Family
Our sweet little nephew Breckan turned 5--which brought the Schillers to town, some of our favorite people. The Schillers are Jenn's in-laws, which makes them our brother-in-law's family. We really love them. They are all such great people and we love to visit them in St. George every once in awhile. The Schillers have a few places that always seem to be a must-visit whenever we see them. Chilis is one of them... and Cafe Rio is the other. This time it was Chili's. We went there after Brecky's birthday party. It was a great time. Jenn's face is pretty great in this pic. haha It was also Papa Dave's birthday so we went out to El Matador in Ogden to celebrate. That was great as well. We were so happy to be able to see so much family this weekend.
The next chapter of the weekend consisted of the Adult Session of Stake Conference as well as the general session on Sunday. Both were very uplifting and we loved the things that were shared. All the speakers were awesome and it really focused a lot on family and how important it is to spend time teaching your children. We don't have any kids (yet) but I love to learn about what we should do when we do have them. I love Stake Conference so much. It's always felt so special to me for some reason, and every time I go I wish the whole world could come and listen to the amazing things that are taught.
I'm so grateful that I am able to know without a doubt of the truth of the gospel. It's really an amazing thing that I never knew existed before I joined the church. I loved growing up with my kid's bible and an occasional visit to a Christian church with some of the sweetest people I've met. My mom taught me to pray when I was young and I always said my prayers at night before bed, but I had no idea that Heavenly Father was able to share knowledge with us in so many different ways--the scriptures, prayer, and most especially through the feelings that the Holy Ghost brings to us. I knew I had a Savior and I knew the bible was the word of God, but wow what power the true gospel has on the earth. It's no wonder this church began with one person and has grown to over 14 million members. I love it so much.
Acel
After the general session of stake conference, Mike and I were able to meet a new friend. At the beginning of the winter, the bishop asked Mike to keep an eye on a little lady's driveway down the street and Mike goes and shovels the snow anytime it needs it. He's so good about remembering it. As soon as it snows he bundles up and he's out the door. This day, I wanted to be with him all day so I decided to go with. It was warm and so I didn't mind going out. Well we were there shoveling and I started throwing snowballs at Mike. I probably threw about 10 without him even noticing because I kept missing so badly. When I finally hit him, I heard a sweet little laugh coming from the porch. The little lady had come out and was laughing because she saw me throwing those snowballs at him. (and missing miserably) We ended up talking to her for about an hour and in the end, we asked her if she wanted to come to church with us. She told us she hadn't been in years, but she was so excited to come. She asked what to bring so "she would look like a pro" and she said she'd be ready 30 minutes early so we had plenty of time. Her name is Acel. She's so excited to come to church on Sunday and all she needed was an invitation! We were so glad we met her, and we knew Heavenly Father brought this sweet little lady into our lives to bring us happiness. She is just the spunkiest, sweetest little thing.
Balcony People
I named this post balcony people because all the things I was thinking about and all the things I wrote really all had to do with this concept, which President Stevens shared in the adult session on Saturday. He talked about a book that he had read and it shared an idea that everyone had their own balcony. Each of our balconies has many different people in it who are cheering for us. They are there to help us when we need it and to cheer us on in all different parts of life. Our balcony people are all so special to us and really make our lives enjoyable. Not only do they help us enjoy, but they help us endure and accomplish. I have SOO many balcony people there for me. I am so very grateful. I know the Savior is on my balcony, as well as my family and friends that have always been there when I need them.
But one thing I really have been thinking about this weekend is the importance of being in the balconies of others. Sweet little Acel only needed two people in her balcony to invite her to church and sit by her while there, and if we, or anyone else, had jumped into her balcony a long time ago, she probably would have been going to church for years. I'm so excited I get to be in her balcony and I hope we can be friends for a long time. I know that I can be better at being there for a lot of people when they need encouragement, or just someone to talk to and I'm so glad President Stevens was able to share his message that inspires me to do so.
6 comments:
Loved your post! You inspire and uplift. Thanks.
Hey Kristin, LOVE this post. Thanks for always sharing something from your sweet heart. :)
The lady you mentioned actually has really bad Alzheimers, and her real name is Arvella. :) Don't feel bad though, I know what you mean about how sweet she is! We talk to her all the time and she's always saying what a little angel Logan (our son) is. She's always willing to go to church, she just forgets everything in a matter of minutes. Maybe I should be better about bringing it up Sunday mornings, haha, that way she won't have time to forget before we bring her to church. :)
Yeah, me and Mike kind of figured that was the case. She asked us about 5 times what time it was and when she was going to give him her phone number, she just couldn't remember it at all. She told us that was her name though--because her father was named Arvel of course. haha. We told her we'd go pick her up so we might just have to remind her the night before. Or....five minutes before. Poor little thing. That would be so rough. Do you know if people in the ward know her? Like if she has any friends that she would remember? I wonder if that would help...
Oh and she is right about Logan being a little angel! He is so cute. Let us know if you need a babysitter anytime!
Yes, in fact there are quite a few people who know her in the Ward. Several of us visit her often. But like I said before, she doesn't remember most of them. It is sad. When her husband died last year, she thought it was her dad who had died. Very sad. But she also has several family members who visit her every day and bring her food.
Oh really that's good. That is so sad because she told us that her husband was in the back yard :( Ah man, so sad. Well good to know. Man, well I'm glad she is so taken care of! Do you think it's even a good idea to bring her to church? Would that just be so overwhelming for her?
Well, I think her family should know about it beforehand, lol that way they don't freak out when they stop by and find her missing. :)
But yes, she might like it. As long as the person bringing her stayed with her the WHOLE time... to keep an eye on her, and to remind her of where they were and what they were doing.
It is a sad situation.
Post a Comment