Utah!

I had such a fun time being home with my family! I missed my husband like crazy, but it was so fun to just do the girl stuff with my sisters, things which Tom would have gotten very bored with!!! I was able to spend from Friday the 12th til Sunday the 21st with my family! I made it just in time for Brett and Brody's Birthday party on Saturday and it was so fun seeing everyone again! Brody was born on his Daddy's birthday, so they get to celebrate together! My mom, and Savana, and JoDee and I spent all Saturday morning decorating cakes for the party and they turned out pretty cute!
We had the party in Grandpa and Grandma Carter's basement and all of Brett's family and our family were there and it was a blast! They both got a lot of cool presents and we let Brody dig into his cake, but he didn't really think that was a good idea! What a fun day!
The decorating crew, minus Savana (who was taking the picture)
JoDee surprised Brett with a Fun-fetty Bart Simpson cake! He loved it!
Brody got a cute Giraffe cake to go along with his Giraffe Birthday!
The Birthday Boys with their cakes!
Blowing out the candles!
Brody picking at his cake!
The Birthday Boys opening gifts together!
The party crew!
I was really bad the rest of the week about taking pictures. Monday, JoDee went in for her surgery, so I went to take care of the baby! He wasn't really quite sure about being around me, since that last time we really had one-on-one time with each other was when he was born! But, after a few minutes he warmed right up and we had a GREAT time together all week! Our first day together, we went shopping and silly Aunt Crystal locked the keys in the van! Luckily my mom could come unlock it for us! I wasn't being irresponsible... I grabbed a pair of keys before shutting the door.... except they were JoDee's keys, not my mom's van keys! Oh well! We had a good time anyway!
Oh my goodness... I really can't express enough how WONDERFUL it was to have so much time with that little man! We stayed up to my parent's house during the week til JoDee got home and I loved rocking him to sleep and cuddling in the middle of the night when he woke up scared, and playing with him! I definitely got my "Brody Fill" that will hopefully last me until I get to see him again! He is talking so much and so responsive and so funny and so smart! What a cutie!
JoDee's surgery went well. They removed the Thyroid and several lymph nodes and the doctor felt very confident that they had removed everything infected with the cancer. She actually had to stay in the hospital a little longer than planned because her calcium levels were so low, and damage to the parathyroid is always a risk during this surgery. But, she munched on a lot of TUMS and took her calcium pills and she started feeling better! The doctor called her on Friday and told her the pathology came back the way they had hoped.... just thyroid cancer and nothing else was infected! That was such great news to hear! She was and still is pretty stiff and sore in her neck and chest, but I felt much better about leaving her this time around than I was this time last year after she had Brody! We spent Friday and Saturday shopping and doing crafts and just hanging out and laughing and jamming to Christmas music!!!
JoDee is starting a Iodine free diet (yeah, that doesn't sound fun at all) and she'll have to do that for several week, and they took her off her Thyroid meds too during all this, so that every thing is running "on empty" so her body will soak up the Radioactive Iodine that she will have to take to get the last of whatever may be hanging out in her neck. Then, she'll be able to start her full dose of medication and hopefully get everything back to working order. That poor girl has been through so much... but she is one tough cookie and I know she'll make it through all of this on top!!! Love you JoDee!!!
While I was in Morgan, I got to be a part of some of the festivities of their new church house. It was actually dedicated Sunday night, but I was already back in Ohio! The new building is just down the road, within walking distance of my parent's house, so that will be really nice for them!
And, when we drove to the airport on Sunday morning, white knuckled i might add, there was a foot of snow, wet, slushy snow, on the ground! It was so weird going from snow storms to 65 degree Ohio weather, all in the same day!
I had such a great time with my family.... and I haven't yet decided if it was a good thing or a bad thing that I went, because now I'm missing them and everything about beautiful Morgan Utah so much more! Can't wait to be able to go back again!!!
Ok, I forgot this part!!!! Friday night after my dad and little sisters picked me up from the airport, we all went out to dinner together. When we went back to the car, there was this HUGE truck parked next us and we couldn't resist taking pictures. They aren't the best because it was dark, but you'll get the idea!
The top of the tire comes up to Mallori's hips
They were being eaten by the truck
Look at that huge tire!
Wish it wasn't dark and the truck wasn't black so we could have gotten a really good picture of it!

Now That the Cat Is Out of the Bag....

... I can finally post this! As many of you know, my little sister JoDee had surgery a few weeks ago to have a cyst removed and she found out just the other day, on Friday, that she has Thyroid Cancer. She will have her Thyroid removed on the 15th of this month and the doctors are very hopeful that she will be just fine after the surgery. When I found out about this of Friday, I was a little scared and worried for her, but I felt so helpless, being so far away. I'm the big sister... I'm suppose to be there to help my little sisters through things like this. But my amazing family pulled together and surprised me with a plane ticket to Utah so that I can be with JoDee and help her take care of her little Brody. I have been completely overcome with emotion this whole weekend because of this answered prayer. I have such an amazing family and I'm so grateful for them being able to help us out like this! It was originally suppose to be a surprise for JoDee, but when my mom realized she was trying to figure out who was going to take care of the baby during the week, she had to let her know I was coming! I am so excited! It will be so good to see my family again and to be there to help out.... just wish Tom could come too. I really don't like leaving him for 10 days!
I'm very grateful for family today! I have an amazing family.... Tom has an amazing family.... We are just so blessed! And.... we have the most amazing friends out here that make up our "Ohio Family"... (you know who you are!) WE ARE SO BLESSED!

Good Bye Sisters!

So, this is a little late coming.... oops! We've had Sister Missionaries in Wadsworth for a long time, and since moving here, we've really gotten to know them really well and we've been able to do a lot for them and with them! Back on the 12th of October, the Sisters came over for their last dinner in Wadsworth! Sister Grimnes was ending her mission, heading back to Utah, and Sister Darbro was transfered to a new area for her last transfer. We will miss them! And hope them the best in life!
Tom, Me, Sister Darbro, and Sister Grimnes

I need some advice/help!

Ok! I love to decorate and do crafts... but sometimes I struggle decided what to do! I have these awesome cupboards in my kitchen that I want to put something on top of them to decorate! I know a lot of people do cute things it their kitchens... so I need some advice! I'm all about inexpensive/homemade decor! And I'm more of a visual person... so, if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them and see pictures!
PLEASE HELP ME!

My 26th Birthday!

Saturday, Sept. 11th was my Birthday and I had the BEST day ever! I have the best husband in the world! He spent a lot of time and effort planning the day and keeping it a secret! The only thing he would tell me was what time I needed to be ready to go! He took me to a spa and I got a manicure, pedicure, and a Hungarian Facial! While I was there, he went home and made a cake and bought me a dozen roses and made a cd of love songs ready that he had made! He picked me up from the spa, we ate a picnic lunch, went to see Toy Story 3, then we went to dinner at the Olive Garden where our friends Jim and Rosemary were there to surprise me! What a perfect day! I was totally pampered!
He bought me a new purse, perfume, a yummy candle, a beautiful comforter set, two cricut cartridges and the Cricut Jutebox! My parents also sent me a cartridge and some money, so I bought a new dress and a sweater! And Jim and Rosemary gave me a great cookbook, a cute hand towel, and cute piano earrings!! I got so many nice gifts and cards with money! I was spoiled! Thanks to everyone who made it such a perfect day!

Open - For now!

I've been doing a lot of soul-searching these last few weeks, and as most people do, I'm trying to figure out and understand my/our purpose right now. We know that the Lord inspired us to move to Ohio for a reason, and I'm really trying to figure out what that reason is so we can be an instrument in the Lord's hands. So, I've decided to make our blog "open" again, to give us a better chance to share our testimonies and the gospel with others!
With that said, I've also been searching for ways to increase the Spirit in our home and in my heart. I've felt, and I know Tom has commented on this several times, that we wish we had the spirituality and felt the fire like we did when we were serving our missions. When you return home and "life" takes over, the missionary "fire" does slip away, and it's a really sad feeling. So, as I've been thinking about that, I was reading through some of the articles in this months Ensign, and there was one written to Returned Missionaries about keeping that "fire" alive! I was greatful for that yesterday! And this morning, I've been reading through "The Living Christ" - what a great testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ! (click on the title of this Post for a link to "The Living Christ")
I know, with all of my heart, that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten of the Father, and that He lived, and gave His life, and LIVES AGAIN! Through His infinite atoning sacrifice, which He made for ALL OF US, we can be forgiven for and cleanse of our sins, and because He rose on the third day and overcame death, we too will live again, and have the opportunity to live forever with our Heavenly Father and our brother, Jesus Christ!
This knowledge and testimony that I have has been a great comfort to me in these last few days. A very dear friend of mine lost her husband the other day. They weren't able to have children, but in the last year they finally adopted 3 beautiful children. It really hit home to me and my family, because only 2 years and 19 days before this friend, Mark, died, my uncle John passed away. What's ironic about this whole thing is.... John and Mark were best friends growing up. And they both died very young - John, 33, and Mark 35 - and they both left behind a wife and 3 young children. We miss them both very much and our hearts ache for their dear sweet families, but... we know that death is not the end. We know that we will see them again; that these sweet children will be with their daddies again. I'm so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power and blessings of the Temple that make this all possible! Through the sealing power of the Priesthood of God, we can and will be with our families FOREVER!
I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored, in it's fulness, on the earth 180 years ago, begining with when God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, who was called and prepared to become the first Prophet of God in this dispensation and who helped to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ and the keys of the Priesthood on the earth. I know that the Prophet Joseph, through the power of the priesthood, translated to Book of Mormon, and I KNOW that the Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the Gospel! I'm grateful for the power and the spirit that I feel everytime I study the words of the Book of Mormon!
I'm know what we have a living Prophet on the earth today - Thomas Monson - and I know he was called of God to lead us and to teach us!
I'm grateful for the power of Prayer and for the opportuninty that we have to pray to our Heavenly Father and know that He is always there and listening and that He answers ALL of our prayers!
I love my family so much - Tom, my family, and Tom's family! I am one very blessed girl!!!
I love sharing my testimony, but I don't do it nearly enough. I believe and know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's church on the earth!
I'm grateful for the testimony that I have

Our New York Weekend!

Tom ended up having 4 days off in a row, so we decided to take a little road trip to New York and check out some of the Church History sites there! We celebrated our 2nd anniversary last week, so this was a continuation of that. We had a very fun, very spiritual weekend and we learned alot about what happened in the early days of the church that we didn't already know!
We started out on Thursday morning, and drove to Harmony Pennsylvania (now called Oakland, PA) on the Susquehanna River where the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey knelt to pray to learn about baptism, and John the Baptist appeared to them and restored the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood. The Prophet and Oliver were first baptized right there in the river. As we walked down to the river, we were the only ones around, and it was so peaceful. And the spirit was so strong as we stood by the river!
Then we drove on up to Victor (Rochester) New York to our hotel, and crashed for the night!
Friday morning, we got up early to get ready and we went to the 9:30 Endowment Session at the Palmyra Temple! The workers there were SOOOOO friendly and we truly had a wonderful time there. The temple is on a lot of land, so it's up the hill off the road, and the landscaping is beautiful! The stained glass windows of this temple were all trees, to make it look like the Sacred Grove! It was so beautiful!
After the Temple, we drove down the street to the Smith Farm where Joseph and his family lived when Joseph had the "First Vision" and when he obtained the Gold Plates. It was such an awesome feeling (at all these sites) to know that the Prophet had been there, and for what miraculous things took place! As we walked through the Smith's farm, the Sister that took us on tour, told us a lot of interesting stories about what took place there! There are two that stick out in my mind..... First, before the Smith's moved to Palmyra, they lived in Vermont. They had a large farm there, and for two years in a row there crops had not grown they way they should have, and Joseph's father told them that if the next year was bad, they would move because he needed to be able to take care of his family! And as luck would have it (actually the hand of the Lord), that next year if froze every month that year. So, they found this farmland in Palmyra and moved there. The Lord needed Joseph to be in Palmyra!
Another story that I found very awesome was that after Joseph had obtained the Gold Plates, he had a lot of pursecution and the mobs were always trying to take the Plates. On their farm they had a little barrel making shed where they worked to make some money, and Joseph would wrap up the plates and hide them under the wood planks on the floor. One day they felt impressed to move the plates because they weren't safe. So, Joseph moved them from under the floor to a shelf that held their grain and wheat and stuff, and that night the mobs came and tore up and destroyed the floor in the shop, but never bothered to check the shelves where the plates actually were!
We took our scriptures into the Sacred Grove and found a bench to sit on and read the experience that the young boy Joseph had in there. As he knelt to pray to know which of all the churches on the earth to join, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph, and told him that he should join none of the churches. Joseph was prepared and called to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth again in this dispensation! How grateful I am for his eager desire to know the truth and for his faith and willingness and worthiness to do what he was called to do!
From there, we went into Downtown Palmyra and visited the Martin Harris farm and the publication site of the Book of Mormon! That was an awesome tour... to see how they printed and bound the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon! So much intricate detailed work, all done by hand! Oh, how grateful I am for all those that helped to make the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon possible! I love the book. It truly does contain the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
We finished off that day at the Hill Cummorah were Moroni hid the plates in the earth, and then appeared to Joseph (who was 17 at the time) and showed him where the plates were hidden! Joseph returned to that spot on the hill, every year for 4 years and was instructed by the Angel Moroni and eventually, when he was prepared, received the plates with the charge to keep them safe and to translate them into English! Joseph, and his whole family, received a lot of pursecution over the plates, but through faith and the dedication and help of many members of the church, Joseph finished the translation and printed and published the Book of Mormon! Unfortunately we missed the pagent because we were in Utah, but we are going to try and go back next summer to see it!
Saturday morning, we drove to Fayette, NY to the Peter Whitmer farm where the Book of Mormon was finished being translated, and where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on April 6, 1830. They figure there were between 40-60 people in attendance and they all fit into Peter Whitmer's little log home, while the Prophet Joseph stood in front of the fireplace and organized the church! What a spirit that was felt there in that little home, too!!!! It was awesome!
We then headed back home, stopping in Niagra Falls on the way! We didn't really have much time there (next time we go back, we'll spend a whole day there, probably!), but we did get some good pictures and we took a ride of the "Maid of the Mist".
We had a great weekend! I'm so grateful that we had the oppurtunity to go!!!
p.s. I took a lot of pictures, so I decided to put them on a slide show! Enjoy!