Oasis

Cinnamon Candy

Bracelet - Moonlit Butterfly

Precious Pink Fairy....

Beautiful Fairies

The Fairy Festival

Just another sunset - Cambria, California

Paper Lanterns

The Refiner's Fire Story

Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to
read the scriptures and make them the subject of
conversation. While reading the third chapter of
Malachi they came upon a remarkable expression
in the third verse. "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." One lady's opinion was that it was intended to
convey the view of the sanctifying influence of the
grace of Christ. Then she proposed to visit a
silversmith and report to them what he said
on the subject. She went accordingly and without
telling the object of her errand, begged to know the
process of refining silver, which he fully described
to her. "But Sir," she said, "do you sit while the work of
refining is going on?" "Oh, yes madam, " replied
the silversmith, "I must sit with my eye steadily fixed
on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining
be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver
will be injured." The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort
too, of the expression,"He shall sit as a refiner and purifier
of silver." Christ sees it needful to put His children into a
furnace. His eye is steadily intent on the work of
purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged
in the best manner for them. Their trials do not come
at random; "the very hairs of your head are
all numbered." As the lady was leaving the shop, the silversmith
called her back, and said he had still further to
mention, that he only knows when the process of
purifying was complete, by seeing his own image
reflected in the silver. Beautiful example! When Christ shall see His own
image in His people, His work of purifying will
be accomplished.

Author Unknown

It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it were the only one we had.

~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

"You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends, and how, how rare and strange it is, to find in a life composed so much, so much of odds and ends...To find a friend who has these qualities, who has, and gives those qualities upon which friendship lives."

- T.S. Eliot

"Each of us is under a divinely spoken obligation to reach out with pardon and mercy and to forgive one another. There is a great need for this Christlike attribute in our families, in our marriages, in our wards and stakes, in our communities, and in our nations.

We will receive the joy of forgiveness in our own lives when we are willing to extend that joy freely to others. Lip service is not enough. We need to purge our hearts and minds of feelings and thoughts of bitterness and let the light and the love of Christ enter in. As a result, the Spirit of the Lord will fill our souls with the joy accompanying divine peace of conscience."

--Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Point of Safe Return"

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Nathan finding an egg with help from Jason and Leslie

Little Grant on the move - he found out there was money in those eggs at Great Grandma and Grandpa's house...he had his pockets filled with coins by the time all was said and done.

My little Sean...growing up....still enjoying the egg hunt

Nathan and my mom

my other "little" boy...no longer interested in the egg hunt - but content with a soda and with giving out hints to the little ones.

The little bunnies hard at work coloring Easter Eggs on Saturday afternoon!

The annual Humpty Dumpty Egg...don't know who started the tradition on that one!

The ABC's of Me....I've been tagged!

A- Attached or Single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Royce
C- Cake or Pie: Cake....white wedding cake, or thick rich chocolate with chocolate frosting.
D- Day of Choice: Friday
E- Essential Item: Lipstick
F- Flavor of Ice Cream: Chocolate Mousse Royale at Baskin Robbins (they only have it in January!)
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy Bears for sure.. I've never even eaten a worm..and won't!
H- Hometown: Fresno, California
I - Indulgences: Beads
J- January or July: January!!!! Summer is best ignored and skipped right over...but i'm trying to change my attitude about it.
K- Kids: 2 girls, 2 boys....i love them all! (1 son in law and 2 grandsons too!)
L- Last Movie seen in theaters: Vantage Point...i kept my eyes closed the whole time because it made me totally carsick and i ended up with a migraine....Royce loved it though!
M- Marriage Date: February 19, 1983
N- Number of Siblings: 1
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples (in a crisp, preferably, with vanilla ice cream)
P- Phobias or Fears: Snakes - horrible fear of them.
Q- Quote: "Always remember Pooh, you're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - Christopher Robin
R- Reason to smile- blossoms on trees, children laughing (copied you Caleen), flowers, laundry done!
S- Season- Autumn... but, I love Spring too...(I copied you again Caleeny)
T- Tag four- Krysta, my niece Emily, Breena and me British Pal, Stella
U- Unknown fact about me- I want to learn to fly a plane
V- Vegetarian or oppressor of Animal: I love to eat vegetables...WITH meat! haha.
W- Worst Habit: Staying up too late
X- Xrays or Ultrasounds: what about them? xrays are quicker but i always worry that they'll give me cancer...so I guess ultrasounds
Y- Your favorite food: Japanese
Z- Zodiac: Sagittarius - that strange man horse combo! i always felt really sad about that!

Aren't these absolutely precious??

These are made by my friend Julie....I was showing her how to take pics of the things she's made and also how to post the pictures onto a blog or website. They are just so cute that i went ahead and posted them here just to show them off! Very nice Julie!

Nathan's 1st Birthday....more cake for us!

Royce and I celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Carmel...it was wonderful.

You can probably see from the pictures that a big storm rolled in as we helplessly watched. We did have a few periods of non rain...and enjoyed a gorgeous drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. Unfortunately I didn't get to take any photographs of the beautiful scenery - my camera died. So sad...it may be time for a new camera......and another trip to Carmel!

Our kids threw Royce and me a Surprise 25th Anniversary Party this past Saturday Night!

I love my kids...they were sneaky but in a good way! We had a wonderful party with all our dearest family and friends. Thanks so much to Christianne and Ryan B., Leslie, Ryan, Sean, my Mom and Dad, Jason, Chris.....and all of you who came and shared the party with us. It was very sweet and Royce and I will never forget it.

(Caleen...I have not a single picture of you and me! Sorry! We need to take one of us together the next time we go out!)

"And the true realism, always and everywhere, is that of the poets: to find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all."

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Happy Thoughts