A Picture of Pure Contentment

In church on Sunday, I watched as a little 8 month old baby was being held by his grandpa. The little boy would look him in the eyes, smile, and try to eat his cheek. I was very jealous! In fact even as I write of it, it brings tears to my eyes.

I remember my mom saying that she loved all of her children and grandchildren, but that my Dad loved any child he ever came in contact with. If you knew my Mom, you would realize that she was full of love, and that she lavished it on those she considered her own through blood or association. So it was not an indictment of herself, but rather an honest observation. At the same time, she was complimenting Dad on his interest in and love of all children.

I think that I am probably somewhere in between, as I do love all children, but I especially love those that are interwoven into my life. If a picture can capture a feeling, I would guess this one captures a feeling of pure contentment. Can it get any better than this? Yes, it can, and it has, as the grandchildren have been added to the equation. My very favorite pictures are those where I am snuggling one or all of them. I started to go through to find those pictures, but I think I need to do a little picture organizing before I post them. Ah, organization, in my life that could account for 100 postings of its own.

Welcome to the world Lucienne!

Little Lucienne (Luci-n) Idiart came into the world on Friday, Aug 29 (which is also my oldest brother, Gary's, birthday). This is our eighth granchildren and fourth grandaughter. I've only seen her in pictures so far, but can't wait to travel up on Tuesday to meet her for the first time.

Of course, it is not literally true that I'll be meeting her for the first time. I'm pretty sure I met and loved her in the pre-existence and that we probably talked about the experiences we would have here. While that thought seems a little too much to comprehend, what is even more incomprehensible is that there is not a plan and purpose to our lives.

I love the Primary song, "I Lived in Heaven." http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=4&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=4&searchsubseqend=ZZZ

For Lucienne it was not a long time ago that she lived in Heaven. I wonder who was there to send her off? People we love, I'm sure. They probably felt sadness, just like we do when someone we love dies and moves on, but surely with a great deal of excitement that it was her turn to come to earth.

To Lucienne and all my grandchildren (Jackson, Lydia, Hyrum, Harrison, Eliza, Ashton, Annie), I would like you to know how grateful I am that you have been born to the wonderful parents that you have. Just being born into loving homes gives you the best start in life you could possible have. I also want you to know how much love I have in my heart for you--each of you individually, for who you are and what you will become. Stand tall and remember who you are .

Blessings

I went for a walk this morning which, in and of itself, is somewhat of a rare occurrence. I can't think of a more beautiful place in the world than my own neighborhood, with the Y Mountain to the east standing as a wall of protection (against what, I don't know, but it makes me feel secure anyway).

On this day, August 29, 2008, I had a special feeling in my heart knowing that within a few hours a new grandchild would come into our lives--another soul to love, nourish, and worry about. It made me want to write my feelings (another rare occurrence), so I thought I'd do it as a blogspot.