Swirling Thoughts

There are so many thoughts swirling around in my brain right now - this has been an interesting week. Sunday we received the news that President Hinckley had passed away - I have to tell you that my first reaction was joy for this sweet man, he now would be able to reunite with his sweet wife and leave the aged body that kept him from doing so many of the things that he has wanted to do. What a blessed day for him and for those who have gone before him. Of course there is a little selfishness in my heart as I thought of the loss to this world of his wonderful sense of humor, his sweet disposition and love for everyone, and his dedicated service to the Lord and to the church. He was and is an amazing man who was prepared for this service and who gave so unselfishly to the Lord and to the world.

Of course there is great peace in the faith I feel; that the work will go forward and a new prophet will be sustained in due time. We truly have nothing to fear.

Monday night we went to dinner with Pam, Danny, Melody, Randi, and Tommy at a really yummy Thai restaurant. It was a really fun dinner and we had a great time. It was fun to have Pam and Danny share with us one of their favorite restaurants. I had Pad Thai and Ray had glass noodles. It was a really fun family night! The kids were all so good at the restaurant and they love Thai food - that is a great blessing for Pam that her kids love all kinds of food and are not afraid to try something new.

I also suffered from strep, a sinus infection, and an ear infection this week. Of course when you are ill it really makes it difficult to go to work and accomplish anything. Gratefully I was able to take Wednesday off and go to the doctor, get a prescription, and start on the road to healing. It is Friday and I am feeling better, but still very tired - I am definitly looking forward to the weekend.

Monday was my little sister Cindy's birthday - she is 10 years younger than me and yet we have always had a wonderful relationship. She is an amazing woman and I am grateful to call her my sister and my friend. She has accomplished a lot in her life and she is a wonderful example of motherhood, faith, and perserverance. Happy Birthday to my sweet sister!

My sister Lori and I have been talking a lot this week as well. Lori is 20 months older than me and I have been blessed to have a wonderful big sister - she has always taken care of me and been an amazing example of love, kindness, friendship, and charity. She was also feeling a little under the weather this week and so we compared notes and hopefully cheered each other up!

Of course the other elephant in the room is the snow that has seemed almost unceasing for the past couple of weeks. We have been praying that the drought would end and I can definitely see that those prayers have been answered. I think the last count for this past week was 5 feet of new snow in the mountains, 12 inches on the benches (and in Layton) and 6 inches in the valley. I admit that I would much rather have all of this snow and never see another inversion so I have to be grateful that we have been blessed in a couple of different ways with this wonderful snow. I am always a little nervous driving in the snow but this year I am blessed to have a great car with 4 wheel drive and really good tires!

I'm proud of my Brenden this week as he has been testing out of his speech class - he is doing so well and can pronounce all of his consonants and vowels with great precision. What a blessing this class has been for him! He is so smart!

MaKayla has been practicing her coloring and has really gotten good at staying in the lines! She also has been going to bed without a fuss - she is getting to be a really big girl!

Bridger is also flexing his big boy muscles and he is getting more excited every day to be a big brother. Patti said that he is eating everything on his plate and being her special helper - he is going to be a wonderful big brother.

As you can see I had a full week - it's no wonder my mind is in a swirl! I think a restful weekend is exactly what I need. Of course Sunday is the Super Bowl so my family will be over for some yummy tailgate snacks and to spend some time together watching the game. I still don't know who I am going to cheer for but I do know that I hope it is a really good game.

I also love the weekends because I can spend time with Ray - it is so wonderful to be married to my best friend!