Christmas!

Wow another Christmas has gone by! My Christmas was very good this year because I got to be with my whole family, which we have not been together for Christmas in 14 years or since my older sister Christina was 18 years old. It was great to see the grandkids on that side opening presents together. There are my two girls Brooklyn and Lily , my older sister's son Duncan who is six, and my twin's little boy, Alex, who is 9 months old. Brooklyn slept through the present opening and then when she was awake she was not interested in opening her gifts at all she just wanted to play with the wrapping paper. My little newphew Alex was just interested in playing with the toys.
Duncan and Lily though both loved opening presents. Lily did a little dance every time she opened clothes. She is definitely a girl!!

I really just enjoyed being with family this Christmas. It was a kick to watch my parents just enjoying their grand children.

I also enjoyed seeing the lights at Temple Square. When looking to next year I hope my family members that have had hard times this year will have a better year next year. I also look forward to seeing my kids grow and discover more things next year as Brooklyn will turn one and as Lily will start Preschool in the fall!

Snackrament is the new sacrament!

So Lily has been really funny but cute the past two Sundays. To start with two Sundays ago Lily and I were walking our from nursery and Lily got very excited and was jumping up and down and then she said "Yeah we get to go to Snackrament now!" naturally I started laughing and then tried to explain to her that is is called sacrament I don't think she quite grasped it oh well! That same Sunday after sacrament she walked out in front of us and then came back in carrying a crutch and she said "Look this helps you walk, I hope no one is missing it" Well then the most recent Sunday I missed but was told that Lily helped one of our older ladies in the ward wheel her husband up to bear his testimony and then she decided to bear her testimony. In her testimony she said she loved her family and that she was grateful that Jesus was her Friend!:)I smiled thinking about it especially when Paul said that when she first stood at the mike she took a deep breath and sighed into the microphone. That is very much my Lily sighing before she says something!:)

A Grinch Christmas!!

So another one of the family is very obsessed with the Grinch any Guesses? that's right it is Lily. Lily loves talking about the Grinch and listening to the music from the Grinch. She would watch it as well except for on Sunday she was trying to take it out of it's case and she broke it into three pieces! Her favorite part about the Grinch though is to talk about how he was mean and then became nice and liked Christmas. So the other day She started to say how much she hated Christmas like the Grinch and then she started to sing the Song:) Your a mean one Mr. Grinch.... No prayers for Mr. Grinch yet though I 'll keep you updated!!

Festival of Trees

I have not been to this for a few years but this year I decided to go with my grandma Rhea. it was a very nice day. My girls were very good for the whole experience and Lily's favorite part was getting to visit with Santa though seeing the different princess trees and fairy trees were a close second. I loved alot of the trees but I think my favorite were the Stained glass tree and one of the Twilight inspired trees. Here are some of the pictures from the day!! For anyone that has not gone to this before it is a wonderful experience and the money raised goes to Primary Children's Hospital. It is a great cause and the trees are always beautiful!

Thanksgiving!!

So it is a little late coming but that is what happens when one uses others Internet to do her blogging:) Thanksgiving was a great day! It was a busy day for me but a good one. i got to share in others joys at work and I made some good tips!! I was also able to make it to Annette's house without having to wait a long time for the food which is always nice. My loving great husband came to my work and helped me finish cleaning so I would not be there for a long time thanks hon! :) I also had the chance to reflect on what I am grateful for this year. So here is what I am grateful for ( in no particular order):


1) My husband who is great and very handsome. He helps with the house work and he
does the cooking and is is a wonderful father to our two beautiful girls. I really couldn't ask for more except for maybe a little more patience !!








2) My two beautiful girls who bring joy and peace into my life. It is so fun to watch them grow up and to see them playing together more.

3) During these difficult financial times for many I am grateful to have my job that helps pays the bills. I am grateful for bosses who try to give me as many hours as they can.

4) I am also grateful for all of my family and all of their support that I receive from them. I know that at any time my family is always there for me and will always love me :0

5) I am also very grateful for the gospel and church. I am grateful for how they ground me and give me spiritual peace. I am grateful to know what a loving heavenly father I have and to know that if I work hard that I can be with again someday as well as with my family for eternity!

I could add alot more to this list but this is where I will end by saying I hope everyone had a Good Thanksgiving and that you were able to spend it with loved ones!!

Kids say the darnedest things!

So recently I have been trying to calm down and just enjoy the here and now in my life and be grateful for the blessings that I have. I live in great country even with the current problems we are facing as a country. I have a great supportive and loving Husband who does as much as he can for our family and especially for me. I have two beautiful girls who can always make me laugh or smile. I have a job that helps pay the bills. Speaking of laughter I was reminded of how simple and wonderful life is on Sunday when before Sacrament one of the primary teachers came over to me and told me about how my daughter Lily made her laugh. She then proceeded to tell me that when Lily was in primary that she stood up and said "My parents tell me every morning to shut up!" and "My parents just got married" Now when I heard this I just had to laugh. I was not worried about the impression that the teacher had of me because I knew it came from the mouth of a three year old. We do tell Lily to lower her voice or be quiet so she doesn't wake up her sister but I just laughed to hear her version of things!! Lily is very good at reminding me that I am blessed when she talks bout how she loves her family. She also made me laugh later on that night when we were at my in-laws and Lily was talking to her Uncle Mikey as she calls him. " well she looked at him and said you can't leave Uncle Mikey" Uncle Mike then said " well why not?" So then Lily responded " Because I love you Uncle Mikey " And she gave him a big hug. It was very cute and just innocent. If you ever need a pick up just remember that kids say the darnedest things!!

Halloween

So I know it is a little late being posted but what can I say other than I am fashionably late! Halloween was so much fun this year. My sister in law invited us to come up to Kaysville and trick or treat in their neighborhood and enjoy some dinner with them. It was great and it was so much fun to see so many kids and costumes. I have to say their neighborhood is very friendly and Lily had a blast trick or treating with Kenna, Kelsie, and Kaden. I had fun taking Brooklyn around she made an adorable baby chick and actually had some meat on her!! The pictures speak for themselves! Happy belated Halloween to everyone. I hope you all got some tricks with your treats!!

Cove Fort

For those of you who don't know this is located in Utah and is a little past Fillmore if you are driving to St George. I had never been there so on the drive home we stopped to take the tour this is a very nice and neat little part of Utah history. the Fort is an interesting structure and I love the different rooms and the antiques they are filled with. it is amazing to me that a family of thirteen lived there for so long. The views around it are amazing! Ira Hinckley did a very good job of building it and maintaining it. I think the most amazing fact that I learned is that even when the black hawk wars were going on that the fort was never attacked because the different tribes had great respect for Ira Hinckley. Here are some pictures!

Some more Pictures!!

Pictures from St. george!

St. George

So we went to St. George this weekend and it was alot of fun it was also a nice break for me from work! On Friday night when we drove down we stopped at our friend Nicole's wedding reception in hurricane. Here is the picture. Then we just relaxed that night though we did stop and eat at In-N-Out Burger. I have to say they have very tasty burgers and fries. The hotel was very nice , thank you Grandma and Grandpa Teran! On Saturday we did a little shopping and then we went and watched football and visited with Grandma and Grandpa Teran. It was very nice. We also went swimming though we forgot the camera so we have no pictures of that:( Lily loved the little kid slide they had there though and Brooklyn is definitely my water bug she even put her head under water a couple of times and just smiled! On Sunday we celebrated Grandma Teran's birthday and went out to Brunch with Grandma, Aunt Irene and Uncle Bruce, and My In - Laws. It was a very nice lunch. Afterwards we had cake and then we had to say our goodbyes! It was very sad to be leaving so quickly but it was a very nice visit. I can see why Angie misses St. George though it is very pretty and it is warm!!:)

Hats!!

My girls both seem to love hats! Lily always pulls hats out to wear and Brooklyn loves when her daddy puts hats on her ! here are some pictures of them in various hats!

First Kiss

Nope not talking about me I am referring to my three year olds first kiss! This week on Thursday she got her first kiss and the daycare from her friend Jackson. There were some bolder boys who were teasing the two of them about being friends and then they told Jackson to kiss Lily so he did. When Asked Lily about it she said, "yeah Mom he kissed me on my lips and it was beautiful!!" It was so funny you just had to be there!! and no I am not to worried about it she is three and does not even really understand it. Plus afterwards I asked if she was going to kiss again and she said " no when I am older " She makes me laugh!!

I want an envelope!!

So Paul related this story to me the other night as I was at work!! He said he was at his mom's house and they were preparing dinner Lily was excited for the noodles and Paul's mom was cutting up some cantaloupe. Well he said Lily was asking for noodles and then she started to say she wanted an envelope. Well she kept asking for an envelope and Paul and his mom were not sure what Lily was really asking for until she put the cantaloupe on the table and Lily pointed at it and said I want an envelope!! They were cracking up laughing I just wish I was there to see it!!

Unspectacular Quirks Tag

I was tagged by my friend Karon

Rules:1 - List the person(s) who tagged you
2 - Mention the rules on your blog
3 - Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4 - Tag 6 fellow bloggers

My Quirks

1) I can't stand to leave water droplets in my shower/tub so when I am done I always take a towel and wipe the water up. This quirk started only about a year ago!!

2) When I get home from work no matter how tired I am I always have to go in the kitchen and do any dishes that are in the sink. It drives my husband crazy!!

3) I can't sleep with my wedding ring on but the rest of the day it bothers me if I am not wearing it!

4) I like to lay around in my Jammie's as long as I can I don't know if that is a quirk or not!!

5) I like to be organized and lay things out in front of me that I have to do or get done. I like to make lists for organization though I do have one project for organization that I have not got done yet though. I even organize my closet by putting the same colored clothing together so I can see all my blue shirts together or brown or pink etc..

6) I like to do laundry it is one of my favorite chores. I especially like to fold the laundry!

I am going to tag Anneliesa, Dedra, Brittnee, Angie, Jill, and Candace!! have fun with it!!

Just some thoughts!!

I have to say life is pretty calm for me right now. Work is going okay and Paul's work is going well. My family in Texas are finishing clean up from Hurricane Ike but they are all healthy. My girls are doing great and seem to be learning and growing every day. Lily keeps me on my toes for sure she is very curious and she is also bossy she likes to take things she has heard adults say and try to tell me that I have to do so and so or I lose my food for the day. Needless to say we are working with her on manners and helping her to realize she can't boss people around!! She has of late decided she wants to hold Brooklyn or try to carry her around I am grateful that it started now when Brooklyn is a little bigger but I am still working with her to know that hse can't carry Brooklyn around the house. I just needed to get on and say I am happy with my life and my family! I know that is a boring for some to hear but Oh well!!

Brooklyn's Crawling!

Now I have to apologize for not getting this post up sooner. Brooklyn started army crawling back around August 15th and then around September 1st she suddenly just started crawling on her hands and knees. Then about a week and a half ago she started to pull herself up. It has been a lot of fun watching her make the progression. she is getting very interested in the world around her. Just last night she discovered that our cabinets in the kitchen have no doors so she took out a package of spaghetti and got it all over the floor. Today she was going for the sauces in the same cupboard but Paul was able to divert her before she got to them. I have video of her crawling and I will hopefully get up here tomorrow!!

Remembering 9/11

I had wanted to do this on Thursday but I was not near a computer. I had to get on and give my tribute to the people that perished on this tragic day. I remember that after the first plane hit I had just gotten home from a young adult committee meeting and my sister and i turned the news on in time to watch the second plane crash. Just shortly after I went to work at the daycare I was at in Friendswood TX. I was 19 years old. We had the radio on quietly to keep up with what was happening. The kids that day who were all around three years old wanted to be policemen and firemen and be heroes like what they saw on TV that morning. It was very heartwarming but sad at the same time. I loved the patriotism that was everywhere around this time. It was amazing to see how everyone pulled together and were kind. I think too often that people forgot this spirit all too quickly and I am glad that we as country at least remember it and honor it each year with Patriot day! My thoughts and prayers will always be with the family members that were affected on this tragic day in history.

A house of order

Early in this dispensation, the Lord instructed his people to “organize yourselves; … establish a house, even … a house of order, a house of God” (D&C 88:119). Order is characteristic of the Lord’s work. “Mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion” (D&C 132:8).

Well this weekend I have been buoyed up with peace and strength as it has been our Stake Conference so on Friday I attended the temple which brought much peace to my heart about where i am at in life and about my family's situation in Texas. During our chapel meeting our president spoke about if you want more peace in your life that you should attend the Temple more and I am here to say that it is very true just being in the Temple brings much peace to your heart. Before we got to the Temple on Friday I was very worried and stressed out about my family in Texas the instant we got in the temple I started to be filled with peace and the love in my heart just radiated out from me as I sat and listened to our Stake president speak to us. Once in the session I was just ready to be enveloped by the spirit and I was. The gospel is amazing and I am truly grateful for the blessings of the temple. I am especially grateful and humbled to know that as I strive to stay on the path of righteousness that I can one day be with my family for all of eternity. I was also lifted up because I have an older sister who is not sealed to us and one of the talks in our chapel meeting was about a mother who was worried about that her daughter was going to leave the church because she was in love with a non member so she went to to the temple to get some guidance on it. The thought kept coming to her to tell her daughter how sad she was that she would be sad when she was not there to be sealed to her father and mother. The mother kept dismissing it because her husband was not a member. She left the temple feeling like she had not really received an answer well the next day she was talking to her daughter and she heard herself saying the thought that had come to her in the temple well the next few days her daughter broke it off with the guy and then a little time later her husband did take the discussions and joined the church and the family was sealed together. This story really struck with me because I am sealed to my parents and so is my twin but my older sister is not so that gave me hope that if we continue to pray for it and do what we are suppose to do that one day we can have her be sealed to us. The other talk that resonated with me was from today. Our stake conference was broadcast from the conference center. The talk y was President Monson's about establishing your house to be a house of order, a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of glory, a house of faith, a house of learning,and a house of God. He broke down each one and gave some ideas of how to establish them in your own home. The thought that came out alot in all of them was to be constant in all of your doings and to really look to the Holy Ghost for guidance as well as the scriptures. He started and ended by reminding us that the gospel is a a gospel of love. I am always grateful to listen to our prophet and am always uplifted by him. He truly is our prophet and is led by God. I am excited to hear from him again in October for general conference. I love this church and I would like to share my testimony that I know it is true I know that we have a prophet in these latter days. I know that the Lord never forgets us and is always there for us it is up to us to look towards him. I also know that the scriptures are true and that as well look towards them and ponder them that we will be blessed and that we will grow in our knowledge of the gospel. I love my Heavenly Father and my family and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Hurricane Ike

As most of you know my family is from Texas they live in a city called Pearland that is in between Galveston and Houston. So this past week on Friday they evacuated their homes and went to San Marcos which is near San Antonio. They are staying with my brother in laws brother who has been gracious enough to open his home to my sister, my brother in law my nephew and my mother. My father is on a business trip in Indiana and as of today he has been evacuated from his hotel as there is flooding from Ike all the way up there. My mother has had a very hard time with not having my dad there as well as when they got to San Marcos they realized that they had left my mothers clothes back at her house so yesterday she went to a few stores to get herself enough clothes to get through the next few days! My dogs are doing okay they have to put food in their hands to get my one dog Queenie to eat and their other dog Mac had not eaten at since they left. My mom's work as far as she knows only received some wind damage it is the VA hospital downtown. My twin's work however is under water as she worked at the photo studio in Kemah Texas. After talking to my family on the phone I just needed to get on and say how grateful I am to my heavenly Father for my family being safe. I know that whatever they face when they get back tot heir homes that it will be okay because they are all alive and fine and have one another. As Paul pointed out to my mom you can't replace people but you can replace things. For any of you who joined in praying for my family I thank you and I will keep you updated. if any are interested in seeing pictures/video of the damage here is a link www.khou.com. From the main page you can see video and damage assessment reports.

The Temple Granite Quarry

For one of our family home evenings in August Paul and I took the girls up to the stone quarry in Cottonwood canyon. It was my first time ever being there it was really nice. It was beautiful weather outside and it was really cool to be up there and to see where they carved out the stone for the Salt Lake City Temple. Lily had a blast going down through the trail and stopping to look at the different plaques. I would highly recommend doing this for a family activity or home evening. It is one of my favorite ones that we have done!

Pictures from my dad's visit

Yeah here are some of the pictures from my dad's visit!!

Pictures!

Now I do have pictures to go with these different posts that just went up but I am using library internet since My in-laws internet is down so hopefully soon I will get to put up sojme pictures so one can visually see the posts I am talking about!! So they will come soon!!!

Paul's Birthday!!

Well in all of the shuffle this past week we also celebrated Paul's 28th birthday!! It was a little underdone this year because of my dad' visit but he did get an Iceberg shake and Present from me on his actual birthday the cake and more presents came for him today at his parent's house. he got Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and howl's moving castle. he also got some spending money. I think he enjoyed his birthday but to really know one would have to ask them himself to see if they got the same response as me!:)

Front Runner

Well on Saturday Paul, Lily, Brooklyn and Myself went on Frontrunner for the first time we rode it with my dad and Uncle Steve. Lily was very excited to just ride Trax when we got off of that and got onto Frontrunner we went on the second level and she sat down and looked out the window and said "wow are we on an airplane?" It was really cute she really enjoyed the ride on Frontrunner and I enjoyed it as well It is very smooth ride and the seats are comfortable and they even have a bathroom on the train. It was nice to look out at the different scenery around us. Here are some of the pictures :).

An eventful week!!

Well my dad got into town last Sunday. It was so great to see him we had dinner on that Sunday and it was just good to see him and visit with him:) Well the next three days he was too busy with his class but I talked to him on the phone. Thursday night we had dinner at our house and then we went downtown to Temple square and we went on the roof of the conference center it had an amazing view! then we walked around the grounds of temple square and down to The Gateway. It was a nice evening. The next day I got to spend the afternoon with my dad. We went to lunch and then to the D. I. where my dad and I found some good books to buy even Lily found herself some books:0 Well then we went and got Paul and we met my uncle Steve and Aunt Terry and Uncle Wally and Aunt Dixie and my Aunt Leslie and her boyfriend Jeff for dinner. They were all glad to see my dad and we had a nice time visiting and catching up with one another. Well on Saturday we had a barbecue and swim party at my Uncle Steve's house. that was alot of fun and very relaxing. Lily had a blast with her cousin Serena. My dad enjoyed spending time with Brooklyn and watching Lily swim. We ended the night by relaxing at our house and watching some of the Olympics.

"If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.” John Heywood

This post is more for me today and many of you may not understand it but that is okay because that is what a blog is for is to share feelings. Wow I have been thinking about alot of things as of lately and although this started back in July I am finishing it up in August. I have been thinking alot about family and relationships and time. These thoughts have come up as around the first week of August I got a phone call one night from my sister telling me that something was wrong with our dad and if I knew what hotel he was staying in on his business trip in Indiana. I didn't and this is when the worry and stress started to set in. I decided I needed to be proactive and do something to help so I went over to my friends house to use their internet to find the number for the missionaries so that when my dad was found that they could give him a blessing. Well then I ended up staying over as I came up with the idea for the police to track where he was at with his cell phone well they got the name of the street he was on but not an exact location so next ensued a conversation with my dad where he sounded very confused and disoriented to ask him where he was at. We got some landmarks from him and my friend started to plug them into google to track down his location, after many keystrokes and street views we were able to find out for sure where he was at and I called my mom with the information to pass onto the police and they ended up finding him about one or two miles away for that location and the paramedics came and discovered that his blood sugar had crashed down to 45 and they were amazed that he was not in a diabetic coma. It was a long night but thankfully it had a good ending. I appreciate my friends so much for the use of their time, help and internet on that long night. When my dad finally talked to his doctor, his doctor said that he believed it happened from to much medication as my dad has lost weight and his doctor has been adjusting his medication to try and keep up. So everything is good with my dad now. I am just so grateful because I do not want to lose my dad or my mom though if for someone reason I do i am just glad to have anytime and all time that I can with them. yeah for this because my dad will be on the 10th of august. I like the quote that I started this post with and that is what I am trying to do with the troubles that come. So another update will come later:)

Mommies and daddies!

I just had to share what Lily said when we were watching The Spoken Word on Sunday. She was looking at the screen when they panned out and showed the men and she said "Look mommy there are all of the daddies" I just laughed and continued watching. Well a little after that they panned out and showed the women and Lily said " There are all of the mommies" and then she noticed their necklaces and said " Oh mommy they have sparkly necklaces on and they are pretty" It was just really cute and it reminded me of the statement that Kids say the darnest things!!!!

Pioneer Day!

Well my day started out busy and stayed busy. I went to work from 9 -12 where we got slammed with over a hundred kids but I made it through and it was fun. After I got off though I got to relax and retreat to my Uncle Steve's house and his pool. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to spend time with some of my dad's family. Paul is a big hit with my cousin's kids they were all very excited to see him walk in and they had a blast playing games with him in the pool. I have to say my favorite part was getting to eat one of my uncle's burgers they are very good. Well when we left my Uncle's we went over to Paul's Aunt Kristine's house where we continued to enjoy good food and good company. We had to duck out on the fireworks though because Brooklyn was not feeling well as she is teething. overall it was great day and I was exhausted by the end of it. I am very thankful for the pioneers and the wonderful legacy they left us!!

July 4th

Well another fourth of July has gone bye and once again I am very grateful to live in this country. I talked to my parents and sister through phone calls and I really enjoyed being with the family that is here in Utah. It was a good day I went to work for a little bit and then Paul and I went to my Uncle Steve's house it was so much fun he barbecued and we went swimming Brooklyn even went in the little inflatable pool though only her feet got to go in. she enjoyed and Lily had a blast. I really enjoyed getting to see my dad's family that I do not see much it was nice catching up with them. We stayed there until about six and then left for Marlene's house that was great as well to visit with alot of Paul's family and to celebrate our niece's second birthday! The fireworks show was amazing and I loved the music they played especially Proud to be an American and God Bless America. Brooklyn loved the fireworks she just seemed amazed by them Lily like to watch the fireworks but she did not like the sound and noise from the fireworks!