meetings

We are on the final push for Homecoming, the dance is this Saturday. We have the dress, shoe and extensions(which Haley said is a must for every girl), but we still have to nail down a hair design, jewelry and of course nails and make-up. I hope that we can buy groceries when this is all done(just kidding). I told Shane to look on the bright side....we get to do this again in just 2 1/2 months for winter formal. For those of my friends with girls....start saving now!
All kidding aside, Haley, Jake and I met my mom, dad and Amy at the mall. It was great to have my mom out for the day, she had a great time! We did find shoes and they were a great deal. Shane and Jackson met some hunting buddies and went shooting to get ready for elk season and Maddy was babysitting. Then I met Shane at Jackson's baseball game, which they came from behind and won at their last at bat. Way to go boys!!!
`Then I went to Womens Conference(church broadcast, sorry I don't know how to link that up yet) with some friends. The broadcast was great.
Afterwards, I had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie Nielson's mom, two sisters and a cousin. For those of you who don't recognize the name, Stephanie and her husband Christian were in a plane crash August 16th of this year. You might imagine how close to home this was for our family to hear of this accident. We have followed their progress by blog. I visited with them for a few minutes and we agreed to visit Sunday after church and they would have the chance to visit with Shane. I hope it was helpful to them to see someone who survived and is at home getting back into life. Our hearts go out to both families. We pray for them and think of their struggles often but they are a strong family and strongly planted in the gospel. They are a great example to me.

my mom

It is amazing to me how things have changed in such a short amount of time ( 1 year). Last summer we went to the 1st ever Gibby (mother's side) reunion in Park City. All but 4 family members where able to make it. We had a great time and we even got a pretty good family photo out of it.

It is sad to me how quickly my mother has changed since this photo was taken. But the one thing that hasn't changed is how much I love and admire her. I am so grateful for her and all she has done for me and my family.

I don't think that she ever thought she had done anything wonderful or super special, but I know that because of her never giving up her beliefs most of her posterity is active in the church(LDS). It was not easy taking 5 kids to church every Sunday by herself. Or teaching early morning Seminary to just one child because she wanted to make sure that the one got some of the blessings from seminary. But she did it without complaint, that was my mom.

I have reflected much these past few months since Shane's accident, her hip surgery and having to place her in a care home. I keep coming back to the same feeling of, I don't know how I would have survived the crash and everything since without the gospel in my life. Because of her sacrifices, I know that my Savior knows and loves me, that my family can be an eternal family and that we need to have faith and not be afraid to use it. But most importantly, I know that prayers are heard and answered.

I have been so blessed by my mom.

Cloudy Day!

I love these kind of days in AZ. I thought what a great day to do laundry, clean the house, steam my floors and the like. Then the sun came out and took away all of my cloudy day dreams as it was too hot for major house work....so I decided to get caught up on my blog.
Some of you might notice my newest addition on the side of my blog(c me read c jane). A husband and wife in our area were in a small plane crash in mid August. This has been too close to home as you might imagine. Our prayers are with the entire family as they heal in every direction! If you would like to see what an impact one person can have in the world, I invite you to read up on this amazing woman and family.
Here is my winning hand in Texas Hold'em. I wish I could explain why I won. What I can tell you is that literally I was down to my last mint when I won the kitty. Dave, Bruce, Carrie, Sam, Amy, Shane and I played for mints instead of money, so that everyone would be on their best behavior, with no cheating and good feelings at the end. Other than a few people who ate their neighbors betting mints, we had a great time.
Dave & Co. (Lisa, Spencer and Ryan) came for Labor Day weekend to see my mom and dad. It just was luck or bad timing that she fell and fractured her hip and needed surgery the same time as they were here. They did get to spend some quality time with both of them. I was reflecting over that weekend how, I had started the summer with Shane in rehab and finished the summer with my mom in rehab. Needless to say it has been quite a year so far. I am looking forward to 2009!
We have added a new addition to our house.......
Jessie Merrill has moved in with us and will be with us till the end of the year or so. The kids are thrilled to have her back in the house and she is a joy to have around. We love her and feel honored that she would want to live in the zoo, we call home.