~you've got a friend

Sept 2017

It has been quite a journey of prayers, fasting, patience and miracles. So many amazing friends gave strength, encouragement and well wishes after my many surgeries!  

Carlene and I have been friends for over 17 years 

(since we first moved to Alpine in 1999)!  

She has been with me through thick and thin!  

Jeanette brought over a delicious dinner and 

we caught up on our lives for a couple hours.Mary gave me a wonderful, relaxing massage with her magic oils (brought treats loaded with healthy ingredients)!Siena~ my forever life saver 

(Hill Cumorah 2011 and beyond)!

~you for me

~Brianna and Adam~

For Time and all Eternity

I was able to be a part of the celebration at the beautiful wedding of these two 

adorable kids as they were married in the Salt Lake City Temple ~ June 30, 2017!

Brianna looked absolutely gorgeous and was radiant.  I could not have hand picked a better 

man to be her husband; Adam is compassionate, a spiritual giant and so kind and 

wonderful with Brianna (which is a good thing as Brianna was one of my Young Women 

in Thailand so he would have to contend with me if he is anything other than perfect to her)!

Brianna's train was phenomenal ~ Mary spent hours getting it just right 

and the result was spectacular; a complete masterpiece (and fun for the kids)!!!

Jamie and Mary Phelps

The gorgeous Mother of the Bride; one of my very best friends in the whole wide world!

Michelle Gibbons, Me, Heidi Gailey and Molly & Amy Bunker!

So many fun friends to hang with and enjoy! 

NEXT UP: THE RECEPTION

 I am going to try to list everyone here although there are a few I don't know!  Far left: Lesley (Sampson) Bidwell and children, Natalya (Poulson) McPharlin, Bishop & Wendy Sampson, Ron & Heidi Gailey, Jeanette Nielson, Marianne Poulson, ?,?, Amy & Molly Bunker, Dave & Mary Phelps (Brides Parents), behind them is Robert Griffin and 3 people I'm not sure of their names. Then Robert Gibbons is in the back row then Summer (in front) is holding her baby, not sure who is behind her.  Then we have Grant & Barbara Anderson and behind Grant is Michelle, Lane & Lauren Gibbons (then 4 people around Lauren who I don't know). In front of Barbara are Jeanette's 2 youngest children; Kalen and Arynee, then hop over to Jeanne Griffin and Jordan Phelps, above them is Brook Solario, next to Jordan is Jeanette's daughter; Aybrielle, then Naowarat and Daryl Gygi, behind them are Bill and Jamie Matthews (me), then Ambrian Nielson and Micah Phelps. 

Isn't her train so amazing - Here is the traditional throwing of the bouquet! So fun!

It is crazy cool how being part of the "Expat" group gives you a whole other family to have and to hold that are there for you at all times!  I think the best and funnest example of this is me and Heidi Gailey's friendship.  Bill and I traveled back to Thailand a number of times while he was working at DSU.  On one of these trips I met Heidi. She was the YW's President in Thailand and I was the YW's President in St George.  The previous year I had gone into YW's to see all my old friends and the 
Heidi and Jamie ~ instant best friends~
 adorable YW from when we had lived there and I met Heidi.  I instantly had a connection 
with Heidi and we became best buddy's!  The next year when we came back Heidi and I
 spent a whole day together just hanging out - we barely knew each other but we were
 instant friends and she welcomed me into her life as she would any other family member!
 Bill and I visited with her and Ron when we came up north during my whole eye adventure!

Two of our favorite people - Grant & Barbara Anderson

 More fabulous friends; Catherine Beck, Marianne Poulson and Naowarat Gygi!

Naowarat, me, Jeanette Nielson - Bill and Jordan Phelps

Brooke Solario, Naowarat, Catherine, me, Daryl Gygi, Robert Gibbons and Jordan

Cute Chinese themed table decorations with fortune cookies and their wedding announcement picture as the chocolate candy wrapper - Adorable!!

~ Naowarat, me and Jeanette ~
Jeanette and I have been closest of friends from the minute we moved to Thailand in December of 2005!  We ended up working in the Primary Presy and were instant spirit sisters (me big, her little)!  I love her to pieces!!

The party came to a close and new memories were made ~ 
just a perfect evening and wonderful time spent with our Thailand Family!

~don't forget to remember me

Yesterday was my Birthday and it was Perfect!

I had picked out a 2' wooden elephant at the commissary for Billy and Timmy to give to me for my birthday. Billy bought it and lugged it home weeks ago. Then when we were going out to dinner last week he asked what I wanted for my birthday, besides the elephant.

I told him just a dozen red roses (only if he buys them from the cheap $5 vendor, not a flower shop). So Monday night at FHE it pops into Billy's head that my birthday is tomorrow and he gets really happy that he remembered!

The morning started with phone calls, emails and 
Facebook messages (I know, isn't it funny that I have 
a Facebook account - me being 49) all sending me 
"Happy Birthday Wishes” !!!

Jeanette made me this Beautiful Cake!

I received the sweetest note from Cora
(our Filipino Housekeeper)!

Jeanette stopped by for a visit 
and surprised me with the (above) Delicious Cake.

And Kim surprised me with some "sweet" gifts!

And to top it off, after school Ariel, Adele, and Majken
brought this gorgeous bouquet of flowers.

I put them in a vase on the table
right in front of the door.

So when Billy came home (empty handed), he immediately sees the flowers and is overcome with guilt for not getting me the Roses!  He comes into my room and hugs me to pieces and apologizes and says how he remembered last night but just let it slip his mind today.  He asks me, "What can I do to make it up to You?" . . . Is there ever a sweeter sentence that comes from your spouse's mouth? ~~ Oh, he did offer to let me take an uninterrupted bath and read a novel while he wtched the kids, but you know, when I am alone all day long, eating bonbon's and watching TV, that's just not as tempting to take him up on it (since we only have a 16 year old child at home) as it was when we had 6 little ones underfoot~
Soooooooo, I tell him it is okay, but I do have a few things
he can do to make up for it (what a great plan I had!!).

• My computer had somehow wiped my Juno account off of my desktop and even when I tried to pull it up from the 'program' file it wouldn't open. So that was the first thing I asked him to do - which of course he is very capable of doing but can't stand to have to do that when he comes home from work.                        
• The second thing was to get my palm pilot working-I got this either last birthday or Christmas or in 2006? It's just sat in its box because it is so technical that I can't even turn it on or use it.
• The 3rd thing was the digital picture frame (that I received when we lived in Utah) that I haven't figured out how to download pictures on it, so that was my 3rd request. 
• AND last but not least I told him I wanted to watch TWO episodes of Ugly Betty (we usually try to watch one a night - but that is even pushing it with him; he can watch an episode every other night and that is enough!)!

It was a wonderful night and the only problem was that it kind 
of stressed him out a bit (like I said he just doesn't enjoy fixing 
computers, especially with mine always crashing) - but this night he 
was supposed to be "Happy" doing it so it was a double strain!!

                                                                          Timmy and Eli 

So that is why MY BIRTHDAY WAS PERFECT!  Pretty great when all was said and done!  Next year is the BIG 5-0!  I look forward to it because it means a huge party ~ maybe a surprise party ~ I haven't decided yet ~ or better yet a "Dancing Party!

Isn’t it wonderful that men and women are created so different!!
The ‘not remembering’ thing - how we can use this to our
advantage and get so much more mileage out of them then if he 
would have just remembered in the first place???  And to think 
that there are women who complain about such things!!! 
MY motto is to stay positive and use these little moments to 
make your life happy! On a side note, of course I have not 
always been this smart in the men/women department, I have 
been working on it for over 29 years - which by the way we 
will be celebrating our 30th anniversary next year - how exciting 
is that! And don't you know that next year remembering to pick 
up a dozen red roses will be a piece of cake compared to the 
"Gift of Service" he ended up giving this year!!