Eva Starr Loveridge

Just about a week ago on March 23rd 2009, my dear sweet grandmother passed away at the age of 91. She was such a light to our family and had so many wonderful qualities that I can only hope to possess one day.

She was always a good sport and loved to be involved in everything around her. She loved her children, grandchildren, but most of all her great grand children. She lit up every time one of them came around. She would say, "Well look who came to see me!"

This is Holden and Gabriel one day with me at the rehab center visiting Grandma!

Just before her health took a turn downhill, I was able to spend a week with her. I will cherish that time I had with her for the rest of my life. I am so grateful for the little chats that we had and the wisdom that she shared with me. I am so grateful as well to the many neighbors that watched my children so that I could be with her just about everyday when she was in the hospital. I was able to hold her hand through the pain and be with her during painful procedures. I have to say that it was so hard to see her in pain and I am so relieved that she has been able to move on and be reunited with her 7 other siblings, mother, father (he died when she was 8 months old and she never knew him), and of course her beloved eternal partner- my Grandpa Loveridge. She was able to pass away peacefully with angels surrounding her to take her back home.

We had the funeral services this past Saturday and I just felt the spirit so strongly testifying of this beautiful woman that had touched so many lives and had been such an example to all of us. It was said many times at the funeral of her example of one who truly possessed charity- the pure love of Christ. She was loving, giving, meek, humble, unselfish, peaceful and strong and immovable in the gospel.

I don't often share thoughts that are very personal to me on this blog, but I feel in this case it's something I would like to do, so if it gets too personal, feel free to skip it!

I don't know why, but this is the first funeral that I've been to that things hit me a little differently. I thought about all of us taking pictures around her casket at the cemetery. This was a day of grieving for the loss of a dearly loved one, but truly was a day of great rejoicing for a reunion in heaven. It also became clear that this time on earth is a special mission for each one of us. Just as I served a mission in Spain, I was sent here on this earth to complete a mission and one day return to my Heavenly Father. I almost thought how lucky my grandma was to be finished with the hardships of her mission here on this earth, but I also thought what a valiant "missionary" she has been and what a faithful and wonderful mission she served here. She is one of the greatest examples to me of one who truly did her best to fulfill all that her Heavenly Father asked of her during this short time she lived on this earth.

Things are not always easy here, but it gave me a moment to reflect on how I handle the trials that are given to me and also to reexamine my relationship with my Heavenly Father and Savior. Am I where I need to be with them in order to have the full spirit with me to help me to know what my mission is on this earth? I believe our mission can change on a daily basis and therefore we need to be constantly listening to the spirit to be an instrument in God's hands. I am grateful for my grandma's example and for the great legacy she left behind.

Because of her example, I want to do better to be more Christ-like and be filled with more charity. She was someone I admired as she lived, and someone I will continue to admire even after her passing. I hope to fulfill my mission on this earth as faithfully as she did hers. We love you grandma and we will do our best to honor your name and our Heavenly Father's and Savior's names.

May we all learn from her life and example and do better in our lives to become greater examples to all who know us. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the true gospel on this earth. The restored truths we have today are from a divine and living God. He knows each one of us and loves us so dearly. I'm grateful for a living prophet who guides our church on this earth today with guidance from our Heavenly Father and Savior. I know families are eternal with the proper ordinances and covenants. I'm grateful for my ancestors who have gone before me and as mentioned in the funeral, have helped to pave the way for me to enjoy the blessings of the gospel I enjoy today. This is my testimony of the true church on this earth today. These these I am grateful for, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

4 Years and Counting!

We had our fourth year anniversary on March 26th! At the last minute, we decided to celebrate early and go somewhere over the weekend. Thanks to our wonderful neighbors the Smiths for adopting our kids for a couple of days! We decided to go only a short distance to Salt Lake to stay at the Anniversary Inn. We had the most amazing room. I ordinarily wouldn't post pics of a hotel room, but I had to post these because we have stayed there a few times, but this was the best room we've ever had. It was soooo cool! It was The Mysteries of Egypt room and it really felt like you were staying inside of a pyramid! The coolest part was the tub. The shower was out of a cobras mouth and the rest filled up from a waterfall on rocks to the side of the tub. Niiiiice! Gotta get me one of those! hehe I recommend you go there- pretty cool!

We only stayed one day in Salt Lake and we decided to go to the 3D showing of a dinosaur movie. I was thinking the whole time how much Holden would have loved it! hehe Later we went go kart racing and had a blast! As much as I like to brag, unfortunately all of the bragging rights go to Josh- the amazing racer- who beat out guys that go every day!! Way to go hun!

We were supposed to go to the roof that night but we were both sick from the race cars, so we got PF Changs and dined in! We actually went a few days later to The Roof with the Smiths and had a very relaxing evening and a wonderful meal. It was nice to extend our anniversary celebration all week long! I highly recommend that too! :))

The next day on the way home we hit Mrs. Backer's Pastry shop and Hatch's Family Chocolates! Both amazing for desserts and sugar rushes!

We also went to the Grand America Hotel to eat and it was also absolutely wonderful and charming!

It was a great time to get away and be with each other! I have to say I am a TOTAL advocate of getting away once in a while with just my hubby! I think every time we do this, we come come home more in love and we have missed our kids dearly and can't wait to be with them again! So, I say thanks to my wonderful hubby for a great anniversary! I love him so much and am so grateful for the wonderful father and husband he is. Although we have our differences, I truly can't imagine someone more perfect for me. I love him with all my heart and am grateful that I will be with him forever!

Holden and the Terrible 2's Club!

Holden made it! Yes that's right folks- Holden turned 2 years old on Feb 24th! I know I'm a bit slow, as I always am, but I thought it was time to do some catching up!

Holden is REALLY into animals right now and although he doesn't say much, the one thing he does well are his animal sounds! He knows what a bear, lion, tiger, dragon, dinosaur, leopard and cheetah all say! RAWR! hehe No, but he knows a ton of other animal sounds and that's about all that makes him interested in any sort of noise coming out of his mouth. That and CARS! His favorite movie that can keep him occupied for hours...I mean...I bet it could keep him occupied for hours...cough cough! :)) He loves making car noises and racing his cars around the house, especially on the rock fireplace!

So, that said, I decided to make him an alligator for a birthday cake! I found this awesome website that had all these homemade cakes and pics of all of them, so you can take a bunch of ideas from all different cakes and make your own! I had such a blast! I got the idea from my friend Rachel who makes neat cakes for her kids each year. I am DEFINITELY going to continue this tradition because it is so fun for me AND the kids absolutely LOVE it! Here is the cake in process and finally finished!

When I had the alligator finished, I showed Holden and he was so excited he just kept pointing and saying "CHMP, CHMP" his word for what alligators really say!

Earlier in the month we had a party with the Loveridge side of the family, and he was spoiled there with fun things from cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles! What a lucky kid!
The night of his birthday, we just had a small party with our friends, the Smith family. Eva Smith is Holden's best friend and he was so excited to have her over to show her the alligator! Grandma Mercer sent Holden such fun little gifts and spoiled him rotten! Thanks again to everyone for making Holden feel so happy on this fun day!

Holden truly is a great joy in our little family. He is such a happy little boy and is always running around the house trying to be good.

Example, I will find him at any given time vacuuming FIERCELY with his play vacuum- every nook and cranny. Might be because his mom doesn't do it enough! I just need to teach him how to avoid slamming the vacuum into the table, TV center, fireplace, doors...etc...lol but then again, he probably sees mom doing that too when she's in a hurry!

He will also find a bottle or binky and bring it to me to make sure I give it to Gabriel. He will find little pieces of garbage around the house...or maybe it's not even garbage...and put it in the trash to clean up. He even goes around shutting all of the doors in the house...I think he thinks it saves electricity...hehe Hopefully that will transfer to the light switches when he's tall enough to reach those!

As I said before, he is such a happy kid and he absolutely adores his little brother Gabriel. In return, Gabriel adores him. I will do silly things to Gabriel to try to make him laugh and he won't budge a smile. Then Holden will just walk pass, flash a smile at Gabriel and Gabriel is in stitches! Holden has so much fun trying to get Gabriel to laugh and will go as far as running across the room and belly flopping on the floor- anything to make Gabriel laugh! And BOY does it work!

He has such a sweet little spirit and when we are apart for a short time, he will always run to us saying "HIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE" in a VERY high pitched tone. I later realized that I do that constantly when I see him! hehe

He is just starting with a few words like Yeah, and the dreaded NO. Except even when he says "no" I can't help but smile, because he never yells it or says it fiercely, he just says it in a very sweet soft voice. We were at the Grand America enjoying a meal (a VERY NICE MEAL- it was AMAZING!!! ) and the manager, (who was from Iraq but had worked in fine restaurants all over the world for 20 years- obviously knew good food) came up to us and saw Holden eating at his plate. He then assumed Holden could talk and preceded to ask Holden if the food was good. Of course the the only word out of Holden's mouth was a very sweet, small but definite "no". Then Holden continued eating! The man just laughed and said "well, I like honesty more than anything!" We then had to explain that he really couldn't say much but probably didn't understand the question!

Holden has a very special place in our hearts. He loves to dance and do actions to songs! He is full of life and energy and so curious that I can't keep up with him pulling my fingers to take me to show me something or have me help him with something! He loves to give hugs and kisses and he loves us to sing to him at bedtime and he just loves to be wherever we are and do whatever we are doing. We are so grateful to Heavenly Father for sending us such a beautiful and special little boy! Happy Birthday Holden! We love you!

Family Pics- 2008!

Well, it's been a while, and I always feel like I'm 2 or 3 posts behind where I should be, but we'll start here. I thought I'd post these pics we had taken this year for Christmas. It was so fun and especially to add the newest member of our family- Gabriel or as we jokingly call him- Gabirel!! Without further ado, The Mercer Family Pics- 2008!

A Fun Filled December!

Well, as usual, it's been about a month since I last posted, so again, you can look forward to a VERY long post! hehe We just has so much fun this Christmas season that I had to share everything...and I mean...EVERYTHING! SO>>> take a deep breath, here we go!

We kicked off our December by cutting Gabriel's mop! He had so much hair that we had to deal with it. I almost got my weed wacker out- but he looks so much better now! Here are the before(Like the bed head?) and after pics!

My friend Bethany and I threw a Christmas party for the toddlers in our neighborhood. It was so much fun. We played a game, decorated snowflake ornaments that were made out of popsicle sticks, and then sent everyone away with treat bags with the treats that everyone brought to share. Short, sweet and a lot of fun to get teh kids and adults together. We even had a surprise visit from a father- Glen- who was brave enough to bring his daughter to a party full of women! hehe We were glad he came!

Holden also had his friends Eva and Sarah over and they made snowmen and layed under the Christmas trees with their flashlights!

I was giving Gabriel his bath first and Holden was so excited for his that as soon as I took Gabriel out, as soon as I turned around, Holden jumped right into the water- clothes and all and started washing himself down with the cloth. I won't even disclose what Gabriel did in the water before he was taken out! Nice.

The next activity was a visit from Santa Clause to our Family FHE party that my sister Kim and BIL John hosted. He told a story, listened to each child's wish and then made something out of balloons for each child. Holden...as you can see LOVED him! hehe Actually he really was excited and couldn't take his eyes off of him...that is until it was his turn to actually sit on Santa's lap- then it was a different story! However, Gabriel didn't mind at all! Holden also had fun with my niece's cat-Shadow!

Right before we left to Boise, I dragged my little family to get pictures taken. They turned out so well and the best part was that I feel like we got a great pic of the true little personalities of the kids! They were such good sports and I'm soooo glad we did it! That will be the next post! hehe

Christmas in BOISE!!!

Then it was off to BOISE for Christmas! We had to go a different way to Boise because the roads were closed on our usual route. We headed to Wendover- YES!!! It was late when we got there and decided we were too tired to drive the whole way so we stopped and got a room there. It was my first time and it was hilarious! We got a cheap room but it was amazingly nice. It had probably the biggest jetted tub I've ever seen- AND that Holden's ever seen. We let him take his bath in there and it was like pulling teeth to get him out- after he'd been in there about an hour. lol Seeing how we don't have a bathtub at our house...let's just say he was in heaven! We got up the next day and made it to Twin Falls before Holden had hit critical mass in the car! We stopped at a Walmart to let him run around. Well, a 15 minute "run-around" stop turned into 2 hours after both of the kids needed diaper changes...one of them twice! Seriously! However, we won't go into detail why it took so long, but man, I bet the people watching us go in and out of the bathroom multiple times were thinking we were crazy...or getting there really fast. lol Anyway, we finally made it to Boise on Christmas Eve just in time to step in for dinner.

It was so special because we haven't seen Josh's brother Joey or his wife Maribel for 2 years, so we were excited to be there. We also didn't make it there this summer so it seemed like a long time since we had seen everyone!

We started the festivities at Mom Mercer's house for Christmas Eve dinner and opening presents. Mom Mercer made an amazing dinner that was sooo delicious. She and Maribel really did an amazing job on the food! We also found out that Josh's brother Joey and his wife Maribel are expecting a child at the end of May, so we decided to let them really enjoy our kids...if you know what I mean! hehe I felt kind of bad however because Holden had a really hard time adjusting to a new place and was a little...okay...a lot irritable just about the entire time. It made me sad cause I felt like my inlaws were looking at my sweet little Holden as if he was the most spoiled bratty child in the world...which is TOTALLY NOT how he is. hehe I think I scared them for when their baby comes! hehe Oh well. I think one day or another they'll get a taste of that lol! :)) jk However, that said, Holden had a blast with Joey rough housing- or it was Joey that really got a kick out of playing with him! So, we'll see how it goes for them! I think he'll be a great dad!

Maribel looks so beautiful pregnant and will be such an amazing mother! They will be awesome parents! Also, you gotta admit that Josh's Grandpa is pretty cool with his shades. lol He's the grandpa that was a casino card dealer in Panama and he also plays pool like you wouldn't believe! hehe Still a young man at heart!





The next day we went to Dad Mercer's house to open presents and we even did the pickle tradition that my sister Tiffany introduced to us. You hide the pickle somewhere on the tree and Christmas morning, the first one who finds it gets an extra special gift. She does money, we did Premium M&Ms mmmmmm :))

Holden got an EXTRA special present from Grandpa Mercer named BROBIE- the green dancing machine!! hehe This thing dances and taught Holden a few moves. From now on we will all LOVE the phrase, "I LIKE TO DANCE!" lol

After all of the presents were opened we hung out and played games. A little later, we had a turkey dinner! Great job on the turkey Dad!

Josh and I decided to only get the kids one present- but in the end, it was a good thing because they were spoiled by their grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and cousins on both sides! They don't know how lucky they are to be in a family where they are so loved. Hopefully one day they'll understand.

On the 26th we decided to go and see the lights at the Botanical Gardens. That is where Josh proposed to me and we have great memories there. It was so much fun but SOOOO cold! We bundled up the kids in the double stroller and thanks to Joey, we made it to the top of the mountain to the overlook! We enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies. The cookies were Holden's favorite part...as you can see! My favorite tree there was a purple tree- it was so pretty!

THE DIRTY 30's CLUB!

On Dec. 27th, I had my 30th Birthday! It was an absolutely perfect day! I had so many phone calls from good friends and family! Thanks so much for remembering me! I went with my sisters in law and got a manicure, then we went shopping for a while and picked up some lunch. We went home and Josh took me on a horse drawn sleigh ride through the mountains, up to a cabin where we had dinner. There was a cowboy serenading us the whole time and the food was amazing. There were red potatoes, steak, carmalized carrots, huge prawns (which I gave to Josh to enjoy!) and berry cobbler for desert. We went up with a small group of people and had a great time chatting with them. We listened to Cowboy poetry and stories. They brought out a birthday spud with a candle on it and the cowboy recited this HILARIOUS poem about birthdays. After the ride down the mountain, Josh and I went home and thre was a little party there. Josh got me an amazing Cold Stone cake- I highly recommend them! Then we just played games til all hours of the night. What a perfect day. A couple days later we went to The Cheesecake Factory where we had a great meal and they brought out a little dessert for my birthday as well. SO... I feel I am well into the "Dirty Thirty's Club". ALSO- NOT KIDDING- The day after my birthday, I SWEAR I found 5 or 6 new gray hairs. OH GREAT! hehe

Ringin' in the New Year- Panamanian Style!

New Year's Eve was spent at Josh's cousin's house- Jaime! He is recently engaged to a wonderful girl Maddie and we are so excited for them. They are getting married on July 4th! It doesn't get more patriotic than that! Jaime served in the Marines and has been to Iraq a couple of times- maybe 3. He is so amazing and reminds us of all of the sacrifices that are being made on our behalf. Anyway, we spent the night playing games eating amazing food that Josh's Grandma and Aunt made. The food was Panamanian and it was to die for! We introduced Josh's family to the game of Settlers and they were hooked, so we spent a good amount of our vacation playing Settlers and Uno! Good times! We also had a dance party at midnight and Holden had an absolute blast dancing...AND showing us the new moves he learned from BROBIE!

One of the last things we did while we were there was going to play Vollyeball with Josh's dad. It was so much fun. I haven't played in years! Josh was a trooper and made some nice saves! :)) Grandpa helped on kid duty while Holden ran around playing. Fun stuff!

We spent our last night there at the mall actually :). We decided to take Holden there to run off some energy for the ride home. It worked beautifully. We had such a blast and we were sad to have to come home. We had a fairly quiet trip home...besides the man that was stuck on the side of the road at 3:30 in the morning. We left at 10:00 pm at got home at 6:00 am. I stayed up with Josh while he drove until about 4:00 am and I coudldn't hold my eyes open any longer. Man, Josh is a trooper, but I will say it wasn't without a little help from some Red Bull. lol Gotta love it for those special road trips! hehe

We just wanted to thank everyone for an amazing time. Thanks to Mom and Dad Mercer for opening up their homes and being such gracious hosts to us. Dad sacrificed his room for over a week so we could have room to keep Gabriel with us. How awesome is that? These people are the kind that would do anything for you and not think twice. It was so fun to see Joey, Maribel and Jeana again. What examples of love, charity and just how to be a loving and awesome family! We will miss you until we see you again! We love you guys so much!

That weekend after coming home, we went to my parents house to open presents with them and my sisters and their families- cousin presents and name drawing presents. It was so much fun to be with them since we had missed them over the holidays. What a great family I have and it truly makes us so happy that we are so blessed to have such wonderful families!