LIFE

I have been so bad this year about blogging. It has been an extremely hard year for me. I have had some hard trials, but I am finally to the point where I can say things are good. I am so glad to be alive. I have the greatest family a girl could have. My kids are extremely great!!! AJ( Elder Glad) has almost been gone a full year, but it has seemed longer than that. Todd is doing great. He is going to college and working at Pizza factory. Karrilyn is also going to college and helping out every chance she can. Angela is actually going on her first date this weekend. My kids teach me something each and every day. We have so much fun together.

Even though this year has been real tough for me, I have learned so much from it all and I am a better person. Todd just received his Eagle Award and I need to blog about it. I know. We have some great pictures about it. I also got a new kitchen and just love it. I have my braces still and can't wait until they come off, if that will ever happen. This year we went to Disney World again and it was so fun, just like a fairy tale. Mike is in the middle of many transitions in his life and we don't know what will happen at this time, but we are along for some bumpy roads.

I was just released from my two callings and called to be the Primary President of our ward. I was thrilled. I love Primary and especially the kids. I hope I can make a difference in their lives. I have the best counselors and secretary and I already just love them to pieces. This calling came at a time when I really needed it. I am so thankful. I have been subbing in many schools and I still just really enjoy it. The kids are SO fun and I just love it when they run up to me in the hall and give me a big hug. Yes it is worth it. More than anything I have learned to live each day to the fullest. I have tried to do this. I love my kids and wonderful husband so much. It is so nice to know that I can be with my family for eternity. We are a team and together we can make it back to heaven.

We all have missed our Elder Glad but he is doing SO good that I just want to scream from the housetops. Thank you thank you, for watching over my Elder. I love him so much and long for the day to get my BEAR hug from my AJ Bear. I sure love being a mom, I can't imagine my life without my kids and my hubby that is my biggest chearleader. He has been beside me this whole year as I have dealt with LIFE.

I am so thankful for who I am and how I have come to be ME.

Better Late than Never

This year has been filled with many many eventful days. I would have to say one of the highlights of our year is back the end of April when I graduated with my bachelors in Elementary Education and was able to graduate with two of my children. Todd and Karrilyn both received their Associates degree the same day. We were able to walk together when we graduated. It was awesome. Todd graduated from college before he even graduated from high school, which is another great even for this year.

I have been so much of a slacker, this year has been hard and I felt like I needed to try to get at least some of the most important things blogged about.

This day was so exciting for me. I never thought I would actually go back to school and graduate with my bachelors and I DID IT. I have always had the dream to be a teacher. I hope that now I can find a job as a teacher.

This picture is of Karrilyn(my oldest daughter), Todd( my 17 old son), and I am in the middle. It was such a beautiful day. I couldn't have asked for more.

Karrilyn on graduation day. She is so happy, which you can tell by this picture.

This is of Todd on graduation day. He is such a cutie. I am so proud of both of them. They have worked SO hard.

Here is a picture of me with my two sisters, Kami and Kristi and my two kids that graduated with me. This day was very special. My mom and dad came down for the graduation and Mike's parents did also. We also had my two sisters come down and Kami actually brought her two kids too and then Mike's sister and brother in law( Anna and Fuzzy) came down too. It was a day I will never forget.

My Happiness, My Joy

This is a picture of my family. We had pictures taken just before AJ left in December and I am so GLAD that we did. This picture says it all.
My family is my happiness, and my joy. Without them I wouldn't be anything. They have been my life, my job, my ambition for over 24 years. Each day brings new challenges and also many great rejoices. This last year has been so hard to have AJ gone but it has made us grow stronger and closer together, it has strengthened us. I can't say it has been great but I wouldn't want it any other way. Many times I find myself looking around and wondering why and I know it is because there is someone missing. AJ is with us wherever we go.
I truly am blessed to have the greatest kids. I must say they are not perfect but pretty close. There are days that I say is it all worth it but they keep reminding me constantly in so many ways that it has all been worth it.

Many years ago, I decided to stay home and not work and be with our kids as they grew up. At that time it was very hard for me because I am quite social, but I do not regret any day spending with them. They are my everything. Our family has been blessed so much by this great opportunity that I had to stay home. We haven't been the richest but we have always had what we needed and my kids know that mom is there for them. I hope and pray that I have done and taught them everything that they need to know for this life. I greatly miss my kids being small and easy to snuggle with and hold but I am so glad for the great adults they are becoming and the love that they share to those around them. I hope somewhere they have learned a little from me being there for them. I am very GLAD to be a Glad.

The Glad Life

Life around here has been crazy. We keep waiting for Spring and it doesn't seem to be coming any time soon, but we decided to take an afternoon and go up to Kolob Canyon. It was beautiful even though it is still really cold. What a beautiful drive.


Easter has come and gone and we did enjoy. My kids even though they are big still enjoy getting candy and having a Easter hunt. It was a great day to remember the resurrection of our Savior one of the greatest gifts we are given. This year Easter was also on General Conference weekend. What an extra treat. I can't remember a year when I felt we were taught better than this year. It was so great. I am always reminded of how much more I need to do as a mother and how much I haven't done but at least it gives me something to work towards. We all were thinking about AJ and hoping his Easter was great. He told us that he actually received an Easter basket from one of the families in Ohio. We also sent him an Easter basket. We sure miss our missionary, our AJ BEAR.

At our house it is always a tradition to have yummy treats for General Conference and it is also for Easter so this year we had an extra amounts of treats. What can we say. We all need to diet now.

Todd has been real busy with Sterling Scholar preparations for months now and it finally all came to an end last week. He has been having mock interviews, putting together his portfolio and many other things to get ready for it. We even bought him a suit. He looks so handsome. One of the last things we had to do to prepare him was to get his hair cut. He wasn't real excited about this but he knew it needed to be done.
Here are some before and after shots of his hair cut.

Before

After ( does he look happy about it???)

What a handsome looking guy. Todd is such an exceptional kid, young man. We went to Dixie State College last week and had a dinner and then program where they presented the Sterling Scholars that won for regional competition. Todd didn't win the regional competition but we sure thought he should have. You can tell he is a little stressed. He looks so awesome. Times like this is payment for moms. I can't believe that I have such an awesome young man. What would we do without him and his great desire to excel and give the best in every thing that he does. Todd you are a winner!!!

This last Saturday we also had the chance to go out and show how slow we really can run, just kidding. We had to do our annual 5K ROTC run. I actually felt like I had trained for it this year and it has been a while since I have felt prepared for it. It was a great run to do with my kids. We ran up Canyon Park trail. The bad part about that is it is almost all uphill and I am an old lady and those hills are really hard to run up. This is a tradition that we have been doing for about six years now.

I actually placed third place. That was kind of nice. This made me think twice about possibly doing the Cedar City half marathon in a couple of months but not sure I am up for it.

OTHER: A little more about life here in the Glad home. AJ is doing good on his mission. Our highlight is hearing from him on his email every week.

I have been trying to substitute and not getting as many calls as I used to. I really need something to do. I have been feeling quite lonely during the day and just not feeling needed. I hope to find a job for this next year, I hope you are all praying for me. I need something to keep me busy and I don't think getting pregnat is an option.

I am getting used to my braces, and I can actually eat. I do get tired of carrying around my food when I eat, always very self conscious of if there is food in them after eating out. I actually lost weight too. That is an added bonus.

We are starting to plan our graduation that is coming up in three weeks. Todd, Karrilyn and I will all be walking at SUU. I am getting my bachelors degree and Todd and Karrilyn are getting their Associates degree. This is such a big accomplishment for all of us. It will be quite an experience to have my kids get to graduate with me. I sure love them and I am so proud of them. Now for arrangements for graduation. I need to decide what to feed my family that is coming in for the graduation. ANY IDEAS???

Much Needed

It is amazing to me how sometimes we have one experience right after another that we really need and then there just don't seem like there are any for a while.

One of the great experiences I have had lately is that I have just finished reading the book "The Undaunted". It is very good. I encourage all of you to read it. It is a long book but I learned so much and really enjoyed it too. I know one thing, I am glad that I was not a pioneer woman. I really enjoyed the history that was in this book about the " Hole in the Rock", and there was also history about Cedar City, Parowan, and Panguitch. It was great.
I also had the great experience to go to EFY with our stake in my church, which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. EFY is for the youth of our church. Two of my own kids were able to attend. It was last Saturday and it was early. I was not looking forward to getting up early on a Saturday, but it was well worth it. There were about 700 or so youth there with their leaders to hear these three speakers. I knew it would be good but we were really in for a treat. The speakers were saying things that I felt pierced my heart and that they were just for me. Todd and Angela also were touched. They really felt uplifted. There are sometimes things that are said that you will never never forget. One thing I learned is that we need to be better than good. This really made me think. I know I have a lot of room to grow and I need to not be complacent but always looking for ways to strengthen my testimony and to improve who I am and the things that I should be doing.
My son, AJ, that is on his mission also has challenged us to read the Book of Mormon in 50 days and to also underline any place where it talks about the Savior in any way. I have been doing that now for 3 weeks and it is hard to read eight pages a night but my testimony of my Savior and the scriptures has so been strengthened. I love it.
I also had a great experience yesterday. I have been needing to go to the temple as we all do and finally found some time to make the drive. When I arrived in St. George and went into the temple there was an hour and a half wait for initiatories. I knew that wasn't going to work because Karrilyn was waiting in the car. They asked if I would like to do sealings. Sure, I said. What a great experience. What a great valentine experience for me, to be reminded of the promises that I have by being sealed to my spouse for time and all eternity. This is a gift that I am ever ever so thankful for. I wish I could express the happiness and peace this gives me. The spirit was so strong in those beautiful sealing rooms as we did sealings for people that have passed onto the other side. I really enjoyed every minute of it and I am so thankful for this blessing in my life.
I guess I should also that I am teaching primary in my ward and I just LOVE it. There is nothing better than being in there with those cute kids. I have the 5-6 yr olds. They are so cute and want nothing more than to do what is right, and they teach me so much about life, our Savior and how we should be.

Enough about all of that, I hope it isn't boring you to tears but this is my way to keep a journal of things that are important to me. Thanks to all of you who care. You are appreciated.

A little different Christmas last year

Our Christmas was a little crazy this year and real different. For the weeks before Christmas we were trying to get AJ ready for his mission to Columbus. We spent a lot of time shopping, playing, preparing etc. Here is one of AJ's pictures in the MTC with his great friend Craig that just happened to be in the MTC when he was.

Yes, AJ was in the MTC during Christmas so we had to celebrate his Christmas before he left. His report date was Dec 16.

This is a picture of AJ helping to decorate the tree. For some reason there is always the tongue.

During that month, Mike and I took AJ to Salt Lake to shop for missionary clothes and to also take him to a couple of temples. We went to the new Draper Temple and the Salt Lake Temple. It was great. This picture is of Mike and AJ at Leatherbys. You just have to go to Leatherbys if you have the chance.

My kids, ever since they were little, usually get a Christmas outfit during the first part of December. This is a picture of them all with their new Christmas outfits. They know that time is running short and they are all going to miss their brother.

We had many friends and family come down for the missionary farewell. We were so overwhelmed with the love and support that we felt. AJ did a great job. SO many people commented that he spoke like a return missionary instead of one just going out. Of course we had to have great food to celebrate. We had a brunch with muffins, fruit, breakfast casserole and other great yummy food.

We did have a special day for AJ's Christmas. He is such a cutie. His Christmas wasn't that exciting, because how exciting can ties and shirts be but we still had fun.

We have the greatest bishop in the world. Anyway, this is a picture of AJ on the night he was set apart as a missionary. We invited our bishop to come too. AJ and Bishop Wilson have a great relationship.

The day that AJ went to the MTC we woke everyone up early and headed to Dennys for breakfast. It was early but well worth it. We had a great time but it was real hard when the kids had to say good bye.

This is a picture of AJ and I at the MTC when we dropped him off. I am trying to look happy but this is definitely a bitter sweet moment.

A picture of Mike and AJ the day that we took him to the MTC. As you can tell it was a hard day. AJ will be a fabulous missionary.

Christmas morning, Angela doesn't look too awake.

Todd is so excited about his external drive and really knows how to show it. He must be from my side of the family.

Christmas morning with Karrilyn is always a blast. She is always so happy about what she gets even though she is my oldest. My kids definitely love Christmas. Wonder who they got that from.

Christmas Eve checking out where Santa has been on the computer. We have to make sure we are to bed on time. Haha.

Christmas morning, my kids are so cute. It was definitely different without AJ for Christmas but we tried to make the most of it. This picture is of Angela, Todd, and Karrilyn. Merry Christmas.

Christmas tree, you always have to have a picture of the Christmas tree. New Year here we come.

Why do they do that???

Each day as I look around at my wonderful, beautiful children, they continue to keep growing up. This is hard for me, because I love my babies. I think I will be baby hungry for the rest of my life.

Don't get me wrong, I adore my kids. They truly are the best, and I just love who they have become. They are so fun and we have so much fun together. What will I ever do when they move away??? I remember the day, which was yesterday, or so it seems when I had four under the age of six. Life was so crazy and hectic and today it is not any less hectic but life is SO different. It is wonderful to be able to go places with my husband and not have a babysitter or have to take them with me everywhere that I go, but I miss it too.

Karrilyn is dating someone, ok talking to someone but long distance and it has been going on for over a month. He lives in California so it is easy to not get into too much trouble when you live away from each other. I don't think I remember ever seeing her SO HAPPY. Thanks John, you are the best. Karrilyn is so wonderful and very much deserves the very best. She is also going to college and working. Yuck.

AJ is also going to college and working at Smith's. He is very busy because he has become so social since he started college that he is always heading to some dance or game. He just loves people and especially girls, girls, girls. He knows a girl everywhere that we go. AJ is my big bear and always has been. He is SO adorable and loving.

Todd is my charming, wonderful seventeen year old. He is awesome in every way. He and I disagree about his hair, but I guess if that is my worst battle I will just need to keep my mouth shut. Todd is a senior in high school and taking mostly college classes. He is very social. He has a group of great kids that he hangs around and he is also on the Cross Country team. He also plays the piano and is very talented with it. Todd is awesome.

Angela is such a ham. She is so loving and so cheerful. She makes everyone laugh, most of the time. She is my baby and I don't want to tell you how old she is because in my book she is still my eight year old. She is also taking some intense classes and plays the flute, and piano and is on the Cross Country team. She makes us all laugh and we have so much fun together. She is pretty much a lot of fun for an eight year old.( just kidding) Ang you ROCK...

You see, in my eyes they will or should never grow up but they will and I just hope that I can handle it. I love my kids. They are my WORLD!!!

And it all starts...

This week has been very crazy for all of us Glads. Angela and Todd started back to school last Thursday and Karrilyn, AJ and I started back this Monday. It will be a crazy year for all of us. We will be working hard in many classes. I think we will need much chocolate and cookie dough to help us get through it all.

Student Teaching
I actually started my student teaching on Monday. I was very nervous the first day but after that things have continually become better. I am in the first grade. It has been a shocking experience for me. First graders can't do a whole lot, but they sure are adorable. The days have seemed long but as the week has gone by it has seemed to get better and better. I am teaching quite a lot of each day. I think the kids are getting used to me and I think I am also adapting. There is so much that goes into teaching each day. It is quite intense. I am student teaching out at Enoch Elementary school. I will be in first grade for thirty days and then fourth grade for thirty days. I can't believe that I am finally to this point where I will actually be graduating from school. What a dream I have been waiting for. I hope you are all cheering me on, because I can use it. I just hope once I am finished that I can actually find a job and teach.

I guess the hardest thing is to be gone all day from my kids and not being there every second when they need me. Mike has been wonderful. The first day he made enchiladas for dinner and cleaned the entire house. NO!! he has never made enchiladas before but they were great. He has definitely been cheering me on. Who knows maybe I will actually be a teacher some day.

Todd also had a birthday this week. He turned 17. For his birthday we gave him a laptop. He has all college classes this year but a few high school. He will need it. We also went out to dinner to the Pizza Factory. It was very yummy. My kids totally love it and we haven't been there for quite a while. I can't believe Todd is actually 17. I sure love my TODD. He is an exceptional boy with so much desire and most of all the desire to do good. Happy Birthday to my Todd Schmodd, Todderoo, one of my best friends. He is awesome!!!!!!!!!!

My Linsey Lou...

About 21 years ago, I had one of the greatest experiences of my life. I just can't believe that it has really been that long. I had my first daughter, Karrilyn. I was so thrilled and she was definitely spoiled. She was the first child for us and she was also the first grandchild on both sides of the family. She had aunts and uncles that just adored her. There was never a time that there wasn't someone that wanted to babysit her for us.

I remember that special day like it was yesterday. I had waited my whole life to be a mom and I was so scared but so excited. I ended up having Karrilyn early and I also had her C section. That was very scary for me and then Karrilyn was very little. As a first time mom, I was a little too worried about doing something wrong because she was so small. She was SO beautiful and through the years my love for her has grown and grown as much as her beauty. She has grown into a beautiful young lady not only on the outside but even more so on the inside. Any one that knows Karrilyn can tell you how great she is just by being around her they know.
I feel so blessed to be her mother, even though she has been the one that has taught me so much through the years. Some day she will be a great mother to her own children.

Karrilyn has many nicknames. We call her Linsey Lou, Camel, Sissy, and many others. I feel so lucky that we still have her living at home with us. She is going to college and also working.

Any time that I ask her to do ANYTHING for me she never complains. She is always willing to give of anything asked of her. She is so generous and loving. She keeps us all smiling with her fun loving way.

She has many great talents. She loves to swim, teach children, listen, serve others, make us laugh, but most of all she treats everyone great and wonderful. Happy Birthday Karrilyn. I hope your day was as great as you have made my life.

Week full of Fun, Fun, Fun...

I know it has taken me forever to update my blog. I can't believe how crazy Summer gets especially when you go on vacation and then have three birthdays in one week.

Our trip to Disneyland was great. It was quite an adventure. We had planned on going to the beach but we ended up having some car trouble so we played at the hotel one day and went to see "Night at the Museum" at Downtown Disney. What a great theater. We did get our vehicle fixed and so we were ready for Six Flags in California on Tuesday. If you don't know what Six Flags is it is pretty much a theme park with any kind of roller coaster that there is possible.

A picture of my kids in front of the old western town in Six Flags. It was a blast but quite busy. We did do a lot of walking but it was fun. I must be getting older because some of the rides were a little too much for me, but you do what you need to do.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we went to Disneyland. We were withing walking distance from Disneyland, well I guess one mile counts as walking distance. We walked to Disneyland, walked home for lunch and walked back and then back for dinner each night. We also walked all over California Adventure Park and Disneyland Park. What a lot of walking!!! I guess that helps with all of the treats that you eat on vacation, right??? Our feet were quite tired each night and ready for a rest.

It just isn't Disneyland without going and seeing some of the Disney characters and getting pictures with them even if you have to stay in line.

One of our traditions at Disneyland is to go and get ice cream for one of our meals, quite expensive but very worth it. We don't buy very much food at Disneyland but we just can't pass the ice cream and the homemade fudge down.

Standing in line to see Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse is just one of the parts about Disneyland that is necessary. My husband noticed right away that Minnie had her hand on his shoulder and was wondering if Mickey would be jealous.

One of our favorite rides was the Haunted Hotel ride. It is quite a ride. I think that we went on it about at least six times in the three days that we were there.

This is a picture of us waiting inside of the Haunted Hotel for our turn. You already knew we were a little scary but now you know that we can be even more scary.

This is us waiting for Pirates of the Caribbean. My husband is above us on a bridge taking the picture.

The flowers were just beautiful there in California, we just had to take a few pictures of them.

This is the last night. We stayed at Disneyland until about 12 am. It was fun but really started getting crowded on that night. The lines were a lot longer. Some of our most favorite rides at Disneyland would have to be the Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Hotel ride, Space Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Screamer, Woody's Round Up and Soaring over California.

What a week of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the whole week with my hubby and my wonderful kids. They are all so busy so to spend a week with not outside interruptions was great. It was truly like a fairytale and I will always cherish this great trip. We had so much fun and everyone enjoyed everyone's company without arguing or complaining. Thanks Kids, you guys are great and thanks Mike, you always make it the best and spoil all of us.

My diet and other randomness

This week has been very crazy. I am so sorry that I haven't posted, but school has been very busy and stressful. It is so hard to have a growing family and go to school full time too and keep my house up.

Texting- Anyway, to all of those wanting to know if we decided to get texting or not for Todd, yes we did!!! Thanks for your input. I told Todd that we were going to try it for one week and if for any time, texting begins to overcome his life then we would cancel it. We also made him and his sister help pay for it. One of the things that has a big deciding fact in this matter is that we receive texts all the time anyway even though we don't have texting, because I am going to school and friends from school text me about assignments and Karrilyn also has friends that text her, so we end up paying for those texts anyway. Wish us luck!!! I really think Todd won't abuse this, because he is such a good kid and I can't see him texting all day and night. We will see.

Diet( new way of life)Next thing on my mind, I have been on a diet(a way of life change) now for almost four weeks. It has been hard, but I have a great husband that also did it with me. I can't believe that he put up with it. Yes, we actually paid for a new diet plan that is out there and it really worked and helped quite a lot. If you are really interested, let me know and I can give you some information on it. It is definitely not for everyone.

The good news is that my husband lost 18 pounds and I lost 12 pounds. I was really thinking that I would have lost more, but I must be getting old. You are told that you do have the possibility of losing between 10-30 pounds, so of course, I am on the tail end of the weight loss. I guess I should add that I lost the weight in the first three weeks on the diet and the last week has just been a stabilization, but you are still pretty much on a diet but it is less strict. It is supposed to help you to not gain back what you have already lost. The other good news is that I feel great. We both had our blood drawn before and then again after and it lowered my cholesterol 45 points and also my blood sugar. It lowered my husband's too but not as much as we had hoped.

Would I do this again if I knew what I know now? yes, I probably would. I have learned a lot and I really think it has helped me to change how I live and how I eat. I haven't had any sugar for almost four weeks, that is just part of it but it does feel good.

School-The last thing on my mind is that I just can't believe how close I am to being finished with school. The end of this month I will be finished and then all I have is student teaching in the Fall. I am so excited but I will truly miss all of the friends that I see all day every day. It will be sad too.

I definitely need some fun ideas for this Summer down here in southern Utah. If you have any ideas let me know.

Do you have bunnies at your house??

Through the years my kids have done and said some real funny things. I am sure that you all of you have had similar experiences.

I remember the year when Karrilyn was about three and we lived in a small home in Riverton. One day she was playing in the kitchen and she said, " Mom there is a cute little bunny under our stove." She insisted that there was and to come and look. I looked under the kitchen stove and there was a mouse. It ran out and we all screamed. Well, that was our cute little bunny. We all laughed and laughed. It was so funny.



Another time we were going to California to Disneyland and we also went to Universal Studios with the kids. When we finally got to Universal Studios I think everyone was tired. We found a ride that was supposed to be real fun and exciting. It was called the Jurassic Park Ride. We decided that the kids would love this ride. As we went down to get on it and stand in line, two of our kids started crying and whining. It looked to scary for them and they did not want to go on it. It was a long hour and a half wait with two girls whining and crying about how scared they were to go on it. We did however finally all go on this ride, and after we got off the ride our girls said," Can we go again, that was fun." That is just how it is. You would have thought we were abusing them or something but they were sure excited and wanted to go again afterwards.

One other time, my husband and I decided to take the kids to see Stuart Little when it came out to the movie theater. We had heard that the kids would love it. We thought it would be a great Family Home Evening activity. We pulled into the movie theater and our son Todd who was probably about 5 or 6 at the time said that he didn't want to go. He said that he heard from the other kids at school that the cat in it swears. We told him that we had heard that it was fine and that we were going to go and enjoy it. You would have thought that we were abusing him because he was whaling and crying. Mike had to forcefully pick him up and drag him into the theater.

The kids ended up thoroughly enjoying the movie and wanted to buy it for ours to keep. What our kids put us through some times. All we wanted was to have a fun activity and he had decided that it was not going to be fun. KIDS.

I am sure that all of you have experiences or things that your kids have said that you still laugh at today. I am glad for these great memories to look back on. Share some of yours.

You need to GO

The weekend after Christmas our family had a once in a lifetime opportunity. We were able to go through the Draper Temple with Mike's dad as our tour guide. Mike's dad has been on a so called mission during the time the temple has been built for about 40 hours a week, watching and making sure the drywall and other things were done right and if not they had to be redone. Finally, the temple is done and it was so awesome to have him be able to take us through and show us the temple without a lot of people around.

It is a very beautiful temple, inside and out. The kids were totally stunned and amazed. I can't begin to express the feeling that we felt there, especially when we walked into the celestial room and to have all of my kids there with us was a very uplifting experience. I don't think that we will EVER forget this special time and special place. I do believe that we had the best tour guide that is possible too. What a day!!! If you haven't been and are interested you need to go. They are doing their open house clear up until March some time. For any of you that are not members but are interested, this open house is open to anyone rather you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints or not. It is a very remarkable building and well worth the trip.

Some of my favorites, just a little late

I know I am a little late but my life and my mind has been filled with much more than blogging lately. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Christmas. There were many many more pictures but these are just a few of the great ones.
Mike in his new Grinch pajamas being a rock star with all of the rest of us.

Picture of all of us on Christmas Eve with new pajamas.

This is a picture of my cute kids in their Christmas outfits. I think they are just the cutest.

If you are dying to see more of Christmas photos, I will bring out some more just let me know.