No Empty Chairs

Kolby can Fall asleep ANYWHERE!!!!

2011-12-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know our cute little Kolby...you know when he's tired he falls asleep no matter where he is. It's hilarious. Here are a few of the places we've caught pictures of him sleeping randomly. He's even fallen asleep on the sidewalk out side waiting for the bus to pick up the kids.... so funny!!!! We love you Kolby!!!

Addy's front teeth

2011-12-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

Addy was so brave and excited to loose her two front teeth. I love these pictures!!

Adelyn pulled the second one out all by herself. She was soo brave!!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!!!

She now only has 4 more loose teeth.. Crazy huh????

Halloween 2011- Toy Story!!!!

2011-11-03T08:58:00.001-06:00

This year for Halloween we were Toy Story!!! Brayden was Woody, Addy was Bo Peep, Sophie was Jessie, Kolby was Buzz Lightyear and LeGrand and I were Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head!!! I thought that our kids personalities even fit with their Characters this year... what a fun coincidence. We love doing the Family Theme... and this year we had fun with it!!! Halloween parties, school parties, visiting Grandma Larsen....It was a week full of busyness but it was way fun!!! Go Toy Story!!!!

A night in the life of us....

2011-08-20T10:28:00.000-06:00

I love these pictures... Having fun with my new camera, taking pictures of our cute kiddos!!!!

So fun!!!!

Where Brayden gets it from....

2011-08-18T12:39:00.001-06:00

We love going and Cheering for Daddy when he plays Basketball!!! He's such a good athlete; it's fun to watch him. He makes everything. He makes it look soooo easy!! Go LeGrand!!!!!

The Cheering Section!!! Us and the Olsens!!

Love this picture... wish it was in focus better :)

Grandpa Laing's Birthday Party

2011-08-18T12:31:00.002-06:00

Kolby's Eye

2011-08-18T09:51:00.000-06:00

Scare me to death.... That's what our cute Kolby does on a regular basis. Poor kid, he's always the one getting hurt... one day he started crying, I went over to him and noticed he was rubbing his eye. This is what it looked like!!! AHHHHH!!!!

I never knew that you could have a swollen eye ball...but you can.. We ran him to the eye doctor right away. Luckily he's fine now.. he must have touched something and rubbed his eye... and had an allergic reaction to it. Eye drops, Benadryl and some rest were all he needed to get better. We still don't know what he touched but hopefully he doesn't touch it again...

Ice Skating as a Family

2011-08-17T22:01:00.000-06:00

We love going Ice Skating at 7 Peaks!! This was the first year that everyone really skated!!! It was fun to watch them either wiz by, or get the hang of it!! Kolby and Sophie were quite creative this year!! Check out the video below!! Too cute!!

Kolby was sooo cute with his cones!!

Sophie liked the cones too!!

Addy was a pro!!

Brayden was speedy!!!!

Yummy treats!! Cute Sisters!!!

Cute Brothers!!

Brayden and Adelyn were cracking each other up the whole time!! The would have races...tag...count the laps!! It was fun watching them and joining them.

They made eachother wipe out tons too. :)

FUN!!!

Lima Bean Wreath

2011-08-16T18:16:00.001-06:00

I was looking for a cute craft and my amazing sister Helga told me about this awesome website. allthingsthrifty.com. If you haven't gone to it... you should. I had some friends come over and we all made a Lima Bean Wreath. I know it sounds crazy, but it's sooooo cute!!!

After looking at ideas, I found this and it gave me inspiration for my finished product.

Bummer.. I forgot to get my camera out when we had a house full of girls....so sad... but here are some pictures I took along the way. Go to here for the tutorialhttp://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2010/01/tutorial-lima-bean-wreath.html.

Cute huh?!?!?! I love it!!

Mood Swings in Store

2011-08-16T14:18:00.000-06:00

On a recent shopping trip to the store Kolby and I were having a ton of fun... He wanted to be buried with the groceries and wanted me to take a picture....

then he did this and wanted me to take a picture... It cracked me up!!! I love this kid!!!

Pinewood Derbies

2011-08-07T18:02:00.000-06:00

Can we say Pinewood Derby time!?!?!

Brayden has his Pinewood derby and ohhhh it was fun! That's his car in the lead!

Liz, Whitney and Mom and Dad were here to cheer too!! It was fun!!!

Crazy story... while I was trying to help Brayden finish up his car (LeGrand did it all with him, we were just trying to dig out the bottom to put the weights in the bottom of it....) Well I told Brayden to grab his pocket knife...when I took over for a turn the pocket knife closed on my finger...LeGrand was at Bishop interviews and had to run home to take me to the ER. I was worried that I had cut the tendon cause I couldn't straighten my finger and was going into shock... I've never had stitches before but now I've experienced the joy of stitches!! Pretty gross huh? Luckily it's feeling a lot better now... I can almost bend my finger all the way now!!! Brayden was cute...he said he hoped his pinewood derby car won since his mom bled over it.

This Summer for Activity Days they had a pinewood derby too!! Adelyn was sooo excited to make a car!! Tyler and Kelly and there family were here for it so she had a good sized cheering section!!!! Go Adelyn!!!

Good job Adelyn!!!!!

Adelyn's Baptism

2011-08-06T07:42:00.001-06:00

Adelyn was Baptized and Confirmed a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on July 2, 2011. It was such a special day for our family!!! Here is our precious angel girl Adelyn!!!

I'm so Grateful that LeGrand holds the Priesthood and is able to baptize our children!!!! He's such a perfect husband and father!!! I love these two soooo much!

Adelyn with 3 of her Grandmas.. Nana, Grandma Ras and Great Grandma Larsen!! What a lucky girl!!!

Adelyn and Morgan were two of the girls in our ward that got baptized the same day!! They are good friends and it was fun to share in this special day together!!!

Addy, Morgan and Emma!!! Cute Girls!!

Cute kiddos!!!! I love how they line up age wise and it's height wise too... it won't always be like that!!!

Our family!!!

Some of the family and friends that were there to support Addy!!! Thank you everyone for coming!!!

We had a luncheon at our house afterwards...it was yummy food and even better company!!!

Whit, Janine and Paul

Kelly and Peyton

Grandma Rasmussen

Our good friends the Allans

The Olsens

Grandpa and Grandma with Addy!!!!

Addy was excited to open her own Scriptures!!! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!!!!

Nana and Papa gave Adelyn her Baptism Blanket!!! She was hoping for this since Brayden got one when he was baptized!!! Thanks Nana!!!!!

The day after Addy was baptized, Bryan and Helga blessed Taysen in our ward!! It was soooo special to have these cousins share such a special day!! We love you Adelyn and Taysen!!!

Brayden's 10th Birthday

2011-08-05T16:32:00.002-06:00

Brayden just turned 10!! Holy Cow!!!!

His Birthday was on Sunday, so we did some celebrations on Saturday!! We had fun as a family at 7 peaks!!! We love our "Pass of all Passes"!!!!

Brayden wanted a BB Gun for his birthday.... We'll have to see if he got it....

AHHHHHH he was soooooo excited!!!

We had a family shooting contest. So fun!!

Brayden said it was the Best Birthday Ever!!!

He also wanted the Ice Cream Birthday cake... similar to Addy and Whitney's cakes.... It's yummy and easy... The kids just picked their 3 favorite Ice Creams, and 3 Favorite Cake Mixes.... it will make 2 cakes so it's a good thing we had two b-day so close to each other and that they wanted the same kind of ice cream and cake! It made my job easy!! :)

Brayden also wanted to have some friends come over....he said just like Addy's birthday....Can it get easier than that? I'm glad they are soooo easily pleased!!!

Happy Birthday Bray-Man!!!

Adelyn's 8th Birthday

2011-08-05T09:01:00.000-06:00

Can our Addy possibly be 8?!?! Yep!!! Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!!

Addy with her presents!!

For Adelyn's birthday she wanted to get her ears pierced!!!! She also loves crafts so we made an earring holder. It was fun crafting with her, it was the perfect birthday activity and she was soooo excited to get some earrings to fill it up!!!

Here she is at Claires before she got them pierced!!! She was soooooo excited!!!

I love how she is holding LeGrands hands!! So cute!

Marked and ready to go!!

Done!!!!! She was so brave, she hardly flinched!!!

Liz met us there too!! Soooo fun!!

Can you tell, we were all so excited!! (Sophie can't wait till she's 8 to get hers pierced too! It will be a long 20 months!!)

After Claires, we went to Trafalga and watched some 4D movies at the theater....

and went miniature golfing...

Adelyn wanted an Ice Cream Cake like Whitney had on her birthday!! Here is the master piece!!!

It was HUGE!!!

Addy Invited some friends and their families to come and celebrate with us. It was low key, but such a fun time playing, eating and celebrating!!!

Kirsten, Addy and Morgan

Sophie and Holly

Yummy!!!!

After the party Addy did "late night" with Kirsten and Holly!! She was sooo excited... it was her first "late night"!!!

Aunt Liz came over to celebrate too... she was taking the pictures and didn't get in any... bummer.... But after everyone left Uncle Nathan came over and they gave Addy their gift!!! They told Addy that she was going to have a new little cousin!!!!! We are soooo excited that Liz and Nathan are going to have a baby!!!! Horray!!!!

Happy Birthday Addy!! We love you!!!!!

Sophie's can ride a two wheeler

2011-08-04T18:34:00.002-06:00

Say goodbye to training wheels for our Sophie!!! She can ride a two wheeler now!!!!

I love her smile... what a sense of accomplishment!!!!

End of the year Activities- Better late than never :)

2011-08-04T17:49:00.000-06:00

Brayden's 4th grade Hershey Track Meet

Brayden's field trip to "This is the Place Monument Park"

Brayden's 4th grade Utah Program

Adelyn's field trip to Hayward Farm

Adelyn's 2nd Grade Opera

Sophie's field trip to Thanksgiving point.

Best one because Dad was able to come too!!!!

Sophie's Kindergarten Graduation!!! Soooo cute!!!

Brayden, Addy and Sophie all had Mrs Arroyo in Kindergarten! Hopefully Kolby can get her too!!

Sophie and Mrs. Arroyo

Brayden and Miss Thomas

Addy and Mrs. Zinn

Last day of school with the Dustin kids!!!

Video when Sophie Graduated.... I'm trying to get more videos on here because they sang some really cute songs but they aren't working.... bummer... I'll keep trying!!!

Disneyland Day 3

2011-08-03T22:07:00.002-06:00

For our last day in the parks... we decided to re ride all of our favorite rides!!!!

Still sooooo much excitement!!

We met up with the Lambs again in California Adventures....

We loved being at Disneyland and California Adventures!!! It was an awesome trip filled with lots of fun memories!!!!

After Disneyland we stayed with our friends Damon and Becky Johnson and their cute family.. We miss them, they used to live by us in Springville and now they live in California.. It was good to spend time together. We went to the beach, it was fun even though it was chilly and windy!!! I love the Ocean!!!! Ahhhh sand between your toes!!!! Can it get any better than that??

Addy and Ellen

Our Beach Babe!

Sophie Star

Kolby had so much fun!!!

He had fun even though he was freezing!

Damon and LeGrand couldn't miss the oppertunity to throw the fooball around.

Digging in the sand.

LeGrand and Damon

Becky and Me

We stayed in Vegas on our way home for a few days.... We love Mom, Dad, Whitney and Grandma Ras!!!

Going on walks...

My good friend Gina just had her cute baby girl!! So fun to see her!!

Going for runs and playing at the church!!

A pre Easter Egg Hunt!!!

Such a good trip!!! Thank you Doug and Jen, Damon and Becky and Mom and Dad!!! We love you guys!!

Disneyland Day 2

2011-08-03T16:07:00.001-06:00

We went to California Adventures for our 2nd day at the park!!! Toy Story Mania was awesome!!

Meeting Jessie and the Green army dude!!!

The kiddos loved the "Circle thing". What a view!!!

We met some of our good friends the Lambs for lunch at the Rain-forest Cafe!!!! It was delicious and such fun company!!!

The Lambs and the Laings!!

Ok, funny story!!!! While we were at lunch Kolby had to go to the bathroom...so I took him. Later he had to go again and so LeGrand took him. Kolby lead the way and LeGrand followed him right into the girls bathroom. The funny thing was that LeGrand was looking down and not paying attention, so they went into the stall, Kolby did his business and when they came out LeGrand looked up and saw a line of women waiting to use the restroom. He just said...."We're in the wrong bathroom aren't we?!?!" and they ran out of the girls bathroom and washed their hands in the mens restroom. Kolby in his loud high pitched voice announced to everyone in the men's restroom that they had just gone into the women's restroom and it was sooo embarrassing. They came back to our table and we all got a kick out of LeGrand's embarrassing moment. We had to go back and take a picture of Kolby with the bathroom door....it was clearly marked. Sooo funny....but my poor husband!! It's a good thing he can laugh at himself!!!

Mater and Lightning McQueen

My Mr. Incredible with the Disney Mr. Incredible!!

I love my man!!!!!

Man, who knew we could go so hard and still have soooo much fun!!

Disneyland 2011- Day 1

2011-08-03T09:19:00.000-06:00

Disneyland here we come!!! Our kiddos have wanted to go to Disneyland for years and decided to save their birthday money for 2 years to help pay for the trip. It was a fun experience working for something, tracking it and achieving a goal as a family!!

Here we are on our way to California!!

Can you tell that they are excited?!?!

When we got to California we drove straight to Uncle Doug and Aunt Jen's house. Grandma Larsen was there for a visit too!! It was so fun to be with everyone!! Thanks Doug and Jen for letting us stay with you guys!! We love you!!!

Sunday night we hung out with Doug and Jen and their cute family.... soooo fun!!!!

Kolby and Sam had so much fun together! Can you tell?!?!?!

This was Monday morning as we are on the tram to get into the park!!! So much excitement...and not just in the kids. LeGrand and I were so excited too.

Our Family at Disneyland!!!!

Peter Pan Ride

Soooo excited (almost all the pictures Sophie is showing this much excitement!! Cute!!)

Buzz Lightyear- One of Kolby's favorites

It's a Small World

Goofy

Waiting in line- entertaining ourselves ;)

Mickey Mouses House

Mickey Mouse

Nemo Submarine ride

Kolby worn out!! He can fall asleep anywhere!!

Pirates of the Carribean

Thunder Mountain Railroad

Our Princesses meeting other Princesses.

This is probably my favorite picture from Disneyland!!! Soooo Hilarious!!!!

Amber and Spencer were there too and we met up with them and went on Space Mountain. It was so fun!! I love cousins!!

Laying down to watch the fireworks!!

Wiped out!!! We were there from open till 11....we were exhausted but had sooooo much fun!!!!

Say tuned for Day 2 Coming soon!!!!

Grandpa's Funeral

2011-07-22T23:46:00.000-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRSTEN!!! THIS ONE'S FOR YOU;)

These past few years it was tender to see my Grandparents getting older. It got to the point that they couldn't live on their own in their home any more. I'm so grateful that my parents were able to take them and care for them. I think Grandpa realized that he didn't have to hold on any longer to take care of my Grandma. We all knew his time was getting closer and closer. When he did pass away I faced many different emotions. I miss him, I'm grateful that he's not hurting any more and relieved to know that his is in Heaven with his parents, brothers and sisters and our Heavenly Parents. This knowledge is so comforting in times of loss. My heart went and continues to go out to my Grandma Ras. She has memory problems and couldn't remember that he had passed away. It was heart breaking talking to her and hearing about how she had to relive the inital moment of learning that her sweetheart died. She understands now, but I know it's still hard.

The Funeral was amazing. We were all together, well almost.... we missed Kirsten and the kiddos. But it was so fun to see cousins that we haven't seen in years. All of the 'blood' Grandchildren were there except Shad who is on his mission. We laughed and cried together! I'm grateful that we have such an amazing family, that we have the knowledge we can all live together forever, that we will be able to be with Grandpa again. He was truly a great man!!

At the Funeral all the Grandkids and Great Grandkids sang. It was special.

My Cousin Megan gave a talk... It was perfect!!! I'm grateful I have a copy of it!!!! She nailed it!!!

Megans’ talk

You might wonder who the luckiest kids in all the world are. Well I can tell you. They’re not kids sponsored by Oprah, or kids whose parents own candy stores. The luckiest kids in the world are the grandkids of Lloyd Rasmussen.

When the 18 of us saw that Grandpa Ras, our favorite person in the world, was dying and would soon be leaving us, we knew we had to do something to thank him for the many things we have learned from him. Each of us wrote him a short letter thanking him and with our parents’ help we found pictures of grandpa and each one of his grandkids. We made them into a book that we will forever treasure.

Today I’ll be sharing thoughts from all of my cousins’ letters. Though he didn’t often give us formal lessons—the things we learned from watching this sweet man have shaped our lives.

He taught us what it means to be a husband. We loved hearing him call Grandma “Miss America.” We loved seeing our grandpa escort Grandma, Aunt Winnie, and their neighbor Helen to plays and sporting events at BYU. He’d drop off the girls at the door, go park the car a mile away, jog back to the event, and do it all over again at the end. He took such great care of “the girls.” And if we had the chance to go with Gramps, he gave us the same treatment. Grandpa’s love for Grandma was evident in everything he did. Miss America is a fitting title for Grandma because Grandpa truly treated her like a queen. From grandpa the boys learned how to be husbands and the girls learned what to look for in one.

Grandpa taught us to have fun. Nobody played cards better than Grandpa Ras—and when you got to learn a new game by being on his team, you knew you were gonna win. Almost as fun as watching Grandpa’s card skills, was hearing him shout phrases like “Let’s bid ‘em to the moon!” Or “who dealt this mess?” He always had his card ready to play before the hand was led—like he knew what you’d play before you did. We loved seeing Grandma steal peeks at his hand (though she’d never admit it). In addition to card games—Grandpa filled our summers with magic. Grandpa often took the boys on backpacking trips in the mountains. He’d give us rides on his old Honda motorcycle and take us camping in his trailer. Grandpa would spend the night out on the parade route for the 4th of July to secure a prime location every year!

One of the things we loved best, though, was boating. Gramps taught us to waterski and if we were a little too timid, he’d talk us into taking a “nice, slow, sensible ride” on the tube. It didn’t take long for us to realize there was nothing nice, slow, or sensible about his tube rides—once I truly wondered if he was trying to kill me—but as we hung on to the straps and each other for dear life, hitting wave after wave, we fell in love with the boat, with muddy, stinky Utah Lake, and with the knowledge we had that our grandpa was the funnest grandpa on the block. Those summers on the lake transformed us from cousins to best friends.

We all remember Grandpa tickling us. He didn’t ever tickle us until we wet our pants—we left those shenanigans up to Shaun and Sue—but we could always count on Grandpa chasing us around the yard if we taunted him by dissing his favorite singer. Saying “Frank Sinatra’s Not So Hot-ra” was always a request for tickles. We also remember Gramps tickling us with the question “Who’s girl are you?” “Or who’s boy are you?” He wouldn’t stop until we’d shout with tears streaming down our faces “Your girl, Grandpa!” or “I’m your boy!” We’ll always be your boys and girls, Grandpa, always.

We also remember the way Grandpa made us feel about ourselves. Each of us felt like the favorite grandchild and we each have solid evidence to prove it. He would dote on us, call our parents to brag about us, and make us feel like we were amazing even for accomplishing dumb things like checking the flavor to water ratio of his crystal light concoctions. He always called on our birthdays—often before 7 am.

He made us feel important by spending time with us. We loved BYU games. He’d hand the usher a handful of tickets and then shoo in all us grandkids before the usher had a chance to see if the number of tickets actually equaled the number of kids. We’d watch grandpa diligently keep basketball statistics during the game. When we’d watch games on tv at Grandpa’s house, he’d pace around the room, jump on his mini trampoline, and do push ups to calm his nerves. We loved watching him worry—even if the game wasn’t close.

Grandpa taught us to be generous. You knew when you went to Grandma and Grandpa’s that Grandpa would feed you. Often we’d cry out “No! No more Grandpa! Really I’m full!” before he threw another scoop of potatoes onto our plates. Grandpa always had a basement full of pop and a freezer full of ice cream. He kept a candy machine on the counter, a bag of popcorn in the hall, and licorice in the cupboard. And he liked nothing more than to feed you and watch you enjoy it. He always had a favorite restaurant. We remember trips to BYU cafeteria and Chucka-rama (which we lovingly called Chuck-a-rampa) He loved places where “you can see all the food” and pick what you want. He also sent us on runs for subway sandwiches, Little Cesar’s Pizza, and McDonalds for Big Mac Monday. We will always remember how kindly and patiently he treated us when we broke mirrors, lamps, and even once or twice the pool table. And we’ll never forget the time we found and devoured a bag of licorice in the basement without asking. We felt such remorse at having “stolen” from our grandpa that we sadly headed upstairs to make our apologies. Grandpa exclaimed, “Holy Toledo! I forgot! I bought a bag for each of you!” and he handed each of us our own 2 lb bag of licorice.

Our grandpa wasn’t only a true gentleman, but also a truly gentle man. He cried with joy over everything: mission calls, engagements, weddings, BYU acceptance letters, birth announcements. We cry with joy over the life our Grandpa lived and the wonderful man he was. We knew of the tender concern and love that he felt for each of us and we knew we were prized in his heart. Grandpa, you will always be prized in our hearts, and we can’t wait to see you again.

With love,

Your grand children

Me and my siblings!! I love these guys!!!

Our family

The Cousins

All the cousins (with Spouses!!)

Grandma and her 2 sisters

After the funeral, we all went to Grandma and Grandpas house and just played and hung out. It felt so good to be together!! It's exactly what Grandpa would have wanted us to do!

Dad and his boys were able to go to the Priesthood Session of Conference together!

Vegas Trip for Whitney's Birthday

2011-06-18T13:00:00.000-06:00

We went to Vegas for Whitney's birthday and of course had a blast! We went on a hike that was so fun and long. Kolby wanted to jump off of every rock he could find...there were tons of rocks. We hiked to the Colorado River, saw the new bridge that they built over the Hoover Dam, swam and hiked back out. It took all day but was way fun!!

Wow, I can't believe my baby sister is already 17!!!! Happy Birthday Whitney! We love you!!

Cub Scouts- Bobcat-Bear!!!

2011-06-18T07:07:00.000-06:00

Brayden has loved his years in scouting!! From the time he was a new Cub Scout.....

Brayden earning his Bobcat!!!

Cub Scout Day Camp!!

Getting his First Pocket Knife!!!

Earning his Wolf

Brayden Getting his Bear

The Rain Gutter Rigata!!!

Hiking the "Y" in the rain storm with his troop and Dad!

He needs two belts to fit all the belt loops he's earned now!!!!

It's fun to watch Brayden grow and mature. He loves scouting and learning things!!! I'm grateful for the Cub Scout and Boy Scout Programs and for all the good they do for our boys and young men!!! I can see him growing and developing into a stronger boy!!!!

Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen

2011-05-21T15:48:00.000-06:00

The past few years before Grandma and Grandpa Ras moved down to my parents house I had the privilege to go over to their house a several times a week and help them. I'm so grateful for this opportunity that I had to serve them and spend a lot of time with them. Our family really enjoyed this time with Grandma and Grandpa. It was hard to see them getting older. I'm hoping our kiddos have good memories with their Great Grandparents and not just memories of them sick in bed. But even if that's what they remember hopefully they will also remember how much they were loved. I hope they remember how important it is to be of service to those around you...

We would make Meals and organize the pills....

I'd cut Grandpa's hair and curl Grandma's hair....

Cleaned the House

We visited and tried to cheer them up. I heard tons of awesome stories from when they were young. I LOVED talking with them!!

Visiting Grandpa after his leg surgery...

I love how Grandpa is clapping for the kids.. That was soooo like him!!

We put up decorations for the holidays and took them down...

We did yard work

We redid their bathroom floor

Sometimes it tuckered us out

Even when G&G were in bed the kids knew they were always welcomed!! They loved cuddling with Grandma and Grandpa!!

I'm so grateful to my parents, especially my mom for taking such good care of Grandma now and Grandpa in the last months of his life. I know they are in good hands and I'm grateful for my moms sacrifice in their behalf. She is a great example to me!!

Grandpa Ras

2011-05-20T21:29:00.000-06:00

I've been behind blogging and have actually been putting this post off. Probably because it's really close to home. My Dear Grandpa Ras passed away in March. He is a great man whom I've learned many many lessons from. His birthday is on March 21st, my cousin Megan's birthday is on March 24th and Mine is on March 27th. We've celebrated our birthdays together for years and years.. especially since we moved to Utah 10 years ago. Grandpa died on March 23rd. I'm grateful to know that he is in Heaven with our Father in Heaven and that he is healthy and not in pain anymore. He is a man above men. If you knew him you would know what I'm talking about. I love him, miss him and am sooo grateful for him. Thank you Grandpa for Loving me, LeGrand and our kiddos so much!!

Obituary

Lloyd Evan Rasmussen, 88, passed away peacefully at the home of his son Garth Rasmussen in Henderson, Nevada on March 23, 2011. He was born on March 21, 1923 in Fairview, Utah to Wilford Woodruff Rasmussen and Matilda Winkelmann Rasmussen. After spending his childhood years in Fairview, his family moved to Provo, Utah. He attended Brigham Young High School where he was an outstanding athlete in football, basketball, and baseball.

In fact, it was at a B.Y. High vs. Provo High rivalry game where he met his future wife, Nadine Farr. Lloyd was

playing basketball for B.Y. High and Nadine was a cheerleader for Provo High. Lloyd was dribbling down the sideline when Nadine accidentally tripped him. As they both tell it, that’s where he first fell for her, and they’ve been in love ever since. They married in the Salt Lake L.D.S. Temple on September 23, 1943. He served in the Army and was stationed overseas during World War II. He graduated from LDS Business College in Salt Lake City and then worked as an accountant for the U.S. Steel Geneva Plant until his retirement.

Always active in the LDS Church, he has served in a variety of positions including being a counselor in two bishoprics. During many years as a scoutmaster and a baseball coach, he was a positive influence in the lives of many young men. Lloyd and his wife Nadine served in the London England South Mission and have also served as Temple Workers in the Provo LDS Temple.

Lloyd and Nadine have four children: Susan Green, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Meridee Williams and husband Lind, Provo, Utah; Garth L. Rasmussen and wife Kathy, Henderson, Nevada; and Shaun F. Rasmussen and wife Susan, Eldorado Hills, California. They have 18 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. Lloyd is preceded in death by his parents and all of his siblings: Harold, Merlin, Elden, and Leah. He is survived by his wife Nadine.

Perhaps his most lasting legacy is his complete selflessness and tender regard for all that knew him. One could not visit their home without Lloyd inviting them to eat, and one could not eat without Lloyd coaxing them to eat more. Neighbors, family, friends, and strangers all benefited from his sharing attitude. He took a personal interest in and was a friend to everyone he met. He loved BYU sports, and he loved to fish, boat, hike, and camp. When camping, he took the time to get to know every stranger he met, and he could tell you the name, hometown, and a personal story about everyone in the campground within a couple of hours after setting up camp. His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will forever remember his tender heart, the smile on his face, and the tears of gratitude in his eyes.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 1 at 11:00 a.m. at the Bonneville 4th Ward Chapel, 1285 East 300 South, in Provo. Family and friends may call on Thursday evening, March 31 at the Berg Mortuary, 185 East Center Street in Provo or at a viewing Friday at the church one hour prior to the funeral services. Interment will be in the Provo City Cemetery following the services.

Easter 2011

2011-05-19T18:09:00.000-06:00

Easter is one of my favorite Holidays! We had a wonderful Easter this year! We were able to think a lot about the reason that we Celebrate Easter, that our Lord and Savior was resurrected. He was and so we can too!! What a blessing!!

we also colored Easter Eggs...

Lined up for that morning Easter Egg hunt!!!

and found too much candy....

Enjoyed Daddy being home on Sunday morning with us. (a treat), it was hard to let him go when the time finally came! ;)

The Cute Kiddos dressed up in their Sunday Best!!

We had an outside Easter Egg hung with Liz and Nathan after church! It was fun!

Holly got a real bunny for Easter. She invited the kiddos over to hold "JJ. They LOVED it!!

Daddy built the kids another fort, this weekend. It's always a favorite to sleep in and watch movies in. LeGrand is such a good dad!!

Taysen is here!!!

2011-04-30T10:57:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Whitney for a Visit!!!

2011-04-20T18:31:00.000-06:00

Whitney and Mom came up for Grandma Larsen's Birthday!!! We always have so much fun when they come for a visit. We don't sleep tons, but oh we have fun!!!!! LeGrand and Whitney were matching...not on purpose. It was cute!

I love these girls!!

and this girl too!!

Happy Birthday Grandma! We love you!!

Kids come in Handy sometimes.....

2011-04-12T09:54:00.000-06:00

Nose Wipers

To help you see the Future...

and here... To fill you home with Music

and to make you dizzy while filling your home with music

To help you stand a little taller...

Help keep Scripture Study exceptionally Reverant

To find out how Sweet Dinner can be... (Kolby is sitting in a frying pan in this picture) To remind you that there are always little eyes looking up to you...

Cardio Exersize

To remind us that we need to Dance thru life even during a kickball game... Be your cheering section...

Shows us the new Salon approved yogurt treatment for soft hair and skin...

To make sure your Mascara has enough moisture in it

to humble you while they take you down... Keeping you warm during a movie... To make sure you know how to clean every crevis the human body has...

Daisy

2011-04-10T11:11:00.000-06:00

We got our dog Daisy almost 2 years ago and realized that we haven't even posted anything about her. Meet Daisy. She is a Maltipoo and we love her to pieces...ok the kids do at least...we are still trying to get dad to embrace her instead of just put up with her. She is a sweet dog and has been great for our kids!

When we got her she was sooo tiny!

She's still tiny (under 10 lbs) but much bigger than she was.

Bedtime Stories!!!

2011-04-08T07:08:00.002-06:00

One of my most favorite things is actually bedtime, when LeGrand is home. Obviously having him home makes everything easier...but what I'm talking about is experiencing his Bedtime Stories!! They are seriously awesome...the only problem is that they are so awesome that the kids have a hard time calming down and going to sleep afterwards. I love listening to LeGrand and the kids as they do this together!! I had to capture some of it in picture and video. Every story is about ..."The Cute Kiddos Chronicles of Brayden, Addy, Sophie and Kolby." Where they are Prince's and Princesses in the imaginary land of Sanabieth. No two stories are ever the same and they are all really exciting and have good morals. I've told LeGrand we should write these down and put them in a book for our kids...he's written one so far. (It's posted below) Then I recorded one (that will be the easier way to document them all probably) and tried to post it for your enjoyment but was having troubles with uploading the video...OK really so our kids can see it... There is laughter, tears, screams, shrills, jumping up and down and after every story they say it was the best one ever!! Wow, LeGrand is so talented and such an amazing dad! We are so blessed!!!

The Cute Kiddo Chronicles of Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby

CHAPTER 1: CAPTAIN ZIVIG

After a care-free summer day around the castle, Prince Brayden, Princess Addy, Princess Sophie, and Prince Kolby sat down to a wonderful meal. Life in the Kingdom of Sanabiath was good.

Meanwhile, the Princes and Princesses dog, Daisy, had gone on a walk out in the nearby wood with another canine from a neighboring kingdom. They were such good friends that it was very easy for them to lose track of time when they were together, which is exactly what happened this time.

When the dogs realized that darkness had begun to fall they started to make their way back to the castle. They were suddenly snatched up by a large net that had been concealed in the murky forest floor. They yelped franticly for help but they were still too far from the castle to be heard by anyone. They were soon silenced by an evil, sinister laugh. A foreboding figure emerged from the shadows. It was Captain Zivig- leader of the Zivigite army.

-----------

While tucking themselves into bed that night, Princess Sophie noticed that they had not seen Daisy for a while and inquired of her whereabouts. The four of them quickly moved about the castle searching for their beloved pooch. After several long minutes of searching, it was evident that Daisy was not inside the castle, so they moved their search outdoors around the castle grounds. Daisy was still nowhere to be found. Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby feared the worst. The quickly gathered their weapons, armor, and supplies and mounted their horses. They set off on a journey in search of their dog not knowing where they would go or how long it would take.

After a couple of hours riding around the dark forest, they found an open area, pitched their tents, and slept the rest of the night. At the break of dawn, Sophie and Kolby awoke to find that Brayden and Addy had already had a warm fire started and a nice breakfast prepared for everyone. They ate quickly, had a prayer together asking for help to find their dog, and then cleaned up camp, got on their horses, and set off on the rescue mission again.

As they came to an open meadow, they were startled by the sight of a menacing army looking down at them from the crest of a nearby hilltop. The leader of the army slowly descended the hill on his jet black stallion with armed guards on either side of him following close behind. At the top of the hill behind them, Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby gasped as they saw Daisy and her friend caged up in an enchanted metal crate.

As the Villon approached on his black stallion, he introduced himself as Captain Zivig- leader of the Zivigite army. He said that the only way they could get their dogs back was to give up their kingdom and surrender all to them.

“That’s a pretty wimpy looking horse you’ve got there,” Brayden said unexpectedly.

Captain Zivig was taken aback by this. “What!?!” He retorted.

Addy quickly caught on to Brayden’s tactic and began to play along. “Ya, I bet your horse couldn’t even beat a turtle in a race.”

“Or not even a snail,” Sophie quickly added, wanting to join in on the fun.

Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby all broke out in great laughter. This infuriated Captain Zivig all the more, “What are you talking about!?! My horse is the finest and fastest stallion ever bread!”

“Prove it then,” Brayden demanded.

“Alright, let’s race,” Captain Zivig reasoned. “All 4 of you verses me and 3 of my best men and we’ll see who has the fastest horses.”

“Okay,” Brayden said calmly, “Whichever team has someone cross the finish line first is the winning team. If we win, we get our dogs back and you leave our lands forever.”

“And WHEN I win, I get your dogs and your whole kingdom.” Captain Zivig added.

“Uh, don’t you mean IF you win?” one of Zivig’s guards said.

“Quiet, you fool!” Captain Zivig shouted angrily. “Well,” he continued, “do we have a deal?”

“Deal,” Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby all said in confident unison.

“Tomorrow, noon, at our castle,” Kolby instructed. “But we get to keep our dogs overnight.”

“Fine,” Captain Zivig contemptuously agreed, “Take the mangy scoundrels, but they stay in the cage, and I hold the key. We’ll see you tomorrow at noon.”

The two parties separated. Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby headed back to the castle with their two caged up animals. Upon arrival to the castle, they fed the dogs and immediately began preparing themselves and their horses for the big race the next day.

CHAPTER 2: THE RACE

At high noon, the crowds watched nervously as the race began. Captain Zivig and his 3 men, all on jet black horses, darted from the starting line early before the signal to go sounded. On the “go” signal, Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby followed close behind. The Zivigite army cheered as their cheating leader had a healthy head start. The people of the kingdom of Sanabiath booed the devious Zivigite soldiers and their leader. Their boos were quickly replaced with cheers for their beloved Princes and Princesses: Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby.

They were off on the much anticipated race. Even though Captain Zivig and his men were way ahead, the Princes and Princesses did not panic, but rather, they paced themselves due to the lengthiness of the race; they didn’t want to tire their horses out too quickly.

The race was to turn through the woods, circle all the way around Mount Sanabiath, cut through a small portion of the woods on the south side of the mountain, and then shoot through the open meadow back to the castle where the finish line and the cheering crowds waited for them.

By the time they made it to the first grove of trees, they had gained some ground on the bad guys. Just then, one of the Zivigite soldiers turned his body around and pointed a loaded cross bow right at Kolby. Just as he was about to shoot, he violently flew off his horse after being knocked hard in the head by an overhanging tree branch. He was out cold. So, one bad guy down and 3 to go.

They all emerged from the forest almost simultaneously with Zivig and his men still maintaining a slight lead. All the riders then began the rugged but brief ascent up and around the base of Mount Sanabiath. One of the Zivigite soldiers unintentionally caused a large bolder to jar loose when he leaped on top of it with his horse. The bolder rolled down the hill behind him and smashed his partner. It nearly crushed Sophie too but she jumped off of her horse and onto the back of Addy’s horse just in time. So, Captain Zivig and just one of his men were the only ones that remained on their team. Sophie’s horse, Tulip, had managed to get out of the way of the falling rock but was trapped in a steep ravine.

After a grueling hour of racing they finally came around the bend on the other side of Mount Sanabiath. Brayden and Captain Zivig rode side by side at ever increasing speeds. Captain Zivig drew his sword and began swinging angrily at Brayden. Brayden quickly drew his sword and strongly withstood all of Captain Zivig’s blows. They engaged in an intense sword fight while riding side by side at high speed.

In the mean time, Addy and Sophie caught up to the other bad guy and Sophie jumped off of Addy’s horse, Summer, and onto the back of the bad guy’s horse. She threw him off his horse and took it over. Suddenly, the horse Sophie was riding fell to the ground throwing Sophie off. The horse had collapsed from complete exhaustion. Addy and Summer turned around and ran back to pick up Sophie. Luckily she was okay. Sophie jumped on the back of Summer and the girls raced off toward the castle together.

While all of this took place, Brayden continued to fight feverishly with Captain Zivig. During all of this, Kolby had shot way ahead of everyone and rapidly approached the finish line. All of the people from the Kingdom of Sanabiath let out a roaring cheer as they saw Kolby racing in front of everyone. When Captain Zivig heard the cheers, he looked up in panic. He impulsively rammed his horse into Brayden’s horse, Lighting, knocking him off balance and Lighting fell to the ground taking Brayden with him. Captain Zivig then raced ahead as fast as he could in hot pursuit of Kolby.

Brayden got up and saw that his horse, Lighting, was injured. He threw a blanket over him and said, “Wait here Lighting, we’ll be back.” Just then Summer pulled up with Addy and Sophie on her back. Sophie reached out her hand, Brayden grabbed it and swung himself up onto the horse and they continued on toward the castle. They looked up and saw Captain Zivig catch up to Kolby with only about 50 yards to go.

Captain Zivig swung his closed fist desperately at Kolby as hard as he could. When Kolby ducked just in time, Captain Zivig swung around, lost his balance and flew off his horse. Kolby, with his horse, Spirit, flew first past the finish line while the crowd cheered wildly in sheer delight.

CHAPTER 3: NOT DONE YET

Bray, Addy, and Sophie-still riding on Summer- arrived at the finish line soon after the race had ended. They all jumped off the horse and embraced Kolby and each other. Then, being overcome with exhaustion, they fell to the ground.

After a few moments, Captain Zivig came hobbling up to them. Brayden, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby quickly got to their feet.

“Alright,” Prince Brayden said, “a deal’s a deal, hand over the keys to the dog’s cage and get you and your men out of here.”

Captain Zivig reached into his pocket, but instead of pulling out keys, he pulled out a wand. He immediately shouted some incantation and a bright flashing light flew out of the tip of his wand. Before they knew it, Bray, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby stood face to face with a giant, ominous dragon. The people of Sanabiath screamed and scattered, frantically looking for safe shelter.

Bray, Addy, Sophie, and Kolby pulled out their weapons and began fighting the ruthless beast. They dodged fireballs and blocked its sharp claws. Prince Brayden, Princess Addy, Princess Sophie, and Prince Kolby’s courage were unmatched by anyone. Their bravery was unparalleled. They always fought valiantly for the safety of their people. That is one of the reasons why everyone loved them so much.

While Brayden, Addy, and Sophie distracted the dragon, Kolby ran behind a tree near where Captain Zivig stood controlling the dragon with his wand. Suddenly, something terrifying happened. Brayden, Sophie, and Kolby heard a scream; they looked up and saw that the Dragon had Addy in its clutches.

“Noooo,” they all yelled desperately as the dragon held Addy over his wide open mouth, ready to drop her in and eat her. The dragon’s teeth were large and very sharp.

Right as the Dragon let go of Addy and she began falling into its mouth, Kolby jumped out from behind the tree and cut Captain Zivig’s wand in half with his sword. The dragon immediately disappeared and Addy began the long fall towards the ground. Brayden ran, dove, and caught her just before she landed on the hard surface.

Meanwhile, Sophie and Kolby jumped on Captain Zivig, grabbed the keys to the cage, opened it up, let the dogs out and threw Captain Zivig in. After seeing the defeat of their Captain, the Zivigite army ran away in fright, never to return.

Prince Brayden, Princess Addy, Princess Sophie, and Prince Kolby’s bravery saved Sanabiath once again and they restored peace and safety to the Kingdom. They held a great feast the next day and gave thanks for their deliverance from evil.

THE END

Let's explore and some more!!!

2011-04-06T09:06:00.003-06:00

Our kids had a day off of school and we decided to play hard! We went over to Aunt Liz's house and went exploring and hiking with her! Liz is such a good and fun Sister and Aunt! We are so happy that she lives closer to us now!!

We started out at her neighbors chicken and bunny coop. Then it was off to exploring Sanabieth...the land behind her home.

Then we decided to conquer the mountain behind her house!

We even made it up a really steep part! I was proud of all the kids!!

LeGrand joined us when he was done with his meetings and we continued to explore. The kids had a blast!

After we got all our exploring desires out LeGrand and I took the kiddos to Trafalfa in Orem. We had so much fun as a family. We love having the Pass of all Passes so we can go to Trafalga as much as we want to!

The 3D movies

Miniature Golf

It was a loaded day and we were all ready for bed by the time came! Love it!!

Christmas 2010

2011-04-05T15:35:00.000-06:00

Sophies Kindergarten Christmas Program

Sitting on Santa's Lap

Dec 21, 2001- Snow Day

School was canceled for the first time in 30 years here in Utah Valley because of the snow. The Kids Loved it, except that it happened to fall on the day of all the Christmas parties in their classes... It was incredible. These pictures don't even give it justice. We played and played in the snow. We built a huge hill in our front yard and went sledding down it. It was awesome!

We Celebrated Kolby's Birthday with LeGrands on the 22nd. I was sick and felt like I kind of missed out on all the fun. We even ran and bought a cake cause I was feeling so yucky.... it's the first time we've done that. Kolby liked it but we all agreed that my cakes are better. ;) I'll have to make it up to them next year! :)
LeGrand turned 33 and Kolby turned 3.... lots of 3's!

It's hard to believe my baby is already 3. It's also hard to believe that my man is 33. Crazy!!!

Christmas Eve

We started it out having a friends Breakfast and Movie Party. Every family made a Christmas movie, (our was about Icabod the Elf) and we put them all on one DVD and watched them all together! We had a blast making the movies and watching them. The kids loved doing this. We might just have to make it a annual tradition!

Dan and Emily Olsen, Brandon and Candace Carter, Drew and Amy Douglas, Us, Rob and Loriann Cunningham. Here is the crew of kids who are now movie stars! This was seriously soooo fun!!

On Christmas Eve -night, we went over to Aunt Meridee's house and had dinner and our nativity story puppet show, and stories! We love going over to their house and being with everyone!!! Thanks for having us!! Addy and Brayden got to help this year! They were so excited!!

I love Christmas time in our home!

This year it was getting late but we still wanted to act out our nativity scene.. the costumes were a little sparse...but we still had fun!! :)

Of course we left goodies for Santa and his reindeer.

Christmas Morning we gathered in Mom and Dad's room and read the Christmas Story. Everyone was sooo excited!!

We came down to this....

It was cute, Bray and Addy each picked out a little Book of Mormon to give to each other. They were suprised when they realized that that's what they both gave. Cute!

Star Wars was a theme for the boys this year. They've played for hours and hours with their Star Wars Ships!!

The kids all got new bedding which they love. I found Adelyn sitting in her bed in the middle of the day reading her new scriptures. It was so sweet to walk in and find your 7 year old reading the scriptures with out being asked.

The girls got some fake nails and decided to strike a sassy pose.

Dad had as much fun playing with the Star Wars ships as the boys did.

Kolby Loves Lightning McQueen and Buzz Lightyear!

The girls with their Easy Bake Oven...

After Christmas we went to visit Nana and Papa and everyone in California.

Brayden, Micah and Jacob had a sleep over party.
Kolby and Peyton playing Checkers...
The Girl Cousins, Peyton, Addy, MaKyla and Sophie... Cute girly girls....

My Birthday

2011-04-04T15:42:00.000-06:00

My birthday this year was so fun!! We started out the celebrations getting a big group date to go rock wall climbing and to play laser tag at Trafalga!!! Sooo fun!! Then we went out to Cafe Rio which was delicious!!!!

The next day we took our kids to Trafalga!! They had a blast too!!!

My actual birthday was on Sunday, I can't believe it, 31 already?!?!

LeGrand got home early from his Bishoping responsibilities which was the best gift ever!!!!

Liz had us over for dinner so I wouldn't have to cook!!! Soooo thoughtful!!! It was sooo much fun!!!

When we got home, Dan and Emily surprised us with a game of Setters of Catan all set up!!!! Awesome!!

The next day Candace asked me to come over and give her an opinion on something.....there were a bunch of girls over there for cake and ice cream! Girls night!! I feel loved!! Thank you everyone for making me feel special!!!!

Regional Volleyball Tournament

2011-04-04T09:01:00.000-06:00

We have fun playing Volleyball and Basketball as a ward! Our Women's Volleyball team took 1st place in our Regional Tournament this year!!! Go Girls!! I didn't get a picture of the Championship team, but it was soooo fun! We had a Co-ed team and we took 2nd in our Regional Tournament this year! It was really fun to play with LeGrand! Here is a picture of our Co-ed team!!!

Amy Douglas, LonaMarie Cook, Kevin Cook, Me, LeGrand and Kevins brother Nathan.

Here is our women's Bastketball team...(it as actually last years team, but it was most of the same players!) I sure love these girls!

St Patricks Day 2011

2011-03-28T09:26:00.000-06:00

Got to Love St. Patricks Day

Kolby LOVES helping me cook. It happens every day...every meal....he's so cute...once he was over at a friends house and didn't want to come home and I told him we were going home to make dinner and that I needed his help and he jumped right up and ran to put his shoes on. Too Cute!! I love having my little helper while I cook dinner.

Sophie actually ate the green eggs... ok maybe just a few bites of them, but if you know her that's a triumph. After She tried the Green Eggs I let her have the regular looking ones.

No one here got pinched!!

The B.E.L.L 1/2 Marathon

2011-03-25T14:05:00.001-06:00

We did it!!!! We've been training for a 1/2 Marathon for the past few months and we did it!! We decided that instead of signing up for a real race we would make our own. We had a cheering section and everything!! It was amazing coming down the home stretch and seeing all of our children out in the street holding toilet paper finish lines. It was sooooo fun!!

We named it the B.E.L.L. 1/2 Marathon because it was Becca, Emily, Liz and Lori-Ann. Emily, Lori-Ann and I have been running together 5 days a week early in the morning (like 5:30 or 5:45) for months. Liz's schedule was different so she trained on her own. It was fun to run with my sis though!! It's been so fun and rewarding to work really hard to accomplish a goal. We'll keep running and do some more! Way to go us!! ;) Next time we'll beat our time. It took us 2 1/2 hours to run it.

The Finish Line

The Girls with the Kiddos

Here's our Girls and kiddos tired picture!

I think this picture is hilarious...I was amazed at my vertical after running 13.1 miles! You wouldn't be able to tell I'm so short.

The Dad's and the kids

You always have to end with a funny picture!! Thanks to our Husbands and kids for all their support!! We couldn't have done this without you!!!

Hives

2011-03-21T13:15:00.000-06:00

I've been stalling getting this posted...probably because it's such a trying challenge that we have had to deal with recently... I've been feeling like I needed to get this documented. A few weeks ago our Stake President asked me to speak in Our Stake Conference and talk about what had been going on. So I decided I'd just put parts of my talk on here. I hope it's not to personal. During this whole ordeal I really didn't do a very good job of taking pictures. Believe it or not, these pictures were when it was fairly mild. When he was doing really bad I had my hands too full to take pictures of it. Now I wish I had some though! Here we go.....

Last October LeGrand broke out in hives. We don’t know why, nothing like this had ever happened to him before. The hives covered his entire body. We were at the Dr Office every day trying to get the hives under control and achieve some level of comfort. The Doctors were stumped and basically had no idea why LeGrand was hiving up and not responding to the treatments they were giving him, but only getting worse. LeGrand has always been healthy and never misses work unless the stays home to take care of me when I’m sick. There were several weeks over a period of two months when he was in bed unable to function, which is very difficult for him because he is such a goer. After one particularly hard night I remember putting the kids to bed and feeling weighted down with what felt like the world. I was facing serious thoughts of what would we do if he doesn’t pull out of this. I was feeling alone, scared, tired and just done in. I walked downstairs and fell to my knees. I prayed to my Father in Heaven. I told him I didn’t feel strong enough to carry this burden right now. I asked for his comfort and guidance. As I was kneeling there listening and feeling I was overcome with peace. I felt my burdens and my heavy heart where lifted. I felt my Saviors arms hold me. I knew that I wasn’t alone. I knew that everything was going to be OK, It was a Tender Mercy from the Lord. Elder David A. Bednar said, “The Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ” In John 14:18 it says, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. I know that’s true. I also felt impressed that we needed to have a family fast for LeGrand. Then I felt impressed that our ward needed to rally together and fast for our Bishop. We decided we would spread the word on Wednesday day and fast on Thursday. I felt at peace.

Since the word had spread of the seriousness of his illness on Wednesday we were bombarded with service. Meals were brought in abundance, friends took care of our 4 children, got them to school, watched the little ones while the older ones were at school, helped them with homework and piano. We received lots of emails, calls and texts to show love and support, a brother in our ward came over and even mowed our lawn. It became very real to me that the Lord works thru others to answer our prayers. Mosiah 2: 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “We are happier and more fulfilled when we act and serve for what we give not for what we get.” (Unselfish Service, April GC, 2009)
President Monson taught, “Perhaps when we meet our maker we will not be asked how many positions you have held, but rather how many people did you help. You can never love the Lord until you serve him by serving his people.” There were so many acts of Service bestowed on our behalf during this whole ordeal that when I think about it I am overwhelmed with gratitude; it is impossible to adequately express it. I didn’t realize how hard it is to accept service. I was amazed at the kindness we received and how many people were truly inspired to act on their promptings. We have true examples of Unselfish Service all around us!

Wednesday was physically not a good day for LeGrand. He actually almost completely stopped breathing and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Still no answers.

Thursday was the special day of Fast. With our Family, Friends, the Ward, and because LeGrand is the Principal at the Springville High School Seminary his colleagues and hundreds of Students, both current and former, joined in the fast also. When he awoke on Thursday morning, he was free of hives, free of pain and said that he felt comfortable. We had a Dr. apt that morning and they were amazed at his progress. They were trying to figure out what they did to cause this miraculous turn around for LeGrand. I told them that they didn’t do anything- that we were experiencing a miracle because hundreds and hundreds of people were fasting for his health. Our doctor agreed that that was the answer.

Thursday night he actually broke out in hives again. I told him that just because everyone stopped fasting for him didn’t mean that he needed to have another break out. Friday Night we had to rush him to the hospital where he was admitted and stayed for 3 days because he was suffering from internal hives. He was diagnosed with Steven Johnsons Syndrome which is very severe. (these pictures were the night before he was released from the hospital. He looks great in comparison. We were really excited to see him smiling!! )

LeGrand was given several Priesthood Blessings thru this ordeal. I am so grateful that the power of the Priesthood is on the earth today and that there are so many worthy priesthood holders who can administer to those in need who have Faith. Dallin H. Oaks said, “Faith is essential for healing by the powers of heaven. The Book of Mormon even teaches that “if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them” (Ether 12:12).
Elder Oaks goes on to say, “As children of God, knowing of His great love and His ultimate knowledge of what is best for our eternal welfare, we trust in Him. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith means trust.”

My heart resonates with a statement Elder Oaks quoted from a father of a family who lost a daughter. “He declared, “Our family’s faith is in Jesus Christ and is not dependent on outcomes.” Those teachings ring true to me. We do all that we can for the healing of a loved one, and then we trust in the Lord for the outcome. I testify of the power of the priesthood of God, of the power of the prayer of faith, and of the truth of these principles.”

All of us have trials and challenges; some are more visible where others are hidden deep within our hearts. (D&C 84:88) “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up”. After quoting this powerful scripture, Elder Jeffery R. Holland added, “That is an everlasting declaration of God’s love and care for us, including—and perhaps especially—in times of trouble.”
If we look at the history of the Church one of the most challenging times for the Saints and for the Prophet Joseph Smith was during the winter months of 1838-39 while he was imprisoned in the Liberty Jail. The conditions were horrific, they couldn’t stand up straight because the ceiling was only 6 ft tall and many of the men were taller than that. The floor was bare stones, sometimes covered with a little dirt and maybe some straw. The food was awful. They would only eat it when they were driven by hunger. It was sometimes contaminated and would make them extremely sick. And they were in there during what is recorded as one of the coldest winters in the state of Missouri. Elder Holland said that “Pen, or tongue, or angels,” could not adequately describe “the malice of hell” that he suffered there.” Brigham H. Roberts of the seventy and Elder Neal A. Maxwell have referred to this “Prison” actually as a Temple-Prison. Even though the Liberty Jail didn’t resemble a Temple in the sense of cleanliness, peace, beauty it was a place where Joseph Smith was able to receive sacred revelations from our Father in Heaven. They can be found in D&C 121-123. Elder Holland said. “So in what sense could Liberty Jail be called a “temple,” and what does such a title tell us about God’s love and teachings, including where and when that love and those teachings are made manifest? In precisely this sense: that you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in any situation you are in. Indeed, you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life—in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced. In one way or another, great or small, dramatic or incidental, every one of us is going to spend a little time in Liberty Jail—spiritually speaking. We will face things we do not want to face for reasons that may not be our fault... ...These difficult lessons teach us that man’s extremity is God’s opportunity, and if we will be humble and faithful, if we will be believing and not curse God for our problems, He can turn the unfair and inhumane and debilitating prisons of our lives into temples—or at least into a circumstance that can bring comfort and revelation, divine companionship and peace.”

(This was taken after he was released from the hospital and full of medicine... the picture doesn't even capture it at all.)

We finally got LeGrand on the right medicines to help the hives slowly go away. We are still not out of the woods yet and have lots of unanswered questions but I do know that the Lord is in charge. We have learned a lot, hopefully we have learned and will remember all that we have experienced. I have an increased appreciation for Service, I know without a doubt that the Lord hears and answers our prayers and that we don’t have to do it alone. I know that miracles can happen if it is the Lords will. I know that there is Power in the Priesthood, I know that God won’t give us more than we can handle. I know that even though we can gain comfort and witness blessings we will still have to encounter trials and challenges. I’m just grateful that we don’t have to do it alone.

Brayden's Basketball

2011-03-11T13:08:00.001-07:00

Brayden just finished his Jr. Jazz Basketball season. He LOVES it! LeGrand coached his team again, and it was soooo fun watching Brayden. He's becoming quite a Baller! He usually plays point guard and has a great shot, good ball handleing skills and moves the ball well. He even dribbles between his legs when he's bringing it down... (see below) I can't even do that. One game he had 16 points... It was really fun watching him!!

I have a feeling we'll be watching him play for years to come! It was fun because 3 of Brayden's good friends were on his team too, Riley Dustin, Caleb Slade and Tanner Packer. It was fun!