Gifts of the Heart

I received a letter and two gifts tonight. Word's cannot explain how amazing this was for me so I will type out the letter for you to read.........

Dear Mommy,

I know you’re having a hard time with many different things this Christmas season and I’m sorry to know you hurt because I’m not there with you physically, but I am close to you always. I watch what you do, I laugh when you’re silly, and my heart rejoices when you do something nice for someone in my honor.


I have 2 gifts for you, and these physical objects represent them, the first gift is my Awareness..Mommy I so desire for you to know that I am aware of every time you think of me, every time you would love to do something for me, or bring me something. I do know these things so I don’t want you to feel upset that you can’t give me anything because you have given me so much already! I have a body now because of you, I am perfect now because of the atonement, and for you being strong enough to be able to be my mother, the lord knew you were strong enough, that’s why he gave me to you. And you gave me your love, which is overwhelmingly powerful, more so than you could know. This gift is to know I forget you not, and to never forget that. Open gift 1.


The second gift is not one thing, but many, these are My Dreams.


Even angels dream, and your angel dreams of you mother. I dream about what it will be like to be held by you, and to be raised as any other child would. You have a very important job to do now, and that is keep yourself worthy of me. Live your life right so that when the day comes for us to be together, it will be glorious, and everything our dreams hold and more. Do not be sad, do not live your life in a way that debilitates you from life's experiences. Get up! Get moving! Do what you can so your body, mind, and spirit are healthy enough to live life to the fullest so that you can teach me through what you have, and will learn as you live. But I need you to LIVE so that you may know how to teach and show me, these are my dreams for you mommy, these are your angels dreams. Open gift 2


Right now, is a small price to pay for eternity, and its not a sacrifice, its an opportunity for you to learn how to be the best mother you can when you and I will be together again. I know my sister is difficult at times, but she is a troubled spirit, and frustrated at things she is, and isn’t able to do. She needs you now more than I need you, and she needs all of your powerful love to help her in any way you can. Love her, do what’s best for her, and you’ll know what that is if you just ask our heavenly father, she is blessed to have you as a mother, just like I am.


Love,


Your Baby


Your Angel


Your Sarah Marie

 Gift 1...Forget-Me-Not

Gift 2....Dreaming Angel Ornament

My heart is so full of gratitude and love! My sweet son, Christopher, did this for me and his little sister. How blessed am I?

I have also been blessed with sweet friends and neighbors who have brought me little mementos reminding me that they love me and remember my daughter. There are so many hard days lately, not just about Sarah, but other hard trials I am trying to endure. Gifts of the heart that I have been given this year have brought so much light into my dark days. Thank you, son, for making your mother's heart fill with peace, love and joy! I needed this so badly. All of those wonderful friends who have remembered Sarah, Thank you! There is no greater gift for me at this time! I love you all!!!!

Cancun

I took Emily and my mom to Cancun for their birthdays. My mom's was in August so she has been waiting. We got up super early and got on our plane. It was a long day of travel with customs and immigration and all.

 Notice how white my face is. It gets a lot redder!

 We had two very special adventures. On the days we didn't have adventures we hung out at the beach and pool. The water is incredible. The pictures do not do it justice. It is so turquoise and beautiful. Most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Oh, and the water is warm. Emily loved collecting shells and playing in sand.

We played in the water and hung out under tiki type umbrellas. We were all inclusive so they even served us drinks out on the beach. AWESOME!!

My beautiful mom!

 Couldn't get enough of this beautiful ocean!

 So, now you can see my change in color. I got super burned.

 The pool was right by the beach. Emily loved swimming too. The guy below is the activities director. He is kind of like a cruise director at the resort. All the old ladies were flirting with him and he was dancing with them and taking pictures with them. It was so funny. Emily watched in disgust. She didn't understand why this guy was flirting with everyone. When he came to flirt with her she got very serious. She told him that she already had a boyfriend. It was so funny. He apologized and shook her hand. She was still very cold to him the rest of the time. Ha, she is hilarious. She was so serious!

 Emily had fun painting some pottery.

 She loved playing BINGO too. She won pottery to paint during one game.

 They had a grill by the pool with snacks and more Shirley Temple's for Emily.

Emily's 12th Birthday

On Emily's birthday we took a boat to a beautiful island so she could live out her dream.

 Emily got to get into the ocean and play with sea lions. I love the picture of the sea lion kissing her.

 Emily's favorite animal is a manatee. At Sea World they have a manatee rescue and she fell in love with them. They are endangered so her getting to interact with them is incredible. She fed them, and one kissed her.....

 ...and she kissed one back! She also tried to lift one up. She says they are very heavy.

 Although manatees are her favorite animal, she liked playing with the dolphins best. The dolphin kisses her.....

 She kisses the dolphin.

 Emily got to interact a lot with the dolphins and help train them.

This was the most fun she said. She got to have the dolphins give her a ride with their fins and they pushed her feet so she could ride. How cool is that?

 What an experience of a lifetime!

The island itself was so beautiful.

 We got a nice lunch and they even sang to Emily (which really made her happy) and brought her some cake. Then we went back to our resort on a boat.

 For dinner we went to Chili's. On our way there, Emily got to meet a spider monkey. She was thrilled to hold it.

They sang to her at Chili's too. Which also made her very happy.

 On the way back, Emily got her hair braided. I think it looks so good on her. I guess she did too because this is how she posed in our room.

Chichen Itza

 My mom's dream trip was to the Mayan ruins in Yucatan called Chichen Itza. They have recently been named one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The history of these people and their civilization is remarkable and ties in to LDS history of the people in the Book of Mormon. Fascinating to learn about. The Mayans at Chichen Itza mysteriously abandoned their city. Their civilization was lost, their knowledge lost, but their are still Mayans today that live in villages all over the area. The house above is an example of a house in one of their villages today.

The very famous pyramid above is called El Castillo. The Mayans have the most exact calendar. This pyramid has exactly 365 steps representing each day of the year. There is so much history, I could never explain it all, but look it up. It is amazing. How could they have built such amazing buildings. So much of their civilization is a mystery.

This wall here are full of carved heads that represent heads of those sacrificed. Their form of sacrifice was decapitation. They have found hundreds of skulls and no bodies to go with them.

This is an example of some hieroglyphics.

A statue

This was their marketplace.

More hieroglyphics

This thatched roof  mud covered building is what the non royal people lived in.

This is my favorite building.It is called The Observatory. This is where they studied thee sun and moon and did their astrological studies as well. They were such a brilliant people.

This was a church.

Emily found this iguana. They are all over the ruins.

A Cenote' is a deep natural well or sinkhole, especially in Central America, formed by the collapse of surface limestone that exposes ground water underneath, and sometimes used by the ancient Mayans for sacrificial offerings.

The Cenote' we went to was breathtaking. A beautiful wonder itself. Emily went swimming in it. She jumped off a very high ledge. She was so brave. Such a cool experience.

  

 For dinner we went to a wonderful place where they served native food from the area. They also had dancers. It was an amazing day. The whole trip was unbelievable. I feel so blessed to have experienced such wondrous things with my mom and daughter. On the flight home Jesse got her own seat and after another long travel day got home safe and sound.