My cousin, Melanie Baker suffered for many years with cancer and passed away on January 18, 2014. I was able to go to her funeral on January 23rd with my parents and brother, Cody. It was a celebration of her good life, but of course, we are all sad that she isn’t here on earth with us anymore. Melanie was so kind and loved everyone. She loved all things Disney and it was a big part of who she was. I will never forget being with her and the whole Baker Family in 2009, when we went to Disneyland. Melanie planned it for us and it was such a great trip. Even though, she was several years older than me and we actually didn’t get to see that side of the family that often, I still felt a little close to her and I’m so grateful she was my cousin. I’m so happy that she is out of pain and ... [Read More]
personal
Life 2014 | First Temple Trip
In my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), we have sacred ordinances that we do in temples. When a young man or woman reaches the age of 12, they have the opportunity (if they live worthily), to attend the temple and do an ordinance that we call, Baptisms for the Dead. This ordinance gives people who have died the opportunity to be baptized and receive the gospel on the other side. This is the only ordinance in the temple that the youth can participate in. Once they are older (usually after the age of 18), they are able to go through the temple for other ordinances. My son turned 12 in January and received the Aaronic Priesthood in February. This gave him the opportunity to go on his first temple trip with the Young Men in March. With JJ being on the Autism Spectrum, ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | Surprises
Journal Prompt: What is the biggest surprise that you have had in your life? My Journaling: One of the biggest surprises in my life was the way in which my husband formally proposed. We had talked about marriage and I knew we were going to get married, but I didn’t know when he would actually ask me. I never would have guessed that it would be in front of my entire family at Christmas time! He wrapped up a CD Case – so I of course, thought his present was going to be music. I opened it up, and it was a blank CD Case with a small note inside that said “Turn around.” I turned around and Joey was on one knee and he asked me to marry him. I hurled myself into his arms and was quite embarrassed when I realized that I didn’t even answer him! Of course I told him Yes. Each Tuesday, ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | Bucket List
Journal prompt: Is there something in your life that you have always wanted to do, but haven't done so, yet?> My Journaling: There are lots of things on the bucket list that I haven’t actually created yet. I really should do that sometime – but there is something that I always think about that I want to do. I want to visit Australia. I’ve always wanted to visit the outback and have that adventure. It’s the dream vacation that I hope someday to make happen! Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that ... [Read More]
Wednesday SayingZ | Together We Have it All
{ This week's saying } We may not have it all together but together we have it all! This is my new favorite quote. It has become our family motto. There are lots of things going on in my family’s life right now and most of the time it just feels like a crazy mess, but it definitely makes me feel better to remember that the most important thing is that my family is together forever! DOWNLOAD LINK I am a collector of quotes/sayings/titles and I am excited to share them with you each Wednesday. I hope they will inspire you and make your day a little better! I am also creating pieces of wordart with these quotes and will be offering them to you as a freebie! Feel free to use them in your scrapbooks or just print them out for wall decor! ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | Car in High School
Journal prompt: Did you have a car in high school? If so, what kind? What color? My Journaling: My brother-in-law had an old white Subaru car that he used for awhile to go to work in. He sold it to my dad the summer before my senior year. My dad – the mechanic that he is – fixed it all up and then together we re-upholstered it. I LOVED that car. I used it until I was married and have so many memories with it. Lots of those memories – involve it breaking down, but somehow it still has a very fond place in my heart. Like the night of my graduation, my friend and I were driving to Duck Creek to our graduation party and the car completely quit on us – turns out that the oil plug had somehow dropped out and I completely burned all the oil up. I remember having to call my dad on the cell ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | Favorite Outdoor Family Games
Journal prompt: Did you have a favorite game to play outside with your family when you were growing up? My Journaling: The one game that I remember playing outside as a family was basketball. Basketball was a big thing in our family. All of my siblings and I played on teams and spent a lot of time practicing. But I remember the special times when we would play HORSE as a family home evening activity or just for fun. It was great to have all of us together. My dad could always make the most amazing shots - like standing on the other side of the house and shooting the ball over the end of my grandparent’s roof to make the shot without even seeing where the hoop was. He won most of the time, but I remember having fun conversations and just having a good time as a family out on the ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | Hospitalizations/Surgeries
Journal prompt: Have you ever been hospitalized or had surgery? What were the circumstances? My Journaling: My first surgery occurred 8 months after I was married. We had struggled with “relations” and we finally discovered the reason. I had a tennis-ball sized cyst in my most private of areas. Thank goodness it was benign and it was removed in an out-patient surgery. I was sore for awhile, but the recovery wasn’t too bad. My next surgery occurred in 2005 - three weeks after my Bethie was born. JJ, Beth and I were living with Joey’s parents, while he worked away from home. Joey had been able to spend a week with us after Beth was born, but had gone back to work. We had already blessed Beth in church and we were just getting into a routine. I remember nursing Beth and getting both kids ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | First Date
Journal prompt: Do you remember your first date? My Journaling: I can’t at all say my first date was a good experience - actually for me it was mostly embarrassing. The summer before my junior year in high school, I turned 16. I was not the type of girl who boys wanted to date - I was more the friend and the go-between my girl friends and the boys that liked them. I had a few crushes and such but I was in no way close to having a date. Being a teenager, it was the worst feeling in the world to not be “liked.” Junior prom came around and it was a big deal in my very small hometown high school. There were 28 kids in my Junior class and everyone of them - except for me - had a date to prom. On the day of the prom, I sat in the school office making up the prom booklets (I was on the ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | Reading
Journal prompt: Do you enjoy reading? How many books do you usually read in a year? Do you have a favorite genre and/or series? My Journaling: I absolutely adore reading. There is nothing like stepping outside of your own life and immersing yourself into another world through books. I have loved reading for as long as I can remember and I am happy that I have handed the love of books down to my daughter. And thanks to the wonderful invention of the audiobook, I feel like I have been getting through so many more books and I love that. I would have to say that I read at least 20 books a year - I would love for it be more than that, but life prevents me from more. Before I was married, my favorite genre would have to be LDS Fiction (especially the romantic ones). At that time, that was ... [Read More]
