Little Miracles

Today I am so thankful for little miracles and for the faith of a little 6 year old boy.

Our family was blessed to be able to go on an amazing vacation to Mexico in August. We were all so excited as we had been to the hotel before and knew the fun that was in store for us. Carson carefully packed his Transformer backpack the night before we left. He brought all of his most prized posessions including his blue blankie. This boy has not slept a single night in his life without his blue blankie. The flight went perfectly and he was as happy as can be with his DS in one hand and his blankie in the other.

When we arrived at the hotel Erin checked in and then took the kids to the lobby bar to get their first "Miami Vice" of the trip. They couldn't wait one more second. After checking into our room Carson realized that he had left his backpack in the bar and we rushed back to get it. The backpack was no where to be found. We asked everyone in sight if they had seen it but had no success. The hotel concierge was amazing and helped us file a report assuring us that if anyone turned it in they would contact us immediately.

That night and each night throughout the week was very difficult. There were many tears shed and I held him as he cried himself to sleep. I don't think that I have prayed so hard in a long time. Each time I prayed I had an overwhelming sense of peace and a confirmation that everything would be ok. Every morning Carson would remind me how many days we had left in Mexico and how many chances the person with his backpack had to turn it in. He was so sweet and so good. He would cry quiet tears and then let me know that he was ok. We searched every inch of the hotel.

The day came when it was time to leave Mexico and return home. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness as we drove away knowing that the chance of us ever seeing Carson's things again was very, very small. I still knew that everything would be ok but was having a hard time understanding how. As our plane started to take off Carson buried his head in my lap and sobbed. The realization that he was leaving his blankie in Mexico had set in and he was so sad. He is such a good kid and it was so hard to see him like that.

We had been home from Mexico for 2 weeks when I received an email from the hotel informing us that someone had turned in a backpack matching the description in the missing item report that we had filed. They attached pictures and asked us to let them know if this was our backpack. When I opened the attachments I couldn't believe what I saw. It was Carson's backpack and every single thing was in it. When I showed him the pictures happy tears streamed down his cheeks and he quietly said, "Mom, Heavenly Father answered my prayers".





We received a package from Mexico today and I am thankful for so many reasons. I am thankful to see the blue blankie that I brought my little boy home from the hospital in. I am thankful for someone in Mexico who is honest. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who answers prayers and is mindful of me and my 6 year old little boy. I am thankful that our family was given a little miracle to teach us and to remind us of these things.

Kind of proud of these kids!

Of course, I am always so proud of all of my kids. They work so hard and are always (well, almost always!) willing to spend the hours and hours it takes achieve their goals. In the past few months Abbie and Tanner have accomplished great things. We are so proud of their achievements and are so excited that they have been recognized and awarded for all of their hard work.

In March, Tanner, Erin and I flew to Houston where he was awarded his Black Belt in karate. This is a huge accomplishment for Tanner as he has been working for it since he was 8 years old. The actual test fell on his 13th birthday and it was such a great experience for Erin and I to spend the day with just him. I am amazed at the endurance and strength that Tanner showed during the test. It lasted for 5 hours and the candidates were literally trembling with pools of sweat on the mats beneath them. You can tell in some of the pictures how physically exhausted he was but he passed (not everyone does) and we are SO proud of him!

Tanner before the test without a clue of what was in store for him.

This cute man took Tanner under his wing and joked with him throughout the entire test. We appreciated him so much as he made Tanner feel so comfortable and at ease.

We are amazed at the moves that have become Tanner's natural instinct. We have learned to approach him very carefully and let him know that we are coming or this is what happens to us!

The whole crew from American Fork.

Tanner was placed by the Grand Master of Bushi Ban. To him, this is like being in the presence of his favorite celebrity. Shortly after this picture he was sound asleep in the back seat of the car. :)

We love you and are so proud of you Tanner!!!

Abbie just finished her gymnastics meet season. She did such an awesome job finishing in the top three every single meet. This is a huge accomplishment considering at some meets there were over 100 girls. She is so tough and always works with a smile on her face. Our whole family was able to attend most of her competitions and it was fun to see her older brothers beam with pride. She earned over 20 gold medals during the season. Abbie has already passed off all of her skills for the next level and we look forward to watching her use these skills in her routines next year.

These pictures are all from her State meet.

We love you girl!!!

What do you do......

.....when there is a knock at your door and you open it to find the mail lady standing on the porch with an unexpected package.

This package is filled with favorite things from Japan. It is from a friend that is very far away and is missed like crazy every single day. This package created many screams and happy faces that look like this....

This package will be taken to kindergarten for show and tell in Mrs. Anderson's class and be the source of joy for 5 kids (even 2 teenagers!) that are spending time together experimenting and tasting many different Japanese treats.

So, what do I do when a package like this arrives at my door? I smile, laugh and cry at the same time. I am so thankful that I have been blessed with people in my life that love me enough to send me an unexpected package from Japan. I am so lucky to have friends that are more than just friends. I miss you like crazy JT!!!

We've been up to......

Halloween 2009 was a blast! The kids convinced me to dress up and we had so much fun. Abbie and I were pirates, Carson was Bumblebee and Brooke was Tinkerbell and a Care Bear. It was a battle that I chose not to fight and so she flip flopped between the two all day. Tayler and Tanner are too cool for Halloween and so they entertained themselves by trying to scare the older kids on our porch when they came trick or treating. We ended up with sooo much candy and very happy faces!

This year for crazy hair day at school Abbie wanted to do a beehive. I didn't realize what I was getting myself into when we started brainstorming together. It was a lot of fun but it will NEVER happen again so I'm glad that Tiff got a great picture of our creation. We braided yarn into her real hair and we attached bees to our hive with gold pipecleaners. Abbie got a lot of attention and came home with a huge smile which made it worth every second! Girls are so much fun!




This year for fall break our family went to Lake Powell. It is such a beautiful place and we came home so thankful for the beauty that surrounds us. We had so much fun wakeboarding, cliff jumping and just being together as a family. The kids have decided that they would like to make a Lake Powell trip an annual tradition and Erin and I don't need much convincing!








That's all for now! I'm working on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and learning very fast that it is MUCH easier to stay on top of things as they happen!

My Gram

Two months ago today I lost one of the most important people in my life. I was able to spend the final day of her life by her side and will always find comfort in the last words that she said to me..."I love you Jen Pen". I know that she is with Gramp and that, together, they watch over me every day. I will be forever grateful for our special relationship and for the huge impact that she had on my life. I miss her more than words can describe but look forward to the day when we will be together again.


(This is a picture taken at Kristie's wedding reception. Gram had waited so long for this day and she missed it by 18 days. We felt her presence with us that day and know that she enjoyed every single one of Kristie's smiles. We placed her picture and her corsage on a table at the reception as a symbol of our love for her.)

I love you Gram.

Carson is 5!

Carson asked me today, "Mom, when are you going to sit at the computer and write everyone's favorite thing about me?". Poor kid, his birthday was in June and I have been a total slacker about updating my blog. Thanks for being patient buddy!

Carson is such a special kid. He has made me smile every single day of his life. Five years ago I had no idea that someone so small could have such a huge impact on my world. We have a very special bond and I look forward to his at least 20 "I love you mom"s every day. Carson has a natural desire to be good and uses this talent to bless the lives of his family. He takes the relationships that he has with his family very seriously. He has created bonds with those that are important to him that are so deep it would take most a lifetime to accomplish. He is a blessing in our home and his smile makes every day a little brighter. I don't want my baby boy to grow up but he is so excited for each new day that it makes it hard to be sad!

These are our favorite things about Carson:

Dad: "My favorite thing about Carson is his smile. I look forward to it every day."

Mom: "Carson said to me "Mom, I know what you are going to say. You are going to say that your favorite thing about me is when we snuggle." Carson, you are right. I love tucking you into bed every night and watching you fall asleep. It is such a peaceful time that I look forward to every day. (I even love it when you wake me up at 4am to remind me that I forgot to snuggle with you the night before!)"

Tayler: "I love Carson's laugh.....his little belly laugh. When he laughs I have to laugh too because I love it so much."

Tanner: "Carson is my mini me. I love that he likes to do stuff with me. He is always willing to play or help me with my Legos."

Abbie: "I love Carson's laugh. It makes me laugh."

Brooke: "Carson chases me. I like to hide!"

Carson even got a present from Mother Nature!










Guess who?!

Happy Birthday Carson! We love, love, love you!

Our little champ!

Abbie is our little gymnast. She lives, eats and breathes gymnastics. From the time she could walk (when she was 8 months old!) Abbie has been able to scale or climb anything in her path. She is always upside down and loves to flip, twist and roll. This year she was invited to compete with a team of girls her level and age. This takes a lot of time and commitment but she never complained. She attended gym 3 times a week for 2 1/2 hours each workout. It has been fun to watch her mature and progress each meet throughout the season. The girls competed in their final meet in June and took 1st in State! This is a huge accomplishment and we are so proud of her. Congratulations Abbie...our little State Champ!!!