Cheryl's Baby Shower #2

Last Saturday, some friends and ward members of Cheryl's threw her a baby shower in Ladera Ranch. I was able to drive down on Friday, spend the night, and then attend the shower on Saturday. The weather was perfect - typical bright sunny Spring day in Southern California.

Pictures from the shower:

Cups of yogurt, granola, & fruit were served, along with mini muffins, quiche, and orange juice.

They must have known Cheryl's style when they decorated. So perfect for her!

  

 It was cute how the host collected the gifts in this baby cradle.

I was so excited to give cheryl this gift that I purchased from the Post Office. I hope she liked it as much as I did. It is a book where someone hand-folded the pages to spell baby. On the front cover I put a photo of Cheryl pregnant that she can switch out for a photo of the baby once he/she arrives.

I also gave her a baby blanket that was given to me as a gift for her when she was a baby. In essence, I was passing the torch to Cheryl.

Cheryl's sister-in-law, Jasmine Stronk attended the shower.

Cheryl sure has a nice group of friends. They were very friendly to me even though I am old enough to be their mother, or maybe grandmother. What a fun day!

Mother's Day 2019

For the first time ever, I think, I was away from home (and away from Alan) on Mother's Day. However, it was a very nice Mother's Day because I got to spend it with three of my five children.

To start the day off right, Eric made breakfast at his house for not only his lovely wife Nicole, but also Cheryl, Ryan, and I along with his three children. He did a great job. He made french toast with several options for toppings, bacon, scrambled eggs, fruits, and juices. It was delicious. I should have taken a picture of it.

I did, however, take a picture of the great gift my children gave me. Some of the fruit had been eaten by the time I got around to taking this picture. It was delicious and very thoughtful of them to gift it to me.

After breakfast, we all went to Church. The Ward offered a variety of cupcakes to choose from for the Mother's. They were made by a ward member. I chose this chocolate one. The chocolate kind of melted in the car, but it was still delicious.

After church, I kept getting the impression that we should stop and visit Grandma Pearl on the way to the airport for Cheryl's flight. So Ryan, Cheryl, and I went. It was fun to wish her a Happy Mother's Day. Since Pearl is 98.5  years old, we don't know how many more Mother's Days there will be with her around. I'm hoping for many more.

I was glad that she recognized me as I poked my head in the common room where the residents were watching TV. Her eyes lit up when she saw me and she said "I didn't know you were coming." Well, we didn't know we were coming either until that afternoon, so we hadn't let her know. We were able to move her to her room where we had a private conversation for about 15 minutes and it wasn't hampered too much by dementia. The visit was short, but sweet.

Cheryl's Baby Shower #1

Cheryl is inching closer to her due date. We are so excited to welcome her baby into the world in less than 8 weeks!

Grandma Karla is excited as well and decided to throw a baby shower for Cheryl in Utah. I co-hosted it with her, but Karla did most of the work. It was a beautiful event and was well attended -- over 40 people were there!

Karla did an amazing job of preparing and decorating for the shower.

I thought this display was so cute above the stove!

We provided a lot of food, and Karla even provided baby bottles for us to drink out of. What a cute idea!

My niece, Heather, made these amazing cake pops. They were great looking and great tasting. Yum!

It was a beautiful day so eating outside was not a problem. The Stronk's house and yard was the perfect venue for a baby shower.

I'm assuming that this is probably the first baby shower Eric has ever attended...but he only dropped Ella and Olivia off and then left. This might be the first baby shower Ella and Olivia have attended, too. It was fun to have Nicole and the girls there.

 This was a cute idea for picture taking. Karla made it. She is the Pintrest Queen.
(Cheryl's two moms)

Cheryl got lots of fun gifts from everyone!

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Two days prior to the shower, Cheryl was in the audience of Ellen DeGeneres' Mother's Day Special Show. This is one of the Ellen Show's premier events. Everyone in the audience is expecting their first child. You have to apply for a ticket and show ultrasound proof that you are expecting once you arrive at the studio. Cheryl got lucky and was awarded a ticket. It's like winning the lottery. The whole show is a baby gift-giving extravaganza. She, and everyone else in the audience, received over $5,500 worth of gifts and gift cards. She got a car seat, a stroller, bottle sterilizer, a "baby moon" trip to Mountain Shadows resort in Arizona, $500 gift card to Costco, a high chair, portable rocker, clothing, and other gifts. 

Her picture from the show:

Although the day was long for Cheryl, she went home very happy. Good thing Parker has a truck so she could easily transport all of the goods from the show to their home.

The Covenant Path

I have been pondering a quote from President Russel M. Nelson (the LDS Prophet) made in our last General Conference. He said:

“Jesus Christ invites us to take the covenant path back home to our Heavenly Parents and be with those we love.”

I 100% believe that it is only through starting and staying on the covenant path that we can live with our Heavenly parents again. From the day I learned about making and keeping sacred covenants with the Lord, I have tried to do everything in my power to get on that path and to stay on that path.

At 8 years of age, I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That was a big day for me. I don't remember all of it, but I do remember being baptized with several other children in our Stake as well as my twin sister, Jane. Being the 2nd twin, I was surprised when my name was called before hers to be baptized. The same thing happened the next day when we were confirmed in Sacrament Meeting. For once I was first at something!!! I was elated.

By being baptized, I took upon myself the name of Jesus Christ and became one of His children. I made a covenant to always remember Him and keep His commandments. 

At 22 years of age, I went to the temple for the first time to receive my own endowment. By doing this, I made more covenants with the Lord. Because of the sacredness of those covenants, they are not to be spoken of outside the temple or shared publicly. I have always kept them confidential and held them sacred.

Five days later, on December 27, 1975, I entered the temple again to be sealed to my chosen companion, Alan Leo Stott, for time and all eternity. To be sealed as husband and wife is the most sacred ordinance of all, for it has eternal consequences.

President Joseph Fielding Smith said:

“Marriage according to the law of the Church is the most holy and sacred ordinance. It will bring to the husband and the wife, if they abide in their covenants, the fulness of exaltation in the kingdom of God. 

That is why I chose to get married in the temple. I wanted to make that sacred covenant so that I would become a candidate to enter into exaltation in the kingdom of God. There is no other way to get there.

There are, however, certain conditions that apply to this and all covenants. One must live up to every promise they make or the spirit will withdraw and the promised blessings will be withheld from them.

Continuing the quote from Joseph Fielding Smith regarding a temple marriage, he says:

When that covenant is broken, it will bring eternal misery to the guilty party, for we will all have to answer for our deeds done while in the flesh. It is an ordinance that cannot be trifled with, and the covenants made in the temple cannot be broken without dire punishment to the one who is guilty. …

Now, that seems pretty harsh, doesn't it! However, every single decision in life has consequences. We can't escape them! I am going to do all in my power to keep the sacred covenants that I have made with the Lord, for I want to reap the benefits from each one of them. I want to receive the many promises outlined in the scriptures for those who are faithful and endure to the end. Not everyone does, but I certainly do. Eternal Life - even exaltation is my goal.

I will end this post with my favorite scripture from the Book of Mormon. It is found in 2 Nephi 31:20. It reads:

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."