January Continued

On the afternoon of Jan 5th Budd's Mom, Christine Keeler Passed away. She had been diagnosed with cancer 25 months earlier and only give 8 months to live. But she beat all odds and we were so grateful to have her with us much longer. We were also so grateful that we had just spent 10 days with her and the family.
She was such an amazing woman. I learned so many priceless lessons from her in the short 8 yrs I knew her. She was a woman of great faith. I am so grateful for the knowledge we have of the great plan of happiness that our Heavenly Father has created for us. We know that we are an eternal family and will see her again.
The following are some words that I wrote about her:

I am so happy that I can call Christine Keeler Mom. My mother in law is one of my most favorite people in the world. Even though I have only known her for 7 and a half years, I have felt a bond and connection with her from the first time I met her when I came to Phoenix while dating her son. We arrived late at night and she and John woke to greet us. She gave me a big hug and I instantly felt her love. I felt at home. I remember on that trip just hoping I would marry her son so I could become part of this family. I pictured myself in the frame on the wall that displayed all the other pictures of the Keeler children on their wedding day. She was the kind of mother in law people hope they will have. She was fun to be with, easy to talk to and always doing kind things for me. Every time I was with her I felt special, and knew she cared about me. Whenever she would come to visit us in Utah, she always took me on a special shopping trip and made sure to get me something I needed. I was especially grateful for the week she came to stay with us after the birth of my second child. I always felt that she was genuinely concerned about me and my family and her prayers were truly felt. I always asked for her prayers because I felt that her prayers made a difference. Her testimony and example of faith and endurance have always impressed me, and encouraged me to become better. She was truly wonderful!!

January

January was a bit of a hard month for us, with the passing of Budd's Mom and Budd loosing his job in the first week of the month.
But we also had reason to celebrate. We spent New Years in Arizona with Budd's family and had a great time shouting in the New Year. Two days after we arrived home, it was Spencer's 4th Birthday, on Jan 5th. What a great kid. He is such a fun boy and so caring about others. His new found favorite thing is playing with Lego's. He has made some really neat creations. He is so great with baby Alea and always wants help her be happy. Spencer also loves to snuggle. Every night when it is time for bed he says, "But I just want a little snuggle with you." It just melts my heart. But he is finally staying in his own bed all night. On his birthday he was so excited to wake up and find his presents. We always hide them and clap when they get close to where they are hidden. He is a kid that gets so excited about presents, no matter what it is. We love our little brown eyed boy and are so grateful to have him in our family.

Christmas Break Fun in AZ

I am on Spring Break and finally have a few minutes to go back and update our blog for the past few months. We spent a fun Christmas break in AZ with Budd's family. We did a lot of fun things with the kids and cousins. We went to a couple jumping places with many trampolines and fun blow up slides. The kids had a blast, and even the adults were able to join in the fun.



Pics: Kids at "Jump on it" Spencer and Ashlyn at Play place, Family on Christmas Sunday and
Baby Alea with cousin Claire, exactly 2 weeks apart.

Christmas

We had a really fun Christmas this year with the kids being older and more into it all . We were staying at Budd's sisters house and the kids were worried that Santa might not be able to find us. When we told them that they needed to hurry to bed or he might miss us, they ran faster than I have ever seen them. It was fun.

Blessing of Alea

We had a very neat experience blessing baby Alea. We traveled to Arizona for the holidays and we were able to bless Alea at the bedside of Budd's mother who was bed ridden with brain and lung cancer. Alea's cousin Claire, who is 2 weeks younger, was also blessed the same night. All of Budd's siblings and their spouses were there and it was a very special night.

Baby Alea and Snow

Alea is just over 2 weeks now and starting to wake up more and become more alert. It is fun to see her eyes more. Brinlee and Spencer love her to pieces and cannot stay away from her. They shower her with hugs and kisses every minute. They are always checking on her and they have been such great helpers. It is so nice that they are old enough to understand what I am asking them to do and that they are able to do it for me. We are enjoying being able to slow down a bit.
We also just got our first snow and the kids immediately wanted to go play in it. They loved making a snowman. I have to remind them that the snow it cold and you need to wear a coat and long pants, since they think it is fine to wear shorts still. It seams that somehow kids don't feel the cold.

The arrival of our Baby Girl

Announcing the arrival of Alea Cora Keeler. October 29, 2009, 7:04 pm, 7lbs 6oz, 18 inches.
We are so happy to have our little girl here.
She is such a little bundle of joy.