The new First Presidency

President Oaks, President Nelson, President Eyring.

I sustain, honor and adore these three men with every part of my heart.
I'm so grateful for their willingness to serve and to help the rest
of us feel Heavenly Father's great love on a regular basis.

What an incredible time to be alive!

My prophet

God's love

They are officially on their way. And while I am still sad, I can't quit thinking about the difference
they are going to make in thousands of lives in Ghana. And how much they will love and be loved
by all they serve. I know it will be one of their greatest blessings on this earth to be with so many
wonderful young men and women in the MTC and help them to feel God's love for them.

The Lord really is so kind. Especially to let us feel peace, even in the midst of heartache.
That, to me, is just one more reason I know God loves His children.

Saying goodbye

Tonight, after dinner and many hours of visiting and laughing, the kids and I said
goodbye to Jacob's parents. (Jacob will be taking them to the airport with his
two brothers tomorrow.) The farewell was pretty terrible and I'm still emotional.
And watching my kids have to hug their grandparents goodbye about broke my heart.

No one has to tell me how wonderful their call is or how it is from the Lord and is so very
right. No one needs to explain how serving our God is a privilege and how blessed I am
to have in-laws that are so good and so obedient. No one needs to mention what a blessing
the next two years will be to all of us and how quickly it will go and how they and we will
be taken care of and watched over. I know all of that as deeply as I know anything.

But tonight I'm just really, really sad. I'll see the wonderful in a day or two. But until then, I'm just
pretty devastated to be losing close contact and proximity to two of the best, most kind, most caring
people I know. Never mention, my husband's parents and my children's grandparents. That is a
hard pill to swallow. Even when everything about it is right and will eventually be for our good.

President Thomas S. Monson

Watching the celebration of President Monson's life yesterday was the best thing I did all day.
I can't quit thinking about it. Especially that incredibly touching prayer by Elder Holland at
the end. Which is why I spent quite a bit of time today looking at the beautiful photos people
took during the funeral. And wanted to share these few favorites I found on Desert News.

I love this prophet of ours to the deepest part of my heart. I miss him and feel so privileged
to have witnessed so much goodness and love and selfless service in one person.
The Lord is so kind to have blessed us with Thomas Monson the last ten years.

My favorite books of 2017

Well, it's that time again. Time for me to share my favorite books of 2017. I actually read very little this past year. Much of that having to do with the struggle I went through for much of the year until I finally received an answer to why my brain hated me. I think it was just too hard to focus on reading when my head hurt so much all of the time. But I do love reading and still managed to get in thirty books this past year, so I'm thankful for that. And as always, I wanted to share my favorites of those thirty.

The Book of Mormon
This will always be my favorite, it will always change me as a person and I will always be grateful to the Lord for giving me such an incredible blessing on a daily basis. In searching the blog for a photo to use, I came across this post that I wrote about The Book of Mormon and I was so glad I did. I haven't read it in years and years and it reminded me why I love this book so very much.

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
I really loved this book. It is a super fast read. Most people know this author for the book he wrote about a grumpy, wonderful man named Ove. I didn't ever make it through that book (I know, I know, it was amazing, but I couldn't do it), but this book was one of my favorites ever. I don't want to spoil it by sharing anything besides it had me thinking for days and days after I finished it. It was beautiful and thought-provoking and I want to read it again.

I'll Be There
This was a very different kind of book than I usually read, but incredibly interesting and I definitely enjoyed it.

Mirror
I was almost totally through this book before I realized I knew this author. My parents live by her parents and my sister has known her for some time. I don't necessarily know her well, but I know of her. And I will tell you, my opinion of her writing has nothing to do with realizing that I knew this person. She. Is. A. Writer. I loved this first book so much. It was different and unusual and the writing really was exceptional in my opinion. It was just a fun read and I finished the entire series (three books) just last night. (Oh and this book is super clean and great for teens. Annie read the first after I recommended it and then read the other two quickly after.)

An Unseen Angel
This was an extremely difficult book to read. To think of losing a child is more than most parents can handle, but to lose a child in a tragic school shooting is just unimaginable. But I was so glad I read this book. Because while this sweet mother was honest and raw, she was also faithful and hopeful. And the combination did something to my heart and made me grateful I read this wonderful book.

Falling to Heaven
I don't even know what to say about this book. It felt life-changing to me and I don't say that lightly. Just read it.

Real Moms: Making It Up As We Go
I have enjoyed reading blog posts from this author for some time, as well as seeing her on different television shows and commercials (Random Acts on BYUtv and those hilarious Chatbooks commercials). So I really wanted to read this book and I'm glad I did. Their family is going through something extremely difficult, but they are doing it with humor and grace and that is the kind of parenting book I want to read. A book by someone who laughs and cries and realizes we don't have to be perfect moms. But does encourage us all to keep trying because it is worth it.

Okay, enjoy! This is my seventh year of sharing my book favorites. Kind of crazy when I think about it, but I sure hope they have been helpful to someone.

Happy reading friends!  

He is hands down the most fun of all of us

 

 

 

We sure love this Matt boy a whole lot.

This morning

I had the incredible privilege of spending some time in this building this morning. And those
moments spent with Elder Holland, Elder Sitati and Jacob's family will be one of my favorite
memories forever. I do not have words to explain how much I love, admire, respect and just plain
adore Elder Holland. I also don't have words for how much I will miss my in-laws as they head
to Ghana next week to be over the MTC in Accra. It was a sweet and emotional morning.

And I feel so honored to have been there.

Friday evening

We spent Friday evening at the temple and out to dinner with these fabulous people and their
wives. It was really wonderful, but it was a hard reminder just how much I am going to miss
my in-laws. I'm just really grateful to be related to some of my favorite people in the world.

My dad

Happy 80th Birthday to a man I love, admire and respect nearly above all others!
He serves more than anyone I know, loves the temple and Book of Mormon more
than anyone I know and is definitely more witty and hilarious than anyone I know.
I am honored to be his daughter and if I could follow in even just a few of his footsteps,
I would consider my life incredibly successful. Happiest Birthday to my amazing Dad!

Yesterday

Ten

Happy Birthday my amazing boy!
You are so very loved.

Our prophet

For something I knew was coming, I am surprised at how emotional I find myself this morning.
I think because the Lord blessed me with a strong and sure testimony of President Thomas S. Monson
being our prophet. I knew it to the deepest part of my heart. And feel so happy for him and the sweet
reunion with his darling wife I keep picturing. But I'm just so sad for the rest of us that loved this
gentle, good man who changed us with who he was and what he challenged us to do. He shared many
truths that made me a better person, but I will never think of him without remembering my favorite
thing he ever said, "I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson
will run that errand for Him." He was my hero and my prophet. I'm so grateful for his life.

2017

In all honesty, 2017 was one of the hardest years of my life. I don't have the ability to convey the amount of pain I was in, on a daily basis, with very little relief if any, for almost nine months of this year. The degree to which I had to fight to be the mother and wife I wanted to be makes me deeply emotional just thinking about it. It was just so hard, for so long.

And yet.

God never wastes anything difficult we go through. Never. And yes, an absolute and complete miracle happened to diagnose and thus treat my incredibly strange brain disorder, and I found relief. And not a day goes by that I still can't believe the life I am now living versus the one I dealt with for more than a year. But even without that miracle that makes me cry every time I think about it, God is still good. He still comforted, sustained and supported me when I didn't know how to do it one more minute, never name many more months. And my Savior, the only One who knew wholly and completely what I was going through, never left my side. Not once.

So I will always look back on 2017 and feel gratitude to the deepest part of my heart for all of it. Every single bit. Because God's path will always be greater than mine. Because of where it leads me and to Whom it leads me to.

And as if all of that isn't enough. He gave me Jacob. And Campbell and Annie and Matthew and Benjamin and Nathan and Grace. I will spend the rest of eternity thanking Him for those gifts. And it will never be enough. But I'm not looking for my meager attempts to ever be enough for His goodness and glory and greatness. I'm just looking to show gratitude every possible second I can. And to come until Christ and someday, to be perfected in Him.

Farewell 2017. You changed who I am. And I thank my Father in Heaven every single day that you did.

December phone pics

When a child, who will remain nameless, burns some food so terribly your entire kitchen fills
with smoke, you throw open the windows and bring in the fans. And once things are slightly less
smokey, the fans begin to be used as entertainment. And you capture fabulous photos like this one.

For my Dad's birthday celebration, we decided to prepare for and then put together refugee
kits for darling people all over the world who might need them. We worked through
an organization and I was asked to buy all of the supplies (with the generous donations
of several of my siblings) and have them ready for my Dad's party. The kids were gone
with Jacob while I was buying and organizing everything we would need. When they
walked into the house late the evening I was ready to pack them all up, Nate took one
look at everything and asked Annie, "Did Mom start couponing while we were gone?"

My sweet dad

That man in the middle is one of my greatest heroes. And celebrating his upcoming
80th birthday with my siblings and their spouses was such a privilege last night.
We ate, we laughed, we were able to bless the life of several refugees and we became
emotional a time or two because we adore our dad so much. It was a good night.
But we sure missed my one brother who couldn't make it and my mom who was sick.

And then this morning, one more celebration for this sweet dad of mine. His grandkids (and greats)
all came to give him a hug, sing once more to him and eat breakfast together. My sister asked me to
show him this picture on her camera after she took it and while showing it to my dad, I asked him if it
made him happy or overwhelmed and he answered, "Yes." There were twelve grandchildren missing
(including greats and spouses and great-grandchildren). We so missed those who couldn't be there.

And lastly, I'm so thankful to have this picture of our kids with their granddad.
And even more grateful for my wonderful dad and his huge influence in my life.

Thank you so much for the wonderful photos Kate, Tara and Madison! I'm so grateful.

Fun with family

Jacob's brother and sister-in-law and their family hosted a family get together right after
Christmas for a couple of days. Jacob took the kids up and they spent time playing
games and laughing and visiting and skiing and playing in the snow and just being
together. They loved it and my cute mother-in-law sent me this darling picture of a few
of the cousins. We are so grateful for family and time with them during the holidays.

He's my favorite

Happy day

Being in the temple with Jacob is my favorite, but being in the temple
for the sealing of my sweet niece and her new husband, with my dad
as the sealer, was absolutely wonderful. I cried so many happy tears.

Congratulations Dru and Paul! We are just so thrilled for both of you.

Snow fun

 We have the nicest neighbors ever.
And not just because they let us play with their fabulous toys.

I just really love being a mom to these six darlings.

Christmas morning

Our morning. Simple and calm and peaceful and perfect.

Christmas Eve