LDS.org - Liahona Article - Your Happily Ever After

This is my favorite talks! (Well actually it is ONE of my favorites) There are so many good ones. This one just stands out at this time. I heard it at the YW General Broadcast and just read it last Sunday to my family. We had church in the car as we were traveling to California. If you have a minute click on it and read it. I promise it will be worth your time!


LDS.org - Liahona Article - Your Happily Ever After

HELP "my girl"!

I was planning on my next post being about The Utah Summer Games. But winning medals playing soccer seems so unimportant after the news I got during the very first game I was watching on Thursday morning. While watching one of Whitney's games I got a call from a friend who informed me that one of "my girls" (my girls are any young women I have ever had the privilege of teaching, going to Wednesday night activities, girls camp, or youth conference with). Anyway, my friend informed me that one of "my girls", who is now attending UVU, had been brutally beaten and raped while walking Tuesday afternoon on a walking path near her apartment in Provo (the Branbury Apartments). It was a nice day on Tuesday so "M" (I will call her) decided to go for a walk about 3:00 Tuesday afternoon. She was grabbed and drug into the bushes just off the path shortly after she left her apartment. Her attacker "left her for dead", according to police. She somehow found the strength to crawl 30 feet back to the path and was found around 6:30 that evening. I know she did not make it back to the path on her own. She could not see because of how badly she had been beaten. I am sure a special angel helped her to get to the path. Her mother told me how the Dr. that first treated her and the police told her how calm and courageous "M" has been. She has been quite insistent on letting police know (using sign language, she has not been able to speak yet because of a tube she has down her throat to help her breath) all she remembers about the horrible man who attacked her. On Friday police found a suspect and they have him in custody. If you would like to read more about her case you can read about it on Fox13 news Utah. Search for "Provo woman raped". "M" in still in ICU at Utah Valley Medical Center. She was in Provo going to school and putting together a portfolio, her dream was to be a model. "M" is a beautiful girl who is about 6 feet tall and probably weighs about 115 lbs. She was so badly beaten many bones in her face were broken, she lost many teeth, she has a trake (sp?) tube to help her breath still. She has a long battle ahead of her.
"M"'s mother told me Thursday night a member of the Seventy came to her hospital room and gave her a Priesthood blessing. In the blessing he said that she would recover physically, mentally, and spiritually from this and that her attacker would be caught. He also told her that her name is on the First Presidency's pray roll. What a blessing it is to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and to be able to receive sacred Priesthood blessings. I post this to help us all remember our great blessings and also to ask you to pray for "M" and her family. And if you feel like you would like to do more, a bank account has been set up at State Bank, in Cedar City. I was talking to my mom about this on Thursday night and I wanted to do SOMETHING to help. My mom suggested asking 10 people to donate 10 dollars. I said "yeah, what if I asked 10 people to ask 10 people to donate 10 dollars? " I started telling people that and it got bigger than I could imagine. The town I live in is SO great. Well someone else had already set up an account at State Bank so I am telling people to take their money there. If you would like to donate any money you can go by or call the State Bank in Cedar City and make a donation to the Provo Survivor Fund. I know this was a long post. Thank you for reading it!! Tell anyone you would like to about the Provo Survivor Fund at State Bank in Cedar City and Please remember "M" and her family in your prayers:)

Lordy, lordy Mark is 40!!!

Yes, Mark has passed that unavoidable milestone, he turned 40 on Saturday. We had a great weekend. We surprised him with a party on Friday afternoon. We grilled in the park with friends, soccer players, basketball players, and his students. I was so impressed with the number of teenagers that showed up at his party. It shows that he really does a great job in his career. I know the kids didn't come for the cheap hot dogs we were grilling! They came because the all love "Comstock"! He was actually really surprised, which is a pretty good feat considering Madee knew about the party. She did not even spill the beans! We continued our party on Saturday with giving him 40 presents. He got lots of things from tic-tacs (which he always keeps in his truck) to golf passes, a bag of Doritos, a tie and lots of things in between. Me and the girls had fun coming up with a list of 40 different things we could buy for him. On Sunday we had Strawberry Shortcake for his birthday cake and today we are going to my parents for dinner and a party to celebrate he and Whitney's birthday. Yes, Whitney will be 15 tomorrow! Where does the time go? It seems like last night we were at the Prom! (BUT it really was 1988!)

End of the year fun!

A favorite...Callie, with Kyra and Whitney.
One of our favorite graduates! D with Kyra, and Whitney and a friend.

A favorite for sure! Whitney and Cass!

Really TIRED girls with their NEW shirts! The girls saran wrapped together, they boys in black, and the pie!!

The boys are ready to go!!

Learning Japanese...

I am writing this post in Canyon View Teal. The school year is over and thus means the Seniors Graduate. Our family had 3 special girls graduate on Friday. Callie, Cassie, and D all graduated on Friday. We have loved these girls for the last 4 years. They all played soccer for Mark for the past 4 years. And Cassie has been one of my "lovely Laurels". This year there has been a war between the 3 girls and Mark. It started last summer when they would leave street cones in our yard and draw pictures and messages on our driveway, porch and sidewalk. On their first away trip last summer Mark hid his famous Japanese cat clock under the bed in their hotel room. They were woken up at 3:00am by the sounds of the clock. They did not know where it was coming from and they called Mark saying, "Coach... there is a guy speaking Spanish in our room. We think he is under our bed! Help us!" Mark went to their room and took the clock. They plotted to get him back for a few months. One night in the Fall our family was woken up at 3:00am by an AWFUL beeping sound!!!! We thought at first it was our fire alarm but then figured the noise was coming from inside our walls! We found "the screamin' meanie" inside a vent. On Wednesday night we got them back GOOD! We enlisted the help of Jordan and 5 of his friends. The boys came over about 10:30 pm and we started planning the activities of the night. The boys kidnapped the girls at 3:00am. The boys ran into their room screaming the Japanese words that the clock says. They saran wrapped them and put a mask on their face. (They saran wrapped them because last summer the girls saran wrapped Whitney one night and left her on our front porch) They were then driven around town listening to Mark's voice on a cd. Then they were brought to the school and saran wrapped together and made to listen to the cat clock over and over again. While the boys smeared cheerio-cream cheese pie on their faces. (The pie is a favorite of ours.) We have made it for the girls many times in the last four years. We then brought them back to our house and made french toast for them and the boys. Mark made them t-shirts with the cat clock on the back and the words "NORAKURO" on the front. It is what the clock says. It means GET UP! The girls wore the shirts proudly to school the next day. And the whole thing was the talk of the Graduation Ceremony Friday night. Because both D and Cassie were nominated for Girl of the Year. And one of the boys that was with us was nominated and WON Boy of the Year. We had such a fun night. They are a great group of kids and we will miss seeing them at school, church, and in our home!

Grads Dance

Jordan went to the Grads Dance tonight. It is the last dance of the year. It is a girls choice dance. Micheala (one of my "Lovely Laurels") asked him a few weeks ago. She left 28 pounds of bananas all over his room. A "Curious George" stuffed animal was on his bed with a sign that said "I'd go bananas if you would go to Grads with me!" One of the many bananas in his room had her name on it. I was going to take the bananas to school and let my kids eat them but Jordan went on a band trip a few days after Micheala left the bananas and he took them with him. He fed them to his band friends:)

The Best Moms!

What a blessing it is to have 2 wonderful moms! My mom and my mother-in-law (who really is just mom to me). My mom is one of the best women I know. Last Sunday for Mother's Day we were together at my brother's house and we were all sharing memories of our moms. I talked about how I remember her jogging in the mornings and sometimes she would bring day old donuts home for us to have for breakfast. Of course we had to have eggs with the donuts. Mom has always been into healthy eating and made sure when we were growing up that we always had well balanced meals. Another of my favorite memories of mom is when I was 14 and she would have the YW in the ward over to sew. We sewed every Tuesday or was it Thursday? Anyway, that summer she would have any of the girls in the ward over who wanted to come and she would take us shopping to buy fabric and we would come to our house and she would help us sew. I had the cutest school clothes that year! And so did alot of girls in the ward. When our family moved when I was 17 years old it was mom who came up with the idea to have one of my best friends, Heather move with our family. That really saved me! Mom knew how hard it was for me to move and she went above and beyond in trying to make it as painless as possible. Another of my favorite memories of my mom is her being there with me to take Jordan home from the hospital. We were walking out of my hospital room to take Jordan home and mom was carrying him. The nurse stopped mom, who had Jordan in her arms, and said "Usually the babies mother carries the baby out of the hospital." Mom did let me carry Jordan out of the hospital:) Anyway mom I love you! Thank you for your example of motherhood and all you have taught me. I hope to continue to make you proud. NOW my other mom. I love Mark's mom so much. I have loved Mary longer that I have loved Mark! She was my seminary teacher my Senior year in high school. I just did a Stake Primary Training this week and I shared the story of my fabulous Seminary teacher Sister Comstock! My whole talk was based on mom's "Hershey Kiss" scripture. Alma 37:6 "by small and simple things, great things shall come to pass." My other mom has helped me through many things in these last 19 years. I always know I can talk to her and she always has great advice for me. She is an amazing women with a great love for her family. I love to get her weekly family emails. She has a strong testimony of the gospel which is an inspiration to me. I am so blessed to have these two amazing women to look up to in my life. I love you BOTH!

2nd Grade Program

Madee and some of her friends even helped Jordan answer a girl who asked him to a dance!

Madee had her 2nd grade program this week. They sang some fun songs they had learned this year. Madee has had a great year. She has loved the 2nd grade and especially her teacher!