Penny Project

A few months ago, our Primary started saving change to buy a tree so that they could plant it at the Mesa Temple.  It was a project our Stake was doing together with the Temple.  Ryan and Danny were excited and willing earned and saved change and took it to Primary every few weeks.  

Saturday was the day that they actually got to plant the trees.  Our ward got a great spot with a nice view of the Temple.  Under direction of the Bishop :) the kids got to take turns digging the hole and filling it in.  It will be really neat when they get their endowments or get married and we can take another picture by "their" tree and see how big it has gotten!

Ryan taking his turn digging.

Danny filling in the hole.

These were the kids that were able to show up and help, along with the Bishop and the Primary Pres.

Election Blues

Well, it's been almost a week, and I guess I should go ahead and write about it.  Barrack Obama won the election for President of the United States.  I have been kind of down about it for the last week because he believes so differently than I do.  Anyway, I guess everything will be all right.  We have been counseled by our leaders that we need to be happy and have "joy in the journey".  I worry a lot to think what's going to happen in the next 4 years, especially with the economy and everything that is going on.

On a brighter note, Proposition 8 in California and Prop. 102 in Arizona both passed!  We are very happy about that.  I feel bad for the poor people in California though.  They have kind of had it rough.  They had to close the temple in L.A. and send everyone home because there were a thousand protesters outside.  It seems everyone is blaming the Mormons, when in reality over half the people in the state voted for Prop 8.  Only a very small percentage are Mormons.

I'm Getting Old

Just a note that Emily and Taylor both voted for their 1st Presidential Election!  Am I getting old or what?  Brad and I went with Taylor and it was really neat to see him fulfilling his civic duty.  I wanted to take his picture outside but he really didn't want me to.  Mom's getting pesky with her camera!

Election Day 2008

Yikes - Election Day is here.  I have been so stressed out about this whole thing for months.  The race for President is between John McCain and Barack Obama.  I am not a big John McCain lover, but I worry a lot about Obama, his policies and what he stands for.  And it looks like he will probably win.  I guess we'll see tonight or in the morning.  At least it will all be over either way.  The other big thing I'm worried about is Proposition 102.  It is a bill defining marriage.  We had a sign up in our yard and that night it got stolen.  Mormons are really taking a lot of heat for this - especially in California.  I know a lot of people think that we are bigots, but it goes so much beyond that - I don't think a lot of people fully understand the issue.  If the "no" votes win, it will change everything.  Click on the title above to find out how.  It is truly an historic vote.  

Happy Halloween!

This is always a favorite tradition - but it just hasn't been the same with Emily gone.  Also, we were just getting over a nasty stomach flu, so the pumpkin smell was a little too much!

Halloween was on a Friday this year - yay!  Ryan had missed the whole week of school from being sick, but we let him go trick-or-treating for a little while anyway.  Danny always has a gang of friends that he goes with - Taylor and Alex both had parties - so all had a great time.  Miss you Emily:(

Alex is "Nacho Libre", isn't it hilarious?  All the kids had great costumes this year. Taylor got his "early 70's" look from Savers.  Danny makes a great "Amigo"  and Ryan is a cute "Karate Kid".

Welcome Home!

This is my cute niece Jessica Patterson.  She just returned from serving a mission in Chile.  We missed her smiling face and enjoyed reading her inspiring letters while she was gone.  Welcome home Jessica - we love you!

We Got Some "Autumn" for "Fall Break"

Last week was Fall Break.  Andy and Suzette were kind enough to let us use their condo in Park City, so we decided to drive up on Wednesday and come back Sunday.  Alex had already been invited to go with Taft's family to Rocky Point so we reluctantly went without him.  We were excited to see Emily and spend some time in some cooler temperatures.  

The first thing we did was pick up Emily and go to eat at the Brick Oven.  Brad and I hadn't been there since our early married days.  Then we went to the Bean Museum at BYU.  We had a fun time looking at all the animals.  

When we got back from our trip, I plugged my camera in and all my pictures were erased.  I don't know what in the heck happened, but I was just absolutely sick about it.  My good husband stepped in to save the day.  We bought a computer program that was able to save all these wonderful pics and more.  Thank you so much honey!  You are a lifesaver!

We dropped Taylor off at BYU with Emily to spend some time and on the way back to Park City we stopped at Thanksgiving Point at a Fall festival called Cornbelly's.  Danny and Ryan had such a great time.  We stayed for a long time.  We went through a corn maze that was in the shape of David Archuleta and then the boys played on the other stuff til they were good and tired.

We decided to play for awhile at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake while we waited for Emily and Taylor to meet up with us.  Taylor spent a night with Emily and went to school with her.

There was duck poop everywhere by the pond, so Ryan is scraping out Danny's shoes.

On Saturday, our last day, we decided to drive through the Fall landscape.  We were a little late in the year, but it was still beautiful.  We ate at Dairy Keene in Heber for the 2nd time - the fam loves it!  Then we drove up to Cascade Springs.  It has a special place in our heart because that is where Brad tried to propose to me, but it was closed up for the Winter.  It is beautiful there and it was a perfect day.

Isn't this a great picture?

We were sure missing Alex.  It always feels better 

when the whole family is together

What a great end to a great trip!

Fun With Ryan!

The last few days I have had the pleasure of playing Disney Monopoly with Ryan.

This boy is SO fun . . . and who can resist playing with a boy who says "monopuly" :)

We really have had a great time and the last time we played he beat me by a mile.  

Love you Ryan!

6th Grade Strings - I Love This Boy!

 

Brad Hijacks the Blog...

Chrisse has been busily spilling the beans, er, sharing about everyone in the family. I feel it my duty to hi-jack the blog for a minute and tell you a little more about her.

Chrissie...

• Says "crap-a-mighty" when frustrated.

• Was told as a girl that she is "without guile". Still is.

• Gave up Dr. Pepper (and all soda) in January. This is actually one of the signs of the impending Apocalypse.

• Misses Emily and tires from being the sole source of estrogen and good smells in the house.

• Mocks me when I use words that are obscure or unnecessarily ostentatious.

• Used to be so telephone-phobic that she could hardly bring herself to make phone calls. (Boy, those days are gone!)

• Was in tune enough to get me to take a second look at become involved in humanitarian work, then threw her support behind me.

• Stopped watching "All My Children" (Better check the 72-hour kit!)

• Even though she is the Bishop's wife, she is as in the dark as everybody else most of time.

• Makes such a killer carrot cake that she has ruined any other carrot cake for me.

• Cries at movies, then excuses it by saying she is stupid.

• Is quickly becoming a full-fledged techno-geek.

• Misses her father terribly.

• Had a cow named after her by a boy she dated.

On a more personal note, Chrissie is the best part of my life, and has been for 22 years. She calms me down, supports me, disagrees with me, loves me, and for some reason I may never completely understand, wants to be with me forever, and every moment until then. We are bound together, and in all these years I have yet to find a marriage that I envy above my own. "Happily Ever After" isn't a dream, it is very real. I have proof.

Child's Prayer

For Brad's birthday, his brother Andy got him a Halloween toy.  You know those things that you see everywhere now - it's this old man that takes his head off and talks.  Well, initially Ryan thought it was really funny and couldn't wait for Brad to set it up.  Then, after a couple of nights he started having bad dreams.  So Ryan and I got the thing and put it in my bedroom and covered it up with a blanket.  That didn't work too well, so we finally took it out of the house and to Brad's office.  However . . . the bad dreams continued.  It got to the point that he was coming into my room at least 3 times at night.  I had long talks with him about make believe things and I talked to him about prayer.  And he said, "Yeah, but mom, Heavenly Father never answers my prayers."  It about broke my heart.  He was crying in my lap and I talked to him about faith and prayer, and I told him to pick out a primary song that he could sing to himself when he gets scared.  He picked "Called to Serve".  I tucked him into bed and put his stuffed animals all around him to guard him.  Then I asked him if I could say a prayer for him.  He let me and then I put primary music on, kissed him and left.  But I said another silent prayer that Heavenly Father would let him see that He does answer prayers.

He slept through the entire night!!  We had a good talk about it the next day and thanked Heavenly Father for answering us.  The next night Brad and I went on a date.  When we got home, I sneaked into his room to check on him.  He was still awake, and after he hugged me he whispered, "Mom, do you think you could say that good prayer for me that you did last night?"  It made me teary and so full of love for him.  I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that answers our prayers and shows us how much He loves us.  I feel such a huge responsibility to teach my kids about prayer and the Holy Ghost.  I hope I can teach them all that I am supposed to.  I am so thankful that I get to raise these beautiful kids.  After having 2 that are grown now, I feel the responsibility even more and am so aware at how quickly the time flies by.

Concert Time

Last night was the first choir concert.  Taylor and Alex are in Concert Choir together this year (yay)!  And Taylor is in Advanced Vocal Ensemble for his 3rd year.  They sounded so good.  I am so proud of my handsome boys.