Mackay's Kindergarten Graduation

Mackay receiving his "Promotion Certificate"

Mackay and Ethan (and a couple of others I don't know!)


Way to go Mackay! You finally did it! You graduated from Kindergarten! You had an amazing year! At first, you didn't want to go and fought every morning. Now, you ask when school is going to start again! You've lost teeth, grown inches taller, pounds heavier, made lots of new friends and have become more mature and grown up! I can't believe that you are growing up so fast. You are a special boy, Mackay! We love you! Congratulations on a great year!

Zucchini

Amie, this post is for you. I should've checked my garden before I came over today. This is what I found when I came back to water my garden! Just to give you an idea, this is Grayci holding this large zucchini. I took a picture of it laying on my tile. My tile is 16". This thing was 17" long. I just cooked one last night that I thought was big. This one is even bigger! The fruits of my labor! I love it!

The Way I Want To Live My Life (Favorite Quote)

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not deter or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.

Stephen Grellet

The Dishwasher

Look at the lovely pile of dishes on my kitchen counter...

Now look how clean my dishwasher is!

This is what my 3 year old does...in her spare time! I was busy...reading a book and neglecting my homely duties, at least I think Grayci thought I was, and she, unknowingly to me. decided to empty my dishwasher for me. Of course, she can't reach where all the dishes go, so she lovingly placed them on my counter where I could get to them when I was good and ready.

This put a huge smile on my face and I gave her a big bear hug and told her thanks so much for being a big helper. This made her (and myself) feel so good.

Thanks, Grayci, for helping mommy when she is too busy reading a book!

I love you!

The Sweetest Email

I got this sweet and simple email from my 10 year old son. It just made my day!

"Mom, thank you for being such a nice mom!"

That was all I needed to hear. I love this boy of mine!

The Man With The Funny Shoes

Today I ventured over to Walmart. I do not like Walmart, I never go to Walmart. Well, my ways may be a changin' now.

I was carrying Grayci (my 3 year old daughter) from our car into Walmart. As we approached the entrance, a very rough looking (you know, long scraggly hair, long beard), elderly, big giant of a man came walking out. As he was walking towards us, Grayci noticed that he had "Funny Shoes" on. To her they were funny, because he had a prosthetic leg. She didn't know that wasn't his real leg, she just thought he had funny shoes. She started to point to him and say something. He looked at her at said "Well look who it is! (I don't think he really knew who she was, just making a comment) I have something for you." Now, I am very weary about taking things from strangers as my little sister who was 3, and I was 8, was almost kidnapped because of wanting to take something from a stranger. I digress. I figured that I was there with her, and she was in my arms, so we were safe. He started digging in his shirt pocket (I could hear the change jingling around) and I thought he was going to pull out a sticker or a penny or something of the sorts. He pulled out this gold coin. It is a Martin Van Buren 1$ coin. I just stood there, almost in tears (we were in the middle of the parking lot) not knowing what to do. He gave it to Grayci and said, "Go put it in your piggy bank ok?" Grayci said thank you and that she would.

Now, this is why I would go back to Walmart...my reasoning for not going is not because I don't like their goods or deals or have had bad experiences there. The reason I don't like Walmart is usually when I go, there are all sorts of odd people there. I get nervous when I'm around strange, odd people. I do my best not to judge, although sometimes I do in my mind. Today, I learned that each of us wear our own set of "funny shoes". It doesn't matter what is on the outside (which I've always known) but on the inside. I really learned a great lesson and feel blessed to have met the man with the funny shoes. By the way, Grayci now keeps telling me, "The man with the funny shoes gave me a gold coin!"

Temple Day

This morning, Jay and I went to the Temple. It is our ward Temple day but we had to go earlier so my grandparents could go later and someone would be here to take care of Grandma Mackay.
I had a really great experience today. I did the work for my great grandmother's cousin. From what I know, she wasn't happy with things in her life and had a hard time so she decided to commit suicide. The spirit I felt, just by entering the Temple, was amazing. I felt the spirit confirm to me that she was happy her work was being done. Other amazing things happened that are too sacred for me to talk about. It was a wonderful experience. It makes me very excited to work on geneology. I don't know too much on how to go about it, but there are wonderful people in our Ward that know quite a bit, so I am excited to learn. Also, while there, one of the Temple Workers in our session was a girl I had grown up with for a few years and then moved away. Our families were very, very close. That was fun. The LDS community is getting so big, yet it is so small. I love being part of such a wonderful religion.