My Angels

I made a promise to myself that I would read the General Conference Ensign from cover to cover before Christmas this year. I'm ashamed to say that I've never read an entire Conference issue before but this time I'm armed with my highlighter which has helped me pay much closer attention to the talks. So this morning I was reading Elder Holland's talk, The Ministry of Angels, and I read this, "When we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with -- here, now, every day...God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges we face." I literally had to fight back the tears as I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for all the angels who have been sent to me during difficult times in my life.

Rob has been and will forever be my angel. Yes, I realize how cheesy that sounds and he'll give me a hard time about this when he reads it but it is the absolute truth. He as been there for me since I met him in 1996. He is the most amazing, loving, patient, understanding person I know and I'm am so blessed to call him my husband and best friend.

I know for certain that I was sent to my Mom & Dad's home because they were to be the angels to teach me, guide me, and love me for who I am. I know I was far from the easiest teenager to live with but they dealt with me gracefully and kindly and I will forever be grateful to them.

My Aunt Mary Jo has always held a special place in my heart because she and her family opened their home to me when I needed a change of scenery after I got home from my mission. I was going through a difficult transition in life and Mary Jo was completely unselfish with her time and her love as we spent many late nights talking about huge life decisions.

My amazing mission companion Bri (Hermana Phillips) will always be my angel who not only taught me how to be a missionary but who taught me how to love others for who they are. She taught me that there are always blessings to be found in trials and that our Heavely Father is continually watching over us. I'm hoping that we will live closer someday because I want my kids to know and love her like I do.

I literally could go on and on about all the angels I have had in my life. I have been blessed to know so many kind, wonderful, and caring people.

Rainy Days

Another thing I love about autumn? Dreary, rainy days! I love to snuggle in bed with Ellie before she takes a nap. I love curling up in my down comforter and watching movies or reading books. I love getting all my sweaters out of summer storage. I love making comfort food like homemade bread and garden patch chowder (YUM!) and topping it all off with fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookies. Ellie's favorite thing to do lately is help me cook. I can't begin to tell you how much she loves it. She can be a total grump and I'll say these magic words, "Ellie - do you want to help me cook?" and she immediately yells "Yeah!" and runs to the kitchen to get things ready.

Here we are making chocolate chip cookies on Sunday afternoon.

Autumn Fun!

This will be the first of a few posts about how much I love fall time! I love the colors, the chill in the air, the pumpkins and gourds, and harvest time. Harvest is kind of a big deal around here. Ever since I can remember, my Mom drove truck for my uncles during sugar beet harvest and those of us who were not old enough to be in school got to go with her and ride in the beet truck all day. It sounds boring to most people but boy was it fun when I was little! My cousins and I would take turns riding in all the trucks and climbing on the beet digger to watch all the beets come out of the ground and get carried up into the truck. I loved riding to the beet dump with my Mom because she always had treats :) To this day the smell of freshly dug earth reminds me of those fun and chilly days in the fields.
I wanted Ellie to see what it was like to be a part of the harvest so my Mom invited us out to ride with her a few times during harvest this year. Ellie and I had lots of fun!

My uncle gave us a ride in the tractor


Ellie and my Mom helping Uncle Brent fix the digger

Elliett checking out the sugar beets

I realize I risk sounding like a total hick talking about harvest and tractors and trucks but it's a part of who I am and I've always loved that I'm from a farming community.

My First Day

I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time and I literally have been thinking about it every day for the last month. So it's time to jump in and start sharing our adventures as a family and my experiences as a mom.

A little about our family:

Rob is my amazing husband and daddy to our daughter Elliett. He just graduated from law school and passed the Bar (yippee!). He loves to fly fish, hunt with his dog, and spend time with Ellie and I.

Elliett is our red-headed daughter who is full of energy and smiles. She is 2 1/2 years old and she loves animals, her grandparents, her daddy, and bugs.


Then there's me (Monica). I'm a wife and mom who loves to spend time with family, knit, bake, and be outside. It's a great day when I can do all four of those things at once :)