Las Vegas Contrasts

Joe and I recently got to go to LAS VEGAS----thanks to Joe's dad and step-mom!!!

The Parker Seminar was informative and uplifting.

Joe made some potential business contacts, too.

"The Strip" was very entertaining.

BRIGHT LIGHTS~BIG CITY.

We also attended their sealing at the Las Vegas Temple.

It was a peaceful, happy occasion.

SERENITY. TRANQUILITY.

What a contrast.

Note to Self

"I ain't down...I ain't down. And if I was, you'd sure never know it from me" ~Molly Brown

I want to be like "Molly Brown". Unsinkable.
Yep~life is hard. Sometimes unbearable. Weak and pathetic. That's me. Ugh. Often I forget important lessons that I thought I learned. I take my eyes off the TRUTH. I flounder, I fall, I sink. What's up with that?! I need strength, courage, and often, a swift kick in the pants. It's good for me. It's vital, actually.

My dear, friend reminded me the other night of the importance of reading and studying the Scriptures. I desperately needed to be reminded. I also turned to my journal, where I have scribbled a few notes here and there, that seemed pertinent at the time. It was there where I was reminded of a talk I heard from Sis. Sharon Larsen at Time Out for Women last year. The talk was entitled something like, "My Dreams May Be Broken, But I'm Not." She reminded me of these truths:

* "When the Lord blesses us with a banquet, why do we mess with the pottage?"
*HIS way is easier than our way.
*The Lord says to keep the commandents and He will take care of our worries.
*The test of our faith is how heavy our burden is! We are not strong. HE IS. We can choose how to handle the burden. We can forgive unconditionally. Then healing can continue without layers of anger and revenge.
*We shouldn't be LTBO (looking to be offended). Remember Proverbs 3:5-6?!
*Our experiences allow us to identify with what the Lord has done for us.
*Be useful to the Lord because of our struggles.
*Accept His GRACE. Lay the burden down and take up our salvation.

I know what I need to do to solve my problems. Heavenly Father would never leave me to my own finite devices to figure out my problems. He's always there. I know I can turn to Him for peace. For everything. Why do I forget?!! It has to do with my FAITH...yes. And COURAGE to do things that fill me up, not wear me out. Remember Hebrews 11:1? (That scripture secures my future.) Remember Pres. Gordan B. Hinckley's unfailing optimism? I, too, can put on a genuine smile and dish out genuine love. I know that the joy of the Lord is my STRENGTH. Sometimes, I just need reminded.

I choose to be happy.

REMEMBER.

Party Weekend

The day after Levi's birthday, we got to celebrate Aunt Jennie's day! It was "Happy Birthday, Dear Jennie," indeed! Blueberry pancakes and plenty of bacon (that we didn't have to cook!) Yummy! It was a fun time. We love you, Jennie!
And THEN....
The day after THAT, we got to celebrate JOE'S BIRTHDAY!

And, yes this picture is BLURRY...it's the SMOKE from all of the BIRHDAY CANDLES!
(Cough-Cough )

Licking the candles is a FAMILY TRADITION!
Happy Birthday Daddy! Hope you have the
BEST YEAR EVER!!!

Dance Party

Okay, this is probably over-indulgent, but I love to watch Levi dance. We were en route to the tub after his cake, when he was intercepted by music. The clip is 3 min. long....couldn't help myself. Besides, what's a party (esp. for Levi) without some DANCING?!

Pre-Party Giggles

The big ONE

It's Levi's Day!

Today is such a special day. Our sweet baby turns 1 year old! What a blissful year this has been with this adored addition to our family. It didn't take long to figure out that Levi was born with a HAPPY heart and a JOYFUL spirit...with MUSIC in his soul. He is a guaranteed smile-maker and he brings us laughter every day with his giggles, fun antics, endless jabber, and rockin' dance moves. We love you Levi! We hope you have a HAPPY DAY!

First Tournament

Jacob competed in the Johnson County Classic Wrestling Tournament, which involved over 1,000 wrestlers from across the state. Full house. This was his first ever wrestling tournament, and I have to say that as a novice "wrestler's mom", I probably learned as much as he did. Jacob got to compete in 3 matches, and he received his first reality check right away when he learned that his first match-up was with a GIRL! (He belongs to a club of over 30 BOYS!) That took awhile to sink in, but by the end of the match, he got over his initial incertainty and beat her 9-2. Whew. His second match was short and not-so-sweet as his opponent got him down right away, and pinned him good. But by the third match, he was amped and ready to go. It was a great match, and we were so excited that we missed taping the first bit of it. Darn. Nevertheless, he WON that match, and ended up winning a 2nd place medal in his weight class for the tournament! Whoo hoo!!! Anyway, here he is in the final part of his winning match. Way to go Jacob! GO COUGARS!

The Day After.....

The day after Christmas was the best day ever. We got to entertain family and friends from out of town. My sister, Delight and her family, AND our dear friends, Matt, Carrie and Jordan Craft, all came up from Augusta to visit us. It was so good to see them all and to have them in our home. The day was further brightened by the fact that we enjoyed unusually warm weather that day, and the kids got to play outside part of the time! Our time together was celebrated with a huge feast, and lots of PLAYING that included lots of Wii games, fun board games, and even a Nerf gun fight that involved a military man and former cops! We had such a good time....having them all here meant so much to me. We hope they all had a good time, too. (And, I have decided that I hope my house is ALWAYS too small to hold all my friends and family! It means I am blessed with MANY special people to love!) I love having them all around me.

The next day was our BIG DAY in the BIG CITY. My sisters and I took all our children and hit CrownCenter in downtown KC. Meanwhile, the dad's all went out to do "Man-stuff" (like, Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's, etc.!) We decided our outing would be to CELEBRATE Catryna's birthday(who gets to share hers with Jesus!)...First we went to Kaleidescope. Then we took them over to see the Crayola Christmas Play Area in Crowne Center. Then it was off to Fritz's for lunch. After standing in line for a long while, we were rewarded with exclaimations and squeals of delight when our lunch was delivered to us by train!!! After lunch, we took in the sights and sounds of the Center...a huge Christmas tree that was suspended from the CEILING; a beautiful Gingerbread Village was created by the Hyatt chef's and wowed even the smallest in our crowd; and the gigantic Christmas tree at the Hyatt was a great place to stop for a photo shoot. We delivered the children to the daddy's, totally and utterly exhausted. (Yes, the kids were tired, too!)
After the "parent-swap", we 3 sisters got to go by ourselves for an evening out. Talk about a treat! You can imagine how nice it was to be able to shop and talk and eat all by ourselves, with no time restraints. Yep-it was splendid.

Moments like this are what put the "HAPPY" in my holidays!!!

Home for the Holidays~2008

It's official. There's NO place like HOME for the HOLIDAYS! Your OWN home. We have reached a fulfilled stage of life where we don't feel like we're missing out on anything by simply staying home. The usual hustle and bustle of traveling to visit everything and everybody totally took a backseat (maybe the trunk!) to the tranquility of 2 whole weeks of being home with my own family. No packing; no tired, cranky children who are in orbit because they are off their schedules; no guilty feelings for not evenly dividing time between grandmothers. Can I say that it is WONDERFUL? Relaxing. That's what it is. Did you know the holidays could be RELAXING?!
Our TRADITIONS were the rule for our time together. Stories of Jesus-Decorating-Baking-Shopping for special gifts for special people-Delivering special gifts for special people-Baking-Playing with the Nativity Scenes (found Darth Vader guarding the manger one day)-Driving to look at awesome Christmas lights-More Baking-Christmas morning squeals and giggles-Christmas Dinner and AfterDinner Games-Family-Friends-Fun. It can go on....you know how it goes....

True to his word, Santa delivered Christmas Dreams to some very good boys and girls. I personally feel that this year was MY best ever as my own dreams came true when Santa brought the "girls" a great, big DOLLHOUSE! (It even has an elevator!) I spent countless hours in my youth dreaming of such a thing, as I crafted my own houses out of boxes, carpet scraps and homemade wallpaper (what is a wallpaper sample book, anyway?!) My Stripling Warrior was thrilled with his new weapons of war. And the little man received gifts from the heart that made him squeal, giggle and dance for hours! Merry Christmas, for sure

We know this day is not just about traditions, or receiving presents that are temporal....it's about receiving the GIFT of Jesus Christ. He is thought of and celebrated at this time. We truly know that He IS the Savior of the World. I'm thankful that I have such wonderful, good children with whom I can share these blessings!!!

Quick Update

Hey! Just a quick update for those of you who are waiting on Holiday postings (DEE!)....Everyone is back in school today, and our wonderful break is officially over. WAHHHH! I loved every minute of the "down time" shared with so many friends and family. There were even a few days in there where I simply lost track of the time and day of the week. Gotta love that. Anyhoo-my holiday picture postings are having a hard time kicking it up to my blog, so, I'll just have to try again later. Stay tuned! Happy New Year!!!