MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Ben and Lindsay on their wedding day

                                                    

                                       William loves those swedish fish and his grandpa Dougal

                                   Marcella was a little nervous when she first got in the boat.

                                                                but she had fun fishing.

                       This is the crazy storm that started just before we left to go to Emery, Utah

 Marcella would collect the pine cones and then we would burn them.  It was pretty cool watching them burn.

We went camping before Kanien and Jon left.  We went to Joes Valley Reservoir.  The first day it was pretty nice.  Nathan and Amy joined us the next day. The rain and cold seems to follow them when they go camping. 

                         We went to Nauvoo and Carthrage on our way home from Indiana. 

         Our trip to the petting zoo in Lafayette, Indiana.  It was really humid and we were all hot! We had a lot of fun even though it was hot.  Spencer and Nathan really enjoyed the monkeys.  Claire and Marcella enjoyed playing in the water. 

Are we living in the moment, or are we living with I can't wait's? I know that throughout my life I had moments of I can't waits and should have lived in the moment more. My challenge to all who reads this is to live in the moment more often and do away with the I can't wait until. . .

Slow down. Instead of trying to fit a million things into one day slow down. Take time to spend with those you love. Delight in being with your children or loved one. There are always things that need to get done - dishes, laundry, shopping, etc. In an article I read called Trenches don't last she said: " Are we successful if we didn't notice the look on our children's faces as they accomplish something. Is it success if we get lunch done and the kids asleep for naps in 15 minutes so we can finish catching up on "important projects" if we forgot to help the kids finish what we promised we would help them with? Sometimes success is when we don't get through the to do list. Instead, we stop long enough to notice the little things. To Savor moments. Not only to notice the delight in our children's eyes, but to help create that delight."

No matter how good our intentions are we all have days of frustration. Before you know it though those days will be gone. Enjoy the moments whatever they may be.

David and Henry

Henry James Dougal was born May 21st.  He weighed 6 1bs 14 oz and was 20 inches long.  I was able to spend the weekend taking care of William for David and Rosalee.  I had a lot of fun spending time with him.  I took William to the hospital several times to visit his mom and dad and new baby brother.  He wasn't sure at first what to think.  He would hold Henry for just a minute or less and then he was done. 

Marcella graduated from preschool - year 1 - she turns 5 in October so she will have another  year of preschool.  Nathan, Dann and I went to Orem for her graduation ceremony.  They sang a few songs then they received their diploma. 

Big changes are in store for this family.  They will be moving in July and leaving Utah.  They will be missed immensely.  We wish them the best as they start a new adventure in their lives and hope they come back often to visit!  (it's only a 24 hour drive).  I hope they like company because we will visit as often as we can.

We are excited for  the new addition that is coming to this family this month.  We will soon have another grandson and we are excited to meet him.  We are glad that they are only an hour away and hope to see them often. 

These two just celebrated their first anniversary in March.  They are both working and Nathan is going to school.  He wants to be an FBI agent.  They are living close to us (with us) and we enjoy having them here.
Amy was telling Nathan to smile so his teeth show because he never does - that is why the strange look.

 So this one is for you Amy.

Jason is trying to get through high school and get his diploma.  He is working through trying to figure out life and what he wants.  We love him and hope that he gets if figured out soon.

Dann is keeping busy since he retired.  He built another bathroom for us.  He is busy  with making furniture, gardening, fishing, relaxing and visiting his family.

I have been helping  a friend sew and make purses to try and sell.  I have been looking for a job but have not had any luck at that. 

That sums up what the family has been up to lately. We just keep plugging along.  I really enjoyed Sister Beck's talk at our Stake Conference about prioritizing our lives.  She gave 3 categories to help us prioritize.  The first being the essential things in life and we should do them everyday - they included - reading and studying the scriptures, prayer, going to the temple more often (not necessarily a daily thing), pondering and listening for answers, keeping covenants and attending sacrament meeting (also not a daily thing - weekly).
The next category was the necessary things in our lives - they included:  homemaking, cooking, cleaning, learning to be more self-reliant, laying aside the things of this world.  The third category was the nice to do things - (things that are fun to do but they wont save us)  such as:  crafts, hobbies, t.v., movies, recreational things etc. 
I have learned that doing the essential things first makes my day a lot easier to get through in spite of all the trials and daily things that happen.  The days that I skip in reading/studying scriptures and praying/pondering I seem to be more lazy, discouraged and unhappy.