Baby Shower for my one of my Besties

Love, love, love this girl!

If  you know one of my very good friends Amber Hill, you know she has had quite a year. She and her husband Gary were blessed with five sweet love girls. Last November 2009 their little Gracie who was just 15 months old, died after complications from an accident in their yard.

Words cannot describe the heartache that Jeff and I have felt for these two close friends of ours. Jeff has known Gary since high school, and I have been friends with Amber since college.

I have watched the spirit of the Lord comfort them, but this year has still been a very hard one for them. Thankfully, Amber does not have any problems getting pregnant. After five girls she is pregnant with their very first little boy. Thomas is due in a few weeks. Amber's ward members decided to throw her a surprise baby shower. Amber sister April, was kind enough to include me in the surprise.


What generous and lovely women these ladies are. They showered her with love and gifts and all things BOY. I imagine this is a very bittersweet time for their family. In some ways it is a blessing that they are having a boy so everything is different than when they had Gracie, and in other ways it is probably hard because it is so different.


What a gift we have with the knowledge of the plan of salvation. I've worked with many nonbelievers who have lost a loved one and I can tell you this; those who have the knowledge of being with their families in the eternities fair far better than those who do not have this knowledge. Here are a few pictures of the festivities:

Lots of cute boy clothes!

An overachiever made this adorable cookie.

Amber's cute sisters! Love them!

Uncle Grant's Funeral

It was a beautiful day for a funeral.  Clear skies and not too hot.   There was a terrible rain storm the night before so we were worried that it might be rainy for the funeral. Here are a few Pict's from the graveside service and dinner afterwards.

He was buried next to my Grandparents at Leavitts Altorest in Ogden

(from the right) Ally Cox, Shauna Wood Cox, Aunt Valeen Wood, Rachel Cox

Some cutie cousins!

Katie Clark and Valeen Wood

Grant's Casket, very tasteful and classy

Jake and his Great Uncle Merrill.  Jake loved him instantly.  Uncle Merrill stayed with us overnight before the funeral. 

Uncle Leon, Peggy, & Heather

Chip Cox, Shauna Cox, &  Aunt Valeen Wood

Sweetie Lily

Cousin Harlan Clark and my Daddio (Brent)

Saying Goodbye to Another Family Member

Monday we learned that my Uncle Grant had passed away.  He was eighty-four.  He had suffered a long time with many health issues.  My Aunt Valeen had kept him alive all these years with her unconventional holistic medicine.  He had Spinabifida and Epilepsy just to name a few. Let me tell you about the Grant Wood I knew.

My Uncle Grant was one of the kindest, helpful, and thoughtful men I have ever known.  Growing up my Dad's brothers and their familieds lived mostly outside of Utah. So when the Clark side of the family would get together, it would be with Uncle Grant and Aunt Valeen  & their kids & Grandpa and Grandma Clark and our Family.

I remember vividly as a little girl going boating on their ski boat and going to the Yacht Club at Pineview Reservoir. Grant was also a Car man.  He loved cars and was a successful salesmen for many years.

Grant loved to work with his hands.  He built an amazing deck on their house in Ogden that spanned the whole length of the house.  I fondly remember cookouts on that deck, with the sounds of the creek and a bird's eye view of Mount Ogden.  Great Memories.

Grant also was a budding artist.  Grant painted the things he loved, including several pictures of his sweetheart Valeen. He was especially good at Landscapes and Nature Scenes.

Grant above all was the consummate gentleman.  And the original GQ man.  Always dressed to the hilt with a swagger only he could pull off.

He had a great sense of humor and put up with all of us (my brothers and sister).   We sure love you Uncle Grant and you will be missed.


 Here is his Obituary:

Grant C. Wood returned to live with his Heavenly Father on August 23, 2010. Grant was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho November 18, 1925 to Rulon Samuel Wood and Lorena Call Wood. He was sealed for time and eternity to his eternal companion, Valeen Clark Wood, 63 years ago on September 4, 1947 in the Salt Lake Temple. He had two children, Clark Grant Wood (deceased) and Shauna Wood Cox. He had 7 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson. He is also survived by 2 brothers, Dennis Wood and Lavor Wood.


Grant lived in Ogden, Utah most of his life. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Ogden Waterfall Canyon Ward. He attended Weber State College, and served as Student Body Treasurer and was a member of the Symphonic Choir. He and Valeen belonged to the Ogden Pineview Yacht Club and enjoyed spending their leisure time boating for over 40 years. He also belonged to the Kiwanis Club of Ogden.

He volunteered for many years as part of the Weber County Jeep Patrol and Boat Patrol volunteering many hours of time on search and rescue missions.

Grant worked at the family business, Wood Motor Co. until 1967. He went to work at Ken Garff Mercedes dealership for 19 years.

Grant was a very talented and gifted artist. He enjoyed music and performed with the Beehive Statesmen Barbershop Chorus for 21 years. He belonged to and performed with the Men of Song for 6 years. He spent his retirement years studying art and painting.

Funeral Services will be held at Leavitt’s Mortuary, Saturday, August 28. There will be a viewing at 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. followed by the funeral service at 11:00 a.m.

Interment Leavitt’s Aultorest Memorial Park

Staycation No. 2: Snowbird Sky Resort

For those of you who don't know, I am a certified Mountain Mama.  I love the fresh air and the prestine magestic cliffs and gorgeous mountain lakes.  I love to smell the pines and get my feet sore walking on a trail.  I love the wildflowers and the rocky hills.  Don't get me wrong, I love the beach and the salt air.  But I would have to say I am the happiest when I am in the Mountians.  The perfect home for me would be where I could see the mountains and the beach at the same time.  Unfortunatly all those places are way out of our price range, but hey, a girl can dream.

I also feel closer to God.  Although I don't know where heaven is exactly, one cannot deny the artistry of our Creator as he has painted his canvas of the Rocky Mountain range.  Gazing toward the snow capped peaks and rugged rock formations, one can only drink in it's loveliness as it surrounds you.

Now back to the ranch ( I get a LITTLE carried away).  With our funds limited due to the adoption, we planned a couple of staycations locally so we at least did a few fun things in the summer with Jake.  This activity was probably my favorite.  Now onto the pictures!

Ready to Rock and Roll on the Trampolines

See what I mean?  Could you find a nicer spot for lunch???

If I can get the video to load, Jake taught himself how to do back flips while jumping. He LOVED it!

Heading up the tram.  I try to stay disracted so  I don't puke since I am so afraid of Heights.

Some of the gorgeous wildflowers at the top

Walking through the Peruvian Tunnel.  In the Winter the Skiers hook onto a Conveyor Belt that takes them literally through a mountain ridge.  Very cool!

More Pict's of the tunnel.

The Family at the top with the Albion Basin in the background

A look down into the Salt Lake Valley

Jake ready for his first solo Alpine Slide Ride.  NO FEAR!

He was so excited to go down a few times.

There  he goes!

We finished off the day at the Mayan in Murray and watched the Cliff Jumpers dive into the pool.  The food there is still just nasty.  The cliff diving must be the ONLY thing keeping it open.

Super FUN Day!  Yay for Staycations! Cross your fingers and maybe, just maybe, I will be able to upload some video.

Homecoming for Elder and Sister Clark

My Uncle Lean and Aunt Peggy Clark have been serving an LDS mission in the Washington DC area for the last year and a half.  Their homecoming was today in Riverton.  They both gave a wonderful, spiritual account of the experiences of their missions.

They had a nice meal afterwards and I got to chat with their daughters, my cousins.  These girls grew up in Southern California so I did not see them very often but we have a bond and a closeness that is amazing.  I love these girls!

                                From the right: Me, Sharon Jackson, Kristen Clark & Heather Petersen

                                          Me and Heather, on of three cousins my age.

Sam, Sam the ladies Man!

My cousin Shannon Thompson recenlty had a shower for her upcoming wedding.  Lisa and her girls came with us along with the adorable Samuel.

My cousin Katie came in a short time later and Sam was walking around exploring.  When he saw Katie's little girl right around his age he couldn't help himself.  He wrapped his arms around her and starting kissing her.  We'd pull them apart and he kept going back for more.  It was a riot!  Sammy definetly won't be afraid to go after what he wants in life!  It will be fun to see him grow and get to know who he is.  Love you Sam, Sam.

Congrats to the Sorensen's

Well it looks like Linda (Jeff's sister) finally got her wish.  Anna was born on July 19th and she came out with brown hair, olive skin and is the spittin image of her pretty Mom.  Linda and Shane have 2 other daughters that are also adorable and look very much like their daddy Shane. They are both blond and blue eyed cuties.  Congrats to Linda and Shane and the girls, we love you!

     Wow, to look that good without make-up, how would it be???

                                       I think she looks a little like her Great Grandma Black :)

Elder and Sister Isom the Skypers

Jeff's Mom and Dad have been serving in the Vancouver, BC mission since November of 2009.  They stay in touch with us with Skype.  I could resist snapping a picture while we were talking to them a while back.  We are so grateful for the blessings we are receiving because of their service.  We'll see you in May of 2011!

What do we do we swim, swim, swim!

Jake, Maddy and Rich all had swimming lessons at the same swim school this summer.  Jake is still very afraid of keeping his head under watert for very long.  I was the same way until at least his age and I am still not real keen on it as an adult.  Jake had great fun and made friends as always. He loves the water and my hope is he will be able to swim like a fish!

Beautiful Backyard for a Pool!

Staycation No. 1 Boondocks vs. Lagoon??? Boondocks Wins!!!

Since our funds are super tight these days with paying for our adoption, we set aside a little money to go to do several fun things over the summer with Jake. We gave him the choice for us to either go to Boondocks or Lagoon. Jeff and I both had season passes to Lagoon as teenagers and well, to put it bluntly, Lagoon is not a shiny happy place for us. We would have gone for our boy, but we were needless to say thrilled he chose The Boondocks over Lagoon.


We made a day / evening of it. We had an early dinner there in the restaurant in the fun center and then we did anything Jake wanted to do. It was a fun night and I love that we always have so much fun together. Here are my favorite Pict's of the night.

Jake had NO mercy on the water boats. Just ask Jeff!

Calculating his next move.

I get rather competitive playing Guitar Hero. And I am not afraid to dance.  Jeff had to leave while Jake and I rocked out.  We embarrassed him!  Party Pooper.

Jake getting ready to put the pedal to the medal

Look at him go!  Wahoo!

My all time FAVORITE Arcade game Skee Ball.  Dropped the ball in the $10k hole quite a few times.

Anything is fun to do when I am with my two best guys!

The Papers are in Ghana

I realize this stack of 300 pages of paper means nothing to you, but it means the WORLD to us.  This is 3 months of blood (lots of paper cuts) sweat (Jeff's fingers do not fingerprint well) and tears (frustration, anger, anxiety,etc.)!!!! 

My head aches thinking of how to explain to you all the information that it in this stack of papers and the time and money it cost to put it together. I had to make 5 copies of 80 pages.  2 of those copies had to be notarized. One of the originals, and one that was a copy of the original document with a letter stating that it was an actual copy.  I FedEx'd this package last week to DC to a courier who took it to the Ghanaian Embassy.   I was told today the the Dossier (which is all this paperwork) has arrived in Ghana. YIPPEE! Now we have another issue and this is the worst for me;  We wait.  God must have known I needed this trial in patience so that I will be a stronger person.  Thanks to all of you who have been praying and continue to pray for us. We need your prayers, we feel your prayers, and we are grateful. Stay tuned.