Just Call Me Auntie Sharon!

I am officially an Auntie for the first time!

My new nephew is definitely my “pride & joy!” (See below.)

(Whoops, wrong picture.)

Although I have only seen pictures, he looks so small and HANDSOME!

All day Saturday I pestered Andrea & Dustin (my sister & brother-in-law) for news. Are you in the hospital yet? Have you had more contractions? How do you feel? When will he come!

Even into the night, I could not sleep…just waited up for news. Nothing…nothing…nothing. I did not want to disturb them, but from 2,061 miles away...IT’S HARD TO BE PATIENT!

And while I waited, I prayed. I prayed with Nana (Campbell): “Lord, let him be exactly what you want him to be. And most of all, may he know You from an early age. May he come to faith in Christ at an early age.”

At 10:00p.m. my time (Midnight “their” time), I especially prayed for safety for the baby and his mama. “Lord please, let them not have any problems. Please keep them from harm now and into the future.”

Finally, around 1:00 a.m., my time, I texted to see if there was any news.

A few seconds later, Dustin called to say that the baby had been born just before midnight (THREE HOURS BEFORE—WITHOUT TELLING ME!!!)…healthy and doing well! Praise the Lord!

Then I put the timeline together: I had been praying for safety just after the baby was born. And my mind turned to Isaiah 65:24 where it says, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

Thank you Heavenly Father for doing good, before I even asked. Your love and grace is truly amazing!

(See more pictures of this handsome fellow here:

https://plus.google.com/photos/117190158734967051397/albums/5706492975023968865?authkey=COqF1uim4ez7mwE&banner=pwa

And HERE:

http://beinstant.com/

Laugh Out Loud Moment

I found this picture on Twitter, but the tweeter will not take credit for it. So, I am sending a big "Thank You" out to whoever created it first.

Check it out!

It's HILARIOUS!!!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/423318_3225905370594_1355332796_33266252_1159218274_n.jpg

I'm baa-aa-aack!!!

A Cream Corn Day

As I ran out the door this morning, I grabbed a sour cream reusable container filled with mac-n-cheese, and a can of chili to mix together for lunch. (Not the WHOLE can of chili, of course.) Chili-mac has become a common event in my mealtime mix-up.

When lunchtime arrived, I opened the chili and prepped my bowl. Then I opened the sour cream container, only to discover that I had grabbed the cream corn, not the mac-n-cheese.

Ugh! I was actually looking forward to Chili-mac.

Well, they were both there, and I do not eat cream corn by itself, so they both went into the bowl. It actually turned out fairly well. The texture of corn was a good addition to the chili, and the cream filled out my typical affinity for creamier chili.

No, I do not have some deep lesson to learn from this. I guess I might have made a twist on the old cliché, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade” quote. However, “When life hands you cream corn, make cream-corn-chili” sounds worse.

Still, it was a good reminder to smile and enjoy the ride!

P.S. Now that I am thinking about it.............a new cookbook line might be “in the mix” (pun intended): Scrumptious Strokes of Luck.........Leftover Roulette...........Delectable, Incredible, Accidental, Edible…oh, nevermind…this is going nowhere FAST!

Can You Say...Christmas!?!

December 7, 2011

December 7^th

^{________________}

No snow on the ground… still!!!

____________

A Great Wind Storm

Yesterday, we experienced a very bad windstorm in northern Utah. The winds come from the other side of the mountain and either rush through the canyons or pour over the mountains like a waterfall.

The damage was pretty incredible--and awe-inspiring.

This tree was right down the street from our house.

I had to put rocks in my pockets to keep from flying away. I really wanted to tie a string around the neighbor kid to see if he'd fly away like a kite! He probably would have been up for the adventure, too, if only it weren't for his mom's logical thinking.

Natural events like this always makes me think of Proverbs 1:25-27.

"But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

When your fear cometh as a desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you."

It's a good reminder of how small we humans are in the grand scheme of things.

Ironic humor: Not sure if this was a result of the storm, or just poor planning on 'trash day.' ;-)

For the Heart: Special Olympics Dinner

Last Thursday, I volunteered to help at the SpecialOlympicsofUtahHallofFameGalaDinnerandLiveAuction. (Couldn’t say all of that in one breath if I tried to include the spaces.) This event confirmed my theory that people with “special needs” are really those with “special hearts & special blessings.” It seems like God uses them to remind us “normal people” just how much we miss out on by being so “smart.”

I said, “Hi! How are you?”

The evening began at the coat check where I met “Lindsey.” (She has Down’s Syndrome.)

She replied, “I’(m) fine, thank you.”

“Ooh! I see you have a medal [around your neck].”

“Yesth. It’s for volleyball. I p(l)ay volleyball.”

“Really? Are you pretty good at it?”

“Yesth, I am.” (Some people can get away with “bragging.”)

Later on, during the evening’s program, the brother/boyfriend of Lindsey happened to be sitting near where I was standing. He caught my eye and gave a BIG smile! Then, he leaned back and pulled out his THREE medals from under his suit jacket and spre-e-e-ad them out. With a look at them and a look toward me, I could see that he was SO proud of his accomplishments. The smile on his face was priceless!

I winked and gave him a big thumbs-up. And I couldn’t help a huge smile myself.

Shortly after that, I ended up sitting right behind him. He looked back with a big grin and passed his cell phone back to me. On the text screen, he had typed this:

Finally, this video was played for the audience. It speaks for itself.

(If you can't see it, go to www.youtube.com and search "Downs Syndrome Fantastic."