Happy Birthday, Jaisy MiChelle!!!

We Love You!!

Liam's Baby Blessing

My nephew, Liam, was blessed on Saturday by my Dad. D & I were able to go up to my sister's house for it and spend some time with my family. I still can't get over how stinkin adorable Liam is. I just want to eat his cheeks!! He is such a good baby, and he'll probably be walking soon! Here are some pictures from Saturday:

Me & Hannah Bear

D, my baby brother, Skylar, and Dad

Handsome man of the hour, Liam
Getting some grub after the blessing
Apparently this is the new "cool" way to drink your bottle :)
D feeding Liam ice cream
(notice D's lips)
D feeding himself ice cream
(notice D's lips again ;)
Best way to relax...sit in a comfy chair having someone
feed you so you don't have to do it yourself :)
Jonathan, Hannah, Liam, Shannon
With Nanny & Gramps
Shannon's side
Jonathan's side
With their housemate, Amanda

Thanks for letting us come up and spend this special day with you guys! We can't wait to see you all again! Smooches!

Too cute!! This is a MUST see!!

"Moab is calling"--last weekend's Moab trip

Our good friend, Jimmy, was brave and decided to run the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab last weekend. He & his fiance, Becca, didn't want to go down alone so they invited McSweeney's and us to go down with them. Jimmy brought his camper so we didn't have to sleep in the car or on the ground. Thanks, Jimmy!! We had a blast--besides D being pretty sick the whole time we were down there, and Jimmy with his ginormous blisters on his feet after running the 13.1 miles. What troopers. We went and hiked a bit around Arches while Jimmy was running, then we went back to watch him cross the finish line. After that and lunch we went back to Arches to do a 5-mile round trip hike to Delicate Arch. We had so much fun we already want to go back!!

Here are some of our pictures from the trip...

My sweetie "sleeping"...with a smile on his face :)

The gang

I swear we can get a serious picture only half the time :)

Jared & his crazy rock climbing skills

That would be Jared off yonder in the distance (the little white speck)
Is that Pocahontas? Oh wait...it's just Jared! ;)
Here he comes!! Here he comes!!
Giving us 2 thumbs up, and a smile :)
Crossing the finish line!!! - Final time 2 hr. 20 min. 19 sec.
WAY TO GO, JIMMY!!
Becca & Jimmy after the race.
R & me
I loved this picture of R and had to post it.
Love this girl!
To me, Moab is one of the most beautiful places on Earth!!
Beautiful landscape photos:

Give a little love....and maybe some laughter along the way.

This is probably going to be a lame, boring post for most of you to read, but I had to post it for "memorial purposes". One of the things I absolutely love about my husband is that he makes me laugh....all the time!! I made him promise me before we got married that he would make me laugh everyday, and he has fulfilled that promise and more. He not only makes me laugh everyday, he makes me laugh 24-7 (maybe that's a teeny bit of an exaggeration, but he sure makes me laugh A LOT!). We always have such a blast together, and I wish I could spend all day every day him, but life is such that it's not possible.

Last night was one of those nights that I love. Just about every night, I start crashing around 9:00 and bedtime is generally at 9:30. (Lame, I know, but we're old married people, and I get up at 4:45 on days I have school--Dar gets up at 5:15 everyday.) We get ready for bed, but as soon as we lay down, I'm wide awake, and get all chatty and don't want to go to sleep anymore...but those are some of the funnest times we have together. We laugh about nothing, but it means everything. Last night, everything was funny. I had had a really good day at school, and as soon as Dar picked me up from school, my day got 100 times better...

We met with a financial planner to FINALLY start saving for retirement. When we got home, we had breakfast for dinner and it was even more delicious because D made dinner so I wouldn't have to. We watched American Idol, cut up some coupons, delivered food drive bags to our neighbors, and had ice cream for dessert. Nothing super special, but just being with him is more than I could ever wish for. It's times like that, when just having him next to me makes me smile and we don't want anything more than just to be together, that makes me realize how little everything else matters. We could live in a cardboard box for all I care and we would still be happy. (Ok, another exaggeration, but you get what I mean.) It's not the material things that matter. It's the quality time and the loving relationships that we have with each other that really matters in the end.

How grateful I am that this Knight in Shining Armor came into my life and swept me off my feet. D is truly the man of my dreams, and it still doesn't seem real to me sometimes that he's mine for eternity. I love you, D!! Thanks for making me laugh and for making me fall in love with you all over again!!

"The Worth of Soles"

Last night we had our Enrichment Relief Society birthday party. The theme of the night was "The Worth of Soles" and our assignment was to bring a shoe that described us. I looked through my closet and thought of a couple different shoes I could bring, but I decided on this pair...

If you know me, you know I love moose...Random. I know, but they're my favorite animals! My Mom got these moose slippers for me a few years ago, and I absolutely love them! They're about 4 sizes too big for me, but it doesn't stop me from wearing them. I love to relax and be cozy, and I love to be warm so my moose slippers are perfect for that!

My description wasn't anymore exiting than that last night, but it was such a fun experience to listen to all the ladies talk about their shoes and why they chose the particular shoe they brought. I especially loved listening to the older sisters in the ward. It's been hard adjusting to a new ward, but I'm starting to find out that the older sisters in our ward already have a special place in my heart, especially the ones I visit teach. It's amazing how Heavenly Father helps us get out of our comfort zone and allows us to be uplifted and feel welcomed at what seems our most vulnerable times. (Dar & I were just called as Gospel Doctrine teachers, and it TOTALLY makes me feel inadequate and vulnerable!!! Hopefully I'll get used to it over time and actually start enjoying my teaching!) The older sisters in the ward have been so kind and friendly to me, and I am really looking forward to getting to know them better. I've learned so much from them already!

Anyway, I just wanted to share the cute idea from Enrichment last night. Hopefully some of you ladies can use it in your own wards! *Hint, hint...Bonnie A.! ;)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

No cornbeef and cabbage for us, but we did have a green dinner!

• Green rice with BBQ Apricot Chicken & green onions on top
  
• Asparagus
• Green jello with cool whip and green sprinkles on top
• Green milk!

So Yummy! We hope you all had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!!

Private!!

I finally made a decision...We're going PRIVATE!! We'll officially be making our blog private in 1 month from today (April 16th). We've been getting comments from random people we don't know and I don't really feel comfortable having all of our information out there and having strange people find our blog. Give us your e-mail address if you want to be invited to keep viewing our blog. Thanks!

Gospel Message from a Fairy Tale

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are often counseled by our leaders to "be in the world but not of the world". Some of us find this a difficult task to accomplish at times, but we still strive to abide by that counsel. I admit that I get wrapped up in worldly things sometimes just like everyone else, but I constantly try to be a good person, to be in the world but not of the world. To be the person my Heavenly Father wants me to be.

If you know me and D, you know that we are BIG movie people. We love watching movies together, and love buying movies from the $5 rack, rather than just renting. For Christmas, one of our gifts was the DVD of Peter Pan, but we didn't get around to watching it until a few weeks ago. We both love Disney movies because I think it brings us back to our childhood days, and we love being able to watch movies without being concerned about vulgar language, nudity, or other sexual images or innuendos. This time around watching Peter Pan wasn't really any different for me until it was over and we were listening to the last song. Some of the lyrics to that song struck me, and I've been thinking about them over and over again since. The lines that hit me were: "Think of all the joy you'll find, When you leave the world behind."

I hear and read that message from Church leaders all the time, so I don't know why it hit me so hard while watching Peter Pan. I guess it was just hearing the message outside of a Gospel context. But the way the lyrics were put in the song made a bigger impact on me this time, for some reason. "Think of all the JOY you'll find, when you LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND."

I truly do find JOY in the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST. I find JOY in knowing that my FAMILY is ETERNAL. I find JOY in knowing that I can live with my Heavenly Father and my Family FOREVER. I find JOY in knowing that we have a LIVING PROPHET on the Earth today. I find JOY in knowing I can be FORGIVEN of my sins. I find JOY in knowing I am a DAUGHTER of GOD. I find JOY in knowing my SAVIOR LOVES ME. I find JOY in knowing that the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST is bigger than anything the WORLD can throw at it. I find JOY in reading the BOOK OF MORMON, and I know that I can find answers to my problems when I read it. I find JOY in knowing my Heavenly Father wants me to SUCCEED, and I'm glad His definition of success is not the same as the "success" of the world. I find JOY in the JOURNEY as I follow my SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.

I love to see the Temple

Yesterday D & I had the opportunity to attend the Draper, UT Temple open house with J & T. I was soo glad we were finally able to go because the open house only runs until next Saturday (the 14th), and the Temple will be dedicated on March 20th. I absolutely love the feeling you get when you walk inside the doors of any LDS Temple, and the peace that comes over you, if you're willing to let it into your heart.

This was the first Temple open house I have ever attended, and it was neat to see the Temple in a way that any of the public is able to. You don't have to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to attend a Temple open house, and I wish more non-members had the opportunity to attend one. I know there is a lot of curiosity about LDS Temples because of their sacredness, and I truly believe that if more non-members had the opportunity to attend an open house, that their hearts would be touched by the Spirit as well.

I am soo grateful for Temples. I know that we are blessed as we strive to live worthy to attend the Temple. I know that the Temple is the House of the Lord, and that by attending the Temple we are able to bless our own lives, the lives of the ones we love, and many other countless lives as we continually strive to serve one another. I am thankful that I can attend the Temple, where I learn more about my Savior, Jesus Christ. By attending the Temple, I learn more about the Creation of life and where I fit into that Creation. I'll be the first to admit I'm not perfect, but I know that by trying to do what is right, my Savior makes up for my shortcomings and I am able to try harder to do what is asked of me. Because of the Temple, I will have the opportunity to live with my sweetheart FOREVER--the Temple is where families are joined together, not just for this live, but for ETERNITY!! I am so grateful for the mercy of my Father in Heaven who loves us enough to put Temples around the world, where we can make covenants with him, and where we take another step to being able to live with Him forever.

I hope that if you have not had the opportunity to go to the open house, and you live close enough to be able to do so, that you will put forth the effort to go. It is a beautiful building, and it will help you to appreciate the love our Heavenly Father has for His children.

*To learn more about LDS Temples, click here or here.

Body Cast?

D's family all pitched in to help out his sister, Georgiana, with a huge project she's been working on called "Bowls for Humanity". I'm not exactly sure how the whole thing is going to play out, but we helped out last night with the small part that we could. D's parents came over to make body molds of us....sounds weird, I know, but it was kind of fun/painful (because we had to stay in one position for quite a while, and my hand started to lose feeling) at the same time. It's definitely something I've never done before!! Haha. Just look at the pictures :)

Just getting started

I had half of me done at a time...this is right before
the top part of my body was cut off. :)

D had his whole body done at one time...
both of our arms were getting SUPER tired!!

D's body mold after it was cut off.
It reminded me of some of the bodies we saw at Body Worlds.

The semi-finished product.

Mine still needs hands, and both need feet, but it was 9pm last night by the time we got done so D's parents were going to finish it for us. I hope it all turns out well, G! Way to go on all your hard work you've put into this project!!

Familiar Faces

My brother-in-law, Travis, works for the Church. I'm not sure all that he does, but lately he's been working on short video clips called "Mormon Messages". I love watching them because they share short clips of inspiring messages from our leaders.

For those of you who know my in-laws and what they look like, you might see some familiar faces in this "Mormon Messages" clip of President Uchtdorf's talk "Create" from the last General Relief Society Meeting:



You can find more "Mormon Messages" clips on YouTube.

Also, if you feel like more browsing, my sister-in-law and nephew are on the lds.org homepage. Look for the mom and boy at the computer screen next to the "Mormon Messages" link.