Eternal Families

My heart is full today. Church was inspiring and uplifting. It was testimony meeting and some of my favorite people in the ward bore their testimonies. It's always a great pleasure to listen to others with the same passions and fullness of the gospel that I share.

Dawson has a primary program coming up. He was asked to bring a family picture. I suppose on the onset, that's easy. Dawson and I just had our pictures taken together. But he has a whole family. His father, big brother, a grandmother. And now my heart is full with sorrow that Dawson's family photo is broken. There are no pictures, nor possibly will there ever be a "family" photo for him. It breaks my heart.

I suppose these are the things that happen when families are broken up. But I wish it had not happened to Dawson. He's so deserving of a family unity that he can claim an eternity too. Perhaps when he marries in the temple and has that eternal family he's bonded with forever, he will have that.

It's amazing how the picture changes when we take ourselves out of it. When we make and do things in an unselfish manner, it has a very different outcome than doing things out of selfishness.

It seemed to be the spoken theme throughout sacrament today. The gift of service. In as much as I love to serve my fellow man and I do so willingly on most occasions, I failed to serve those that I made a life commitment too. Some get a second chance some do not. I'll have to finish this another time - second chance or not.

It's October! It Snowed!

I can not believe it is October and we've already had snow fall. Not a lot. But enough to stick. Dawson was in awe. He think's it's Christmas now! It's going to be a long couple of months in patience till Santa comes.

This time of year reminds me of when we first moved here. I can't believe it's been 2 years already. I moved here for a couple of reasons. The weather is not one of them. I was elated the day we got here. A new town, new opportunity, new life. Things change. Some for the better. Some you wish they hadn't. Particularly missing my friend in Boise. One of the grand reasons for being excited about being here. My friend was someone I could talk to about anything at anytime. My friend actually enjoyed hearing about my work, life, and ongoings as much as I enjoyed theirs. Our visits were always fun. There was never any judgement. We had one of those friendships that seemed like it would never end. Dawson asked about our friend the other day. One of many times he brings up a memory or two. I didn't know what to say. Seeking advice on what to tell a 4 year old, I was told: Friends come and go. But we can always think of the fun things we did together. There are just some friends you don't want to go. Perhaps someday in the future a rejuvinated friendship can blossom. As much as I want to pick up the phone first, theres always that hope that one day it'll be them on the other end.

~Sandy