At times like these I'm thankful for the gospel

My sweet niece Shelbi died unexpectedly last night. She is such a wonderful and loving little girl and was a blessing to our family. Some moments I think that terrible phone call was just a dream and that she's still here. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't know who we are, where we came from, where we are going and that we have a loving Heavenly Father who watches over and comforts us.

For those who are interested there is an account set up at Zions bank under Shelbi Elwell for her family.

Commercials

J: "Dad, we need to clean out our garage."

Dad: "yep we do."

J: "we can clean out our garage and put money in our pocket at the same time."

Dad: Thinks "huh?"

J: "That's what the video professor says we can do."

Dad: "hahahahaha"



You definitely know your kids are watching too much tv when they quote commercials while driving down the road!

When we moved to our current location we thought we'd waste some of our money by getting cable...besides, they were giving us a good deal if we bundled it with our Internet - right?
I was pretty excited. We had the Discovery, Science, and Disney Channels...TLC and Nick. It was fun at first. Then I realized that there was no peace in our home. The TV was on WAY too much. So last week I told Hubby to pack up the cable boxes and we took them back. It was hard not to get our dose of Phineas and Ferb, Sponge Bob, or Myth Busters, but I know without a doubt it was the right thing to do...and not just to save money.

There is a different atmosphere here now. Since we can only pick up maybe 4 channels now, we hardly have the tv on at all. It's so peaceful! I love it. :o)

The Son of God

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his sholder: and his name shall be called wonderful, counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6

"Jesus Christ is the son of God, who condescended to come into this world of misery, struggle, and pain to touch men's hearts for good, to teach the way of eternal life, and to give Himself as a sacrafice for the sins of mankind. How different, how empty our lives would be without Him. How infinite is our opportunity for exaltation made possible through His redeeming love. " Pres. Hinckley

May we all remember our Savior on the day we celebrate his birth and every day in the new year. We hope you have a very merry Christmas!

Early Christmas Present

Another semester is finally over which means the end of another Pottery class for Hubby. He gets better at it all the time! Those of you who've tried throwing pots know how difficult it is. He say's that everything he makes is for me so when he brought the remainder of his work home it was like an early Christmas for me! These are just a few of the items he made...


This is a set of soup bowls. As soon as Hubby brought them in J had to have a bowl of cereal...just to use dad's special bowl. :0)



This is a mixing bowl. I love it! It holds several quarts. I'm not sure of the exact number...I'll have to measure sometime.




When we were at Hubby's mom's for Thanksgiving I saw the cutest pitcher and I told Hubby he should make me one like and he did! It's amazingly close to the one his mom has (as far as I can remember anyway!).

He's made close to 25 items. Someday I'll organize and post them. He has such a growing talent...I'm amazed by all that he can do!

Hurry and Enter!

I came across this page yesterday (thanks Kara!). http://www.designmom.com is giving away all kinds of prizes. All you have to do is leave her a post. She has some great stuff so hurry... it ends soon!

I Love to see the Temple

For FHE this week we went to see the lights at our little version of Temple Square. I love the temple grounds...they're always so beautiful. J gets really excited too. He kept saying "I'm going to get married in the St. George temple".

J hates getting his picture taken. These are my best attempts to get him to smile. He's so goofy...I hope someday he'll grow out of being such a cheezer!

Address

I would love to send you a Christmas card but I need your address. Please e-mail it to me at ashleejo@msn.com ASAP. Thanks!

Christmas Tree

I love getting the Christmas boxes out and going through past years' ornaments and decorations. Last year I did a light green, bright red, white, and orange color scheme. Since I didn't have the funds to pick a new one, we did the same this year (you can't really tell from the picture though!). My favorite ornaments are the ones hubby and I exchange every year and the one J makes. I look forward to adding to our tree with each passing season. I hope you all enjoy your tree time too. I love this season!