The Wedding

Yard Prep

Bride Prep



Lauren's Dad will perform
the wedding ceremony
So..
Bishop Prep



It was a Magical Day!

Ahh, Craig is home. He has been gone for a full week. He drove to Utah in his dad’s Cadillac to sell it there. While there he stayed with Joel and Lori, in South Jordan but visited his mother everyday. Meanwhile I was home preparing for the wedding we will have in our backyard Saturday. Lauren weds Jeremy here.
Oh...this deserves a post...while doing some planting I broke a pipe!

I was home alone (don't forget). All the possible men that could come to rescue flooded through my mind...then I decided to try to fix it myself...and I DID!

Yes, Craig is home. He drove here with Joel and Lori and kiddos in their van. So, the house is full of adorable loved ones. They left a cold and snowing Utah and arrived in a place where the birds are singing and the flowers are blossoming everywhere. California is a beautiful place to be.

Thursday was a bustle.
Lori washed down the gazebo, lawn furniture and the windows.
Joel installed a little picket fence around the shed.


The children played in their swimming suits with water.
Micah made mud and had a delightful time playing in it.
We gave him 3 separate cleanings over that!

Craig fixed a light.
I hung curtains in the shed, straightened, and quite frankly was bone weary from the past week of work.

SOME PRETTY SPOTS IN OUR YARD

Later in the day, Shannon and her troop came over to join us. I loved standing at the sink looking out the clean window and seeing my yard full of loved ones. Shannon, Lori and Krysta were sitting on the patio furniture talking and talking. The children were playing all around. The fellas were talking and laughing and making plans. Happiness.

The sad news however, is that Jan, who was scheduled to fly in at 8:45 pm was caught by a blizzard and unable to come! We are frolicking in the sun and she is in a blizzard. By the time her shuttle notified her that they wouldn’t be able to get her to the airport thousands of other passengers were already rescheduled to future flights causing her to have to wait days to come. So, her 2 week vacation has been cut to a one week one. She will not be here for the wedding!

Baby Rya

Baby Rya Kaylene is here. She received a miracle. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice and no one knew until delivery. The doctor saved the day by cutting the cord just as her head was visable. Rejoice Evermore!

P.S. 7lbs 7oz., 18"

My niece, Chrissy, is in labor right now. This is her first child. Baby Rya is on her way to our family. Peace be with you my dear. Your auntie is praying for you both

How to Books

Don't you just love the scriptures?
Most every morning I awaken early, hopefully while it is still dark. I tiptoe into The Great Room, we call it, to settle into my Scripture Chair. The little hymnal is randomly opened to discover a new hymn for the day. Singing a hymn before prayer is a lovely recent addition to the ritual. The Spirit is sweet.
Writing in my journal is next. Oh, I love to write. Not that I am a great writer but I love to reflect on the day before; the tender mercies of the Lord, the joys of life, and the lessons learned.
Next comes the best part: Scripture Study. For about an hour the scriptures are my life-line to heaven. Beginning the day in this way sets the day in proper order. Even though I am in pajamas I feel dressed for the day in my 'Armor' as I arise change into clothes.

This lovely Sabbath Day I wish to share the scriptures of my heart.

1. Rejoice Evermore. 1 Thessalonians 5:16
2. I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me. Philippians 4:13
3. For Behold, I am God; and I am a GOD OF MIRACLES. 2 Nephi 25:23
4. This is the day the Lord hath made; we will Rejoice and be Glad in it. Psalm 118:24
5. The Lord will wipe away tears from off all faces. Isaiah 25:8
6. For with God nothing is impossible. Luke 1:37

Only six? There are more; lots more. But, these truly are on my mind daily.
Will you share your favorite scriptures?

Are you a BlogStalker?
Do you read blogs and not comment?
Do you read blogs of people you don't know?
If you do...you are a BlogStalker.
So am I.
Once in awhile, when I have a few minutes, I
go BlogHopping. When I find a blog that particularly
interests me I will visit again.

So, let me tell you about a blog that I like to visit.
Her name is Marie. She lives in England. She is a
member of the L.D.S. church, as am I. She has become
BlogBuddies with my friend, Lura.
Marie is an Amazing Artist, Culinary Wizard and a Wonderful Writer.
She sees the world through loving eyes.
She writes EVERYDAY!
Take a look at her blog sometime when you are feeling exploratory.
She can be found at ayearfromoakcottage.
You will be glad you did.

What is a perfect day?
I had one yesterday.
I spent over 12 hours working in the temple.
I took a three hour break at Mom and Dad's.


I slept for an hour in their beautiful guest room.

I had a perfect day today.
I played with Corbin and Cooper.


I bought more flowers for my yard.


I read.


I talked to Craig, Shannon, Joel, Kelli, Mom, and Jan.

What is a perfect day? I am not sure how to describe it but I know when I have them.

I hope you had a perfect day too.

Craig and I had a lovely week.

Spring is here...at least some days.
The birds are singing.
The flowers and trees are waking from their winter slumber.
We are discovering that some of our plants died in their sleep. We wish that every plant would just 'bloom where they are planted." Alas, if it were so then there would be no need to go to the nursery and admire the beauties there. We love to wonder up and down the rows. We carefully choose which plant should come to our yard to die. Actually, we sincerely hope they will love our yard and flourish.
While walking down the aisle of beautiful annuals I felt like Eve walking in the Garden of Eden. The colors, shapes, fragrances all amaze me. Heavenly Father is very creative.
Craig was on another aisle. I was alone. I was getting hungry. Wish I had an apple. Just kidding.

We worked in the yard digging, trimming and planting. We love to listen to the birds and feel the sun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday evening I hosted a bridal shower for one of my adorable nieces. Lauren will marry her honey in our backyard at the end of the month. It isn't easy for a young woman to be the center of attention. But she was adorable.

Lauren told us the long version of how she met Jeremy and about their first date and the night he proposed. We were laughing and gasping and ohhhing and ahhhing with her through every episode.
As Lauren opened presents she was able to genuinely express enthusiasm for each gift. Every person went away believing they had given her the very thing she at hoped for and that she couldn't be more excited. She said adorable things demonstrating a quick wit. We all think she could be Kelly Ripa's replacement (Here she is holding the shoe she will wear with her wedding dress. She even has a thing for shoes like Kelly)

A Basket Full of Miracles and Blessings

How does one Thank Heavenly Father for Bounteous Blessings and Miracles?
From Sunday, March 1st to Sunday March 8th my “cup runneth over.”
It all began with Jan bearing her testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and her love for Heavenly Father and Jesus. There are so many miracles associated with this little moment in time that an entire page in my journal was devoted to it.

That very day our cousin, Robert, lay desperately ill in a hospital. His kidneys were failing and his diseased liver was barely supporting him. He skyrocketed from the bottom of the list in line for a transplant to the top. We fasted that a liver would become available for him soon. It is a sensitive situation to know that for this prayer to be answered another must die. The Savior did that for all of us. Willingly. Lovingly. He died that we might live. He is the greatest miracle of all.

We had to wait only until Wednesday evening for this prayer to be answered. Robert’s
wife, April, called to say a beautiful liver had arrived so surgery would be soon.
Craig and I were at Mom and Dad’s when these phone call came.

Mom and I were about to leave for the temple and Craig was going to sit with my father who is too weak and uncomfortable to attend. This is where the next blessing was to
occur. Two nieces, (Mom and Dad’s granddaughters) were going to the temple for the
first time. Our family was there in great numbers. Our hearts were so full of gratitude. For Robert.


For Rachel.

For Jammie.
For our family. Heaven smiled on us that night.

Jammie is married to Bradley. She has been a member of the church for a year and a couple of days. She is a bouquet of sunshine.

Rachel and Zack were married on Friday! We are so happy that Rachel is loved by a good man.

Shannon was the florist for the wedding. Our adorable daughter is so talented. She takes beautiful flowers and designs gorgeous arrangements.

I helped her Thursday with her little boys so she could create the bouquets. Friday Craig helped with the boys so she could complete the order. As you can see we have our tricks!


Here is another miracle...Craig changed a dirty diaper because Shannon was under pressure! What a man.!!

Craig and I went to visit Robert and April

at the hospital on Sunday. He looks better than he has for a very long time. We are so happy for them. And reverently grateful that through someone’s death Robert can live. We are sorry for the sorrow of those who lost a loved one and grateful that they were willing to offer a gift of life to a stranger.

The hospital is 10 minutes from Kelli's. So we took April over so she could get a shower and eat dinner with us. Kelli's apartment is stunning.
So is she~

You would think that a week this full would not possibly have more blessings. But there are more than there is time to write. Sharon Kaye gave me a framed quote, which I love, “Life is a series of thousands of daily miracles.” It is so true.

There is one more miracle I must include.
During the week a little book arrived for me in the mail with a note attached. It was from a woman I had begun a conversation with at the beach, last summer, when I noticed she was reading a book Craig and I love, “The Greatest Thing in the World,” by Henry Drummond. In the conversation she told me about another book she loves that is very hard to get. She promised to send me one when she got her order. Can you believe that she would not only remember all these months later yet alone DO what she had offered?

A basket full of blessings and miracles!

Fairy Blessings

I went to bed upset last night when I realized that my dear friend, Jan and I had both chosen new backgrounds for our blogs which were EXACTLY the SAME! How could that happen?
The one I had chosen was beautiful and I loved it! SO many of the important elements were there. Roses, blue, pink, romantic. AGGHHh.
Truthfully, the blog background was perfect for her too. We both love similar things. And to top it all~~~she had made a personalized header. It looked MORE beautiful than mine!
What to do?
I woke up early this morning....4:30 am..Crazy. The first thing on my mind was to search for another background. It took an hour to find one BUT
OH MY GOODNESS~~~~
THIS ONE IS PERFECT!
Do you know I LOVE Fairies? I have a collection of fairy items all through my house. I loved them long before they were popular.
Do you know I love violets? They were my Grandma Whitney's favorite flower.
Do you know I love pansies? They are my Mother's favorite flower.
Do you know I love the 'vintage' look?
Do you know I love ribbons and buttons?
And SHOES?
There even is a beautiful rose....
So this adds up to one THRILLED Kris!
DO NOT COPY THIS BACKGROUND!!!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?

Other things I want to remember about Jan's visit are:

~ Visiting with Shannon and her energetic boys


~ Meeting my little great-niece, Madilyn, who lives in Texas


~ Making sugar cookies -- A tradition when we are together


~ Going to Laguna Beach with Craig for dinner


~ Jan looked beautiful in her new outfit when she bore her testimony for the first time ever.

Fun with Jan

The last 3 weeks have been deliciously full. But, it will take a couple of posts to elaborate.
Jan was here for 2 of the weeks. She became ill which slowed down our fun plans but we were able to do quiet things and just enjoy being together.
There were some blog worthy events, however.

One of the best things is that Jan finally met Lura. They became friends several months ago when I suggested that Jan go to Lura's blog to read a hilarious post. Since then have been commenting on each others blogs.
Just as we thought the first personal encounter was easy and fun-like a reunion of old friends.

We invited Lura to go to tea with us the next week.

Not only was the tea beautiful and delicious but the company was delightful.
Lura and Jan shared intimate life stories which forged a dear friendship.

The main reason Jan came in February was to attend the yearly Valentine luncheon with the ladies in my family.
The first photo is with Kelli and Shannon (the 2 of my 4 daughters who could attend). The second photo is with my sisters.