Some highlights from our month, not already featured. We attended Gray's kindergarten Christmas concert and snapped a picture of all four of my Cortina tigers. Unfortunately, the videos of the concert were lost in the phone- washing machine incident of 2019. But I do have a pic of Gray with his friend Ruby Webster from that night. We recently bought a {new to us} bookshelf for the boys room. (Mostly so we would be ready to organize the books they were about to get for Christmas. 😉) The boys helped me set up their books and decorate the shelves with some of their prized possessions. It was fun to see what they wanted to display. Jackson picked his signed football and his soccer medal. Gray chose his baseball trophy and a card Grandma sent him in the mail. He LOVES that card. It is most definitely one of his prized possessions.
Also In December, our friends the Websters heated up their pool and invited us over for swimming and smores. It was so fun. We love spending time with these friends. Clara and I at Bahama Bucks. Ruby taking random pictures of our messy family room, Gray in the recliner and her and Luke Webster's feet while Brittany and I were on a walk. I love going on walks with Brittany around the neighborhood. They are my fave.
Some pics of wrestling and hiding in a giant cardboard box. Ruby dressed up in my jewelry and high heels. Troy and the boys playing a giant jenga game at his work party. A cute paper Queen Gray made at school. A very cute map Jackson made for Gray so he would know how to travel from our house to his friend, Owen Woodruff's house. The scorpion that appeared in our master bathroom just an hour after talking extensively about scorpions with our friends the Websters when they came over for dessert. Creepy. It's like it heard us.
My Grandma's Birthday. Facetiming with Jeremy. A cute pictures of my grandparents-- not sure where it came from. A sweet text from my friend Katie after I posted about my experience with Pres. Nelson's Book of Mormon challenge. (More on that below.) Troy trying to walk with kids sitting on his feet/wrapped around his legs. Also known as "Snail Feet" in our home. Our kids think it's hilarious. Ha. We got to see our friends Nick and Allison Taylor while they were in town visiting family for the holidays. So fun!
Also in this post, some pics my Dad took of himself on the street and the train in downtown Salt Lake City. Gray had a project at school where we were asked to have family members from other states mail in letters about seeing the gingerbread man. The teacher asked the letters be a surprise for the kids. They tracked the Gingerbread man's travels in class. Gray was so excited when he realized Grandpa had written a letter to his class. My Dad used these pictures and added pictures of a gingerbread man to them to create the cutest letter. So sweet of him to take so much time on that for Gray.
Lastly, pics from a girls night I went on with friends from San Tan 2nd Ward and my experience with President Nelson's Book of Mormon challenge, which was truly a transformative experience for me. What a month!
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Dec. 31, 2018: On October 6th, the Prophet of my church extended a challenge for all women 8 years and older to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. During our reading, we were invited to mark all references to Jesus Christ. The next day I mapped out how many pages I needed to read each day to stay on track. It seemed daunting, but I committed. I had to get up earlier some days. I had to rearrange my schedule and give up some things I like to do. I had to make my reading a priority and when I fell behind I had to make a plan to catch up. In doing all this, my time in the Book of Mormon became a very important part of my day. It changed from feeling like a chore to feeling like a necessity and a blessing. I felt more peace and strength as I focused on the Savior and my personal scripture study. Finishing this challenge was life changing for me. I learned things I hadn't noticed during my previous study. The people became real to me, with real lives- real heartaches and challenges, and REAL faith. There is power in this book. It testifies of Jesus Christ. That He died for all of us and that because of Him, we will live again. "Come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him..." {In this context, perfect=to be made whole.}I'm so grateful for this challenge and for this book. ❤️
Dec. 10, 2018: Today is my Grandma Mabey's birthday. (She's the cute girl in the middle with the red sweater.) I love this picture of her. Grandma makes THE best lasagna, peanut brittle and fudge. I have so many happy memories of family and holiday meals at her home. She's the kind of person that prepares multiple versions of the main dish just so everyone has something just the way they like to eat it. She likes Neil Diamond and Lionel Richie and she has the cleanest home in all of Bountiful City. Just love her. Happy Birthday Grandma! Wish I could come to your birthday dinner. ❤️
Feb. 13, 2018: Girls night! L to R: Amber Price, Caraline Williams and Suzette Hartman. We took advantage of Caraline being in town- all the way from Santiago, Chile- and went out for pedicures and dinner at the cheesecake factory. It was such a fun night!
