My Daughter, My Friend!

Happy birthday to the most wonderful daughter I could ever wish to have!!!

As my great sis-in-law says, "she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside"! So true! Charly is so talented, so beautiful, so generous, so kind, so loving and just plain the best at always being there for everyone around her!

I am so blessed to have her as my daughter... and am so proud of the woman she has become!

Happy birthday little girl!

Future In-Laws...

I am so excited about my future in-laws!!!

In my previous marriage, everything was strained at the end- but my relationship with my in-laws was strained from the beginning. It was never something I could thoroughly enjoy, never a situation where I could say that I truly loved them (at least, I tried very hard to show them love, etc., but it never came naturally).

But no more! Already I can say that I truly love Anson and Dee! They are such wonderful people, and I am so blessed to feel like I 'fit' into their family!

Dee and my mom actually went to the same high school together! But more than that, Dee is so loving and giving of her time and energy... I feel like I could talk to her about any problem I may have. I know she would patiently listen and help when she could too!

Anson, well he reminds me of so many good things about my own dad! He will lovingly tell a person exactly how it is!- And yet, he has allowed me inside the blunt exterior on several occasions, amazing even his own children with his actions towards me. In short, he has completely treated me like part of his family, and I am so very grateful for that!

I can say that I honestly LOVE these two and am so very blessed to (shortly, I hope!) be becoming part of their family!

The Best Gift that I Ever Got...

My dad used to play this song by Barbara Streisand at Christmastime as I was falling asleep when I was very young. I loved it!

Little did I know how very meaningful it would become in my life!

Here are the lyrics:

"The best gift that I ever got

Didn't really weigh a lot.

It didn't have a ribbon 'round

And it sometimes made a terrible sound.

The best of all it seems to me

It wasn't neath the Christmas tree.

And yet, I guess I'd have to say

That it made all the other presents twice as gay.

The best gift that I've ever known

I'd always wanted most to own.

Yet in my dreams of sugar and spice

I never thought it could be so nice.

The best gift that I ever get

was sometimes dry and sometimes wet.

Was usually pink but oftentimes red

As it lay so innocently in its bed.

The best gift of the year to me

The one I hold most dear to me

A gift that simply drove me wild

Was a tiny, newborn child."

Happy birthday to my Christmas baby!

I love you, Eric!!!

Pictures!

So now there are pictures... and what a great photographer!! Ginger Thompson was so easy to work with!

A Week Full Of Wonderful!

The past week has had many downs, but it has also had so very many ups!

TWICE- in one week!- I experienced the perfect class!!! Now if you have never taught special education you cannot truly appreciate this statement... but twice last week, I had a full class period where all of us were on top of the learning! As I worked my way around the room, every single student was talking about the math! They were all working together in their groups, all discussing/debating the merits of their own work, all coming together to create a nearly perfect learning environment!!! It was euphoric for me!

And then this weekend:

Charly, my 'little' girl, received her endowment (a VERY special gift from our Heavenly Father in the LDS faith). It was such an amazing evening with her and with my family... and I even stayed up past midnight without turning into a pumpkin! Thanks to my sister, brother, their spouses and my kiddos talking me into a very late (for me and apparently most of the restaurants in Jordan Landing as most were closed!) dinner. It was so, so fun!

Then Saturday... engagement pics (big sigh here- I do NOT enjoy looking at my own pictures!- so hoping at least a few are tolerable to my very picky self- although I am sure the photographer did an amazing job!). And I even got a few of my kids!

Then lunch with all my kids, and of course Luke! Then, bless their hearts, Eric and Alison spent hours shopping with me (and let Luke duck out of it) until we found the perfect wedding outfit for me and tie for Luke- so glad Eric picked that one out!

This is how Eric chose to 'carry' our spoils... all around Temple Square!

Then we met up with Luke again and had a wonderful remainder of the evening! What a great weekend!!!

With company like this and a view like that, I can truly say that I am blessed!

The Most Unexpected & Utterly Amazing Gift!

Just seven months ago, I would have said that this 'gift' would never be possible for me to receive...

The only person, besides me, who has any idea of how truly horrible my marriage was in so many ways was my mother. I was able to talk to her about most of it... But there were some things even she did not know. My Father in Heaven knows... The word horrible or bad or destructive or- well, there are many specifics in my life's experiences that are best left to the past. But the one thing I can say with utmost certainty is that my marriage destroyed my ability to totally trust anyone besides my parents, my children, and my Father in Heaven. Even my closest friends, though mostly trusted, were not immune to my doubts at times. 

This is something about myself that I have not liked... But it was reinforced as an essential survival skill in my life each time I dated anyone... Every one of the men I associated with over all the years betrayed my trust in one way or another. And please don't even get me started on the multitude of men I met but wouldn't date... Very much untrustworthy!

And then tonight, while talking to Luke, I realized that he has given me the most amazing gift just by virtue of the man that he is... I TOTALLY TRUST HIM IN EVERY WAY! I know that he will never intentionally hurt me. In fact, He has gone out of his comfort zone to make sure that some things are better for me. And this will not stop after we are married or in a few months or even in many years. I know I will always trust him because he will always earn that trust!

For some this may seem a small thing, but for me and my experiences in life, this is an amazing gift and a great miracle!

Kayden the Great!

Kayden is great at chess- understatement of the year!!! But he is also a great nephew in that he is a great young man to talk with, a great young man to hang out with, and a great example of what a young man should strive to become!

This shot of his closet says it all... trophies from chess, scout shirt, wooden sword- you know I've got to love that he loves sci-fi and sci-fi fantasy- and a pic of the temple- that's our Kayden! 

International Kayden

Utah Kayden

But always one GREAT KAYDEN!!!