Our Awesome Christmas Trip

On Christmas morning the kids found out they would be going on a trip to Green Bay, Wisconsin to see a Packers game. They are our absolute favorite NFL team. We LOVE the Packers. My love for them began when I met and married the biggest Green Bay fan ever. I had never even heard of them. I learned about football by watching Josh watch the Packers. I eventually started to love the game myself. I took Josh to Green Bay for a game on our first wedding anniversary. It was magical and wonderful. He was like a little boy with his excitement. It is one of my fondest memories ever. From then on I was a huge Packer fan myself. The kids have been raised fans too and it reminds them so much of their dad. I think all things Packers makes them feel close to their dad. This is why I chose this very special gift this year. We had to hurry and get to the airport on Christmas morning. We packed quickly and were out the door.
The kids were surprised and very excited. We went to all the places I went with their dad. First stop, The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. It has moved since I was there last. It is now actually at the stadium. It was so much fun. I have so many pictures, but could not post them all. They got to do so many fun things inside. It was great. The next stop, The Packers Pro Shop. Every year right before football season since I met Josh we get their catalog in the mail. It is a treat for us all to browse through and circle all the things we want. We were in the two story shop for about 2 hours. Chris saw players from the windows arriving to the stadium. There were even some older players signing autographs in the store. Joseph just couldn't make up his mind. So many things to choose from. It was a huge highlight for sure.

As soon as we left the store, the boys changed into some of their new stuff. They proudly showed off their new jerseys. Emily picked out some other things I'll get to in a minute. She did find this green feather and was quite excited about that.

This statue of Vince Lombardi was just wonderful to see. They show it on TV before every game at Lambeau Field.

Next stop, we went to the movies. Joseph and Emily saw the new Chipmunks movie and Chris and I saw the Sherlock Holmes movie. Then on to the mall. They had those bungee jumping things for kids and they just had to go on them.

Emily used her gift card to Claire's and got some fun things like this mask and her stuffed animals.

These are the things she picked out at the pro shop. PJ's, a foam finger and this lovely mask. So her.

The next day was game day. Joseph couldn't contain his excitement. He had picked out two different footballs at the pro shop because he just couldn't decide. He also got this beanie. He is just so darn cute!

Chris got this turtle neck to go under his jersey. It has a little "G" on the collar. It's amazing how much they can charge for one little letter.

Yes, I got stuff too. I got this shirt and a cool Lambeau Field hoodie. I didn't bring make-up and so this is what you get. Oh, besides the great paint on my face and smeared on my nose. Ha!

Everyone has their face painted and are ready for the game!

This field was built in 1957. They still have aluminum benches. If you can see it was covered in snow. We all wore our ski bibs and heavy jackets. We all got a new Packer jacket for Christmas. We had to sit on the icy benches. It was cold at first.

Emily entertained us all with this mask the whole time. Everyone around us was laughing.

As the stadium filled up to 70,500 people it got a little warmer. We had hot chocolate to keep us warm.

We were seated in the 17th row from the field. They were even better tickets than I could have ever hoped. The Packers beat The Sea Hawks very badly. It was such an exciting and fun game. After the game we walked to Brett Favre's Steak House. That is the same restaurant that I ate at after the game with Josh. We went back to our hotel and the kids went swimming. They swam a lot while we were there. The next day we left for home. It was quite a wonderful memory with my children. Dennis didn't want to come. He doesn't care about the Packers like we do and he didn't want to waste the money we already didn't have for this trip. He was very nice to let us leave on Christmas. It was good to spend time alone with my babies. It was good to get away and have an adventure. Go Pack Go!!!!

Gifts of Love

I have been given a few very thoughtful and wonderful Christmas presents this year. One of my friends gave me a necklace with an "S" pendant that I just love and wear all the time. I just love having a reminder of Sarah so close to my heart. Another wonderful friend gave me a charm like the one above. It has her pink birthstone in the corner and a little hand print. I am looking for a way to attach it to my necklace or maybe get a charm bracelet. Just yesterday this beautiful picture from an amazing friend came in the mail. It is so beautiful. The title is "In the Arms of His Love". How perfect is that. Not only does it remind me of how Sarah is with Heavenly Father and Christ being loved and cared for, but that I am also encircled by His love. These are some of the most wonderful gifts I have ever received. I imagined this Christmas a million times and each time I was celebrating with my daughter in my arms. It is hard not having that. These gifts remind me of how blessed I am to still have her in my life. Thank you dear friends for the love and support you give.
I just received another wonderful gift. My sweet friend made me a book about Sarah's life. She took all of my blog entries and made it into a bound book. I gave her a few other pictures I had of Sarah too. It is the most beautiful book I have ever seen. She works for Heritage Makers. My heart is so full. It is the most wonderful gift. I am so blessed to have such loving friends in my life!

Christ and Mary

Today in Young Women I gave the part of the lesson on Mary. I displayed this photo from my home. It is my favorite. I just love the way the illustrator captures a thousand different feelings on her beautiful face. In giving the lesson I was overcome with a realization of my own divine nature and calling. I know what it is like to be a very young mother. Our circumstances were far from the same, but young and scared none the less. I was also made away of another leader and her trepidation in becoming a mother. I cannot imagine having that concern magnified by the fact that Mary was carrying the Savior of the world. I know that when I was Mary's age I was not prepared to do the will of the Lord like Mary was. I did not possess the qualities and attributes necessary to be worthy of any such calling. I did not have the faith or humility to recognize any such promptings. I am gratefully more qualified to receive such callings and more prepared to carry them out. We will never have the great honor or burden to be the mother of Christ, but there are many other callings we are asked to fulfill. Things we don't understand or that are very painful. I realized during that lesson that my daughter, Sarah was one of those such painful callings I was chosen to fulfill. I was chosen to give her a body and then live without her while here on Earth, but because of Mary's Son and His sacrifice she still lives. I get to raise my daughter. I get to repent and continue to progress in this life towards exaltation to live with that perfect child I will raise. Being prepared with a testimony and faith has helped me to find joy in this calling of mine. We are all asked to do hard things. Are we ready and willing to make the sacrifices needed to carry out such callings? I'm trying to be. Mary is a wonderful example to me in my life.

The next part of our lesson was taught by one of the most wonderful people I know. She talked about being one of the "Stable Few" by having Christ as the center of your life. I relate to this topic so much. Without Christ as my focus and without the gospel my life was chaotic and very unstable. Since I have starting living the gospel and gaining my testimony my life has completely changed. I still have had adversity and trials, but I have never been at more peace in my whole life. I didn't know you could be this happy. The literal stability not only in my life, but that of my children has been remarkable. When Christ is your focus then everything else just falls into place. Christ is everything. He is the reason I get to raise Sarah. He is the reason my children will see their dad again. He is the reason I can mess up my life so miserably and still find peace and hope through the atonement. He is the reason I know how I should live my life in order to find true happiness. His example is one of the greatest gifts in my life. He taught us how to live. If we live this way, I know that is the only place true happiness lies. I feel that. I have such a long way to go, but I am progressing. The talk in sacrament meeting taught us that the greatest gift is Eternal Life. A sweet friend wrote me a letter right after that meeting and asked me to read it later. She reminded me that by giving Sarah her body, I helped her attain the greatest gift and that is Eternal Life. She said that I was blessed to be able to hold her in my arms while she breathed life and that we gave each other joy. She is so right. I lover her for reminding me of those joys. I don't think I have ever been so focused on Christ. I have never really appreciated the celebration of his birth and life in the same way I do now. Christ is the reason for the great love I feel. He is the reason for all that is good. What a wonderful day I had today. I love Christmas and I love it even more than ever now!

Temple Square

My mom came with us for a fun night in Salt Lake. We went to dinner and then went to Temple Square.

Temple Square is so beautiful all lit up! I just love to see the temple!
They had this nativity with a beautiful narration by President Monson.


Emily and Joseph were so excited to see the Christus. We also saw a short little movie about the birth of Christ. Emily Loved it, but thought it was too short.

Poor Christopher was not feeling well. He hung out on a couch at the visitors center.

The lights were so festive and joyful We went into the Tabernacle and even heard a choir sing Christmas songs in the Assembly Hall. So great!

Emily loved this orange and red tree. She said they lit it up just for her because they were her favorite colors.

All the way home they talked about what a wonderful time they had. It is so wonderful to know that my kids can enjoy simple, beautiful things and great wonderful things like the Temple and lights. What a great night. On the way home we sang Christmas songs. In honor of our great friend Maryn we sang "Feliz Naughty Dog" at the top of our lungs when "Feliz Navidad" came on. Even Dennis sang with us. It was truly a great night with our family!

The Little Gym

This is Emily after her Little Gym gymnastics show tonight with her medal. She could pick any restaurant to celebrate. Lucky us we got to go to Carl's Jr.
She did really well on the uneven bars.

Ta -Da!

She got some air on the balance beam!

She does spectacular cartwheels!!

This is why we had to go to Carl's Jr. The play place!

The Little Gym is a wonderful place for Emily. They are a developmental program. They focus on development and progression on an individual and very positive basis. She has just thrived there. She has never been happier doing anything else. She is considered a leader in her class. That has been so wonderful for her. They make her feel so good about herself. I just love that place! She put on a really good show for us tonight! Good Job Emily!!!

Mr. Incredible

One of the many wonderful things I love about living in Utah is how fun it is for kids. Especially youth. They go all out for dates and dances. You can go with people who are your friends or even people you don't know very well at all and have a marvelous time. Their are themes and special ways to ask. There are day dates and thank you notes and gifts. It is amazing to me how much fun these kids have. Tonight was Sadie's and Chris was asked by this cute girl. The theme was super heroes. First, they went sledding earlier in the day. Then they cam home and changed. Their group dressed up as "The Incredibles". They looked hilarious. Chris thought he looked especially hot with these awesome muscles. I am so glad my kids are part of this super fun and wholesome form of entertainment.

18!!!!!!!!!

So, today my baby boy turned 18. How crazy is that???
Many of his good friends came over to celebrate!!

Christine came over!

I think this was his least favorite gift, but the most necessary. He really needs to start saving for his mission. It's an Elder piggy bank. He's even carrying his own BOM! Chris spiced him up with a hat!

My brother, who spoils Christopher rotten sent him money for this new Marshall micro stack! He played us some songs using his new guitar. Camron got him this cool Kobe Bryant jersey. He even got a letterman's jacket. We need to get the patches sewn on.

I took a picture of his new guitar to Macey's and this is what they came up with for his cake! Can you believe how awesome it looks. I am so impressed.

Who said my little pumpkin face could grow up? I couldn't be prouder of the person that he is. I have been blessed beyond measure because of my beautiful son's life. I was just his age when he came into my life. He has helped me grow up and learn what love truly is. I have enjoyed every minute of being his mother. No greater joy have I ever felt than the love for my children. Happy Birthday pumpkin face!!! I love you!