April 28, 2011 flashback 45 years

Here we are 45 years ago today...just married.

At the reception center that evening with our parents.

Here is the line...I still like the rainbow colors

April 25

Thursday the 28th, is our wedding anniversary. We were married on a Thursday. It's been 45 years. The time went by so fast.......it doesn't seem possible. We were so young and hopeful on this day. It was a beautiful spring day, warm and still. The blossoms were out. This photo was taken at the Reception center ..... "The Crestwood Villa". We had a live band and dancing going on. Lots of guests came, and I remember my face actually hurt from smiling so much.

April 17 2011 Changing up the blog!

I have decided to take my personal blog in a new direction. I will be posting on Sundays...mostly old photos with a little story or facts from my life. This is the home that I grew up in, in Murray Utah. My parents bought this house when I was three years old. I still remember when they first looked at it, and I wanted them to buy it because there was a table downstairs with a little airplane sitting on it!!! I lived here until I married at 22 years of age. My parents sold the home in 1978 when they moved to St George for my mother's health problems. I had five children at that time, and I felt like the world would end with my mom moving 300 miles away. This house didn't look like much when my parents bought it... but mom landscaped it and cared for it, and it was beautiful inside and out. Not so today... I can hardly stand to drive past it now. It looks so bad. But...this is how it is in my memory. Stay tuned for childhood stories that happened here.

"I LOVE HIM TOO"

Today, our three year old granddaughter , Rory, was playing at our house for a little while. I still have a few things propped up against the wood stove, waiting for me to put them back up. One is a special gift that my nephew, Derek, made for me when my mother passed away. My mother was deaf, and she always signed the well known "I Love You" to everyone. The gift from my nephew, is a sketch of the Savior's hand, signing "I Love You". The wound from the nail in His palm is visible. I love this because it says SOOO MUCH that is not seen. I noticed Rory kneeling by this sketch, and doing the I love you sign herself...comparing her own hand to the Savior's. I grabbed my camera quickly, and got this shot that I will always treasure.

We talked about how Jesus loves us, and died for us, and that we love him too.

"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

Isaiah 49:16

January 2, 2011

Sunday...My favorite day of the week. I am glad that we are back to the 9:00 - 12:00 meeting block. There is enough time in the day now to do all those Sunday things. I called my brother, our daughter, Heidi , and two friends who I needed to chat with and catch up with. I worked on my photography blog, and wrote in my journal. Our son, Brian, came to visit. Ralph and I watched an old movie on TV. It is one we went to when we were first dating. I enjoyed all of our meetings today very much . Our course of study for the year is the NEW TESTAMENT, which I especially love.

I have made some goals for the new year. I will not be listing all of them here. Some are on-going, others are new, but I believe they are possible to accomplish, and by sticking to my course, they will enable me to have a good year and feel like I accomplished something good in a year from now when I look back on 2011.

In my photo you can see some things that are really important to my goals. I'm doing some long overdue Family history. I want to learn Lightroom, I started a new journal, which always feels good, and I have a new planner. I can't function without a planner. Life seems to get busier and busier, and my planner keeps it all under control.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL......

Tender Feelings At The Year's End

I LOVE this time of year, starting with the Fall colors, then Thanksgiving, and finally the beautiful Christmas music, and the celebration of Christ's birth and life, and His mission to save us all. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for Him, and for His love. I feel an urgency to come to Him with all of my imperfections, and to re-dedicate myself to keeping all of the commandments more diligently. I like to think of the covenants that I have made with the Lord in sacred places, and re-evaluate how I am doing, and where I can strengthen myself, and do better.

This past year brought me many opportunities to draw closer to the Lord. I learned at a very young age, that trials, heartaches, pains and suffering, will do that. They bring us to our knees, and ultimately into the arms of the Savior. He never fails to comfort and bless us. Next year is just a few days ahead, and already looks promising for more opportunities for growth and development. It will open new doors where I will need the Savior's love and support. There will be more need for kindness in the world, and for reaching out to those who struggle. There will be more need for forgiving others, and for asking forgiveness.........many more opportunities for strengthening my own faith, and for learning and growth. In other words, 365 more days to practice all of the things that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has taught us. If we look at it that way....we can get through anything.

Ralph and I were priveleged to vacation in Kauai, Hawaii for a week. We have been home for three weeks now, and my mind is still filled with all of the beautiful sights that we were able to take in. As we stood on Mountain tops, looking down rocky clifts to the sea below, or flew over waterfalls where no human feet have ever walked to, gazed at sunsets, and stood in awe of the beauty of this world......one thought kept returning to my heart- -God's incredible LOVE for us. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, made this beautiful world for us, and then came here to die for us so we can live with Him and God the Father once again. That is such an amazing thing, and I am so grateful.

HERE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE TRIP

Through My Lens

Photography, although only a hobby for me, has taught me many things. This year I am doing a 365 blog.....where I post a picture of every day life....every day. This project has taught me like no other thing could have, to look for the good, the beautiful, the interesting. I am always looking up at the changes in the sky.....the details of a flower or an insect, or the various colors of my grandchildren's eyes. Even how a toy looks from a 2 year olds perspective.

The other big thing is to approach the every day scenes from different angles. Looking down at something, lying down and looking up at it, how does it look at different times of day? I have found that there is beauty in everything, even the lacy lines in a grasshopper's wings, or the hairy legs of a spider.

Here is a little example from today. I had a little foot surgery a couple of weeks ago and have made a few trips to the Podiatrists office in Draper. I noticed that there is an open field next to his office, and among the weeds, are different kinds of wildflowers. Last week, the sun was shinning through them and I wished I had taken a camera. Today, I remembered to put my little point and shoot camera in my purse. When I came out, they all looked so pathetic, I almost decided they were not worth a photo. But moving into the flowers a little bit and kneeling down, so I could shoot upwards, the distracting homes in the background disappeared, the mountains were visable, and at the angle I was shooting, the weeds could no longer be seen.

The white appeared to be washed out so I added a little texture to the picture and this was the result:

I think it looks almost like a beautiful painting. It made me think about how the Lord looks at each one of us. He sees the beauty in us. Sure, he knows about our faults and shortcomings, but He invites us to come to Him and repent of our sins and imperfections. Shouldn't we be so kind to one another? Shouldn't we look for the good in those who may be different from us? Shouldn't we see each other in the best light, from the most complimentary angles?

I believe it is something to think about.