Giving Thanks

I love this time of year because it is a chance for me to reflect on all of my many blessings. Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to kick off the Christmas season which is a time of giving and being grateful. I feel so blessed this Thanksgiving for all of the amazing people in my life and everything they do for me.

I am so thankful for my amazing husband and best friend! He is my everything and my hero. His greatest joy comes from making me happy and I can truly see that everything he does stems from trying to fulfill that desire. He is so selfless and passionate about everything he enjoys in life (which includes me). Philip knows me so well and I love watching our relationship develop. I keep thinking there is no way I can love him anymore than I already do...but then I'm proven wrong.

I am so grateful for my amazing families! Yes, plural...families. My family (top) has been supportive of me throughout my life and now I have Phil's family (bottom) as another support. I would especially like to thank my sisters, Ali and Sabrina, for their love and friendship. They have loved me through the good and the bad and they have always been my best friends. Phil and I are so blessed to have both families about 25 minutes away from our apartment in Provo. They are so kind and willing to feed us Sunday dinner every week, let us do laundry, and just be there for anything we may need. We are also so thankful to them for their strength in the gospel and for raising us in the church. That is a priceless gift they have given us and we are so thankful to them. We love you all!

Last but certainly not least, I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the one thing in my life that has been constant and has never changed. He has always been there for me with open and comforting arms. He knows my hopes and dreams as well as my trials and concerns. I am so thankful for His constant love and support. He has given me the ultimate gift and for that, I am deeply thankful. No matter what happens in life, I know that I am never alone.




Thanks again to everyone who makes my life what it is. I'm so grateful for your influence.
Happy Thanksgiving. I LOVE YOU!

Murder Mystery Dinner Party!

In our ward, the Sunday school is split into seven groups and Phil and I are called as the Sunday school leaders of our group. Our responsibilities include starting class and planning monthly activities with our group. For one or our activities, Phil and I decided to throw a murder mystery dinner party. We have wanted to do this with our group for several months so I have had plenty of time to come up with my vision for this night. I pictured nice table wear and a yummy dinner. I'm kind of a control freak so rather than having couples sign up for different parts of the meal, I wanted the meal to be uniform so I took responsibility of the main course and the garlic mashed potatoes and everyone else brought salads, rolls, fruit and dessert.

I have never cooked for 25 people so I turned to a woman who does it on a regular basis...my mother-in-law. Margo is an incredible woman and was so willing to cook with me and let me borrow plates, goblets, table clothes, etc. She really helped me make the night as amazing as it was. We've all heard the stories of horrible in-laws and since I've been married I have even heard them from several friends. I've come to realize that I have been blessed with an amazing mother and father-in-law which means that I can't relate to the horrible in-law stories. I'm thankful for all of the help Margo gave me to prepare for this dinner.

This is some of the food we had plus lots of fabulous fruits and desserts.

L-R: The Christiansen's (Natalie won the best costume award as an obsessed cat lady and the prize was two Cinemark movie passes!), the Peterson's, and Heather Fowers (Heather was a trouper and came even though Kade was out of town).

L-R: The Willmore's, the Snow's, and the Browning's

L-R: The Zohner's, the Allen's, and the Law's (Deidra was an evil mastermind and framed Jeff Mohlman for setting fire to his own property when she really did it).

L-R: The Clark's, the Wrigley's (Jonathan was the murderer! But unfortunately for him, most people ended up guessing it was him in the end), and the Mohlman's.

Everyone seemed to have a great time which makes me happy because we put so much work into it. I was so impressed with everyone's amazing costumes and their willingness to get into character! And thanks to Margo for making everything as beautiful as it was.