Merry Christmas

Ryan & Karen Ford

Brent's sister Karen was married to Ryan Ford on the 19th of December in Fairview. It was so wonderful to be able to share this experience with them! They looked so happy & so in love. Karen made such a beautiful bride! Their ceremony was so nice, it reminded us of our own wedding almost 5 years ago. Welcome to the family Ryan. We wish you both every happiness in this new journey together! We love you.

Celebrating the Season with...

... work parties and going to the Messiah.

Brent had is work party on the 9th at the Garden House. We played games where we had to guess what song a funny sentence referred to & ate yummy food. I particularly liked the cream of vegetable and chicken soup - it was sooo good! I had my work party at Rusty's Steak House on the 15th. The steaks were so mouth watering good!

On the 14th we went to see the Messiah performed at the Heritage Center. It was a really great experience! The music was so beautiful and moving & gave both Brent and I chills numerous times. The spirit was so strong and it really made me think of our Savior and his humble birth and how grateful I am for him and his gospel in my life. In the lobby of the Heritage Center they had some of the coolest trees! I so wish we had our camera and were able to get some pictures of them. They had a Harry Potter tree, one for Sponge Bob, one for every Disney princess (yes including my favorite - the Little Mermaid!), one that had a mannequin torso on top with the tree designed to look like her dress skirt, one that was all pink, one that was Strawberry Shortcake, and a whole bunch more! It was such a fun and neat experience to go to!

Decorating the Tree

I love the spirit of Christmas, listening to carols, lights on the tree, and drinking wassil and hot cocoa in a cozy warm blanket.

After we got home from Thanksgiving we decided to put up our tree for Family Home Evening. It turned out so beautiful!

A Time of Thanks

This Thanksgiving we have so much to be thankful for! We are so grateful for our many wonderful friends and our family, and for our little Gemma. We are grateful for our home, for our jobs, for electricity, indoor plumbing, & our health. For the love that we have for each other & for our eternal marriage. For this great country, the freedom that we have, & for all those who have given so much to keep us safe & to secure our rights and freedom. But most of all we are grateful for the gospel in our lives. To know that we are children of god, having the priesthood & the spirit constantly in our home. For our wonderful Prophet and leaders of the Church, for the many missionaries preaching the gospel to others. For our savior Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice for us all. For his humble birth and the exemplary life he lived.

This year we were able to travel up to my parents house. The trip up seemed so long - I was so glad that Gemma did so well traveling. We brought a blanket with us and she crawled right under it and slept the whole way. For Thanksgiving the next day we went over to my Aunt & Uncles place to eat dinner. My DeLeeuw Grandparents were also there. It was so good to see everyone & the food was so delicious! Both Brent & I ate way too much!

On Friday we hung out & watched movies. We didn't want to wake up early for the madness of "Black Friday" so we waited until we knew the rush would be over before we went. We didn't get much besides movies for Christmas. That night we went to the town light parade. It was short but fun to watch, they had a lot of clever ideas. They had the Polar Express, a bunch of Who's from Whoville & of course the Grinch and Santa Clause. We took Gemma with us ... she loved being warm & snug in Brent's coat.

On Saturday we went up to see Brent's parents. It was really nice to see them & some siblings. We ended up helping Karen make her wedding announcements (which turned out really cute). When we got back to my family's, we watched Star Trek & played the longest game of cards ever with my brother Cameron and his friends. It was really fun & we all laughed so hard!

On Sunday, Mom made muffins for breakfast. After we ate them all we had a hilarious fight with the foil liners. We turned a bunch into Frisbees & even more into foil balls. We were all laughing & running all over the house. Mom & Cam were being especially silly!

It we such a great weekend! I loved seeing & hanging out with so many family members. It will definitely be hard to go back to work and to snow after such a wonderful trip!

A new addition to our family

Brent & Megan welcome home their new little one ... Gemma! She has been such a joy to have around. We haven't had her for very long but we already love her tons and spoil her like crazy. Gemma is a one of a kind Chihuahua ... she doesn't bark at all! She loves playing around, especially with Brent and my little brother Cam. She is all ready potty trained and loves to be cuddled. She is very tiny, has huge ears, and very short hair.

Get a Clue!

For our awesome Halloween party this year we decided to get a clue ... a clue theme that is. It was really fun to have us all dress up as our clue character. Jenessa was Mrs. Peacock, Shanae was Mrs. White, Kevin was Mr. Green, Brent was Colonel Mustard, and I was Miss Scarlett. We decorated my apartment all out so it looked like an abandoned hotel or something putting white old sheets on my couches, melted candles everywhere, cobwebs galore, and wilted flowers. Shanae and I made some "spooktacular" coffin treat boxes and place holders. We ate spaghetti for dinner, sparkling apple cider, and had raspberry coconut bars and chocolate cupcakes decorated to look like cute spiders for dessert. After dinner we all played the DVD version of clue. It was so much fun! Brent (a.k.a. Colonel Mustard) was the thief. All in all it was a great party and we all had so much fun!

Congrats!

to Karen & Ryan. They have finally picked a date to be married. The happy day is December 19th. We wish you both every happiness and we can't wait to be there to celebrate with you.!

Cameron

I am once again amazed by the love Heavenly Father has for us. He always hears our prayers and is always there to comfort us and give us strength even when we feel we have non left.

My little brother Cameron had major back surgery on October 23rd. He was in surgery for a grueling 7 1/2 hrs and was in the hospital for 5 days. On day 3 Cam took a turn for the worse. His lungs started collapsing and filling with liquid. I was blessed to be able to go be at the hospital with him that day. It was so hard to see him in so much pain and not being able to breathe. They ended up having to hook him up to a ventilator to force him to breathe. He was given a priesthood blessing that morning and by that night he was doing much better.

I am happy to report that Cameron is making a fast and great recovery. He is now able to walk around without the use of his walker. He is such a strong person. I admire him so much! Cam I hope you know how much you are loved by us, your family, friends, and by your Father in Heaven. I look forward to seeing you fully recovered soon!

Autumn Time

The world is wonderful place. We were able to enjoy some of the amazing processes that take place. The leaves changing colors and the clouds. We went with some friends and were able to take pictures of them and they of us. Fall is such a wonderful time of year!

Life...

So life has been full of surprises & trials that have really tested us. But through the struggles of our life right now, we have grown stronger. Of course not everything that has happened has been bad... in fact we have had some amazing experiences also.

So where to start? Well ... Brent and his brother Mark got tickets to see Paul McCartney - they are both huge Beatles fans. The Concert was to take place in Dallas, TX at the new Cowboy Stadium on August 19th. They were both super excited and quickly planned out the details. I had my birthday on the 10th and then a week or so later I was layed off from my job. Brent still went on his trip to Dallas cause I felt it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for him to go and share this with his brother (and non-refundable tickets in his name and I would hate to have Mark go alone!!) Brent said they had a awesome time and enjoyed every minute!! He especially enjoyed the concert and being able to sing along to all his favorite Beatles songs. I went up to my parents house while he was gone. We didn't do much but I really enjoyed spending time with my family. It was so nice not to be alone and depressed thinking about my job. We did have the chance to go to Lagoon while I was visiting. It was so much fun going on all the rides with Cam, Paige, and Mom!!

I came home just in time to go to the Oquihhr Mountain Temple dedication. It was so wonderful! There was such a special spirit that was present. President Monson and Elder Ballard both gave wonderful talks that greatly touched our hearts, and the other talks were great too. It made us both think of how important the temple is in our lives. We have great blessings that can only be found withing the walls of the temple!

A few other things that have happened are that my brother Cameron is having back surgery. He is really nervous. I can't believe he is having that kind of surgery at age 18. This experience has definitely shown us several blessings the Lord has blessed him with. It is amazing how the Lord shows us his love in everything he does. He will never give us trials we can not over come! Cam - we are praying for you and wish you the best of luck with the surgery and recovery! We love you so much! Also we learned that Brent's Grandfather has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Brent has been taking it really hard, especially since that is how his mom passed away when he was 12. His Grandpa is such a wonderful man and we love him so much! A cool thing about him is he was on the submarine that rescued George Bush Senior in WWII.

I still don't have a job & it has been about a month now. I applied at at dentist office & I am really hoping that I get it!!

I have learned a lot through our recent trials. I have felt the love & comfort of our Lord Jesus Christ so much, and I have come to rely more fully on our Savior for help. My testimony has grown and I know that we will get through all the Lord has planned for us and that it will be only a short time. I know that this is the true church. I know the Savior lives. I know that I am a child of God & he loves all his children. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and the special blessing of having the priesthood in my home. I am grateful for the temple and the blessing of eternal families, knowing that when it is finally our time to be blessed with kids that we will be with them forever if we live righteously.

We thank all of you for your many prayers & support. We love you all so much!!

Sorensen Family Reunion

It has been at least 10 years since the last Sorensen Reunion. It was so good to see most of my Aunts & Uncles, and cousins.

On the 4th of August the reunion began. It was held at the SUU Lodge - here in the beautiful Cedar City Canyon. It was really nice to have it so close. Brent & I were able to work during the day and visit with family in the evenings. Brent had never met most of that side of my family before, but got along with them very well. We spent alot of time playing Volleyball in the pine needle infested sand pit. It was alot of fun and I actually played pretty well! We also made t-shirts, took family pictures, watched Uncle Cliffs magic show, and listened to Grandpa tell stories about when they were a young family. I loved listening to Grandpa the most. He told such wonderful and funny stories.

We brought my cousin Amanda home with us on the last night to play Rock Band with us. It was alot of fun! Afterwards I decided to spend the night up at the lodge with everyone. Manda and I slept in a room that had 7 little beds in it. It reminded us all of Snow White. Manda called being sleepy... and said I was grumpy when I playfully protested that I was sleepy. We stayed up till who knows when talking about all the times we had spent together. It was so nice to share so many fond memories and laugh and talk. Love you Manda!!!

In the morning everyone packed up and left, and mom and my siblings took us to St. George to the eye Dr. for new glasses for my b-day. It was really fun and really hot. I had forgotten how blind I am and how expensive my glasses really are. I picked out a really cute pair of red frames - Brent really likes them. Cam also got new glasses - really handsome black ones. Thanks mom and dad for the great birthday present.

Below are a few picts from the reunion. It really was wonderful seeing everyone. See you all next time!

Just us for the weekend

On Friday the 17th we were able to go see the 6th Harry Potter! HOORAY! It is by far the best on in the series so far!. I can't believe there is only only left!

On Sunday, Brent & I went to Zion again for another free weekend. We hiked to the end of the Narrows path (didn't quite get to the Narrows all the way cause we forgot to bring extra shoes to get wet - oh well). We also hiked to the middle & lower Emerald Pools.

It was such a beautiful day to go. I loved hiking with Brent & spending time admiring the scenery. The hike to the middle pool was mostly going up stairs. It was so difficult to make my legs move after that and my hands were so swollen from the heat and overworking myself that we decided to head back to our car. We decided then to drive through the rest of the park. It was so neat to go through all of the tunnels & see all the sandstone - even though we got stuck behind a really slow obnoxious van (and who happens to be in tonz of our pictures lol).

After driving through the park, Brent decided we were close enough to Page, Arizona & Lake Powell that we should just keep driving till we got there. It was so fun taking a long road trip & going to new places with Brent. My cousins Ryan & Melanie moved to Page not that long ago, and it was really fun to surprise them with a visit. It was so good to see them again. Janey is now crawling & Taylor and Callie have grown so much! We didn't get to stay long (had a long 2.5 hr drive back) but it was so nice to visit them!

It was such a great weekend!!! We both had so much fun and we can't wait to go again!!


Here are some of the millions of pictures we took --enjoy!

Independence Day

I love this country!! I am so grateful for our freedom and for those who have and continue to fight and sacrifice for it. I love being able to celebrate all that this great country stands for. I am so grateful for our ancestors and all they did for us that makes it possible to enjoy all that we have today. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

To celebrate this year Brent and I first went to a parade. It was really funny when an airplane almost got stuck when it had to move around a cross walk. Afterward we had a picnic in our car (cause it was raining so hard) and then we went to SUU for the Shakespearean festival to see the Secret Garden. It was really good and Brent & I got into trouble for taking a picture of us in the theatre ha ha. After we went to see the really cute and funny movie - "The Proposal". It was really good. I liked it alot. We made yummy BBQ hamburgers and thenwent and picked out the perfect spot to watch the City's fireworks. We got the perfect spot and were pretty much right underneath where they went off. It was so neat! They had alot of really pretty and big fireworks. Brent & I definitely had our favorites though. It was a great 4th of July holiday!!

Below are a few picts of the parade. Enjoy!

Transformers is....

AWESOME!!!

We were first in line opening night to see Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen. We waited in line 2 hrs, ate some extremely yummy ice-cream, and had a wonderful time! It is such a good movie. Definitely recommend this one to everyone!!

Father's Day and a trip to Zion's

We just celebrated Father's Day and we are grateful for our fathers and all that they have done for us in our lives. Happy Father's Day to our dads! :)

We were able to have Mark, Emily and Scott at our place for Father's Day. We shared an amazing experience at Zion. We were very fortunate to go on a free entrance weekend. Megan and I had never been to Zion, so it was awesome to see some of the amazing scenery the park has to offer. We took the short little hike to Weeping Rock. It was amazing to see water coming out that took about 1,000 years to reach the surface through an underground water source. We made barbecue hamburgers for dinner when we got home. They were so big that it was hard to take bites! Megan and I both played hooky from work on Monday. We went to a japanese place called Ninja for lunch. It was really good. We spent a few hours of the afternoon at Park Discovery. Scott was really funny as he tried to eat a ladybug that kept crawling up his arm. He also didn't like his legs touching the grass, so he kept crawling bear-style. We were grateful to be able to spend quality time with Mark, Emily and Scott. Thanks for coming down to visit!

Sylvia's Blessing

Our niece Sylvia was blessed on June 7. It was so amazing to see everyone and to spend time with them. Sylvia looked so pretty in her white dress and Braden and Carter were as cute as ever.

We were able to spend the night with Brent's sister Karen and her great fiance Ryan. It was so nice to get to know them better and to a lot of time just hanging out. Ryan is such a nice guy and I am so glad he is part of the family!

We had such a wonderful time. Below are some pictures.

An Anniversary

Yesterday we celebrated our 3 year Anniversary of being sealed in the temple. We are so grateful for this blessing in our lives. We are so glad that we can be an eternal family - not just until death. That we have the opportunity each year to celebrate this huge blessing. Brent & I are so happy together and we are more in love then we ever have been. We have grown so much. I am so lucky to be with my best friend everyday! It is amazing to know of the possibilities we have for growth as companions.

For our Anniversary we went to St. George to go to the temple and do sealings. This is a tradition we have done every year. It is so wonderful inside the temple, there is such peace! Being dressed all in white and kneeling across from your eternal companion is the best feeling in the world! The spirit was so strong and I was remembering so vividly the day we went to be sealed. It is nice to hear the blessings that are promised to us if we are faithful to the covenants that we have made.

After the temple we went out to eat at the Olive Garden. It was so yummy and fun. It was a great Anniversary and I can't wait to celebrate it again!!!

I love you Brent!!

Memorial Weekend & the Parowan Gap

For Memorial weekend we were able to visit lots of family! After Cam's graduation, Brent & I went up Fairview Canyon to his families cabin. It was so nice to see everyone and just relax. We also got to see our new niece for the first time. She is such a cutie!! We played games and visited with each other to catch up on current events.

When the weekend was over, we took Cameron back to Cedar City with us to spend the week. We didn't do much but it was so nice to see him and spend more time with him. For our family home evening we took a trip to Parowan to see some petroglyphs. It was really cool and we enjoyed learning about ancestors and family. Below are a bunch of pictures we took.

My family came down on Saturday to pick Cam up. It was so nice to have my whole family down. Here are some pictures of everyone in 3-D glasses as they watched Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Enjoy...

Graduation

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

My little brother Cameron graduated from Manti High School on May 22. It is so weird to think of him being that old! Congrats Cam on this big step. We love you so much and know that you will do great in life and all that you do. Just remember to always believe in your dreams and fight to achieve them.

Life will give you what you are willing to take. Don't allow yourself to settle in life. Fight for the dreams that you have and never lose sight of your potential!

Happy Birthday to...

CAMERON!!!

Happy Birhday little brother! I can't believe you are 18! You are so old! Hope you have a fantastic day! We love you and we are so glad to have you in our family.

Gratitude

I am so grateful for the Priesthood in my home and for the love that my Heavenly Father has for me and for my family. I am so grateful for Brent and that he is worthy to hold the Priesthood. It is such an amazing thing to be able to have the ability to know what Heavenly Father has planned for us and to have his help and comfort any time we need it. I am grateful to have such a close relationship with my family, and that we can ask them for help when we need it. I have such a testimony of this gospel and of Heavenly Father's love for us. I know that his gospel is true with all my heart. I know that if we live the way we are supposed to we can return to live with him, that we have the chance to be eternal families and never loose our loved ones. I know that our wonderful prophet, Thomas S. Monson, is a true prophet and that he receives inspiration to lead our church, from the Lord.

Yesterday, my cousin Ryan came over to give Brent a blessing. We had not told Ryan any of the hardships or things Brent was seeking help on, and yet what was said in the blessing were exactly what Brent had needed to hear. It was so strong and you could feel the spirit all around. It was truly amazing and exactly what he needed to hear. Thank you so much Ryan for stopping by -even though it would have been nicer for you if you could have gone straight home. We are so lucky to have such a close relationship with you and your family.

After Ryan left I was so moved by the spirit, that I asked Brent to give me a blessing. I have been so torn the last couple weeks about things that are going on in my life, and this blessing helped me clear my mind and give me comfort. It settled so many things and reminded me how much Heavenly Father truly does love me and that he wants me to be happy. I felt his love so strongly.

What an amazing experience for both Brent & I. We are so blessed!

3 Peaks

Today Brent and I decided to go up to 3 peaks to get a break from life and to just be outside. It was a little chilly but it so beautiful. They have a swing set that overlooks the entire city. Brent and I love to go out there and just swing and to talk - especially while watching the sun set. It is a nice break from the humdrum of every day life. The view is amazing! Here are just a few pictures that we took.

Hoppy Easter!

Easter is such a special holiday. It is to remind us of the Atonement. To remind us that Christ suffered, bleed, and died for us, then after 3 days arose & left the tomb. The Atonement is such a wonderful blessing for all of us, and it means so much to me! We are so thankful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in our home & in our lives. We are truly thankful for all the blessings we have. We have been blessed with so much - a home, an eternal marriage, wonderful family & friends, education, the peace & knowledge that the gospel brings, a prophet that loves & guides us, our health, our jobs, and for so many others!

The night before Easter we made sugar cookies & dyed eggs. We also rented "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey, and stayed up late watching movies and cuddling. We had so much fun!



In the morning we made a tasty breakfast of eggs & sausage. The Easter Bunny brought us lots of yummy candy and the movie "Bedtime Stories". When we got home from church Brent made us a terrific dinner of corned beef and seasoned potatoes. We watched the "Ten Commandments" and read the Easter Story out of the Bible. It was truly a wonderful day.!

Our new niece

Sylvia Ellen Winget.

David and Cindy had a baby girl on the 7th of April. This is their 3rd Child - Braden and Carter are their 2 boys. Sylvia is the only girl so far in our family! Yippee a Niece! She is a cutie and fits into their wonderful family perfectly!

Congrats Dave and Cindy!

The Blessing of Randall Paul Cox

Tyler & Randell Cox blessed their son Randy on the 5th of April. He is the second child for them - they have a 3 year old girl named Sally. It was so wonderful to be able to go and support them and to see old faces. Congrats to you wonderful family - Tyler & Randell!

Randy knows I'm not his mommy!

A chance to hear from our Heavenly Father

On the 4th & 5th of April we were able to listen to General Conference. We had the opportunity to hear form our wonderful and beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson and from other leaders of our church. The spirit was so strong and we learned so much. Every talk was wonderfully given and each was unique and different but equally powerful and important. There were so many talks that impressed me and I felt the spirit so much!

We went to Sanpete after Brent worked on Saturday and were able to spend time with my family - which was so nice! Brent & Cam decided to go to the Priesthood session together. They said it was really hot but also very powerful & they were glad that they went.

I can't wait until the ensign comes out so I can re-read them and improve myself. I am so grateful and excited to be able to watch conference again. I just wish it would come sooner.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

MY WONDERFUL HUBBY - BRENT!!!

Brent had his 27th Birthday yesterday!

Brent asked for the lemon cake his mom used to make. I tried so hard to scourer the web for a recipe that sounded close. It turned out really good and I think he liked it. Brent told me that I couldn't put candles on his cake this year.. unless it was the number 9. I laughed so hard but ultimately decided that it would work because 2+7 =9. I bought Brent a really fun game for the PS3 called "Little Big Planet". I am so excited to learn how to play and play together.

Sunday night we had my cousins Ryan & Melanie Sorensen and their cute kids over for dinner and cake. We had so much fun watching them play on the wii fit. I totally wish I would have recorded Ryan and his son Taylor hoola-hooping. It was so funny. I really love getting together with them and growing our relationship. They will actually be moving to Page, Arizona soon. I am really excited for them but will miss them terribly!

On his birthday we celebrated with our friends Kim & Anna -who's Birthday was the day before, so we had a double party. We had really yummy food. Everyone really liked the cake I made! We played games and talked for the rest of the night. I am so glad to gain a good friendship with Kim and Anna. They are really awesome people!

Below are a few pictures (sorry I didn't get more) - enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

PAIGE!!

My little sister turned 12 today! Holy Crap she is getting so old! Hope you had a great day sis! We love you so much and we are so glad to have you in our family! You are seriously the funniest little sister ever! You can always make me laugh no matter what my mood is. Can't wait to see you soon!

Our 4 Year Anniversary

Has it really been 4 years already?

Being married to my best friend has been wonderful! Sure we have our ups and downs... but it has truly been 4 wonderful years!

To celebrate we started out by spending the night before in a suite at the Marriott (thanks again to Ryan) here in Cedar City. We ate lasagna and had sparkling grape juice. Brent took me to the movie "Duplicity", and we had a wonderful time just cuddling and being with each other. We woke in the morning and headed down to St. George. We got there close to noon and since we didn't really wake up in time to eat breakfast, we were pretty hungry. The Olive Garden was so good, especially because we had a gift card thanks to a Christmas present from Brent's sister Cait. Afterward we headed out to Fiesta Fun for miniature golf. We drove the go-karts twice, and played multiple games of golf. I won once and I am pretty sure Brent won all the rest. It was so much fun! I loved being able to spend the whole day with Brent without worrying about anything!

Later that day we went to the mall to get Orange Julius's and to browse. We had a Primerica meeting that night so we postponed the fun till after. The meeting went longer than expected but we learned a lot. We really can't wait to be able to help people! After the meeting we headed home. Brent surprised me by stopping at Walmart to pick up a copy of Wii fit! We stayed up till 2 in the morning playing and exercising!

For our gifts Brent decided he wanted some motivational Cd's so that is what he got. Brent surprised me with the movie "Pretty in Pink", the Twilight soundtrack, and a Twilight poster!

All in all it was an awesome Anniversary! I look forward to many more! Below are some pictures of us just having a blast!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Happy Valentine's My Love

"Multiply it by infinity, take it to the depths of forever and you'll still only have a glimpse of how much I love you."

Happy Valentine's (a couple days late)!

This year for Valentine's we traveled up to Sanpete to be able to go to Darin's farewell. We had decided not to do anything for the holiday this year... but being my sneaky self, I surprised Brent with a card. He in turn felt the need to go by me a cute teddy bear at the Walmart in Ephraim. We had a beautiful drive and a wonderful talk. We stopped in Ephraim to eat at the best ever Chinese place - the Snow Dragon. We lived right across the street from it when we lived there. We would go at least every other week and we became good friends with the owner. It tasted so good and the owner enjoyed seeing us again. When we arrived in Fairview we were informed that Brent's Mom would be performing that night at the dance hall. They paid for us to get in so we could celebrate Valentine's and watch our mom. There was all you can eat chocolate, dancing, a great jazz band, singing and a lot more. It was so much fun and I got to see Brent's mom dressed up as an old lady. I think my favorite part of Valentine's was being able to dance with my wonderful hubby.

I love you so much Brent. I am so grateful to be married to you for time and eternity. You are truly my best friend and I am so lucky to have you! I know that you are not perfect and nor can I claim to be either, but please believe me, when I say that I want to be by your side, to hold your hand, to treasure you in the morning and in the noon-tide, to be next to you, to be held close to your heart now and forever, to comfort you, dry your tears and calm your most frightening fears, to fight your battles and show no shame to scream my love for you out loud to all the world . You are my everything!

Mis·sion·ar·y

n. - One who is sent on a mission, especially one sent to do religious or charitable work in a territory or foreign country.


The rolling forth of the restored gospel is a miracle in every sense of the word, and not the least of the miracle is that a significant portion of it rolls forward on the shoulders of 19-year-olds! - Jeffrey R. Holland, "Abide in Me," Ensign, May 2004, 30

"I believe there is nothing in all the world that can compare with the joy that a man feels when he realizes that he has been the instrument in the hands of the living God of reaching some honest heart, inspiring in it a love of God and the desire to serve Him." Heber J Grant

"There is no other labor in all the world that brings to a human heart, judging from my own personal experience, more joy, peace and serenity than proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ." Heber J. Grant


If you couldn't tell from the above quotes, Darin had his mission farewell on Sunday, the 15th of February. It was a very emotional day as we saw him for the last time for 2 years. Darin gave a very good and spiritual talk and he bore his testimony. It is so awesome to see how much he has grown in every aspect. We know he will be a very successful missionary and that he will be able to bless many people for good and we wish him the best of luck. It will definitely be very weird not to have him around now. He always made us laugh and feel at home. We will miss you! We were also able to spend time with family that we hadn't seen for quite some time. It was particularly nice to see grandparents and Tyler & Randell.

below are a few pictures of the luncheon after church.

Our Wonderful Weekend

I love going to the temple. The Manti Temple is and will always be my favorite. It is so beautiful inside and the spirit is so strong. Brent & I were sealed for time and eternity in this temple 2 & 1/2 years ago. Brent received his endowment and both Brent and my parents were married in this temple also. And now we had the opportunity to go with Brent's younger brother Darin as he received his endowments.

This past weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to go up to Sanpete to support and share this amazing experience with Darin. It was so neat to see him so happy and all in white and to be with so many family and friends. Darin went on his first date when Brent & I started dating and now he is preparing to enter the MTC this month. Wow how time flies!

After the temple we met up with the rest of the family who weren't able to join us in the temple, for lunch. It was really yummy Mexican food! After lunch we all went up to Fairview to have our family Christmas time really quick and to get ready for our family pictures (which are already outdated - Cindy is due in April but Darin will be on his mission by then). I think they will turn out really cute.

After pictures were done I had Cindy cut my hair. It looks so cute! It is pretty short - about to my chin, and spiky. I will try to get a cute picture up sometime.

On Sunday we hung out with Brent's sister Karen and her fiance, Ryan. It was so good just to talk and get to know Ryan better. They seem so happy and so in love. I love talking with Karen. She is such an awesome person! Later that day we watched the Superbowl with Brent's family. It was a really good game. I loved watching the hilarious commercials. They had alot of good ones this year.

On our way home we stopped by my parents place in Manti to show off my haircut and to say "hi". We had stopped by there on our way to the temple but half of my family was out and my dad had been rubbing it in that he had got to see me and my mom hadn't. It was so funny. I love seeing my family, especially seeing how much my dads face lights up and that huge happy smile he gets when he sees me. I love you too dad ..... and all of my family (including in-laws). You all do so much for us. Thank you. It was such a great weekend!

Happy New Years!!!

Welcome 2009! A new year and a new beginning! Our New Year Resolutions are to be more patient towards each other and everyone, to more fully appreciate all that we are so truly blessed with, to pay off our debt and to become more healthy.

This year to celebrate the New Year we had my two siblings, Cameron and Paige, come. They came down with us after Christmas to spend the week. It was wonderful to have them here and to be able to spend more time with them. We rang in the new year by renting some video games and some movies and by eating alot of food. It was a blast staying up all night laughing and hanging out.

Wishing you all a wonderful and exciting new year!