MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here are some of our favorite scriptures about Jesus Christ...the reason for the season.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:9-14)

"For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases. And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men. And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary. And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him. And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men. (Mosiah 3:5-10)

For behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance. (Alma 7:9-13)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting ilife. (John 3:16)

It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.

--- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our Family Doctor

This is John Allen, the best Physicians Assistant there ever was! (I wish the picture were larger.) He passed away this morning after a short illness that was discovered after he slipped and hit his head while serving his neighbors shoveling walks on Saturday. He has been our family doctor since I (Laura ) was young, and he has been so good to me, my parents, and my siblings. We will miss him very much! Cherry Tree Family Practice in Orem will never be the same. John was so kind and considerate and really listened to and cared for his patients. We love you, John! We will continue to pray for your family!

WINTER WONDERLAND

It looks like we will have a
WHITE CHRISTMAS afterall!
YEAH!!!

12 Days of Christmas

Elisabeth's Piano Recital

On December 10th Elisabeth had a Christmas piano recital. She did a great job! It was fun to hear her and her friends (Hannah, Aspen, & Jessica) play. Hannah's mom, Julie, is her teacher. She is the one in the red serving the cookies in the picture below.

Rebekah's 4th Birthday

Bekah turned 4 years old on December 9th. We celebrated with grandparents on the 7th so that Great Grandma McCluskey could be here. The cupcake cake.Jewelry box from Grandma and Grandpa Swensen. Tinker Bell from Great Grandma McCluskey.Remote Control Scootaloo from Grandma and Grandpa McCluskey.Bekah didn't like the ribbon on her head.My Little Pony Ponyville Sweet Sundae Amusement Park from Mom and Dad.Do you think she got enough gifts? (Laura shops early for birthdays and Christmas...starting in July...so sometimes she loses track of how much she has purchased.)
On her actual birthday, Rebekah got to have her first official birthday party with friends. It was a "Fancy Nancy" party. The dress-up shoes were too small and started falling apart, and the earrings didn't want to clip on correctly. But we hope the girls still had some fun getting fancy. What a bunch of cute little girls...Jennie, Mary, Amanda, Presley, Rebekah, Jenna, and Courtney...with lots of personality!!!

Elisabeth's Baptism

Elisabeth was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Saturday, December 6th. It was a gorgeous, sunny day! She looked so pretty in her white dress, and she was so excited about it. Roy baptized and confirmed her. We all felt the Spirit really strongly, and it was nice to think about Samuel probably being there with us. We all cried during the closing song, "A Child's Prayer", because we love it and the kids sang that at Samuel's funeral. It's Elisabeth's favorite Primary song. We gave her her own set of scriptures with her name embossed on them, and other people gave her some really nice things as well. Here are some pictures of her special day.

If the Savior Stood Beside Me

This is a new book recently released by Greg Olsen called "If the Savior Stood Beside Me", and the little boy on the front cover looks so much like Samuel to me. It was really interesting how I felt when I saw that book for the first time. I can't really describe the feelings, but I know Samuel is doing well and is happy. I just had to buy the book last night, and I have looked at it a million times in the last 24 hours. It was like getting a postcard in the mail from Samuel while he is on his vacation with the Savior. :-) They had even chosen to sing the song "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" at Elisabeth's baptism today (I'll post about that later). I am thankful for all of the little messages I feel I get sent from Samuel.

Festival of Trees (part 2)

Tonight I took Elisabeth and Rebekah up to the Festival of Trees, and we met Roy's parents and grandma, and most of my family. It was fun to look more closely at some of the trees. We still didn't see everything. After doing this two nights in a row, my feet hurt. I wish Roy could have been here, but we might go up on Friday during the day so that he can see everything. Here are some picture collages of the evening. I ran out of memory in my camera because I never delete the pictures off the memory card, so I had to borrow my dad's camera. I wasn't very good with it (sorry...blurry pictures).

More of Sammy's tree display:
Some of the other trees we liked (I took the picture of the golf club tree especially for my brother-in-law Tony who is an excellent golfer):
Some of the gingerbread houses (pretty amazing):

Festival of Trees

I attended the Festival of Trees bid night tonight. Samuel's tree display was so wonderful. I loved it! I cried, of course. He probably never would have had a bedroom like that in real life. I spent the evening with Trissa Peleschka and her husband Wolfe, her daughter Rachel, and my good friend (Trissa's youngest daughter) Katie Nicholson. Katie and I met at Primary Children's when her baby spent 3 weeks there with RSV during the same time Sam was there. Trissa donated the tree, and she and Rachel put it all together. I am glad that Primary Children's Medical Center will benefit from this, so that they can continue to help children get better. I know they wanted to make Samuel well too. I saw my friend Rosann there with her mother also. I am still amazed at how Samuel's sweet face draws people to him. The woman who bought his tree burst into tears when I told her that Samuel passed away. People are so kind, and it means a lot to me that they care.

14 Years

I am so late getting this posted. November 18th was our 14th wedding anniversary. I was thinking back to that day and wishing my pictures were not in storage so that I could put some on this blog. We got married in the Jordan River Temple. It was FREEZING cold that day with a blizzard, and I was afraid the point of the mountain would be closed. I remember just feeling relieved that Roy showed up! :-) Instead of decorating our car, they buried it in snow. It was awesome! It was a great day!

14 Reasons I LOVE Roy:
1. He is patient and hardly ever gets mad (and even then it's not bad).
2. He is thoughtful.
3. He is still a boy at heart and likes to have fun.
4. He listens to me.
5. He holds me when I am sad.
6. He is a great father.
7. He works hard for our family.
8. He has a lot of faith.
9. He is intelligent.
10. He always remembers important dates.
11. He makes me smile and laugh. He has a great sense of humor.
12. He loves my family.
13. He is generous.
14. He loves me and wants to be with me forever.

Can you believe how young (and skinny) we were?!?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Twilight

The first vampire movie I ever liked!

GO COUGARS!!!

Another Passing

I have a friend who died this week under sad circumstances, and it has brought a lot of my other grief back to the surface again. Last October my Grandma Crane died. Then in December my friend Keith passed away. Then my precious little Samuel. A few weeks ago my Aunt Karen left us, and now my friend Kim (who was also Keith's good friend "back in the day"). All in one year's time. All deaths were different, as were the individuals and their lives and circumstances. And yet they all touched my life in a positive way, and I will miss them. I am happy to know that they are all in a good place with people who love them and with lots to do.

There is a quote from a book called Picking Up the Pieces: Healing Ourselves After Personal Loss that has been stuck in my head for the past few months and sort of represents a big part of what I am learning from Samuel's death. “Each of us is living on borrowed time; each of us is trembling tenaciously on the edge of eternity. By choosing to ignore the fact that we’re terminal, we fail to live in the Now. But a realization of life’s brevity brings an appreciation of its beauty. This brevity and beauty add a new dimension to the present moment. By cutting life into small slices and living one slice at a time, we discover that indeed the best time is Now.”

LOVED IT!!!

Next Tuesday is our 14th wedding anniversary, and on our honeymoon in 1994 we saw Golden Eye. It sort of became a tradition. Last year we went to Casino Royale (my favorite Bond movie so far). We couldn't wait for next week to see Quantum of Solace, so we went today. I thought it was great and a good sequel to Casino Royale...I don't care what the critics have to say. It was great! Our anniversary date is to be continued on Tuesday. And then Twilight comes out next Friday. :-)

8 IS GREAT!

We can't believe our little Elisabeth is 8 years old! She makes our world a better place, and we are so happy to have her in our family. Here are some pictures of her big day.

Opening presents from Dad, Mom, and Rebekah before school.
"Ooh-la-la"...High School Musical!Elisabeth's new best friend is an iDog she named Cutie.
Queen of the Classroom.The whole loot after opening more presents from both sets of grandparents. The rest of the birthday cake that we saved from Lissa's birthday party.8 of the Millions of Things We LOVE About Elisabeth:
1. She is beautiful! We love her big, brown eyes.
2. She is sensitive to others' feelings.
3. She always tries to do what's right, and she says she's sorry if she makes a mistake.
4. She is brave, even when it is really difficult.
5. She likes to have fun.
6. She is a good soccer player, skateboarder, piano player, artist...she's good at it all!
7. She is a great friend.
8. She is OURS!

WE LOVE YOU, ELISABETH!!!

Elisabeth's Birthday Party

On Friday night we had a birthday party for Elisabeth with tons of her friends (Tammie, Brooke, McKenzie, Aspen, Hannah, Alyssa, Jessica, Teisa, Keisha, Emree, Kierschte, and Rebekah). It was CRAZY! But a lot of fun too. We watched Tinker Bell and ate junk food, played musical chairs, and even threw in a little fighting at the end (and then I made them huddle and say nice things to each other). Whew! I think Elisabeth has some really great friends.

Halloween

These are the Halloween costumes the girls had this year. They are actually both Elizabeth Swan costumes from Pirates of the Caribbean. I don't know why the picture was sort of blurry. Maybe they were just too overwhelmingly cute for the camera to handle.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Our

first
snowman
of
the
season.

BEWARE! ... Pirates Be Comin'

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

Tuckered

This was Bekah the other night after a long day at play. I had tucked her in bed with her sippy cup, and this is how I found her when I came back in to put Lissa in bed. She didn't even flinch when the camera flashed. She was so tired. I think it was funnier in real life, but I thought it would be fun to share.

The Red Barn

So we forgot to actually get a picture of The Red Barn, but we went there for Family Home Evening on Monday to pick out our Halloween pumpkins. It was a lot of fun, especially when we realized that Roy (um...er...I mean Rebekah) had left the car door wide open (we noticed as we rode away on the hay ride). Pretty funny! And even more funny is that no one bothered to shut it for us. Anyway, we rode out to the pumpkin patch and chose our pumpkins and then had yummy ice cream for dinner. It was a really beautiful evening but very cold! I think we'll make this a yearly tradition.

Witch-A-Palooza

Last weekend (October 11th) my sisters and Mom and I went for a Girls' Day Out to the Park City outlets and to see a dinner theater show called Witch-a-Palooza in Gardner Village. We had a great time! All of us were able to come except for Marci who happened to be in the process of giving birth to child #5 and grandchild #25. :-) I love my sisters...and aren't they beautiful?!!! Thanks to all of our hubbies for letting us have some time away.

That's a SSSSSPICY pot roast!!!

Today I over-seasoned our pot roast with the McCormick Grill Mates Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning. (I knew it was extra spicy when Roy, who LOVES things hot, choked on the first bite he took...not a good sign.) And since the roast was extra spicy (and garlicky), so was the gravy that we made from the drippings. I figured there would be much weeping and wailing from our kids for sure. They are not what you would call good eaters. However, to my utter astonishment this was the first meal in forever that Elisabeth ate (and asked for seconds) without one single complaint...not even about the green beans. Amazing!

Swensen Grandchild #25

Our new nephew, Chandler Wayne Harward, was born to Tony & Marci Harward this morning at 2:52 a.m. He weighed in at 5 lb. 15 oz. and was 18 3/4 inches long. He is 3 weeks early, but Marci was able to hold him off for the past 6 weeks, so we are thankful for that. She was very ready to be off bedrest. Chandler needed some oxygen help for his lungs, but he's breathing room air now. He's so sweet and perfect and doing well. Chandler is named after his Grandpa Swensen and is grandchild #25 for Wayne and Ginger. He is Tony and Marci's 5th child. We like to think that Samuel was there helping send him off on his earthly mission. We are sure they are good friends. Welcome to our family, Chandler!!!

Story Time

This is Bekah reading to Rick's dog, Mac. It was so cute how she would read the page and then turn the book to show Mac the pictures. I wish you could see the book better in the picture, but you get the idea.