Wise Men Still Seek Him...

I've been rather absent with my blog lately. I have a new calling in Relief Society, Christmas, too many birthdays to count, and a lot of other excuses. But I'd feel really ungrateful if I didn't take a moment and acknowledge this special time of year.

I'm so grateful to know the true meaning of Christmas. For a Savior that was willing to come to this mortal life and sacrifice so much so we can have eternal life and live with our Father in Heaven again. I'm grateful for my faith...for knowing to the very core that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father who knows each one of us individually and by name.

I'm grateful that I don't wonder what this life is all about....that I know why I am here and what I am to do while I am here to gain eternal life. I'm grateful to know that I can have my family with me forever.

And all of this because of that sacred night over 2000 years ago....
May we all stop this busy time of year and remember. May we be a little more kind...a little more giving...and a lot more forgiving.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

What are you THANKFUL for?

Recently, I found a childhood friend on Facebook. Her name is Nancy, and even though we haven't yet talked face to face, or even on the phone for that matter, we have connected on many levels. I love her blog because she inspires me and always gives me something to think about. She recently posted the following message on her blog, "In the Spirit of Thanksgiving". I wanted to share it, too.

May we all really take some quiet time to really think about what we are truly thankful for. I'm going to start a list. I think if we would take the time to think about things throughout the day that we are thankful for and write them down, it would lift our spirits, make us happier, and help us to appreciate all of our blessings! Enjoy the message!

(Thanks, Nancy! You are an added blessing on my "Thankful List".)

Amen!

This talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is amazing. I cannot think of another talk given by a General Authority that touched me to the core like this one has. I listen to it often and enjoy it everytime! It has 2 parts so please listen to both. Think, ponder, and pray!

Witch-ever way you look at it...it has come and gone!

The witches have come and gone...the decorations are being put away...the hat and broom are being stored for another year...and I have "witch" let down! Kind of like after Christmas when everything is unwrapped, eaten, and everyone's gone home, I get a little bit down knowing it's all over! I'm finding out the same "let down" now with my Witch Party! But it was fun!

It's a work in progress. Last year was the first year and we met at my house and then went to a restaurant for lunch. This year I decided to have everyone bring their favorite Halloween concoction and eat, mingle, and visit. They both have been fun in different ways. Next year...who knows? Like I said...a work in progress!

Here's the Witches that attended:
Back row left to right: Me, LaVoy (sister), Debbie Price, Pat Butterfield, Tamara Hogsett, Venice Hammond (all 4 from my Ward), Cynthia Hardy (Shaila's mother-in-law),
Front row left to right: Melanie (daughter-in-law), Kathryn (granddaughter), Jayni (granddaughter),Shaila (daughter), and Brianne (daughter).



Unfortunately, I'm not a photographer and I was more worried about everything else and not photographs. Luckily, I have daughters and my daughter-in-law that took pictures so I'll have to post them when they get them to me.



This is a group of us around the table eating. I made a pumpkin stew and my sister, LaVoy, brought Mexican Corn Chowder with Shaila's rolls. I served red blood, rat poison, etc., (sparkling cider) in plastic martini glasses with a gummie eyeball for the olive. Someone brought mozzarella sticks that looked like fingers. We had spinach dip with a hand coming out of it and lots of good Halloween concoctions.


(Witches Venice and Pat)


(Witch LaVoy)


(Witches Tamara and Debbie)


(One of the many concoctions!)


(Witch Shaila Lou)


(Witch Brianne)


(Primping Witches)


(The Wicked Witch responsible!)

Thanks to all of you brave Witches that came and made my crazy passion come to life! I love you all for being so brave and sharing yourself and your friendship with me and all who attended.

Thank you to my daughters, Shaila, Brianne, and Leisha, granddaughters, Kathryn and Jayni, and daughter-in-law, Melanie, for letting me bounce ideas off you and for contributing to the fun! I plan on this being a warped family tradition! (Please keep the legacy going after I'm gone!)

Until next year............(or more photos!)

Shaila...You Are My Sunshine!

My daughter, Shaila, who is my 2nd daughter...3rd child, was born October 30, 1981. Shaila got her name from her older brother, Milo. When I was pregnant with her, Milo, who was 3 at the time, and I were laying in bed one morning and I asked him, "What is Mommy having, a boy or a girl?" He said, "A girl." So I said, "What should we name her?" and he said, "Shaila". And that's the way it was! Grandpa Chlarson nicknamed her "Lou" and we call her "Lou" a good share of the time.

Shaila was an absolute joy when she was born. She was a happy and content baby. She had an older brother and sister who were both very busy and Shaila was content to sit in her swing and let me get a lot done. Although I was very overwhelmed having 3 children, 3 and under (that was the first time I was late for church!), she forced me to get organized! I learned very quickly I had to stay on top of things everyday to survive mentally!

I went through a little bit of post-partum depression, on top of adjusting to more of everything with a third baby, when she was born. But all I would have to do is pick her up, hold her tight, look into her sweet face and a strong source of comfort would fill me up! I called her my little "comforter" and "my sunshine" through that short-lived time.

(Sorry...no pictures of "Little Lou" but I wanted to get the post up and I couldn't get my scanner to cooperate!)

To this day, Shaila has continued to be a source of joy, comfort, sweetness, and strength to me. Her one shortcoming is that she holds herself to a high standard and then beats herself up when she doesn't live up to it. Something that I think is fairly common among many women.



Here is a little about Shaila....

~She is beautiful, inside and out!
~She has 3 darling little Stripling Warriors...Malcolm, Quinn, and Winston.
~She is developing a talent for photography and does great work.
~She brings joy wherever she goes.
~She loves to sing and wishes she could make it a career.
~She enjoys cooking but especially baking breads/rolls.
~She's talking 15 credits at BBCC, is a full-time Mom, teaches nursery,
and cleans a pre-school.
~She loves a clean house.
~She loves and lives the gospel.
~She has a soft spot for her Grandpa Chlarson and would cry for him when she would
feel sad as a little girl.
~Even as a little girl she would say she was going to name a boy "Quinn" after her
Grandpa Chlarson and did.
~She works at leading her boys through her example.
~She is thoughtful of others.
~She works at trying to improve herself physically, mentally, and spiritually.
~She concerns herself with others well-being.
~She has integrity.
~She loves her husband and is thoughtful of him.
~She can do anything she sets her mind to.
~She's a great homemaker.
~As a little girl all she wanted to be was "A Mommy and to cook pancakes."
~If she could, she'd take care of all her little brothers and worries about their
well-being.
~She's a cheerleader for her husband and his ambitions to get into medical school.
~She sees the big picture and is patient knowing her time will come.
~She makes many sacrifices for the big picture.
~She's a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend.

Here's her darling boys...she took this picture and I love it!



I love you, Lou! I'm sorry you were sick on your birthday but it was wonderful to share the day with you. Thank you for blessing my life the second you were born and blessing it each day since. You always will be my sunshine.

Puttin' On The Witch!

Just 11 days until Halloween! But more importantly, 11 days until my Witch Party! For those who may be new to my blog or to me, I LOVE Halloween. Maybe because my birthday is close to Halloween and at times my birthdays had a Halloween theme. But it's probably due to my Mom.

I think she passed her love for Halloween to me. She loved scaring us kids as we were growing up and then scared our kids, too! She's now onto the great grandkids. In fact, some of the grandkids call her "Grammie Boo"! She likes hiding around a corner or in a dark room to scare the living daylights out of anyone who she can! I remember when I was 9, I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink which had a window to look out. It was dark, I looked up and some scary man was standing in the window facing me! After I screamed and ran around the house in a panic state, my loving mother walks into the house in my Dad's coat, hat and a nylon stocking pulled down over her face! I remember her laughing so hard because she scared me so bad! Now don't think she was awful for scaring us...it's really a fond memory. We still scare each other to this day.

Then, two years ago I talked my coworker, who is also one of my dearest friends, into
dressing up with me for Halloween which was a work day. We met at work really early and got into our costumes/makeup before our bosses arrived. I'll never forget the absolute joy I received from scaring Roger to death!

This was Elaine and I Halloween 2007. It was the first time I'd dressed up for years!



It was so much fun I decided that day I was going to have a Witch Party the next year. This next picture is all the witches that attended my party in 2008. We met at my house and then went to lunch at a restaurant in town. It was so much fun seeing the different costumes that the women came up with!



So, I'm ready for my next Witch Party. It's on Halloween (duh!)and if any of you are brave enough....I dare you to come join us!

Happy Halloween!

Nauvoo the Beautiful...and beautiful it was!

This is a long overdue post! Last July, my parents, my sister, LaVoy, and her husband, Alan, and Hubby and I went to Nauvoo. Dad had been voicing the desire to go for a couple of years. So last January, we made the plans, bought our airline tickets, and reserved a house near Nauvoo. For connecting flights to work out we had to take a red eye flight from Seattle. We were all really tired as you can see!



Mom and Dad on the second leg of our flight.

For those who may not know that read my blog, Nauvoo, Ill. is a city that Joseph Smith and the early members of our church established from swamp land to have a peaceful place to dwell and worship as they believed. They had been severely persecuted with many being massacred and driven out of Missouri by mobs. The city grew to be over 35,000 in population. Nauvoo in Hebrew means, "the beautiful location". They dwelt there for quite a few years before persecution began again and the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. They were there another couple of years before the leaders of the church continued with Joseph Smith's plan to move the Saints west where they could live and worship in peace. The "Trail of Hope" is a street that leads to the Mississippi River where they crossed after leaving everything they owned and had built up behind. Back then they called it "The Street of Tears"



Mom, Dad, Alan, LaVoy, and Hubby waiting in line for the "Trail of Hope".



Me and my sweet hubby.



Mom standing at the end of "The Trail of Hope" where the Saints crossed the Mississippi River.



All of us at the end of "The Trail of Hope".



I love this picture of Joseph and Hyrum Smith looking at the Nauvoo Temple on their way to Carthage Jail to face false charges and where they would end up being martyred. Joseph knew what his fate was and felt that he would never see Nauvoo again. They wouldn't live to see the temple completed. The temple was finally completed right before the Saints fled Nauvoo and then the mobs destroyed it. The church restored the temple and it was dedicated in 2002. We were able to attend a temple session while we were there. It is beautiful inside and was built as close as they could to the original temple.



This is Carthage Jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred. Joseph was shot and fell from the 2nd story window, landing right by the well. A mob of about 200 men stormed the jail and opened fire in the room where they were being held. The picture below shows the door with a bullet hole in it. That was the shot that struck Hyrum Smith in the face, killing him.

This was probably my favorite place we visited. As we drove into the parking lot I got emotional immediately. There is a strong spirit that exists here. It remained with me through our entire visit. I'm grateful for that experience.





Mom and Dad at Carthage Jail with the statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.





Joseph and Hyrum Smith's graves. When Joseph was first buried it was unknown where his grave was because the family feared the mobs would destroy it. Many years later the family had him moved to a permanent resting place.



The above picture was taken after we had taken a wagon tour through Old Nauvoo. At the end of the tour, Hubby asked the two teamsters if he could sit up in their seat. They looked a little hesitant but then let him while I took pictures. The teamster sitting next to Hubby gave him his hat and whip for the picture. They're actually missionaries who've been called with their wives to serve in Nauvoo. The missionary that was off the wagon, holding the horses said to Hubby, "Brother, you must be living right. We just don't let anyone sit up there." Hubby quickly replied, "Yup, and I'm not even LDS!" This sparked their curiosity as the one looked at me. I said, "I've been trying for 17 years!" Then he said to Hubby, "What's up with that? Don't you want your wonderful wife for eternity?" Hubby quickly replied again, "I haven't decided I want her that long yet!" I got a big laugh out of that! I hope one day he'll decide he wants me for that long!



We're descendants of Brigham Young. Our grandmother, Suzanna Young Little was Brigham Young's sister. The above and below pictures are of Brigham Young's home in Nauvoo. It was one of the few homes not destroyed by the mobs.





There's a place in Old Nauvoo called "Lands and Records" that you can enter the names of ancestors who you believe may have lived in Nauvoo and it will give you the plot number of their land. The land where Mom is standing is the plot of land that our grandmother, Mary Jane Lytle lived. The home was destroyed but we have a journal entry of this grandmother that tells of when she was 12 and living in Nauvoo. Joseph and Hyrum Smith knocked on their door asking for a drink of water. They were on their way to Carthage Jail at this time. She tells of how she'd never forget how she felt looking upon the face of the prophet. She then tells how she felt when she saw their bodies being brought home from Carthage dead. What a precious gift she gave us of that journal entry. We had many of our ancestors who lived in Nauvoo and went through so much persecution for their beliefs. How grateful I am to them for the faith they had and the determination they had to give their posterity the gift of the gospel. They suffered much but their faith never wavered.



There's so many more pictures and so much more I could post about our wonderful trip to Nauvoo but this post is already long. I'm so thankful that we were able to go to Nauvoo and experience the spirit of those who lived there, who went through so much persecution, and left everything they owned to move west to worship the Lord in peace. I hope one day I'll meet them face to face and embrace them in love and gratitude for what they gave and sacrificed on my behalf. I love them all!

A Tender Moment in Time....

This last Monday, I drove to Kennewick to work for the day at an office of a new Investment Broker that started with the company, Waypoint Wealth Management, that I work for. As I drove into the Tri-Cities, there was construction going on and the main bridge over the Columbia River was closed. I turned around and headed toward the only other way I knew across the river. As I was getting close to the office, the broker called me to tell me his son had missed the school bus and had to hurry home, thus, giving me a few minutes to kill.

The office is in the same vicinity as the Columbia River Temple, so I kept driving and ended up in the parking lot of the Temple. Beings as it was Monday, the Temple was closed so there was no one around. As I looked up at the Temple, I got an immediate, overwhelming warm feeling that came over me. Then, the words came to my mind as tears welled up in my eyes, "This is where you will make your way back home."
It was such a tender moment that words can't describe.

At that moment I was so grateful for the knowledge and gift I have of the gospel and our Heavenly Father's plan for us to be united eternally with our families. Without the ordinances of the Temple, that would not be possible. This is where life's eternal questions are answered.

I'm grateful for that tender moment and wanted to share it with you.

There's a great article for those of you who may want to know more about our Temples. Go to:

http://www.lds.org/temples/purpose/why/0,11581,1953-1,00.html

Here's Looking At You, Leisha!

My baby turned 23!! How did that happen?



Leisha was born September 1, 1986, on Labor Day, in American Fork, Utah. Pretty fitting, huh? She was born at 10:48 a.m. and weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs. 13 oz.
The above picture was taken at the hospital on Sept. 3. Hospital pictures never do the baby justice. She was so much cuter than the picture....here's proof.


(This is Leisha @ 2 1/2 months. She weighed over 13 lbs.)


(This was her 1 year old picture.)

Leisha was and is my only blonde/blue eyed daughter. Milo is the only other one of my kids that is blonde/blue eyed. She was my happiest and most content baby. She always smiled at everyone and when she would smile her eyes sparkled. I loved her little heart shaped mouth. More than once when I would be out with her, people would say she looked like the Gerber baby.

Here's more pictures as she's growing up.


(Her hair was naturally curly and still is.)



Leisha is an actress at heart. She loves being on stage and is quite the comedian. She was in most of the plays throughout high school and many of them she had the leading part. If you want to see the real Leisha....go watch her in a play.


(This is one of the pictures I have of her in a play. Most of them that I took are too dark! I'm not a photographer!)


(Graduation picture/2005)


(Leisha and her husband, Richard.)


(Mother and Daughter, December 2005.)


(Leisha and Emma on Emma's blessing day.)

And this last picture proves that Leisha definitely takes after her Mom!.....



Leisha I love you because....

....you always look for the good in everyone.
....you have always lived up to the standards you were taught and believe in.
....you are a wonderful example to everyone around you.
....you have a kind and caring nature.
....you always look out for the underdog.
....you are beautiful.
....you have many talents and more that you don't even realize yet.
....you are genuine.
....you've given us a beautiful grandaughter.
....you are a sweet mother.
....you are forgiving.
....you encourage those around you to be their very best.
....you are funny.
....you are compassionate.
....you make me proud.
....you are an absolute blessing in my life.
....you are a wonderful daughter.
....I love you more than you let yourself believe.
....and on and on!

Leisha, you are a wonderful, gifted, sweet young woman. I'm so proud of the person you've become and are becoming. You bless the lives of those around you with your kindness and understanding. I'm proud to be your Mom!

Happy Birthday! (A few days late!)

July and It's Not Over Yet.......

It's been a busy month already! There are so many pictures that I stole my sister, Cara's idea and did a slide show. Here's our happenings...

Over 4th of July a few of our family members camped at Ensign Ranch. There were Hubby and I, Milo's family, Brianne's family, and LaVoy's family. On Saturday Mom, Dad, and Hubby's mom, Bette came up for the day. We had such a fun time with lots of fun memories.

This last weekend I took Cara's son, Taylor back home to Stockton, CA. I took Shaila and Nathan with me for company. It's a 14 hour drive so I was grateful for company and a second driver! We listened to Michael Jackson all the way down and all the way back! It was great! Thanks Lou, for going with me and mourning Michael Jackson with me!

We arrived to Cara's Thursday night (July 9). Friday Cara worked until noon then we had lunch at In n' Out (yum!) and then sunbathed at the pool the rest of the afternoon. Nice and relaxing! The boys swam until their fins were limp!

Saturday, Colby had a basketball game first thing in the morning. Then lunch at, guess where???? Right! In n' Out...we're fans! Then back to the pool. It got cloudy and rained on us but we still enjoyed it! That night Cara and Ryan took us to dinner at BJ's and it was very good. We had brewed root beer which was as good as homemade!

Sunday we got up and left Cara's by 4:30 am and arrived home about 6:30 pm. Nathan was such a good traveling companion. He never whined, cried, complained or asked for anything! And he's only 7! I hope I get to take you again, Nathan! Thanks Lou, for leaving your family to go with me.

Cara is my baby sister who is 19 years younger than me. Even though she's that much younger than me and we weren't raised together she still feels like all my other sisters who I was raised with. I admire her in so many ways! She's to the point, funny, witty, and has OCD to the max which I have a bit of but she has a LOT of! She's such a good mom and has 2 boys that are such good boys. They're so well behaved and fun to be around.

Thanks Cara for showing us such a good time! Next time I'll have more time to go and do...like hit San Fran and the malls!

Well, that's half of July and lots more to come...Chlarson reunion this Saturday with my parents and siblings. Then off to Nauvoo next week! I'm looking so forward to that trip! I'm so blessed with such a wonderful family to be able to do so many things with! Love you all!