Sunday, December 20, 2020

October: The First Half

 General Conference is always a great time of year! And this year especially I feel like we need words of encouragement more than ever!

This is a cute care package that my ministering sisters brought to us! It was very creative and thoughtful!

Getting ready to be fed spiritually and physically :)

The following are quotes from conference:

“Now is the time to prepare and prove ourselves willing and able to do all things whatsoever the Lord our God shall command us.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church

“I promise that as we both prepare and press forward with faith in the Savior, we all can receive the same grade on the ultimate examination of mortality.”
— Elder David A. Bednar, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“Becoming as Jesus Christ is will require changing our hearts and minds, indeed, our very character, and doing so is possible only through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.” — Elder Scott D. Whiting, General Authority Seventy

“Jesus Christ sees people deeply. He sees individuals, their needs, and who they can become.” — Sister Michelle Craig, Young Women general presidency

“The clarion call to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to strive to be a Zion people who are of one heart and one mind and dwell in righteousness.” — Elder Quentin L. Cook, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“Let me emphasize, whether you have access to a temple or not, you need a current temple recommend to stay firmly on the covenant path.”  Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“Though Jesus’s teachings were revolutionary, He did not teach revolution or law-breaking. He taught a better way.” — President Dallin H. Oaks, First Presidency

“If enough of us and enough of our neighbors make our decisions and guide our lives by the truth of God, the moral virtues needed in every society will abound.”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“The Savior’s mission has always and forever been to serve His Father by saving His children.” — President Steven J. Lund, Young Men general president

“Truly, for those with faithful hearts and eyes to see, the Lord’s tender mercies are manifest amidst life’s challenges.”
— Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“The Lord does not expect us to do more than we can do, but He does expect us to do what we can do … when we can do it.”
— Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, Presiding Bishopric

“Through the staggering goodness of Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement, we can escape the deserved agonies of our moral failings and overcome the undeserved agonies of our mortal misfortunes.”
— Elder Matthew S. Holland, General Authority Seventy

“The culture of Christ helps us to see ourselves as we really are, and when seen through the lens of eternity, tempered with righteousness, it serves to increase our ability to fulfill the great plan of happiness.”
— Elder William K. Jackson, General Authority Seventy

“We will endure this, yes. But we will do more than simply grit our teeth, hold on and wait for things to return to the old normal. We will move forward, and we will be better as a result.” — Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“We often think of substance in terms of food or money, but perhaps what we all need more of in our ministering is mercy.” 
— Sister Sharon Eubank, Relief Society general presidency

“Through Jesus Christ, we are given the strength to make lasting changes. As we humbly turn to Him, He will increase our capacity to change.”  Sister Becky Craven, Young Women general presidency

“Through our Savior Jesus Christ, we can all be mended, made whole and fulfill our purpose.” — Sister Cristina B. Franco, Primary general presidency

“We know that the Savior will come to a people who have been gathered and prepared to live as the people did in the city of Enoch. The people there were united in faith in Jesus Christ and had become so completely pure that they were taken up to heaven.”  — President Henry B. Eyring, First Presidency

“With His help and our faithfulness and endurance, we will prevail.”
— President Dallin H. Oaks, First Presidency

“Life without God is a life filled with fear. Life with God is a life filled with peace.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church

“I assure each one of you that the Lord knows you, that He is aware of your concern and anguish, and that He loves you — intimately, personally, deeply and forever.”
— President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“To those with proven faith, childlike faith or even the smallest particle of faith, Jesus invites, saying, ‘Come unto me;’ ‘Believe on my name;’ ‘Learn of me and listen to my words.’” — Sister Lisa Harkness, Primary general presidency

“For those who, for whatever reason, fall into temptation and are dwelling upon unrighteous actions, I assure you that there is a way back, that there is hope in Christ.” — Elder Ulisses Soares, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“The Lord is aware of the challenges you face. He knows you, He loves you, and I promise, He will send angels to help you.”  Elder Carlos A. Godoy, Presidency of the Seventy

“We care more about being His followers than being ‘liked’ by our own followers.”
— Elder Neil L. Andersen, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“As you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel. I think you will be astounded.” — President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church

“Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know and love you. They want you to return to Them and become like Them. Your success is Their success.”
— President Henry B. Eyring, First Presidency

“‘Be of good cheer’ is the commandment from the Lord, not be of good fear.”
— Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, General Authority Seventy

“Times of affliction and disappointment do not change the watchful eye of the Lord as He favorably looks upon us, blessing us.”
— Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“We have direct access to our own revelation so the Lord can comfort and guide us personally.” — Brother Milton Camargo, Sunday School general presidency

“If we turn our hearts to God, salvation from spiritual death is available to all through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.” — Elder Dale G. Renlund, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“I invite you to seek the power God wants to give you. I testify that as we seek for this power, we will be blessed with a greater understanding of the love our Heavenly Father has for us.”  Elder Kelly R. Johnson, General Authority Seventy

“By the grace of God, the blessings will come to those who hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That issue was settled in a very private garden and on a very public hill in Jerusalem long ago.” — Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“May we go forward together to fulfill our divine mandate — that of preparing ourselves and the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church

Here is a sample of Bridal pictures:

First time Spencer sees Carina in her dress






Kailee's birthday! 
We celebrated a little late because she went to Vermont for a few weeks to visit Amanda.




We have been blessed to have Kailee home for a little while now. It was supposed to be for a short time while she looked for a job in NYC but then Covid happened and she is staying a little longer. It's always fun to have her around. She is full of good ideas! And she often keeps us busy with various projects!


Malorie, Zildy and Jasmine put this cute shower together for Carina!






Aprons from Grandma Judy





Sunday, December 13, 2020

September 2020

 Not too many events in September but we were just busy planning the wedding. The following are some of the engagement pictures. They are so cute!






Cheesecake Factory for Sidney's Birthday Dinner



S'mores Cake




Labor Day picnic and walk around the park

On September 8th we had a huge wind storm that took down a few of our trees. 



This was the only way to pull up this tree! I'm grateful that we had no major damage.

I thought this was kind of clever!


Buster modeling his new raincoat


For a chuck of the month I was working on fixing the sleeves on Carina's dress. It was a challenge but I got it done! Then there were some other issues and I was getting too stressed so I found a seamstress that could fix it for us quickly. Tender mercies are everywhere!


Cee Ryle on a run! Always keeping us laughing!


Sunday, December 6, 2020

August 2020

 More of the non-traditional events of 2020

UVU's Spring Graduation happened in August. I'm so proud to have two graduates! These two seem to do things in close proximity :) But I'm not complaining! 


Sidney graduated with a Bachelors of Dance with an emphasis in Ballet

Carina graduated with a Bachelors in Communications



Of course, masks are still around




So proud of Carina and Sidney! 


Graduation was drive-thru style! We drove in our car, the graduates got out and told them their names, their names were read, they walked over to get their diplomas, they took pictures, we cheered, and they got back in the car! That was it! Unconventional but nice that they had the opportunity to walk!


Congratulations Carina and Sidney!
Class of 2020

We went to dinner with everyone to celebrate their graduation!

They did a drive thru convocation. We watched from our cars and they had speakers. We clapped with car horns!




Derick and Cat were here because they brought Brianna out to school with her car. So the family reunion continued all month long!

Even Michael joined us

The "kids" table


We went to Tibble Fork Reservoir in American Fork to play in the water for a day

We went on a little hike around the reservoir


Such a nice pretty hike!

We even saw the kids on the inflatables!

So this is the sweetest picture! We assumed that we could get around to the other side by walking around but once we got to the end we couldn't find a way to get across without getting in the water! The hike was already a little more treacherous that we thought it would be so we couldn't go back the way we came. Michael was so nice and carried my mom on his back across the water!

We made it across!


On Friday night, Spencer proposed to Carina! 

We are so happy for them! They make a great couple!

And the ring is gorgeous!

Spencer took Carina to all of her favorite places before proposing, then they ended up by the beach (or as close as they could get to a real beach).


An eventful month for these two. Now we are celebrating their birthdays!




A little walk around the park

Celebrating Carina's birthday






First day of 8th grade for Gracie. Buster is going to miss her!


Some wedding dress shopping:


She found the "perfect dress" :)


A funny meme to end an awesome month!