Tonight, there is a ward party!  Ward parties inevitably remind me of my dad.  He LOVED them.  He said that the first thing he did as a Bishop was call a great Activities Chairman (Nikki Reynolds:)  What he liked the most about ward parties was sitting at the end of one of those long tables and talking (potlucks scared him, the food was never the main event)....we always ended up sitting by the Christensen's, cause duh, they are REALLY fun to talk to!

This Thursday marked THREE years from the day that my dad died.  This blog has acted as my therapy, my memory recorder, and my link from him to my kids.  Silly words can never really convey the feeling you got when you were with him.  He made you feel important, smart, empowered, and humbled, all with a GLANCE.  Strangely enough, I still have those feelings in quite moments.....the thoughts will float through me, "I proud of you sweetheart,  I love you."  And, Yes, the kiss on the cheek and side squeeze around the waist is missing, but the feeling is still there.  More often than not, I know he is there.  Like I have said before, our little family is GRANDPA-less, but we are certainly not HOPE-less :)

Two weeks ago Sam was baptized by his dad!  I woke up that morning with a scripture on my mind, that stayed with me through the rest of the day:

"Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest." Doctrine and Covenants 84:20

So throughout the day, I watched, and watched, looking for how this first saving ordinance could be so life changing, so manifesting, of God's power. And in His perfectly organized fashion, I saw it!  The Priesthood of God has truly been restored to the Earth, and by its power, ordinances are performed that we may one day live with Him again!

Life is GREAT!  We have good kids, we have great parents, we are surrounded by the best people this world has to offer!  Pretty lucky we are!

Farewell!  It's time to curl my hair....there is a ward party tonight!

We have had a great week.  The last several months we have had several opportunities to be with family...which is always the best place to be.  Yesterday found us with Uncle Cory and Aunt Michelle and the gilrs in Las Vegas.

Michelle and I got to spend the day in the temple!  As we sat there, and I thought of how much I liked this family, a quote popped promptly into my head....all of those who know her will find it quite fitting!

Jared, Cory, and the kids went to Chuckee Cheese's and I am quite certain that Cory has forever branded himself with the title of FAVORITE UNCLE as he supplied them all with tokens and pizza :)  As we sat eating breakfast this morning, Gary said, "I love Uncle Cory, that was AWESOME!"

Breakfast seems to be the place to interject all sorts of great comments lately, I particularly enjoyed this one by Sam this week,  "hey guys, I read yesterday in the Book of Mormon about these evil people that think they are perfect enough to pray once a week." Sometimes things make perfect sense when seen through the eyes of an 8 year old :)

This week, I had another poem sitting on the fridge, begging to be memorized by the kids....soon they came to me one by one and had it memorized!  I thought the following picture was fitting for the poem!

And now it will be even cuter when you watch this :0

Life is Good!