Ahhhh Chocolate!!

There are some benefits to growing older - chocolate. I consider it an antioxidant now, not an indulgence. I had a great birthday. Got to share it with some family, BBQ'd, ate outside on the deck, and got gifts and lots of phone calls. It was pretty much a perfect day.
Then things got even better today with some more favorable news for Emily. Her baby's heart defect is not as serious as she was first told. The peds cardiologist says it will be quite repairable. Now we will continue to pray her brain development will improve and supposed structural defects will disappear. We have truly felt the great power of prayer. We are so very blessed with a loving, caring family.
I am trying to finish the New Testament (leftover from last year), and found great comfort from a scripture in Philippians 4:6-7. "Be careful for nothing [unduly concerned]; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ."
I take this to mean we should not be overly concerned about things, but we can surely ask for God's help. Then, if we place our trust in Jesus Christ, and place Him as central in our thoughts and deeds, all will be made right.

Farewell Dacia

It is time for Dacia to return to Iowa. We've had many adventures with her. Some fun, some interesting and some - well let's just say she loves to chew. Her latest task is to rip off the fence boards and escape. Not to give her all the credit, but Weezer gets her worked up, and feeds her information on how to escape the yard. Josh and his family made the trek from Iowa to fetch Dacia. She was so glad to see them and surely will enjoy a more youthful home life. We had a great visit with the grandkids. The Runyans came up for a day, and played with their cousins. Grandpa took the whole gang, including the Lyons, to our new McDonalds. Someone asked if they were all his grandchildren, and he said "yes," but this was only half of them!!

Annual Easter Egg Hunt #2

I guess I should have done a slideshow of all the Easter photos, but I am too lazy to sit here and figure it all out - so you will have to see them in 2 installments . Here are Kelman, Sara, Carter and Brechin

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

The annual Easter Egg Hunt at our house was loads of fun. We are happy to include anyone who shows up around Easter time. The weather was wonderful, the food was tasty, and the kids made off with some nice cash. I think Sam was the big time winner, finding one egg with a 10 spot inside. Sorry, Kendall, I didn't get a pic of you. Were you being shy? Here is Aaron supervising one of the twins, another twin finding an egg by the trampoline, Gabby, and Sam

Grandbaby #21, Lacey Beth

I am way behind on posting, so now I will play catch-up. My visit with Micah and his cute little family was wonderful. Thanks to Sarah for putting up with a Mother In-Law, so soon after coming home from the hospital. Lacey Beth was a model baby. Of course, I wasn't the one getting up for middle of the night feedings. Jackson and I had a swell time playing outside, going for walks, and even a little shopping. He said "hello" to all the ladies shopping in Coldwater Creek clothing store, and most everyone at Costco. The weather in Gilbert was wonderful, and Micah & Sarah's new home is lovely. I borrowed a book from Micah for the plane trip home - Follow the River, about a woman abducted by Indians in 1755 who returns to her home by walking 800 miles along the Ohio and New Rivers. I was surely glad I was on an airplane and not walking home.

Trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks

We had a wonderful time visiting the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The lighthouses are beautiful. I particularly like this photo with the sun behind the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. It was cold and windy on the Outerbanks, and mostly deserted. It had the eerie feeling that all the residents had left suddenly. Most businesses were closed, and row after row of enormous beachhouses were left vacant. We were assured that the Outer Banks are a buzz with activity from Spring Break to Labor Day.
We also enjoyed our brief day in Norfolk, VA. It was closer to fly out of Norfolk from OBX (as the locals call the Outer Banks), than drive back to Raleigh, NC. While in Norfolk we toured a retired Navy Battleship, and took a bus tour of Norfolk Naval Station - home of the Atlantic Fleet. 3 Aircraft carriers were in port. We could only view them from a distance, and could not step off our tour bus while on base. Sadly, we did not have time to check out the Chesapeake Bay bridge.
Of course, we had a wonderful time visiting Jared and family. It was delightful to share the circus with them.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Yesterday, I was able to watch the funeral proceedings for President Hinckley. I was moved by the loving tributes and touched by the doctrines taught. All that was said reaffirmed my testimony, and gave me pause to feel deep gratitude for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We were at a fireside when we first heard of President Hinckley's passing . My instant feelings were joy for him, that he was once again reunited with his dear wife. At the end of the funeral yesterday, when the choir sang the final song, and photos of President Hinckley were shown, I was overcome with the grief I had not felt all week. I will miss him. He has touched my life profoundly.
Dad and I commented that we can think of no other person in our lifetime who has accomplished what President Hinckley has. I can think of no world leader, CEO, educator or religious leader who has impacted, for good, the many lives he has. In one of the documentaries we watched on Saturday, I heard President Hinckley comment to an interviewer when asked what he might have been, had he not been a Church leader. He said with a chuckle, "an architect?" He was more right than maybe he imagined. Not only was he an architect of many marvelous temples, Church buildings, and Proclamations, but he was an architect of lives.

When I think of defining and cherished moments of my life, of course, my own temple marriage is at the top of the list, closely followed by the temple marriages of all my children. These were the sweetest moments imaginable. Another defining moment was September 2006 when I attended the dedication of the Sacramento Temple. Taking part in the Open House tours of the Sacramento Temple was indeed an honor and privilege, but receiving tickets to attend a dedication session in the temple was beyond thrilling. My joy was overwhelming when I learned our tickets were for the celestial room in President Hinckley's presence. It was a sacred experience to hear his dedicatory prayer, and feel the sure knowledge he was a prophet of God. The memory will be etched in my mind for eternity.

President Hinckley's daughter, Virginia Pearce, summed up my feelings when she said "he was adorable." I think she meant it in many senses of the word. He was adorable because of his brilliance, cuteness, humor, and love for all mankind, but also because he was adored.