Comfort and Joy

I was sitting in sacrament mtng. on Christmas morning, seated next to me was one of my darling little primary girls with her family. As I listened to my stepson Christopher sing his solo, a wave of emotion took me over for a moment. The combination of missing my children, juxtaposed with the joy of being in that moment, and hearing Christopher's beautiful voice, brought uncontrollable tears. Then that sweet little 8 year old sitting next to me, put her arm through mine and handed me this picture.

What a sweet little blessing.

Let them eat cake!

This is our wedding cake that my very sweet and talented niece made for our wedding.(A big belated THANK YOU, Heather!) It was just what I asked for, simple and pretty, about seven or eight layers high and it was so delicious! Coconut cream filling. Two words: DEEE VINE! To the right she had also made these incredibly scrumpcious cupcakes, which were a huge hit!

This is what a portion of the top looks like a year later! Ha! After being smushed in our freezer with chicken breasts, tri-tip roasts, Rhodes frozen rolls, and FatBoys! ...But it was still tasty!

Give a little, gain so much more in return

You know when you do something for someone else and you end up getting more in return? This past weekend was like that. It was Helen and Cecil Talbot's 60th wedding anniversary. The Talbot's are Ron's first wife's parents. Ron was concerned that with first Kathy gone, her brothers wouldn't be planning anything in the way of a celebration, so he started planning and asked if I'd mind helping. Mind? I love this kind of event, and I have come to know and love Helen and Cecil. They have been very kind and loving to me. Of course I wouldn't mind! Decorating I know. Food for large groups I'm not as comfortable with. And not knowing exactly the number of people who would show didn't make it any easier. So I took it to the Lord. Now I know that Heavenly Father doesn't really care if I'm serving meatballs in gravy, or meatballs in barbeque sauce. But I do know that Heavenly Father loves his children, expecially chosen ones who have valiantly served Him, and have been married for 60 years. I prayed that there would be a good turn out of friends, that there would be enough food and that the Talbots would know how much they are loved. Prayers are answered. Coincidentally, yesterday was Ron and my first anniversary. To be able to do the celebration for the Talbots, and see how happy they were, was the best gift Ron and I could have given ourselves. Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze!

The happy couple, Cecil and Helen Talbot.

The night before, us girls hosted a "bridal shower" for grandma!

And the guys had a "bachelor party" for grandpa!

Wow, what a year!

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life! Has it really been a year? It has been the most amazing year, indeed, and more adventures to come!

Sometimes this is the hardest thing to learn.

New year, new diet, or "why can't they have M&M's at the drypack cannery?"

We are off and running with the new year! Yesterday Ron and I started our "be healthy, stay healthy" regimen. The program I started in October that took me through the holidays was much easier than I had expected! Although I didn't start with the specific intention of losing weight, (I have a migraine situation I'm trying anything in order to tackle it). Weight loss would be a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious by-product I could live with! I thought I would be hungry and wanting to eat all the great food that goes with the holidays...and by holidays, I mean Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Yom Kippur, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, the end of Daylight Savings Time, Hanukkah...anyway, I still eat pretty much anything I want, but with more control. Instead of eating an entire bag of dark chocolate covered pretzels, I can eat one or two (or none) and call it good. For me that's a big deal. (see my 31 Day Challenge post) Food is part of my happy existence...don't judge. But I am eating "cleaner" and incorporating fresher, natural foods into my diet. I even found myself craving broccoli the other day! I KNOW, huh!?! Yesterday we started something that I have been avoiding. But now that Ron is on the train to good healthsville < C'mon, that was funny!> I am now drinking my Ionix Supreme first thing in the morning. Yesterday was tough.

Today was a little easier. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Happy New Year...and CHEERS!

Joy, love, squeals

Tonight closes one of the most amazing years of my life. Beginning with my marriage to the most incredible man I've ever known. (I'll post more about him in about a week) Heavenly Father truly has poured out more blessings on me than I could ever have imagined possible. So often my heart is so full of joy I feel like I could just squeal! The happiness I feel is all tied to two things: My love and gratitude for my Savior and my love and gratitude for my family...all of my family. The three beautiful children I gave birth to, the five beautiful children I did not give birth to, but who have graciously accepted me into their family, our fourteen precious grandbabies who touch my heart and tickle my funny bone, my lovely mother-in-law and brothers and sisters-in-law...all of whom give new meaning to LOL! Yes, 2011 brought an abundance of love and joy and happiness to me. May your 2012 be so full of joy that you squeal like a stuck pig!