Cesar has been called as branch president

The new branch president in his new (to us) red car.

Cesar was called as branch president of the spanish branch we've been attending for about a year and a half. As my grandpa put it. This will be a great challenge. Grandpa knows what residency is like. I know the Lord will provide the way to accomplish the things He commands.

Cesar --- I love you!

Some Yummy Paella.

That's my man.

What an awesome papa!

Look how Strong!



Enjoying the waves.

Te Amo





Real Food!






On the ocean.

Captain of the clipper!

Miracles still happen!

Our hunter, Hyrum. Bandon, Oregon
We even took our dog with us.

Cesar couldn't believe this stuff.

Just gonna share a few miracles from our Christmas trip to Roseburg, Oregon this year. So we left on Tuesday heading north from Salt Lake. We saw four cars slid off the road before we got to Ogden, which took forever. When we got to the Idaho border the road was closed until the wind changed due to visibility so we back tracked (just a three hour detour). We decided not to go up through Portland as we had planned because the roads were "bad" up there. We took highway 20. Not too bad just one car slid off the road and people stopped to help the car get back on the road. This greatly relieved my anxiety. So we turned off 20 onto 58 toward Eugene. We'd gone about 17 miles when a semi-truck came around the bend against us and was taking up most of the road. It was one a.m. on snowpacked road. Cesar moved toward the inside of the road to miss the truck and as the van moved it seemed to slide into the plowed snow on the edge. Snow sprayed the windshield on my side. Got through that. Cesar said, "okay, it's okay just a little snow right?" Within a few seconds warning lights started turning on. We pulled over and looked under the hood. The belt had slipped off and there was snow down there. A minute later a lady stopped and offered us her cell phone. While we were talking to her a tow truck comes up the road and stops. He pulled over and the lady said if we were still here in an hour and a half when she came back she'd stop again. So the man in the tow truck was heading home and waited for a while while Cesar tried to put it back together but he couldn't do it. So he towed our van to the nearest little town but the hotel had "no vacancy" Cesar said, "Just drop us off in front of the mechanic shop and we'll wait in the van until the morning." All eight of us were in his cab. He looked at the temperature--14 degrees. "I'll take you to my house. I'm not leaving you here in that temperature." Three hours later the tow truck man, Cesar and his friend had finally gotten the belt back on and we were on our way. The tow truck man didn't want any money. He also had had his son die in Iraq this past October. I shared a little about our belief in family. He had been going to Portland for the day but due to the roads had ended up going to Coos bay and had decided instead of spending the night there to go home. A blessing for us. Then the flat tire came when we were able to fix it on Christmas night. Then the breaking belt didn't break all the way and we were able to replace it before we headed back home. So we were really blessed. God is a God of miracles.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

The boys happy about Christmas!

My Birthday still

Just us Girls on a beautiful December day.

(We actually bought something.)

Isaac before we left.

We were just missing Miriam to have all the girls together.

My Birthday!

Gardner Girls at Gardner Village

Sara with Tiana and my mom

Hyrum takes a picture of me on my 31st birthday.


I've had a great birthday thanks to my friends and family. I knew Cesar would be on call today so I organized what I wanted for my birthday and I am happy. Cesar and I went to dinner last night for some great food at Mimi's Cafe thanks to Tiffany who was so awesome to watch all the kids. Such a great gift.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm so thankful for all my blessings. I'm thankful for my wonderful family and great friends. We forgot to take the camera to the Thanksgiving dinner so you get a letter instead :). I guess just getting the mashed potatoes there was enough. Thanks to Cesar, the mashed potatoes were the most delicious I've ever had. He put bacon bits and cooked sweet onions in.
I feel so blessed and know that I am blessed. I know that God answers prayers. I know He loves me. I know He knows each one of us and wants us to come unto Him. God is a God of miracles.
We are coming on hard economic times. I think if we all help each other and work together we'll make it through.
Today I went shopping for the first time in my life on "Black Friday." I couldn't believe the line and the parking lot at Target at 10 minutes to 6 am (when they opened). As I was leaving, a news guy was interviewing a group of girls about their shopping and how they had started shopping at midnight at the Southe Town mall. He said something like and, "Who are you shopping for?" and they responded in unison, "Ourselves" with big smiles. Then they did a little dance. I've been thinking about that all day. Then I read in the news how people trampled a Walmart employee who opened the store in New York City. I think we could use some hard times to humble us. We are way too self centered. I myself bought stuff for myself today. I need to look outward more.
I love getting together with my father's extended family. There is sooo much good there. Before everybody finished eating the big meal, my grandma read a letter from her sister who is on a public affairs mission in Romania and how amazingly they're accomplishing good. Then my grandma asked for a short report about the three grandchildren missionaries we have out right now who are in, Guatemala, South Africa, and Korea. Isn't that amazing?
On the way over to the dinner Cesar bought himself another violin so he can practice and play with Isaac. Miracle # too high to count. (How we get things that function for about not very much.) I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am thankful to God for you. Because, if you're reading this, you are my friend and I love you. God Bless You Yolanda :)