John and I met while we both worked at OK95 Radio back in the 80's. We were living different lives with different people then, but the Lord brought us together in the winter of 1992. We were truly at a low point in our lives and believed that angels had intervened, bringing us together. After I met John's children, I fell in love. We were married March 5, 1994 in Coeur d'Alene at a cozy bed & breakfast with only our children in attendance! Our family was finally complete when Jayden came a year later. April 21, 2001, John and I were sealed to each other in the Portland Oregon Temple, then Karen and Jayden were sealed to us. We are an eternal family. With nine children and an endless supply of grandchildren, life has never been better.
After a lifetime of searching for direction and meaning to my life, I have discovered my purpose. It's hope in the Atonement of my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He lives, that He knows me personally and loves me. He has a plan for me and if I but live in his sight and do what He's asked, I am assured peace and happiness in this world. I can live in the world without being of the world.
Miracles happen every day. One in particular is having Travis join our family. Karen's waited a long time and we're so blessed now to be linked for eternity. We are so grateful for those who drove over to help us celebrate, and so sad that some of our kids couldn't be here. But, we are eternally bound now!! Tracen was so precious, all dressed in white as he was joined to his mom and dad. Mackenzie and Colby were granted permission to be in the sealing room with us so they could witness the sealing. It was an incredible day.
For 18 years, we've been talking and dreaming about going to Disneyland together as a family. There's always been an excuse; a reason not to go but this year we put those excuses aside and set a goal!!! Part of that goal was having the trip paid for ~ in cash ~ before we went, which we did. We even came home with some money! We left early morning February 4th (we're talking 5 a.m.) and arrived at the hotel by 1 p.m. We were blessed with good weather, a descent hotel right across from the park and good walking shoes!! We set out Monday afternoon to tour Downtown Disney, and some of the souvenir shops around the area. For dinner (or late lunch), we went to Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co. It was awesome. We were like little kids, so caught up in the thrill of it all. Early Tuesday morning we were up and ready to go. Our first day into the park was magical to say the least. I felt like a little girl. We went on every ride, my favorite being Space Mountain and Tower of Terror for high intensity. But I loved them all, except California Screamin' and the Ferris Wheel. I wouldn't go on either of those! We had 3-day Hopper Passes so we could hop between Disneyland and California Adventures ~ which we did. For four days we walked, ate, shopped and marveled at all the exciting things around us. One of the days we were there, we were stopped by a man promoting Worldmark /Wyndham vacations. We agreed to sit in on a presentation the following morning and ended up signing a contract! How spontaneous is that? John felt strongly that it's something we should do (I had my apprehensions, as I always do when it comes to money) and I gave in, trusting in his impressions. So, now we'll be travelling during the slow times and sharing the extra with our kids. We've been trusting in the law of the harvest (or attraction, however you want to view it) so I'm not entertaining doubts whatsoever! The Lord will see us through as he has throughout our marriage. To put this "law" to test, we had an awesome experience on our final few hours of our vacation. Each time we went to stand in line for the Cars ride there was an hour or more of waiting time. This time, however we saw people walking the other direction so we went right up to the front to ask what was going on. Apparently, the ride was out of operation; it had broken down. There was still a line (about 30 min. wait) so we made our choice, trusting that things would be repaired in a timely manner. They were...and we were able to get on that ride. It was so worth the wait and was exhilarating!!
We enjoyed our time immensely and it was really hard to come home. Disneyland was more than a fun vacation ~ it was an amazing adventure. We were able to create some wonderful memories.
