da Bergs

My newest pics

2012-01-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

I just got these pictures via my phone... and I just can't help it, I have to post them, they are so stinkin' cute! I don't know how I am going to stand living SO far away from them! I just wanna pick them both up and squeeze them!!!

Here is little Weston, ALWAYS smiling... he is a happy little guy!!! And, such a big boy... sitting up all alone and starting to eat some solids!

And here is our cute little Krew... he has a little cold and an earache right now :( His mommy took him to the Dr. yesterday and got him some meds... he is feeling a little better now and getting some rest! He weighed in at 8 lbs!!! They grow up too fast!!

Hugs and kisses from grandma.... I hope you both know how very much I love you both!!

The Blessing of another grandson!

2012-01-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in a while... I don't know when and why life has gotten so busy! As most of you know we were blessed with our 1st grandbaby in July! The previous post was the 1st time we got to see him... he was about 16 days old then. He is now 5 months old! Wow, how time flies! Here are a couple of current pics of baby Weston...
Here he is helping his mommy wash the dishes...
We think he might be teething, he loves chewing on anything, lol...

He always has a big smile!!! (Not sure if the wash clothe made his face so read or what)

In his Laker jersey that the O'Connors gave him!

Always smilin'...

As you can tell most of those pictures came from Christmas!

BUT. BEFORE. CHRISTMAS...

Devin and Diana asked me a few months ago if I would like to come up for the birth of Krew... YES!!!! Of course I would LOVE to!!!

So...

I looked for a cheap flight up to SLC... had to GUESS when Krew would make his grand entrance into mortality... booked it and headed to spend some time with Devin and Diana!

This is the last picture I got of Diana pregnant...

I got there really late on Wed. Dec. 7th. We had a lot of fun just hanging out and running around. Devin and Diana were really excited and a little impatient for Krew to come... Devin would bug Diana by making her do all kinds of things including jumping jacks hoping it would put her into labor. But, Krew had his own little agenda...

Finally on Dec. 14th around 5 am Devin came into my room and said, "It's time! We're going to the hospital!" We were all really excited!

We got her all checked in... and she was already dilated to a 5 so she was able to get her epidural right away...

It was pretty awesome and a little emotional...

Mom, Dad, and baby meeting...

measuring, weighing, 1st bath, foot prints...

One happy daddy!

We brought the new mommy and baby home on the 16th...

Derek and Brittany made a Welcome home sign!

Under the Christmas tree..

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENTS EVER!!!

Well, THAT AND talking to our missionary!!!

I love my new little grandsons... I just hate not living closer... I would love to hug and kiss them EVERY day!!!

And, I know some others that just love holding them too!

And, this was just the cutest... I wish you could have seen this in person... Chad has Christmas music coming from the phone, Brad is feeding Krew and they are SINGING to him!!! TOO CUTE!

Anyone who knows the Bergquist family knows that the guys are a little obsessed with the Lakers... Our dear friends, the O'Connors, bought the babies Laker's gear!

I loved that Krew fit in Devin's stocking...

We had a wonderful Christmas! And, hope you did too!

Aug Family Reunion at the Cabin

2011-10-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Every year in Aug. Brad's family rents a cabin in southern Utah and has a family reunion. (Yes, I know we have on in July too, but that one is up on Idaho and it is all of Brad's dad's siblings and their kids and grandkids...) This one at the cabin is Brad's dad and all of his siblings and kids... and grandkids! The family just continues to grow!)

This was Weston's 1st family reunion! We all took our turn holding him!

I got to help give him his 1st bath!!!

Devin washed his hair...

Brushing his hair...

Nice and clean... and warm!

The younger ones just hangin' out...

Chad doing his favorite thing... climbing!

There is always some dancin'...

And, soccer...

The herpers...

Hanging out and playing a little catch...

And golf...

Our service project...

Playing cards...

Bryce making his tradional pizza at midnight!

And, the highlight is when everyone gathers TOGETHER for FHE...
"Come Thou Fount"

It was awesome to have so many family members participate in Weston's blessing...

4 Generations...

Family Reunions!

2011-09-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

When I married Bradly Boy I had NO idea that I said, "I Do" to 2 family reunions every year, but we love them. Our boys love getting together with cousins and just hanging out. The 1st Bergquist reunion is always the weekend after the 4th of July amd it is held up at Willow Flats Idaho. This reunion is all of Brad's dad's siblings and their kids, so there are LOTS that go... although not so much of Brad's siblings... We have such a relaxing time there, it is beautiful!

This year Chad didn't go, he was at scout camp doing his Eagle project. Brad, Blake, and I drove up to Devin and Diana's cute apartment on Thursday. Friday morning Brad, Blake and Devin left to go up early to participate in the family golf tournyment. I got to go with Diana to her Dr. apt! It was so fun, I got to see baby James Bergquist (We don't know his 1st name yet, but his middle name will be James, after her father and Devin's grandpa AND Devin, it is Devin's middle name too!)

And.... here HE is!

Then Diana and I got on the road to head up to meet the guys. Unfortunately I got the worst headache of my life I believe... we had to stop so I could throw up 3 times! Diana ended up driving and when we got up there Brad and his dad gave me a blessing. I felt better almost immididately! I just sat in the car for a bit... but as I got to feeling better I got my camera out and took a few pics of the boys playing catch near by.

We did a lot of this...

And a lot of this...

We built fires...

The problem was.... it rained every day, but luckily we had these...

but the wood was wet... and we had lots of this...

But this year we tried something new. We made dutch oven pizza! This will now be a new tradition! It was easy to make, tasted great and was an easy clean up!

We always have a big horseshoe tourny...
Diana and Brittany were a team... Team Preggo!

The sunflowers were so pretty..

The river...

Bergquist springs, the water is so cold and delish...

We had a great time!!!

I can't believe it!!! I'm a Grandma!!!

2011-07-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

It wasn't that long ago that the happy couple was doing this...

But, a week ago today they went to the hospital to actually do the real thing... the thing they had been practicing for!!!
Beautiful mommy all ready to deliver!

Ready!

Last Tuesday, July 19th I was at work. (I apologize now to Dr. Q, I was quite preoccupied!!!) Derek would give me updates... I chatted with baby Weston's other grandma... anticipation.... waiting and waiting... praying and praying... (there was one point that they thought they would have to do a C-section) but eventually (with no pain meds) our beautiful new grandbaby was born!!!

Bradly Weston Bergquist
7 lb 10 oz
20 inches tall

Our brand new baby!!

Mommy and her new baby!

I love this little pic even though he had a little cone head.... you know 1st babies and the long labor and delivery... but mom was a trooper! NO meds!!

SO sweet...

At home!

LOVE this pic of the little guy!

My baby holding his baby! (I adore this pic!!!)

In the car...

At the store...

They ran into one of my dear friend's new grandbaby, Luke Hardy! Derek and the Hardy boys grew up together and now they are having babies together!
Weston and Luke

Yesterday... the little guy sleeping... so sweet!

I love that every morning daddy Derek sends me a new pic! I feel like the little guy changes every day! The 1st pic I got today was just after his bath! This little towel he is wrapped in was made by my dear friend Karen! Thank you Karen!

All clean...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE being a grandma!!! I can't wait to hold this little guy... to rock him and kiss him and love him!!!

Baby Weston, Grammy LOVES you!!!

**Brittany just posted about the birth... it had some GREAT pics that I just saw for the FIRST time... go HERE to see!!!

I haven't posted in a while...

2011-06-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

I love when any of my kids come to visit! Devin and Diana came about a month ago (see I told you I am behind in posting! yikes) The guys played 36 holes of golf and we went to the beach on Friday!

Then on Saturday the guys played in 2 church softball games...

Chad has been enjoying some shooting and climbing this summer...

Oh, and getting birds out of the house!

We had a wedding in our back yard for 2 of our YSA's! They have a goal to go to the temple next year and then we will have a REALLY big reception for them then!

Chad finished up his Freshman year in high school. He was on the track team. He did the pole vault, triple jump and high jump. He also did his 1st year of seminary. They studied The Doctrine and Covenants this year. He had perfect attendance all year!

Institute ended for the year... it is nice to have a break in the summer, but boy do I miss these kids! They are such a great group!!! I hope most of them are still here in the fall!!!

They even gave me flowers! SOOOOOOOOOOO sweet!!!

Brad has only been serving as bishop for about 3 months and he has already performed a civil wedding (waiting for a pic of this to post) and unfortunately he conducted and spoke at a funeral on Monday. Our Stake Pres. called him on Friday and said, "Bishop Bergquist it has come to my attention, that a young man who just graduated from high school committed suicide earlier this week. I spoke briefly to the mother she has looked all over for a place to hold his funeral and has been turned away each and every time. I'm giving her the okay to hold a funeral at the stake center, here's her name and number would you please take care of it." It turned out to be a very nice service, I hope it gave them some peace. The met in the back grassy area of our chapel and let off balloons after the funeral and then they brought in food and fed about 400 people! We both went up the last night of girls camp and he spoke and conducted the testimony meeting. The testimonies that the girls bore were really sweet and sincere... I know it has been hard and yet wonderful all at the same time for Brad... I have grown to love him even more as I see him being so kind and loving to others... and walking in on him at all hours of the day on his knees...

I love summer! When I walked out in the back yard this morning I saw this cool bird, I don't know what it is.... but it is about a foot and 1/2 tall!

I have baby oranges and lemons...

I already have an orange tomato! Yummm... there is nothing like a home grown tomato! The ones in the stores have NO flavor!

This doesn't really do it justice... it is so bright...

This is my hydrangea plant, it is doing great this year!

Elder Bergquist is doing great on the mission... you can go HERE to read more...

Brittany is getting close to the end... only 25 more days if Weston decides to actually come on his due date! You can go HERE to read more about their nursery that they are fixing up!

GrandbabieS

2011-06-13T12:17:00.001-07:00

I am sooooooooooooooo excited!!! I am going to have TWO grandbabies this year!!! Derek and Brittany are due July 24th (SOON!!!) AND Devin and Diana are due Dec 17th!!!!!! How exciting!!!

When a child is born, so are grandmothers. ~Judith Levy

Brittany's visit!

2011-06-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Brittany came to visit the beginning of May! It was so much fun to have her here! She looks SO cute prego! The 1st day she was here we just did some shopping... she got a new swim suit and of course on Friday we went to the beach! We had a great time there, it was a beautiful day!

It was so funny... we decided to take a pic of Brittany with the human statues... but as soon as I clicked the pic they moved and make this funny pic! I laughed and laughed! (They were SO serious before!)

While Brittany was here my sweet friends decided that they should throw her a shower! THANK YOU!!!

She got some very nice gifts!

My VERY talented friend, Karen, made these great bibs and burp cloths for Weston! THANK YOU KAREN!!!

She got some gift cards and we went to Toys R Us, and Kathy made up the difference (a BIG thank you to Kathy!!!) and she was able to purchase her travel system (car seat/stroller combo) Here it is in the car, all ready to go!

The car seat will snap right into the stroller...

Haha, Jackson! BOYS! Britt, this is what you have to look forward to! ...little climbers!

Thank you everyone for coming... you are so kind! I have such great friends!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!

After the shower we all decided to go get a pedi!

Kaitlin, a very dear friend of ours took some great pics of Brittany and baby Weston!

Here she is... the photographer! THANK YOU KAITLIN!!!

Missionary Blogs & Visa News!

2011-04-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Elder Bergquist is currently serving in the Billings Montana Mission waiting for his visa. (Actually, he just got his visa and flies out next Thursday to Brasil!!!) Anyway, the church has a pilot program where some of the missions have their missionaries participate in the technology of the world, sharing the gospel. They have facebook accounts and write blogs.

Here is a prophecy about the Future of Missionary Work-
In 1974, President Spencer W. Kimball issued an amazing prophecy about the technology driving the gospel message.Technology will help spread the gospel. We need to enlarge our field of operation.… The Lord will lay in our hand inventions which we can scarcely conceive whereby we will be able to bring the gospel to the peoples of the world…. I have faith that the Lord will open doors when we have done everything in our power. I believe that the Lord is anxious to put into our hands inventions of which we laymen have hardly had a glimpse….We shall use the inventions the Lord has given us to awaken interest and acquaint people of the world with the truths, to ease their prejudices and give them a general knowledge. We shall need to answer specific questions, and perhaps that can be done by two-way radio and TV perfected to a point beyond our present imagination. It is conceivable that such a program greatly perfected could be multiplied ten thousand times in ten thousand tongues and dialects in ten thousand places far and near…. Tens of thousands of young missionaries endowed with the power from on high will follow up the proselyting."

Anyway, Elder Bergquist has started a blog. Click HERE to look at it!

And click HERE to read more blogs from other missionaries!

It is nice to read them and post them on your facebook for others to read... and/or comment on them to start a good discussion... hopefully through these blogs we can help others to understand our religion and ask questions!

Summa cum laude!!!

2011-04-22T18:15:00.001-07:00

We are so proud of our darling daughter in law, I actually like to claim both of my daughters in law as daughters! (Especially since I never had a daughter of my own! AND, they ARE sealed to us for eternity!♥♥)

Anyway, Diana graduated from Utah College of Dental Hygiene! It is one of the few dental hygiene colleges that you actually graduate with a bachelor degree! She was Summa Cum Laude... she only had ONE B and it was an 89!!!! In.credible!!!

She will be taking one more class on line for her 2nd bachelor's degree!!! Way to go Diana!!! You are going to be the most beautiful hygienist ever!

A Prophet and 12 Apostles

2011-04-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

I want to start by remembering when Christ was on the earth and he called his apostles. Lets look at Matt 4:18-22
18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

And, now, Mark 3:13-15
13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

And now, Luke 6:12-13
12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Christ choose twelve men to be His apostles—including Peter, James and John—and laid His hands on their heads to give them authority called the priesthood to perform baptisms, govern His church, and spread His word throughout the world.

Regardless of the valiant efforts of Christ’s apostles and their faithful followers, the original church that Christ restored began to fade away. Members faced severe persecution and all but one of the apostles were martyred. This is a period called the Great Apostasy, when there was a “falling away” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) from the gospel Christ organized.

Without authority or divine direction, Christianity struggled to survive with conflicting opinions on even the most basic teachings of the gospel. Without priesthood authority or the full gospel, people had to rely on human wisdom to interpret the scriptures, principles and ordinances. Many false ideas were taught as truth, and much of what we know about the true character and nature of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost was lost. Essential doctrines like faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost became distorted and important doctrines were lost entirely.

Then in 1830 Joseph Smith was reading the Bible, and came across James 1:5 which reads, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him”. So, he did just that. He prayed and asked God which church he should join.

Through Joseph Smith, our Heavenly Father restored the original and only true church to the earth. I am SO grateful to know that God loves us and we have a living prophet to tell us what he wants us to do so that we can return to live with him and be an eternal family after we leave this life here on earth. You can go HERE to read more about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here is a picture of our sweet prophet, Pres. Thomas S. Monson.

He is assisted by two counselors, Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Together, they make up the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (much like Peter, James, and John in Christ's time). Here is a picture of him with his 2 counselors, don't you just love their happy smiles!

Here is a picture of the 12 apostles that we have... just like in times of old...

We have the opportunity to hear them speak every 6 months. The 1st Sunday in April and the 1st Sunday in October. You can go HERE to read, watch or listen to their talks!

I took notes as I listened to their talks this past Saturday and Sunday. I am going to share my notes with you but I encourage you to go and read them yourselves!

Be thou an example of the Believers.
Keep clean hands.
Avoid worldly distractions.
Confess/repent to those we offend (and to the Lord)
Come to the Sacrament table willing to confess and renew our covenants.
Do not relax – the adversary succeeds when we do.
Partaking of the Sacrament is a testament that you will always remember me AND IF you do, you will always have my Spirit to be with you.
~L. Tom Perry

Pay your tithing.
Help the elderly.
Listen to the Fathers voice (promptings). (And I might add, obey).
We can do it without seeing the Father, we can hear His voice!
~Sister Jean Stevens (Primary)

Treat your spouse with kindness and love.
Share the gospel.
Love others by following His examples
Keep the commandments.
Make and keep covenants.
Attend the temple often.
Joseph Smith taught that covenants were made BEFORE we came to earth.
As we strive to follow Him, the windows of Heaven will open up!
~Walter F. González

Repent – the Savior heals.
Pray & wait & work & help.
None of us are exempt from pain; opposition is part of the plan. The Savior is not a silent observer, he is the physician.
Healing comes in many ways. Sometimes we are healed by being able to deal with our pain.
~Kent Richards

Do not judge others.
Our suffering will aid to my sanctification.
The most important organization on earth is the family, and parents are not paid.
~Elder Quinine Cook

Include our children in our giving/service.
Reach out and help others.
Be generous.
Seek out the poor. (The Holy Ghost will help you).
Plan service projects.
Prepare yourself spiritually.
Lift up the hands that hang down, strengthen the feeble knees.
He loves His children – those who need help & those who can give it.
Turn feelings of sympathy to action!
When I am generous to His children, He is generous to me.
We are happier and have more respect when we reach out and help others.
I love this work and it is work. (Benson)
~Pres. Henry B. Eyring

If you are carrying a burden, let it go.
Do a lot of forgiving and a little repenting (and you will be visited by the Holy Ghost).
~Boyd K. Packer

Make this world a better place.
Do not let your fear combat your faith. Our future is as bright as our faith.
Let your children feel your faith.
Makes sure your faith is centered on Christ.
Believe Him.
Difficult days are ahead, each of us will be tested – how you deal with the trail is part of the test.
Mortality is simply a testing time.
Obedience will protect us spiritually & physically.
The apostle Paul warned that in the latter days those who diligently follow the Lord shall suffer persecution. That very persecution can either crush you to silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives. How you deal with trials is part of the test.
~Russell M. Nelson

Have Celestial traditions in your home.
~Richard Maynes

Study, read, and pray with a firm commitment to obey when you get an answer.
~Cecil O. Samuelson

Desire to fast.
Loose every desire for sin. (Give away all our sins to know God).
Forgive all. Put others welfare before ours. Love all. Pray with all energy of heart for this love.
Work towards securing a temple marriage.
Desire to become like Him.
Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, choices determine our actions. Desires we act on makes us who we become.
He will judge all men by our work & desires of our hearts.
~Dallin Oaks

Love one another. No gossip.
Join with ward members to help someone. The still small voice will tell us who to help.
~M. Russell Ballard

Do not waste too much time waiting on your Road to Damascus
Proceed with faith.
Harken to the promptings of the Spirit. Rearrange your schedule if you have to. Let us be among those that the Lord can depend on!
Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.
The needs of others is ever present – we need to hear & act. (Monson)
~M. Russell Ballard

The Lord is involved in our lives… it most often comes in the form of a puzzle, one piece at a time. When enough pieces have been put together we can see that the Savior has quietly been involved in our lives.
Promptings may not come directly as an answer to our prayers. They may come through friends and family. Promptings may not only come for our benefit but for others.
Many times when we are meeting the needs of others our prayers are answered.
~Pres. Uchdorf

Be happy.
Trials will add to our education, there are wonderful blessings on the heels of our trials.
We want growth without challenges, a world class athlete only gets there through lots of work.
We don’t want to hear, “Well, your done.” But, “Well done thy good and faithful servant!”
~Paul Johnson

Prepare for times of distress. ~David Burton

Pay fast offering.
Helping one another is a sanctifying experience.
~Sis. Silvia Allred (RS)

Ask for revelation with faith and we will receive it.
Press forward…. Praying. THEN shall they confidence wax strong.
The Holy Ghost is a revelator and no man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelation. We should be receiving revelation in our lives! If we ask with faith and an honest heart believing, we will receive through dreams, visions, conversations with Heavenly messengers and inspiration.
~David Bednar

You will receive every blessing that you are worthy of.
Lead me to someone that I can help.
~Richard G. Scott

Keep the Word of Wisdom.
Pay your tithing.
Do nothing to prevent you from going to the temple!
Overcome temptation.
Be grateful for our temples, get worthy to attend, get a recommend, GO TO THE TEMPLE!
~ Pres. Monson

Pray for his chastening. Willingly accept correction.
He asks not for a commitment bur for our very lives.
He wants to make us holy, he provides us with commandments.
~D. Todd Christofferson

REPENT. Jesus Christ is the healer of our souls.
~C. Scott Grow

Consecrate your life to the Lord.
Teach by the Spirit.
Listen with the Spirit.
God not only lives, but speaks!
We need to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable (Pres. Lee)
~Jeffrey R. Holland

I know these are men of God. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God, just like Noah, Abraham, Moses and countless others were. I am so grateful to know that God lives and loves us. And that His Son, Jesus Christ atoned for our sins that we might repent every single day and become more like Him as we serve others and keep the commandments. I know he hears us and he answers when we pray. I am grateful for temples, where we can go to be sealed together as families. Here is a picture of the temple that I was sealed to my hubby, it is the St. George temple.

Lots of news!

2011-03-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

Brad was called as the bishop of our ward. He was sustained on Sunday, March 20, 2011. His father (Gordon), Kathi, Brent, Becky, Brent (yes, we have 2 Brents), Melodie, Holden, Bryce and Bailey all came to support him. It was nice to have so much family here. I wish I would have taken pictures, I don't know why I forgot to! I also need to take a picture of him with his counselors! Just as a funny side note, a friend from the ward came up to Brad and I on Sunday and told us that they were pretty sure Brad would be the new bishop so they drove by our house at 10:30 on Saturday night to see if there were any cars with out of stake plates, haha... guess they saw all the cars and knew! Funny!

Brent and Becky stayed on Monday to play! We drove down to Newport Beach and then down to Laguna. We had fish and chips and then a really yummy dessert! Thanks, Brent!

Then Becky and I went and waded in the water!

And, then Becky and I went and got us each a new toe ring! It was a really fun day!

The best news I have gotten in a long time came YESTERDAY!!! Dallin's visa status went from "received" to "processing"!!!! THAT is really great news!!! That means that he will probably be on his way to Belo Horizonte Brasil in less than 2 weeks!!! I am super excited for him! I sure wish there was some way I could let him know! I did email him but he wont be able to read it until next Monday!

I got a couple of new pics of Dallin. This one is of him and his companion on St. Patrick's day, hence the green ties!

And here they are on their bikes! Last I heard they had a car, so don't ask me! Maybe they get the car when there is snow and ride bikes when spring comes? I don't know... I will ask him in his next email!

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning... Oh, What a Beautiful Day...

2011-03-14T12:00:00.001-07:00

I finally got a picture of Brittany with her little baby bump! Isn't she cute pregnant! She is 20 weeks, 1/2 way there! I can't wait to have a little grand-baby!

And, our cute little Diana is getting close to graduation! She graduates from Dental Hygiene school on April 14th! (She's the one on the left!)

I miss my children!!! I sure wish they all lived close!!!

But, after all that is going on around the world... especially in Japan, I feel like I need to count my blessings! It is sure beautiful outside! I love living in southern Cali! I love the warm weather... I am so excited for spring and summer! I walked outside this morning and just listened to the birds... and noticed all the blossoms and flowers... I just had to take a few pics!

This is our nectarine tree starting to bloom!

Speaking of missing my children... I ordered this vinyl saying to put over my kitchen table. It says, "Time spent together makes our house a home". Derek put it up for me while he was here for his Bday!

I don't know about you but we all tend to gather in the kitchen the most! I love spending time together! I think they all need to come visit soon! I am sure I hear the beach calling them!

One last thing... Dallin's visa papers are all in Brasil, we are just waiting for them to process them now! Keep praying!

You'll have to wait a little longer...

2011-03-09T16:18:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Brittany and Derek went to the Dr. to find out for SURE if they are having a boy or a girl. While they were here over the Christmas holiday we went and got one of those new gender tests that they have. It is supposedly 85% accurate. It said BOY!
So.... yesterday I was at work and Derek kept texting me pics of the baby!!! He would say... here is the arms and legs....

Here is the spine...

I kept texting him back saying... WAY cool!!!! IS IT A BOY OR GIRL???
and...
he wouldn't tell me! haha...

he said... "We keep trying to get a straight on shot of the face but every time we take a pic the baby turns ITS head and lays down on the placenta like a little pillow...
Isn't that sweet... not sure if it is shy or tired, haha...

THEN...

FINALLY...

He called me.

AND

He said...

"You are going to have to wait....

a little longer...

for a baby girl"

hahahaha... YEP

THEY ARE HAVING A LITTLE BOY!!!!

Yeah!!! We know how to handle little boys!!!

He has really long legs... I am voting for a little soccer player in the making!
I am sooooooooooo excited to hold this little nipper!!!
I love you little Bergquist boy!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! From the Hacker!

2011-02-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone....
Let me tell you a story. This beautiful story began over 29 years ago. I thought Shaila would have blogged it. But Shaila is busy with work ... so it is left to me. The hacker.....

Pull up a chair. Are you comfy? Got a bag of chips?

Lets see... it all began over 30 years ago. Perhaps thats before many of you were even born! There was a little place in Provo called the brick oven., perhaps have you heard of it? It was there that the magic began, There was a cute oh wait, shaila would rather I use the word DARLING, there was this darling young girl named shaila. She was a freshman and well.. lets be honest a little giggley. (things havent changed much) She went to the Brick oven with friends. As she went there to be seated they asked for how many. She said 3 (or 4 I forget) anyway, as soon as these words left her mouth, a deep sexy voice from behind her said. "Make that a table for 6 (or 8)" Brad was quite the manly man. Shaila says he had Popeye arms from installing pavers all summer... sigh.

Sadly that was the last date for a while.....

Brad stalked her .. oh I mean watched her from a distance, while she matured. This stalking.. or intent watching, lasted many, many, many years.. just kidding Brad didnt have that much time to spare! Shaila was a hottie and boys were circling, He had to make his move. He waited 2 years..

It was a dark night (as most nights are) and Shaila got ready to go dancing at the Star Palace. (it wasnt a seedy joint back then) As she was dancing, she was approached. The popeye armed man was back. He had watched her grow up and knew at that moment he wanted to be her man forever.

That is how it all began...

This I know (other than Shaila doesnt change her password EVER..) Brad is Shaila knight in shining armor. Shaila is Brads queen. They make such a cute couple.... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (I know a few days late, but hey, whats an anniversary without me hacking your blog?? I would post pictures of the roses from the anniversary but I dont have any....

LOVE YOU signed ...Your Friend (??) I hope that is true after you read it!

Family Group Pictures!

2011-02-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

I am really late posting this but so much was happening at the time... anyway, I really want to document the pictures taking so here goes!

Thanksgiving weekend was Dallin's farewell and we had the whole family in town. We decided to do a family group picture since Dallin would be gone for the next two years. The guys do not enjoy taking pictures as much as girls do... and so when we finished the ones I HAD to have the girls and I decided to stick around and do some fun ones of them! They are quite the models! Kaitlin is a close friend to the family and she was so willing to these for us, THANK YOU KAITLIN!!!
This first one was just for fun, one of me and my girls!

Diana is such a tiny little thing, I thought this was so cute of her!

I like this one of Brittany, it should be on the cover of a country music CD!

My darling daughters in law, I just love them!

I LOVE this pic of the boys! It totally shows their personalities, always goofing off! It just makes me happy to look at!

Derek and Brittany!

Devin and Diana!

This is the family picture that we decided on... it hangs on a wall in the family room... even though my hair is blonde again and Devin has shaved his beard!

This is also on one of the walls in my family room. Blake had to leave early that day to go to a funeral, so we didn't get a pic of him. I really need to get one of him SOON!!

As the boys were taking all the props back to the car, I looked up to see Dallin carrying the suitcases, I quickly got Kaitlin's attention... it was so symbolic of why we were doing family pictures at this time... so symbolic of Dallin leaving to go to serve the Lord for two years... love this pic!

Elder Bergquist

2011-02-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

Dallin reported to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo on Dec. 8, 2010. He was supposed to go directly to the MTC in Sao Paulo Brasil but his visa didn't come in time. There are about 400 missionaries currently waiting for their visas. You can read an article about it HERE. Dallin finished his 9 weeks in the MTC in Provo and is now currently serving in the Billings Montana mission waiting for his visa. He and his companion are in serving in Powell Wyoming right now. He is living in a garage that he says has a sink, bathroom, and a washer and dryer. He doesn't mention any kind of stove or fridge! I will ask him about that in his next email on Monday! If you are interested I am doing a blog for him HERE. OR in the future you can always click on his picture on the side bar, that too will take you to his blog.

He was told yesterday to fill out some visa paperwork on line and we were to send in 2 more passport size picture for his visa, I hope that means it will be coming soon! We keep praying and fasting...

I'm gonna be a grandma!!!

2011-01-24T15:23:00.001-08:00

We went up for Brittany's graduation from BYUI on Dec. 17th. We were just sitting in their cute little apartment when Derek said to Brittany, "Should we give the mom's part of their Christmas now?" I remember thinking, "You don't need to do that now, you are coming to our house for Christmas, just wait till then" Boy, am I glad they didn't!!! Derek got up and went to their bedroom and came out with 2 scrolls of paper tied up in a pretty red bow and he handed on to me and one to Brittany's mom. I opened it and it looked like a "graduation certificate", very fitting since that is why we were all there! Brittany was graduating! BUT, as I looked closer I saw a picture of a fetus!!! WAIT. NO. WAY. Is that our gift??? WHAT? I couldn't even read the words on the paper, I tried to calm down and read it but I was so excited I couldn't!!! Finally I looked up and yep, I could tell by the expression on Derek's face!!! He is going to be a daddy and I am going to be a grandma!!!!

Here is what our exciting news looked like!!!

And, here is the 1st picture of my grand baby!!!

Brittany was 8 weeks at the time and she wanted to make it to 12 weeks before she told everyone. She told us (mom's 1st).... well, actually, they were very kind and they told Dallin 1st! All of my boys LOVE babies and Dallin, having 2 of his brothers married was very excited to be an uncle!!! BUT, he left for his mission before becoming one! So, they told him 1st... they told him at Thanksgiving! And, he was a good uncle and kept a secret! THEN, they told us moms... and then they told the rest of the family. I had to be a good grandma for 4 weeks! It about killed me! I wanted to stand on the rooftops and tell it for the whole world to know! But, I was a good granny! My lips were sealed.

Anyway....

Guess what??!!!

♥♥ I AM GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!♥♥

For all my friends out there... do you go by Grandma? Granny? G-ma? WHAT??!!!

Christmas!

2011-01-23T17:25:00.001-08:00

It was nice to have all the kids home for Christmas! I hate having them live so far away!!! I found this saying the other day and I love it, I am going to have a friend make it out of vinyl to put above our kitchen table, "Time spent together makes our home a house"! LOVE IT, it is so true! the only bummer for the kids that came from Utah and Idaho was all the rain we got! It is usually sunny and warm and we always take a trip down to the beach... but not this year! Look at all the rain we got! This is our back yard!

The lemon tree probably loved it though...

Here are pics from a couple of our family traditions...

Dipping pretzels for our friends...

And, making tamales WITH our friends...

Then we come home and mess around...

We always open our ONE Christmas Eve gift, the girls got pajama bottoms and the boys got "Lakers" pillow cases. We always read Luke 2 before going to bed... We DO have to remember WHY we celebrate Christmas! How grateful we are to our elder brother, Jesus Christ, that came to earth to be an example and to atone for our sins!

Christmas Breakfast!

And opening gifts...
Mom (Grandma Measles) went to the Holy Land this year (2010) with a tour group and she brought back all the boys (including Brad) oil from the olive trees in Gethsemane.

Stockings!

The girls got rolling pins from Anthropologie!

Derek's new scarf...

Blake in his new Lakers hat

Hummmm... wonder what Chad got Devin? °Ü°

It seemed to be the year for shoes!

or boots! °Ü°

Chad got a new cell phone!

My mom got Brad and I this beautiful picture!

This is where I hung it... okay, fine, this is where I had it hung! °Ü°

And, our sweet children went in together and got Brad and I this fire pit! I love it! I have wanted one for a long time!

So, Derek built a fire in it for us!

And we got in the jacuzzi!

We had a a wonderful Christmas... (although we did miss Dallin.... a. lot.!)

Brittany Graduates!

2011-01-05T12:03:00.001-08:00

We drove up to take Dallin to the MTC and then the very next weekend we drove up to Brittany's graduation!!! CONGRATS to Brittany!!! We are very proud of you!

Her cute sister, Jenna, contacted me and said that they were all going to go in together and get Brittany a camera... so, I told her that we too would contribute! Here is a picture of us all at Derek and Brittany's apartment watching Brittany open up her graduation gift! Look at the expression on her face... and Dereks!

Then that evening we went to a very nice dinner that BYUI was putting on for the graduates and their families...

The next morning we took a few pics before the graduation...

This is not the best picture of Brad but he is sure proud of both of his "daughters"!!!

Brittany stole her brothers glasses to take a few "smart" pics!!! She is so fun!

Brittany and her mom...

and 2 of her siblings were able to go up for the graduation ceremony too!

Her college was the one that got Pres. Clarke

and Elder Jensen as speakers!!!

One last picture after the ceremony in the COLD, but BEAUTIFUL SNOW!!!

Congrats Brittany, we are VERY proud of you!!!! And love you tons and tons!

Dallin's in the MTC!!!

2011-01-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am way behind... It seems like since Thanksgiving I have been running! So, I am going to attempt to get all caught up today!

First of all, Dallin is in the MTC!!!!

We are so proud of him and SO excited for him!!! (Oh, how I wish I could go with him!) His visa has not arrived, there are lots of problems with visas right now... there are many missionaries in the Provo MTC waiting for their visas, not only the missionaries going to Brazil but missionaries going to other countries too.... so, we continue to pray daily!!!

I have started a blog just for "Elder Bergquist" so, if you would like to see more pictures and letters etc you can go HERE...

AND, if you would like to write him, here is his address

Elder Dallin Don Bergquist
MTC Mailbox # 239
BRA-BEL 0208
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

You can go to http://www.dearelder.com/index/ and write him a letter for FREE and they will deliver it the very next day!!!

Before Dallin went to the MTC we did lots of shopping...

And, we went to the temple several times. This picture was taken at the San Diego temple...

And, there was packing... and making sure his name was on everything...

He got in as much time with his friends as he could before going..

And, then on Dec. 5, 2010, right after Sacrament meeting, he was set apart by Pres. Norman (on the right) and Pres. Sprunt (left)

Then we hurried home and changed our clothes, packed the car and had a family prayer.

Chad had track tryouts that week and couldn't miss it so we had to leave him at home.

After the prayer they both just sat there... so, I hurried and got the camera.

Hugging good bye (and YES, this was probably the hardest part for me, watching Chad say goodbye...)

Last words of advice...

And one last laugh...

We drove to Vegas to spend the night. And some of the family came over to tell Dallin good luck and good bye... like I said, there are more pictures HERE

Grandpa giving some council...

Then we got to Grandma's in Utah and some of his friends from BYU came over to tell him good bye, he had been set apart so they couldn't hug him! Here they all are giving him a good 'ole hand shake! More Utah good byes HERE

Hugging Devin...

Lovin" grandma!

I got a few pictures the next morning of him getting ready...

Packing his scriptures...

Loading the car...

Dallin loves breakfast food so we went to IHOP before taking him to the MTC... (The only food he requested before he left was my biscuits and gravy, so I made it the day before for him!)

Here is a picture of him sitting in IHOP saying good bye to Derek on the phone...

After we ate we stopped by Verizon to do some phone trading... I was getting Dallin's phone...

the lady was putting my contacts in his phone and he asked if there was a way to keep his contacts and she said no, once they put mine in, he would loose his... and then she said, "No big deal anyway, you will have to make all new friends when you get home, those will all be married!"

ouch.

But, as you can see, he was still smiling!

AT the MTC! Getting his luggage out of the car (again, look at him smiling, he was all smiles that morning! He was SO ready to go!!!)

Hugging Blake...

Okay, I hate this picture, I was crying and crying... yes, I am SUPER DUPER happy to see him going to serve his Heavenly Father!!!! BUT. It is hard to tell your son good bye for TWO YEARS! °Ü°

Saying good bye to dad...

And he was gone... one more look back... with a BIG smile!!!

He has been in the MTC now for FOUR weeks!!! (This post has been SO hard to do, I am sitting here crying again!!!) Well, 4 weeks down and 100 to go!!! °Ü°

Here are a couple of pics that I got from him last Saturday...

This is his companion, Elder Rudolphi from CO.

And, here is his district... it is a small district...

Sister Enszer, Sister Roy, and Sister Taylor

Please remember Dallin in your prayers... pray for his visa!!!!

Dallin, or should I say, Elder Bergquist, we are SO proud of you!!!

We all love you!!!

mom

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-02T20:51:00.001-08:00

Normally we go to Utah and have our Thanksgiving with my side of the family the Sunday before Thanksgiving and then we go to Vegas and have Thanksgiving with Brad's side of the family. But, this year was different because Dallin's farewell was the Sunday after... So, since my family were all coming for the farewell we decided to have Thanksgiving HERE, it was so nice! Here are a few pics...

Before our Thanksgiving dinner Brittany got on line with the girls (my cute nieces) and they figured out how to make bonnets...

Here they are making Whitney a bonnet! And Abby is making an Indian headdress!

There was 16 of us so we had to split into 2 tables... here are the kids!

And here are the marrieds! LOL

After the meal, football of course!

Then Brittany and Derek went out back and just enjoyed the sunshine! I don't think they were real excited to go back to the snow in Idaho!

Then, of course, we had to do a little shopping on Friday!

There was lots of basketball and volleyball at night...

TOGETHER IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE!!!!

Chadman is 15!!!

2010-11-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

Where, oh where, has the time gone??!!! I cannot believe my BABY is 15 years old!!!

I remember when he was born, or actually... I don't.

Chad is our 5th and last son.

Tues, Oct. 31, 1995 I had a REALLY bad headache. I didn't think much of it, I mean, I DO get migraines... Brad took the boys trick or treating without me.

Nov. 1, 1995, It was worse and I was beginning to get nauseated. I called a friend, Ann, to come over. When Brad got home from work the pain was so severe that Brad called my Dr. to see if he could give me something. It was almost 5 pm (time for the office to close) and they told Brad to take me into the ER. I really didn't feel like going, so Brad had a prescription called in for me and he went and picked it up. I took it and went to bed hoping to wake up feeling much better but in the wee hours of the morning I woke Brad up... I was having a seizure. Brad called 911 and yelled out to Derek to go downstairs and wait for the ambulance. The Dr. on call immediately diagnosed me with eclampsia. For the first 24 hours they got me on seizure meds and started me on steroids to help little Chad's lungs to develop before inducing me.

The next day they took me by ambulance to the hospital in Riverside where Chad was born. My parents and my dear friend, Stacia (who has always been more like a sister to me) flew in. Nov. 3rd, they induced me and Chad entered into mortality! Poor little guy was 7 weeks early and weighed in at 4 lb. 3 oz. He was immediately put on oxygen and I was not allowed to hold him.

I had some bleeding problems that they had to get under control but then in a day or 2 they finally got me into a wheelchair to take me down to the nursery to see him. I remember being really weak and telling Brad that if I got to hold him, help me (I was really afraid I would drop him due to the lack of energy). We didn't get to hold him for a few days, but he was a strong little guy, he pulled his IV right out! He had not learned to suck in the wound due to being born so early so they fed him intravenously for a few days. Then they poked a hole in the nipple of the bottle so that the milk would just drop into his mouth. I would work and work to try to get him to nurse, it took a lot of persistence but the little nipper finally did! It was really hard leaving the hospital without him! I got to bring him home on my birthday, Nov. 14th! What a surprise that was, they had told us a couple of days before it would probably be another week but when the morning of my birthday arrived the Dr. said to me, "How would you like to take him home today?" We were so excited, Brad had to drive back home to get his car seat.

We are SO happy to have Chad in our family! He is such a sweet little guy! Chad loves to run, jump and climb! He loves doing parkour and he has gotten pretty darn good at it. You should see him at the church building, one Sunday it was raining out and he jumped from one railing to the other, I was really afraid he was going to slip! So far we have only had to take him in for stitches once! I need to get some pics of him doing this parkour stuff and post them!

Anyway, his Birthday was Nov 3 and I made cinnamon rolls and took up to his seminary class (he is the ONLY boy in his seminary class) and then I took pizzas and sodas up to the high school at lunch for he and his friends.

I wish I would have gotten pics of more of the kids but I was on my lunch break and had to hurry back to work.

Friday night we had a party for him, here are a couple of pictures from the party...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAD!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

-Mom

Pumpkins!

2010-10-31T20:15:00.001-07:00

Here are the pumpkins my kids carved this year... My boys are REALLY into the Lakers as you will soon be able to tell! The 1st one here is Derek's...

Here is Devin's...

Dallin's...

Chad's...

Brittany's (Bewitched!)

And, Diana's! (lots of TEETH! She is almost finished with Dental Hygiene School!)

Nice job guys! I love you! mom

The Office

2010-10-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from the office staff...

Tony and Vicky (work 4 doors down in the optical), me and Dr. Q

Black & White... Thoughts??

2010-10-23T14:09:00.001-07:00

I have been asked to speak at our ward's "Young Women's in Excellence" program next week. Our YWP is very creative, she is going to decorate everything in black and white... when I asked her the topic, she said, "Black and White, no gray"....

We really have to make up our minds as to which side we are on! We can't just sit on the fence....

It made me think of the song, "Whose on the Lord's side who?" And, the scripture from Joshua, "...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"

I need some thoughts, scriptures, stories... anything to help with the talk...
ANY SUGGESTIONS???
THANKS!

PS YES, I will dress in black and white too! °Ü°

Soda, anyone?

2010-10-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

I just saw this over at Be Different... Act Normal ...

VERY CUTE for a Halloween party!!!

Halloween!

2010-10-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

I ran across the CUTEST blog with GREAT ideas for Halloween! Go HERE to see them all!! Here are just a few pics from the blog...

Mummy Dogs

Candy Corn Pizza

Carmel Apples

Caramel Toffee Dip

Spider Cookies

Candy Corn Cupcakes

She has many more ideas!!! GO check it out!!!

Mind and Heart

2010-10-11T17:04:00.001-07:00

Today I have been reading and studying for my institute class that I teach tomorrow night. I ran across something that I really liked and thought I would share...

Doctrine and Covenants 8:2

"Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart."

We are taught of two major ways, among others, in which the Holy Ghost communicates with us, namely, in our mind and in our heart. There is a difference between the two. In a stake presidents training meeting in the fall of 2000, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve explained that "heart" deals with general feelings and impressions,

whereas "mind" refers to specific thoughts and instruction.

In other words, "heart" is general and "mind" is very specific. He went on to teach us that an impression to the heart, WHEN FOLLOWED, will lead to more specific instruction to the mind.

Elder Scott used Enos, in the Book of Mormon, as an example. He pointed out that in Enos 1:3, tender feelings about the words and instructions from his father, over the years, sunk deep into Enos' heart. Then in Enos 1:4, Enos acted upon those feelings and left his hunting and turned to God in humble prayer. As a result, very specific teachings and instructions came into his mind.

I just loved that thought... I hope that we will ACT upon the feelings that come to our HEART so that more specific direction can come into our minds!

PS As I sat in the front room studying it was an awesome sight/feeling as my 19 year old son, Dallin who is preparing for his mission (leaves Dec. 7), sat in the office watching conference! I am so grateful for the gospel in our home... and for wonderful children who strive to keep the commandments!

Dallin's Endowment

2010-09-12T19:31:00.001-07:00

When Dallin got his mission call we decided it would be nice to go to Utah for him to be endowed so that his brothers could be there in the temple with him! It was a VERY quick trip and I wish I would have taken more pics!!! We left on Thurs. night (Sept 2) when Dallin got off work (for the record he works at Jamba Juice). We went to Vegas that night and spent the night with Brad's brother and his family. Chad got up early and went to seminary with his cousins - his goal is to have 100% attendance all 4 years, as did his brothers! We then picked him up from seminary and drove up to Lehi. We went to my mom's house first and met the older kids there then we all ran over to Jimmy Johns for a sandwich (which I do NOT recommend, haha). Here is a pic of some of us there...

Then we hurried back to mom's and Dallin and Brad got ready, they had to be at the temple 90 minutes before us. Aren't they handsome?!!!

Here is a group shot after we came out of the temple... unfortunately my brother and his wife left before we all got out of the temple! :(

Derek, Brittany, Grandpa Bergquist, Grandma Bergquist, Jennifer, Greg, Carissa, Dallin, Brad, me, Grandma Measles, Devin and Diana, it was a nice night and SO wonderful to have so many family members with us! Then on Saturday we went to my little nephew's baptism, I am bummed I didn't take any pics then, Jenn had a wonderful luncheon and her back yard was set up so nice!!!

Then I got to see and visit with Pam for a bit!!!

And my nephew's little guy had his 2nd Bday party!!! Devin and Diana are like his 2nd parents, they just love him and he loves them!!! Here is a pic of Devin playing with Lane...

And Diana teaching him how to ride his new Bday toy!

Cute Brittany and Derek...

Dallin, Brittany, Derek and Blake... we were all over at Devin's house watching the BYU game! Oh, and YES, they won!!!

The crew... watching the game... Uncle Greg, Caden, Dallin, Brittany, Derek, Blake and Bradly boy!

Like I said it was a QUICK weekend but we got to do a lot and see a lot of family!!!

THE Mission Call!!!

2010-08-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

Friday, Aug. 20th,

Dallin received his mission call in the mail!!!!

He and I were both at work... Brad and Devin were playing golf... Chad was at school... Diana was the only one at home. Devin and Brad called her and told her to go look... YEP, the BIG WHITE envelope was there! Anyone who has had family serve a mission knows EXACTLY what that envelope looks like!!! I had really hoped they wouldn't tell him and they would just let him find it when he got home, but we were ALL just as excited as he was! So, Brad texted Dallin and told him it was there!!!

We really had expected it on Thurs... we were at the beach on Thurs and Brad checked the mail, he texted us that day and told us it wasn't there, but the boys thought for sure he was playing a trick on them.... so, on Friday Dallin was a little nervous (again) that his dad was just teasing!

Dallin got off work at 4... I didn't get off till 5! When I got home the front room was filled with his friends already!

He opened it and quickly put the paper over the call so he couldn't skip ahead and see WHERE...

and then he began to read it...

"Dear Elder Bergquist,"

AND THEN he started laughing!!! We thought for SURE he saw WHERE he was called to serve!

Nope, he just kind of... well... freaked, haha, when he read ELDER BERGQUIST! It kind of excited him!

Okay, back to reading it...

"You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Brazil Belo Horizonte Mission""

EVERYONE YELLED AND CLAPPED!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITING!!!!!!!

He had to finish reading it of course!

Well, the anticipation is over! We know WHERE Dallin will be living/serving/teaching for the next 2 years!!! BRAZIL!!!

Here is a group shot as he was reading... 2 lap tops were on (skype) Brittany and Derek were watching on one and Kaitlin was watching on the other! Blake was on the cell phone!

THEN he was on the cell phone calling and texting others!!!

In our office we have a map on the wall with all the flags of where all our other family members have served... Dallin went in to put his pin in and it was already there!!

Chad had beat him to it!!!

2 of his friends since we moved here... Farryn and Aimee!

(You might notice that he had changed into grubbies... he was READY to go on their over night herping trip ~ BOYS.)

A couple of his nonmember friends... Kyle and Bryce!

(Yes, I am still in my scrubs, remember, I had JUST gotten off work!)

Dallin, we are SO proud of you! So grateful that you have the deisre to go and share the restored gospel with Heavenly Father's other children... the people of Brazil will be blessed to have you!!! You will love them and they will love you! You are such a great young man... thank you!!!

We were SO glad that Diana and Devin were here when you opened your call!!! (I can't believe we didn't get a pic of them with Dal! But, if you look in the mirror you can see Devo and Diana is sitting in the chair to the right of us...)

My Cute Boys!

2010-08-11T23:08:00.001-07:00

Today was Chad's first day of high school!!! I can't believe it! Oh, how fast they grow up! He has geometry, English, biology, art, Spanish, and track this year. I hope it will be a great year, he is really excited about starting seminary! I love you Chad!
And, our other fun news is.... Dallin has turned in his mission papers!!! They went in on Sunday! We are hoping his call will come when Devin and Diana are here visiting next week! Oh, the anticipation of WHERE he will be called to serve.... We are taking guesses and there WILL be a prize so please feel free to guess!!! Here is the pic that Kaitlin took of him, the one that was sent in with his mission papers... the one that his mission pres. will look at for 2 years! He is a very handsome boy if I do say so myself! :) I love you Dallin!

Miscellaneous

2010-07-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Chad had Youth Conference a couple of weeks ago. This year they went on "The Pioneer Trek". Chad's favorite parts were shooting muskets and throwing tomahawks. He also said it was really cool when "Joseph Smith", "Porter Rockwell" and "Brigham Young" came to visit them each day!

Chad & Paige

A group from our ward...

The boys cousin Adam has been here in So Cal the last couple of weeks... he had surgery at UCI Medical Center. We have been up to visit him a few times, this was Sunday afternoon...

After we all got home from the hospital we cooked hamburgers and Polish Sausages on the grill... yum!

Saturday night Dallin and a couple of friends went out herping... he is following in his brother's footsteps... so, Sunday night he had to scare his aunt and grandma a bit by bringing out the King Snake that they had caught...

Here is a pic of a RATTLESNAKE that they caught! Look at their faces, think they were excited?

AND, lastly, Dallin's friend, Kaitlin took this pic... I LOVE it... Thanks, Kaitlin!

Visiting Mom & The Family Reunion

2010-07-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

We went to visit mom over the 4th. Here is a picture of her on her porch with her flowers...
Several years ago mom and I went to some home shows and we decided that she needed new lights for the outside of her home. Well, Brad wasn't with me on the trip so they got put in the garage and forgotten about!!! OOPS. We noticed them this trip and the boys hung them for her, they look SO nice, I really like them!!!

The light that was on her house when they bought it...

And... the NEW lights! MUCH nicer, huh??

Mom and I both love flowers... one of our favorites are hydrangeas... so we bought a couple and put them in her front flower bed, thanks for digging the holes Dallin!

Beautiful, huh?

The Bergquist's have a BIG Family Reunion every year up in Idaho at Willow Flats... I am not huge on camping, in fact, I always kid around and say, IF he would have told me that we had to CAMP EVERY year for the rest of our life I am not sure I would have said yes... but seriously the boys LOVE it... it has been a great bonding time for them and their cousins over the years... it really is beautiful up there! We do lots of fun traditions.... polar bear contest, golf tourney, target shooting, horseshoe throwing contest, kids games.... in fact one year Devin, who is now 25, was baptized up there in the Cub River! I am sure this reunion has a lot to do with who my boys have become...

Hanging out at the main camp waiting for prayer and FOOD!

GRUB!

Watching horseshoes...

Playing... Here is Devin, he was paired with Brandon, a cousins (they took 2nd)

Dallin was paired with Brad... they won! Can you see the horseshoe???

Brandon and Brad in the final game...

Brad was SO kind to get a pic of me... and YES, we won! I was paired with Crystal, my niece!

I didn't get a pic of cute Diana since I was playing... Devin sent me one and for some dumb reason I can't get it to load! This was her 1st year to play... she was paired with Jenny (a cousin's wife) When I was teaching her we played a practice round and she beat me 11-1!!!! (It takes me a while to warm up, LOL) IF you look close you can see the horseshoe in mid air!

Sitting around in the afternoon visiting... shortly after this the boys went shooting and we visited a bit more till it started pouring!!!

So we ran to the tents and played a really fun card came, "It Came To Pass"...

Here is a pic of Diana looking out asking Brent to please make sure their "windows" in THEIR tent were all closed!

WE had a great time... I always love being with family... I am bummed I didn't take MORE pics!!! My only regret is ALL my kids couldn't make it this year... Blake had to work and Derek and Brittany are working in TN!!! Check out her blog HERE to read about their drive down from MN, they got to go to Nauvoo and Carthage!!! Great memories for them!!! Here is one cute sneak pic of them....

Family and The Hole

2010-07-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

We had family in town over the weekend! Brent and Melodie and their kids, Larson, Holden, Sierra and Savannah came to see us! We loved having them here! They came last Thurs night and unfortunately I had to work on Friday and Saturday but they took Chad to the beach with them both days! Here are a few pics from when they were here!

Saturday night our friend Mike had tickets for us to all go to the Angel's game! We love the Angels and go at every opportunity! Thank you Mike!

We didnt get a very good pic of Brad and I... oh, well, next time!

Brad broke out the new grill and we had burgers and hot dogs!

A little relaxation after dinner...

Cute Sierra at the tide pools, she loved the Hermit Crabs!

The boys looking for sea life...

Larson turning over rocks...

And, then they found a squirrel, haha

It was eating berries right out of their hands!

And, then we had a seal entertain us!

He came into really shallow water, I was so surprised!

He really danced and flipped around for us!

The guys played a little "catch" on the beach...

And, then they dug a hole.

Brent taking it easy while the boys worked! haha

All done! (notice the shelf for the soda's)

Notice the back side, just in case the tide comes in...

3 cute guys! Holden, Larson and Chad

Holden & Chad

Par!

2010-06-30T20:35:00.001-07:00

Look at what Dallin found on the golf course today!

Father's Day!

2010-06-21T13:12:00.001-07:00

I was really worried that Father's Day would be tough this year... I had a really rough day a few days before, but I was at peace yesterday. I DID wear my daddy's "Texas" ring on a chain all day.... I was blessed with a wonderful daddy, he was always involved in our lives! He always knew what was best for me and listened to the still small voice.... he was/is a wonderful man! I can't wait to see him again! I love you daddy!!!!
I was also blessed with a wonderful father in law! He is such a good man... we had a big scare this past week, he fell and hurt his wrist and hip. He finally went in and had x-rays. There is a "hole" in his hip (not the one he hurt, he other one) They did an MRI and then were a bit worried so they did a full body scan and we just got the results back today, ALL is well!!!! The Dr. called him at home and told him, no cancer!!! They have no idea why the hole... he could have been born with it, but he is healthy and strong, they will see him next year.... YEAH! What a blessing! Love you, Gordon!

The boys and I decided to get Brad a new BBQ grill for Father's Day! Derek was really excited, he did a lot of research on line for us... I also called Brad's brother Bryce who is a really good BBQ'er! (Is that a word?) He was also really excited and a great help! Thank you! So, Dallin and I went shopping.... Chad was at his high adventure camp in Catalina.... and this is what we found...

We bought it and took it to our friends house and Dallin put the whole thing together... then on Sunday right after church I took Dallin over to our friends house and we loaded it in a truck and brought it home and snuck it around into the back yard! It was fun to see Brad's face when he came around the corner and saw it sitting out there!

I thought about buying steaks to grill for dinner but thought it might not be very nice to say, "Happy Father's Day, now cook us dinner!" HAHA... so I made a roast...

Making sure it works... it does! Good job Dallin at putting it together!
Brad seemed happy.... now... steaks tonight??!!!!

Happy Father's Day, Bradly dear... I love you! You are a wonderful husband and father! The boys love you so very much, they all want to be JUST like you when they grow up... and I hope they will!!! °Ü°

Another Door Closes...

2010-06-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

It is so weird. My baby just had his promotion this morning! (I didn't have time to finish this post the other day. He promoted on Thurs. June 10th) I will never ever have another child in middle school. I will never ever have to help with a History Day Project or a Science Fair!! YEAH!!! Although at the same time it is a little bit sad that my baby is growing up! I can't believe that he will be in High School next year! Here are a few pics from his 8th grade promotion...

Here is a pic of him with a couple of his friends from our ward that came to his promotion, Kelsey and Madison...

Mr. Rex, a favorite teacher from Vista Heights! Dallin and David visiting with him after promotion... He is LDS too... he came to Dallin's Eagle Court of Honor! GREAT teacher, great man.... Thank you Mr. Rex!

Chad and Nick, a good friend...

Brothers. ALWAYS wrestling... brotherly love.

After the promotion we went out for breakfast at Bob's Big Boy... Dallin, Chad and Brad in the parking lot

Kelsey and Chad at Bob's Big Boy!

Congrats you 2.... Good luck in High School! Love you!

I love Spring

2010-05-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

Spring means change...
One of Dallin's very best friends left to go to the MTC this week. Ricky will be serving in Tegucigalpa Honduras! Ricky lives straight across the street from us and they have been really close over the years, much like brothers. Dallin should be filling out his mission papers soon...
Good bye for 2 years...

Springs means firsts...
Chad caught his 1st fish!

Spring means clean...
We got the jacuzzi all repaired and cleaned and ready to be used!

Spring means growth...

The new avocado tree has grown!

The new nectarine tree has grown!

You can see baby oranges on the orange tree!

There are blossoms on the tomato plants!

There are even some new small tomatoes!

The status is in full bloom!

My hydrangeas are almost ready to bloom!

I love Spring!

Mormon Helping Hands

2010-05-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

An estimated 60,000 to 70,000 California Church members joined for the second annual Helping Hands Service Day throughout the state of California on Saturday, May 8.

Our stake met at 2 different sights. The women and children met at the Box Springs Park and cleaned up... we weeded, and pruned and picked up garbage... I am so mad that I didn't think to bring my camera so I stole these pics from a friend. The older boys and men met at the top of Pigeon Pass at the park and did a LOT of weeding and clearing hiking paths, it was a lot of hard work. Brad, Dallin and Chad were up there... I was down with the women...
Here is a pic of Cheryl and I. We worked as a team and did all the weeding from the entrance of the park down to the BBQ's and bathrooms... it was hot and a lot of work, but oh so rewarding! It was nice to know that we were all joining together throughout the state to make our parks a better place to visit!

Like I said, I wish I would have had my camera and gotten some pics of everyone working... and a before and after shot would have been nice, the park looked SO nice when we were all done. The served lunch afterwards... Here is Dallin and Ricky! Good work boys!

A group of the YSA's...

You can go HERE to read more about this project! There was a 2 page article in the Church News about it... Good job, California Mormon Helping Hands!!!

Answers to Prayers

2010-05-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Last night in institute we started the book of Ether. There is SO much to learn from the brother of Jared but I am going to just focus on "answers to prayer" today.

We know that the Brother of Jared was instructed by the Lord to build 8 barges to cross the ocean. He obeyed and then he had 3 questions for the Lord. Look with me at Ether 2:18 as he prays with the 3 questions.

v. 18 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me.

v. 19 And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breath, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.

I guess I should not just assume that you all know how the barges were built... look with me at v. 17. "And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish." In other words, the barges were enclosed... tight like unto a dish (this could be a lesson in and of itself! WHY did He want us to know it was tight like unto a dish? ...so that no water could get in as they were tossed about in the ocean! How can our testimonies be tight like unto a dish? ...so that no sin can get in...)

Okay, sorry to get off on a tangent... back to the 3 questions that the brother of Jared had for the Lord in v. 19...

1) There is no light, how can we have light?
2) How will we steer the barges?
3) There will be no fresh air, how do we get fresh air to breath?

Then the Lord answers him...

1st the answer to how they can have fresh air...
v. 20 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air....

then the answer to crossing the great water in darkness...
v. 23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? .....

then the answer to steering...
v. 24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

Okay. Lets look at HOW He answered the brother of Jared's prayer.

1. Fresh air: make a hole in the top and the bottom of the barges, and when you need air, open up the plug. He told them how to do it... BUT, they have to do it!

2. Light: He asked the brother of Jared how HE wanted to do it...

3. Steering the barges: HE would do it for them.

In this one prayer the Lord shows us 3 different ways he answers our prayers.
1. He gave them directions and they have to go to work to do it.... Does he now tell us how to do something and then it is up to us to do it???? (that agency thing again!!!) °Ü°

2. It is up to us... it really doesn't matter... He will help us, but it is up to us HOW we do some things! (A good cross ref. here is Doctrine and Covenants 58:26 "For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant..." AND, in Doctrine and Covenants chapter 61 they want to know if they should travel by water or by land and here is the Lord's response... v. 22. And it mattereth not unto me, after a little, if it so be that they fill their mission, whether they go by water or by land....)

3. He said, you don't need to worry about this one, I will take care of it!!!! (We have to turn our lives over to him. Sometimes it is NOT the way we WANT it to go, but we have to trust HIM!!!)

I just want you to know that I know He answers our prayers, He loves us and wants the best for us... He WILL answer our prayers, sometimes not the way we expect Him to or in the way we WANT Him to but He knows all... we have to learn to say, "Thy will be done" and trust Him. We need to align our wants with His wants... He is very aware of us and our needs... He loves us!

He does answer our prayers.

Swimming with Gators!

2010-05-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

My son Devin and his cousin, Jeff have always LOVED herping! Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles. They have "herped" for years! As they have gotten older they have decided that they are going to take a herping trip every year. Last year they went to Arizona herping and this year they went to Florida! Devin is blessed with a very sweet and understanding wife! Anyway, here are some great pictures from their trip! (I had Devin get on my blog and edit this post since I didn't know the names of the animals! I will put MY notes in parenthesis)
This is a Cuban Tree Frog. (I love his bright color!)
This is an Eastern Garter Snake

This is a Peninsula Ribbonsnake

and a Striped Crayfish snake (I love the color of his belly!)

Same Striped Crayfish Snake, he is a cool snake, and not that common...

A young and nice colored Corn snake

A very pretty juvenile Scarlet Snake

This is a young gopher snake, it was actually found in Utah before we left (oops)

Same Utah Gopher Snake

Same Utah Gopher snake

A Brahminy Blind Snake, this is actually two Brahminy blind Snakes...

A Curly tailed lizard, when they run they curl their tails up over their backs. Makes them look like a scorpion.

A fully grown Green Iguana, it was about 5 feet long including the tail. The biggest one we saw. I climbed up a tree after this guy, he was out on a thin branch about 3o ft up. I climbed as close as I could and then shook the tree branch so he would fall where Jeff was waiting below with a towel to catch him. It was pretty funny and very effective. (I wish we would have had a video camera on them doing this!)

A little closer pic of the old boy.

A pretty green treefrog

A BIG old Florida Softshell turtle. Just be fore he slipped back into the water I ran over and was able to stop him for some pictures (look at his funny snout!)

An eastern Garter Snake

Ring neck Snake (love the bright color!)

A green Iguana, not as big as the other, but more green, and a lot more aggressive, wanted to bite and he was whipping his tail to keep us away.

The same, more green individual

and a close up

Another large Florida Softshell turtle who had a run in with a Gator, you can see where the Gator attempted to take a bite of of him right on the side of the shell!!

(Okay, okay, so this lifeguard station wasn't in the everglades, it was right here in Cali... but they boys actually got in the water with the gators!!! Yes! They ARE nuts!!!)

A pretty big Gator roaming the water. This was taken the night we would wade into the water with flash lights hoping to catch one...

A Gator just relaxing catching some Florida rays

A different and smaller Gator just hanging out

Alligator showing off his big back

And finally after a lot of trying we were able to catch this 8 ft Alligator!

Me and the Gator

Showing his teeth

and again...

After cutting the rope, jumping off his back and letting him lose... The rope is not attached to anything anymore, once he opened his mouth again the piece of rope that we had cut lose slipped right out of his mouth

And one last goodbye

When we first pulled him out of the water and onto the shore he was pretty hard to control. We pulled him up on a nearby dock, and jumped on him to tire him out. We tied his mouth shut so we could get some good shots. He was very strong. (If you cover their eyes they calm down some, this one was about 10 ft long and too heavy for them to pick up. Devin said he was about 3' high when they let him go and he walked away!)

Snorkeling in the Keys and swimming with Gators... it doesn't get any better than that!

Anyway, that's my cute Devin... one crazy boy! Diana and I were glad that he make it home in one piece!!! Too bad they can't make money doing this, they love it so much!

Summer Begins!

2010-05-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Chad is still in school... until June 11th! Poor kid! Although, I DO like our modified school year... we get a week off at Thanksgiving, 3 weeks off at Christmas and 2 weeks off for Spring Break... but, that means we go a little longer, sorry Chadman!

Blake is living and working in Provo.... (Bubba, I really need you to send me some new pics!)

Derek and Brittany are in Minneapolis Minnesota this summer. Derek is installing security systems again.

On their way they stopped and spent the night at Mount Rushmore!

Dallin came home and brought some cute, fun friends with him! They had a good time showing them So. Cali and playing!

We had a fun breakfast one morning!

Diana is in Dental Hygiene school and it is year round but she got a break between semesters and they came to visit!

We went to the beach... and saw a mama duck and her babies...

and some dolphins!

Devin was only here for about 24 hours and then he and his cousin flew to Florida to go herping! They love reptiles and have caught, photographed and released sooooooooooooooooo many that I cant keep track, but they sure can! When they were in H.S. they made a graph listing all the reptiles and marking when they actually caught one...

While Devin was on his herping trip (more pics to come) Diana stayed with me and we just played!

One day we went to the beach and then had Wahoo Fish Taco's, then we went to Sprinkles... I had a red velvet cupcake which was to die for!

It was a busy week while she was here, we had to laugh... it seems that almost EVERY night we had something to do hence... I didn't HAVE TIME TO COOK, we just HAD TO EAT OUT! LOL...

Last week:

Monday - FHE

Tuesday - Institute

Wednesday - Dallin's best friend went through the temple for the 1st time!

Thursday - Baptisms at the temple with the young single adults!

Friday - a break! So, we went to the movie with some other girlfriends!

Saturday - Picked Devin and Jeff up from the airport!

The week went WAY too fast!!!

And, so.... Summer Begins!

cHaNgE is GooD

2010-04-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so.
About 12 years ago I bought this table and chairs for my kitchen.

Over time the chairs became tired and dirty so eventually I bought some cute, cheap, black chairs to go around my kitchen table. Again, with time... I got tired of them...

Luckily, for whatever reason, we decided to save the old chairs that originally went with the table. They have been in the garage for a LONG time. I decided that I could bring in the old originals and recover the seat cushions!

I printed up a 50% off coupon and went to Jo-Ann's! After looking at many, many fabrics I got confused. My friend Kathy just happened to call me while I was trying to decide which fabric I loved (and would match what I already had so I would not cause a domino effect and have to redo MORE)! "Kathy" I begged, "Will you please come help me??!!!"

I think we picked just the perfect fabric!!! THANK YOU KATHY! I LOVE my "new" chairs!!!

Here is what the OLD, DIRTY, TIRED chairs looked like...
And, here is what my "new" chairs look like!

Change is good! AND, it doesn't have to cost you a ton of money!

Crazy, Fun Nieces!

2010-04-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my cute niece, Adriana had a Birthday and her sweet hubby, Ryan decided to kidnap her and take her on a surprise trip to Cali (they live in Vegas)... so, when she was in the car on the freeway and realized where he was taking her, she decided she wanted a PAR.TAY. So, she got on her phone and called her sister Ariel and cousin Lexie and told them to get in the car and come too! They did! They quickly packed and grabbed the 2 younger sisters and came!!! We had SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun! I love these crazy girls!!!

The next morning Ryan made his awesome homemade pancakes (Ryan, I STILL need that recipe!!!) and Brad made his well-known scrambled eggs and fried potatoes! YUM!!!
Here is Ryan making the delish pancakes!!!

Breakfast outside, the weather was GREAT!

Then Ariel and Anjali decided to take a little trip out on the lake...

After an awesome breakfast we all headed to the orange county swap meet... and then to the beach... oh my gosh, you should have been with us at the beach!!! There was a family next to us from Vietnam, the grandpa was in his boxers... BACKWARDS! Yep, you heard me right... he was running around the beach in his backwards boxers! I guess he didn't want to give anyone a peep show, thank you very much!!! AND, he wanted to be our friend... we were laughing our heads off!!!! Below is one of the many pics we got of him! Vietnam, Lexie!!! HAHAHA

After having a great time at the beach we went to Wahoo's Fish Taco's to eat, I love that place! And did a little shopping there at Huntington Beach! After arriving home Lexie, Ariel and Ricky went to Walmart to get Adriana a gift... yep a fish! They are nuts! HAHAHA

Texas Sheet Cake and Ice Cream!!!

Well... we are not blaming any ONE person, I think several of us played a small role... but the next morning Ricky Bobby (the fish) was dead. So, we HAD to have a funeral!!!

To see THE FUNERAL PERFORMANCE click on... "the funeral performance" it was so dang funny... Lexie sang a solo!!! (I couldn't figure out how to post the video!!!)

Here is Ryan taking Ricky Bobby out to be buried at sea! HAHA

Everyone lined up by the fence singing "Amazing Grace"!!!

Can I just say I LOVE my nieces, they are so much fun to be around!!! COME BACK TO SEE ME!!! LOVE YOU, Aunt Shaila

I HAD to laugh!!!

2010-04-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

Trees!

2010-04-09T18:44:00.001-07:00

I love Spring!!! Time for planting... Sam's Club had some really nice trees! We got Avocado and Navel Orange...

We already had the lemon tree on the left... I am really thinking about getting a peach tree... hummm...

Emmy & Luke's Wedding

2010-04-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

My nephew, Luke married Emmy a couple of week ago in Las Vegas. She has not been a member of the church for a year yet so they were married in the Swainston's back yard, they will be sealed soon...

This is Lane (the ring bearer), he is my nephew, Caleb (who married a sweet girl from here that I lined him up with, Melissa) son. He is so darling!!! See his little tux?!!

Me and Diana sitting on the wall, waiting for our ride to the reception! (Isn't she so pretty? She is just THAT sweet on the inside too!!!)

Sweet Diana and Handsome Devin!!!

IHOP for breakfast! Brad, Devin, Jennifer, me, Diana, Carli, Carissa, and Dallin!

Brent and Brad entertaining us!!!

I don't know WHY I didn't take more pics on this trip??!!! Silly me!

Choices

2010-03-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

We go through life and have to make choices every day...

I am going to share 2 men's choices with you and then ask you (and me) to think about who we are more like... obviously, I do not expect you to say who you are more like... this is just a thought question for each of us...

Here goes...

The 1st example is the rich man in Matt. 19:16-22

16. And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17. And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19. Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself.
20. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21. Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for had great possessions.

The 2nd example is King Lamoni's father in Alma 22:15-18

15. And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou has spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
16. But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.
17. And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:
18. O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day....

What lack I yet? (and walk away because it is too hard)
or
I will give away ALL my sins to know Thee!

What are we willing to give away that we might know Him?

Question for YOU

2010-03-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

Brad and I were asked to speak in church on the 14th. I was asked to speak on

"Teaching your children to follow the prophet".

As I think about this topic my 1st thought is the fact that our children watch us and follow our actions, NOT what we SAY, but what we DO. Then my question to myself is when have I followed the prophet that was visible to my children.

When I was a Freshman at BYU my roommate and I were at the mall and we got our ears pierced with a 2nd hole. I never wore big earrings, just a tiny stud diamond in the 2nd hole. When I went home for Christmas that year my dad had a fit, but I was an adult so.... I kept the 2nd hole. In Nov. of 2000 Pres. Hinckley gave a talk to the youth of our church and he asked us to respect our body, reminding us that it is a temple. He asked us not to get tattoos and no body piercings (only one hole per ear for the women).
(Don't you just love how he would "carry" his cane and wave hello and good bye to us all!)

I admit at the time of this talk I was a little sad, but I obeyed. I removed the little diamond studs from my ear and that was that. I feel that that was a visible sign that I was following the prophet. I know my older boys remember this.

The 1st scripture to come to mind is Doctrine and Covenants 1:38.... "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. "

I just got this topic assigned to me this morning so I haven't had a lot of time to think about it, but I thought I would bring the topic to YOU and see if you have any thoughts.... I would LOVE to hear what you think!!! I would love any suggestions... quotes, scriptures, stories, anything that I can use! THANK YOU!

Her is our new sweet prophet.... you just have to love these men of God!

Brad's topic is "Cleaning up our lives"... any suggestions for him? Aren't we so very grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is full of mercy???

Thank you my friends!

THE Surprise!

2010-03-02T11:21:00.001-08:00

As most of you know I have been working full time for the past 2 weeks covering for my friend (it is GREAT to work with a good friend, we can cover for each other when we want or need to! Thank you Kathy!) Anyway, last week I was really in the zone working all day and very busy every evening... Monday night we do FHE (Family Home Evening) for the stake YSA's (Young Single Adults) Tuesday night I teach Institute, I did have Wed night off, and then on Thurs night we took the YSA's to the temple and Friday night we had the YSA dance... busy busy busy... anyway, Thursday I got home from work, ate a quick bite and was up in my room changing to get ready to take the YSA's to the temple when in walked Dallin! Yep, Dallin!!! I know, that's what I thought... "you are supposed to be in Provo at BYU!!!!" I was confused to say the least! I just sat there staring for a minute and then said, "What are you doing HERE? How did you get here?" I knew that Kaitlin's parents had flown here home to pick up her truck to take back up but she came home on Wed... it was Thurs... so, my next statement was, "Have you been here since yesterday??? WHERE did you sleep? IF you have been home for 24 hours and are JUST now showing up at home, you are dead" HAHAHA.... I was soooooooooooooo confused!!! THEN, I finally jumped up and hugged him!!! It was so fun to see him!!! He told his friends that I was mad he was home! I was NOT mad... just VERY confused!!!

Monday Dallin and Kaitlin were studying when Kaitlin's mom called her and told her that they had gotten tickets to go see American Idol! Kaitlin half kidding said, "You should fly me home so I can go with you!" Well, sure enough mom gave in and flew her home! They decided to let her take her truck up to school.... but, they didn't want her to drive up alone so they decided to fly Dallin home to help her drive back up! He was SO excited! Anyway, Kaitlin flew home on Wed and then on Thurs morning she called Ricky and Mike and told them that she had a friend that was bringing them a package from her but that they needed to go out and meet her but to stay on the phone coz she wanted to hear their reaction when they got the package ~ YEP, she was standing there when they came out... They were SO excited to see her, then she told them that that was only 1/2 of the surprise. She told them to get their board shorts and towels... they all headed towards the beach but on the way she pulled into the Long Beach Airport with the 2nd part of the surprise (Dallin) waiting for them! Again, they were SO excited!!! They were all hugging and yelling and stuff when up walked Aimee!!! It was so fun because NO ONE knew she was coming ~ Kaitlin got a surprise herself!!! Dallin had gotten a ride up to Salt Lake City on Thurs morning and he and Aimee were eating breakfast (she was to take him to the airport in a couple of hours) Aimee said, "I wanna go too!!!" About that time her brother happened to walk up and told her to go pack, he would pay for her to go!!!! So, Aimee was able to get her shift covered for work and packed! They got on line to book her flight but it was so soon she couldn't book it on line! They hurried to the airport and Andrew bought her ticket and she got on the flight with Dallin!!! I have to tell you that these 6 kids have been Besties (Yeah, the boys would prob die that I used that word, but it is soooooooooooo true!!!) since middle school!!! They have been a great group of kids and a great support to each other!!!

Anyway, that was our FUN FUN FUN surprise this weekend!!!

It was fun as they got to go with us to the temple... here are some fun pics...
This is the group after coming out.... GREAT group of kids!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this calling!!!

The girls!

One of Dallin's very best friends is on his mission in Brasil (Tanner)... This is his older brother, Tyson, GREAT kid, love him! And, this is Lianna with them, she just left today to go to the MTC!!! Love her!

Cupcakes in the parking lot... this is our YSA advisers from the Canyon Springs ward, Br and Sis Leach, they are a great help to us, thank you both... you are wonderful!!!

Dallin, Farryn, Aimee, Kaitlin, Ricky!

Dallin making fun of the girls...

Group hug!

My cute Dallin (yeah, I know I am partial, he IS my son)

At the beach after the BIG SURPRISE!

Don't ask me what he is doing.... being silly as always!

Kailin, thank you for ALL the pics... the only bummer is... you are not in them!!! :(

Ricky, Dallin and Mike

Ricky has him mission call, he is going to Tegucigalpa Honduras, he reports on May 26th. Mike has his call, he is going to Tampa Florida speaking Haitian Creole! Dallin is finishing up this semester at BYU then we will be finding out where he will be serving!!! I am so proud of you boys, you are great young men!!!

After church getting ready to head back up to BYU... Dallin and Kaitlin are at BYU, Aimee is at LDS Business College, Ricky, Mike and Farryn are home working earning money for the mission!

As they were hugging, I reminded Kaitlin and Aimee that this would be the last time they could hug Mike for 2 years... and when they see him again they MIGHT be married and pregnant! HAHA.... yes, there were tears shed... As Dallin said... this is the last time we will ALL be together for 2+ years... and you know as well as I do... things change... and yes, the girls MIGHT be married!!! Best of luck to all of you, you will be so blessed for being the kids you are!

Updates!

2010-02-22T12:22:00.001-08:00

My friend that I work with is in Hawaii with her kids visiting her mom, so I am working full time which gives me little time for journaling, I am WAY behind! So, I am attempting an update today... here goes!

My in laws were here a couple of weeks ago, it was nice to have them! They love the beach so we went to the beach on a Sunday afternoon and walked around... Here is grandpa, grandma, Chad and Brad!

Brad, me and Chad...

Brad & Chad... It was a beautiful afternoon!

Chad and Grandma playing rummikub...

Blake was here visiting last week... he is headed back to Provo today and will be looking for a job, anybody know of anything???

Blake and his friend brought the segway with them, here is Chad enjoying it...

Dallin and some of his friends from BYU took a road trip to AZ over President's weekend... one of the girl"s dad is the Mission Pres. there...

They went to the temple and did baptisms! They are a good group of kids!!! Also, I might add that Dallin made the Honor Roll at BYU!! Congrats Dallin, we are very proud of you!

Devin and Diana are working hard... school and work... here is a cute pic of Diana working on Devin's teeth! She is doing cleanings now and needs patients, it is only 5 bucks so if you are in the Provo area and need a cleaning, let me know!

Derek and Brittany (her blog is down right now, she is REALLY busy and trying to get it caught up) are really busy with school, Brittany has 21 units this semester, she will graduate in Aug!!! (and is working) Derek is working and doing his internship and will graduate in Dec... keep up the good work kids! We are proud of you all!!! Love you tons, mom & dad

Scout Sunday

2010-02-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

Mr. Serious. Chad cracks me up... smile, son! He is a very quiet and serious boy! He is a great son and I am VERY proud of him! He LOVES to camp and hike, he loves the scouting program! Yesterday was "Scout Sunday" and the young men were to all wear their scout shirts to church. I am not big on sewing... haha, okay, that is an understatement! Anyway, a sweet friend of mine called the week before and wanted to know if I would like for her to sew on Chad's merit badges? HECK YES!!! THANK YOU, KIM!!!! So, Chad gathered all his merit badges and patches and we took them over to her with a plate of cookies (THAT I CAN do! HAHA) She brought them back to us on Tues all done! So, when he walked into my room on Sunday morning he looked so cute that I had to stop and take his picture! Chad is 14 and has 22 merit badges. You need 22 to earn the rank of Eagle! So, now we just need to do his Eagle Project!! When he gets his Eagle rank, we will be 5 for 5! ALL of his brothers are Eagles too! (Do NOT praise ME, it was them and their wonderful leaders! We have been blessed with great scout leaders over the years!!!) THANK YOU MEN! THANK YOU SONS!!!

They went to Camp Chawanakee several years and love that place!

After Chad gets his Eagle I am anxious to get a picture of all my boys in their uniforms! I am very proud of them all for earning this rank, it is NOT easy!!!

I love you,

mom

Today...

2010-02-03T15:43:00.000-08:00

The brakes on our car needed to be changed. It is quite expensive! So, my wonderful (and handsome) hubby decided to change the brakes himself! It saved us a lot of money! THANK YOU DEAR!

So, while hubby was busy I decided to go with a couple of friends to see a chick flick. Leap Year was at the cheap theater so off we went... it was very cute, romantic AND clean!!! It was so refreshing!!! I highly recommend it!

AND, I came across this cute blog today that I would recommend that you stop by and visit...

Have a good day....

Warning LOTS of pics from the Cruise!

2010-01-29T12:18:00.001-08:00

It has taken me a few days to do this.
It was such a bitter/sweet trip!

It about killed me to sail off without Devin! It is a good thing that I didn't realize when we had to leave him behind to "wait" for us to get his passport that we would sail off without him, there is NO way I would have ever left him!!!! I laid on my bed in my stateroom and cried for 2 hours after loosing my cool and yelling at some stupid ladies! I can't go into it again, I ended up crying about it all over again on Monday... if you want to find out more go HERE to read about.

This is probably our favorite place to hang out on the ship! We would get all the food we wanted and always picked a window seat and would sit in the window and chat and chat... as you know, I love the water!

The Mariner of the Sea is a great ship for boys! The whole top of the ship is a huge sports deck that includes, a rock wall, a full court basketball court and they would change to "indoor" soccer/volleyball/dodge ball... there was also a miniature golf course, in line skating, ping pong, a track to walk on which I really enjoyed and much more!

Here is Chad getting ready to climb the rock wall, it was HIGH above the water!

The boys playing basketball...

Bubba

Chad playing ping pong with a "friend" he made on the ship...

Hanging out in our room...

Cabo San Lucas

Cabo was soooooooooooooooooo beautiful!!!! The water was SO clear!!!

When we got off the ship there were a couple of women there handing the kids their iguana to hold! Devin had an iguana for a pet when he was about 10 yrs old!

She placed it on Chad's head!

We had a guy take us over to "Lover's Beach", it was absolutely gorgeous!

Me and my sister in law, Ellen.

Me and my man, I love you Brad!

Derek and Brittany had been here before, they came here on their honeymoon...

The water was so clear!

We saw a whale!!! I am hoping my SIL got a better pic than I did! :(

Chad LOVES to climb... him and his cousins!

The boys went snorkeling and were gone about 3 hours! They went around the cliffs and then out to a small cliff/island and dove off... they had a great time but they were sure tired swimming all the way back against the current!

Chad enjoyed snorkeling too!

Brittany played with Whitney and Abby in the waves!

HAHA, when the boys finally got back they had to rest!

Back on the ship...
They had lots of contests... the boys competed in a soccer shootout, Derek got a medal!

Dallin and Brittany getting ready to climb the rock wall!

Almost to the top!

Mazatlan

We had a guy take us to the Beach, it is very common to have a "taxi" in the back of a pickup truck.

We pretended that Devin and Diana were with us all the time! Someone would always say, I guess Devin already ate (when we were in the dining room) coz I don't see him anywhere.... It was really sad but we decided the easiest way to cope with it was just to pretend he was there! So, here they are... Devin and Diana!

Some of us decided to parasail! Brad didn't think Chad would want to so he asked him and was very surprised to find out that he REALLY wanted to... so, here he goes!

Up, up and away!

Brittany...

Here is Blake and Abby watching everyone!

And, then it was MY turn! I LOVED IT! It was one of the most fun things I have EVER done!

Back on the ship... We loved the jacuzzi...

and the ice cream...

and the beautiful sunsets!

The midnight buffet!

Puerto Vallarta

We loved Puerto Vallarta! The first thing we did was just take a walk and explore some of the city. Then we stopped in the grocery store, that was fun, here is Derek with some of the little banana's that he loved in Brasil!

Chad... look at the prices, haha....

Here is a picture of our ship, right off the ship is a lot of little shops (like a swap meet) and a little place to get drinks... we sat there and enjoyed the warmth and watched the people...

Dallin and Brittany had a Mexican Coka Cola... Derek went to look at the shops. He bought Devin a Laker's poncho! What a thoughtful brother!

Brad talked to a guy who took us in his Yukon out to the jungle! On the way he showed us lots of cool things... downtown, and a house that the Mexican government had given to Nixon, (it was up for sale now) he stoppped and let us take pics along the way...

Our driver took us out to El Eden, this is where Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger was filmed. The movie people built roads up there and afterwards the guy who owned the land built zip lines, a restaurant, waterfalls, a lagoon, a spa.... you are safe to say he is now VERY wealthy! It was a beautiful place! We drove thru a little Indian village on the way up... very cool!

Here are some pics of the kids jumping off the rope into the water!

Blake doing a flip, of course!

A slide...

THE boys... as you can see Derek has his arm around Devin in this picture!

When we were taking pics the owner came out and told us they were filming a commercial and he asked Brittany if she would be in it!!! So, here she is.... Derek filmed them filming her! She got a free massage, lucky girl!

On the way back to the ship we told our driver that we want some REAL Mexican taco's! So, he took us to Pepe's! I have to tell you they were THE best taco's I have EVER had!!!! Have you ever heard of putting a thin slice of pineapple on a taco??!!! Oh, honey, it was SOOOOOO good!!!

When we got back to the ship we went down to the beach and stayed in the water till the sun went down! It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO warm!!! The water was 78°!!! LOVED IT! DIDNT WANT TO LEAVE!

Back on the ship.... HAD to finish the Laker game before going to dinner!

On the elevator.... going down to dinner...

Dirk (brother), Mom, and me... THANK YOU MOM, this was the best Christmas EVER!

Blake ordered escargot, and yes, I tried it too!

The head waiter cutting Dallin's duck off the bone...

Yep, the ship had ice skating too!

This was Friday night on the way back to L.A. There were storms and HUGE waves! The water in the pool would slosh from one end to the other, it would go up into a 4" wave and splash out of the pool!!! It was so crazy to watch!

A little chilly headed back to L.A.

The last night at dinner... our waiter was so cute, he had some kind of a puzzle every night for us...

I have to say that a cruise is the way to go! You can't pay for a hotel, meals, and entertainment for 50-60 bucks a day!!! I vote we do this every year!!!

Temple!

2010-01-29T12:14:00.000-08:00

Last night we took the young single adults to the temple! What an awesome experience! I love these kids!
I wish you could see all the boys in the back better...

New Blog!

2010-01-25T11:51:00.000-08:00

I just got an email about a new blog.... Know Your Religion!!!! There are questions answered and all kinds of good stuff... just thought you might want to know!!!