HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. May the new year bring lots of

Fun, Laughter, and Love!!

What an experience!

This past Wednesday was such a spiritual experience for me. Douglas' cousin Noah and his wife Monica, along with their daughter Presley, got sealed for Time and All Eternity in the Logan temple. What was cool was that Monica's parents got sealed as well. Monica's parents got sealed first, then Monica knelt with them and they got sealed as a family. After that sealing, Noah and Monica knelt together and got sealed as husband and wife. Lastly, they brought in their daughter and she was sealed to them. Being there to witness it was Amazing! I have never felt the spirit so strong!! It was such an eye opener on just how important Family is and why we need to visit the temple regularly. We often get so busy with life and the things in it, that we don't set aside the time, to go where we can be closest to our Father in Heaven. With the New Year around the corner, I am setting my goal of attending the temple more regularly. I know that by going, it will help me be a more happy, driven, and strong person to make it through every day life!!

Congrats to Noah and Monica in working so hard to get where they are today!!

We love you!!

SO LUCKY

I just have to say how lucky I am to have made it home from New York last night!! Today, the east coast got swarmed with a horrible snow storm that has caused over 100 cancelled flights! Working today was insane!! We can see how many people are in queue waiting to speak with someone, and the whole 8 hours I worked, It was in the 500s!! Tomorrow is going to be the same!! If we wouldn't have made the flight yesterday, we would have been stuck there for a VERY long time!!! Someone was definitely watching over me for that one!!!!

18 Hour Fun

As most of you know, I work for jetBlue. Every year I get a certain amount of Buddy Passes that I let people use to travel standby. For Christmas, my sister Amie and her family are using them to come to Utah from Florida. With the Holidays making the flights a little hard to get on, me being the Wonderful Sister I am, hopped on the Red Eye flight last night, Salt Lake to JFK, and am now waiting in the airport for Amie to arrive to New York and then all of us will be heading back home to Salt Lake. Me flying with them, puts them on a higher listing for standby. People think I'm crazy for doing it, but really, I don't mind one bit! I love flying! Waiting in an airport, not so much, but JFK is really nice and I've made sure to keep myself busy, as what I am doing now!! Plus, it's nice having a break from the kids for a day. I'm just glad I can help Amie out. They haven't been home in a while, so it'll be nice to have the whole family here for the Holidays! So for now, I just have to wait another 2 hours for Amie's flight to get in, and then another 3 1/2 hours before we head back. Oh, the things we do for family!!!! So worth it though!!

Thankful

With Thanksgiving coming up, I just wanted to express some of things that I am most grateful for.

First off, I am so blessed to have my family. My Husband and kids are my everything! Douglas is such a wonderful person. He is such a hard worker and is always striving to be better in the things he does. He has helped me so much in overcoming challenges in my life and I am so grateful to him in not giving up on me!! He is my best friend! I am truly blessed of having him by my side for eternity! Then there's Haiden and Mekenzie. Words cannot express how amazing they are!!! They are such sweet, happy, balls of energy that keep me going each day!! I love them so much and am honored to be their Mother!!

Second, I am very grateful for my parents. They have been great examples to me and have done so much for me. Growing up, I was always able to do things I love like swimming, sports, singing, and dancing. Now looking back, they had to work so hard to provide for the things we wanted to do and I appreciate them so much for doing so!! My Dad is a huge example of hard work and dedication. He is also such a great example of fulfilling church callings and Home Teaching. There is no other Man I know that makes sure to get Home teaching done each month. It might not be much, but that dedication, is amazing to me. My Mom is such a sweet person. She has done so much in helping others. There have been times that I know it's been hard for her, but she is still pushing through and I appreciate that strength in her!

Third, I am so grateful for my siblings. I could go more into detail with each of them, but I know that would take all day!! They all have been great examples to me and it's been a joy to have the wonderful memories with them. Thank You all for your love and support!!

Fourth, I am so grateful for Douglas' Family. They have all been wonderful to me and I truly appreciate the love they've given me from day one!! I have learned a lot from them and hope to strengthen my relationships with them!

Fifth, I am grateful for my friends. Whether they were apart of my childhood, High School, or now, my friends have been a huge part of who I am! I am so blessed to have been with a wonderful group in High School. Those memories will ALWAYS be cherished!!! It is so awesome that we still try and keep in touch!! Thank You those who were there for me when I was going through the hardest time in my life! You know who you are!! I appreciate having you there in my life when I needed you most!!! Thank You again!!

Last, I am so grateful for the gospel. It has been a huge rock in my life and I know I would not be here today if I did not have it. I am grateful for the leaders I had that influenced me to be a better person and to help me feel the wonderful spirit each week, whether it being at church, activities, or seminary.

I love my Heavenly Father so much. He has helped me understand the struggles in my life and why I need them to make me stronger. I strive each day to be closer to him. I am very grateful for our Savior. He went through so much heartache and pain for each one of us!! That is a huge sacrifice that I know would be hard to bear. He is what makes my burdens lighter, my testimony stronger!!

Of course there are MANY more that I could go on about. These six that I've listed are my core in life. Without these, life would not be worth living. Thanks for taking a moment and reading my thoughts and feelings. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. It's a day where we can lay aside our problems in life and focus on the things that really matter to us!!

Our Prayers Answered

I am so happy to say that my Dad is going to be alright!!! Him and my Mom went in today for the results of his tests, and they said that there is no sign of cancer!! The mole like thing on his eye just needs to be removed which he'll get surgery on December 22nd.

Words cannot express how relieved I am for my Dad! All of my family have been so worried for him. We are so blessed for him being in good health. It just testifies that prayers are truly answered!

Hoping and Praying

About a week ago, my Dad went in to the eye doctor for an annual eye checkup. The doctor had noticed a little growth on his eye, which he has had for quite sometime, but this visit had worried the doctor. They did some tests just to make sure it wasn't anything serious. Then a few days later, they called my parents to have them come in and talk. The doctor thinks he has Melanoma which is the worse type of skin cancer. They don't know the severity of it, but they sent the tests to a cancer center In Boston. We are just waiting now to get the final results.

I just feel horrible that my Dad, out of all people, will have to go through this!! He is an AMAZING person who works so hard for the family. I love him dearly and am just hoping and praying he'll be alright.