Blessed

I am so very blessed.  As I have broken through this false belief system that I have had for so many years, I have understood more and more, just how blessed I really am.

Last night, my sweet little 2 year old Becca, woke up out of her deep sleep and immediately said in her adorable voice... "Mommy auh duddoh you" (I want to snuggle you).  I mean seriously, how cute is that?  She is my little snuggle bug.  She climbed into bed and nuzzled her little self up to me.  I love that little munchkin.  We call her Becca-nator.  It suites her. She is a bundle of energy.  She used to be a little tornado but has since turned into such a big helper around the house. Last week she accidentally spilled her drink and quickly asked for a paper towel to wipe it up.  She is my little side kick.

We were able to get some cute pictures of the family and individual ones of the kids over the last few weeks.  I love when we are able to capture their personality so profoundly in the photograph.  Like this one...

Seriously. How cute is she? This is My Kaylee Girl

And This one?  Love this girl. She is my little Emma nems

This is my favorite past time. And check out my sexy shoes that I borrowed from my sister!

 Here is another one of Kaylee at the Zoo. We like to Call her K-bubs.  She is so Photogenic! 

 This is my Beautiful McKenzie.  We call her Midget.  I know it isn't a "PC" word, but who cares.  She was running around as this little 18 mo old and just acting like a little adult.  She has always been so grown up for her age. 

 My little Malia girl.  She is getting baptized this year!  She is such a beautiful girl. She has a million different nicknames.  She says her favorite is Beth. (middle name is Elizabeth)

 My Little Becca Bubs or Becca-nater these days. Love this little cutie patootie

 My little man Caleb. We call him Buddy.  I cant believe he is getting so big.  He is the light of my life!

 See I told you it was my favorite past time!

 This is our little clan.  I wouldn't trade them for the world!

My cute little munchkins.  My pride and Joy!

Check out those cute skirts.  Can you believe it?  I made those.  I'm so proud of them.  My goal has been to try new things and develop my talents more.  Especially things that intimidate me.  I have been working on my baking/cooking skills a little more lately as well.  I made my first wedding cake this year.  I went back and looked at pictures of it and realized that it turned out way better than I thought!  Im pretty proud of it actually.  

I have also gotten to do some amazing once in a life time things the past couple of months.  Just after Christmas, Trever and I signed up to help out at the Temple lights. We were there to provide security for the sister missionaries and to help things run smoothly.  My favorite part of the whole night was at our station in the parking lot.  I was sitting down and a car pulled up.  A little girl hopped out of the car and then a few seconds later, ran over to me and threw her arms around me. It was so precious!  We chatted for a little bit while her family finished unloading.  She showed me a picture or a toy or something like that, that she had in her hand and I think even gave me one more hug, then joined her family to see the lights.  So random, yet such a miracle and tender moment for me.  It still makes me smile, to think about that moment.  

I have also been blessed to be a part of the Gilbert Temple open house. I am a tour follower on Thursday nights.  I have been able to do the tour 6 times now.  Each time is a different experience and I find and learn new things.  My first time through was during the special tours.  My tour guide was a former Temple president of the Mesa Temple.  Elder Garn. He also had with him President and Sister Laney.  They shared some really cool things about the temple.  It was really cool to get to do the special tours.  Each tour was twice as long as the tours now.  They were able to take their time and explain each room.  

My 2nd tour, there was a woman who saw me sitting in the back waiting for it to start, and she came back and sat by me.  She asked how I was enjoying my ushering.  I said it was really neat and fun.  I didnt talk much after that.  I feel bad that I wasn't more outgoing with her.  I started to worry about asking her the wrong question or saying the wrong thing.  Shame on me.  I did make it a point to chat with her a little more on the tour. I was glad she made it to my group, so I could chat with her a little bit.  She is also an usher and had done her shift earlier that morning.  She was going through with Mayor Lewis. The Mayor of Gilbert. 

Mayor Lewis had a few different groups that he had invited that day.  He invited many business owners and council members etc.  What a special opportunity for them.  And for me!

My third tour, was with my family.  We all went through on the day it opened to the public.  It was so fun to be able to explain different things about the temple to my kids. I really wish there was a way to be able to take them through the bridal room. Its centered in an awkward area for tours so its hard to show that area. With the special tours, since there was far less people, we were able to see it. Its so beautiful. We were able to talk about it though and show them the picture for when they get married there someday.  It was special to walk through the celestial room with my little eternal family and feel the blessings and the spirit of that room.  What a sacred/ holy place!

My 4th tour was a special one too.  Each tour brought something special to just me. This one, I saw my buddy from jr high/high school days. It was fun to see him and his family. It had been quite a few years.  They brought a sweet couple along with them who weren't members of the church. They got an extra special tour as one of the guides stuck with them and explained each room in detail.  She said it was so special.  

my 5th tour had a cute little couple from Phoenix.  I usually like to just follow the tour quietly and let everyone soak it all in. Unless I know them. So I was in the back of the line just quietly walking as we walked up to the steps of the temple.  The man in front of me turned around and asked me who the statue was on top of the temple. I explained that it was the angel Moroni.  I then realized that they weren't familiar with the temple and so I kept close to them just in case they had anymore questions.  I haven't been trained on answering questions so I am not supposed to answer anything more that basic things.  Anyway, later on in the tour I put my arm around his wife and just asked, what she thought so far. Her eyes lit up and she said how amazing it was and she was just speechless.  Later on after the tour was over, I chatted with them a little bit about where they were from and I hoped that they had a safe trip back.  They came all the way from Phx. to see it.  She said, I bet you have a lot of people join the church after something like this. I told her how it was a neat opportunity for those that have so many questions about the church and the Temple, that they can come and see it.  They can see that it isnt a secret, it is just a very sacred place where we make sacred promises to God. She agreed and thanked me.  What a sweet experience it was to see her face as we walked through.  And what a blessing it was that I was able to be there for that experience.  She was so touched and felt so blessed to be there. 

The last tour I was able to walk with 2 men. One was a member and the other wasn't.  It really doesn't matter if they were members of the church or not. It was just interesting to see those that have been through a temple before and those that hadn't. As we walked through, the one man explained the different rooms to the other.  Every so often they would ask me a random question and chat with me.  

I was able to see my old bishop and his wife.  And some old friends.  It has been such a sweet experience.  I want to journal these experiences more.  My biggest prayer has been in asking the Lord to help me be a window and not a door.  I do not want to stand in the way of someone having a sweet experience at the temple.  Each person has their own story and their own need/desire/curiosity etc of why they are there.  I pray that I can help bring the spirit there and help them with the experience they need to have that day. Instead of making it about me. Its about the Temple of the Lord.  That is the jewel.  

I have been so blessed. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with Talents and abilities to create new things.  To be alive to experience such amazing people and opportunities the past few months.  Life is good.  My hubby is home and I'm going to go make-out with him!  :)