Gordon B. Hinckley

I have been profoundly saddened by the passing of President Hinckley on January 27. The world has lost a great man, indeed. I stayed awake last night reading about the life and qualities of such a humble and gracious man. What a remarkable life he lived! One does not have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be touched by his goodness.

I don't want his legacy to end. I don't want the news media to stop talking about him. I haven't had the words to share how I feel about him...I still don't - so below are a few pictures and tributes I found touching.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/?ck=1

http://www.fm100.com/?sid=120014&nid=83

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=104759&nid=288

http://www.ldsmag.com/photoessay/060331Hinckley.html

http://www.lds.org/gordonbhinckley






He will be missed.











President and Sister Hinckley in Moscow. He referred to her as his 'babushka'.









A true love story.

At the funeral of his beloved wife. I can't look at this picture without shedding tears of my own.






God be with you 'til we meet again.

Snow Zombies

My talented and beautiful children have let the depressing snow get to them too!

Elora Before:












Elora Now:













Larissa Before:













Larissa Now:













Connor Before:















Connor Now.










*The above pictures were posted by permission due to fear of mutiny.

Is there life beyond snow?

Today church was cancelled. Snow has become my life. I have nothing else of importance to blog about. I feel like a snow zombie.

~

Elora is stuck.

Fence is buried.

View out front window.

Even Stitch is unhappy and wants to go back inside.

Todd and neighbors have resorted to snow-blowing the streets. Snow plows are stuck.

Todd's goofy hat doesn't even cheer us.

I want my mommy.

The Good Old Days

I was browsing through pictures and broke out into a weeping, sobbing fit. Remember green grass? I forgot we actually have a tree in our front yard.

THEN:




Look at my son's mad longboarding skills.

NOW:

Sniff.

January Blues

I really don't see anything beneficial about the month of January and frankly, I'm happy it's almost over. Hallelujah!

I admit that I've succumbed to the January Blues. I long to see the green grass. I long to drive down our mountain and not have to worry about sliding on ice. I long to see blue skies, full trees and flowers in bloom. I miss flitting and twirling around a large grassy hill while singing the theme song to the 'Sound of Music'. What? You don't do that?

Ahem.

I read an article that claims that January 24 is the most depressing day of the year. There is actually a formula that is used to determine this day's depressing-ness. Here is the article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4187183.stm

Since this is the most depressing time of the year - I decided to read about some ideas to combat the Winter blues. Here are some of the ideas that others have suggested:

• Plan a fun event or party to spice things up a bit
• Exercise (of course)
• Join a club
• Socialize with friends and family
• Get a spa treatment such as a facial or pedicure
• Start a blog! (that's my own idea, actually)
• Make fun of your husband (another idea of my own but it always provides a little glimmer of joy each time I do it)
• Go to Bryce, Zions, or Grand Canyon (wow, I'm full of great ideas)

So - do any of you have any fun plans or ideas to combat the blues? What do you do to feel better? Please share!

Why I blog

So, lately I've been talking to myself about random things - at least more than usual. Why has my life become so eventful of late? Why do my kids have to grow up? Why does Todd sometimes gallop through the house on an imaginary horse named Guido? I'm also wondering why I have started blogging.


I've never been one to keep journals and I have made a total of 1 scrapbook. So what gives? I've meditated long and hard and have narrowed it down to 10 reasons. I shall list them now.

Ahem.

TOP 10 REASONS WHY I BLOG:

10. It's free

9. Occasionally it makes my kids smile - I'll do anything short of galloping on a horse named Guido or eating cottage cheese to get my kids to smile.

8. If I didn't blog - I'd have to find another hobby like cleaning my house.

7. It's my online scrapbook - I can brag about my kids and cats without having to use things like glue and scissors.

6. It's therapeutic to jot down thoughts about things such as cancer and weight loss and husbands and kids growing up.

5. It's a good way to keep connected with family and friends - especially when they leave comments or send emails. (hint)

4. I can post a blog from any computer which enables efficiency - something I love!

3. I suddenly have an interest in taking pictures - another new hobby.

2. My mommy and daddy like my blog.

drumroll please..

1. It's soooo much fun to make fun of Todd!

So there you have it. The mystery is solved. That is why I blog.

SNOW!

Forgive me for being a 'flake', so to speak, but I just can't believe how much snow we have today.
I know my posts usually only contain dialogue about our snow and my cats. I'll try to be more clever in the future.

But until the cleverness hits me... WOW - look at these pictures of our snow!






You can clearly see that a dent was made in clearing the front steps.

The circular thing you can barely see is our trampoline frame.

Darren - striking a pose by our mailbox. Darren is 8'9".

Our front steps were clear yesterday.

Darren's car before he took a broom to it.

No 'snowblog' would be complete without a picture of my main man. Here he is trying to find the sidewalk.

Hey, Todd - maybe now is a good time to put the house up for sale. Some foolish people actually like this much snow. Oh wait - you like this much snow.

Oops.