A Perfect Day...

Letting Go....

 

 On the 28th of November we joined The Boy and his beautiful fiance

 at the Draper Utah Temple. It was a very special day full of tender mercies. 

 It was a cold and snowy day...

it was perfect!

 

Aunt Cedar drove from Idaho to be with us which made the day extra special! 

 We didn't expect to know anyone in the temple that day, 

but it turned out that some very special people "just happened" to be 

there when they had not idea that we would be there.

 I love it when those blessings happen.

I sent the photo of us in front of this beautiful temple to our family that was not

able to be with us that day.  One of my dear sister's-in-law replied with this...

"I can't help but notice how tightly you are holding on to your boy's arm...you are just

about to let him go...I am guessing these are very tender, bitter sweet moments."

And she was very observant!  I guess I really didn't know how tight I was holding 

on to him.  Although as thrilled as we are, it is a change.  

A change for our little family...our clan.  

It's time for that Boy of ours to begin his new life with his bride,

He is ready...she is ready...

Together they will be great!

We are grateful...We are blessed.

Hobble Creek With The Family...(catching up)

 

 One of the best parts of our trip to Utah this Summer was the opportunity to spend 

some good time with our AZ family! I am pretty smitten with The Brotherhood...so when 

I get to spend some time with them it is a treat from me! 

 Three members of The Brotherhood were either in Utah themselves, 

or their family was there. It was great to have some of them stay with us...

where we really enjoyed some quality time together! 

 One of our many adventures was at Hobble Creek. 

We traveled together...led by The Farmer...who I might add didn't really 

know where he was going to begin with...but as he stated very proudly upon arrival

..."well...we got to where we needed to be didn't we??!!" 

 And yes we did! 

We took food...the kids played in the Creek...

the teenage girls talked while laying in the beautiful green grass...

and the adults visited and laughed...ALOT! 

It was the perfect afternoon!

 

Free At Last...!!!

The Aggie Darlings have moved!

They ended a great year at USU an have now moved on to other experiences for the Summer.

The day they moved was hard. There were lots of tears. But, new friends were made...jobs in place,

and life is moving on. It was a big transition...and they did it!!

 

 

In other very important news...PreShie got those darn braces off!!

 YAY!!

 After so many years, and so many Doctors, we were finally able to get connected with the group

 of  Doctors who were able to get her problems worked out. I am so grateful for their help!

 I don't know what her dental future would have been without them! She has a set of Doctors in Arizona

 and another set in Utah. I am sure after all is said and done...we could have purchased

a small country somewhere in the world with the investment we have

made in her mouth...BUT...it was worth it! I am so glad we are at the end of that road!!!

 

To celebrate she ate an apple;)

 and her favorite chicken sandwich in all the world.

 She said it was pretty amazing to not have braces on while eating;)

 

 

She has made another big step in her preparations for serving a mission.

 This weekend we head to Arizona...this trip will be all about more big steps for her on this wonderful

journey she has chosen...that of a full time missionary.

It is going to be a very special weekend for her... and for our family!

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!!

 

The Best Things About AZ...

 

You know...there are just some "tastes" that cannot be found anywhere else but in AZ.

Rosas, and their Green Corn Tamale is one of those things.

When we arrived in town...it was one of the first things on my mind...

next to family of course;) And, boy did it taste good.

 

The walls and tables are covered with my favorite tile...Talavera.

 

 

The Rooster ordered his "regular" the Fajitas... again,

beautiful and delicious.

 

 

I love this picture! There is a lot happening here.

 The Mom's...my lovely sister-in-laws...were photographing all the girls,

while all the young boys played in the water around us, and The Farmer captured it all.

 So much fun to be with family!

 

And to top off a wonderful afternoon with family...a little cousin love!!!

Cousins are THE BEST!!!

Delicious Arizona...

Last weekend The Farmer and I packed up The Rooster and headed to the

"home land"...Arizona. Certainly we don't need too much of a reason to

travel to AZ...visiting The Grandparents and The Brotherhood, is worth the drive.

But this trip we made plans to participate in the Open House of the new

Gilbert Arizona LDS Temple. It was an incredible experience that we

were blessed to share with our family.

I will write in more detail about that soon.

 

 

Now...I live where citrus is not available. If you happen to find an orange,

it surely isn't a navel and it doesn't look too pretty. This country could not survive

without the Lime...and there are plenty of those to go around!

 

 

The Farmer is a huge fan of all citrus, but his all time favorite would be the Grapefruit.

The Grandparents have spoiled him rotten through the years,

by making sure that he is supplied with all the Grapefruit that he can eat,

from their very own trees. SPOILED!!! Yes he is!

 

 

 

Citrus orchard are becoming few and far between these days... They were very

common when I was growing up in The Valley, not so much anymore.

So, once we arrived in AZ a plan was put into place to make sure

 The Farmer got all the citrus that he could eat. We made a trip to a cute

roadside store on the edge of an orange orchard and packing shed.

It kind of made me feel like I was in the country..

.but yet on the edge of a very large and very busy city.

 

 

The Farmer was in heaven!!! Now that we are home...

he begins each day with a healthy dose of grapefruit.

 It is a treat!

 

 

The best part of the trip was checking in on The Grandparents.

The Grandpa is doing much better...cancer free, but dealing now with some back

issues. He is getting his strength back and looks wonderful.

An answer to many many prayers...

My Heart Is Full...Family

(taken with The Farmer's phone...)

 

I have done a terrible job recording our lives lately!  So much has been happening,

so many activities...too much traveling...you know...

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!"

Aside from it all...My heart is full of gratitude.  Just a few days ago,

a dear friend got me thinking.  She asked me to think about how the Hand of The Lord

had been manifest in my life this past year.  It just so happened that they day the question

was presented, I wasn't feeling all that grateful.  Shame on me, right?

I hadn't stopped long enough to visit that place of gratitude.  My life had been

overtaken by "good things" and left no room for the "great things."  But I have repented;)

And now daily, I have made it my goal to write a bit in my agenda/journal, about how blessed

I am!  Thank you dear friend...you know who you are...thank you for the reminder!

 

We are so blessed to have such a great extended family.  It is a big huge, extended family,

and when we all are together in one spot...it is some good fun!;)

This lady above is the Grandma of the group and she is constantly trying to teach, guide,

and frankly..."reign in" her big family!;)  In a good way of course!

This picture of her makes me laugh, because it was taken at the end of a very busy Family

Home Evening...and she looks like she has had enough!  But really she was fine, The Farmer

just caught her without her ever present cheery smile!  Anyway,  this past Monday we met in

our home for our Monthly FHE.  We had a light supper, the kids enjoyed some games and then

we gathered for a message from both The Grandma and The Farmer.  The Grandma is holding a

chart that The Farmer used during his part of FHE.  He guided the family through a discussion on

"What it means to be a part of this family" and can I just say, that the answers were humorous,

true and some were very revealing. Sometimes it is pretty great to pick the minds of the little

people to see what I really going on in there!;)  The adults offered their input too.

The Farmer then talked about our "Family Wheel" and how each spoke of the wheel counts. 

When the family spokes are damaged or broken...the whole family feels it.

He also talked about how we can keep our family spokes strong.  The Grandma also gave

a great message of testimony.  She is the best at that!  She has such a strong testimony and

is so willing to share it and any moment.  I love that about her. 

I am grateful that we belong to such a big...loud...strong...energetic...and faithful

group!  And I am grateful that we so supportive during the good, the bad...

and sometimes the ugly!  Today, I am grateful for families!!

Our "Giving Thanks" Party!

 

This past Tuesday, the women of our family gathered for a "Giving Thanks" party.

The idea was for us to have a chance to be together...just the girls... and write Thank You notes to people that we have been touched by for some reason or another. It was such a fun evening! We had "Walking Tacos"...a Hot Chocolate Bar, and after we wrote our notes, we made Carmel Apples.

 It was so fun to see the women, both young and young at heart...talking,

 laughing, telling stories...and just loving being together.

 We have good women in this family, and I am grateful for them!

The Airport...It Plays In My Mind...Over...and...Over

 

Welcoming a Missionary home, is one of those experiences that every parent

plays out in their minds over and over again...until the moment arrives! That is how is was for me anyway! I can't even begin to put into words what it felt like to welcome

our Missionary Boy home! We were surrounded by family,

what I would call..."Beautiful Chaos"...it was the greatest thing every to be

supported through this wonderful experience.

Thank you to my Sister-in-law who captured some great moments!