Love

I was in the shower with Hyrum when Emily and Aaron came bounding into the bathroom.... "Mom, we unloaded the dishwasher for you!" This is pure, sweet, simple LOVE!

Love for Nie Nie: Mindy Gledhill and the Thrillionaires

I was so excited to be here. I felt very humbled as I contemplated all that had happened to this family and also reminded of the time that people had rallied around my family in a time of deep distress. I was unsure of what to expect but knew that I was in the right place and the right time. The whole show was awesome. The Thrillionaires (below) started the show. They are an improv musical group and were GREAT! I have always loved improv but hated how it always seems to go a little crude. Not in Provo, Utah! Loved it loved it loved it.

After they opened Mindy came out. She only did three songs (I think) from her albums and the rest were new to me. At first I was a little bummed that I didn't hear more songs that I knew, but it was great hearing new stuff. I loved how they tried to keep everything upbeat. One of the last songs she did was "River God". As soon as she started on the piano, tears immediately started pouring. That song is one of my anthems! (I took all of these pictures with my camera and no flash... not bad eh? :) )


This whole show I laughed, I cried, I thought and contemplated. I had never heard about this guy, but Ryan Shupe was AWESOME! He was hilarious and amazing at the same time. The best part was his "Devil Went to Georgia" with "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" mixed in the middle! :)
David Osmond (American Idol)came out and did a cool song... not sure what it was, but did a good job. He was walking past and I tried to ask him how Hollywood week went. He said "Thanks" then realized what I said, turned his head and smiled and kept walking. I don't think he could tell me even if he did stop!
The picture below is of Courtney (c jane run) Nie's sister, Lisa (in the middle) from the Thrillionaires and also a Sister-in-law of Nie's and then of course Mindy Gledhill.

Where we were sitting you could immediatly tell that we were surrounded by family. I had the sense that there were parents of either Christian or Stephanie behind me. I finally got enough courage to ask during the intermission and I am so glad I did. Below is a picture of the amazing woman that gave birth to nine beautiful kids that gave us cjane and Nie. As I shared briefly my story and how grateful I was to both Stephanie and Mindy for their cocktail of help, you could tell she was touched that her daughter had such a far reaching effect. She pointed around the auditorium and pointed to children, grandchildren, in-laws and the like. She mentioned that Stephanie was in fact there with Christian. They wanted to be there but weren't quite ready to make an appearance yet. I COMPLETLY understood. I too had to work up to coming back in to the world and the complete onslaught of love, concern, and attention. It's a little overwhelming at times. I thanked her for sharing her daughter and allowing us to support them in a time of need. For the brief moments I had with her, I could tell where her amazing daughters got their views on life. I was blessed to have met her.
Afterwards I went up to Courtney and introduced myself to her. I told her how much my sisters (especially you Val!) wanted to be there and how much they loved her blog. She was absolutley adorable, fun, and sweet. Again, a blessing to have met her.
Because we had waited around in the auditorium forever, by the time we got out the the lobby most people had already cleared out. I don't know if I had mentioned this before, but Mindy and I had been emailing a little bit, after I shared a quick thank you for the the music that had brought so much peace to me. I went up to her, introduced myself, and had a good quick chat. She was very sweet and thanked me for coming such a long way. I bought my third "Sum of All Grace" that night and she signed it. This weeked was an incredible experience for me. Sickness and all. I came back with a renewed sense of what I am to focus on. As life crowds closer and closer in on me, it is very easy to lose perspective. My kids are growing up FAST, live every moment, even the poopy ones (figurativley and literally). A mother has a FAR reaching affect, just like that mother I met that night. Don't let the daily rush let you miss out on those small moments. Last of all, I have missed feasting. I feasted like a king on the scriptures and loved every minute of it. I have been missing out!! This weekend was a humbling moment for me as I realized how much I need to rely on the Lord as He uses others to teach me and bless my life. Thank you, for all of the examples I have to learn from!

SALT LAKE CITY!!!!

I had to make this a quick post cause the boys are soon to arrive any minute and I want to give my full attention to them.... I will post about the best night ever as soon as I can... to give you a taste, let's just say I "met" most of Stephanie's fam, Mindy, that Osmond guy who tried out for American Idol, and I got pics and autographs! :) Stay tuned.....

A prayer was said... and a prayer was answered... my dear, sweet, incredible, generous, loving, compassionate, selfless, loyal, rocking, husband sent me away for the weekend to recoup from the daily throws of life.

Here's how the weekend went down: Friday night... caught up with Sara and fam....Saturday....Distribution center, and IKEA... Saturday night... caught the worst stomach flu EVER... Sunday... slept, visited the bathroom, went to two hours of church, where I saw Sara teach an awesome lesson AND got to meet President Monson's daughter, Sister Ann Dibb... chatted with her, you know, hung out and all that good stuff... :) She did answer a few of my "behind the scenes" questions.... afterwards, slept some more... got a blessing... slept some more.... played some games.... slept some more (sensing a pattern here?).... Woke up the next morning and felt MUCH better considering! I had the whole house to myself so I listened to great music including Wicked for the first time and scrapbooked all day. When Sara and fam got home, we got ready to go to the best part of the whole getaway... Mindy Gledhill and the benefit for Nie....