My Man

In my most recent post, apparently I forgot to mention what my hubby has been up to. Perhaps it is because not much has changed. Maybe it is because he is gone a lot. That is why I am writing this post. I do need to give credit where credit is due. My man is busy....he is going to school full time and also hold down a full time job. He supports our family well. That's pretty busy, but when he comes home he plays with kids, changes a FEW diapers (mostly because I loose to rock, paper, scissors), helps with dishes, laundry and projects and still somehow finds a pinch of time to be with me. He is pretty amazing. So sorry love that some how I neglected to mention you. You are amazing and I do love you very much. That is pretty much my man. I am so lucky to have him. :)

Rylans Latest Passion

This is Tony. So my son did something so funny, that I had to share it with everyone. I am not home anywhere near as often as I would like to be, so when I am home my kids take full advantage of it. This is what Rylan had to show me when I got home last night.




Can you guess his latest Passion??? I told him that he can't color any more clowns because he ran out of space on the couch, table, boxes, pillows and chairs. He looked at me with a half cocked smile, pretty sure I was joking, but not quite 100%.

Out with the Old

So much for my out with the old and in with the new. My lack of posting is astonishing. I don't really know why now either....I'm pretty much moved in and setteled. So who really knows. It may just be the perfectionist in me. Since I've missed so much I don't really know where to start. So maybe I should just suck it up and start from here. I'm sure I can just fill in the blanks later, but at least I'll capture the thoughts of now. Some things that have changed:
1.I have a new calling (no longer in primary) Surprised? Ya me too!!! I am the new beehive advisor. Today was my first week teaching. It was fun. I think it went pretty well. I am excited to get to know the girls and leaders and have a change in callings. I am truely going to miss the primary. I was teaching Rylan's class so I will really miss that aspect. It was so fun to get a glimpse of how he is in primary. I'm amazed at how inteligent he is. He remembers lessons and principles. I should be such a proud mommy.
2. My brother and his wife (Creighton and Kristen) have moved to Elpaso. They have a new little guy Haiden. I will have to post pictures. He is just darling. Kelton just couldn't get enough of his little cousin when they came for a visit. Boy has Haiden changed. He is so much bigger.
3. Kelton is walking. (Well mostly.) He can walk. He just gets nervous and wobbly. He is doing so well. His favorite toy is the walker that he can push around the house and load up with Toys. He also is starting to say a lot of words.
4. Pretty soon I will have two kids in school (at least part of the time). I'm still in shock on this one. Ry starts Kindergarten this year. Wow. Time flies. Alana will have her first year of preschool. She is so excited!!!
5. Most everything else is status quo. Which is a good thing for the most part. I am staying busy with house hold and mommy duties, as well as the new calling.
I really am going to start blogging again. I love it and I really don't know why I haven't done more of it. So here is to Out with the old and in with the new. :)

Time to renovate!

I think that I have finally decided why there has been a lack of posting on my blog. The main reason??? Time to renovate. I think I have just been stuck in a rut for a bit. I have been busy moving, adjusting to life with 3 kids (and yes he is a year old, but still trying to get the knack of things in the kid department), etc. So please be patient with me as I bring this blog up to date. It may take a bit and we may be under construction for a while, but stay posted for the new things to come!

Say Cheese!

Well, now that Kelton is mobile and crawling all over the place, I just have to be on the look out. Today was no exception. Kelton had crawled off and it became too quiet. When I found where he had crawled to this is what I found.


Yes, one big cheese. He was so pleased with him self. I blame Tony for leaving the cheese puffs open and on the floor. Perfect for Kelton to get into. :) It was pretty funny! :)

Overdue

My tardiness in blog posting has reached an all time high. I have things that I intend to post and want to post, but because it's not perfect or I don't have all the pictures uploaded I decide not to do it. Not to mention, that I have been extremely busy as of late. I want to post more. When I look back at my postings, I think to myself, I know we've been up to a lot more than just that!!! So here is my lame attempt to actually post something new. I have plans of getting back on track and up to date on the happenings of our family.
Here's what's been going on recently:
Kelton's crawling! Yes, last Saturday (Feb 13th) Kelton started crawling at Tony's parents house. It was pretty cute. He gets around pretty quickly now.

Alana is in primary now, and is loving it. She is getting into having friends. She is a sweet tender hearted little girl.
Rylan is enjoying pre-school. He is a smart little boy and is always coming up with inventions. (I will try and post one that he made recently).
Our house that we are building is about finished. We are getting excited and at times it doesn't seem real. We have been busy with that process.
Also, my brother and sister in law moved in also. We have had a very full house.
Tony and I are teaching primary now. We teach the 5 year olds. We have Rylan in our class.
We are busy, having fun and trying to enjoy the day to day things that come our way.

2010

I could be talking about the current year, but....I'm not. I'm talking about my age. Rylan said that I wasn't twenty nine anymore, but he told me that I was twenty-ten. I liked the sound of that much better than thirty....that was until my sister in law reminded me that twenty plus ten is thirty. Yikes!
I think I will just stick with the way that Tony's Nana said it: Thirty years amazing.

Wow the last ten years have gone by fast. Can't wait to see what the next ten will bring. Happy Birthday to me! :) The best part is that today my children were very well behaved and they loved wishing me a happy birthday. I think they must have told me two dozen times. Rylan gave me a home made birthday card that he drew. My morning started off with yummy chocolate chip muffins that my sister in law made, a gift from my dad (the magic bullet) which I have wanted for a while now and lots of birthday wishes from friends and family. I couldn't ask for a better birthday!

Merriment

This year, for some reason it has been easy for me to find joy in the simple things. Here is how we've made merriment around our house.

Rylan and his Santa beard made from tape.
Home made, hand drawn ornaments for the tree.
Snow (enough said...the kids love it)
Goodies
Wrapping gifts for OTHERS
Jesus having a birthday and planning his party.
Advent calendars
Santa

Hawaii-itis

My brother made this video.



He made it for a contest that Marriott Resorts is hosting. If he wins the contest, he wins a trip for 11 to Hawaii (yes, that would include me). So check it out. Even if he doesn't win, it's totally funny. The video with the most views wins. Hawaii here I come???

If you liked the one above, check out some of his other work.

The best gift

Last night I went to our Relief Society Christmas Program. It was wonderful!!! It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Lately I have been thinking about simplifying and making Christmas more Christ centered. I don't want my children to think that Christmas time is about gifts and things (all though that is one fun part) but I want them to truly understand the real meaning of Christmas. As I have been thinking about this my thoughts turn to my mom. Since 2 years ago this time she was sick. I want my Christmas to be more focused on Christ, helping others and giving.
The reason that it couldn't have come at a more perfect time, is because the person that spoke was a lady named Patti Epperson. She was an amazing speaker and talked about a personal experience that she had. How she was able to cope with the changes that it made in her life. She referenced a talk by Elder Wirthlin. This is my favorite part of it, which is why it couldn't have come at a more perfect time....

In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived—the just and the unjust.⁶

When Christ rose from the grave, becoming the firstfruits of the Resurrection, He made that gift available to all. And with that sublime act, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost precious loved ones.

I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.

On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.

Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day they stood triumphant.

On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross.

On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.

On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled.

It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.

I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world's history, that Friday was the darkest.

But the doom of that day did not endure.

The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.

And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.

I testify to you that the Resurrection is not a fable. We have the personal testimonies of those who saw Him. Thousands in the Old and New Worlds witnessed the risen Savior. They felt the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. They shed tears of unrestrained joy as they embraced Him.

After the Resurrection, the disciples became renewed. They traveled throughout the world proclaiming the glorious news of the gospel.

Had they chosen, they could have disappeared and returned to their former lives and occupations. In time, their association with Him would have been forgotten.

They could have denied the divinity of Christ. Yet they did not. In the face of danger, ridicule, and threat of death, they entered palaces, temples, and synagogues boldly proclaiming Jesus the Christ, the resurrected Son of the living God.

Many of them offered as a final testimony their own precious lives. They died as martyrs, the testimony of the risen Christ on their lips as they perished.

The Resurrection transformed the lives of those who witnessed it. Should it not transform ours?

We will all rise from the grave. And on that day my father will embrace my mother. On that day I will once again hold in my arms my beloved Elisa.

Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished.

On that day we will know the love of our Heavenly Father. On that day we will rejoice that the Messiah overcame all that we could live forever.

Because of the sacred ordinances we receive in holy temples, our departure from this brief mortality cannot long separate relationships that have been fastened together with cords made of eternal ties.

It is my solemn testimony that death is not the end of existence. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."⁷ Because of the risen Christ, "death is swallowed up in victory."⁸

Because of our beloved Redeemer, we can lift up our voices, even in the midst of our darkest Fridays, and proclaim, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"⁹

When President Hinckley spoke of the terrible loneliness that comes to those who lose the ones they love, he also promised that in the quiet of the night a still, unheard voice whispers peace to our soul: "All is well."

I am grateful beyond measure for the sublime true doctrines of the gospel and for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has whispered to my soul the comforting and peaceful words promised by our beloved prophet.

From the depths of my sorrow, I have rejoiced in the glory of the gospel. I rejoice that the Prophet Joseph Smith was chosen to restore the gospel to the earth in this last dispensation. I rejoice that we have a prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, who directs the Lord's Church in our day.

May we understand and live in thanksgiving for the priceless gifts that come to us as sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and for the promise of that bright day when we shall all rise triumphant from the grave.

That we may always know that no matter how dark our Friday, Sunday will come is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

For me this was perfect, because at this time of year I not only think of my mom, someone who was very important to me, but also of my Savior, the person that gave his life, so that I might be able to live, partake in the atonement and be able to live with those I love again.
We were encouraged to read the Book of Mormon and every time "Christ" was referenced, to mark it. At the end of the year we are supposed to look back at the number of times our Savior is mentioned and see that the Book of Mormon is truly another Testament of Christ.

What a great reminder of Christ and the fullness of the Atonement at this time of year!!!!