Utah

Dear Mary,
This is what you get when you don't log out of
my computer....

This is me and my best friend Cassie.

Even though Cassie is a bit special needs,

it makes me love her all the more.
We laugh so hard when we are
together. It is like we turn into
12 year olds.
Mary girl,
I miss ya already!
Love ya,
Cassie

Too much H1N1!

John made us a lovely Sunday dinner last night. We had steak, rice, and a nice salad. Cara asked for seconds and helped herself! A few minutes later she proclaimed,

'Uh Oh! I have way too much H1N1 on my plate!'

We looked up and immediately cracked up! She was holding the bottle of A1 sauce in her hand! So much talk about the swine flu has really taken it's toll!
Much to Cara's annoyance, we laughed about this many more times before bedtime. She is such a cutie!

Christmas is coming! Only 24 more days!

I LOVE Christmas! It is my favorite time of year. I already have Christmas music on in my car and we will be decking our halls this weekend! I love the traditions that we have, the joy that it brings to our family and the true meaning of Christmas, the hope and love that Jesus Christ brought to the earth.
I read the December visiting teaching message today and was touched by the lovely words of our church leaders about being disciples of Christ. I really loved this quote by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

“Disciples of Christ throughout all ages of the world have been distinguished by their compassion. … 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 look forward to the blessings of service this Christmas season and look forward to rediscovering the true purpose of the season!

Happy Birthday Mimi!! We Love you!

One of my favorite people in the entire world celebrated her birthday yesterday. Kendryn asked her how old she would turn. We all laughed. Truthfully, to me she is ageless. She encompasses the energy of a very young woman and approaches life with the excitement of a child. She brings that energy into every problem she faces and every life she touches. She also possesses a wisdom that is rare, even in the very aged. She is the person I seek out with every parenting question and every life question I have. When anyone I know comes to me with a problem, I think of her first for the answers. What amazes me so much is her ability to make everyone feel so loved and important. She listens with real intent and gives so much of herself to help everyone. I love her as much as my own mother and am so grateful and humbled that I get to have her as the grandmother of my 4 wonderful children! I love you! Thank you for all you do!

So much to be Thankful for!

Had such a nice Thanksgiving. Thought I would list a few things I was Thankful for this past weekend::

A wonderful husband!
4 healthy. crazy, fabulous children
Delicious food with amazing family and friends
A short but fun visit with Gusti and Kali! (Thanks for coming!)
A crazy Black Friday shopping trip with Ally, the Toveys, and the Trappets..home at 3:30am!
Extra sleep!
Date with John
Talking to Cassie on Thanksgiving (get a blog!)
Did I mention extra sleep??

I Miss Christal!

I was thinking today how fortunate I am to have such amazing friends. John doesn't NEED friends, but I do. My friends are spread out from here to Utah to Arizona but I love them all and appreciate all the love and support they have given me over the years. You know who you are!
I am blessed to have 3 brothers, but no sisters. When I married John, I was blessed with 4 lovely and wonderul sisters that embraced me and included me in their family without missing a beat. They are so very dear to my heart and I love them so much. I am really missing Christal right now. Katy just got home from BYU, I see Michelle often (but not often enough), and Emily is living an exciting life in L.A./New York. It is Christal that calls me daily and makes me feel like part of her life even though she is so far away. She is one of the best friends I have ever had. She has always found a way to make it home for the holidays, but with 2 small kiddos and another angel on the way, she will not be able to make it home this time! I will miss you guys and be thinking about you!

Congratulations Ally! We Love You!

We had a great day last Thursday! Our wonderful Ally auditioned for the school play last week and made call backs. They are doing the musical, Beauty and the Beast. She was so excited because out of 20-some people at the call-back, only a handful of them were 7th graders. The next day I took her to school late and when we walked in the door a whole swarm of girls ran up to her screaming and told her she had been chosen to play the part of Belle. We are so excited for her and so pleased with her hard work and positive attitude. She is a joy to have around and we can hardly wait to see her and listen to beautiful voice when the play opens in February!

(This beautiful picture was taken by my very talented friend Gusti!)