Sealing: Bountiful, Utah LDS Temple

October 26, 2013 will go down in history as one of the happiest days of my life.  It was a beautiful fall day, perfect temperature, and the Bountiful Temple grounds were stunning with their fall leaves against the bright blue sky.

We got to the temple and I will never forget watching Ryan walk up to the recommend desk with his recommend, so proud and happy to be there.  I worried he would be shy and nervous, but he felt right at home as we walked him to the youth center to wait for his turn to participate.  He settled in right away and Nate and I went to take care of the paperwork and get ready to be sealed.

Words cannot express the feeling of love as we walked into the sealing room with just my parents, grandparents, siblings, and best friends.  The Spirit of the Lord is so strong and I was filled with complete happiness.  To be with my family, sealed together for time and all eternity, in the holy temple was an amazing experience.  I will never forget the warmth of Ryan's hand, on top of mine and Nate's over that holy altar as we were sealed as husband and wife, mother and father and child, as a family throughout the eternities.  I am so grateful for this blessing in my life.

As we got in the car, Ryan  said "So, how was crying in the sealing?"

Tough to keep emotions in check on a day like today.

Baptism Day!

On August 31 Ryan was Baptized and Confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!  We had such a great day with family and friends.

I'm so proud of Ryan and Nate and have loved the journey we have been on over the past year.   Elder Endicott and Elder Ahwering were able to be there on Saturday and it was so fun to catch up with them and have them be part of our celebration.  I will always be thankful for their missionary service!

Ry chose taco salads for lunch and we had a feast--thank you to Sue, Chelsea, Katie, Elise and LaVerna for your yummy contributions!!  We are so blessed to have so many people who take good care of us.

Ryan got to share his favorite scripture in Sacrament meeting the next day and he did so great!  I'm so proud of him--Love you Ry guy!!

A Day At The Lake

Saturday

***Note: I wrote this a few weeks ago, and then have not had a chance to upload the pics, so its already a tad out of date.  Oh well. 

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast, and I did a haircut.  We had 3 hours before I had to leave to help with a friend's wedding.  I said to the boys, "Lets hurry and get our chores done and then we can do something fun!"  
But the minute it came out of my mouth I knew there were so many things wrong with that sentence.  Doing chores is never fast.  Chores are never done.  And by the time we were done, there would be no time to do something fun.  I realized there is such limited time to do fun stuff.  Our days are so busy with work, school, reading, church responsibilities, cleaning, cooking, laundry and millions of other "have to's."  
And just like that, I made the best decision of my week.  I decided to forget the bathrooms, the dishes, and the laundry.  I sent Ryan up to put on his swimsuit and shoes, filled up a few water bottles, and off we went for a hike to the Centerville waterfall.  
Due to my inability to follow google instructions we never made it to the waterfall, but we had a great time together as a clan hiking the face of Centerville Peak, chasing lizards, blowing huge dandelions, and enjoying this beautiful area we live in.   
And lucky for me, I have great boys in my clan who cleaned the bathrooms after we got home.

Summer Camp

Dear Ryan,

Today you started summer camp.  You were a little nervous and didn't like the idea of getting up early, and told me you felt like you were just going back to school.  You begged and begged to just let you stay home with Mowgli.  Last night we had a special family prayer and papa prayed that you could have a good attitude about how fun it would be, and that you would be brave and have courage to make new friends.  You were a little sad when you went to bed but were trying so hard to be tough.

This morning you woke up SO happy!  We warmed up cinnamon rolls for breakfast, you put on papa's old sunglasses and just grinned the whole drive in to Salt Lake.  You were singing and chatting about all the cars and people around us.  You even asked me if you could have the cash you saw me put in my purse, and when I said no, you said "I thought you'd say that, but it never hurts to ask!"  I watched you in the rear view mirror and your cheeks were so red and your little toothless smile was so bright and I just felt warm inside.

About 2 blocks from the rec center you got quiet.  You asked me one more time if you had to go.  And I said I was counting on you to be my big boy and to trust me and papa that we know you will like it here.  We pulled up and you held my hand as we walked in.  We walked to your classroom, and I saw your eyes get big as you took in all the kids, all the games, the playground, and met the nice teacher.  We showed you a few key areas, you gave me a hug, and you ran out the door to the playground!  

I am SO proud of you!!  I haven't been your mama for very long but it amazes me how much you've grown since we met last summer.  I know Heavenly Father gave you an extra boost of confidence today to be able to go outside of your comfort zone and enjoy this opportunity.  I can't wait to hear all about it tonight!

Love, Mom

Memorial Day Shooting

This sweet little Ryan is a dang good shot!  More to come, but in the meantime, here is a tease of what we spent our memorial day doing!

Life as we know it

One thing is for sure: life does not slow down for 1 minute!  We have been loving life and have had tons going on lately.  I keep meaning to update my blog but just haven't taken the time.  Here are some of our recent happenings:

1. Mother's Day

This year I celebrated Mother's Day.  My sweet boy greeted me in the morning with a beautiful purple orchid in a purple pot with a purple card.  He and Nate spoiled me all day--sweet cards, made me breakfast, let me take a nap after church while they made shiskabobs, and then we enjoyed a fun night at my parents.  I'm so grateful for these 2 who have made me a mother.

2. Ryan's Dental work

Ryan has had a complete mouth overhaul and has been SUCH a trooper.  We went in for a routine cleaning and found out he needed 4 extractions, 2 crowns, 2 fillings, and a spacer put in.  We spent the next 4 weeks with a weekly appointment at Simply Dental and we are now DONE!  In addition to his dental work, he has lost 3 additional teeth, so the tooth fairy has broken the bank at our house.  But we now have a clean bill of health and can move forward.  Our family goal is no cavities in December!

3.  Ruby

Granny picked out little Ruby and brought her home this month.  She is a little bundle of energy and keeps everyone on their toes.  Grandpa is still trying to decide if he loves her but the rest of us are complete smitten!

4. Easter

Cathy, AJ and Tiffany came down to visit for Easter.  We enjoyed a beautiful spring day at Liberty Park, the Centerville city Easter Egg hunt, swimming at Nana's hotel pool, a family Easter Egg hunt, and a fantastic Easter feast. 

5. Montana

Ryan got to go home with Nana to celebrate Spring Break in Montana.  He had so much fun with Cathy and the girls and his friend Jack and got completely spoiled.  Nate, Mowgli and I went up at the end of the week to pick him up and enjoyed some relaxing time up there as well.

6. Gardening

Nate built and planned us a garden!  We forced ourselves to wait until it was warm enough and then spent an evening planting it together.  Its only been a little over a week but we are seeing little signs of life and are so excited!

7. Ryan has GROWN!

I can't believe how big this little guy is.  He is a huge help around the house and is turning into a great little reader.  He is Mowgli's best friend and always makes us laugh.  We love you Ry!

8. Skiing

Way back in March we got to go enjoy the Stokes' cabin and spend a day skiing at the Beav.  It was Ry's first time on the slopes and he was such a champ!  He had a lesson in the morning and then spent the afternoon on Little Beav with Nate and I.  It was the perfect sunny day and we loved spending it together as a family on the mountain.

 9. New Job
I turned in my GS badge to explore new opportunities at the Church Office Building.  It is amazing to me to see how the Lord constantly works miracles in my life to bring happiness to me and my family.  This is such a great opportunity at this time and such a blessing for our family.  Ryan said it best when we were listing out the pros and cons: You'll be working for Jesus!

10.  One Happy Family
I love this family of mine so much and can't get enough of this fun chapter in our lives.  I obviously need to do better at taking pictures of the whole group but I guess its a good sign that we are always doing fun things rather than posing for pictures.  :)  Love my clan!

Allow me to introduce myself...

Mr. and Mrs. Jones!  (and of course, our little troll)

February 9 was the most perfect snowy day of my life.  Everything was bliss.  

More pics to come when I get them!