Zoo days

I LOVE spur-of-the-moment trips!! It was such a nice day last Thursday, so I packed up the kids after lunch, and we went to the zoo. I have a pass, but realized that it is expiring the end of April. SO, if anybody wants to join us, I want to get my money's worth by going a lot this next month and a half. I love watching my kids get excited over the train, the carousel, the animals, and of course, their favorite part, the playground!!. Jakey couldn't stop talking about the "shishy" (fishy) that he saw in the pond. It was a fun day!

Quasimoto?

This is what Jacob looked like this morning when he woke up. Let's just say, he didn't go to church today.

We love Bowling!

We took the kids bowling the other day, and we had so much fun! Here are a couple of pics from our adventures.

Junior Miss

For the past few months, my life has been consumed with Junior Miss, which is a scholarship program for Senior girls in High School. These girls are amazing, and come from all over the state to Utah's Jr. Miss. I am the Production Director, and have been for the past 3 years. Before that, I did choreography for the show. The dates of the show this year are March 2o & 21 at Juan Diego High School in Draper. The winner from our show last year, Lindsay Brinton actually went on and won America's Junior Miss. You may have seen her before. She was on the New Era awhile ago, and is so great! 

We always need help with Junior Miss- with the production, being back-stage moms, hosting girls in your home, helping w/ food, etc. If anyone would like to help out, please let me know. It is so much fun!! I have been so busy working on the production (everything that goes on on stage- Costumes, lighting, choreography, entertainment, etc.) Life is busy, but I love it! 

This is Lindsay Brinton, America's Junior Miss, 2008. Check out this video on her. She is absolutely amazing!!! 

cute friends

I feel like I have disappeared off the face of the earth during this past month. Things have been kind of crazy, but February is off to an excellent start! I just have to say "THANKS" to all of my kids' friends. They have the best friends, and have totally kept my kids entertained. This is just one of Abby's friends, Eva, who lives across the street. There are many more that I need to post pictures of. Eva just happened to be here when Riley had the camera out. Thank goodness for friends!

God be with you

For those of you that know my family, I have some sad news to share. My sister Jordan passed away yesterday morning. She was born with Spina Bifida, and struggled a lot of her life. She was relatively healthy, but has had a few problems the last little while. She loved being married, and is leaving her darling husband, William. She passed peacefully in her sleep, which is a blessing. She is my only sister, and my heart is breaking that she is gone. I have already been through so much this month, I just wonder how much Heavenly Father thinks I can handle. My mother-in-law gave me a plaque that says, "Todays test is tomorrows testimony." I love that saying, and repeat it often. I know that things will get better, and that through my trials I will become stronger. I have come to terms that it is ok to be sad, to cry, and to miss those that have left us. 

I am so grateful to know that my sister is happy now. I know she is dancing in heaven, and will probably never sit down again, as she was in a wheelchair most of her life.  Please pray for her husband, William, who is having such a hard time. I love you Jord, and can't wait to see you again!!

My Sweet Baby Boy

This is by far the hardest post I have ever done. In fact, I have been avoiding it on purpose for the last week. I am actually getting teary just thinking about this again. We have had quite a life-changing event in our family. On January 7, I was 24 weeks along in my pregnancy, and I went in for a checkup with my doctor. To my horror, there was no heartbeat. I can't even express the pain that I was feeling as my doctor told me that my baby was gone. I thought it was all a dream, and I just couldn't wait to wake up. This is every pregnant mothers nightmare, only this was becoming a reality. The days that followed seem like a blur, since all I could do was cry. I didn't think that I would ever get over the pain. I knew that I had to deliver my baby, but I was not ready for the next set of emotions to come to me.

The moment that the nurse brought our sweet little Matthew Keith into us, my heart was filled with love and gratitude for this experience. He was such a perfect little boy, and although we may never know why he didn't survive, we knew that he was our son. He was absolutely perfect, with all 10 fingers and toes, and we love him just as much as our other children. Tyler and I have had countless experiences during this past week that have brought us closer together, and made us realize that families really are forever. I never thought that I would bury one of my children so early on in life, but it really was a spiritual moment for our family. I know that baby Matthew is in good hands. Tyler said that he got the "fast track" to heaven. I am so thankful to know that he is happy, and will most likely be watching out for our little family here on earth. His little spirit has changed the lives of our entire family, and has taught us how to love deeper, and always be grateful for what we have. Our family has pulled together, and helped us get through this tough time. We have felt so much love and support from all of our family, neighbors, friends, and even our family's neighbors. We are so grateful for so many people that have made the loss of our baby just a little bit easier. I have realized that we all have trials in this life, but there is not anything that we can't handle without the help of our Savior, and the loved ones around us.

I don't know how long the pain of losing my baby boy will last, but I will never forget the tender moments when we held his hand, looked into his face, and knew that he would be with us forever.