Happiness

 Jonah   Carving Pumpkins for FHE at a friend's house.   Asher has dots on his hand to keep track of how many laps he runs during running club.  Jonah.  I let the kids scoop and carve and I take pictures and cheer them on- and maybe help a little. Josh does a lot of the helping of the scooping and carving as well!  Elizabeth seems a little grossed out by this. See those bracelets on her wrist? They are made on a rainbow loom out of rubberbands and are the new fad now- just like silly bands once were! The kids trade them at school and give them away to close friends. Our friends borrowed this cool, homemade train that is pulled behind a four wheeler-an Arizona tradition it seems! No, Jonah did not run as much as his hand shows- he decided to add more dots to it on his own! Happy Haunting, Everyone!!

  Elizabeth The Riparian Preserve is located a 5 minute drive from our house. We like to go there on Saturday Mornings or Sunday Evenings and let the kids explore. It has large, green grassy areas, quite a few man made lakes, a stream and various wildlife- lots of different birds (thus called the Riparian Preserve), ducks, animals, fish, turtles. You can even fish there, although it is often over fished and not very many fish are left! It also attached to the Gilbert Public Library, so I will sometimes walk around the largest lake before going to the Library. It's nice that the weather has been in the 80's- although lately it's been 87 degrees. The kids are still often wearing shorts and a t-shirt and for Halloween Asher is just wearing a t-shirt, shorts and gauze- a mummy! You can't do that anywhere else!   E than and Jonah  Asher boy- a little blurry.  A Large Tree the kids like to climb Me

The LDS Church has finally announced a date for the Open House and Dedication of the Gilbert Temple! (This is even better than 5 Cafe Rio Restaurants, In N Outs or IKEAS opening nearby! Ok. It doesn't even compare!). The Gilbert Temple Open House: January 18- February 15, 2014 Anyone and everyone is invited to the Open House. There you will be given a tour of the outside and inside of the Temple. Temples are the most sacred, special places on Earth, where one can feel close to God and feel His Spirit. We are excited to take our kids there, teach them about Temples and have them feel the Spirit that is there to be felt!  When we moved here two years ago, the Temple was in it's beginning stages of construction. It's been neat to see the process of it's growth. As a large group in our Church, we have focused on having better scripture study, daily prayer, weekly Family Home Evening, Service and Missionary Work, to help us personally and as a family ...

Jonah, the sleeping Pirate I am not a scriptorian, nor do I profess to be (although I would love to be one!). I often check with Josh while I tell the kids stories from the scriptures, to make sure I am correct. The people and places often seem to meld together. Lately, though, I have tried to implement some tips on scripture study as suggested by some of our Church Leaders. One: After recently finishing the Book of Mormon, instead of flipping to the beginning and starting over again, I picked up a brand new, clean copy (straight off my book shelf- waiting to be given away some day), a red pencil, a topic (hope) and started to read it- highlighting each moment that showed Hope or the lack thereof, as well as other favorite passages.  This has brought the scriptures to a new and different level for me. Verses have taken off different meaning to me than they ever did before. I see a direct association between the book's teachings and my life. It's been amazing....

My Grandma Cera with Molly and I (I am on the Right) Last Friday morning, on Oct. 18th, early in the morning and a little less than a year than when my Grandpa passed, my Maternal Grandmother, Grandma Evelyn Frances Cera, took her last breath in the company of her only son and slipped from this life into Eternity. I will always treasure and cherish her and the sweet memories that I have of her. She was the sweetest, and sometimes spunkiest, Grandma. She cared about her family deeply and spent much time thinking, talking about and serving them. Although she lived in Wisconsin her whole life and we lived- for the most part- on the other side of the continent, a wedding or vacation would bring us together. She mailed out Birthday and Christmas Cards- complete with a handwritten letter- faithfully. We lived near her when we were little and I have sweet memories of that time. Grandma, I love you and will miss you dearly. I wish I could have called you and told you I loved you one mo...

Jonah and Mayor John Lewis Jonah recently got awarded the "Student Citizen of the Month" Award for the month of September. This was a pretty big deal, since our school rotates which grade level it gives out the award to and only gives the award to a fourth grader twice in one year. Jonah was able to go to the city's monthly board meeting, shake the Mayor's hand, get a plaque and a bag with free goodies in it. His teacher came too to support him and Jonah loved it! It was also the Mayor's birthday that day so they had cake for everyone afterwards. Jonah doesn't get a lot of attention- being the middle child and being a second born twin. He is often quiet and can get overlooked easily. His teacher noted that he was a great example to the other students- always doing his work and turning it in on time, working well in a group and being polite and respectful. She said "I wish I could clone him!" (She went on to say- "I know he's a tw...

I lit a candle on Tuesday, because I felt like it, and then I realized it was National Infancy and Pregnancy Loss Day. This Month- October- is not only Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but also National Infancy & Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month. As a survivor of two miscarriages, my heart goes out to those who have experienced a loss of a pregnancy or of an infant. I am going to be open and honest. The TWO MOST difficult things that I have had to deal with are mental health issues and pregnancy loss. My pregnancy losses rocked my world. When I once thought I was a strong woman- a survivor, a return missionary, a finisher of a Bachelors education, someone who moved across the country without my family, a Mother of twin toddler boys, a Mother of four under the age of four- my pregnancy losses humbled me more than I had ever been humbled.  I was brought closer to my Heavenly Father than ever before. What made the most impact to me is that I felt invisible. I had four heal...

Grand Dad and Grandma Abbott with the kids I've decided to keep blogging! I can't keep away! Next week though I am starting a long term sub job as a aide in 2nd grade for six weeks (until Thanksgiving), so my posts may be intermittent. On Saturday Grandma Abbott and Grand Dad came to visit! Grand Dad gets a week or so off every October and they decided this year to visit four of their children in three different states.  They came in Saturday afternoon and after a tour of ASU and the Law School, they took us out to dinner to Tia Rosa's- a Mexican place close by that we've been wanting to go for awhile now! While there we realized that some friends had taken us there two years ago when we scoped out that area. They did not disappoint and the food, the staff and the atmosphere was lovely. Thank You, Mom and Dad! On Sunday, we went to our early (8 am!) Church, took naps and drove up to Grand Dad's cousin Sandy's home for a lovely dinner. We also stopp...

  Can you see that precious smile? Baby Abbott at 12 weeks. Hey, bloggers! I am finally feeling better! I hit 12 weeks a week and a half ago and began to start feeling better soon after that. That Sunday I was able to do everything I normally need to do! Hooray!! I still need to eat more often, but that is doable!   Crazy Hair & Mustache Day!   You can't see Elizabeth's hair very well- but those are cupcakes back there- with a cherry on top! So...I've decided to change my blog up a bit. From now on, this blog is going to be more of a monthly, Family Update blog. Look for a blog post the beginning of each month.This way, if I ever make this blog into a book, it will be a lot shorter and a bit more concise. Enjoy!