My Book is HERE!

My project for the last few months has been to figure out this Blurb program, and make my first photo book. I started with our pictures from Israel, I had like 400+! I made some mistakes, and it took me forever with moving and everything, but I think it turned out awesome! YAY! Take a look at some of the pages...

Missing you...

Man, I really miss these guys! Thanks Sue for keeping up with your blog, even though you hate it! I love reading about your adventures--and it makes me feel like you are so much closer! I am so grateful to have such wonderful in-laws, who I LOVE! If you want to visit a fun blog--look at theirs--on my sidebar click on Journey to Jerusalem. This is Bob and Sue at the Dead Sea--they're awesome!

Fabulous 4th!

I am finally getting around to posting pictures from our fabulous 4th of July! It has been a busy few weeks at this crazy house! We were able to get home from our vacation, unpack, and get the tile finished and sealed just in time to get the appliances into our kitchen on Wednesday morning. YAY--we are cooking food in the kitchen! We had been going out to the garage to use the refrigerator out there, and the microwave! Progress... My sister Shelly was able to come with her daughter Casey, they came all the way from Montana to stay a week and to see Wicked. My other sister Kimbie came down from Payson with her husband and 8 kids, and my mom and dad came from Thatcher. Wish my other sister from Utah could've made it--it would have been a full family reunion! (We'll get her down here for Thanksgiving--and Phantom of the Opera!) It was also a treat to have my aunt Vickie, my dad's sister, come into town from Tucson and stay a few days with us. I haven't seen her in years! We had a great time together!

We did have a few technical difficulties in our new house--big surprise! We worked hard to get someone over before the 4th to get our spa working so we could enjoy it with our family--and we did manage to get it heated up--although the thermostat wasn't exactly working right, so it heated up to a whopping 106 degrees! So Todd turned off the heater, and by the end of the night it was a warm 103--still pretty hot to sit in for more than 5 minutes, but it felt nice. The next morning, my mom went out to go for a swim in the pool, and got a big surprise when she went to step in and the pool was HOT--like really HOT! There was a wire crossed or something, and when Todd tried to turn off the heater to the spa, it actually began heating the pool. So the entire POOL heated up all night--to 106! Todd tried to go buy some ice for it--25 blocks, and threw them in, but the pool was still like 102--still way too hot for the kids to swim, so they were stuck inside for the day. By Saturday, it was a cool--98 degrees! Okay, so it wasn't very cool, but it was okay, and we bought a little blow up pool that we filled with the hose so there was some cooler water to swim in! Too funny! It was great to have everyone come visit! I promise, next time you come we will be out of boxes--well mostly! :)

We had a great time swimming...when it wasn't too HOT!

Of course we played lots of games--like Settlers of Zarahemla (fun, fun game!)Five CrownsAnd one of our favorites--GREED!The kids love the new "cuddle chair" that we got for the basement, it spins!What would the 4th of July be without a BBQ! The ribs were awesome, and sweet corn on the cob!My Aunt Vickie, Shelly and Casey...Shelly and Casey with my mom and dad...Aunt Vickie and my dad...

A "Lost Cause..."

Emie bore a beautiful testimony in sacrament meeting on Sunday, and I wanted to remember how special it was, and how much she touched me by the words she used, and the spirit I felt as she gave it. She talked about how she was talking with her cousin, my niece, this weekend when she was visiting. Her cousin told her that when it came to the church, she was a "lost cause". She is 17, and has just had a really hard life, and a really hard couple of months especially with some issues at home, and she just feels generally like people, namely God, have given up on her. Emie expressed how sad that this statement made her, and said how she felt in her heart that she knew that this wasn't true. She said that she was glad through reading the scriptures, and praying to her Heavenly Father, each of us can know that God loves us, and that he will never give up on us. To our Heavenly Father, NONE of us are a "lost cause". She expressed that she knew, through experiences that she has had, that Heavenly Father knows each of us individually, by name. If we will pray to him, we will know that he is there, and that he loves us.

I just wanted to post this here, in hopes that my niece will read it, and know that her cousin was thinking of her, and so am I. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is no such thing as a "lost cause". It doesn't matter what we have done, or how far from our Savior we think that we have wandered, he never stops loving us. Even when we turn our back on him, even when we think that there is no possible way back, even when we feel like we have wandered so far from where we should be, our Savior is still there, reaching out to us, ready to welcome us back to the fold. He told us this when he was on the earth, in the parable of the lost sheep. In Luke 15 it reads:

"Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."

I want to add my testimony to hers, that no one is ever "lost" in the kingdom of God. Our Heavenly Father, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd in this parable, never stop loving us, never stop reaching out to us, they never give up on us. They will never stop searching for those who think that they are lost, for we never are truly lost, to them. They know you, and they know your name, and they know your heart. You were our Heavenly Father's daughter, and our Savior's sister before you can even remember. But they DO remember. They know you, better than you know yourself. They love you, more than you know. When you doubt that, all you need to do is get on your knees and ask Him. He will tell you, in your mind and in your heart, by the spirit of the Holy Ghost, that these things are true. You will feel how much He truly loves you, and then you will truly know your worth.

So many people search for happiness in this world, in so many ways. Yet, you look around and see plenty of miserable people. People who thought they could find fun, and happiness, and only end up destroying themselves in the process. The world only offers false hopes of happiness, empty promises, disappointment. The way to happiness, the only way, is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through Him, we can truly be happy. Not just a happiness here on earth, but a happiness that will continue through eternity. That is happiness that is worth searching for.

Highland Wrestling Camp...

This week Joshua did a wrestling camp at Highland High School. It was pretty fun for him, even though he is pretty clueless when it comes to wrestling. He has a lot of fun, even when he's getting pinned, he just lays there and smiles. Wrestling is a big thing in Todd's family, lots of the brothers and brother-in-laws were awesome wrestlers, so when the cousins get together they all start wrestling. Let's just say, I'd prefer to watch a basketball game any day! It makes me cringe to see them try to beat each other up, I'm the mom who's on the sidelines going, "don't hurt my baby!" I guess I'll have to get over that if he's gonna play any sport though! At the end of the week, they have a little tournament, and his cousins Carson and Kam were also wrestling. They did an awesome job--and it was pretty fun to watch them, although I was glad Josh didn't have to wrestle his cousins--(they're really good)! Josh won two matches, and lost one. Pretty good buddy! We're proud of you!

Kam's turn...Carson takes it seriously...(he's on the right)Josh waiting his turn...Good Job~!Good job Boys!Future wrestling champ-Kash!

Our number one wrestler! Love you Josh!

Here's the video of his first match--so cute to watch!

WICKED!!!

Opening Night! One word: AMAZING!!!

Happy Birthday ABBY!

Okay, so I am 4 whole days late posting about Abby's 9th birthday! Her birthday was actually on Saturday--and we were driving home from California, so not much of a celebration! But we did celebrate last Wednesday, while we were still in California, by going to the most awesome place ever--SEA WORLD! I seriously love this place! I still remember going there like 20 years ago as a child, and it was absolutely my favorite place in California--I even liked it better than Disneyland. When I came home, I was convinced that I was going to reach my dream of being a marine biologist...ya, well, when you live in the middle of the desert, that isn't really gonna happen, but it was a fun idea! Emie was bummed when I told her that Shamu was just the name of the show--not really the same whale that has been there for 50 years. They don't really last that long... He was still as amazing as I remember him though. One of the most awesome things was going down and watching him under the water, and listening to him "talk"--that's seriously the coolest thing ever! We loved the shows, and the rides, and just being together! Thanks Abby, for a great idea--we all loved our day at Sea World!

This picture says it all! We had a BLAST! Love you Abby!