Because He Lives

This Easter season has been a tender one for me. The love and gratitude I feel for my Savior I can't adequately describe. He is a part of my life in so many ways. Some I recognize and some I probably don't quite yet. 

My Savior changes everything for me. Without Him I would have no hope, no peace and lack countless other blessings. This Easter when I think of my Savior He is more real than He has been in times past. He feels closer to me because I have had to draw closer to Him. He is my Friend, my Teacher, my Brother and my King.

For those of you who haven't yet seen this short Easter video I hope it helps you feel closer to Christ because He Lives and is a part of your life.

So ask yourself where do you see the Savior?

For me He is with my family. Here on earth and in heaven. And because He Lives we all will live again.

-Danielle 

Stephen Thomas Holbrook

As most of you know my sweet little boy Thomas was born on September 10^th and passed away on September 18^th. For a long time now I have felt I need to share some of my thoughts from this experience.

I will never be able to adequately share everything, but I would like to share a portion of a letter I wrote to my family shortly after Thomas’ funeral.

My hope in sharing this isn’t to make anyone sad, but that you will see that God is good. That He is loving and kind and that if we look closely His hand can be seen in each of our lives.

September 24, 2014

"Stephen and I have truly felt your love and prayers throughout this experience. Our hearts are full of gratitude for your generosity and love.

I just want to share some of the thoughts and feelings I have had throughout this experience. Of course this has been a time of great sorrow, maybe at moments despair, but overall I have found the birth and death of our sweet Thomas to be faith building and I don’t think I have ever felt closer to the spirit and my Savior.

The night Thomas was born I got to hold him close as did Stephen.He was perfect, he still is.

Later that night after the nurses rushed him off to the NICU I got to see him with Stephen before they planned on air flighting him to the children’s hospital. I held his tiny hand and kissed him all the while thinking that this could be the last time I saw him. In my own way I even prayed to my Heavenly Father letting him know that I would be ok with whatever His Will was.

I am so grateful for the week that I had with Thomas. His hospital room became a sacred place where we could feel his spirit and the comfort of the Holy Ghost. Maybe this just happens for all parents, but being near him and feeling of his valiant spirit made me want to be better. To become more like my Savior.

I wonder what things Thomas learned his short week on earth. He definitely experienced pain and suffering and I cannot help but think that he was willing to endure those things to fulfill his mission on earth.

I will not know all the good Thomas was able to achieve here on earth but have already seen how his life has impacted many. I know because of my sweet Thomas I am forever changed and hope I can lead a life as a true disciple of Christ.

It brings me great joy to consider the positive impact that our Thomas may have had on friends and family and I feel honored to be his mother as I feel he has taught me more than I will ever be able to teach him.

I also am grateful for the power of prayer and the ability for each of us to receive revelation. Heavenly Father truly has let Stephen and I know that Thomas was needed on the other side and that he has a great work to do.

I am grateful for the Restored Gospel and that we live at a time when the priesthood is on the earth. I am grateful for the sealing power that binds our family, for the great Plan of Happiness that will allow each of us to be with Thomas again one day. I know that Jesus Christ lives and I am so grateful for His sacrifice, because of Him we can have hope.

Thank you again for your love, prayers and support. What a sweet thought to consider that our Thomas is “In His Constant Care” and I think standing beside our Savior inviting others to accept the sweetness that the gospel brings.”
 

In His Constant Care By: Simon Dewey

We all have difficult experiences and at times you may feel utterly alone, but he is there. Your Savior Jesus Christ is always there, willing and waiting to comfort you as you turn to him. He has felt all your pain, suffering and sorrow and because of this knows perfectly how to heal your heart. 

 -Danielle

Paris is for Lovers

Our last days in Paris consisted of more crepes, croissants and of course some macarons...and apparently we no longer felt the need to take pictures. We hit up this cafe with these humongous and impressive meringues.

Every time I see this picture I regret not trying one!

Then my sweetheart and I headed to what I'll call "Lovers Bridge" where we locked a padlock to the bridge and each threw our keys into the river. This symbolized our unbreakable love for one another...a little cheezy maybe, but what can I say we were newly weds and it is still a fun memory!  

Lovers Bridge

Each of us tossing our keys into the river

The next day we headed over to Versailles to see the Palace. The night before we discovered the Palace would be closed and it was definitely bad planning, but at least we have a good reason to come back. We were able to enjoy the gardens for free which was fun and relaxing.

Versailles Gardens

The back of the Palace

After we had our fill, back to Paris we went to enjoy more museums and the beautiful ambiance of the lovely city. We even visited Musée de l'Orangerie and basked in Monet's Water Lilies. This exhibit ended up being my favorite one and it was our last!! 

Huge hot dogs for lunch

Tuileries Garden

This may have been taken even though we weren't supposed to

Place de la Concorde or "Harmony" Plaza right by the museum

And on to a new country!

-Danielle

Perfect Paris

Paris day two was a whirlwind. First stop was Notre Dame. Stephen grabbed breakfast for us while I waited in line and we each chowed down on a delightful croissant just before entering its enchanted doors.

Notre Dame Cathédrale...check out that line phew. 

Back of Notre Dame

Next stop was Sainte-Chapelle. Famous for its stained glass collection and located near the former palace in Paris. The chapel was originally commissioned by King Louis the IX as a home for his religious relics.

Sainte-Chapelle

If you are planning a 3-4 day trip in Paris I highly recommend buying a Paris pass it can save you money and it helped us bypass a 1-2 hour line. Of course we had to visit Musée du Louvre and saw...

Raphael's The School of Athens

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (Small but impressive in my opinion)

 and some beautifully adorned rooms to name a few.

Next stop was Les Invalides a complex of buildings including the army museum of France.

Napoleon's Horse...we may have gotten scolded for taking this picture.

Les Invalides

We are major foodies so of course trying a crepe was in order! Eventually we decided to eat an early dinner. We were big fans of the meals that came with an appetizers or dessert and would split them scoring a three course meal.

Banana Nutella Crepe

Cafe Dinner (Croque Monsieur and Veal with Frittata)



We ended the evening atop Notre Dame, viewing the famous gargoyles and bourdon bell up close. We even waited until dusk to enjoy the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.

The View from Notre Dame

Door to ring the bell

Bourdon Bell

Famous Gargoyles

Notre Dame at night

Au Revoir

-Danielle

Charming Paris

Paris. Oh sweet Paris, what an unexpected surprise and a city that has stolen my heart. I adore the architecture and vibe that Paris has to offer. 

Now getting to Paris that was quite the endeavor. We had a flight booked but we left for the airport a little later than anticipated. Couple that with some London Tube delays and we missed our flight by literally two minutes. Apparently British Airways doesn't allow people to check into flights unless they get there a minimum of 30 min. prior and well folks 28 min. just wasn't cutting it for them. So we booked a train ticket, plan B commenced and enchanting Paris awaited.

Fun fact: all buildings in Paris are required to be built using Haussmann architecture.

Starting off our Parisian adventures with a bike tour was definitely a plus and SO enjoyable. It helped us get our bearings on where everything was located and away we went! 

           
           Eiffel Tower                                 Fat Tire Bike Tours

Arc de Triomphe is impressive in size and pictures simply don’t seem to do it justice and who wouldn’t love a windy walk down Champs-Élysées? Very touristy, yet charming at the same time. 

Arc de Triomphe

The View from the Top

Next we braved the 669 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower (or second platform before everyone takes a lift to the top). We decided to take our time at the top and experience the light show actually on the tower....it is much more fun from a distance!

At the top

The Views

Next we found some delicious food...authentic European dinner time I might add... it was late! I was so surprised by how exquisite our food was and I dare say it was inspiring.

Onion Soup

Crème brûlée

-Danielle

Woke up in London yesterday...

Backpacking through Europe... a decision I don’t think I will ever regret! How wonderful is it that you can TRAVEL and learn all at once!

First Stop London. If Stephen ever works overseas London is on my list. All of the museums there are free…not so sure about the taxes to keep those beauties open though.

Day one our friend Chris gave us the basic tour and we soaked in the Olympic spirit. I’m sure you’re thinking it must have been crazy that time of year but oddly enough all the locals stayed home that week leaving all of the explorations London has to offer wide open.

The next morning we headed straight to the tower of London to see the amazing crown jewels and I must say they did NOT disappoint. Unfortunately pictures are not allowed. 

Tower of London Home of the Crown Jewels. 

This guy is in charge of protecting them...caught in the act he scratched his side.

Tower Bridge

We also enjoyed views of The Gherkin, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, Trafalgar Square home of the National Art Gallery, Piccadilly Circus, The British Library home of the Magna Carta before doing the obvious.....

King's Cross Station Platform 9 3/4. 

We've read the books but aren't die hard so we thought it was pretty funny there was a queue.

We ended the night in a Newtown market, popular with the young crowd. The next morning we enjoyed more of the sights London has to offer before hitting the tour at Westminster Abbey... worth every penny if you are a history nerd like me.

Parliament Building with the astonishing Big Ben.

              Westminster Abbey                     An inside peek

               Just Because                         Barclay Bikes 

How could I forget...riding Barclay Bikes around London was one of my favorite experiences! It was an enjoyable, relaxing and economical way to get around while giving those tourist feet a much needed rest.

Next stop Paris....well eventually!

-Danielle

I'm getting back on the bandwagon

Well folks it has been almost a year since I’ve updated this here memoir….and ALMOST is the key word. I’d like to point out that I’m “almost” a full month AHEAD of it being an entire year so I’ll just give myself a pat on the back now…cough ahem. No need to mention that this is the first post of 2013.

So the question I’m dying to answer is what have the Holbrook’s been up to this year!? Well like anyone in life it has been full of ups and downs, highs and lows (sometimes I feel like there is a façade in the blogging world where only the highs are recorded) but this time around I think I’ll keep it lively and talk about our highlights. Just remember ‘real’ life did go on over these last months and yes that included scrubbing toilets, doing dishes and hey even changing a few diapers so props to you mommas who do that on the daily. :)

Last time I left off sharing the joyful marriage of my brother and now sister and just a week after that Stephen and I were off to wedding #2 of that month.

Beautiful St. Louis welcomed us with fall leaves and PERFECT weather. It was fun to FINALLY see the place that Stephen always so fondly reminisces about and of course spending time with family was a big plus!!

Alison and Alex were married in the gorgeous St. Louis Temple and the day was not without our flower girls (my nieces) picking up fall leaves for their bouquets and dancing around the temple grounds. We may have even thrown in some car decorating with Mountain Dew and Dr. Thunder cans as an added touch of class.  ;)

St. Louis Temple 
(Photo credit to Alex's brother...I had no pictures thank you Facebook)

Later that day the newlyweds dashed off into the sunset, while the rest of the family hit up Dave & Busters for some dinner and games.  The last stop of the night included Silky’s for some frozen custard…arguably the best custard there is but I’ll let you hash that out with the Mr.

The next day Stephen had to head back to Denver but I got to stay with the girls for a couple extra days in St. Louis. We explored their incredible and FREE I might add zoo and the famous arch (gateway to the west) before heading to Chicago. When in Chicago I soaked up some more family time with some deep dish pizza, a fun ferris wheel ride and a lovely Navy Pier Boat tour.  Thanks to Mom and Dad Holbrook for the fun and fabulous time! 

 Grandma and Chicken writing on the walls at Gino's East

Every child's dream to color on the walls, table, etc.

-Danielle