Honoring an Amazing Man

I remember my freshman year at BYU. The Prophet of our church, President Gordon B. Hinckley, was going to speak at a devotional. We all lined up hours before in the freezing cold to get through the door first and get good seats. It was a scene of chaos and commotion outside the doors. My friends and I were lucky enough to gets seats right on the floor, so close, that we felt like we could reach out and touch the podium. I will never forget the rush of feelings that came over me as I saw our prophet walk through the door. We all stood and sang "We Thank Thee, Oh God, for a Prophet." The words rang so true to me and tears welled up in my eyes. I felt his love. I felt his pureness. I felt his strength. He was not a man of big stature, but he always taught us to "stand tall." He stood tall in everything he did in his life. What an amazing man. The world is a better place for having him on this earth. When I learned of his passing, oddly, I didn't feel much sorrow. I felt peace. I know that the heavens are rejoicing as he is reunited with his wife and those who came before him. I am thankful for this wonderful man. He will be missed.

New Pics, Finally! :)

Here we go again, Moran overload in it's best form. This month has been absolutely crazy for me. All I want for 2008 is a healthy family! We had several visits to the doctor's office and even urgent care. Whatever you could think of, we got it...ear infections, the flu, pink eye, croup, colds...will it ever end? I have the flu as I type this. I will not miss winter one bit for this very reason! So, since I haven't been blogging for a while, I loaded you all up pretty well with some pictures of us. These are ones of the kids when they are actually happy and healthy! I cherished those moments because they were numbered in January. We've got miss T (who told us she wants to be a cheerleader) showing her true fan colors. Go Skins (or I guess go Skins next year). The others are M and G hanging out.

Happy 2008 to you all!!

A Week in Paradise...

Is it January, or is someone fooling me? Last week we had weather in the 60's & 70's. We were just eating it up. I took some shots of M riding her bike for the first time. She was way too small last summer. She loved it! She looks so tiny when I zoom out on her. There's also a pic of G with his best friend from school. They love riding bikes together. The weather was nice while it lasted. As I type this, I can look out my window and see the ground covered in snow. We had 4 inches a few days ago. Figures!

Happy Birthday, Em!

My grandma (the kids' great grandma) turned 83. She is our rock in our family. I don't know what I'd do without her. The kids decided to surprise her with cupcakes. They managed to make a mess with their faces and thought it was hilarious. Couldn't get a shot of my grandma, she is so dang camera shy! Oh well, next time I'll get her! The look on M's face says it all. G took the pic and she's looking at him, like, what in the world are you guys doing?

A Bike Ride With Our Favorite...and Only Cousin!

My cute neice Katie came over to ride her new tricycle she got from Santa. The kids just adore her. It took them forever to get their "gear" on. Look at G, he looks like Mr. Rogers with that funky cardigan on. Does he listen to me about fashion? I think not! Anyways, I digress. When we stepped outside, we almost got knocked over by the wind. Needless to say, we were only out there for a total of 15 minutes, but the kids enjoyed it while it lasted!

Hanging Out With Old Friends

We had an awesome get together at our house right before New Years. Our longtime friends that we grew up with (who have since either stayed in the area or moved away to Utah and Texas) came for a visit. We had a blast letting our kids get to know each other and just catching up on our lives and also remembering old times. We had the Tims, Phomsophas, Sisouthams, Vus and Daos over. Here are some snapshots of all the families. It was a much needed renunion. We'll have to do it every year!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas to you all! Here are some shots of us opening gifts this morning. The kids were so excited to see all the gifts waiting for them and dove right in. You will see that my eyes are closed in one of the pictures. Was I awake today or what? Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

Christmas Eve

I have such a greater appreciation for parents now that I am one and have passed through several sleepless Christmas Eves. Last night I stayed up until 2am wrapping gifts and doing some last minute things to make Christmas a memorable experience. Despite being sleep deprived, we all had a wonderful time. We had Cedric's family visiting from NY. On Christmas Eve, we had close family over, including my brother and his wife and daughter. We have started a familiy tradition of reinacting the story of the birth of Christ. We all had a lot of fun and enjoyed one another's company. Some of our costumes were makeshift (especially G's), but that added to the amusement of it all. After dinner, we all get dressed in our p.j.'s and head out to see Christmas lights. Every year, we pray that Daddy doesn't get pulled over and frisked because he always wears his embarrassing (and tight) bright red "sugar daddy" pajamas. Wish I had a pic to show. Well, Merry Christmas, everyone! So grateful for our Savior and this time to celebrate his birth!

Breakfast with Santa

The kids got all dressed up to see the big man, Santa. They were so excited to tell him what they wanted. When we got there, T was all over that. She, of course, wanted to tell him that she wanted a big pink diamond ring that sparkled (feel sorry for the guy who's going to have to keep up with this high maitenance girl)! She went right up to Santa and verbally ran off her list from memory. G was a different story. He wanted Transformers and was too shy to tell Santa, so tried to get me to do it. Santa finally said he had to hear it straight from him, so he whispered it in his ear. M wouldn't touch Santa with a 10 ft. pole! Here are some pics of our fun time!

December...Busiest Month of the Year!

I had no idea I would fall this far behind in posting. Tis the season for giving, which means shopping, shopping, shopping! Which means no time for anything! Now I am going to give you Moran overload. Here are some pictures of the kids goofing off. T and M love to play hide and seek in the cabinets. The others are just of the kids striking a pose around the house. I think I'm just adding anything to make up for the time I didn't post anything...here ya go!

First Snow!

I have never seen the kids more excited than today. As soon as they woke up, they looked outside and it was a winter wonderland. To Gavin's disappointment, school was still up and running, so he had to go. He made up for all the lost time when he got home though! The kids played for probably 2 hours with their friends in the freezing weather. We have a huge hill in our backyard that is perfect for sledding. They probably would have stayed out there forever, if it hadn't been for the fact that their fingers and toes were going numb! Here are some pics of my little snow angels. Gotta love the before and after of G on the sled.

Festival of Lights

We took the kids to the annual Festival of Lights held at the DC temple. It is a wonderful event each year where they top the night off by illuminating the hundreds of thousands of lights around the temple grounds. It is a beautiful site. We were honored to be in the presence of Elders Oaks and Packer. It was a great experience to hear them speak first hand. The kids loved walking the temple grounds.