All-American Baby Girl

Our little Ava was born after my dear Grandpa Anderson (my Mom's Papa) passed away 2 years ago...she would have absolutely adored him.  And I know he would have loved to see his sweet, All-American grandbaby girl, he was one of the most patriotic men I know! He was also quite the poet, and below is a beautiful poem he wrote, perfect for this 4th of July.

Happy Independence Day everyone!

OUR FLAG

Our flag has stood these many years,

Glorious symbol divine,

Banner majestic hoisted toward heaven,

Freedom's clarion call.

A call to free men,

To brave men, all,

That the choicest of all blessings

May never fall.

Only the patriotism

Of modern Patrick Henrys

And Paul Reveres

Will assure that freedom

In unborn years.

The sacrifices of patriots of old

Will serve our liberty

Only if we are so bold

As to carry its torch today,

To reject apathy,

And light its way!

by EksAyn Anderson

Memorial Day Weekend

We celebrated the beautiful marriage of my cousin Shaun to his perfect match (welcome to the family Emma!) // The girls and I had a little too much fun in the photo booth at their reception // Family came to visit from out of town // Bowl after bowl of Marshmallow Mateys were poured for my awesome nieces and nephews // We played soccer at the park until it rained // We got full on homemade pizza, waffles, and cheesecake // Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to my sweet sister in-law Kristen // We spent time visiting Mom Diane's and some of my Grandparents' graves // Adam surprised us and got off work early to meet us at City Creek // After a long weekend of fun, Brooks got caught some zzzz's on Grandpa's chest :)

Sweet Grandpa

I absolutely love it when one of my five senses brings back a flood of memories to my mind and heart...today it was the scent of my cinnamon raisin bread in the toaster. The smell and taste of those delicious pieces of toast made me think of my sweet Grandpa Anderson. I honestly can't remember a specific time of eating it with him, but I can remember special times growing up when my Mom (she always knows how to make something ordinary, like bread, extra special) would buy cinnamon raisin bread at the store "in honor" of Grandpa, because he absolutely loved it :) Makes my heart smile just thinking about it.

The photo below was taken just days after Brooks was born...

and just a few months before my sweet Grandpa passed away. He lived a long, beautiful life. And is now with my Grandma, his beautiful wife, after 35 years of being apart :)

Thank goodness for little things that keep the memories of our loved ones alive. Even something like cinnamon raisin toast :)

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Spiritual Health:

"Serve God by Serving Others" - Our Prophet and a few apostles share beautiful examples of service they've witnessed through out their lives. And this article also made me think of my Grandpa...who was the recipient of years of selfless service from my Uncle EksAyne (his son) and my Aunt Patty (his daughter-in-law) as they took him into their home after he was no longer independent due to his health. What a true labor of love :)