The greatest Love story ever told...

In a world full of varying religions and beautiful faiths, rich with culture and different beliefs, I love how the holidays this time of year bring us together to count our blessings and try to give and reach out to each other after being so blessed. Some are blessed with physical things, but more importantly, blessed to be surrounded by people we love and care about so much. We are praying for those who don't have their loved ones with them this Christmas.

Celebrating Christmas this year, our family has loved thinking about the birth of our Savior. Reading scriptures from our advent with Brooks, missing some days, but catching up and reading more than one story some days, has been such a sweet experience. Adam and I have talked about various parts of Christ's birth and how Heavenly Father's hand was in every part of it. It really is an incredible miracle...a loving Heavenly Father sending His Son in the most humble circumstances, who willingly served His children and set the ultimate example of Love in its purest form. It really is the greatest love story ever told. 

I wanted to share the video above...the beautiful music paired with the depictions of Christ's life is breath taking. I've watched it nearly 10 times this last week, Brooks too (along with another 20, just having the music play) and at about 3:25, I can't help but have tears come to my eyes. If you watch it, I hope you feel of His love. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. :)

so blessed

I am so blessed to be part of such an incredible family. Within one year, Adam's family lost 2 beautiful people...a sweet boy and an incredible man. And what I've witnessed from both experiences, was that their faith was strengthened and they grew closer together.

Today we celebrated the life of Adam's Grandfather, Stan Smoot. The funeral services were so touching...beautiful music, tender memories, funny stories, and inspiring qualities of Grandpa were shared. Overall, there was a message of love and admiration for a man who loved God with all his heart, and who loved and supported his family in everything, I mean everything. Growing up, Adam always knew his Grandpa would be in the stands at all of his wrestling matches...he was the biggest fan of all of his grandchildren, and they knew it :)

My heart went through many poignant moments as I felt the spirit today, and recalled the spirit and feelings I felt one year ago at the funeral of our nephew, Bennett. Grandpa Smoot lived a long, full life...and he used his time on earth to do so much good for so many people :) Bennett was just about to turn 2 years old...so his funeral to me was much more tender and heart breaking...yet joyful and inspiring! My heart hurts for Adam's sister and her family who long to be able to see him live his life beyond the 20 short months he had. But in those 20 months Bennett brought joy to SO many...and his passing is a reminder to us all to soak up every day with our loved ones, and to make sure we are living life the right way so that we can all be together again...death is not the end. How blessed I am to have that knowledge.

Now, I'm going to enjoy a sweet night at home with my boys...soaking up every second with them, they're such gifts :)

Beloved Grandfather...

Yesterday was a tender day for Adam's Mother's family...Adam's beloved Grandpa Smoot passed away. He was at home, with his sweet wife and their seven children by his side, when he peacefully took his last breath at age 81. Adam and I were not there, but we visited the family later that night and were told it was a heartbreaking, yet beautiful moment. Death of a loved one is never easy, especially when such a giant of man leaves us, but we are grateful he does not have to go through physical struggle and pain any more. And Adam knows he will see his loving Grandfather again. He is dearly missed by numerous loved ones and those blessed to call him friend...but as a wife myself, my heart goes out most to our sweet Grandma Smoot who is now without her forever sweetheart. Thank heavens they were sealed in the temple, and I know she knows she will be with him again, and they'll be together forever <3

{ Isn't that photo just precious? My wonderful cousin Marlene captured that candid moment at our wedding almost four years ago...don't you see true love in his eyes looking at his beautiful wife? }

His funeral will be on Friday...another tender day we can be sure. But it will also be a beautiful day to celebrate his life! You can read his obituary here...an incredible tribute to a wonderful man.

We love you Grandpa Smoot!!

every little miracle

Whether you're a mom, a mom-to-be, or someone who is in awe of the miracle of a new born babe (or all 3 like me:) watch this video. Actually, it's a commercial, and a fantastic one at that. The music, the images, the message...gets me teary-eyed every. time.

Today we are going in for our 20-week ultrasound (in just 3 hours actually!!). I'm like a kid at Christmas with every ultrasound. But this one is the best. It's extensive, and Adam and I get to spend a long time looking at our growing baby while the doctor checks everything out. We're not going to find ou this babe's sex, so when they start looking for the goods (or the lack there of;) we'll just look away. We did it with Brooks too, and we love it this way.

March is going to hold lots of sweet surprises for us!!

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Spiritual Health:

(Starting my challenge to read the entire Book of Mormon by Christmas...5 chapters a day)

Read Nephi 1-5

"...I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." -- Nephi 3:7

Physical Health:

Adam's day off...we're both just relaxing :)

Memorial Day...and Happy Birthday Bennett!

I feel beyond fortunate to be living and raising my family in our free country...the beautiful USA. And my heart is filled with gratitude to the men and women who have served, and are currently serving, our our country selflessly (along with their families who sacrifice so much to support them). So many lives have been lost to ensure our freedoms...and it's because of them that we're able to enjoy a beautiful, relaxing Memorial Day every year.

God bless America and those who fight for our freedoms...

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Today is our sweet nephew Bennett's birthday :) He would have been 2 years old... So yesterday the Kjar fam joined the Wilkinsons to celebrate their sweet little sunshine boy!!

We all came wearing some yellow, enjoyed a beautiful brunch, then headed to the cemetery with yellow flowers and balloons. Bennett's headstone is such a beautiful tribute to his sweet little life. We wrote on balloons, released them into the sky, and did a "circle of love" where we each shared one thing we love about Bennett. He was a small boy with a huge heart that touched everyone that knew him!!

Happy Birthday Bennett! We love & miss you!

And before leaving Bennett's grave to go visit Grandpa Kjar's on the other side of the cemetery, sweet Ashton sang "Bennett's song"...the Wilkinsons' have a little song for each of their children.

Bennett's was to the tune of "The Farmer and the Dell":

"We love our Bennett boy!

He is our pride and joy!

We love our Bennett boy,

we love our Bennett boooooooy!" :)

52 Sundays ago...

...our lives were changed forever.

...our hearts grew in capacity, and were filled with more love than we thought imaginable.

...I experienced, and Adam witnessed, the miracle of our son being born.

Brooks' first birthday is tomorrow...but it was on a Sunday night that our little boy joined our family, and today my heart has been filled to the brim with gratitude. I have a tender experience that I haven't recorded, and I think today is the perfect day to do so.

I can remember waking up in the middle of the night, laying in my hospital bed after having Brooks, crying...a nurse happened to come in moments later to check some of my vitals, and asked if I was okay. I said, "I've never been more okay,"and that I was thinking about what I had experienced just hours earlier...giving birth. I laughed a little bit through some tears and even said the words, "It was so good." I told the nurse how anxious I had been for giving birth the previous few months leading up to his due date, and then asked the nurse if she was religious, and if she'd be comfortable if I shared with her some tender feelings. She said yes and absolutely. She was so sweet to listen to me. I told her that I woke up with this amazing feeling of love for my brand new son. I told her that I do not know exactly when the spirit enters the body, but that I kind of hoped that my boy was able to spend a little time with his Heavenly Father right before being born...maybe to get some ultimate Fatherly advise and enjoy some sweet Heavenly embraces. And that if that was the case, I had a very humbling feeling that he could have asked Heavenly Father, in a child-like innocent way, "Can you be nice to my mom and make sure everything goes okay?" Tears once again fall from my cheeks as I recall that feeling. I truly feel I had guardian angels helping me during his birth...because I could not have done it by myself. Brooks was in a hurry to get here, and he did so with grace. (you can read Brooks' full birth story here)

52 Sundays ago, Adam and I witnessed Heaven touch Earth when our sweet boy Brooks was born.

The Healer's Art

A few days ago Adam's sweet sister Mandy gave us this adorable, Columbia winter coat (size 2T) for Brooks to wear next winter. While it drowns him now, I have no doubt he'll fill it out come winter time. I couldn't resist getting a picture of him in it...it makes our big boy look so small :)

I can't get over her thoughtfulness....she is going through such a time of putting back the pieces of her heart that shattered after the passing of her boy, Bennett (who would have fit right into that little coat). Yet, she thinks of others and their needs.

I just finished reading an article from the Ensign titled "The Healer's Art"...and a part of it made me think of Mandy and her family. Through out the article there are the words from the song "Lord I Would Follow Thee," a favorite hymn of mine. Here is a part of a verse that resonates strongly in my heart:

"Savior, may I learn to LOVE THEE,

Walk the path that thou hast shown,

Pause to help and LIFT ANOTHER,

Finding strength beyond my own."

{you can read all of the words to this beautiful hymn here}

Those words remind me that in order to show love to my Heavenly Father and Savior I need to serve others. When we're faced with challenges and trials that cause our hearts to hurt, or even our souls to ache, we can choose to reach out to others. If we think "What can I do to ease their burden?" and then act on whatever promptings we receive, we are following the Savior's footsteps and lettings His love work in our lives. Our hearts will be healed with his pure, unconditional love...as well as the hearts of those we serve.

The Healer's art is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

The GREATEST Love of All...

Today in Young Women's (youth organization at our church that I'm a leader in) we were given yummy rose-scented bath salt along with a beautiful scripture (John 3:16) just in time for Valentine's Day. God's LOVE for us truly is the greatest love of all. Just thinking about how He gave His Son so that I can "live happily ever after" forever with my family, put's a phenomenal yet tender feeling in my heart.

This Valentine's season has been extra sweet now that I get to share it with two men ;) And even though I LOVE the romance of the holiday, I also think it should and can be a time to show love to everyone around me...share the love I feel from my Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.

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Also at church today, I went to a "Family Relations" class for the 2nd time. My sweetheart would have been with me, but he stayed at home sick :( It's a wonderful class that is based around a document put out by the leaders or our church in 1995... "The Family: A Proclamation To The World"...to read it, click here) I really enjoyed the class today and was excited to share with Adam what we learned and discussed :)

I learned that 1+1 = ONE

"What? How does that work?" you ask :)

ONE husband and ONE wife can become ONE...in purpose, in love, in desires, in faith...

It doesn't mean we become clones of each other, but it means that we appreciate each other's differences and we can be of one heart. I know Adam and I are not perfect and we are constantly working at unity, but I know because of it our marriage is a beautiful thing.

And I LOVE this quote our teachers shared with us by our past, sweet prophet Gordon B. Hinckley:

"Marriage, in its truest sense, is a partnership of equals, with neither exercising dominion over the other, but, rather, with each encouraging and assisting the other in whatever responsibilities and aspirations he or she might have."

Oh, and we have homework in that class ;) It's the BEST HOMEWORK EVER: We are to go on a date this week, and court each other. Adam has been amazing at courting me from day one (opening doors, giving me his jacket, asking about how I was feeling and then listened, you know the-works)...but I am SO looking forward to this romantic date with LOTS of love, flirtatiousness, and good ol' courting :)

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One more thing...yesterday I had a surprise birthday party for my Valentine :)

Adam's birthday isn't until the 23rd...but having it early made for a better surprise! We had a rockin' good time!! ;) You'll see what I mean when I post the pics and videos tomorrow...oh yes :)

Happy early 25th love!!!!!!

Our True Identity

"Think of where you come from. You are sons and daughters of the greatest most glorious being in the universe. He loves you with an infinite love. He wants the best for you. This knowledge changes everything. It changes your present. It can change you future. And it can change the world. If only we understood who we are and what in is store for us our hearts would overflow with such gratitude and happiness that it would enlighten even the darkest sorrows with the light and love of God."

-- Dieter Uchtdorf

Those words were so comforting to me today...they come from a leader of our church as he retells the classic story of the ugly duckling and urges us to reflect and really seek to find our true identity: sons and daughters of a glorious Heavenly Father.

Below is a beautiful video of some poignant parts of his talk...I've watched it now about 3 times, and am listening to it in the background as I type this :)

You can get the full talk here.

Last night I had a little Valentine's Dinner/Tea Party for these lovelies...I'm excited to post about it tomorrow :)

I can't help but be SO grateful to have such wonderful women in my life who truly know who they are. They feel their Savior's love, and they pass it on to EVERYONE around them. Each of them have various struggles...but they do not let them affect their knowledge of their individual worth or of their potential. They're such examples to me...such blessings in my life :)

"A Day of Contrasts"...but mostly Very Sweet

Today was our sweet nephew Bennett's funeral.

While is was a day filled with tears shed for a little boy that died so young and for his family that misses him more than anything...it was also a day celebrating the beautiful, happy life that he lived.

This picture of Bennett, below, was drawn by a family friend of the Kjars (please excuse the reflection of the lights in the room)...isn't it absolutely beautiful?? My heart fills with the Spirit when I look at it because I know that Bennett was called home by his loving Father in Heaven and his brother, Jesus Christ. You'll see this picture again at the end of this post because I want to remember (and to remind anyone reading this) that while Bennett's passing is a tragedy as he is dearly missed by his family and loved ones, it is also a beautiful thing because he is Home.

The program were read by throngs of loved ones last night at the viewing and today at the funeral...it was filled with loving words and sweet pictures of Bennett.

{cover}

I loved that on the cover was written:

"There's one more angel in heaven!"

{inside}

{back}

Bennett's two lovely, older sisters (Emma & Gracelyn), cousin (Kalia), and two friends (Lauren & Brianne) started the program with a tender song called "I Know He Lives"...it was sung by cherubic voices :) Emma & Gracelyn then read adorable, heart-felt "love letters" they had written to their baby brother. So sweet!

The beautiful hymn "Be Still My Soul" was played softly, yet passionately on the harp by Sharla (Adam's sister and Bennett's aunt). A perfect song for today.

Then it was Mandy and Dave's time to speak. They walked up to the pulpit hand-in-hand...and they stayed together as they spoke. They do everything as a team...they raised their sweet son Bennett together...and their joint message touched every heart in the room.

They said that a favorite family tradition of theirs is story time...Bennett loved story time! So they told us a story... I know I will not be able to give it justice, but I'll share a few of the parts that touched me deeply. They talked about how they were married on September 11th, 2001. It was a day of contrasts for them. Such beauty, happiness, love, and hope for their future together...yet despair for the all of the lives lost that day. And today was oh-so similar.

Many times during their remarks, my heart stung with pain in seeing their sorrow...yet most of their talk was filled with the numerous reasons they loved their little boy and what he did to bring such joy into their family's lives. They shared with us some tender, sweet memories they have of their little boy. Mandy and Dave smiled as they told us how he loooooovvved helping his Mommy sweep the kitchen floor (he would drag a broom around all the time) and be a big-boy by assisting his Daddy with the dishes. After they put him to bed, he'd say "Nigh-nigh...nigh-nigh..." and melt his beautiful Mama's heart. He was just starting to sing a few of the words to his very own "Bennett Song" that Mandy and Dave would sing to him (each of their children have "their own song"). And Bennett also recently started folding his arms for family prayer, how precious.

Overall, Bennett was a PURE JOY.

They both bore tender, heart-felt testimonies that they know Christ's Atonement is not only for sin, but for every kind of suffering. Our Savior has been there, and He will be there with the Wilkinson family as they go through some dark times ahead. They know that Christ rose from the dead...He lives, so that we may all live again. Mandy and Dave's faith is awe-inspiring!! They know that the covenants they made to each other and the Lord on September 11th are what gives them hope in this time of anguish and loss, and what will keep their family together, forever. They will see their son again. But for now, He is home with a loving Heavenly Father.

After the lovely, intimate service we proceeded to the cemetery.

{Adam was a pallbearer, along with Luke & Ben (Adam's brothers & Bennett's uncles) and Mark Stoddart (Bennett's uncle)...missing Danner (Adam's brother & Bennett's uncle) there, he is serving a mission in California and was dearly missed today}

Dave gave a beautiful, spirit-filled dedicatory prayer over his beloved son's grave.

And then we were all reminded of Bennett's love for balloons! :) So we were all able to write a note to little Bennett on a balloon and, in his honor, release them into the sky all together.

{adorable cousin Kalia}

{Grandma Kjar holding her balloon...loved her message: "Reach the *STAR*s..."}

{so much love on so many balloons...}

{our message to our nephew we adore so much}

As they rose into the sunny sky, everyone was in awe as we saw about seven bald eagles soaring above us. What a sight. Absolutely stunning.

{I loved the little "Kjar" bears around his sweet, tiny casket}

Back at the church, the Wilkinson's ward did a great service of making a delicious lunch for the [large] family of Bennett.

SO MANY PEOPLE LOVE THAT LITTLE BOY.

{There were multiple TV's around the church that had a slideshow of adorable pictures of little Bennett...loved it}

{I personally know Bennett had a little sweet tooth :) These cupcakes made me smile imagining him with frosting on his cute face}

While much heartache was felt today, it was also filled with joy as we celebrated the life of sweet Bennett and his homecoming to his loving Father in Heaven.

you're my life's one miracle

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for you kind words...knowing that you have them in your thoughts and prayers means so much to us. Adam and I were able to visit the Wilkinsons last night...and I told Mandy and Dave of how beautifully overwhelmed I was at the immense love and support I've witnessed go toward their family from loved ones as well as people that don't know them. Tragedies are never wished for, but miracles stem from them. We are humbled and cling to each other for support. Together, through love and understanding hearts of those who share as they have gone through similar things, we pick each other back up. I only hope and pray I can follow any promptings in the future to help ease their burden and heal their sore hearts.

They miss him so much.

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I've been listening to Celine Dion's song "Miracle" on repeat the last couple days.

It has been a favorite of mine for a long time...but I treasure the lyrics even more now!

"MIRACLE"

You're my life's one miracle

Everything I've done that's good

And you break my heart with tenderness

And I confess it's true

I never knew a love like this 'til you

You're the reason I was born

Now I finally know for sure

And I'm overwhelmed with happiness

So blessed to hold you close

The one that I love most

Though the future has so much for you in store

Who could ever love you more

The nearest thing to heaven

You're my angel from above

Only God creates such perfect love

When you smile at me I cry

And to save you life I'd die

With a romance that is pure in heart

You are my dearest part

Whatever it requires

I live for your desires

Forget my own, your needs will come before

Who could ever love you more

There is nothing you could ever do

To make me stop loving you

And every breath I take

Is always for you sake

You sleep inside my dreams

And know you sure

Who could ever love you more

And this video is just precious...Anne Geddes is a brilliant photographer...and of course Celine Dion is stunning.