Happy Easter...

I just want to say I am so grateful for the Atonement and the sacrifice of our Savior for all of us. It has so much more meaning this year as I ache for the loss of my sweet husband. I am so grateful for the gift of the Resurrection and the opportunity to be with the love of my life once again. We were able to go and have a couple Easter egg hunts and the boys of course absolutely LOVED them!! They were able to hunt with their cousins Ryan, Jacob and Drew at Grandma and Grandpa Stephenson's and my sweet cousin Michelle put on a neighborhood Easter party at her house with lunch and egg hunt plus games. The boys loved it and I was very impressed by her energy and thoughtfulness. The boys loved what the Easter bunny left. One of them commented, "The Easter Bunny is SOOO NICE!!" That made my heart happy. :) They also loved the goodies from their Aunt Amanda, Uncle Bob and cousins, and Aunt Lou, Uncle Matt and cousins. Thanks guys, for always thinking of us. We so appreciate all you do for us!! We also were able to go and enjoy a very yummy dinner at Uncle Matt's and Aunt Meg's house with Papa Jim and Grandma Carol. Everyone is so good to us. Thank you. Thank you. I really don't think I could possibly tell everyone enough how thankful I am for all the help I continue to get and just for the friendships and love shown.


I love these pictures of Garrett, they crack me up. I couldn't pick just one so I put them all on. He can pull some pretty crazy faces....

Porter Lost His 1ST TOOTH....

Porter has been working on loosing his first tooth and one day he was showing me how wiggly it was and we ate dinner and then he was watching a show and came running to me to let me know he had lost his tooth physically and literally. We are thinking he must have swallowed it, we looked all over but he has the tiniest little baby teeth so who really knows. I told him I was so sad how was the tooth fairy going to come when he didn't have a tooth to give them??? We didn't have time the night he lost it but we came up with the idea of writing a note to the tooth fairy and drawing them a picture of the tooth and see if the fairy would stop by then. The tooth fairy that comes to this house, sad to say, is one pretty crappy tooth fairy. He drew his picture and put it under his pillow and when he got up NOTHING. I couldn't believe the fairy forgot. Porter wasn't discouraged at all. I asked him if he was sad and he said, "No, maybe he found my tooth and left the money there." I was so glad he gave the fairy that idea and gave the fairy plenty of time to make it happen and then luckily grandpa was making pancakes for pancake Thursday and was distracting Porter. After the fairy had plenty of time to find Porters missing tooth I asked Porter if he checked under the kitchen table maybe that was where his tooth fell out and sure enough the fairy had left him a couple of dollars and lucky him Grandma Carol was on her way to pick him up and he got to go spend it at Target. Talk about one very lucky fairy!! :)If you look closely in this picture you can see the tiny space where the tooth is missing. It was very difficult to get a good picture of it. Porter is one wiggly little kid.Mason wanted in a picture. His smile in this picture reminds me of his Uncle Leigh.Porter's note to the Tooth Fairy...... Dear Tooth fairy. SRE (sorry) i lost mi (my) tooth. Wi (will) you pes (please) le (leave) me sum (some) mune (money). I love it when they are learning how to spell. It is a lot like my spelling, luckily I have spell check!! ;)

Blessed....

Although I would rather of had about a million different trials in my life then the one a will no doubt struggle with the rest of my life I would never in a million years change the fact that I was able to fall in love and experience the little bit of life I was able to with Trevor. Trevor is one of a kind with the best personality, so full of excitement, humor, and love. Trev made everything in life better and more enjoyable. I never wanted to leave his side, I just could never get enough of him. There are many reasons I feel so blessed in my life but I would just like to share one today that Porter shared in a talk during primary: Heavenly Father Speaks to us Through His Prophets:

I am so glad that Heavenly Father talks to the prophets and tells us things we should do. The prophets have told us that Heavenly Father would like us to keep a journal. President Wilford Woodruff has said that journals are, "of far more worth than gold."

I am so glad that my Dad listened to the prophets while he was serving a mission and kept a journal. It is fun for me to hear the stories on his mission and learn about the blessings Heavenly Father gave him for serving him. I like to hear how much he loves Heavenly Father and this church and that he knows they are true.

President Wilford Woodruff said writing in your journal can be a blessing to us and our families. I have a testimony of that because my Dad's journal is a blessing to me.

A few weeks after Porter gave his talk in primary Garrett got up all on his own and bore his testimony in sacrament meeting. Let me tell you the nerve factor of having him go up there and not knowing what he was going to say. My stomach was in knots. He did such a good job though. This is what he said, "I would like to bare my testimony. My Dad served a mission in the Philippines and he kept a journal. I love to hear his stories on his mission, they are a blessing to me. I can feel the spirit." Those might not be his exact words but close to it. I should have written it down when I got home. Anyhow, it sent me in to tears and then I had to leave. Garrett has such a sweet testimony and love for this church and his Dad. I am so proud of him and all of my little men. They have been such a strength to me and they have been amazing through all that they have endured. I too am so grateful for Trevor and the fact that he one served a mission and two that he kept a journal because it is such a strength to me and I know it will be a strength to the boys through out their life. Trevor has such a sweet testimony that he shares multiple times through out his journal and it is a confirmation of the wonderful person I have always known him to be. He has such a big heart and love for everyone he comes in contact with especially the less fortunate and he tells of his love for his family, friends, leaders and Heavenly Father. There is no hiding who you are as a person in your private journal and Trevor is as wonderful in his heart as we have all known him to be in person. I love and miss him so much!

I had to post these pictures of Porter because I forgot what a goof ball he use to be and it brought I smile to my face because Trev is such a goof ball too and I think they look so much alike. I am so sad that you forget what these little men looked like. I love the baby faces and chubbs!! : )