It is with bittersweet emotion that I say, I am no longer in WA, but now in UT. At the end of November, my husband received a job offer we couldn’t refuse and by January 1, we were packed up and back in UT! I am not sure we could squeeze any more changes on our family in such a short amount of time (Move out of state, new job and a new baby on the way). Needless to say, the last few months were crazy hectic and stressful, but somehow we have survived and are now looking forward to moving into our new home in a couple of weeks, and hopefully moments before the babe arrives!

We have learned and grown so much in WA. The people we have had the opportunity to associate with are amazing and we will never forget them. I really felt at home in WA, I felt like I found my groove there. I had the opportunity to be a part of so many great organizations, and lucky for me, I can keep volunteering for them from here.

On the bright side (literally), UT we LOVE you for the SUN! Oh how we have missed the sun. It is great being close to family again and Sherm LOVES his job. Really, what more can you ask for?

So without further ado, UT I am now here at your service! I will be taking the next couple of months off for “maternity leave” and then I will be back in full swing ready for senior/family/kid portraits! And WA, I will still travel!

My Beautiful niece, Quincee, flew out from Utah with her mom just so I could do her senior photos. The forecast was for showers the entire weekend, but she brought some luck with her and the skies held off for us. Despite, the chill in the air, we couldn’t have asked for a better day. Quincee had me laughing so hard the whole shoot, she is one of a kind with a great personality. I am lucky to have married into such a great family. Quincee was just 4 years old when I married Sherman, she used to tease me saying, “Uncle Sherman says you are a bad cook and that you can burn water!” Where has the time gone?! Now she is a beautiful young lady and still making me laugh!

Because of your donations, we were able to give 22 women brand new bikes. A friend in Uganda equated getting a bike to us getting our first car, it will make that big of a difference in their lives. I have great video of when the women received the news, they sang, danced and shouted the Acholi cry. The moment was priceless.

These women are about half of the women who make the beautiful paper bead jewelry for African Promise Foundation. You can buy their gorgeous handmade pieces from APF’s online store. Every penny of the proceeds go back to Uganda to sponsor education for youth.

Suzy Gillies (APF’s president) may not tell this story herself, but I am sure she won’t mind me sharing. We had the opportunity to attend an LDS branch in Gulu. While sitting through the sacrament meeting, Suzy was obviously deep in thought, then she turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, “We need to buy a bike for each of the beaders. We don’t have enough money and I am not sure how, but I am going to break the news to them anyway this afternoon and I know it is going to work out.” When we returned back to our rooms, we were able to get a brief internet connection and spread the word on our Facebook walls. Within 12 hours, we had all the money needed, nearly to the dime. These bikes were purchased on faith and a prayer

Thanks to your help and support, we were able to give over 100 girls, new dresses. It seemed like every time I opened my door, there was a mailed box of dresses, or someone standing there with more they had just sewn. The dresses were such a hit, we had boys trying to convince us that they needed one too (though we did have some shorts for the boys).

Thanks to your help and support, we were able to take 55 orphaned and disabled children on their first swimming adventure. Dozens of swimsuits were donated so these kids could have a great experience. Most of these children have never been in a pool before and it was especially fun to watch the disabled children enjoy the freedom of the water. I can honestly say, for me, Christmas morning has nothing on this particular day.

This little guy figured we must be in a large pool of water to take a bath, so he got right to it, cleaning the baby.

You can take this either way, and both meanings would be correct. Please “hang with me” and don’t leave me while I work out some kinks with my new blog! And, if you would really like to “hang with me” you can find me here at this amazing event:

So happy to say, “my new blog is here!”