Thanksgiving Goodness

The wonderful sisters of the Center Ward Relief Society collected over 150 food items to create 5 Thanksgiving dinner baskets. The baskets were delivered to families within our ward. The great part, no one but the bishop and the Relief Society President knew who would receive the baskets. The sisters in Relief Society are truly a testament of goodness!


One thankful family did post this on Facebook:

to the angels of syracuse talk about feeling the love! i wanna thank you for your generosity with the Thanksgiving Day dinner. i'd tell you in person, but i'm afraid i'd start crying.. and really that is a mess you DONT want to see. i'm so grateful for amazing friends that even tho i'm not yet unemployed, you guys provided such generosity.

Posted Nov. 20, 2010 by Beau Nielsen

A Child's Prayer

“Prayers go up and blessings come down”

On Friday, Dec. 10th Brennan had a spelling test at school. We had been working on the words all week, and they were harder than usual for Brennan to remember. I told him when he was getting ready for school that he could pray and ask Heavenly Father for help on his test. He looked at me and was very serious when he asked, "You mean I can pray at school?" I told him, yes and that the Holy Ghost would help him on his spelling test if he'd ask for his help. Brennan then said, "You mean he'll give me a clue?" I said not a clue you can hear, but he'll make you feel calm and help you remember what you studied. 

This day I'm so grateful to be a mother and to help my son learn more about the power of prayer.

Brennan's 2nd Grade Classroom

Update: Brennan only missed one point on his test! He did a great job!

The Secret Elf and The King

At school Brennan's class has been studying different holiday traditions around the world. They talked about a tradition where secret elves do kind deeds and no one can ever catch them. Brennan asked me for 26 pennies. When I asked him what for, he told me he wanted to put them on each desk in his classroom during lunch recess and write on the board, "From Your Secret Elf." He was so excited to pull-off his secret plan. I asked him how it went when he got home, and he said no one could figure out who the elf was. He was so happy that his secret was safe!


Another tradition they learned about was one where you bake a coin in a cake and whoever gets that piece of cake is the "King" or "Queen." Brennan's teacher, Mrs. Inderrieden, had her birthday on Dec. 13th. She had baked a coin in the cake. Brennan was eating his cake, and he found the coin in the bottom of his piece. He got to wear a crown all day. When Brennan got home he told me that it was funny when he put his crown on because the girls started bowing to him. He said they just started doing it and one girl did it a lot. I asked what her name was and with a big smile he says, "It was Indyana."

Derek Turns 4 yrs. Old

Derek turns 4 yrs. old today. What a wonderful little boy he is becoming. He is very energetic, creative, caring and happy. He brings joy to many people. And with such curly hair, everyone is always saying, "He's so cute!"

We had a fun friend party yesterday with Kami Bowers, Gavin Barnes, 

Connor Mair and Parker Heaston. 

They glued buttons on paper, ate cupcakes, 

had a scavenger hunt and read books. 

The Thomas ring was by far the favorite.

Brennan designed and executed the scavenger hunt. He drew the clues and hid them all around the house. The "treasure box" at the end had lollipops inside. When it was time to start the scavenger hunt Brennan leans over to me and says, "Mom, you can get another activity ready. I've got this." Wow, what a big helper Brennan is. He's such a great example to his younger brothers.

My favorite clue: "where Derek pes"

Brennan hid the clue on the toilet!

Derek received his first card that has music. 

He was quite surprised when the card started singing,

"You've got a friend in me."

One of the favorite gifts, a snowball maker.

The other "hit" was a Star Wars lightsaber.

We love you Derek Dean Jeffs!

The Jeffs Family

Families are the compass that guide us. 

They are the inspiration to reach great heights, 

and our comfort when we occasionally falter.

Photo taken summer 2009

Clint and I just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on December 5, 2010. The past 12 years have been a wonderful journey. With many ups and downs we have become very close and love our little family. Brennan is almost eight, Derek turns four on December 14, 2010 and Caleb will be two on January 26, 2011. Having a house full of boys is an everyday adventure. I love being their mother and they teach me so much.