Nineteen Going on Twenty

I am grateful that I was able go to California two weeks ago to spend time with my family. It has been over two years since the last time we were all together. As soon as Tyler found out we were coming out, he offered us his room to stay in. Kyle, Seth, and Garrett were inseparable. Lyla and Clara dressed up as their favorite princesses. Ruby was thrilled to be out of her car seat. Charlotte was in awe of so many people. Ryan and Tyler aren't little kids anymore.

Don't worry, by the end of next month this picture will be outdated.

By the end of the trip, Lyla said that we are friends and Charlotte was only a little shy around me.

Snow

I am grateful that snow is so pretty. I am not ready for winter this year. At all. It's probably because it was freezing cold in the office all summer long.

The mountains look gorgeous with a fresh coat of snow. How many days until summer?

Veterans

I am grateful for the men and women that serve our country, past and present. They are defenders of freedom and liberty. Earlier this year, we found out that Jonathan's great-great-great-great-great grandfather served in the War of 1812.

My great-great-great grandfather served in the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War.

There have been many others who served in the military in our families and we are grateful for their example. Freedom is not free.

I am grateful for health. This past week or so, I've had a cold. It's not really enjoyable feeling groggy and stuffed up at work, but it makes me so much more grateful for how healthy I have been.

Now, I need to disinfect my desk!

Ponderize

I am grateful for the counsel given by Brother Durrant during this past General Conference to "ponderize". It is a combination of 80% pondering and 20% memorizing a scripture. I have been posting my weekly scripture at my work desk since I spend so much of my day there.

It has helped me feel the spirit and apply the scriptures to my life. I would challenge you to start "ponderizing" for yourself. It is simple and the blessings are real that come from it.

I was sick this weekend and I did post on Saturday and Sunday, but I forgot to share them.

All But One

I am grateful that Jonathan and I made it to all but one of the Utah temples. It is such a blessing to live so close to so many temples. Living in Utah, you sometimes forget how much people have to sacrifice to get to a temple once in their lifetime. Each temple is unique in location and style, but the truths taught are identical. There is no variation in any of the ordinances.

Provo Temple

Mount Timpanogos Temple

St. George Temple

Salt Lake

Draper

Logan

Jordan River

Oquirrh Mountain

Vernal

Bountiful

Manti

Brigham City

Payson

Ogden

Sorry Monticello Temple. We do plan on visiting that temple, it's just that we live 4 hours away from it.

Pioneer Heritage

I am grateful for my pioneer heritage. I've been able to learn more about their stories this past summer. Their conviction to make sacrifices for their children to grow up in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful. I have pioneers that joined in the early days of the church all the way to the late 1950's. Their lives strengthen me to continue on the path that they set before me.

I am grateful to know them even though I haven't met them.

Birthdays

I am grateful that this year we were able to celebrate all of our nieces and nephews birthdays with a special birthday message for them. It started with Garrett's birthday. I thought about holding a sign that said happy birthday. It quickly grew into something so much cooler!

 Garrett is crazy about TMNT and I knew he would love it if we were pretending to be characters. I made masks and simple weapons and we were ready!

We had so much fun with Garrett's and we knew that all of the kids would love something like that. Living in Utah, a Frozen themed picture would be so easy to do. I made a tiara and Jonathan added a little CGI. The lake was really frozen though.

We started planning out the pictures more and Jonathan got to do a lot more with special effects to make our pictures even better.

The Rapunzel picture was taken in Chris's backyard, but it really doesn't look like it thanks to Jonathan!

Charlotte loves animals and she loved seeing all of the puppies in her picture.

After Seth's birthday, we had a break until October. We decided that one year olds don't have strong interests yet and wouldn't really understand the pictures, so we didn't do one for Ruby this year. We did a double one for Ryan and Tyler since they share a birthday.

UVU has the perfect little house on campus for little red riding hood.

We are already starting to brainstorm for next year's birthday pictures!

I am grateful that even though I live far away from most of my nieces and nephews, they still remember me and love me. I was a little worried about visiting because I wasn't sure if some of the younger kids would remember me.

Charlotte was by far the hardest one to win over, but thanks to giving her a dry towel and chocolate she became less and less shy with me.

I am grateful for the time we were all able to spend with each other. It doesn't happen often, but it is wonderful when we can work it all out.

I am grateful for a thoughtful husband. A few days after Jonathan's birthday, he came home and said he had a (free) present for me. He saw this colorful flower and had to bring it home because it reminded him of me.

Food is my real love language. Most days when I come home from work, Jonathan has dinner ready or just finishing up for me.

Jonathan does things that make me feel very well loved.

I'm grateful to have a car that safely takes us on our adventures as well as my commute to work. It doesn't look great especially since people in Utah keep running into the back bumper, but it takes us where we need to go.

Ogden Temple

This was a very special visit to the temple. The Ogden Temple is where Jonathan's mission president served as a sealer. We went to the temple after his funeral.

Before we left the temple, we sat down in one of the sealing rooms. It was wonderful. I could imagine President Anderson sitting behind the small desk saying the beautifully simple words of the sealing ordinance.

source

(This is one of the larger sealing rooms in the temple and not the one we were in.)

It was a wonderful experience going to the temple and remember President Andersen. He had such a positive impact on Jonathan and I am so grateful to him for helping Jonathan become the man he is today.

Month of Gratitude

It's November, which is the month I (try to) post something I'm grateful for everyday. I didn't make if very far last year, but this is a new year!

I am grateful that this post is coming from California. My dad was made the bishop of his ward (or congregation) today. I am grateful that I have a father that teaches by example. I don't remember him sitting us down to teach us very often, but I remember him always doing something (usually with the Scouts). He accepted every calling that was extended to him and did them to the best of his abilities. In just the last few years, he was taught how to do them better and he did everything he could to follow that counsel. He taught me that it is better to be humble and do things the right way today rather than focus on how things were done in the past. I know that he's going to be doing a lot more learning as a bishop and I can't wait to see what else he teaches me.