I'm not a photographer, but I've been taking a lot of pictures up here!The views are incredible (minus a little bit of smog) and the trees are gorgeous- hope you enjoy these!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Winter Wonderland
I'm not a photographer, but I've been taking a lot of pictures up here!The views are incredible (minus a little bit of smog) and the trees are gorgeous- hope you enjoy these!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Ryan family talent show
Allison and Rebecca planned and organized a wonderful Ryan Family Talent Show!
This is the program: (they hand wrote about 8 of these!)
Allison had to get a picture of the 'refreshments'!
John played percussion instruments on the keyboard- he didn't want to blow us away with the real thing!
Rebecca did some gymnastic moves and also showed us some art that she drew!
Grandpa played the accordian and kept reminding us that this a rare event to get it out of the case- it's not even Christmas!
Allison sang and played 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'- sorry about the red eye, I couldn't get to my edit for some reason...
Grandma read a Ryan classic, 'Pig Pig Grows Up'
Tommy told a pirate story and did some somersaults. Here he is dancing to Daddy's music.
I played Mannheim Steamroller's 'Traditions of Christmas'- doesn't sound Christmasy, but is very pretty! Thanks, Becca and Allison- it was such a fun night!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Where we are
Okay, okay, now that our little "move" is over, I need to let my friends know where we are! We live atop the giant hill between the Salt Lake and Utah valleys. We have gorgeous views all around! Yes, it is very snowy and icy at this time of year, but it is very beautiful! Give up?
Okay, this is hard for me, because it's hard to admit that we're poor and that we needed help. Because that is exactly the situation for our family right now. We moved from our home in Riverton, put mostly all of our possessions in a storage unit in Herriman and moved to John's parents' home. They live in 'Suncrest'- still a part of Draper, but really way above it! It is very beautiful and we feel blessed that they have opened their home to us and are sharing it with us.
If any of you know John at all, you know that he is the kindest, sweetest, hard-working, most wonderful husband and father in the world. He started a custom home building business 2 1/2 years ago, and in 2007, everything was wonderful and moving right along. Our tests and trial were on the way, however. It started on Dec. 27, 2007 when we found out that our baby boy had died. Along with the trial and hardship of losing a child, John's business started to fall apart. We were actually very happy to kiss 2008 goodbye! The scenario for building someone else's home goes a little something like this:
1. Builder and client meet.
2. Builder is happy.
3. Client is happy.
4. Builder begins building clients' home.
5. Client is elated- they are finally getting the home of their dreams!
6. Client gives a list of MUST HAVES for their house- these are things that they absolutely, positively CANNOT live without! Tile, cabinets, rock, stone, stucco, granite and the like.
7. Builder advises client that some of these items are out of their budget.
8. Client gets very angry. Client blames builder for going over budget. After all, this was not part of the original bid!
9. Client decides to take the amount that went over budget from the builder's pay.
I could go on and on, and obviously this is a simplified version of what has happened, over and over again, unfortunately.
So, in August, John decided to finish up the remaining building projects and move on to a new career. He started looking for and applying for jobs. Does anyone know anyone else in this situation? If you do, you will know that finding a job in today's market is very difficult.
The point of my story is not to gripe and complain, it is to tell you how unbelievably grateful I am for the many, wonderful blessings that we have. I am grateful that we have a home to live in. I am grateful for family and friends that are so wonderful and supporting. I am grateful that the prophets advised us to have food storage (especially those in the '3 month' category), I really went gung-ho on that stuff in the summer- we've been living on it for about 4 months now. I'm so grateful for my husband that never gives up and remains positive, even when the odds seem insurmountable. I am grateful for your continued prayers on our behalf. I am grateful that I have a Heavenly Father who has sent us the very blessing needed, at the very moment of need. "As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be." That hymn has taken on a new meaning for me. I am grateful for the gospel, the scriptures, our prophets, and especially our Savior, Jesus Christ. He suffered all things for us.
I found a quote that I really like, "When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup."
That's how I feel today. I am reminded that Joseph Smith's family's crops failed three years in a row before they moved to New York. Joseph Smith needed to be in New York to be near the Hill Cumorah. I am reminded of Lehi's family leaving all their possessions and living in the wilderness. I am reminded of the pioneers walking away from their homes in Nauvoo, not knowing where they were going. Their faith is inspirational and makes me appreciate my circumstances even more.
One more story. We attended Stake Conference with John's parents last Sunday. The Stake President's talk went something like this: When they were first married, they were expecting a baby and moving to California. On the way, his wife went into labor. She delivered a baby boy that was 1.5 lbs. They did not try to save the baby. She was not able to hold or see him, because everyone thought it would be too difficult for her to handle. The baby lived for 24 hours, then died. They continued with their move and discovered that their rent was too high with all the bills, etc. from the hospital. So, they moved to an army barracks turned into apartments to save on rent.
The point of his story was to tell us that they made it through that difficult time. He doesn't know us and our situation, or that we were there at the conference. But the Spirit knew and I felt like this was a little miracle on our behalf. We will also make it through this difficult time!
Okay, this is hard for me, because it's hard to admit that we're poor and that we needed help. Because that is exactly the situation for our family right now. We moved from our home in Riverton, put mostly all of our possessions in a storage unit in Herriman and moved to John's parents' home. They live in 'Suncrest'- still a part of Draper, but really way above it! It is very beautiful and we feel blessed that they have opened their home to us and are sharing it with us.
If any of you know John at all, you know that he is the kindest, sweetest, hard-working, most wonderful husband and father in the world. He started a custom home building business 2 1/2 years ago, and in 2007, everything was wonderful and moving right along. Our tests and trial were on the way, however. It started on Dec. 27, 2007 when we found out that our baby boy had died. Along with the trial and hardship of losing a child, John's business started to fall apart. We were actually very happy to kiss 2008 goodbye! The scenario for building someone else's home goes a little something like this:
1. Builder and client meet.
2. Builder is happy.
3. Client is happy.
4. Builder begins building clients' home.
5. Client is elated- they are finally getting the home of their dreams!
6. Client gives a list of MUST HAVES for their house- these are things that they absolutely, positively CANNOT live without! Tile, cabinets, rock, stone, stucco, granite and the like.
7. Builder advises client that some of these items are out of their budget.
8. Client gets very angry. Client blames builder for going over budget. After all, this was not part of the original bid!
9. Client decides to take the amount that went over budget from the builder's pay.
I could go on and on, and obviously this is a simplified version of what has happened, over and over again, unfortunately.
So, in August, John decided to finish up the remaining building projects and move on to a new career. He started looking for and applying for jobs. Does anyone know anyone else in this situation? If you do, you will know that finding a job in today's market is very difficult.
The point of my story is not to gripe and complain, it is to tell you how unbelievably grateful I am for the many, wonderful blessings that we have. I am grateful that we have a home to live in. I am grateful for family and friends that are so wonderful and supporting. I am grateful that the prophets advised us to have food storage (especially those in the '3 month' category), I really went gung-ho on that stuff in the summer- we've been living on it for about 4 months now. I'm so grateful for my husband that never gives up and remains positive, even when the odds seem insurmountable. I am grateful for your continued prayers on our behalf. I am grateful that I have a Heavenly Father who has sent us the very blessing needed, at the very moment of need. "As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be." That hymn has taken on a new meaning for me. I am grateful for the gospel, the scriptures, our prophets, and especially our Savior, Jesus Christ. He suffered all things for us.
I found a quote that I really like, "When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup."
That's how I feel today. I am reminded that Joseph Smith's family's crops failed three years in a row before they moved to New York. Joseph Smith needed to be in New York to be near the Hill Cumorah. I am reminded of Lehi's family leaving all their possessions and living in the wilderness. I am reminded of the pioneers walking away from their homes in Nauvoo, not knowing where they were going. Their faith is inspirational and makes me appreciate my circumstances even more.
One more story. We attended Stake Conference with John's parents last Sunday. The Stake President's talk went something like this: When they were first married, they were expecting a baby and moving to California. On the way, his wife went into labor. She delivered a baby boy that was 1.5 lbs. They did not try to save the baby. She was not able to hold or see him, because everyone thought it would be too difficult for her to handle. The baby lived for 24 hours, then died. They continued with their move and discovered that their rent was too high with all the bills, etc. from the hospital. So, they moved to an army barracks turned into apartments to save on rent.
The point of his story was to tell us that they made it through that difficult time. He doesn't know us and our situation, or that we were there at the conference. But the Spirit knew and I felt like this was a little miracle on our behalf. We will also make it through this difficult time!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
December 24 and beyond...
I haven't completed a post since Dec. 24, so this is what our little family has been up to since that day.....
My three sweeties in their new jammies! They were presented these new p.j.'s by some pretty funny looking reindeer! Hee hee, my in-laws are awesome!
The antlers were the big hit of the evening.... as you will see....
The kids danced and danced while John sang to the tunes of the Chicago Christmas album
Looking good, Tommy!
Everyone had to try them on.....
All the new P.J.'sDecember 25
Look what Santa brought! An awesome castle complete with action figures....
An art desk and lots of goodies....Allison got clothes, but I didn't manage a good picture of it. Sorry Alli!
New snow clothes courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa!
The castle proved to be a big hit! Tommy was great at sharing with his cousins!
We also took on a service project for the Christmas break... honestly, I don't know what we were thinking! It was fun to give of our time to a worthy cause, here we are tying a quilt. My nephew was awesome at it!
December 29
Matthew's Day
This is also my sister's birthday- Happy Birthday Em! So sorry that it's a sad day for us.
The kids each picked out a balloon for Matthew on his "birthday."
We'll probably have to dig through the snow each year on this day to see his stone. We love you Matthew!
December 31
I had the chance to visit with one my awesome friends from my mission, Jenna. We were two Utah girls finding our way in London about 14 years ago! She lives in Virginia now, so this was a special treat for me!
My Dad had the awesome idea of having a countdown for the kids- at about 9 p.m.! Way to go, Dad!
We also FINISHED the Book of Mormon as a family for the first time ever!
Yeah!! It only took us about 4 years. No, we didn't break any speed records, but
WE DID IT! We're all feeling great about this!
We wish you all a very happy new year!
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