Sweetness!

35 years ago, on February 12th I was married to my eternal companion whom I love and cherish.  I am so grateful for that opportunity and I am so grateful for the good times we have shared together.  I truly have special moments that carry me through rough times and make living patiently and faithfully a desirable thing.  I am also grateful that I have been taught by goodly parents and church leaders and others that I can do hard things, because this is surely the hardest thing I've ever had to experience.

I heard something recently that touched me -

"A wife is heaven's last best gift"

To me, that was a pleasant thought and I hoped that Terry felt that way about me.  

I don't know where that quote really began so as I thought and pondered and searched it for a few minutes I was enlightened and thought I'd share - 

It is similar to, or a portion of this quote from Jeremy Taylor, found here;

"A good wife is heaven's last best gift to man; his angel and minister of graces innumerable; his gem of many virtues; his casket of jewels; her voice his sweet music; her smiles his brightest day; her kiss the guardian of his innocence; her arms the pale of his safety, the balm of his health, the balsam of his life; her industry, his surest wealth; her economy, his safest steward; her lips, his faithful counselors; her bosom, the softest pillow of his cares; and her prayers, the ablest advocates of heaven's blessings on his head."

I wondered about the word "last" being used and then found an invitation to consider Eve being created last and given to Adam, found here, where these words were shared;

Heaven's Last Best Gift. At first I thought Lord Crawford was just being flattering, but then realized the historical significance of his statement; Eve is the last creation ever mentioned. And if we do our best work when we have obtained the most practice and skill, then God's ultimate creation would indeed make woman, "Heaven's last best gift." 

What an interesting way to look at the creation and marriage.  

I will say that as Eve was given to Adam, Adam became her gift as well.  That is how I think of Terry - heaven's best gift to me.  Without that gift I would not have the wonderful children and grandchildren that are ours and that bring so much joy to our lives.    

Without that gift of wife to husband and husband to wife, I would not exist, because my parents wouldn't exist either.   What a wonderful blessing of marriage and family, and what makes it even better is the blessing of the gospel and the priesthood of God, making eternal marriage and families a reality if we live worthy of it.   

I am ever so grateful for that sweet fact of life ..., beyond death.

I am also grateful to the family and friends that helped make these last couple special holidays special for me this year as my sweetheart was elsewhere.   I won't start sharing names of those family and friends because I would most dislike neglecting to mention someone.  I do send thanks to you and to our Father above for helping me through rough days.

I will share one gift I received on Thursday.  I cannot say who it was because I do not know.  It was and continues to be a surprise.  However, I do know it involved a couple young children in dark clothing, running from my yard.  Your secret is safe, because I could not tell who you were, but if you or your family members are reading this - THANK YOU!   Did you know it was our anniversary that day or was it a Valentine?  Either way, it was an act of love that touched my heart in a very special way.

THANK YOU!

I thank each one of you for your tender kindness and for your prayers on our behalf.  

Great Weekend!

Our weekend ...

We stopped at the mail box before we left the apartment, so we could put our address box change inside our box, and we found this lovely box of valentines to brighten our day. 

 

We enjoyed the grandchildren and they enjoyed being together.

And we loved our baby ... Boston Drew Hebdon.  (Both baby and mom are doing well.  That's always interesting though, that one can be doing fine when there are so many aches and pains involved.  It's perspective I guess.  State of mind as much as physical state.)

It was nice to be home for more than 24 hours this time, but it was still over too soon.  I get so happy to see my family and busy that I forget to take enough pictures, but I'm happy to have a couple.

Our drive back to Seattle was slow but not too eventful.  Before we got to Ellensburg we had seen wind, rain, snow, and anywhere from 50 to 35 degree weather, but the roads were fine if the wind didn't blow you around too badly.  Then just west of Easton the traffic began to slow down.  We weren't sure why, but we were creeping.  From there to the east of North Bend we had several miles of 1 mph driving, several 4 mph, and we even got up to 10 mph.  Eventually we were able to go 20 to 35 mph.  We were slower goers for quite awhile.  We stopped at North Bend for groceries and dinner - just fast food, but I was worried about how I was going to make dinner when everything was boxed up - it would have taken forever.  We made it back into the apartment at about 6:00pm.  Maybe a few minutes earlier???

It was filled with boxes, just the way we left it, but the beds were made, the heater was fixed and back together, the extra table and things sitting around that didn't belong had been taken out, the towels I brought from the other apartment were replaced with nicer towels (lucky us) and the shower curtains had been installed.  Oh, the lock on the door is now working too. 

It was cold so we had to warm the place up.  I warmed myself up trying to unload boxes as quickly and efficiently as I could and finally dropped into bed at 10:10pm.  Things are not completely put away, but it's mostly my scrapbooking stuff that still needs arranged, and my just a few other things that shouldn't be too tricky.  Now we can find things we need.  That became quite the trick last night as we were working with meds and hydration.  (we took enough for while we were gone, but had to sort through for things we needed when we got back.)  I'll try to put photos of the apartment up soon.

For now, here is what we see as we sit at the table with the computer.

 
The Space Needle is a lovely view.  Too bad it wasn't our view thru the holiday and game days.  The other bright lights are cranes.  We do see a few of those.  I promise to get all the boxes and junk put away before I take another photo in here.

Just barely visible, if you know what it is, is a blue square in the right side of the window.  This photo is especially for Auger, and here is a close up. Can you tell what it is?  Fans are still alive and well in Seattle.

It was worth leaving boxes filled and heading home for a few days.  We'll see what the next weekend brings.  We have a busy week and we start early this morning, so I'm ending this post here.  I'll be back to post about the day later tonight. 

Have a good one!

A Blessing Today!

Just a Dexa scan today.  Other appointments were postponed until Terry's body is a bit more hydrated.  But our day wasn't empty. 

We got the key to the new apartment a day early so we could begin moving things over.  We cannot stay there overnight, but they allowed us to move things.  Our hope is to go home for the weekend, so we are going to have to have everything moved and keys turned in before we leave.  I boxed some things earlier, and did a lot of boxing and moving things today. 

The other apartment in different size and shape but I finally got it workable for us.  My biggest problem is fitting in my scrapbooking stuff.  I almost packed it up to take it home, but moved furniture one more time just to see if I could make it work.  And it did.   I moved every piece of furniture in the living room at least twice and some three and four times.  Oh Bother!  I asked them to remove the sofa table to storage and they agreed to, so that gives us a bit more space to use.

I also took a few shelving units and a bed side table and lamps over to that apartment.  We were told we could move any piece of furniture we wanted because it is just going to be stored for the next several months.  This gave us a few more options for storing things, though it's still not enough. 

The new kitchen is smaller.  Oh Bother!  The master bedroom is much better ..., I wont hit my arm on a dresser when I walk in and out.  The master bathroom is quite a bit bigger and has a nice storage closet.  However, I need that storage closet in the kitchen, not the bathroom.  The extra bedroom is about the same, possibly a foot or so wider.  There is still a nice hall closet and the laundry closet is possibly a bit bigger, but not enough to make it usable space.

I'll try to put up some photos next week.

Now for the best news of the day ... our blessing for the day -

Thomas and Dana had a baby boy this morning ...

Boston Drew Hebdon
6 lbs, 1 oz.
3 weeks early, but healthy!
He joins his brother, Auger Wayne, and sister, Akleigh Elyn.

Sorry no photos of him.  Maybe this weekend.

If blood counts allow, we are goin' home to see him!  I'm excited, but Terry is not feeling well enough to feel too excited about anything right now.  Kinda nauseated.  He didn't help move things, except carrying a lamp over one time, but he did come over to the apartment with me a couple times.  I think he'd rather be asleep not feeling anything right now.  We've drugged him as much as we feel comfortable with, but it's not doing enough yet.  I wish I could help him more.


Okay, I'll post a little Valentine tonight since I can't promise I will post one tomorrow!  We do hope you have a lovely day!  ;)

image from here

Valentine Decor

Here is my favorite spot at the Ward Valentine Dinner Dance. It was such a nice evening!





More photos from the evening can be found at mystuffroom.blogspot.com

Happy Valentines Day!

(Image is of a card we received a few years ago from a secret friend - isn't it beautiful!)

Happy Valentines Day!

"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."

"If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out."

- Mother Teresa

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! A few quotes to enjoy, and a few to live by:

"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." ~Albert Einstein

"Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." ~ Robert Heinlein

"There is no remedy for love but to love more." ~ Thoreau

"Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others." ~ Henry B. Eyring

"Feeling the security and constancy of love from a spouse, a parent, or a child is a rich blessing. Such love nurtures and sustains faith in God. Such love is a source of strength and casts out fear (see 1 John 4:18). Such love is the desire of every human soul.
We can become more diligent and concerned at home as we express love—and consistently show it." ~ David A Bednar

"Jesus taught, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). True love is a reflection of Christ’s love." ~ Thomas S. Monson

.

“Come what may, and love it.” ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

DID YOU KNOW?
188 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) (Source: Hallmark research)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

They live hoppily ever after!
We wish you a "hoppily ever after" too!

PS. you'll see some fun photos on Brandon and Megan's link at the right - check it out! They are living "hoppily" ever after! :)