The birthday boy!!

Has it really been a whole year since I got the call from my son telling me that I was a GRANDMA!!!??

And has it really been a whole year since I jumped in my car and drove all the way to California to welcome this little bundle of joy into our family?

I dont know where the time went but YES . . . . it's been a year!!!

And our little buddy just turned

ONE YEAR OLD!!!

Joe and I went down for the birthday boy's big day!!!

It was so fun to be there and celebrate with him!

And yes . . . we spoiled him!!!

I cant believe how much he has changed over this past year.

It is amazing to see all of the things that a baby learns in their first year.

Scott and Amy were very good at sending us pictures of the little guy so that we could see him change and grow. He is a very active little boy and into everything. YAY!! I'm so grateful that he has a strong little body that is growing and developing just like he should be.

He is always on the move.

We bought him this little chair and he loved it. He would just sit in it and be very content.

It was the only time that he ever sat still!!

He really seemed to enjoy all of the attention that he was getting and of coarse all of the fun new toys that he got!!! (Actually he loved the boxes just as much and maybe even had a little bit of sensory overload from getting so much stuff.)

Like I said ~ WE LOVED SPOILING HIM!!!!!

One of the best things about his birthday was his experience with his

birthday cake!!

Words cant describe how much fun it was to watch him start out slow . . . . just exploring with this colorful item placed in front of him. And then getting more and more excited about it and how yummy it was until . . . .

. . . he went in HEAD FIRST and just kept saying

Mmmmmm . . . . . . .Mmmmmmmm!!

It was priceless!!

What a blessing this little one has been in our lives and I cant wait to watch him grow and change this next year!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!!!

Grandma and Grandpa Gneiting love you!!!

And we're off . . . . . .

. . . . to see some one turn ONE!!!! Yay!!!

It's time to party!!!!

Breakfast at Ginger's- golden retriever dog eats with hands

It's been awhile since I've posted something. I will be back soon but until then I thought that I would share this cute video with you. Enjoy!!!

The time has come!!

I didnt want to do it. . . . .

But I'm going to join many in the blogging world. . . . .

I'm going PRIVATE!!!

June 15th is the big day!!!

Please leave a comment with your email if you would like to continue viewing my blog.

Or you can send it to me at: mommagneiting@yahoo.com

Thanks friends!

I did it!!!

Five and half years ago I decided to take a couple of classes at BYU Idaho just for fun.

After a semester I decided that I wanted to do more than just have fun ~ and I began my journey to obtain a Bachelor's Degree. I love a challenge!!

And a challenge it was!!

I set goals - I worked hard -

I loved every minute of it!!

It became my passion - you might even say an obsession!

After taking many tests, writing tons of papers, spending hours upon hours of studying, losing sleep, sweating over assignments, at times feeling overwhelmed, stressed, inadequate and unsure of myself . . . saying many prayers, making many new friends, and learning all kinds of new things . . .

and after taking 134 credits. . . .

I am now officially a

Bachelor of Science in Sociology

with a minor in Marriage and Family Studies.

Graduation was great!!

But what was even greater was that my family were all here to support me. (Except for Mindy of coarse who is serving a mission in Russia. I cant believe that they wouldnt let her just make a quick trip home for her momma's big day. hahaha!)

But having my family here meant more to me than they will ever know.

I love them so much! It was great to share this special day with my most favorite people in all the world!!

It was an amazing experience!

Yep that's me in the front row. Right on the end. We were clapping and showing appreciation for our family, friends and teachers that helped us get to this special day!

There were 1544 graduates, biggest class yet at BYUI.

I graduated in the top 5% with a GPA of 3.93.

(Not bad for an old lady . . . hahahahaha)

Sitting with my comrades waiting to receive our diplomas!!

Receiving my diploma!

I couldn't have done it without this special friend. Thanks Brittaini!!

When Amy graduated from BYU Hawaii they have a tradition there of giving the graduates lei's.

So after I graduated my family all gave me a lei to celebrate my accomplishment.

I thought it was so cool!!

It takes a family to graduate a mom!!!!

Thanks to their support, love, encouragement, sacrifice and help I was able to accomplish this goal of mine. Thanks kids ~ I appreciate you all!

And now my best friend gets his wife back!!!

This has been a wonderful journey for me. I have learned so much more than just secular knowledge. I have learned alot about myself. I have grown so much and have gained more confidence in myself and in my abilities to do hard things. I know that I can face any challenge that comes my way. But most importantly I know that the Lord walks beside me daily. I have felt his help and strength helping me get through these past 5 yrs. I give all credit of my acheivement to Him. Yes, I put in the time and effort but it was through His inspiration and guidance and Him filling in the gaps where I fell short that I was able to accomplish this goal.

I hope now that I can use this degree and my new found knowledge to reach out and help

and strengthen others.

So on to the next phase of my life . . . . what ever that may be!!!

One more pic. . . .

What a happy boy!!! He loves Disneyland!!!!!

More pictures of Mr. Trent

Amys mom gave her the piano that she learned to play on. She drove it all the way to CA herself to take it to them. What a nice mom she is!!

. . . . and it looks like we have a "piano man" in the family. Or as Scott and Amy are calling him "Little Mozart!"

He is getting so big. I cant wait to see him!!! I think that they are coming to my graduation next week. In fact. . . all of my kids (except for Mindy of coarse) are coming. I'm excited to graduate but I'm way more excited to see all of my family.

But since we are talking about my graduation. . . I have one week until I am done. I cant believe that I have finally made it. Some of my professors arent going to be able to be at our graduation because they have a conference to go to, so last week we took pictures with them. This is about half of our class. The rest of them arent walking and they didnt want to be in the picture. Oh well . . . they missed out on being in a great picture. So here is a sneak preview of what I look like in my cap and gown.

These are my three favorite teachers.

Here we are ~ Class of 2010!!!

Just in case you cant find me

I'm the youngster that is 3rd from the right/middle row!!!

Surf's up!!

I think we have a "surfer dude" on our hands!!!

Scott and Amy live so close to the beach and I think little Trent feels right at home there!!

Scott and his little buddy!!

Trents Uncle Josh teaching him how to surf!!! I think he is loving it!!

He may be surfing before he's walking!!!

This post in is honor of Sister Mindy and the great work that she is doing. She is such an example to me and she inspires me to be a better person and to try to do my part in furthering the great work of our Heavenly Father.

This quote is about missionaries . . . but arent we all missionaries?

I just really liked this quote when I heard it and I thought that it is a good one for all of us regardless of our callings. We all must endure to the end and work hard at spreading the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ. We dont have to officially be called on a mission to do that.

So I thought I would share this with you all and hopefully it will give you a boost like it did me ~ to try a little harder and to push ourselves a little harder in doing the work of the Lord. We can do it with our families, in our church callings, in temple service, in reaching out to the ones around us that need uplifting, and in finding those who are searching for the truth.

We can help the work move forward in our own way and in our own little corners of the world.

"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tinted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am lifted up in prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed, will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table with the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the case of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me and when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me”.
- Elder Henry B. Eyring

To go private or not to go private

It seems that everyone is "going private!"

I told myself that I wouldn't!

But now I'm thinking about it!

There are strangers looking at my blog!!

And leaving weird messages!

Who are they? What do they want? Should I be scared?

Or are they harmless bored people?

Kinda freaks me out!

But I'm still not sure what to do!!

I want to protect my family ~ especially my little grandbaby and my daughter

living in a foriegn country.

But I know it's more trouble for you to have to

log into a "private" blog.

Will you still come check in on me once in awhile?

Tell me what you guys think.

Should I or shouldn't I??

Update on Sister Mindy (long post)

Well Mindy has been serving on her mission now for 7 months. She is doing great. She loves Russia and the people. She has been in Novosibirsk since she arrived in Russia 5 months ago. It is Russias 3rd largest city, after Moscow and St. Petersburg, and is the largest city of Siberia. This is where the Mission home is located. She loves this city and has enjoyed serving there.

Novosibirsk Skyline

Mindy with a couple other sister missionaries

(picture retreived from Bro and Sister Simmons blog - thanks!)

She was transferred this past week. She is now serving in Irkutsk. She had quite a journey getting there. Irkutsk is approximately about 1800 miles from Novosibirsk. She took a train to get there and traveled for 35 hours. She crossed two times zones. On the Russian map below (sorry its not bigger) Novosibirk is right in the middle of the map toward the southern border. Irkutsk is east of Novo (about an inch) next to a long sliver, crescent shaped lake (Lake Baikal - more pictures below). Considering that this is almost 2000 miles apart on this map it kind of gives you an idea of just how big Russia really is.

She is now the Senior Companion with another american sister that has been out about one month less than Mindy. Mindys other companions have all been Russian and they have been able to help her with the language and understanding the culture, etc. So now she is going to have to rely much much more on the Lord to help her with her understanding and speaking the language. She has great faith - I know she will do awesome!!

I have been studying about Irkutsk and its history and surrounding area and it is very interesting. I am learning alot about Russia. So I thought that I would give you a some interesting tidbits on this new area that she is serving in.

FACTS:

It is one of the largest cities in Siberia with a population of 593,604.

In the early 19th century, many Russian artists, officers and nobles were sent into exile to this part of Siberia for their part in the Decembrist revolt (Because this happened in December the rebels were called Decembrists) against Tsar Nicholas 1. (Hence the saying when someone does something wrong, "You are going to get sent to outer Siberia!")

Irkutsk became the major center of intellectual and social life for these exiles, and much of the citys cultural heritage comes from them. Many of their wooden houses, adorned with ornate, hand carved decorations ( see picture below), are still standing there today.

It has the nickname ~ The Paris of Siberia.

It is a very prosperous cultural and educational center for eastern Siberia with many museums and universities. The architectural design of many of the buildings and churches is very beautiful and ornate.

Kazansky Church in Irkutsk

Epiphany Minster (built in 1718-1746)

Irkutsk railway station on the Trans-Siberian Railway

(This is probably where Mindy arrived in this city)

A Decembrist house with distinctive hand-carved trim

Irkutsk sits near Lake Baikal. It is called "The Pearl of Siberia". It is the deepest lake in the world (about 2,442 ft) and it contains a total of about 20% of the worlds surface fresh water. It has a surface area of 12,248 square miles and is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, 2/3 of which can be found nowhere else in the world.

The lake is completely surrounded by mountains, contains 27 islands (the largest is 45 miles long and is the 4th largest lake-bound island in the world. The lake is fed by as many as 330 inflowing rivers.

Irkutsk is toward the bottom of the lake on the left side.

Sorry that this post is so long but I thought that you might be interested in seeing and hearing about the new area that Mindy is in. I hope that you enjoyed learning something new about a country that most of us know nothing about.

Top ten ways NOT to visit teach!

Well its the first of the year and many of you probably received new visiting teachers or you were assigned a new visiting teaching beat.

Visiting teaching is a serious and important calling, and one that should be considered with the utmost gravity. No joking allowed.

Over and over we've read lessons, listened to talks, and prayerfully considered how we can improve our visiting teaching.

Today, however, I'd like to help you by sharing just a few humorous ways NOT to make your service to your sisters a little better. As you evaluate how you are doing with visiting teaching, make sure that you are NOT doing one of these things.

If you are, well, I'll just grateful that you are not my visiting teacher!

1. DON'T schedule all of your appointments for the 32nd of the month. (That's what happens when you wait to call until the 30th and then schedule them all for 'the day after tomorrow'.)

2. DON'T ask the sisters you visit teach to give the lesson.

3. DON'T use the phrase, "Well, enough about you. Let's talk about me!"

4. DON'T ask the sister you visit teach when she plans to bring you dinner.

5. DON'T ask them to skip Relief Society so you can visit teach them (this is especially true if you or they are in the Relief Society presidency).

6. DON'T let your preschooler redecorate the walls of the home to include crayon sketches.

7. DON'T ask, "So are you pregnant, or have you just put on a lot of weight in the last month?"

8. DON'T fall asleep while your companion gives the lesson. Even worse, DON'T fall asleep while you're giving the lesson.

9. During the prayer, DON'T ask Heavenly Father to 'please help her be a better person - she needs all the help she can get!'

10. And, most important of all, DON'T put off your visiting teaching! Your sisters need you - and you need them!

(by Nola Redd)

Lets all do what we can to help!

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appealed today to the worldwide membership of the Church to help relieve the suffering in Haiti.

In a statement published on the Church’s official Web site, Church President Thomas S. Monson and counselors Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf said they are “keenly aware that many in America are dealing with economic challenges brought on by the recent recession.” Many Church members have made substantial contributions to Church Humanitarian Services, but more is needed.

Church members and others wishing to contribute to the aid efforts may do so by using the Donation Slip they normally use for Church donations or by logging onto lds.org and clicking on Humanitarian Services Emergency Response.

Today’s First Presidency statement also addressed the emotional trauma the Haitian people are experiencing in the wake of the devastating earthquake.

“Money is not the only need in Haiti,” the statement continued. “People are frightened, bewildered, and wholly uncertain about their future. In addition to what people can do in helping with food, water and shelter, there needs to be a calming influence over that troubled nation.

We invite people everywhere to supplicate God for a spirit of calm and peace among the people.”

As I read this statement from the 1st Presidency I was reminded of this scripture found in Matt. 25:35, 38 & 40

35. For I was hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and ye took me in

38. When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

40. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

You can read the full statement by the 1st Presidency HERE

You can also read HERE to see how the church is helping with the relief efforts.

The light at the end of the tunnel is shining BRIGHT!!!!

Well........ I just finished the first week of my LAST semester!!!!

After 5 1/2 years of going to school I am almost DONE!!!

GRADUATION.......here I come!!!!!!!

See you on APRIL 9th!

A weekend of lights and music and seeing special people!

Last weekend Joe and I went to Salt Lake City for a couple of days. We met up with our daughter Amy when we got there and took her to dinner for her birthday and then we went to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. It was so beautiful!!! We were also celebrating our 33 wedding anniversary which was on Dec 1 because we were married in the SLC Temple. It was a gorgeous evening and we had a really good time. Here are some pictures from our evening together.












Then on Sunday morning Joe and I went to the conference center for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. We got there real early and when we found our seats we were only 7 rows from the stage and we were smack dab right in the middle. The 6 rows in front of us were for dignitaries and important people. (We missed out on being important by one row!!!) Anyway we were just sitting there listening to the choir warm up when all of a sudden everything got really quiet and everyone stood up. I knew instantly by the feeling in the room that the prophet, Pres. Monson, had just walked in. Sure enough he was there and he actually sat directly in front of us on the front row. We were only 6 rows behind him. It was so special to see him there and to feel of his great spirit.

After the concert he got up and went up on stage and he presented the special guests, Natalie Cole and David McCollough with a gift and let them say a few words. Of coarse they both went on and on about how wonderful it was to work with the choir and to have that opportunity to be there. Then they were asked to turn around and look up to the choir so that they could sing a special song for them. Then the choir sang, "God be with you til we meet again." It was so inspiring and there wasnt a dry eye in the place. It was a wonderful experience to get to go to the concert and to spend the weekend with my "honey" in the place that we "tied the knot" so many years ago. Here are a couple pictures of the choir and Pres. Monson.

President Monson presenting gifts to the special guests. (Sorry it is blurry)


President Monson leaning over talking to his daughter. He was so close!!!!