Kelm Pumpkins 2012

Sweet Success!


Grrr, Arrrg! Dad's twin pirates and my homemade patch for him to match.




How cute is this one! Love these two...aren't they just adorable!




Tamar the beautiful...yep, I'm vain. Peace out yo and Happy Halloween!

Rain is a Miracle

I believe in miracles.

The Bible dictionary says..

"Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power...Miracles were and are response to faith and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith."

I woke up at 5:30 am to a sound I did not recognize. Turns out, it was pouring rain! Yes, it rained for a few hours in Austin, Texas.

That was a miracle.

The Austin, Texas Stake of Zion fasted for rain on the first Sunday of September.

And in God's own time, the rain finally came.

Makes me stop to pause.

Today is fast Sunday once again.

If my faith and prayers were heard from an act of faith a month ago, and today is fast Sunday again...I have every reason to trust that the Most Powerful Being in the Universe will hear my prayers yet again. Makes me want to pay a little more attention to the condition of my heart and the substance of my prayers on this new Sabbath day. And in His own time, my prayers will again be answered.

Fills me with hope. Just in the nick of time...

Welcome to Mesa

Where did Tamara go now?



Mesa, Arizona! Since I love the temple, my Aunt JoAnn and I were able to attend a session there. It was the 7th Temple Built in the Latter-Days!



I also got to see my cousin Jessica Kubie and her adorable kiddos DJ. He make look cute, but he chucked that lemon wedge and hit me right on the forehead!


And then we went to the park. I taught Jessica and old elementary school trick with the swings. She caught on real quick!


So glad I am blessed to be able to travel and see family. Jessica is part of the FAB 4 with me. (The first 4 super cool grandkids on the Hutchison side. Myself, Beth, Tyler, and Jessica. Then so many cool cousins kept coming, we had to expand the club...When there are over 20 grandkids and almost a dozen great-grandkids, the what do you call the club?)


Here are Jacob and Jayden, my 4 (almost 5) year old cousins. They couldn't say Tamara very well. It came out Tanner. So I told them to call me "T". That worked well. They were super excited to put up all the Halloween decorations.


Then there is my 10 year old cousin Jocelyn. She is adorable and gosh darn it, she knows it! She is a girlie girl after my own heart. We enjoyed our photo shoot.



Then we got her super cute sister Jessica involved.

And then we pulled in there fabulous mom. Look, we all wore pink!


Boys don't wear pink though.

And finally, this is what the twins taught me...


Standing on your sister helps her do her homework better.

And standing on your dad is just plain fun!

I hope to have adorable kiddos myself one day!

Thanks Arizona, I had a great time!

I Choose Happiness!

"You

Are

Absolutely

Brilliant!"

(quote by Jay the DJ from the cruise karaoke, and recently reminded by
the lovely Larissa Stalinsky)

I was driving home from watching General Conference today (mormon.org) and thought to myself- I am happy! Do I have all my hearts desires? No, but that doesn't change the fact that I am happy. We are ultimately responsible for our happiness. We choose how we react to what life throws at us.

This is me being happy on the escalator in the middle of the San Diego Zoo.

To choose happiness I have to ...

Love God

Love others

Love myself

The rest in life will then fall into place.