A Beloved Leader and Precious Friend

Today my heart is heavy as we have to say good-bye to a faithful servant of our Heavenly Father. Our beloved former stake president, President Wilford, passed away early this morning. He was our bishop when Jeff and I got married and has seen us thru every challenge we have faced thru the years. He has given me love and encouragement when I needed it and pushed me to greater heights with his counsel. His courage and faith thru the years has lifted not only me but my entire family. I know today that he is hearing the words, "Well done thou good and faithful servant. Welcome home." It is with tears of love and tenderness that I bid him farewell. He will be greatly missed by many and my family will forever be grateful for his acts of love and compassion. If I could talk to him once more I would say, "Thank you President Wilford for your years of faithful service to our ward, our stake and to our family. You are a giant among men and you will be greatly missed. We love you with all of our hearts." With grateful hearts we bid you a fond farewell until we meet again!

My thoughts

I listened to a talk today by Elder Holland entitled, "Remember Lot's Wife"! It was such an inspiring talk for me and one that I needed to hear. He gave it on January 13th at a BYU Devotional. He spoke of the importance of looking to the future with faith. He said that faith is always pointed towards the future and that sometimes we doubt the Lord's ability to give us better than what we have had in the past. We have to put our total trust and faith in the Lord and He will guide us. With all that has happened in my family the last 2 years I have had to take giant steps into the darkness and trust in my Heavenly Father and His plan. It has not been easy for me to let go of my hurt and walk steadily into the unknown future giving up the plans that I had made for my family. It has been hard for me to accept and find peace in the knowledge that I will never as a mother have all of my children together on this earth again. I know one day I will have a great reunion with my baby and my family will finally be together again but until that day the pain is seering at times. I look at my children and see them growing up so fast. Sometimes I feel like the days when they were very small slipped by too quickly because I was so involved in making sure their medical needs were cared for that I missed the fun part of them being little. I see Emily so grown and look back at the years that have flown by and the moments that I can never have back. I guess me not feeling well physically is bringing out my emotions as well. I pray to Heavenly Father and ask him to forgive me for letting precious moments in their lives slip by because I was preoccupied and worried about much. I sometimes wish I could have some moments back and redo them but I can't. Elder Holland's talk reminded me that Heavenly Father looks at where we are now and not where we have been...for that I am grateful. I guess I am just pondering things tonight. Jeff and the girls went to the temple and so I have had some reflective time with just Mikey. I am grateful for my blessings because I have many. I know one day that all the hurt and pain that I feel on this earth will be made right. I know that the day will come if Iam worthy that I will be able to take Noah and gather with the rest of my family and it will be sweet. Until then I just have to look forward with faith and trust in the Lord's timing for it is always right. I do know that.

Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired!

Michael and I have now caught the bronchitis bug that seems to be going around up here. Emily spent 2 weeks trying to get over it! We started getting it last week and now it has hit us full time. Michael gets some energy in the mornings and then by the afternoon he runs out. I don't have any energy anytime...I get up and try to do some things and then end up sitting down in my comfy chair with my blanket for the rest of the day. Emily and Lauren have really pitched in and helped as well as Jeff. We are just trying to rest as much as possible to get over this horrible bug. I took a picture of Mikey sleeping under a quilt on the couch...Pugslie snuggled up with him because sleeping is her favorite thing to do. We are all hoping to me better soon!

Our Snow Day!!!!!!

Here are some pictures of our wonderful snow day! We are forecast to get between 4 and 8 inches of snow by the time this is all said and done but we wanted to share with you our beautiful snow ...... what a fun day!!!

Emily's Picture says it all!

The Snow is coming down!

Lauren getting used to the cold air!

Pugslie's bathroom break!

Michael got as far as the hat and decided to stay in the bed!

Lauren enjoying the snow!

Emily loves the snow!

Emily and Mom having a good time!

Are you ever too old to enjoy snow???

I love Sundays!

Just a short post to say how much I love Sundays. We had the best Sunday today! The talks were so wonderful and uplifting, Sunday school was inspiring and RS was very spiritual! Then we had a "linger longer" after church today and we all ate together. It was fun and I visited with everyone...I love to visit and talk then I had my recommend interview with the bishop and I left there thinking about how wonderful our bishop is and how blessed I am to be in Zebulon! It has been a great day....I even got to take a nap this afternoon and now I feel good! I love Sundays!

Jeff's idea of being "green" friendly!

This is Jeff's idea of being green friendly! He says that after you have used it for a hat then you can take it off your head and put trash in it! I know, I know...he is somewhat of a smart-alec! This is the kind of humor we put up with around here and it makes the kids laugh so we all enjoy Jeff's ideas! Hope you enjoy your look into what goes on around here....hahaha! Jeff makes us all laugh and we enjoy that...so here it is, the eco-friendly hat...it's recyclable and a real eye catcher!

Our Christmas Vacation Retreat

Our beach trip after Christmas was a nice break! We left the day after Christmas and brought our camper to the beach. We always stay at our favorite spot..Lakewood! There was hardly anyone there so we felt like we had the place all to ourselves. We also got to spend time with family while we were down there so it was a fun place to be. The kids loved going on the beach and we just relaxed and enjoyed our time together. I was not ready to come back....but life has to get back to normal so we left on New Years Eve to come home so the girls could go to the New Years Eve Dance! We had a great time and are now looking forward to our summer vacation where we will once again descend upon Lakewood!

Emily's picture of the beach Aunt Laurel and Pugslie
Daddy Tom relaxing outside the camper
Emily sitting outside the camper
Lauren walking on the beach
Emily, Lauren, and Michael at Logans Roadhouse
Kim's family and us at Sticky Fingers
Jean and Kim's new hair clips from "Southern Pearls"
David playing tailgate golf
Kim and Jerry relaxing on Sunday afternoon

My Most Treasured Gift!

How do I put into words to describe my feelings on getting my wonderful gift from Kim? She gave me the most perfect gift that I could have asked for this year. She gave me an album filled with pictures of Noah from the day he came to us until the day he left us. When I looked at each page I was filled with emotion....not only of love for my beautiful little boy but for my sister who spent many hours making this album perfect in everyway! I am so thankful for all of her hard work and for the contributions of my other family members as well...thank you David for scanning all of my pictures to give me a cd...thank you Libbi for the words which make everyone understand Noah so much more....thank you Jerry for allowing Kim all this time without complaint to put it together...and most of all thank you Kim....you will never know how very much it means to me...I have looked at it over and over again and I will show it off to everyone who comes over to my house! Thank you again...it truly is my most treasured possession!!!!

Noah's Album

Kim and Jean holding Noah's Album

CHRISTMAS DAY!

Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words...enjoy a glimpse of our Christmas Day....

Jean enjoying her new laptop computer!

Michael duking it out on the Wii!


Jeff looking at some of his gifts!

Sarah Beth enjoying her recorder!

Libbi and Pete enjoying Christmas Dinner!

Pete waiting for the gift opening to begin!

Momma looking over her presents!

Everyone around the table, ready to eat!

Emily and Lauren bowling on the Wii!

Pugslie was wiped out after the festivities were over...too much running around after the kids..hehehe!

CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!

We had a great time at our Christmas Eve Party tonight! Libbi and her family came to join us again this year and it was so nice to have more family here! It was a very fun and spiritual night and we enjoyed all of our friends who came to share in our laughter, games, fun, and shared the wonderful spirit that was here. The testimony meeting at the end was wonderful and tears of love and tenderness were shared. We are grateful to everyone who came and shared our evening with us. We love doing our annual party and find great joy in sharing this night with others. I am fighting a cold this year but still managed to have a great time even with running a fever! My husband, kids, and mother stepped up to the plate to help me put on our party and they did most all of the work while I gave suggestions, helped in the baking, and sat around in my chair with a blanket over me most of the day! I love them for their service rendered to me and I am most grateful for this wonderful season! What a great night! I am actually typing this entry on my new laptop computer that my sweetheart gave me for Christmas. I will post pictures of Christmas gifts tomorrow!

Jeff getting ready for the party

Jean showing off her "holiday nails" that Lauren did for me!
Emily and Victoria at the party!
Our group of friends and family with Jeff!
Our group of friends and family with Jean!

Emily and Sarah Beth

Libbi

Jean and Callie

Mitchell, Brandon, Emily, & Victoria

Christmas Party

Jeff and I went to his work's Christmas Party at this place called Cafe Tiramisu. It was pretty good. We don't drink so it wasn't the kind of party I would normally attend but we had a nice conversation with some of the people we sat near and I got the chance to meet John's (Jeff's boss) wife. She is really really nice. I can see why Jeff likes working there because everyone is very friendly. Plus we got the chance to go out for a night and I got to dress up so it was fun! Emily took a picture of us before we left!

A Great Week-end!

We have had such a wonderful week-end that I just had to write about how grateful I am to have had a whole week-end of spiritual upliftment. It started on Saturday morning when we went to our Ward Christmas Breakfast. We did something completely different this year for our ward party and it was wonderful. We decided to do a breakfast and then a service project. We had a wonderful breakfast then we put together goody boxes and took them to an assisted living home (kinda like the one Ninna and Granddaddy stayed in Hartsville). We broke up in groups, delivered a box to each room and sang christmas carols. It was so wonderful to see the looks of gratitude and to hear them join us as we sang. It did our hearts good and I loved watching each of my children take a box to each elderly person and receive a hug from them. We all left with such a great feeling. Later last night we went to The Creche Exhibit put on by our stake each year. It was absolutely beautiful (I forgot my camera). There were 100's of nativity scenes from all over the world, a live nativity and one room had nothing but pictures of Christ. It was so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes as I looked at each one and felt the love of the Savior. Tonight we just finished watching the Christmas Devotional and my heart was again touched by the words that were offered and I feel a deep sense of gratitude to my Savior. I am thankful for a week-end that reminded me once again of the real reason we celebrate this wondeful season of the year! It was a great way to begin December!

Christmas Survey!

Okay...I love Christmas so here is my survey:


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like both, but bags are easier and I do like the lazy way!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real are the best but Emily is allergic so we get the artificial and ours is beautiful!

3. When do you put up the tree? 1st Monday in December!

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually after Christmas but before New Years Day!

5. Do you like eggnog? I don't think so.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Tons of rings that Ma-Maw game me...I had them on every finger!

7. Hardest person to buy for? Daddy

8. Easiest person to buy for? Momma

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. I have a lot!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Real mail is still great!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't think I have one.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life!!!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? The day after Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes I have...

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Momma's peanut butter fudge!

16. Lights on the tree? I like colored and Jeff likes clear so we have clear on the big Christmas tree and colored on Noah's white tree...we both get what we like (and I think Noah would like the colored like his mommy!)

17. Favorite Christmas song? Do you hear what I hear?

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I like to stay home but I love seeing my family!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I think so!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have a very pretty star!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve, b/c Christmas morning Santa comes and we look in our stocking then...I am the same as Kim!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Anyone who does not celebrate Christmas....again, I feel the same way!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I don't do themes...I like everything about Christmas from Santa Claus to snowmen to reindeer to whatever is Chistmassy!

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I like the traditional dinner and I like my steak and baked potato and I like it all...that's probably why I am fat!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I would love to be able to see beyond the veil but since I can't do that then I would like for Jerry to find a good job!

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Mikey

27. Who is least likely to respond to this? I'm not sure!

OK, everyone.....your turn!

Time to pause and remember....

Tonight our family spent some time together decorating our Christmas Tree and decorating our remembrance tree for Noah. We took a special moment to reflect on Noah's life and all that he has brought to ours. Each of the kids told us something that they loved the most about Noah and each one hung ornaments on his tree. As we hung each one, we were able to share laughter thru tears as they brought back sweet memories and we felt Noah near. It was a sweet opportunity together as a family to take some time out of our busy season and spend some time celebrating the life of our sweet Noah. We also were able to pause and remember what our Savior has done for each of us and realize that we celebrate this season only because of Him. We know that Noah is rejoicing with Him at this time. We feel closer as a family and are grateful for our eternal bonds. It has been a good night....a night to pause, a night to reflect, a night to remember!

Jeff adding the golfcart ornament to Noah's tree

Michael adding the ornament he got for Noah to his tree

Lauren adding her ornament she made Noah for his tree

Emily putting the ornament she bought for Noah on his tree

This ornament is so sweet and it says "Every life leaves something beautiful behind"...so true