The last few weeks

The last few weeks have been full.  Mostly of adventures we would rather not have.  Doug has had some complications that have resulted from his knee surgery, and he has been through many doctor appointments.  Last Friday he was meeting in OKC with a physician and if we had not gone through this experience, we would not have met Howdy.  Howdy was Doug's nurse.  She is a woman of about 45 years of age and had some fun stories to tell.  I just thought that it was super fun to say,"See ya later Howdy."  What an oxymoron sentence.  How often does one get to say such things.  Well, what I didn't know was that as I left the parking garage I was going to meet a parking attendant named Yajuanna.   That's right.  As I read her name I asked her how she pronounced it.     How would you say this unusual name?   You wanna guess?

You Wanna.

  That is how you would pronounce it!  So on my way back home I called my friend Peggy and told her of both of the unusual name I had come upon in the last hour.  She is always good to cheer me up with a laugh.  I also called Megan (my sister-in-law) and she and I chuckled about these for a bit.  I always need a good laugh, so I decided that this was a blessing from Heavenly Father.





This we Doug and i were blessed to have my step-mom come into town to enjoy the role of Grandma.  When we were still in Idaho we learned that there would be a Husband and Wife Conference in Dallas that was in October.  We arranged with Sharon to come and she was super happy to help us with this need.  I gotta say that the kids were equally as pleased.  They were able to go on adventures with her and be spoiled by her.  I don't think the visit will ever be forgotten.  It was so good to have her come and it felt like home with her here.

As Doug and I went to Dallas we followed the directions to meet at the front of the Dallas Temple in our athletic gear. ( I loved meeting there.  I had forgotten that the Dallas temple and the Boise Idaho temple were built around the same time, so they both look very similar. Another blessing to me.)  As the group gathered we were told that we were going to run "The Amazing Race", and we were handed our first clue.  Doug and I were super excited about the theme of the conference because this is our all time favorite TV show.  We love the challenges and the travels.  The amazing race that we ran was as a couple and each clue was to teach us how to unite together.  During the first leg of the race we had to do numerous exercises, stack cups, find our name in a room of 1,000 cups, and list characteristics we love about each other.  The second leg began the next morning and we were thrust on a train into downtown Dallas.  We had to take pictures of ourselves next to four different "features" of Dallas.  The third leg of the race we had to share painting a picture and then finish the race with running a three legged race.    Honestly, I believe that this conference could not have been more custom made for Doug and I.  We had a blast.

Sometimes I think Heavenly Father must look down from heaven above and just laugh.  Am I crazy or have any of you had this thought as well?

I was so nervous about going to this conference.   I wonder if God giggled in excitement for what He had in store for us.  He knew that Doug and I needed the conference to be planned exactly the way it was planned.  He knew how much fun we would have with the challenges and also how we would be able to come closer together with them.  We also were able to get to know other couples better by going through some of the challenges with them.

I am so thankful that Heavenly Father knows what I need.  I am also so glad that He knows my future and is concerned for me.  Heavenly Father has built me up from my past experiences for a reason, and He has a path for me to go.  I am very happy that I don't know the future.  I know that if I knew the future that I would shirk from what I need to go do.  I also am so thankful for personal revelation.  I can communicate with my Heavenly Father and through personal revelation He can communicate with me. He can guide and direct me if my heart is pure.    I am so thankful for the examples of those that are around me.  I love that I can follow what is good from each of their lives.  I am so blessed.