You Will Be Missed President Hinckley

Our beloved prophet Gordon B Hinkley past away last night, there are mixed feelings. He is the only prophet that I can remember taking counsel from, so I think of him as my prophet. So I am very sad that I will not here from again on this earth. On the other hand I can only imagine the reception that he has received in heaven. He has missed his wife so dearly since she passed I am sure that they are happy to be together forever now. I love president Hinckley so much, and I am sad that my children won't know him as their prophet, but he couldn't Live forever.

This has reminded me of how strong my testimony is and the truthfulness of the gosple. Yes we lost our beloved and adored prophet but another will be called and he will be just as inspired as Hinckley. The work will go on and Christ will still be the head of the church. It has also reminded me how amazing eternal families are, if Justin and I live rightously we can be together through eternity. I love my church and hope that I can follow President Hinckley's example of selfless service and love. The church is True!

“This is my prayer for all of us—'Lord, increase our faith.' Increase our faith to bridge the chasms of uncertainty and doubt. . . . Grant us faith to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future. . . . Give us faith to do what is right and let the consequence follow.” Gordon B. Hinckley

# 6 A Road Less Traveled

# 5

# 4

Harry Potter in the classroom

Teaching children with autism is very exciting, there is never a dull moment. Today I was working on reading with one of the students in the class. This particular boy has a very vivid imagination. This week he thinks that he is harry potter, he comes to class everyday and draws a scar one his forehead, I make him glasses out of paper, and he carries a wand all day. Anyway, the only way to get him to work is to somehow incorporate harry potter into the lesson. So today I went to the library and found a harry potter book for him to read. We sit down and he starts to read and as i am taking data I realize that he is reading in the first person. I stop him and ask why... he looks at me with this bewildered look on his face, then looks down at the book and continues this for a few minutes. He then looks me in the eyes and says, " because this book is about me Mrs. Shannon duh, see the scar I am harry potter!" I apologise for the mistake and continue taking data. I love my job.

Boys will be boys

My little brother Michael is moving up to Utah to attend BYU. Justin and I went yesterday to move in some of his stuff, and I was reminded why men need woman so badly. We go to the door and knocked, after a couple of minutes a young man answers looking like we might have gotten him out of bed. (this was at 1:30 in the afternoon) We tell him why we are here and go get the stuff from the car. When I walk in there is a strange aroma permeating the apartment which can only be described as non-human. There is a single couch, and a TV in the living room. In the place of a dining table (because what human eats a table) there is a drum set, and a ping pong table up against the wall. I probably could tell you everything that had been cooked for the last two weeks, it was all still in the pans in the sink. Anyway we make our way back to the bedroom where my brother will be living, and there is the smell again. I can only hope that it does originate from that room for his sake. This is the part where I really start to feel for my brother, There are two beds and a desk crammed into a little tiny room, so what is the logical solution... BUNK BEDS! That is right my brother is going to back to his childhood days of having to share a bunk bed. When we look closely we realize that both beds are still made. I guess one of the guys was moving out that day. His stuff was of course all over the room so we could barely even walk. So we cleared a little spot in the corner and left my brother stuff there. It was sad there was my brothers stuff stacked in the corner of this smelly room in this dirty apartment where he is going to reside for at least two semesters. Now I know that not all woman are neat and tidy, but this apartment desperately needs a woman's touch.

#3 Victory


This is Justin with our niece Ella. When we got to Arizona Ella was not too keen on being with uncle Justin. Erica informed us that Ella does not like men very much. Justin of course took this as a challenge considering that there has never been a child that has not liked Justin. So with much perseverance, ooohh and aww, and funny faces he did it. Ella was smitten and I got this shot. So Justin keeps his title as the baby whisperer. He will be such a great dad!

#2 The babies on the bus...

My friend Miriam has a blog where she displays her beautiful pictures. I can't say that I am as talented but I decided that I would take her idea.

So this picture #1, it was also taken at Gardens of the World. I just got new photoshop software and I don't know how to use it yet, so when I do I will edit them better.

Our vacation thus far

We just had Christmas with my parents and family. When you are away for so long you forget how great it is to be with family. We got there the Friday before Christmas, we had to finish Christmas shopping so that is what we did for the first couple days of the vacation. We had great family dinners, sat around talking, and laughing. On Christmas eve my brothers wife planned a really neat nativity reenactment. She wrote down the Christmas scriptures and others about the life of Christ, we each were given a piece of the nativity. We would read the scripture then put the nativity together one piece at a time. It was perfect for reminding us about what the holidays are all about. Christmas was just as great. It is amazing how Christmas can make even the most mature of adults regress back to childhood. We expected to of course sleep in because Ava was not there, but we were up at 8:00 anxiously waiting. We have a tradition of opening presents one at a time, that way we can keep things organized. It was so fun, I got a new laptop and Justin got golf clubs. Justin of course went right out with my dad to play golf and tennis. I spent the day putting software on my computer and learning how to use vista. I am a big fan by the way, it is so much better.

My friend Miriam went with me to The Gardens of the World. We took our cameras and just had a blast. There are flowers from all over the world, with beautiful fountains and statues. I have decided that if our place ever sells I want to decorate our new house with my own artwork. So it was an awesome opportunity to get some great nature shots.

This was one of the statues there at the gardens. I stood there for a minute just staring at it. I was thinking about how we just spent days talking about Christ's life and what his mission on this earth was. This sums it up better than anything I can say. Ultimate sacrifice and ultimate love.

Not a lot of the flowers were in bloom being that it is winter but by chance a few bloomed early this year.

We took Ava with us, partly because she is adorable and fun to be with, but also because we needed a subject to be in our pictures. She is a total ham and loves to pose for pictures so she is great.

This is one of my favorites. It was a precious moment between grandpa and granddaughter. No this isn't water, the patio table in the back yard has a whole in the middle where the umbrella goes. Ava was on the table she would stick her hand in the hole, my dad would then tickle her hand. She would laugh like I had never heard before. It was so cute to watch that moment transpire. Every time I go home I am just reminded why the family unit is the most important thing we have on this earth.

To sum it all up Justin and I had a great holiday vacation with my family. It is so fun now that everyone is older and we are kind of in the same stages of life. Ryan and his wife are starting their family and are blessed to have a beautiful daughter. Michael just got home from his mission which is a big stage for an LDS boys life, and is getting ready to go back to school at BYU. Danielle is finishing her second year of college and is getting ready to transfer to a university. My mom and dad are enjoying being grandparents, and getting ready to join the status of retired. We are blessed everyone is healthy and happy. 2007 has been good to the Hermansens.

Our vacation is not over yet we just arrived in Arizona to visit Justin's family. His family is amazing as well. We do miss Molly, Brock, and sharisa a tone though. There will be an update coming on the hutchins clan soon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

This is my first post from my new computer. Christmas was wonderful, Justin and I are truly blessed in our lives. Merry Christmas to all our friends and there will be more to come with pictures.

Another year older and wiser too!!

We celebrated Justin's birthday this weekend. His actual birthday was this past Monday Dec. 10th but because we had school and work and had just gotten back from Kansas we just went out dinner. His favorite place to eat is the Happy Sumo. It is the only place here to get good sushi. For past birthdays I have felt bad because in the month of Dec we have Justin's birthday his dad's birthday and Christmas. We happen to be poor college students so Justin has gotten jipt a little on past birthdays. This year I wanted to do something cool for him. Salt Lake just barely got their first cheesecake factory restaurant. For those who know this place it is sooo good, I have missed it terribly since living here in Utah. So I took Justin out to dinner there, it was all that we hoped it would be. Now I am not a very creative person but I wanted to do something special, so since we didn't have time to go out of town I got a nice hotel in Salt Lake and we just had a nice night away from home. After dinner I blind folded him and drove to the hotel, I am sure it looked funny to anyone who saw it. I kept him blind folded all the way to the room. I was horrible though I kept forgetting to tell him when there were steps. (sorry honey) Earlier that day after work I went and put cake, presents and Apple cider in the room. When we got there he took off the blind fold and saw everything. He was totally surprised!! He had no idea when he was blind folded what we were doing, I am glad that for once my plan actually worked. We had a lot fun and Justin finally got a birthday he deserved.( he got some pretty cool stuff too, including Transformers the movie.)

A birthday tribute to Justin...

I am so blessed that i have such a wonderful husband. He is the most patient person on the face of the earth. If there is only enough milk for one bowl of cereal he always lets me have it. That is a big deal because he loves cereal. He is constantly thinking of other people. He always listens to me even when I go off on my impassioned political rants. He is kind. I think that says a lot about a person. In an increasingly narcissistic world for someone to be genuinely kind is amazing. He works so hard to be a great husband, even when he is tired from school coaching and work he manages to come home and still make time for me. He is also a great spiritual leader in our home, this is something that means a lot to me. When things are crazy he constantly reminds me to have an eternal perspective. He really is one of those good people in the world. I am so lucky that I have him, and that together we can learn and grow and someday raise a family. Finally, He loves me for me and that means the world. I love you Honey, Happy Birthday!!