Monday June 8

Madi went over the the Morgans to babysit Kyra and Cannon this morning.

I cleaned up the rooms with the kids.

It makes me happy to have the rooms clean and beds MADE!!!!  :)

We had a fun visitor today!

Mrs Grayson has been telling Vern and I that she wanted to come and see our houses and what we have done.

She stopped at Vern's house first then they headed over here.

We sat and chatted for a while.

We got to hear her amazing story that has happened and still happening to her about her long lost brother and sister that she tracked down after being tragically separated when she was 2 years old.

We just Love Mrs. Grayson.

I am sad I don't have any other little ones for her to have in kindergarten!!!!!

But we will still see her around at school.

Maybe I'll just volunteer in her class next year just for fun :)

After she left, Dad and I went to Lowes to make some returns.

Like a lot of returns.

A years worth of returns that we have been piling up :)

We also bought the tile for the shower and we plan on working on getting that done, or started, tomorrow.

We got home and by that time it was dinner time.

Then Bubble and Eldon stopped by.

We just love them :)

Bubble brought me a 'house warming' gift.

A sweet frame with a great quote that says " Live in such a way that those who know you but don't know God, will come to know God because of you."

What a great quote :)

We talked for a bit then we had a little FHE.

Port had a little object lesson planned about how baptism washes your sins away :)

He had a happy face that sunk in a cup of water and then the smiley face floated above it.

Cute sweet boy.

Then we talked a bit about Alma chapter 50.

About fortifying our 'city'.

To build walls, and dig trenches and put spikes around our family to keep the bad out.

I am not gonna lie....things have been rough.

We have had a rough year, and the last 6 months in particular have been tough.

But our kids are learning things they never would have any other way.

Learning how to deal with trials, learning how to work together.

Learning how serving others can really change a person's life.

We have had so many people to use as amazing examples of love and service.

I hope our kids will never forget the good and wonderful things that have happened in our life these last few months.

But sometimes when you go through tough times, the negative stuff stands out.

And it is hard to see, and always remember the good.

That is what Satan wants.

He wants to cloud out the great things that have happened to us, and bring us down to his level and be angry and fight with each other.

But if we can work hard to build those walls, not walls between each other.....but walls around our whole family...and trenches...and spikes, to protect us from the evil that tries so hard to break us apart.

I know it is gonna take a while to get back to 'normal'.

But we have great kids.

Great kids who have had a lot to deal with.

I know we can keep on going and come out of this 'refiner's fire', shiny and bright and better than we ever could have been without these last few months.

I just love my family.

I want them forever.

I want us to never forget how close we came to losing each other.

And what a blessing it is for us to be together each day.