Stillness -

Life continues to be busy. There is only a little time to be still. I have been reflecting on how to have more stillness in my life. I loved this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; the thoughts speak to me.  I have had the Spirit talk to me in the night's stillness of prayers and silence. As I ask to know the Lord's will for my life, I have received direction on the most critical priorities to work on.

I have many items to do, but I must balance time and do what remains most important. I find many answers from daily prayer with my Heavenly Fathe. Moments of study in the scriptures, and especially The Book of Mormon. I can make better choices and decisions as I reflect, ask questions, and receive answers from the Lord through the Spirit.  

I ask a question on the Chatter App. I liked what a quick response brought. 

"To have stillness, find a space to relax and reflect. Turn off distractions like your phone, TV, or computer. Spend time in this space each day and practice mindfulness activities like meditation, deep breathing, yoga, and prayer. You can also use journaling and other creative exercises to help you connect with yourself, your inner peace, and your Heavenly Father and Savior." 

Fun Moments with Family for January & February-

On Saturday, January 7th, we traveled to Idaho and stayed with our son, James, Amber, and Averi, for our Grandson Benjamin's ordination to the office of a Teacher in our faith. Here is a photo of Jenni, our daughter, with Michael, their son, Benjamin, and their daughter Emma. Their other daughter Alyssa was working. These two families are in the same Ward, so that is fun. 

After church on Sunday, January 8th, we went to Michael and Jenni's home for dinner. Here is an excellent photo of my son, James, Amber, and our sweet special needs, Grandaughter, Averi. She is 21 years old. Averi is blind and autistic.  The necklace is made up of her kids. Each of the items has a name. Her favorite one is the pink cloth in her hand. His name is 6th. 6th has been with Averi for 20-plus years. She held it in Primary Children's Intensive care for over 5 months. She was the sickest baby at the time they had seen. She was diagnosed with Osteopetrosis. A very rare disease.  All of her kids are named after numbers, like Thursday Eleven, Twelve; Twenty-Two, Seven, Eleven; and Twelve, Twenty-Six.   She has favorite times and dates. She is amazing. With Averi, you can give her your birthday day and the date, and she will tell you the date and day of your birthday in the next year. She does amazing things with math and can play the piano by ear when she isn't being stubborn. 

The following weekend, we traveled again to Sugar City, Idaho, Saturday, January 14th, for our Grandson, Kason, to be made a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. After the ordination, my son Travis, Amanda, and their wonderful family had lunch. The following are in the group photo. Roger, myself, Amanda, Jaxson and Justice, Bradon and Karli, Haven, Layton, Ryley, Travis, Ethan, and Kason. It was extra lovely to be with them all. Unfortunately, we stayed another day at James and Amber's home due to bad weather. 

Our treasured Sammy joined us for a Happy Birthday celebration of our Grandson in law, Alex, on Wednesday, January 25th. His Birthday cake was a cheesecake. It's his favorite. We had a nice dinner and celebrated his birthday with our Grandchildren, newlyweds, Braedon and Taylor Jo, Alex, and Sariah, followed by my favorite, Roger. Of course, I was taking photos. It was fun to have them all. 

Our newlyweds, Granddaughter Taylor Jo, and Braedon, our new Grandson-in-law, moved in with us on January 16th while looking for an apartment. We have loved having them here with us. They were only here for 3 weeks and then found ann apartments nearby.

We had grandchildren in the area for Roger's 77th birthday celebration on Sunday, January 29th. He is finally my age, which is nice. For two months, I get to be the oldest. We were joined for dinner, cake, and Icecream. We had Christian, Jonathan, Jackson, Michael, Braedon, Taylor, Jo, Roger, and me. We really enjoy these precious young adults. 

Our son James brought his family down from Idaho for a short visit. We loved that they came to church with us and had Sunday dinner. It was fun to have them, and our conversations were entertaining. 

This month I had two lunches with friends. Lunch with my dear friends Joan, Danelle, and ReNae. I have known these friends from high school for over 60 years. 

I then had a great lunch with one of my best friends, Toni; it is always delightful to be with her. Regretfully, I did take any photos. 

My temple shifts have been extra special. I always enjoy working each Thursday and Friday in the temple.

On Valentine's day, my dearest one gave me beautiful flowers that are still doing well and blooming. I didn't take photos; what's wrong with me. Instead, we went out to dinner and enjoyed a movie. It was a lovely day together. 

  

On Wednesday, February 22nd, we had a massive snowstorm hit Utah. We got around 20 inches in a brief period. It was a record-breaking storm. We need the water due to a heavy drought in this area. 

This last weekend, I had a quick moment in the ER. I was very sick for a while. It took a bit of time for a diagnosis. Luckily, I didn't have to stay overnight. I had dehydrated due to nausea, and my heart was in arrhythmia. The IV fluids helped a lot. Unfortunately, I had an infection that probably caused the other symptoms. I feel much better today. This was only the 2nd time I had been in an ER for any health concerns; it was a little scary. 

Let us all look for more stillness in our lives and find a balance for priorities. I'm going to work on this for sure. Have a great week, everyone!