Since Luke was gone on Valentines Day this year we celebrated the day (Saturday) before he left on his trip by going to the Temple. It was a VERY wonderful experience. The Temple always is, but there are times you go and you just feel extra blessed to be there, and that the Lord is very aware of you. We had been praying about some very particular things in our life before going to the Temple. Then we go in, barely sit in the busy chapel room, when we were asked to be the Witness Couple. It seems like every time we have been asked, it happens to coincide with a time in our lives when we are praying about something important. It just seems to testify that we are important to our Heavenly Father, and that He does hear our prayers.
Anyway, we had a beautiful time being in the House of the Lord and meanwhile, our kids were in great hands! These cute new girls in our ward offered to babysit for us and our girls had SO much fun with them. They brought cookie dough to make and decorate sugar cookies, and beads for necklaces. Plus they played games, made cards for us for Valentines day, and made up songs.
After we took the babysitters home we drove to Nephi to have dinner at J.C. Mickelsons. It was SOOOOOOO yummy! Plus, how fun to have a train set pass all around the restaurant while you eat.
Sunday morning we left our little Valentine cards out for the kids and secretly packed Dad's treat bags away in his luggage for him to find when he arrived in California that night. It was a wonderful pre-Valentines day celebration!
By the REAL Valentines Day, I was kind of burned out. I don't do Single-Mom well. It had been 4 days already and I was tired.... plus I had Tianna's school party to prepare for, and Scofield to pack for, so we could leave as soon as the party was over. Decorating the house like I did last year was NOT on my to-do list.
However, when Tianna woke up and realized it was Valentines Day she took it upon herself to decorate the house. She cleaned up anything that wasn't perfect, and placed a pink something on every single surface in the living room! What a cute girl!
When I told her I was sorry I didn't decorate this year she said, "its okay, you did it last year. It was my turn!" Love her!
So I made up for my lack of creativity by making them breakfast :)
Tianna's class party turned out really fun! We painted the kid's hand prints in the shape of a heart on a paper that said, "I love you from the bottom of my heart" and played some V-day Minute-to-Win-It games.
They had to stack Conversation hearts as high as possible, transfer then to a plate with their elbows, eat a donut with their mouths only, get the cookie into their mouths from off their foreheads without touching it, and more! It was hilarious!
Then we decorated cookies
As soon as it was over we skeedaddled home and left for Price as soon as we could. That night my mom and I attended the Viewing for the Donaldson's in Price. Scott Donaldson had murdered his wife, and then taken his own life. It was such a shock to the family and the community!
I love the Donaldson family! Their youngest daughter, Scott's sister, Kristen, is my close friend from when we were about 4 years old. Then Scott's dad was my Bishop in my College Ward. He and I were very close and I LOVE him and Sister Donaldson. I wanted to support them in their difficult time.
I got to the Stake Center and found the chapel filled with people waiting to go in to the viewing line. We were there from 6:30 until 9:15 when we got into the viewing. The outpouring of love from family and friends was amazing! The most amazing thing was the love and strength of the Donaldson and Oliver family's. They were so strong and spoke to each of us of love and forgiveness. If they can forgive each other in a tragedy like this, can't we all forgive each other for our petty and minor indiscretions?
This is what their house in Price looks like. What a testament to love. How grateful I am to have been a small witness to it's miracle.
