Last but not least...Haley

(Sorry all of these post were supposed to be in reverse order, you can start at the bottom if you want!)














We love this little girl at our house. She is getting bigger and more fun every day!!

My Aunt Maria passed away on the 14th. I was lucky enough to be able to go out to Utah to be there for the funeral with my sister. Maria was the one who when my mom passed away when I was 11 stepped in and took care of me and my dad. She was a fantastic person who I will greatly miss.


Here is her obituary if you want to read it:
Maria Ernst passed away peacefully November 14, 2009 at the age of 93. She was born in 1916 in Germany during World War I. She was one of 9 children who loved each other and were very close. After their mother died, Maria became caretaker for the younger children, which began her life of service and caring for others. The family struggled during World War II and after. She took care of her own siblings and her sister's children as they all fought to rebuild after the war. The strength that came from those years was remarkable and was evident to all that knew Maria.In the 1950's, she immigrated to America, not speaking a word of English. She worked as a housekeeper in Cody, Wyoming for a family that she loved dearly. It was there that she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her faith in Jesus Christ and testimony of the restored gospel was firm. She moved to New York City to be near her younger sister Anna and learned to sew so she could get a job in the same design house in the garment district. Maria loved the people in the Manhattan ward and the Spanish branch where she served tirelessly taking care of baptismal clothing.After she retired, she followed Anna and her family to Utah where she lived the rest of her life. She served as a missionary in the Frankfurt Temple in 1988 which she loved. She spent countless hours in the temple, doing genealogy, and sewing clothing for humanitarian projects. Everything she did was meticulous--her best effort. That is how she lived her life until the end. She was positive and strong in spirit, even when her body became weak. She never married and had children of her own, but she truly had a mother's heart. After Anna died, Maria took care of her ailing brother-in-law and their young daughter for seven years until their oldest daughter finished schooling. How can we ever express the love and appreciation that we (Anna's daughters) feel for our special aunt Maria. She has strengthened us and sacrificed for us. She taught us to work hard, serve others and have faith. We will miss her so much. We are sure the reunion on the other side was great and joyous.She is survived by one sister in Canada and nieces and nephews in Germany, Canada and Utah/Indiana. The family would like to thank the staff at the Beehive Home and CNS hospice for their kindness and help in caring for Maria the last year and a half of her life.Funeral services will be held on Monday, November 23 at 2pm at the Suncrest 10th ward, 90 North 600 West, Orem, with a viewing before the services at 1 pm. Interment will be in the Provo City Cemetery.

Halloween

I don't have very many pictures from Halloween, but we had a fun day. We carved a pumpkin the night before.

Had a fun Halloween lunch with our cousins.

Went to a soup dinner get together with friends and neighbors and went trick-or-treating.
We also went to a fun Halloween party at a friends house. To protect the innocent "Goofy" shall not be named!!

Nashville, Indiana

On another fun adventure with the Cannon's we went down to Nashville, IN in Brown county. It is a nice little town with mom and pop stores lining the streets and a beautiful state park with a lake you can walk around. The leaves were just starting to change when we went. (the group picture with all of us need a little explanation, Dave has a funny face because he was trying to get all the kids to look at the camera. Go figure!)

Rockville, Indiana

For a little adventure we traveled to Rockville, Indiana with the Cannon's for the covered bridge festival. Funny thing is we didn't see any of the covered bridges. Oh well we had a great time anyway. We went on a horse drawn wagon ride, enjoyed all the little booths selling fun things, and ate some yummy BBQ!

Getting WAY to far behind

So I know I said I would do better at posting and that I had a lot to share so I was going to break it up. Truth is, I am way to far behind now. So what would have potentially been a few really nice posts is going to be a few really short posts. With fewer words and much fewer pictures.

So for Austin and Taylor's baptism and Haley's birth and blessing we were blessed to have Dave's parents come be with us. Kerrie came the beginning of August and stayed until all the festivities in the first week of September were over. Rod who wasn't able to be away from the restaurant as long came for about a week when it was time to baptize and bless the kids.

We had a super nice time with both of them. I could not have made it without Kerrie here to help. There are not enough words to express my gratitude to her.

We went to parks and had fun dinners but mostly just enjoyed being together. We even went to Madison, IN where Rod served part of his mission and saw the same apartment he lived in.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

My mom would have turned 85 today. She was an amazing woman who I will be lucky to be anything like when I grow up.

Austin and Taylor's Baptisim

Ok, I know I said it wouldn’t be long before I posted again…I lied! We had such a busy and full last couple of months that I guess I didn’t know where to start! So I am going to do a little at a time. #1 so I don’t bore you and #2 so I actually do it.
On July 9th Austin and Taylor turned 8. They decided to wait until September 5th to get baptized when their Grandma and Grandpa could be here. We also had a special surprise when the boys Great Grandpa Rigby said he was going to be coming. We felt very honored to have him here. The boys looked so grown up to me. I am very grateful that they chose to be baptized, whether they fully understood what they were doing or not. We had a very nice program. Dave baptized and confirmed both boys. Their Grandpa and Great Grandpa both spoke. The room was filled with the spirit. I hope they can remember how they felt that special day.