At Last We Have Grass!

Finally! After 18 months in our home I have something to keep the dirt away. At least partly anyway. This was a labor of love. My sweet Jason is such a hard worker and just kept pluggin away even through our horrible spring weather. Thank heavens it's done. We are so lucky to have so many family members that come at the drop of a hat to help us lay the sod down. Thank you all!

You ought to know

Today is the END

ARMAGEDDON

Is coming at 6:00 tonight!

This is all according to some guy in CA. But he's been wrong before, last time the world was supposed to end I was 14. Luckily for me I made it another 14 yrs past the last "End of the World" to see this "End of the World"

But just in case this guy happens to be right this time I've got my Zombie fighting team already formed and on stand-by. If you didn't receive your txt this morning then apparently I didn't think I could out-run you if we were being chased by blood hungry Zombies or you just didn't have what it takes to make

MY TEAM.

I may have one spot open, I'm still waiting on a reply from this guy. If there was one person I'd want on my team he is it. But from the absence of a reply I'm going to assume that either

A: He already has a team. (I knew I should have asked him sooner)

or

2: He isn't too worried about the Apocalypse coming tonight. (maybe I should cancel my bungee jumping appointment at noon)

*Just in case, Zombie fighting practice at 5:00 at my house, if the end will be here at 6 I want "My Team" to have a good hr of practice fighting Zombies under their belt.

Faith

This week we have seen two great miracles in our family. While talking to my kids about the first miracle I explained that the Dr's think Uncle Josh is going to be OK and he has beaten most of the cancer inside his body. The prayers we have said in his behalf have a been answered. I also explained that the Priesthood blessing which he was given at the beginning of his treatment has helped him to overcome this horrible disease and to not be as sick as he might have otherwise. To this explanation my six yr old replied,
"We knew he would get better, we just had to wait awhile"
Talk about tears. I cannot explain how that simple little statement blew me away. Sometimes I think my kids teach me more than I can ever teach them. Simple statements that pack a huge lasting punch.

Our second miracle came in the form of a sweet little baby 10 plus years in the making. Olivia Lauren Warner was born to my Brother Clint and his amazing wife Jessica at 3:33 this morning. They have tried for years to have children without success. They have two adorable kids brought to them through adoption but were never able to carry their own biological child. Somehow through the miracle of modern medicine they were blessed to carry this new baby girl full term. Since we learned of Jessica's pregnancy we have had her in our prayers. This is such an amazing teaching experience for my children to see their prayers answered in such a tangible way.

During one family prayer a few months ago Easton said the most simple and heartfelt prayer;

" Dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee for our blessings, Please bless Uncle Josh, Uncle Jered (recently diagnosed with diabetes), Aunt Jessica and Grandpa Warner (had just undergone hip replacement) . We thank thee for our family and all our blessings and we say these things..."

Oh to be 5 yrs old again and know that the Lord hears and answers our prayers. He had no doubt in his mind that his prayers would be answered. He KNEW for certain that his Heavenly Father would handle all things if he just asked him too. No Fear, Just Faith.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: "As parents, we have been commanded to teach our children “to understand the doctrine of … faith in Christ the Son of the living God” (D&C 68:25). This requires more than merely recognizing faith as a gospel principle. “To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone” (Bible Dictionary, “Faith,” 669). True faith must be centered in Jesus Christ. “Faith is a principle of action and of power” (Bible Dictionary, 670). It requires us to do, not merely to believe. Faith is a spiritual gift from God that comes through the Holy Ghost. It requires a correct understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ, His divine attributes and perfect character, His teachings, Atonement, Resurrection, and priesthood power. Obedience to these principles develops complete trust in Him and His ordained servants and assurance of His promised blessings."
Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Quorum of the Seventy. You can read more from his article HERE.

The big "C"

I don't think you can ever really be prepared to hear the news that someone you know and love has been diagnosed with the big "C" word.























However this past week Jason and I have come face to face with this fact.

I have also come to realize some of the simple blessings in my life.

I am grateful for my eternal perspective on life,











I am grateful for my husband and the Priesthood that he holds,








I am grateful for my amazing family,

I am grateful for Saturday afternoons in the fall, spent with the


"Jones Boys" watching BYU football.











I am grateful for modern medicine and the hopes that there will be many more "Cougs" games to watch with all the Jones boys in the years to come.



I am so grateful for my husband and the amazing family that he comes from. I married the man and with him came his


3 Brothers/Best friends.




I didn't know at the time but I was also marrying into a family of amazing women who would in turn become my


Best Friends.

As you kneel down tonight, please remember the Jones family in your prayers so they will all have the strength to beat the horrible "C" word.

Christmas 2010

We had an amazing Christmas 2010,

Complete with Paper Jams, Jessie Doll (from toy story), Remote Control Trucks and a Wii. We are so blessed to be able to have such amazing gifts at Christmas. We enjoyed all the parties and an old fashioned Pine Canyon town play. We were able to see the lights at Temple square and spend quality time with our amazing families.

Dear Santa?...I think not.

This was the first of two very traumatizing experiences meeting old St Nick for Bryn Leigh. Santa came to Easton's preschool to visit and my kids got to sit on his lap. Well Bryn Leigh wanted nothing to do with it. I however really wanted a pick so I put her up next to him and he held her there by grabbing her hood. This picture tells it all. She tells everyone who asks her about Santa "he pulled my hood!"

She really doesn't like the jolly old fella. It's bad enough to have to see him once but twice in the same season was more than she could handle. I think we are really worrying her with all the talk of him coming to our house in a few days.
But she did look very cute sitting on his lap all dressed in her Christmas tutu, even with the tears. And when all was said and done she did mention to him that she wants a "Jesse doll from toy story".

Easton was listening very intently, somehow this Santa knew exactly what he had gotten in trouble for in the past few days. Easton was intrigued by his knowledge of every little mishap he had committed. Needless to say, Easton has tried very hard to be a good little boy ever since his little chat from the big guy. If he does happen to make it onto the "nice list" he will be hoping to get a Iron Man mask.

My big boy, it's hard to believe this is his 7th Christmas with us. I can't believe how fast the time flies. This year he is asking for a guitar and a r/c truck. Sure hope he gets the truck, as for the guitar, I think it can wait a few more years.

Thankful Thoughts

I feel like I need to put into writing some of the many things that I am thankful for. Hopefully this will help me focus more on my blessings and less on those things I may be needing or wanting.

• My wonderful husband- I am so lucky to have married such an amazing person. Jason makes me be such a better person. He helps me to try harder to be a peacemaker and for that I will always be so grateful. He provides so much for myself and the kids. I admire him for persuing his masters degree and am so thankful for his education.
• My children- They make my life so interesting. There really never is a dull moment around them. I am thankful for Trenton's compassion and the love he shows for other people. He never ceases to amaze me with his ability to put other peoples feelings before his own. I am thankful for Easton's comic relief, he keeps us laughing and wondering where this child came from. I am so grateful that Easton joined our family when he did, just 12 months and 3 weeks after Trent. He was sent to us at the perfect time. I am so thankful for Bryn Leigh, my sassy little girl. I love having a little girl to shop with and dress up and just have as my little girl.
• My home- I am so thankful to have a warm home to welcome others in to. I am thankful for all those who make my home a fun place to hangout, even teenagers who drop by unexpectedly. I am thankful that I have a safe place for people to gather.
• Warmth- I am thankful for my furnace and on especially cold nights I am thankful for my jacuzzi.
• Gospel-I am thankful for my knowledge of our eterinal family, I am thanful for my childrens simple knowledge of the same thing. I am thankful for my gospel and for my callings in the church.
• Extended Families- I am so so thankful for my families, both my family by birthright and my family by law. I love having such a wonderful supportive family who is always there no matter what I may be in need of. I am thankful for their unending love of me and my little family.

Part II

The Nerd Herd! Jason, Mike, Trent and Easton blowing off a little steam from the long ride in the car.

We are a happy family, at least we are when we're not forced to ride in the car together.

I'm so glad that we drove all that way just so my kids could enjoy their time in the hotel elevator. I'm pretty sure that they drove everyone else crazy by riding the elevator up and down dozens of times. Oh well, cheap entertainment right.

The whole group of us, minus Dad, hiked our fannies all the way down to the bottom of tower falls. We tried to to get a group picture with the help of our handy little self-timer, but apparently these folks just thought we were a little odd standing in formation staring back at the little blue thing with the flashing light. Maybe where they come from they don't have camera's with self timers, oh wait, the camera was made in their home land!

No worries, we finally got the other tourists out of our way and got a good picture of our rough and tumble crew. Mike was pretending he was on an amusement park ride, not sure exactly why though.

This is one of the main reason's Jason and I go to Yellowstone in the fall, we love the leaves.

This was on our hike down to the bottom of the grand canyon of the Yellowstone. When we started out it didn't seem like that long of a hike, but after about 7 switchbacks we thought we might have gotten in over our heads. Then we saw a old man coming up from the bottom hiking with a cane and we all felt a little ashamed that we were being outdone by an old guy. So needless to say, we went all the way to the bottom and were definitely inspired. The views were amazing. This hike is definitely not for the faint of heart, Jason couldn't even enjoy it because of his fear of heights and water.

Little Trent was born to be a mountain climber, we kept telling him that when he grows up to marry an aerobics instructor so she can try to keep up with him.

1101.5 miles full of smiles- Part 1

After 3 long weeks of waiting we were finally off on our road trip to

YELLOWSTONE!
Jason is the super-cool driver of our little party wagon.

Bryn Leigh didn't make it past Lake Point before she was spent and had to take a nap.

After dinner and 4 hrs of driving, we were beckoned to this place...

It was quite a site to see from the highway. We had to make a slight 20 min detour in our trip to get these pictures at the Rexburg Temple.

After a good nights rest, we were ready to go see the beautiful creations.

While we were enjoying a nice little picnic lunch

We discovered that we weren't the only ones who had traveled a long distance to see this awesome national park.

This is the reason we came, well part of the reason anyway. These bull elk were enjoying a nice little rest on the lawn of the park rangers apartment buildings. They had no worries about the construction workers in the background.

The kids jumped at every chance they got to get out of the car and go for a hike.

This particular hike was longer than we had anticipated. We got halfway and realized that we still had about 3/4 of a mile to get back to the car. But the kids were troopers, they enjoyed every minute of it.

Bryn Leigh loved seeing the "hot hots" or hot pots as we called the.

Where does the time go?

I can't believe that my big boy is in Kindergarten already.

Trent started School on Aug 31. He got to ride the bus with his cousins, which was the highlight of his first day.

He is in Ms. Betsy's class, I'm pretty sure she's been teaching for about 50 yrs, no joke. But he is LOVING it! His best friend and cousin, Raynee is in his class.

I am so glad for him to be learning to read and meeting new friends. I just can't come to terms with my little Trenter being in Kindergarten already.