Happy 6th Birthday MaryAnne!

On Saturday it was MaryAnne's 6th Birthday! It was a good week. On Monday night for FHE we took the children to the cemetery here (they have a section called babyland for all the little babies, and a special memorial with the Salt Lake Temple on one side and a picture of the Savior at the last supper on the otherside and nice scriptures). We had a great and happy lesson about the atonement and resurrection and heaven and seeing MaryAnne again and how special each of our children are to us and how greatful we are the the Savior has overcome both physical and spiritual death and that we can be an eternal family through the blessings of the temple and being true.

It helped me a lot to talk about her with the children for us to remind each other that we really didn't need to be sad even though we miss her because we will get to be all together soon. The Savior's atonement and gospel truly does take away the sting and heartbreak of death. So we had a nice time and the FHE really set the mood for the rest of the week to be a week of celebration and remembering her.

Brent and I went to the Temple on Thursday night, we played as a family with some other friends in Meridian on Friday night, and then on MaryAnne's Birthday we had a fun birthday breakfast and gave each of the children a white shirt to remind us that what MaryAnne wanted most for her birthday was for us to be an eternal family, and that the way we can be an eternal family is by keeping ourselves clean and pure and temple worthy through making good choices and keeping the commandments and following the prophet, and that when we do make mistakes and stain ourselves, that the Savior has made a way for us to repent and be forgiven and wash the stains out so we can be clean and white again. It was a special morning for Brent and I. And Jane is really starting to understand. After our morning lesson, she wanted to put on all white clothes and do her hair.

We also had some fun together! Brent made up a fun M&M sharing game where you "roll" 2 M&M's and if there is 1 M up you pick someone to share it with and if there are 2 Ms up you get to eat one and share the other. The kids really liked it!! Brent also bought a four-wheeler last week for family fun and hunting and he took it for it's first ride in our backyard with the kids on Saturday. He even drove it through our detention basin right next to our house that was full of water from the big rainstorm we had the night before! The rest of the day Brent helped his boss move and the children and I cleaned the house (We finally got all the fruit canned and the whole kitchen needed to be scrubbed from top to bottom!). Jane helped me make a birthday cake and we had a fun birthday dinner when Brent got home. It was just a great day. The only rough parts were when Paul ate soap from the dishwasher and we had to flush his mouth out and I read about some disturbing things about online predators that made me upset enough that I needed Brent to give me a blessing. Everything went much better after that.

I am thankful to have such a wonderful husband and a wonderful family and wonderful children. I am thankful for the chance to have a daughter in heaven that helps Brent and I work hard to be a happy family so that we can be together forever. I am especially thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and the gift of resurrection and the hope for salvation. I love Him. I love our Father in Heaven and His beautiful plan for us to come to earth and to gain a body and experiences and learn and grow in our families, and to provide the gospel and the priesthood power that can seal us all together and to return to live with Him again. I am also thankful for living prophets that teach us more and give us revelation just for our day.

I especially love Joseph Smith's quote that says: "The Lord takes many away even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again."

MaryAnne - we love you and we can't wait to see you again, and we are grateful to know that you are safe and happy and busy helping both our family and serving the Lord on your side of the veil. Love Always and Happy Birthday - Love your Mom and Dad