Family History is Fun!

Grandma Montgomery (Alice) with Kathy, Steve and Lilly

(Aunt Wilma says this photo was probably taken at Carthage MO while Grandpa ,Jack, was serving in WWI)

Dad and his sister Kathy sent a picture of me with me Grandma Montgomery recently. I thought I would return the favor and post one they might enjoy. By the way, I think dad and Scott, my brother, look similar as children. What do you think Montgomery's?

I haven't done much family history lately, but I hope to keep gathering information and do a little at a time. It's fun to learn about our ancestors, especially, when your children find out one of them killed a king in a jousting tournament or sailed on the Titanic, or was buried in a royal cemetery in England! I could go on and on...those are all true stories by the way!

A great man passed away yesterday...

President Gordon B. Hinckley died yesterday in Salt Lake City at 97 years old. He was the 15th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a great man and prophet of the Lord. I admired his cheerful attitude, love for learning and his ability to stay humble and kind to the end. He truly was an example of Christ-like love.

From a recent article written by him:

"If I may be pardoned for suggesting the obvious, I do so only because the obvious is not observed in so many instances. The obvious includes four imperatives with reference to children: (1) love them, (2) teach them, (3) respect them, and (4) pray with them and for them. "

"Do you want a spirit of love to grow in the world? Then begin within the walls of your own home. Behold your little ones, and see within them the wonders of God, from whose presence they have recently come. "
To read the whole story go to story on LDS.org

Our blog...my "journal"!

OK, so I hate writing in a daily journal but I love to take pictures and work on the computer. Since I've decided mostly my family reads this blog, I'll just combine the two and try to keep up with what is going on in our lives on a regular basis. In other words, time to stop beating myself up over the things I'm not doing and try to improve on the things that I am doing!

Happy Birthday Mom!

New Quilt for Olivia! This last weekend I finished a quilt my sisters and nieces helped me start. It is just a tied flannel quilt but it is so cute and Olivia absolutely loves it! Warm and functional is just what she needed...maybe she won't come crawling in my bed in the wee hours of the morning anymore!

Snow, Snow, Snow...we have so much and we got more this weekend. The older kids went sledding with their cousins yesterday and had lots of fun until Zach lost his gloves and about froze. Poor Zach, he doesn't have any fat on his wiry body! Olivia had snow and ice in her hair but she wasn't too cold.

Mike can cook!!! We had Cheryl and the boys over last night for a Wii party and dinner. Mike saved the day and made an awesome Green Curry with chicken, ham fried rice and even orange rolls for dessert. Thanks honey! Cheryl brought a fabulous Thai soup! I love Indian and Thai food and of course Chinese food if it is the real Chinese style.

Area for improvement... Preparation is important! This isn't necessarily for a major emergency, although it is a possibility, but what if you lose a job or just don't want to have to run to the store at the last minute to make dinner. If you don't have some food storage and a 72 hour kit you should! The basics are simple...a three month supply of food, short term water supply, financial reserve, and a 72 hour kit for each family member in case of emergency. I'll post more info on these areas later.

One Year Ago in Xi'an...

I can't believe it's been a year since we adopted Eliza! Actually, one year and a week. We have had many memories of China recently. Kirk thought this New Year would be boring in comparison to last year. Well, of course it can't compare... last year we were in Beijing for the New Year!


I am just so grateful that we took a leap of faith and followed our hearts to bring Eliza to our family. We've been blessed in so many ways! I have felt very strongly that we were guided to her and I'm so glad we followed those promptings. Prayers are definetly answered, just not always in the way we expect.
Eliza playing in our front yard this week


Thanks Mike for believing in me and my crazy ideas! We are all so thankful that Eliza is part of our family. Our experiences in China and adopting her have changed our lives forever.

Happy New Year! & Year-End Wrap Up

We had a fantastic Christmas time and everyone loved being home from school! In December, Zach turned 11 and we had a party with his friends at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center. (It's like you're on a Star Trek ship). Eliza has been using her princess dress-up shoes (see the picture above) on a daily basis. We had cake and presents for her on Nov. 30th but the whole family came over the second week of December for her and Zachary's birthdays since Grandma Earl was in Hawaii for both of their special days! Also, Grandma Carol came the week before Christmas and we shopped and played non-stop! My camera died, so I need to download some more pix from my old one for our Christmas shots. More to come later this week...