Loved this quote . . . .

I loved this quote that was in my inbox this morning.

"Life is a sea upon which the proud are humbled, the shirker is exposed, and the leader is revealed. To sail it safely and reach your desired port, you need to keep your charts at hand and up-to-date. You need to learn by the experience of others, to stand firm for principles, to broaden your interests, to be understanding of the rights of others to sail the same sea, and to be reliable in the discharge of your duty."

--President Thomas S. Monson, "Great Expectations", CES Firesides for Young Adults

So just in case you haven't heard . . .

I am going to be a grandma !!!!

Morgan and Trent are expecting a baby June 5th (Coleton's Birthday)

I am so excited !!!

I am so grateful for families and being part of such an amazing one. I love them all so much. Morgan was able to call everyone and give them the exciting news. She got to call my grandma and let her know she was going to be a Great, Great Grandma. She was thrilled.

My mom and Don's parents are both overjoyed to have their first Great Grandbaby.

I have been thinking about my dad lately and how much he would would have loved being a great grandpa. He loved those babies. You could often find him sitting in his chair with a baby on his lap. I am comforted to know that my dad is spending some precious time with this little spirit that is about to embark on this journey of mortal life here on this earth. I could not ask for anyone better to give direction and counsel than my father. It brings me peace knowing that my dad will have the opportunity to see my grandchildren off before they come here to earth.

“Next to eternal life, the most precious gift that our Father in Heaven can bestow upon man is his Children.” David O. McKay.

I believe that the greatest treasure that one can possibly inherit is gaining the continuation of the family unit in the eternities. So grateful for my knowledge that FAMILIES ARE FOREVER and I have a wonderful family that I will spend eternity with.

Keep Them In Your Prayers . . . .

My heart is heavy today as my brother-in-law Rob (married to Don's youngest sister Melissa) leaves with his unit for his second tour of duty in Iraq. Rob is part of the Arizona Army National Guards Alpha 2-285th Assault Helicopter Battalion. Rob loves serving his country and takes such pride in what he does. He is a "Black Hawk Helicopter Pilot". He is passionate about flying and serving his country. But I know his heart is breaking today as he leaves his 2 year old son Matthew and his pregnant wife for a year. But they are counting their blessings because of the timing of everything. Robs unit will be stationed and train for 8 weeks at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Rob was granted a leave that will allow him to come home for the birth of their 2nd son on October 23rd. He will then come home again for Thanksgiving before leaving for Iraq the 1st of December. So that is a wonderful blessing that he will be able to hold his baby and snuggle with Matthew once again before being deployed for a year. Matthew loves his daddy so much and is sure going to miss him. This is where Uncle Don and his cousins need to step in and make sure Matthew stays busy and has fun doing lot's of "boy" things like he does with his dad. He loves his big boy cousins "Coleton & Logan" and love him.

I know that the recent death of one of their fellow soldiers is weighing heavy on their minds as they prepare to leave their families and so I ask you my friends to pray for them. For every single one of our service men and women who are serving our country. For their sacrifice, their love and dedication to what they do. Pray that they will be safe and protected and pray for peace. Please keep Melissa in your prayers and she goes this year alone with her two little boys. Pray for all the families that waved good-bye to their loved ones this morning. Pray that this cute little boys daddy's will return home safely.

Conference Weekend . . .

The CKC Convention went wonderful. I truly enjoyed teaching my classes. I love teaching and helping people be creative. I met some of the most wonderful women this year. Sometimes I am certain the Lord puts you in the right place at the right time to connect with the right people. I met some gals and renewed some friendships that I know will last a long time. I tried to explain to Don some of the connections I felt and sometimes I think it is hard to explain. Sometimes you just connect with people. Many times you just strike a common cord. We are all moms raising our families and trying to just to make it in this crazy world.

I stopped by Joann's on my way home last night and picked up some fleece while it was still 50% off. I like having little project to do while watching conference and so today I made some cute little doggie blankets for all our four legged friends. Then I got some fleece so I can make Marge and Tom each a lap blanket. With the cold weather right around the corner I want them to keep warm so they don't crank the heater up. I think they will love them. Here is cute picture of them. I think they look amazing for 93. Marge suffers from Alzheimers and doesn't walk anymore. But we are both excited to see each other each evening when I arrive.
Hopefully I will have pictures from Karleighs homecoming tomorrow. David and Karleigh looked smashing on their date to the homecoming dance and they had a blast.

We had Jade and Marquett for dinner tonight and they were so fun to have over. We just love those little kiddos.

General Conference was so uplifting and inspiring this weekend. It is something our church does twice a year where we come together and hear our church leaders, men & women that I truly believe are inspired to give us guidance and counsel. As someone who makes mistakes daily and is working everyday at becoming the person I know I need to be I am so thankful
for the hope, peace and answers i find through my faith.

Well I am off to take the kids to visit Morgan and Trent before taking them back home. Then I am off to spend the evening with Marge and Tom. Have a great Sunday evening.

TGIF . . . .

What a whirl wind week I have had. Filled with lot's and lot's of things to do. Good things. Monday the kids did not have school so we went homecoming dress shopping and then took the boys to browse the Halloween shops. Then off to a family dinner for swim. Tuesday I was at a store in Gilbert called Scrapology doing i-top demos. Wednesday my mom went with me to Prescott. I had an appointment at Seasons in Tyme and then we went with Cheryl to lunch at a cute and yummy Mexican food place. It was fun to just sit and visit. Karleigh had two swim meets this week I had the opportunity to just sit and relax and watch both of them. If your are a mom you know there is nothing greater in this life than sitting and watching your kids do something they love. It is awesome to watch her grow and develop as a swimmer. It is so sad that swim season will be over in a month. Misty has been such an amazing role model for Karleigh and has helped Karleigh to strive to be her personal best. It is AWESOME !!! This week is also homecoming week. SMHS homecoming always reminds me of Marissa and often when I attend homecoming festivities people always bring up Marissa's name. One year in High School Marissa was in charge of homecoming and she did an amazing job and people to this day still talk about it. I hope in the future she will be able to come home for a homecoming and participate as an alumni. Or maybe she will just move back to the beautiful valley of the sun one day (hey, you can't blame a mom for hoping) But this year Karleigh is our girl. If she could be on 3 floats at one time she would - Choir, Swim & Sophomore Class float. it is going to be a fun afternoon and I have to miss it (insert very sad face here) I am teaching at the CKC convention in Glendale (which I love doing) So this is where it is so obvious that there are so, so many good things going on. Yesterday we set up the booth. Heidi is the gal in charge this year and she is doing an awesome job. Jodi came from Mesa to help and we had some wonderful helpers that made our day go so smoothly. One of the things I love most about the scrapbooking industry is just being around people I love. I am headed to teach all day and then help Scrap Happy at the Crop all night. It is going to be a wonderful day full of fabulous people. Make it good one - I am going to.