Our First House Guests

Lisa Marshall is another best friend I made during (and since) the time Ty passed away. We served in the

Relief Society together as counselors, a calling that came when I was fairly new to the ward as well as a new mom of a 7-week-old-baby boy. At the time, I wondered what the Bishop and the Lord were thinking. I was still figuring out this motherhood thing! But in the moment of talking with the Bishop to accept the call, all my fears went away and I felt peace. Turns out, having this calling cushioned Ty's death by aiding me with an amazing, loving support team, in addition to allowing me to serve others in the ward. Nothing seals friendships like that of loss, love, and healing together.

That said, I could not be more thrilled when Lisa called to arrange a visit to Vegas. Not only would we get to watch The Lion King together at Mandalay Bay, but she and her family would be our very first house guests!

The show was so fun! I've been lucky to watch so many shows over the last few years. I love each one for different reasons. For me, The Lion King was all about the costumes and props. As my second favorite Disney, I do love the story line and music, (but surprisingly, a part of me liked the Disney singing better!); however, the best part of the show is being in awe of the immaculate costumes! They are life-size and so intricate and realistic in how the animals look and move . . . so many people involved! The show was bright and full of life. The Circle of Life, that is. = )


Lisa and Jonathon's three kids, (Taylor, Keaton, and Sadie) are such well behaved kids. It was fun to watch them play with Aiyana, sharing their toys and playing with her. I was also so excited to meet 3 month old Sadie! Lisa was pregnant last time I saw her. It's awesome to see her family complete (for now) with her first daughter.

Taking pictures of kids is tricky. Keaton took off after I struggled to get the first two pictures right. Lost my chance! But these three turned out pretty cute still.

 I love how Taylor is holding Aiya's hand.

 As usual, Aiya can only handle so much attention before she's had enough. She is such a screecher these days when she gets upset!

 Sadie is such a calm, happy baby. I can barely remember her even crying, and if she did, it was to call for food.

At the end of my stream of picture-taking, Keaton decided to come back and try again. It was too late. Taylor was done, so all we got was a bum-shot. haha...

 It will be fun to see these two grow up seeing each other every few months. They're only 3 months apart.

 These purple and silver trees go along with my purple, green, and silver decorated Christmas Tree. Pawn helped me put these together when we were visiting for Thanksgiving. We were looking around for ornaments (to decorate the beautiful 7ft tree they donated to us!) and I was leaning towards my usual safe, traditional colors when I passed a tub of purple and silver ornaments. I said, "I kinda wish I could have a purple tree. I love purple." Pawn's eyes widened with her usual creative gleam and said, "Why can't you??" So this is what we came up with:

When it's dark with the lights glowing, I love it. It's still missing a little something . . . but that's all this year's Christmas budget allows for! Maybe I can spruce it up with ribbons next year.

Our home feels happier having had guests sleep in it and filling it with memories. We had so much fun! I love having friends around.