T-Minus 6 Days and Counting

 

It's been said that the secret to having it all, is believing that you do!

Well we truly believe that we do.  We have so much to be thankful for so even though I hate to see this time in our lives draw to a close we are finally ready for the next adventure to begin...

 

We want our example of living life, our walk before our ten grandchildren-to be more than just talk. Actions really do speak louder than words. We believe that children are a reflection of their parents, and grandchildren are the blessings, the reward of a job well done. We all need someone to look up to; that's the privilege of being grandparents!

 

After working for the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) investigating paramedics for four short years it was time for Steve to pack up and take a leave of absence to serve a mission. Steve has loved the people he had the opportunity to work with and will miss the hunt of searching for the truth.

At the request of our daughter, Katie, our wonderful friends, Tony and LaRee Bermudez hosted a Missionary Farewell for us on Sunday evening. Katie reached out to many of her friends for help and the results were delicious!!!

 

Just appreciating all the hard work of so many...

 

Steve, Jim and Diana Hunt and our hostess, LaRee.

 

My sister in law, Marian, her son, Jeff, her daughter, Megan, and my granddaughter Sienna.

The love and support we received was overwhelming!

 

Just a preview of all the things that we are planning to take on our new adventure.  Steve thinks we may need to rent a U-Haul, or at the very least rent a bus, but I have faith that he will be able to fit everything in our car.  I truly can't imagine leaving anything behind and have actually considered seeing if a grand child or two will fit in my suitcase :)

 

 

 

Daffodils are my favorite flower, and I always look forward to their arrival every year. So it seems only fitting that I close this entry by stating something that suddenly occurred to me.  As hard as it is to leave family and friends at this particular time, we like the daffodils, will return again next spring so now we all have something to look forward to.

 

We leave for Meridian, Idaho first thing tomorrow morning to visit our oldest daughter and her family and then enter the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah on Monday, March 4th.  Our next post may be a few days late, but hopefully it will be worth waiting for. 

 

14 days to go...

14 days to go and let me just say that the days seem to be getting longer and longer if that is even possible.

A wise person once said, “What you are becoming is more important than what you are accomplishing.” Well I don’t feel like I am accomplishing much at this particular point, (except maybe putting on a few pounds with all the recent lunch dates I have had) but I hope I am learning patience and I am definitely learning to count my blessings.

 

 At the end of January I had the opportunity to fly to southern California to visit 4 of my favorite people, my Grandmother, Mimi, who will be celebrating her 100^th birthday August 23^rd of this year, my Aunt Holly, my youngest daughter Sam and her husband Jake. The weather was warm and the conversations priceless. I even received some important genealogy information thanks to a surprise telephone conversation with my Uncle Mike.

While visiting in San Diego Sam and I went to visit the Mormon Battalion Museum, lunched in Old San Diego, and shopped at Target (Jake had to work).  Then Sam and I loaded up and drove back to Sacramento to attend my grandson, Mason’s, 8^thbirthday celebration at Red Robin and his baptism the following day.

The fun just never ends. I cut my finger preparing treats for our family Super Bowl in home party (as opposed to tail gate party) and had to get three stitches! But thanks to everyone staying home to watch the game and the lights going out at the end of the second quarter, the Emergency Room was a ghost town and I didn’t even miss

halftime. 

 

We purchased a new "Smart" phone recently in preparation of our new adventure. Everyone makes it look so easy, but looks can be deceiving! I know that I will eventually "get it", but until then I am struggling. Not to worry, I can still text and e-mail with the best of you, but don't ask me to share a picture, because it appears that they are being held hostage on my phone :(

 

 

Saturday, February 16th, Steve’s siblings hosted a family dinner to celebrate our “call to serve”. It is humbling to think that so many people are willing to sacrifice their time and travel far to show their love and to wish us well.

 

On Sunday, February 17th, many of our friends and family gathered together to listen to Steve and I speak in church. Steve thought it would be a great idea to have our two grand daughters wear matching dresses in celebration of the occaision. It's fortunate that we only have two grand daughters at this time because outfitting a whole crew could become costly.  I apologize to my eight grandsons, but we didn't think you would appreciate another tie.

 

At the begining of this post I mentioned recent lunch dates I have had and if my new phone wasn't being so stubborn I would love to be able to share pictures of some of these special people in my life.  The first, my high school buddy Mary. With us both working full time meeting for lunch was never an option.  But now that I am a lady of leisure we jumped at the chance and had a great time catching up.

 The second picture I would share is one of my BFF Janie, who was in town for a brief visit over President’s weekend and who initiated an impromptu get together at Panera’s. Marili, Alison, Alisa, LaRee, Roberta, Carla, Beth and Louanne were all there.  It’s a good thing we are all busy women because they probably would have had to kick us out at closing if we didn’t have other things to do J

The clock continues to tick.......