Families are Forever

For those of you who didn't already know, my niece Julia passed away last week. She fought really hard, but in the end the infection she had could not be treated. We are so sad that she is gone and we hate watching those we love go thorough this horrible thing. Watching them go through this has reminded me of our experience many years ago. Lynn and I have twin boys that were born at 22 weeks. They told me then that there was nothing they could do to help them, so they passed after just a few minutes each. I know that they are such strong spirits that they just needed the opportunity to get a body and then go back home. I know all things happen for a reason, and I believe that we wouldn't have the family we have now if they had lived. This way, I get to have all of them forever. Because of my experience I now have a strong testimony that we are a forever family. I know that we will be able to get to know them and be with them forever. This reminds me on a regular basis that I need to be a better person, so that I will able to see them again. I am grateful for the gospel and the knowledge I have. I know that time helps, but these precious little ones will always be a part of us.

Thanksgiving

This year we went with my family down to St. George for Thanksgiving. We hurried down there to avoid the "blizzard" that was on it's way and we got there safe, with no trouble. Our family got to stay with my Auntie Dantie and her family in a nice house for the week, which included a pool and hot tub. Unfortunately the weather was pretty cold, so the pool didn't get used much, but the hot tub got plenty of use!
On Wednesday we went to IN and OUT Burger and saw Harry Potter 7 part 1, got our grocery shopping done and ended the night in the hot tub. Turkey day started bright and early. I got to assist in making a bunch of the side dishes. I made sweet potatoes for the first time and they were pretty good. Lynn helped my mom make the rolls and they were great. Dinner was a crazy affair with 40 people trying to eat and talk and eat and talk, but it was great! Later we had the annual football game, with no injuries, family bingo and guess the big game score. Friday all cousins that were there got to go to lunch without children. That was a lot of fun to be together. We got Nelsen's frozen custard after lunch and we ended up staying there and visiting for awhile. There were 14 of us and we took up the whole back of the store. People walking in gave us weird looks....That night we had pizza and watched the Jazz beat the Lakers. I have to say we didn't do the Black Friday thing, and I didn't even feel bad about it! Saturday we heard that a storm was going to make our Sunday drive home scary, so most everyone left to be ahead of it, but we needed to stay and clean up the house. So we watched the big U vs Y game...cried a little and then got in the hot tub and watched a movie. Sunday we left early enough that we didn't have any trouble and got home safe. Lynn is great with driving in yucky weather. We are glad to be home and look forward to the next month of craziness. Hopefully we can get all we need to and want to done! Happy Holiday preparing! We'll check back in for updates on all our festivities!



Hot tub fun!

Typical U fan! :)

Team work!

Lovely ladies

Christmas 2009

Better late than never, right? We had a great Christmas and it seemed to go by way too fast. We really enjoy spending time with our families during the holidays, the kids can never have enough time together. I got a new camera, but spent all my time trying to figure it out rather than using it. Someday I will get my act together. For New Years we spent the evening with our friends and the next day we got together with the Blanch Family for snow festivities. I decided to join my mom in her annual movie marathon and saw The Blind Side. I HIGHLY recommend this movie! One of the best in a very long time! I joined the fun in time to give rides and I even got dumped off the sled by my sweet husband a few times! (he thought it was the funniest thing ever, luckily I'm pretty padded and I roll well :) ) We enjoyed our break from school and now we are back to the craziness. I am working every day this month and trying to figure all that out. I DEFINETLY need to get more organized!
P.S. The gun with my man is just a toy. I thought it looked so red-neck!

Easter

This Easter was a little different. My mother was out of town the week before and we were not sure if she would make it home for her traditional egg hunt on Sat, or for Sunday dinner. My Dad broke his foot the week before, so I got to help get him to various places, so we coordinated what needed to be done, just in case Mom didn't make it home. Anyway, Mom showed up Friday and was here for Easter festivities. She hurt her knee, so Saturday I came over early to help prepare for the egg hunt and do a little cleaning. The hunt was a success, the kids got lots of candy and got to spend time with cousins! Sunday we went to Sacrament with Lynn's parents then went to dinner at mom's and then to Blanch's for another egg hunt and more visiting with family! I tried to make those cute chick pops from Bakerella. (If you haven't checked her out you MUST! She's my idol!)They of course are not as cute as hers...maybe someday! The kids had Spring Break this weekend too, so we went to see Monsters VS Aliens and had our fun teen cousin spend the night with us. It was hard getting up on Tuesday to the regular schedule. I wish the weather was better, I need to do some serious yard work. Also Brayden, Emma and Alex are playing soccer this season and they have only had one practice and one game each. It is just too wet and cold. We will see if they get to play Saturday, they REALLY want to!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

We are off to St. George for Thanksgiving and the rest of the weekend. My mother's siblings and families will all be congregating there I think there are going to be about 60 of us. We are so excited to see cousins that we haven't seen for years. It will be crazy, but hopefully fun. We will eat lots, gab and gab, play football, swim, shop and just enjoy being together. (once the drive is over!)
Enjoy Thanksgiving and remember that we are thankful for you!