Intro to our family

Our family unofficially began in the summer of 1996 when Justin and I were inseparable and spent just about everyday together.  When my mom first met Justin, she pulled me aside in another room to tell me that Justin was the boy I was going to marry (despite the fact that he was on a date with someone else and he set me up on a date with his cousin).  I thought she was crazy - little did I know.  Soon after that, he set me up on a date with his old missionary companion who came to visit.  Never mind that he was flirting with me and checking me out on those dates (his words).  I later found out that his mom was writing to him on his mission that when he came home he needed to meet the girl (me) who worked at the mail store that she sent his packages from.  It was destiny (in my opinion).  He then went back to BYU and we wrote letters and ran up very large long-distance charges having our "Friday night phone date."  This was before email and cell phones became big.  It wasn't until late in our engagement that we emailed each other.  I still have the letters and emails for which I am so grateful for.  We got engaged in Jerusalem on Christmas night while on a big family trip to Israel and Egypt.  

On December 30th, 1997 it became official that we were a family when Justin and I got married. We were sealed in the Mesa, Arizona Temple for time and all eternity.  We moved to Utah so that Justin could finish and graduate from BYU.  In August we moved to Arizona where I graduated from ASU and we have been here ever since.  Justin graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese and I graduated from ASU in Exercise Science.  Justin went on to study at ASU and Thunderbird for his MBA and MIM.  We spent four great years together, welcomed our first child into the world and we became three.  

Celyn is now 7 years old and a mini version of Justin in almost every way.  Almost a year and a half later we welcomed another baby boy into our family.  Tate is always happy  and quite a free spirit who is now 5 years old.  In 2005 Parker (our third son) was born and we had 3 boys ages 3 and under. Parker is an angel who gave us a little break with his more easy going personality.  He has the whitest hair, talks in a deep raspy voice, and he is our little peanut. Not long after Parker's first birthday we were surprised to be expecting again - and yes it was another little boy.  Layton was born in May of 2007 and he has a very energetic, sweet, and awnry personality.  He definitely knows how to hold his own with 3 older brothers.  

In December of 2007 Justin and I (and Layton) spent our 10th anniversary in Montreal and it was so much fun.  In January of 2008 we spent time in Hawaii with the whole Bluth family (and my mom) and it was one the the best trips we had been on.  We are so grateful to have had that time together as a family.  On May 2, 2008 Justin passed away suddenly.  He accidentally drowned in his parents pool late one night while getting camping gear to take our kids on the fathers and sons campout the next day.  He is loved and missed tremendously, but we know we will be with him forever as an eternal family.  We keep him alive in our home as much as possible by sharing memories, many laughs, and a few tears.  We have pictures of him all over the house and they bring us great comfort.  We are grateful for the atonement, the resurrection, and the plan of salvation.  We are a forever family.