This sweet little boy had his seventh birthday today. Maeve would have been 7 on August 22, Logan was 7 on November 11, and now Cayden has his turn. Seven years of wonderful grandma experiences. All the years since they were born have been filled with love and devotion to all my sweet grandchildren. Cayden is such a sweet boy, and as I get to observe and spend time with him in our home, I realize he is such a special spirit. Heavenly Father knew Andrea could not let him be adopted, and so sent a lovely, gentle, sweet boy to our family. He has been a blessing from day one. There were many difficult days in his life, but I hope we have helped him to realize what a great person he is and that his Father in Heaven is happy with him. I know one thing about this cute, charming boy and that is he brings me JOY!

Shared a lovely Thanksgiving week with our family in Utah. We spent sweet time with Keith & Zelda, fun time with grandkids, motored with Cayden & Brook back and forth from home, and loved seeing and being with a lot of those we love. The only thing better would have been having them at MY home! It is different spending vacations away from your home. But the joy of family resonates through me wherever I am. So grateful for the quality time spent with special ones. Truly joyful!

Lexi reading the Book of Mormon - Complete Joy!

Little Lexi, one of my 3 year old granddaughters reads the scriptures with her family every morning. Brandy, her mom has wondered if anything is getting through. But the last four nights Lexi falls asleep with the Book of Mormon in her BED! She is adorable and lovely and pure JOY!

Today I wore myself out completely redoing my front flower bed. I took most everything out (and it was alot of stuff growing in there!) and planted bulbs. I started about 11 am and finished at 3:30. I may not be walking tomorrow! I love working in the yard actually, my master gardener hands can't wait to make changes and plant stuff! But my older, achy body does not like to accommodate. But I am determined this winter I am redoing my yard so that I feel like it is a yard a master gardener would have! hahahaha There is that pride factor coming in. Oh well....it brings me JOY!

Grandkids bring......JOY!

Today is Logan's birthday and he has turned 7 years old. Those years have flown past, but as I look back there are many events that fill those years; many happy and some sad. The saddest days of my life are encompassed within those years and some of the happiest days also beckon thru memories. I love each of my 7 grandchildren and the memories we share are bountiful and beautiful. I thank my children for bringing these lovely spirits to be united in our family. We are eternal and that brings great JOY!

Time to set up for.....Christmas!

I always like Christmas up for longer than 4 weeks. I decorate my whole house and I am not ready to put it away after 4 weeks so I decided some years back that I wanted to enjoy it longer. Hence, post Halloween decorating! It has been one of our traditions to collect unique Christmas items and 35 years of collecting has produced, um plenty of Christmas decor! My kids say that they will be able to split up our stuff when we are gone and still have too much! Well, personal preferences! Brad is actually becoming more Christmasy than I am. I love how I can focus on the meaning of Christmas with my collection of nativities and it reminds me how blessed I am. Christmas brings Joy any time of the year!

A finished project = Joy :) But now what???

I finished the quilt I have been working on today. I still have shams to create and build but the big part is DONE! So happy with how it turned out. It will be quilted and ready before Christmas. It is one of Brad's Christmas gifts (even if he has seen it!). Not sure he'll appreciate it even if he did ask for one! LOL. So a finished book, published and complete, and a finished quilt all but done. Now what will I do??? Another book might be a good idea. I think I'll wait until after the first of the year for that! R & R? Maybe. :)

Quilt making is truly a JOY! Thanks MOM!

I am working on the quilt for our Master Bedroom kingsize bed. It is coming along so well and I love how the colors work together. Sewing is so fulfilling and rewarding. I thank my mother for the love I have for quilt building and for the patience to sit and work every little seam. I have many memories of her sitting in the night, sewing on some project or other, or sitting beside a quilt, stitching far into the night. She had unbelievable energy and stamina. I would be happy with half of what she had! Thanks Mom for your great example. Miss you.

Day of Joy, Gospel Lights my life.

I love Fast & Testimony meeting. For those of you who do not know what that is, I'll explain. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) on the First Sunday of each month fast for 24 hours (free of food and water) and then go to Sacrament Meeting, our church service, and bear testimony of our convictions about the church, about God and Jesus Christ. It is difficult to explain how listening to other people tell about why they love God is so fulfilling. But when you are humble, feeling hungry, I guess you are hungry for more than food and so the spirit fills the empty space with Joy! I also had a friend in Church come up and tell me she read the book yesterday and LOVED it! She said she laughed all the way through it (which made me very happy) and she loved it enough she wants to read it again. More Joy. :)

The Magic of Jennie!

It has been a busy day but we were able to get balloons and Cayden, Brook, Andi & Justin joined Brad and me and released them as we wished Jennie happy birthday! We had our Jamba Juice and are about to cut into a yummy "Bakin Robins" ice-cream cake. Oreo ice cream with white cake! YUMMMMM! Had a new review posted on the Kindle site and it captured what I hoped I had conveyed in the book. The Magic of Jennie. :-) Joy!

Celebrating 30 years tomorrow!

I heard from the publisher that my book is ready! It posted on createspace.com and will be on Amazon in 5 days. I decided long ago that Jennie's 30th birthday deserved some commemoration and decided to try to finish the book. I'm so happy that I accomplished that goal. I didn't need to make money from the book, just publicly acknowledge the joy and love I received from her. I am putting 30 pictures representing 30 years on FB and will do the traditional balloon release and Jamba Juice run tomorrow. I think we will get an ice cream cake, her favorite kind, and let the kids really enjoy her day. Thanks for being part of our life Jennie! You gave pure JOY!