Dearest Name

Every night at bedtime I climb into Parker's bed and we snuggle and sing a few primary songs together. It's my favorite time of the day. It's also a way that I hope to build his little testimony of Jesus. He picks two songs and I pick one. Lately I have been teaching him the Dearest Name song. I have always loved it and now it's word bring me a smile and a feeling of peace as I think about my mother. The events of this week made me want to post it here in honor of all of our mothers and especially for those of us whose mother's now watch us and love us from heaven.

I know a name, a glorious name,
Dearer than any other.
Listen, I’ll whisper the name to you:
It is the name of mother.
Mother, so tender and kind and true,
I love you, I love you.
Mother, so tender and kind and true,
I love you.

Saying Hello

Amy and I took our kids to the cemetery to place flowers on Steph and Briana's graves. Sarah, my four-year-old daughter, was very concerned as to how they were going to get the flowers. "Are they going to come and pick them up?" she asked. I explained to her that they were watching us from heaven and smiling, knowing that we love and remember them. "Oh!" she replied. Amy quickly told them to say hello, and they immediately looked up to the sky and began waving and yelling, "Hi Aunt Stephy!! Hi Briana!!" It was a beautiful and happy moment!

Girls' Weekends

We had our annual Girls' Weekend this past Friday-Sunday. Well, it isn't really an annual one, per se. Sometimes it is substituted with Family Reunions, but we have had eleven since we began in 1993. This year we headed to Park City. We missed you, Steph--you would have loved it! We started it off by going to "Mamma Mia"--and that set the tone for the rest of our time together! We were crazy--laughing and dancing and singing and eating and shopping! We also missed Brooke, who couldn't make it from Washington, and Krista, and everyone else who was unable to attend! Here is a brief history of our weekend get-togethers, in pictures . . .

Park City 2008

San Francisco 2007

When Steph was too ill to come, we brought "Girls' Weekend" to her bedroom--October 2006

Seattle 2005

We skipped 2000 and had Family Reunions 2001-2004.

And we can't find a photo from our trip to San Diego in 1999.

Lake Tahoe 1998

Tucson 1997

San Francisco 1996

Park City 1995

St. George/Cedar City 1994

Las Vegas 1993

In My Daughter's Eyes

This is a video that Kim put together just after Steph passed away. It shows not only Steph and her girls but also many other "mother-daughter" relationships in our family. Enjoy . . .