THE PARK POST

Our little Paige is turning 16 this week,  so last weekend we had a party for her with all of her friends at a Mexican restaurant here in Columbus.  At first she was nervous about bringing  together her three worlds of friends from ballet, school and church, but it all worked out ok and I think she had a lot of fun.  Paige really is an amazing girl and we are so pleased with all of her good decisions.  People keep asking me if I'm nervous for her to be driving and dating and I honestly am pretty ok with all of it because she is a good girl and I trust her.  Her dad on the other hand seems to resist change, and I'm not so sure he is as excited!   New adventures are on the horizon.

Working in the RS has taught me a lot of lessons.  It's true that "charity never faileth" but it's also true that giving and serving without boundaries will surely burn someone out quickly. One of my favorite scriptures lately is it is not required that I run faster than I have strength.  I think that means both emotionally, spiritually, and physically.  Also, when I try to do everything myself and fix everyone else's problems, I deny blessings of service and growth to others.   Transportation is one of the biggest challenges we have in our ward, and because I am at home during the day and have the means to take people places I am called on a lot to drive people around.  Sometimes though it becomes too much and my own family can suffer.  This last week I helped a sister twice with transportation needs and the next morning she called again saying she had an emergency (everything is always an emergency) in an hour and needed to be somewhere.  I had...

Yesterday we had our pool initiation party because of the 85 degree weather we're having this week.  Sydney and Jackson loved cracking out their swim wear and actually played super well together. No complaining, no fighting, no teasing.  It was like there was some fairy dust in the air making everyone feel giddy. Warm weather really is the natural "happy drug."      

This past Sunday our girls had their yearly New Beginnings young women program at church which is always very spiritual and uplifting.  Paige was one of the speakers and told a great analogy about how we are all like cracked water pots that seem to have flaws, but in reality our cracks allow the water to fall on the flowers (other human beings) along the road of life and nourish them.  She emphasized the individual worth each person possesses no matter how many flaws they think they may have. Several other girls spoke about the remaining values and performed some beautiful, musical numbers on the cello and with voice.  The last girl to share with us was Nagee Hestor who is not a member of the church, but she loves coming and wants to be baptized when she is a little older and her mom allows it.  She is African American, comes from a poor family, and is full of the spirit of Christ. She stood and announced she would be singing Dynamite, by Taio Cruz.  It was ve...

We have a new born baby staying with us right now named Lilea.  A 15 year old girl in our ward had her baby this last week and is wisely choosing to give it up for adoption.  The new adoptive mother is from Washington and she can't leave Georgia until all of the paperwork is finalized so she and the baby are staying with us until she gets the ok to leave.    It is pretty sweet to see the kids take a liking to her, especially Jackson.  He has a tender side that comes out around babies and dogs. The only problem is I think they are going to have a hard time saying goodbye to her.  I have heard several times this week that I should have another baby, but amazingly I feel very comfortable snuggling the baby and handing her back to her new mom.

 We had the missionaries over for dinner again last night, and Elder Buluwai, from Fiji,  has become one of my favorite missionaries we've had here in Georgia.  He is the happiest, most polite, humble elder we have had in our home.  The kids make fun of me because they say I love him a little too much and that I'm a little creepy because of my Fiji obsession.  But I just can't help it.  After our memorable trip to Fiji and Australia about 12 years ago with Trent and Tammy I have always had a special place in my heart for the island.  I think our self-absorbed American culture could use a few lessons from the Fijians who understand that being stressed and uptight about life isn't the way to live, and that one on one relationships with people are more important than pretending to be someone we're not on facebook.  It was refreshing to have someone at the table smiling and talking rather than pouting and complaining about how unfair life is. Hopefull...