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Our beloved prophet passes away

Last night President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away at 7pm from natural causes at the age of 97, I'm sure he is over joyed to be reunited with his beloved wife. As I have pondered on his passing I have felt a sadness, perhaps because this shatters my illusion of him living forever. I didn't know I felt that way, but now that he has died I realize that because of his long life and his public presence throughout his service in his callings he seems to have always been there in my life and him going is a reminder of the fragility of life. At the last general conference my children were playing around when he was speaking to us and I leaned over and reminded them of what a great Prophet they were listening to and that because of his age they should realize how precious these words were. I'm not sure it made much difference to them but by verbalizing it I felt it and have treasured every word he has shared with us. 'Being a little kinder' is something that will always stay with me, his sense of humour and his reminders to just be a little nicer to those we come in contact with every day. He was an amazing media man and was always a shining example to us all. Thank you President Hinckley for the wonderful example your life has been to me and my family.

"His life was a true testament of service, and he had an abiding love for others," said U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and fellow Mormon. "His wit, wisdom, and exemplary leadership will be missed by not only members of our faith, but by people of all faiths throughout the world."

THE BILL

A doctor and a lawyer were talking at a party.

Their conversation was constantly interrupted by people describing their ailments and asking the doctor for free medical advice.

After an hour of this, the exasperated doctor asked the lawyer, “What do you do to stop people from asking you for legal advice when you’re out of the office?”

“I give it to them,” replied the lawyer, “and then I send them a bill.”

The doctor was shocked, but agreed to give it a try.

The next day, still feeling slightly guilty, the doctor prepared the bills.

When he went to place them in his mailbox, he found a bill from the lawyer

Uncertainty

Not all who wander are lost.
~ J. R. R. Tolkien ~

With our house on the market and John and I half way through full time education with 11 children and a billion bills calling - uncertainty about the future lurks. John seeks to have an academic career lecturing somewhere in renaissance sonnet sequences and I just want to finish my degree and enjoy my photography as I raise our children. John is giving a paper next week in Belfast and has finally started writing for his Phd and I have just received two firsts for an essay and a cinematic brief. Thankfully we have the wonderful support of John's parents and my sister who live close by and great friends like Andy and Hazel who have picked our kids up from school and helped in so many other ways. We are so grateful for help like this - we couldn't do this without them. I close my eyes sometimes because the rush of life leaves me dizzy and wonder if we are pushing things that bit too far and will look back with regrets. But then I see my children growing into wonderful people and know - all is well.

The Burtons 2007

The Burton's 2007

I have never done one of these family yearly letters - so bear with me. I will start youngest to oldest and try and keep it brief. :)

Imogen - started meithrin (a welsh nursary/kindergarden) She can count to 10 in welsh and knows a few words. She is growing so fast she now shares some of Caleb's clothes.

Caleb - wants to be the new green goblin from spiderman and asked for a jet-propelled flyer for Christmas and was disappointed that Father Christmas didn't deliver. But ever the optimist Caleb doesn't do disappointment long. 2007 brought an improvement in his welsh and reading skills.

Jared - a whizz on the dance mats and loves playing on halo with his brothers. Bright and always learning, last year brought him friends and fun.

William - decided he wanted to learn to read this year, ( Ceilidh did the same at his age - we have to surgically remove her from a book now to get any sense out of her :) We are so proud of his efforts and incredible academic improvements, he even cleans his room!! He loves playing on the computer - most of the kids are more technically advanced than John and I.

Cerys - as hyper as ever - adventure girl! This is sounding like a school report :( but her reading is so much better and 2007 brought out the girliness in her - she spent new year's eve having Sarah (a friend of the family) doing her makeup ------ ok for a family fun evening.

Harry - he re-read all the Harry Potter books again in 2007 and still loves Spiderwick books. He joined the rugby team at school and works in the Library. Has made new friends at secondary school which he started in September. He much prefers high school to primary school.

Caitlin - also started BIG school in September and is still the socialite she was at primary school. Often at friend's houses we have to remind her we aren't so bad here!! She is really growing up and is ever the helpful lovely daughter.

Devon - 2007 was the year we really saw Devon begin to enjoy school. She has close friends and enjoys young women and youth activities.

Ceilidh - books, books, books, we do try bring her back to reality a few times a day. She seems to prefer her book world right now. She loves to draw fictional fantasy characters. Doing great in school and is now conducting hymns in sacrament meeting.

Owen - Got his hair cut!! He was growing it for most of the year and I was wondering what he looked like. But then he decided to have it cut and I had forgotten how gorgeous he is! He had a fan club of girls at school at the beginning of the year but he seems to have matured out of that after a scary encounter with a girl who attached herself to him..... well.... glad that is over! He enjoyed EFY in Exeter in the summer - although he did try and cook a pot noodle in a kettle... hmmmm. Him and Cam are attending their first stake dance on Friday. Loves Cam's guitar game and would like to learn the guitar this year which his Grandad has kindly volunteered to help out with.

Cam - is sat right here telling me to tell you all he is devilishly handsome and wonderful. He is also addicted to computer games and if we let him he would spend all day on halo 3 live and guitar hero 3 live and msn - yes all at the same time!!! His head has expanded past a healthy size and we try to bring him down to earth now and again - but enjoy his confidence and wit. 2007 has been a year of growth in many ways.... he is now 5ft 10 with size 11 feet aaaaahhh!!! Well we have already mentioned the head thing .... he reminds me that he enjoys long walks on moonlit beaches and photography .... any babes reading this between the age of 15 and 25 should contact him on 4503547347548347859734983764589673589465894367589..... bless him!! :)

John is on a high right now because after a year of research into sonnet sequences of the sixteenth and seventeenth century for his PhD he has made some new discoveries, and is ready to begin writing. (He wishes everyone would just let him!!) He gave it a break for the Christmas hols so we could chill. But he's desperate to get back to it and wishes he could be at the Uni Library, getting more done.

Lou is half way through her photography degree and loving it. Makes it harder for John to do his degree and per normal we have taken on too much - just the way we like it. Financially we have been ..... well broke... two students with a large family and a mortgage.... hmmmmmm doesn't really work but we are working on that bit. We are optimistic that 2008 will be fab and all will be well....