2026- Week 4(Jan 19- Jan 25)

Jenafaes wedding was on the 24th. We all went up to help decorate the stake center gym the night before. Drakes dad had built a beautiful porch swing and poles to drape the whole room in tuile for his sister Paiges wedding so we used those for this wedding too. The sealing was by Mike Gailey and it was one of the best I have heard. He talked about the altar as a symbol of the atonement and it was so beautiful picturing them "kneeling" on Christ and the three of them making a covenant together. Brother Gailey also lost his mom before he got married so he had them bring in an empty chair for her. We did pictures outside afterwards and it was freezing!! Her Papa went to get the car and we couldn't find him which was funny but not funny ha ha. Every wedding has to have a fun story of something that goes awry. We took mom to get Culvers between the sealing and the reception. Jeff, Ashtyn and I also went to the mall for a little bit. At the recaption they had Cafe Rio for dinner and then Jenafae played "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic on the piano, did a father daughter dance and a mother son dance. Her and Drake love to read so they used books on the table and Drakes dad made a huge book that you walked through at the entrance. We blew bubbles for their exit. Everything turned out so perfectly. 

2026- Week 3(Jan 12- Jan 18)

 It was Burkes birthday so Joidee made him a cake. I got the ingredients out and she measured them all and mixed it up. She also made the frosting. It ended up tasting terrible they said ha ha. Not sure what we did wrong but it made her so happy doing that for him. 

Joidee and I took a temple drive tour. We went to Oquirrh Mountain, Jordan River and Taylorsville. She didn't want to get out of the car so we just drove by. 

Andrea heard me mention this shirt when we went to the concert but they weren't selling it so she bought it for me for Christmas. I was so so surprised.

My wax bulb is blooming.

2026- Week 2(Jan 5- Jan 11)

Joidee wanted to make dinner for Burke and the boys so we found a recipe, went to Harmons and bought all the groceries and then came back and made it. She cut the cucumber and avocado for the salad and made the salad. She also sautéed the onions and mushrooms. I was so proud of her and I think it made her feel normal again for a minute. 

We held our annual Young Women Birthday party. I helped decorate and make the photobooth wall. We had the girls design shoes and gave them a shoelace tag that says "Walk With Me" on it. It was so fun.

I took Joidee down to see her dad and step mom Marlene. She loves to get out of the house and Marlene is also house bound much of the time too. We brought them lunch and had a great visit.

This week Marilyn Fitzgerald turned 93. I took her some paper flowers and we had a nice visit. She is one of my favorite people.

We took Brian and Melissa to dinner to thank them for all of their service in the bishopric. We went to Salsa Leedos. They are some of our best friends and we are so grateful for all they have done for us over the years.

The Young Women Presidency reorganized the roles we each have. Laura Lay and Elizabeth Nield got released. Now Katie Hutchison and I are over Class 3 and Katie Snow the president will just be a support. I am over lessons, trainings and ushering.

Another gorgeous sunrise.

2026- Week 1(Dec 29- Jan 4)

 All the kids came over on New Years Eve and we played games and got Chick-Fil-A. Luke brought a new game called Chameleon that was so fun. 

We went bowling with the Pearson's on New Years Day. It was just Jeff and I this year. We went to Cathie's after for brunch as well. I ran into Kristy and Jen at the Smiths buying their assignment as well. None of the Randall's came this year. 

It was a pretty chill week. I worked at the temple on Saturday.

2025- Week 52(Dec 22- Dec 28)

Scott and Malia hosted their annual Christmas Adam Party this week. This year they served enchiladas that were so good but I only ate a little to try to avoid my usual stomach ache. We exchanged White Elephant gifts and the coveted gift this year was a tshirt Ashtyn made with photos of Jeff on it that said Jeffrey Star at the top. It was supposed to be a play on the real Jeffree Star ha ha. Everyone loved it and wanted it. We brought some Shanker socks with a picture of a golfer getting mad on the course on them and then a set of portable lunch accessories- condiment cups and a silverware set. I have tried to bring things that people might actually use instead of just junk that will take up space ha ha. We played the money game and this year Scott gave everyone $6 for a grand total pot of $144. All three of our kids were in the final three at the end but then Porter ended up winning. We were all glad that a child actually won this year instead of an adult like the last several years. The new rule is that you can't win back to back years so Jeff could not have won this year because he was last years winner. Westin and Luke were both there which was so fun. All the kids got socks with magnetic hands that would hold hands if you stood next to each other. It was awesome and it is always the best night. 

We got to have Westin and Ashtyn with us for Christmas. So all the kids slept over on Christmas Eve. We had our traditional dinner of ribs, green beans, salad and rolls. Then we went to Christmas in Color. They lengthened it this year so it was a 45 minute experience and the line to get in was not nearly as long which was awesome. They gave us all 3D glasses that made the lights look psychedelic but only Westin wore them the whole time. When we got home we opened pj's. Westin and Ashtyn bought their own, and then we watched the Chosen Christmas Special called The Shepherds. It was so beautiful and brought the spirit so strong. Afterwards we watched our traditional Christmas Vacation and I did not love destroying the perfect spirit we felt with that movie. Jeff agreed that maybe in the future we watch that a different day and let Christ prevail on Christmas like he should. I actually listened to the John Bytheway podcast earlier in the day when I was cooking dinner. They had interviewed Bonnie Cordon and she talked about the three levels of Christmas. Level One is Santa, Level Two is Baby Jesus and Level Three is Atonement Jesus. We want to try to stay in Level 2 and 3 but it can be so hard. 

Christmas morning I woke up early to start breakfast- egg casserole and cinnamon rolls. Everyone got up around 8:15. We opened presents. Some of the favorite gifts were: Jeff- Bose Headphones, Amanda- Hand painted sign that says "Indeed a house is a little church" which is a quote that Whitney heard by St. John Chrysostom and thought I would love. I do love it. She had Rylee Kelley paint it for me. Ashtyn- , Whitney- A Bondi Brush and Ethan- Money(per his request). We were so spoiled as usual. Afterwards we went to Nana and Papa's for lunch to be with the Shaw's. I got the game Blank Space and the book Persuasion from Paul which I love. We gave Nana and Papa a gag gift in addition to the gift cards we all went in on to Ruth Chris Restaurant. I made a handprint of Jeff's out of salt dough and painted it to look like Santa Claus. Then I put Jeff's 50th Christmas- 594 months old on it. Ha Ha! Jeff finished the advent puzzle. That was a fun little holiday activity that we might carry on. 

The day after Christmas Jeff and I ran a few things back to the stores and there were no lines which was so surprising.

Sunday we held a combined meeting for Sunday School to watch an area broadcast. They wanted you to watch with your families so they split the ward into three groups and had a member of the bishopric lead each group. It was all about Gathering Israel One by One. Halley Seim said she likes to change the word gathering to loving- it makes more sense to her and really isn't that the point of the gospel to bring everyone by showing them God's love.