Coming Home From A Bad Place...

We hope you had a very meaningful and fun Independence Day Celebration.  We have pretty much been celebrating it for several months now.  So yesterday we just had  a pancake breakfast at church and then a quiet day here at home.  Here are some thoughts to share through a video.

http://youtu.be/KowUs5Zg8HE

This was pretty sobering knowing that we have been so blessed to have such a homecoming for Robert since last July 4th.  We did not get to see him until we were able to visit in May.  When hugging our Robert I had such similar feelings as this video evokes.  It was a beautiful moment in our lives to see him healthy and strong back home in a wonderful place.  We love you Robert and Laura, Spencer and Ross.  Thank you!

This is something like what those giant bear hugs
 and six very happy faces in one place felt like.
Eternal Gratitude!

The Girl Party Begins

The first few days Laura was here we had a great time.  Gramma came over for dinner that first night and we had a nice quiet evening.  Laura settled in and the next day was her birthday.  That day we had a nice breakfast (James was the chef) and let her open her present.  We just relaxed and visited that day and then went to the temple that evening.  There's something so special about sitting with your daughter in the temple. Sigh.  It was our Stake Temple night so it was a perfect opportunity for Laura to see lots of old friends. It is always beautiful, pleasant and peaceful on Temple Hill.

The next day we went Point Reyes Light House which was what she chose for her birthday celebration.  You can see that day posted here.  http://bonsblogbydesign.blogspot.com/2013/02/day-trippinwe-three.html It was a grand day for sure.

Saturday Jim left for Utah to be with Jen's kids while she came out to join us.  Her husband, Lowell,  was away on business trip in Scotland.  Grampa had such a fun time with the girls as well as spent time with Chris and his family.  What a great guy to do that for all of us.  That is a whole story all of its own.

Directly after dropping Jim off at the airport Laura and I went to this lovely little town that neighbors where they use to live when Robert was attending Stanford University...Los Altos, CA.  This is a little, posh town near the university and one where we use to love shopping and going out to lunch.  We were up for a do-over.  Here are some of the shops and fun places we visited.

This display was just breath taking~
 The silver and the chocolate brown...stunning!

Spring is on the way, friends! Yay!

I wish I had purchased that awesome metal golden heart.  
Very pretty and vintage looking.
Would have been perfect in the cottage.
We call it Passers' By Remorse.

 

We ate lunch in a little Greek Place. 

 This is the eggplant salad Laura ordered. 

 It was yummy!

We strolled down Main Street and enjoyed

 the gorgeous flowers and the eye candy 

everywhere as you can see from the photos.

How could it have only been 7 degrees in Utah??

 

A shop named Present, this sign is behind the desk.

Love this...a Town Crier!

Don't miss Los Altos if you ever visit the Golden State.

The Way Things Ought To Be...

It is the eve of Laura's 35th birthday.  She is here with us.  My heart is bursting for joy because we rarely get to see the kids on their birthdays anymore.    We plan to spoil her rotten tomorrow.  At this moment she is relaxing in the claw foot tub with candle light, music from the movie Il Postino which is just very mellow sweet music from the old country.  She has lots of spa products a book and she is all set.  The only thing missing is chocolate and that is on her pillow.  Tomorrow for breakfast fancy waffles, a lovely walk and then whatever she chooses to do until we go to the temple tomorrow night.  Are we doing good so far?  I am hoping it will entice her back next year!

And since her sister and our older daughter, Jen, is coming in a few days, she gets the same thing. God bless Robert and Grampa for watching all the kids so we girls can have an R&R...just the three of us for the first time ever.  I feel like it is my birthday!  I cannot remember when I have been this excited about anything! These are precious moments and I am so glad Jim got to do something similar with Chris in Peru for 10 days this past summer.  Parents and kids just need this sometimes no matter how old they get.  I am a foot taller today...I am floating 12 inches off the ground. 

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Angels

I haven't thought a great deal about angels in my life but lately for some reason I have been. What do you think about angels? I feel they walk and live among us and help us. I believe in guardian angels, especially for our grandchildren. Wouldn't it be neat if after we die we got to be the guardian angels of our little ones? One lady told me she hoped for that and I thought, what a sweet idea...