Birthday Weekend.

I feels like my birthday started on Friday and has lasted until today, my real birthday. I wish I had taken more pictures of all the cool stuff but I was too busy having fun.

Friday:

Some friends and I went to the Horticultural Society Annual Plant Sale. Last year I spent $300 at this sale and didn't even have a yard! This year I spent only $97. Such self control. I think when I am in my 60's (next year) I will be very active in the local Horticultural Society. There is no such thing as a grumpy gardener. I've never met one. Well, maybe in the winter they might get a little grumpy.After nurturing our green thumbs we went for mexican food. I got darling crafty scrapbook style gifts - the kind I love and refuse to make. That made me happy.

That evening every child in the neighborhood was at our house. When Noah's band practices we become the neighborhood magnet. I make all the non-band people go outside (the 11 year olds) or I will go crazy. The 15 year old girl next door always has about 4 friends over to jump on her tramp and act silly during band practice.

Saturday:

I gardened in the morning. I love to garden.

Noah had a piano recital in the afternoon at the same time as Ike's soccer game. Poor Ike, no parents at his game. He didn't seem to care. (I think the Flemmings are adopting Ike. They are like his second parents.) Noah played beautifully. He plays with real feeling and sometimes it makes me cry a little.

We went to visit my father in law, Wade. His sister, Doris was in town with her son John. I really regret that I didn't think to take a picture. They were sweet together and held hands the entire time. It made me love them and miss my own brother, David.

Then we went to Culvers for their butter burgers.

Then we took Ike to a birthday party.

Then we went to stake conference evening session.
We get a new Stake President today so last night we went to listen to Elder Holland.
I am so glad we went. He said that he was not going to give the talk he had prepared. He felt inspired to speak on a different subject. He spoke about "tough times". Now, I am going to paraphrase briefly (at least the parts the stuck out to me) what Elder Holland said: We know that we rejoiced in heaven at the opportunity to be here on earth and now that we are here, we wonder what all the rejoicing was about! That got a good laugh.

We all have tough times and right now things in the world are worse with war, earthquakes, economic struggles, attacks on the family and such. He said that it isn't about the wayward child, the divorce, the disease, it is about our discipleship. We took upon ourselves the name of Christ and we will struggle in this life, but how do we handle it, do we look to Christ?

He said our hearts will be broken. He drew an analogy saying, the clouds must break to make rain, the earth must break to be planted, the seed must break to sprout, the grain must break to make bread and the bread must break to nourish our bodies. Our hearts will break too. Without a broken heart how can we even begin to appreciate what Christ did for us? How can we know what it is to endure if we haven't had to wait for a husband to be a good man, if we haven't had to wait for a child to return (in every sense of the word), if we haven't suffered the pain of illness? He quoted someone famous and said something like, Endure what is happening now so in the future you can have joy.

He said we want to call ourselves long-suffering but we don't want to suffer and we don't want it to last very long. He actually was pretty funny. He talked about how when we are in a funk (my words) we tend to tell ourselves that we have never ever been happy. Ever. It was pretty funny.

He encouraged us not to tell ourselves that we must have done something to deserve a broken heart. He reminded us of our free agency - even in our reaction to tough times. It was an amazing talk and I felt like he was talking just to me. Roland felt the same. We were both very touched.

Then we went to Noah's show at Pikes Perk - a local coffee house. We got there towards the end of the show. The band was pretty excited and acting just a little bit cool. It was so fun to watch them! They have been practicing and working hard for about 3 months and they did great! Noah is quite the entertainer.

Sunday:

I have been told that there is breakfast for me followed immediately by a picnic. We have to be done in time to go to conference again at 1:00 so we can get seats for the 2:00 session. They have 2 sessions of Stake Conference here even if there isn't a GA.

I know the boys went with Roland to Costco yesterday and made me hide in my room until the birthday booty was hidden. So I think it might be bigger than a bread box. Or maybe just lots and lots of food. Food is their favorite way to celebrate anything.

Tomorrow will feel like my birthday too because I get to plant all my flowers! Yay!

Are you still reading this post? Thanks for sticking through the whole thing to the very self-absorbed ending.