Curitiba, Brazil!!!

Our girl, our little Gany, just received her mission call! She was worried she might be called to Idaho so I think she was just a bit excited to be called to a foreign country:)  It was so fun to watch her open her envelope.  She had her roommates and local family members there with her.  I also had to put the picture that dad took of my family with Morgan without our bodies and minus three of the kids;)  That's when mom pipes up with "Morgan maybe you should take the picture. Oh wait you're supposed to be in it."  Classic Goose!!  It was so fun to see Dick, Di, and Melinda (with Brielle) there! Ethan was sad to miss it but he is gone with basketball most nights now.  I know Morgan will be a great example to her companions and hope she has success and that her testimony will grow even more!!  She's already a wonderful example to her nieces and nephews:)

Brad's 12th birthday (continued)

 

Just a few more shots of the birthday boy and family on his wonderful day!

Brad turns 12!

We now have two boys with the Priesthood in our home! This birthday was a special one so we let Brad invite 4 school friends to go bowling and laser tag etc.  His buddy Sam, from Australia, wasn't able to come but Shayley, Mitchell, and Greyson all came and had a great time.  We gave him an air-soft gun with pellets and protective eyewear and also a set of "skylander" characters for his wii game.  His friends gave him lots of candy, money, and games so he really enjoyed his special day.  He requested "The Best Ever Texas Sheet Cake" for his birthday cake and that was a hit with one and all:) It really was a fun day!!

Eagle Ethan!

Finally, our boy has passed his Eagle Scout board of review! We are so proud of him for finishing his project. I loved seeing him delegate and show some leadership skills as he had other scouts and adults help out with the project. He got his idea from Grandma and Grandpa Merrill.  A young scout did the project in their neighborhood and they loved it so Ethan thought the people in our neighborhood would like it as well.  It was an emergency preparedness packet with information on what to do in different disasters.  It is also to be used to help emergency crews know if the household needs help during or right after a disaster.  Each packet contained three colored cardstock. Green-everything is fine, Yellow-minor injuries, and Red-major injuries, need immediate help.  This brought Grandma and Grandpa some peace of mind so Ethan thought the seniors would like it.  Also, our neighborhoods have many young couples just starting their families and haven't had much on emergency preparedness so he thought this would be good for them as well.  He had so many people donate for supplies and also their time.  It seemed to be a big hit with the ward and neighborhood!

Tender Heart

Here's a picture of our Brad with a shovel, which he put to good use a while ago.  We were being hit with a few really good storms (this picture is a make-up one with just a little snow on the ground;).  Our driveway probably had at least a foot and a half to two feet of snow by the late afternoon.  Brad and his friend Mitchell shoveled their own driveways and then decided to help out a few neighbors whose husbands were at work or who were pregnant.  It happened to be the same day as scouts and guess what their leaders decided to do for an activity?  Yup, they shoveled even more driveways.  Poor Brad was physically exhausted when he got home.  He was so spent that he felt sick and was ghostly white.  We had neighbors who really appreciated it though and said on facebook how surprised they were to look out and see two young boys shoveling their driveway.  Sure do love to see young kids helping out!!

Valentine Treats for my Sweeties:)

We didn't go all out for Valentines this year.  I know the kids love their chocolates so we just had to get those for them but Dennis and I knew we would be going to Moab for his 55k a couple days later and would be going out to eat and having fun; just the two of us so we didn't do much for Valentines Day. I did get him a box of chocolates and he sent me the following text.  "Happy Valentine's Day!! I am so happy with you as my sweetie, partner, best friend, lover, companion, mate, girlfriend, brown eyed girl, young love, mother of my children, eternal spouse, etc.  Its a good thing you are who you are. Otherwise I'd be a lone man in the garden of earth. I love you, te amo, je taime mi cuchi".  I of course got all emotional and told him that that message meant more to me than any flowers or gift of any kind! I don't know why he loves me like he does but I'm so grateful for his love and understanding!!  (oh, and Ethan DID get a box of chocolates too but he left so early I didn't get a picture of him