Jared and Shaley

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Barbeau Family

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My Family

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Old Man Winter

This last week Dad was in Des Moines for business and left John and I home by ourselves. I laughed and joked with a neighbor that the car would breakdown or maybe the washer or dryer, or maybe even have plumbing problems since Terry was going to be gone. I spent 20 years as an Air Force wife--I KNOW how these things go! Anyway, no plumbing problems, no vehicle problems, washer and dryer did just fine. However, I got the nasty virus that is going around and was DOWN all week. I snuggled into the recliner and vowed that I would get through the roughly 20 movies that I had Tivo'd. It was going to be a relaxing and kicked back week.....until the snow started to fly the VERY FIRST day! We got 15 inches the first day, 4 inches the second day, 6 inches the third day, a BREAK the fourth day and again the fifth day of this week. Forty minutes into plowing the snow off the driveway the very first snowfall, I BROKE THE PLOW!!!! Thank Heaven for a super johnny-on-the-spot home teacher who came and helped us dig ourselves out! I always loved the guy but now he holds a special place in my heart! Sooooooo John and I were destined to remove the snow by shovels! It has been an extremely Looooong week. Today we got another 6-7 inches of snow. Do the math on the total kiddos. It's a TON of snow!!
Thought I would share some pictures of the beauty that old man winter has left us this week. I complain about the cleanup of this dreadful stuff but I sure love the beauty of what we enjoy after the cleanup is done! I'm ready to move on and think about the gorgeous flowers that might start popping through the snowfall in the next few weeks. Spring isn't in the air here in Utah, but in my mind it is just around the corner!!
PS--the first picture of me is cuz I'm NOT the one cleaning the snow today!! Notice the smile!! Second picture is the best one cuz it shows DAD cleaning the snow today--something I waited and wished for all week!! PSS--I got through about 13movies this week -- not as many as I hoped but I did take lots of naps cuz of being sick. All in all, it was a good week but don't let Dad know since I've done a super duper job of laying the guilt on rather thickly for him being gone during the winter's WORST snowstorm to date!!

Time Out For Women

This last weekend, I attended a Time Out For Women at Weber State University. It was sponsored by Deseret Book. It was a little pricey but decided to go anyway. I more than got my monies worth!! It was the best experience that I have had for a long long time. I haven't laughed as hard OUT LOUD for forever. I haven't shed as many tears for quite awhile. And I haven't been forced to take a look--mostly inner--at myself in a REALLLLLLLLLY long time. It was a life changing event for me. I was absolutely NOT ready for it to be over when the closing prayer was said. They had a number of presenters and all were FABULOUS. They had several vocal artists that shared their talents with us in music. All made you stop and think about your own individual life and how parallel it is (or isn't) with Christ and the gospel. At the beginning of the weekend, they asked us to write down or mentally make a list of what we know. And then think about those things and how they help/hinder us in life NO MATTER WHAT. I'm grateful for the knowledge of the gospel, my testimony of it, the knowledge of Christ and His atonement, the knowledge that life continues after this one, the knowledge that I can be with my family throughout all of eternity, that my Savior and Heavenly Father love ME--even when I feel so undeserving, that God still speaks to us today to help us return to live with Him again, and mostly that I do NOT have to go through this life and it's experiences alone--He is ALWAYS with me and I also have the love and support of my family. I am truly blessed and more than I feel I deserve most days. I am a child of God. NO MATTER WHAT!!!
One of the guys from the band, Jericho Road, invited several men to join him on stage and help him recreate a boy band for the evening. I absolutely HURT after they got done. I laughed so hard!!! Check it out if you crave a silly laugh out loud moment in your crazy world. It's worth the time and the laughs! ">http://deseretbook.com/video/embed/106"

A Christmas Getaway Gift

A HUGE thanks to my kids for the AWESOME Christmas gift of time away at a nice place and an unrushed and fancy dinner at the Roof in Salt Lake City. Wow! We really enjoyed our stay and time away from the pressures and stresses of daily life. What a gift!!! Dad was a little hesitant to take the time off and just escape from life for a short time but has thanked me several times since we got home for the time we spent together. I thanked him several times before we even left the Inn. (I recognized his sacrifice in being away from his very demanding job).It is difficult to schedule time away but when it is given as a gift.....kinda forces you to take advantage of it. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! We actually got to stay in 2 different rooms---a scheduling glitch that came up at the last minute but it turned out to be a GREAT thing. We enjoyed the first room that we were in--it had a BEAUTIFUL view of the Salt Lake Valley. Really nice. But.....the second room we stayed in was pretty spectacular! It was so elegant and luxurious--I would LOVE to have a room like that of my own someday. It was done in GOLD, white and RED. Do I need to say more? I instantly fell in love with the room decorated with two of my favorite colors!! When we went to dinner at the Roof, we were fortunate enough to be there as they turned the lights on at the Salt Lake Temple! Brought back some sweet memories as Dad and I were taken back thirty years to our wedding day in that stunning building. We naturally ate tooooooo much and we overindulged by partaking of the MANY decadent desserts that they offer. I couldn't decide on one so had to taste 3 or 4!! We saw several movies and went shopping at the Gateway but it was such a relaxing couple of days. Not sure what other people do when they are given such a great gift but we loved just being together and relaxing. We didn't even answer our cell phones--not even once!! So, hats off and a big THANKS again to my sweet and wonderful children that gave such a thoughtful gift to their old, grumpy, boring, stuck-in-a-rut parents. WE LOVED IT! By the way, the first room went for $289.00 and the second goes for $329.00. Dinner was the full $100.00 with the tip for the SUPER FABULOUS waiter. Guess you could say that you all and WE got our monies worth!! What a great deal we all got!

Going Private

I have decided to go private. I found out that some people in my area were doing some things that were a little "ify" in my book sooooooo am going to close my blog down to just my children and a few close friends. Sorry. In today's world, you just can't be TOO careful. Amber, I need your email address since it somehow got deleted from my address book. I have your old one but not your current one.