Amazing Faith

Being in the Young Women’s program has already been such a blessing in my life in so many ways…There has been so many opportunities for growth not only from the young women but from the other leaders. One in particular has strengthened my testimony in such a profound way that I will never be the same. One of the leaders has had this amazing struggle and test of faith, but through her trial she has come out so strong and shown such faith and courage. She has blogged about her entire story and the struggle she had faced with her little baby Lilly. From early on in her pregnancy they knew they were facing a baby with very special needs and knew that there wasn’t a very high chance of this baby making it through the pregnancy alive. This is little girl.. not only survived the 9 months of pregnancy but came out prepared to fight for her life. Long story, short she had Turner’s syndrome and had a cyst on her brain. With many ups and downs..she fought for her life for 12 weeks but, then Lilly Grace passed away on Monday night peacefully with her family.

Today Kiel and I attended the funeral for this beautiful little girl. Even though there was so much grief and heartache for this faithful family there was also this overwhelming feeling of peace. As Kim says in her blog… Lilly peacefully returned to Heavenly Father because her mission on this earth was completed.

Over the past month as I’ve gotten to know Kim and her family.. from day one I have been amazed at her strength and hope for her angel baby. She always spoke of her with such love and grace. Watching her look at her Lilly in the casket today I could only think of her strength and how much she was hurting inside. I thought to myself, how would I handle a situation like this? Could I be as faithful and have such courage? I don’t know.

Last Sunday, Kim (the mother) spoke to the young women on gratitude. This women stood in front of us all and spoke of her gratitude for her Lilly. I have learned so much from this woman and her attitude. She is my hero, my beacon of strength right now. It truly is a blessing knowing as members of the church that we can be sealed together as a family and be reunited once again. I can only imagine the joy that Kim will feel when she is able to wrap her loving arms around her Lilly once again.

I am thankful for those people I am surrounded by that are examples to me of true faith and strength. There is so much hardship out there but it’s our attitude that makes all the difference. I really can’t handle people complaining about things that are so insignificant anymore. Their jobs, Their pay, Where They Live, Whatever it may be. We need to show more gratitude for the blessings we’ve received and move forward. We need to lift each other up.

Kim’s Blog and her story are at…. http://lillygracejones.blogspot.com/

Sara Lee to sell bakery unit for nearly $1 billion - San Jose Mercury News

Sara Lee to sell bakery unit for nearly $1 billion - San Jose Mercury News

Young Women in Excellence

Last night was the Young Women in Excellence evening.. It was a beautiful night.. not only because the kids weren’t with me:) but because the young women are so amazing in our ward. Their theme this past year has been Hero’s. They have found hero’s in themselves, others and of course the Savior. Each of them displayed a project that they have been working on for their personal  progress. I have to admit that the personal program is way more intense compared to when I was a teenager. One of the girls in our ward with her dad rebuilt an entire engine in a jeep and now it’s her vehicle. Amazing! I don’t even know how to change my oil. Anyways. It was a wonderful night.

With 2 other leaders we all created this board… It is surrounded with things the girls have noticed in each other… There are 7 categories and within those categories the girls have watched each other and recorded whenever someone would display one of those characteristics. It was all anonymous, the girls and their parents surrounded the board all night looking for their name.. It was really sweet to watch each young woman go up and see their name. They couldn’t help but smile. Really cute.

 

 

There were 5 long tables full to the brim with each of the girls projects and poster boards. It was beautiful. It was a fantastic night. With only being in the YW’s for only a couple of weeks I can’t take any credit for anything that night… I mean honestly.. I am still trying to remember all their names but I am very grateful and honored to be apart of the program. It has been a blessing in my life already.

Our New Pet, Thomas

On Wednesday afternoon we came home to a yard full of feathers. Not knowing what happened… Petey was our first suspect, but he had been inside all day while we were out. So he’s safe. I guess this poor little pigeon must of ran into our house or got into a brawl with another bird or something? But ever since then we’ve noticed that the pigeon has stuck around. He can’t fly anymore so he’s been laying low in our backyard. Whenever we are outside or Petey is out back the pigeon hurries under our deck. Connor named him Thomas. Thomas the pigeon. We go out and give him bits of bread every day. Hopefully he’ll be able to fly again soon. But until then we’ve enjoyed seeing Thomas out back!

 

In other news. The other night Kiel ran out to get me some things from Fresh and Easy and he brings back a 4pack of these Root Beers… For some reason though Chloe is obsessed with holding the bottle. She took one swig of one and instantly hated it but she still loves holding the bottle… Weird little girl. But I am glad she’s not a “drinker”.

Trick or Treating

I cracked tonight… All week I thought I was going to be easy to just stay home tonight and just pass out candy and not go out on Sunday… But it started at 7 this morning… I told Connor that we needed to get ready for Church. He asked if he could wear his caveman costume… :( Ah… Connor loved dressing up and I couldn’t deny him of that.. I told him after dinner he could put it back on. Then while making dinner Connor was running around the house saying ‘trunk or treat” that’s what he remembered from the ward’s Halloween carnival. I cracked and took the kids out. They had a BLAST!!! Connor ran from house to house saying trick or treat… and Thank you and we went on to the next house. It was fun. We were out only for an hour and brought home so much candy. It was a fun night. Then we came home and Connor helped me pass out candy that came to our door. I love having kids and seeing them enjoy these fun holidays.

These pictures are after Connor started to strip down.. Chloe was soooooo excited when I dumped all of the candy out of the bag. I couldn’t even get her to look up at the camera. Love my Babies!

   

Trunk or Treat

And the Reveal……

Connor and Chloe were the cutest Cavemen!!

They had so much fun at the Ward’s trunk or treat.. Kiel stayed home and went to bed while we went off to the party.

Connor of course, had so much fun running around all night with his little friends finding treats and toys at all the booths. I made my Mom’s delicious Baked Beans… and I spruced them up a little and brought them for the chili cook off. It was a fun night. But we sure missed daddy.

I didn’t put a huge effort into our trunk this year because I thought I would need to walk Connor around everywhere but Connor was swooped away by one of the young women and walked him around. So Chloe and I were left to pass out the goods! Chloe was very content sitting on my lap snacking on M&M’s. Happy baby.

These are our pumpkins Kiel and I carved the day before.. I sat them on the back of the car for decoration. mine… uh… it’s ok.. but I have to say that I am getting better.. maybe next year it will be great.. but Kiel did a great job. Agent P. AKA Perry the platypus from the cartoon show Phineas and Ferb. Everyone thought it was the coolest thing ever. They loved it! Kiel is really good at the pumpkin carving. He surprises me every year. Great job Babe!!

More with Grandma + Dentist

I uploaded all my pictures from my cell phone and found some cute ones from when My mom was in town… One morning she took us out to breakfast and she ordered Connor this silly face pancake. He loved it… Candy for breakfast!!! What?? Crazy Grandma

Connor and I walked around the farm behind Joe’s Farmhouse grill before lunch.. it was beautiful and such a beautiful day!!

Connor and his best snuggle friend Suki, Ready for bed!

  Today I Took Connor to the dentist. He did really well for a 3 year old and without a nap! It took a little while but he was a champ. He got 2 x-rays and sat so still! No cavities and clean teeth! I was a happy and proud momma. He’s such a big boy.