My amazing sisters

I feel so blessed to have been born of goodly parents who taught me so much. They made it a point to make sure that we were a close and loving family and I am so grateful for that. I have truly been blessed to have four amazing sisters who I love so much. I am a better person because of them. Their example, love and acceptance of who I am has helped to shape who I am today. Michele has helped me to see the value in education. I will always remember how she always would read to me when I was young and to this day I love reading a good book. She has an amazing testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and shares her testimony often which helps me to gain a greater understanding of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love that she made sure that when I was young that she stayed home and attended college close so that I would know her and feel close to her as my sister. She makes me feel not like her little sister but her equal. She has an amazing husband, Doug who has taught me patience, love and acceptance of all. I have been so blessed to have had his example in my life for many years and am so grateful that we are blessed to still have him here with us today. They have raised four wonderful children - Marlene, Paul, Mike and Alex.

Kristine has been a great example to of always making people feel love and excepted. She has always cared about how others are feeling more than herself. She is unselfish and would do anything for others. She has an amazing ability for those who have mental and physical challenges and always knows just how to help them feel love and excepted. She has always been willing to put aside her needs to help out those around her. Whenever I have had needed a helping hand she has always been there to lend a hand. She has a true testimony of the the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and her example reflects it. She has a wonderful husband, DeWayne who has such an amazing talent for handy work. It is so great to be able to see him do what he is always enjoyed and to start up his own company. They to are great parents to tow great children - Angela & Greg.

Cynthia is always been an easy going happy person to be around. She is always so relaxed and happy and always makes everyone happy to be her friend. She has always been a hard worker and taught me the value of making sure to always be prepared for a rainy day. She is very patience and forgiving and looks for good in everyone. She is loved by all who know her and I am so proud to be her sister. She has a wonderful husband, John who always is concerned for how others feel. She to has an incredible love for our Savior and for the gospel. He has always made sure that he was there to couch his boys and to support them as they served missions, in scouting and the activities that they were in. They have raised five great sons - Mark, Matthew, Ron, Randy and Phil.

Annette is an amazing example of strength. She has had to deal with some difficult health challenges but had always found a way to pull through those and to be able to help others who have struggled with many of the similar challenges. She has always made me feel important as we grew up. I knew that she would always be there for me and always made me feel special. She is a true example of charity as I have watched her open her heart and home to many who were in need. She always goes the extra mile and never leaves a task undone. She is always willing to share her testimony and you can see her love for the gospel in the way she lives. She also has been blessed with a wonderful husband, Shawn. He has a great love for the gospel and is such a giving person. He is so willing to help others and to open his home to those who may need a helping hand. He has an amazing ability of understanding of the scriptures and loves to share his knowledge with others. They are raising a wonderful family - Spencer, Jarom, Rachel, Caleb, Brandon and Krystal.

What more can I say but that I love you all and am so grateful for you love and support of both Mark and I. We are truly blessed to have you as our family.

MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHURCH

Over the weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to be taught my two member's of the Quorum of the 70's. Elder Pearson of the 1st Quorum and Elder Curtis of the 5Th Quorum were the visiting authorities to our stake to reorganize our Stake Presidency. What a great opportunity to be able to raise our hand to sustain our New Stake Presidency that the Lord has chosen to guide our stake at this time. The spirit was so powerful as I raised my hand and I knew that these three men were called of God. We also had the amazing opportunity to sustain a living Prophet of God, President Thomas S. Monson, and his counselors, Elder Henry B. Erying and Elder Dieter Uchdorf along with the Quorum of the 12 Apostles and all other senior leaders of our church. It is always and honor and privilege to lead by a prophet of God and to sustain them in their righteous endeavors.

Elder Pearson spoke on Lehi's dream and making sure that we are keeping our focus on the tree and not on other things of the world. He reminded us that the things we focus on are what we are going to get so if we want to have the Lord in our lives we need to focus on the tree. Some of the things he said we needed to be aware of that takes our focus from the tree are:
1. Do not criticize the senior leaders of the church. If we are not putting our full support, doing all that they ask of us we are not focused on the tree.
2. Are not willing to serve. Service in the church will bring many blessings and answers to our trials and concerns we are facing in our lives and we should always remember that all calls come from our Father in Heaven. Attend the temple more often. Take advantage of being in the House of the Lord and be reminded of all we need to do to endure to the end
3. Forgetting to pray and read our scriptures. We just have to do it.
4. Justifying our actions. We should avoid things such as movies, books, TV shows, music and other things that are not uplifting to us.
5. We are not forgiving others. We are to forgive all. If we do not forgive those who have done a misdeed we will not be able to focus on true repentance. We will not be happy - we do not need to carry those burdens. Forgive and we can find true peace, joy and love in our lives.

I am so grateful that I was able to be reminded of what we need to do so the we can return and live with our Eternal Father in Heaven and to be with our families for Eternity. I have made it a goal to try harder to do all that has been asked of me - to try to keep my focus on the tree so that I can draw closer to my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. I know that we are lead by a true Prophet of God, President Monson. That the atonement is real and that if we use it in our lives or faith will increase and we will be more willing to do all that is asked of us. I know the Book of Mormon is true and is a guide for us. I know that God lives that He sent his Son, Jesus Christ to earth so that we can return to live with him again.

WAY TO GO UTAH!!! NUMBER TWO IN THE NATION - THAT IS AWESOME. GREAT YEAR TO BE A UTAH FAN

UTAH UTES & NEW YEAR's

CONGRATULATIONS UTAH FOR A FANTASTIC WIN OVER ALABAMA IN THE SUGAR BOWL!

I must say that the New Year has started out on a a great note. On New Year's Eve Mark and I headed to the Huntsman center on the University of Utah campus to watch the U of U basketball team take down the Gonzaga Bulldogs in a very exciting game. The Utes won by 1 point by stopping Gonzaga last second shot and two consecutive times at tipping it in. It was a great game and the Utes won 66-65.

After the game we headed off to a wonderful dinner at the Red Lobster with Paul, Catherine & Hallie and Jon & Tracy. It is a tradition that we have been doing for several years and is always fun to spend time with each other. The next day we headed to Pleasant Grove to John & Tracy's for the day. Paul, Catherine & Hallie also joined us in the festivities. We had a great dinner, played games, watched football and enjoyed each others company. We all had a great time playing Guitar Hero (pictures to come). It sure was nice of John & Tracy to invite us all to their home.

The next day - January 2nd I got to spend the afternoon with my sisters and niece Angie making purses. They turned out so cute. It was fun being with my sisters and enjoying the fun of creating something new. Later that night Mark and I headed to Michele & Doug's for a SUGAR BOWL party. Kristine & Dewayne, Paul, April, Lilly & Brooklyn, Mike, Alex & Rachel and Michele and Doug were all there. It turned out to be an awesome time with an awesome ending - UTAH UTES 13-0 undefeated again. Way to go Utah took down the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide 31-17. What a great game it was to see. Thanks to the Terans for inviting us.