The Weekend...Time to Be TOGETHER

 This weekend was fun and beautiful and it felt like Fall!!! :)

Friday we went for a drive to Indianola to our friends Kevin and Laura Affleck's property for our ward camp out. We didn't stay the night since we had early commitments on Saturday morning, but we were up there for  the evening long enough to visit, play, and have fun with our friends.

 The drive was beautiful and peaceful and I loved being together with my family enjoying the fall colors and the crisp evening air. The kids all had fun playing with their friends, riding the 4 wheelers, and roasting Starburts around the campfire. :)

 Then, Saturday, after Gavin's basketball games, we drove up to Mt. Green for Caden Blackett's baptism! Once again, the highlight for me was just getting to be together with our family, but I also loved the sweet spirit there at the baptism that testified to me of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

The innocence of little children is so sweet to me...their excitement and enthusiasm for the little things in life...Kesslyn will be our last little one to get baptized, but that's not for another 6 years!

 After the baptism was over, a lot of Clint's family all headed to Lagoon where we enjoyed some of the Halloween festivities there...

Like this little pumpkin walk with Grandma Trickett...

...and the little kids corn maze where they received special treasures and treats...

 They had a lot of fun together, but Kesslyn kept saying "Scarrryyyy!!!" anytime she would see something spooky...it was pretty funny actually. ;)

 Then on Sunday we had another special day as it was Gavin's first time doing Fast Offerings and passing the sacrament. I love that my kids are excited to do these kinds of things, and it's even better that they get to do it together. 

All of the young deacons and a few teachers (like Dallin) meet at the church and get a partner (kind of like little missionaries;) and walk through the neighborhood collecting the donations that go towards helping those in need. Our church really is amazing like that, and it makes me so proud to be a member of it...so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter~day Saints!

 After church was over, we went and visited our good friend Brad Holt who celebrated his birthday this weekend too, and then we had Grandma and Grandpa Trickett, their foreign exchange students Ilyas (from Nigeria) and Ahmad (from Bethlehem), and the full time missionaries Elder Simmons and Elder Westover  over for dinner and a spiritual thought. We cooked together, laughed together, and felt the Spirit together and it was a good Sabbath day. I always love Sundays and the recommitting and the rejuvenating feeling that encourages me for the start of a new week.

So, here we are at Monday...again! Let's do this! Have a GREAT week!!! :)

Gavin Goes to the Temple!

 Last night was a very special night for my Gavin...he went to the temple for the very first time! This was actually what he wanted to do for his 12th birthday party, but we had to wait for him to first be ordained a deacon, receive the priesthood, and get his temple recommend before we could go.

 I thought it was so sweet that he wanted his dad and I to both be with him and Dallin on the first time he went, so it took us about a week and a half to find a free night where we could all be there, but we finally made it and it was sooo special!

We drove to the Bountiful temple (where they are doing a little construction on the outside of the temple) and left the little sisters with Tiffany and Colby while we were gone.

As we entered the doors to the temple and headed down the stairs to the baptistery, Gavin was BEAMING with the biggest smile that a little boy could have and I could see that he was just so so happy! I warned him ahead of time that we might have to wait for a while because usually the baptistery is full of youth waiting to do baptisms. But, guess what??? As if it were yet another tender mercy from a loving Heavenly Father, we were THE ONLY ones there!!! I could hardly believe it because this NEVER happens!!!

 Because we were the only ones there, I felt like we had a little more special attention and like we were really able to focus on the feeling of what we were doing here JUST for Gavin.

Clint did the baptisms...first Dallin and then Gavin.

What I thought was special about the Bountiful Temple baptistery was that I got to sit right on the front row directly in front of the font to watch the baptisms AND I got to sit with my arm wrapped around sweet little Gavin while he waited his turn.

I loved how these boys were all dressed in white, giving service in such a meaningful way, and hugging their dad so tight when they were done. It made my mama heart happy. :)

While I sat waiting on a bench for the boys to all get changed back into their dry clothes, I was looking through the large glass window to the baptismal font and having a moment of peace where I felt heaven and earth combining.

 I could see the people inside the font area dressed in white, talking and going about their duties, AND I could see slight reflections of the workers that were behind me reflecting on the glass in front of me...but they were ever so slight that they seemed to appear to me as angels in the baptistery. 

This made me think of the people that were having their work done...people who lived here on earth before and died before ever having the opportunity to hear about or accept the gospel. Now, their spirits were patiently waiting for this day when it would be their chance to accept the gospel, partly because of these sweet boys who wanted to perform this service and help bring other families the eternal blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This small moment of personal revelation and reflection were but an instant, but I felt the Holy Ghost so real and close to me testifying of what we had done...and it was good. So good.

 After the boys all came out we were able to go into another room for the confirmations. Yet again, the spirit was strong and it testified to me of the goodness of the work that was going on.

The boys were FULL of light and the spirit. I loved every minute of it!

When we finished we spoke to the workers for a minute who thanked us for coming, and then they told us about all of the apostles that live in Bountiful that come to this temple often... Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, Henry B. Eyring, and Russell M. Nelson...

Wouldn't THAT have been neat to see one of them there! ;)

As we came out of the temple it was getting dark, and we took a few pictures before heading to dinner...This picture shows the excitement that Gavin was bursting with at finally getting to go to the temple!!! Sweet boys!!!

 Me and my Gavin. :)

 Me and MY SWEETIE ;)

 ...and me and my sweetie and an excited little photo bomber Gavin!!! ;)

 We ate at Rumbi for dinner and had fun talking and laughing and it was just one of those nights that I felt yet again so much love from our Heavenly Father. We are blessed beyond measure to live so lose to so many wonderful temples and I LOVE going there with my family! I CAN'T WAIT for the day when we will all get to be inside there together! 

(Which won't be for a while since Kesslyn is only 2! ;) BUT...it gives me hope and a vision of something to work towards and to look forward to...

Until then, I will enjoy EVERY opportunity I get with ANY of my family to participate in these sacred ordinances in His holy house...and I will continue to soak in all of the loving spirit that I can feel in our home that feels like the temple!

The Cabin Property

This is one sweet boy.

This is one sweet happy boy.

This is MY sweet happy boy with the signed documents for his new cabin property!

Yep!

 It's official! 

We are excited to get to work on the space we've invested in for bringing our family TOGETHER. 

It's in Fairview Utah about an hour and a half from here... 10 acres in the mountains with some trees, a little stream, an older home, and LOTS of potential. :)

Congratulations my sweet boy! I'm looking forward to making MORE memories with you!!!

XOXOXOXOX

(Now...to think of a name for it...Hmmmm.....)

Learning from Kambriella

Kambriella had just gotten home from school and I was heading out to take a sack of garbage to the trash. She was enthusiastically sharing all the details of her day with me and so 

we walked and she talked and I listened. 

She had so much to say, but paused at the trash can long enough to say, 

"Mom, can we swing for just a minute?" 

For an instant I thought of my LONG to do list and how I really didn't have a minute to spare...

and then I looked into her sweet face and thought, 

"Man am I glad I have her to keep me in balance." 

How could I afford NOT to swing for a minute??

 So we sat down on Kami's swings (all her children are grown and she has begged us to continue to put them to use:) and let the world pass us by, just for a few minutes. We soaked in the warm sun and talked about how good it felt to have the wind flow through our hair as we were swinging...it was a peaceful and happy moment...one of the best in my day...

 Then, last night...at 8:30...when homework was done, tumbling, acting, and basketball practice were over, piano and dinner and baths were finished...Kambriella and I headed out on a date for "her day" (even though it was supposed to be yesterday but we were with the family instead:).

We drove to Target where we walked through the isles looking at Halloween costumes, all the while Kambriella talked and talked and talked!!! (That little girl can talk! She must get it from her big sister;)

We played the laughing game where we took turns telling jokes but whoever laughed first would lose the game. We had fun dancing in the isles and playing the part of each costume we would pass...

Then after we had looked long enough we picked out a treat and a drink and drove across the street to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. 

This was the part of our date that I was looking forward to the most...

I had packed up our warm coats and some blankets to set out on the grass, and we sat down and cuddled to stay warm and talked and talked some more.

Kambriella continued to tell me all about her friends and school..and more jokes. :) 

She kept me listening and then I waited for the right time to start asking her questions about the temple.

"What do you love most about the temple?"

"Which temple is YOUR favorite?"

"Which temple do you want to get married in some day?"

She shared her thoughts with me and then amazed me with the words and understanding

 of a spiritual giant...

She said,
"Mom, do you know what I love MOST about the temple? I just love how it's SO bright that it lights up the whole dark sky. Kind of like when Joseph Smith found the plates and the whole world was full of darkness and he helped bring all this light back into the world."

Ya...

I sat there listening to this little 8 year old angel testify to ME of Joseph Smith and his role in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth in these latter days.

It touched my soul and I didn't feel the cold outside anymore.

It was an awesome date with an AMAZING little girl that I am lucky enough to get to go through this mortal journey with. (But honestly this is how I feel about all of my kids.:)

Kambriella you and your testimony of the temple and of Joseph Smith shine so bright...just like the radiating light of the temple for ALL the world to see! 

Share it with everyone and you will be such an amazing missionary!

I too know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel to the earth and helped these temples to be possible for sealing families for eternity!

Thank you for shining your light on me and for helping me to not only endure this life, but to thoroughly LOVE the journey! I'm the luckiest mom and I LOVE YOU!!!

A Pumpkin Patch Family Night

 Last night for Family Home Evening we took the kids to Thanksgiving Point for their Cornbelly's Cornmaze activities!!! They were soooo excited! There was this cute little Crank Engine car that was at the entrance that the kids were having a ball with...they would take turns turning the crank and sitting in the driver's seat...and then it would make realistic sputtering sounds and spew smoke out of it's smoke stack...

 It would flash it's lights and it felt like it would really take off at any moment! I marveled at how much fun they were having and we hadn't even entered Cornbelly's yet!

 In fact, Clint and I stood there talking and realizing that we WEREN"T going to be going in at all that night...It was almost $30 a person for what we wanted to do and they were going to be closing by 9. We decided that we would come back on a different day when we could stay a long time and really make it worth our money. But really it just didn't make sense to spend that kind of money and only get to stay for 1 hour...

 I worried the kids would all be sad, but once again these sweet kids of mine amazed me at their optimism and positive attitudes. :) They had so much fun "just being together" (which is kind of our family motto because we say it all the time:) that they were happy we had come and were perfectly content with what we WERE able to do. I felt so proud of them and that they have such good perspective. We decided to go get hot chocolate because it was really cold, and as we headed back to the car, as if it were some kind of special treat JUST for MY family, this Halloween parade came right through the parking lot and RIGHT in front of our car! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! We hurried and hopped out and watched it go by and I felt so happy that the kids were blessed with one more little gift for being so good...AND for being so grateful. :)

 We went through the drive through at McDonald's and bought some hot chocolate and french fries and headed towards home. We had been listening to a general conference talk in the car for our lesson, and we had pointed out that we could see 3 temples all during our short little 15 minute ride home, and we KNEW that we are so very, very blessed. Just as we were heading down the hill towards our home I saw some orange lights off the side of the road and said to Clint at the last minute, "We should go drive over there." He took the next turn and flipped around and we drove over to the lights.

We found the CUTEST little pumpkin patch with NOBODY there.

Clint assumed it was closed for the night but I still wanted to get out and find someone to ask. 

Why would everything be lit up with music and lights playing and flashing if they were closed??

I jumped out of the car and found some people stringing lights and asked them if they were closed..."Oh no!" They said. "We are a little behind on our set up because of all of the rain we've had, but we will be here until 10 or 11 tonight so you are welcome to stay!"

"And how much do you charge?" I asked. 

"Everything is free with the purchase of a pumpkin!"

I told them thank you, headed back over to my family that was waiting in the truck, and shared the good news! They were all EXCITED to say the least and jumped out of the truck ready for more fun!

 The ENTIRE place was decorated sooo cute and we were literally the ONLY ones there besides the workers!! We walked around admiring all of the lights, decorations, and pumpkins galore!!!

There were so many inflatable things that little Kesslyn was scared of... we tried not to laugh, but she was so funny saying, "OH NO! OH NO!" every time she would see one!

 When we came upon this kissing booth, Clint couldn't get me back there fast enough...;)

 ...and they even had a NON scary part for the little princesses. :) 

This was much more Kesslyn's style. :) 

 This place also had inflatable bounce houses, inflatable slides, a corn pit (which the kids LOVED and couldn't stop themselves from jumping in and swimming in the corn. ;)...

 ...AND it had a corn maze ALL of which we had to ourselves!!! This was such a fun night and I really felt like Heavenly Father was almost giving my kids a gift for their good attitudes from not being able to go in the other place at Thanksgiving Point. Really.  That's how I felt.

We entered the corn maze and realized quickly that if you turned to the right you were entering a haunted corn maze which Kesslyn wanted NO part of...and if you turned to the left, it was the kid friendly Minion Maze. The 3 older kids clung to each other wanting to go through the haunted maze, while Clint and I took Kesslyn and went through the Minion Maze.

 When we all came out we gathered in the pumpkin patch and started looking for our pumpkins.

 It seems that my kids are always interested in the biggest pumpkins they can find :) and Kambriella wanted the one with the curly stem that was perfectly round on all sides...not too big, and not too little. :) I think by the time we left everyone was so happy with their find...

We said a prayer together in the truck and thanked Heavenly Father for the time that we had together and for all of the fun too...it was one of those times for me where I cherished having all of us together, even though the "all of us" is smaller now. I feel like with having Kierra and Carew "not here" our numbers may be less, but the love for each other including them just continues to grow and grow. It's almost like we do everything together because they are always in our minds and hearts. I just pray all the time that they will feel it too.

(And I really need to get in the habit of bringing our "face time" phone with us everywhere we go because Kesslyn was HILARIOUS!!!)

Happy Tuesday! 

XOXOXOXOX

Happy 99th Birthday Bernice!

 This weekend was a good one for many reasons...

but also because it was this little young lady's 99th birthday!!!

We threw her a birthday party on Friday at the church and invited her family, friends, neighbors, and ward family members to come with birthday love and wishes and it was a hit!

Right when Bernice walked into the gym and saw what we were doing she said, 

"I didn't know we were having a party!"

 I told her that now that she was here the party could get started and "Happy Birthday!" She replied, "Same to you!!!" ;) She is a crack up and I love her so much!

(My birthday is actually on the same day as her late husband Maurice which is September 22nd, and Bernice's birthday is exactly one week later. It's a fun little connection to have with her on top of the connection that we already have as friends. :)

 So many people came to see her including Mayor  Applegarth and his wife...

we served cake and ice ~cream to everyone, lit her "99" candles and sang Happy Birthday to her and watched her blow them out! What an accomplishment for sweet Grandma Bernice.

 All of the kids took turns hugging her and wishing her happy birthday...

Kambriella chose to eat a cupcake with BRIGHT BLUE frosting (if you couldn't tell), and Bernice was also excited to see my "handsome husband" (in her words;) that picks her up for church and she gets to ride in his fancy car! :)

 It was a fun night and I hope so bad that we get to do this again next year but even BIGGER when Bernice turns 100 years old!!!

 Bernice tells me regularly, "Do you know that I was the president of the relief society 3 times?"

I always tell her how amazing she is and that's the truth! No matter where she goes or what she is doing she ALWAYS has a smile on her face for everyone she sees! She is so full of light that she attracts others and makes people happy just by being around.

Bernice has been a blessing to my life in so many ways, and I've been blessed to know her, serve her, be her visiting teacher, her substitute caregiver, and all around friend. :)

Happy 99th Birthday Bernice Beakstead!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Conference Weekend

 On Saturday when the boys all headed out to the priesthood session of conference, I took the little sisters and we headed out on a girl's date of our own!

We went to the Thanksgiving Point farm and rode on a tractor pulled hay ride and looked at the pumpkins and animals...

 ...and we even got Kesslyn to ride on a pony!!!

Last time we came and tried to get her to ride the pony, all she did was scream! But this time, she was excited and ready to give it a try and seemed to love every minute of it! :)

 I told her she was getting to be a big girl, nice and brave just like her big sister Kambriella! ;)

  They even got to ride a little longer since we were the only ones there! The weather was a little cool and rainy, but that did not stop us from having a ball together! :)

 As we were getting ready to leave the farm, we noticed a big rainbow right above us...and I thought to myself, "Here is my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!" (My girls that is. ;)

 After we were done at the farm I gave the girls the option of gong to dinner, or just getting ice~cream...and ya know, life is short and I think every once in a while it's OK to just eat your dessert first! (Or instead of dinner all together like we did that night! ;)

We went to Baskin Robins and they LOVED it!

We also stopped at Claire's and picked out the sweetest sister BFF necklaces...I couldn't believe our luck! We found a package that had 3 BFF necklaces all for 3 sweet sisters! Now we will just have to mail Kierra's to her. (Kierra... Kesslyn chose the sun, Kambriella chose the moon, and so YOU get the star!) They are all sparkly and pretty and Kesslyn cried at bedtime when it was time to take off the necklace and hang it up for the night.;)

 Conference weekend was awesome as usual and we all enjoyed Saturday and Sunday together in the basement taking notes, drawing and gluing pictures in our journals and earning "conference cash" like we always do...

 Any time the kids would hear them talk about missionaries they would cut out pictures of Carew and write about it. When they talked about families and the temple they would cut out pictures of Kierra and Riley...and when they spoke anything at all...my heart would swell with love and gratitude for all of my blessings and this amazing gospel of Jesus Christ...

 There is no doubt in my mind that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter~day Saints is the only true church upon the earth and I'm so glad to be a part of it! The peace and conviction of truth that fills me up helps me to be motivated and dedicated to working hard at trying to be a little better each day...

If only we could have the whole week to celebrate conference instead of just 2 days...But that's OK, really it's a lifetime of celebrating conference because we get to go back and study the words over and over again and that makes me happy...because there is so much to learn and I want it to be a part of my life every single day. 

It's been a good weekend and a good Sabbath Day, and now I'm ready to head into a good, good week! 

P.S. I LOVE my family!!! :)