Snow Week!

 Winter has finally arrived in NW Arkansas and we are here for it. We are loving all the snow and the snow days. The winter weather arrived late Friday night. Sadly, Chris got called in for the National Guard and was gone all Saturday and Sunday, but the rest of us just snuggled in and enjoyed the coziness. The snow continued throughout Friday night but Saturday morning we only had a few inches. But then the snow started again on Saturday evening and continued through the night and Sunday morning we woke up to another 5 inches or so. Naturally, Church was canceled so we had virtual relief society. I think in total we got 7-8 inches and it's pure powder. It's so pretty but it's not great packing snow. 

Chris came home late Sunday night but had to go back to the armory on Monday morning. School was canceled on Monday and we weren't surprised. I had my NWACC class virtually and although it wasn't ideal, I'm still glad we were able to meet. It was a little cold but once Chris got home from the armory we all went out to play together. 

We went over to the retainer ditch and went sledding and had a great time. The hills are so fun to go sledding down and we had a blast together.  There were lots of friends there too and the kids had fun playing with their friends. 

Because of the cold temperatures, the snow didn't melt and so the kids were out of school through today. They have kept busy though, Tanner, Tucker and Benson all went out and shoveled driveways to earn money for our Alaskan cruise. Tucker shoveled the most and he earned nearly $200. He was so tired but proud of himself. Bailey made $60 and Tanner made $65. Benson decided he didn't want to work in the cold so he didn't earn any money. 

We had a great week, mostly just snuggled up together. We watched movies and made lots of hot cocoa. It was super nice. Although we are completely off our schedule and school is going to be rough tomorrow- it's only for one day and then it's the weekend. Next week is going to be the real shock to our systems. 

I love snow days in NWA because the whole town shuts down. No one goes into work and we get to all enjoy being home together. It wasn't quite as nice this time because Chris had to go into the armory, but once he was through with the public affairs stuff, he was home the rest of the week with us. Luckily, his boss is totally okay with them working from home. 

I think we would be okay with one more good snow storm this winter. But then we will be ready for spring. But we would be okay with a few more snow days in the future. 

Happy Snow week!

First Day of Community College

All of the sudden I am back in college. It happened very quickly and I'm still kind of reeling from it all. 

I've been looking for ways to help my Dad with his Parkinson's Disease. I found this really amazing organization that works specifically with PD patients, designing therapy and workout routines that are catered just to the patient and their abilities. However, in order to get certified with them you have to have an occupational therapy or assistant  degree or physical therapy or assistant degree. So then i started looking into what it would take to get my Physical Therapy assistant degree. Most of the prerequisites I had already taken when I earned my Bachelor's degree in exercise science, so I was curious if they would transfer since it's been 20 years. 

So then on Friday I went to meet with an advisor in the PTA program to see what would be involved in me getting that degree. I had my transcripts sent over and so when I got there I found out that all I was lacking was a computer science class and I needed to take their kinesiology class.

The semester had just started a few days previously, so I had only missed two classes. It wasn't too late to add the class so when the advisor asked if I wanted her to enroll me I said "yes".  Then I immediately went over to the bookstore to buy the books required for my classes and  then today I attended my first day of Kinesiology. 

The computer science class is just an 8 week course and it starts the second half of the semester. But this kinesiology class is a 5-credit course and it seems pretty intense. I'm nervous but excited. 

I am now working on my application for the Physical Therapy Assistant Program. It's due March 1st and it's all happening so fast. I can hardly believe it. Only 16 students got in last year, out of the 40 students who applied. So there is a decent chance that I wont get in. But I'm hopeful. 

If I get into the program then I would attend school year-round starting in June and I would finish in July of 2027. Its' an accelerated program but it would be so nice to be able to finish and be helping my dad and others who suffer with PD. 

So life is going to be a little busy this year but I'm excited. Wish me luck as I am now the oldest student in my class and probably the oldest student applying for the PTA program. 

The Most Beautiful Weekend

 We just had the most beautiful weekend with Nanny and Papa. They came over Friday evening and we all went to our church building to meet our Bishop. Our sweet Bishop had agreed to meet us at the church on a Friday evening to ordain Tucker. We were so grateful to him being willing to take time out of his normal schedule to meet us there outside of our regular church meetings. 

It's getting harder for my parents to travel and they really wanted to be there for Tucker's ordination but they also wanted to to attend the temple with Tucker.  However,  boys have to be ordained before they can attend the temple and the temple is always closed on Monday so we really needed to have Tucker ordained before the normal Sunday ordination so we could squeeze everything in during one of their visits. 

Tucker's ordination was beautiful and so special because not only were Chris and Papa in the ordination circle, but Tanner was also able to take part. Chris gave him a beautiful blessing along with the ordination. We were so grateful to everyone for making it happen. 

After Tucker's ordination, our Bishop quickly printed Tucker's temple recommend and then we were able to attend the temple with Tucker for the first time directly afterwards. We dropped Benson off at a friend's birthday party and then drove over to the temple. 

Obviously it was dark at 7:30 pm, but we still tried to get some pictures to document the event. It was so special to be there together.  The baptistry was very busy and so only our kids were baptized, but it was so special to get to witness. Tanner baptized Bailey and Tucker and it was just the sweetest.   I was grateful to Tanner for taking Tucker under his wing and showing him the ropes. It was just a very sweet night.  We ended our night with the traditional post-temple ice cream and then drove home. 

Then on Sunday morning at church, Tucker got to pass the sacrament for the first time as an ordained deacon. It was the sweetest to watch him concentrate and do his best to serve those in our ward. Tucker works so hard to be good and he wants to be close to the spirit. It's precious to watch him try his best to be a valiant son of God. 

Lastly, after church on Sunday, Tanner was able to receive his Patriarchal blessing from Papa. Papa is an ordained patriarch serving in the West Plains, Missouri stake, but after getting special permission, he was allowed to give Tanner his blessing because he is a direct descendant. 

This was another very sweet and very special experience. Not many people get to receive their blessing from a grandfather. We were worried we wouldn't get to experience this because my dad's PD is getting worse and it's getting more and more difficult for him to give blessings, but Papa powered through and gave Tanner a beautiful blessing. 

Of course we don't have a copy of his blessing yet so we can't remember everything that was said, but I just felt such love and peace during the blessing. Tanner is an amazing kid and it was clear that he is very loved by his Heavenly parents as well as his family here on earth. I can't wait to get a printed copy so we can read it over with him again and again. 

experiences where they can come to know their Savior and their Heavenly Father. It's much harder than I ever thought it would be and weekends like this are a nice recharge for my spiritual battery. It's a nice "parental reward" when you get to see your kids making good choices and making the choices that lead them to their Savior. 

I hope both Tanner and Tucker will always remember this weekend and the way they felt. I hope they can both remember the love of their Heavenly Father and their Savior and when times get hard, they can think about experiences like this and draw strength from them. 

Before Tanner's blessing, my parents were talking to us about the importance of writing down impressions and spiritual experiences. They asked Tanner if he had ever felt the spirit. Tanner shared his experiences and then they asked Chris and I if we had anything we wanted to share. I asked Tanner if he remembered feeling the spirit on his very first night at FSY and how he had texted me about it. He said he didn't remember it. I shared what a comfort it was to me because I knew he was in the right place but I was comforted because he was able to learn for himself the importance of being where you should be. 

I talked to him about Moses and his experience communing with God. But then directly afterwards, Satan appeared and tried to tempt him and confuse him. I shared how Satan often shows up before or after very spiritual experiences in our lives because he wants to downplay them or confuse us. If he can weaken our relationship with God then we become more vulnerable to him. Then I also encouraged him to write down his spiritual experiences so he can have them to look back on during those times. It really isn't a matter of if but when. Satan will do his best to make us doubt and question our beliefs. And reading the scriptures about other people's experiences with Christ and God are great. But if we can remind ourselves of our own experiences, its so much more powerful. We are reminded that God knows us. He loves us and he wants us back with him. We have a divine heritage and we are more powerful than Satan. 

I hope I am able to instill that confidence in God within each of my kids. It's something that has served me well my whole life and I'm extremely grateful for my knowledge of loving Heavenly Parents and a loving Savior. 

This weekend was wonderful and it was something that I will not soon forget. And when I do forget it, I hope that I can read back over this journal and be reminded of the immense love and closeness with God that we were able to feel this weekend. I'm so very grateful!

Run the New Year- Marathon into 2026!

 We had a great time celebrating the new year in Mountain Home. Sadly, Chris was still in D.C. on military assignment so he missed it. But we rang in the new year with the cousins and all my siblings, except David and Michelle. 

This year our theme was centered around a marathon since we are entering 2026 and there are 26 miles in a marathon. So we all wore sweatbands, race medals and we were all ready to ring in an energetic new year. 

We had the best time playing games all night. I had planned a bunch of "minute to win-it" games and the kids loved it. We all participated and it was hilarious. We played a cup flip game, cup staking, ping pong ball tossing, gift bow scooping and a few others. 

The games were hilarious and had everyone laughing but also very competitive. We played games for about 4 hours and then we ended the night by doing a Saran wrap ball. This was probably the highlight of the night. We had wrapped a bunch of small gifts and treats in Saran wrap over and over again until it grew into this huge ball full of all sorts of fun things. 

So you play by sitting in a circle and passing the ball around and when its your turn you try to unwrap the ball as much as you can, all the while the person to your left is rolling dice trying to get doubles. Once they get doubles, you pass the Saran wrap ball to them and they pass the dice on to the next person. It actually got quite involved but the kids actually did so great with it. There was no fighting and after they got to the "core" of the ball, the game was over and the kids all traded their prizes and it was so cute. 

I love watching these cute girls giggle together all night. 

We ended our party by doing the human knot twice. We were laughing so hard the whole time that it took us a while to figure it out. But it was lots of fun and the perfect way to end the night. 

At this point it was almost midnight and we poured everyone some sparkling cider and turned on the ball drop. We counted down into the new year and celebrated together. 

We had a great night and everyone lasted until after midnight- I couldn't believe it. It wasn't that long ago that we were celebrating "midnight" at 8 pm. And now the kids are staying up later than the adults. They are getting so big. 

So here's to 2026. It's going to be a great year!!!

Christmas Break in Mountain Home

 I'm so grateful for the time with my siblings and family this week. My parents are saints for housing everyone together. We were all together for about a week and it was the best. 

Although my kids all took turns getting sick and Chris ended up having to leave for a military assignment on the day after Christmas, we still had a great visit. 

The week together was full of quality time, delicious food, cousin snuggles and lots of laughter. 

Before David and Michelle left to drive home, we took some sibling pictures. Also, we took a picture of all the girls together. I played a fun prank on my parents this year for Christmas. I bought all the daughters a sweatshirt that said "Favorite Daughter" and I labeled them to each daughter from Mom and Dad. So when they got opened, Mom and Dad had no idea what was happening and it was so funny to see everyone's reactions. Naturally, we had to take a picture of all of us in our sweatshirts.  

 

The kids loved building their PVC pipe forts with their cousins. Aunt Sarah loved spending time with her niece and nephews and fawning over how big they are getting. Tanner absolutely loved his new jean jacket and I loved getting to be pajama twins with Bailey. I probably loved it more than she did, but she was a good sport. 

Although this Christmas break was exhausting as I was constantly dealing with my kid kids. Managing their medication schedules and doctor visits- it was still completely worth it to be home. The kids napped a lot as their bodies recovered and Skye loved snuggling up with them. Also I had to snap a picture of my kids wearing these chicken socks because I find them absolutely hilarious. I love finding weird socks for my kids. 

Uncle Johnny also spoiled the kids by purchasing every pop-tart at the store in preparation for the "Pop-Tart" bowl that BYU ended up winning. It was a fun game and way too many pop-tarts were consumed. 

In other news, my Dad's Parkinson's is getting worse and he's been experiencing very vivid hallucinations and paranoia. It's been exhausting for him and for those caring for him. I have so much more empathy for my mom and sister, Laura, now. After caring for him and worrying over him these last two weeks, my heart is tired and heavy. I love my Dad so much and it's so hard to watch this disease take away parts of him. I know it's frustrating to him. It's almost like he's living in a different reality than the rest of us and it's hard for him to know what's real. While we were visiting, I was able to sit in on a video call with one of his doctors. By the end of the appointment, they decided to switch out a medication and increase a different one- so we are hopeful that he will see some improvements. But if nothing else, this has taught me that I need to get home more often. So that's one of my goals for 2026- get home atleast once a month. 

I'm so grateful for my parents for hosting us all this Christmas. It was wonderful to be together and I will forever cherish this time we had together. Now it's almost New Years Eve. I'm excited to celebrate and welcome a new year!