The Fantastic Month of February~

We have had a marvelous month of special events and spectacular celebrations.

Our Granddaughter Gillian graduated on February 7th from Aesthetic School. She received honors and is now a Master Aesthetician.We are so proud of her. She has an exciting career ahead. 

We were able to travel to Idaho to attend the Missionary Farewell for our Grandson Austin. He gave an outstanding message in our Sacrament meeting. His younger brother Ryley also gave a talk. This made it extra special. Later that evening we participated in the ordination of our Grandson Christian. He received the Melchizedek Priesthood and was ordained to the office of an Elder. We are so pleased with these awesome grandsons of ours. This was a special day of celebration. The top left photo is of our Grandsons Austin on the Left and Christian on the Right. 

Here are some photos of friends and family members. The two pictures of the just the boys are our future missionaries grandsons. 

On February 13th, we said our goodbyes to our Grandson Austin. He entered the Mission Training Center on February 14th. We will not see him for two years as he serves his mission in the Nebraska Omaha Mission. This was kind of a happy, sad moment for us all. A few tears were shed on this one. 

Here we celebrated our Granddaughter Jadyn's 8th Birthday. We had such a good time with her. We enjoyed being with our Granddaughter in-laws family, and we had our Grandson's Jackson and Joseph there also. Our sweet little Lilly wasn't feeling well, so she spent most of her time with her Dad Jed; our grandson; middle photo below.   

Our Grandson Joseph turned 19 on February 19th. He is now out of school and working for the winter month. We love him and are proud of his accomplishments. He is a remarkable young man.  

On February 23 and 24th, the Country Park Stake held their Annual Especially For Adults event. As a Stake Relief Society, we were in charge of the dessert after the special fireside on the 23rd and the brunch for between the classes held on the 24th. We had a fantastic service project. The project was for the Jordan School Foundation, and our Stake members and friends donated food and other unique items for children in need in the school districts. We were so grateful for the many generous donations that were provided.
Our Friday night guest speaker was Bro. Scott Anderson. He is a well-known speaker, and everyone that attended could have listened to him all night. We were taught many beautiful teachings from The Book of Mormon. Our Theme was "My Soul Delighth In The Things Of The Lord."  

Our Grandson Williams turned 12 on the 23rd of February. He is such a delightful young man, and we are so pleased with him. He received the Aaronic Priesthood and ordained to the office of a Deacon. William is such a fun personality, and we always enjoy our moments with him. 

This month our Grandson Ben received the Leader of the Month and then a few days later he won the 2nd-grade spelling bee and will go on to compete with the 2nd through 4th grade. We are so proud of him. We are enjoying our moments with our grandchildren Ben, Emma, and Alyssa who are living with us. 

A dear couple that we are close with just had twin boys. They have a five-year-old son also. They are so adorable. Last night I spent some time helping with them. It was so much fun. It has been a while since I have held and fed new babies.   

Once in a while, I have to post some photos of our Sammy. This little dog of ours brings us so much joy. He is smart and does some incredible things. He is a stress reliever and always happy to be with us. 

Yesterday, I went to the Eye Foundation of Utah for an exam. Last year I was diagnosed with a Macular Puckering. Usually, this condition remains the same and or worsens and can require surgery. After a complete exam I was told that it looked like it had improved; tender mercy. In fact, the eye specialist stated that my Retina was the healthiest he had seen that day. Of course, as a specialist that may not mean that much. I did have to chuckle at that thought. I do feel blessed. 

As you can see this month has been a blessed month with family. It has been a busy one preparing for our EFA activity.  We were pleased with the attendance and great topics that were given by excellent presenters.  I do have sincere gratitude in my heart for the blessing of family, friends and the opportunity to serve, learn and grow. 

That Which I Love ~

I enjoy the month of February. There is a feeling of love in the air. I like this time of year because I wish to reflect on that which I love.

Here are some thoughts for Valentines 2018.

1. I love that I am a daughter of a Heavenly King. I love my Heavenly parents and know that we are all their spiritual children. 

2. I love our Redeemer, Jesus Christ with all my heart. I know He lives and loves you and me. His sacrifice in Gethsemane and Golgotha for all of us is God's greatest gift to us. Through Him, we will be Resurrected. We will all have the opportunity to return to our Heavenly Family through repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. I do; "Stand All Amazed At The Love He Offers Me." 

3. I love my husband with all my heart and soul. Through our temple covenants, we can be together forever as a couple and as a family. He brings such joy into my life every day. He is such a kind and loving man. I am so grateful for his love and for his devotion to our family and me. I love most that we equally revere our Heavenly Father and Savior and desire to follow them. 

4. I love with all my heart each of my children, their spouses, our 32 grandchildren and our 5 great-grandchildren. They bring great joy to my life, and I love our family moments. I have learned so many lessons from being a mother to this beautiful posterity of mine.
5. I love all of our extended family members both those present and in the spirit world.  Our siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and our missed parents and grandparents enriched my life in countless ways.

5. I love all my friends, those I have known for years and those I have met over time. My friends bring great blessing into my life. They initiate a depth of love my life that I find incredible. I am uplifted when in their presence, reading their thoughts and or listening to one another as we share life experiences. I wish I had photos of all of my treasured friends. 

6. I love this world that was specially created for us, His Children. I enjoy the beauty and diversity of the seasons, each with a unique feeling. I love nature in all her variety and how each species care for their young, many living together as families.  Spectacular sunrises and sunsets take my breath away. The infinite landscapes bring joy to my soul. 

I especially love our dog, Sammy. He is always so happy to see us. He loves to play and brings us warm joy. 

7. I love to look at the temple, I love to be in the temple to receive more of its symbolic teachings. I especially like sitting in the Celestial room. It causes me to feel as though I am in Heavenly Father's living room. There I receive peace, revelation and beautiful moments of pure joy.

9. I love the scriptures. I especially enjoy The Book of Mormon. This is the most powerful book on the earth. It is a history of God's dealings with the people of ancient America. Its teachings are profound. It is a second testament of Jesus Christ. The chapters of Christ's visit to the Americas bring deep spiritual feelings to my heart.

10. I love various hobbies such as reading, playing the piano, crocheting,  genealogy, and family history work.

To conclude, I love the Savior's gospel which has given me so many opportunities to learn, grow, and serve others. I have had many treasured opportunities to help in many different areas of our faith. Service is a core teaching of the Savior.
My faith and testimony are precious to me. My faith has helped me through many difficulties in life. Through these experiences, I have grown even closer to my Heavenly Father and Savior. Prayer is a lifeline for me. I know my prayers are heard because I have received many answers and miracles in my life.  
Happy Valentines Day With Love From LeAnn@ Living Waters!💕

The Revitalizing Month of January~

For the joy-filled month of January, this is a beautiful quote from the beginning of a new year. Simple and easy things to do to make the year better. 

This month has been an unusual one for us. We were recovering from the flu during the first of the month. It wasn't a fun illness to have and took a long time to heal and be back to normal. 

We are so blessed to have our daughter Jenni, Michael and their children Alyssa, Emma and Ben living with us. We are enjoying having them here. Her husband Michael had to return to his former employment in preparation for coming here to work. He isn't here yet. He works for the government; government paperwork is very slow. We are hopeful he will be with us in February. 

Meanwhile, our oldest daughter Christina, Brandon and their children April, Abbey, Faith, and Levi came to spend 8 days with us. This is the family that we spent our Christmas while in Hawaii. They stopped here while moving from Australia to Minnesota. We are very thrilled to have them back in the states. They too were recovering from the flu; so we had a mini care center here. As the sick ones began to feel better, we were able to do a few fun activities. 

Here is a photo of going out to eat one night at an excellent Mexican Restaurant. It was delicious, and we had a great time. 
On one of the days, I took all the girls in the family which totaled 8 to the movie; The "Greatest Showman." This is a spectacular movie and if you haven't seen it; do. We had such a good time. I enjoyed learning about how this circus began. 
Later on in the month, I took my daughter Jenni and her children to see the Movie;"Wonder".Many lessons are learned from this movie. I personally think it should be shown in every school in the United States. It is a powerful one. 

While here this precious family had to pack. They had been shopping for warm clothing since they are moving from a warm climate to a frigid one. That meant they had to pack more bags. They ended up with 13 total. It was quite the feat to get the packing done and stay under the designated weight limit. 

Here the family is enjoying the last night. It was so fun to have them all. We hope we will get to see them more often now they are back in the US. 

Due to there being so much luggage they couldn't get it all in one car, so we helped them get to the airport. It was hard saying goodbye. Yup, I cried! 

We celebrated my dearest loves birthday on January 29th. He is now the same age as me. I always love his birthday because that means we are the same age. I was born in December of 1945, and he was born in January 1946. Therefore I am just two months older than him. He has always teased me that we are a year apart. Sadly, I am part of the Silent Generation, and my husband is a Baby Boomer. 

We had a great two day before birthday celebration with our Son Sean, Mary and part of their family; Gillian, Jackson, Jonathan, Jeffery and Joshua. I loved the photos of my husband with his son and then grandson. They were watching a football game. 
We later celebrated with opening a few gifts; which was sweet. My husband loved it all. 

Next, we traveled to Idaho to go through the Rexburg Idaho Temple for our Grandson's Endowment. He is preparing to leave for the Mission Training Center on February 14th. After two weeks of training, he will arrive in his mission which is the  Nebraska Omaha Mission. He will serve there for 24 months. His cousin, Jackson also served on this same mission. What is impressive is that their Great great grandfather served in this assignment in 1897. He was president of the Omaha Nebraska conference. It is highly unlikely for two cousins to be sent to the same mission. We know this call is from the Lord. Here is an article on a missionary call. 

The top right-hand photo is our handsome grandson, Austin; the missionary. The bottom picture is of our youngest Granddaughter, Haven. 

After the temple session, all of the children came to the temple so we could get some family photos outside of the temple. These two photos are from inside the temple waiting room.  These images are of Travis, Amanda, and their children; Justice, Austin, Ethan, Karlie, Ryley, Kason, Layton, and Haven. Also, my daughter in laws parents was present; Pierre and Brenda. My other son James, Amber was present at the temple, and then later their three children, Christian, Taylor Jo, and Averi came to the home for a congratulations party. 

I loved the family photo. I was a bit bummed out that I didn't take any of the pictures of the party. Wow, that is not like me at all. In fact, my children complain because I take too many photos. However, I know how important family history is, and I think pictures are essential. We must capture our special moments for posterity. 
As you can see, we had a great month of family activities, and we are looking forward to more fun in the loving month of February.