It was an awesome birthday, my 60th! It's almost unreal to me to think that I'm that old. It's been a wild ride some times, but mostly I'm very happy with the way life has turned out for me. I'm blessed in a myriad of ways and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for this life He has given me. Someone once said that if given the choice, we would choose our own trials. We wouldn't want to have anyone elses but our own. The trials that we have help us to grow and to become better people. They help us to help others. They help us to be more Christlike.
I remember when our neighborhood experienced the flood in 2013. We would never wish for that to happen again, but through it, our neighborhood became closer and we all cared about each other a little more. I went through a very hard divorce, but because of it, I can empathize with others going through the same types of things I went through and best of all I got four amazing kids from that marriage! My husband's youngest son from his first marriage, Paul, passed away from cancer a couple of years ago and it was and still is such a hard thing, but more than ever, through that experience I believe that we will get to be with him and other loved ones who have gone before us again someday. Little Violet coming so early and being so tiny has tested our faith and we have seen so many miracles regarding her little life! Jordy being in the PICU with all sorts of scary things when just a few weeks old was also a trial you'd never want, but we witnessed the power of the Priesthood as a very real thing. It is God's power through men on earth. I believe in God's power on the earth and I believe in the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Turning 60 has given me a chance to reflect on my life and I hope in some small way I have made a difference. I hope my kids, step-kids and grand kids know how much I love and adore each one of them and that I would do anything for them. I love my husband, Mike, so much and appreciate that he is always there for me, my number one supporter and friend. I'm blessed beyond blessed to have been raised by great parents and to have wonderful siblings and in laws! I have great friends. I can't even believe how blessed I am to have so many incredible friends. 60 is going to be okay and I hope that the next however many years I am blessed with will be even better and more meaningful than these first sixty!
So, my birthday started with breakfast at a cute little trendy place in Salt Lake called Sweet Lake Biscuits and Limeades with my sweet friend, Cindi. She and I have been friends since 7th grade and she has been there for me through everything! I couldn't ask for a better lifelong friend than her. We had delicious limeades, mine was honeydew, cucumber and mint and Cindi's was raspberry. We shared a fabulous biscuit with eggs, cheese, bacon, and sausage gravy!
Beautiful flowers make me so happy and these are the latest bloomers on Temple Square--Columbines and Hollyhocks! I felt like they were especially smiling for me on my birthday!
Mike's awesome kids all went in together and got me a gift card to eat at the Roof Restaurant in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It's very fancy! We went there for my birthday dinner (the two of us) and it was so delicious and so fun. I'm so grateful for them for this generous gift! I wanted more pictures, but the sun was quite bright and it was impossible to get one of the amazing view of the temple from where we were sitting!!
Mike gave me a Ukulele as my gift and I love it! Hannah is going to be giving me lessons. I'm pretty excited about this! I got to talk to all my kids and most of my grandkids and got so many loving messages through Facebook and texts. It was a wonderful day!
My birthday week concluded on Saturday. It started out with a trip to the Hogle Zoo with Todd's and Hannah's families. We had so much fun!! It was Violet's first big outing and she did great!
After the zoo, Mike and Eric joined us for dinner in Cottonwood Heights at the Market Street Grill!! I told them all I'd be happy with pizza or Taco Bell especially since I had already been treated to the Roof Restaurant this week, but they said turning 60 is a big deal and they wanted to take me someplace special! It is a beautiful restaurant in a gorgeous setting. The Utah mountains are spectacular this time of year with all their greenness and majesty and they always take my breath away! I actually didn't get a mountain picture, but the view out those windows was incredible! That roaring river runs right next to the restaurant!
After dinner, we went to Hannah and Chase's apartment and had frozen Cold Stone Raspberry Cheesecake birthday cake! It was the perfect end to a perfect day!! Addie was so happy to have kids to play with!
I want to send out a great big thank you to everyone who remembered me on my birthday! xoxoxo
Wait, there's more to this blog than my birthday!! Today, Sunday, June 3, 2018, was Violet Joy's blessing day. Her daddy (plus standing in the circle were his dad, his grandpa and 2 of his brothers, along with Mike and Todd from our side), gave her a beautiful blessing. It's a special day in our church and we felt so blessed to be able to be here for it. She looked so beautiful in her special blessing gown that her mommy, Hannah Joy, wore on her blessing day 24 years ago. My sweet friend, Nancy Vinton, made it for her complete with a slip and bonnet! So precious!! Such a sweet little darling girl!
After church, Chase's grandma Martha opened up her home to everyone for a lovely lunch. Everyone brought food and we had chicken croissant sandwiches, chips and dips and yummy cupcakes and cookies. It was a nice day for everyone!
What a perfect ending to a practically perfect in every way week! I'm excited to face 60 and I'm looking forward to all that this year has in store!
Keep your faith and keep your eye on your eternal goals! That's the best way that I have found to stay focused on the most important things. Remember this saying, "The Most Important Things in Life Aren't Things!" "They are PEOPLE!" Also, when people let you down, which sometimes they do, you can always, always, always...........
The end.
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