Wrapping it up

Well, it is the end of 2016
It has been an incredible year.
Last year I looked forward to many things like becoming a grandma, Dallin serving a mission, hiking Crow Pass, changing my diet and growing loads of things.
All those things happened.
There was only one thing I wrote down that didn't and that was graduating with my BA. Since that post in Dec of 2015 I decided to get a double degree, so I look forward to graduating this year.

Highlights of 2016 were the following:
*Kenna getting her PB
*Hiking Thunderbird Falls in the winter
*Kayaking Hale Lake
*Afton joining the family
*Dustin getting baptized
*Going to Conference
*Dallin graduating high school
*Working at the market
*Dallin getting his mission call
*Girl's camp
*Hiking Reed Lakes
*My college friends coming
*Crow Pass
*Becoming the Ginnyologist!


This year I am looking forward to many things as well. 
*We leave soon for our Florida/Bahamas vacation. I am incredibly excited about that.
*Trek 2017 is going to be awesome because all our kids get to go and we were called to be lead Ma and Pa.
*Makenna will likely get her permit.
*Brittan will graduate high school and I will graduate college.
*I also want to take several trips: one to Rootstech in February in Salt Lake, a New York/Missouri family vacation in the Fall, and I hope to take a trip to Maryland so I can visit Tracie and then go to the National Archives in DC. 
* Time Out For Women is coming to Anchorage in April- super excited for that.

I have loved this year. Many, many great things happened. I totally look forward to next year and all that will be done and all the memories we will make together.

Christmas Festivities

Our Christmas season is almost over.
Christmas day is drawing to a close and it's been a wonderful month.
Last night we had the missionaries over.
We ate lasagna and garlic bread.
We lit off fireworks, including blowing up a creepy gnome and decorated gingerbread houses.
We also opened up pj's for everyone.

This morning we opened the few presents that we had.
It's a low key Christmas since we are leaving for Florida in less than a week now.
Corban was so excited that we got the four wheeler fixed for him.
Then we went to church for one hour and sang beautiful Christmas hymns for an hour.
This afternoon was spent relaxing.
We got to talk to Dallin on Skype.
Both Kenna and I cried.
We also talked to Sam, Afton and Dustin.
Afton was so excited to see me.
I wish they weren't so far away.

It has been a good Christmas.
We've had opportunity to share some of our blessing with others.
Life is beautiful and I am so grateful every day for this life that I get to live. 

Winter break begins!

This morning for semianry we ate pancakes and sugar cookies and played murder ball.
I told them that I love them and so does the Savior.
We took a very blurry seminary selfie and then they were off to the bus.
I love teaching seminary.
Some days it is hard.
Some days it is wonderful.
All days I love them and love talking about the scriptures with them.
It's a pretty great thing to do every morning at 6 am.

Now it is winter break.
That means I don't have to get up at 445 am.
I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Twenty Two years

Eleven days ago Matt and I celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner and grocery shopping.
We're party animals!
Last night we sat down and reviewed our 22 years of marriage from memory and scrapbooks. One thing we noticed was that he have filled out for sure! I guess age will do that sometimes.
Another thing we noticed was that we have lived a lot of life in those years.
I decided to do a review here, it was an idea I stole from another blogger.

1994-
Matt returned from his mission/we got married in December
1995-
We moved to Burley, Idaho
1996-
Gave birth to Samantha Patrice/ moved to Phoenix and then Mesa, AZ/ Matt was called to work in the temple in Mesa
1997-
Gave birth to Dallin Fox/ moved to Paulden, AZ
1998- 
Mostly just enjoyed our kids and lived in a mouse infested trailer that we lovingly called the Hauntavirus trailer. We were so, so poor!
1999-
Gave birth to Brittan Emily at which time I almost died, but I lived!
2000-
Moved into our first house that we built on Bayberry Rd in Paulden
2001-
Matt went to Alaska for the summer which set off a chain of events
2002-
Moved to Alaska/ Makenna Brynn was born/ Matt's parents passed away/ Matt started his own construction business
2003-
Christmas in Arizona and Utah
2004-
I jumped out of a plane/ we started our house on Stonebridge/ Samantha got baptized
2005-
Corban Jacob was born/ Dallin got baptized/ we moved into our Stonebridge house
2006-
I ran my first 5k/ we took our first trip to Seward, AK/ Matt and I nailed our Dorothy and Scarecrow costumes/ Matt surprised me with an overnight trip to Seattle for our anniversary/we took the kids to Arizona and California(Disneyland) for Christmas
2007- 
Matt got called to be in the bishopric/ my parents moved to AK/ Matt built our first real greenhouse/ Brittan got baptized
2008-
I graduated from UAA with a AA degree/ we moved out of our house into the lady house in hopes of selling/ Matt and I went to Hawaii for three days/ Matt officiated his first civil wedding/Sam went to the temple for the first time
2009-
I completed my first triathlon/ Dallin went to the temple for the first time/ Matt took me Halibut fishing for my birthday
2010-
Matt and I performed in a Broadway musical/ Sam went to her first stake dance/ Matt killed his first moose/ Makenna got baptized.
2011-
Bought our commercial greenhouses/ Matt and I took a South American cruise/ I ran a 1/2 marathon and became a group fitness instructor
2012-
We got Milo/ Brittan went to the temple for the first time
2013-
We got Jamie/ Matt and I hiked Mt. Marathon/ Dallin and Sam became licensed drivers/ Matt and I were Trek ma and pa/ Corban got baptized
2014-
We bought Harvest Point Farms/ Makenna went to the temple for the first time/ Matt and I took a trip to Missouri and Texas/ I started Pathways/ Birthday glacier cruise
2015-
We brought Jacob home from the hospital/ We moved to Harvest Point Farms/ took the family to Hawaii/ I started teaching seminary/ Samantha got married
2016-
Dallin received his endownment, got his mission call and became a full time missionary/ Our first grandson Afton was born/ Matt got called to the High council

That is a very full twenty two years. I can't wait to see what the next 22 will bring!

Sumos

Kenna, Corban and I all tried out the sumo inflatables that I won at the family party last night! Good times with these guys.

Hayes Family Christmas 2016

This year we decided to do something different for our Christmas party.
This family just keeps growing and growing and growing and only one person has a house big enough for all of us anymore and he refuses to share his house.
So we reserved the church for the party.
It was perfect!
We had tons of room and the kids could go crazy!
Marissa had this brilliant idea to tie ribbons around the chairs and the kids took them off and then dragged eachother around on them all night. It was awesome!
The food was great. The company was wonderful. The gift exchange was fun.
I love this big crazy family of mine.

The Penny Flour game

This morning for seminary we played a few games with John 17. First we did two truths and lie. Each of the kids had to come up with two truths and one lie from John 17 and try to stump me. Brittan won that one because her wording was just off enough that I didn't answer right.

Then we played the penny in the flour game and Bri ended up having to fish the penny out with her mouth. I asked the kids afterward how it applies to the what we learned. There were a lot of blank faces and then she said, "We are the penny and we are in the world. Sometimes we fall down and then we can be saved by a big Jesus mouth." We laughed at that but it is totally true. He are in the world and told not to be of it, but sometimes we fall and get flour on us. The Savior makes it a way for us to be saved from the flour of the world. I love that!

A Christmas Carol

Life has been so crazy for these two girls for weeks and weeks and weeks.
They decided that they wanted to be in a play so when the opportunity arose for them to try out for the Christmas Carol they did.
They both had speaking parts and did incredible.
I know it was a lot of lost sleep for them.
I'm also a little worried about their grades....
It is so fun to see our kids grow up and enjoy what life is offering them.
I couldn't ask for better children.
Basically I think I am the most blessed woman around.
I am glad that they are done though so I can see them at night before going to bed.
And soon we're going on vacation! YAY!!!

Winter Wonderland

Yesterday morning it was clear out and as I watched the sun start to come up I knew it was going to be magical outside. I donned my boots and coat and went out to the lake to try and capture some of what I was seeing. It was so incredible. The light reflecting off the ice covered trees was breath taking. The cold was breath taking as well. Literally. It hurt to breathe.

Then I went out front and captured more wonder. It was seriously so incredible and I felt privileged to witness it. Then I ran inside to try and warm up. It really is cold out there. This morning -8 on the way to seminary. Sometimes the most beautiful things in life require discomfort.

Testimony

Tuesday night I read Al Caraway's book More Than The Tattooed Mormon before wrapping it up and sending it as a gift to a loved one. It is such a great book. There were many things she said in there but one has stuck with me. She talked about how once a month, on fast Sunday, she writes a journal entry about how her testimony has grown during that last month. I thought that was such a great idea. Then I started thinking about how my testimony has grown just in the last week and decided that I wanted to share here. Bare with me as I try to get my thoughts out.

I had to read a talk by Spencer W Kimball called Jesus: The Perfect Leader (I tried to link it up, you'll need to google it) for a class assignment this week. There were two things he said that keep testifying to me. The first I put on the picture above. EVERY PERSON! Every person we see is given to us. If we all realized this the world would be such a different place. And he said,  

"Jesus saw sin as wrong, but also was able to see sin as springing from deep and unmet needs on the part of the sinner." 

 I thought about those that I love that are in the depths of sin. I thought about what unmet needs they may have. I can't really answer that question very well, but it helps me see people differently. It makes me want to fill their unmet needs so they will not have to feel the effects of their sins. I can do that for some. I really can. I can do that for a portion that has been given to me.

Another thing was the feeling that a conversation I had with one of my children about how it was explained to her how gender and sex are two different things left me. It left me sad but also made me think of a message I had just listened to that quoted Dallin H Oaks when he said, "I conclude that followers of Christ think differently than others." He went on to say, "When I say that Latter-day Saints “think differently,” I do not suggest that we have a different way of reasoning in the sense of how we think.  I am referring to the fact that on many important subjects our assumptions-our starting points or major premises-are different from many of our friends and associates.  They are also different from many assumptions currently used in the media and in other common discourse." This made me think of a post someone very close to me put on Facebook that was totally against the things she has been taught and against the doctrine of God. I remember talking to Matt about something else that she had done and saying "She just doesn't think normal." Now I realize that maybe she just thinks like most of the world and I think like a Latter-day Saint.

I then thought of Mormon and how he lived in a world of people who thought differently than him and he could not do anything about it. (Mormon 2) They ALL denied Christ, delighted in bloodshed and would not repent. I don't live in that world yet, but I believe Mormon gave it as a warning of what would happen. The world is blurring the lines of things and our kids are in the middle of it. Are we doing enough to help them find protection?

The other testimony builder came from seminary this morning. We were discussing John 11 when Lazarus was raised from the dead and this is what we came up with for lessons that are taught in that story.

*Christ has power over death
*Even if it feels like He is never coming we can't give up hope vs. 6, 21, 32
*Sometimes things are allowed to happen so we will believe in Christ vs. 4
*Prayer ALWAYS proceeds the miracle v 41-42
*Like Martha and Mary, we can choose faith even in our most difficult times. They send for him v 3 and Martha testified of Him v 22
*When we pray in Christ's name He always hears us because He always hears Christ. vs 42- one of the students said- "You just blew my mind!"
*Christ only does for us what we can't do for ourselves. He did not get Mary himself, move the stone or take Lazarus' wrappings off. He had them do it.

These types of experience solidify my testimony that protection comes from studying the word of God. We study it and apply it and we correct errors when we hear them. That is how we think differently then the world and I think that is an incredible blessings to not be 'tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine' (Eph 4:14)

This week I find myself grateful for all that has strengthened my testimony and this activity makes me wonder how much more I have missed in the years of my life by not recording those things.

4 teen- Really?

Today our Makenna turned 14. She's sassy and intelligent. She knows what is right and wrong. She is a good friend to her friends. Her and Brittan get a long really well. She loves to go to Lucky Wishbone for her birthday. I'm not sure how many times in a row this is. She is a really good person. She makes me laugh. And now she gets to go to stake dances and get her driving permit as soon as she says she's ready. Too fast! But I love being her mom!

Plus, the old lady with the french fry sticking out of her mouth in the background is priceless. Just saying! 

Day Four: Worship

The church put out a challenge this Christmas season called #lighttheworld and it is doing 25 acts of service for 25 days. Today is all about WORSHIP. When I woke up this morning I started thinking about worship. The definition to me of worship is emulation, but I started thinking about how that really works. We talk about worship services and people going to church on Sundays, but I feel like worship has more to do with just showing up to church on Sunday  and serving there.

I remembered reading a talk this last week called The Blessings of Worship and I reread it to see what more I could gain from it. When I studied it previously I had marked action words associated with worship. These were some of the words-

Approach, Acknowledge, Accept, Respect, Submit, Lift, Cherish, Rejoice, Commit, Receive, Call

Then I read this- The first elements that accompany true worship of the divine are a sense of majestic awe and profound thanksgiving. 

The message talked about Alma the Younger and how his worship took the form of ENERGETIC DISCIPLESHIP. Are we excited about the teachings of the gospel? That is a way we worship!  

Like the scripture above states, Worship is NOT just a once a week thing but something we can do every single day. I can worship by pondering my scriptures. I can worship by calling upon Heavenly Father in Christ's name day and night. I can worship by being grateful for those things that surround me. I can worship by being an "energetic" disciple. I can worship by opening my heart to the Atonement. I can worship by doing my best to follow the example of Christ in how I treat others. 

The promises that come from this type of worship are-

We become more understanding

We become more forgiving

We become more loving

We gain a determination to walk in the paths of discipleship

Our souls are refined

We acquire charity

Our lives are enriched

Our testimonies are strengthened

AND

"We gather heavenly light into our souls that infuses our lives with divine meaning, abiding peace, and everlasting joy!"

Those are blessings I want. So today I am focusing on being an energetic disciple of Christ as I worship the best way I know how.  

 

Snow and Gummy Bears

Yesterday I took Corban and Makenna shopping with me. I was working on getting stuff for packages that need to be sent out. While we were shopping Corban found these giant gummy bears and insisted that they should go in the stockings. I said yes. Then this evening they ate them! Corbans face is a little blue and he said he feels sick.

On a fun note, it FINALLY snowed enough that I think we might have a white Christmas. In fact, it has been snowing all day long. It is beautiful outside and now we can go sledding. As soon as I get done with finals.....