My testimony

I have been wanting to share this for a long time, but between letting life get a little too crazy and worrying that I can't do this adequately, I've put it off.  This is one of those times when I really wish with all my heart that I was a gifted writer.  I know some people that are brilliant at expressing themselves in writing and I admire them more than they could know.
There are some things that I feel quite strongly about.  I know that God is real.  I don't know a whole lot about God, but I am certain He is real and I am certain that He loves us.  I know this because of the countless answers to prayers and miracles I have witnessed.  Things that I could only explain by the reality that God is aware and involved in our lives.
I also know that Jesus Christ lives.  He lived, died, and lives for us today.  What the Bible says about him is true.  He is our greatest friend and ally.
I know that my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ("Mormons") is true.  There are a lot of people out there that want to prove otherwise.  I've looked into their views.  I've thought and prayed about it.  It just leaves me feeling dark and confused.  But this I do know: that my church does a great deal of good.  There are definitely many people in the church that screw up and do bad things.  But I have learned from personal experiment that the closer I am to living the life that I am taught to live at church, the happier I am.  The happier my family is.  The stronger I feel.  The more peace I feel.  There is a great sense of joy and wholeness I feel as I draw closer to my Savior, study the scriptures, and pray to my God.  There isn't a doubt in my mind that as far as a happy and fulfilled life, this is the best thing for me and for my family.  It's all laid out for us and it's beautiful.
I wish everyone could experience this.

My Marathon

 My husband and mom and sisters were the best cheerleaders EVER!

 At the start line.

 The gorgeous Fall colors.

 Emily running the last mile with me.

Photo Blitz

 Here are the plates we made at the pottery place for a Family Fun Day.  They turned out cute!  We love using our new plates for dinner.

 I had to run to Wallmart with Jonah and as we were in line to checkout, he went and helped this lady (total stranger) in front of us to unload her cart.  And if that wasn't enough to make a moms heart go all mushy, he proceeded to push her cart to her car and unload it!  I was super proud.

 These two are painfully adorable.

 I took the babies to Chuck E Cheeses the other day as a reward to Charity for maturing to a potty trained toddler.  We couldn't resist the urge to let Chuck E. sketch our portraits for us.

 I cleaned out our garage finally!  After living in our house since May, we can now park in it.  This was monumental.  But even more exciting for the kids was this snake I found in the garage when I was cleaning.

 This is Sam at our park.  He and I took a walk there the other day and relished crawling around in the grass together.

 Isn't Hana the cutest?!  Here she is at our last Serving With Smiles project.

 Charity at Cornbelly's.  They had a dress up section.  She love stripping down and changing her clothes multiple times a day.  So this was right up her alley.

 Princess Hana.

 Charity admiring herself in the mirror.

 She definitely thinks she's the fairest of them all.

 Charity and her cronies.

 My boyfriend Samuel.  He and I have so much in common.  We both are addicted to Nutella sandwiches.

I fully realize that I have a bunch of photos of only half of my kids here.  I am not however sure why I keep doing this.  The other 4 are equally loved.  I assure you.