Kierra Nicole ~ 17!

My sweet Kierra Nicole turned 17 this week and never ceases to amaze me with the

 beautiful young woman that she has become...

Talented in so many ways and simply bursting with a pure heart of gold.

Kierra has loved dance for so long and it really is a part of who she is! She recently auditioned for the BYU summer intensive program, and we will hear by the end of March if she makes it or not...

either way, Kierra is very confident that whatever happens is the path that will be right for her, and will be what Heavenly Father wants for her to do.

Kierra has many friends that are good examples in her life! Friends that encourage her to develop her divine qualities, and who support her in all her endeavors. This is a picture of Kierra and her sweet friend Emma when they were going to a dance in a group together. They plan on going to St. George together this summer, going to EFY together, and spending any extra time working on their tans out by the pool. :) Emma is a true friend that brings out the best in Kierra! Her family is amazing and her grandpa is a general authority which is pretty cool...She shares all kinds of neat stories from him...it's nice to know as a mom that your children's friends have as high of standards as you have for your own family...after all, I believe it really does take the whole village to raise a child! :)

Ahhh dating...:)

This is one of those crazy things that you know eventually will come,

 but when it actually does...WOW!!! Hold on tight! 

Kierra has very high standards for choosing who she wants to date, and so far for the record has sent off a couple of missionaries that I know are hoping and praying that she will still be around when they return home in 2 years! This guy right here is one that treated Kierra like a queen and she has fond feelings for ... Adam James...Hmmm....I guess time will only tell...:)

Being a busy teenager with school, dance, a job, young womens, and other family responsibilities...Kierra hasn't really had time for a real "Party" for her birthday... But as her favorite momma ;) I was more than happy to fill the order of:

1) A favorite birthday cake

2) My special homemade banana bread per birthday girl's request :)

and 3) a surprise lunch date during her lunch break from school!

My sweet sister Tiffany brought her daughter Lexi (far right) to Kierra's school and dropped her off at the main office with balloons, a teddy bear, and a gift to surprise Kierra! Kierra definitely was surprised as she saw Lexi standing there...ran and hugged her..and then scooped her and her friend Emma up and met me and Tiffany and Kambriella at Subway for a bite of lunch. Even though Kierra had so many other places to be ON her birthday, we all knew it was so important to try and do something sweet for our sweet Kierra to try to make her day feel as special as she is!

Thank you so much Tiffany and Lexi for helping to spoil my Kierra!

Something very special to Kierra and I that I wanted to include in this birthday post was the fact that we both have recently earned our Young Women medallions together!

 This was a goal that we had set out to do together almost 4 years ago...

When Kierra turned 12 and entered the young womens program I can still remember the day that her leader came over and presented her with her personal progress book and journal, and all of the other tools that would help her to achieve these goals. I remember hearing words spoken by our church leaders that mothers were encouraged to work on this program together with their daughters...

I knew that this program was inspired and that I would come closer to my daughter if I would do this with her. I have always tried to be a good example for my children to follow, but it was also amazing to me what a good example Kierra was for me to follow while we were working on our personal progress together...

When Kierra and I recently attended a councilor meeting at the high school to help plan out the rest of Kierra's high school career, I was humbled and touched as her councilor reported to me that Kierra's plan after high school was to be a mother.

I almost let the flood gates open because I was so proud of my daughter and that she had recognized where her main goals and priorities should lie...she didn't even hesitate when she announced this to her councilor! He commended her and then asked her if there was any other areas that she was interested in for college...

After we had a brief discussion about her commendable goal, we also then discussed that she was also very intelligent with a straight A high school career and that she could probably do whatever she put her mind too. She has expressed that she would like to become a nurse and have that for an occupational goal as well...so she is preparing to receive her CNA so that it might make it easier for her to be accepted into a nursing program for college...

Kierra and I have a special relationship.

I know that first and foremost I am her mother. And I love it. 

She is first and foremost my daughter...and I love her!

But we are also sisters and friends and she has such a pure heart and soul and she brings the spirit closer to me through her relationship.

I have been blessed to have a teenager who loves and honors her parents and brings an increase of love into our home when she is there.

When your teenage daughter asks if for her birthday she can just have time with her mom, then you know that you are special to her and that you are loved. Kierra always makes me feel this way and I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with her for a daughter. We are enjoying the ups and downs of this mortal journey together as we move forward on the Lord's side.

Kierra, Happy Happy Birthday my sweet!

Thank you for being an inspiration and a gift to me...I love you!

My Heartthrob, My Valentine :)

I love my calling of being a wife! 

Ever since I was a little girl, I remember how I wanted nothing more out of life than to meet my Prince, marry him in the temple for time and all eternity, and then live happily ever after! :)

Well, here I am 38 years old young ;) ...and living my "happily forever after!"

Life has taught me a thing or two along the way though...

 I have learned that what you think about your spouse is exactly how you will see them. No, I am not perfect, but I believe I can love my husband perfectly if that is what I choose to do!

 I have always admired the strengths of my sweetie, and have always tried to calmly overlook any of his "flaws"... I have always tried to be very pure in my thoughts and words about him.

I have chosen to never say an unkind word to him or about him to anyone...especially our children! In fact, I have tried to do the exact opposite! I will repeatedly remind my children how they are the luckiest kids on the earth to have Clint for their dad! And even to this day, they will agree! :)

I have learned that dates are a MUST! No, they don't have to be extravagant, but one on one time with each other every week is simply necessary in order to focus on each other. When we go out, we get to talk about each other and NOT our children! Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my calling as a mother and I LOVE our children! But I believe that if I am happy in my marriage, then I will be happy as a mother too! 

Going to the temple, praying together, studying the scriptures together, and bearing testimony to each other is essential too! Oh how I love to express my love and gratitude for my husband out loud as we talk to our Heavenly Father together. I feel a deep inner sense of love and peace and reassurance that I am the most precious thing to Clint, and when that feeling of love is amplified by the warmth of the spirit and the confirmation from Heavenly Father of His love too....well, you can see how much strength that can bring to the most important eternal relationship of marriage.

The lessons I have learned are many...I could go on and on...but I feel it enough to say that marriage is ordained of God, and that I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for this man that has proven to be the greatest blessing of my life! 

Clint and I on the beach in Cancun...sooo beautiful!

Clint and I at a catered dinner on the beach in Cancun...

(I wish I had a picture of us while we were line dancing!!! Hilarious!!! :)

Clint and I stopping for a picture and "another" hug while on a 26 mile snowmobile ride on New year's Day. I loved that he let me drive so he could "hug" me the whole time :)

Clint and I at one of the many JAZZ games that we get to go to! Having season tickets has been a great way for Clint to take turns taking me, and all of our kids on one on one dates. It's always a "win-win" even when the JAZZ don't win!

Clint and I sneaking away for a romantic night's stay at the Grand America...What a perfect little holiday getaway and a great way to squeeze in Christmas shopping without the little ones!

Clint and I at the Conference Center for the First Presidency Christmas Devotional...Our kids were with us too...(minus Kambriella) but of course we had to get a picture together :)

Clint and I in front of the "Tree of Life" in Draper. We had the family there too, but again, had to sneak a picture while the little ones were busy rolling down the hill! :)

Clint and I in front of Bill White's Porsche at Billy Blanco's in Park City. 

Clint became friends with Bill through work and he has invited us to come and try the food at all of his 9 restaurants in Park City! Pretty fun!!!

Me and my sweetie...Here he is once again sporting those baby blue eyes that I first fell in love with, and have always loved every day ever since! I love you Clint!!!

Valentine's Day was yesterday, and we were fortunate to have a date night alone...but like I have always said, it doesn't really matter where we go, or what we do..Being together with him is enough.

I have always felt like I have been treated like a queen, but I feel like it has been our mutual love and respect, and always "putting the other one first" that has helped us to come as close and as strong as we are today. I have been spoiled rotten and gotten to see and do some pretty awesome things with Clint...but even if I were to take all of that away, I would still feel like the Queen that he sees me as.

As much as I have loved the memories we have made, some of my favorites are still the most simple and sweet ones that I hold dear...sunrise hikes... walks in the falling snow after shoveling the driveway together... sitting up late at night and talking for hours... and his happy eyes and sweet smile that greet me with his warm embrace every single time he walks in the door...

He's my heartthrob, my Valentine, and my Best Friend for eternity!!!

I love you Clint!!!

A Friend in Elsa :)

Any day off from school quickly becomes my "favorite day." :)

I love having my kids home, and the calm feeling of  NOT having to rush off anywhere...

It's a rare thing, but I love it.

On Monday there was no school for the holiday and soon the phone was ringing 

and everyone needed a friend! All of the boys had a friend over and then Kambriella's friend

 called and invited her to go swimming! 

To say that Kambriella was excited would be an understatement!

She quickly ran upstairs to her bedroom to grab her suit when I heard her squeals of excitement turn into "words to a friend!"  :)

(Kambriella) : "Elsa! Guess what??!! I get to go swimming with Emrey! Can you believe it?"         

("Elsa" voice by kambriella) : "Wow! That's so exciting! I'm so happy for you!"

(Kambriella) : "I know, right?"   :)   (Can you hear the teenager in her voice?;)

I loved hearing her tell "Elsa" about her plans and how excited she was.

 It made me smile. :)

With this cute little "heart string moment" I realized that I had never posted the cute pictures from Kambriella's "FROZEN" birthday party! So, here are some "Elsa" gems...

Kambriella "Letting It Go"

Kambriella's Snow Globe cake

The "Ice" on the cake..

Pin the Nose on Olaf :)

Kambriella's invitation...

(Back of Invitation)

And, if you couldn't have guessed...

Kambriella was "Elsa" for Halloween. :)

Our cousin Xaxton the ninja, Gavin and Dallin the sumo wrestlers, Autumn as Spider woman and friend Hayden as a patient.

Fun times! :)

                                

Embark in the Service of God

Embark!

Here we are together eager and ready to embark

On a journey to serve God; Let your desire be the spark!

Then let the spark ignite a flame to share the gospel light,

To serve our loving God with all our heart and all our might!

A testimony strong that you are precious in His sight,

Clears the darkened skies in a world that can’t tell wrong from right.

Our actions send a message for the entire world to see,

With all our mind and all our strength we will serve Him faithfully.

It’s like an SOS coming across a stormy sea…

We’re engaged “Serving Our Savior” as He bids “come follow Me.”

There are confusing messages the worldly waves toss to and fro,

But the SOS gives direction and tells us where we want to go.

“Search Our Scriptures” daily and words of prophets quickly heed.

“Stand On Sacred” ground right where you are through word and deed.

Let the temple be a constant source of safety, peace, and love

And like a lighthouse lead the way back home to Father up above.

We’ll be “Strengthening Our Sisters” and having fun along the way,

As we sacrifice our time we’ll “Set Out to Serve” from day to day.

It’s time for “Serving Our Savior” with all the energy of heart!

That we may “stand blameless before Him” as we embark and do our part!

~By Susette Trickett

January 17, 2015

Tears of Joy

Some nights when it's time for bed (or should I say "past" time for bed), Kambriella is so tired or overly exhausted that she just doesn't know what to do with herself. So, after all of the normal bed time routine is done, it's usually best for me to tell her that I will give her a few minutes to herself and then be back to check on her. 

It never fails that when I return, I find one little sleeping beauty. :)

The other night however, she was being so sweet and cuddly that I couldn't help but feel excited at her invitation to cuddle by her.

I plugged in her fairy lights, pushed "play" on her CD player and laid right beside her sharing her pillow. She threw her little arm around my neck and together we lay there talking quietly and listening to Josh Groban's Christmas album. I was feeling especially loved. :)

Then, just when you think a moment can't get any sweeter, the 3rd song on the CD began to play...(which Kambriella has told me over and over is her very favorite song) 

"I'll Be Home For Christmas."

If you have ever heard this song by Josh Groban you will know that his version of the song has military service men and women and their families sending each other tender Christmas wishes since they are so far apart for the holidays. It is a very touching song.

As I was laying there next to Kambriella listening to what she had to say, she suddenly got very quiet and listened as the song began. Then she said to me...

"Mom, do you know sometimes I cry tears of joy?"

Hold on...Wait a minute...Seriously?????????

I was speechless and felt this overwhelming spirit pour over me and a large lump forming in my throat...you know the ones where you think you are going to cry but you "are strong" and you just KNOW you can hold it back???

I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything at all. 

I just listened. 

"Mom, I just love this song so much! It makes me feel so happy inside that I even cry tears of joy! Do you know that there are some people who dress in green costumes and they are far away from their families, and they love their families so much that they just want to be with them?"

I could see where her little heart and mind were going...She was talking about these military people, and the sincere messages that they were sending their families was helping her to feel just how much they loved them and how much they wanted to be home.

As I looked over at her little face, I too almost began crying tears of joy because she had closed her eyes, and was folding her arms, and I felt her little body quiver with emotion as she was truly feeling the spirit of the message in the song.

I then took the opportunity to teach Kambriella because I knew that the Spirit was there and that she would know the things that I was teaching her were true.

I told her that she was so sweet to feel how much love those people had for their families and that she was a sweet little 5 year old girl with a heart as big as the moon!

I told her that she was a special daughter of God and that he loved her just like those people loved their families, and that Heavenly Father wants us to do as much good in the world as we can so that one day we can go "home" to Him.

She didn't say much else, other than "I love you Mommy."

But she didn't need to say anything else at all.

Her heart said everything loud and clear, and the spirit of love was so strong in that room.

I know that there are many ways that we can feel Heavenly Father's love in our lives, and that there are many times each day that I truly do feel His love. Listening to good music is definitely one way that I feel close to Him and feel His love...and another is through tiny tender mercies such as this little experience with my sweet baby girl. 

I felt His love for me so much, along with the love that He has for all of His children.

And I felt the enormous amounts of love that He has for Kambriella too.

What an amazing little girl with a miraculous tender heart.

Happy Birthday to My Sweet Angel Mom!

Today was such an awesome day.

My mother is a living angel.

She is the most Christ like person I have ever met.

Each day that passes with my dad no longer at her side, is a hard day for her...

she tells me each day how she "misses him so much..."

But she puts on a smile, and puts one foot in front of the other, and heads out into the world to make someone out there smile. :)

So, from her great example came my idea to take a one day road trip...there and back... to surprise my angel mom for her birthday!...I wanted to make her SMILE!

My brother Craig was already down her way for business, so lucky for us, he was there for all the fun, and to help distract my mom and make the surprise that much better! :)

He took my mom with him for a drive to Las Vegas to swap a work truck. 

They were able to spend time in the car talking and catching up...

But when they got back to her house in Mesquite she had a surprise there waiting for her!

My mom and Craig went in the house...

Then my sister Tiffany and I doorbell ditched my mom! :)

We wrote her a love note and signed it and left a heart plaque on her front doorstep.

I knocked on the door and ran into the garage to hide with Tiffany...

We held in our giggles as we listened to her and my brother at the front door, as she was trying to figure out how the card and gift got there??? :)

After they went back inside, Tiffany and I ran and knocked super loud on her door and then ran and hid behind her car...

We heard her open the door...and then it was quiet...

It was only a few seconds and then we couldn't take it any longer...

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!

We yelled out loud as we jumped out laughing from behind her car! :)

She stood there in complete shock with amazement on her face, and then quickly scooped us up in her arms for a big, warm, cuddly hug. :)

All of us laughed together as we recounted the steps it took to get up so early, drive all the way there without her knowing what we were up to...(She had called Tiffany and I both separately to say hello, and we both had to lie through our teeth about where we were and what we were doing!!! :)

We laughed about how fun it was to hide and then surprise her...

and then to see the look on her face...

HER smile made it all worth it.

I would go to the ends of the earth for this woman who has done so for me...

8 hours in the car was pure joy just to be able to see the SMILE on her face.

We sat in the house and talked and laughed...

We went to the closet where my mom gave each of us some of my dad's jackets to keep...

We drove to St. George and had dinner together where we laughed and laughed some more!!! :)

Then we took my sweet mom to the mall where we had her pick out some new clothes and shoes for her birthday :)

My sweet mom is so selfless that this was very hard for her to let us do...

She insisted that she didn't "need" anything...

We kept having to "hide" the price tags from her or else she would have only chosen to let us give her the most inexpensive items...

And when we went into Sears, my angel mom sobbed and sobbed cuddled up in our arms as she remembered being there before with my dad...

I knew that her birthday would be one of those exceptionally hard days for her without my dad here.

And so to see the laughter and the smiles, to feel the warmth of her hugs, and even just to physically be there to give her a hug and hold her tight when she would undoubtedly need it...was the best birthday present I could have given my mom this year.

But as always, in trying to give, the love received in return was overwhelming.

She was so happy, so grateful, and so surrounded with the gift of love on her birthday. :)

I love you mom! 

Happy 73rd Birthday!

:)

A Beautiful Bit of History...

(Kierra in front of the head stone of Gordon B. and Marjorie Pay Hinckley)

Early this fall, our family along with our good friends and neighbors  Kami and Adam Sage, went out on a picnic on a Sunday afternoon and visited the Salt Lake City cemetery where many of our beloved prophets have been buried.

The history and the spirit that was there within that sacred ground was absolutely amazing...

(Carew, Kierra, and Adam in front of the monument to Hyrum Smith)

(I loved the rainbow that we captured in this picture! It sprinkled lightly off and on as we wandered through the cemetery that day. It was beautiful.)

There was a very special spirit there at this cemetery. I felt a special connection through the spirit of those who have gone on before...and at times I felt myself becoming lost in thoughts as we read little bits of history on the different markers. There are so many wonderful people throughout the history of the church that made so many things possible for the saints today...

Like this man for example...Truman O. Angell (who is actually one of Kami's relatives!)

Builder of Temples, Tabernacles, The Beehive House, The Lion House, The Eagle Gate, mansions, factories, and forts...

It's humbling to think that I have been in many of his buildings, and that my family has been richly blessed because of his talent and dedication that came before. Simply amazing!

(Kambriella in front of the Prophet Wilford Woodruff's memorial)

This little sweetie had such a good time exploring with us! She would say the cutest things and ask the most interesting questions while we walked around everywhere...

The one thing that we have joked about ever since this day, was a funny comment she made as we were on our way driving to the cemetery. She said, 

"Mom, when we go to the cemetery are we going to see prophet zombies?"

WHAAAAATTTT?????

The entire car erupted in laughter !!!! :)

This little girl has watched one too many Scooby Doo movies with her brothers!! ;)

Here is the headstone of David O. McKay...

there were so many names to find in this cemetery that we weren't even able to cover a quarter of it and we were there for about 3 hours!

We definitely want to go back again and see some of the others that we didn't get to see. (There is also a Christmas Angel monument there that I would love to go back and find...)

This was a very fun name to find! Although you can't see it very well, 

it is Porter Rockwell...body guard to the Prophet Joseph Smith, prophet of the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and translator of the Book of Mormon.

What a privilege and honor it would have been to meet some of these men in person.

Visiting these graves was somehow a link to the past, and although I did not get to meet any of them, my testimony of what they all have done for us is even stronger because of the Spirit that bore witness to me while we were there.

I can't wait to go back again. :)