worth taking off

i took half a day off today to spend time with my grandkids and went to the ogden tree house museum.

then we went to the temple and had such a wonderful session. we got to see the new film and josh and val felt like they got their answer about where they should live. i felt the prompting that it would be ok. they may not be in utah but they'll be close enough to get together more often. but oh, it's so fun to have them here now.

my 4 granddaughters

out of 12 grandkids only four are girls...these precious little ones are spunky, strong willed and yet compassionate. just what i would want for my granddaughters. 

tonight as bekah and emma sang the song 'let it go' from the movie frozen for me i could only pray that they would be a power for good where ever they are. i'm so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ which shows them a clear path to be all that they have been created to be and will help them realize that most important of all...

they are His.

songs of the heart

 

since josh and val had to fly up to washington for a job interview chris is watching their kids which makes 8 kids with the oldest 9years old....bless her heart. i went over to help after school and bathed 6 kids in 15 minutes while chris got dinner. 

afterwards these 2 little munchkins loved playing the piano together. abi and haley are 2 months apart and are around 18 months old. they love being together and seem to love mimicking each other. the other night when i was reading them a story abi got on her tummy to listen and then haley would get on hers with me in the middle. 

lucky me. 

being a grandma is awesome....as eli would say. he's so right.

like a child

this morning when eli was saying the prayer he thanked Heavenly Father that it was emma's  birthday. he prayed, "i'm thankful for emma, i love her, emma is awesome."   it made me ponder...when did i ever tell the Lord someone i loved was awesome. another lesson from my grandkids.

  

our birthday bash tonight was for emma who turns 4 tomorrow and rob who had his birthday last week. i loved having a full table.

as the adults talked upstairs the kids do what kids do...play! 

emma loved the booklet noah made for her about princesses. 

cupcakes for the kids and cream puffs for the adults (well of course the kids too.)













i loved having all the wonderful full
sounds in my home again

someone playing the piano
someone laughing, someone crying,
someone cooking, and lots of talking. 
             my favorite music

 

so glad they're here

it's been so fun to have the st. louis millers here. tonight we went to deb deaver's reception and had great fun watching the kids dance on the stage. i was amazed at them singing the songs too. eli was terrific with 'what does the fox say' - (a song that i just don't get.) the kids literal danced till they dropped. deb had all kinds of gourmet popcorn which i'd never seen but was really yummy... which was a surprise.

  i'm praying daily this family can find a way to move here!!

Cousins

Josh, Val and their kids came in for the week...yeah! It's been 7 months since I've seen them and there's nothing more wonderful than having the kids see me, run up the stairs and jump into my arms. heaven...absolute heaven! so today they spent the day at chris and rob's so josh and val could attend a wedding. when i came over after school chris finally let them use 'technology', obviously their favorite thing. so this must be the modern way that kids get together and 'play'!

haley and abi getting to know each other

being special

i just watched a short clip of a time when mr. rogers was receiving an award. i'm sure he received many but he spoke about the fact that there were many who helped him get where he was. then he asked everyone in the audience to take 10 seconds and just think of some of the people who have "loved you into being" and cared about you to help you be who you are. after the 10 seconds he remarked how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they made. it was so gentle and so genuine and for those 10 brief seconds i felt so grateful for 3 dear friends in my life who loved me into being a little bit better. 

my kids got a daily dose of the heartfelt wisdom of mr. rogers and i loved his cardigans and gym shoes and 'slowness.' he gave time to let his message 'sink in' and feel good. and now at 60 when i see a picture or hear his safe voice it makes me feel grateful that i live in a beautiful neighborhood and that there is goodness to be found by helping others know they are special by just being themselves.