Elder Troy Shields and his first companion. The first pictures from Albania.
Washington DC- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
JANUARY/FEBRUARY!! What can I say?? I am PATHETIC! My life is so full of activities, church, phone calls, work, that one of the favorite parts of my life gets pushed to the bottom of the list! I love pictures of my family, friends, vacations, places I visit, and yet, very rarely do they make it onto the camera--let alone, from the camera to the computer to the blog to the albums or file!! Perhaps, when I die, I will be put in charge of "picture taking" in the next life, and THEN, I will become the expert! Although, Troy lost his camera on the way to Albania and I dropped Amy's very expensive camera in the pool, so, on second thought, since our family seems to be fairly unlucky in the camera dept, maybe none of us will be put in charge in the next life!!
These two pictures explain the highlights of the past 6 weeks!
No. 1- Troy's arrival and letters from Albania!
Troy made it to Albania about 7 weeks ago. Whew! It has been a joy to receive his letters and hear his perspective on all the teachings and people that he meets each week. I would say that I have had more communication from Troy in the last 4 months than the last 4 years!! It has been great to see his "wit" and share in the experiences and the growing of his testimony. He seems to find joy in everything he is doing (or at least that is what he is trying to make us think!). I did get to talk to him for about 10 minutes from the airport as he flew over to Albania. It was funny though, because I happened to be IN Washington DC visiting, when he landed there for his stop over to Albania. There was a huge blizzard that day, and I truely thought he would be stranded in DC, and then, I would have seen him for SURE! But, he flew off, and we look for his letters every Monday!
No. 2- Visiting Washington DC
We live in the best country in the world! We are blessed beyond what our forefathers ever imagined. Visiting Washington reminded me of our past and the greatness of our history. I am so thankful to live here and to have had ancestors, and even a brother now, that keeps the place I live safe and free. I loved all the Smithsonians, all the monuments (and yes, kids, I DID cry in a few of them), and the spirit of greatness that I felt there. I will go again!! Maybe that should be the trip that I take each of the Grandkids on---That sounds relaxing!!
Speaking of pictures and Washington DC, I took some others, but this is basically the only one that is not turned sideways, head cut off, blurry, or soooooooooo far away that it looks like a pic of LegoLand.No. 3- No Picture - Just Stress!
This past month, I had to speak in Sacrament Meeting, teach a big lesson at church, be in charge of an Enrichment activity, have Relief Society Board Meeting at my house, do 3 to 4 presentations a week in front of people for schools and I am starting to get "major anxiety" about getting up in front of people!! I think it is because now that I am older, I think I should have "alot of knowledge" to share, but I finally figured out that I really don't much of anything!! So, I was just feeling relieved about not having any big things this week, and today in Sacrament Meeting, the Stake President called me to come up spontaneoulsy (no other adults in the ward!) and share my feelings and testimony!! Well, maybe 5 years ago, when I knew everything that would have been easier, but now that I get all stressed about this, I truely thought I was going to have a heart attack! Randy had to basically push me up there!! Oh well, I survived, and I REALLY better be off the list for a longggggggggg time!!N0. 4- No pic here, either- Just missing my family!!
I am starting to have the withdrawals of not seeing my family! I was ready for the quiet after Christmas, but that only lasts about 6 weeks, and we are moving into about 8 weeks! I need to see my children, grand children, brother and sister, and parents, soon! March is almost here, and I will get to see them all in March! Sounds like a good plan to me! We did get to see Matt and Amy this past few weeks, and Bonnie and Sam--so, I had a little fun with them. This has inspired me too---I will take pictures at the events this next month!! One thing I regret not taking pictures of is, we went to the Getty Museum for our Valentines Date (great date, by the way) and we stood on this bluff, on a gorgeous clear day and could see from the ocean to the San Bernardino mountains (Hollywood sign in clear view), and it was breathtaking!! Once again, reminded me of the beautiful country in which we live!!
March Madness here we come, Camera and ALL!!!
