So hard to say goodbye!

We were so thrilled to find out that our local mortuary, hospital and cemetery have all teamed up to offer the families that have lost babies, a special place to mourn. It is called the Garden of the Gods.

It was really hard on the whole family, but especially for Rhett and McKenna who don't fully understand things yet. They remind me daily that they miss Kyler and are sad. :( It is extremely helpful to be able to take them here and for them to know that he is in this beautiful garden, but that he is also with Heavenly Father.

It was a hard day, but on the one month anniversary, we went as a family to say another goodbye. Issac said a beautiful prayer and we each released a baby blue balloon into the air and watched as they each drifted higher and higher until they were out of sight. The kids swear that they made it all the way to heaven and that Kyler collected them all. I love the innocence of my children.

Goodbye Sweet Kyler!

Trouseeau Dreams 2011

Trousseau Dreams was even more emotional this year for me. It was a big

reminder of how important our Eternal Families are.

This year for Trousseau Dreams, I chose to go with the theme of Eternity.

I decorated with the color scheme of yellow, white and lime green.

I put an "E" monogram on a bar of soap and then wrapped

it up with this tag for each of the girls as their

YW Leaders gift to them this year.

I really wish that I could have had more white material draped out from the

center of the room to make it feel more heavenly, but it just wasn't in the budget.

Each person had their own cookie with name on it to mark their place setting.

I alternated the colors between the girls and their mom's.

The centerpieces were glass vases filled with lemons and limes.

I have wanted to do a candy bar for quite some time, so this gave me the perfect

opportunity to try it out. So much harder than I thought it would be to find

green and yellow candy though.

I found these cute yellow boxes for everyone to fill with their candy.

I made chocolate temple molds to put on top of each of the cupcakes.

This year I opted for just desserts!

Yellow and green chocolate dipped home made truffles.

Lemon and key lime cupcakes, with lemon and key lime bars as well.

We didn't get all the girls there this year, but it was still an amazing night and felt

the spirit really strongly. I wasn't sure that I was even up to going. I was so

thankful that I had most of my planing well ahead of time and only had all the

baking left to do the few days before. It was a great night and I was so

grateful for all the other leaders and their help to pull it off.

Our Precious Baby Boy!

Kyler Brock Westbrook ~ Sept. 8, 2011 8 oz. 8 in.

I'm just a precious little one who didn't make it there.

I went straight to be with Jesus, but I'm waiting for you here.

Many dwelling where I live, waited years to enter in.

Struggled through a world of sorrow, a world marred with pain and sin.

Thank you for the life you gave me,

It was brief but don't complain.

I have all Heaven's Glory,

Suffered none of Earth's great pain.

Thank you for the name you gave me.

I'd have loved to bring it fame.

But if I'd lingered in Earth's shadows,

I would have suffered just the same.

So sweet family - don't you sorrow.

Wipe those tears and chase the gloom.

I went straight to Jesus' arms,

From my loving Mother's womb.

~ Author Unknown ~

It was so hard to say goodbye and to let you go.

The only comfort is that we know that one day you will be back in our arms again.

We love you so much our precious baby boy!!!

Backyard Boutique

So my friend decided to have a little backyard boutique this summer and asked if I could come up with something to have a booth with. I didn't have anything made, but quickly made a few things to try and sell. Unfortunately, the whether was horrible and we have very little traffic so I didn't sell much, but it was fun to make these cute baby items.


This is a whole set. It is a car seat cover, diaper case, wipe case and a binkie clip.

I made six full sets that could go together or be switched out if wanted.

I tried to find really cute material that could go for boys and girls.

Then I also made these cute ballerina bow holders.

Catch up time!

So, it has been forever since I last posted anything, and as I was going through my camera, decided that I needed to just sit down and force myself to do it. This is just a mix of things that have happened over the past few months.


Issac has morphed into Mr. Mom again, just as he did the last time I was pregnant. He got into a canning mood and canned home made pickles ( sooooo good! ), peaches, strawberry, blackberry and peach jam. YUMMY!!!!!

We were so excited to be able to spend a few days and then be able to drop off Issac's youngest brother, Kenyon at the MTC. So proud of him.

My little princess and my favorite hair style on her right now. It is so cute and keeps all the little hairs out of her face and back. Love it!!!!

Of course I have to finish it off with a cute bow or flower though.

This is Wesley's position of choice for sleeping. He has his own room and a queen sized bed, but he still chooses to sleep cramped up on a love seat? Teenagers!!!!!

Rhett has had a horrible time with his teeth. I don't know why my boys have no enamel on their teeth! He has had multiple oral surgeries and at the current moment, has 7 missing teeth in his mouth right now! Including all 4 of his front teeth. I have no idea how he is eating. Poor guy! He made out like a bandit though from the tooth fairy so he's not complaining.

Easter 2011. Such handsome men all in their suits and Sunday best. I even spent the time and curled McKenna's hair for church.

The Big News!

I know it has been forever since I last posted anything on the blog, but life has been so crazy.
The best and biggest news for now though, is that after trying and trying for 2 1/2 years and going through 4 miscarriages, we are expecting again! :) :) :)

We ended up being sent to a fertility Dr. and after doing a double dose of chlomid and doing a round of IUI, we were thrilled to be able to see just ONE baby with a really strong heart beat at our ultrasound today.

Our due date is Feb. 9th, 2012. We will see just how close I get to this one though. I am thinking more end of Jan is more likely. We are so happy and excited to finally have the last piece of our family on their way. I am even tolerating morning sickness with a smile at this point. :)

Drill SGT. Westbrook

There will never be the right words to express the pride that I feel for our Country, for our Soldiers, but mostly for my husband. I was so fortunate to be able to go to Ft. Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina this past weekend to watch my amazing husband graduate from Drill Sergeant School. It is quite the site to see the absolute respect that these men show, but mostly demand when you see them standing at attention in formation.

For those like me, there is nothing sexier than a true hero in his uniform! :)

All our friends from Utah that haven't ever really seen Issac even in his uniform, let a lone doing any soldier like duties, can't picture him as a drill sgt. They keep saying that Issac is too nice and has such a sweet face, how could he be mean and yell at anyone. It is almost scary the change that he goes through when he puts his uniform on though. He transforms! He turns into the drill sgt. and is all business! I LOVE IT!

I was so proud of him as I watched him march across the stage and get his hat. Each of the Majors and Generals were also very proud of him and had good things to say. They especially loved his immitation of one of the DSL's that everyone said was just spot on.

This is THE MOST amazing thing to witness. I got chills and teary eyed. This is the Drill Sergeant Creed. The sound just resenated through the whole room. So impressive!

I am so proud of you Issac. Your hard work and dedication pays off once again. Being apart for so long was totally worth it when I saw you put your hat on and take the title of Drill SGT. Those Privates had better all watch out. DS Westbrook is coming to tear you up! I love you babe!

( DS Westbrook, fixing stupid since 2011 ~ Only DS Westbrook can prevent stupid)

Best Husband in the World!!!!

So.... as you can imagine, I have been missing my sweetie something awful lately. I swear that every light bulb in the house waited to burn out until he left, and all the appliances decided to either die or throw a fit when he left as well. All of this on top of being sick for the past two months ( I cannot get rid of this sinus, congestion issue), being mom and dad to 4 active, busy kids and my church callings has just taken a toll on me. I was whining a little one night to him on the phone about really disliking being separated again, and especially over a "romantic holiday"! Wouldn't you know it? The next day at about 2:00 in the afternoon there is a knock at my door and I am greeted with the sight of these beautiful roses and a sweet letter from my honey! :)

Even from across the country, he can still brighten my day and make my whole heart and soul smile! I still miss him like crazy, but this definitely made my day a lot easier to handle.

* Almost halfway done! YEAH!!!!!! I am so excited though because my mom is going to come out and spend two weeks with us. Then we have managed to pull off being able to get me a ticket to fly out for his graduation in March. I CAN"T WAIT!!! Can you tell I'm just a little excited?

My Mom's B-Day!

So, my sweet mother had her birthday this month. I am always trying to find something fun to get her that she doesn't have. This year, I decided to go with a homemade kind of gift, and this is what I ended up with. The phrase on the bottom block says, "These are a few of my favorite things." Then on the top blocks, I put a picture of each of her grand kids so far (there is room for a few more! ) The whole thing is wrapped with ribbon and flowers. It was fun to make for her and glad that she loved it. Just sorry that I couldn't be there when she opened it and to help her celebrate.
* A little side note! I am exactly half my parents age for the next 4 months! I am 33 and they are both 66! Fun! :)

Missing Daddy!

The kids are really missing daddy! It is so hard, especially for Rhett and Mckenna to understand the time line that we are looking at because they don't understand how long weeks and months are. By the second day, I was tired of trying to explain it AGAIN! So, I decided to make a chain so that they could see how many days were left until daddy comes back home.

Each night, the kids take turns cutting off one of the links in our chains. We broke it down by the month, hoping that it would make it look like something that we can handle.

Only one week down! :( I really thought that we would be able to handle this, after all, we've done 2 years! But one big lesson learned, it doesn't matter how long you're apart. Being apart is being apart, and it all SUCKS!!!! I love my honey so much and my life just isn't right when he is not with me. We are so proud of him though and know that he is where he needs to be and wish him all the luck. Just hurry and come home to us! :) We love you baby!