My wonderful DIL Courtney turns 29

Courtney is such a wonderful addition to our family.  She meshes so well with all of us and adds a lot to our family dynamics. How could we be so lucky to have our son Dave marry such a dear lady?  She is happy to go with the flow and is so patient and kind to us all.  She is an excellent mother and takes great care to teach and train their little ones.  She sends us little videos and pictures of their children and their latest tricks and stunts.  Charlie can now count to 10 in Chinese and Spanish!  I can see so much of her little Charlie and Margaret in this pictures.  They favor their mother with their sweet dimpled faces. 

She celebrated her birthday on November 29.  Even though she lives on the east coast, we enjoy our Facetime visits and keeping up to date on her comings and goings.  She is always involved in some project, service to others or managing their family affairs.  She is an excellent home maker.  We couldn't ask for any better person than a dear DIL who loves our son and who is raising our grandchildren in a Christ centered home.  Her education gives her a solid foundation for building a strong family.  She is so loving and considerate of me and Rick and we consider her our daughter in every way.  Happy birthday dear girl!

Tommy boy turns one year old

Is there anything cuter than a one year old?  We got to celebrate Tommy's first birthday with him on 11/12/14.  He is the most adorable little guy and we had such a fun evening with his family, an aunt and an uncle, both sets of grandparents and even a great-grandmother.  It was such a fun evening celebrating this little guy.  He wasn't shy about diving in and destroying his first birthday cake.  He practically ate his whole cake by himself.  Good thing we had another cake for everyone else.  I love his perfectly shaped bald head with just a wisp of blond hair coming in.  He is a friendly little guy and will come to us and let us play with him.  I love you little Tommy!

My mother dear turns 88

My Mom celebrated her 88th birthday last Sunday.  She is amazing in so many ways.  She is doing well (considering her age) and is getting along pretty well.  Her memory is giving her some challenges as well as her hearing, but she is trying to make the most of being alone and finding things to do.  Many, many thanks to my sisters and nieces who live close by and keep an eye on her.  I appreciate them including her in their family activities. We had a fun party and everyone shared a memory they had of her and one of her qualities.  That made her feel so good.  She said it gave her enough fuel to keep going!  I love my Mom and appreciate ALL that she has done for me over my life. 

Mitt Romney at BYU

Mitt and Ann Romney came to campus yesterday.  He gave an incredible talk and I'm so glad I could attend with Andy and Chelsea.  Here are some excerpts and a link to the entire talk on BYU TV.  He is such a polished speaker who is articulate, funny, motivating, inspiring and a great example.  If only he were our current President.  I can't help but think about what might have been.  Americans who didn't vote for him missed an opportunity to have a truly great leader take the reins of this country that we love.  

What if?

What if this sign were posted outside our church doors?  

 What if the people inside the church really thought this way?

  What if we stopped thinking about/looking for/talking about the shortcomings of others and just worked on our own weaknesses, mistakes, sins and shortcomings?

  What if?

 Our Savior's GRACE is there for us all no matter how imperfect, flawed, stained, unbelieving, angry, or beaten-down we are.

  There is a place for everyone and all are welcome.

"I don't care if you smoke, drink, abuse substances, are unchaste, wear pants to church, hate relief society, don't sustain church leaders,  don't have a testimony, have a weak testimony, wear tank tops, don't know if you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, have had an abortion, don't love your husband, don't like being a mother, think women should have the priesthood, are LGBT, don't know if you believe in God, don't relate to Jesus Christ, don't want to go to the temple, wonder about polygamy--you belong here.  You belong here.  We need you and you need us."