With Thanksgiving fast approaching I thought I’d share with you 3 things that I have been blessed with this year.  These are not the most important things to me, but they are each something that bring me joy every day that I didn’t think would bring me as much joy as they do.  They really are quite simple, but to me, that is the beauty of it.  Simple things can bring great joy.

1.  My Swimming Pool

Rumor has it that I wasn’t completely sold on a house with a pool when we began looking for our new home.  Well, the rumor is true.  I wasn’t against a pool completely, but the safety issues scared me a bit since we have small children and we have several small children in and out of our home.  The more we looked, the more Marc pushed for a pool, slowly he wore me down (when he finally said he would not even consider or look at another home without a pool, I realized his conviction on this matter).  He made some good points, mainly, we don’t ever plan on moving again and if we have to live in up to 120 degree summers for the rest or our lives, we may as well have a pool of our own to enjoy and keep cool in.  As long as the pool had a fence and other necessary safety features, I agreed.  Alas, we found our home with this beautiful pool and very much enjoyed our first summer in it.  With as much fun as we had with family and friends over the summer in our pool and as much as it helped us keep cool in our never ending Phoenix summer, those are not the reasons why I find so much joy in my swimming pool.

Look at that!  The color!  The peace!  The calmimg effect it has on me when I look out my windows and see that is AMAZING.  It really has done wonders for my mental health (no joke).  I have always loved water- the beach & ocean, but I would have never thought that looking at a swimming pool could be so therapeutic.  So there it is, one of the simple things that bring me joy.  All year long!

2. My Rose Bush

Here it is from two angles.  It is quite ironic that this is one of the things that brings me great joy.  The reason I acquired such a beautiful plant was the most painful event I have experienced in my life.  After my dad died in August, two thoughtful friends bought this for me and had it delivered to my surprise.  I love flowers but do not have much of a green thumb so I was a bit nervous that I would destroy this beautiful gesture.  I contemplated the best place to plant it for a while and finally decided that the flower box overlooking our pool was the most fitting place.  My dad owned a pool service.  He and my brother would come every week and take care of our pool for us.  Since the beautiful plant was meant for his memory, I really couldn’t have put it anywhere else, but overlooking the calm, blue water that Dad had onced cared for.  As you can see, the plant is faring quite well.  I also count this bush as a tender mercy in my life.  After I planted the rose bush, the first new bud appeared on my dad’s birthday, October 13th.  I can’t help but think that he is still with us, enjoying the view.

3. My New Backyard Lawn

The size of the yard was one of the main selling features of the home for Marc and me.  This yard has taken on a whole new role within the last two weeks as Marc and I have labored diligently preparing, seeding, fertilizing, and watering to produce the grand sight above.  The beautiful, seemingly endless, sight of green, green grass brings a smile to my face every time I look outside (which is often).  I look forward to this winter when the kids will run wildly outside and play on our lawn.  We want to share it with everyone, so come on over!

I hope this post has given you the opportunity to contemplate the simple things in your life that bring you great joy.  Sometimes life is difficult, but if we can focus from time to time on the simple things that our Father in heaven has blessed us with, we can find peace through the storms that come our way.

Now, for many (possibly most) suburban families, parking two cars in a two car garage is probably not that big of a deal, but for us it is huge! What is even more spectacular is that this photo was taken the day we finished cleaning out the garage (about 2 months ago) and it still looks the same. Yay for us! Just thought I’d share….

This is the word that has been uttered countless times in our home this entire month, with a wave of a wand.  We all agreed to dress up as a family theme again since we had so much fun with last years’ Pac-Man.  Since the children have taken a shine on the Harry Potter series this year, there was no other choice. 

We had a fun Halloween weekend starting with Audrey and Gracie’s annual Halloween piano recital Thursday night.  (I’ll try to have Marc put up video of their performances).  They played fun Halloween-ish songs and did a great job!  Audrey also won the drawing of a music store gift card for turning in her practice sheet.  Gracie also was included in the drawing, but apparently it was Audrey’s lucky night. 

Friday was a more somber day.  It was my Uncle Gene’s funeral.  We kept the kids out of school so we all could attend.  It has been a hard year, losing 3 dear men in our lives, but the funeral service was beautiful and it is always comforting spending time with family.  The day ended more upbeat as we participated in the kids’ school fall festival Friday night.  There was a bounce house, obstacle course, petting zoo, game booths, and a cake walk.  Audrey continued her luck spree with a win at the cake walk!  She chose to bring home my entry.  I baked and decorated a “fall themed” cake which actually turned out pretty good (by my standards- which aren’t very high). 

Saturday it was on to my mom’s ward trunk-or-treat.  The kids had fun with game booths, cake walk, cookie decorating, spook alley, costume parade, dinner, & trunk-or-treating.  I had fun too, seeing many familiar faces from the ward I grew up in.  I also had a flood of fun memories from many ward Halloween parties and especially enjoyed remembering many “spook alley’s” of my youth.  

Sunday was not a Halloween celebration, but it was the ward Primary program.  My children did a fantastic job and the spirit was felt strongly.  I can’t believe it was my Audrey’s last primary program.  She is turning into such a lovely young woman.  Carson did a great job memorizing his part and speaking it loud and clear (not too loud though, I’m very proud).  Audrey and Grace had solo singing parts this year as well as a special musical number with their primary classes.  We’re raising a beautiful choir.  Sunday night was time to carve our jack-o-lanterns.  Audrey was the night’s official photographer and got some great shots of Marc in action. 

Finally Monday arrived which had been long anticipated.  After school was this year’s first running club for Audrey, Gracie, and Carson.  After they ran their little hearts out it was home to prepare for the nights’ festivities.  We attended our friend, Jonae’s, annual Halloween dinner party where Navajo Taco’s are always served.  YUMMY!  Then home to trick-0r-treat in our new neighborhood.  Our friend’s the Downs and Price families joined us.  The Price’s were also Harry potter themed, so we had a nice group of Gryffindor’s running around our neighborhood.  Overall, it was a great Halloween this year. 

Please meet Hermoine Granger, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, and Dobby the House Elf……

This is the story of two fabulous women and their friendship….

11 years ago,
In the foyer of the church,
Two women with two babies,
Found each other while they lurch.

The reason for this behavior,
Was very plain to see,
For the little ones they held so tight,
Were the busiest little bees.

The women began to chat,
As their children they did tend,
The one thought of the other,
I hope she’ll be my friend.

Encounters became more frequent,
More confidences they did share,
Their friendship began to blossom,
Days to weeks and months to years.

The little babies began to grow,
And along came three more-each,
The women helped each other,
Learn, grow, and teach.

Their friendship was not only based,
On motherhood you see,
Couples dates, and girls’ nights out,
Were fun and held dearly.

As time passed, they came to find,
They leaned much on each other,
Daily phone calls were a must,
Finding time was never a bother.

A way of life their friendship was,
A second thought never given,
When one was in need the other reached out,
By Heavenly hands they were driven.

Now the time had come for one to move on,
A new adventure must be had,
Although the other was excited for her friend,
She really was mostly sad.

To channel her feelings a poem she wrote,
No words she thought could describe,
What this woman had meant to her,
Not feelings, but their journey she would scribe.

Thank you Lucinda, for being my friend,
You’ve given much more than received,
Though miles apart we’ll find happiness,
For sisterhood has been achieved.

~Ginger Coria (2011)

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October 13, 1944- August 20, 2011

When I think of Dad, many magnificent qualities come to mind.  One of which is hard work.  Dad didn’t feel like he had put in an honest day’s labor if he didn’t come home dirty, sweaty, and bloody.  He would always come home with at least a couple new cuts or scratches which he usually didn’t even realize he had.  Dad gave us kids the opportunity to also come home from work dirty, sweaty, and sometimes bloody during those days working at the car wash.  Dad taught us that work was a good thing, something to not take for granted.  Thank you, Dad.

Dad was also a spiritual man.  He honored the priesthood he held and taught us to honor it too.  Dad served faithfully in all of his church callings.  Through his example, I have learned that when the Lord calls, you answer.  He had a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and enjoyed discussing gospel principles.  Over the last couple of years my Dad was an instructor in the High Priest group and I was a Relief Society Instructor, we taught the same lessons and enjoyed studying the lesson material and discussing it together.  Dad’s spiritual example also taught me the important things to look for in a husband of my own.   Because of Him, I have been blessed with a husband who loves the Lord as much as my Dad did.  Thank you, Dad.

Compassion is another quality my father understood.  My Dad had a compassion for mankind like no one else I know.  I remember as a child watching my Dad come home one night.  It was late and I saw him in the kitchen putting together some cheese sandwiches and wrapping them up.  I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he had seen a homeless family the night before a few blocks away and he didn’t have anything with him at the time to give them.  He was hoping that he could go back and find them to offer some food.  We didn’t have much at the time and I remember thinking how generous my father was at offering a humble cheese sandwich to someone with less than us.  Thank you, Dad. 

My Dad could also be silly.  He was really good at making up little rhymes and songs off the top of his head.  They were usually about us kids.  Doo Dah Dan and French Fry Freddy are oldies but goodies in the Hughes household, but my favorite will always be the one about his St. George Girl, that’s me.  Family Home Evening charades that ended in a trip to Thrifty for Ice Cream and socks in a pan were always fun.  He also loved playing with the grandchildren.  His latest game was chasing my son around with a tickle claw saying “belly good”.  Thank you, Dad.

Silliness, Compassion, Spirituality, and Hard Work are just a small few of the many magnificent qualities that Dad embodied.  I will forever be grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with a Dad that understood what life was about and lived it perfectly. 

 I know that our Father in Heaven lives.  I know he loves us, I know that my Dad has found rest in him and I will be with him again.