I lay awake tonight in the darkness with

salty tears rolling across the bridge of my

nose and dropping to my pillow. I think of

two women:

My daughter spending her last night with

her husband and father of three children

before he returns to the war in Iraq. It is

a bitter sweet night of love and together-

ness before they face the reality of the

front lines again; she faces the loneliness

and struggle for patience of single parent-

hood again while he faces a dusty desert

of mortars, machine gun fire and bradley

patrols.

The other woman, my niece, with a

lemon sized tumor removed from her body

near her heart. A woman who should have

been blessed with an epidural to bear the

fruit of a child instead, now fights the pain

of a 12-14 inch wound in her side. A bitter

fruit indeed.

The nights can be long, sleepless and brutal

when our hearts are full of pain.

I pray for both women as I lie here beside

my husband of over forty years. I think of

another whose broken heart endured a long

brutal night of pain in a garden; betrayed by

a friend, unending cruelty and torture. He

did it all for you and me.

I drop my burden at His feet with faith and

attempt to fall asleep knowing He can bring

peace and comfort to every wounded soul even

in the dark of night.

Sisters in September

We are family...I’ve got all my sisters with me!

I have 3 sisters, Julie, Darlene and Sherry.

The first 2 live in Arizona and they decided

to come to Utah for a visit with their husbands.

Together with my sister that lives in Utah,

we planned a mini vacation in Park City &

stayed in the 2 bedroom condos with kitchens

at the Mountainside Marriott in September.

We had a great time visiting, eating & shop-

ping together. The highlights included dining

at Ghidotti’s, riding the chair lift & enjoying the

fall foliage, eating a picnic & hiking after a

rainstorm at Mirror Lake, barbecuing chicken

& corn on the cob for dinner followed by a won-

derful conversation that drew us all closer.

We laughed & cried together as we talked about

our children, grandchildren & made a pinkie

promise to call each other every month so we

stay in touch.

Thanks for the memories - I love you!

Bear Lake 2009

Our love of Bear Lake began long ago when

our daughter Lindsay was just a toddler. We

stayed with Bob’s parents, brothers and their

wives and children at “Sweetwater” in Garden

City, Utah.

One year Charlie rented a boat for the afternoon

and we had a marvelous time. We also enjoyed the

pool, playground and beach with the raft that Rob

received for his birthday.

The adults usually went to Pickleville Playhouse

on Saturday night to enjoy the Melodrama and

Sing-a-long. We even visited Minetonka Cave

during one summer.

Since then, we have rented condos and cabins

based on our family size. We invited fiancé

Iosh in 2000 and Dez the next year to stay with

us so we could get to know them better. Brad

proposed on the beach to Heather while we rented

a cabin over Memorial Day weekend two years ago.

So many pleasant experiences and wonderful

memories have been made there. We have had

all kinds of weather: sunny, overcast, rain and

snow but always manage to have a good time

in spite of the unpredictable climate.

We attend church and have family home evening

together on Sunday. l always make homemade

ice cream for the treat that night.

We take ATVs, motorcycles and buggies to ride

on the beach and around the cabins. And to have

fun on the water, we bring our boat, water wienie,

tube and raft. One year we rented a jet ski.

We play board games, card games and video

games such as guitar hero and Wii tennis. We

also play ping pong, pool, hockey, tetherball

and volleyball.

We have launched rockets and flown kites, radio

controlled airplanes and helicopters.

We have different craft activities for the children

by day and sit under the stars around a campfire

by night. This year we used Coleton’s telescope

to view the Moon and Venus.

We always manage to have terrific food and loads

of fun. Thank you family for another great year!

This year’s vacation was spent without Iosh, who

has joined the Army and is in Fort Benning, Georgia.

We all missed you!

40th Wedding Anniversary

It is hard to believe that Bob & I

have been married for 40 years. How

time flies while we are busy living life.

Our children planned a fun party

for us to celebrate the big event.

We had a wonderful roasted pork

dinner with lots of great sides &

Shannon made a four-tiered cake

for dessert!

Lindsay’s home was beautifully

decorated with balloons & a huge

bouquet of roses for the centerpiece.

The favors were chocolate covered

raisins wrapped with ribbons.

Christy made a multiple choice

guessing game about our courtship

with a candy prize for the winner,

Dave.

I wore Christy’s veil & Bob wore a top

hat for the cake cutting ceremony.

Then the grandsons fed Grandma cake,

& the granddaughters fed Papa. It got

messy, but we sure had fun!

I tossed a bouquet to the girls, which

Elise & Averie caught, then Bob flipped

a garter (baby headband) to the boys

with Grayson as the clear winner.

Thanks to my dear family for all the

laughter & memorable moments and

especially to Bob for his love & support

through the years. Love you always!

CAMPING

Ten Things I Learned at the Ward Camp Out:

#1 There are kind people everywhere who are

willing to help when you feel overwhelmed.

#2 You can fit a queen size air mattress in a

two man dome tent. It is so worth the effort.

#3 It is still fun to sing around a campfire.

#4 The stars in the sky can help you find your

way back when you are lost.

#5 Don’t listen to bear stories before you go

to bed.

#6 Men like marshmallow blow guns as much

as kids do.

#7 Wet marshmallows make a mess.

#8 When you are on a bumpy road, make sure

you look up and see the grandeur around you.

#9 From the top of a mountain, the earth is

a beautiful place to be.

#10 If you have faith, everything will work out.

SERENDIPITY!

This week my son needed our truck to haul

something home, so we traded cars overnight.

Bob and I took advantage of the opportunity

to drive his Jeep up Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Friendly wildflowers including red indian paint-

brush, purple asters and yellow sunflowers

along the roadside nodded as we passed by.

The majesty of the granite cliffs, blue spruce

and quaking aspen surrounded us. The cool

breeze on my face, the scent of the forrest and

occasional smoke of a campfire flooded my

mind with rich memories.

Fun times of long ago: camping trips with my

parents at Tanner’s Flats and learning how to

ski as a teen on the beginner slopes with my red

wooden skis and leather boots.

I relived hiking with our own children on the

trailheads we drove past, enjoying an autumn

weekend with our kids at a Snowbird lodge

and camping with my sister’s family in

beautiful Albion Basin.

Our scenic ride that evening filled up my

senses and my heart with gratitude for the

grandeur of this earth and all the bounties

of life that my family and I have been blessed

with. Now that is a serendipity!