I can't believe it!

Where has the year gone?  It's already May.  Only 237 shopping days until Christmas!!!!!

Royalty....

I loved this picture of the two sisters sharing a look.....a  private moment before

the big ceremony.

 

I thought the childrens clothes were picture perfect.  I loved the fact that the bridesmaids were all young.

I can only imagine the teasing that Wills and Harry must have had during the whole cereomony.  I am sure their laughter brought humanity to the rigid formality.  They appear so close.  I heard in one interview with Harry that Wills is his best friend in the whole world.  There is nothing he can't share with his brother.

I feel the same way about my siblings.

They made it!.  They passed through the formal  affair and are ready to walk out hand in hand to begin their new life together.

This was my favorite moment of the whole wedding.  They looked just like Cinderella and her handsome prince.  The crowds roared and the bells chimed. All was right with the world for those precious moments.

The royal kiss on the balconey.  The are truly in love.   

Now...imagine if royalty is treated in this manner here on earth....how glorious will our return to our Father in Heaven be???  We are of royal lineage.  We have been promised all things beyond measure.

I want one!....

I love hats.  I think it falls back to my love of all things from Doris Day movies!  I truly believe I was born in the wrong time...I should have been born back in the late 40's early 50's.  I love the look of wearing hats and gloves.  There is something so stylish and feminine about it.  Yesterdays Royal Wedding boasted some wonderful hats.  Take a look and see what you think...

The Queen looks absolutely lovely in her yellow hat and dress.  It is understated and simple.

This wedding attendee looks smashing in her outfit completed by the hat.  The dress would have been pretty but the hat made the ensemble smashing!  She looks as if she is ready for the Parisian runway!

This hat is full but, yet, again a simple elegance is lended to her beautiful suit.  I love it!

A youthful look.  The hat creates a soft, subtle romantic look.  I would love to wear this hat!

Again....another hat that makes a statement and testiment to the embodied woman...

Ok...so this hat is really out there.  It was not one of my favorites, however, any excuse to show a picture of David Beckham in a tux is worth it!!!!

The Royal Wedding

                                                                


Well, the wedding day finally arrived.  I was up at 4:00 (AM mind you) to watch it all.  I have geared up for today by watching the Biography channel over the last few days and gaining as much information as I can gather about Wills, Harry and, of course, Kate.  I have enjoyed it all. 

I withstood the snide remarks and joking all day not only from my two boys, whom I will try to love despite their obvious bad taste, but from fellow co-workers as well.  Why is everyone so anti regarding the wedding?  I realize that it's just pomp and circumstance.  I understand that the royals hold no real power in any decisions the English government might make.  But it isn't about any of that.  The wedding is taking the caricature cartoon characters from a favorite cartoon and placing them into modern day real life.  That is the fascination for me.

I loved the royal uniform the men wore.  I loved the modesty of Kate's dress.  I imagined Wills and Kate gliding around a beautifully lit ballroom with eyes only for each other.  I could easily hear the music building into a sound verbrato when he leans in to kiss his bride.  Oh....my poor romantic heart. 

I will live the dream for today.  Tomorrow I will grow wise and put this behind me and face the fact that the dream is far removed from reality.  But in my heart...I wish William and Kate the happiness and love that will last a lifetime. 

                                            

20 years ago today....

It all started with a simple I do....and a promise to love each other in sickness and in health...till death do us part.  We have kept the promise of loving one another through all manner of illness.  Goodness knows I have dealt with my fair share of sickness and Tony has been extremely patient.  All of our trials and tribulations have managed to bring us closer together.  Now...if we could just get this done for time and all eternity...that's what I want.

I am thankful for....

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I wasn't one of the wonderful people who posted a 'gratitude' each day during the moth of November.  It wasn't because I wasn't grateful for the incredible amount of blessings bestowed upone me, it was due to emotional reasons.  In July my world turned upside down.  Mother's illness and the possiblity of losing her destroyed me to my very core.  Since the miracle of her recovery, my heart has been filled with emotions impossible to describe.  I can barely speak of my thanks without tearing up and crying a good portion.  Life has changed for me in a very tangible way.  The colors of the world are more vibrant, the air is different, my love and compassion for people have increased a thousand fold.  My view of worldly objects and my desire to have them have changed.  I am not interested in things that can become outdated or worn out or discolored.  I am only interested in the really essential things like the gospel and my love for my family.  Those are two things that I can not live without.  As much as my spirit needs the 'bread of life' and other important elements that will help me to maintain the 'straight and narrow way'...I  also need my family and the unconditional love and support that they give to me.  We were part of a family before we came to this earth.  Our Father in Heaven gave us a tremendous gift in providing a family here on earth for everyone.  I realize that not everyone born was given as wonderful a family as mine and that makes me appreciate them all the more.  My sisters are my best friends.  I love them with all of my heart.  They are a constant joy to me and provide me the strength and encouragment that I so desperately need. I love my brother and the sweet and sincere heart that he has.   I have been blessed with 'goodly parents' who love the Lord.  While my father may not be perfect or the way that I would like him to be, he has always loved the Lord and suported the church and all things pertaining to the gospel.  How easy it would have been for mom and dad to fall away from the church after their conversion.  They didn't have much knowledge, the church was not predominant in Louisiana and provided little friends and encouragement.  They did not have their families support in their quest for truth and knowledge.   They simply had each other and the testimonies born in their hearts.  They took their testimonies and grew in the gospel and their love of the Lord.  They raised their children to be strong and to gain their own personal testimonies.  Now their grandchildren are being raised in the church and are discovering their own personal relationships with the Lord.  My parents legacy is in their faithfulness to the gospel and to the Lord.  My life has been blessed by the decisions they have made.  Their courage to accept the gospel and bravery to never go down an easier path.  My child and future grandchildren will benefit from their single choice to not only be baptized but their singlemindedness to obey the commandments.  This Thanksgiving gives my heart great pause.  I realize and feel things in a whole new way.  My mind has been opened to a different perspective on the really important things in this life.  I am aware that we are on this earth for only a short amount of time.  As I get older and see people I love go on to the other side of the veil, I appreciate those around me whom I love.  I am most grateful to have my mother with me for a while longer.  The possiblity of the future without her in it fills me with dread. Her whole family loves and adores her.  She has touched so many lives.  She has lived a selfless life.  Our Father in Heaven has seen fit to give her the miracle of life.  I know that He gave that miracle to me and my siblings.  We still have so much to learn from her.  This Thanksgiving I am simply and humbly grateful.  I acknowledge my Father in Heaven in all things, but most importantly, in the miracle of life and the blessings of family.

This is what the ordinance is all about....

This picture was given out during a Relief Society talk a few months ago.  It hit me like a rock.  How often do we tend to overlook the young men passing the sacrament, or think of things other than our Savior (like thinking about the lesson you are to give or the person you want to speak with right after Sacrament meeting)
rather than concentrate on the ordinance you are making?  I love how this picture shows the young toddler running to the Savior with outstretched arms. He knows the Savior!  The mother is obviously spiritually prepared to witness him but the husband is oblivious.  How much I want to feel and 'see' the Savior in the small and simple things that we have a tendency to take for granted. 

Today I want to share my testimony of Him.  I know he lives.  I know that he created this world and all those who are a part of it whether it be human or animal or plant.  He knows each of us individually.  Elder Holland stated "He knows your name and knows your circumstance.  He hears your prayers.  He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations.  And He knows what you can become through faith in Him."  I love him with all of my heart and soul.  I can never repay him for the kindness and mercy he has extended to me.  However, I can wake up to the covenants I make each time I partake of the Sacrament.
I can take upon myself the name of Christ and always remember him and keep his commandments. This is something I CAN do everyday.