HALLOWEEN PART 1

There's so much that goes on for Halloween with Ward parties, school parties, trick or treating, etc. that I decided I had to make this a two part post. Of course Halloween Part 2 will be posted after "Trick or Treating".

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO YOU ALL!

My Southern Belle, Skeleton, and Pirate all dressed up and ready to go!
Treats we made for our friends, neighbors, and ladies I visit teach.

Cara at her Halloween preschool party with her friend Taylor.

Ryleigh was my date as we traveled from one function to the next...and a cute date she is.

We don't have a ward activities committee, so me being the nut that I am volunteered to have myself and the young women put on the Ward Halloween party. I do have to admit that I have a new found respect for the Ward activities chairman. The one bonus though, is that you're super busy only a few times out of the year, you don't have to get a substitute on Sunday's, and you get to spend somebody else's money :) All in all is was a good night and it all went off well.

Cara and Ryleigh with "their girls".

Just like most of your kids, my kids have been busy with the fall festivities. We're really lucky to have a large group of girl's in our Ward that all fit somewhere in between my girl's ages. Cara and Ryleigh love "their girls".

My Komfort Kit

My good friends from High School, Brittany and Camille sent me this super cute "Komfort Kit". I had to share~ Thanks ladies, you're the best!

Komfort tip #1-Don't forget that you'll receive "Extra" blessings for enduring this trial.

Komfort tip#2- Don't forget to "Snicker". Laughter is the best medicine.

Komfort tip #3-Always have a tissue handy to wipe away the tears.

Komfort tip #4-Use the hugs and "kisses" to get you through the difficult times.

Komfort tip#5-Don't forget to tell others that you love them.

Komfort tip #6-Many wish they could "light"-en the pain, but remember others can "light"-en your load...let others serve you.

I am surrounded by lots of special people in my life, but I have to brag about Melanie, one of my YW for a second. Isn't if funny how there are those people in our life who can immediately uplift us with their presence. Melanie is one of those people for me. We had a square dance for Mutual the other night and without saying much, she made my night. She's constantly smiling, hugging me, complimenting me, and making me feel so wanted. I appreciate her and love having her as one of my YW. These girls will never know how much they mean to me. I do stay up and stress about them and want them to know how important and loved they are. My calling can be overwhelming at times, but the payoff is worth it in the end.

We're All in this Together!!! Except Carson

I took the kids to see HM3 tonight. It was a hit for the girl's but Carson said he hated it. I think he was just so insecure knowing that he was one of the only boys in a theater packed with girls, and about 20 of those girls being 3rd graders at his same school. One day he'll appreciate it though. I was entertained and I thought the music was great. I of course have to give a "shout out" to my cousin Jocelyn who was in the film as the mascot stunts woman. Great Job Joce!

This picture was taken last week when my Mom was in town. We decided it would be fun to take the kiddos to do something that had a Halloween theme to it. In the end all we ended up finding was this local pumpkin patch. I've been pretty disappointed in the Halloween festivities around here, but then Dave was watching the news today and there was a story on how the Baptist religion does not celebrate Halloween in a scary way. No haunted houses, haunted mazes, etc. With that being the dominant religion here it all makes sense. I guess all I can do is hope for a KILLER Ward party! HA,HA

Flowers brighten any girls day!

Thank you Alyson, Kristen, Maren, Lisa, Monica, JoAnn, for the flowers and Lacey for the Edible Arrangement. You ladies are the best!

Catholic Vote~What a great message this is sending, have you seen it?

Moving On~

I just wanted to let all of you know that your emails and comments on my blog were amazing. It's having people like each one of you in my life that has helped me to move on. I know this Rascal Flatts song is more of a love song but I love the part that says "you've helped me to find strength in my moments of weakness" I appreciate each one of you. Thank you!

Husband Tag

Rules: Each person has to answer questions about their sweetheart. At the end of your post tag 4 people, post their names and then go to their blogs and leave them a comment about the tag.

-What is your husbands name? James David, goes by Dave, or David by his parents and brothers.

-How long have you been married? 11 years, Crazy!

-How long did you date? about 7 months before we were engaged.

-How old is he? lots older than me that 's all I care about, 38.

-Who eats sweets? I wish I could say both, but only me. He's more of a chips n' dip guy.

-Who said I Love You first? For sure Dave.

-Who is taller? He's lots taller but I have a 36' inseam and he has a 34', go figure!

-Who can sing best? You don't want to hear either of us.

-Who is smarter? Dave is way smarter than me, but I like to say I'm much more mature.

-Who does the laundry? ONLY me!

-Who pays the bills? If we want them to get paid, then only him.

-Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me

-Who mows the lawn? Both, but I love it and he hates it.

-Who cooks dinner? Pretty much me. But he does cook a mean Hamburger Helper.

-Who drives? Both, we're not into that old school stuff where only the man drives.

-Who is first to admit they are wrong? We just like to blow things off and let the timing do the work.

-Who kissed who first? He kissed me first, but I knew it was coming.

-Who asked who out first? He asked me. We went up to Tony Grove in Logan... I think he just wanted to get me alone in a secluded area really!

-Who wears the pants? I think we're pretty 50/50. But when it comes to the kids, I'm always the bad guy!

(I tag Greg (about your wife of course), Michelle B., Kelsey K., Angela H. and Kristen)

A favorite quote

"The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth, therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning, we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again". -Joseph Smith

Mom, I can't thank you enough~

My mom has been in town the past week helping me with EVERYTHING! She has done the dishes, laundry, made beds, laundry, scrubbed toilets, laundry, ran errands, laundry.....well you get the picture. She has been so supportive of me and my family. I was on the phone with my Mom soon after I found out the sad news about our baby. Without even a pause in her voice she said "I'll be out as soon as I can get there". Sure enough she was at the hospital the next afternoon in time to hold Claire. I know it meant a lot to my Mom to be able to rock Claire for a short while as it did me too. Mother's are the best. I don't know what I would have done without her. Thanks Mom, I will never be able to thank you enough.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart"

Claire Elizabeth Rees

It's hard to put into words the thoughts I am feeling right now, but I would regret it if I did not share the things we have experienced the past couple of days with all of you.

As many of you know the baby we were expecting has returned home to her Heavenly Father. Our little girl, Claire Elizabeth was born on Friday, October 10th at 2:34pm, weighing 2.1 oz and about 3 inches in length.

I went in for a routine check-up on Thursday only to be saddened and shocked by the news that my baby did not have heartbeat. Being 20 weeks along I knew that I would probably have to still deliver her just as I would a full term baby. The doctor informed me that we needed to do this as soon as possible due to the fact that there could be infection in my body. We took the necessary steps and I delivered her a day later. I can't explain to you the emotions that I was filled with, but I can tell you that I know my Heavenly Father was with me every step of the way. I knew that all I needed to do was to trust in him and that everything would be okay.

As I was in labor I felt no pain. All I felt was a huge abundance of love. I knew seeing Claire was going to be hard but I knew I would regret it if I didn't. I am so grateful that I made the decision to hold her and rub her and look over every part of her tiny body. Even though she didn't look like a full-term baby, she was ours and Dave and I love her just as much as we do our other children. The nurse made the comment that we were one of the only couples that she had ever seen that wanted to hold their baby and touch it in this situation. I wanted to tell her that we are fortunate enough to have been taught the bigger picture. We know that through obedience to the Lord, that we will see her again someday.

We have received so much service in our home. My dear friends have cleaned my home, watched our kids, brought meals in, done yard work. It's just amazing how a ward family can pull together so quickly to enrich our lives in times of need. Thank you to all of you for thoughts and prayers.

I have also learned through this experience that everyone grieves differently and that there is no right or wrong way. I'm trying to keep strong for my family but I know I will have many sad times ahead and that it's okay to just cry.

If there is a silver lining to this it would be the fact that I have felt no pain physically, that I have seen so much service in my home, and that I have learned to trust in Lord and gain a stronger testimony of the plan of salvation. I also know that our sweet, little Claire was called back to Heaven to serve her Heavenly Father. More than ever though, I know that we have a guardian angel to watch over our family and I know through obedience we will all be together again and that

Families really ARE Forever.

The month of "PINK"

I've been reminded many times this week that October is Breast Cancer awareness month. I've seen an Oprah episode, seen some really cute pink t-shirts, donated $1 when I've eaten out, read some great blogs on personal struggles, and bought cookies with pink M&M's. But one of my favorites was when I was on the plane flying home and the Northwest flight attendants were selling pink lemonade to the passengers for $2 a glass. It was so cool to see how many people didn't really care for the lemonade but donated to the cause anyway, and so many of them giving more than the $2 minimum. It's nice to see that in this time of financial crisis that there are still those around with a big enough heart to donate to such an important cause.

Big Sky Country

So I'm totally lame and didn't take one picture of my trip back to Montana to visit my sisters, their families, and my Mom. Even though I don't have any proof of it, I did have a great time. It was a good little getaway and one that I was in great need of. Thanks Natalie and Alyson for your hospitality and for having me. If I weren't pregnant I'd be dieting this week from all of the food we ate. That's when there's a plus to being pregnant. The "D" word doesn't even cross my mind. Thanks again guys!

The world we live in-

I've been really congested lately and there's not a lot you can take when you're pregnant. I called my doctor today and told him I was getting on a plane tomorrow morning and I was scared I had a sinus infection. I've had that on a plane before and I felt like my brains were going to blow out of my head. It was one of the most painful things I have experienced. Anyhoo....He told me to go to Walgreen's and pick up some Sudafed, but that it would be behind the counter. So I went into Walgreen's and me being the druggy that I am, had to pretty much sign my life away in order to bring these pills home with me. I had to give them two forms of I.D. with photo and then sign a legal agreement. I promised them I wasn't taking it home to my meth lab, just trying to clear my mucus filled head. It's so sad what this world has come to. Hopefully my Sudafed does the job or it may be a very long flight.

Traveling these days.....what a drag!

So my "to do" list is getting smaller and I only have about 2 more loads of laundry to do. So that's good, but the bummer news is the new baggage rules. I got online to see what it would cost me to take 1 or 2 pieces of luggage and this is what I found out. To take 1 bag it will cost me $20 each way and 2 bags would cost me $30 each way. What the heck????? So think about when I travel with my family. If each of us took only 1 bag it would cost me an extra $200. That's ridiculous. It's pretty sad what we have to do now days to travel. So needless to say I'm taking a tiny little carry on. I know I'm such a whiner. Regardless I'm getting on that plane and plan to have a great little vacation with my sisters and Mom. Adios!