Blessed

It has been a while since I have posted anything.  It seems like there is never enough time to sit down and do the little things we want to do.  We had the opportunity to go home for Christmas.  I was very blessed to be raised in a family with four brothers and one sister and some amazing parents and grandparents.  It was fun to see all of my family this year.  It is so fun to watch as all my 17 nieces and nephews continue to grow up.  We even had a girl cousin sleepover and trip to the mall.  My parents did a good job of teaching us all about unconditional love,service, and patience through example.  I know that these characteristics are why we have such an amazing family.   Here are just a few pictures from Christmas break, except the picture with my baby brother Jared and Sister Emily that got erased from my camera:(

                  Sariah with my sister Emily and the blanket she made for her!What a talented sister I have.

                             Cousins:Clarissa,Brayden and Garrett with Timothy, Samuel and Sariah.

                        Cousins, Siri, Mazie,Camille and Michael with Timothy Samuel and Sariah

                                          Mazie, Siri,Sariah and Camille.  What Pretty girls!!

                                         Picture with my big brother Nathan.  I look short;)

                                    Samuel,Timothy and Josh all eating Christmas eve dinner.

                                                     Sariah and her buddy Maggie!

                          My cousin Tammy, Aunt Irene, mom and Sariah.  What Special Gals!

                                                     Spending time with my aunt Irene

                    My little Brother Kenneth and my big brother Nelson.  Once again I look short!

                                                  Sariah with Maggie and Morgan.

                                    Timothy, Carter, Samuel, Sydney,Grant, Eli, Sariah and Ivy!

                              Family photo at the Crandall house.(Nathan's good friend from college)

Family Photos

We were able to get our family photos taken in November.  We decided to have them taken this year at the Twentynine Palms Inn, located here in our home town.  I thought that I would share these, as I struggled this year to get all my Christmas cards out.

Never Enough Time

It has now been months since I have even had a chance to sit down and put an update on my blog.  It is funny how summer vacation ends and the race always begin.  The race I refer to is the race in life where their is never enough time in the day to accomplish the things we want to.  Here is a very brief over view of the last few months.

Nathan and I celebrated 15 years of marriage on September 5.  We were able to enjoy a nice dinner at the Twentynine Palms Inn, the following day we were able to attend the Redlands temple.  The ultimate goal is to have a weekend getaway without the kids.  I hope to accomplish this before next Anniversary.

The Soccer season took off is full swing in September with all three kids playing this year.  Nathan was able to coach Sam's and Tim's teams.  Emma, Rick, Tim and Lindsay all coached Sariah's team.  I would add this, Sariah spent more time chasing butterflies and crying then playing soccer.  I think she won't be playing soccer anytime soon, I think she would have a good career in theatre with the show she put on this season.  Sam played up an age division this year, even though I fought it.  He is already small for his age and I had concerns.  I had to eat some humble pie, as he did awesome and is moving on to the All-Star game.  Timothy had a great season as a defender and a rover. Timothy is also moving on to the All-star game.   This is the one sport that both Timothy and Samuel love. I am happy and sad the season is over.

Sometimes when you think you have all that you juggle more is added to your plate.  In September I was called to serve as First Counselor in the Young Women's organization at church.  We have 7 am meetings on Saturdays, Wednesday night activities and various activities on Sundays.  I have already learned and grown so much strength from these young ladies.

I have been volunteering in Samuel's fourth grade classroom on Mondays and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I volunteer at the Navy Marine Corp Relief Society.  I received Volunteer of the quarter at the Navy Marine Corp Relief Society for Summer 2013.  I also had the opportunity to attend Advance Caseworker Seminar at Coronado Island for three days.  I love the opportunity to serve the military and their families.

The kids this year for Halloween were able to go to a pumpkin party at the Pratt house and then go Trunk or treating at both the church and the school.  Sariah was very excited to dress up as Cinderella.  Sam on the other hand just wanted to wear his soccer jersey and be a soccer player.  

Days 14 & 15: Relaxing in Beautiful Branson and the trip home

Our last day in the Ozarks and Missouri was spent mainly relaxing.  To our delight and surprise, we had discovered the night before that we had a washer and dryer in our accomodations.  Although they were small, we got 5 loads done throughout the day.  We had some nice home-cooked meals compliments of Solinda's great talents and played several card games.

Highlights of the day were a mini-golf game, eating outside on the screened porch and listening to the katydids (sp?), and a short trip down to the marina on long and narrow Lake Taneycomo, which our resort was right against.  The area is so beautiful and relaxing, as long as we stay outside the city of Branson.  Temperatures hovered right around 75 degrees and we got to bed at a good hour.

The trip was uneventful except for four things:  1.  An ancient Texan driver in Branson who insisted on going 10 to 15 miles per hour under the speed limit who then went upstream on a divided street in front of us  2.  Sariah screaming she had to go potty the last 30 minutes of the flight after the seat-belt light was on  3.  A man standing on the conveyor belt as we waited for our luggage and preaching  and 4.  A 45-minute wait for our luggage with only 1 plane (ours) in the airport on the ground.

We arrived in our driveway at 7:45 p.m. totally happy and worn out.  We had a great experience but it is a good thing for us that we have approximately 50 weeks to recuperate!... 

Day 13: Tulsa to Branson

After awakening to a headache, Nathan turned over the reins of our Toyota Avalon (we love it!) to Solinda for all of the morning driving.  She took us up the Turnpike into Missouri and then we pulled into  Carthage, Missouri for lunch.  Among other things, we got our lunch at Casey's Pizza (which is all over Missouri and was recomended to us by Sister Wayne before our trip) and took it to a park.  We drove around town looking at older Victorian homes (which Solinda loves), got some sunglasses for Solinda and stopped later in the drive for some antique collectibles along the interstate. 

Our last stop in the Carthage area was at the Precious Moments Chapel, which is located less than 5 miles to the southwest of Carthage and is all alone out in the peaceful countryside.  Upon arrival, we were all very impressed.  There were so many great things in the gift shop and some wonderful letters written to the owner to read.  For those who have never been, this is a must-stop location in Missouri.  The chapel is lined with incredible murals from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, a painting on the ceiling of angels, and the painting at the front of the chapel is for all the lost loved ones of the Earth.  It depicts families and loved ones reuniting in the afterlife, with some specific family members of the artist and friends inside it.  The halls and side rooms are dedicated to lost loved ones of many families.  The whole purpose of the grounds is to bring the children of men closer to Christ and recommit to important family relationships.  There are many quiet places to have time to meditate or pray, with one at an actual grave representing Christ's resurrection.  The whole experience was very wonderful and brought our family closer by going there together.  Solinda and Sariah got various Precious Moments gifts from their 25 dollar grab bag worth 70 or 80 dollars.  We all left in our best spirits of the trip.

After a short 5 miles on the interstate headed towards Springfield, we got off and took a calmer and more scenic route southeast to Branson through smaller towns on state highways.  The scenery was again gorgeous as we were heading deep into the heart of the Ozarks.  We stopped and picked up real estate info and had the windows down and sunroof open the whole time.  It was 75 degrees all afternoon with clouds.  We arrived in Branson (which is a lofty almost 1500 feet above sea level) and just loved the surroundings.  It took us almost 30 minutes to get into the resort from the interstate on the main thoroughfares, but we found some much smarter routes in the evening to go get groceries. 

The resort is fantastic and we love being on the banks of Lake Taneycoma with the White River flowing through it...lots to do and so little time...