Our Christmas Vacation

We had such a great Christmas break. Our kids got out of school on the 17th. Ivan had the 18th off, so we let them find their stockings which were stuffed with things they would want for our trip to Idaho and Utah. Later that day, I ran to KVOA for my 25th television interview in December.




The next day, I was blessed to attend Marty's baptism. Marty had been attending my Gospel Essentials class and I didn't want to miss his big day. So glad I got to be there for his baptism. I wish both he and Charity the best. After the baptism, I went home, finished packing the van, and started driving with all 4 kids to Utah. We made it to Ben and Ang's house in Hurricane super late but safely. We spent all Sunday with them attending their church and getting to see them sing in the choir. The kids loved going to Primary with their cousins. On Monday, the kids and I headed north. We drove around to see where we used to live and the hospital where 3 of them were born.


We found a hard patch of snow when we stopped by Wyview in Provo. The kids had so much playing in it. Poor Ivan was hard at work, while we were hard at play. After a stop at the BYU Creamery and Great Harvest Bread Company, we headed to my mom's in Pleasant Grove. I spent the night prepping for my cooking segment for Studio 5 and visiting with Derek and Valerie.


We did make it over to Chad and Camille's house so I could meet my newest niece (#39) Maleah. Spencer immediately fell in love with her. He wanted to be holding her or by her whenever he was around her.


The next day December 22nd I headed up to KSL in Salt Lake City to make the Pumpkin Triffle from my new 101 Things To Do With Pudding book. Every time I come back, it's a huge reunion. I really miss all the friends in the media that I have in Utah. They are as genuine behind the scenes as they are on camera.



On the 23rd, Ivan flew up with a stop in Denver and his first experience of watching his plane be de-iced so they could take off. We went to Cafe Rio for lunch and then headed to my brother Chad's house where he and the kids had fun shoveling the newly fallen snow at Uncle Chad's house. After they finished shoveling, we pulled out the inner tube so they could slide down the hill in front of their house. The kids loved it.


That night my parents, our family, Chad's family and Camille's mom, Derek and Valerie, and Troy gathered at Chad's to do our family Christmas party. We had pizza, cheese balls and crackers, and the pumpkin triffle for dinner. After opening gifts, my family taught us how to play Delmoody AKA "Scum". It was lots of fun. Liz (9) played with us and loved it.



On Christmas Eve, we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa Ashcraft's home by Sugar City, Idaho. We had dinner with Debra, cousin Cameron, and Grandma and Grandpa. Then, we enjoyed watching the kids re-enact the Christmas story while Ivan read it from the scriptures.


Christmas was fun. Santa even managed to drop off a couple gifts for our kids in Idaho. We were excited to see Ellen and Don when they came over to visit that night.


On the 26th, Ivan and I were able to go to the Rexburg temple thanks to my fabulous niece, Breanne. We went with Ivan's parents, his sister Amy and her husband, his sister Ellen and her husband, his brother Brent and his wife, and his sister Debra. To me, this was the highlight of the trip. Afterwards, we celebrated Emma's birthday at Grandma's house. My brother Derek and his wife Valerie (also from Sugar City) came over to help us eat cake and play Delmoody. Liz by then had mastered the game and spent most of her time in the winning spot. She was loving it!

On Sunday, we went to church with Ivan's parents. It was -9 when we got in the car. I had forgot to pack the scrapper so Ivan scrapped the windows with our Debit Card and no gloves. What a hero! That night the Ashcrafts had their family Christmas celebration. Our family had to share a talent. Our kids put on a pretty cute play. You can watch the video to see their acting abilities. :-)

The kids favorite part of the trip had to be seeing and playing with all their cousins. Between that and playing in the snow and riding the snowmobiles, they had a great vacation.

On the 30th, we had the Ashcraft Couple's party. All of Ivan's siblings, their spouses, and parents get together once a year for a party. It was a lot of fun to visit with everyone. Ivan's brother Ben gave us one of his marriage classes from a seminar series that he is starting. It was really good.

We drove back down to my brother Chad's house for New Years Eve. We barely missed a big snow storm that stranded many of our family and friends in Idaho. We spent the night playing Del Moody. It was a lot of fun. I think I now have a new favorite game. At midnight, we celebrated with sparkling cider. Valerie and Derek made me laugh.


On the 1st of January we decided to go sledding along with hundreds of other people. It must be the thing to do in Provo. Who knew? We met up with our friends the Chandlers who lived below us in married student while we were at BYU. My kids had so much fun sledding.

After sledding, we had dinner with one of Ivan's old roommates whom we hadn't seen in years. Then, we headed to Payson to see Ivan's brother Dale and his family who recently moved there. It was great to see them. They were the only family out of the 9 kids in Ivan's family that we hadn't been able to see yet. Wish we could have visited with them longer. From there, we headed south to Beaver and spent the night in a hotel. On Saturday, we drove the remainder of the way home. It was a great vacation.

A Dictionary for Men on a Woman's Vocabulary

One of our good friends sent Ivan and I the following in an email. We both got a good laugh. Thought it was worth sharing.

1. Fine : This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2. Five Minutes : If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3. Nothing : This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4. Go Ahead : This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5. Loud Sigh : This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6. That's Okay : This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7. Thanks : A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' . that will bring on a 'whatever').

8. Whatever : Is a woman's way of telling you were to go.

9. Don't worry about it, I got it : Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

The Spirit of Christmas

May we remember the true reason for the season. Merry Christmas from the Ashcrafts!

My 26th December Television Interview

This month has been a crazy but good one. Thought I would share my 26th television appearance this month!

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Remember the Reason for the Season

I love this short clip about the Savior. It ties into my lesson this Sunday on the Signs that will occur before the Savior's Second Coming. Thought it was worth sharing.

The Perfect Day

It has been a long time since I updated our family blog. Life has been a little crazy lately, but I assure you that we are all alive and well. I had to post about our weekend though.


A year ago last October our friends, Jason and Jennifer Mouso and their two boys, were baptized. You can read about what I wrote about their conversion last year here! Their goal from the beginning was to make it to the temple. They wanted to know what was required to get there and did everything they needed to do to get there.

On Friday, Ivan and I were able to escort Jason and Jenn through the Mesa temple where they were able to to receive sacred ordinances and make covenants with God. It was such an amazing experience for us. When they were investigating the church, we shared with them how much we loved the temple and tried to describe the feeling of peace that is felt inside the temple. But describing the peace is as hard as describing what salt taste like. You know how it taste, but it's hard to put it into words. It was so amazing to have them there with us in the temple and able to feel and experience it for themselves! They are already so anxious to go again.

The neatest part for me was seeing so many of our friends from church there in the celestial room to greet Jenn and Jason at the end. The support, love, and joy that all of us felt for them was evident.

Saturday had to be the Perfect Day. We started the day bright and early at the Triathlon and Biathlon in Casa Grande. We had at least 15 people that we knew participating in the festivities! It was Ivan's first Biathlon. He ran a mile and 1/2, biked 10 miles, and ran another 3 miles. He was hoping to do it in an hour and 15 minutes, but he was able to finish in an hour and 10 minutes! He rode his $100 mountain bike that we bought at Shopko while we were at BYU. He had people whizzing by him left and right who were on really nice road bikes, so he had to make up the difference in the running. He placed 9th overall. I think he would have come in 1st in the mountain bike division! :-) Maybe when we pay off the house, we can get him a real bike.

We had a great time cheering on all our friends at the finish line. Eventually I'll email everyone the pictures I took of them crossing the finish line. From the race, we hurried back to the hotel to get ready to head back up to the temple.

It was so neat to be with Jenn in the Bridal Room as she prepared to be married again to Jason. Then, I walked into the chapel and saw the missionaries that taught them the gospel. I can only imagine the joy they felt! The sealing room was completely full when they brought in Jenn and Jason. They were given counsel and were then married for time and all eternity. Then, they brought in Zach and Alex all dressed in white. They were then sealed as a family for time and all eternity. This was a dream come true for us and an experience we would love for all of our friends and family to have! The feeling in the room was indescribable!

After the temple, we relieved my wonderful niece who watched our kids, got a bite to eat with the Mousos and more friends at Sweet Tomatoes, and all hurried back in time to attend Lexi Hartless' baptism. The Spirit was so strong at the baptism. I felt like I was seeing the blessings of gospel ordinances from the beginning to the pinnacle all in one day. It was truly the perfect day!

BYU-TV Latter-day Profiles

It's been a long time since I've posted something on this blog. Life has been so busy.

Last Wednesday I was featured on BYU-TV. I filmed their Latter-day Profiles 30 minute program last July at BYU-Idaho. They have featured Glenn Beck, Dale Murphy (the retired baseball player), and many other people in the past. The show aired 10/14 at 8:30 p.m. AZ time (9:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time for those of you in Utah or Idaho).

If you missed it, don't worry! They are showing it again on BYU-TV 10/21 (this Wednesday) at 4:30 p.m. AZ time or 5:30 p.m. Utah time.

You can can still watch it online:

http://byutv.org/streaming/

Select 10/14 and scroll down until you see "Stephanie Ashcroft". Yes, it's Ashcraft, but it's commonly misspelled. :-) Click on my name and it will bring up the program.