So, Ben flew to Chile today! It seems very strange to have him going to a country that I've never been to and is so far away. I know he will have a great experience and that he will grow in ways that he never could if he stayed here, so I'm grateful that he has this opportunity. Below are some pictures from the MTC... Who says the MTC isn't fun??

For an after Christmas gift for our family (Robert & Me…), we purchased a new cage for our cockatoo. After escaping from her cage twice in one week and flying uncontrolled around the neighborhood, we decided we had to increase the security for our little “jailbird”. We have also moved her cage inside to prevent anymore high flying antics. Our good friend, Fran, suggested that we give her a new name in honor of her actually returning to us, escaping from the hawk that was chasing her and us being able to find her and get her back in her cage. Her new name is “Mila” which is a shortened version of the Spanish word “Milagros”, which means “Miracle”. She really is our miracle bird and we plan to enjoy her a lot more now that she’s home for good!














Update... on January 9th we realized that Mila is actually a boy... so now we'll have to get used to calling "her" him. He has been so much fun to have in the house now. We take him out and he is so funny to watch and talk to. One thing that we noticed is that when the phone rings, he'll say "hello" and he likes to fly to Brian from across the room.
woo hoo!




















Mila and Brian playing...


















and thank you Lindsay for helping with the new look for my blog!

Happy New Years!

We had a little miracle happen this morning... we came home yesterday to find our cockatoo had escaped from her cage. Her cage is kept outside and now she was nowhere to be found. We searched for her around the neighborhood, but couldn't find her anywhere. We thought maybe one of our neighbors purposely let her out because she can be a little loud :) This morning, after much prayer, Robert & I got in the car and proceeded to put out "lost" signs around the neighborhood, when all of a sudden, Robert spotted her in a tree, three houses from our own! We were able to hold her cage up close enough to her so that she could climb down and we put her back inside her cage. We truly feel that this has been our little miracle, because once a caged bird escapes, it doesn't often find it's way back home. Her cage is now inside the house... After that bit of excitement, we had a great New Years day watching football (of course), eating (of course) and spending time with family and friends (of course). What a fun 2 weeks this has been! We have had such a great time with family and friends over this Christmas season. I am not looking forward to having all the kids go back to their “other” homes, but I know they have to! I hope you all have a wonderful new year and that you are able to accomplish all of your goals that you have for the new year. Happy New Year!

Phoenix Zoo

Going to the Zoo is one of our favorite activities. With a Season Pass, it is affordable for a large family and everyone always enjoys seeing the animals. This time of year is a perfect time, too!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

At this Christmas time, we loved having Taylor, Bradley and Lindsay home for the holidays. Taylor has recently finished his training for EOD school and will be graduating in January. Bradley is finishing up his first round of internship back East and will be heading off to school again in January at BYU-Hawaii. Lindsay is loving school in Salt Lake City and will return to finish up after Christmas. Benjamin is at the MTC and will head off to Chile in mid-January. Brian is the only one at home now and is involved with school and LaCrosse. Our oldest four, Kelli, Richard, Larry and Kimber are married and are busy with their own families. We have 13 grandchildren, with # 14 expected in June.

Catherine received matching dresses for herself and her doll from Grandma and Grandpa

looks like Noah has lots of help opening his gift!

a super cool waffle iron for Larry and Melanie from Mom and Dad...

a manger and stars for the Nativity to Mom and Dad from Kimber and Ryan

Opening up their one Christmas Eve gift...

Taylor, Lindsay and Brian

Bradley always has a guitar in his hands and Taylor had to get in on the action

Lindsay opening her gift from Kimber on Christmas day... a Handmade comforter

Kimber opening gifts from Ryan

Robert and I want to tell all of our family and friends how very much we love you all at this Christmas season! We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives and we recognize the great blessing at this time of year of knowing that Jesus Christ was born and lived that we might know Him and follow Him as we go through this earthly experience. We appreciate having the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. It gives us direction and guidance, peace and assurance as we face daily challenges. We hope you will each have a wonderful Christmas and that you will be able to spend time with your family and friends as we will.
We love you all...
Merry Christmas!

our family picture from Christmas 2008

back row... Melanie & Larry Reeves, Taylor, Richard, Ryan & Kimber Hicken, Lindsay, Brian, Kelli & Adam Bishop
middle row... Catherine, Mason, Chealsey, ... Robert & Janet, Brooklyn on Janet's lap
seated in front... Ethan, Nickie & Kendyl, Sadie, Benjamin, Bradley, Alysa, Tyler, Vanessa, Chase and Ryan

A big thank you to Larry for the awesome picture!!

A Christmas Challenge

Our family Christmas message is the next post down, but my daughter, Lindsay, posted a challenge on her blog and I am accepting the challenge. I challenge any who are reading this to accept the challenge too, even though it's a little late to finish it before Christmas. This is the challenge...

1) document YOUR testimony of Jesus Christ...no matter how short or simple... and share it with the world on your blog, facebook, or other internet source...BY CHRISTMAS.
2) Once you have posted it, leave a comment on my blog or email me a link so that I can read yours! (jdr24byu@yahoo.com)
3) At the end of your testimony...call on all those who read your testimony to post their own testimony of Him on their blog, and leave YOU a comment when they are done.

My testimony is so much a part of who I am, sometimes it's hard to put it into words. I am so grateful for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ. It is something that touches everything that I do everyday. I know that this church is led by Jesus Christ and that he directs it through his prophet, Thomas B. Monson. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that through Him, I can change my life and be more like Him. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that he was able to restore the church to the earth. I'm grateful for the priesthood that was also restored, and am grateful for the blessing it is in my life. My testimony, as I said before, is so much a part of my life. It directs every decision I make and how I choose to live my life. Because of the gospel, I will be able to be with my family forever and that is one of the greatest joys that I have. I am so grateful for my family and they make my life worth living. I am thankful to Lindsay for giving me this opportunity to share my testimony with my friends and family. I love you all!

Lacrosse and Christmas Lights

Sometimes, Kimber will bring Penny over to spend the day...

Brian loves it... and we love her... she´s a sweet dog!

definitely time for a haircut!

We were taking care of Penny for the day, so she got to come to Brian's Lacrosse game with us.

Brian had a fun time this year putting up the lights...

because he got to climb up on the roof to put them up

they did a good job of the front door...

SUCCESS!