Precious Moments Together

 
     It is hard to believe the summer is coming to an end. Recently, David and I got bikes and a bike seat for Clarissa.  It was actually a very belated birthday gift.  Clarissa loves to ride in her seat.  Riding the bikes together has become one of our favorite pastimes this summer.  Clarissa loves to go on a bike ride to different parks.  David calls it the "tour de parks."

We ran the Ability First 5K race in Provo again this year. This race has some profound significance in our lives.  We ran this race with some trepidation this year as this is the  race that we ran a  year ago that initially set off David's Addisonian Crisis where he almost died.   I think both of us were a little nervous to run the race thinking about what happened last year but we also felt incredibly grateful that David was alive and able to run the race. It could have been so much different.   The race is a reminder to us of where we were last year and how the Lord has blessed us so much.   Here is a link to the post I wrote last year about  our experience:   http://davidandjuliann.blogspot.com/2013_10_01_archive.html

All of the cousins and their medals.  It is always so much fun!

   The Ogden Temple open house was a very special event for our family.  We love the temple and have waited eagerly for the completion of the remodeling.  When they announced the dates for the Open house of Ogden Temple we started telling Clarissa that she would be able to go inside the temple with us and be in Jesus's House. Each day she would say, "I want to go to the temple with you and daddy.  I am old enough to go into the temple now, right?"

     The day arrived for us to go to the open house.  We were getting ready to leave and Clarissa grabbed my hand and said," I need my temple things."  I was confused at what she meant.  I followed her to the bedroom and she grabbed her white headband and her white bow I had hanging up in her room.  These were her headband and white bow she wore when she was sealed to us after her adoption.  She wanted to wear them.  It melted my heart.  I had never really talked about the headband and bow but somehow she knew they were special and that they were associated with the temple.  So she wore her white headband and white bow around her wrist.  It was so cute.

     At the temple, she kept saying, "I can't find Jesus anywhere."  We continued through the tour of the temple and she kept saying, "I can't find Jesus anywhere."  After we exited the temple, we went outside into a reception tent.  Inside the tent there was a statue of Christ.  Upon seeing the statue, she immediately said, "I found my Jesus."  She ran up to Him and gave him a big hug.  She did not want to let go of Him.  It was a very tender and touching moment.

We love to see the temple!

Fun Family Moments

       I am sad because our camera broke.  It will still take pictures but the flash won't work so we really can't take pictures indoors. We were unable to get any good pictures of Clarissa and her birthday which makes me so sad.  I can't believe she is three years old already.  Time sure flies!  She is the joy of our lives and our greatest blessing! 

     We have made it a tradition to celebrate the day that Clarissa officially became a part of our family.  Clarissa get two special days a year.  Her birthday and "Gotcha Day."  This year for "Gotcha Day" David bought her a beautiful rose to show her how much she means to us.  It was so sweet.  Clarissa really loved the beautiful flower and it was such  a sweet gesture from David.  

Clarissa first official dental cleaning and visit to the dentist!

I am so grateful that our garden and fruit trees were so fruitful this year!  They produced so much that I felt like I was canning all summer long but I am so grateful for the harvest.

After 13 years of wear, our kitchen table and chairs needed some work so I decided to give them a makeover.  It was a large project, but I must admit they turned out really nice.  I painted and re-varnished the table and painted and re-upholstered the chairs. 

Before

 After