Thanksgiving and other things

So it has been an eventful November for us here in Logan!  Most of the beginning of the month was me studying like crazy for my ABO certification test and Scott scouting out places to go duck hunting with his dad.  By the 16th, I was able to go down to Salt Lake and stay at my parent's new house for the weekend (since the test was only administered down there).  While I was there I got to go see Breaking Dawn with my sisters and some friends!  That was tons of fun!  But most of the rest of the time I got to spend just relaxing and playing with my nieces and nephew.  I swear my parents have some of the cutest grandbabies I know of!  Kristi's kids are hilarious!  Reese will just play in her room by herself and if you stand at the door and listen to her playing, you will have just as much fun as her!  Graham is a tank!  Just straight boy!  Such a cutie!  One of the funnest things was going to church with Kristi's family so we could watch the kids while she and Phil spoke.  To try and keep Reese quiet I asked her to tell me what I needed to do during the meeting.  She said "Number one, after they pass the sacrament, give me treats because I'll be hungry."  There was no number two. ;) Hahaha!  And with Jamie's little Norah, whenever we were anywhere with her, people would comment on how cute and happy she is.  She's just cute as can be, just like her mother!  So that was all before Thanksgiving.  Here's the photographic evidence of good times had:

Kristi's son, Graham, is becoming such a little chunk!  Love him!

His poor little scratches on his head.  They look like little horns. Haha!

At first he wasn't too thrilled about his food...

But then he loved it!  Look at that happy face!

I hope he likes his aunt as much as I love him!

Jamie's daughter, Norah, may just be the cutest little Hansen ever!  Look at her cute little dress and boots!

I loved being able to stay at my parent's new house and getting to see my sisters and their adorable children!

 
So then the Thanksgiving prep started (after Marie and I had the scariest drive ever on the way home to Logan!  The lines weren't visible in the middle of a crazy rain storm!).  So while Scott was out duck hunting with his dad, we had fun swimming at the hotel, going shopping, and seeing movies.  Lots of fun had by all to say the least!   See the pics for further details of the good times!

Over Thanksgiving break, I went with some of the girls from Scott's family to see Breaking Dawn!!!

Sitting by Becca and Caitlyn was awesome since they hadn't seen it yet.

1 of the 5 pans of rolls we made for the Thanksgiving feast!

The leftovers from Thanksgiving.

Here's what kept the kids entertained for quite a while.

It's amazing how much fun these guys were having with that I-Pad!

We all went to Angie's to try the Kitchen Sink Challenge (not on the same day as Thanksgiving mind you! That would have been far too much!). Charles and Marie shared one with me and Scott, while the Phelps and Jackson's got one for each of their families.

Our kitchen sink after we couldn't eat anymore.  We barely lowered the giant mound!  That was a lot of ice cream!

Here's the Phelp's kitchen sink.  They were able to make more of a dent than we did!

And then here's the Jackson's kitchen sink.  What else would you expect from the family that has 2 teenage boys! haha!   They got a bumper sticker for finishing it!

It was getting quite cold so we were trying to stay warm.

Jackson kids looking at the ducks with Grandpa

Lately

What up y'all!?!? So as of lately things have been going on as usual.  Some exciting things coming up though!  Next week I get to take my ABO certification test down in Salt Lake!  If I pass, and become a certified optician, it will seriously help in finding a job if we ever have to move.  So wish me luck please!  One of the benefits of taking the test is that I have to go down to Salt Lake to take it, so I'll be able to have a blast seeing my family again!!!  My parents just moved into a new house, so I can't wait to see it!  And then I get to see my cute little nieces and nephew as well!  I miss those little munchkins!  Can't wait to see everybody! 

So besides getting ready for my test, its been fun helping Scott with all his hunting stuff.  It's kind of crazy how he's able to get up so early when it comes to something like hunting and be fine the rest of the day!  He's been pretty successful with getting ducks so far this season.  We even made this yummy duck with an orange glaze dinner the other night.  I was fully prepared not to like it (as most of you who know me probably realize I'm not the most adventurous of eaters), but it was surprisingly good.  I think we could cook it for a little less time when we try it again, but the flavors were fantastic!  I want to try the glaze with another type of protein as well, because I think that would be delicious! Anybody have any good recipes (not just for duck) that they're excited to try this season?

Leona Lewis

So I was just wondering what happened to Leona Lewis?  I loved her stuff!  Her voice really is epic like Whitney, Mariah or Celine.  Exhibit: A, B, and C.  She's crazy good! Someone needs to give her some awesome new song to belt out and show what she's got! Sorry this is so short, but I had to share some videos of what impresses me!  :)

By the way, I love you guys!  I miss everyone that I'm far away from and appreciate the support of those that I'm close to.  LOVE and HUGS for everyone!    E

General Conference Notes

Thought I would just post a couple of my notes from conference.  And it's also kind of easier to take notes and actually have them look neat and tidy!  haha!


Woohoo! Missionary age limits lowered to 18 for young men and 19 for young women!  That would have been awesome to go a little earlier!  Still grateful for how my life has gone though. :)

I'm a Mormon!  I know it, I live it, I love it!

A desire to serve is a natural product of one's conversion and faithful life.

I'm so grateful for a prophet and the restored gospel!

We follow the Lord Jesus Christ and teach of Him in over 150 nations and want to take the fulness of the gospel everywhere.

Missionaries may be young in the ways of the world, but they are given gifts such as the promptings of the Holy ghost, love of God and a desire to humbly serve Him. 

I forgot how much I loved the song "I will follow God's plan."  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is awesome!

Discipleship is a path to happiness and holiness.

The regrets of tomorrow can be prevented by obeying the Savior today!

As sons and daughters of Heavenly Father we are capable of so much more!  We must become what Heavenly Father needs us to become.


This is from the press conference between sessions about the change in the missionary program:

All missionaries will have time at the MTC reduced by 1/3!  That's going to be intense for them!

Improved preparation by the individual missionaries before entering the MTC will allow for more missionaries to come through.

God is hastening His work!  And he needs more and more missionaries to spread the light and hope and truth of salvation to a darkening world.  You must prepare by personal worthiness and knowing the gospel you will teach.  We want you teaching effectively from the first day you arrive at the MTC.  It is not the responsibility of local church leaders to prepare you for your missions. You must take personal responsibility for your preparation and ask for help from others as necessary.

The Lord and the Church honor the desire of heart of those with physical or other limitations that make it unwise or impossible for missionary service.  They are on the team and can serve in various other ways to participate in the work.

Back to the sessions:

Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred responsibility they have.

5 things parents can do

• Pray in earnest that they can show the love Heavenly Father has for all His children
• Hold family home evenings, scripture study, and eat together as much as possible
• Take advantage of church network by communicating with church leaders and teachers
• Share their testimonies often with their children
• Organize our families around clear expectations and rules.  

 Parents are to teach by example as well as by precept.

It is wonderful to see when parents work together as husband and wife to protect their children and communicate about the needs of their family.

God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are.  We may be unwilling to listen and submit to His will and His time and that hides us from Him.

God is close to us and aware of us and never hides from His faithful children.

We can't insist on our time table while the Lord has His own.  Sometimes our insistence on acting on our own timetable, obscures God's will for us. 

We remove the pavilion that hides us from God when we pray "Thy will be done and in thine own time."

Submitting our will to God's does not guarantee immediate answers. God's delays often seem long, some last a lifetime, but they are always intended to bless.  We can be assured that He does fulfill His promises.

We must first do the things that make Him as familiar to us as we are to Him as we approach that day when we will stand before Him so we will know Him.

First observe, then serve.

Our discipleship is not a fleeting task.  It goes forever!

Did you love me? -asked by the Savior on judgement day

The crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty.  We have a life a devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love to the Lord.

The call is to come, stay true, love God, and lend a hand.

Love God and remain clean from the blood and sins of this generation.

He expects our loyalty and love through every stage of our life.

Having set our hand to the plow, we will never look back until this work is finished and love of God and of our neighbor rules the world.  

Take an inventory of your life and look for the blessings large and small that you have received.

Much of our joy comes as we recognize we can communicate with our Heavenly Father thru prayer and receive answers from Him.

The Lord is in the details of our lives. He wants to bless us!  He wants us to seek His help!

True Christians will always be BLESSED with challenges and trials-- often our biggest trials are meant to bless us and draw us closer to God, not push us away from Him.

How are we doing as Christians?  If someone accused us of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us?

When darkness comes, keep going!  When difficulties arise, keep going!  Just keep going!

All things are fulfilled by faith.  It is a principle of power.

The future is as bright as your faith!

Ways to benefit from a church meeting: with a prayer in your heart, come prepared, be willing to listen, and not be distracted.

A testimony is personal knowledge of a spiritual truth obtained by the witness of the Holy Ghost.

The essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ entails a change in our character and a desire to be like Him. It requires obedience, diligence, and sacrifice.

Conversion is a sacrifice we make out of gratitude to our Savior.

Conversion requires believing in the teachings of the holy prophets in the scriptures, exercising faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, experiencing a mighty change of heart, and enduring to the end.

Do we still possess weapons of rebellion that keep us from fully converting to the Lord?  If so, we need to repent NOW!

Knowing the gospel is true is the essence of testimony.  Living the gospel is the essence of conversion.

The Lord is always on our side as we do what is right.  He will help us in our time of need.  But the purpose of mortality is to learn and grow, and that growth happens most often in times of difficulty.


I'm so grateful for General Conference and the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  Their messages are always so inspiring and offer me answers to prayers.  Can't wait to study the messages more fully in next month's Ensign! 

Summer Summary

This is where Scott got to spend his summer weeks! Who wouldn't want to? Isn't it gorgeous!?!

They would pass this pretty scene on their 50 mile bike rides every week.

This was taken from the top of one of the mountains near Bear Lake.  You can see it in the background.

This spot at Bloomington Lake was one of Scott's favorites.

This was the part of knowing what he was doing that would scare me.  Yeah, just a little repelling from a cliff 50 feet tall! 

Of course, he just looks cool as a cucumber chillin' there.  Oooo I get nervous just looking at the pictures.

When he came home on weekends it was really nice to relax.  There was this car show that happens every year up in Logan that was lots of fun!

For my birthday, my sisters came up with their new babies to surprise me!  And while they were here, our friend Laurie from North Carolina came over with her kids to surprise them!  haha!  Surprises all around.

This was the cutest gift for a baby shower I have ever seen!  A diaper motorcycle with burp cloths or blankets to hold everything together!  So creative!

This is from our trip to the Caribbean.....Haha!  I wish!  But doesn't the water at Bear Lake look so gorgeous!

Ayva was so content to just play in the sand.

It was so fun to have family up there that we hadn't seen in a while.

Our friends, Nate and Amber, have the cutest little girl named Brooklyn!  She was having such a good time and handled the boat breaking down twice very well!  Thankfully, Scott and Steve were able to get the boat going again and get us to shore before the rental company eventually had to come and tow it back to their dock. 

The water is so clear and blue! 

While the boat was broken down, we all had fun swimming around til it was fixed.

We had a fun little photo shoot while the wind was perfect in Spanish Fork.  Melinda was so happy she couldn't even open her eyes! haha!

Love these girls!

Caitlin and Emma had some friends over, so we got them involved as well.

I always wanted to be a princess looking out her window waiting for her Prince Charming. So we lifted up Ayva's castle so I could almost have that experience! haha!

Haha!  Check out Melinda's face! Ah, what are families for if not to be goofy with?

 So there is our summer in a picture nut shell.  It was lots of fun...but I'm ready for fall!  My favorite time of year!  Bring on the changing colors, sweaters, bonfires, and baking!

Best part of the year!!

The best part of the year is on the brink of beginning next week!  Can you guess what it is????   The start of the new season of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!!!!  Hooray!!!  I think you can understand my state of enthusiasm when you see this. Or this.  Or this. And then one more with this.  There are many more to look forward to this year I'm sure!!! The madness starts on Thursday night!!!!

Lockport, Illinois

So I decided I just felt like telling a story today.  Just a memory that I felt like sharing.

When we lived in Lockport, Illinois I was about 8 years old, and very, very afraid of thunderstorms.  We had many thunderstorms and even some tornadoes during our time living there, and so you can imagine how I dealt with that.  I can remember various times going and hiding in a corner under a blanket whenever a big thunderstorm was going on thinking that the corner in between the couch and the fireplace was the safest place to be.  We did have a basement that would have been safer, but our basement was a scary place in that house and I never wanted to go down there without someone else with me.  Besides, we were always finding little frogs down there, and they would freak me out.  Yes I was/am a scaredy cat of many things! 

I remember this one storm in particular when Dad was at work and Mom had all 6 of us kids out shopping.  As we were driving from store to store, the weather started to get really bad.  I can't remember if their was a tornado warning that day or not, but it looked possible.  So Mom pulled in to the big warehouse store, I can't remember which one, but I do remember that as we were all running inside, lightening struck the parking lot right behind us!  I still remember how loud it was and how scared I was.  But Mom was so good and kept us all calm.  She took us over to where the magazines were and pulled some out for us to look at while she tried to talk to one of the store clerks and figure out if there was any warning or news about the weather.  Turns out there was a tornado that had touched down.

Eventually the storm calmed and we went home, but when we got there, we were quite surprised at what we found.  The screens had been blown off the windows, the power was out, and our carpets were soaking wet from where the windows were open.  We kids were initially pretty happy because since the power was off, that meant we had to eat all the popsicles in the freezer so they wouldn't melt and make a mess.  But then, I forget where Mom had to go to get help, but she left me and Tyler there at the house while she took the rest of the kids with her.  I was really scared that the storm would come back and then we'd be all alone, but Tyler sat with me in front of the basement door so we could run down there if it did indeed come back.  I don't know if he even remembers, but Tyler was so good to me while we waited there.  He just played with me and helped me not think about any reason I would have to be scared.  I don't remember what else happened the rest of that day, but I still remember how my brother took good care of me and kept me safe.  I love my older brother very much and I'm sad that I don't tell him that more often.  Love you Ty!

I remember that house in Lockport for a lot of different things.  It was where Mom first had us help her "mop" the floor by "skating" around the kitchen on wet soapy old towels.  There was a huge yard that had a pond, forest (which may have actually been a small grouping of trees, but to me it was a forest), and even a golf hole for when Dad felt like golfing haha!  There was an otter that lived in our pond sometimes, and we thought we were so sneaky when we could glimpse him through the windows.  There were also two ducks, Fluffy and Canisse, that would frequent the pond.  They were of course married and we hoped they would have baby ducks in our yard, but they never did haha!  We would make up so many stories for them!  And then there were the various battles of the snow forts!  Dad trained us in the proper construction of snow forts and then we would snow fight until we were freezing!  Those were some awesome forts!  When there wasn't any snow, we would use the big boxes from moving to make tunnel forts.  Forts were not in short supply to say the least!  And then there was the Strawberry Shortcake record player that we would listen to.  I think we only had one record left and that was "Oh Sheila!"  We would turn that on and dance around like crazy! I think that was also the first time that we watched "The Sting" (even if we didn't actually understand what was going on) and we would use the kitchen magnet letters to have our own little poker games.  What rebels we were!  haha!  And last but not least...the Little Tykes hoop.  We would set up my mom's step so that we could launch off it and have a family dunk contest.  My brothers got some serious air!  I think we used to have some pictures to document the awesomeness, but we need to find them again.

So maybe the first part of this post was a story, but the last part is just fun memories that I love to think on and hope made you smile a little bit.  Take some time this week to think of some of your fond memories as a kid!

Plans????

Ok, so to start off, I want to share my new music obsession here. I absolutely love this song!  It may seem idealistic, how in the song he talks about not having much, but they have love and that's enough...but I'm beginning to learn that is the truth.  Because when you have love, you're willing to do what it takes to make things possible.  You're willing to sacrifice for one another and for your future.  As we've been up here in Logan, I can definitely say that I've been learning that lesson.  And after a little while of pondering on it, you realize that things that you "sacrifice" from your original plan aren't really a sacrifice after all, it's just different than what you had imagined or planned.

My mom was involved in our Young Women's program at church in North Carolina, and she said something about plans to all of us when we had found out our family was going to be moving again after just three years there.  She said "things don't always go the way you plan."  I know that's a pretty common saying, but when she said it that day, I totally felt it with her. To put it in to context, we had moved to North Carolina in hopes of my parents being able to retire there--including going through building the house they'd like to retire in--and then things just went south and we had to move.  It was very hard for everyone in the family to accept the fact that we had to change our plans, but looking back now, we're all grateful for the blessing in disguise this was.

I had planned to attend BYU's Provo campus to continue my education after high school.  That was all I had ever wanted.  My parents had met there, my brother and sister were attending there, and I had been accepted!  But after our situation changed in NC, I knew the best plan would be to go where I could get a scholarship, which I had not received from Provo's campus.  So, my plans changed and I accepted a scholarship to BYU-Idaho.  That "sacrifice" turned out to be one of the decisions that most shaped how my life has gone since that point.  I'm so grateful for the things I learned during my time there.  Even now, I think back to them often as some my favorite memories! Yet another reason to be excited for when things don't go as you planned.

I had also planned to marry someone that was done with school.  How'd that plan turn out? haha!  I'm so happy that one didn't come to fruition.  Scott has been the answer to so many of my prayers and he's so good at dealing with plans that don't work out. :) He's able to make it seem like what ended up happening was the plan all along.  And though our current plan is for him to be in school for a while longer, I can't wait to see what else comes up during all that!

I guess the point of this whole post is to say that I know that no matter how well we plan things out, something will get in the way eventually.  And when that happens, if we have an optimistic attitude and realize that our Heavenly Father will help us make the best of every failed plan we may have, things will work out for the best!

MUSIC!!!

Ok, so for those of you who know me, you know that I absolutely LOVE music!  I've had some time alone tonight and the whole time I've just been listening to songs and watching performances of So You Think You Can Dance.  Now as I write that down, it kind of seems like a waste of an evening, but seriously I love it!  Like this. Freakin' AMAZING!  I miss the dancers from that season.  They were awesome!  I love that show!

But that wasn't the story behind why I was writing, I just got a little side tracked.  I think it's so romantic when someone dedicates a song to someone else.  I'm not gonna lie, I have quite a list that I would love to be able to say someone felt that way about me.  Like as of right now I'm obsessed with this one.  And actually, a lot of the ones that I like are country songs.  So for Valentine's Day I wanted to find a great one that I could play for Scott over a yummy dinner, thinking that would be pretty slick.  But then I started trying to find a country song from a girl to her guy that she loves...I can't think of any!  All the songs I love are the guys singing about their girls, and then the country girl songs are all about their cheating men and how they're going to get back at them!  Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, lots!  Seriously, think about it.  There is the Carrie Underwood's "Mama's Song" that kind of talks about loving the man she has, but who is going to dedicate a song to their man called Mama's song.  Umm...not this girl.  So I'm going to enlist your help to ry and find a romantic country song from a girl to a guy, and I'm not talking Taylor Swift's sweet but oh so tired songs.  Give me something good.  I'm continuing my search, and if I find one I'll let you know.

Lacking title...

I've missed you all!  Sorry I've been slacking, but there's been lots of craziness going on!  So two days after we got home from Christmas with my family...my back went out! :(  I was so totally bummed and surprised that it happened again, especially since I was being so careful (or so I thought).  What was really nice was that my office was pretty much closed for the week between Christmas and New Year's, so I was able to be basically bed ridden for a week while my back healed.  I think that really helped, because I've gotten better a lot faster than I did last year when this happened.  I'm still recuperating, and Scott hasn't allowed me to lift anything over 10 lbs (including all the cute little babies at church).  He's always making sure that I'm taking good care of myself so I get completely better even if I can be a little stubborn at times.  I sneak in a little dancing every now and then when he's not looking. Shhh, don't tell him. ;)

What else, what else.... hmmm...oh yeah!  I watched "Three Men and a Little Lady" last Saturday and about died whenever there was a scene with that lady from the boarding school!  She is soooo funny!  Please tell me that someone else remembers who I'm talking about!?!?  She's always hitting on Tom Sellek's character and she is just so awkward and inappropriate with the things she says that it just leaves you cracking up!  Watch it if you haven't seen it, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!  At one point she says "We are creatures of the night! We are children of la luna!" and it's just hilarious!  Watch it! Seriously! FUNNY!

Ok, I'm getting distracted by Chopped being on the TV.  Gotta go! Love you all!

picture overload!

Little Avery is the cutest little thing!

Nash is always ready to take down someone.  Here he was acting like a little tiger!

Scott and I had a great time at Aunt Karen's Christmas Eve party.  Her house and food are always amazing!

Reese was such a good girl opening her presents.  Such a little vicious!

Avery was the best present opener ever!  She was clutching this sweater like it was the best thing she had ever seen, but she did that with every other gift as well!  So cute!

Here's Reese wanting to open another present.  Look how cute she is in her Christmas PJ's!

Avery after her little bath.

Scott was exhausted from so much excitement! He can always sleep anywhere.

The three pregnant ladies in order of due date from left to right.

Avery was so much fun looking at the lights!  I swear sometimes she was about to rock right off Travis' shoulders with all of her bouncing.

I love this picture!  What is it about riding on Daddy's shoulders that is so much fun?

The lovely ladies.

The reflecting pool is always one of my favorite places anytime, but especially at Christmas!

There were lots more pictures, but I figured adding more would be kind of extreme! haha!  Hope everybody else had as much fun as we did this Christmas!  Love you all!