Sunday, July 20, 2008

Families are Forever


Friday morning I was taking the metro rail home from the children's museum when my outlook on the day changed pretty drastically. A young family, mom, dad, three small children, boarded the train at the medical center stop. The father was holding a little girl about four years old who was obviously very ill. The whole family was very subdued and just sat in silence the entire ride. I then noticed that in the fathers hand was a pamphlet entitled, "What is Cancer". My heart just sunk. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about the difficult road this family is on and what could possibly be ahead for them. I know that modern medicine does amazing things but that life is also very fragile. The possibility of losing a young child would be devastating and especially so without the understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches that this life isn't the end. There IS more and families CAN be together forever. Watching this little family reaffirmed the deep gratitude I have for my testimony of this important principle. I wanted so badly to share my beliefs with them but I wasn't sure how. They got off at my stop and just before my apartment, I paused and talked with them for a moment. I gave them a card and invited them to call the number on the card to learn more about the importance of families. I finished my walk home feeling glad that I'd done something but still felt somewhat inadequate to what was truly needed. I just hope and pray that they are able to eventually find the comfort and peace that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Beach Trip

I love the 4th of July! I love the patriotic songs and the beautiful fireworks but most especially I love that I most often get to spend it with my family. This year I was blessed to spend the holiday with my Texas siblings. My brother from Austin and my sister from Kingsvale met on the beach in Corpus Christi. We spent the holiday together with our little ones (eight of them 4 and under). It was such fun to create happy memories of being together. I am so grateful for families!

Gideon is my nature boy who loves being outdoors. The beach was no different. He LOVED everything about it- the sand, watching the birds, and listening to the waves come and go.
Vacations are such a great time to really focus on family without the distractions of everyday life. I loved the afternoon we spent at the beach with just our little family. This is the group! There was never a dull (or a quiet) moment with all these little ones.


Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Two Rules

There are two rules you must abide by if you are going anywhere in Houston- check the weather and check the traffic before you leave. I broke both those rules on Sunday and boy did I pay for it. I had to pick up Craig from the airport and I thought I'd leave a little early and go to the arboretum for a little walk with the kids. It was overcast when I left our home but by the time I got to the park, big juicy raindrops started falling so we didn't even get out of the car. We then got back on the freeway which quickly turned into a parking lot because of the storm and flooded frontage roads. So instead of a nice Sunday afternoon walk in nature we spent all our extra time in the car. Sierra just sat in her seat and sang songs about silly cars swimming in the water while Gideon just cried- I think the very loud thunder and heavy rain scared him a bit. We were sure happy to get to the airport. Anyway, next time I pack the kids in the car and plan to go more than a few miles I'll follow the rules.


Yummy! Gideon loves to eat!

Sierra showing off her new hat from her Grandma that she LOVES!