Working Hard

Campbell has been working hard this year in 7th grade.  She has had a 4.0 all year and even won a good citizen award for her team.  We are so proud of everything she is doing and the wonderful person she is becoming.  We love you Cami!

Dallin's Birthday

Dallin had his first Birthday away from home.  Luckily someone in his ward invited them over for dinner and made him a special meal.  They also made him a crown and made him stand and talk about himself, which was harder than usual given the "speech" was in Kiribati.  He felt loved and that's all that matters to me.

We sure miss him like crazy, but there are good people all over the world who show love to others.  It reminds me that I should be stepping in and doing kind things for people who are away from their families. Maybe someday I will be able to thank this family for making his 19th birthday special.

Adios Hayley!

We are so excited for Hayley to be off on her mission to Salem, Oregon.  She will be speaking Spanish and is currently in the Mexico City MTC for training.  We are so proud of her and know she will touch so many lives during her service.  We love you Hayley!

Here are the girls before their last goodbye.

Zoey Is Getting Old

I have done a lot of posts about our dogs over the years.  We do love them.  Zoey turned 8 this December and seems to be aging quickly.  She is having problems with cataracts and doesn't seem to see well sometimes.  She is also a lot lazier.  She LOVES Taylor and is always excited when she comes home.  Hudson will follow me from room to room all day, but Zoey pretty much ignores me completely.  I decided to make her a new bed with a cozy soft blanket and burrowing pocket on top.  She seems to like it, but not as much as hopping up with Taylor for a snuggle.

Emailing Dallin

Dallin is 19 hours ahead of us.  Our Sunday night is his Monday, which is P-day.  It is nice to be home together when he emails.  Occasionally we can go back and forth a little when he gets online.  We usually send him a picture of us around the computer so he feels like we are really there ;)  This week we were having a goodbye dinner with Hayley before she left on her mission to Salem, Oregon (Yay!) so we took a quick group shot.  Here are the last 2 email pictures.

Bishop's Valentines

The Primary made a bunch of Valentines to say thank you to Ed for serving as the Bishop.  Some were really cute and it really made his day.  He has such a soft spot for the kids in our ward.  He has them come to his office every week (except Fast Sunday) after church to get candy.  Most weeks the children have to think of a question to ask about him, but some weeks he asks the questions. He loves it when the little ones run up to him to tell him something.  Definitely one of the best parts of being Bishop.

Valentines Day

Ed did a great job this year for Valentines Day.  We went to the Capital Grille for a delicious meal and he let me pick out a bracelet I have been wanting.  I am so blessed to be married to my best friend and more in love today than ever before.  I love you Eddie.

Snow, Ice, More Snow, and More Ice

Snow.  Cold.  Ice.
I am so sick and tired of Winter!!
We have now had the 3rd snowiest winter in the history of Philadelphia.  We were also here for #1 a few years ago.  We have missed 7 days of school with multiple late arrivals and early releases.  Our summer schedule is a mess, classes are in disarray, and snow piles are going to be melting well into spring.  There have been so many storms and power outages I can't keep track.  We are very lucky that we never lose power, so we always have a full house during storms. I actually like that part, but not for our friends who can't go home.  Here are random pictures from many different storms.  The video is so you can hear the cracking of the ice covering the tree every time the wind blows.  Trees were breaking under the weight of the ice all over the region.  Luckily we have younger, smaller trees and only lost a few willow branches and one larger bush just off the back patio.

Cabin Fever - Part 4 (Kitchen)

The biggest project by far was taking on the kitchen and sun room.  I had to move around a lot of furniture, create a new picture wall, make lots of pillows, and get new rugs.  We have needed new rugs badly, but I wanted to wait until I picked new paint.  The room is a blue/gray and feels so much lighter and happier.  I discovered Home Goods when creating the picture grouping and will have to go back there very soon!

Before:

After:

I had the girls help me pick the prints for the wall and we agreed that only pictures that really mean something to us and make us smile could make the cut.  The also helped me choose some cool effects and we love the way they all look together.  Unfortunately we wanted to add another 20, but we stopped with these:

Missionary Tag

I don't know why I keep forgetting to blog about this, but I'm a Missionary!  I am serving as the Nurse for the Philadelphia Mission.  I started training the end of summer and my official call was issued in October.  I was released from all my other callings and get to wear a name tag to church every Sunday.  I basically coordinate the health care for the nearly 300 missionaries in our mission.  They call to get advice when they are not feeling well and I help them find doctors in their areas.  It can be very busy, but sometimes I will go a few days with no phone calls at all.  I am really enjoying it and feel a special connection to Dallin since we are both serving missions at the same time :)

This is my very first missionary tag.

Taylor Formal Dance

Taylor and a bunch of her friends decided to go to the Winter Formal.  This is not a very popular dance for some reason and not a lot of people go.  They decided on the day of the dance and all scrambled to borrow dresses from each other.  They stayed for a few hours and then a big group came back to hang out in our basement.  Overall, they had a fun night... and Taylor looked beautiful!