Seeing Miracles from Heaven

This week we went as a family to see "Miracles from Heaven."

I love movies based on true stories and this was an inspiring tearjerker for me.  I especially loved the message that there are miracles happening all around us, we just need to open our eyes and see them. I have felt so blessed during this move process for the many miracles that have happened to ease the transition.
We found a buyer for our home before we even listed it.
Our timeframe matched their timeframe perfectly.
We made an offer on our new home the day it listed when we already had plans to come up.
I felt a wave of peace on the Sunday we visited our new ward before finding our new home.
This enabled us to make a quick decision on making an offer on our home.
I was able to transfer my landline # to a new cell phone.
Kind friends brought dinner, offered housecleaning and watched our kids during the stressful days of moving.
The weather was perfect on moving days so the kids could play outside.
Our car was having clutch issues before we moved, but it made the journey just fine.
The Allen's brought us dinner and then invited our children to an end of school party the day after we moved in so they could meet new friend's right away.
A family of 9 invited our family of 8 over for dinner - amazing generosity!
When I signed up my girls for Dance Camp the teacher offered to help with carpooling even though we have never even met.
So many new neighbors and friends have reached out to us  and our children at church and in the neighborhood already.
When the new move blues started to set in, Jared called and asked me to go out to lunch with him.
Our new neighbor is a builder and offered to help us with the RV pad.
Scout Camp and Girls Camp were early in the summer so my kids were able to make some great connections with new friends at the beginning of the summer.
Feeling so blessed today!

Kindergarten Grad

We were able to attend Alyssa's Kindergarten graduation while the movers were busy loading up all of our belongings on the moving truck.  She enjoyed learning the songs and practiced the songs all week with Emily at home.  She's my first girl who actually seems to enjoy performing and singing in front of people, so it was fun to watch her expressions during the graduation. 5 Down, 1 more to go :(  I'm not ready to end this fun phase of life!

Fun with Friends

 The kids were so excited to have their friends come up and hang out at our new house while the Budges went to the temple.  The weather was perfect for a stroll to the river and some fun 4 wheeling.  We thoroughly enjoyed visiting afterwards and again I thought "Why does it take big changes for us to fully appreciate and spend time with those we love?"

New Neighbors

I love the backyard view!

The families in our new neighborhood have given us a warm welcome and seeing all of the kids roaming the neighborhood makes it feel like home.  The boys had a great time 4 wheeling behind our house with some of their new friends and the younger kids are fortunate to have friends right next door who are eager to play with them.

Goodbyes and Reflections

The past few weekends have felt a bit surreal as I prepare to say goodbye to so many friends who have touched my life deeply.  Last week Jared and I were asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting.  As I looked out into the faces of our ward members I was overcome with emotion.
I reflected on the last time I was asked to speak in church a couple of years ago.  It was the Sunday following the death of our Relief Society President, and my good friend Tammy Johnson.  We had been asked as a Relief Society presidency to speak the Sunday following her heart surgery.  I remember looking into the faces of her grieving spouse and children and wondering how I could ever make it through my talk, just a few days after her funeral.  But the Spirit sustained me, I was able to remain composed and I know the Lord guided my thoughts and words on that day.
I saw the faces of faithful primary, scout and young women leaders who have touched the hearts of my children.

I saw Marcella, my neighbor who was on the brink of death last year, but was miraculously healed.  I am lifted when I visit her and am blessed to learn from her calm, positive spirit despite the many challenged thrown her way.  I became her visiting teacher while she was recovering in a care facility, learning to walk again and have learned a lot from her wisdom and experiences she's shared about being a mother and grandmother.  Her husband Dave treated us to a final dinner at Texas Roadhouse with our neighbors the Kirkhams and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation of good friends that we have been blessed to be surrounded by.

This week was the baby blessing for my dear friend and neighbor Jessica's little boy.  As he was blessed to be part of an eternal family, my mind flashed back to the moment when I felt the distinct impression to invite her to come back to church with me.  She accepted the challenge and the ensuing months hold some of the most precious memories of my life as we were blessed to have the missionaries in our home weekly to teach her daughter in preparation for her baptism.

All of these goodbye moments made me think of "living each day as if it were your last."  Why does it take a goodbye moment to help me fully appreciate the relationships I cherish with those around me?  It's given me more motivation to cherish the "nows" and enjoy the current relationships in my life.

Becca's Sixteen

Sadly, Rebecca's sixteenth birthday fell on the first day of our move when our home was in upheaval.  When she came home from school the contents of our home were all packed up.  She celebrated her birthday early by spending the weekend hanging out with friends including a movie, mafia and maple cream pie.
We delayed our move until the last week of school mainly for Rebecca's sake.  She is super scholastically motivated and it was super important for her to stay for finals to keep her perfect grades up.  She doesn't often share her inner thoughts vocally, but I love getting a glimpse of her spiritual depth and maturity as I read a few pages in her scripture journal where she notes insights, goals and impressions.
I was impressed with her work ethic as she decided to make and sell cookie dough balls as a fundraiser for her National Food Innovations Competition in the midst of finals prep.  Thanks to our generous friends and neighbors, she sold about 80 dozen cookie dough balls!

May Happenings

Between the cleaning packing and planning in preparation for the move we've kept busy with a lot of events this months.  I started off the month with our final piano group lesson here.

 Jacob successfully survived surgery.  The worst part was the description about the i.v. by the male nurse who didn't spare any details.  Fortunately the anesthesia took effect before he took take a look at the scalpel!  He finally got to get a little taste of "homeschool" during his week of recovery so he could keep up his grades.

 Alyssa was super excited for the fun run last week.  Her class went a day early since she didn't have school on the day the run was hosted for the rest of the grades, but she was eagerly begging to get to go again the next so she could get another free bottle of gatorade.

 We spent a day up at our new home wiping out cabinets, vacuuming, and cleaning the hard water off of the windows.  Then we took a break and walked to see a beautiful view of the river behind our house.

 Today was our final day in church at our ward.  Jared spoke in another ward for his high council assignment and the closing song was "Sing we now at Parting."  Then we sang it again in our ward and the organist started to play the postlude song was "God Be With You Til We Meet Again."  I conducted in Relief Society and the lyrics "Here we meet with friends and neighbors" brought the emotions to the surface.   Jared was in charge of Seminary Graduation this evening.  It was inspiring for me to hear Tanner Ferrara's talk and see the maturity and growth that happens in our children so quickly as they prepare to leave home and embark on new journeys.  I'm not ready for that yet, although its right around the corner for Rebecca.

Dan with Mrs. Haskett - his Kindergarten teacher