It's catch-up time again. In this post I am including some older photos that were on my phone. We love Christmastime in our family. Allan is the master decorator and he always makes our home look and feel magical. The Christmasy atmosphere invites the Spirit into our home with abundance. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birth we are celebrating. We made gingerbread houses with Brandon's family last Monday for FHE.  We had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with Alfie Boe and Tom Brokaw. It was phenomenal. Hearing beautiful music like that just makes my Christmas!

 

The grandchildren certainly do love playing games on their parent's I-Pads.

Halloween 

Even Allan joined in the fun at the court.

Evan helping Papa dig potatoes.

Charly's Birthday - October 3, 2012

July 24, 2012 - Family Party at Brett & Tara's place.

Logan's Birthday Party - May 18, 2012

Broken hearted....

This week has been very emotional and tearful. A couple that both Allan and I know very well lost their two year old son to an accidental gunshot. We attended the funeral today. We were reminded of our Savior's atonement and love for us. Little Linkin is in the arms of his Heavenly Father and will not have to experience the trials and evils of this life. His parents are devastated about his death, but they know that their family is eternal and they will rejoice with him at a future time in the celestial kingdom. We will continue to pray for our dear friends to heal from this tragic loss. We love you, Owen and Melinda.

My first mission companion gave me this quote by Khalil Gibran from "The Prophet". It has helped me through some difficult times in my life.

"And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."

Andie's 6th Birthday Celebration - September 11, 2012

Little Andie girl is six years old today! Her grandma Garner made her this cute "Brave" cake for the occasion. She wanted everything "Merida" for her birthday. 

I couldn't resist taking this pic. Someday Logan will laugh about his backward pants.

Grandpa Garner with little Haven. She has grown so quickly.

BROKEN FEET

Okay, so for 57 years I have been able to say that I have never had a broken bone.........until a week ago. I feel like a total klutz! Somehow, I fell while going down my porch steps, twisting and fracturing both of my feet. Two fractures on the left foot and one on the right, pulled ligaments and a lot of swelling. Now I get to wear these lovely walking boots and even sleep in them. The only time I can take them off is when I am sitting with my feet up or bathing. 

Even with the inconvenience this has been, I am grateful that it wasn't worse. When I fell, my hands broke my fall on the cement. I could have broken my hands or wrists too. So I feel blessed that I can still get around. I just have to put my feet up as often as possible. So maybe this is why I have been able to update my blog, because I have been sitting on my behind a lot. I am grateful that I have a job where I sit at a desk and I don't need to be on my feet much.
I am so grateful for Allan and my children. They have been great to help me by cooking and cleaning!

CATCHING UP WITH LIFE

Here I go again, trying to catch up on my blogging. It has been a very eventful summer. We finally put up a nice vinyl fence in our backyard, something we have wanted to do for a long time. In May we discovered some water damage in our kitchen. We had to rip up the sub floor and remove the lower cabinets to dry out the floor. We are grateful that we caught it before we got mold. We decided to do a complete kitchen remodel since it was already torn up. We did all the work ourselves, except for the countertops and new cabinets. The entire project took ten weeks. It was exhausting, but the finished result is beautiful. We took out the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room. We rearranged the appliances to give us more space in the kitchen. We absolutely love our new kitchen! It turned out even better than we imagined it would. Wooden Things made our cabinets and Premier Marble and Granite did the countertops. Here are some pictures of the water damage, the construction phase and the finished product.

We love the time that we spend together. I am grateful that all my children live close to us, so we can be all together often. Here are some pics from the past few months.

 The infamous irrigation day - the day we decided to get a fence. (Long Story)

 Memorial Day 2012 - It has been a long time since I have visited my parents's grave. We went to Soda Springs, Idaho for the day. After visiting my parent's grave we visited my best friend from my childhood, DeAnn Andersen. I am still kicking myself that I didn't get any pictures of us together. We had a great time catching up and having lunch together. 

Haven Marie Garner was born June 18, 2012. Laurie and Landen invited me to be present for her birth. Witnessing Haven's birth was a very sacred and spiritual experience for me. She was just with Heavenly Father and our family members that have passed on. Thank you Laurie and Landen for letting me share this very special experience! The hardest part was seeing Laurie in so much pain. I was so glad when Haven arrived safely.

 August 4, 2012 Tipton Family Reunion at Jolley's Ranch