It's about time....

I haven't blogged for a very long time, but since a really nice woman encouraged me to keep it up, I thought I would. I am like that with my journal too. I write and write and then go a period of time with nothing. I stopped blogging after some things happened with Spencer. I just didn't feel I had anything positive and worthwhile to say, but after several months, here I go again. It's almost Christmas, actually tomorrow is Christmas Eve. All of our kids will be home on Christmas eve and it will be wonderful to be together. It's hard to believe a whole year has come and gone but they say "time flies when you're having fun." Some pretty significant things have happened in 2009, the most significant to me being my mother's passing away in September. It was hard to watch her die, but I was so thankful I could be right by her side for pretty much the whole thing. It was sad and wonderful all at the same time. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ which makes resurrection possible and give those of us who lose loved ones such a feeling of peace and hope. Hope isn't wishful thinking, it is an expectation of His promises being real and being fulfilled. My mother taught me that and a million other wonderful things. Since her passing, Cal and I have been working on her biological family line. She was put in an orphanage when she was just a very small child, along with a sister and brother. She was blessed to be adopted to wonderful parents whom she loved very much. Since her passing, we have been able to find a lot of information on this family and are enjoying doing this so much. Cal is so good about helping me, whenever I ask. He is much better at research on the computer than I am so he really does all the work. I just do the encouraging. For my mothers Christmas present this year, I had her sisters temple work done and it was absolutely the most rewarding experience. I loved my aunt and I know that she loved me. She was a wonderful person and I am certain that these two sisters were experiencing joy and rejoicing on Friday, Dec. 17th.

I have a favorite saying and it goes like this, "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator, for all I have not seen." I love my Heavenly Father and feel such gratitude for all that He allows me to feel and know, even though it is not always pleasant, it is always what I need. I love Jesus Christ and hope that I can "celebrate" His birth and life every single day of the upcoming year. There is so much to be thankful for. Merry Christmas!

So happy together.....

We just had two of the best weekends ever. The first one was a birthday celebration for Spencer's 21st. We all went to the Red Cayon Lodge and spent a couple of nights just having fun together. We went to dinner, played games, laughed, joked, had a family photo taken (finally), and had an all around good time just being a family. It's hard to believe Spencer is 21. Time sure does fly. I think it was good for all of us. This past week, Cal, Nathan and I, along with Whitney and Jon and their boys, went to Kirtland, Niagara Falls and Palmyra. It was such a fun trip, even though we had some really weird things happen and the weather was cold. First, our plane was delayed in Salt Lake so we missed our connecting flight and had to be rebooked on a later very very bumpy flight. We flew through a thunderstorm. This was not my best plane ride. By the time we arrived in Kirtland we were exhausted and happy to finally go to bed about midnight. We weren't meant to sleep though. Second, the fire alarm went off about 1 am and we were ushered outside in the cold to wait until all was clear. We were able to find Whitney and Jon right away and sat in their car which was warm. We were all so tired and finally about an hour or so later, we went back to bed. We visited the John Johnson farm the next morning, which is an incredible place to go, and then went over to the Amish country just a few miles away. We ate the best Amish home cooked food at a place called Mary Yoder's and it was good and cheap. We then saw all the Kirtland sights and that was so fun. The next day we drove to Ontario Canada to the Great Wolf Lodge, which was worth the money and travel. It is an indoor waterpark/lodge and is a really fun place. We saw the falls and the third weird thing happened that night. Cal wasn't feeling well and had some unusual symptoms so we left at midnight to find a hospital to have his blood pressure checked. The doctor ordered a series of tests, and 4 hours and several hundred dollars later, we learned that he was in good health and they sent us away, poorer but grateful that he was given a clean bill of health. It was interesting to witness Socialized Medicine first hand and I am more sure than ever, I don't want it. They say things come in threes and though I'm not superstitious, I was starting to become a believer. After the third, everything went smoothly. Our trip to Palmyra was so neat. We enjoyed seeing the sights so much and especially enjoyed seeing them "early in the spring," with the buds just on the trees and bushes, as they would have most likely been in 1820. We flew home just today and were so happy to land safely. I wanted to just share my gratitude for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph saw what he said he saw and that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ did in reality speak to him. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and the Savior of all the world, whether they acknowledge Him or not. I am grateful for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which testifies of Jesus Christ and His divine mission as our Savior and the Son of God, acts as a companion volume of scripture to the Holy Bible and brings me great peace and joy. I'm grateful for my eternal family and the restoration of the Priesthood, which binds us on earth and in heaven. We are all so blessed. I know that my Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. I am more certain of this today than ever. He always has such a tender and wonderful way of letting me know this. I'm glad this weekend is Easter. I love Easter and all that it means, especially that Jesus Christ lives.

So much to be thankful for...

In the Book of Mormon, there is a great man who was named Moroni. He was made Chief Captain of the Nephite army as a very young man, because of his honor and integrity. During a period of complacency, and governmental chaos, he chose to make a difference, and take action, rather than sit by and let things happen or wait for someone to fix the problems. It is said that "the fastest way for a nation to fall is for good men to do nothing." He took his coat and tore it to make a "title of liberty" and fastened it upon a pole. On this banner, he wrote, "In memory of our God, our religion and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children." After doing this, he fastened on his breastplate and his shields and armor and bowed himself to the earth, and prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his nation. He then took it to the people and called for them to join him in this great cause of freedom. Today, I watched the Glenn Beck program and was very pleasantly surprised to hear him ask the American people to do the same but not to arm ourselves and fight for that freedom, but to live principles and values of honor, integrity, faith in God, family preservation and the list goes on. I was impressed and uplifted by what I saw and heard, not by politicians and journalists, but by ordinary citizens like you and me, who find the time has come to take back our country and promote these time tested principles and values, to preserve our freedom and families. If you have not already seen it or heard about it, go to project912.com or go to Glennbeck.com
If you are like me, you can use some really good news and finally hear about good things happening. I love this country and have committed myself to re-evaluate my priorities and make sure they are in keeping with the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe these "hard times" will not be in vain if people can look inwardly and give outwardly, to be a force for good in the land. Have a wonderful day and may God bless America and each one of us.

It'a a beautiful day in the neighborhood....

Today the sun is shining and it feels warmer than usual, yay! I love springtime. I have been seeing Robins in our trees. Isn't that a sure sign that spring is on it's way? I love the feel of everything becoming new again. There is nothing better than seeing the mountains and trees become green and lush. It just does my heart good. I love all the seasons, but spring is probably my favorite, just because of what it represents, a rebirth and newness of life, just like the resurrection of our Savior. I like all the reminders of Him. I just expect good things to happen for me and everyone else. I saw on the news a woman from Logan, speaking about the recent death of her soldier husband serving in Iraq. She spoke of his desire to serve his country, because of all the blessings we American's have to preserve. I felt so sad for her loss, but so grateful for her husband being willing to "lay down his life for a friend." I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and the resurrection from the dead and even though I cannot fully comprehend what He did for me, I enjoy being reminded everyday, by the wonders of His hand. I'm going to try a little harder to show gratitude for this and enjoy Easter, hopefully, with new eyes and understanding. The only thing we really have to offer that is just ours alone is our willingness to follow Him. Have a wonderful, almost spring day!

My Valentine

I know it is past the date, but I wasn't very on the ball earlier. I wanted to post this before the day but just never got around to it. Valentines day was fun to have the kids here but it snowed gobs. We were pounded with lot's of snow so we didn't really do too much. I was thinking though, that every day of the year is "Valentines Day" for me. For the past 27 1/2 years I have been blessed to live happily, for the most part, with mine. We have been through many challenges, ups and downs, and difficulties, but through it all we have remained committed and faithful to the covenants we made together with our Heavenly Father all those years ago. Calvin isn't the real romantic type, the way the world would view "romantic", but to me there is no one who understands me better, even though I accuse him sometimes of not understanding a thing about me! Let me explain. He is the man who after just a couple of months of marriage would come home from work to hold my hair up while I was throwing up (pregnant) and then go to Sizzler 3 times in one week so I could have the only thing I could stomach, a baked potato. He understood that I couldn't handle the smell of them cooking. He is the one who took our crying baby and walked with her so I could watch the "Miss America" pageant and get a little break in peace, or the many times he watched our kids so I could have some time just to myself to regroup and get my sanity back, at least temporarily. He is the man who bought me a Roomba (robotic vacuum) for Christmas. He knows how much I vacuum. It is just one of those things I have to do. I cannot stand to have dirty cluttered floors so I vaccum a lot. This sweetheart of mine researched and went from store to store to buy me a vaccum that does all the work I "need" to have done, so I don't have to. Isn't that romantic? He tells me I'm beautiful even when I am just home from a very sweaty workout. If I asked him to bring me the moon, I know he would figure out away to do it. He loves me more than anyone else and I am the luckiest girl in all the world to have such a man as my forever friend and companion. He did bring me beautiful roses for "Valentines Day," but he gives me much more through his support and love everyday. He gives me his heart and that is often shown through the things he does with his hands to help around the house, rub my feet, bless me, and make a living and a thousand other things. I love my Valentine!

FYI...unimportant facts

I can't think of anything to blog about, except the sun is shining and beautiful, so I thought I'd finally get around to this. I think it's fun to read about others, so I hope I don't let you down with mine. My life isn't very interesting REALLY!

8 favorite TV shows:
HGTV, almost everything
Fox news channel, almost everything
America's funniest Videos (I only watch this with my family. It's not fun to laugh alone!)
Psyche (USA channel If you haven't watched this it's really good)
American Idol
I can't think of anything else I watch. What a waste of satellite TV

8 fav restaurants:
Bella's Mexican
The Red Iguana Mexican
Still Taco Bell Mexican (does anyone know of a clean one?)
Olive Garden
Roosters
Red Lobster
Paradise Cafe
Rubios Mexican So I guess my favorite food would be Mexican

8 things I did yesterday
Prayed
went to choir practice
read the Ensign (church magazine)
went to church
watched America's Funniest Videos
ate a lot :(
hugged my husband
Well for a Sunday that about wraps it up

8 things I look forward to:
Spring
having our fence installed
warm weather
running in the warm weather
Vacation in Kirtland and Palmyra
Seeing my Mom in April
Spencer having a really great life
Just having a good, healthy life with my family

8 things wish list:
I had thicker hair without any gray
I didn't let little things bother me so much
I could sing more and actually do something with it
I had the funds to help EVERY worthy cause and person
No children would ever go unloved or hungry or hurt
The world would be at peace
I could go on another vacation

8 things I'm thankful for:
My knowledge of our Heavenly Father's plan
Jesus Christ
The beauty of the Earth
My family, all of them everywhere
Forgiveness
Little children
Good health
Calvin "True friendship is Eternal"

Have a wonderful Monday!!!!!

Here are some pictures of our trip to San Diego.