Seasons Passing

Yesterday, I and the family got ready to go to my cousin's sealing at the Draper temple.  As we were getting in the car I went to get my recommend from my temple bag and it was not there.  I had forgotten that I had gone to the temple with a friend about 2 weeks ago and I didn't take my bag - just my recommend.  Of course that was a big mistake because it means that I put my recommend somewhere that I don't usually put it and I could not remember where that somewhere was.  I searched everywhere for 20 minutes and finally decided that we were not going to make it.  I was very sad to miss it.

We still had to drive south for the reception so I asked my family if they would like to stop at some canyon and take some pictures.  I had been worried lately  that with all of our staying home to get rid of stuff, that we might miss the changing colors in the mountains before we managed to get out there (I'll post some more before and after pictures this week, if I had a solid week to work on it, I'd be done by now, but I've only had a couple days without having anywhere to go, so it's going slowly).  Fall goes so quickly and then the leaves are gone.  No amount of purging is worth missing Fall for!

We went up a canyon and found a nice looking trailhead.  I was happy to discover that there are still many green leaves and that we'll have several more opportunities to see the colors change before it's too late.  We took some pictures.  I won't post my favorites because we might use one for our Christmas cards this year, but I'll post some cute ones throughout this post.

 

Afterward, we drove to my mom's house to get ready for the reception.  At the reception I saw my beautiful cousin all dressed up in her wedding dress and I wondered how she was old enough to be getting married.  I first met her when she was seven and it was not all that long ago.  I looked at my little girl and realized that she'd be going into the Young Women program in merely a year, and I wanted to stop time since it keeps slipping away from me. 

A little while later, they had the father-daughter dance to Butterfly Kisses.  It brought back a flood of memories as well.  It did not seem that long ago when I was dancing to that song with my dad on my wedding day.  As I looked around at my five little kids I knew it wouldn't be too long before they would be leaving home and starting their own families.

I was filled with gratitude that I am learning to cherish the little moments with my children.  I am so thankful for the last two years that I've had Spice at home, for how close we are, for the many moments that I haven't missed.  I'm sure I still miss plenty of moments that I do not notice because I get distracted with things, but I am learning to be more aware and to not let them pass me by.  I am so thankful that I am seeing the beauty around me more and more. 

The other day, Spice was reading scriptures and she burst out laughing.  I asked her what was so funny and she replied, "Elizabeth's baby jumped in her tummy when Mary came to see her!  He must have been a smart baby to know that baby Jesus was in Mary's tummy!"  I laughed with her and was so glad to have been there at that moment.

Last week, I was reading to the kids about the resurrection and how Mary came to the tomb and found the Savior was missing.  We read about how she stayed at the tomb weeping after the disciples had left.  They had all heard this before, but I think it was the first time little Bazinks had understood it.  He stared at me wide eyed as I told the story.  I told them that Jesus then appeared and that she thought it was the gardener.  He laughed in anticipation.  He looked at me in wonder as I told him that Jesus said, "Mary" and then she recognized him and said, "Master!"  He laughed again with joy and then hid his face (he doesn't like me to notice when he gets too exited).  

Later, we were listening to The Lamb of God by Rob Gardner as he was helping me wash the dishes.  The song about Mary and the empty tomb came on.  He heard it and then asked me to play it again because he liked that part so much.  I was thankful to be there at that moment.

The seasons of life are passing so quickly.  I hope I can learn to treasure them even more and not take for granted all of the precious moments all around me.

Here are some pictures of dancing away that evening at the reception.  The kids had a great time.

Bud with my cousin, Elizabeth

Bazinks with my cousin, Stephanie

Spice, Bud and Little Miss

My parents with Ray

Elizabeth with Ray