No More Braces...part Deux!!!

It's official! We are completely "braces-free" at our house! Doesn't Jackie look beautiful?!?!? Like she needed any help getting MORE lovely!

No More Brace Face...

It's official! The braces came off, today!

This is me, before braces...

This was my LAST picture with braces on...

...and my FIRST picture after they came off!

He Lives...

"He Lives, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind, whose Atonement came as an act of grace for the entire world...He has done for us what we could not do for ourselves, He has brought meaning to our mortal existence. He has given us the gift of eternal life... God be thanked for the gift of His Son, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, the Prince of Life and Peace, The Holy One."

*President Gordon B. Hinckley 2002*

Happy Easter...

Stop it!!!

I love General Conference weekend. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about... Twice a year, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather together for a world-wide General Conference to listen to instruction and counsel from our Church leaders. This Conference consists of two 2-hour general sessions on Saturday with one session for the men on Saturday evening. It ends with two 2-hour general sessions on Sunday. These Conferences are held the first weekend in April and October. I look forward to them very much! I always come away from them feeling spiritually fed and renewed in my faith.

One of my favorite talks from this weekend's General Conference can be summed up in the following picture.

Definitely words to live by!

Billion Clicks

I recently learned about a website called http://www.billionclicks.org . The founder of this site, Hilary Weeks, heard that we think 300 negative thoughts a day. So she got a "clicker" and tried it for a week. By the end of the week, she felt down, sad, and gloomy. Then she had the thought, "What if it works the OTHER way, too?". So the experiment changed, and so did the results. Thus a website/blog and a movement were formed.

I am all about the power of positive thinking. When I saw this website, I jumped right in and bought a clicker.

Of course since my kids and Kevin see me carrying around a bright-red clicker...clicking all day long, I had to share this great idea with them. Now they help me keep track of my "happy thoughts". It's been awesome! The other day, I logged 168!!!

I find myself looking for opportunities to think positive. I am more upbeat and cheerful all day long. I LOVE this.

You could say it's all in my mind...and you'd be right!

Prom 2012

Amanda has a friend who attends a neighboring High School. He invited Amanda to attend his Prom with him. Here are the pictures.

We started with THE dress...

Manda before hair and make-up...
my blank-canvass ha ha

Then came the hair...

Next came the make-up...

Finally...she's ready

Cameron giving Mandy her corsage...

Mandy pinning the boutonniere on Cameron...

All ready to go and have fun!

All dressed up and ready to go!

They both look so lovely! Have fun,kids!

Can you spare $5 to help save families of disabled veterans?

We have a dear friend, Warren Price, who is a disabled combat veteran from the Iraqi conflict. He has started a foundation called "Freedom's Families". This organization helps disabled veterans and their families. It teaches them how to cope with their disabilities and stay together as families. Many Veterans' programs offer assistance to our Vets, but neglect the need to keep veterans' families together. In the following video, Warren explains Freedom's Families and what they do.


Please take a few minutes to watch this video. If you can share it with YOUR friends and family, we can reach many, many more people for this very worthy cause.


On behalf of our disabled Veterans and Freedom's Families, I thank you - with all my heart!