Sunshine Sentiments

Monday, April 16, 2018

DANCING IS FRIENDSHIP SET TO MUSIC

Juice and Kotten Kandy

The future's so bright... they gotta wear shades!

Kotten Kandy and one of her best friends, Juice, went to Mormon Prom on Saturday night! They had a total blast! They ran around like crazy. They laughed. They bought sunglasses to be silly. They took pictures. They went to PF Changs. They played Go-Fish. They danced a lot. They went to the movies. And they looked AMAZING! I'm so glad they had so much fun! They are some of my favorite kids!

Isn't she absolutely gorgeous?!

Inside and Out!

Scott did her hair...

He is a genius!

These boots were made for... dancing!

Chillin'

She is lovely!

Isn't he handsome!?

He's grown up so much!

This young man is such a great guy!

Putting on the flowers...

So fun!

They make me smile!

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

AT THE END OF THE DAY...

"Even the darkest night will end when the sun will rise"

"At the end of the day you're another day older. And the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill..." And we spent last night at Les Miserables! It was wonderful! I absolutely LOVE this story of redemption. Throughout the story humanity is found even in the darkest places. God's work continues to be done throughout. Scott and I have seen this musical-live 3 times together. (I've actually seen it 4 times in theaters.) We have also watched the movie multiple times. It is one of our personal favorites. We love to discuss the recurring spiritual themes throughout. And we love the music, sets, costumes and story. We thought this production was good... but not the best one we've seen. We were kinda disappointed that the actor who sang "Drink With Me" portrayed as a drinking song. And of course, we are always disgusted with the Thenardiers but last night's depiction of the crude couple was especially offensive. Maybe we are just getting old and offended by lewdness. Valjean was AMAZING! His voice was spectacular. And the rest of the cast was good too.We got to go with all of Scott's leadership team from work. They are great people!

Work Family!

"Tomorrow we'll discover what our God in Heaven has in store!"

We sent this photo to Kiara and Cody saying: "We miss you here!"

They sent us this photo saying: "We miss you too!"

Them

I have been working on this cross-stitch for a friend for over 2 months. It was a hard one. I designed it and created it. It's done!

Also... aren't these two boys adorable?! I'm glad my friends share their kids with me!

Licorice and Apple Pie

And these two cute girls were waiting for Scott in "his" chair. They kept asking where "Gott" was...

Raisin and Lemonbalm

And then these two red-heads helped me make LOTS of white chocolates for Kiara's wedding next week. YUMMMM!

Licorice and Bubblegum

I love these boys!

I'll really miss them when they move out.

I have been reading some fun books. (Thanks, to Audible and a long commute to the different schools I take pictures at....!)

I re-read Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. It's still one of my favorites and inspires me to be better every time! I realized that I need to have lots of reminders and reviews of good principles found in this book.

I also read Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic. It was OK but not great. It was full of platitudes with nothing new. Nick is a young man who knows what it means to have severe limitations, but he's not been limited by them. He was born without arms or legs, and with the support of a strong family, his own determination, and faith in God. He is positive ans passionate.

I would have to say that this is not a bad book, but definitely not my favorite.

And I just finished listening to The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny by William Strauss and Neil Howe. This book is extremely hard to read. The vocabulary is tough and the concepts are a bit confusing. BUT I liked it a LOT! I liked viewing history from the perspective of cycles and generational change. I found it fascinating to discover that I am part of the Nomad generation. Each cycle repeats every 80 years or so. I learned a lot about people and patterns and human nature. I also really liked the predictions made in this book. This book has a LOT of food for thought! I definitely recommend it... but it is difficult.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

I BELIEVE...

I believe in HIM! HE lives! HE atoned and died for me! HE gives me hope! HE loves me!

I believe in latter-day prophets! I loved learning from them this weekend! And I loved spending time with some of my favorite people - to celebrate General Conference AND Easter!

Our conference view includes Lemonbalm and Raisin!

All these kids were so sweet about watching conference with us!

Apple Jacks promises to follow the prophet!

Apple Pie knows that Church sleep is some of "the best sleep!"

My family LOVES hearing from the prophet!

I believe that Families are Forever! And although our daughter (and future son) are two time-zones away... they were in my heart all day! I loved our Easter dresses....

Kotten Kandy

Key Lime Pie

Cody

Me - Thanks for my dress, Amy!

All of "my" girls minus one in Idaho

Raisin - Marmalade - Lemonbalm - Kotten Kandy

Apple Jacks

Cute Couple!

BFFs

It'll soon be "forever" for these two!

I believe in having fun and celebrating! So - traditions with Saturday Easter bunny baskets and delicious food all day long on Sunday General Conference - also made this weekend special!