A sweet surprise for Easter...

The other morning I was sitting at the dining room table with my little ones...

it was the morning of Dallin's birthday and he was so excited to get his birthday mail. :) 

He said to me, 

"Mom, can I go check the mail?"

I smiled as I said yes, because I knew that the mail lady hadn't come yet...after all,

 it was only 7:30 in the morning!

Sweet boy :)

He went ahead and went to check the mail and brought in quite a stack! 

(I guess I had forgotten to check it from the day before.)

I was so surprised when he said, "Mom, there is a package for YOU!"

Wow! And it's not even my birthday! ;)

I felt my face turn from a big silly smile, to an inquisitive stare as I tore open the packaging...

...then as I realized what I was seeing, my stare turned to tears that began to run down my cheeks.

What a perfectly beautiful little white box...

Even though I couldn't see what was inside, I KNEW what it was...

 and my heart was racing...

It was a beautiful imprint of my brother Kelly's finger print...put into a little necklace charm...

...with his name engraved on the back.

I literally cried tears of mixed emotions that morning...

I was in shock and in awe at how special this gift was and at the peaceful timing of Easter week to receive such a priceless gift...

I was amazed at my sister Felicia's generosity and thoughtfulness in preparing not one, but 9 of these for my other siblings and for my parents...

I was so sad to think of the emotion of death, but still rejoicing in the fact that death is NOT the end.

 Our Savior Jesus Christ Atoned for all mankind, suffered and died, and was resurrected so that one day we all might be too. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we have that families can be together forever. 

This Easter week took on a whole new meaning for me this week as I contemplated this sweet gift given to me by my big sister. 

Thank you Felicia for thinking of all of us and for remembering Kelly in so many sweet ways. You have brought so much added joy to everyone in our family and I love you for that.

Thank you for all that you do, and Happy Easter to you... Happy Easter to you all.

Enjoy TODAY...

 

As I was driving down the road the other day, I found that my mind was completely enthralled in the overwhelming but happy thought that... Life is happening.

 

Children are growing.

Time is passing.

My gray hair is spreading. :)

And I cannot bring back yesterday, so I need to enjoy TODAY.

 

 I was busy pondering my life, and my thoughts were busy whirling around in my head...

 

 I reached up and tilted my rear view mirror down just enough to see little Kambriella's face...

She was so emphatic about what she was telling me that I simply HAD to see if the expressions on her face matched the expressions in her voice as well.

They certainly did. :)

 

I smiled.

I felt happy.

 I was at peace.

 

This particular day there was a little glimmer of spring in the air. The sun was shining and my skin felt warm from the sun through the window.

My mind busily sorted through thoughts of some of the many blessings in my life...

 

My family.

 

My recent vacation with my sweetie pie. :)

 

Gavin losing his first tooth and finally learning how to tie his own shoes... :)

 

Kambriella learning how to spell her 10 LETTER-LONG name... :)

 

Carew finally liking the song he's learning to play on the piano

 and also turning14?!?!? When did THAT happen?...;)

 

and Kierra getting scholarship at her Dance Academy...and getting her driver's permit?...

 

and

it makes a mother feel so good for another mother to tell her that her son Dallin is THE nicest kid in the entire school. :) Life is good. I'm right where I want to be...

 

But wait.

 

All of the sudden my mind is distracted by a light shining at me

 and coming towards me in the opposite lane.

 

What?

What is that light?

Who would be using their headlights at noon in the middle of such a beautiful spring day?

 

A hearse leading a funeral procession.

 

In an instant my thoughts of contentment and gratitude turn to anguish and sorrow for the person I do not know following the funeral procession to the cemetery.

 It is there where they will say one last goodbye to their loved one.

I sit in the comfort of my happy thoughts, while another is out there hurting and in pain...

 

Suddenly I feel so grateful for the knowledge that I have of my Savior Jesus Christ and for his great Atoning sacrifice for each and every one of us. I am so glad that I know what I know.

I am so glad that I can be with my family forever.

 

My thoughts turn to my brother Kelly...

I miss him.

 I love him...

 

Suddenly, I am grateful for the happiness and joys of life,

 AND the knowledge that strength and courage will come through enduring sadness and trials.

 None of us are exempt from experiencing pain and sadness...

and each of us is free to choose to find JOY in the journey...

 Joy in TODAY.

 

As I turn the corner and the view of the funeral procession is out of sight, my eyes are taken back to the view in my rear view mirror...

 

I see laughter and happiness...simple joy and delight...

I am taken back by the Spirit of peace and comfort that I feel in Heavenly Father's plan.

After all, it IS called a "Plan of Happiness"...

 

Life is happening.

Children are growing.

Time is passing.

My gray hair is spreading.

 

I cannot bring back yesterday, so I AM enjoying TODAY.

 



A Week to Remember...

Rob and Leticia...Susette and Clint.

On March 1st, we all headed off on a Western Caribbean cruise to Haiti, Jamaica, and Cozumel, and returned to the home port Fort Lauderdale Florida.

After an entire year of hard work, Clint earned this fantastic vacation from Rob's company Sound Off Signal. It was a week full of memories that will last forever!!!

What are they watching, you say? :)

 

FLOW RIDER!!!

This awesome activity was one of many fun things to do on board our ship "Oasis of the Seas." It is the largest cruise ship in the world!!!

Go Rob, go Rob!!! (He kicked all our butts! ;)

Go Clint, go Clint!!! :)

Leticia and I were brave and tried Flow Rider too, but we only have a video of our awesomeness that I couldn't load, so you will just have to trust me when I say it is DEFINITELY harder than it looks!!!

 

The first night out to sea we were cruising all day and it was formal night. We don't get many chances to get all fancied up...so this night was really fun and I got to feel like a real princess. :)

Here we are in the Dining room getting ready for a spectacular meal...

 

...and every night we would come back to our room and find some animal creation to get us excited about the things we would get to do at port the next day. This little guy was getting us excited about riding on a zip line in Haiti (which we ended up not doing because of the rain)...oh, and I loved the little chocolates on our bed each night too...:)

And here is beautiful Haiti...

It was raining while we were there but we were still so happy just to see what it looked like. We just walked around exploring and eating and shopping. Someone had to do it...:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Our little crab friend that we wanted to bring home to show our kids ;)

...heading back to the ship with treasures for the kids after our short visit to Haiti...it was awesome :)

 

Here is a picture of Clint at a restaurant we stopped at in Jamaica. We had just finished a bus ride and quick view of the island where we stopped at Dunns River Falls. We hiked up the Falls in water shoes and our swimming suits. It was beautiful and fun...we took plunges in the small pools and had fun with our group singing and clapping...but we didn't end up with any pictures because we couldn't take our camera in the water. Believe me, it was beautiful.

(A lovely picture, I know...but the only thing I have to prove that I was actually there :)

Here we are waiting for one of the shows to begin...I was AMAZED at how good all of the shows were while we were on the ship! They were as good as Broadway! Ice-skating, singing, dancing, the musical "Hairspray," water shows with acrobats, aerial shows and everything in between!

 AMAZING!!!

On the days that we were out to sea, we would spend a little time absorbing the warm sun...it was such a nice change from the 40 degrees we left behind in Utah :)

We also spent many a late night playing Ping Pong and laughing till our guts hurt ;)...I loved laughing so hard with Leticia that we couldn't breath and then we would have to brace ourselves on the wall or against the Ping Pong table till we could keep a straight face and catch our breath again!!! :)

...But try as we did, we were just no match for Rob and Clint. I think we probably left the ship with a record of 0 and 39....(Or something like that ;) We told the guys if we beat them that they would have to buy us Diamonds ;) ...they weren't about to let us win ;) ...

On the day we were in Cozumel, we rode a very queasy ride on a ferry to get to an all inclusive resort called Xel-Ha where we had the best day EVER!!! So sad, not too many pictures though because we couldn't take our camera...we were always in the water! But here are some of the ones we did get...

 

These guys were running around EVERYWHERE!!! I tried to bring one home for Carew for his birthday...BUT...Sorry buddy :)

 

We snorkeled most of the time, worked our way across a rope line that we ALMOST fell off of from laughing so hard...zip lined, and did some cliff jumping..which for me was huge since I am so afraid of heights! We also enjoyed beautiful and peaceful walks through the trees and eating the authentic Mexican food. I will never forget that day...WHAT a GOOD time...

(We bought the photos that they took so that we would have SOMETHING!)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that cute boy!!! :)

While we were on the ship we also had the opportunity to do the Rock Climbing wall... I had never attempted this before but definitely wanted the challenge. Climbing wasn't near as hard as looking down and realizing how high up I was!!!  Letting go after I rang the bell at the top was definitely the scariest part too! (I HATE heights!)

(Clint and I on the wall together...)

He WAS faster, but I think I had the harder route ;)

Made it to the top!

 

Along with many other fascinating events, our trip was more memorable than ever. Our waiters Simon and Mariano were the BEST!!! They were with us each night and each night just got better and better! They knew what we would choose for dinner, what we would want to drink...and they even began bringing Clint 2 an 3 appetizers each night just because they knew they would love it!!!

At the end of each meal they also found them selves presenting us with fun and entertaining "tricks" to make us smile and even stump us sometimes :) It was a blast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun, sun, games, treats....

Mini - golf at midnight, 3 or 4 ice cream cones a day, and MORE Ping Pong...:)

Zumba on the Promenade, pizza again, and "What day is it?" ...:)

Friendships deepened, love strengthened, and laughter and memories created...

What a ride...

Vacation defined.

Thanks for the memories once again!!!

I am truly blessed in so many ways, and the best part is that the "vacation" never ends with my sweetie by my side every single day of my life!!!

(If only the laundry would just end! ;)