I DO Have a Brother!!!

It's funny when I mention my brother in conversation with people here in Snowflake. They often say, "You have a brother?" Yes! I have a brother!! He lived in Lakeside with my dad and graduated from Blue Ridge - poor thing....:) His name is Troy and his wife's name is Joy. He and his fam just had pictures taken this past weekend, so I'm dedicating a little post to them, just so you all will know I DO HAVE A BROTHER!!!


My cute nieces, Autumn (14) and Saige (11). They go to Blue Ridge schools....poor things....ha!


What a cute family! My brother is so handsome!





Cool cats!!




...chillin'......



Shouldn't the DAD be on the bottom???


sweethearts.......

Pearl Harbor

Tonight I was working on making some "countdown" blocks and came across the movie 'Pearl Harbor' on TV. I hadn't watched it in a long time, so I decided it would be good to just finish watching while I kept working. I tuned in just before the attack on Pearl Harbor started.

Pretty quick I found myself just watching instead of working. Watching those young Americans, men and women - sons and daughters - taken off guard being bombed and shot at by the Japanese without even an inkling of a warning was heart wrenching. Watching as the men were trapped and drowned in the U.S.S. Arizona was sickening. They never even saw it coming. Never really had the chance to fight back, to defend themselves. It really got me thinking about our country's veterans and the men and women who are currently serving in Iraq. Veterans have given everything they have to protect and defend our country. So many have lost their lives in the quest to defend and protect the freedoms we enjoy. While I am extremely grateful for that, I am also saddened. It's so sad knowing that hundreds of thousands of Americans have had to die to for our freedom. It's maddening knowing there are so many who want to take away our way of life, want to conquer and kill America and her people. I've always wondered why there is so much hatred toward America.

I know it has a lot to do with our religious beliefs and freedoms. I know many countries believe that Christianity is incorrect or even wrong. I know that they think because we are a relatively young nation that we do not do or believe correctly because it may be contrary to their beliefs. And knowing this reaffirms to me over and over again how important it is that we share the gospel. Because so many do not understand the love Christ has for all mankind, they cannot take full advantage of the atonement. They do not understand that He died for all sin, that He has taken upon him every wrong doing and misguided deed. They do not know that Christ does not see the color of skin or the slant of one's eyes. He only looks upon the heart.

I think that if every living being would be concerned about how the Lord see's them and how they want to be seen by Him, we would have no more war, no more religious contentions and no more senseless killing and violence toward each other. Instead we would be focused on how to make this world a better place by working together. We would try to find more ways in which we are the same instead of all the ways we're different.

I cried while I watched the movie tonight. I cried for all the mothers and fathers who have lost children to war, for the wives and husbands who have lost their treasured spouses and for all the children who have lost moms and dads. I fear that the day may come when my own two boys may have to go off to serve our country. While I would be proud to have them serve our country, I would also be terrified to let them go. I don't EVER want them to have to experienc war - have to kill or be killed - have to live with those awful memories of death and violence. Or have to give their lives in a battle that shouldn't have to continue to be fought. It all scares me to death. At the same time, I hold tight to my faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray and pray that one day our missionary work will envelop the earth and bring all people to Christ. So that we might all live in peace and love one another the way Christ loves each of us.

I'm grateful tonight for my Savior. I'm humbled by His love, His life and His example. I know I have a long way to ge on living how He wants me to live, but I know He loves me and won't ever give up. I pray we won't ever give up on each other or working to change this world, one person at a time. I hope each of us is trying to shar our testimonies of the gospel. You never, ever know what far reaching effect it could have on one person or one generation.

My prayer tonight is that we each try harder to love each other and accept the differences we have. We're all different and that's what makes the world a beautiful place. And for all the bad, there is still much good and we can find that good starting with Christ.

May we never forget tragedies such as Pearl Harbor so that we never take our freedom for granted and those lives lost will not be in vain. Never forget the ultimate sacrifice so many have given. And never forget that Christ loves you and admonishes each of us to love each other............

No More Graveyard!!!

Dan just got a new position at the prison - work crew boss. This may not sound glamorous, but it means BIG, WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL changes for us!! It means he will now be working the day shift and NO LONGER WORKING GRAVEYARD!!! Oh my what a beautiful sentence that is!!! After almost a year and a half on straight graveyard Dan is slightly tired, pale and looks more like a vampire than his usual rosy self. It's been hard on him and a little hard on me. I'm used to him being gone five nights a week now, but I've never grown to like it and am THRILLED that he will be back around like a regular person, especially at night.

This is a huge blessing for our family and we are GRATEFUL beyond grateful!! The other cool things are that the shift is Monday through Friday 6am-2pm, weekends and holidays off. Yippee!!! We are blessed!! And all this starts on Dec. 13th, his first day of day shift - only one week of graveyard left. Hallelujah!!! Sure feels like Christmas came early this year. :)

If You Haven't Heard..........

If you haven't heard..........Tandy is getting married!!! Yep, yep, yep! She's found her true love in Dalon Hulsey. :) They are a cute couple ready to tie the eternal knot! The union will take place in just 12 days - September 25, 2010 in the Snowflake temple! We are so happy and excited for them. We love Dalon too; he's a great guy. They seem so fit for each other and are so happy together. We know they are gonna do great together. Welcome to the family, Dalon!

First Talk

Payton gave his first talk in sacrament today. It was about the Priesthood: why it's important to him and our family. He was so reluctant to do it when he got the call from Brother McCray on Thursday night! I know I get so nervous speaking in church, so I couldn't blame him. But he and I sat down and wrote one together and he practiced it several times. His delivery was just right. He did such a good job. I think his Heavenly Father was pleased - I know Dan and I were very proud of him!

He looked like a little missionary standing at the pulpit. I had to swallow hard a couple times and dry the tears before I let them fall. He makes me so proud. I pray he continues on the good path he's on and it leads him to the MTC in a few years. I know I'll be swallowing a lot harder and the tears will definitely be falling when it's time for that.........






update: I'm so out of the mushy mood now as I'm watching P do the running man in his boxers and Hanes t-shirt here on the kitchen floor......yeah, the mission is still a few years away - thank goodness!

Birthday Lunch

Q chose Arby's for his big birthday lunch. How can you beat roast beef and curly fries? Both of which are a culinary creation far beyond measure! We took his best buddy, Traegan Standerfer, with us. These two have been buddies since kindergarten and I hope they keep it that way - Traegan is a great kid and we love having him around.



The lunch conversation was heavy: football, football, football and something about how one of the freshman boys is WAY too good to be playing on the, you guessed it, FOOTBALL team! What can you expect from the boys of fall? They have football on the brain. :)

After we were all sufficiently stuffed with Arby's best, much to their dismay, it wasback to school for the boys. They were pretty sure we should have kept them out of school and taken them to ride go carts at the Family Fun Park and stopped at DQ along the way.

We didn't get to party much for the birthday because Quint had football practice til 7pm, so we are going to celebrate tonight with a trip up to Pinetop to eat at the Stolen Recipe BBQ restaurant, complete with the FOOTBALL birthday cake in tow. It should be fun. Wait on the edge of your seat for more pics. :).......

Birthday KiD!

Today is Q's 10th birthday! I cannot believe it! Now both our boys are in the double digits! How time flies when you're having fun with your sweeties. :) We are picking him up for lunch today along with a friend - that should be fun. Tonight is crazy busy with football practice, drill team practice and volleyball games but we'll get around to cake and ice cream at some point!

I will upload more pictures of the days events later tonight.

Happy birthday, my darling boy! We love you so much! Your decade has been the best!



P.S. This blog appears to be all about Q lately. I assure you it hasn't become the Quinton Turley show; he's just been a very busy boy lately!! Posts of other people in this family, namely Payton, shall certainly appear very soon! :)

All Aboard!

Because we live out in the "country," the school bus stop is about a mile away from our house. We used to drive the kids to school every day and started car pooling with our neighbors, the Ballards, two years ago. We'd drive the kids a week at a time back and forth.

This summer we bought a golf cart at an auction and - woo hoo - our transportation problems are solved!! Q has become the neighborhood bus driver!!! He leaves the house around 7:15 every morning and stops by the Ballard's house to pick up Emily, Jacob and Kamry. Then they proceed down the road, dust flyin' and back packs a bouncin'. He parks the golf cart at Poppa Vern's house and they hop on the bus that picks them up right there in front of Poppa's.

So far, this plan is working great. He's reported his passengers have not exhibited unruly behavior or tried to jump off in fear for their lives. He hasn't had to scream and yell or even smoke a cigarette to handle the stress (which is what his actual school bus driver does - no joke!). And as long as he drives safely and not too fast, we'll keep letting him practice his bus driving skills. :) If he doesn't pursue a career as a politician, he can always fall back on his mad bus driving skills!