Update~

Hi Yall!
It's time for alittle catch up! So Josh and I have started school. It's been so great to be back in school, I thought I was going to hate it but to tell you the truth...I love it! I have great teachers so far and they are helping me understand the lessons we have. (very detailed) I even have this preachin' teacher...well he sounds like it....this other girl who has him agreed it's so funny!
well school os going really great for josh he has class tuesday and thursday basicly all day 19 credits...crazy man...He was telling me the other day he wants to be a phycitrist Heck I can't even spell it but I know he'll be amazing at it...First on to Medical School. Yeah! well I'll let you know about any other great news! Oh yeah Happy Birthday to me!
-Laura Hunt Sheets

Little Happenings

Ethan, happy as can be, before the haircut!
He doesn't like those haircuts so much! Bet he sure is cute even when he's sad! That Target bag brings out his eyes!

I had a little cabin fever this month so luckily we had a girl's lunch planned with some friends. I would encourage this to any of you moms who also have cabin fever. It's nice to get out and talk to other moms who have cabin fever too! :)

We have great news!!

This past summer I worked very hard putting together a grant application for the Zions Bank Smart Women Smart Money Grant. They award only 5 grants a year, $3,000 each. The applicants are from Utah and Idaho and range from business grants to service-oriented grants.
I received the phone call this afternoon informing me I was one of those 5 winners! I will be awarded the grant on Sept. 27th at the Smart Women Smart Money Conference in Salt Lake City. They plan on doing a video about each of the winners to play at the conference--so that part will be interesting.
Part I of the application was to write a mission statement based off the Smart Women Smart Money theme. Here's what I submitted:

Mission Statement:

“Zions Bank’s Smart Women Grants help support the efforts of everyday heroines who strengthen women, children and their communities.”

My application for the Smart Women Grants is focused on the goal I have had to find a way to help the children who enter the walls of the Washington County Children’s Justice Center.

I first learned about the center when I moved to the St. George area two years ago. I worked as a reporter for the local newspaper and my coverage assignments were the cops beat and other municipality news. While working closely with the local law enforcement agencies, I quickly discovered that the community had a growing problem of child abuse.

When I first heard about the Children’s Justice Center I was appreciative to learn that there was a home environment created for children taken out of abusive situations that needed to be questioned by law personnel. What was alarming was how many children were being served in such a small place. Since the numbers of people coming in and out of the center were increasing, keeping their anonymity was becoming problematical.

The Children’s Justice Center has recently begun construction of a bigger home to accommodate the growing number of children being brought in. The expansion will help create an improved environment for the children who come to the center. There will be additional interview rooms built to help serve more children in a timely manner.

It is my goal to help strengthen the children who come to the center after experiencing horrific ordeals to feel that they are in a shelter of love, trust and support.

It is my mission to use the grant money to adopt an interview room at the Washington County Children’s Justice Center and create an environment that will help bring serenity to a tender soul.

The children of this community are the teachers, leaders, etc. of tomorrow. They are also the mothers and fathers of tomorrow. If we can create a place of love to help them through their terrible trial, we can help break the cycles of abuse and help them understand that a community loves them.

My Zions Bank Smart Women Grants application is the vision of the mission statement—this grant will impact thousands of children, influence hundreds of communities in which these children will live and will help mothers like myself give to those children what they need most—love.

Needless to say, I was more than elated to receive that phone call this afternoon. I have been wanting to find a way to be more involved in the community, especially with the Children's Justice Center. I look forward to making these rooms in the new center a very special place for the children who it will serve.

I also want to say a very special thankful to my sweet husband who supported me through this whole process and encouraged me to be involved with this passion of mine!

I little political.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G9hydflwEQ

I thought this was very interesting to say the least.
Go Mitt!

Arizona Idol Auditions

clarification

just to make a quick clarification note: i made eric a little nervous with my last entry. i am not sad or depressed. i am very excited to be moving adn i don't want any of my family members to be worried about us. i, of course, am going to be sad, but the happy/exciting feelings overcrowd those other feelings anyway. so yeah. we are almost ready to leave up to torrey utah for a curfew (eric's moms family) family reunion. should be a blast!

until next time and happy as ever,

sara roberts!

leaving las vegas...er....

hey family! I still have yet to figure out how to send pictures and put them on the blog and what not. I don't understand the whole send to a URL or what not. we don't have a flash player thingy available at eric's mom's house, so i couldnt make the slide show. anyway, i'm pretty lucky just to be able to post this. when it comes to computers, i don't really think outside the box. so yeah.

So i know by now all of you have heard, but with eric getting accepted into pharmacy school, there is a lot that i have to accept. not that it's a bad thing. after all we have been praying for that blessing for the past 2 years. i am nervous, so nervous to be moving to a different state. it is going to be my biggest move ever and just crazy. we have decided to pull the car and for me to ride with eric because we all know i would probably wreck the car while crying so hard. my little nieces and nephews are going to be the hardest to leave. i wish that i had a child to distract me from them, but thats a no go. so i decided i have to be careful what i wish for. if we keep wishing he may curse us with triplets! yikes! at any rate, i have one big ball of emotion all bottled up in side. i know things will be great once we have an apartment and i have a job and what not. i just have a thing with this unknown business. it makes me very uneasy! please keep us in your prayers.

it is also hard to believe that eric and i hit our 2 year mark today! that went by way to fast! it has been so much fun and we are looking forward to an eternity together. we've done so much in the last two years, i don't know how we're going to compete withourselves this next year, but we're on to bigger adventures, so i guess we'll manage somehow. we would hope that anyone who wanted to would come visit. eric will probably be busy adn he's not into fishing anyway, but i would love to go fishing in the river or hiking or something with anyone who would join me/us.

i will figure out the picture thing and pretend like i know what i'm doing. we'll see how that goes. i sure love everyone and i had a very nice time when everyone came to visit. we appreciate all the thoughts and prayers in this past 6 months or so, and pray for our families daily.

much love and until next time,

keep moving forward!

love eric and sara

Hello dear family!

Hey yall!
It's the sheets family! First off all we apologize for taking so long Jill I am sorry, you make such an effort thank you so much. We really have no excuse, just busy I guess. We just returned from vacation. We spent a week playing on the beach, looking at lighthouses, and other various pieces of history (black beard the pirate). Before we left for the beach Josh and I got very familiar with the area by going to the Greensboro Public Library. I have to admit that going to the library never sparked interest but now that I am older I guess I've become, yes, a nerd. Josh and I go to the library quite frequently now. we check out movies, books, and cd's. The C.D.'s have been really cool I checked this one C.D. out I can't remember what it's called but it's Hawaiian steel guitar it's really neat.
Here are some pictures of the vacation and such.

Josh and I on the pier right down from the house( a bunch of people would party hard on this pier starting at around sunset we had one good sunset on it.



This is the lovely house we vacationed in it had an elevator which was nice if you had lot's of things you had to carry up and down the stairs. you of course had to wait 5 minuets to get it to come down to you or up to you.

from left to right Jason, Jane(the mom) josh (my skin head husband) and Noah Jason's son (he was the one we sent in front of us to make sure there were no ceatures...were lame and cruel but he's fearless...:)

yeah this is why I was not laying in the water...yep it's a jellyfish...the water around the islands are very tricky it's about 3 or 4 feet deep for miles and out in some places, miles deep I guess that's why they had so many shipwrecks and when I say so many I mean a rediculous amounts.

we had to take a ferry to the next island this was really fun it took about 20 minuets and well worth it.

from left to right josh, Noah, Lizzy, and Jilly the last two are little goblins! SO Cute though.

people feeding the seagulls they are crazy I didn't get pictures of it but josh and I had them eating off our tummy's they'll do anything for a bit to eat. I also threw a bunch of goldfish crackers in the air....if you ever get a chance to do that...it's thee funniest thing ever.

This is The Cape Hatteras lighthouse it's so cool we got such a workout to get to the top it was fantastic. They moved this lighthouse a half a mile where the trees are in a pathway to the ocean is where they moved it..you probably can't see but in the ocean there is a barrier they had to build because the water was getting to close to the lighthouse
josh and I so happy to be up there with about 5 crazy people and a few others I got informed they were Northerner's and Jill I think you may have an Idea of what that means....I am catching on
This is a different lighthouse Josh and I went to alone we got eaten alive by mosquitoes

Josh and I are moving about 5 miles away into these really neat apartments, nothing fancy but it's great for us. The apartment has a dishwasher and washer and dryer connections you don't know how helpful they are until they are gone. What a blessing well we are paying only 575.00 a month that includes cable, water, and trash....granted no pool or workout room but we figure we'd never use it anyway. We move in on the 27th it'll be a great apt.

Sorry we have been slacking in the keeping in contact department and such I am going to start working on it. I am going to start work on a lot of stuff. I have come to feel and know the truth in a very hard way that I am a adult child of an alcoholic and it has effected me in so many different ways. Not just selfisteam but in the way I treat others and how I let them treat me. I just wanted the family know what I am doing and I need there support. Just through phone calls and e-mails and things

336-755-7828

saranademe@yahoo.com

nothing big but just so I know you are there for me and love me.

anyway on another note..

I am going to start college in august that's going to be a trip, very difficult at times but like it's been said

"He never said it would be easy he only said it would be worth it!" or something to that effect.

and I do have a very supportive husband! That helps a lot:)

I am so excited for everyone For Tyler...He gets Zoey overnight now! and his business is doing great I am sure (insert the above quote)

for Jeff and Tera for the success there with Jeff's new job! (Josh is interning for the family life counsel of Greensboro He may have a few questions for you it's a non-profit program called wise guys) Tera I hope I am spelling your name right anyway your a such a great mom you have the job of all jobs! Bless your heart as grandma Gwen would say.

Sara and Eric: Congradu freakin' lations! That it such a great opportunity for you guys to learn and grow further new place new school new ward!

Jill and Coby! I am so excited for you to take your trip to Hotlanta and Oh my goodness your pictures of Ben! He is such a fun lovin' baby just like his parents He is going to be the best little boy! I really hope your book is going great Jill I would like another insert soon if I could and coby I would like to hear some of your music soon! if possible

Joe and Ashley

I am sorry I haven't kept in better contact with you in this past year, But I am sure excited for you guys little Ethan is a doll I mean that in a very manly doll way Joe.

I will start posting as often as possible once a week after family home evening or studying my lesson.

well I'd better go get my laundry before someone steals it.

I love you guys so very much! and can't wait to write again.!

Love the Sheetsthought I'd end with this lion picture it's funny.

Ben's 1-year-old pics

Ben had his one-year-old check up and shots this week. He's not even considered a preemie anymore since his stats and development are ahead of his birth age. Preemies usually are "caught up" between 2-3-years-old, so we are truly blessed! He weighs 23 lbs. exactly and is 31.5" long. Translated into percentages, he's at 47% for weight and 87% for his height. He's doing awesome...we just need to get his baby sister, Daisy, here!! :)

P.S. We're not posting anymore until everyone get's their hind-ends in gear and post some new pics and updates!! ~ With love, Jill :)

Ben's 1st b-day & July 4th