Matters of the heart

It's good to be home...but I felt like I left part of my heart in Florida. I do hope I get to see that new baby again before she's walking. :) The flower in Merin's hair in this picture was a gift from Kindy (from Hawaii)... Merin's gorgeous in pink, but also in yellow, green, blue... :)

I had a great time in Florida. Damian and Amy are so easy to just hang with. And there is NEVER a shortage of entertainment with Hay and Zade around! I laugh when Amy rolls her eyes at Zade's never ending chatter. One year ago, she was most anxious for him to say ANYTHING! It's amazingly easy to make out just what he's saying, even though his articulation is a "little" lacking. :) He is sooo cute and LOVES life.

As does Hayden! He's such a smart kid! It's hard to believe he is just going into 1st grade this fall. He reads really well, and he reminds me a bit of Kryn and Gregan with the great facts he can recall about all kinds of things - especially stuff that live in the water... Amy's absolutely right when she says he's "over the moon" over Merin. He's a very sweet, tender big brother to her.

Merin was a perfect princess on Sunday. With a mom and two grandmas to get everyone to the church on time, we still left the binky and her bottle at home. But Merin was a little angel all during church. (And had special care from her handsome biggest brother...)

So I headed home yesterday. I had made only fair headway in the book we are reading for book club this month, The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. (It's over 600 pages long). But thanks to waits in the airports (especially a 3 hour delay in Dallas - thanks, Keats, for picking me up at 11:00 p.m.!!) and flying time, I FINISHED the book an hour before reaching Salt Lake.

I ended the trip much like I started it - with a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. As I settled back to listen to some of the best music ever written -(on the IPOD given to me by my kids) - and looked down at the valley that soooo many Saints sacrificed so much to establish, I felt absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude and a burning testimony of the reality of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. Keaton and I drove right by the new Oquirrh Mountain temple on Bangerter Highway, and it was stunning. (BTW, I found Parley's discourse about polygamy enlightening - pages 523-528. I know that some of my kids would love reading it). Parley endured as much hardship and persecution as anyone in the Church. He was a tremendous missionary, and a faithful husband, father, and leader... AND a gifted writer...

Other highlights of my time in Florida included attending a fireside featuring David Archuletta, and getting a beautiful new crown (as in tooth) in the chair of my son, the dentist. :)

'Looking forward to the reunion and Salem Days on Saturday!