Pics with my dad

These are just a few of the pics. we took before my dad had to go home. We had a great time with my dad being here. At least we have the memories.

Me, Dad, and Paul

Newest pic of just me and my dad

Dad and Paul

Papa Joe saying goodbye to baby Jack

Baby Jack
Can't believe how big he is getting

Halle and Papa Joe

One of Sarah's many faces :)

Johnson Family

Aunt Kelci and Halle

Just the boys

Dad and us Girls

Can't wait for your next visit Dad!

Christmas 2009

Christmas this year, was very eventful. My family has had many changes this year, so I was unsure of how everything would turn out. I knew no matter what we would have a great Christmas and would be able to enjoy our time together with family and that everything would be great. I guess I was just a little unsure of what to expect. We had so many things happen that I wasn't sure what traditions we were keeping and what new things would come up. I love my family and I love the traditions we have. This year was very different, with my parents divorce and my mom moving, and having family in town. The whole month of December has just been very chaotic.
I'm not quite sure if we came up with new traditions but we had a great season. My brothers, sister, and I all went to the Allred Christmas party and were able to celebrate the season with them. It was nice to be able to get together with family we havn't seen forever. We all went out to eat, then went to Heber for the Christmas Talent Show/Program my family puts on. The kids all sing, read stories, or come up with a way to show their own talents, then they all dress up and grandpa reads the Christmas story and the kids are the nativity, then grandpa also has another Christmas story to top the night off. Its lots of fun and was great to see everyone.
Grandma Elms flew out early in the month to spend the holiday with us. It was fun having her here. Hopefully one day she'll have a normal trip out here. She was here when my mom had to move and she was a big help in that. My Aunt and Uncle and Cousins from Cali also took time to come here before Christmas. We were also able to get together with Pauls side and make our gingerbread houses. They were fun, but I get very impatient with it by the end. Paul ends up finishing it for us.
With my mom having to move and her house not being done we were unsure of where we would all be for Christmas. It ended up being spent at my sisters. It was a great day.
The thing to top off my Christmas was my dad came out here for a week to spend Christmas with us, thanks to my amazing step mom Stacy. This is the first Christmas he has been here and the last time we had Christmas with him, I was a JR. in highschool. He just left this morning. It was hard. I hate goodbyes, but i'm so glad he was here. That was an amazing gift Stacy. Thanks a lot.
With all my stress and worries Christmas wasn't too different at all. We spent most of Christmas Eve with my family, then went over to the live nativity in south jordan and drove around Pauls neighborhood to see the luminears. It was weird to see that most of the stake don't do it anymore, but Pauls home ward had them all out. It was pretty cool to see. We spent the night at his parents this year, so we wouldnt have to do more driving than necessary. We also were invited to my brother-in-laws family Christmas party on Christmas Eve. He has one of the best families I have ever met. His grandma went all out and did a nice dinner then we did a gift exchange with a game. It was way fun. Thanks for the invite Jage. We had Christmas breakfast with his family and exchanged gifts. Then we headed to my sisters and did gifts there then had a huge Christmas dinner. IT was a relaxing afternoon then we played games that night. It wasn't very unusual but it was way fun. I love my family and am grateful to have them in my life. I'm also lucky to have Paul and I couldn't ask for a better husband. I hope you all have a great New Years.

Family Pics 2009

Christmas Traditions

Traditions are a big part of this time of year. I'm curious to know what some of your favorite traditions are. People have many traditions through out the year. I know we do, but my favorite ones are the Christmas and holiday season ones.
Paul and I each grew up with a lot that we want to continue with our kids. We also have been trying to add new traditions to our small family for when we have our own family.
Some of my favorites are getting together with one side of our family and going out to eat then heading up to Heber to our grandparents for the Christmas story, gift exchange, and more visiting with our family. We also get together at my moms on Christmas Eve and do a sibling exchange. Then we go over and do the same thing at Pauls. Usually on Christmas we do the traveling right now and go to one side for breakfast and gifts, this usually ends up being the family we spent Thanksgiving with. Then we go to the other side for Christmas dinner, gifts, and Christmas Day activities.
Paul and I have been trying to figure out some of our own and we found that we both enjoy doing what we've grown up with. We have come up with a few new ideas. Some that we have enjoyed the last couple of years is going to each others family parties and so forth. We also try to stop at each family on Christmas Eve. After we leave his parents we go around his stake to look at the luminiers set up at each home if the weather is actually cooperating. Then we go see a manger that is set up in a field in South Jordan. After that we usually go enjoy a nice cup of hot cocoa. We watch a couple Christmas movies together then he wraps my gifts and other gifts last minute, while watching Scrooge, the musical.
I'm excited for the one this weekend. The year we got married his parents bought gingerbread house decorating kits. We usually get together a week or 2 before Christmas with all the brothers and sisters and decorate the houses. Its fun to be around everyone and to see who is creative and what we all come up with. This has continued the last 4 years and I hope it will go on. Its way fun.
K so I started going off on ours. I'm anxious to hear what you do. I love this time of year. I especially love that we get to spend more time with our families. HOpe you all have a good day.

Christmas Child

The Christmas Child

"There is a magic in Christmas. Hearts are opened to a new measure of kindness. Love speaks with increased power. Tensions are eased...

"Of all things of heaven and earth of which we bear testimony, none is so important as our witness that Jesus, the Christmas child, condescended to come to earth from the realms of His Eternal Father, here to work among men as healer and teacher, our Great Exemplar. And further, and most important, He suffered on Calvary's cross as an atoning sacrifice for all mankind.

"At this time of Christmas, this season when gifts are given, let us not forget that God gave His Son, and His Son gave His life, that each of us might have the gift of eternal life" (Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Son of God," Ensign, Dec 1992, 2).

Santa Claus

The Story of Santa Claus
A Christmas Story

Once upon a time a man called Nicholas lived in Patara, a town in the East. Because he was very fond of children and was kind and generous to them, they came to think of him as their dear friend and their beloved saint. So it was that after a time the wonderful things he did were woven into a beautiful legend. You know that Santa means Saint and Claus stands for Nicholas, and that is how he came to be known as Santa Claus.
In Santa Claus's own town, Patara, lived a great lord who had three daughters. He was very poor, so poor that one day he was on the point of sending his daughters out to beg for food from his neighbors. But it happened that Saint Nicholas not long before had come into a fortune, and as he loved giving to those in need, he no sooner heard of the trouble the poor lord was in than he made up his mind to help him secretly. So he went to the nobleman's house at night, and as the moon shone out from behind a cloud, he saw an open window into which he threw a bag of gold, and with this timely gift the father was able to provide for his eldest daughter so that she could be married. On another night Santa Claus set off with another bag of gold, and threw it in at the window, so the second daughter was provided for. But by this time, the father had grown eager to discover who the mysterious visitor could be, and next night he kept on the lookout. Then for the third time Santa Claus came with a bag of gold upon his back and itched it in at the window. The old lord at once recognized his fellow townsman, and falling on his knees, cried out "Oh! Nicholas, servant of God, why seek to hide yourself?"
Is it not wonderful to think that this was so long ago, sixteen hundred years, yet we still look for the secret coming of Santa Claus with his Christmas gifts? At first he was said to come on his own birthday, which is early in December, but after awhile, as was very natural with Christmas so near, the night of his coming was moved on in the calendar, and now we hang up our stockings to receive his gifts on Christmas Eve. In some countries children still put their shoes by the fireside on his birthday. In others they say it is the Christ-Kindlein or Christ Child who brings the gifts at Christmastime. But it is always a surprise visit, and though it has happened so many hundreds or times, the hanging up of the Christmas stocking is still as great a delight as ever.

Merry Christmas From Heaven

We all have someone we have loved and lost. This post is in memory of our loved ones we have lost. As much as I love this time of year, there have been years where it is harder for me because it seems to me that most people I have loved and lost in my life has been around Christmas time. I've had a grandmother who passed on Christmas Eve a couple of years ago and a grandfather a few years before two days after Christmas, But come on, who really wants to be bummed and grieve during the holiday season? When I think about my loved ones I like to celebrate who they were to me and think of good things and their life, not just their death. I've also been thinking about and missing my brother who passed away a few years ago lately and found this Christmas poem that really helped me the year he died. I felt like I should share it.

Merry Christmas From Heaven

I still hear the songs
I still see the lights
I still feel your love
on cold wintery nights

I still share your hopes
and all of your cares
I'll even remind you
to please say your prayers

I just want to tell you
you still make me proud
You stand head and shoulders
above all the crowd

Keep trying each moment
to stay in His grace
I came here before you
to help set your place

You don't have to be
perfect all of the time
He forgives you the slip
If you continue the climb

To my family and friends
please be thankful today
I'm still close beside you
In a new special way

I love you all dearly
now don't shed a tear
Cause I'm spending my
Christmas with Jesus this year

Copyright 1990 (can't read name)

I really hope you all have a great holiday season! Merry Christmas!
Love the Gardiners

Its the most wonderful time of the year!

This year has totally flown by! I love the holiday season. It's been an amazing couple of weeks. Busy too, no surprise there. We had a great Thanksgiving, being able to see family and celebrate the holiday. Luckily, both Paul and I had a long weekend. One of our traditions is to get our tree up Thanksgiving weekend. We put some time aside Saturday night to set up our tree and decorations. Little did we know what a big ordeal it would be. We got a new TV last year and it takes up some of our Christmas tree space, and because Paul wouldn't let the branches touch our stand or TV in fear of them scratching it we had to totally rearrange our living room. For those that have seen our apartment and the weird space we have to work with, you know what little we can do. We finally came up with something, and I actually like it. My next obstacle was now I'm going to have to redecorate and since my old entertainment center is in our 2Nd room I had no shelving. I had no idea what to do with most of my decorations. Luckily we came up with a great way to display most of our stuff. I'm happy with the way it turned out. Besides the holiday season there isn't too much going on with us. Sometimes I feel like we need some type of change. Its all good though.
I aced my medical terminology final. I am so excited. Now on to Human Anatomy and Physiology. That's been kinda boring. I'm stressed about my test this week, but I think it can go well. I just have to be optimistic. Paul has a big paper due this week and is also preparing for finals. I'm kind of jealous. I don't get a Christmas break with school. I have to go through. Its only closed on Christmas. Luckily I do most of mine at the beginning of the week.
Paul and I had the opportunity to get together with some friends that we havn't seen in forever over this last weekend. We did a holiday Dinner and played games and just had a great time catching up. We were spoiled. They actually cooked for us. They did a wonderful job.
Other than that, we are looking forward to Christmas. Its such a special time of year. This year will be interesting. Totally fun. My grandma is coming this week and staying through Christmas. Its always fun to spend time with her. My dad is actually coming out for the holiday. He has never been out this way for the holidays. The last time I spent Christmas there was in High School. It will be so much fun. I love the spirit of the season. I love the smells of the season. I love everything about Christmas. I hope that as we celebrate it we will all remember the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.
Love you all.