President Hinckley Passes Away

Our church leader and prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley passed away at his home about 7 o'clock last night with his family at his side. President Hinckley was 97 years old. He was the 15th president of the church. I just wanted to say a few words about this man. He was truly an amazing person. We will miss him very much for he was loved by all people who knew him. He had such a great sense of humor and I loved listening to his talks. He had such an inspired way to speak to people and convey messages of his heart. I know that he must be a happy man right now because he is home with his Heavenly Father, Savior, Jesus Christ and wife Marjorie. He loved the gospel with all of this heart and he was truly a servant of the Lord. I am so thankful for him and the life and example that he gave us all. We have been blessed to be alive during his leadership and to be able to witness a man of God. We love you and miss you!! Thanks for all of your service and love...

The "PERFECT" Day

Yesterday was the most perfect day for many reasons. First, it was a Saturday, which meant that Bryce would be home and we would be able to "P"lay all day as a family. We started off the morning by "E"ating excellent doughnuts, which is Cooper's favorite food. There is place up the street called, "The Hole". Anyway, we got them to go and then headed down to South Jordan to go to "R"enee Whetten's baby shower. I wanted to bring Bryce and Cooper so that some of my friends could see the handsome men in my life. Dad took Cooper to Carl's Jr. play place while I stayed at the shower. It was so much fun to see Renee and the Weavers from Texas.

After the shower, we headed back home to get ready to take Cooper sledding. We bought him a new saucer sled and he had so much fun. The weather was warm, like around 40. So, we were able to go sledding and not have to wear our jackets or gloves. Cooper would go "F"lying down the hill on his sled and he would do it over and over again. Mom and Dad even tried it a time or two. When we got home from sledding, Cooper decided that he would "E"at the snow. In fact, with all the snow we have received, I have been letting him make slushies with snow and juice. He thinks it is awesome.


Next, we "C"reated a snowman and a snow cave. Cooper knows Frosty the Snowman and so we thought it would be fun for him to decorate the snowman. We got rocks for his buttons, sweet tarts for his eyes, and put a scarf on him. We are expecting more snow tonight and tomorrow, so Bryce piled all the snow up so that he can make a bigger cave when we get more snow. I guess the winter scout camps taught him something. Actually, maybe he is practicing, because this weekend they are doing a Klondike campout in the mountains and it will be freezing cold. I would never wish that on my worst enemy!

Anyway, we had such a fun time and we loved being "T"ogether as a family and spending the whole day doing fun activities. We finished off the night by getting to see Jocelynn and kids who were down for Tawni's basketball tourney. Thanks to Jocelynn for helping me finish my adoption scrapbook pages which I will be posting soon. We also ate dinner with Steph and Paul and TGIF and that was really good food. What a great day we had spending time with family!!

Pizza Party

Friday night we had some friends (Jacqui and Jared and Raelyn and Matt) over for pizza and games. We played Ticket to Ride. Our kids had so much fun playing with each other and Reese finally had a little girl to play with instead of always boys.

Why Trials?

Last night we had a program at the church that welcomes new 12 year olds into our young women organization. It's called New Beginnings. Anyway, we had a guest speaker, Brenda, who did an amazing job and I wanted to share a part of her message. She talked about when she was 12, she sat down with her bishop (happened to be her father at the time) and they discussed what she wanted to accomplish in the future. She wanted to go to college, get married, and have an eternal family. So, together, they wrote all these goals down on paper.

Well, when she was 14 years old, her parents got into a horrific accident. Her dad died in the hospital 6 weeks later and her mother was burned beyond recognition. The family(mom and six children) grew very close and really learned to love and depend on each other. Well, when Brenda was a senior in high school, she went on a date with a man who had just returned from an LDS mission. While driving to their date, she looked over at him, and got two distinct impressions.... First, this was going to be her husband one day, and second, she would not have him for very long, so she needed to take advantage of the time she had with him. Well, to make a long story, short, she married the man after high school, she finished college while having two babies, and sixteen years later, her husband died in a helicopter accident.

She concluded her story by telling us that she thinks that maybe we could have sat down with our Father in Heaven before we came to Earth and talked about what we wanted to accomplish, and who we wanted to be when we returned. She said, "I think he told me that I would have to lose my father and husband, and go through these trials, to make me be the person that I wanted to be. I said sign me up." She went on to say that she would not trade her trials with anybody else's trials because they have made her the person she is today. I really believe what she said. We each have our own set of trials and they will make us grow as individuals.

Joy School

Cooper has been going to Joy School for a couple of months and he loves it. He has seven kids in his class, including himself. We trade off with the other mothers to teach weekly lessons. It's so nice when you can drop your child off for a couple of hours twice a week, but when it's your turn to have seven 2 and 3 year olds at your house, it can get a little crazy. This week Cooper learned that he is unique and has different qualities. He also learned that he should love himself. This is his class which consists of Cooper, Ethan, Betsy, Kenzie, and Tayson. Two kids are missing in this picture. Cooper loves interacting with the other children. But, sometimes he finds himself in time out because listening isn't his most favorite thing to do right now.

Cooper's best buds, Reese and Jaxson, don't understand why Cooper goes to school and they don't. "But he is 2 and we are 4, why does he go to school?" they ask all the time. Sometimes they get to come with me to pick up Cooper or drop him off and they love to look at the new things that he makes in class. Hopefully, they will be able to go next year.

Fishers of Men

Yesterday, I had to speak in church with my presidency. I do not like speaking in public. It causes me alot of anxiety and stress. So, I asked to speak first, so that I could get it over with and relax for the rest of the meeting. We were asked to speak on being "fishers of men", which basically means following the life of the Savior. He was a perfect example of selflessness, service, compassion, and love toward others. I began my talk by telling everybody about how excited Cooper was when he came home from Christmas vacation. He kept telling everyone to 'come and see' his room and toys. Well, over 2000 years ago, that same invitation was given to fishermen on the shore of Galilee. "Come and see, come follow me, come unto me, and I will make you fishers of men." And I went on to talk about "nets" and what fills our nets.... time constraints, pressure from home or job, feelings of inadequacy.... anything that keeps us from following Christ. I ended with some ideas on how we can better be fishers of men...giving more service to those around us, being better examples, being better friends and neighbors, and there are many, many more!! I only had to speak for about 5 minutes, so I felt so much better when I was finally finished.

Weekend Fun!!

On Saturday, we went and ate lunch with Jacqui, Steph, Brittney and Shaylee. We had a great time visiting the food was great. In fact, I stuffed myself with too much food. We ate at Applebee's, where they have the 3 course meals for $9.99. Brittney had a gymnastics meet in Ogden so that is why they came down. It's always nice to celebrate any occasion with food.

Saturday afternoon we were able to spend time playing Ticket to Ride with our friends Weston and Mandy, and Jacqui and Jared. Come to find out that their little Chloe, who isn't even two yet, knows all of her alphabets by sight. Amazing! Just lets me know that I have alot of work to do with Cooper. But then again, all of our kids learn differently and develop at different speeds.

If you haven't played Ticket to Ride, then you need to try it out. It is so much fun. It is a new game that can only be found at specialty stores. Alot of fun though. Basically, we spent our weekend playing that game over and over and the sad thing is that I have never won....just not good at the game, I guess!!

Saturday night, Bryce, Cooper and I went to Carl's Jr. for dinner and then came home and watch Comanche Moon. It was alot of fun to just relax and hang out as a family. We had a good time watching Cooper run back and forth through the living room. Whatever helps him sleep at night!! We started potty training Cooper about 3 weeks ago. The first day was a nightmare. We went through six pairs of clothes and I didn't know if I was ready for this. However, he is finally telling us when he needs to go and I am very proud of him. He is doing a good job and learning quickly.

Many of you know that Bryce and I have been trying to adopt another baby for over a year now. Of course, it has been a topic of discussion in our home quite a bit lately. We have many friends that are pregnant and so babies come up in conversation alot. I have also been talking to Cooper alot about it lately and asking him if would like a little brother or sister. The reply is always a little brother. I have been amazed at how excited he is when he sees babies lately. Well, last night I was in the bathroom and I overheard Bryce putting Cooper down for bed. Bryce asked Cooper to say a prayer. Cooper started his prayer, and about half way through, he said, something with these words: "mommy have a baby". I couldn't believe my ears. What a good little boy we have!! We are so blessed to have him in our family. If we could all be like little children and have faith like them!! I was very touched and I will never forget that prayer. We had not mentioned anything about a baby that whole day and then he prays that we will have a baby. Wow.... Is he good at knowing the desires of mom's heart, or what?