A tribute to AWESOME Uncle Josh

An added blessing of a wedding is all the family that comes home to celebrate with you! During the weeks we had all of our kids here and their little ones, Josh was the best uncle imaginable. He played with and entertained everyone. He helped when ever and how ever he could. He was amazing! Grace, Vivian, Sam, Juliana, Ella and Tanner think he is the BEST uncle ever!

The Perfect Wedding Reception

The evening of the wedding, we had a reception in Bob's twin brother Dick's yard. It was the PERFECT place! The whole yard was spectacular! The weather was perfect, also! Not too hot, cool and pleasant---and most importantly---NO RAIN! We had the line with the parents and Janie and Colby in the upper corner of the yard in the Gazebo. We LOVED seeing family and friends! It means so much to share these special times with loved ones. After talking with us, the guests then went down some stairs to the main body of the yard and had their choice of ice cream, toppings, and just made waffle cones. The line never seemed to get long even though they estimated about 500 people were served. For music, we had a harpist playing in the background. It truly was a perfect night!

Mrs. Colby Neville!!!!

Jane Anne became Mrs. Colby Neville on Aug. 15, at the Draper Temple. Despite the dark and stormy beginning to the day, the weather began to clear just as we pulled into the Draper Temple parking lot. It was so fun for me to be the "Mother of the Bride" this time! Always before, I had to go to the temple waiting room alone, while Bob went with our sons when they were to be married. The brides' room was gorgeous and the workers twinkling with delight at helping these brides get ready for their sealing ceremonies. They raise kindness and helpfulness to a new level! After Janie was ready, we went into the sealing room which was so beautiful! It is a large spacious room seating around 80. The whole wall across from where the engaged couple sits is done in a white stained glass. It was so wonderful to look out across the room and see all of our loved ones---even Grandma Jackson came, missing her sister's funeral! What a pay back day for Bob and me to look out and see all of Janie's older brothers and spouses sitting in the temple with us. Elder Craig Christensen performed the sealing---he was our next door neighbor when Janie was growing up. She was good friends with his son, Ben. The ceremony was short with him focusing on the ordinance to be performed and it was perfect. Just as he was talking, the sun must have burst forth from the storm clouds and the whole room lit up with light. It was awesome! It was such a happy, happy time!

WE'RE BACK!!!

We're back! I haven't blogged for more than two months and what an adventure those two months have been!!! We had a trip to Lake Powell with the Willey family, Josh's sixteenth birthday, BYU graduation for Ryan and Becca, Janie's wedding and all the details that involves, and family staying with us for almost the entire time. At one point we had thirteen extra people (Colby, Rob, Julie, Grace, Vivian, Sam, James, Angela, Juliana, Ella, Jared, Jennifer, and Tanner) in the house, six of them four and under. We had three different "pack and plays" and three different forms of high chairs (thanks to neighbors and family who were willing to share), not to mention strollers, diapers, varying forms of baby foods and treats and all the activity that goes along with it. We were also blessed what we termed the "cousins malady" of GI upset that went through almost the entire family. Despite the choas that sometimes reined, we had a wonderful time with everyone here---it was very fulfilling to be the parent watching all your children enjoying each others company and laughing and playing games and just being together. It was really fun to see how much Grace and Juliana enjoyed each other. Another awesome thing that was SO wonderful for me was that all the married children took turns cooking the dinners. IT WAS FANTASTIC! Pictures of our life for the past two months and the last of our trip to Europe will be following. It's great to blog again! I've really missed it!

Home and the Fourth of July

We are home from our wonderful trip to Europe and back in the USA! This Fourth of July holds extra meaning as we reflect upon the blessings of living in this great country and being home in Provo. We are loving being able to eat our own foods, sleep in our own beds, and see our dear friends and family once again. We love the flowers blooming everywhere in our courtyard and seeing the pool house take shape. We love access to friends without worrying about what a phone call costs overseas. We are thankful for a dryer that dries even the heaviest of items in a short time without wrinkles set in. We love ice in our drinks and water that's free instead of 7 euros a bottle!

But most of all we love our freedom---something that has taken on new meaning as we learned about and explored the Normandy beaches of France and D-Day. One can not stand at the American Cemetery and not feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and reverence for the lives of these brave young men---most just a few years older than my son Josh. I think of how scared and terrifying it must have been for them as they boarded the landing crafts and knew that their chances for dying were so high. I think about their mothers and fathers and how they must have mourned---not only for the loss of their son, but for the loss of his future---his potential for growth, marriage, and children that was now gone. I think of my blessings because of their sacrifice and how my children have not had to go to war and I am profoundly thankful and grateful for all those 1000's of young men who gave their lives for people they didn't even know.
Truly, we are in their debt. We can repay a small portion of this debt by remembering them and all who have served and by living in such a way as to bless those around us and our nation.

Happy Fourth of July!!!

A New Perspective

It has been a week since I had my carry-on bag stolen in the Paris Gare du Nord train station. I knew immediately when I didn't see the bag that that was what had happened. I think the most troubling thing for me was not what I had lost (some things of great personal value to me) but that someone would calculatingly hurt someone else. Call me naive---I knew thieves were out there---I just never thought something like this would really happen. After two emotional days, I could begin to look at this loss with some perspective. The fact that we had just been to the D-day beaches and the American Cemetery in Normandy the day before, had me thinking about the loss suffered by the families of these soldiers. I knew my hurt---it was infinitesmally small compared to theirs---what must they have felt? Then, as the week has gone by, and I have reflected on other kinds of loss---so much of it not caused by the innocent person who is suffering---I marvel at how they carry on and forgive and choose to make their life good even when it is painfully difficult. While I wish my bag had never been stolen, it has given me a new perspective on loss and appreciation for the courage all around me of loved ones and friends and how they deal with the challenges of life. As Elfaba says in "Wicked", "I have been changed for the better."

London Adventures: Thurday, June 20th

Today we set out to see the Imperial War Museum which is a little ways outside of main London. It has lots of war memorabilia from World War I and II. There were several different sections and displays and the one Janie and I were most interested in was called "The Children's War". It was an exhibit chronically what it was like for the children of Britain during World War II. The pictures of mothers sending their children out to the countryside or to other countries for safe keeping were heart wrenching. I don't know if I could have done it. Some of them didn't see their children for five years by the time the war was over. We had a unique and special opportunity of visiting with a guide, a distinguished older gentleman, in the exhibit who was 9 at the time his entire school was sent on a ship to Canada to get out of the bombing. His parents chose not to send him and this was a miracle as the ship his friends were on was bombed and sank and only a few children survived. After this incident, the children were no longer sent abroad but housed in the English countryside. He told us what it was like to have the American soldiers there and how they loved to party. As we finished our chat with him, he told us "thank you" to America---we were so touched! After, we had lunch at "Nandos", a favorite rotisserie chicken place and then went to Burough Market where all kinds of food is sold in two big warehouses and on the street. We bought a special treat--chocolate almonds dusted with cinnamon---a favorite find of Janie's. The late afternoon found us shopping and then going home for a breakfast dinner of eggs and crepes.