Family Time.....

This past week was Labor Day. What is Labor Day anyway? I thought it was a day that parents were able to utilize their children's time and talents and have them dedicate themselves to one full day of labor around the house. I guess I have been wrong all these years because my children think it is the last vacation of the year. Hmmmm? We went for a hike up to Stewart Falls in the morning. It was really nice. I was happy to be with all of my kids, well all except AJ. He decided to stay home. We hiked and talked and when we got to the falls, Lissa was the only one who actually went behind the waterfall. Way to go Lissa! I knew if I got wet I would be miserable for the rest of the day.

The plan was to go on the hike in the morning and then we were going to go to Park City and meet my brothers and their families and my parents out lunch. We would then hang out in Park City for the rest of the day.

Well, lets say that things didn't goes exactly the way they were supposed to. Jon parked close to a bush and when we backed out of the parking lot the very strong wicked bush yanked and pulled and actually tore the whole front bumper right off of his car. We were shocked and stood them with the most dumbfounded looks on our faces. How on earth could this happen? We decided it would not be safe to drive to Park City, so we headed home. All in all it was still a fun day since we spent it with family.
My birthday was a few weeks ago and for my birthday Jon gave me a massage table. I know that may seem like an odd gift, but the family has had a great time taking turns giving and receiving massages. It really came in handy when Tyler returned from running the Red Rock Relay, which by the way his teal placed 19 out of 185 teams, anyway, his legs were hurting so bag so Lissa, Jon and I took turns working him over on the table. It was fun to hear his groans of agony as we barely touched those aching muscles.

Things for us are good right now. We have some really tough challenges, but are facing them head on and getting through as a family. We just finished a wonderful area conference and were fed some great spiritual thoughts. they give us courage to face the trials and be able to come out of them okay. Life is hard, I know that, but I have hope that each of us will be okay if we are surrounded by family. They are the ones who cheer us on. They are the ones who weep with us. They are the ones who stand by our side and lift us when we can't lift ourselves when we can't stand alone anymore. Thanks family for continuing to stand by me when I am week. I love you.

Call me a slacker!

I know...since I have been home I have not been very faithful in keeping up with my blog. I keep saying that it is because I have not taken any pictures. That is such a lame excuse. I should take pictures of daily normal life. I am going to get better at that. It has been quite the transition since I have been home. I t was difficult to get back into the groove of things. The kids have all started school now and we seem to be on a schedule. I love routines and schedules, wait I only love my schedules.

Jon and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this month. Wow...I can't believe we have been married for twenty-five years. As I look back over time there are a lot of things I wish we could change, but know that those are the things that have made us grow closer and stronger. It is wonderful having someone to travel through life with. It has been such a roller coaster ride and I feel we have learned a lot from raising our family. We celebrated our anniversary by having all the kids back home together. We have been separated all summer. We had a great dinner and enjoyed talking about our experiences we each had. I love my kids. Being the mom is not easy. I have to remind myself of that every day.

I also celebrated my birthday this month. It was not too eventful since I received a migraine for my birthday. My boys were very sweet. Each one got me a gift. Tyler and Lissa bought pizza for everyone and gave me some beautiful roses. AJ gave me the most wonderful bouquet of Gerber daisies and Kelton gave me a scented oil warmer for the house. Logan ordered a gift for me from the inter net, but it has not come yet. I feel so loved.

We have had a few challenges the past week and once again our faith is being tested. I am trying to be strong, but feel so weak at times. I know that when we have some wonderful spiritual experience and can't help but share it with everyone, that makes Satan furious. He will do anything he can to stop us from sharing the gospel and the light with others. Oh how I hate him. I also know that there are many people on both sides of the veil that are helping us fight this battle. Sometimes it is just so hard to keep fighting. I wish I could raise my family in an isolation booth on a lovely beach in the Caribbean. (Wishful thinking?) To everyone out there that may be battling the forces of evil, hang on, band together and be strong. We will win. We have to win. I love this gospel it gives me hope in a world where everything seems so wicked. It gives me peace when there is turmoil all around and it gives me courage to take one more step forward each day.