Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity

What a wonderful day!!!!! Porter and I took a little road trip with my Mom up through Ogden canyon to the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity Monestary. My family and I went up a couple of times when I was younger, but it has been at least 15 years or more since I have been there. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL RIDE UP. I couldn't believe how beautiful Ogden canyon is...WOW!! It was such a peaceful drive. It was so much fun to see all of the beautiful ranches and cabins, beautiful fields, waterfalls, and the Pineview Resevoir is GORGEOUS!! I definitely want to go camping there this summer. It was a lot of fun to visit the monestary again. There are 18 monks who currently reside at the monestary. We wandered through the church where the Monks go to Worship. We learned that they go there 7 times a day to pray and worship. The church was beautiful and had a very peaceful feeling. It was very interesting to see the "prayer benches" that the monks use to kneel on while they pray. We also wandered through the gift shop there which is full of all kinds of jams and honey, jewelry, woodworkings, etc. The honey is to die for..yummy and they have all different kinds of flavors. My Mom bought honey and red currant jam, and I bought rhubarb/strawberry and elderberry jam....YUMMMYYY.. I can't wait to try them. It was sad for me to see the Monk that ran the gift shop. When we walked in he smiled and smiled at Porter and it was sad for me to think that he can never have children or grandchildren. After visiting the monestary, we went to eat at the Oaks cafe right in the middle of the canyon. IT WAS AWESOME!!! What a beautiful place. We ate outside and they had cute little tables that were overlooking a gorgeous river and tons of forest. They had little hummingbird feeders where a ton of hummingbirds would come and feed. You could feel the breeze from the river and it was so peaceful and refreshing. I ordered a very tasty salad and my Mom had a veggie sandwich. Porter was probably so excited to get out of his carseat because he was sooo smiley and would smile and smile at everyone at the resteraunt..so cute! We had a wonderful day and Porter was an excellent traveler!

MEMORIAL DAY 2009

And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me and I'll proudly stand next to him to defend her still today, 'cuz there aint no doubt I love this land, GOD BLESS THE USA.-Lee Greenwood Paul, Porter and I spent the afternoon at Thanksgiving Point today and had a great time. It was Paul's first time going there, and he loved it. We ate at a cute little deli and I had a wonderful salad and Paul had a Turkey sandwich. Porter must have been extremely tired because he slept the whole time we were there. After eating, we walked through the gardens and they were so beautiful and so peaceful. It is absolutely amazing how much I was able to relax there. We probably spent a good 2 1/2 hours just walking around. It was so refreshing!!! We thought that Thankgiving Point would be extremely crowded because of Memorial Day, but it actually wasn't that bad. Afterwards, we went and had a fun barbecue with my family. We were pretty excited that this was Porters first barbecue. We grilled Porkchops, hotdogs, bratwurst, and corn. It was the first time that we had ever tried grilling corn and WOW.. AMAZING! Also we bought the most awesome barbecue sauce in the world called "Famous Daves Apricot Burbon"! I highly recommend it!! :)We also had baked beans, veggie trays, frog eyed salad and chips!! DELICIOUS!! After dinner, we had a bonfire in the backyard and had yummy smores!! There is nothing like a fire in the backyard with good company! What a fun day! Thanks family!! :)

PORTER IS 3 MONTHS!!

I am a little behind but Porter turned 3 months old last Sunday!!! It is amazing to me how much he has grown and developed in just the last month. This month his personality totally started coming out and it has been so much fun to watch him. He is already doing so many things like laughing, smiling, cooing, and playing. He babbles and babbles and has baby converstations with you for even 20 minutes at a time.. I just love watching him "baby talking." It seems like only a couple of days ago that I brought him home from the hospital and all he did was eat and sleep and poop. He has started to be a cuddle baby which I absolute love. When I pick him up he will rest his head on my shoulder and cuddle forever.

He is such a smiley baby and gives these HUGE cheesers to most everyone he sees...he is going to be such a ham. I love it when he wakes up in the morning and I go to get him, he always has a huge smile. He is also starting to imitate things that you do. Paul sticks his tongue out and makes a funny sound and Porter tries to do the same thing. We make kissy sounds and he imitates them back. He is so adorable!! Porter has SOOOOO much energy and can't stand being on his back. He always wants to grab your hands so that you can help him stand up. As soon as he stands up he loves just looking all around at everything. He is so strong and supports his whole body weight while only holding onto your fingers. He also doesn't want you to carry him with his head facing you because it is harder for him to see everything. I can tell that he is so intelligent and you can just see his little brain working overtime.

He has started to grasp onto everything he sees. He is holding his toys pretty well. He pulls on his blankets and shirts, and he loves to pull hair and my earrings. He was sleeping on average about 6 hours straight every night, but for the past week he is waking up every 3 hours and wanting to be fed. Maybe he is going through a growth spurt or something. He also loves to stick his hands in his mouth. He gets his whole fist in sometimes. I personally think that he might be starting to teeth because of how he gnaws on his fists but it could just be that he has discovered his hands.

He has only rolled over once from his back to his tummy, and then yesterday he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time. He still doesn't like being on his tummy too much and will get very frustrated and aggitated after just a couple of minutes. I am so excited to see how long he is and how much he weighs next month when we go in for his 4 month checkup and shots. I love being a Mom to Porter so much and I am so incredibly thankful for this adorable handsome little guy in my life. I am also extremely thankful that I am able to be a stay at home Mom. It is amazing!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH PORTER!!

Syttende Mai (17th of May)

Last Saturday we celebrated Syttende Mai (the 17th of May) which is the Norwegian Constitution Day. Norway’s constitution was signed in 1814 in the town of Eidsvoll, Norway giving Norway independence from its 500 year union with Denmark. It is an official national holiday each year in Norway. Syttende Mai is a very colorful, gala, family-oriented affair with many people dressed in their best spring clothes, with a Norwegian flag or May 17 ribbon pinned to their lapel. It has become increasingly popular to wear the national dress, the bunad, on this occasion. The bunad varies in appearance from region to region and the magnificent sight of national costumes from all over the country is one of the reasons why this day truly represents a celebration of Norwegian tradition and history.There are folk dancing performances, parades of children and adults carrying flags and singing, exhibits of Norwegian rosemaling (painting) and hardanger (needlework), woodcarving, Norse costume style show, Norwegian church services, smorgasbord of Norwegian foods, a variety of musical performances.

Every 17th of May at the Peace Gardens in Salt Lake City, Syttende Mai is celebrated. This was Pauls first time going. I bought some red, white and blue ribbon from the store and Paul made us little festive ribbons to wear on our clothes. Porter even got a little one. We were pretty disappointed because we were 1 1/2 hours late and by the time we got there all of the food and entertainment were already being taken down and so we missed everything. We did get to hang out with my Mom's Norwegian cousin Jon-Kjetil and his daughter Mia for a while and that was a lot of fun. Next year we need to make sure that we are early. My Mom did surprise us for dinner with yummy Norwegian polser (hotdogs)! DELICIOUS!!

I had the opportunity 4 years ago to be in Oslo (the capital of Norway) during the 17th of May. It has so much fun to watch the huge parade of Norwegians march down the famous street of Karl Johans Gate ending up at the Norwegian Palace (Slottet). We even saw the Norwegian Prince Haakon and Queen Sonja waving from the palace. It was a wonderful experience!! I included some pictures of my sister Donna and I in Norwegian bunads (traditional costumes) that we took while were in Norway. I am so thankful for my Norwegian heritage!!

Afternoon with Grandpa

Last week, Porter and I went to visit my Dad (Porter's Grandpa) at his office at Brigham Young University (he is a professor there of Scandinavian and British history and Geneology). It is always fun visiting with my Dad. We brought him lunch and had a wonderful time talking and catching up with eachother. Every time my Dad sees Porter he is so amazed by how fast he is growing. I have had numerous people tell me that Porter looks exactly like his Grandpa so that is pretty special. We had a wonderful afternoon with Grandpa. THANKS SO MUCH FOR SPENDING THE AFTERNOON WITH US DAD! WE LOVE YOU!!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!

On this Mothers Day, I am truly grateful for my wonderful Mother. She is one of the strongest women I know. She has taught me so much and I look up to her so much. She has always been there for me and has shown me and taught me the importance of love, gentleness, kindness, patience, charity, etc. She is the best listener in the world and always gave fabulous advice when I needed it. I always appreciated how real my Mother is. She accepts everyone the way they are and I never felt like I had to be someone I wasn't. She always supported me in everything I did. Always at my soccer and basketball games, track meets, choir concerts, numerous races that I have ran, etc. She has always taught me the importance of the gospel in our lives and I appreciate her example so much. My Mom is such a courageous and heroic lady and I really hope that I can become half of the Mother she is someday. She was not just a Mother to my siblings and I, but she has always been a Mother to everyone. Our house has always been the house on the neighborhood where people want to come and hang out and this is because my Mom always made everyone feel welcome and comfortable. I remember numerous times when others would "live" at our house for a time because of unsafe circumstances at their own homes. My Mom always took others under her care. I constantly receive compliments about how others wish they had a Mom like mine, and how awesome my Mom is. I will forever be indebted to my Heavenly Father for giving me such a beautiful and incredible Mom. Some of the memories that I have with my Mom are: Sitting on our front porch with our blankets and pillows listening to the rain. Long hours spent in the kitchen helping her bake all kinds of breads, cookies, and other goodies. Sitting on the couch in the evening listening to her read us "Little house on the Prairie" while I always pretended to fall asleep so that she would carry me to bed. Listening to her sing us sweet Norwegian lullabies before we would fall asleep at night. Taking long walks in the rain and on the canal. Watching our favorite movies together: Pride and Prejudice, Ever After and The Secret Lifes of Bees. Having a blast at 2 Gaither concerts. My Mom always goes all out for holidays and makes them extra special full of incredible foods, decorations, and fun. I love how she has emphasized the importance of our heritage and always included Norwegian traditions and culture in our upbringing. Traveling throughout Europe especially in England and Norway. Before we went to England, I tore my PCL and was on crutches for 8 months. She would always come to my physical therapy appointments and spent hours doing things for me that I couldn't do for my self. While in England, I wasn't always able to go on the excursions with our study abroad group because of the distance, pain, etc. My Mom always stayed back me and made our time together wonderful. We probably went to Warwick Castle at least 10 times together. Laughing so hard and uncontrollably that we cry (My Mom has the best laugh out of anyone that I know). Those are just a touch of the numerous wonderful memories that I have with my Mom. I also appreciate so much that she has let Paul, Porter and I live at her house for so long and for all that she has done for us while we have been here. She also is such an incredible Grandma to Porter. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW MOM!! Thank you so much for all that you have done for me and our family!! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

Little Porter

Porters Baby Blessing

What a wonderful day!! Today we had Porters baby blessing at our church and it was so special. Paul blessed him and did such a great job. The blessing was absolutely beautiful. I was emotional the whole time. It was the most incredible feeling in the world to watch my husband bless our sweet little boy. The spirit was so strong. I am so thankful that Paul is a worthy priesthood holder and that he was able to bless Porter. The men that stood in the circle were: My uncles Allen Johnson and Craig Haslam, brother Erik Haslam, brother in law Geoff Morris, Cousin Brandon Bisby and Adriann Sosa, Father Gerald Haslam, Father in law Doug Craven, Step Father in law Clyde Rasband, and Moms cousin Kjetil Ravneng. Porter looked so incredibly handsome in his adorable little white suit (bought at Dressed in White in Orem). He also wore the cutest little booties that his Grandma Rasband made him. He was wrapped in a gorgeous blue and white crocheted blanket that my sister Donna helped buy. He was so perfect and quiet and alert during the blessing and it was cute when he sneezed 2 times during the blessing. My father, sisters Donna and Natasha and I all beared our testi

monies. It was a beautiful meeting. Afterwards we all headed back home and had a wonderful luncheon and took millions of pictures of Porter. What a special day and we are so incredibly thankful for the love and support from everyone that came, and especially for our special little joy Porter.

For those of you unfamiliar with the naming and blessing of children, I will explain:

Every member of the Church of Jesus Christ having children is to bring them unto the elders before the church, who are to lay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in his name. (D&C 20:70)

The ordinance of naming and blessing children requires authorization from the presiding authority, which is usually your Bishop.
When blessing a baby, men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood gather in a circle and hold the baby in their hands. When blessing an older child, brethren place their hands lightly on the child’s head. The person (usually the father) who gives the blessing does the following:

1. Addresses Heavenly Father.
2. States that the blessing is given by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
3. Gives the child a name. (by which the baby will be known on the records of the Church)
4. Gives a priesthood blessing as the Spirit directs.
5. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Only worthy men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood may participate in naming and blessing children.