Megan in STOMP

This past fall Megan joined an after school group called STOMP which is a music group that uses different kinds of things (sticks, buckets, brooms etc) to create rhythms, poetry, and music. She worked so hard and met with this group weekly for 3 months to practice her part.

On the night of the performance we didn't know what to expect from Meg since she is terrified of performing anything in front of a lot a people but SHE DID IT! And she did such a great job. We are so proud of all her hard work and her bravery! Way to go Meg!

Our Path

(warning, long journal entry)

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths."

This has been my favorite scripture since my seminary days and I have grown to love it more and more as I have witnessed the Lord directing our paths when we "trust in him".

I remember when a prompting came 8 years ago that completely changed our path and Trevor called the Veterinary school in Oregon and told them he would no longer be attending (he was to start in a few weeks!). Then our focus became Medical School and we still can't believe how that all worked out so well. We were led to our house in West Bountiful and we have a tender place in our hearts for our neighbors and ward members there who supported us during a really stressful time in our lives (aka. Med school).

When Trevor interviewed for residencies we prayed and pleaded with the Lord that he would "direct our paths" and when Trevor came out here to interview he said to me, "It just feels like home." I thought to myself- Louisville Kentucky feels like home??!!!

You may remember how we found our house here. We could never deny the guidance we received to buy this home and that experience alone has strengthened my testimony that God lives and loves me. Throughout these 2 1/2 years I have had so many experiences when the spirit whispered in my mind- THIS is why you are here in Kentucky and THIS is why you are in THIS house. Our time here has and still is changing our lives for the good.

So when it was time for Trevor to start looking for a job we felt the importance of "Trusting in the Lord". He has always been so good to us

We had a FHE and talked to the girls about this and memorized Proverbs 3: 5-6 together then we offered a prayed and asked the Lord to guide our search for a job and a home... again please.

Trevor started applying to jobs in Idaho and Utah since we knew we wanted to be close to family but when we went out there we wanted to feel good about it but we just didn't. :( So we kept praying and Trevor kept looking. We thought about staying here in Kentucky since we love it here but we didn't feel good about it either. There were some more job openings in Utah and Idaho but nothing felt right. We knew we had to widen our search. We looked at the surrounding states and there was only one we felt good about... Washington. Trevor kept making comments about "the tri-cities area" but neither of us had been there and there weren't any job openings there until one day when one job opened in Richland and Trev immediately applied for it. He received an email back that day from the Medical Director of the Emergency Department. He was interested in talking to Trevor and we soon found out that he was LDS and has 5 kids (and Richland has a temple!)! We were so excited.

Trevor scheduled an interview there and in a few other places in WA and he flew out in the beginning of December.

He interviewed at the other hospitals in WA first and they offered him jobs but he was waiting to see how he felt about the interview in Richland (tri-cities area). Well, to make an already long post a little shorter when he got to Richland once again Heavenly Father answered our prayers and he knew it was the place for our family. The interview went great and they offered him the job.

Trevor called me on the way home from the interview. He was floating on air. I can't remember the last time he was so excited and happy. We knew it was right and we accepted the job a few days later.

Since then we still feel great about the job in Richland and we are excited but we feel so sad that we have to leave Kentucky (in June) and we feel so sad that we will still be 9 hours away from our family and friends in Utah. We never imagined that we would finish residency and then move somewhere away from family where we don't know anyone but it seems that the Lord has a different plan for our family.

We are excited for our new adventure but right now we are just enjoying our home and friends and all the wonderful things Kentucky has to offer our family. We are so very blessed.

Happy New Years!

From the outside it looks like a regular old box...





But it is full of sweet surprises! (The kids played in this box for half the day!)

For New Years we decided to start a new tradition and do fondue night every New Years Eve. Campbell had never experienced fondue before and he LOVED it! He especially loved the pokey stick and how when he pointed it at one of us we would all scream in fear (2-year-olds are dangerous, they shouldn't have access to pokey sticks).

After fondue a little fun with the wii

Trevor had to work all night (he traded Christmas for New Years) so we played hard until he left then I put the kids to bed. Good Times.

Can't believe it 2010.

Happy New Years!

10 years of marital bliss! ;)

Trev and I were married December 29th, 1999 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
10 years ago yesterday.

We watched our wedding video the other day and we laughed as we watched our younger-selves lovingly look into each others eyes- We didn't even KNOW each other back then! We thought we did but we were practically strangers really. We dated for 6 months before our wedding day and 4 of those months Trevor lived in Provo (1 1/2 hrs away).
So how did we get so lucky that we are such a good match and we have a great marriage? I don't know... but I'm so grateful!!!

Trevor surprised me with some lovely flowers, so sweet. :)
He scheduled a babysitter and we went out for dinner, did a little shopping, and a movie.
It was a really nice evening.

We don't buy gifts for anniversaries, we just go out and do something fun together but while we were shopping we came across this beautiful print and I fell in love. Isn't it wonderful?!
Trev said, "Get it!" and I said, "Really??? Okay!".
Aaahhh, it just makes me smile. Just like my handsome honey does...
Happy Anniversary Trev!!
I love you!

Our Christmas 2009

Our Christmas morning started WAY too early - but we had fun.

Before opening presents we read all the notes in the "Jesus' stocking".
We had a FHE at the beginning of December and talked about Christ's birth and I asked the girls if we gave a "gift" to the Savior for Christmas what they thought he would want and we all agreed that He would want us to be grateful and give thanks for all of our blessings and then serve others. So, throughout the month of December individually we have been writing down service we given (or service that was done for us) and also things we are thankful for. We put the notes into the special stocking. The stocking was STUFFED and it was so fun to read all of the things that were written. It was a great way to start the day and a new Christmas tradition for our family (we did something similar before but this worked better).



Santa spoiled us again this year...

We spent the remainder of the day:

Davis played with boxes/ garbage. Hallie read one of the 50 new books she got.

Campbell ate lots and lots of sugar (btw the buzz light year pez dispenser was his very favorite gift). The girls tried on their new clothes.

Campbell watched movies on his new Teddy Bear's tummy.

Megan and Hallie played littlest pet shop and horses and Polly Pockets and dolls and everything they could think of for hours and hours. They did not fight ONCE! It was a Christmas Miracle. ;)

Trevor installed the replacement DVD player in our truck and realized he can't see out of the rear view mirror now.

We had such a nice Christmas this year. It went by way too fast and we really missed our fam - it was fun last year to visit, but we feel so blessed to have each other and great friends around us and we especially feel blessed to know that our Savior lives and loves us.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2009

What we did on the Eve of Christmas

Piggy-back rides and dancing to Christmas music.

Back massage for Hallie and watching Christmas movies.

Megan's turn.

Davis and Campbell's turn.

We had some dear friends over for treats, a game of Hilarium (hilarious as always... hence the name), and a nativity with the kids. Davis was a wise man.

Liam as Joseph

Hallie as Mary

Issac as the baby Jesus

The kids had so much fun and did a great job.

Campbell refused to participate... he's two you know.

Ellie made a great wise man er...wo-man too.

Afterwards all the kids gave Issac the ride of his life pushing him around the house in the manger/ laundry basket.

Another shot of our little wise man.

Heavenly Angels- Megan, Eden, and Kelsey

And that's what we did on the Eve of Christmas... it was great!!

Our Journey to Bethlehem

Last night we took our long journey to Bethlehem... Kentucky (about 30miles away). We sang Christmas songs and looked at all the Christmas lights on our way to see this live nativity.

It was cold and we were all bundled up in lots of layers.

The live nativity was so neat. The people in the tiny town of Bethlehem, Kentucky do this every year and take turns in the nativity scene (they must have been FREEZING!). The stable even had real animals in it including a donkey, a cow, and two sheep that the kids enjoyed feeding.

I loved that we were able to go as a family and do something fun but also focus on the true meaning of Christmas. As we drove away I felt such gratitude for this little town who do this great service to all who make the journey to Bethlehem.

Again thanks to our dear friends (practically family) Kristine and Brett for leading the way.

Caroling at the Nursing home

When I told the girls we were going caroling at the nursing home they were thrilled (not MY response when I was a kid). Hallie said, "That is my favorite part about Christmas because it makes them so happy and they just smile at us when we sing."
We decided to make some Christmas cards for the residents. Hallie and Megan wrote a special message and drew a picture in each of the 50 cards! They did such a great job and the people loved them.


We sang and sang and sang our little hearts out. One lady kept asking for "one more". She said, "I'm one hundred years old and I may not make it much longer!" I think we sang her 10 songs!

Thanks to Kristine and Brett for setting this up every year. It is a highlight of our Christmas.