Gordon Bitner Hinckley 1910-2008

What a remarkable man. Tonight as I was taking in the news of his death, I felt a sadness that my children won't know and love him the way that I have known and loved him as a true and living prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I felt a sadness that they will only hear stories about how wonderful he was. Almost as quickly as that feeling came to me, a feeling of gratefulness and peace came over me. My children will know his teachings, they will know his humor, and most importantly they will know the amazing things he did on this earth. They will know how special he was to me and Corky, just as me and Corky know how special previous presidents were to our parents. Our children will know how much we love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, our Saviour. They will know through our own stories, pictures, journals, blogs, and more importantly,they will hopefully know through our example. President Hinckley is a prime example of love, devotion, faith, compassion, and humor. I will miss him.

Tonight after I put my kids to bed, I rummaged through some old journals and found one entry that I wrote in October 22, 2000. It reads:

Today is such a special day. I went to Stake Conference in the Snow Canyon Stake and President Gordon B. Hinckly made a surprise visit. It was so AWESOME! (yes I really did write that!) I knew that he would be here because of some hints and few other "sources", but most of the congregation didn't know. I loved watching the faces and reactions of the people around. When he walked in at first, the few people that knew he'd be there (myself included) stood immediately. The rest of the people followed with confusion. Then they realized it was him and the whole room was filled with the spirit and lots of emotion. I got emotional and it was difficult to hold it in.

Seeing and listening to the prophet today was such a humbling experience. He's such a great man. This year he turned 90 years old and he is still so full of hope and energy.

Today was such a peaceful relief from this past week. After losing in the soccer playoffs I was really sad because it was my senior year. That means our season as a team is over, along with my high school soccer career. Then Wednesday, October 18th, we took Jared (my older brother) to the MTC. I wish he could have stayed one more week so he could have seen President Hinckly. He would have really enjoyed it. That's okay, obviously he left when he did for a reason.

Listening to President Hinckly speak and the other leaders, it just added to my testimony. What an awesome thing this gospel is. Its the biggest part of my life. If I didn't have the gospel, I wouldn't be where I am and I wouldn't be the person I am. Everything that I have or that I stand for is because of this church.

Today is an unforgettable day. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I've had to listen to these leaders speak. I saw the light of Christ in theirs eyes. I was only about 15 feet away from them, it was hard to miss.

I am so blessed.

I am so happy that I wrote my thoughts down that day. I even taped a program into my journal that I saved. I have scribbled in there that President Hinckley was presiding.

I am grateful for his sense of humor, I am grateful for the legacy that he is leaving behind, and I am grateful that he has made this earth a better place for me and my family.

I wasn't tractor-tippin'!

A few weeks ago, Gracey out of nowhere began saying "Holy Shoot!" at every little thing. Knowing that neither I or Corky say that, we weren't sure how she learned it. We just figured she picked it up at preschool. Then one day as Gracey was watching "Cars" for the 10,000th time, I noticed the cute little tow truck, Mater saying "Holy Shoot!" There it was, no more confusion for us. Funny that we didn't pick up on it earlier but she obviously took note of that phrase.

Yesterday, again out of the blue, she said "Sheeeoooot!" Once again, just like Mater. That has been Gracey's most overused phrase the past 2 days but I must say that I think it is pretty funny! If you can really say that there is ever an appropriate time to say it, she knows when. Sheeeooooot....for a 3 year old, her comedic timing is great.

And just for the record, I don't care that she loves to watch "Cars" over and over again. It is one of my faves as well. Next week I am sure she will be back on the "Cinderella" kick.

So sad.

Can you believe that Heath Ledger died? That is so sad. While I wasn't as much of a fan in recent times, I used to LOVE him. I remember my first encounter with him (like it was face to face!) was at Abby's house. We didn't have soccer practice that day and so I went straight to her house after school and watched "10 Things I Hate About You!" I loved him singing in the stands!

It really is too bad, he could have been great.

Girls Weekend In

Corky left for San Diego Saturday because he had 9 interviews set up for the long weekend, so it was just me and my ladies all of Saturday, Sunday, and today! To be honest, I wasn't totally looking forward to it. I was afraid that the girls and I would get bored, and when Gracey gets bored....she becomes a holy terror!

Saturday, I decided to brave the matinee with them and we saw Enchanted. I knew it was my only chance of watching it any time soon since Corky had absolutely NO desire whatsoever to ever see it in his life! I must say, I loved it!! I love those cheesy musical. Can you believe I haven't seen Hairspray? Anyway, Gracey was way into it and Emily became a little bored about half way through it. Luckily I had a bunch of suckers to save the day!

Sunday, church was a challenge. That is all I will say about that. Sunday night though was lots of fun. We watched Willy Wonka and baked cookies! Tony Horton, of P90X, would be so disappointed in me! I don't care, I had fun with my girls and cookies (or any carbs for that matter) have never tasted so good!!!

Today was lots of fun too. The girls just hung out with me all morning and followed me around as I cleaned all the bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed, and swept the house. Not usually my idea of fun, but for some reason today it was. After we did some cleaning, I made lunch for the girls. PB&J sandwich with slices of green peppers as their veggie! Gracey took a bite and said "Mom, thank you so much for lunch. It tastes so good. This is a great party!" You would think I made them a gourmet meal the way she was complimenting it! I got a kick out of that. She is such a sweet girl! Glad to know the she is such a fan of PB and strawberry jelly on wheat! Gracey also had swim lessons today. So that got us out of the house (it was too windy to play outside) and we all had lots of fun at the (indoor) pool.

Back to P90X...Corky and I are experiencing a fitness overhaul. We are doing a 90 day program of strict exercise and diet and so far it has been great! Well, the low carbs is not so fun for me because I really, really love my bread, sugar, fruit, etc. I used to think diet=hungry!! Not this one! We are eating a TON, just mainly protein and green veggies! Its been a fun thing to do together. We eat every meal together and after the girls go to bed, we exercise for at least 1 hour. We have done weightlifting,plyometrics , yoga , and abs, just to name a few! Do I sound like a walking billboard for this program? I feel like one. I have loved it so far and we are only into our 2nd week!

So I have both of my girls in bed and am now just waiting for Corky to get home tonight so I can hear about how his job interviews went! He has quite a few more coming up and today was great practice for him. We figure the more job interviews he gets, the higher his chances are of doing something that he will like!

A foot what?

This conversation took place last night after dinner when Gracey got to pick out a treat.

Gracey- "This is a foot-roller."
Me- "A What???"
Gracey- "A foot-roller."
Me- "No, its called a toots....OOOOOOOH! You mean a tootsie roll!"

It had me and Corky laughing pretty hard. We realized we rarely refer to our feet or toes as "feet or toes." We usually say "tootsies!"

Welcome to Corky's life....seriously.

Just a little update

Not a whole lot to write about. Well, I guess there is always a lot to write about but in my head I think there has to be a holiday, wedding, birthday, meteor shower, etc, before I actually write. Not today my friends, today I am writing just because.

We went to St. George a couple of days after Christmas. It was fun, minus my trip to the ER and being sick the entire time. No worries, the ER is the only place my insurance would authorize me to see a doctor. I knew I had strep throat and had been to the doctor a couple of days before and was given amoxicillin. That wasn't doing the trick. By Sunday my throat was so bad that I was spitting into a glass so that I wouldn't have to swallow my own spit. Isn't that pretty to think about? So the ER tells me that I not only have strep, but I have a case of mono as well. Yippee! So I got a penicillin shot in my booty and I was sent on my merry way. Anyway, that is why while we were in St. George, I made no contact with anyone. I figured that infecting my family was bad enough, I didn't want anyone else to get sick. So that was that.

Corky is going to be attending a couple of job conferences in the next month. He already has a few interviews set up that are looking really hopeful.

Emily is doing great, although we are putting up a fight with her eating habits. She does not like what I make for dinner, ever! She takes a bite and spits it out and shakes her head over and over. The past week though, Corky and I are getting a little more stern about her eating. She cries with almost every bite. She continues to cry but will clap her hands after eating off the fork. This is new to me since Gracey would eat anything and everything that was placed in front of her. I haven't bought jars of food or veggies for Emily (unless we're on a road trip) and I am not about to start now. The girl has got to eat.

Another funny thing she is doing now is shaking her head no to EVERYTHING! At least if it my idea. She is my little diva.

Some big news for Gracey this past week is that she is being treated for asthma. She has been battling a cough since she was a newborn. The last 2 doctors I saw about it brushed it off once again saying "its just the time of year". I finally put my foot down and insisted on seeing a pediatrician who would FINALLY listen to me. I knew it wasn't just a chest cold. Her cough didn't keep her from doing things she wants to do, but it kept her up at night and would make her vomit. So this doctor put her on an inhaler twice a day and I honestly haven't heard her cough in 4 days. She has only been on the medicine for 5 days. It is such a relief as a mother to know your child can sleep undisturbed and breathe so much easier.

On an even happier note with Gracey, she started swimming lessons yesterday! She has loved the water and loved to swim since she was tiny. I was a little worried that she would be nervous without her lifejacket. She didn't care. She loved it so much and I love that she is getting a good start on swimming on her own.

Happy Birthday to my Emily-girl!

Today my baby girl turned 1. I love this girl so much. I was sure that I would never love anything as much as I loved Gracey. It wasn't until Emily came along that I realized that love isn't just shared or divid out...it seriously multiplies in an instant. I love this little ones personality, her humor, and her subtleties that only a mother or father can pick up on. It has been a truly remarkable year having her in it. Because of her arrival Gracey has become a great big sister, I have learned the importance of having and sticking with a schedule, and Corky has mastered the art of carrying "bose a dem" (translated to "both of them" in Gracey language).

This little one truly melts my heart with her big blue eyes. Happy Birthday Enemy! (also Gracey language...translates to Emily. We all picked that one up.)

9 months Portraits

Current Snapshots

Christmas!!

Christmas was nice and quiet around here....and as perfect as it gets I think. This is the 2nd time that we have done Christmas in our own home and not travelled and I really love it. Of course I love mine and Corky's family and always wish I could see them more often, it is just so nice to enjoy Corky's easy-going work schedule and just chill.

Christmas Eve we did go to some friends house who stuck around here and had dinner with them. Then the kids dressed up for the Nativity and it was really cute. Not being with family for the traditional big dinner/party, being with good friends is the next best thing.

Santa was so good to Gracey and Emily this year. He brought the kitchen that Gracey has been wanting so badly and Emily is old enough that it entertains her just as much.

The girls were spoiled, as was Corky and I. Corky got me a brand new camera that has been so great to have already. My pictures aren't blurry anymore, the resolution is excellent, and it has a 10x zoom. It should last us quite a while. In case anyone is curious it is aSony Cyber-shot DSC H-3. Corky also got me the Rockband game....which leads me right into Corky's present.

Corky got the X-box! He has been wanting one for so so so long but have never been able to justify the time or money. Since he won't be going to medical school and won't be spending all his evenings studying, we figured this would be great to play with.


We fully enjoyed everything about the Christmas season this year. We feel very blessed to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior and to know the true meaning of it. We also are happy to have reasons to buy each other fun things. I love the holidays. There is definitely no better time of year. As you can see in the next collage, we are already enjoying our fun toys and are happy that the girls can be included. You also may notice that my Christmas tree is already down. I promise, I am not a scrooge...just always anxious to have my house back to normal. I love everything about Christmas decorations but I think if I kept them up for long periods of time....I wouldn't love them so much!

Gracey's performance.

Last Thursday was Gracey's preschool performance. We have quite the little performer on our hands (maybe spazz is the better word for it). Corky and I have been cracking up over this video all weekend and are happy that we were able to get it onto the computer in time to spread the Christmas cheer!

A little Quiz

1- If your daughter runs up to you with red stuff coming out of her nose, what's your first guess?
a) blood
b) red hot candy

2- If your daughter was too freaked out to blow her nose, would you think it is because she is scared of
a) the blood coming out of her nose?
b) the fact that something is stuck in her nose ?

3- After realizing your daughter has a redhot stuck in her nose and its finally taken out but she is still crying, what do you think the reason is?
a) it was scary?
b) the cinnamon from the red hot kind of stung?
c) all of the above


My (Morgan's) guesses: 1) a 2) a 3) a
The real answers: 1) b 2) b 3) c

Why do kids stick things up their noses???

Divide and Conquer

Earlier in the week, Corky decided that he wanted to take Gracey golfing this weekend. I was more than willing to agree to that. Not that I want to get rid of Gracey by any means but I barely can remember what it was like to look after one kid. Corky has been pumping Gracey up for this all week and this morning when I was trying to help them get ready to go, she only "wanted Daddy's help." She wanted only him to help with her shoes and sock, with her breakfast, with her coat, and anything else that she needs assistance with. She would have preferred Corky to do her hair too I am sure, but I wasn't going to let that one go! It was pretty cute to watch those two with each other, they make a pretty great team. As Corky said it so perfectly, "Gracey has a daddy-crush this morning!" She sure did. I hope they had fun, I can't wait to hear how their day was. From the sounds of it, Gracey was well behaved through all 18 holes but that is as far as I know.

Meanwhile, back on the home front, Emily and I had a great day! I was able to get the house pretty clean (minus the bathrooms that I am in no mood to clean today) and was able to spend some major one-on-one time with my little girl. Gracey goes to preschool 5 days a week for 3 hours but Emily is usually taking her morning nap through most of that time. Not to mention that I am scrambling to shower and do other things during that time of the day. Anyway, today we had no schedule and I have almost forgotten how much fun it is to have just one kid. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE having two kids....it is never dull and so much fun, but today was such a nice break from the hard work it really is. I got to devote all of my attention to Emily, the way I used to be able to do for Gracey, without worrying that Gracey will be jealous.

I think I hear a car pulling up right now....I can't wait to get the report!

As I sit here checking my email, I realize that not many more things bring holiday cheer into our home than listening to Corky sing "O Holy Night" like Cartman from "Southpark." All while he does the dishes from dinner.

He makes me laugh.

Guess who is getting out of the army!!!!

WE ARE!! WE ARE!!

I'll be honest, I am a little frightened to enter the civilian world but we are SO FREAKIN EXCITED and are going full speed ahead into job searching. Corky is already lined up with a job placement company so we are excited for that.

We knew we had 2 paths to pursue....the first being medical school through the military, the second being to get out of the army. The military school that Corky was applying for, USUHS, is highly competitive and so we knew it was a long shot to be accepted, especially after only preparing for it in 6-8 months. Of course nobody likes to be told they aren't accepted to anything, but when Corky was told that today we both breathed a huge sigh of relief. It would have been a really great opportunity but it would have kept us in the military for another 17-20 years.

Now that we know which path out of those 2 we will be taking, we have like 50 more paths to choose from! Ideally we would like to end up in SLC/Provo area but you just never know. St. George would be fun too.

I never thought we would get to this 5 year mark where his commitment to the army would be coming to an end. It always seemed such a long ways away!

Craziness I tell ya!

This is what I have been doing....

Hi! My name is Morgan, and I am the creator of this blog....in case anyone has forgotten. It has been forever since I have been on here. I don't even dare look at my google reader to see how many blogs I need to catch up on.

Maybe this is old to everyone else, I wouldn't know! This has had me and Gracey cracking up all day long!!

This afternoon Gracey and I wrote a letter to Santa Claus. I wrote the letter after she told me what to write, then she traced it. Then she cut out fun toys out of a catalog that I was going to throw away (actually recycle for those of you who are "going green")

We are definitely getting excited for Christmas around here.

Egg Nog Pie

My friend Pam just asked for some pie recipes for Thanksgiving and I didn't even hesitate, I knew what I was going to post. Egg Nog Pie!!! I stumbled upon this recipe when I was buying myself a carton of Egg Nog one year. It is simple and heavenly.

Egg Nog Pie

1 package vanilla pudding
2 tsps. unfalvored gelatin
2 cups Egg Nog1/2 tsp. rum extract
1 cup whipping cream
9" baked pie shell

Combine pudding mix, gelatin and egg nog in saucepan and cook over low heat until thick. Remove from heat and stir in rum extract. Chill. Whip cream until stiff. Beat egg nog mixture until smooth and fold in whipped cream. Pour into baked pie shell and chill several hours until set. Garnish with whipped cream, nutmeg, or chocolate shavings!!

"You are my Sunshine"

Gracey was all singing and smiles on her 3rd birthday last Saturday. Even though she had a nasty cough, she got through it! :) I will post more pictures of her fun day soon.

A BIG congratulations to my little brother Dallas!!!! I just got the phone call from him tonight telling me that he is getting himself hitched in March. I couldn't be more excited! The whole family is excited to have Jessica become an "official" member of our crazy bunch!

Love you both, tons and tons!!!!!

Better late than never.

Yup, just now posting our most recent adventures in pumpkin carving.....




and Trick or Treating!