Spotlight: Melanie Hawkins

Melanie was born & (mostly) raised in Burley, Idaho. She lived in Twin Falls for several years, as her dad was part owner in a glass shop with his dad & brother. She also lived up Rock Creek Canyon in the mountains just past Kimberly, Idaho for about a year. Her family also moved to Utah for about 6-8 months for a job for her dad when his glass shop business was struggling. Her dad sold his portion to her uncle, and tried to find work elsewhere. Her family struggled financially her entire life growing up.  She says sometimes it’s easy for her to get frustrated at the things her children take for granted. Melanie shared a room as a child, and often with 4 or more sisters. She was lucky if she got a few dresser drawers to herself and usually kept her own personal “stuff” in a box under her bed.

Melanie is the 2nd oldest of 12 kids. They are all about 18 months apart. No twins/adoptions, and only one mom and dad. That is what she got pretty used to saying as an automatic response when people found out how many brothers and sisters she had. The only HS graduation picture she has of herself is holding her 6-month-old baby brother (College friends once thought that she was holding her own baby in that picture!) Melanie’s oldest brother was on his mission in Taiwan when he was born. When Melanie was about 12, her younger brother was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer called Rabdomysarchoma. He was given a 5% chance of living. He went through chemo and radiation for 2 years and to this day is cancer free and just got remarried in June & lives in Elko, NV. Her oldest brother lives in Taiwan and she hasn’t seen him in almost 18 years! She has 3 sisters in Syracuse/Roy area, 4 siblings (2 brothers & 2 sisters) in Burley, one sister in Boise, and one brother in Idaho Falls. If you lost count, that’s 7 girls and 5 boys.

Melanie’s favorite things to do as a young child were to make up games and play pretend for hours on end with her siblings. They would make forts in the back yard, build a tree house, create a roller skating rink in their basement, complete with strobe lights (which meant that someone was on light flipping on and off duty), and play cowboys and Indians. They would even whittle their own arrows and make bows with twine that they would find from hay bales from where cattle grazed. They would set up Fisher Price Little People towns with several story high homes made from blocks and books, and would play for hours. They would also take care of the MANY animals that they had over the years, from the goats that they bottle fed and later milked, to the pigs, horses, bunnies, dogs, cats and (as they moved back to Burley when she was in 4th grade) they had Guinea pigs, pet lizards, and even a couple of snakes and a pet tarantula! Melanie’s little brother with cancer was obsessed with really weird animals and so to lift his spirits, her dad got him a 6 ft long Boa Constrictor named Elvis. Her parents partially credit that snake with helping her brother through some of the worst of his treatments and giving him the will to live.

Melanie’s favorite childhood Memory was when she was in first grade and lived up Rock Creek Canyon. Her school was so small they didn’t have a lunchroom and had to walk to the JH/HS that was across the playground yard. There was only one first grade class with 16 kids in it. They had to walk about a mile to their bus stop where they were picked up by a little yellow school bus that they called the minibus.  Melanie and her brother would regularly go fishing in the little creek by their house and catch a bunch of fish that her mom would cook up for dinner. Every once in a while, they would watch the deer walk through their yard (once they counted 40 head of deer).  She had horses and her dad got this little black Shetland pony for her brother… but it didn’t like her brother and would buck him off.  It would only let Melanie ride it and she would ride it bareback all over the place! It was a very short time in her life, but one of her favorite times.

During Melanie’s Junior High School years is when her brother was diagnosed, and going through Chemo and radiation, he needed to be in PCMC for treatments for a few weeks at a time. Melanie’s grandparents were able to stay with him quite a bit, as her mom had a new baby, but one time, her mom needed to be with her brother, so for two weeks (during spring break) Melanie (who was 13) took care of her 2 month old newborn little sister, bottle fed her and helped along with her other sister to take care of the rest of the kids while her dad was at work.  She says they didn’t get much help from their ward, but it made them pretty strong, capable, hardworking and able to really depend on each other.

Melanie LOVED art in High school and she needed a couple of extra credits of an elective class, so she talked the Art teacher into creating an Advanced Senior Art class with just her in it.  She would sit in the back of the room during another beginner art class, just so she could sit and paint. Melanie was also on the flag team with the marching band and got to travel to Spokane WA, and several other marching competitions.  Their band was #1 in their division and she says it was a ton of fun.   Towards the end of her Junior year in High school her mom found out she was pregnant with her baby brother and was also diagnosed with Lupus. She was really sick and it was a really hard time for her family. Melanie’s dad had just lost his job, her oldest brother was getting ready to leave on his mission, her grandparents that lived a block away from them for the last several years were called to be mission presidents in the West Indies islands, and her mom was put on bed rest for the first 4 months of her Senior year. Melanie and her younger sister took turns a couple of times a week staying home with their mom and the smaller children that were too young for school while her dad was at his new job. They would do all the cleaning, cooking, shopping, laundry and caring for their siblings. Melanie also had a part time job. It was a really hard time in her life (her grades were not the greatest) but looking back, she is so grateful for all that she learned. Melanie’s mom had her baby brother early and brought him home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day to dinner on the table. Melanie and her sister had shopped and cooked a full Thanksgiving meal complete with Turkey, homemade rolls and pie!

After graduating from Burley High in 1992, Melanie moved to Twin Falls, Idaho to attend The College of Southern Idaho. She was an Art major and loved her Art classes. Melanie struggled with lots of her other classes, and after a semester of school she met a returned missionary and started dating him. After a brief engagement that she broke off, she moved to Utah and stayed with her aunt and uncle, and just wanted to take a break for a while. She worked as a receptionist at a nursing home and in the office at a car dealership for a while. Melanie’s parents were concerned that she was not in school, and talked her into moving back to Twin Falls to go back to school. Melanie hated every bit of school, but loved the social life. In the spring of 1994, she moved to Southern Utah to work as a counselor at a wilderness survival youth program.  Melanie says it was SO tough, but she really learned so much about herself and what she wanted in life.  Something about the big city, culture, and social life in Utah kept drawing her back and she knew that this is where she wanted to be, so she moved back to the Salt Lake valley to work in the fall.

Melanie was working as a nanny when she met her husband at an LDSSA Singles dance at Snowbird Labor Day weekend in 1994. It was more than a coincidence that she was there. She and her roommate were supposed to be on a double date that night with her roommate's boyfriend and his friend, but his friend “had something come up last minute.” As her roommate's boyfriend was standing there, these two (kind of weird) guys from their singles ward showed up to see if they wanted to go to this dance with them. Melanie’s friend shoved her out the door and she very begrudgingly went. She did NOT want to be there and so every slow song that came on she would go “take a walk” so I didn’t have to dance with them. What she DIDN’T know was that when she got there this cute guy in a white t-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots saw her and wanted to ask her to dance. Every time a good song would come on she would just vanish! He didn’t have the chance to ask her to dance the whole night! As they were walking back to their car, he saw Melanie and came over and asked if he could have her number. Melanie said, “Well, can I have your name first?” His name was Curt Hawkins and they talked all the way back to the car. Melanie’s two friends (bless their observant hearts) could see that they were hitting it off and mentioned that they couldn’t believe that they had to take me ALL THE WAY back to my apartment. Curt asked where it was and said he lived really close by (he didn’t) and wouldn’t mind dropping her off. By this point they talked about the fact that he had also served a mission in Taiwan like her brother, and she figured it was safe to get a ride from a stranger if he’s a returned missionary and he had a friend with him. Melanie and Curt talked all the way home and she kept getting the most bizarre feeling of Déjà vu every time he would tell her something about himself. They dropped his friend off first and then ended up talking at my apartment until about 1 in the morning. That night Melanie knew that he was the one she was supposed to marry! She said it kind of freaked her out because she was NOT looking for Mr. Right and had just moved back to Utah a month earlier and was having fun with her new roommate! However, she received a confirmation of the Spirit SO strongly, that there was absolutely NO denying it! Curt invited her to go waterskiing the next morning, so he picked Melanie up at 6am and they spent all day together. That Sunday morning Melanie drove to Burley to see her family.  Melanie told her mom and sister that she just met the guy she was going to marry. They just rolled their eyes and didn’t believe her. When she returned back to Utah, Curt was waiting at her apartment with a dozen red roses and she knew she was right. A week later they talked about their feelings for each other (thankfully) her feelings were confirmed, as he was feeling the same way! They officially got engaged about a week later when he proposed to her at Snowbird! THEN… they had to tell his parents!  Melanie said that was... fun!! His parents were a little skeptical, but soon warmed up to the idea that this little Idaho girl came and stole their baby boy! Her parents were thrilled as their engagement was pretty much the same as theirs!

Melanie and Curt were married on January 20th 1995 in the Salt Lake Temple. They spent their honeymoon in Hawaii and will be going back on their anniversary this coming year. After Melanie was married they lived in a couple of different apartments. When her nanny job ended, they moved in with Curt’s parents because he was still in school and working full time, and she was expecting their first baby Alyssa! They lived there for about 9 months and then moved to an apartment in Murray. When Alyssa was 2, they had their 2nd sweet daughter Maddie. After that they built their first house in a cute new little neighborhood in West Valley (the only place that was affordable for them at the time) and then along came their first boy, Joseph. When they were expecting their 4th baby they needed to move, so after just a few short years they upgraded to a much bigger house in a neighboring subdivision. It was new and had lots of cute little families with lots of kids their children’s ages. Over the next ten years, they added another daughter and three more little boys there, and in addition to once again being out of space, they found that their once cute little quiet street was being the target of graffiti, break-ins, and drugs were becoming more common. So they decided it was time to move on and look for a home close to Curt’s work in South Jordan, but then realized they could get SO much more home and yard for the money in Kaysville (plus they LOVED the quiet, little town and the Spirit they felt here). So Kaysville was their new home!

Melanie’s family loves to go camping and fishing together. They love to swim and play on their kayaks. They are BIG time movie buffs and love to curl up watching all sorts of movies with a great big bowl of popcorn. They find that they frequently quote movie lines, or mention scenes from their favorites!

Melanie has 7 children. Her oldest Alyssa (20), and has about 3 months left on her mission to the Texas Houston South Mission. She loves to write and is going to go back to Utah State next fall after she gets home. Madison (Maddie) is 18 and just graduated last spring. She is very artistic and creative and is working right now to save up money for school. She is planning to go to Utah State next fall as well. Joseph (16) and a junior in High School. He loves to build and fix things and is currently working at Bowmans. Emily (13) and is the BEST babysitter around! She loves to sing and do tumbling. Parker (11) and loves to play sports. He gets up at 6am every day so that he can have access to the remote and watch animal planet every morning. He knows pretty much everything about every animal, and begs his parents every day for a dog. Ryan (8) and loves Legos, riding his bike with friends and soccer. Timothy (Timmy) is 5 and is their little angel! He is their little bonus gift from God when they thought they were done. Melanie said, “How GRATEFUL I am for His plan for me. It is SO much better than the one I have for myself!” Timmy is such a bright spot in their family’s lives and fills them all with joy. He loves to do anything his brothers are doing because he thinks he is as big as they are! He also loves to sing… constantly!

Melanie’s family has lived in Kaysville for 4 years. After 1 year here, the Ward split, and her husband was called to be the Bishop of the newly created Ward. She said it was certainly not anything they expected, looking back they can certainly see God’s hand in their life guiding them (and at times dragging them) to where they needed to be, even right down to them ending up in this ward, and not on the lot on Sunset as they originally planned. They have learned, and are still learning to have faith in The Lord and trust that His plan is SO much better for us than anything that we could possibly plan for ourselves. They have learned that the refiner’s fire, while really hard, truly does make us into the person that The Lord knows that we can and should be.

Melanie loves the Scriptures, so it was hard for her to pick a favorite, but she chose Helaman 5:12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.   This is her daughter’s favorite mission scripture, and she hears it frequently quoted (nearly every Sunday) since she left.  Just as President Russel M Nelson said, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” Trials come & if we have that sure foundation, and are focused on Christ, not only will Satan have no power over us, but we can get through our trials with joy! (Melanie said that is what she is still working on!) Many of Melanie’s siblings have fallen away from the Gospel and it’s been very hard for her. She is trying to do all she can to help her children gain their own testimony of the Gospel because she KNOWS that it is what will truly bring them lasting peace & JOY in this life!

And lastly, Melanie loves to paint, still, but it’s been YEARS since she has. She loves to sew, and has since she picked up a needle and thread at about 5 years old! Melanie also has an Etsy shop / online boutique that is more for fun than anything and gives her an excuse to buy cute fabric!

As you can see, Melanie is truly a remarkable lady!  We are so grateful that the Lord led her family to Kaysville to be in our ward.   

The Terrific Tricia Bishop

Tricia Bishop was born in Price Utah They didn't live their long, only for a couple of years until her dad graduated from the College of Eastern Utah. Then the family moved so he could attend SUU in Cedar City. Her dad then went onto to start his career as a high school and College coach. This was a huge part of Tricia's life. In fact, their whole lives revolved around the high school and teams her dad was coaching for.

Tricia's dad's career began in Dayton Idaho, just over the Utah border. He coached there for 5 years. They lived across the street from the school. Tricia attended Kindergarten and first grade here. The family had a laborator retriever named Lady. When school was out for the day, Tricia says she remembers her mother saying to the dog, « Lady, take Tricia over to dad. » Lady would walk Tricia across the street and stay with her on the football field until football practice was over for the day. She also remembers going to school with her dad and coloring while he taught classes. Their whole world was the team. Her mom even made her a cheerleading outfit and every game Tricia would ride the bus with her dad and the players to the games.

The next job her dad took was to coach at Bear River High School where he coached another 2 years. Tricia was in 3rd and 4th grade. While her dad was busy coaching, her mom was a dancer and set up a dancing studio in their unfinished basement both in Idaho and Tremonton and started teaching. She was Tricia's first dance teacher. From age two, Tricia always danced. As she grew she worked with other teachers. As a kid she remembers for fun putting on her mom's records and tapes and spending hours making up dances.

After that, Tricia's dad got a job at Skyview High as the head basketball coach. But they were only there for 3 months because in October her dad got a call from Bobby Knight (head basket ball coach at Indiana University) saying he wanted her dad to come work for him. So the family packed up and moved to Indiana. Her family lived there until Tricia's junior year in High School.

Living in Indiana was hard for Tricia. She says it was so hard to be around so many kids that didn't share her values. She says High School there was just like an 80's movie. The kids drank and partied and their was a party at whoever's house the parents weren't home for the weekend. In school she kept herself busy cheering, being on the basketball team and of course, dancing. Sports gave her something to do and a place to belong.

Outside of school she only had 1-2 friends and her best friend was Jewish. They lived in the same neighborhood and the families became close friends. They had to find activities to do that didn't involve drinking and partying so they went to the mall alot, the arcade and hung out at each other's homes. To this day she and her friend are still in touch.

She also said school in Indiana was much stricter and not very much fun. They couldn't have any absences. The only absences that could be excused were the doctors or a funeral and you had to have a doctors note. If you were absence, you had to do detention. Not only that but you couldn't make up any work you missed. When her dad took Tricia out of school to go to the Indiana University Championship game she had to make up 3 days of absences in detention. They also didn't have any dances or assemblies.

Her senior year of High School Tricia's dad was offered the head coaching job at Utah State University in Logan. Tricia said Logan ended up being her favorite place to live. She was so grateful to be in a school where she could do sports and have fun. She loved having so many kids around her with her same standards.

After she graduated from high school, Tricia attended her first year of college at USU and hated it. She lived at home and everyone she went to high school with basically were doing the same thing. Nothing changed, it was like glorified high school. So her second year she went down to Ephraim and attended Snow College. Tricia loved Snow College. She loved the smaller classes. She loved being out of the cold. She loved her roommates and she of course loved being on the dance company and drill team.

After graduating from Snow College, Tricia went on her mission to the Harrisburg Pennsylvania mission. She loved her mission. She says the thing she gained to most on her mission was tolerance. She says she also gained a rock solid testimony of the gospel and came to know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the real deal.

Tricia says they had to bear their testimony a lot in Pennsylvania. Especially in the city of Lebanon. It was a city just outside of State College Pennsylvania. At that time an ex-communicated member of the church had come out with the anti-mormon movie and was touring college towns preaching hard his anti-mormon propaganda. During this time Tricia says they had no investigators, no member referral. All they were doing everyday was knocking on doors and since they were forbidden by their mission president to engage in bashing, they were left with bearing their testimonies. They would bear their testimonies to the people they met and walk away.

After her mission, Tricia attended SUU and continued with her major in Theater and Dance with a minor in history. Her dad was sure she wouldn't make any money with that degree so Tricia tried some biology classes but just hated them. In fact, everything else she tried didn't work out. She knew she wanted to teach so she could be home with her kids when they went to school. She continued with her major.

During her last year she went into a sporting good store in Cedar City. A football player on the College team, named Ryan Bishop, was working there. They met and she stayed in the store talking to him for about 45 minutes. He asked for her phone number and as Tricia left the store she thought,  « I don't have to date anymore. » Which she thought was funny because she always made fun of people who claimed to fall in love at first site.

They started dating and found their backgrounds were mirrors of each other. His dad was the football coach at SUU. They finished their Senior years and got married in Logan. Ryan's dad wasn't active in the church and his mom had never gone through the temple so she asked Ryan and Tricia to wait to marry in the temple until she could be there. They went ahead and had a beautiful civil marriage.

They both got jobs up North. Ryan coaching at Bear River High and she teaching theater and started the dance program at Mountain Crest. They lived in Logan and added 2 sons to their family, KJ and Reggie. From their they moved to Farmington when Ryan was hired as the head football coach at Davis High and Tricia was hired on at Kaysville Junior High. Here they added their youngest son, Bode to their family.

When Bode was about a year old, their bishop came to visit them. He wanted to know why they had never married in the temple. He said they paid tithing and held temple recommends so he wanted to know what the hold up was. They explained they were waiting for family members to be there with them. He told them he felt it was time. Ryan then called his mom up and told her they were going to be sealed. She had always hoped Ryan's dad would get active but she could see he wasn't so she got herself ready and went through the temple. It was a beautiful day with their 3 sons kneeling around the alter and Tricia says it was worth the wait to be able to have some of Ryan's family there with them. »

Tricia said if she were giving her younger self advice it would be to follow your passions. Don't let others talk you out of what you want to do. » Advice she'd give to others is, « Let your kids be who they are. Each kids is very different. Sometimes we have preconceived ideas of who they should be or that they should be like another child. But life is much better when we embrace who they are and enjoy each of them as individuals for what they have to offer. Let them beat to their own drum. »

Tricia is very accepting of others and easy to talk to. She brings great experience to our ward and we are lucky to have her. I hope you all get the chance to get to know her.

Meet Kristina Tolman

I was born in Oregon, but only lived there for a couple of years. I lived in Idaho moving around every three or so years until my sophomore year.

While living in Burley Idaho, my parents married creating a large step family of 9. We moved to a little farming community outside Burley called View.  Two weeks after moving in, my oldest brother (16) died in a car accident.  There was a family by the name of Tolman who lived in the area that had a son (16) die in a car accident a few years before. They were a great comfort to our family.  Bobby Tolman was one of their sons. He was a couple years older than me so we didn't run in the same circles. But right before my family was to move to Wisconsin there was a combined YM/YW activity at our house. Bobby ended up staying after it was over and the two of us started playing Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo. We played until 3AM, not once did we talk to each other, except to say, "Man, this level is hard." When Bobby realized what time it was, he left. That was the extent of our association of our association.

Our family then moved to Wisconsin and that's where I graduated. Changing schools my Sophomore year was difficult. It was a small high school and the kids were established in their groups. The popular group of girls took an instant disliking to me because I had made the starting team for volleyball and one of their friends didn't make the team. I would often get tripped in the hallway, find nasty names on my locker and have basketballs thrown at my head. It was at this point that I had to decide who I was and what I believed. I decided I wasn't going to let these girls determine my future so I became involved in everything I possibly could.

One of the things I was involved in was the musicals. My Senior year I played Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady. »  I have so many great memories from rehearsals. We all became family and cried when the show was over because we wouldn't get to spend that time together anymore. I was also captain of the volleyball team. We won second in regionals my Senior year. It was a great experience. I was also chosen to represent Wisconsin in a volleyball game against girls from Illinois, called Battle of the State Line.

One of my fondest memories came when I was called down to the office my Senior year and told I couldn't graduate because I was missing a PE credit from back when I had transferred. I was a straight A student, took all the hardest classes and was involved in everything. I was so upset that they hadn't told me this before. I went back to class and got some teasing about what I was in trouble for. When I told the class that they weren't going to let me graduate the whole class got upset and said that if they didn't let me graduate they were going to boycott graduation. I remembered back to when I wasn't accepted at first and couldn't believe that these students were now standing up for me. It was awesome. Almost like a back to school afternoon special. For those of you who remember those. Hahaha. I ended up graduating with my class.

I attended BYU the next Fall. I had to work all through my High school years and then worked two full-time jobs during the summers to try to earn money for college. My parents kept trying to tell me that I should just take a year off and earn more money, but I felt very strongly that I needed to attend BYU, in fact it was the only college I applied to. As time was getting closer to head to Utah, I didn't have quite enough to go, but my ward pulled together and collected what they could. It was just enough to get me through my first year. So off I went.

My second year I was invited to sing with a group from Wisconsin and tour Europe. It had been a dream of mine to see Europe. The problem was I couldn't afford college, my apartment and save money for the trip at the same time. My plan was to go back home, work for a semester and then go to Europe that summer. Since I was leaving, I went and talked to my bishop so he could release me from my calling. We talked about my plans and he asked me, "Have you prayed about that?" I was like, " No. It just seemed like the logical option." He said "Pray about it". Right as he said that, though, I knew I wasn't supposed to go back to Wisconsin.

I knew I needed a new plan since I didnt' have money to stay anywhere. I looked up my former sixth grade teacher from when I lived in Idaho (we had become friends and remained in touch) and asked if I could live with her. She said yes. I had been working at Hardee's right off campus as a manager since going to BYU. But I worked third shift. 10PM-6AM. That January we had hired a new employee straight back from his mission to Japan.  I was a huge flirt. So I was excited to meet the new guys. The morning he started working there, I went up to say hi and....I knew him! He had been my neighbor for four years, back when I lived in Idaho. So I said, "Bobby Tolman??" He replied, "My name is Robert."

From our first experience (My name is Robert)which didn't seem very promising, he transferred to working third shift where we had lots of free time to talk while washing dishes and making biscuits.  I finally asked him if he wanted to come over for Sunday dinner at my old apartment with a group of people. (He would hang out when he was off work, "checking the schedule" for an hour, so I threw him a bone) He came over, but I started chatting with my best friend and we went back to her room and talked for an hour. When I came out, Bobby was still sitting on the couch! I thought for sure he had left. Then he invited me over to his apartment for a group dinner the following Sunday. The Saturday night before that dinner we worked together and ended up talking until 8AM until we had to be at church. It hit me right in that moment that Bobby Tolman was the man I was supposed to marry (I wrote it in my journal) BUT I.didn't.want.to.get.married. ( My mother had been married five times. SO I wore one of my mother's old wedding rings so that I wouldn't get asked. Side note-I still got asked four times)

That Sunday at his apartment, he invited me to go home to Burley with him for his mission report. I knew everyone there and my grandparents lived there so I was like, "sure!"  We had dinner that night and I was really quiet, wondering if he felt the same thing, if he would think I was crazy, how was this going to play out because we had only been on one really bad "date."

So the next weekend we went to Burley. The whole time he's asking me questions like, " What do you think the mother's role in the family should be? What do you think is most important in a successful marriage?" ACK! He was totally testing me!!! I was worried, « What if I fail? »

So after we got to his house and his whole family was very welcoming. We played some games and then he drove me to my grandparents house. They were gone but let me stay there. He came inside and we start talking. He ended up proposing to me, not even planning on it; the Spirit kicked his tail into doing it. We hadn't even held hands so after I said "YES!" I said, "Can I give you a hug now?" I went to Europe for my choir tour, got married two weeks later, and was pregnant with our first a month after that. (Not planned)

From then on the kids just kept coming about every 14-18 months. (Not planned. Birth control wasn't joking when it said 99% effective. We got pregnant on every form... ) After our fourth child, McKenna was born with congenital heart defects, I vowed I was done having kids. She needed multiple heart surgeries and it was terrifying. But I had a dream that I was holding McKenna and there was a beautiful little girl with blue eyes, long blond hair and dimples standing a little ways off. I said, "No. I don't want her. What if something's wrong with her?" So she was whisked off and sent somewhere else. I was horrified! I knew she was supposed to be mine. In my dream I began searching all over the world for her. I finally found her living with this older couple and I had to work very hard to adopt her back into my family. I awoke with a start and said, "Okay, Heavenly Father. I will have more." We got pregnant within the month. We had a beautiful little girl with blond hair, blue eyes and dimples.

Then we had our sixth, Parker, and I felt we were done. Our license plate on our van said "8ISENUF". We then moved to Colorado. One day the Spirit said, "there is a little boy that needs a home and if you are willing, he can come to your family." Who's going to say no to that...
So a month later we were pregnant. Well our license plate said 8ISENUF but now we had 9 people in our family. (Yes. We based our child bearing decisions on a license plate...) so we're like, " we should shoot for one more" but one day the Spirit told me, "there is a little boy and a little girl that need a home." I said back, « Wait. What? TWO more? No. Huh-uh. I can't do two more pregnancies. I'm 30 now. I'm too old. Okay. Look. I'm only doing this pregnancy thing One. More. Time. So if you have any more for me, you better send them all now. » True story. I actually said this...
So why was I so surprised when the doctor told me I was having twins?? But I knew right away it was a boy and a girl and I had already picked out their names. Now our license plate says "BLESTW9".

Jason 19 serving in the Philippines, will attend SVU, wants to be a pediatric heart surgeon, sings, plays piano to woo the girls
Emilyssa (aka Emi) 17 graduating this year, draws beautifully, writes poetry
Bryce 16 has a girlfriend that lives in Georgia, rubic cube genius, very smart
McKenna 15 getting her driver's permit (AHHHH!) had the heart surgeries, writes stories, sassy
Bug (aka Lizzie) 13 almost as tall as me, writes songs and stories, drama queen
Parker 11 cutest dimples you ever did see, plays violin, piano, very smart
Josh 9 love his smile and laugh, loves reading and math, looks just like Bryce
Bella 8 teaches herself gymnastics, plays piano by ear, best little helper around
Ty 8 loves Legos, loves giving hugs and kisses, full of energy and life
I am SO HAPPY birth control is 1% defective!!! I can't even imagine my life without them. My only regret is I didn't have more.
(People in our old ward would play a game on long drives to see who could rattle off our kids names the fastest in the right order. Not even kidding)

When Rob finished up school we had two kids, moved to Minnesota where we lived for 7 years. Then we moved to Colorado because that's as close as I would get to Utah. We lived there for 10 years when the Spirit told us we needed to sell our house. But didn't bother to tell us where we were supposed to move to. We put our house on the market a month later. Rob was traveling to Charlotte, NC for work quite frequently so we thought, maybe we should move to SC so he wouldn't have to travel as much. But the house sat on the market for 18 months....in a hot market. We were confused because we felt very strongly we were supposed to move, obeyed by putting the house on the market right away and then....nothing. In the meantime my oldest was able to graduate and prepare for his mission. As we were dropping him off at the MTC, I felt that we were supposed to move to Utah, not South Carolina. It was funny because I had prayed about it for over a year. But the timing wasn't right, I guess, and I had to get to a place so desperate that I would move ANYWHERE at that point (even Utah) as long as we could pleeeeese just sell our house.

Then there was another problem. Rob couldn't transfer to Utah with his current job and he had been job hunting for YEARS. Nothing was comparable. On the drive back to CO, I told him he could start looking in Utah. Our house went under contract that week. BAM! Then all of a sudden his work created this new position that would allow Rob to work in Utah but stay with the same company. BAM! Prayers answered. Now we're in Kaysville and we love it here. Yes, I said WE.

Rob and I both love to cook. Rob does the canning AND sewing. I am very crafty, love to sing, play the piano, read and play volleyball. (Not as much after I had a lower spinal fusion and knee surgery) I teach all of my kids to play the piano. The most beautiful sound in the world is constant music throughout the house. After celebrating our 20th anniversary in Europe this past summer, I decided to learn a second language. I felt like such a slacker because people in Europe speak two or three! So I'm teaching myself español. I also love, Love, LOVE the scriptures! I didn't always. I struggled reading them and studying them, but now I HAVE to read them everyday, just to feel the peace and power that come from that simple act. I love making the connections from their trials to our day. I love that scriptures will pop into my mind when I need them. I love hearing the Spirit speak to me through them.

As a family we love having people over, playing games and eating. Our dinner table discussions are hilarious and crazy. We try to reign it in in front of other people.

That's a peek into our crazy life!

What a fun gal Kris is. She and her many talents are a wonderful addition to our ward.