The Last Sunday

This picture was taken about a week before we left. We loved this river, even with the water being a tad chilly:) 

My last Sunday in the Salmon Creek ward of Vancouver, WA was very special. When you know this is the last day somewhere, everything is sacred and tender. I hugged people tighter, looked at everyone, and hung on to every word said. I watched people greet others and tried to memorize their smiles in my mind. 

In the Gospel Doctrine class, I took notes like a mad woman. The teachers were amazing. I savored the laughter, and the sweet joking between the teacher and people in the class. 

I went to my dear young women's class for the last time, and it was such a treasure. They spoiled me with sweet gifts that I have on display in my home. So thoughtful. 

I then experienced one of the greatest blessings ever when one beautiful girl brought her guitar out, and sang a song she wrote for me. It was such a turn of the tables for me, as I'm always the one who is writing songs for others and singing it to them on my guitar or piano. Countless times I have done that, but rarely has someone written one for me. It was the sweetest, most sincere and loving act of kindness ever. 

Church was over. We got the kids and made our way out to the car. A dear couple drove by us, stopped and called out their goodbyes. I thanked the choir director for one of the best choir experiences ever. We drove home, and my heart was so full of thanks, sadness, and love for the dear, good people of that ward, thinking 'I sure was lucky to experience that'. I'll never forget them. 

Upcoming posts; one for my young women, and one specifically about the neat things that ward did:)

Why we came back home

Well, I don't have internet on my laptop yet, so this will be short and simple. Hard to write a post on phone. 

Last year in September, we sold our home in Las Vegas and moved. Just felt the need to. Can't explain why. We had a wonderful 10 months in Vancouver, Washington. 

We learned and experienced a lot. It's another planet up there! A different kind of beautiful. As some of you good friends saw from my Instagrams, we explored a ton. A great way to live. 

We lived in one of the best LDS wards ever. A gift that I will explain in more details on a future blog post. 

I was blessed to serve the young women at church, and loved them all, especially my 5 dear Miamaids. Another whole post coming up on that:) 

We struggled and grew from it. Cost of living is a bit higher in WA. We wanted to afford our bills again, and survive financially while going through Nursing school. One reason to move home. 

While the summers there are beautiful, they're actually not hot and long enough for us. We learned that we actually do prefer the desert summers, imagine that? 

The trees were hundreds of feet tall and beautiful, but blocked out any horizon views. Coming home last week and seeing a sunset was a gift. 

The day we arrived home was a day of many emotions. We'd been waiting since January to come home, but in the meantime we lived it up in WA. It took three months of online job hunting for Vegas jobs. No interviews. Test of faith. Finally, a phone interview came which turned into a job, our ticket home. I have learned again that Heavenly Father knows best. He saved the perfect CNA job for Shaun, and we had to learn patience while we applied to dozens of jobs. He knows our needs and wants to bless us. I have seen his blessings in our lives since we left last year, and before. 

It's bittersweet. While it has been wonderful to come home and hug old friends, I left amazing new friends in WA. A piece of my heart is left there. There are good people everywhere, and it was lucky to meet some of them, and experience a much different way of life. Beauty abounds. I used to despise the desert, no joke. Now, it couldn't be more beautiful to me. Isn't that funny? I see things now like the sky, clouds, sunset and huge, vast horizon that I didn't see before. Funny how life does that to you:)

Since 1991, this is the fourth time I have moved to Las Vegas. I just think that's hilarious. You have to live here to know why it's great. It's so fun to live here. 

More blog posts to come, but that's it for now. That was a lot of finger tapping to get this out:) 

Dear Salmon Creek friends; thankyou for blessing me life, and sharing your kindness with me. I feel like Audrey Hepburn on 'Roman Holiday' when she said at the end, 'I will cherish my time in Rome for as long as I live.' My thoughts exactly about Vancouver:)