I am Grateful for Missionaries

We had the Missionaries over for dinner tonight and had a great time.  We laughed so hard, and told corny jokes all throughout dinner.  One of the Elders, Elder Dean, is new and has only been out for three days.  He did pretty well, and looks like he is adjusting just fine.

Our family is also grateful for our missionaries.  Elder Freyre, who is serving in West Virginia, and Elder Eddy, who is serving in Asuncion Paraguay (who by the way has less then a month before he comes home).  We love these guys and are so proud of them.  There is not a prayer that goes by, in the Larson home, that we do not pray for them.  We are grateful for their hard work, the perseverance, and for their dedication to our Heavenly Father and the Gospel.

So tonight....We are grateful for all missionaries!

I am Grateful for our Cocomotion

Yes, I know it is silly, but this little device brings great pleasure to my family each morning, and I am grateful for it.  I simple add milk, and food storage hot cocoa mix, and this little beauty whips and froths till we have the perfect cup of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream.  It's my kids favorite part of getting up in the cold mornings here in New Mexico. 

I am Grateful for...My Mother in Law Sybil Tenna Lee Larson

I am thankful for a wonderful Mother-in-Law.

I haven't done very well at posting lately but I promise I will try to catch up.  But for my first day of gratitude I wanted to mention my Mother-in-Law Sybil Tenna Lee Larson.

Sybil passed away on September 6th, 2011.  She is a wonderful woman, and so many people are missing her now.  This holiday season will be a difficult one for each one of us, but especially for her dear husband Park.

Sybil was the absolute perfect example of a being a Christ like person.  She never had a bad thing to say about anyone.  When ever I or anyone else would say something that was not so kind about someone, she would always counter it with something positive about that person.  I want to be like Sybil.

She loved her children and her grandchildren so much.  She had eleven children, and 36 grandchildren.  Her home was always welcome to all, and I know that she enjoyed any time the family would gather together.  I will miss her perfectly decorated holiday tables, complete with china, crystal, and silver.  She was the perfect hostess.  I want to be like Sybil.

She was the perfect Mother-in-Law too.  I was so grateful to her when she showed me how to iron James' white shirts.  I know that sounds silly, but she taught me how to do it, and to do it well. 

Sybil always made me feel comfortable.  One of the first times I was with her, she told me that I should call her Sybil, and Park, Park.  What a relief that was.  Instead of mumbling my way through that and calling her Sister Larson, or Hey you, or James' mom, she made that so much easier.  I hope I can do that for my children's future girlfriends/boyfriends/spouses. 

Sybil had an absolute flare for fashion.  I was so impressed to learn recently that she had met Coco Chanel, and that Coco Chanel had wanted Sybil to model for her, but Sybil wanted to be a mother.  I loved looking through her clothes and seeing her beautiful Chanel suits, her Pucci dresses, and her outrageously beautiful handbags.  Sybil knew how to accessorize any outfit and she even made a pair of sweats look fabulous with a beautiful scarf. 

She loved interior decorating too.  She would collect beautiful pictures from magazines, and she had binder after binder filled with wonderful ideas.  If I ever needed to know where to place my furniture, or what I could do differently to a room, she always had the perfect ideas.

I could write a novel with all the things that I love about her, and all the things that she taught me.  But quite simply, Sybil was a beautiful person, and I am lucky to call myself her daughter in law.

I love Sybil.  I am grateful that she raised a wonderful son.  I am grateful that she taught her son to respect women.  I am grateful that she taught all her children the Gospel.  Like James says, she is like the mothers of the Strippling Warriors.  I will miss her.

Happy Birthday Ethan

Ethan turned 12 on October 30.  Woohoo!!!!
He has been waiting for this for a long time.
We had a great time celebrating his birthday with his favorite cake....
Nothing Bundt Cake.
We love you E
and are so grateful that you are ours!

For Ethan's birthday he wanted to spend the weekend in Albuquerque....

James was a little disappointed needless to say, but we did it, we went to Albuquerque.

He planned every detail.

We drove there on Friday night.  Went to the bookstore, went to the hotel and watched movies.

On Saturday, after visiting Einstein Bagels, we headed straight for the Natural History Museum.

They have a dinosaur exhibit that was amazing and we spend several hours there. 

The next few hours were dedicated to shopping for those things that we cannot get here in town.....

And we had fun shopping.  We then went to visit a gourmet cupcake shop, and then off to find Ethan's favorite birthday cake...Nothing Bundt Cake.

We then went to do something that Ethan has wanted to do for awhile. 

We went on a Ghost Tour in Old Town Albuquerque.

It was pretty cool, and we all enjoyed it.

The picture of James knocking on the door is where there has been a few "sightings" of a ghost.

James was trying to get her attention.

When we were in this little old church, that is supposedly haunted, Ethan stayed behind

to snap a few pictures.  He took the creepy picture and swears that it is a ghost.....

Who knows.....

what we do know is that we had a great time for Ethan's birthday weekend.

Muffins for Moms

I can't believe how quickly Olivia is growing up. She is looking so old to me. She is very ready to turn 16, and thank goodness she has a few years to wait. My mom and I went to Muffins for Moms with Olivia and Lucas. I was not looking the best, I was still in my workout clothes, so no picture for me. It just so happened to be picture day for the kids too.

So glad to have known Sandy Gladden

I have so many things to catch up on, and will continue to avoid them, but I would be sad if I didn't mention my good friend Sandy Gladden.

Sandy has been my visiting teacher for the last two years since I moved to Farmington, she is also one of my good friends. 

When it comes to visiting teaching, I am the one person who is always saying; "I'm fine, don't worry about me", or "you don't need to come see me, I'm okay".  None of these words meant anything to Sandy.  She was faithful every single month to come by and see me.  She would always bring me a small gift too.  Her favorites were candles, and I still have many of them.  They are so beautiful that I have a hard time lighting them...silly I know.

Sandy would always bring a wonderful message too.  She shared many personal experiences that I will always treasure. I can't number the times that she and I cried together.  Sandy had a way about her were she could empathize with anyone.  She took particular care of me because of the death of my sister, Samantha.  She always would mention her, ask how I was feeling, and would go out of her way to make sure I was okay on our birthday.  The last birthday card I received from her mentioned that Samantha was being well taken care of in the arms of angels.

Sandy passed away suddenly on August 9th at the age of 62.  Just that Sunday, two days before she died, she bore her testimony, told her family how much she loved them, particularly her husband, and thanked Heavenly Father for all of her blessing.  What a wonderful example she is of living the gospel!

I am grateful for the lesson that she taught me about visiting teaching, for her example, and especially for her friendship.  I have learned so much from her, and will strive to be more like her.  I am grateful for the knowledge that just like she wrote to me about Samantha, she is in the arms of angels now.