Celebrating Easter...

 

 I love Easter! 

It is my favorite holiday. 

 We decided as a family that we wanted to give some service to our community

 to celebrate this holy holiday. During Christmas, we traditionally make some gift for

 each family in our community, but this past Christmas we were very 

focused on a wedding! ;) We thought Easter would be a great time to 

share some love with our family and friends.

   

 Each box was filled with the traditional Mexican Buñuelos. 

 They are a light and crispy coated with cinnamon and sugar. They are a tasty treat! 

 On the top of each box we attached a video of the life of Christ. 

 A perfect way to celebrate Easter! 

We then delivered the boxes to friends and family... 

We ended the evening with some yummy tacos from our favorite taco stand. 

It was a fun evening!

 

His Wedding Shoes...

 

( J+K...The Marriage License)

 Time is just passing too quickly and there are so many things I don't want to forget. Thoughts...feelings...hopes...dreams. 

We have gotten all of the pictures of The Boy's December wedding. 

 As I have gone through all of the beautiful photos, it's given me the chance to reflect 

back on that day. The things I remember most are being surrounded by such wonderful 

family and friends. My brothers, and sister...brothers-in-law...sisters-in-law...all there to
 love us at this very special time for our family.  To have my Aunts and
Uncles from both sides of my family in the 

temple with us was amazing! We had a few minutes, waiting for the ceremony to 

begin, where I was able to just look around the room...remembering why I loved 

each person who was there to be with us. That was a very special moment for me. 

The Boy's mission President and his wife drove from St. George to be with him in the

 Mesa Temple for the ceremony. That brought so many tears for me. 

 They are amazing people.

   

 The morning of the wedding, I overheard The Boy asking Grandma Vicki if he 

could use his grandpa's shoe shine kit. He wanted to polish the shoes he would be married in. 

 The shoe shine kit was kept in a little wooden box. Grandpa Charles was meticulous

 about keeping his Sunday shoes clean and polished. I have so many memories of him 

polishing his shoes with that sweet kit. I didn't realize that The Boy also had memories 

of his Grandpa Charles shinning his shoes. Knowing my Father, I am sure he must have 

taken the time to teach The Boy, his grandson, how to properly clean and polish his shoes, 

when he was a young boy. I am sure he worked right along with him as he taught him...

that was his way. The Boy sat quiet as he polished his shoes. It was a sacred moment for him.

 He had planned to have his Grandpa Charles with him in the temple on his wedding day.

 In fact, he would have preformed the ceremony as he was a Sealer when he passed away. 

The Boy was longing for his Grandpa Charles the morning of his wedding day. 

 He would have had some wonderful words of counsel for The Boy...

he would have told him how very proud of him that he was...

he would have shed tears with The Boy...he was good at that ;) 

He would have guided him on his wedding day with great strength and 

testimony and great love. 

The Boy missed him terribly... 

and so did I.

   

 It was a very sweet moment to witness as The Boy found his dear grandfather

 in the simple act of polishing his shoes on his wedding morning. I am ever grateful 

for a Father who continued to "raise" me as I raised my own children. 

 And with his wisdom, he raised them too... I think he still does. 

 I hope I never forget that tender moment between 

The Boy and his Dear Grandpa Charles.

Grateful...

It was a beautiful weekend for our family. 

13 years ago The Rooster was only 5 years old and The Farmer was

called to serve in church leadership in our area. 

The Rooster is now 18...and 

The Farmer has finished with this assignment.

 

It has been a great 13 years...but it has also been a very difficult 13 years.

 The Darlings sacrificed the most I think. 

But we have been blessed. 

I am grateful that The Farmer will answer a call to serve God, 

no matter the location, or what may be required of him.

 

These great men spent the weekend in our home. 

 They taught us, and they loved us.

 It felt like we were old friends when the weekend was done. 

Our family is looking forward to seeing a little more of that Farmer of ours...

 I am grateful for the experience of the past 13 years...

and I am looking forward to the future.

   

Picks and Shovels...

“God gives the picks and shovels to the ‘chosen’ 

because they are willing to go to work 

and get callouses on their hands.” 

Gordon B. Hinckley

 

We have big changes ahead for our family.

 A release for The Farmer...a marriage...and many more changes. 

They are all good changes.

 I am so grateful that he has labored with such commitment and love. 

 He has been a wonderful example of 

 "Enduring to the end." 

I love him so much for that.

 

Sis. Precious Overload!

 

 Sis. Precious overload! 

She is amazing! 

 She is now training a new Sister!

 I can't believe we are going on 8 months!! Yippee!!! She is a perfect joy!

 

One Of Those Really Good Moments....

 

Last weekend we headed to Mesa. We have been looking forward to this for a long time...

actually 19 years!;)

  PreShie flew from Provo to finalize her teeth issues and to

 attend the Mesa Arizona Temple.

 

When she was deciding which temple she would like to attend for her special day...she consulted with her big brother...
The Aggie Boy, who didn't even hesitate to tell her that the Mesa Temple was our

family temple, and how could she consider anything else! And he is right.

 It is a very special temple for our family. Generations on each side of the family has been blessed by

"Our Temple." I love the sentiment of that Aggie Boy! So Mesa it was.

  While on our way to Mesa we found out that Grandpa S. was on his way to the hospital.

  He was very ill. We went straight to the hospital and one by one The Brotherhood arrived!

  Oh how I love those brothers of mine. While Grandpa S. was being cared for, The Brotherhood...

The Farmer and I enjoyed visiting and laughing into the weeeee hours of the morning.

 Grandpa was released...we headed home and got a few hours of sleep before morning arrived.

 PreShie spent the morning in more dental appointments...I cannot even begin to express my

 gratitude for the wonderful Doctors that have helped us out of a very complex situation.

 Each one is very special to us! Once the appointments were done we began preparations

or her visit to the Mesa Temple. There is always lots of fun and laughing when she is around.

  The and The Rooster LOVED being together.

 

 

We enjoyed our time at the Temple, it was a beautiful experience.

She was surrounded by her Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents. It meant so much to have them with us.

 Afterward we enjoyed a great dinner together!

Saturday was filled with lots of shopping! I think we have her pretty ready to go.

 What a fun process it was! The Farmer and The Rooster were both really patient while

 we did what had to be done! Later that afternoon, the family gathered again

for more partying! This time with all the cousins.

  We enjoyed a delicious sandwich...Ned's a Mesa tradition.

 

There was lot of swimming...yummy food...and great family!!

 

 

All in celebration of PreShie!!

 

 

Sunday came too quickly and PreShie returned to Provo.

  It was great to be with the Grandparents for Mother's Day. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend!

  I am so very grateful for a wonderful family who is so great to support us!

 

**p.s. Thank you to the sweet lady who stopped me in Target;) you made my night!

What a sweetheart you are! Thank you for your kind words.

Conference Weekend...

General Conference Weekend is a favorite of mine.

 I LOVE the spirit that is felt all weekend long! It is a very special time.

 Our weekend was filled with family and lots of yummy food. The Aggie Darlings has a great weekend too!

 PreShie enjoyed a visit from a very dear friend.

 

 

 

She also had the chance to attend a session of Conference with a great group of friends...

which also included her roommates from Aggie Land;)

 They have been such a great group of friends this past school year

.

 

 

The Aggie Boy also enjoyed the company of good friends and cousins.

They shared sometime at Sundance snowboarding...on the last day of the ski season there.

 

 

 

I must say...these friends/cousins have enjoyed every possible moment

of the ski season! Good for them!!!

 

 

 

 During the Priesthood session, the women of the family gathered and enjoyed a Quesidilla Bar.

It was delicious and such a good time! The men of the family attended Priesthood, and then met for

 their traditional "men's dinner." From what I hear...that was a pretty good time too!

What a wonderful weekend it was!!

 

Called To Serve...Sweet Precious

 

This past week was Spring Break for The "Aggie" Darlings.

 Oh...I was thrilled to have them come home and just be here with us.

 What a treat for the Mom;) They stopped off in Mesa, so PreShie could have another

surgery on her mouth...I think this is the third...possibly fourth. BUT, she can now see the

light at the end of the tunnel and all of her mouth "drama" should be over in the

next two months! Anyway...after spending a couple of days with the Grandparents S.

 they headed home. We ate way too much! We stayed up talking...we had family gatherings...

we had a wonderful time.

 

 

The Aggie cousin group planned to leave Saturday to return to Logan and

 Friday morning PreShies mission call showed up! We just figured her "lost" call would

 arrived next week in Logan. We never expected that it would actually arrive in Mexico,

while she was here...what are the odds! It was just meant to be;)

The moment the Bishop dropped off her call, we began contacting family to

let them know that she would be opening it that evening. Evening came...

the family gathered...The Grandparents S. joined us on Skype...

and then it was time...

 

 

With all eyes on her...she carefully opened the large white

envelope that was addressed to Sister Victoria Jones...

 

Called to Serve...

California Sacramento Mission

Reporting July 2

English Speaking

 

 

I am so grateful that she was home for this amazing moment...

and that it was shared with family and friends who love her so much.

 I am so grateful for our Precious! She has been a great blessing to me,

her mother and to her whole family. She loves life and has a deep sense of spirituality.

 She will be an amazing missionary! I love her sense of duty in following in the

footsteps of grandmothers who have gone before her. I love her sense of family.

She is an amazing young lady. Here's to our beautiful Precious!

The soon to be...Sister Jones!

I love you very much PreShie!!

 

A Simple Lesson In Faith....

Yesterday morning, our phone rang.

It was our missionaries, their lunch appointment had fallen through and they

needed a place to eat. Certainly my reply was "Yes" and with much gratitude they said they

would be by later in the afternoon. Around noon, The Rooster had a basketball game.

We are in the midst of our church basketball tournament. It was such a fun game and

the boys all played so well. At one point during the game the Stake Young Men's President

pointed out that all the players on our ward team...came from our family.

Sure enough...I looked at each of them and they are all cousins. How great is that!!

 They won their game and The Rooster and I headed home to begin preparing

a meal for the missionaries who would soon arrive. I do love the missionaries!

 They are in our home a lot and they have been a great blessing to our family for many years.

 But this day, would be different. I wouldn't be the one offering service...it would those wonderful missionaries that would teach me a lesson...a very simple, yet profound one.

The missionaries arrived...lunch was ready...The Farmer joined us.

As we began to eat, it began to rain. We all commented on how strange the weather has

been this year. The Peach trees in are in full blossom, and are about three weeks ahead

of schedule. We have hardly had a Winter this year. It has been warm actually which

is dangerous for our orchards. So, we continued to visit, and then the rain became

more aggressive. I went to the window to see what was happening at while

I stood looking out, it began to hail. I couldn't take my eyes off of my yard which was

quickly filling with rain and hail. My heart sank! The Farmer sat listening...hoping that

the sound of the hail would stop...but it didn't. He then went to his truck and left

for the nearby orchards to see what damage had been done.

Perfectly helpless, I stood with those sweet missionaries in my kitchen.

Hail is never a good thing for a farmer. I could see that the missionaries were also

worried. I am sure they were watching me and could see my concern.

 I said something like...

"God knows all...and we are in His hands..."

We sat in silence...with the sound of more hail and rain beating on the roof of our home...

when one of the dear missionaries asked if we might pray.

 Grateful for the suggestion I said "please." With perfect faith and conviction...

yet full of humility the Elder began to pray. He offered the most perfect and sincere prayer.

He prayed specifically for The Farmer, that our crops would not be terribly

damaged and that we would be filled with peace and know that the Lord was perfectly

aware of us. The prayer was extraordinary because it truly was a conversation

between a child and a Father. A simple yet profound petition for help and understanding.

 It was one of the most pure prayers I have ever heard. It was simple... It was perfect.

Because I have the "gift" of tears...this is where I found myself when the prayer

 was done. In tears. So totally grateful for a cancelled lunch appointment.

So grateful for two worthy missionaries who I "thought" I was serving...

who were truly teaching and serving me. And so grateful for a perfect lesson in

simple faith that I needed. Nothing happens by chance...that I know for sure.

They were meant to be with me...in that moment yesterday...

to teach me.