Blessings and Joy

I've had some really wonderful blessings this summer that I feel I need to share.  I've had my ups and downs with the Fibro but I've also had some really wonderful experiences and am getting ready to experience some more.  I leave early tomorrow morning for a trip to visit my daughter and her family in California and while I am there I will get to reunite with a cousin I haven't seen in about 40 years!  Pondering that, it makes me sound realllllly old....

Back to the blessings of my summer. It began with a little retreat with a few sweet and wonderful young women at this quaint little cabin up near Sundance Utah, How Cute Is This????

It was a wonderful experience getting to know these young ladies and sharing life stories and just staying up late and really laughing together.  I was so glad I went and spent this special time with them.

Next I went on a last minute trip home to Eagar Arizona.  I hadn't been home in about 2 years.  I told my mom I was coming but my brothers had no idea.  What fun it was to surprise them.  I hadn't seen my oldest brother in about 6 years.  Let me just say, many tears were shed that weekend.  We had not all been together for a whole weekend in a very, very, very, long time. 

We had a big bar-b-que with my uncles, cousins, neices, nephews, etc.  It was so fun to see everyone and spend some precious moments with them.  With the years passing so quickly, my mom's growing age, the children growing older, it is so important to have this time together. I can't believe my neice Taylor is graduating from high school already!  Time Flies, it really does and if we are not careful, it will zoom past us and we won't even see the things that are really imporant as they fly by.

Crazy thing, that Saturday that we were there, a cousin on my dad's side of the family called and they were having a family reunion at the city park!  What are the odds??? We were able to go over and visit with some family members on my dad's side we had not seen in 30 or 40 years as well as some we had never met.  It was amazing!  We jam packed so much in that short 4 days.

Most important, my son and his wife brought their new baby girl with us.  My mom had not yet met her great granddaughter.  What a sweet precious moment that was.

It was so worth the trip.  We had a wonderful time looking at old pictures, watching old videos and sharing memories together.  We had a lifetime of memories to share with each other.  I enjoyed this wonderful time with my mom, brothers, and the rest of the family.  Thanks to all of you.

Next up My husband and I attended another retreat with the young women we serve in the bishopric of at BYU. 

It was one of the most uplifting things I have been to in a very long time.  We had a wonderful time and these young ladies were so kind and generous to us.  I have to say that when I think of service and compassion I think of one of the young ladies in our ward.  She exudes these attributes so much.  She is always asking how I am doing and she really cares about me.  At this retreat she made sure I was taken care of.  She would not rest until I got my toe nails done with the glitter toes they were doing on all the girls!  It was so sweet! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve these young women and for the love and care they give back to me.  I know that when we are serving other people we have less time to dwell on our own problems and pain.