Coming and Going

We had the lovely and surprising event of sharing our basement with Jake's family. It lasted a while and we enjoyed it. We still miss them and the kids. They helped us, and we helped them and it was something we never could have pictured enjoying as much as we did.

They were blessed with finding a home up the hill and we don't have them in our lives nearly often enough now.

Mark and Dana came once from Hawaii, with their 2 week old Ellie (Eleanor Mei). They job hunted and moved on to join Dave and Joel in CA. La Habra was their home until they were enticed back to Utah for a different job. Since then they added Soapie (Sophie Marie) who turned 1 on June 14th. Now in November they'll add "Audrey" or so they call her so far.....

Chris moved home in December 2014 and fell in love and married in August vacating the balcony room just in time for Cecily and Spencer (Shumway) to take up the room and the slack. We're so glad they're back for a bit. We never get to Provo enough to see them! Now thanks to a job near the "U" and student teaching in West Jordan we get them here!

We are blessed and thrilled with the comings and goings. We have enough and to spare, and hope to share the blessings when we can.

Kai and many his family were here over the summer dancing Ballet for summer camps. Uncle Bruce and Sara visited, and she even grabbed a couple of nights this weekend.

Dana and Mark have had their share of sharing. With family and full of friends and surprises.

I love the ability to open our home those those we can aid and it never ceases to bless us.

A Day to SIng

Today begins another day to begin singing in choir again.

The choir and I have had a few months off. Since the summer for most of them. Since March 15th for me. That was the day of my accident on the way to practice.

Thanks to Heavenly Father and many prayers, I was miraculously healed from a bad fall from my bicycle.

Six months later we are ALL starting up again. I will sing praise to the Lord for his many blessings to me and for me. It's the least I can do for Him.

Last time I sang for Jim, now it's for someone far more deserving than even my choir president husband and my visiting teaching companion.
I sing not because I can, I sing in gratitude and desire to show I will do hard things I don't necessarily wish to, but for Him I'm willing.

Chris and Kristin Are Wed and Off

Timeless/Timely

This post serves as an additional reminder to me how life gets full to overflowing. My previous post was about Jake's birth 37 years ago, and now this one is about Chris's Marriage almost a year since that was posted.

Both eldest and youngest sons had big parts in the completion of our kids all married.

Chris found a wonderful girl in our stake to date right as he moved home from USU. Their meet-up and First date was about Dec 17th? At this moment I was down with jet-lag and then a bad cold when she first came around. Hardly said more than "Hi"or wave.
She was slowly introduced around the family by him, welcomed and fallen in love with, and near the end of April they were engaged.

By now this girl had fit right in and was the clear favorite over anyone he'd ever been interested and concerned over.

A perfect match; their humor and interests matched up well beyond what we might have hoped for.

Some of my first memories was her helping Dana handwash my hair on the great-room couch. She was a keeper from the start and he is one Lucky guy.

As an alternative sight from her house or ours, they spent lots of 'courting dates' at Jake's and being with his family.

And when the time came to set a date and make final plans; it was decided to hold the Wedding Luncheon in Jake and Amanda's backyard. August 1st. After Draper Temple we feated them from his beautiful backyard at 97 degrees!

We bid them goodbye to a camping/touring honeymoon, (thanks Spencer). And now they are off on an Asian "Adventure" to China, thanks to Jake and Steff and their family trips being so motivating.  Not to mention the testimony of Dana and Mark of romance in the Chinese mainland!

We hang on their every word or text these days across the miles, and know they are having an adventure Kristin has dreamed of, and Chris is predisposed to love twice as much!