First--It was my son's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!
We are celebrating on Monday so I will give him his very own post then.
Second--KATHRYN CAME HOME!!
She completed her freshman year at BYU Provo, and is now home for the summer. (Anyone want to give her a job?) We are so excited to have her back with us. Michelle is happy to no longer be an only child with her parent's undivided attention, and Kathryn and her best friend Heather (below) were very happy to be reunited after spending the school year a part!
But before we picked up Kat from the airport, we got up early in the morning and drove to the Mesa temple where our stake, and another, were assigned to spend two hours helping the grounds crew. This has always been one of my most favorite service projects! (And we were particularly grateful we got an April shift this year instead of July!!)
Everyone who comes is usually in a good mood and there is always a special spirit on the temple grounds. I just couldn't resist getting out the camera and taking a few pictures.
Here is the weeding crew. This was the group I was assigned to. We got to weed all the flower beds! Notice there are people for about as far as you can see. Sure wish I had this kind of help at home! :-)
Others were assigned to plant new flowers in the flower gardens, or to clean up around the trees. I love how so many in the stake made this a family affair. Below is the Andrus family. They ALWAYS are at these projects.
Even the little guys were put to work. Here is a very cute little street sweeper!
After the work was done, everyone gathered back together where the grounds crew expressed gratitude for the help. (This is about 1/3 of the people who were there.)
Here the McVey family poses for a picture. I met Janet at the project and she told me she reads my blog--so I thought it would be fun to put her on it!!:-)
Afterward, we all sang "I Love To See The Temple". Looking at everyone there, feeling the spirit and thinking about what a great experience this was--especially for all the young kids who will always remember the day they helped out at the temple--brought tears to my eyes.
It was such a fun morning!!BUT . . . the day is not over yet! In the evening, Wes and I went to a Jon Schmidt concert!! This was the fourth time I have seen him perform and it is always a lot of fun. The crowd was mostly young single adults who provided a lot of enthusiasm--which always makes for a fun concert.
So . . . Saturday was truly a "special day" at our house!! And definitely one that brought much . . . joy to my journey!
9 comments:
I like volunteering at the temple gardens as well. I went to the temple yesterday and noticed they had planted the beds with new plants. Some look like the sweet potatoes they had last year and I think I will get some for a planter in my front yard that has been bare for quite some time.
I love the temple flowers. Thanks for your service. Hooray Kathryn is home!! Looking forward to Ryan's birthday post.
i'm famous! *lol* i agree with you - the temple is the perfect place to do groundskeeping. the spirit was so strong. my kids all got along and they had such a great time doing it. it was a joy! and it was so fun to meet you in person after reading your blog! xoxo - jannet
You just brought a little joy to my journey with those views of the temple, and even some tears as I thought about all of you singing "I Love to See the Temple."
And what fun that your daughter is home and reunited with her bff.
Life is good.
=)
Well you had a full Saturday!
First, Congrats on having your daughter home - that always is SO FUN! We have daughters the same age as our Katie just finished her Freshman year at BYU-H and is also job hunting - hee hee.
I also have a son named Ryan - I tell you GREAT minds think alike (wink!).
I LOVE that you get to do service at the Temple on the grounds. We don't have that here - That would be SO neat!! I love your pictures of everyone weeding and I think it is so great when all ages can help out!
Good times! What a fun day. I love flowers at the temple too!
I've always thought doing any kind of garden work at the temple would have to be inspiring! I'd be so happy if I could only gleam a tiny bit of knowledge and bring it back home to my garden.
Just figured out your Kathryn and my Kelsie must be the same age - so glad she's home for the summer! Kelsie is continuing at BYUI - but we hope to see her for a longer stay in July. Meanwhile we'll be traveling the freeway to Rexburg frequently.
Friday is great! Looking forward to it! cell is eight oh one five one eight eight four nine five. Let's plan to meet!
That does sound like a special day. Wish I could have been a part of it... but only 5 more days until I am!!!!!!
I love reading your blog... have fun this week with your sisters. I look forward to hearing about it.
Ruth
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