Gift from Baby Benjamin

 Baby Benjamin gave me a gift on Christmas day - my very first BYU Cougars shirt. Since my dad was always a HUGE BYU (Brigham Young University) fan, all of his kids, including me, became BYU fans as well. 

Knowing I had never owned a BYU shirt, Jared bought me one for baby Benjamin to give to me for Christmas. I LOVE it!

I proudly wore the shirt last night while watching BYU play in the Alamo Bowl against the Colorado Buffaloes.

I credit BYU's overwhelming win (36-14) to the lucky shirt I wore. They played an incredible game and proved without a doubt which team was better even though Colorado had the Heisman Trophy winner on their team and their QB was Deion Sanders' son. Deion is a famous pro football Hall of Fame Cornerback and is also the coach for Colorado.

BYU's QB, Jake Retzlaff, played a much better game than Colorado's QB did even though Shedeur Sanders was named Big XII offensive player of the year and is going pro. 

I just love watching BYU win, especially in a bowl game. Thankfully, Jake Retzlaff will be returning to BYU next year. He's one great QB.

Shower For Baby Benjamin

For a while now, Jared & Catherine have been calling their unborn infant "baby Benjamin". We all call him that now. 

Since Jared and Catherine were able to come to Utah for Christmas, Cheryl and I decided to throw them a "couples" baby shower. Aunts and uncles were invited to the wedding celebration, so Jared wanted to invite some of his cousins that he hasn't seen in a while to the baby shower.

The shower was well attended. Our own immediate family added up to 15 of us. We also had Michelle, Heather & Randy, Amberly, Ben & Eboni, Michael & Jessica, Nathan & Stephanie, & Kristen in attendance. It made for a pretty full house. Jared, obviously, couldn't invite all of his cousins. 

Cheryl did a great job with the decorations:

She even decorated the mantel and put balloons in the family room tree (not pictured here)

It was fun for Jared (and the rest of us) to catch up with some of his cousins that he hasn't seen in a while.

Everyone seemed to have a great time eating and then we played 3 games and opened gifts. Kessler wanted to get in on the action by helping Catherine open the gifts.

After Jared & Catherine opened their gifts, they had a gift for Cheryl from baby Benjamin. He gave her a sweat shirt and note asking her to be his godmother, which is a big thing in Colombia and the Catholic Church. Cheryl accepted the job and gave Jared & Catherine a big hug.

We are thrilled to be getting a new grandson in early March, and we love the name they have chosen - Benjamin Noah. They wanted names that would work for both the USA and Colombia and those two names fit the bill. 

Jared & Catherine flew back to Arizona this morning. Christmas is over, the baby shower is over, and the house is awfully quiet again.

Happy 49th To Us

 Alan and I just celebrated our 49th Wedding Anniversary. Besides having to go to a morning appointment with my orthopedic surgeon because of issues with my left hip and right knee, the day was great. We decided to celebrate our anniversary by eating lunch at Red Lobster after my doctor appointment.

It has been years since we've eaten at Red Lobster. Since I don't like fish, I got fillet mignon instead. Very tasty - much better than any kind of fish! Alan got a variety of fish (shrimp, lobster tail, and salmon).

I can't believe that we have been married 49 years. I also can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I really enjoyed the congrats we received via text message from our 5 wonder children who are the product of our marriage. They are our pride and joy and greatest blessing to come from our union so long ago. We love our kids and grandkids to eternity and beyond.

In one year, we will be able to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. That's the big one I've longed to celebrate for a while now. My mom wanted to celebrate 50 years with my dad, but, sadly, she passed away just over a year short of reaching that goal.

Alan and I have grown older and wiser together and I appreciate and love him more with each passing year. God brought us together and I'm thankful that we are sealed together for eternity. Very comforting to know that he will always be mine.

Kids Make Christmas Fun!

I made these Christmas Santa Sleigh Stockings for each of my grandchildren this year. The older ones got a gift card inside and the younger ones got other gifts to open to go along with it. It was fun making them and I think the kids enjoyed them - even Evie, Ella, and Livi.

This note was tucked inside the sock:

Here are a few photos of Christmas day as a family. Cheryl took Kessler and Wesley separately to the dollar store to have them pick out a gift for every member of our family. It was so fun, and funny, what they picked out for each of us. Ryan got this beanie from Kessler to keep his head warm while snowboarding and some Christmas glasses from Wesley that light up. So fun!

After opening gifts, we ate our traditional ham Christmas dinner.

Christmas is a lot of work, but it is so worth it. It always turns out to be such a magical day, especially when you have little children around. We love it whenever we can get our family together. We were missing Kyle, Milo, and Clara though. Wish they could have been here with us.

Lessons From Fog

 The night Alan and I picked Kyle up from the Salt Lake City Airport on December 6th it was very foggy. It wasn't foggy here in Riverton, but was very foggy as we approached the airport. Fog is an interesting phenomenon. You are literally in a cloud. Visibility was poor, but we could see enough to be able to stay on the road. The fog would lighten up at little as we traveled and then it would become more dense again. It can be very unnerving to drive in fog.

Kyle told us that before his airplane took off they mentioned to the passengers that because of visibility problems in Salt Lake City they might have to land in St. George, UT. Kyle was hoping for the best, that they could land in SLC as planned, and his wish came true. 

On the way home, it was still foggy for the first 10-15 minutes but then the fog lifted. We were relieved that our visibility was suddenly so clear, allowing us to make it home without any problems.

I want to compare fog with our situation here on the earth. Before we were born into this life, things were crystal clear. In a nut shell, we had heavenly parents who loved us and wanted us to come to earth to get a body, gain experience, and prove ourselves worthy to live with them again. 

Since a veil of forgetfulness was cast over us when we entered mortality, things aren't so crystal clear any more. We live in a precarious situation where a fog of sorts hampers us from seeing clearly who we are, where we came from, and what we are doing here. Unless we have God's plan of salvation, which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers, we would be completely lost, not knowing which path to take to get back to our Father.

I often think about all of the people on this earth who are wandering aimlessly through life not knowing who to turn to for directions. They are, in a sense, caught in a fog and don't know where to go. I feel very bad for these people. They may be living happy lives focused on earthly pleasures and accomplishments, but they are missing out on the joy that comes from eternal pursuits.

Looking toward eternal happiness has always been my goal since I was a little child. I guess I gained a strong testimony of Jesus Christ, my Savior, at a young age. I know that it is only through Him that I will be able to return to my Heavenly Father. That has been and will always be my biggest goal. I want to make sure that every one of my family members ends up in our Father's kingdom, but each of us is responsible for getting ourselves there. Nobody can do it for someone else. It's all about choices. One has to want it!

My favorite scripture is found in 2 Nephi 31:20. 

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

It's my favorite scripture because it tells me what I have to do to have eternal life with my Father. It is all laid out here for us plain and clear! We must:

1. Believe in Christ

2. Have hope

3. Love God & all men

4. Feast upon the word of Christ

5. Endure to the end

That's what I have spent my life trying to do. Have I ever messed up? You bet! But I repent and try to keep moving forward. Nobody is perfect. God doesn't expect us to be perfect in this life. This life is a test. God will judge us on our works and the desires of our hearts. I hope and pray that my works and my desires will save me in the end. 

My eyes are wide open and my vision of the future is clear. Through Christ, I can do all things.

Smile

 As a teenager, one compliment I heard from others about my mother is that she always had a smile on her face. I didn't acquire that trait, but I love that she was known for that.

One day, just prior to my mother's death, I was at the grocery store and ended up at the deli to get some fresh cut turkey meat for sandwiches. I guess I must have had a sad look on my face because the woman behind the counter said something to me that kind of hurt. I don't remember her exact words, but she said something to the fact that I never have a smile on my face. Hmmm...I had never heard that from anyone else before. Maybe they were just being polite to me. Her statement caused me to look inward and to do a self-evaluation.

First of all, I tried to justify my lack of smiling to the fact that my mother had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was living out her last days on the earth at that very time. What was there to smile about? I was very sad that I would soon be losing my mother. I also tried to justify it by thinking about how boring grocery shopping can be. Does anyone go around the grocery store smiling happily from ear to ear?

Once my justifications were over, I realized that I did have things to smile about. Not everything in life is sad or boring. After all, I had the gospel of Jesus Christ. What more did I need? I had a testimony that this life will have its ups and downs but that with the help of Jesus Christ I can rise above any trial that is sent my way. Nobody gets out of this life without any struggles and trials. 

Getting old is my current struggle, but that doesn't mean that I need to hang my head low and be miserable all the time. No! I can find joy and happiness every day of my life. I can always find ways to put a smile on my face. I don't want to be known as a sourpuss.

I have tried to keep a positive outlook on life. This life is just temporary. Better times are ahead, for sure, once we pass through the veil into the next life. I am definitely looking forward to those better days, but until then, I will try to be more smiley here and now like my mother was.

Gift Giving

 Christmas is in the air and one important part of Christmas is gift giving. I admit that I'm one of the worst gift-givers around. I have a very difficult time coming up with great, meaningful gift ideas for people. I have always struggled with it. Because of this, coming up with Christmas gifts for people every year can be painful for me. I should, but don't, enjoy Christmas shopping. Admittedly, some gifts have been well received, but some have fallen flat.

I'm going to share a story about one of my gifts that fell flat.  When Alan lived in San Francisco during his first trimester of Dental School just prior to our wedding, I sent him a gift that I thought would be well received, but it really wasn't. The back story is that as a child, our family used to go pine nut hunting in the fall. We would camp out on a Friday night up in the mountains and then look for pine cones filled with delicious pine nuts on Saturday morning. My dad used to roast the nuts with a little salt added and they tasted so delicious. They are delicious raw, also, but I prefer them roasted. 

One day I saw some roasted pine nuts at the store and since I love them so much, I thought that giving some to Alan as a gift would be so perfect. It wasn't for Christmas or for any other reason other than I just wanted to gift him some, so I mailed them to his address in San Francisco.

I discovered that just because I value something doesn't mean others will value it as well. After receiving my gift, Alan couldn't for the life of him figure out why I would give him a gift of roasted pine nuts. I tried to explain it over the phone, but I don't think he ever really understood what these nuts mean to me. I thought he would love them just as I did, but that wasn't the case. That was one of my biggest gift failures, but there have been others.

I am of the opinion that God gives us gifts that maybe we don't willingly appreciate or value as much as He does. He gave us the ten commandments, but not everyone values them or abides by them. He gave us, through Jesus Christ, the ability to repent of our sins, but sometimes we don't take advantage of that gift and keep living our lives like little sins don't matter. God gave us our wonderful bodies, but we don't always take care of them as well as we could - like not exercising enough, unhealthy eating, or not getting enough sleep. I'm not perfect in these things. Most people aren't. 

God gives us gifts because He loves us. I hope that I can always appreciate and value every gift God has blessed me with.

Loneliest Thanksgiving Ever

 We had some great plans for Thanksgiving, but it was all turned upside down when I got sick, followed a few days later by Alan. I got some kind of stomach bug and was sick all night long on Sunday morning before Thanksgiving. I couldn't eat much for three days. I felt well enough to go to the grocery store to get last-minute items on Wednesday. Alan wasn't feeling great, but he was able to go to Costco for apple pie and a few other items. He started feeling worse after that. 

We were supposed to be getting together at our house with Eric's family and Ryan, but I can't blame them for not wanting to come over and risk getting exposed. It wasn't a fun bug at all. Therefore, Eric & Nicole did most of the cooking at their house and then I picked up some food for Alan and I from their house. It was delicious, but we missed being able to eat with family members. Cheryl's family got together with the Stronk family.

Maybe things will work out better for us next Thanksgiving. 

Bright Future

I recently re-read the book "Visions of Glory". It is about a man who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who had several near-death experiences and God gave him permission to share them with others, so he did. He doesn't reveal his name, though. He told his story to John Pontius who wrote the book. I can't retell here all of the marvelous things this man experienced, but he was able to see the Lord and learn many things from Him. He was allowed to see his life in the future - what things are going to be like in the Last Days and into the Millennium.  Such amazing things he experienced and shared with his readers.

One night, after reading the book, I was praying to my Heavenly Father. I don't remember exactly what I said to him, but it had to do with my desire to live during the time when the marvelous events mentioned in the book will take place and I want to help establish Zion whether its in Utah, Missouri, Canada, or anywhere else I may be assigned to serve if I'm still alive when that takes place. It is my opinion that we are within 10-15 years of these things happening - the time that will be a great & dreadful day of the Lord. It will be great for the righteous and dreadful for the wicked.

After asking whether I will be alive at that time and able to help build Zion, the Lord spoke to my spirit and said "I can't tell you whether you will be in the city of Zion or not, but no matter what happens, you will be filled with joy. You will be surprised at what lies ahead for you." Wow! What a statement. I immediately wrote it down so I wouldn't forget it.

As the world progressively gets more wicked with corrupt governments around the globe and wars taking place, I believe that life can still be good. I believe that righteousness and a return to Jesus Christ is taking place right now. People are waking up to what the powerful, wicked, and conspiring men are trying to do to humanity. They want to rule the world and there is an evil plan to reduce the population of the world through pandemics, wars, and other means. They won't win. Jesus Christ will be the winner. It has been foretold and promised. This is one of my favorite quotes from Jeffrey R. Holland:

The team I have always been on and plan to remain on is the Lord's team. "Choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15) With all of the wickedness in the world today, we need the Holy Ghost to be with us now more than ever. 

So many wonderful things lie ahead for the righteous of the world. President Russell M. Nelson said this:

Those are the type of things I read about in "Visions of Glory." Miraculous things are on the horizon for those living on the earth today. President Nelson said this:

I'm getting pretty old (71 at this writing), so I don't know whether I will be around to see the coming of the Lord, but I think it might be possible. I don't know what the future holds for me or my family members, but I certainly hope that every member of my family will remember the covenants they have made with the Lord and return to Him with a desire to serve Him and become the person He knows they can be. Repentance is real. Staying on the covenant path is real. God is real. A future kingdom of glory is a real possibility. Pick your jersey. I pick God's Team!

Joyful Day

 I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm trying to recognize the joy I have in my life. I didn't have any trouble finding the joy in my life yesterday. Alan and I decided to drive to downtown Salt Lake City to go to the Church History Museum. We had been there years before, but everything has changed. It's even in a new building so nothing was the same. As we neared the end of the first floor, there was a display that showed a video of the time just after Joseph Smith was martyred and the leadership of the church didn't know who should be the one to replace Joseph. Alan and I went to a movie last week about that very topic. It is called "Six Days In August". Anyway, Sidney Rigdon, who was the last standing member of the First Presidency felt like he should be the prophet. He even said he received a vision about it. A meeting was called so he could talk to the saints. However, Brigham Young interrupted the meeting and began to speak. As he was speaking, a likeness of Joseph Smith came over him and some heard the voice of Joseph Smith coming through Brigham's mouth.

During the video mentioned above, there were actors portraying members of the church who were in the congregation who testified of that event. They testified that because of what they saw and heard when Brigham Young was speaking, they knew that he was supposed to be the new prophet. Among those who testified was my Great-Grandfather Robert Taylor Burton. Until I saw this video, I didn't know that he was there in attendance and witnessed it himself. That knowledge brought me a lot of joy.

This is a picture of my great-grandfather at the display. It's not very good quality, but was the best I could do. The actor from the video is in the background and R. T. Burton is pictured in the lower left corner.

After leaving the Church History Museum, we wanted to go see the State Capitol Building. We were unable to find parking within a good walking distance for me so we went to the Pioneer Museum not far from there. We had never been there before. There were so many displays and artifacts from when the saints settled Salt Lake City.

As I was browsing a display of bed spreads, I saw one that had belonged to my Great-Grandmother Sarah Anna Garr Burton, one of the four wives of Robert Taylor Burton. It was made by her mother and given to her as a gift. It is the black and white one on the top left.

Seeing that bedspread brought me a great deal of joy and brought the life of an ancestor I have never met to light. I hope to meet her one day.

Alan and I then left the main floor display and went downstairs. Eureka! I found my great-grandfather Robert Taylor Burton again. He was spotlighted in a display about the Nauvoo Legion. The sign begins with the words "Robert T. Burton was a major figure in the Nauvoo Legion during its reconstitution in Utah, including the Utah War (1857-1858) which was a confrontation between Utah settlers and the forces of the United States government (Johnston's Army)."

There was a picture of him in his uniform and his actual sword and uniform were inside the display case. This uniform is not his, but is in the next picture.

The glare from the glass made it difficult to get a good picture of the uniform.

 

In a different display case, I saw his military issued scriptures.

I didn't see any artifacts from any of my other pioneer ancestors, although there might be some there since all 16 of my great-grandparents were early members of the church.

I love my pioneer heritage. It is because of them joining the church that I was able to be born in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What a great blessing that has been in my life. It has filled my life with joy for the past 71 years.

My New Crown

 A couple of weeks ago while chewing on a piece of salt water taffy, the crown on my lower left tooth came off. This crown was very old so it's probably a good thing that it came off. Although inconvenient to go to the dentist to get a new crown, I did it. I called and they got me in that very day to begin the process of procuring a new crown. The prep was made and a temporary crown was placed on my tooth. I was told that my new crown would arrive in two weeks so I scheduled an appointment on a Monday to seat the crown.

On the Thursday before my Monday appointment, my temporary crown came off while I was at Costco. Yes, I was told not to eat anything chewy or sticky, including gum, but I had stuck a piece of gum in my mouth without really thinking about it before going into the store. Oops! I called the dental office after returning home, and again they were able to see me that very afternoon.

When I got to the dental office to get my temporary crown glued back into place, I was told that my permanent crown had been delivered so they were just going to seat that crown instead. I was very happy about that. I didn't like the temporary crown much.

The new crown went in beautifully. Dr. Kersjes did a great job, and I like the looks and feel of it.

As I was thinking about this crown, my thoughts turned to the crown of glory that everyone has a potential of receiving from our Heavenly Father one day. No, it won't be a crown like the royals wear.

 A crown of glory is for those who live the gospel and follow Christ - he who wore a crown of thorns because his accusers wanted to mock him as the King of Kings.

James E. Faust said: By removing the slivers of sin and the thorns of worldly temptation in our lives and by denying ourselves and taking up our own cross to follow the Savior, we can change a crown of thorns to a crown of glory.

By accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, by doing good works, by obeying the principles of the gospel, by keeping the commandments, by enduring to the end, and by making and keeping sacred covenants with the Lord, one can qualify to receive a crown of glory - or eternal life with our Heavenly Father. 

It can only be through the grace of God that anyone can receive a crown of glory because all of us fall short. We live in a fallen world so temptations are great and we all make poor choices. Because of the atonement, we can be forgiven of all of our sins and shortcomings. Jesus Christ has already paid the price for our sins. We must willingly let the atonement work in our lives in order to become clean and receive that crown one day in the far distance.

What's In A Name?

 After Alan and I got married and started having children, we discovered that it's not easy to find names for our babies that we both loved. For our first four children, we didn't even know what the sex would be so we had to choose a name for each sex just in case.

 Many people give their children names of ancestors, but I guess we didn't think of that - I just don't recall what our thinking process was back then. When Ryan was on the way, we decided that we would give each of our sons a middle name of a righteous man in the scriptures. We thought that this might incentivize them to be an upstanding individual like these scripture heroes were.

We liked the name of Ryan, so we knew what the first name would be...but what should the middle name be? We felt that Matthew went well with it so we named him Ryan Matthew Stott. Matthew was one of the twelve apostles that Christ chose to serve with him when He first started his ministry, so we felt comfortable giving Ryan that middle name.

When Eric was born, we decided to go with Michael as a middle name for him. In the scriptures, Michael helped Jehovah create the earth whereon the spirit sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father would dwell. Michael was the first of God's sons to be placed on the earth and he was known as Adam while living here. I guess we could have given Eric the middle name of Adam, but we went with Michael. Those two names, Eric & Michael, just felt right together.

Jared, our third son, has the middle name of Benjamin. It just seemed to go well with his first name. Benjamin was the name of a King in the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. He was a very righteous King who served and taught his people in righteousness. Jared and Catherine are expecting a boy and are considering naming him Benjamin. That makes me happy. Jared's first name is also a name found in the Book of Mormon. He and his family came to the Promised Land (America) long before Lehi's family did. He was another righteous man that I'm happy Jared could be named after. 

Cheryl, our only daughter, doesn't have a middle name. We didn't give her a middle name because I didn't have one either. I wish I could turn back the clock, however, and give her the middle name of Lois, which is my mother's name and it is also a woman's name from the scriptures. She is mentioned in the book of Timothy. Evidently, she is a righteous woman, Timothy's grandmother, who converted to Christ's church. Oh how I wish Cheryl bore that name!

Our last son, Kyle, has the middle name of Andrew. Andrew is the name of another of Christ's original twelve apostles. He is the brother of Simon Peter. He is the first apostle that Jesus called and the first apostle who claimed that Jesus was the Christ. 

There are many people in the scriptures that I look up to - male and female. There are many other names we could have chosen for our kids, but these names seem to fit them perfectly and they seem happy with their names.

I'm not entirely sure that our sons remember that their middle names were chosen from righteous men in the scriptures. I hope they remember that. I may have to remind them of that some day.

Finding Joy

 I was listening to a Come Follow Me broadcast this week like I do each week called "Sunday on Monday." The host, Tammy Uzelac Hall, spoke of keeping a joy journal and she encouraged all of her listeners to do the same. I decided to take her advice and I started a joy journal of my own about 5 days ago. My goal is to write in this journal at the end of each day to report on the things that brought me joy that day.

There are many journals out there like this one

but I had a notebook on hand and have started using that instead. I do like this journal and like the idea of having a separate book just for that.

I can say that writing in my journal has been an eye opening experience for me so far. Since I'm keeping focus on and looking for joy in my life, I am finding it everywhere.

The funny thing about joy is that it is there for the taking, we just need to want it. The only person who can keep joy from us is ourselves. It is available to every individual. It is a mind-set.

Elder Patrick Kearon, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, gave a great talk in General Conference 3 weeks ago about joy.  He says "because of the loving plan of our Heavenly father for each of His children, and because of the redeeming life and mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can -- and should -- be the most joyful people on the earth!" He also said: "Even as the storms of life in an often-troubled world pound upon us, we can cultivate a growing and abiding sense of joy and inner peace because of our hope in Christ and our understanding of our own place in the beautiful plan of happiness."

Life is difficult and we will all be tried and tested. However, because of our knowledge of God's plan for us, we can find joy in those trials. As an example, I will share an experience I had yesterday.

Alan and I recently got a new calling in our ward. We are the Building Representatives. It is our job every 4th month to make sure that the church is cleaned every Saturday that month by members of the ward. I usually have not participated in cleaning the building. Alan has always told me that I didn't need to help because of my physical limitations. However, since it is my calling, I  help have  helped with the work each week this month. Yesterday, I discovered that the cultural hall still needed sweeping. I knew it would be hard on my back, but decided to give it a try anyway. Mid way through the task, my back started hurting quite badly. My left hip started hurting also, but I didn't quit. I was able to find joy in that service. I just kept going and didn't give up. I pushed through the pain. I soon realized how happy it was making me to be able to contribute to the cleaning project. I was happy to be able to do my part in keeping the Lord's house clean. 

I'm so grateful for my joy journal. I look forward to writing in it every night before I fall asleep. Maybe one day I will get tired of writing in it, but until then, I plan to keep paying attention to the joyous moments I experience each day. They are there. I just have to open my eyes to them.

Gender Reveal

At the end of Jared and Catherine's wedding celebration, we had a surprise gender reveal. Neither Jared nor Catherine knew what the gender was. A couple of weeks before the event, Jared let Alan and I see what was inside the envelope they had been given by the ultrasound attendant. It was confusing to us because there was a pink sticky note over the card. We thought that they were having a girl, but then Jared, who was closing his eyes the whole time, felt the sticky note and decided to lift it up. I'm so glad that he did because then we knew for certain that it was a boy that they were expecting.

I was in charge of putting the gender reveal together. After batting around a few ideas with Cheryl, Alan and I decided to get a big box, wrap it, and fill it with helium balloons. Once they cut the ribbon and opened the flaps, the balloons would rise to announce the gender. We felt that this would be a big enough reveal that no matter where you were sitting in the event, you would be able to see it well. This is the card we had them read before opening the box.

The whole room erupted in cheers as it was announced that we would all soon know what sex the baby growing within Catherine's body is. Jared said he had never been so nervous in his life.

The ribbon was cut and the mystery was over!

Very few people knew that we would be having a gender reveal that day. We kept it pretty quiet.

Both Jared and Catherine felt that they were having a son, but now they knew for sure. By the way, I always felt like they would have a boy. After two granddaughters in a row, I'm ready to welcome another grandson into the family. So exciting! Only a few more months to wait (March) until we can see his sweet face and welcome this adorable little baby boy into our family. I can't wait!

Colombian BBQ

 Besides Jared and Catherine staying with us for the wedding celebration, we had 4 Colombians here as well. We had Catherine's brother Daniel, his girlfriend Lorena, and two friends of Daniel's - Diego and Sebastian. These guests were very friendly, polite,  and helpful. These four guests decided to treat us with a Colombian BBQ.

Here they are working their magic in our kitchen.

(Diego is in the green shirt, Sebastian is in the middle, and Daniel is wearing pink.)

We ate outside under our pavilion.  We had steak, Polish sausage, corn, plantains, and potatoes. They made a Colombian drink similar to our lemonade. Everything tasted very good, but I particularly enjoyed the fresh salsa and guacamole.