Daisy

5 weeks old
We are getting a new puppy next week and we are going to crate train so wish us luck! We have already named her Daisy. She is so CUTE!

Christmas Card

This is our summary for 2009. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a great New Year!

Christmas Day

We had such a fun Christmas. We had Secret Santa's (whom we figured out) and lots of fun. It was such a special Christmas and we are so grateful for those who love us and shared their friendship with us. We really love all our family and friends. We felt really special this year and really felt the Christmas spirit! Thanks for EVERYTHING!



During the day we were able to go to the Laub's. We had fun tearing through paper there and enjoying food and each others company. The kids especially liked these books. We hope everyone else had a great Christmas too!

Christmas Eve

The kids had fun dressing up for our family role play of the birth of Jesus. We even wrapped lights around the piano bench for the manger. We decided to read the story to the kids and have them color the nativity as we read. They were only allowed to color the people and animals when they heard them read from the scriptures. We were hoping they would get more out of it that way. It worked out really well and I think this may become a tradition.
It was neat because Samantha is getting older and really starting to connect things together about the gospel. She asked how the atonement worked and we were able to explain and she understood that Christ came to earth and was the only perfect person. Since he was the only one perfect he was the only one that could ask Heavenly Father to give everyone's sins to him so he could pay for them for us. He prayed hard and felt everything, our pain, sorrow, everything and he bled from every pore because it hurt so bad. Jesus did that for us and became our Savior, meaning he saved us so we can return to Heavenly Father again. Otherwise Heavenly Father could not let us back in to him. If we don't use the atonement it will make Jesus sad since he already paid the price. This experience was really special and we look forward to more.

Gunlock Christmas

The Gunlock Christmas party was eventful for me this year since I lead the music. I am the Primary Chorister and so I picked the music and lead it for the town program. Samantha was an angel and Derrick was a shepherd who almost looks like Spock.

The story of Jesus was told and then Santa Claus came! This is a very awesome tradition we will always be happy to be a part of. The big change for the program is that Santa was only available on the 23rd (not the 24th) and only has time to schedule the 23rd for future years as well. It is a great adjustment for us but not so much for some of the older residents in town. Either way, the tradition was kept and it was still wonderful to be a part of.

30

Yeah! I'm 30! Now I can tell people that say I look too young that I am OLD! Although 30 isn't old at all but it sounds better than being in your 20s.
I had a great birthday. We did cake and ice cream with the kids and Rachel, and then Kevin's sister Mandy took the kids to his parents for the night and gave me a break. Kevin took me out to eat and then we helped my grandparents fix a light in the garage and then went home to watch a movie. It was wonderful to only get myself ready for church the next day. After church, we went to the Laub Christmas party and had a nice time there.

Christmas with Erickson's

We drove up to the Hollingshead Christmas Reunion and for the Erickson Christmas party and to have some time with my parents during the holiday.
Obviously, EVERYONE had fun with the train. Eventually we will get one but we sure enjoyed this one for a few hours. We had such a great time with everyone throughout the weekend and we are so grateful for all the fun gifts, especially the portable DVD player we used to get home!

Wildland

Do I look good in YELLOW? I took the Wildland Fire Fighter class in November and December. This was me before I showed up on the last day to do field testing. I did better than I thought I would and really enjoyed it. Kevin and I used this experience to practice supporting each other. Kevin did a great job taking care of me and all the stuff I couldn't do during the class. It worked out really great and now I can get my red card.

Gingerbread House

Derrick was the only person to make a gingerbread house this year and he put on enough candy to make several gingerbread houses.
So I didn't put together that the frosting should be white, but we must say that this gingerbread house was the best one I've tasted from a kindergarten class. His sisters didn't mind the chocolate or the abundance of candy either!

Amazing Funeral

This was the most amazing funeral that I have ever been to. My sister-in-law Chari's dad passed away and we went up to the funeral. He was the Fire Chief of Springville and Kevin even had a chance to work with him when he was on their department. He was a great man and had done so much good in his life and his funeral reflected it. The most amazing part was when they gave the last page and the two men escorted a man in Chief Whitney's turnout coat through a mist of water as a final goodbye. It was so touching.The kids had the chance to get in a Springville Fire Truck. We drove up with my sister LeAnn and only took KayDee since the other kids had school. It worked out really well and we were so grateful to attend.