Happy Birthday Surfer Babe....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SURFER GIRL!!!!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE YOU WERE THIS TINY AT ONE DAY OLD...

AND YOU LOVED TO BE HELD IN MY ARMS ALL CUDDLY AND COZY.....

LOOK HOW ADORABLE YOU ARE AT THREE DAYS OLD...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A VERY SWEET AND ADORABLE PRINCESS!!!!

A Letter to Tiffeni

Dear Tiffeni,

Tomorrow my sweet Tiffeni, you are having your 14th birthday. My how the time has flown by from the day you were born until today. Seems like just yesterday we got the call saying you were here on earth and had a safe journey from heaven. I remember the first time I seen you and how my heart just melted. Your tiny features were so adorable and all I wanted to do was hold and rock you. You cuddled up against me and we rocked for hours that first day you were born and it never did stop as you grew older. Your favorite place was on my lap being rocked.

I love this picture. We are getting you ready in the dress I made for your blessing and you can see the hands of Meghan, Aunt Kelly, Mommy and Me (Grammy) as we are all helping to get you dressed. I have named this picture "Helping Hands". Grandpa blessed you that Sunday and he blessed you with a long life full of happiness and many other spiritual things. You have been our ray of sunshine and have been a true blessing from Heavenly Father.

You were so cute on your first birthday. We knew that you would alway love messes as you had your cake rubbed all over your face. It was in your hair and ears and up your nose. What a little mess maker you became. The happiest times were when you were the messiest.

Remember when you got to come to Salt Lake and spend a week with us. We went to the temple grounds and got to take your picture by the temple. We also went into the visitor's center and there was a portriat of President Hinckley that you and Meghan stood by and I took your picture with him.

You wanted to learn to sew when you were younger so one day we decided to make you a rag doll. I even let you sew her together. What a fun time you had and you did not even sew you fingers together. One day I hope that you will be able to use your sewing talent to make many wonderful things. Look at the beautiful girl you have grown into. I love you so very much and you are my special princess. Thanks for being that sweet adorable girl in my life and thanks for choosing me to be your grandmother. You are one very special granddaughter.

Have a very special day and I hope that you enjoy wearing your new birthday dress as much as I enjoyed making it for you. Have a great day and always wear that beautiful smile that melts everyones hearts. I love you precious Tiff.

Love,

Grandma

Draper Temple Open House

Today we went as a family to the Draper Temple open house. What a wonderful experience this was. To begin the tour we were instructed to go to a meetinghouse in Draper to watch a short movie about the temple and the purpose of the temple in our lives. From there we rode a bus to the temple and was able to walk through it and see all the different rooms.

One favorite room was the baptismal room. The font rests on the back of twelve white oxen, which symbolically represents the twelve tribes of Israel. From there we were able to go into other rooms and finally to the celestial room, my most favorite room in the temple. As we walked into this most gorgeous room there was no denying that our Father in Heaven's spirit could be felt. Such a warm and peaceful feeling enveloped my soul and body. It was hard to keep from letting the tears spill as the spirit was so strong. I wish I had the words to describe what I felt at that moment. I truly know my Father was in that room with me at that moment.

From the celestial room we were taken into a sealing room and were able to see the mirrors that simulates eternity and hear testimonies of two staff members. They shared with us of the time they were sealed as a family with their two small children. This brought back memories of when Dick and I were sealed in the Provo Temple after being married for twelve years. Nothing was more precious to me than to see my children dressed in white come into the sealing room. There we knelt at the alter and were sealed for all time and eternity as a family. I love the mirrors and when you look into them they just seem to go forever just like eternity is. The mirrors are on each side of the alter and when you are kneeling there with your loved ones, it is like seeing into eternity with them.

The things that were so impressive today were:

1. Reverence felt inside the temple
2. Feeling the spirit so strong
3. Cherry wood trim
4. Carpet that was hand sculpted
5. Volunteers so eager to help
6. Chandelier so gorgeous with it's 200 tiny lights
7. Soft warm colors
8. Celestial room so warm & inviting
9. Not wanting to leave
10. Peace
11. Being with family and seeing joy in their eyes
12. Knowing I have an eternal family

After the tour we went into the cultural hall at the church and had some refreshments. We talked with Canyon and Evan about the importance of the temple and asked Canyon if he felt Heavenly Father there. He said no. When we asked him if he felt different when we went into the room with the beautiful light and he said yes. We explained to him that he was feeling Heavenly Father's spirit.

This was such a wonderful experience to share with my family and to see the joy on their faces as we toured the temple today. We even took the time to take pictures of our families with the temple in the background.

Thanks, Kelly, for making the arrangements for us to visit the open house today.

Wrapped in Love...

All wrapped up in LOVE from Grandma!!!!

Can't wait for you to come from heaven,

Little Payton Riley Curry...

Update

Not to much has been happening at our house this week as Dick has been very sick. So sick, in fact, that he has not left the house until today. Seems strange to not have him out in the shop making toys.
Before he got sick some new doll furniture patterns came that he had ordered and it has been a challenge for him not to work on them. He did get a tetter totter cut out before illness hit his body. He brought it in for me to see today and it is adorable. We will be adding it, a doll swing and swinging cradle to our toy line this year.
I have been busy trying to get things ready for Payton to take with me when I leave for Denver on Feb 11th. She will be born on Feb 12th and I am so excited that I will be there for her arrival. A new baby in the family is so wonderful. Her quilt is finished, 3 receiving blankets with burp cloths along with a beautiful crocheted dress (blue) and booties are done. I have made some booties for everyday use for her also. I got my tickets for the travel and will be there for 2 1/2 weeks. Hopefully Brook will be more on her feet by the time I have to come home. Those C-sections are rough.
We have been doing our extractions and today was a challenge, only made it through one page as the writing was so bothersome. Monday and Tuesday I was able to do several pages, but today the priest must have been having a bad day. There have been repeat pages and entries from one page duplicated or changed on another page. Sure has been a tough day trying to read the needed information. Oh well!! I can only go on faith in this calling.

Foreign Language Anyone????

Well we have completed our first week of training and it sure was hard. We have to read images like the pictures above that were written in 1892 by a priest in the Luthern Church at a parrish in Denmark. It was surprising how fast we learned to pick up certain phrases and words while studying our manual and looking at the microfische films.

We are extracting christenings and you have to pick up the name of the child, sex of the child (it does not tell you and you have to go by the name and hope that you have not made a boy a girl or visa verse), the father and mother's names and the date the christening took place. Sometimes the writing is rather clear and you can see the name and other times it is awful and you have to go to another machine and look up what the name might be. Sure hope that the spirits in heaven have a sence of humor as they receive a new name that is similar to the one they were given on earth. We have been told that all things will be corrected in the heavens. Thank Heavens for that!!!

It is fun to go work on the extractions and I feel the spirits there with me as I try to decipher the info that needs to be extracted. This is going to be a fun calling for us.

Happy Birthday Brea

Today our sweet Brea is two. What a blessing she has been in our lives. She is such a special little girl and we could hardly wait for the phone call to come saying she had finally arrived from heaven. She is a bundle of joy and we love her so very much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET, PRECIOUS BREA!!!

Many Blessings!!!

Today as I was sitting in Fast & Testimony meeting my thoughts wandered somewhat and I realized I was silently recounting the blessings received in 2008.
We have been blessed with a loving family and our family grew with the addition of Hayden Tanner Curry, our 20th grandchild. We also were blessed with our first great grandchild, a little boy Jaxson, born to Dustin and Jill Jones (Dustin is our first grandchild).
Our children and grandchildren are healthy, wealthy and wise. Wealthy, not in monetary ways, but in blessings from above. I have watched each struggle with decisions to be made as to what would be best for their families. There have been moves and heartaches galore from each of them, but the happiness in righteous decisions out weighed the struggles. Laughter has been a great healing tool in our family. The family that laughs together, stays together. We laugh with and at each other so much and this proves we are an eternal family.
There have been many calls to the Ogden Temple, where names of family members have been placed on the prayer roll in hopes that hearts could be mended and injuries healed. Testimonies have been strengthened as one could see the hand of the Lord at work in the miracles that were performed in our family. Priesthood blessings healed the sick and family prayers strengthened the weak.
Thankfulness was felt as a son's orders were canceled, a grandson was healed, a daughter gave birth, our daughter was able to receive medical help so quickly, grandchildren were protected, hearts mended, the gospel guiding us daily and love of family so rich in our lives.
We were blessed with a very successful season in our business. We traveled all over the state of Utah and met many wonderful people. Some of our customers were repeat customers that looked for us at the different events. It was exciting to see them and to know them by first names. This was our third year doing concessions and I can't think of any other business that I would be as happy doing. We were able to expand the food concessions into crafts events also. In the early spring, fall and winter we did the crafts and during the summer we did foods.
Yes, I do agree that 2008 was a wonderful year and memories galore fill our souls. Welcome 2009!!!

Family Fun Day

We had such a fun day at the sledding hill today. The two little ones had so much fun going down the hill and there was even a jump to go over for the brave ones. Here are some pictures to even prove that Grandma was brave enough to go sledding.

Kristin Emily Hughes

Today is the one year anniversary of the passing of Kristin Emily Hughes. My thoughts and prayers are with Tami and her family today and hope that they will be able to make it through this tough day. Yes, Kristin was taken way to early in life, but maybe that is what was in the plans for her from our Father in Heaven.

I remember first meeting her and how sweet and friendly she was toward me. My heart just opened up and let her right in. I can still see her beautiful face and hear her jovial laugh. It was so easy to love her.

I pray that she is looking down upon her Mom and sisters today and that they will be able to feel her presences throughout this day. In our beliefs, we know that she is in a better place and is busy doing work that could not be done here on earth. There are loved ones with her that were as happy to see her return to heaven as her earthly family was when she was born. We all miss Kristin, but not as much as her sweet mother does.

Kristin, thanks for being a part of our lives for the short time you were with us.