Benjamin Jay ~ This is fourteen

Happy, Happy Birthday my incredible boy! You are so outrageously loved.

Our Hermana Allen

Three things...

1. Our girl. While we were talking to her today. I'm just a huge fan of Mondays. 

2. Hermana Allen is officially going to Uruguay! She received notice yesterday and we are so thrilled for her, we could burst. Just the happiest news ever. She will definitely miss Maryland, but cannot wait to fly to Montevideo at the beginning of February. 

 3. And this thought from her email today, "Guys. Spanish is AWESOME. I'm literally not even in a Spanish area and I'm obsessed with the language. In reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish, you learn so many more concepts and the Lord teaches you so much. My favorite thing is that in Spanish, the words "to adore" and "to worship" are the exact same word. How incredible is that? What if we went to church to adore God? What if we prayed to adore Him more? What if we sang songs in adoration of Him? What if we read the scriptures and learned more about Him so we could adore Him even more? HOW COOL IS THAT?? Anyway, let's all adore God a little more this week."

I just love her so much. It is such an honor to be her mom.

They’re truly the best and I’m forever the luckiest

A new year

Happiest New Year dear friends. So grateful for the promise of new beginnings, continued friendship, time with those we love most and a God who is anxiously waiting to give us every good thing.

I’ve been emotional the last few days as this new year approached, knowing this would be the year when I wouldn’t see or hug my sweet Annie in person. I miss her fiercely. But I also know she is where she wants to be, where she is supposed to be, and I’m grateful for that knowledge.

Thank you for what you mean to our little family. We could never thank you enough for being a part of the greatest miracle our Father in Heaven has ever given us. For that reason alone, we will never forget 2021. But the unfathomable fear and grief we also experienced makes this new year an extremely welcome one.

I’m so thankful for my incredible husband, my darling chicklets, my testimony of my Savior and His beautiful gospel and my Heavenly Father’s love and protective care. And for miracles. So many miracles.

Oh mortality is something else.

But so is our God.

Always my favorite

 

It’s been a highly unusual reading year for me. I read 80 books in 2021. Far more than I have ever been able to read in any given year. (Mostly because I was competing with my young nephew to see who could read 55 books first and I wanted to win and was flying through each novel because I’m nothing if not competitive. But he forgot to mention that he toasted me within just a few weeks of the year beginning, so I just kept going like a crazy person, but I still lost and I’m definitely not bitter. Not even a little.)

And of those dozens of books, my very favorite was and always will be the Book of Mormon. I loved it so much, I read it three times. Finishing it for the third time, just a couple of weeks ago.

I love the Book of Mormon with a fierceness that is hard to describe. I’m a better person and a better disciple of my Savior, Jesus Christ, because it exists. Because our Father in Heaven made sure it was a part of our lives, so that we could be happier and kinder and more loving and confident if we choose to read from it regularly.

The Book of Mormon is true. No matter if we believe it or not, it just is. And no amount of doubt or work on any person’s part to disprove it changes that fact. I will forever trust God in my knowledge of this because He is the One that told me so. He earned my love and trust long ago and that includes His assurance that the Book of Mormon comes from Him to each of us, because of His eternal love for all of His children.

It is another testament of Jesus Christ and if there is even the smallest part of you that wants to know and love your Redeemer more, the Book of Mormon will make that happen. I promise it will. And you will be happier and more peaceful in the meantime.

I’m so touched by a God who has given us such a beautiful, pure, incredible gift. It just humbles me to the core and I’m forever grateful to Him. And for the Book of Mormon. My favorite book I read this year to be sure.

Five stars. Plus an additional five hundred.

Highly recommend.

Healing and love

 

When I need healing, for myself or for those I love most, I go to the temple. As often as I possibly can.

Which is why I feel so privileged to have been within its walls three times since yesterday afternoon.
God is so generous with His goodness, power and love. And never is that more real and beautiful than
in His temple. I know that to the deepest part of my heart. And I need it to the deepest part of my soul.

I just cannot get over how much our Father in Heaven loves each one of us.

This I know

 
Never have I felt a deeper or more overwhelming gratitude on Christmas Day.
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep.” Of that I testify with all of my heart and soul.

This is happiness

 
This is joy.

Christ is born

“Stepping down from Heaven's throne
To show us that we're not alone
The truest love and single light
The Son of God on Christmas night

Someday He'll give His life for me
But now He sleeps so peacefully
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
They all sing ‘praise the King’
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Come adore, Christ is born today”

Twenty-three

For the last twenty-three years (this very day in fact) I've known what a privilege it is to be married to this
tremendous man. But never have I felt it more strongly or emotionally than I have this last week. He’s all
that is good and light and handsome and kind and calm and brave and loving. And being his wife for this
life and the next has surpassed every incredible dream I could ever wish for or want. Oh I love Jacob Allen.

Our sweet Maddie

  

As many of you know, our beautiful niece, Maddie went missing nine days ago. And through the incredible work of law enforcement, the prayers of more people than we could ever count and mostly our Father in Heaven’s miraculous power and overwhelming kindness, was found five days later. We will never stop praising God for the miracle we received. Never.

Of course there is still healing and recovery ahead, but our sweet Maddie is with us to go through that journey and we are eternally grateful. In addition, watching her parents go through this living nightmare has been the most humbling, beautiful, horrific, painful, inspiring experience of my life. There are no words.

Please know two things dear friends.

First, your support and kindness has meant everything to us. You think you have a small idea of how good people are and then you watch as humanity blows that perception out of the water (that especially applies to the law enforcement and what they were willing to do to find Maddie). I’m just so grateful, humbled, honored and blessed to know and interact with each of you. Thank you for caring about our Maddie. It has meant everything to a family numb with pain and grief. And it means everything to God who sees how we treat each other—how we, His children, treat one another—and weeps with gratitude. I believe that to the deepest part of my heart. Thank you for being a part of that and for doing what you have done so incredibly well.

And second, our God is a God of miracles. And YES that miracle includes finding our beautiful girl, but that is not all I am referring to. We have seen intimately and in ways that I could never describe, miracle after miracle after miracle. And I will never forget it. I will never stop trusting my Father in Heaven and my Savior. Far before this experience, but in every second of what our family has been through this last week, They have earned my trust. And my love for Them is for ever and for always. As is Their love for each one of us.

I’m so overwhelmingly grateful.

Another year, another annoying brag

 
You know, just looking at our holiday card from President and Mrs. Bush. As one does.

Holy squirrels, I am SO obnoxious. But it’s my favorite yearly brag (as opposed to
my favorite daily brag about Jacob and/or my chicklets). Especially considering how
incredibly kind President Bush was to and about me when we met a few years back.
So sorry, you’re going to have to just be annoyed with me sharing each year until it ends.

Because pretty much he’s like a grandfather to me. And I’m sure he would tell
you the same. Because of course he remembers me and wouldn’t at all look terrified
when I ran to give him a granddaughterly hug. Nor would the secret service take me
down before I could do so, because did you hear President Bush and I are close?

Yes indeed. It would be as lovely and chummy as you are imagining.

Someone make a Hallmark movie about it. Stat.

Privilege

Another week, another morning spent in my very favorite place. It is such a privilege
to help God, in my very small way, with His work for His children.

They kind of loved it a lot

Matt and Jacob paragliding in San Diego just a few weeks ago. Holy awesomeness.

Matt's 16th birthday trip

For Matt’s 16th birthday, he was given a trip to California with his dad. Unfortunately, he was gifted it in
March of 2020. Which is why it has taken until a few weeks ago for that trip to happen. But happen it did.

I have one additional post to share the favorite adventure activity of both Matt and Jacob while they were gone,
but until then, the beach, sunsets, sea lions, skim boarding and hiking would be the highlights of this group
of photos. Oh, and these two tremendous guys spending a couple of days together in our beloved San Diego.

Hopefully it was worth the wait.

Something tells me that it was.

Boostered

Just a random photo let you know that I am boostered. You’ll have to take my word for it

as I wasn’t given a sticker and no thanks on posing with my shoulder bandaid. But it happened
and boy howdy am I grateful for the blessing of science and the privilege of doing something
to protect myself, my darling family and especially, to show my love for all of those around me.

Christmas dance

Matt’s group asked me to take photos for the Christmas Dance tonight and what an absolutely darling
bunch of kids. Oh man, I seriously adore Matt’s date, Edie. And this boy of mine. So crazy much.

So overwhelmingly well

I not only needed to give a final update on the donations from you incredible people, but needed it to have a permanent place here on our blog. Because this is where I write about God’s hand in my life.

I had a couple of additional donations before last Tuesday evening was over, so here are the final numbers of what you accomplished.

The total amount given by all of you was $1301. Jacob and I were able to double it, which made it $2602 straight to Mary's Meals. And then an anonymous donor made it five times more for a grand total of $15,612.

That means that 743 children in the poorest countries in the world will receive a daily meal at their place of education for an entire year because of you. That absolutely blows my mind, gives me the chills and makes me want to hug every single one of you.

Thank you from the bottom of my grateful heart. Loving God's children is no small task, but as a parent myself, I feel privileged to have the tiniest glimpse of what it means to Him and the tears He sheds when we do it so well.

You did it so well, friends. Just so overwhelmingly well.