spring is in the air

(Memphis Temple)

Mike and I enjoyed a quick trip to Arkansas to visit his brother Chris and his family.  We had a great time seeing them and their two cute kids.  I was so excited to be able to go to four new states.  Yeah.  It's my goal to make it to all 50 states.  I am to 28 now.  Mike is winning at 38.  Darn.

The yard work has begun.  We spent a few weeks filling our flower beds with around 25 yards of topsoil.  Alex and his friend were great helpers and did most of the work themselves.   Mike figured it out and it was over 20 tons worth of dirt.  Boy did they get a good work out. 

 

 

 

Happy Happy Happy 

 ( I couldn't resist.  It was $10 at Wal-Mart)

 

 

 

 

 

Soccer has begun.  The boys are having so much fun.

 

 

We are still paying Ethan a dollar for every goal (so far that is two).  I missed his first goal and felt bad so I gave him an extra quarter.  Now he has asked that we not watch every time so he makes more money.  He's pretty sneaky.

 

 

Ethan lost his first tooth.  He had Alex tie some floss to it and pull it out.  It was priceless when it came out and Ethan was running around and exclaiming with joy, "I lost my first tooth."  He later commented on how strong Alex is because he was able to break the root and pull it out.  There is never a dull moment with Ethan around.

 

April 12, 2014   
 We enjoyed pizza with Ry.

 

 

So it begins again.  Long story short, Adam was riding his bike and crashed.  He has a broken collarbone.  What's up with our family and collarbones.  This is our 4th now.  I am totally making all the kids drink milk and might consider having them wear a full padded body suit when they ride a bike.   Poor little guy.  He was only able to play one soccer game and is out for the season.  We also have had to postpone his friend birthday party and he is missing out on many other things.  He hasn't been able to use his right hand for two weeks now.  He's getting very good at using his left hand and we are finding different was to entertain a normally very active boy.

 

 

 

April 13, 2014 

Happy 8th b-day Adam

 

 

 

 

Pie fight

 

It looks like Ethan is crying but he is actually laughing so hard.  It was so funny to watch them make a mess of themselves.

 

Happy Easter Ryan.

 We are so thankful that our Savior rose again so that you will some day as well and we can be together forever.

We played the game "Headbands".  Each person asks yes and no questions and then trys to guess what picture in on their headband.

 

 

 

 

Adam is so happy to be a cub scout.  He has asked many times to go back over to his den leaders house to work on scouts.   He doesn't understand why scouts is only once a week.  He's so cute.  He earned his Bobcat award at his first pack meeting just a week and a half after his 8th birthday.  The other day we were at Wal-Mart checking out.  He noticed an old lady behind us and asked if he could help her put her groceries up on the conveyor belt.  I thought it would be hard considering he can only use his left arm but saw the look on his face and couldn't tell him no.  He was so proud to have helped her and later told me he did his good turn for the day.  I was so proud of him.  He is such a special little boy.

 

 

April 26, 2014

A special Day For the Lotts

 

Many tears were shed.  It was so special to see Alex dressed all in white and to know he will be going through the temple soon.  My heart was also full knowing that even though we couldn't see him, we knew Ryan was with us on this special day.  It was also hard taking these family pictures without Ryan.  It didn't seem right but was better when I took his picture off the wall so he could be included. 

Mike ordained Alex to be an Elder.  Afterward Alex baptized Adam and then stood in the circle as Mike confirmed Adam.  It was so sweet that Adam asked Alex to baptize him a few months ago.  Not many big brothers get this special opportunity.  We have asked Ethan if he wants Alex to baptize him.  He did enee menee mynee mo (ok I don't know how to spell it) and Mike won, so he will have Mike baptize him.  He cracks me up.

 

We had wondering how it was going to be baptizing Adam with his broken collar bone.  Alex practiced with him a few times at home.  We were prepared that it might have to be done a few times but Alex did a great job and only had to do it once.  We took his slings off and Adam kept his right arm down and Alex plugged his nose for him.  Alex did tell me later that he had to push Adam's stomach down because he was floating up.  It looked perfect to me.  Mike and my father were the witnesses.  Adam was so happy and later told me he wanted to be baptized again.  Ethan has informed Mike and I that it is a stupid rule that 5 year olds can't be baptized.  We told him he should tell that to Heavenly Father, who I am sure is getting a chuckle out of our little guys frustration.

 

 

Alex leaves in 63 days.  Wow.  That is going by quickly.  I have been busy shopping for clothes and other necessary items and preparing him and our family for this joyous and heartbreaking day.  We are so proud of his worthiness and are excited to see his life and the lives of other's, including our's, change for good.

 

Just a heads up, Alex's farewell will be held on June 29th @ 9am at the Hooper Stake Center.  All are invited to come.

 

The call is in....

Little Elder Lott as a missionary for Halloween when he was 1 1/2.

 

 

 

Alex received his mission call today.  He submitted his paper work last Tuesday so we were surprised to have received it so quickly. 

 

He is going to the Philippines Cauayan Mission.  He leaves on July 2.  He will be speaking the Tagalog language. 

 

 

(sad little Adam)

 

Happy tears were shed as he read the call from the cemetery on Ryan's grave.  There were also tears of sadness from Jaime and Adam as they are realizing they will be losing another brother for the next two years. 

 

We all are a little shocked, but excited for this new adventure for Alex.  Right now he is most nervous about the food.  I am thinking that in a few months my cooking isn't going to look so bad to him.  Ha ha. 

 

Anyways, we are very proud of him and that he is worthy and willing to serve.  We know the Lord is sending him to where he is needed.  We know he won't be alone on this journey.  His brother will be by his side looking out for him.

 

 

Lotts of love in February

Alex got his braces off.  Yeah.  His teeth look so great.  Today he goes to the dentist.  Hopefully he won't need his wisdom teeth taken out.  I am crossing my fingers.

 

 

 

Alex turned 18 on February 10th.  We enjoyed a nice family meal at Texas Roadhouse.  He was Happy Happy Happy with all the gifts he received.  I guess everyone was thinking the same things as he got loaded up on Duck Dynasty things.  What was I thinking getting him a duck call?  Now I hear the sound of a poor distressed duck at odd times of the day.  Oh well, at least it's better than heavy metal music.  We are excited that Alex is preparing for a mission.  He will hopefully turn his papers in next month.  It's a wonderful time in his life and we are very proud of all the good choices he has made.  He graduates in three short months.  It's crazy that our oldest will graduate and leave on a mission and then our youngest just begins as he starts kindergarten in the fall. 

 

 We love you Alex.  We will miss you this summer but know you will be touching lives as you serve the Lord.  We are also so excited to find out where you will be called to serve.

 We miss you Ryan.  How special it will be to have two sons serving the Lord at the same time.  I know Alex will feel of your spirit on his mission.

                                                  Feb 12, 1014

 

 

 

Ethan just told me he should be in a yogurt eating contest.  He told me he just ate an entire yogurt in one second.  Wow that is fast.  I am so proud of this special talent he has.  He is such a cutie.  Last night he blew me a hug.  I have been blown a kiss before, but this was the first time to have been blown a hug.  We figured with Alex leaving this summer we would be saving on grocery bills.  Boy was I wrong.  Ethan must be going through a growth spurt or something because he can eat as much as a teenager.  And with some meals Adam isn't to far behind.  Ethan loves to play go fish and war.  So, I find myself spending a lot of time with him doing so.  It is cute that he is so proud when he wins.  I treasure this time with him and am so thankful he is still little and enjoys the simple things in life. 

 

Poor Ethan got a fat lip playing football with Adam.

 

 

 

Adam lost one of his front teeth a few weeks ago.  He looks so cute trying to stick his tongue out between it.  He had so much fun watching the Super Bowl.  He had always loved the Broncos but decided a few weeks before that he wanted the Sea Hawks to win.  He has such a sweet heart.  The morning of he came to me practically in tears not knowing which team he really wanted to win because he liked them both.  I told him he could like both teams and that he should be happy for the team that won and sad for the team that lost.  That answer seemed to work for him.  After the game he really felt so sad for Peyton Manning.  He said he had tried his best.  It touched my heart to see such compassion from such a little boy.  It amazes me how much my sweet little children teach me.  Needless to say, Mike and Alex weren't ok with the out come of the game as they are both Broncos fans as well.  Sorry guys, maybe next year.  At least we had some yummy treats.

 

Jaime is still doing excellent in school.  It's funny to hear her complain about having an A- and that she needs to get it up.  I have informed her that even B's are great grades and that we are proud of her even if she doesn't get straight A's.  But, I have to admit as a parent it is wonderful that she is taking her schooling seriously and working towards the future. 

 

 

 

 

Mike and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary on Monday.  It was great the entire country was celebrating with us as it was President's Day.  The kids were out of school so we had a laid back day.  We slept in and then Mike and Alex made a nice breakfast for us all.  We mostly just vegged the day away.  It was great.  In the evening Mike and I enjoyed dinner at the Melting Pot in Salt Lake.  It was nice to have that time together alone.  I love him very much and am so thankful to have him in my life now and forever.

 

I have so much to be thankful for.  We all do.  When times get hard, when I am feeling sad, I try and remember this and that all is done for my good.  I am thankful I have a loving Heavenly Father who knows what I need the most.  Prayers are answered.  We are just given what we need and not necessarily what we want.  It will all work out for our good in the end and for that I am so thankful.  I admit I have had to remind myself that over the past few weeks.  I always am thinking about and missing Ryan.  The last few weeks have been harder realizing he would be 16 very shortly and knowing this would be a fun and exciting time for him.  He would be practicing driving and soon getting his license and being able to date and being made a Priest.  But it is ok.  I know he is doing a much more important work than I can even imagine.  I am proud to be his mom and that he was chosen- yes, it is hard, but it is also an honor knowing where he is and that he was so special that he was called home.  

 

Thank you Heavenly Father. 

 

January 2014

We love you Ryan.     January 12, 2014

 

 On Jan 17th we attended the rodeo at the Golden Spike Arena in Ogden.  We had a lot of fun.  It was nice not to deal with the heat of the summer rodeos.  The boys all loved the bull riding the best.  Boy were there some close calls.  Alex later informed me that he wants to take up bull riding once he comes home off his mission.  I hope not!!!!  The rodeo clown was quite entertaining and had us all laughing.  It was a fun evening out together as a family and we plan to go again.

 

Ethan and his babies.  He named them Brent and Sally.  He was so cute with them.  He would feed them and change their diapers.   He also let them watch a pretend movie all day while he went to preschool and played.  Boy, I hope that's not how he thinks I have taken care of him all these years.  These babies have actually been in our family for a long time.  I came across a picture of when Jaime got them for Christmas when she was 2 1/2. 

 

 

 

Poor Jaime has permanent teeth that are in the roof of her mouth and won't come down unless aided.  I guess this isn't unheard of, but it isn't very common.  Crazy enough Alex had the same problem and had his fixed a few years ago.  She had to have a laser procedure to pretty much cut the gum off of the teeth.  Then a metal button is glued to them and rubber bands are used to pull them into place.  She had this done last year but it didn't work.  She was so traumatized last time that we had to use extreme measures this time to keep her calm.  She has an extreme fear of dental work being done.  This time around Mike took her to the appointment.  She had a blessing the night before and with the use of two Valiums and nitrous gas (having to be turned up), she lay there peacefully.  The procedure went very smoothly.  I have informed Jaime that I will not be present at the hospital when she is in labor and I am going to require her future husband to sign something promising that he won't leave her during the delivery.  haha :-) Let's just hope her fears lessen with age.  But, I am happy to say I have a few extra Valium for the next time she needs a cavity filled.  Maybe I will just take them the next time I take her in.  Just kidding.  Actually we are very proud of her.  She handled this very well.

 

 

 

It's always nice to have a football player around to help you take down the Christmas tree.  I finally took ours down yesterday.  I had left it up for two reasons-it looked so pretty up and we still have so much snow outside so it's ok.  Right??  But the main reason is I was just lazy and didn't want to take the time.  Thank you Ethan for helping. 

 

 

 

I heard this quote read at church a few weeks ago.  I don't think the author is LDS.  I have felt this very way and wanted to share.

"I cannot relate to those who do not believe in a higher power. My reasoning is that is would be better to believe in God or a supreme being and live my life according to how I think he wants me to. Even if I die and find out he doesn't exist, I haven't lost anything. But, I would most definitely lose if he does exist and I didn't follow his dictates."

 

That's what I feel about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful to have the Gospel in my life.  It makes me want to try harder.  To love more.  To serve more.  To forgive more.  To endure.  To be patient.  And in the end what can I possibly lose from living it.  I can only gain and help others in the process and isn't that wonderful. 

 

 

 

I love my Savior and am thankful for his example of how I should live so I can be happy in this life and in the next.



 

 

 

 

 

Happy 2014

 We had a fun time making ginger bread houses.  The best part is watching the kids destroy them as they eat them.  Adam had frosting all over his face and even in his nose.

 

We love you Ryan.  Can't believe it's been 19th months.

 

 

 

 

We had fun going ice skating a few times in December.  Ethan finally started getting the hang of it and didn't want to go home.  He did spend a lot time on the ground but mostly he was doing it on purpose.

 

My friend has a skating rink in her backyard.  It was a blast.  Both Adam and Alex are naturals.  I even got the hang of it this year.  Mike isn't convinced ice skating is fun yet.

 

 

 

                                   Christmas Eve 2013

Santa got the boys their "boxers".  They have been having fun duking it out.  Thank goodness no broken noses as of yet.

 

 

 

 Go Broncos!!  The boys still love football.  They were so excited to root for another one of their many favorite teams.

  


                                Christmas Day 2013       

   Merry Christmas Ryan.  You will always be close to our hearts.  It is special to know that we were celebrating the birth of our Savior together but just in different locations.

 Sledding in Syracuse on Christmas Eve.

 

 

Christmas Day was spent at home in our jammies. 

 It was great !!!

Jaime's piano recital.  We are very proud of

 all of her hard work.

Happy 41st b-day Mike.  You still don't look much older than 31 you lucky guy.

 

 

 

January 8, 2014

Fun after the snow storm.

Jaime got braces on Jan 3.  Now there are two metal mouths in the family.

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry it's kind of fuzzy to read.  There are so many wonderful articles in this months Ensign.  They have given me strength and help.  I encourage all those going through hard times to not give up.  Look to the Savior and he will stand by you the entire way.  It may be hard right now, but it will be worth it in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just came across this while looking through some pictures.  This is my dad's canoe.  Thanks for honoring Ryan.

Merry Christmas from the Lotts

 

Lotts of fun in 2013

 

It’s crazy that another year has come and gone. And yet I have a ton more gray hair, which Adam likes to point out to me, and the wrinkles to prove it.

Alex will be 18 in about two months. It’s crazy to think that he will be on a mission sometime next summer. We are very proud of him for becoming an Eagle Scout. For his project he was over the Hooper City Easter egg hunt. When I first heard what his project was I thought it was a joke. Boy was I wrong. Our family, along with other scouts, spent the month of March preparing for this event. Together about 10,000 eggs were filled, 100 Easter baskets filled with goodies, 1000 cookies bagged and 1000 bags of cotton candy made. When Alex added up all the time spent by everyone, it totaled close to 250 man hours. The crazy thing was that all the goodies and eggs were all picked up by all of the excited kids in less than five minutes. Alex dressed as the Easter Bunny and sounded the horn that started the hunt off. It was a fun event and there was a great turn out. His Eagle ceremony was held in October. We had a live eagle as part of the program. Thank you to all those who helped him in any way. We are so proud of all of his hard work. He was also so excited to finally finish his project so he could get his driver’s license. The proud day came in June. He wished he had listened to us sooner so he could have been driving all last year as well. Alex finally started growing. We weren’t sure it was going to ever happen, but it finally did. He is now 5’ 10½” and we are all thrilled he won’t be the size of a girl anymore. He is even getting a little facial hair to go along with his height. I still joke with him that I have more on my upper lip than he does. The truth is that if you get up real close you can actually see a faint little mustache, and he’s proud of it. Alex really loves Duck Dynasty. Actually obsessed would be a better term. He wears camo all the time and says, “Way to go Jack.” He has even informed us that he wants to name his first child Jack. He is into hunting and trapping poor little furry animals. At different times of the day I can hear him practicing on his elk call in his room. Thank goodness one hasn’t shown up yet. We are thankful for Alex and love him very much.

Jaime is loving being in Jr High. She turned 12 in June. The poor girl was sick with the flu and threw up the entire day. I have some great pictures of her looking pretty miserable. She is loving being in choir at school and also takes piano. She has recently taken up reading. It only took her till the 7th grade to figure out that the right books are actually fun to read. Now if I can just get her to read and play the piano at appropriate times and not when she’s supposed to be in bed or going somewhere. We were very proud of her for getting a 4.0 her first quarter in school. Yeah. It’s wonderful to not have to remind her to do her homework. A few days ago Mike asked Alex and I a math question. Sadly neither of us could answer it. The next day I asked Jaime and within about 3 seconds she answered it correctly. Wow, she put us both to shame. I recently bleached a few small pieces of her hair and then dyed them orange with Kool Aid. It turned out very cute. It’s crazy that my once feisty little three year old is now growing up into a beautiful young lady- who can still be feisty at times. She loves being able to go to young women’s. I was released from young womens about a month after she turned 12 but it was fun to be in there with her for a little while. I even attended camp for a day with her and that was special. She is the 2nd counselor in the Beehive class and is very diligent working on her personal progress. She knows she has to have it completed in order to get her license and she has informed me she isn’t going to put it off to the last minute. Jaime loves to do crafts and can draw very well. She is babysitting now and is growing up right before my eyes. I am so glad to have her for my daughter.

Adam is still as cute as can be. His 2nd grade teacher adores him. I go and volunteer once a week in his class and really enjoy that. He is a very good reader and a super speller. He gets both these skills from his dad, who used to win spelling bee contests. Adam has a sweet tenderness about him. I love to hear him pray. He says such special things and puts his heart into it. We recently donated some of our extra clothes and toys to a homeless shelter. Adam took $6 of his own money and put it in an envelope to give. On the envelope he wrote, “I hope you can get a house and a car.” Tears came to my eyes to see such compassion and love. It was a special experience for my little boys to give to those in need. After attending the rodeo this summer, he and Ethan got all suited up in their cowboy clothes and went out to practice their mutton busting skills on our little goats. I actually have seen this and it’s pretty funny to see them try and ride them. I was happy they weren’t actually putting all of their weight on them and squishing them. Both he and Ethan want to ride the sheep next year at the rodeo. We shall see??? Adam loves soccer and is actually really good. I am not sure where he got this skill as neither Mike nor I play. We were glad we decided to only pay him 50 cents a goal this year or we would be broke. And he is ok with us not paying him next year. Luckily I have earned most of the money back that I have paid him because I have started charging him for all the socks he ruins because he won’t wear shoes. Too bad he doesn’t seem to care too much about losing his money. I can’t believe my little Adam will be old enough to be baptized in April. He has a special place in my heart and I secretly hope he never grows up.

Ethan is as crazy and silly as ever. If he’s not losing a dead snake in a neighbor’s house (we actually found it the next day in our mailbox), he's doing a number of other things that make me shake my head and snicker. Lately he breaks out in song at random times. I have recorded him singing a bunch of cute songs he has learned at preschool. Last month when I cut his hair he told me to,”Cut it like President Monson’s.” I am not exactly sure what that meant but it made me laugh. He now raises his hand anytime he wants to tell us something. He waits for us to point to him so he can talk. He has even shown us the correct way for us to point to him. He has also informed me that his new name is “Stink Brain,” He recently learned how to call my cell phone. The first few days he kept calling me all day long. It was hard to get anything done because I kept having to answer the phone for an excited 5 year old. Half the time he was about five feet away from me when he would call. Sometimes he would go upstairs and hide in the closet to call me. Finally I got smart and gave him Mike’s number. Ha Ha. Ethan then asked for Alex’s number but Alex was smart and wouldn’t give it to him. Once, Ethan told me he was going to call Robin. Long story short, I guess he dialed the wrong number a few times and talked to someone named Robin. I had to have a little talk with him about that. All I need is for the cops to call me with a complaint from a perfect stranger. Ethan loves to be outside. He loves to play with our dogs. But his most favorite thing right now is football. A few months ago he would carry around football cards and discuss which teams he liked with perfect random strangers. It was actually cute that many of them would actually talk with him about this or that team. He has learned a lot about the game from playing Xbox. We were at a Utah State football game last month and he called the first play of the game even before the announcer did. Sadly, I couldn’t have done that. He and Adam love to wear their little Texas Longhorn jerseys and play football. Thank goodness we have a big empty toy room upstairs for them to be wild and crazy. They even play imaginary football in my living room. It’s funny to watch them throw an imaginary ball and to hear Ethan commentate, “That was an impressive play Adam.” They play their own pretend super bowls all the time and poor little Ethan has yet to win. Today I actually saw him setting up our nativity set and running football plays with them. Needless to say, Heavenly Father knew we needed our little Ethan. He makes me laugh. He makes me smile and I love to hold him and snuggle, even though he recently informed me not to give him kisses anymore and he wipes them off when I forget.

I have stayed busy this year keeping up with Ethan to say the least. I enjoyed planting a garden this year. I now know why Hooper is famous for tomatoes. I planted enough tomatoes to keep a small country fed. We don’t even like tomatoes and I wasn’t in the mood to can and so I gave most of them away. That was an adventure to say the least. I went repelling for the first time this fall. For some reason it was on my bucket list. I almost couldn’t physically go through it, but with tears in my eyes went down a 140 foot cliff. I am glad I did, but now think I need to evaluate my list and make a new one that’s not so scary. As a family we drove out to Nauvoo. Amazingly enough we all survived almost 45 hours in the car of driving. It ended up being a wonderful trip and I am so thankful we went. The kids had a blast and we saw some really amazing church history places. Jaime and Alex were able to do baptisms for the dead in the Nauvoo Temple. It was a special thing to watch Mike baptize them. The spirit was very strong. As I mentioned earlier I am no longer working with the young women. I am over the Bear cub scouts. My partner is my mother-in-law Jeri and we have a lot of fun with the boys. Oh yeah, we finished a little apartment in our basement and Jeri has been living with us since February. It has been wonderful to have her close by. We always tell her to have a safe trip as she walks down the stairs from our house to her’s. The kids love going down to visit her and usually when I have lost Ethan he is found at Grandma’s eating her snacks and watching a movie. What a blessing it is to have her with us.

Mike went repelling for the first time this fall as well. He loved it and went down multiple times. I guess he couldn’t have very well chickened out considering I did it before he did. He was called to the Stake High Council this spring. What a blessing it has been for our family. I really enjoy going and hear him speak. The poor guy has to speak at least once a month. I have had the privilege (Ha Ha, I was scared to death) to speak with him twice and had better quit teasing him or he will ask me again. He usually has multiple meetings to attend every Sunday. A few weeks ago he actually attended three different sacraments in one day. I told him that was because he had been very bad that week and needed to take the sacrament three times. I admit I am glad it isn’t me that has to get up early on Sundays for meetings. I guess I am the one who needs to repent as I roll over and fall back asleep as he leaves in the morning. Mike could use a little more sleep himself. Last night he was saying our family prayer and he started it off, “And it came to pass…”. We all broke out laughing. It took about five minutes for us, ok me, to finally get it under control for him to actually pray. And yes, we didn’t even make it through the prayer without giggling. I am sure Heavenly Father was up there rolling his eyes. It was super funny and we needed a good laugh. Mike was a great sport as none of us would stop teasing him the rest of the night. I did tell him that he was lucky he hadn’t done it at one of his High Council meetings or he would never have lived it down.

I guess I should stop rambling and just wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, but I am not going to. I couldn’t end without mentioning my Ryan and expressing my love towards him. I couldn’t possibly write about my kids and not include him. He would be 15 right now. He’d be loving High School and counting down the days till he was 16 and could drive. I don’t doubt he would be close to have his Eagle now. I am sure he would still love to see how much bigger he was getting compared to me. And I am sure it would still drive me nuts for him to do this almost daily. I’d like to think he would be close to 6 foot by now. He would look tuff on the outside, but would be a teddy bear on the inside. I know he would still have his perfect curly hat hair and long curly eye lashes that the girls would adore. He would still say he hated them, but secretly love all the attention they drew. He would love his new room downstairs all decked out in orange with Texas Longhorn things. He would love to go hunting and trapping with Alex. He would still love to wrestle with Adam and Ethan. He would love to tease Jaime and then I would ground him. But alas, this wasn’t what was supposed to happen. Our dear Ryan was needed somewhere else. His purpose is great and just couldn’t wait. He’s happy looking down on us. He knows what he is doing is so very important. We know this as well. We miss him so much but know that we will be together again. We know that this life is just the beginning. We know that we might not understand all the whys right now, but someday we will. This keeps us going. This gives us hope. This eases the pain. This makes it worth it. For I know without a doubt that I will be with my son again someday and I will be able to give him a hug and it will be real and not only in my dreams.

At this time of the year I am so thankful for my Savior. Because he lived and died and suffered for me, I can someday live with my family forever. That is the greatest gift there is and it is given to us all. In the scriptures he tells us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me… and ye shall find rest unto your souls”. (Matthew 11:28-29) May we never forget the priceless gift we were all given long long ago when a little babe was born in Bethlehem.

We love you all so much and hope you are filled with the pure love of our Savior this Christmas Season and forever.

Love,

The Lott family