We Heart Jesus~ How We Celebrated Easter

Easter weekend started out with a ward temple day trip with babysitting provided by our activities committee in the Chapel next to the temple. You don't realize how easy it is to get to the temple and what a blessing it truly is to have a temple in your town until you have to travel two and a half hours or more to get to the nearest temple and add in all of the planning and preparation to get someone to watch your children. It definitely makes me more appreciative of the temple experience and I really do think I get more out of it because I have to work harder to get there. Thank goodness for the amazing woman that volunteered to watch about thirty children so that the parents could get to the temple. They planned an Easter egg hunt on the church lawn but the weather was so dreary that they canceled it so we saved our Easter egg hunt until after church on Sunday with our good friends the Boyd family. After our temple trip, we visited my mom and she threw together an impromptu egg dying party for the kids! She has always made holidays fun growing up and now she gets to pass that on to my kids!

Tracy and I in all of our awesomeness!


rick ate a Smurf!

There were Smurfs EVEYWHERE!

Welcome To The Jungle!

One afternoon I got a phone call from Mikie's music teacher telling me that Mikie had auditioned for the first grade musical and gotten the lead part. I was floored! I had no idea that she had even auditioned! She worked extremely hard on learning her lines and her songs. She even had a little solo!

She played Panya the mouse in a mini musical based on Aesop's fable about the lion and the mouse! Let me tell you, my little Mikie rocked the house!!! She was just absolutely adorable! I was just beaming with pride...jungle pride oh ya!!!

Look out Broadway.... Mikie will be making her debut and she will be bringing down the house before you know it!

Together Forever!

The Heavens were smiling as we knelt to seal our Hallie to us for time and all eternity!

It seems like when you are trying to accomplish something of an eternal nature, the adversary does everything in his power to stop you. Mike and I butted heads about the particulars and scheduling, petty and inconsequential things that really didn't matter in the eternal scheme of things, but the minute our children entered the sealing room, the overwhelming weight that has weighed on my shoulders for almost two years was lifted and an unspeakable peace entered my heart! We have been dreaming of this day for so long! It was so incredible to share this experience with our loved ones and have the support of our family in the temple and family that waited for us outside of the temple. It is like a view of what the eternities will be like surrounded by love and support of those that love you most!

Even Hallie was thrilled about her special day!

No pictures of us all in white. The Vernal Temple doesn't do that.

All of the adorable Jones grand babies!

Our ETERNAL family!

Whispering sweet nothings in Grandpa's ear!

I would like to know what my mom was doing to get them all to smile this way!!

Family....Thanks for the love you give us! (I didn't get photos of Denise and Mark, Shawny and kelly, Sara Postma and a few other people that came to be there on our special day but were so glad that they were there!)

Sunday, Hallie was Blessed and given her new name, Hallie DeeLoris Nash. My mom, grandma Deelo, and Michael's parents came out for the blessing! It makes me feel so special that they would drive the extra hours to support our family. I am blessed to have such a loving family!

Four generations!

Grandma DeeLo and Hallie DeeLo!

Can You Say Stunning?!

... and she is MY sister!

Rondee is just amazing at whatever she does!

The way she dances moves your soul! Her voice is heart melting!

She lights up a room the minute she enters it!

She has a generous and lively spirit!

She makes my heart happy!

Tiffany Morton captured her perfectly! Check her out! There are more photos of Rondee on her blog. I was very impressed!

I Want To Share My Life With Them Through All Eternity

The day we have all been long anticipating and praying for is here! Our little family will be heading to the Vernal LDS Temple to seal our precious little Hallie to us this Saturday at 12:00!

It would mean the world to us to have our friends and family come and share this special day with us!

Nine Years... In A Blink Of An Eye!

My Ashers turned nine last month! She is transforming into this intelligent, confident little woman right in front of my very eyes! As the oldest, she has so many more responsibilities than the other kids and I know I expect a lot from her and I feel like sometimes I am too hard on her and at the end of the day I vow that I will allow her to be a child and have special privileges for being so dependable and for dealing with the trials that come with being the oldest. Heaven knows she deserves it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHERS!

Know that I adore you and that you amaze me every day!

...and for Ash's 9th birthday, here are 9 thing that you may or may not know about her:

~Ash is an author/illustrator. She has little home made books that are stapled together full of creative stories.

~Ashley actually loves spending time with her little sisters and brother. She includes them even when her friends are over.

~Ashley is VERY opinionated! You will hear her side of the story whether you want to or not.

~Ash is a collector of odd things. Ever since she was little she would put things in a box and say that she collects clouds, rainbows, and rocks. The things she stashes look like junk to the common eye but to Ash's sophisticated and unique taste it is all treasure that she refuses to part with. I admit that it is a bit maddening but cute too.

~That girl can sing!

~Ash is super competitive and likes to be the best!

~She is the best at leaving heart melting notes of appreciation for her dad and me. It brings a tear to my eye!

~Ashley is a songwriter and a pretty good one at that!

~One day that girl will rule the world!! How do I know this? During the election she drew up campaign posters with her name on one side and her qualifications on the other side. She is a very determined girl and nothing will ever stand in her way of getting what she wants!

Gotta love that girl of mine!!! I just wish that the next nine years won't fly by so darn fast!

Snapshot Of A Mother

Since my sister in law Cami doesn't have a blog, she created this word cloud from random phrases from my blog. I think it reflects my life pretty well. Mucho thanks Cam!