Ending the Year at the Temple!

 I woke up this morning and immediately the thought popped into my head that I should go to the temple today...

So I did.

I have felt that 2019 has been a year overflowing with blessing after blessing after blessing, and I could not think of a better way to show my love and gratitude to my Heavenly Father than by saying goodbye to 2019 by being here at the temple!

I have multiple people that I am praying for and I put their names on the prayer roll at the temple knowing that there will be many faith filled prayers offered up in their behalf...and I came away with some heavenly inspiration and ideas of things that I can do to strengthen my family, the sisters that I have charge over, and the ward family that I love so much.

And just like President Nelson said in his October 2019 General Conference talk titled "Spiritual Treasures"

"every time you worthily serve and worship in the temple, you leave armed with God’s power and with His angels having “charge over” you."

And so with that I say...

"Bring on 2020!!!"

Also, this is the letter board that my friend gave me for Christmas and we have decided to use it to display a new quote from our studies each week...

I love it!!!

 ..and so do my kids!!! ;) ;) 

(extra adaptation by Carew) ;)

Happy New Year!

With the People I LOVE at Christmas...

 I'm sitting at my computer as the snow is falling...it's the Monday after Christmas and my heart is full.

We have spent the last 10 days over the holiday break making memories with everyone we love, and it was the BEST. We played so hard every single day! We stayed up late and slept in too...we traveled around the state and partied with everyone we love! 

Christmas really is a gift, and the best part of it is my gratitude for my Savior Jesus Christ, and Him blessing me with all of the people that I love. :)

 Carew completed his first semester of college at BYU Idaho since returning home from his mission and got to come home for Christmas!!! Of course he had to come bearing treats for all...;)

 ...and Kierra and Riley came and brought their new son, our new grand baby Easton!!!

What a special spirit was here in our home with the presence of a newborn babe...our very own "baby Jesus!" They are doing amazing at learning how to be parents! Kierra is a rock star at the nursing thing and handled running around everywhere so well...not ever seeming to feel stressed, but only wanting to be there for every exciting part of our Christmas celebration! 

Way to go Kierra and Riley!!!

Easton is so sweet!!!

 Also, one of the highlights for me was a 3 hour lunch date with my sisters!

Me, Tiffany, and Felicia met up in Farmington at Twiggs Bistro for a Christmas lunch date...we sat and talked and caught up as if  we hadn't missed a beat. (Although these occasions of getting together are far and few between...)

When Felicia texted us asking if we were available, I knew that I would move heaven and earth and clear my schedule of whatever needed to be rearranged in order to make this happen...and I'm so glad that I did!!!

It was a highlight of my Christmas, and one of the BEST gifts that I could have been given.

 Tiffany and I had bought a blue stone Brighton bracelet to give to my sister as a gift, and when she walked in the restaurant carrying two large bags FULL of Christmas gifts (one in each hand, with one bag for each of us...) I couldn't believe my eyes!

After eating and talking, Felicia told us to peek inside of our bags while she went to the restroom, and as I did I became completely overwhelmed by the spirit. A TRUE spirit of LOVE. 

I began to cry and was overcome with emotion that I could not hide...

When Felicia returned from the restroom and saw that I was crying, she came around the table asking what was wrong, and scooped me up in the BIGGEST warm hug. I felt SO HAPPY and I had no words, so I just whispered that to her as she hugged me..."I'm just so happy."

 Not that I needed gifts of any kind, but just at the fact that my family is EVERYTHING to me, and the simple fact that Felicia reached out and made this happen meant the world to me!!! It was seriously the BEST gift to me, being someone who has only ever wanted a close and loving relationship with my sisters that have always been so far away...I really felt loved and a connection that I will literally remember forever.

(Especially when I see or use any of the sweet gifts that she has given to me!!!)

Oh my goodness, I was so overwhelmed  by ALL that she gave, but mostly that she cared enough to COME and SEE.

I love my sisters, I love my children, I love my husband, I love my grand baby...I love my Savior Jesus Christ who gave us the BEST gift of all...He made all of this possible...and I am so grateful!!!

I look forward to catching up and recording all of the fun that we had over the holiday, and keeping these memories recorded and sacred, because that is what they are to me!!!

It was a very Merry Christmas indeed!!!

A Little Getaway

 On Tuesday evening Clint and I made our way over to beautiful Park City for an overnight getaway...

 Our goal this year was to try and do this once a month, and guess what???

We did it!!!  :)

It was NOT easy, but it was soooo worth it. :) And with December being the last month of the year, we spoiled ourselves and stayed at the Hotel Park City.

It was amazing.

 This hotel is rustic but fancy and when you stay there you feel like you are pretty special...at least I do. ;)

 They have a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse inside the hotel which we had made a dinner reservation for, and for which Clint had a gift card from his dad for back from his birthday that we got to use. 

The food was delicious, but the company was the best. :)

 Clint had a steak, I had halibut, and we shared mashed potatoes, asparagus, seared ahi tuna, and pie for dessert! We talked and talked and I realized once again just how lucky I am, and just how much we mean to each other. We work so hard at everything we do, and we make a great team, and we have decided that if we continue to put as much effort into this marriage as we have been, we will continue to grow closer and closer together which is what we both want....and we will continue to do it with the Savior smack dab in the middle of this marriage. It's what our foundation is built on and it's the only way to be truly happy.

So, that's what we will continue to do. 

 This picture is out of our balcony and I just thought it was so cool...a huge beautiful Christmas tree covered in red lights, with a heated swimming pool right next to it. The steam from the warm water hitting the 15 degree air made a steany effect and it literally looked like fire and ice. ;) 

It was way too cold to go out into, so we had a steamy shower instead. :)

It was a fun little getaway, and I am so grateful for Clint and all that he does to love, serve, provide, and spoil me rotten. He is really good at reminding me that he thinks I am the queen.

And I FEEL like royalty!

I love you Clint!

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Concert at Temple Square

 On Saturday evening, Clint and I were able to go the the Christmas concert at the Conference Center with the Choir and Orchestra on Temple Square! Everything about this concert puts me into the Christmas spirit, and literally, it was the BEST thing to stop in the middle of our hectic schedules and just sit and listen, and be reminded of what exactly it is we are celebrating...

 But of course before we left, Clint wanted to get a picture underneath the mistletoe!

 And when I say a "picture" under the mistletoe, what I really mean is a KISS underneath the mistletoe! ;)

 (But really I wanted one too...;)

 We had a wonderful night at the concert and we are even getting ready to go and have another night away tonight! Just the 2 of us. It's our Christmas present to each other. :) And I can't wait! :)

 The lights, sounds, and decorations were all so amazing...

 ...and we even had tickets in the front section this time! We were actually about 9 rows back and it was so super fun to be able to see the expressions on the faces of the people that were performing...the Spirit was thick in the room and my very favorite song was at the very end of the night, "Angels From the Realms of Glory." Sooo powerful and made my heart swell with love for my Savior Jesus Christ.

What a beautiful gift for Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas for my Mom

My sweet momma is spending Christmas at home with my angel dad this year...and so I decided at the very last minute to do the 12 Days of Christmas for her so that she would have something to look forward to every single day. :)

I know the holidays are tough for those who are missing their loved ones, but if we can all remember to count our blessings, lift up those around us, and minister with love, we can help others to feel joy and the love that Jesus Christ has for them. 

I know that this is a small thing, but I also know that it's the little things that matter most!

I love you mom!

Merry Christmas!

Oh Christmas Tree

 Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree, How lovely are thy branches. :)

All I Want For Christmas

 Kesslyn and Kambriella got to sit on Santa's lap and  tell him what they want for Christmas!
Kesslyn wants a "dolly" and Kambriella wants a squishmellow!

Santa said he would have to look into the squishmellow since that was a new one to him! ;)

But I'm sure he can find SOMETHING for them off of their lists! :)

Christmas is two weeks away from today!!! So...Santa better get busy! ;)

The First Gift of Christmas!

 Clint and I received our first present of the Christmas season from our 2 loving little girls who worked on their "Christmas craft" while we were gone Christmas shopping one night. :)

When I came home and saw their excitement in giving us this gift, I knew it would be sweet, whatever it was...

 ...but little did I know that these two sweeties had put their whole heart and soul into this perfect and personal. meaningful gift! (They also added little treats from their own personal stash...;)

What a tender and precious gift that I will cherish forever!

Thank you so much Kesslyn and Kambriella!

I love you so much!

Merry Christmas!

Temple Blessings

 On Saturday morning Clint and I attended the Jordan River temple for a few different reasons.

1) We LOVE the temple and go there regularly to worship and to serve.

2) The Jordan River temple is the one closest to our home and so we go there most often.

3) It's Christmas time and it is really one way that we can both keep the focus of the holidays AND give a gift in return to our Savior Jesus Christ.

4) We gain spiritual strength, peace, and perspective when we go to the temple and I long to be there as much as I can...

Isn't it beautiful the way the morning fog settled around the temple?

I LOVE to see the temple, and this morning was so beautiful indeed. :)

 Yesterday was a special Christmas lesson that I had prepared for the sisters that turned out so sweet, and THAT was another reason that I went to the temple on Saturday. I wanted to seek an added measure of Heavenly Father's spirit to be with me as I tried to convey His love to the sisters in my ward that I have charge over.

Back in January we did an activity where we were surrounded by pictures of Christ and we spent quiet time reflecting on "where we would find Him in our lives this year."

Then, yesterday, we brought that lesson full circle and asked the sisters 

 "Where did you end up finding Him after all?"

The responses were both heart touching and revealing that many people are struggling and still seeking Him...

I personally found Him in so many different places, but one of my favorites was in the temple.

 I find Christ at the heart of everything good in my life, and in everything that brings me joy and happiness. He IS the source of true joy and I am so thankful for my testimony of that.

I now live in a place where I can literally see 2 temples from my house! TWO!!!

When I was a little girl I dreamed of going to the temple, but living and growing up in Alaska made that difficult because there were no temples near us, an so I never ended up getting to go.

But NOW...This is a picture (magnified) of the view from Kambriella's upstairs bedroom window...

the Oquirrh Mountain temple.

 THIS picture (magnified) is the Draper temple and can be seen from the back windows of the house and on the back patio. It may sound strange, but THIS is one of my favorite things about living here. I feel like Heavenly Father heard all of my prayers as a little girl and knew how much I LOVED and LONGED to be in the temple. And NOW, I literally get to live in a place where I can drive for 5 minutes and be to the temple, and LIVE in a home where I can physically SEE TWO temples???

His love is unreal, and yet Soooo REAL.

It makes me feel so loved. :)

I have 2 experiences that I want to record from being in the temple recently...

The first is from Saturday.

I have been listening to President Nelson's talk from the last women's session of conference where he talks about Spiritual Treasures. So much of his talk spoke about how he wishes the sisters of the church would come to know about the priesthood power that we are endowed with, and that it is literally ours to call upon the blessings of JUST as much as the men who actually hold it's power. 

I believe that.

I feel it daily in my life as I operate and function in my calling as the Relief Society president and use it's power to help lift, love, and strengthen those around me. I had hands laid upon my head when I was called and set apart, and I know that I can access it's power as I serve the Lord.

When I was at the temple on Saturday I was standing at the veil repeating sacred words that bring blessings, and I became emotionally overcome with love and a realization that all of the things that President Nelson was telling us was true! I am so grateful to know that THAT priesthood power will be there "throughout all eternity!"

Also, I recently participated in temple sealings and got to be a witness to the ordinances performed, which comes from a recent adjustment stating that anyone holding a current temple recommend could be a witness, and not just a priesthood holder.

I was always fine with things the way they were before the adjustment, but after the change and having the opportunity to be a witness, I learned new things and gained a new perspective while I served.

Basically what all I am trying to say, is that the gospel of Jesus Christ is absolutely amazing, and I LOVE everything about it and how it blesses my life and the lives of my family. It is through the temple that we have eternal families and I honestly cannot think of ANYTHING better, It is all I ever hope to obtain throughout all of the things that I do in this life.

I LOVE the temple.

Gavin's Eagle Scout Project

 For Gavin's eagle scout project he collected old/used glasses and sunglasses of every kind to donate to Global Eyes of Hope, which is a nonprofit organization that takes used eyeglasses and helps deliver and provide them to people around the world who cannot afford eye care on their own.

 Gavin felt passionate about doing this project because he knows first hand what it is like to not be able to see without his glasses.

Gavin began his project by researching the organization, talking to people, obtaining signatures, and preparing his flyers...

 He ended up going out to deliver his flyers, and then talking to Lenore from Valley View Vision, and Lexi from Hoopes Vision and requesting their help with his project. They were happy to help us and Gavin's project was underway!

 He collected glasses from the neighbors, from family, from the ward, and from those two optometrists...

 1, 318 pairs of glasses later Gavin was feeling so good and was so happy that he crushed his goal of collecting 100 pair of glasses...

After counting them, weighing them, and packaging them up, we got them mailed off tho the Global Eyes of Hope Foundation, and all of those g;asses should be going to some people in need all around the world...and just like I said with Dallin...I am so glad that Gavin was able to do something for someone else, and for him to be able to feel the reward of service and helping others...especially at this time of year.

Congratulations Gavin! 

You did it!

Soar like an eagle! :)

Dallin's Eagle Scout Project

 This past month Dallin completed his Eagle Scout Project!

After doing some research, he finally decided to do his project for Tiny Tim's Foundation For Kids.

 Dallin and I went to meet with Mike where we heard some amazing stories of little children that have benefited from this foundation... everywhere from Primary Children's hospital, to children all around the world. This sweet little boy Lucas was actually born around the same time that Kambriella was, and was in the hospital for heart problems just like Kambriella was...at the exact same time. The ironic thing though is that this little boy was given a toy car from this foundation, but little did the people at the hospital know that it was his grandpa who was supporting this foundation. Unfortunately little Lucas passed away shortly after this picture was taken, and had he still been alive, he would be about the same age as Kambriella. 

This really hit home for Dallin and I and I knew that Dallin had chosen the right thing to do for his Eagle Scout project. :)

 Dallin went out collecting signatures, completing his paperwork, and handing out fliers...he collected money as well to provide supplies for the next person that would come along after him to complete the next project and provide more toy cars. His goal was to collect $400, and he ended up turning in $1100!

 We bought all of the supplies we needed, reserved the church, gathered some friends and sanded and stained, sanded and stained, sanded and stained 100 cars for 2 and a half hours.

 About 25 people showed up which we were so grateful for!!! We handed out Krispy Kreme doughnuts, cleaned up the gym, and of course played while we did so... :) because you have to have fun while you work. :)

 We all went out to dinner after because we were starving, but also to celebrate this accomplishment! We are so grateful that these boys have had the opportunity to participate in the scouting program, but now that it is coming to a close with the church affiliation, we wanted to go out with a bang and help each of them get their eagle! We thought it might be impossible as we have entered the end of the year and the busy busy holiday season, but yay!!! We did it!

 The cars that we had worked on at the church were a little rushed and made for some cars that ended up not being up to our standards for completion, so Clint took charge and made sure that the cars were perfect so that we could feel good about the work we had done.

 They were beautiful and smooth and I could just picture the little hands that would be holding them and playing with them... ;) all 100 of them.

 The very last thing to be done was to take all of the completed cars back to the shop and put all of the wheels on. I thought it was so sweet that Kambriella got to go and help.

 ...and Dallin's amazing friend Rhett who always seems to pull through in helping Dallin with whatever he needs. Rhett is a good good friend. 

 Spencer is Dallin's young men's president and also came to help. We are so grateful for all of the good people in our lives who love us and support us like family...because that's what we are.

 This was a lot of work, but I was very grateful that Dallin was up to the challenge, and I feel like it gave him some great perspective at this holiday season when it can sometimes be easy to get caught up in ourselves. I think Dallin was really grateful for all of the support that he received, but also that he was able to make a positive impact in the lives of others at a very special time of year.

 I am so proud of my boys and the good young men that they are growing up to be.

Way to go Dallin! Soar like an Eagle!