Joseph Smith, the Prophet

Tonight, for Family Home Evening, Kevin and I went with the Young Adults from the Ward where he serves in the Bishopric(Mandy & Jackie weren't feeling good, so they stayed home). We drove up to Salt Lake and met at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. That in and of itself is amazing to me. We used to come here as tourists. Now we get to live here and can come for Family Home Evening activities! That is SO cool!!

Anyways...We went to the Legacy Theater to see Joseph Smith The Prophet of the Restoration.

What a great movie! I loved what I learned about Joseph Smith as a man and a Prophet of God!


One of my favorite things was how his love of children (all children) was depicted. Somehow that made him seem more approachable.

When we first began taking the missionary discussion as investigators, Dad gave me a booklet entitled "The Truth Restored". It was the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Gospel. That booklet and the truths in contained formed the foundation of my testimony of this Gospel.

Tonight, that testimony was strengthened. This is definitely the Gospel of Jesus Christ restored to the earth, by Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration. I know it's true!

...and THIS was the view as we came out of the theater....How COOL is THAT? ...And we get to LIVE here!!!

I LOVE where I live!!!

For the Strength of Youth...

The new theme for the Youth of our Church, this year is taken from the scripture in Joshua 1:9 in the Bible. It says:

"...Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

As the Mother of two teen-age girls, I know this can be a scary time for Youth and Young Adults. All around us, the world offers temptations to draw us away from our Heavenly Father. These temptations entice us and lure us farther and farther away from the knowledge of who we are and who our Heavenly Father wishes us to be. In the booklet "For the Strength of Youth", the First Presidency of the LDS Church speaks directly to the Youth of the world. They say, in part:

"You are choice spirits who have come forth in this day when the responsibilities and opportunities, as well as the temptations are the greatest. You are at the beginning of your journey through this mortal life. Your Heavenly Father wants your life to be joyful and to lead you back into His presence. The decisions you make now will determine much of what will follow during your life and throughout eternity. Because the Lord loves you, He has given you commandments and the words of prophets to guide you on your journey."

I just watched the video "A Brand New Year 2010" where youth from around the world bear witness of the power of living the standards in "For the Strength of Youth". It can be viewed at the website designed just for the Youth:
www.youth.lds.org I was inspired by the testimonies and faithfulness of these amazing young people.

Everyday, I see my daughters and the youth around me strive to do what is right. They give me hope for our future. They strengthen my faith. They radiate the pure love of Christ as they strive to be like Him.

To my beautiful daughters and all the incredible Youth and Young Adults out there I say:

"...Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

...and I will be there, too...

Freeway...

Back in November of 1995, I went to the AZ Animal Control Center (dog pound) looking for a new kitty for our family. I found a beautiful tabby-point Siamese kitten with sapphire-blue eyes (he was about 9 months-old). As soon as I took him out of the cage, he snuggled into my neck and started purring.

Kind of like he's doing to Kevin in this picture...

How could I not take him home with me? It turns out that he had become a favorite of the staff at the pound. Twice the paperwork on him had been "lost", extending his stay at the pound well past the time when he would have been put to sleep. The day he chose me was the last day he would be allowed to stay. Apparently the supervisor had put a stop to the staff "losing" his paperwork. In choosing a name for my new friend, I took that into consideration. As we left the pound, I looked around and saw that this facility was right under the loop 101 freeway there in Phoenix. Because of that and the fact that we were saving him in the nick of time, we named our new friend "Freeway".

Over the years, Freeway made new friends and saw them pass-away. He made more new friends, like "Smokey" in this picture... He became the undisputed "King of the House" among all the pets we've had.


As he got older and developed arthritis, he HATED being cold. Last winter, Jackie took pity on him and made a snuggly-nest for him to nap in. We called it our "Freeway-burrito".


Fifteen long, happy, well-loved years later; Freeway's time has finally come. My dear kitty-friend passed away, today. He went quietly in his sleep...snoozing in front of the warm fireplace...one of his favorite places. He will be sorely missed...the "King of the House" has gone to join all the pet-friends who passed before him.

Freeway was mine...or I should really say, I was his. He chose me as much as anything I had to do with it. He was a good kitty and gave us all a lot of love. When Grandma came to live with us, he adopted her as his favorite lap in the house. He LOVED keeping her company in her nice-warm sitting room.

So with lots of love and gratitude we say a very fond farewell.... Bye "Freeway-kitty"...we love you...and thank YOU.

I miss you...

Christmas Eve...

Today was Christmas Eve. I got to do some of the Christmas-y activities I love the most. I had a lunch date with my Sweetheart. I baked in my nice BIG kitchen. I hung out with great friends. We put out a yummy Christmas Eve spread for dinner. We ate and ate and ate and ate... Kevin made fudge, Marc made brownies, I made cookies and pies...(hungry, yet?)

While pies and cookies were baking and Christmas carols were playing on the stereo, I slow-danced in the kitchen with Kevin...which sent our kids giggling for the camera (too bad THAT didn't work, or I would have pictures to post).

We read the nativity story and each talked about our favorite parts. Kevin read "T'was the Night Before Christmas". Now we're putting on the Kenny G album "Miracles" and we're going to snuggle by the fire. To me, this has been an almost perfect Christmas Eve.

Ok, Santa...we're ready for you to come!

Happy Christmas to all...and to ALL, a GOOD NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas...

To all our family and friends: Have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed and Happy New Year!

All our love,

The Websters
Netty, Kev, Mandy, Jackie, Grandma, and all the little pets!

Welcome...

...to Netty's place...or "Happy Acres"...or (as we affectionately call it this time of year...) "Christmas Central"!!!!

Since time and distance prevent us from having y'all spend Christmas with us... darn-it, anyways... I thought I'd bring our home to you! We tend to go all-out for Christmas, so the entire house gets dressed in its Holiday-best. For example, when you come to our door, this is what you'll see...

Living room...

Hallway...

Family Room...

My Christmas Village...

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

...in hopes that (Ho-Ho-who????) soon would be there...

"The lights on my tree...I wish you could see..."

We'll be home for Christmas...wish you could be here with us. So, from our family to yours; have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. ..and may all your Christmas dreams come true...

A Christmas Story...

A long time ago...11 years, to be exact, I took a trip to Oregon. During that trip, I went shopping with my dear sister-in-law, Debbie. We happened upon a beautiful nativity and I said how much I liked it.

That passing comment led to a Christmas present that in turn, led to a Christmas tradition near and dear to my heart. The short version of the story is that Debbie took note of how much I liked this nativity and bought one piece per paycheck for that entire year; planning on giving it to me and Kev for the following Christmas. Through circumstances we couldn't have imagined, the gift was misplaced and forgotten for FOUR years. When at last it was given, this was the story Debbie wrote up to go with it:



To be honest, I didn't even remember looking at this nativity in the store...so I was pleasantly surprised...

The nice thing is that this particular nativity is designed so you can add pieces to it every year. Jackie likes it as much as I do, so every year, she helps me pick out new characters to add to our nativity.

Each piece comes with its own individual story. As we put up the nativity, Jackie and I tell the story of each piece. It's become a tradition for us and a time when we can create precious memories.

It started as a gift of love...it is that and so much more. To the "sister of my heart" who started it all, I say "Thanks Deb. I love it! ...and I love YOU!"

The goose girl's name is Deborah...nice coincidence, huh?

The shepherd girl and the sleeping shepherd were this year's additions...

This is the original scene I fell in love with...

And here it is: My "Fontanini" Nativity for 2009