Last week with sissy !!!

All the baby pic's of Lanelle are scrapbooked, but this has always been one of my favorites. I don't know if all mothers go through this, or if I was just extremely close to my daughter over the years. But I have to admit, that along with my joy of her getting married, comes a little sadness too. This is the last week that she is more our daughter, than she is Bo's wife. I know she has to move on with life, but I will miss the little girl that use to need her mommy when things got tough. I'll miss the talks we use to have on the porch swing, etc. I know it sounds selfish, but the other day, when I was sharing this with a good friend of mine, she said it was completely normal for a mother to be a little sad. So even though I will be shedding tears of joy, as she gets married, this will be a tough week for me!

Christmas Time !!!

It was a great Christmas, a lot of fun and good times. Now we have a busy week ahead of us, as we watch our baby girl, move on to her next step in life!

Lanelle's Wedding Shower !!!

We had a BLAST at Sissy's wedding shower tonight, Sara did a great job!

Lanelle's Endowments !!!

What a wonderful day! Dec 16 2009. Our girl received her Endowments. It was such a special experience, and she was just filled with the spirit. You can just see it in her face, she was absolutely radiant!!

"Halley the Angel"

Here's our baby halley, laying on her bed. She's so content, now that our family is all together again! She's so happy daddy is back, but just in time for us to lose sissy. Luckily she lives so close!!

Just a little over a month

Now I'm getting stressed! This is going to be an extremely busy month, and a lot of those last minute things to get done, so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, and I don't like that feeling. But as for protocol, that's one thing I'm not going to worry about. We will be doing what we can afford, and we cannot afford to mail an invitation to everyone here in town. So we will be handing out a lot of invitations in person. That will have to be good enough.

Our Christmas Tree !!!

It's tiny, but beautiful. We were going for a real tree this year, but we have so few days off together, that we ended up getting a little artificial one. But the green lights on a green tree, are absolutely breathtaking. I hope it shows in the picture with the houselights off, and before we had the ornaments on!

Christmas Decorations !!!

These are just some of our decorations, the mini tree and presents are up until we get a real tree around Thanksgiving. And the Christ stocking has a lot of meaning behind it, if you ever want the poem that goes along with it just let me know. My e-mail address is krlcmonty@hotmail.com. And no, I'm not skipping Thanksgiving, I just love Christmas decorations more!

Our Halloween Fun !!!

We had a blast, playing bingo and carving pumpkins. But best of all, that was the day Keith got to move back home to stay. He started his new job this week, and is loving it!

Trying to catch up ...

Wow, so much has been happening. I am trying to get as much done as early as possible, because I am not a procrastinator. But the most exciting news is that Keith got the job with Advanced Auto, here in Laramie, and he moves back with us November 1st. We can't wait to finally be a family again!

Quote I really like !!!

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." -- Ronald Reagan

Sample of their Wedding Invitations !!!

I took the pictures for these (in order to save money) and a great friend of ours put them together. Didn't she do a wonderful job? They absolutely look professional! Now all we're waiting on is the address for the Indiana Reception, and we can get them printed off.

Bo and Lanelle's Wedding Date !!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that they will be married in the Denver Temple on Saturday January 2nd. We are so excited to have an actual date. It really set in this morning, the reality of this wonderful event. But I have to tell you, as a mother, Bo is the answer to my prayers for my daughter. If you want to know what I mean, just listen to the song "Keeper of the stars" by Tracy Byrd. It's one of Bo's songs to Lanelle.

Bo and Lanelle are Engaged !!!

Bo asked Lanelle to marry him last night, and we couldn't be more thrilled. They are so meant for each other, and we thank the Lord for bringing them together!

IT"S SNOWING !!!

This is what we woke up to this morning, we are loving it! In the night it started to (what sounded like) hail, then somewhere in the night it switched to snow. And it is still snowing as we speak, this is the earliest snow I remember!!

Even better pictures of Lanelle and Bo.

We are so thrilled to have some pictures to share, where Lanelle is feeling better (no more flu). We snapped some shots after they got home from church today, and I thought they looked so cute together.

Yes I've decorated early !!!

You know me, I love the holiday season. So as usual, I decorated for Halloween September 1st, and I will decorate for Christmas on November !st. Some people think I'm crazy, but my kids have always loved it !!

Lanelle and Bo Update

Things are wonderful, they adore each other, and he already feels like a member of the family to us. I never thought she could find a man this sweet, he treats her with so much love, that I almost get emotional just thinking about it. I thank Heavenly Father every night, for bringing him into her life.

Lanelle's Boyfriend

I can't tell you how thrilled we are about the man in Lanelle's life. His name is Bo Thomas, he is a returned missionary from Indiana. I have NEVER met a more wonderful young man, and my husband agrees. He is taking Lanelle Swing Dancing tonight, and it's obvious that she cannot wait!

Labor Day Fun !!!

We had a great day yesterday! Here's just some of many pictures that we took. I will probably post even more pictures later. But we had an absolutely wonderful time getting away from it all.

What a wonderful day!

Christopher was set apart as Teacher's Quorum President today, and tonight Lanelle is at Grandma Thompson's, hoping to see a young man that she was quite impressed with last week! Also, we get to have a family day tomorrow. For the first time in years, we all have Labor Day off, so this is quite a treat!!

I love this time of year !!!

I love September, it is the beginning of the holiday season, fall is in the air! I love the smell of fall, and the sound of leaves on the ground, and soon we will have all of that. I have to mention that Keith and I are getting back together, so we will soon be a family again. He just needs to find a job back here in Laramie, which is no easy task, unless he takes a HUGE cut in pay. Anyway, here are the latest pictures of our kids. And Happy September!!

First Day of School : (

Our boy is a Freshman this year, and I still get depressed when I have to drop my kids off the first day of school, I love my summers with them!

Family Week !!

The Lord really blessed us this week, Keith usually only gets into town once a month, but last week he made it to town twice! He had come here Sunday and Monday so we could celebrate his birthday early, because he was scheduled on Thursday. But when he got back to Casper, they had changed the schedule again, so he got to come back for Thursday and Friday as well. You can't tell me the Lord wasn't behind that one!! We had so much fun while dad was here, we watched a meteor shower, went to Fort Collins, fixed the cars, watched movies, sat out on the gazebo, etc. Now it sounds like Keith will be able to be here for Labor Day as well, and we're planning on having a BBQ with the Robertson's, if they can stay in town long enough!!!

Our cute kids !!!

I think they like the color blue !!

Our Martins Cove Experience

I think one of the most humbling places that we saw on our Martins Cove visit, was the bridge we went over that crossed the Sweet Water River. That was where four young men lost their lives due to exposure, after carrying several women, and children across the freezing waters. Their names were, David P. Kimball, George W. Grant, Stephen W. Taylor, and C. Allen Huntington. It was a sobering experience, and I would like to visit there again, when we have more time than we did this last trip.

Dads Place

Martins Cove

Independence Rock

Our Casper trip !!!

Wow, so much has happened lately. Even though Keith got transfered to Casper with Applebees, he and I started marriage counseling this month. Also this last week, the kids and I went to Casper to stay for a couple of days. It was so much hotter there, but we had a good time. Keith took us to a restaurant called Mongolian BBQ (spelling???) it was pretty good. We also helped him get his apartment decorated, by hanging some more pictures etc. Anyway, it's good to be home, but we had alot of fun. The best part was visiting Martin's Cove, and Independance Rock. It's only about an hours drive from Casper, and I will add some pictures as soon as I get them downloaded.

Village in Holland

There are no roads in this village, you get everywhere by water.

Thought for the day !!!

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it's learning how to dance in the rain."

I love Sundays

The Sabbath is my favorite day of the week. I get to spend more time with my family, get spiritually uplifted, and take a break from the world. It's a day to relax from the stresses of life. And there is just something about feeling the spirit even more on this day, probably because we try to devote our time to doing Christlike things.

Laprelle Park

This is Huck Finn Pond, where we will be going alot this summer. It is only about two miles away from our house, so it's within walking distance. Perfect place to read, or enjoy nature, and Chris loves feeding the fish.

Redneck Fire Alarm

This is Awesome!

Laramie windsock !!!

Click on this, it's funny but oh so true!!!

It's Summertime !!

Yesterday was the last day of school for Christopher, and was he excited, he lives for the summer. And I don't mind it either, it's nice having the time with my family. Summer's here in Laramie are almost perfection, you never need air conditioning, and we have an awesome mixture of rain, sun, and WIND. It's beautiful here as well, I call Laramie "Our Oasis in the desert" and it truly is!

It's Raining It's Pouring !!

It has been raining here in Laramie for almost two days now, and I'm loving it, there is nothing like the smell of fresh rain. We had a couple weeks of beautiful sunny weather, but now we are having a slight cool down, and it is awesome!

Something very personal

I have to admit, I have an insecurity about being in photo's since I have struggled with weight. I have learned alot about people, since my size has changed over the years. We are taught in church to look at what's inside, and not to judge by outward appearances. But a couple of days ago, I had a cold reminder of how cruel people can be. So I will try not to let it get me down, and that is why I added the picture below this entry. I am still the same person today that I was years ago ( in the Lord's eyes) and for that I am grateful. I have always loved 1st Sam 16:7 which reads -- "For the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

Favorite Family Photo.

I love this picture, even though I'm not quite comfortable with posing for pictures anymore.

Favorite picture "The Early Years.'

I have always loved this picture of Keith, myself, and Lanelle.