Joy In The Journey

Jesus Loves Me

2011-06-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful song written by Roger and Melanie Hoffman called "Gethsemane". How I love this sweet song and the powerful message that it teaches.

Jesus climbed the hill to the garden still. His steps were heavy and slow.

Love and a prayer took Him there to the place only He could go.

Gethsemane. Jesus loves me.

So He went willingly to Gethsemane.

He felt all that was sad, wicked or bad, all the pain we would ever know.

While His friends were asleep He fought to keep His promise made long ago.

Gethsemane. Jesus loves me.

So He went willingly to Gethsemane.

The hardest thing that ever was done. The greatest pain that ever was known.

The biggest battle that ever was won.

This was done by Jesus!

The fight was won by Jesus!

Gethsemane. Jesus loves me.

So He gave His gift to me in Gethsemane.

Gethsemane. Jesus loves me.

So He gives His gift to me.

From Gethsemane.

If we can just really BELIEVE this truth, our walk through mortality will never be the same again. It is so easy to say that we believe that the Savior is aware of us and He can come to our rescue but so much harder to believe that HE WILL. The atonement is a gift. Given freely to you and me. We are able to make use of that precious gift at any time that we desire.

I love the gospel. I remember when my father-in-law passed away many years ago and I felt such loss and yet felt such peace. As we knelt in family prayer late in the day after the funeral I remember feeling an overwhelming gratitude for the "good news" of the gospel. That was not a phrase that I commonly used and was surprised that those words slipped from my lips as I uttered a plea to my Heavenly Father to bless us to go on in faith without this father that we loved so dearly. Later as I pondered the phrase "the good news" I felt deep within my soul the blessing of the gospel in my life. Gratitude filled my heart.

One of the many wise quotes from Sheri Dew is:

"There are some who make living the gospel seem like a sentence to life on the rock pile. It's not living the gospel that's hard. It's life that's hard. It's picking up the pieces when covenants have been compromised or values violated that's hard. The gospel is the Good News that provides us the tools to cope with the mistakes, the heartaches, the disappointments we can expect to experience here"

She also said:

The doctrine of the Atonement is a doctrine of healing. The Savior heals us from the affects of sin, when we repent. He heals our weaknesses and mistakes. He heals broken promises, broken lives, broken hearts. When we demonstrate the faith to seek after Him, and try our best to follow Him, He will heal us."

I know this is true. Jesus loves me. He loves you.

Believe that He WILL heal you.

He waits for you to come to Him.

"Gethsemane. Jesus Loves Me."

His Image In Our Countenance

2010-11-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Have you ever known somebody that you just wanted to be near because of how you felt when you were around them? Many years ago when I was a young mother (and that WAS MANY YEARS AGO) there was a sister in our ward who I just felt drawn to. She was probably about 10 years older than myself and we really didn't share anything much in common except we were in the same ward. I don't think I even realized why I was drawn to her because I was much to busy thinking about me. Her influence has stayed with me for 32 years. Years later when I had 7 children and lived in a different state I met another sister in our ward that I also felt drawn to. I loved to be around her. Again, she was older and we really didn't have anything in common but I just loved how I felt when I was around her. Comparing this sister to the first sister that I had known they didn't have much in common either. Yet, everyone loved these ladies. People were drawn to them. Now 19 years later I still think of them both and the influence that they had on my life. It wasn't the clothes they wore or the house they lived in. It wasn't their figures since both were shaped completely different. It wasn't the possessions they owned or the crafts they designed. What these two very special sisters had was the love of Christ and His image in their countenance. It radiated from their face. They were more concerned with their relationship with the Savior than what they wore or what size they were. They loved me because they loved Him. I could feel it.

Sheri Dew once said, "The Holy Ghost is a gift of power. The Holy Ghost inspires and heals, guides and warns, enhances our natural capacities, inspires charity and humility, makes us smarter than we are, strengthens us during trials, testifies of the Father and the Son, and shows us "all things" that we should do. He helps us do more and become more than we could ever do or become on our own."

What I saw in them was the presence of the Holy Ghost in their life. They lived their life so as to not offend the spirit. I am trying to be more concerned with my countenance and less concerned with worldly standards of beauty. I want to have His image in my countenance. That is the standard of beauty that I am seeking.

Toothpaste, dried spit and other delightful things in the sink

2010-11-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

There is always dried toothpaste and spit in my bathroom sinks. We also use bar soap so there is squished melted soap chunks in the sinks joining the lovely toothpaste and spit. This has been a source of irritant to me for many years but the other night it dawned on me that this is really a mother's blessing. It is proof that somebody in this house is actually brushing their teeth and washing their hands after they use the bathroom. I walked out of the bathroom feeling a little jubilant knowing how successful I was in teaching at least one of my children basic hygiene! And considering the amount of spit and other delightful leavings in the sink I am sure that there is probably more than one of my kids brushing their teeth and washing their hands. So I am so grateful for dried toothpaste, spit and soap in my sinks! And considering the amount of pee that gets on the toilet I am pretty sure the boys have quit peeing the backyard and are using the toilet! Happy day!

My life is so blessed!

2010-10-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

How do I even begin to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the blessings that have been poured out upon my family? My son, Layne, received his mission call to the Chile Santiago East mission. He left September 29, 2010. Our home is feels so very different. I miss him so very much and my heart aches. Yet I can feel the spirit of the Lord in our home. I can feel the peace that comes from seeking to do the Lord's will. Layne is such a big personality as well as a BIG man and we can feel his absence in every facet of our family. The couch still has his body impression embedded upon it where he slept for the last 9 months. I don't think the couch will ever recover! I find myself snuggling down into the sinkhole and smiling remembering how he LOVED to tease me about everything! I do miss that. He is doing well in the MTC and will leave for Chile in about 4 weeks. I am already counting down the time until he returns home!

Our loan modification finally came through. We start our trial payment period today. This last year has been full of tender mercies from our Heavenly Father. I felt His calming influence on the hard days when it looked as if there was no hope of saving our home. I have learned a new level of faith and am so grateful that our adversities have been so minimal. Dan is working and it looks as if the job will last a year.

My sweet Katie is working and while her heart aches to be home with her children she is so very grateful that she is able to provide for them. I have witnessed her quiet faith and determination to follow the will of our Heavenly Father as she has patiently waited for answers to her prayers.

I am so grateful that through the many trials that my children have faced and are still facing that they are turning toward God rather than away from Him. There has been a unifying effort among them to serve each other and to lift each others burdens. They cling to each other in support and love.

I love the scriptures. They never fail me. I can feel the difference in my life when I neglect them. I can feel the difference when I am putting them at the top of my priority list. The spiritual strength I feel is so very tangible as is the lack of that strength. My desire to pray and communicate with my Heavenly Father is directly affected by the effort I put into searching the scriptures. I bear witness that there is strength and peace given to us directly from heaven when we submit ourselves to our Heavenly Father. I bear witness that we can feel this through immersing ourselves in our scriptures and personal prayers. For those of you who feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start I say to you, just start. Just open your scriptures. Just be willing. Doing a little bit will help you be able to do more. I promise you that if you will just make the effort to start that you will feel the desire to continue. Heavenly Father knows our heart and He knows our desire. He will never measure your effort against anyone elses. Your effort is personal between you and the Lord. He accepts any effort that you give to Him. He will never throw it back and say it wasn't enough. So just begin. One verse. One step. He loves us. He wants us to feel His love. He stands ready. This I know.

Oh where, oh where did my baby go?

2010-02-15T16:04:00.000-08:00

My baby will be 8 tomorrow! How could that have happened? How I have loved mothering this child. My last little one. I have found myself savoring every baby moment, every toddler moment, every little boy moment. When he walks by me I find myself reaching out for a kiss and a hug. I still pull him up onto my lap to cuddle. I love his little boy smell...even though it isn't nearly as sweet as his little baby smell! Time moves so quickly. He starts cub scouts tomorrow. A day that he has looked forward to as long as he can remember. Tomorrow he gets to join the big boys and this mother will find herself feeling a little lost as he goes off to join the boys. I will hold him a little longer tonight, hug him a little tighter, and take a moment to breathe in the last of his "babyness" before he turns 8 tomorrow.

Choosing Faith Over Fear

2010-02-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, my husband lost his job last February. He was called back to work in the middle of May through the first of August. During this time he was in Las Vegas....so very far from our family. It was not our favorite experience. But, it wasn't our worst either. When the job was completed he was again laid off and we knew then that it would be final. Really scary stuff for us. You see, my sweetie and I are not a couple of young kids anymore. We are what most of you would consider.....OLD. We have 11 kids, with 5 of those precious souls still at home. Dependent on US. I didn't think this out very well when I was starting out this whole big family thing. I wouldn't have changed anything...just maybe I wouldn't have been so surprised when I realized at 52 that when my 7 year old goes on his mission I will be really, really old! Anyway, we realized that at our advanced age (even though we are both so young looking and full of life and energy, giggle, giggle) we are having to start over financially. A scary feeling. My sweetie was able to find a job driving tractor for my daughter's father in law from October until the end of December. It didn't pay enough to even make our mortgage payment. So we didn't. A first in our marriage. We have always paid our bills and had good credit even though we have never had very much money. Yet always enough to meet our needs. Not the wants so much, just the needs. That in itself is such a blessing but that's for another day. When the tractor job ended at the end of the cotton rooding season, we were without any income for a month. He is now working with a man who asked him to come and work in his used appliance warehouse as a supervisor. Still not paying much. $10.00 an hour to start. Scary. But yet, I am so very grateful that he has work. And work that he enjoys. Work that is right up his alley. Work that is blessing to our family. I have seen a pattern in our 32 years of marriage. Heavenly Father has always provided manna to our family. Right at the time of our need, not a minute sooner, not a minute later, the blessing comes. Not always what I would have arranged if I had been the master planner but just what our family needed for our journey on this earth. Now our house is in foreclosure with an auction date of April 21st. When I received that news it knocked me down for a minute. Well, probably longer than that! But as scary as the thought is of losing our home that we built 10 years ago and have had so many precious and sacred experiences in, I know that I must choose to have faith rather fear. It is a choice. As I read other blogs written by women who have faced experiences that would break your heart and find myself lifted up by their words, their testimonies of the words of the prophets, the words of the Savior, the words of our Father,I say to myself "all is well". These experiences will be for our good. For the good of my children. I want to stay here in this home that is filled with us...our living...our experiences. I want to stay in this ward that is home to me. Sharing my daily life with friends who I love so much. And who know and love me. I pray that we will be able to stay here. But more than anything, I pray that I can face this new adventure with a calm spirit, a joyful spirit. I want my children to experience faith in adversity.

Orson F. Whitney said: "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God...and it is through sorrow and suffering , toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we came here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and mother in heaven. "

Oh, how I pray that I might be what Father would have me be.

I LOVE the Young Women in my ward!!!

2009-12-02T06:17:00.000-08:00

Last night the YW in our ward were doing a service scavenger hunt. They came knocking on my door after I was already in my pajamas cuddling with my Banner. I opened up the door and there stood a group of young women with their leaders asking if they could do some chores for me. DOES LIFE GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS????? I tried to conceal my excitement so as not to scare them but I wanted to drag them in and lock the door. I thought "I wonder how long I can keep them here before anyone notices they are missing. And is it really felony kidnapping if I claim that they ASKED to come in and help?" I tried to breathe calmly as I looked at their list of chores they needed to accomplish and wondered if they would notice if I penciled in things that were not on the list. With glee I watched as they did my dishes, dusted my family room, vacummed my family room, washed some windows and read a story to Banner. Much to my dismay, it was over too soon. And as fast as these service angels came into my life, they were gone. I wanted to press my face against the window and call "Come back, Come back! I will be good to you. You will love it here. We need more girls!" Instead, I silently thanked Heavenly Father for these precious girls and their leaders and went back to cuddling with my little man. As we settled down he said to me, "Mom, They need to come back tomorrow and clean my room." Oh yes son, they do. And the bathroom.

Each Life That Touches Ours for Good

2009-11-25T11:19:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking alot lately about the many blessings in my life and my thoughts are continually turned to the many people in my ward, neighborhood and family that are so dear to me. I am sure that there are many that don't have any idea of how much they have blessed my life in some way. I want to thank all those who have given me a smile and a kind word. You have strengthened me. I found myself humming the hymm "Each Life That Touches Ours for Good" this morning and want to share those words.

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christ-like friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

For worthy friends whose lives proclaim
Devotion to the Savior's name,
Who bless our days with peace and love,
We praise thy goodness, Lord, above.

May blessings be upon all who go about touching lives for good. I love you and am grateful for your sweet touch in my life.

My kids are the best!

2009-11-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an especially long Sunday. I didn't get a chance to eat so after staying for tithing settlement with our drop dead gorgeous bishop I was STARVING and TIRED when we got home from church. It was about 6:15 when we got home. I expressed my current level of hunger and fatigue to the kids and Layne and Emily told me to go get my jammies on and lay down and they would fix dinner. THOSE WERE THE SWEETEST WORDS! I literally ran to my room! They fixed dinner and it was so good. Later that evening I could hear dishes clinking in the kitchen and I thought that someone was eating again. They do that alot around here. I went to bed without going back into the kitchen. When i got up at 6:00 a.m. expecting last nights dinner mess to still be waiting for me, I was so surprised to see the kitchen spotless and the floor swept! My sweet Riley cleaned the kitchen for me. LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!!

Dancing!

2009-11-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

Ammon and Bethany, and then Ammon and Hannah, are dancing at Danya and Sam's wedding reception. How precious is this!!! Bethany and Hannah are my granddaughters, Ammon's nieces. It sure puts "joy in the journey"!

The Great Escape!

2009-11-21T15:21:00.001-08:00

My grandbaby Satchel is heading out for some big adventure. He was caught in the act!

Adam and Susan and kids

2009-11-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

I miss these sweets kids so very much. They just moved to Clinton, Missouri a few months ago for Adam's new job.

Bourgeous Grandbabies

2009-11-21T14:56:00.001-08:00

Bethany, Colten, and baby Emma. Emma is not to happy with the whole photo shoot experience.

How I love this precious boy!

2009-11-21T14:54:00.001-08:00

This is my grandson, Colten. He is so darling! Can you tell that he is brother to Bethany?

2009-11-21T14:48:00.000-08:00

Isn't she beautiful? This is my granddaughter, Bethany. She is 6 years old and as angelic as they come!

Cows on the porch?

2009-11-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

So, how many of you get to have cows on your porch? Those darn cows keep getting out of the pasture and think they need to play in the yard. They have ate all of my trees that we planted in the yard. I was not happy. But the boys love their cows! Sometimes I will see Sippy (the momma cow) looking in my window. I have cow snot on my windows along with boy goobers!

Banner lost another tooth!

2009-11-19T15:15:00.000-08:00

My baby is nearly 8 and is in the process of losing his baby teeth. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent me this last child. I would have missed out on so much if we had only had 10 kids. So glad that we kept going!!!!

Eagle Scout in the House

2009-11-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

I am so excited that Layne has completed his Eagle. He has worked hard and we are so proud of him.

Where Have I Been?

2009-11-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, where has the time gone? Well, I did have a minor role in the production of Joseph. It was so fun and I actually did dance. I met many new friends and especially loved being in the play with my son Ammon. He did so great learning the music! The summer flew by. Dan was working in Las Vegas until August 12th. It was wonderful to have him home. He was then laid off again. Not so fun. But I am learning to trust my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for good people in my life who fill me with smiles and hope.

I have to tell the funniest story. Well, it made me laugh. Last saturday I told the kids to help me get the house cleaned up. Layne volunteered to clean the hall bathroom. Great. He's 17. Should be able to handle that. He finished in good time and went on his merry way. I went in there later and noticed that the toilet was filthy at the base. What the heck? Didn't it just get cleaned. The top and inside looked pretty good. Hmmmm. So I grabbed a rag and some clorex clean-up and scrubbed the base and the floor. Man, it was gross. Later i asked layne why he didn't finish cleaning the toilet. He said he did. I asked him about the base and floor. His reply was that it doesn't get dirty down there. "What???", i said. Are you kidding me??? The boys use this bathroom primarily. He told me that pee does not get on that part of the toilet when the boys use the toilet. He informed me that they all pee'd inside the toilet. And he also let me know that if there was pee anywhere outside of the toilet bowl then it was the girls in the family missing the target. I said "Are you kidding me? Seriously!!!!" He is still certain that it is the girls that have poor pee control. I guess Emily and I should be more careful!

Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!

2009-03-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Last friday afternoon,I found out that auditions were that evening for the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". My son Ammon wanted to audition for the children's chorus so I quickly helped him prepare a mean rendition of "Happy Birthday". As we were practicing, Banner decided that he too wanted to audition for the play. I agreed thinking that maybe he would change his mind once we got there. We arrived at auditions to a room full of people, mostly adults, who seemed to be pretty serious about auditioning. I got the boys signed in, their information paper filled out, and their picture taken. We were waiting for our turn to be called when my friend Suzanne arrived with her daughter. We sat and chatted and she asked if I was going to audition. I laughed and said that I wasn't quite that talented. She assured me that being in the chorus was fun and not too hard and talked me into auditioning. It is a good thing that she wasn't trying to talk me into drinking or something because I obviously cave into peer pressure quite easily! I didn't have a song prepared. Heck, I couldn't even think of a song that I knew the words to! They called our group of 10 in and we were taught a dance. A DANCE!!!! Suzanne failed to tell me that I would have to learn a dance. I am not a dancer. I can barely walk straight. So I giggled, well, I actually laughed right out loud at myself, and proceeded to try and dance. When we actually went in to the room to audition in front of the guys in charge I couldn't stop smiling because I was so entertained with myself trying to sing and dance. I just kept thinking of Lucy. You know, Lucy Ricardo. I have many Lucy moments but I think that this was close to one of my finer Lucy moments. When my group of ladies (about 5 of us)got up to do the dance I just smiled and stumbled my way through the routine thinking that I was surely going to make Ethel proud. Then we had to sing. Remember, I didn't have anything prepared. My Ammon and Banner did so great. I am so glad that I decided to audition so that I could be with them in the room! Then my turn came. The only song that I could come up with on a moments notice was......wait for it....it truly is a classic.....the ever famous and popular.....POPCORN POPPING ON THE APRICOT TREE with all of the actions! I sang in my best Lucy voice with my best Lucy attitude! I must have been amazing because to my great surprise I got a call back for tonight. I got the call saturday night and again, I laughed right out loud. I laughed even harder when I was told that they were calling back for the leads. She also said that I had caught the attention of the production team. By now I was snorting. It is amazing how far you can get with Popcorn Popping with the actions! I went to call backs tonight and just when I thought I couldn't have anymore of a Lucy moment, I managed to have probably the best Lucy moment I have ever had. They taught us this really cute 60's type dance that went really fast and demanded moves that my body just wasn't meant to do! But I did my best and I am sure that I provided much needed entertainment to those that actually had talent and the ability to dance! I was not in the final group that they called up to dance again for them. Whew. I was worried. I am just not sure that my family could spare me if I were to be discovered and have to go share my Lucy dancing with the world!

The ever popular and patient Sam!

2009-03-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

My 12 year old Riley. Manhood approaches!

2009-03-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Emily on her 15th birthday.

2009-03-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

Riley and his dad at the Christmas band concert, 2008.

2009-03-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Adam and Susan's family. Love those precious grandbabies!!

2009-03-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Layne Mckay Bourgeous, my boy.

2009-03-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

My sweet Ammon.

2009-03-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

Banner B with his happy face!

2009-03-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

Before the reception with some of my kids!

2009-03-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

Brother and Sister Bourgeous!

2009-03-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

Spencer and Brye, our newest family!

2009-03-21T19:51:00.001-07:00

Me and my girls at Spencer and Brye's reception

2009-03-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Still smilin' continued!

2009-03-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, I goofed. I hit something and published my last entry before I could finish the sentence. Bonnie does have a website. I think it is bonniem@webs.com. Check it out!

Amber is just plugging along being a good mom and wife and sister and daughter and friend and a generally really good person! She is such a happy girl and I just feel good when I am around her

Adam is just about finished with school. Woo Hoo! He graduates from the Utah State in May! I am sure that Susan will be so glad to be done. She has been such a good support to him. It is a great accomplishment for all of them.

Spencer got married in February to our lovely Brye! We just love that girl. He is in heaven and loving every minute of married life!

Life is good. The journey is good. Struggle is good. It is necessary. When I can find joy in each struggle then the journey is meaningful and strength is gained. One of my prayers is that I might have faith. I can do hard things. I can do all things through Christ. With Him I find joy.

Still smilin' through the journey!

2009-03-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted on this blog for so long. I have been waiting for the little blogger elves to come and post but they haven't, so I guess I will. This journey of mortality has given me many highs and lows these past few months. Our cow, Sippy (short for Sipper Cup)had her calf early in the morning of December 21st. What a fun experience that was being out there with my kids while Sippy provided us with entertainment and a calf. It was a cold, cold night and several of my kids slept out in the barn with Sippy and kept watch over her. Layne had made her a lovely soft bed of straw to labor on but she must have decided that she wanted a more natural birth because when it came right down to the last half hour or so, she decided to move out of the barn (and the semi-warmth) out to the pasture right in the muddiest place. As we all watched and did our Lamaze breathing with her Layne had to help her out and do some calf pulling. He did a right good job! Out he slipped in all his slimy glory! It was just getting light so we were able to watch the miracle of birth! I myself think that Sippy would have been more comfortable in the barn as she delivered Leroy the calf but I guess that she might have been just out of her mind with pain seeing that she was delivering a 100 lb. baby boy! We put some new straw down for the calf to lie on while momma licked him clean. He was so nice and warm that you could see the steam rising from him! Now right after this little calf was born I again reminded my boys that they need to remember that Leroy is not going to be a pet but that we were going to eat him. I had been telling them that for months. My little Banner who was 6 at that time was sitting on the fence watching little Leroy right after the birth and he says to me, "Momma" and I said, "What" and he said, "Are we going to eat him today or tomorrow?" I just laughed and explained that Leroy would have to get really big before we eat him and that would take a long time. It was so precious, his little innocent question, and made me think about how our little ones take our words as literal truth. I just hugged my little guy and apologized for not being more clear with my instructions. We had two cows but our brown cow, Buttercup, did not get pregnant even after we had provided her with many great opportunities! So, about three weeks ago she made a one way trip to the butcher. We are enjoying her ever so much now that she is in our freezer! Our Sippy is producing lots of milk and our family is getting to have the wonderful experience of milking! Dan milks in the mornings and Layne usually milks in the evenings. The younger boys and Emily help as needed. Emily has the job of washing up the evening milking pails and strainer. Layne has made two batches of cheese and the first batch was yummy. He forgot to put salt in the second batch so it isn't as good. I think that if we salt the cheese when we fry it it will be yummy. Yes, I did say fry it. Yummy! It is squeeky cheese and even squeeks when it is hot. I am grateful to have plenty of milk and a freezer full of meat.

Dan lost his job the first of February. Mixed blessings. I love having him around since he had been so busy for so long. He is bishop of our ward so he is gone many hours from our family. He has been able to do some projects that he has been wanting to do for quite a while. He built a cheese press and it works wonderful! He used pavers that he had gotten from his job site (they were throwing them away) and put a nice floor in the milking barn. He is looking hard for a job and I know that Heavenly Father is aware of our family and will provide what is needed.

Danya and Sam have moved in with us for a while so they can save up a little and get stable in this economy. They are good kids and I am glad to have them here.

Layne is such a great young man. He received a letter from BYU Football expressing interest in him. They said that they are going to be watching him closely this next year. He will be a senior in the fall. He also received a letter from NAU expressing their interest in him for their football program. Layne has been going out with the missionaries and loving it. That boy has something great to do in this life!

Emily tried out for cheerleader for next year and made the JV squad. They don't have a varsity squad because our new high school will be opening in August and there won't be juniors or seniors. Emily will be in 10th grade. She is such a darling girl and I love to be her mother.

Riley turned 12 in February and received the aaronic priesthood. He is so tall and handsome! Not a little boy anymore. When he was 5 his kindergarten teacher said he was the ladies man of kindergarten. I think that I will be having to give the "girls are not going to be calling you in 6th grade" speech soon.

Ammon will be 10 next month. The long awaited double digit!! Ammon is a natural when it comes to performing. He cracks me up with his spontaneous accents and performances! He made himself a hat out of tin foil today to keep the aliens from reading his brain! He was watching the movies "Signs" and decided that a tin foil hat was needed.

Banner is reading like no other! I can't believe how well that boy reads. He can read the scriptures with ease pronouncing just about every word correctly. He is still my cuddle boy and I love it.

We had another baby pass away in our ward last thursday. He was 8 months old. The autopsy didn't find anything wrong with him so they are calling it Sudden Infant Death syndrom. Because Dan is bishop we were called immediately and he and I were there soon after the paramedics. My heart broke for this sweet mother and father who have lost their little baby. But even through the sorrow you could feel the spirit of our Heavenly Father so strong in that home. I again am grateful to know that my Savior lives and that all is well. If you want to read this sweet mothers blog it is http://spencer-crystal5.blogspot.com/

My sweet Katie has filed for divorce from her husband. My heart and soul aches for her. Her story is sad and I so wish that things could have been different for her. But God grants free agency to all his children and because of this, there must be innocent victims. She has been true to her covenants and loyal to her marriage in every way and I know that she will be blessed.

My Bonnie has opened her own salon in her home. She has her own website for it and I am excited for her. She is so talented and can make even me gorgeous! Her website is:

Queen Creek beat Higley!

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Layne plays defensive tackle and offensive tackle for the Queen Creek Bulldogs. They beat higley last night in an incredible 4th quarter comeback. The score was 14-0 in Higley's favor until the last 9 minutes of the game when Queen Creek got down to business. The final score was 15-14 with Queen Creek coming out the victor. What an exciting and intense game that was. My boy plays hard and he plays well! He is 6'3' and 260 lbs. and one heck of a football player. But better than that he is constant witness of Christ and does not hesistate to share his testimony of the Savior. He stands steadfast and immovable and is a moving force for good! Love that boy!!!

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I Know That My Redeemer Lives!

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This has been a very difficult month. My best friend lost her little toddler in a tragic accident. Hearts have been heavy as we have shared this burden. This experience has put new meaning to the covenant I made at baptism to mourn with those that mourn. I truly mourn with her and her family. I pray for them. I have witnessed the power of the Comforter come into her life and I have witnessed the power of the Savior. I bear testimony that He lives. Believe in Christ and come unto Him. I lay this burden at His feet and receive that comfort that only comes from Him.

My family in August 2007

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The Love Of My Life, Dan.

2008-08-25T12:34:00.001-07:00

I realized as I wrote about my kids that I hadn't mentioned my sweetheart. How I love that man. I still get giggly inside when I see him across the room. He is the bishop of our ward and so each week I sit right down in front with my kids so that I can look into his face during the meeting. I am often overcome with emotion of how blessed I am to have him love me. He is patient with me beyond words. And I certainly have tried his patience! He seems oblivious to my many faults and has on only a very few occasions criticized me. He is constantly trying to see to my needs and to provide whatever service he can to lighten my burdens. It doesn't matter how tired he is, my needs come first. He is a true example how a man should love his wife. I love him.

The Dust Has Settled!

2008-08-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

The wedding is over and the honeymooners have returned. Life is heading back to normal. Danya married Sam in a whirlwind romance that began with a Family Home Evening Date and ended in the Mesa Arizona Temple. It's funny that during the busy planning stage of the wedding I didn't think to much about missing her. In fact, I kept thinking that it would be one less person's laundry basket that I would be doing. Laundry is a big deal at this house. Still. Even with 1/2 of my children gone. But it hit me this morning. She is not mine anymore. Well, she is but not the same. She is now Sam's wife. My little middle child has her own home now. I am so happy for her yet my heart aches a bit. I will miss her joyful spirit in our home. I will miss her tender dealings with her little brothers. I will miss the silliness that she and Emily engaged in. I will miss her sweet face and her scary hair in the mornings. I will miss her.

My home has changed in the last 7 years. I have 5 daughters and 6 sons. Their names and ages are: Adam 30, Amber 28, Katie 26, Bonnie 24, Spencer 22, Danya 20, Layne 16, Emily 14, Riley 11, Ammon 9, and our baby, Banner 6. As you can see, for so many years our home was female dominated! Things have changed! Now our home is male dominated and it just is different. Not better or worse. Just different. I guess I had better just suck it up and learn to enjoy scouting. And camping. And dirt. And all sort of things gross things that little boys love. I sure love my family. They have such dynamic personalities. And they all have an opinion about everything. My home is noisy! I wouldn't have it be any other way.

Joining the sisterhood!

2008-08-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! I finally joined the wonderful sisterhood of bloggers! It is amazing to me that I can peek into the lives of so many women that I have never met and find myself feeling like I know them. I was introduced to the mysterious blogging world through my daughter in law Susan. Her blog is so creative and fun to read. Then I invited myself into my sister Annette's blog and couldn't help but feel a longing to create. My daughter Katie started her own blog and that was the final morsel of temptation that I couldn't resist. I had to start my own blog! But wait....will there be little blogging fairies that will come and leave clever and creative blogs? No? Sigh. Now I remember what kept me from starting before! Well, here goes. Come on brain. Work for me today!