A Fresh, New Year

Goofy selfie with baby Fiona

Dear ones,

I just love new beginnings, don't you?

We had another nice week of vacation, and some New Year's Eve fun-- no fireworks this year! (After Ronan's fireworks accident in July, and Lliam's gunpowder explosion last New Year's, we thought we'd better not tempt fate.)

Fascinating fire, without the BOOM!

So, we lit four paper lantern/balloons, and enjoyed the neighborhood fireworks displays. We also had our traditional "dinner" of appetizers with different cheeses and crackers. The kids were in heaven! (Crackers are a treat around here-- they don't get that that often.)

We spent New Year's Day taking down all the Christmas stuff and packing it up for next Christmas. I didn't even cry this time! ;-)

She's HOME!!!

It has been so nice having Morganne back home. She is so sweet with the little girls, even though they drag her from place to place, all vying for her attention. She fixes their hair and helps with dishes and cooking-- we like it!

Saturday I took some time alone to plan out the new homeschool semester for our family. It was so cool to park in the temple parking lot with the majestic Gilbert temple in front of me, listen to some quiet music, pray and be inspired for this new semester. 

Posing cuties

I'm trying to add a weekly trip to the library on Mondays this semester, but it will all hinge on whether or not the kids get their chores done each Monday. (Our "House Recovery" day.) We shall see how it goes!

Today we have a flurry of room rearranging going on, and trying to get back on our usual schedule. Bonny and Gavin started seminary again today, and so that was good for helping us get up early, and get the day started out right.

Our TJLA classes start up again this Friday, so I have all kinds of administrative stuff to get done. (Ick.) That's not my favorite thing to do, but I am looking forward to my literature class for second semester. Austen and Dickens and Tennyson! WOOT! Lots of good books to come.

Pretty big sisters

I had my first rehearsal for the "Ten Virgins" musical I'm in for the stake. I play the part of the Narrator, and got to sing one of my solos in front of all the other ladies. I was a tiny bit nervous, but also had a great time. We all sound so good together on our group numbers! I am going to try to make sure they film it when we perform. We perform it on Saturday, February 7th. Exciting!

We hope you are all doing well. I have a testimony of the Savior's influence and help in our lives, even when things are hard. I know that Jesus Christ is on my team and He gives me HOPE to make it through whatever comes, even when things are really difficult. He is not standing before me in judgment, no! He is on my side, lifting and carrying my burdens WITH me. Oh, how beautiful that image is to me! His Atonement and love are amazing-- oh, it is wonderful!!!

"I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me." I know this is TRUE. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

With so much love,
Mom/Rachel

Aftermath of Christmas

Every Christmas Eve,
our kids love to reenact scenes from the Savior's birth.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We hope y'all had a great one!

Our favorite presents were having Morganne home with us and being able to talk to our Elder Brennan via Skype. It was so great to have everyone "with" us for Christmas Day!!!

The kids were so excited to welcome home our Sister Keppner!

Brennan looked really great, and it was wonderful to hear his voice and talk to him face to face! He seems to be doing well, and we are so proud of him. We know he loves the Lord and we pray that he is able to keep up all the good work he is doing.

"Teancum and Friends" as Brennan calls his companion and roommates

We've been really enjoying having Daddy home from work for the week. We've had lots of yummy food and treats, but the best thing is being together as a family.

Babies in our new wagon

We did go see some movies on the day after Christmas; Bonny and Dierdre went to see "Into the Woods" with friends, and Morganne, Gavin, and Ronan went together to see it Friday, too. Then Daddy took me to see it that night for our weekly date.

I loved it-- it brought back so many wonderful memories for me. (I played Jack's Mother when our high school performed the musical my senior year.) The movie was really well done, and though they did clean it up quite a bit (Disney released it as PG), it really is NOT a kid movie. But it will be one of those we will look forward to sharing with Brennan when he gets home-- in only ONE YEAR!!! Wow.

Returned with Honor: Our Missionary Morganne is now
home to stay! Here she is with a cake made by her sister Bonny.

Morganne had a nice birthday, I think. She did a really wonderful thing, and told us she didn't want anything for her birthday, but that she would be giving US presents for her birthday. Isn't that so awesome?! She gave us some good books and gave a movie to Lliam. We did end up giving her one present-- Daddy's old iPod Touch. She was tickled pink!

Fiona was not sure about Morganne, at first.

We need to find a few furniture pieces for Morganne, but other than that, she is settling in with us just fine. For the first day or so, Fiona would cry when Morganne held her, but after just two or three days, Fiona adores her.

Fiona is crawling everywhere, and has even started trying to pull up to things like the couch. But then, she doesn't have very good balance, and falls down. :-( She doesn't like that part. 

A seriously cute little Santa

But she's a determined little soul, and so she keeps pushing herself to try new, hard things. I admire her and want to stop her at the same time. The baby years go all too fast!

One thing Morganne REALLY wanted to so on her birthday was to Skype with her friend, T---. For those of you that don't know about him, she met him when she was serving on her mission in the Family History Center in Idaho Falls. He was also serving a mission there, he has cerebral palsy and gets around in a wheelchair. He lives with his parents in --- and ended his mission just before Morganne did.

Morganne, and her friend, T---

Morganne introduced Daddy and I to T---'s parents over Skype and then they were able to talk for quite a while. He seems like a very nice young man. He and Morganne went on a few dates when she was up there, (Two missionaries dating each other-- funny, huh? But it was allowed on her mission.) and he has given her some really nice gifts. We are thinking we may not have heard the last about him. *wink*

Lliam gave Bonny a phone for Christmas. What a kind brother!

In other news, Lliam has decided that it's about time for him to move out, and Russell and I agree. He is taking a big step, trying to support himself and we are nervous and excited for him at the same time. We'll be sure to keep you all updated on that.

Lliam with short hair and happy babies

We love you all, and want you to know that we are so very grateful for each one of you and the good you are doing in the world. We also want you to know that we love our Savior, Jesus Christ, and are so thankful that He has made it possible for us to all be together forever!

With much love, Mama Rachel

December Cometh!

Dear ones,

We had a great week, and a blessed Thanksgiving. We hope you all had the same!

The week started out slow, but then picked up steam as it went on.

Early in the week, I found out that I got a part in the Stake Relief Society musical! Wahoo! I will be playing the part of the Narrator (two solos! O.o) in a musical about the parable of the Ten Virgins. The music is beautiful, and I'm excited to get started! We perform it in February at a stake Relief Society activity.

I'm thrilled for the chance to play the Narrator!

On Wednesday, Bonny and Dierdre went to the temple with some friends that just moved from our ward. I watched the family's younger kids while they went. The girls had a great time! 

Bonny and friend

Thursday was Thanksgiving, of course, and Daddy, Lliam, Bonny, Dierdre, and I had a good time cooking, baking, and getting ready. Dad tried a new way to cook the turkey, but we cooked another 20+ pounder, so it took longer than we had hoped. (Typical, right? LOL!)

Thanksgiving action shot!

Bonny and Dierdre did all the pies, Lliam did the potatoes, and Dad and I did the rest. It was yummy! We hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving celebration, too. :-)

Happy Birthday to our Didi!

Friday was our Dierdre's birthday! Can you believe she's 13?! She and Bonny spent a good part of the morning setting up Pinterest and Gmail accounts for her. (She's decided she doesn't want a Facebook account. Which works because we're on a FB fast, anyway.)

13 Candles

We also spent Friday putting up all the Christmas decorations. YAY!!! In fact, Daddy and I actually got a NEW TREE! I know, I know. It's a miracle! It's a 7 foot tall wonder that looks the closest to real we've ever had. (Daddy and I ventured out on Black Friday to get it half off.)

A new tree!

Saturday was full of service for the youth, first cleaning the church, and then helping the C--- family move. Lliam also had his trek reunion on Saturday night, so he actually got to spend some time with Mark!


Mark looks great. He is so excited to leave for the MTC in the middle of this month. Hong Kong won't know what hit it! ;-) I know he's going to be a great missionary! He even took this semester off from college! I wish he and Lliam could get together more.


Sunday was lovely. Lliam had a meeting for his new job early on Sunday morning before church. He starts work at The Dollar Tree TODAY! He is excited to have a regular, non-temporary job. He was given a new bike by Brother C--- when he helped them move this weekend, so between the bike and his longboard, he's all set!


The kids and I are in full Christmas-happy-mode, listening to lots of Christmas music. (Look for something special in the mail this week, Elder Keppner!!!) They're all begging to go Christmas shopping, and some even have their shopping for siblings all done. Christmas will be here before we know it! (Yikes-- I need to get busy!)

Happy baby!

We look forward to having Morgie home for Christmas. Her ticket is bought, and we're trying to figure out how to rearrange rooms. We're also excited to be able to Skype with our Elder on Christmas day!!!

HALLELUJAH!!!! And Happy December, y'all! We love you!!!

Love,
Mama Rachel

A Week in Idaho

"Carry On" was the theme of Grandma's life.
She DID, and so will we!!!

Hey Elder,

It's been amazing to think that this week, our whole family has been sleeping under Idaho skies. :-) Kinda cool to think about!

We had a good trip up here, staying with N--- and company on Monday night. The kids played and played and played, and we stayed there until just before noon on Tuesday morning, so they could have more time together. It was really nice. We brought E--- with us, this time, since T--- had to work, and Bonny and E--- needed more time together.

We got to Granna's on Tuesday afternoon, and just hugged, visited and settled in. On Wednesday, I went over to Grandma's house with Granna, and just cried as I walked through the house, smelling all the old familiar smells, and thinking about Grandma and Grandpa together again.

I think Granna was really glad to have us here. She was stressing a lot about all the things she had to do, and so we tried to help her. It felt good to be here for her!

My sweet grandmother in front of a family tree quilt with photos of all her children and their spouses, and all 44 of her grandchildren.

Thursday afternoon, I was so blessed to have the privilege of helping the dress Grandma's body in her temple clothes. :'-) I was doing fine until I was helping to put Grandma's arm through her sleeve. As I held her hand, I was surprised how soft and beautiful her hands were-- they looked just the same as they always have, covered in her mother's ring, an opal (her favorite gem), and her wedding band with engagement ring. I just stopped, held her hand, and cried. It was such a sacred experience!

Thursday was Daddy's and my 22nd wedding anniversary! :-) We left all the kids, except Fiona, here at Granna's and went for a drive to Rexburg, where we lived when we were newlyweds, and where Morganne was born. A LOT has changed there! And yet, a lot of things are still the same. We had a nice dinner there, and enjoyed the drive and the fun little small town.

"The Original Eight!" My mother and five of her seven siblings
(My uncle, on the far left, is standing in for my aunt, his wife, who has already passed away.
Another aunt is in Russia, serving with her husband as a mission president.)

Friday night was the viewing, and it was such a WONDERFUL gathering!!! Soooo many of our cousins came-- almost all 44 of Grandma's grandchildren! And many of their spouses and kids, too. It was a party Grandma would have LOVED! :-D (I am attaching some pictures.)

The funeral was Saturday morning, and the place was PACKED-- mostly with family! :-) Before we all went in the chapel, we had a family prayer in the room where Grandma's casket was, given by Uncle S--. 

Most of Grandma's posterity

The funeral was everything Grandma wanted! She had it all planned out for years, and it was great to know her name was all over everything. (I'm including the program for the funeral as an attachment.) J-- made us all laugh, Aunt C-- read your letter and one from our cousin, Sister M-- T-- in her talk (It's the first time I'd heard it! Yes, I bawled!), and Uncle S-- said some wonderful words about the plan of salvation, and how important the Gospel is in our lives.

We were all doing pretty well, until the closing number, when we all stood up and sang "Carry On" together. It was a song Grandma had learned as a youth in the Church, and she had decided as a young adult, that that song would be the theme of her life. And it WAS!!! Everybody was crying, crying, crying. The Holy Spirit was so powerful, and Grandma's presence was so strong. It was AWESOME.

One thing J-- said really hit home with me. She said that both N-- and P-- had been talking to her, saying how they had been sad that Grandma's death might mean the end of our family togetherness. But then they both had the Spirit testify that it's now OUR turn to create something that wonderful in our OWN families! :-D

That has helped me sooo much! We truly will "Carry On!" 

Me with my gorgeous sisters 

G-- had to leave Saturday night, but W-- and his kids stayed until yesterday evening. It was so fun! A-- is still here, and Pa finally got back from Arizona last night, too! :-) We will go home on Wednesday or Thursday.

My brother and his kids with our parents

On Saturday evening, we got together with Granna and a few Keppners. And Daddy finally blessed our sweet Fiona. It was short and very sweet! :-) 

Russell and Fiona Temple

L. to R.: Russell's dad, Russell and Fiona, Russell's brother Karl, and brother-in-law Mark

This week, we will spend some time with the Keppners-- tonight we will have a family gathering at Grandma's. Daddy has been itching to spend some time with his Grandma/Granny Pike. She's our last Great-Grandma!

I love you, son. I hope you are doing well, and I hope that this letter doesn't distract you from the wonderful work you are doing. I know that Grandma Nielsen will be loving the missionary work she will be doing on the other side!!! :-) She is so proud of you, and so am I.

We all love you!!!

~The Mom

Happy Independence Day!

The view from our front yard, as a dust storm rolled in.

For now, due to the busy-ness of life, a new little baby to care for, and the chaos of summer, I will be posting my weekly letters to my missionaries here on my blog. Sometimes, a lady just has to be efficient in her life! Thanks for understanding. ~RK

This was a fun week, with lots of family time, some good food, a few tears, and even a BAPTISM! (More on that later...)

Dierdre got to go swimming with the F--- girls on Monday, and had a great time at the Me--- pool. It has water slides and a lazy river area. I'm glad she got to do something a little extra, since she's the one that helps me the most these days. :-)

We are so excited that MONSOON SEASON IS HERE! (Yay for weather!) So far, we have only had some light sprinkles, big clouds, some high wind, and a few dust storms-- but we are hoping for a few torrential rains with all that. We sure need the moisture. Last week we hovered around 111 degrees during the day, and the LOW at night was in the 90's. Welcome, Arizona summer!

Earlier in the week, K--- came over and watched "The Pirates of Penzance" with Bonny, Dierdre, Lliam, and Gavin. (And me!) We think she liked it, but she thought Maybelle sang way too much. LOL! The kids are determined to expose all our friends to our fun and crazy family culture, and I love it! :-) 

Dierdre cooking her yummy pancakes.
(Yes, that is a diaper box on my kitchen counter.
It was filled with canning jars, ready to go into storage.)

For Independence Day, Dierdre made us star-shaped, blueberry pancakes! Bonny made a strawberry syrup to go with them, and we had a wonderful, festive breakfast.

Daddy is on a diet, but he took Independence Day off, and made a yummy, big lunch for us. We had hot dogs on the grill, potato salad, chips, and my FAVORITE 5 cup salad. (You know, the fruit salad with marshmallows in it? Yum!)

A gorgeous, patriotic trifle, made by our Bonny.

Bonny made us a beautiful trifle for dessert, and we were so full, we didn't eat dinner that night! :-D

Then, we set off fireworks, of course, and especially had fun watching the big mortars in the neighborhood. We had a good time with the kids lighting ground blooms and fountains, and Daddy got the girls going with sparklers. I even read the Declaration of Independence out loud to everyone while the fireworks were going! :-)

Ooo! Awww!

All day, I had a nagging feeling that something would happen with the fireworks, but I didn't want to get worried over nothing. So I just prayed a lot that day, and then said a big prayer in my heart in the midst of the fireworks.

I came inside to feed Fiona, (And get out of the heat!) when we heard a big BOOM! Then I heard Daddy yelling, and after a brief silence, everyone came in the house, high on adrenaline. Ronan had bought a firework that was called a "California candle" that you light and then hold as a fountain of sparks pour out. Well, something must have malfunctioned, because it exploded in a blazing ball of green light, and burned right through Ronan's shirt. 

Ronan and his "war wound".

At first, he seemed fine, but as we were doctoring him up with lavender oil, the adrenaline wore off and the pain started. He was bleeding, but only topically-- thank goodness! He started to panic and cry, and so Daddy went and talked to him, and gave him a sweet, comforting priesthood blessing. I am so grateful for the righteous daddy you have and for the blessing that the priesthood is to our family!

Thanks to the blessing, Ronan was able to go to sleep, and rest through the night without problems. He is healing nicely (As you can see from the photo), and is just fine. And now he has a real "war wound," and an exciting story to tell. LOL! I feel that he was truly protected.

On Saturday, Ronan went to the baptism of his friend, A---! A--- is a fun boy who was in Ronan's homeschool class this last year, and because of the boys and leaders in our group, he decided to take the missionary lessons and get baptized! Ronan is being a missionary, too!

I want you all to know how much I love you, and how proud I am of the choice you have made to serve the Lord. You are setting a powerful, important example to your younger brothers and sisters, and I want you to know I REALLY appreciate it.

Our Fiona has learned how to SMILE!

I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that He loves each and every one of us. I know, through personal revelation, that President Monson is a living prophet, and that we have real, true, living apostles on the earth RIGHT NOW! That is so powerful and so wonderful!

The Lord loves us, and He is aware of all we are going through. I am so grateful for His amazing Atonement, and how it blesses my life every single day!

Love and hugs, 

Mama Rachel

Our Family 2013 Year in Review

Love, Mama Rachel

Merry Christmas 2013!

From our family to yours: We hope you had a beautiful Christmas Day!

Make your own free greeting

Love, Mama Rachel

Five Reasons

Me and my Davy Boy

It is no secret that I LOVE Christmas, and thus I love December!

Oh, December! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Aren't they both so handsome???

Reason #1- My Russell

My sweetheart was born on December 10th. He puts up with a LOT from me (scatter-brained-ness, an aversion to cleaning our bathroom, running homeschool groups out of our house, that kind of thing), but he loves me and treats me like a QUEEN every single day.

I'm so glad he was born! And I'm so glad he picked me to be his bride, even with all my quirkiness!

I love you, Russell!!! 

Sweet Baby Morganne-- 1993

Reason #2- Morganne Natalia

Morganne was born two days after Christmas. Hence, we gave her the middle name of Natalia, which means "born on Christmas." (The 27th is close enough, I say!)

She's our parenting guinea pig, and peacemaker extraordinaire. She is absolutely without guile, for anyone. She has taught (and keeps teaching me) so much! She brings peace wherever she goes. 

She gets to be home for December (wahooooo!!!!) before she goes back to Idaho to start a service mission in the Family History Center there. (She's been volunteering in the LDS Humanitarian center for the last 5+ months.) I'm so very grateful my parents have welcomed her into their home so that she can have this experience of being away from home, but not on her own before she's ready.

And we're all so glad she gets to be with us all for Christmas! It's our LAST Christmas all together for a long time. (Our Brennan leaves for his mission on January 1st!)

She's really five!

Reason #3- Miss Avalon

Avalon makes every day an adventure! She's my other Christmas baby, and so her middle name is Noelle. She says that whenever someone sings about "Noel," they're really singing about HER.

This year's newest Christmas album.

Reason #4- Christmas Music!!!

Hello. My name is Rachel, and I am a Christmas music junkie. I blame it on being in choirs since the age of 8. Everyone who's ever been in a choir knows that you start singing Christmas music in September.

This business about waiting to listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving is sooooo hard on me! But I try not to make my husband too crazy (See Reason #1), so I do my best to control the urge to start playing my beloved carols at least until a few days before Thanksgiving.

I think I'm doing better than I used to.

Our Christmas music collection is MONSTROUSLY huge. On iTunes, it tells me that if we played all the Christmas music we own, it would 1.6 days to play all the songs. (And I think it's actually more than that now. I need to add a couple new albums to the playlist.)

YESSS!!! I know it may be a bit pathetic to be proud of that, but I love it. I make all kinds of playlists out of the music we have: Christmas Sacred, Christmas Fun, Christmas Cleaning Music, Christmas Traditional, Christmas Celtic-- should I go on? (Probably not.)

 

Reason #5- THE Reason for the Season

I have a great love for my Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I love how everyone remembers Him, sings about Him, tells the story of His birth, and serves others all through December.

I know that the joy and goodness we all feel during the Christmas season is because we take the time to focus on Him, His birth, His mission, His sacrifice, and His pure love for everyone.

Merry Christmas!!!

Love, Mama Rachel

A Thanksgiving Birthday

Sweet Dierdre Marie at 7 months old

Twelve years ago, in a small-town hospital surrounded by a swirling blizzard, we welcomed a sweet blond angel to our family circle.

While I was sure we were expecting a baby boy (we wanted to be surprised!), Pa Williams kept telling me throughout my pregnancy that the baby that was coming was a girl. I never believed him! We had only a boy's name picked out, and I had washed only the baby boy clothes. It was so fun to call Granna and Pa on that wintry night and tell them that Pa had known it all along!

What a wonderful blessing she has always been to our family!

Now she is a beautiful twelve-year-old young lady!

Our Dierdre is so helpful and kind to all her younger siblings! She is always willing to do whatever is asked of her, and she is usually careful to include the little ones in her adventures. 

Dierdre loves to sew and has made her own pioneer bonnet, skirt, and apron in her weekly class that's part of our homeschool group. She's also started going through my mending box, which has been amazing! She is proving to be a great seamstress like many of the women that have come before her. (Too many to mention!)

In a silk gown from Granna, and a headband from Morganne.
(Thanks, you guys!)

Dierdre is great at doing her chores and keeps her room very clean. She is quiet and gentle, but can also be goofy and fun! She is thrilled to be entering the Young Women's program at church, and was tickled that the girls in her class gave our house a "Heart Attack" in honor of her birthday.

Just a few of the hearts from the "Heart Attack."

Twelve years ago, we were grateful that we were sent a new angel less than a week after Thanksgiving Day. And today, we are so thankful that she has grown into a lovely young lady that blesses us every day!

She liked getting new earrings and her own sewing supplies.
(Thanks for the earrings, Morganne!)

And now, for more Thanksgiving photos from our celebration yesterday:

Bonny setting and decorating the table

Lliam and Dad busy in the kitchen.
(Yes, we put bacon on our turkeys. YUM!)

Little girls waiting patiently for the prayer

My view at the table

Russell's view at the table (minus Davy in his chair)

I am so grateful for ALL the many blessings the Lord has given to me and to our family! We have so very much to be thankful for. I hope all my readers had a lovely Thanksgiving, too. 

Love, Mama Rachel