I'm So Thankful for my Heavenly Father!

Well as we approach this Christmas season, I want to say how blessed I am. Our family has had our challenges and trials over the past year, but I have felt my Father in Heaven with us as we went through them.

I'm grateful for a husband who is patience with me and loves me no matter what I do or say. He has been so busy with work and his calling, but he is never to busy to take time for me. Thank you for all your love and support Gary (and all the cleaning you do). We have blessed to have 4 great children (one is our son-in-law) who do their best each day to live their lives worthy to be an eternal family. They have accomplished so much this year.

Jacquie and Ryan have lived from one side of the United States to the other. Ryan has done a great job taking care of his wife (our daughter) and we appreciate all the hard work he does to make sure their needs are met. And Jacquie, well she just got her Social Work licence (and did very well on her exam) so she can now get a job in the field she graduated in. And she has one already. Congrats girl! She doesn't even have her license yet, but their hired her. They know a good worker when they see one. We are so proud of the wonderful women you have turned into.


Now Vanessa is finishing up her schooling in a couple of weeks. She will graduate this December and then will go to Arizona in January for her student teaching placement until April. We are so proud of the hard work she had done to get to this point. It is so hard to believe she will be a Elementary School Teacher at the first April. Congrats girl! Oh and she is dating a young man from North Carolina named Joe! And he makes her very happy.

And that leaves us with Josh. He has had alot of health problems this year, but things are going really well right now and he is starting to get back to normal. We are so thankful that he has been blessed to get better. And he is working hard to get enough money to get back to school. I'm sure he can't wait to get away from his parents. LOL But we are so proud of the progress he has made and look forward to sharing in his joy of schooling soon.

We have both been blessed with wonderful parents and we are so grateful for their love and support.


Well last year for Christmas we were able to all be together and I am so thankful for those times that we get to spend our holidays with each other. This year will not be the same. We will miss having Jacquie and Ryan home with us. I remember how wonderful it was last year to spend it in the warmth and wish I was there again. LOL


Anyways, all of this was to thank my Father in Heaven for a wonderful life and trials so that I can see how blessed I am. So, thank you Heavenly Father for everything you have blessed my family with this year. I look forward to a new year and more blessings (and of course trials too) that will come.

SURPRISE!!!!!

On July 13th I was sitting at the computer in my bedroom when I heard Gary talking to someone outside the window. I had no idea who it was, until I heard this voice say, hi mom! I looked up and there stood Jacquie. Yes our girl Jacquie. She drove 9 hours with her friend Kapri to surprise us. And I will tell you that it made me cry like a baby. I just couldn't believe my eyes. Now I will admit she had talked about possibly coming home, but made no commitment. So we were so happy to spend the week with her and Kapri. On Friday Jacquie and Kapri headed to the Palmrya pageant and we met them there just in time to watch it. This was the first time that Kapri and Lyns have seen the pageant. And they both loved it. So here are a few pictures from that night.


Thank you Jacquie and Kapri for taking time to visit us. We loved having you here.

We Finally Got to Meet!

Well today I finally got to meet my friends. You see, only 24 months ago a young man was called to serve his Heavenly Father in the Canada Toronto West Mission. He was sent to Brantford for his first area. Upon arriving here, we got to know him and realized that he missed home a little bit. I asked him if there was a recipe of his mom's that he missed the most. He told me it was her homemade pizza. So I called mom and got the recipe and the rest is history. Nona Persons and I became very good friends. As her son (Scott, Elder Persons) served his Father in Heaven in Ontario, we keep in contact through emails and phone calls, building a wonderful friendship.

We really have alot in common and we like alot of the same things (Both love the color blue). So today (June 14) we finally got to meet. We also got to meet Dale (her husband) and we saw Scott again. What joy this brought to me. They are a wonderful family. I know where Scott gets his great sense of humour from (Dale). Dale is so funny and a joy to be with. Nona, well what can I say. She is a wonderful person (no pun intended). So down to earth and easy to talk with even in person.

Scott has a wonderful family and you can see why he turned out so good. We are so pleased that they made the choice to come see us as they toured his mission. We know for sure that this is a friendship that will last a life time. Thanks Heavenly Father for sending Scott to this mission so that we now have friends that from Arizona. Thanks again Persons Family for spending your Sunday with us. We love you all.

Gary's 50th Birthday Cruise

On April 17th we headed off to Ft. Lauderdale to get on a Cruise for Gary's 50th birthday. We left on April 18th and headed off to the Caribbean. Our first day on the ship was spend just laying around and getting to know where everything was.

On Monday we stopped at Grand Turks and Caicos.

That day Gary went power snorkeling. I tried to do it, but there was no way. But he had fun. Then we had a tour of the island. It is a very small island. Boy it is in pretty rough shape. Hurricane Ike hit last September 6th and it hit pretty hard. Then we came back to the beach and Gary went snokeling there. After Grand Turks we headed off to San Juan.

(Rain Forest in San Juan)
San Jaun is a pretty big place. We rented a car there and headed up to the rain forest. They have some pretty crazy drivers there. The rain forest was neat to see. It had just rained before we go there and so the waterfalls were really flowing. The roads up there are so winedy that I was not feeling to good. I had all ready been having some sea sickness because the ship was rocking lots. But it was so cool to see it. Then we headed back to Old San Juan where the ship was and visited the fort that was there. After San Juan we headed off to St. Thomas.

We have been there before, but the boat docked at a different port this time. It was away from all the cute little shops and stuff. They had some stores there, but not much. Here we took a catamaran over to an island where there was a sunken ship and Gary got to go snokelling again. The water was pretty rough going over there, so when we got there Gary said the water was not very clear so he couldn't see the ship to good. But he did see some fire coral and lots of fish. After this we headed back to shore and did some shopping. After St. Thomas we had a day at sea. That was Gary's birthday. He got up and went to exercise so I got up and decorated the room and door with balloons and streamers. Also I gave him the cards each of the kids had written for him before we left.

After he got back and opened the cards we went and laid in the sun that morning for a while and then we headed back to our rooms to get ready for the Mariner's lunch with the captain (Who was Canadian). For Gary's birthday lunch he had, Filet mignon and a large shrimp. Then for supper that night (it was the 2nd formal night) we went to dinner in the dining room.

We had meet some great people at our table that week and we really enjoyed spending time with them, so it was nice for Gary to have there there for his birthday. So for supper that night Gary had Lobster Tail and Filet mignon.

He got to have 2 plates of it (I asked the waiter and he was so sweet and did it). Then they brought him a cake and we sang happy birthday to him. It was a pretty crazy night because that night they do a Baked Alaska parade (waiters and chefs). But it was a lot of fun. Then on Friday we stopped at Half Moon Cay (Holland America's Private Island).

This is Heaven to me. I could live here all the time. The softest and whitest sand I have ever seen and the clearest and bluest water I have ever seen. Gary did a snorkelling execursion again. I just laid by the beach. That was the best.

Then it was time to come home. We spend the night in Ft. Lauderdale again and then headed home on Sunday. Gary and I really enjoyed being together. I hope he remembers his 50th birthday. Now where shall we go for my 50th..... Hawaii, Disneyworld...... only have to wait 3 years to see.

They Finally Made It Home To Canada

Well were do I start. On Friday April 3rd (oh maybe it was really early morning on April 4th) Jacquie, Ryan and Josh drove up in front of the house. I was so excited to finely have Jacquie and Ryan back home. So we spend the next 4 days together and having fun.

We had the grandparents and Uncle Scott over for dinner on Sunday.

They were sure happy to see Jacquie and Ryan. Then on Monday Jacquie and Ryan went to get her passport in order in Kitchener and visited with Heather and Robin. Then on Monday night we went bowling.

It was so much fun. Ryan won the first game and Gary won the second one. Josh, Jacquie and I just did better on the second game then the first one.

Then on Tuesday they went for lunch at the Mandarin (great Chinese Food) with Grandpa and Grandma Musson. We then went for Dairy Delight ice cream that night. Then before you know it, it was Wednesday morning and they were heading out. It was so nice to have them home to visit with us. We love you both and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Great Christmas Gifts!

For Christmas this year we did not exchange gifts. We decided that spending time with our family on vacation in California and Las Vegas. But Jacquie and Ryan still gave us a wonderful gift. Jacquie made us our family name in a frame and they both wrote us each a letter from them. We hold those letters really close to our hearts. They were put in very special little boxes with our names on it. So we really appreciate those gifts.

Also at work we had a secret santa and Lisa had my name. She gave me some great gifts and the final gift was so special that I'm putting a picture of it on here. We were to buy the person we had things that applied to them. So Lisa knew that my family was the most important thing in my life, so she copied photos off my wall at work and put them in the frame. But since then I changed them and put new ones in from our trip (some are not from the trip). So thanks to Jacquie, Ryan and Lisa for the beautiful frames they gave us.

I Figured Out What To Make, Here Are The Results!

Well I sure had fun making desserts for the auction. I was baking Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The dinner and auction went well. They had alot of people there and they were able to raise quite a bit of money. So here are the few things that I made.

Cinnamon Buns

Fudge and Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Rice Krispy Squares Dipped in Chocolate and Rolled in Sprinkles

Banana Bread

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

What To Make, Any Ideas!

Well we have our spaghetti dinner/dessert auction fun raiser for the youth coming up this weekend. I have so many ideas of things I want to make to have them auction off. I'm going to make my cinnamon buns, fudge,

banana bread and now I'm thinking of making pizza chocolate chip cookies

and I was going to make death by chocolate, but someone else is making that one. I was also thinking I could make chocolate covered strawberries. And the list goes on. I really wanted to make a trifle type dessert, but I'm not sure. I have a recipe from allrecipes called Caramel Apple Trifle.

But I'm not sure anyone would like it or not. So I really have a dilemma, what should I make. If anyone has any ideas or recipes send them my way please. I like them to be as easy as possible.

Christmas and New Years Together as a Family

Where do I begin. First of all on December 6th Josh came home from his mission because of illness. So we had to make a decision on if we follow through with our Christmas vacation plans. So we finally decided to book him a flight and take him with us, as the doctor said that would be fine. So on December 23rd we flew into Las Vegas. Josh on one flight, Vanessa coming from California (she had spent 10 days with a roommate from school) and us all arrived within a couple of hours of each other.

We then stopped at Salt Lake Temple Square for a visit and spent the night in Ogden before driving to Oakley, Idaho to spend Christmas with Jacquie, Ryan and the wonderful Bedke family.

We love spending time with the Bedke's. They are so generous in letting us stay at their home and feeding us for 3 days. It was great to visit, play games and spend Christmas day with them. We have a wonderful friendship with Jacquie's in-laws. She is a very lucky girl to have married into such a great family. So then on December 27th we headed to California. We were suppose to drive to St. George and spend the night, but everyone wanted to keep going, so that is what we did. We drive 13 1/2 hours and arrived in Corona, California. I think we were all so glad the ride was all done and we were in warm weather. Well in California we went to Hollywood Blvd.,

Venice Beach,

Santa Monica Pier,

Huntington Beach,

and the San Diego Zoo.

We wanted to go to Disneyland or Universal, but we heard it was really busy and decided we didn't feel like spending our whole day in line ups. The weather was so beautiful. Sunny every day and in the low 70's. You couldn't ask for better.

Then on December 31st we left California and headed to Las Vegas to spend New Years there.

On the way we stopped at Hoover Dam. None of us have ever been there, so it was really neat to see. We then spent the night on Las Vegas Blvd. WOW! Was that a crazy experience.

They figured there was over 300,000 people on the street that night. That is not counting Fremont St. where they had a party there and all the casino's that had parties in them. Let me tell you. Vegas was not short on tourist that night. You couldn't even walk down the street without feeling like a sardine. It was crazy. I'm happy to say, I did it once and I don't think I will be returning for New Years again.

Then on January 1st we spend the day back on the strip looking at the hotels and other things.

It was so great to spend time with all of our children. We love them so much and are so glad that they would take time out of their busy schedules to spend it with us. Thanks children for making this trip a special one full of lots of great memories.