Winter colds and Valentine Sorrows

February has been filled with many highs and lows already and it's only half over. My sister Wendy and her husband Keith have had their baby, Hannah Miriam Burton. She was born on Friday, February 6th, at 3:28 and lived for almost an hour.

They were expecting this because Hannah was diagnosed at 17 weeks with Trisomy 18 - a chromosomal disorder - that would not allow her to live for very long, if at all. They were prepared as they could be for the tragedy that awaited them.

They are at peace with it and know that she will be theirs for all eternity. What a wonderful gift the gospel is when things like this happen. Because of it they know that, not only is my mother holding Hannah right now, but that someday, they will both be there to greet them when it's their time to return to Heavenly Father. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

I love this picture! With Mommy, Daddy and their eternity rings with Hannah! So precious!


Keith and Hannah



Lisa got to be there with Wendy! I'm so glad she was!


Wendy and Keith get a real meal after the hospital stay!

As for our little family, I still feel like I'm 4 months behind on things, but I am dealing with that. I did finally get my packages sent out to at least a couple of my friends that had babies this past year. Patty and Holly and Wendy, your packages are coming...promise!

My kids have all been sick with one thing or another. Even Braden, who doesn't ever seem to be sick for anything, has had middle-of-the-night wake ups with ears hurting or tummy's hurting. Anyway, we could be getting over them in a bit, but the weather could change again and someone else will get an allergy or a cold. Such is life at the Garfield abode.

Joseph's employer finally hired him a "helper" and now "he's going to be home more" theoretically anyway! In this economy, we are just so grateful to have a job and that we know he'll have it for a while. The sad thing is that, we have this horrible pit in the back of our stomachs that won't let us assume he can't lose it tomorrow. Everyone around us is losing their job. My father-in-law just lost his and decided to up and fly to Utah so he could sell insurance door-to-door. He has no money and because of frivolous spending, they are at risk for financial turmoil. It has really made Joseph and I think about what is important. We are trying to build up our food storage and get our two months reserve and put ourselves in a position to be stable for a few months if he loses his job. The government is doing crazy things and we have really felt a need to be ready for the worst. There is no telling what could happen, but we do know that if we put our lives in the Lord's hands, that he will bless us and guide us to do the things that will protect us from these hard economic times.

On the up side of things, we have been so blessed. Life just seems to get ever sweeter. The kids are happy. They are growing up so fast and I feel as though life seems to fly faster than I'm wanting it to. But all-in-all, we are truly blessed and loved by our Heavenly Father. We could not be more grateful!