Our Newest Family Members!

After the baptism we had a bridal shower for Erin! Brian's brother Darin will be marrying Erin on November 14th! She and her mother (right) Suzanne were baptized last month in Georgia! They have since moved to Victor and we are very glad to welcome them to our family! Erin has a 4 year old son, Clay, and he while he's not too into us "girls" he has taken to his new "Uncle Brian" and seems to get along with Emily and the other kids well! The bridal shower was a blast and we had fun getting to know Erin and more importantly helping her get to know us! Craziness and all!

Erin and Suzanne

4 pieces of Bublicious in her mouth! She only missed 4 out of 13 questions about her future husband. Really good!

We had a "wedding dress competition" out of wrapping paper our three models were SO beautiful! The competition got a little intense and we we're there were no fist fights!

Bride Kayleigh!

Bride Emily!

Bride Marlene! (Brian's Grandmother!)

After it all Grandma Hansen gave her bouquet to Erin and "welcomed" her to the family!

Logan's Baptism!

This weekend has been wonderful! Last night Nathan, Brian's youngest brother received his endowment in the Rexburg Temple. He was the last of 6 children to do so! It was a ver touching moment as I sat by my wonderful mother-in-law and held up six fingers and gave her a smile! She smiled back and said it was a moment they had been waiting for for a long time! The best part was that ALL six of them were there. What a moment!

Then today their oldest grandson, Logan, was baptized! The Spirit was very sweet there and you could feel the importance of the choice he made to follow the Savior. The WHOLE family sang during the program and I realized how lucky I am to belong to a family such as this!

Logan and his dad, Ken (Brian's older brother)

Kayleigh and Emily (Cousins)
Kandis (Brian's older sister), Rob (her husband) and Raygan (their sweet baby girl!)

General Conference

We are so lucky to be able to hear from our Prophet, the 12 Apostles and the other General Authorities every 6 months! General Conference is a time I look forward to with great anticipation. I can only hope to embody some of the great counsel and teachings I hear and become a little bit better because of what I hear. It's so refreshing!

This year was especially good for us as we can see our little ones starting to catch on. Emily is recognizing several of the leaders and is excited to see them on TV. Andrew enjoys conducting the music as the choirs sing their beautiful music.

I know there is great peace and understanding to be found in these tumultuous times when we follow the counsel and example of these leaders who have been chosen by God for our time to lead, direct, guide and uplift us. There is great hope in our Savior Jesus Christ and in His Restored Gospel! All is well! All is well!

If you would like to read, hear or watch the talks go to

http://www.lds.org/

Follow the links to General Conference, October 2008

Beginning Photography

Emily has taken up photography! It's about time I had a little help catching moments!

Who cares if we're missing heads! I am glad to have the help!

Autumn's TWINS Baby Shower!

I thought that some of you crazy ladies might be interested in seeing some of these crazy pictures!

Thanks for the laughs!

The Babies are here now and here are their pictures (in case you haven't seen them)! Thanks for sharing Loren!

They were Born Sunday, October 5th!

Troy Lawrence was born at 2:05 p.m. October 5th weighing in at 5 lbs. 10 oz and 19 inches
Harrison Todd was born at 2:12 p.m. October 5th weighing in at 6 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 inches

"Two" amazing for words!

Harrison Todd

Troy Lawrence

My Wonderful Grandmother Passed Away

On Monday, September 9th I got a phone call from my Mom saying that Grandma had taken a turn for the worse and if I wanted to see her alive again I would have to come soon. Tuesday morning the kids and I left for Boise, we met up with my brother and his family and headed for Nampa. We arrived at Grandma's bedside at about 7 p.m! While to most she would have appeared unbearably sick, I could not get over how beautiful she was. In a way I believe that was a loving Heavenley Father comforting me while I held my dying granmother's hand. While she never was able to recognize my presence (because she was so far gone) I visited with her and expressed my love. The children also shared tender moments with her. It was an beautiful experience to be able to explain to my curious and somewhat dismayed Emily that Great Grandma Ruth was going to be with Heavenly Father and her mommy, sister and husband soon. By 12:05 a.m. on Wednesday morning my dear grandmother left this mortal life. We had wonderful moments as a family when we looked through her many photo albums and remembered our time with her and learned about her life before we knew her. A wonderful heritage to have! We were able to bury her with Grandpa (his ashes in her casket) at a beautiful Veteran's Memorial Cemetary overlooking the beautiful Boise valley that they loved so much. She is also at a cemetary overlooking another cemetary where her mother and aunt were buried.

Losing Grandma has truly helped me to feel one of life's lessons much deeper. I love my family more than words can say. Being with my family while losing our beloved grandmother was the greatest comfort and gift.

The Harvest

Our Garden, while not perfect, has produced some great food for our dinner table!

The kids love corn on the cob and after a season of training they are professionals at eating it!