Twilight Mania...For Mormons ;-)

Amie D. & Katie H. I think I see you two in the picture ;-)

Click here for more funnies. 

From what I can tell they are all good natured.  

VT vs. Twilight

Too funny. 

Thoroughly enjoyed the books !! Movie  -  not so much.

(Julie S.  - Look familiar? I copied this from your blog ;-)

Setting goals are important, right???

This is my new goal. 

To try each of these R.i.t.t.e.r .S.p.o.r.t.s chocolate bars.  

I did not even know half these flavors existed.  

I feel like a whole new world has been opened up to me. 

Kim R.  - I think you may be the only one who would consider taking on this goal with me ;-)

WHITE Eggs

In SA all the eggs are brown.   I don't think I ever saw white eggs... unless it was EASTER.  These are the only white eggs I ever knew - 

until I moved to the US. 

These eggs are candy coated.  You lick the candy off until you find delicious chocolate coating the inside of the egg.  

There is no way to eat these eggs gracefully :-) 

But they are so tasty!

4th ANNIVERSARY

At The Melting Pot

A very nice man...

We were recently at the mall returning something at a kiosk. I had 'store' credit so I had to buy from that particular kiosk.   Well, I was having a hard time finding anything I wanted and was being a little impatient with the workers because I just wanted my money back.   Andy reminded me to be nice :-) I was a little nicer and settled on something and kept the remaining store credit for a future purchase.  It was almost time for the mall to close by the time I found anything and I still had other stores I wanted to look in. So, I left to go do a little more shopping and Andy made the exchange for me. 

Andy made the exchange and met me in another store.  He then tells me that the ladies at the kiosk wanted to let him know that they (clearly they had discussed it, come to a conclusion and she was now the spokesman for the two)  :-) thought that he was a very nice man and that he was very patient.  She said that most husbands would have been impatient hurrying their wives along and ready to leave. But Andy stood patiently as I walked around the booth multiple times look for the perfect item.  

They were right.  Andy is a 'VERY NICE MAN' :-) 

And I am a very lucky wife!

Newest Addition

If you've read my blog over time - you'll know that my brother and his wife adopted Jessica just over 4 years ago.  They've recently added to their family - 

Jasmine Isabella D. 

Big Sister, Little Sister

And we are so excited. Congrats!

Miami

Happy Birthday week to ME....

Birthday Dinner/Girls Night Out

And this was our house...

...this morning.  

It was a glorious day!

**  Credit for this picture goes to my fabulous neighbor Kate.  No doubt I was sound asleep when she took this picture. **

Snowy Sunday

What did your Sunday look like?

This is what our Sunday looked like.

Sunday will come...

We haven't done any super fun things lately and I haven't taken any pictures either. But stay tuned - we are heading to Miami soon and then there will be a ton of pictures posted (unless I look very UNCUTE in all of them ;-)                - I know UNCUTE is not a word ;-)

In the meantime here is another serious, but worthwhile blog read. 

This is where I found the article

Elder Wirthlin's talk given in the October of 2006 Conference entitled SUNDAY WILL COME"... 

The New Era's condensed version of it, but here is what he writes:

The Dark Friday of the Crucifixion
I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross. On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.

Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day those men stood triumphant.

On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross.

On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.

On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled. It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.

I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.

Sunday Will Come 

But the doom of that day did not endure.

The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.

And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had
whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise,
for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the
firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of
a new and wondrous existence.

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. (This photo was found here: http://www.heavenlyascents.com/tag/resurrection/)

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, in this life or the next, Sunday will come. 

My kind of magazine...

Have you heard about this magazine? I never had, until now. 

I think I may need a subscription. 

Journey of Life

I just read this on a blog and loved it. 

Make up your mind to be happy-even when you don't have money, even when you don't have a clear complexion, even when you don't have the Nobel Prize. Some of the happiest people I know have none of these things the world insists are necessary for satisfaction and joy. Why are they happy? I suppose it is because they don't listen very well. Or they listen too well-to the things their hearts tell them. They glory in the beauty of the earth. They glory in the rivers and the canyons and the call of the meadowlark. They glory in the love of their families, the stumbling steps of a toddler, the wise and tender smile of the elderly. They glory in honest labor. They glory in the scriptures. They glory in the presence of the Holy Ghost. One thing I know for certain: the time we have here goes by far too quickly. Don't waste any more time sitting on the bench watching life pass you by.

Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Lessons Learned in the Journey of Life." 

Ensign, May 2001, 35.

Little Miss and Mr. Men

I love the original series. Though these ones are pretty funny too.  

Which one are you?

HOPE

Have you read these articles?

How wonderful to see our leaders attending such an important and historical event.

http://www.ldsmag.com/churchupdate/090122prayer.html

http://www.ldsmag.com/churchupdate/090121obama.html

LA Temple Lights

We went to see the lights at the LA Temple.

They were gorgeous. I took a ton of pictures, but I am just not great at taking night shots!!

Here are just a few.

Now this is they way I like to see the LA Temple.

Merry Christmas

Boppa

Andy's 91 year old grandpa "Boppa" was baptized this past weekend in Portland, OR.  We were fortunate enough to be there  and participate in such a special occasion.

What an amazing example to all of us!