It was great to Skype with Jason at Christmas. He just continues to amaze us with his strength and dedication. He is a Zone leader and a trainor and keeps being challenged by his callings. He has been doing a lot of teaching and has the potential of several baptisms coming up. He appreciates any prayers sent his way.
DANIEL STREET
We all got a chuckle out of this picture Jason sent to Daniel. What are the odds that he would track on this street?
ELDER WALKER TEXAS RANGER
Jason took these fun pictures of him in some cowboy boots, a rifle and the Texas flag. He now says yall and I'm fixin'. He cracks us up. He is a District Leader and a Trainer and we couldn't be more proud of him.
MISSIONARY SURFERS?
Everyone got a big chuckle out of Dan and his companion when they helped a family carry in their surfboards for the 4th of July party that was held. The Cloward's house where the party was held is right on the beach and they had a great day of volleyball and food with the great members of that ward.
101 BAPTISMS!
This is Daniel and his companion Elder Adams. Their mission reached 101 baptisms last month. He was so excited.
IT'S A BOY!
Christine just had another ultra-sound and it's official now, it's going to be another BOY! We were hoping for a girl, but I will take another boy since the two I have are so darn cute! Christine and I will still be out-numbered come the end of March.
HAPPY DAY
After living here 6 years Scott finally was able to get this skylight in our room upstairs. The hole inside the house has been cut since we bought the house and the window has been sitting in a closet for 6 years. It was just one of those daunting tasks that we kept putting off. It makes the room so much brighter and I think it will help with the temperature control also. Yay for Scott!
THE YEAR MARK!
Daniel has been out on his mission over a year now! In some ways it has gone so fast and in other ways it seems like forever. We reached the year mark July 23. I was so excited. Now I can start counting down. This not only means that he will be home in less than a year, but I finally get to go to Hawaii!
ANOTHER PICTURE FROM BEAUTIFUL HAWAII
Yesterday I received another picture from Hawaii with Daniel and his new companion Elder Major. Look at that beautiful sunset! How lucky Daniel is to see such beauty every day. Daniel has been waiting several weeks for this companion who was quarantined at the MTC because of the Swine Flu. I am sure he was very happy to finally greet him. How lucky I am that there are such caring people in Daniel's life that keep sending me these pictures of him.
DAN IS THE MAN
I received a letter from one of Daniel's companions, Elder Tuilagi. He is from America Samoa and Daniel was his trainer. He told me how grateful he was for Daniel and that Daniel was doing a great job. He told me how helpful Daniel was to him and to the ward members. This is the third time someone has written to me to tell me how grateful they are for Daniel and that he is doing and awesome job. They will never know how much it means to me!
GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR
This is a picture of Tani and Daniel before Tani's baptism. Dan tells us that she was a golden investigator because she found them and was ready to be baptized before they had taught her any lessons.
WE FOUND WALDO - DANIEL
We finally heard from Daniel and he was transferred to Kailua-Kona which is on the big island of Hawaii. He is happy and working hard!
THANKFUL FOR MY IRISH ANCESTORS
I never knew how much Irish ancestry I had until my wonderful Aunt Carol wrote this awesome history about my Dad's ancestors. There are still 8 castles partially standing over in Ireland that belong to my ancestors. Most of them (14 of them) fought in the Revolutionary War so that I could enjoy what I have today. There is also some tie to Bunker's Hill and Breed's Hill.
St. Patrick's Day never used to mean much to me until I knew my ancestry. Now I take time to think about them a little bit more during that time. I am grateful to them for being so brave and courageous to leave so much of what they had to come to America and start new. I am somewhat what I am because of them. I can't wait to thank them in person some day.
THE TWO SIDES OF WINTER
Have you ever noticed that there are two sides to winter? There is the beautiful side. The sun shining on the snow on a crisp morning. The silent snow falling in the full moon. The quietness that a snowy night brings. I love so much about winter and the fun and beauty that it brings. But there is a sad and lonely side to winter. When we were coming back from the cabin the other night we rode through the desolate camp grounds. The picnic tables where barely poking their tops through the snow. Somehow it made me sad and lonely. I realized then that winter has two sides to it.
JASON LOVES HIS GIFT FROM DAN
Daniel sent Jason this shirt from Hawaii and he loves it! He wears it constantly. Not just because it is a great shirt but because it is from Daniel!
OUR BACKYARD WILDLIFE PRESERVE
Just recently we had a gaggle of geese move in on the golf course behind our house. So not only do we have nine to fifteen deer living there but we have geese now. It is so fun to watch them.
JASON GOES TO PREFERENCE
Jason got this awesome black tuxedo to go to Preference with a darling girl. He looked absoulutely stunning in it!
A NEW TYPE OF LIGHT SABER CALLED ICE SABER
This is an icicle that Jason pulled off of the back of our house. I think it would have kept growing until it hit the ground if he hadn't pulled it off.
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
Every year I have bought ornaments for each of the kid's representing some event that happened that year. I didn't do it this year because I couldn't get out and reallly look for them. I did find this one for Daniel. It is a Disney ornament from It's A Small World. It is the only Hawaiian ornament I have seen so I had to get it for him.
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
Being A Wife
A Mother
A Grandma
30 YEARS AGO!
Yes, it has been 30 years since I graduated from High School. I am on the reunion committe for our reunion this year. I have no idea what I am doing and neither do the six people that are on the committe with me. I'm crossing my fingers that it all works out. Does anybody have any good ideas? (What is with that hair?!)
I NEED A VACATION!
Have you ever felt like you need a vacation so bad you could just scream! That's how I am feeling right now. It has been such an emotional roller coaster this summer and I am just plane tired. Where's my beach?
Look What I Found!
Those of you that know me know that I am a true Disneyland junkie. Yesterday when I was in Costco I was looking at the rose bushes and look what I found. Not only do I love roses, but to have one named Disneyland. It will now find a place in my rose garden.
What Do You Think?
People say when you see orbs like the one in this picture that they are ghosts. What do you think? I don't know if I believe in ghosts or not, many of you voted that you did. I do think it is so strange how these just appear in pictures though!
A Little Computer Nut
We gave this game to Carter for Christmas and he loves it! It's amazing how quickly the youngs kids can catch on to the computer and my parents have the hardest time understanding it.
Daniel Is HOME!
We have all been anticipating the arrival of Daniel from college. We are so excited to have him around for three weeks. Unfortunately there is a little sadness as we celebrate this year knowing that it will be our last time together as a family for four years. Daniel will leave on a mission for our church in May and Jason will leave the following year before Daniel gets home. It will be four years until we meet together again for the holidays.
I Love Living Here!
I love living here in Utah. I love the changes in the seasons and I get so excited for each one to come. I love the view of the mountains from our house. I just love it here!