Christmas in California

Christmas Morning

First off... I'm pregnant! Baby number 3 due June 27th 2013! We announced this in California :)

David got a substantial break from school for the holidays, so, we decided to spend his entire break with our families in Clovis, CA.  We had a lot of fun! It was great seeing a lot of family and friends we hadn't seen for a while. It was nice to visit our old wards and be around people that influenced us for good and helped us become who we are.

Grandpa Reynders & Evelyn

Grandpa Murphy and Peter

The kids enjoyed playing with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We did too :) I had the opportunity to meet up with my best friend Courtney Hosford a few times. We have known each other since we were 2! It was great to see her and it was even more great to see how well she is doing. She is a strong daughter of God. I also had the opportunity to meet up with several old girl friends from high school. They are all stellar women as well. It was great to see that all is well with them too. We enjoyed a lunch together as we caught up on everyone's lives since high school. Three out of the five of us served missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was wonderful to be among such wonderful, spirit filled disciples of Christ. It made me realize even more how lucky we all were to grow up acquainted with one another. I also had the great opportunity to spend a little time with Edy Corum. We became friends around the time Peter was born and have enjoyed conversing with one another and learning from each other. I am grateful for her friendship and the opportunity I have to know and be associated with her. She too is a wonderful daughter of God.

Me and some great girls. (Courtney is wearing the colorful scarf)

In front of our banners at the Reynders.

We enjoyed Christmas traditions with our families. We made banners to run through Christmas morning at the Reynders. We enjoyed one delicious meal after another on Christmas. We listened to lots of Mannheim Steam Roller. We played a lot of board games and cards. We baked a little. We laughed, played, and made memories. I am grateful for the blessing we enjoy. I love how Christmas time seems to bring those blessings into view even more than before. I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. To me He is the ultimate gift that has been given for us from our loving Heavenly Father. He came into this world for us. He lived an exemplary life. We can find true happiness and joy in this life by striving to live as He did.

Thanksgiving with the Reynders

David's sister Kate came to our home on Monday night and then his mom, dad, and little brother Scott joined the fun Tuesday afternoon. We enjoyed having so much family here. David had the whole week off! We had a good break; though it went by too quickly.We enjoyed playing games and showing the Reynders around the little town of Bolivar. My mother-in-law, Jo Linda, taught me how to sew and helped with a few home improvement projects. On Thanksgiving Day, we traveled up to David's older brother's house in Kansas City. It was nice to be with so much family!

There was some singing going on. You can never have the Reynders siblings together without busting out the Hymn Book.

The last full day we had with the Reynders was Poppy's birthday! We had peach cobbler to celebrate. Yummy!

Peter loved having everyone around. He sure misses his Grandma Jo and Poppy. He sure loves playing with them. He misses building bridges and singing silly songs with Uncle Scott and playing with Aunt Kate. We are excited to see them all again at Christmas time. And to see my family! We will be in California for 2 and 1/2 weeks around Christmas! So excited! Just 3 hard weeks for David and then we will have a good, long vacation :)

Happy (Late) Halloween!

Here is a quick video of our first Halloween here in Bolivar:

P.S. - We moved! We are now in a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bath Home! Pictures to come later, still settling and decorating :)

Our Silly Kids!

We sure love our little kids. The joy of watching them play with each other is indescribable. I'm glad Evelyn loves Peter even though he unintentionally pummels her from time to time.

I know it! I live it! I love it!

Wow! General Conference was amazing (as always)! We are truly blessed to be able to hear from living prophets and apostles and other general authorities. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am grateful to know of our Heavenly Father's plan for us. I am grateful for the eternal perspective that the knowledge of the truth provides. I am grateful for guidance and commandments that help me be truly happy. I am grateful to know of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the Atonement He performed in our behalf. I am grateful for the hope, strength, and power the Atonement affords me everyday; the strength to be a better mom, a better wife, a better daughter, and a better disciple of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for opportunities to improve and progress. I am grateful to be a "Mormon". As Sister Ann M. Dibb said, "I know it! I live it! I love it!"

Here are a few pictures of a little area I had set up for Peter. We rearranged our living room just a little in an attempt to help Peter understand that General Conference is special and important. I put together a little conference coloring book and put pictures of the first presidency and the twelve apostles on the wall (and he actually used them!). I also put other quit toys and activities out for him to do while conference was being observed.

General Conference

General Conference is this weekend! We are so excited to have the opportunity to listen to living prophets and apostles.

Life in Bolivar, Missouri

I decided a blog post on our move to Missouri is long overdue. We have now been in Missouri for a month! Time has sure flown by! Everything went pretty smooth with our packing, traveling, and unpacking. We couldn't have asked for things to go much smoother. We had lots of help from family and friends with packing and loading the moving truck. We left Clovis, California and all our belongings on the 31st of July. Our belongings headed out to Missouri while we headed up to a family reunion in Southern Utah. We made a stop in Lancaster, CA to visit with the Blair family. We sure love our Aunt Martha, Uncle Huey, and cousins. We had a great visit with them. It is always a treat to stay with the Blair's.

After our visit in Lancaster we went to Hurricane, Utah and met up with the rest of the Reynders at Grandma and Grandpa Thorley's beautiful home. We stayed there a day or so and then headed up the mountain. We enjoyed our time with family on the Thorley Mountain. Aunt Lynn and Uncle Paul did an amazing job planning this years reunion. Their kids also helped a lot. Their daughter, Brooke, shared her talents with us. She put together an awesome movie comprised of old family videos, it was beautiful. She then helped make it possible for us to create little movies while we were up there on the mountain. We had a wonderful time. Many great memories were formed. I hope we will be able to attend next years reunion.

David and his sister Kate left Hurricane and drove our car out to Missouri. Meanwhile, the kids and I headed down to Las Vegas, NV to stay at Aunt Pam and Uncle Rollin Thorley's home till I was scheduled to fly out the following day to meet David in Kansas City. (That is where David's older brother Robert just started his residency. It is nice having them only two hours away.) All went smoothly with our travels. The flight with the kids went surprisingly well and our car made it half way across the country in one piece! All I have to say is I am glad to be here. I am glad to be unpacked and settled. So far, so good. Bolivar will be our home for the next three years and honestly I can't complain. We have felt extremely blessed and watched over. Our prayers have been answered. We are grateful for the opportunities we have to improve and progress.

Kate (in graduate school in Kansas, not too far from our new home!) was a great help in our move. She stayed with us for four or five days and helped us get settled. We are grateful for her service. Here are some cute pictures of her with peter at the beautiful Dunnegan Park here in Bolivar.

We love our new home, here are some pictures :)