Rebekah

Rebekah has learned to write her first name! :-) I think it is so cute, and she really does a great job.

Next step...potty training (I hope).

Inspiration from Sheri L. Dew

On Thursday, February 19th, we had our Stake Women's Conference. The theme was "The Power to Become" and was taken from Sheri Dew's book "God Wants a Powerful People". We were so blessed to have Sister Dew speak to us! She is one of my favorite people, and she is such an inspirational speaker. Here are the notes that I took.

Just as Sister Dew and most of us use our cell phones, email, and other forms of modern-day communication to stay instantly connected with the world around us, it is critical for women to be continually connected to our Father in Heaven.

Revelation 12:7 says "And the dragon [Satan] was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Sister Dew said that we can take this scripture literally. Women are pivotal to the family and building up the Kingdom of God. Satan is running out of time, and he is wroth with righteous women for their influence.

Satan uses disruptive business practices. He distracts and disconnects us by 1) confusing us about who we really are, 2) keeping us from understanding what the Savior did for us through the Atonement and what He will do to help us now, and 3) stopping us from knowing how to receive personal revelation.

#1 We must understand who we are and what it means to be children of God. When we know we have a purpose/mission, everything changes. You will be happier than ever before. The great scriptural prophecies all talk about two things, Christ and the Last Days. We are the the "noble and great ones" (D&C 138, Abraham 3; Sister Dew recommended that we read and pray about these scriptures and ask if they apply to us). The Lord would not have saved us for the Last Days if He did not think we were strong enough.

#2 We must gain "unshakeable faith in Jesus Christ" and know that he will heal us of all things. He will heal our broken hearts, heal our wounded souls, make our weaknesses into strengths. Our difficult, heart-breaking experiences help teach us to trust in the Lord and to know that He will help us through everything. Sister Dew suggested we study Alma 7, Ether 12, Hebrews 11, Luke 4:18.

#3 Nothing is more important than to learn to recognize the Spirit and personal revelation. It takes practice with scripture study and prayer. Ask Heavenly Father to teach you how you receive personal revelation. Feeling the Spirit is different than receiving revelation.

Jesus Christ prophesied that in the last days "men's hearts [will fail] them for fear" (Luke 21:26). None of the "scary" things that are happening in the world today are a surprise to the Lord. We do not need to fear. He knew that we would be strong. He wants us here when the world falls apart. The Kingdom of God will not fail in our day as it has in other dispensations, and women have profound influence. We owe Adam, Eve, ** Abraham, Esther, Isaiah, Nephi, Moroni, Joseph, Emma, Eliza, Brigham, and * all of our predecessors our conviction!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day this year was great! Roy surprised me with an overnight date on Tuesday to The Anniversary Inn in SLC. We ate at Sizzler and then just watched movies and relaxed in the Carriage Suite. We've stayed in that one before, and we love it! It was a great night away. We stayed up too late, but we slept in late too. Then we went to the Jordan River Temple for a session in the afternoon. We got married there 14 1/2 years ago, but we had never been back. It was really wonderful. While sitting in the Celestial Room, I felt such peace...like everything was alright with my world. Then we ate Swedish meatballs at IKEA and bought some of our favorite treats there (Bilar, Anna's Pepparkakor, but no chocoloate this time) before heading home. It was a sweet Valentine's gift!

Our girls were given so many gifts and so much attention while Samuel was in the hospital last year, so we decided to include Megan and Logan in our Valentine's gifts this year. We bought each of them an outfit and some candy. Of course, Logan's outfit couldn't match the girls' outfits or he would have been offended. He was pretty happy with Transformers. We gave the gifts on Friday the 13th since Megan and Logan were going home for the weekend with Janice. We had to get some photos. The four-year-olds are funny.

This morning Elisabeth and Rebekah were thrilled to receive a package from Great Grandma McCluskey with these adorable little plush bears. She made the cute outfits, and they just happened to match their Valentine's outfits. :-)

Black-Eyed Bekah

The goose egg from last week gave Rebekah some pretty good black eyes.

2-7-09

2-8-09

2-9-09

Follow the Recipe

So I was making Pluckits the other night, and the recipe says the dough (Rhoades or whatever) should be "thawed but still cold". I had to use the quick-thaw method because I could not wait until the next day to satisfy the high-carb craving, so my dough was not "still cold". Now I know why that is an important detail to pay attention to.

At least upside down they looked alright. And they still tasted good (and my dad even liked the crispy pieces). Craving satisfied!

No Rest Tonight

This is how I found Roy and Rebekah this afternoon. So sweet!!! But if Rebekah even takes a 10 minute nap during the day, she will not go to bed forever at night. They slept for 1 1/2 hours! Yeah, she's still awake, and it's almost midnight.

Pirate Island Friday Update

More descriptive updates are on the Pirate Island Orem blog.

One year ago...

This is where we were 1 year ago.

February 5, 2008:



February 6, 2008:



February 9, 2008:

I am so thankful we are not in that same place today. I am also thankful that Sammy improved after that first week and was able to look like himself again.

I miss Samuel so so so much. This is the way I try to remember him (all taken in January 2008):

My little goofball!!! These pictures make me smile.

OUCH

What do you get when you mix these two wild 4-year-old cousins? They ran head-on into each other during a crawling race.

Pirate Island Progress

We are excited for the progress being made at Pirate Island. A lot has happened there in the past 2 weeks. Roy has been busy. In the picture he is standing in what will be his rather long and skinny office. They are still aiming for a mid-March opening.

Twins

This is Aspen and Elisabeth at dance. They could be twins!

Bedtime

I love rocking my girls. Usually they fight over who gets to sit on my lap, but once in a while they will cooperate and share. This particular night, they both actually fell asleep.

Christmas Morning

Here are some pictures of Christmas morning.

Christmas from the McCluskeys

Elisabeth and Rebekah got a neat gift from Roy's parents. It is the doll bunkbeds that Jaynann, Roy's mom, had as a child. It was made for her by her grandfather (so that's Elisabeth's and Rebekah's great great grandfather). It came with the original bedding that Roy's grandma, Virginia Jolley, made for it (plus some additions). We were so excited to get something so special. Roy's grandmother, Gwen McCluskey, gave the girls each a doll to go with the bunkbeds. Brent and DeAnn (Roy's brother and his wife) and their kids sent the girls a really neat book called Return to Fairyopolis, and gave all of us a neat 4ever5 Christmas tree ornament. They are so thoughtful!

Swensen Family Christmas Party - December 19, 2008

At our Swensen family Christmas party the kids all got new pajamas and did a book exchange. It's a fun tradition every year. We also eat the same meal we have been having since Laura was young. Tradition is a big deal in the Swensen family. :) Roy spent much of the evening holding Chandler, grandchild #25. We were so happy to finally meet the newest little Harward. It's always fun to get together with family.

Elisabeth's Charlie Brown Tree

Elisabeth is so creative. The guy at the Christmas tree lot gave her the top of a tree that he had trimmed, so she made her own decorations for it. She even put it out for Santa to put her presents under on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Catch-Up: Gingerbread Houses

Every Thanksgiving weekend, we get together with all of the Swensen cousins (except Marci's kids this time) to decorate gingerbread houses. It's always a lot of fun for the kids. Roy helped this year, which was nice! It doesn't show in our picture, but one of Santa's elves was up on the roof watching during our outside group shot. He checks on the Swensen cousins once in a while to see if they are being naughty or nice. I guess they were nice cuz Santa showed up at everyone's houses.