Dedicated to Annika...

I thought I'd start a New Year's tradition a few days early. In 2009, I want to do a post dedicated to each of my nieces and nephews on their birthday, but didn't want to miss Annika's. So, today, I'm celebrating sweet Annika! She turns four years old today, and I am so excited for her!

Four years ago today, I was waiting outside the doorway of the hospital room when little Annika was born, and I got to hear her first cry. Here is me holding her just a few minutes after she was born.

Here is Annika in July of 2005, on our Alaska vacation. Her little personality was already apparent!

Here is my Mom holding her on New Years Eve 2005, when she had just turned 1 year old.



Here is a picture of Annika on the morning of her 2nd birthday, December 29, 2006.

This picture was New Years Eve of last year (2007), right after Annika turned 3 years old. Isn't she cute?!

Here is a picture of Annika and I just a few days ago, Christmas 2008. You can see her sparkling personality in this picture!

We went sledding recently, and she loved it! In the car on the way home, we counted her saying, "Guess what?" 25 times in five minutes. What a cutie!

And finally, one last picture--this is Annika doing her "moves." She is such a cute little dancer!

Some of my favorite things about Annika are her energy, her sparkling personality, her big smiles and huge hugs. She is such a sweet, smart little girl (can already read), and is a joy to be around. I love her, and I'm so grateful I am a part of her life! Happy Birthday, Miss A!

Okay, okay...it's time for another post.

JoAnna asked me last week to post, and then Chelle just put on her blog today a list of those that needed to post again, and I was on the top of the list. So now that I finally have a little bit of time, I thought I'd do a post. But warning--I've waited so long to post that this is going to be a long one. So you may need to read it in shifts. :)

Things have been going well lately, except for the ever present sugar this holiday season. Why can't I stay away from it? Working in an office doesn't help, since this last week there have been treats brought in every day. But I do love the Christmas season, and especially working up at the Church Office Building, where they have choirs singing every day during lunch and festive things all around.

Some fun things in the last few weeks--I got to go to the Christmas Devotional with Jan, Ems, Karla, Steve, and Chelle. We did run into some traffic on the way up, and so dropped off Karla, Jan and Ems to save seats, and then I made Steve and Chelle powerwalk with me once we finally found a parking place (including running up 5 flights of stairs, which wasn't good for Chelle). I don't know why I get so nervous about getting in. But it was so wonderful to get to see the First Presidency up close, and we had a little bit of time to walk around afterward. Karla got a picture of all of us, so I stole this from her:

Top picture:Jan, Karla, Jenn, Ems, Chelle and Steve

A week ago, on Friday the 12th, I got to go to a luncheon with all of the General Authorities and staff. It was so amazing. I got there just a little late because I was walking over with someone, and was standing in the doorway right as President Monson started to speak. I looked next to me, and Elder Ballard was there, and he and some of the other brethen in the doorway said, "Please, go ahead and go in front of us." So I was standing right in front, about 10 feet away from President Monson, while he gave a sweet Christmas message, talking about visiting the widows and other fun Christmas memories. I just felt so blessed to be so close to the Prophet.

Then we went in to have the luncheon, and I was standing in line to get food and President Monson was right in front of me. He turned around and went down the line of those of us waiting (all women since they let the women go first), and was teasing about looking to see who had a dimple on their chin (since he does). It was so neat to see him so casual and joking, and yet I felt burning in my heart a testimony of his calling as God's Prophet. While I ate I sat next to Elder Scott's secretary and talked to her (she used to work for my boss), and looked around at all the leaders there--most of the Twelve (but not Elder Holland, which I was sad about), and most of the Seventy. It was just such an amazing blessing for me to be so close to the leaders of our church. What wonderful men they are!

Then last Saturday I got to go up to the Christmas concert with Jan, JoAnna and Lisa (friends from our last ward). We had a great time. We got there early and walked around for a few minutes. It was just lightly snowing and the lights were so beautiful--and JoAnna bought us all matching scarfs that we all wore.

We were going to get dinner beforehand, but the line for the Lion House was so long that we were afraid we wouldn't get in. So we just got some rolls to go and got over to the Conference Center right as they were opening the doors. We had really good seats, and watched as Elder Scott and Elder Hales both came and sat a few rows in front of us. We also saw President Uchtdorf, who was sitting closer to the front. It was an amazing concert, and so neat to hear the choir so close. My favorite was when the actor guy--what was his name--Edward Herriman, I think--did a reading about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who lost his wife in a fire, and who wrote the words to "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." It was just so neat to be there--but I felt bad because JoAnna got a migraine from not eating. I don't know why I was okay, since I usually get really sick when I don't eat, but I was. It took us two hours to get home, but JoAnna was a trooper, and thankfully was doing much better the next morning.

JoAnna, Lisa, Jan and I

I've gotten to spend lots of time with neices and nephews lately. I did Gingerbread houses with Seth and Karla and the kids, and Emilee, Michelle, and Melissa and kids. (Jan did gingerbread houses with Stace and the kids, but I had to work). Then last night I got to go see Annika and Emma in their preschool Christmas concert. It was so darling to see them performing--they both did great. I didn't get any good pictures of them performing, but got some cute Santa ones--although Emma was scared of Santa. Tonight I got to see Kate, Lizzie, and Brina briefly before they went to bed--they were so darling. Here are some pictures from my fun niece and nephew activites (at least the ones I got pictures of):

Me with Ethan, Logan, and Truman

(and Karla made homeade chicken noodle soup--yum! Thanks Karla!)

Annika and Emma working on their houses

Jenni working on her house

Annika with Santa

Emma (and me) with Santa--she was scared of him. :(

Now I'm just gearing up for Christmas, and looking forward to having a litle bit of time off work.

Well, this has turned into a long essay, but that's what you get when you ask me to post after it's been a long time.

I wrote all this yesterday, but didn't post it because I wanted to put the pictures in. But just a quick update from today. This morning I went over to the Administration building to pick up something, and ended up walking in just as President Monson was walking out. The security guard asked me and another couple behind me to step aside, and President Monson saluted us as he walked by and teased about us being a "review line" or something. It was so neat to see him again--twice in one week. What a blessing!

There are occasionally drawbacks to working in Salt Lake though, and today there was a huge snowstorm that hit at 12:00 and dumped tons of snow all throughout the valley. I was really worried about getting home, but thankfully the First Presidency closed the whole church campus at 2:45 and let us all go home early. I carpooled home with a lady from my office (since the bus wouldn't come for another 1/2 hour). It took us two hours to get home, but at least we got home safe. But the weather certainly was "frightful!"

Okay, this is long enough, and you've probably fallen asleep by now. I'll try to post more often so that my posts aren't so long! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

A quote for Mom

I put this quote as a comment on Mom's blog, but wanted to put it here as well. Times just seem to be getting tougher, and it is hard to read the news and wonder what will happen to us. But I love this quote by President Uchtdorf from our last conference--it gives me so much hope:

"If only we could glimpse, for a moment what the Lord has in store for us, not only in the next life, but in this one as well, our hope would be unshakeable and despair would never overcome us…to all who suffer—to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely—I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart."

I'm so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge that no matter what happens, God will be with us and will sustain us.

I'll post more later--I want to write about getting to go to Elder Wirthlin's funeral and what else has been going on, but I've got to get to church. I'll try to write again tonight after the First Presidency Devotional.

And now, for the pictures...

So, I was trying to find just a couple of pictures to post, but there were just too many cute ones, so here's quite a few:

The "big kids" table (there really are 7, not six like I said below. Sometimes I can't count...)

Jan, Mike, Dad, Jon, Ad, and Karla getting dinner ready

The "middle table"

Jon and Tiff serving the meat

We didn't really get a good picture of our table, but here is Jan and I (mmm..my food looks good!)

Playing dice games after dinner... Kate helping Jan




And Jenni helping me (although, just a funny thing--After this game (Sparkle) we played Yahtzee, and I wasn't doing so well. Dad told me to scratch my Yahtzee, since it's so hard to get one, and the very next roll, I got one. Bummer! But it was fun even though I didn't do too well).




While we played dice games, Karla played "hot potato" with the kids. They loved it!




Logan, Ethan and Holly--they're getting so tall!



Love this one--Brina, Lizzie, Kate, Jenni and Bri. What cute girls!!

Dan and Ems came over that night--the ball that Karla was using for hot potato broke, so everyone took turns putting it on their heads. Doesn't Emma look cute?

Maf's saying, "Uh, guys, I'm not sure what to think about this..."

Here's one of Jon wearing it earlier in the day. He looks stylin!

Well, this always takes so long, which is why I don't post that often. Now it's late and I need to get to bed! I'll try to write again soon!

I really am alive...

It's been way too long since I posted, so I thought I would just take a quick second and do a post. I don't have my pictures here at work, so I'll have to put those in later (and I want to be quick--as Dan says, "tithing dollars at work." So I'm taking a 10 minute break to do a post, so Dan can't tease me about wasting time).

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to write anything. Mom had hip surgery, and ended up having a harder time of it than we were expecting, so I spent a lot of time with her (basically whenever I wasn't at work for the first week). I'm glad she's doing so much better--and proud of her for faithfully doing her physical therapy. She got to come home from the care center on Thanksgiving, so that made us extra thankful. Last night I hung out with her while Dad went to Tithing Settlement and we watched the end of "The Man in the Iron Mask." I've loved getting to spend more time with her, and wish they lived closer. She told me I need to move closer. Maybe someday I will.

This year for Thanksgiving we had all but two of the siblings there, so 15 kids and 14 adults. We split up into three tables, and had a "big kids" table for the first time this year, with the 6 oldest sitting together with no parents. They had fun, and we all loved all the good food. Then some of us stayed and played dice games, which was really fun. I loved getting to spend so much time with my brothers and sisters.

We helped my Mom decorate on Friday, and then did some decorating on Saturday, and now it's back to work and getting ready for Christmas. Other than that, there's not much else to report. I still love my job and things are going well. The next time I'm home and have time, I'll put some pictures in.

10 minute break is up! Gotta go!

Our darling kiddies!

For all of the non family readers of my blog (my family has all seen this), I thought I would put this picture up of Jan and I with all 19 of our nieces and nephews. We had family pictures recently, and since Jan and I don't have our own family, we got this picture with all of our sweet little kiddies, who bring us so much joy! The one in the middle is 10, but the rest are under 7 years old, and it has been so fun for us to have so many little ones to hug and cuddle and to be the "favorite aunts" (since we can spoil them. :) We love them so much!

Just a few things

I'm (obviously) not very good at posting very often, but I had some time this morning so I thought I would do a quick post about the notable things for this week. On Wednesday Mom, Jan and Emilee and the kids came and visited me up in Salt Lake. It was really fun to have them come up and meet my friends in my office, and as Emilee said on her blog, after Emma had seen the pictures on the wall and all the guys in suits, she said, "There's lots of prophets here." I thought that was darling. After they came to my office, we went to eat in the cafeteria, and then went outside. It was really cold outside, so we only went out for a few minutes, but it was fun to show Emma the temple. Maf was just happy as long as he could chew on my badge (especially after I took his spoon away after lunch--he hates it if he's not holding something in his hand). Here are a few pictures:

Then that night we took dinner to Seth and Karla since Karla just had surgery (I hope you're feeling better, Karla!). It was nice to talk to them and spend time with the kids. After dinner Jan and I read stories with the kids (which I didn't get a picture of) and Ethan sang a Christmas song for us while Seth played (which I did get a picture of). Ethan is a good little singer, and getting so big! I can't believe he will be baptized in 5 months.

On Thursday night I had to stay later at work than normal, so didn't get on the bus until almost 6:00. It was getting dark and was really cold, but the Salt Lake Temple looked so beautiful as the sun went down and the lights came on. I didn't have my camera, but got a picture with my cell phone:

Other than that, life is going along normally. I loved Chelle's post about optimism, and found this quote today that I thought went along well with it, so I'll end with this:

“You will experience greater joy in life as you eradicate adult-onset pessimism and substitute childlike optimism. Optimism is a virtue that allows us to see God's loving hand in the details of our life. . . .I testify of Heavenly Father, who in great and wonderful love reaches out to each of His children. I bear witness of Jesus Christ, who is "mighty to save" us from our inadequacies, imperfections, and sins. I bear testimony of the Holy Ghost, who will accompany the imperfect yet penitent soul. To you faithful and worthy Saints who struggle with latter-day snares of the devil, "may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son.’” (Elder Anthony D. Perkins, October 2006)

My lesson on the Second Coming

My Relief Society lesson yesterday ended up going really well—which I was grateful for. The Second Coming is a hard topic to talk about, but I really felt Heavenly Father blessing me and guiding me, and felt the spirit in great abundance as I talked. I’ve had a few people ask me to post what I talked about, so here are some of the points. It is kind of long, so feel free to skip this part if you would like.

· I talked about how I grew up being very scared of the Second Coming and afraid of all that was coming, but that by reading the scriptures and praying I have been able to see that there are so many promises made to the righteous.

· I read some of Joseph Smith’s prophecies about the destructions to proceed the Second Coming, but stressed that he kept saying, “be not discouraged when we tell you of perilous times” or “do not let our hearts faint.” I talked about how The Lord has prophesied these things beforehand so that when we see them coming, we will know that they are planned and that Heavenly Father has prepared a way for our escape.

· I read a list of scriptures that I found (and there are many more) that give me hope when I start getting discouraged or afraid:

D&C 68:6
“ Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you…”

Gen. 26: 24
“…fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee…”

Deut. 31: 6
“Be strong and of a good courage, … for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee…”

D&C 93:53
“..you shall not be confounded.”

Isaiah 41:13
“For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

D&C 66:8
“…he that is faithful shall be made strong in every place, and I the Lord will go with thee.”

D&C 84:88
“…mine angels [shall be] round about you, to bear you up. “

Psalms 9:10
“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee”.

Psalms 27:14
“…be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:”

Ps. 147: 3
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”

Isa. 43: 5
“Fear not: for I am with thee:”

· Then I read this quote from the Joseph Smith manual: “When I contemplate the rapidity with which the great and glorious day of the coming of the Son of Man advances, when He shall come to receive His Saints unto Himself, where they shall dwell in His presence, and be crowned with glory and immortality; when I consider that soon the heavens are to be shaken, and the earth tremble and reel to and fro; and that the heavens are to be unfolded as a scroll when it is rolled up; and that every mountain and island are to flee away, I cry out in my heart, What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness!”

· I talked about how now is the time for us to strive to sanctify ourselves and strive for more righteousness in our lives, so that we will not be deceived and so that we will be strengthened and helped in the times ahead.

· I talked about these two First Presidency letters, and how they call us to do more:

First Presidency letter: 11 Feb. 1999
We counsel parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities. However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform

First Presidency Letter: March 11 2003
We invite adult members to have a current temple recommend and visit the temple more often. Where time and circumstances permit, members are encouraged to replace some leisure activities with temple service.

· I talked about these two quotes, which I love:

Elder Henry B. Eyring “As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Casual prayer won’t be enough. Reading a few verses of the scripture won’t be enough. Doing the minimum of what the Lord asks of us won’t be enough. Hoping that we will have the Atonement work in our lives and that we will perhaps sometimes feel the influence of the Holy Ghost won’t be enough. And one great burst of effort won’t be enough. Only a steady, ever-increasing effort will allow the Lord to take us to higher ground.” (“Raise the Bar,” http://byui.edu/presentations).

Elder Holland, October 2008 conference: “I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He “would fight [our] battles, [our] children’s battles, and [the battles of our] children’s children.’ And what do we do to merit such a defense? We are to “search diligently, pray always, and be believing[. Then] all things shall work together for [our] good, if [we] walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.” The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants.”

· I ended by talking about 3 Nephi 22, which says that though the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, that the Lord’s kindness will not be removed from us, neither will his covenant of peace be removed. I testified that I know we can have peace during troubled times, and that we just have to stir up our faith, trust in the Lord and make sure we are standing in holy places. Our church will never be taken from the earth, so we will always have leaders to guide us, to whom we can look to for guidance and comfort during troubled times. Our leaders are led by Jesus Christ, and He will help us to get through anything we are called to pass through.

So, that was my lesson. I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach--I always learn so much from preparing and studying. I still miss my Primary kids (I could hear them singing the Hello song next door when Relief Society started), but I am glad to be in Relief Society now, and glad that I am able to contribute.

Make sure to check out the video below if you haven't seen it!

Video on the Second Coming

I'm right in the middle of preparing my lesson for Relief Society today on the Second Coming. I was really nervous when I realized this was the lesson I would be teaching--what a hard topic. But throughout this week I have had so many impressions and found so many good things about not fearing, and trusting that God will help us. One of the things I found was this amazing video, with words from Prophets and Apostles. I thought I would post it today for all of you to watch. Here is the link:

http://www.ldsmag.com/youtube/080828christ.html

I'll write more after my lesson is over! Got to get back to preparing it.

A few thoughts

It's been a week since I posted, and I don't have much time, so I'm going to be quick. I'm starting out this blog with some amazing pictures I got on the way in to work on Friday. Isn't the sunrise just stunning! I just couldn't hardly believe how beautiful it was!

I left early on Friday afternoon to go to my Grandma Spendlove's care center to go trick or treating with Jan, Stace, Emilee, and the kids. We had a great time, and it was so fun to get to see Grandma and the the other residents there. They loved the kids!

Then that night Jan and I went trick or treating with Dave and Melissa and Dan and Emilee. Emma and Annika had fun going together and were so cute!

We had a scary time that night though--Jan was running with Emma to catch up to Dan and Emilee, and slipped and fell--and Emma's head hit the pavement. We were so worried about her, but Dan and Dave gave her a blessing, and she was fine. Thank goodness for blessings! Jan was pretty traumatized by it though, just thinking of what could have happened.

Other than that things are well. I had a hard time on Sunday, missing my Primary kids, and going to Gospel Doctrine and Relief Society for the firs time in 6 years. But I teach Relief Society next week, and I'm sure that will help me to feel a part of it.

Tonight we had FHE at Mom and Dad's house (me, Jan, Dan and Ems, and Steve and Chelle), and Dad went through the Constitution with us. It was so interesting! I learned so much, and felt like I was in a class--and I took notes. Mom and Dad are so learned in things like that, and I'm so glad they took the time to teach us. We have such great parents.

I'm going to bed. I'll try to write again soon.

Released...and fun day today

It's been a few days since I posted, so I thought I should update on what has been going on. This weekend was pretty emotional. We had our Primary Program yesterday, and right before the program, our Presidency was released. We knew it was coming, but it was bittersweet. Thankfully the program went great, and I was so proud of our little kids. I've worked with them for 2 1/2 years, so I've watched them grow up, and have loved getting to know their little personalities. They did so well, and made me teary eyed. My favorite was the last song, "Called to Serve," where we had them wave flags from various countries. They were so excited, and watching all those little kids with flags made me cry--thinking that in not too many years, many of these little ones will be serving missions.

After the program, we had them watch a little picture video that my secretary Malia made, and gave them popcorn, then took pictures of them with their flags, and pictures of our Presidency.

It was a nice way to go out, but I will sure miss this calling. I have loved it so much, and have especially loved working with my Presidency. Thanks to them for all they did to help me.

Today was great! Karla came up to visit me at work with the kids, and we had a great time. I took them down to the COB cafeteria to eat lunch, and they were so good. They helped carry the trays, and were really quiet while they ate. I forgot to get a picture of them there. Then they came up to my office to see where I worked, and got to meet some of my co-workers. Here they are at my desk:

Then I showed them that from the office down the hall, you can see the temple through the window (you can just barely see it in this picture, because of the lighting, but it is very visible in real life). Dannan must have heard us talking about it, because while I was turned the other way, she ran into the office and said, "Temple!" Thankfully no one was in the office at the time. I thought that was darling.

After we visited my office, we walked around the garden area in front of the Church Office Building, and took pictures in front of the temple. The boys and Dannan really liked the little river that runs through there.

We walked over to Temple Square, and the gate to the temple was open, so I told them they could go touch the temple, and talked to them about how sacred it is, and told them about how much sacrifice it took to build it. Then we got some pictures on the steps, and walked around Temple Square a little bit longer, until I had to get back to work. It was so fun to have them come up and visit me, and I loved being at Temple Square with them. I loved going when I was young, so it was fun to share it with my niece and nephews. Thanks for bringing them up, Karla!

One other thing--if you want an inspiring story, check out this link, which I got from the blog I talked about in my last post (I have a link to her blog on the right--C jane enjoy it). This is a news story that was written about her sister and brother in law who were in the plane crash. It sure made me cry! There is also a video next to the story that is very inspiring as well: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/10/26/20081026sisters1026a1.html

Okay, that's enough for now. I'll post again soon.