This past week was a hard one. A few days ago we were on our way to a friends funeral when we got a call that Bruce's brother had been rushed to the hospital, we spent the last few days at the hospital and had to say our final good-byes to him today.

Bruce and I have had some health problems. Bruce had a basal cell carcinoma removed from his face a few days ago, and I have been having problems with one of my knees which may require surgery. Our hearts are heavy with worry for loved ones. We've had some sleepless nights. There have been days of pain and sorrow.

But, as I sat down to look at pictures to post of the past month I realized that tucked in between the pain and sorrow have been some wonderful times spent with friends and family.

I am reminded that in our times of pain and sorrow God hears and answers our prayers and it is usually through someone else that he brings us peace, joy, and serenity. I am so grateful for my little grands who light up my life, whose warm hugs ease my troubled mind. I am grateful for my sweet daughter and her husband who I can always depend on, and my awesome husband who is my rock. I am grateful for a sister who never stops believing in miracles. I am grateful to have my mother in my life and to know that she is only a phone call away. I am grateful for friends who love me, who call me, and send me little text messages to let me know they are thinking of me. I am thankful for my girls in Ukraine who love me. I am thankful for my dear friend Kim who reminds me of what fun we had being young mommies together. I am thankful for all of these Gifts from my Heavenly Father.

What have we been up to?

we got together at my sisters house for a little family fun

we went to the Christmas Program at Wyatt's school

we celebrated Bruce's birthday with our familiy

we put up our very first artificial Christmas Tree

we went to a local parade with the grands

we had an incredible hail storm on Thanksgiving

I AM THANKFUL FOR TEMPLES

• I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR TEMPLES AND THE WONDERFUL SEALING ORDINANCES THAT ARE PERFORMED IN THEM.
• I AM THANKFUL THAT 23 YEARS AGO OUR FAMILY WAS SEALED FOR TIME AND ALL ETERNITY.
• I AM THANKFUL FOR THE ATONEMENT IN OUR LIVES AND THAT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER LOVES ALL OF HIS CHILDREN.
• I AM THANKFUL THAT WE ARE LEAD BY LIVING PROPHETS AND FOR THE WONDERFUL COUNCIL WE RECEIVE FROM THEIR INSPIRED WORDS LIKE THESE,

President James E. Faust

“When the covenant of marriage for time and eternity, the culminating gospel ordinance, is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, it can literally open the windows of heaven for great blessings to flow to a married couple who seek for those blessings.”

President Boyd K. Packard

“We can’t overemphasize the value of temple marriage, the binding ties of the sealing ordinance, and the standards of worthiness required of them. When parents keep the covenants they made at the altar of the temple their children will be forever bound to them.”

• I am thankful to know that Families CAN be together forever

• I am thankful for my ETERNAL FAMILY

• I AM THANKFUL FOR THE PROMISED BLESSINGS OF THE TEMPLE

• THAT THE WONDERFUL SAINTS OF UKRAINE WILL SOON HAVE THEIR VERY OWN TEMPLE
  
  
  Kiev Temple Dedication
  Network:
  Global
  Date:
  Monday, August 9, 2010
  Time:
  2:05pm - 5:05pm
  Location:
  KIEV

Announcement: 20 July 1998 Groundbreaking and Site Dedication: 23 June 2007 by Paul B. Pieper
Construction Status
On Saturday, September 19, 2009, about 680 members of the Kyiv Ukraine Stake, outlying mission branches, and their friends gathered to witness the raising of Moroni atop the spire of the Kyiv Ukraine Temple. This event marks a major milestone in the construction of the temple, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2010. Installation of the exterior stone continues.
Nearly nine years since its announcement, ground was broken for the temple on Saturday, June 23, 2007, coinciding with the 97th birthday of President Gordon B. Hinckley. The event was indeed a fitting tribute to this inspired leader, whose program for accelerated temple construction worldwide paved the way for this temple in Ukraine.1
Though only recently introduced in 1991, the Church has grown steadily in this eastern European nation. At 8,500 members strong, the Church in Ukraine reached a milestone on May 30, 2004, when Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles organized the first stake of seven wards in Kyiv. Elder Nelson blessed members to love their neighbors as Christ that many more stakes might be organized. He also encouraged them in their family history work in preparation for the temple.2
During a trip to Europe in 2002 that included the rededication of the Freiberg Germany Temple and dedication of The Hague Netherlands Temple, President Gordon B. Hinckley visited with the Ukrainian saints. Many hoped that the site would be pinpointed for the temple in Kyiv, which had been announced four years earlier; but no announcement was made. During the trip, President Hinckley did meet with Viktor Bondarenko, chairman of the state committee on religious affairs in Ukraine, who assisted the Church to acquire property. In an interview during a September 2002 trip to Utah, Bondarenko indicated that as far as he was aware, the process of securing land for the temple was then being finalized, noting that the major obstacle had been the large amount of land, about 3 or 4 hectares, requested by the Church.3
The announcement of the temple came just a week prior to the dedication of Ukraine's first meetinghouse in Donetsk on June 28, 1998.4

today was my birthday

look who came over to help Nana celebrate

Wyatt and Monroe spent the night last night then we all went to church. We picked up my mom after church and brought her over for dinner. Karrissa had left a present and dinner cooking in the crock pot while we were at church. Bruce brought flowers and my favorite cake, a fruit basket. I got a sweet note from Olga in Ukraine and Sister Fry who was our mission Presidents wife wishing me a Happy Birthday. My friend Rita sent me an e-mail as well. Anya called from Ukraine and left me a voice message. I had alot of well wishes posted on Facebook from friends from the mission and my coworkers. They even sang Happy Birthday to me at church today. It was a wonderful day. Thanks to everyone for making me feel so loved and so special.

Thanks to Bruce, Karrissa, and Brad for all the effort you all made to make me feel so loved today. I am so blessed to have you all in my life.

Fall ........Oh How I Love You

and the gifts that you bring
cool, crisp nights, with warm fires

FAMILY ADVENTURES OUTDOORS

TRIPS TO

APPLE HILL

for Carmel Apples, Garlic Fries, and Honey sticks,

Oh and Horse rides,

playing in the hay Maze and

hanging out on the cool benches that swing

COOL, CRISP AUTUMN AIR fun drives in the Country

the beautiful Amber leaves on the grapevines

SEEING THE GRANDS EXCITED ABOUT DRESSING UP FOR HALLOWEEN

OUR LITTLE PRINCESS MONROE

KARRISSA THE ALIEN AND THE SOLDIER WHO CAPTURED HER (it's a Roswell thing)

ghost and goblins everwhere

Monroe and her cousin London

Wyatt and Maverick

Sweet little girls

wyatt

Monroe

It's good to be home again

We have been keeping ourselves very busy...............


reuniting with dear friends,

spending lots and lots of time with

the grands

baking cookies with Wyatt

with family

(my sister Erin and her daughter Brooke)

a trip to the Pumpkin Patch with the Bailey family

FALL HAS ARRIVED

we woke up to the sound of rain..................

I love it!!!!!

WELCOME FALL

seasons

There are some days I really miss UKRAINE....
I could write a whole post about that
but not today........

Today I am LIVING IN THE MOMENT........





It is so great
to be HOME..........











I am loving spending time with my children again.







Karrissa and I got to go to "Time Out for Women" a few weeks ago.







It was so nice to have some time to just "hang out" together.







We had a nice relaxing drive to Pleasanton, and then got to just be spiritually fed. We listened to some great talks and then were treated to some awesome music by Jenny Oaks Baker, and Hillary Weeks. I am hooked on Hillary Weeks, I am sure my husband must be so sick of listening to the latest album but I love it. It relaxes me. I love to crank it up and sing along.







The scriptures teach us that there is a season for everything. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” (Eccl. 3:1.)





I love this season of my life.



This morning we woke up to the sounds and smells of fall. The air was crisp, the roosters were crowing, there was a gentle breeze blowing through our bedroom windows. There was nothing calling me out of bed but the warm sunshine on my back deck. No little voices calling "mommy I'm hungry." there weren't loads of laundry waiting to be started, or school projects to complete.



My time is my own now. Or maybe I should say "our time". This is really the season for Bruce and I as a couple to reconnect. I have loved that. That was the real gift of the mission. Reconnecting with my wonderful husband.

I digress, back to this morning.
As I began to stir and think about how I wanted to spend my morning as Bruce relaxed in bed. I thought that I might take a moment to reconnect with my dear loved ones in Ukraine, or maybe go outside with a good book and sit on the deck and read, or I could just sit in the warm sunshine and meditate.



There were so many seasons of my life that flew right by. It seems I was always anxious for what the next adventure would be. When the children were little I was always anticipating what the next big milestone would be. Dreaming about when they would walk, and then when we could have conversations. I wondered what we would talk about.

When I was in Nursing School I could hardly wait to finally be on my own. I met someone a few days ago who had just started the RN program and had just completed day 3 of his clinical rotation. I remember how exciting that was to finally be in my scrubs and walk through the hospital feeling like I belonged there. Like I was where I had always dreamed about being.
BUT, I also remember always waiting for the "next great thing" to come along, thinking "oh next week we get to do this or that". Oh how I wish I could go back and just "enjoy" it. I'd like to go back and sit in that hospital room with my very first patient that I was asked to interview and really listen to the answers she was giving me about her life, her illness, and her concerns. My mind was so preoccupied with "getting the assignment right" that I missed the experience, the magical moment of really connecting with someone.

I wish I could go back and just

savor it.



How many times have I just been waiting for what is coming next?



Life is filled with so many precious moments that just pass us by as we gaze off into the future waiting for our lives to begin.



When life is really found in each precious moment.



Yesterday I had one of those moments as I walked into the kitchen and found little baby Cash standing in the dishwasher. He was so proud of himself (he is just learning to stand and walk) somehow he figured out how to open the dishwasher, climb in and then stand on the door.



Nana's get to enjoy these little treasures. My life is no longer rushed. I got to stop and go get the camera take a quick picture and then just love on him for a moment. When we go for walks with the grands we get to stop and look at bugs, or look in holes in the ground, or just stop and sit whenever we feel like it.



I love that about being in this season of my life.



and I get to enjoy my grown kids.



I love that about my life too.



I don't have to try to fix their problems, I don't have to know everything that is going on with them. I am here if they need me to just be a sounding board, or to help them work through things so that they can find their own solutions.



The best part is we are here to enjoy this amazing season of their lives with them. What a blessing it is for us to be a part of our children's everyday lives.

I love this little guy

Mission Reunion in Salt Lake

We just got home from an amazing trip to Utah. The Andersen's decided to hold 2 mission reunions because BYU had a big game on Friday night and they didn't want to miss any BYU fans. So we attended both nights. It was so fun. We saw many of the young missionaries as well as the couples we served with. Then to my big surprise we saw Tanya who is from Ukraine. She is studying for a few months in Salt Lake so she came by to say hello. Then we saw, Julia who also is from Ukraine. She is a nanny in Colorado and served a mini mission while we were in Ukraine. It was so great to see them both. Then we were able to go out to lunch at Simply Tai, which is Michelle Pearson's mothers restaruant. Michelle served in Ukraine with us.
We met Sam Crossley, Colby Kalian, and Clark Harris there for lunch. We finished off the weekend by attending General Conference. We were able to attend all but one session live. It was incredible. We even ran into some of our friends there. Oh, and we got some exciting news that Elder Hunt is getting married. We saw him and his fiance with her parents at conference. We even got to go to lunch Saturday in between sessions with Justin Permenter and his brother.

We were so happy to see all our dear friends and hear what they have been up to since they got home from their missions.

We love them so much.