Cicero and service

Every year, Jacob's work organizes a time when the employees and their families can go and serve
meals at a local homeless shelter. It has become one of our very favorite traditions and we are so
thankful for the time to think about what truly matters and the wonderful opportunity to serve.

Master storyteller

From December 1st to December 24th, we have many a wrapped book (thanks to
Annie's fabulous wrapping skills) that sit under our Christmas tree, waiting to be
opened on their appropriate day. It is definitely one our favorite traditions.

The other night, we needed to get our book read, but didn't have much time. And when
the book-of-the-night was opened, it was a long one. Ugh! So I asked Jacob to solve
the problem with his mad thinking skills. And boy did he. The "abbreviated" story
was not only much shorter, but absolutely hilarious. Honestly, all of us were laughing
so hard, we were having trouble breathing. It was one of those things that you had to
be there for, but because our little family was, I wanted it on the blog to remember it.

I love Jacob Allen so much. He is something else in every way.

Company Christmas party

We are so grateful for the company Jacob works for. They are generous and kind and really fun
to be around. It has been a privilege and a blessing to be a part of such a great organization.

(And just for the record, no alcohol was served at this party,
contrary to the lovely look on Grace's face.)

From our little family

Benjamin and bats

This boy seriously melts my heart and I adore him. Even when he is talking about bats at
his class animal fair. And that is saying something because bats creep me out to no end.

Oh I love this kid.

November phone pics

 The day that my grandma passed away was so, so hard on me. I spent it inside, doing my best to
take care of the littles and attempting to wrap my mind around a world without my Gram. That
afternoon, I went outside to pick up the older kids from school and this is the sky that greeted
me. I don't even have words for what it did to my heart. The sky may not mean a whole lot
to others, but it does to me. It has long been a sign from my Heavenly Father that my hope
and trust in Him is well placed. And that His way is the right way. What this sight did to my
heart on that devastating Monday afternoon still makes me cry, even this many weeks later.

This boy got asked to the Christmas Dance. On October 30th. (Okay then?)
And answered the cute girl just a few days later. Here he is ready to give her an answer.

I love this blurry photo of Campbell on the porch putting the final touches on the answer.
I was in the getaway car waiting for he and Annie and dying to know how it all went.

 And just in case you didn't know what he told his dance date...well, here you go.

As Nathan boy likes to say, "Well, that was unexpected."
That is exactly how I felt looking out the window on this particular morning.

More beauty.

 These darlings. They make me happy.

Except when I realize how insanely old I am to be parenting a child with
this amount of energy. And this much cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs inside her.

Family, football and a whole lot of cold

On our way up to the USU/BYU football game. We took a bit of a different route and were

 able to avoid traffic. And as a bonus, saw the beautiful Brigham City temple close up.

The selfie the kids took before the game started.

The selfie Jacob and I took right after the game started.

The view from our seats. Right around the time BYU started pulling ahead. Happy day.

It was so ridiculously cold. And Jacob bought some hot chocolate during half time
to try to keep us all from freezing to death. I haven't touched chocolate in more than
eleven months and shockingly, it has been much less of an issue than I thought possible.
Until the moment this photo was taken. I didn't want the chocolate, I just wanted the
warmth. But I didn't give in. I'm still not sure if I am happy about that or not.

By the middle of the third quarter my feet were so cold I truly thought they

might fall off. And I wasn't the only one. It was bad. Which is why we left

just as the fourth quarter begin. You know, ahem, for the sake of the kids.

On our way home in our warm car. It took us a long time for our temperature to normalize
again. But oddly, it felt worth it. Or maybe that is just now that my feet don't feel dead.

Grateful

 Grateful for them.

 Grateful for him.

So deeply grateful for Him.

My favorite color is sunset

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,

Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

Another one for the collection

We have someone at our house who is a tad bit OCDish, so we aren't really the kind of
people to collect things. Although I do collect beautiful plates from different countries
that are meaningful to us and I loveth those a lot. And apparently we collect children.
But I thought that was about the end of our collections, until Jacob brought home a copy
of this latest photo yesterday. Good grief, I'm starting to become jealous of President
and Mrs. Bush. They appear to hang out with my husband more often than I do.

Her day

She would have been 94 today. Although, I don't have a single doubt that the deal she
got instead is much preferred. It is a strange feeling to go about your day with your
heart simultaneously aching beyond belief and filled with complete joy at knowing
where she is at and how happy she is. What gratitude I have for my Savior and what
He has made possible every day, but today especially, it feels deeper and more sacred. 

Happy Birthday my sweet Gram. I miss you.

You might say she is a little happy

Annie girl and her new horse had their first lesson together today. And it was something else
to watch. Love this girl, love watching her ride, love her amazing instructor so crazy much. 

A few notes for those who might care...

His name is Maverick. And he is gorgeous. For the record, we don't actually own him,
but instead we pay for his monthly fees. Annie's teacher does not use him as a lesson
horse and only Annie rides him, so he is considered Annie's horse for at least this year.
And maybe longer depending on how they do together. Annie is in heaven. 

As you might imagine.

We'll work on the hair later

She would appreciate it if you could start addressing her as Herminoe.
Thanks in advance.

A day of great gratitude

I woke up feeling such intense gratitude for those who have and are currently
serving our great country. Especially those in our family who have
chosen to sacrifice so much. In some cases their very lives.

Annie and I decided to take a treat and note to the crossing guard at her school--
an incredibly sweet man who we learned was a veteran. He was so grateful and
appreciative for the small gesture and as we drove away, he suddenly stood
at attention and saluted both of us. It made me cry.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who have served, to those
who now serve and to those that allow them to be able to serve.
Our little family is so grateful.

Two is such a fun age

I took pictures of the kids this afternoon for our Christmas card.
It obviously went magnificently well, thanks for asking.

Four

Nathan boy had a birthday today and if there is anything more fun than watching a
four-year-old celebrate a birthday, I don't know what it would be. Oh we love our Nate.

 Opening presents first thing was pretty exciting.

 He was so sweet and thrilled for everything we gave him.

 Especially this truck shirt. You can't tell from his face can you?

 And one more gift from mom and dad.

 You should have seen the second he realized his new stuffed animal
was wearing the watch he had wanted for a very long time.

 It might have been the easy favorite.

 If you can't tell.

 And the traditional toilet-paper-roll-full-of-birthday-fun-from-your-siblings gift.

He saved it for last and loved feeling like one of the big kids.

 He gifted me with this handsome picture right before we left for church.

And blurry or not, I love this photo so much.

But not as much as I love our Nate. Oh man, we are grateful he is ours.

Reminders and peace

I've never needed to be at the temple more than I did this morning.
I'm so incredibly grateful for the reminder of the eternal nature of families
and the deep peace that is possible because of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am so blessed.

I miss my sweet grandma so much.
But can't help but be so incredibly happy for her.

Jacob minus some mass

Just a couple of days ago, Jacob had to have a mass removed from his head. Thankfully, it wasn't
anything serious. He had had it for years, but in the last few months, it had started to grow quite a
bit and was pretty noticeable. So he found a fabulous doctor who did a great job taking it out.

 The before photo. It doesn't make it look like much unfortunately, but it would be wrong .

 All marked up and ready for it to start. You can see how big the incision had to be. Yuck.

 And two hours later, he is sewn up and ready to go. I do actually own the photos for
the time in between these two pictures, but I would never dream of putting them on the
blog. It was much more gruesome than any of us imagined. Even the doctor was surprised
at the size and what it took to remove it. We were all definitely glad to have it over.

And because the wound was so much larger and deeper than imagined, the doctor
ended up putting on a pressure bandage that Jacob wore for 24 hours. He was
really happy about how fashionable and fancy it was. Can you blame him?

Snow

This baby girl of the crazy hair was absolutely captivated by the snow today.

Together

Every time I think of this reunion, my heart that feels broken beyond repair, mends just a teeny, tiny
bit. I'm so overwhelmed with the knowledge that my Savior made it possible for them to be together
again. And for me to join them some day. I don't think we, me at the top of the list, realize how close
our loved ones that have passed on are or how intimately involved in our lives they are on a daily
basis. I'm so grateful for that knowledge. It is healing me one beautiful moment at a time.

My sweet, sweet Gram

She is gone. My heart cannot imagine a world she is not a part of and my mind cannot
comprehend a day going by and not hearing her voice. But she is with my Grandpa
and she lived a wonderful and faithful and good life. I knew she loved me so very much
and my loving Heavenly Father created a miracle just for me, when I was saying goodbye
to her, that told me with the utmost certainty, that she knew how much I loved her. 

Goodbye my sweet Gram. I love you and will miss you every day until we are together again.

Goodbye

Saying goodbye to my sweet Gram before I flew home tonight was, without question,
the most heartbreaking thing I've ever done. But spending the last two nights with her,
just the two of us, are the most sacred hours I have ever experienced. I'm so grateful
for my incredible husband for making the past two days possible and for his unreal
kindness and thoughtfulness toward me. My constant prayers for a quick and painless
passing for my grandma have only increased as I had to walk out her door.