Catching up on Favorites

Time to share the things I am most grateful for in the past little while as part of Friday Fave Five.

This smiling, happy boy is my grandson Thomas who has been fighting cancer since last spring.  He has completed round six of chemo and is doing quite well.  He is participating with his first grade class via Skype and recently lost his first tooth, but my favorite thing is that Thomas latest scan showed that he is, at this time, cancer free!  His chemo rounds will continue until he gets to ten, then he will have maintenance chemo to continue fighting the cancer.

I sure do love this sweet family that I spent last summer with, and I miss them.  Just last week, baby Maddie, only nine months old, learned to walk and there is no stopping her now!

I have a new calling at church that I am loving!  I had spent years working with and teaching the women of our congregation (ward) in Relief Society, but I was recently called to work with the 8-and-9-year-olds in Primary.

I teach their class on Sunday (which includes the boys), then twice a month, we hold an Activity Day just for the girls.  We some kind of Gospel related theme, a short lesson or reflection and usually do some kind of craft.     This new calling is really different for me, but I am loving it - especially the Activity Day part.  I am being forced to find my inner "creative Pinterester" and I am finding that it is a lot of fun!

This handsome returned missionary just got a job offer yesterday and he started this morning.  It's a "starter job" but he got it completely on his own, and I am so proud of him, his ambition and perseverance.

The month of October is birthday month in our family.  Charly and our oldest son Alex were both born October 6 and my birthday is October 9.

One of the things I got Charly for his birthday was this little metal hand-painted Revolutionary War Soldiers. He has always loved toy soldiers and when I saw these in Philadelphia last summer, I just knew that I had to get them for Charly.

I am enjoying having this guy home. He has been home just over three weeks now.  Almost every night since he has been home, we have walked together here at this park by the Gilbert Temple. While we walk, Josh tells me about his mission and his plans and goals for the future.  It is a special mom and son time we have together.

I finished Josh's mission scrap book.  I had to get a bigger binder for all of his important papers, special letters and all of the emails he sent home over his two years in Mexico.  As you can see even this bigger binder is completely full of mission memories (and there is even another binder full of his mission pictures). 

The week after Josh got home, we took a quick trip to Utah so Josh could see family he hadn't seen for two years.  The Saturday morning we left, we stopped in Flagstaff and had breakfast at one of our favorite "on the road" eating spots - the Dog Haus.  

We enjoyed a few days in Utah. The cooler fall temperatures were great. We took some time to relax and smell the beautiful roses that are out in bloom right now.

While we were in Utah, Josh got reacquainted with his nephews...

...and neices.

My daughter and grandchildren baked a birthday cake for Charly and I...

...and we enjoyed a delicious birthday dinner together as a family.

It was fun to be together...

...and celebrate the family birthdays.  Here my grandchildren are signing to Charly and I and the number 1 on the cake, signifies that we are #1 Grandparents!

We all enjoyed the time together.

There were some birthday surprises...

...and sweet cards and notes.

After dinner we took a family walk together. 

Josh and mom selfie on the walk.

The fall leaves were colorful and beautiful. 

Grandpa and Paige walked together. This little two-year-old loves her Grandpa and wants to be right near him whenever he is around.

Birthday selfie.

The next day, we visited downtown Salt Lake and walked around Temple Square.

I love this beautiful temple, and the fact that I am still with the guy I married there over 37 years ago.

We also took Josh on some college tours, while we were in Utah, so he can decide where he wants to continue his education.  It was fun and interesting to go to all the colleges. Josh has a couple of favorites and is now completing the application process, so we are praying that he gets accepted to his first choice, and maybe even ends up with a scholarship.

Finally, I took the day off from work yesterday to attend the funeral of this lovely friend.  Ann fought a valiant battle with lung cancer for over a year and Heavenly Father finally took her home last week.   Ann was an amazing kind and loving person.  Even at the end, when she was frail and weak, we always laughed together when a visited and I would leave feeling lighter and happier than when I came.  Josh was good friends with "her boys" who were her grandsons that she and her husband raised.  Her funeral was uplifting and inspirational, but her presence on this earth will truly be missed. 

I will close this post with this thought about the love of God. Worth thinking about. God loves us all, but what we do with that love is entirely up to us.

 Ending today by thanking God for the for the many blessings He has put in my life, of which these are just a few. 

 Joining once again today with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave 5.