and how he gave up all his material wealth to help build the Kirtland Temple. When the saints were driven from Kirtland and had to leave the Temple which they worked so hard to build, he did not murmur. When his family grew to be so poor that they were begging for food, or when his little girl died his faith stayed strong. He didn't get angry with the Lord, but he continued to ask what he could do to help build His kingdom.  

That is a harrowing example of faith that did not fail.  To have that kind of faith, we must have a personal witness of the truthfulness of the Gospel. We cannot rely upon the testimony of others, we must gain it for ourselves, we must do the praying, the asking, and applying of the doctrines. If we don't ever gain a personal testimony we could easily fall when the tests and trials come or when the world mocks us for our beliefs.  It is the last days and the Lord is gathering His elect; we will see many fall around us, but will we stand? Will we be one to stand for truth and righteousness and be on the Lord's side when He comes again?  It is my prayer that my students have gained a personal testimony for themselves so that they can stand amidst the trials and the evil that they will face in these last days. I hope I helped them apply the doctrines and learn for themselves.

I will not be teaching seminary this coming year but I do hope to teach it again one day (when my kids are a bit older and I'm not pregnant). It was a wonderful experience that blessed my life and my family.  

Blessing Day

July 12, 2013

Ben, Finn and I arrived in Rochester, NY on July 11th.  The very next morning we arose bright and early and headed to the Sacred Grove in Palmyra where Finn would meet both sets of Grandparents for the very first time and receive his baby blessing from his father and grandfathers. 

Grandpa and Grandma Snarr are serving in the Rochester, NY mission and Grandpa and Grandma Capson just live hours away from there so it was perfect for us all to meet here in such a lovely and special place.  

Holding Finn in their arms, these three men stood in a circle and by the power of the Priesthood Benjamin gave Finn his name and his blessing.

We chose to bless him standing under the Apostle Tree, named for its 12 branches.

All who were present at the blessing. 

Grandma and Grandpa Capson brought with them Finn's two oldest cousins, Asa and Ambria.

 Finn was pretty fussy the whole time in the grove, except for while he was being blessed--during that time he was very still and quiet, as if he knew something special was occurring.

 Finn with his Grandmothers, fallen sound asleep right after the blessing. 

Ma & Pa

It has been quite a while since I've posted our happenings...  As usual, we have both been very busy with our jobs--Ben continues to build his alarm company and I couldn't be prouder of him for all of his hard work and dedication to it. We've been very patient this year as we put so much time, money, and effort into this business and now it sweet to finally begin seeing the fruits of our labors.  I continue to work from home and travel to DFW a couple times a month for meetings and events.  When we aren't working we've been completing baby room projects, planning Sunday lessons, Tuesday youth activities and prepping/attending the San Antonio North Stake Youth Pioneer Trek.  We were asked to be a Ma and Pa and both Ben and I, despite our busy schedules and my baby bump, jumped at the opportunity. I had never been on a trek as a youth so this was finally my opportunity to experience one.  Ben loves the youth and the outdoors and doesn't mind roughing it one bit so of course he was excited as well.

In the beginning of March we had our 12 children ...trek children... come to our home for a family gathering.  We had a pizza party and created a flag, cheer and skit for the trek.  We named ourselves the "Super Snarr's" and of course Ben, the arTist drew our awesome Superman. As a Ma and Pa we received 8 hour Trek training sessions--Wow...is all I can say to the amounts of work and preparation that goes into having such an event.  We definitely love our youth! After all the prep,came the real thing--a 3 day trek on March 11-13, at the YO Ranch in Keller, TX.  Everyone thought I was crazy for participating while 30 weeks pregnant and they tried to baby me the whole time but honestly being pregnant didn't hinder me. I was just fine walking 13 miles the first day and about 4 miles each of the next two days, it was the sleeping on the hard ground under the stars with frost on our sleeping bags that was the uncomfortable part! I was lucky to have the "cat's meow" sleeping bag which kept me toasty warm but how I wish I had an air mattress or a pillow! There were times I had such a hard time sleeping that i'd sit up and stare at the stars and wonder when on earth the sun would come up.  But other than the sleeping arrangements Trek was such a great experience for Ben and I and our 12 children. Our children were wonderful- and thought we had the best family (I would definitely agree.)  The Stake made an effort to place children in families who weren't already friends, so although many of our children didn't know each other this experience bonded and united them. It was eye opening for us all to have a subtle taste of what the pioneers went through for their love of and dedication to the gospel. Amazing. Like the pioneers, we cooked all of our food on the fire, ate the toughest beef jerky, the blandest johnny cakes (cornmeal and water cooked in a dutch oven and drizzled with honey), walked for miles in the hot sun- pulling a 500 lb. handcart, sang hymns along the way,  froze our booties off at night, and went without modern technology and amenities (no phones, cameras, showers, deodorant etc.).  Each family encountered challenges along the path.  Our family's challenge was that a herd of buffalo stampeded through our path and we lost two of our oxen and had to search for them.  We then learned how the pioneers made jerky and each had a taste of it. During a portion of the trek the men were taken away to help the Mormon Battalion and the women had to pull for 5 miles on their own.  I think the girls discovered they are strong, courageous and capable to do hard things. I was proud of my girls--they didn't complain but sang songs and were cheerful along the way. A lesson, I learned from this is that the Atonement of Jesus Christ does not always take away your trials but helps you to bear them.  The Pioneers experienced hardship but somehow had the courage to keep going--that courage came from powers beyond their own. And most pioneers felt that the price they paid to become acquainted with God was well worth it.  I think that the youth who participated learned that valuable lesson as well.  The Testimony Meeting at the end of trek went on for hours and it was sweet to hear how their faith had grown through this experience.

For me, this experience was also eye opening to see how irritated I could became having 12 teenagers- yeesh! They ask so many questions! But my love for each of them grew and I learned to be more patient and realized a bit of how much a parent serves and sacrifices for their children. I guess this was great prep for being a real Ma! I'm sure Ben would agree that it was great prep for being a real Pa too!

Let's Play Catch Up

Boy, does time fly! We have been in Fort Worth, Texas for ONE whole year now. Ben and I have never lived in one place for this long before and we don't plan on leaving anytime soon! We've really made ourselves at home here. Ben has a good thing going as a sub dealer for ADT and I work as the Practice Manager of the ER at JPS Hospital.  Our work keeps us both busy but we both really enjoy it! 

Church keeps us busy too; we are part of a wonderful ward and are given so many opportunities to serve. Ben serves as the Scout Master (a darn good one).  He loves working with the youth and he just got back from an awesome scout trip that he will blog all about soon.  I serve as Primary President and have so much fun working with the little ones, teaching them values that they will carry with them through their lives.  I am so lucky to be able to spend Sundays with the children, playing games, and hearing them sing! 

Of course, amidst the busyness we make time for our friends, we like to think that they are pretty awesome. There's lots of game nights, pool parties, dinners, double dates, girls nights etc.  Ben and I savor every minute we have together too. We really make the best of the little time we seem to have and take turns each week planning creative dates for each other-- it's a great motivation to get out on the town and see and do more.

Some of the things we've been up to...

Ben coached little league baseball this Spring. 

Ben caught one.

I didn't. 

We will definitely go fishing again soon since I've seriously never caught a fish before!

We painted faces at our Church Carnival! Ben showed me up by painting dragons and unicorns while I painted the easy stuff- stars and flowers. The kids loved it.

Ben took me on a surprise date to the Texas Motor Speedway, to watch Formula 1 Races. We had so much fun, especially once we put the ear plugs in... yeesh! It was loud.

Of course we saw Danika Patrick and cheered her on!

We loved having Abby, Tony & the kids come to visit.

We went to the stockyards to watch the daily cattle drive and we had a fun picnic at the Botanic Gardens.

Sure do miss having these kids around!

If you cannot see God in everything, you cannot see God at all.

But when you can see God, you can see that everything beautiful bears His fingerprints.