~BOOK of MORMON Celebration Party~
January 10, 2011

After Hailey, Bryan and I completed reading The Book of Mormon, & Jacob and Amber completed reading The Book of Mormon Reader, we celebrated our accomplishments with a party! We had five different Events throughout the evening:

Event 1: Lamanite Headbands (so we could pretend we belonged in the Book of Mormon story)
Event 2: Lamanite Pie complete with candlelight (I wander if they had candles back then???)
Event 3: The Miller Family Title of Liberty/Creed
Event 4: Book of Mormon Charades
Event 5: Nephite Banana Boats

Along with all the fun activities, we had a spiritual side to the evening as well. Bryan and I were able to bear testimony of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. We testified of the power it had in our lives, and how we knew that through reading The Book of Mormon, we have gained a stronger testimony of Christ, and we have become better people by living by its teachings. We also watched a video that testified of Christ. My kids were so excited about their accomplishment. They had a fun evening in both gaming and spirituality. It was definitely a family bonding experience, which we can't wait to repeat!

Event 1: Lamanite Headbands


Event 2: Lamanite Pie



Event 3: Miller Family Creed/Miller Family Title of Liberty

Event 4: Book of Mormon Charades

Liahona

~Christmas Break~
Christmas evening found us drinking hot chocolate while watching the snow fall, in the mountains! We absolutely love going to Featherville! The great outdoors + family = a formula for family bonding!

YUMMY SNOW!

TUBING!

RIDING BEHIND THE SNOWMOBILE!

~CHRISTMAS EVE~

We have a few traditions on Christmas Eve that always make us laugh. One of those traditions is to act out the story of Christ's birth. This year we decided to record our acting, and then watch our rendition of Christ's birth--we laughed until our sides hurt. It was our best rendition yet!

This year Christmas held special moments. We decided to focus more on the Savior. We used a book called, "A Christ-Centered Christmas", and day by day we learned about different figures in the nativity. With each figure, we had a small activity to go along with it. On one of the evenings we had a testimony meeting with candlelight. The spirit was so strong. I will never forget the testimony of my children on that sacred night. I knew that they knew that the Gospel was true. I was grateful for taking the time to create the experiences we were sharing ,because I knew that each experience was adding to their testimonies. I can't wait to do it again next year!

~HUGS FOR HOPE~
My dear friend, Jason Fisher, passed away in October from a brain tumor. In his memory, his beautiful wife set up a foundation called "Hugs for Hope". Jason had always wanted to do something for the children who were suffering from cancer, and so this was Heather's way of helping his dream be realized.
As a young women's and young men's group, we coordinated with Heather, and made 50 "hugs for hope". A "hug" is a scarf with gloves on the end, which make the scarf resemble a "hug". Not only were the young women and young men involved, but my family as well. Both Hailey, and Amber wanted to make a "hug" for the children with cancer.
On December 21, 2010, we delivered our "hugs". We were only able to meet with one cancer patient. She was 8-years-old, and absolutely beautiful. She smiled with a brightness of hope, and courage. Our hearts were touched as she graciously accepted a hug. As I walked away, I wiped a tear from my eye...it just didn't seem fair.
I am grateful to have been a part of something so amazing. I wish there was something more I could do for cancer patients. For now...I will continue praying!

~My children with the 50 "hugs"~

~Kirsten, Ashley, Katie, & Kennedy~

~Our Young Women's Group~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I absolutely love birthday's! It is my excuse to play hard, and that is exactly what I did! I went out to lunch with fabulous friends, went to a movie with a "hottie" hubby, and went miniature bowling with my kids. If getting older means having a celebration every year...well then--bring it on!

P.S. This awesome cake was made by my beautiful YW! All of my YW made me feel special on my birthday! I am so blessed!

December 2, 2010; Building a Snowman

There's something about the first "real" snow...something that screams SNOWMAN!

~FAMILY PICTURES~
I have an amazingly talented friend whom I love dearly. Heavenly Father blessed me when He made her my college roommate. She's the type that will be a friend for life--I am truly blessed to have her as a friend! On top of being an amazing friend--she takes amazing photos, and she has spoiled me once again!

~SOCCER~
Bryan volunteered to be Hailey's soccer coach! We had a fantastic season making it a whole family affair. We cheered until our throats were dry, and then we played some more soccer until our sides hurt from laughing.

Teaching Hailey some Smooth Soccer Skills...

Dad and Coach

Grass Cheer (Look close...they are throwing grass)

Hailey and Breanna

Tunnel Tradition

Pumpkin Painting, Pumpkin Bowling, Pumpkin Hunting...

& HALLOWEEN

We went trick-or-treating before Halloween, because Halloween landed on a Sunday. A group of friends organized a trick-or-treating route for those of us who didn't want to trick-or-treat on the Sabbath. At first, my kids were a bit disappointed to not be trick-or-treating on the actual holiday; however, after they understood that the celebration was going to last twice as long--they were thrilled!

For Halloween, we had a SPOOKY DINNER, and afterwards we created a Halloween House! The kids had so much fun answering the door for the trick-or-treaters! They thought this was the best year ever!