Out of the Darkness

On Saturday the 25th of Sept, my family joined friends and family of Mike King in a 5k walk for suicide awareness.  Mike was an amazing person who was always looking to make everyone around him smile and laugh.  We miss him and always think of him.  Mike's favorite color was Orange, his mom and sister organized the team and made sure everyone who participated in Memory of Mike had a tee shirt.  The front of the shirt said  ADIEUX (which is french for Goodbye) and on the back was a set of Angel Wings and Mike's intials which was drawn by his brother in law Casey.  

  

60 plus supporters of Mike included family and close friends of Mike. 

 

Chance, Kelcee and Peyton participated in the walk too... Peyton rode in the wagon most of the way but she did walk some of it too...

Peyton decided she wanted to walk for a short spell.. Chance was such a great big brother... he pulled the wagon for her. 

Here is the back of the shirts, Kelcee loved Mike and misses him still. 

Sea of Orange Supporters....

 Peyton and Issac take a break for some water...  Issac's dad worked with Mike and Justin at May trucking.. Issac also goes to the same day care as Peyton... they are great buds.

 Here is a pic of Mike's Sister Sara her husband Casey (pulling the wagon).... 

 Our family Pic after we had walked the 3 miles.... It was amazing to be apart of something like this.

 Chance was a little tired.. he had already been on a 3 mile hike that morning and a 4 mile hike the night before for scout camp overnighter...

 Kelcee... was just relaxing after the walk.

Justin and Tyler sit and chat after the walk.  They both worked with Mike at May Trucking...

Peyton's First Day of School

Peyton started Preschool this year with Mrs Tonja.  Tonja has babysat Peyton since she was 6 weeks old.  

Justin has Monday's off so he keeps her home with him and took her on her first day...  She dressed herself and even combed her own hair.  She got a new back pack for her birthday.

Doesn't she look adorable...   She loved her first day, and still looks forward to going each day... she thinks that every day should be school day when really she has school on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's....

First Day

Chance and his first day as an 8th Grader... Man has time flown by.... I remember the day I brought him home from the hospital.  He was only 6 lbs and 21" long... now he is taller than me and almost weighs as much as I do... He is such a good kid and is going to be getting his brown belt in Karate in the next 2 weeks.  Love you Chance!  You sure know how to make a mama proud!

Labor Day Camp

This year for Labor Day Weekend we spent it in Bear Lake with my family and our good friends The Blacks.  We left Layton on Friday morning and got to camp around 1:00 pm.  We got set up and had dinner and a fire where the marshmellows were roasted and just visited with each other. 

 Here is Jaci, Sidney, Trevor and Darren... We were just hanging out by the fire Friday night.  We had a great time just enjoying everyone's company.

 Here is Rick and Justin talking about who knows what.. they just kept yelling at me cuz the flash was so bright... lol

Here is Allen, Alexx, Sylvie (under the covers) and Dally their doggy... Allen said the flash was so bright he had to close his eyes... Oops sorry bout that guys!

Saturday we headed to the lake to play... Here is Sylvie playing in the sand..

Here is Curtis and Sidney playing in the water.

Me hanging out in the shade... didn't want to get burned, Oh and the hat I'm wearing is from my friend Mary Beth... who gave it to me so I could take her every where with me... lol!

Murranda, Rick and Justin hanging out watching the kids play!

Peyton playing in the Water... the water was a little chilly that day but it didn't seem to bother the kids much.

Here is Jordan, Peyton, Sid, Morgan and Makayla... just hanging out in the water...

Sunday we took the kids up to Minnetonka Cave,  Curtis and Kenzie, and The Blacks came with us. 

Jordan, Rick, Makayla, and Murranda Black

Curtis and Kenzie.... One thing you should know is that in the cave there are 444 stairs each way for a total count of 888... Kenzie is 5 years old and walked the entire time... she climbed all 888 stairs with out complaining once!  She was also one of the first to spot a Bat flying around... girl has some skills!

Jordan, Chance, Peyton, Kelcee, Kenzie, Brykale, Makayla.... They all enjoyed the cave...

In the cave there is one formation that is "dead" due to the people touching... the oils in your hand causes the water to run off rather than collect on the formation so this is one they let you touch just to see what it feels like... Here is Kenzie touching the formation...

Here is Peyton... she needed a small lift from Uncle Curtis... Thank goodness Curtis was there to give us a full tour of the cave... our tour guide wasn't as thorough as I would have hoped.

When we got back to camp, Grandpa and Trevor had just returned from a short horse ride and now were letting everyone take a small ride... Here is Makayla and Moody, Kelcee and Compte and Grandpa leading the way.  I don't think the girls smiles could get any bigger..

Here is me, Peyton and Moody.. Chance and Compte are behind us.  Peyton was "driving"  she wouldn't let me touch the reins cuz she wanted to drive.  She loves riding horses as much as I do! 

Justin even took a turn... He is riding Compte while Peyton and I are riding Moody... notice who is "driving" again... yes she wouldn't let me touch the reins at all!

This picture broke my heart... here is Kelcee and Makayla saying their goodbyes to Keno... We miss you Keno!

Here is Peyton, Chance and Kelcee... One last hug before we had to leave him behind... We loved our Keno and will forever miss him.

Chance... one last Hug!

Kelcee... one final hug!

Peyton giving one last hug....

Me and my Keno... he was my very first dog I could call my own.  Miss him!

When we got home we found this in our drive way... Someone had shrink wrapped our Piece of Crap car... If you ask me the shrink wrapped added value to it. Later we found out the culprits... Thanks Brynlee and Teighlor for our wonderful present. 

We had a wonderful time with all who were there with us that weekend.  Rick fit right in with the boys in the family as he is always picking on me but... it was all fun!  I cannot wait to go again. 

Conference

This last Stake conference we had I was asked to give a talk on the Temple at the Adult session of the conference... here is a copy of my talk..

Temple…. What the temple means to me and the struggles I’ve been through to get there.

Growing up I always had the example of my parents to show me the importance of going to the temple on a regular basis and how special and important it would be to be sealed to an eternal companion. Over the years of my life I had different trials I faced which kept me from going to the temple. As I look back on my life and how I have grown from those trials it has made me who I am today. Just over 2 months ago my Husband and I celebrated our 6^th anniversary in the Logan Temple with our youngest daughter Peyton and were sealed together as an eternal family. The joy this brought me is hard to describe other than I felt some what more complete and completely overjoyed. It will be another joyous day when we can take our other two children both from previous marriages to the temple with us to be sealed when the time is right. The temple has brought me closer to my husband and children but most of all closer to my Heavenly Father. I was reading some quotes about the temple and came across one from Richard H Winkel a member of the 2^nd Quorum of the Seventy who said

“When you come to the temple you will love your family with a deeper love than you have ever felt before. The temple is about families… It extends to parents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, forebears, and especially our grandchildren! This is the Spirit of Elijah, which is the spirit of family history work; and when inspired by the Holy Ghost, it prompts the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. Because of the priesthood, husbands and wives are sealed together; children are sealed to their parents for eternity so the family is eternal and will not be separated at death”.

This quote became more real to me as I saw my little girl enter the room dressed in white and joined my husband and I as we were sealed together as an eternal family and as we exited the Temple we were met by our other 2 children and the embrace we shared was different some how… I remember one moment I had with my son Chance as we both sobbed and held each other, all I could say was how much I loved him. Chance struggled with the decision as to whether or not to go with us that day and be sealed. His dad isn’t an active member of the church and wouldn’t have any problems giving the permission needed, however Chance felt he wasn’t quite ready to make that decision and we supported him 100% and told him when he was ready we would go again. As I hugged Kelcee all I could think about was how my life has been changed since I married her dad 6 years ago and how blessed I am to have her call me “mom”. I love all my children and husband so much and feel blessed to have such an amazing family to share my eternity with.

Getting to the temple wasn’t the easiest thing I have ever done but the most rewarding by far. Justin and I had been talking about going through the temple for as long as I can remember (just about 6 years to be exact). We both struggled with inactivity and then one day I decided I was going to start going back to church. As I went and took the kids Justin decided he would join us. Then came the calling in the Primary where we both grew and learned more about our Heavenly Father’s plan for us, then came the time when Justin was ordained to the office of a Priest… It felt so good to have the Priesthood back in my home. Then more trials came our way when the lives of a family close to us was changed in the blink of an eye, yet through their trials and their testimony of the Gospel and of Eternal families knowing they would see their loved ones again, something sparked inside Justin and I and we knew it was time… We started the temple prep classes where we had some pretty amazing teachers if you ask me who prepared us for that special day. Justin was ordained to the office of an Elder. Then it was time to make that decision as to when we should go and we were coming up on our 6^th anniversary and it would be the perfect time. We spoke with our Bishop and then with the Stake President and were able to go on our anniversary. As we prepared for that day we spoke with Peyton about what we were going to do and where we would be going. She was so excited as she picked out her white dress and just as excited to “go to the temple to see her two friends who had passed away earlier in the year. We were pleased to know that she had the opportunity to feel them near her when she was in the temple. I to felt somewhat closer to my loved ones who had previously passed on and I remember as a Young woman feeling the presents of those who were waiting for me to perform their work for them. We were blessed to share this day with close friends and family members who have prayed for us and strengthened us and stood by us through it all. I am so grateful for the family and friends we have who have made a difference in our lives.

Before we went through the temple and took out our own endowments, I felt the adversary working hard on me. I knew he would do everything in his power to keep me and my family from going to the temple. As we walked through the doors of the Bountiful Temple, I felt at peace, and actually started to cry. I had been waiting for this day my whole life. I had been to the temple to do baptisms for the dead and knew how much I loved the feeling of being there. To actually hand the gentleman at the door my temple recommend, I honestly started to cry… I was overcome with the Spirit and knowing that this is where my Heavenly Father wanted me to be. When I saw my mom dressed in her white gown I cried again knowing again that this was exactly where I needed to be in my life. I cried again when I saw my husband dressed all in white and as we walked through the temple halls together I cried even more, it was a good thing there were a lot of tissues in the dressing room… Being inside the temple I felt at peace, I knew the adversary couldn’t touch me and I was truly making the right decisions. I cried again as I saw my brother’s and their wives and close friends of ours enter the room who had come to support us and to do the Lords work. I cannot describe the way I felt, only that I felt amazing. I look forward to going back as often as I can to feel the love of my Savior and to feel closer to my Heavenly Father.

Pres Gordon B Hinckley said

“Just as our Redeemer gave His life as a vicarious sacrifice for all men, and in so doing became our Savior, even so we, in a small measure, when we engage in proxy work in the temple, become as saviors to those on the other side who have no means of advancing unless something is done in their behalf by those on earth.”

My testimony has been strengthened by so many others in my life. As I witnessed the baptism of a good friend of mine who became interested in the church after her visit to Utah and Temple Square, after 3 years of investigating her and her husband were both baptized and are planning on coming to Salt Lake from South Carolina in July next year to go through the Salt Lake Temple to be sealed together. I look forward to that day to share this experience with them. She taught me so much about myself and what I took for granted… as she explained to me that she cried the first time she took the sacrament… made me think ‘have I ever felt that way, have I ever cried when I renewed my baptismal covenants?” I started evaluating my life and what I needed to do and it became more apparent each day. So the Issue wasn’t going to the temple rather it was having been touched by the Spirit of the Lord in a way that I felt I had to get my family and myself to the temple to gain those blessings and to be come as saviors to those who are waiting. The blessings of the temple are great, I have felt them and know they are real. Joseph B Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve said

“The ideals of faith, hope and charity are most evident in the holy temples. There we learn the purpose of life, strengthen our commitment as disciples of Christ by entering into sacred covenants with Him, and seal our families together for eternity across generations. Receiving our own endowments in a temple and returning frequently to perform sacred ordinances for our kindred dead increases our faith, strengthens our hope, and deepens our charity. We receive our own endowment with faith and hope that we will understand the Lord’s plan for His children, will recognize the divine potential within each of us as children of our Heavenly Father, and will be faithful to the end in keeping the covenants we make. Performing temple ordinances for the dead is a manifestation of charity, offering essential blessings, to those who have preceded us, blessings that were not available to them during their mortal lives. We have the privilege of doing for them what they are unable to do for themselves.

Gooo Shortcakes!!

Peyton's Soccer Team! GoOoOo Shortcakes!

They are so much fun to watch... some of them get the concept others... just runn.... How CUTE!

Peyton and her friend Jacee.... They are soo cute!.

Peyton's Throw in! She has been loving Soccer and is getting better each week!

GOOOOO SHORTCAKES!!!

Keno

We went to Bear Lake for labor day this year and had a wonderful time... only this time when we came home we came home with out Keno... he has been having seizures and when he has them they have been lasting for 3o to 45 min... due to the seizures he has been showing a side of himself that wasn't right. We made the decision to put him down... this was one of the hardest decisions I've made in a long time. We love him and miss him so much! He was truly an awesome dog. He was the protective type... no one could mess with me or the kids... he was always right there at my feet and loved any and all kinds of attention. Keno we will miss you!