Sunday: Pre-Liminary Reunion

I haven't seen a lot of my family in over two years - including my parents. And I was nervous. I had heard terrible things from my sisters about how bad my daddy was suffering from Parkinson's disease and honestly, I had him envisioned with one foot in the grave and one foot out. So I was PLEASANTLY and with much relief, surprised to see him only slightly hunched over with the cute shuffle of a little old man. Okay, so he's no longer the vibrant and energetic daddy I knew two years ago but I could also see that he was also not the father I imagined dying anytime soon. For the first time ever, he actually looked and acted his age of 84 and I was relieved that it wasn't any worse than that.
Family started arriving at my parents home for the ordination of two nephews and the baby blessing of the child of another nephew before we would have lunch and then drive on up to the reunion camp spot where we would spend the rest of the week. Cousins were coming out of the woodwork. My siblings began arriving and hugs and kisses were being shared around the room. I could tell it was going to be a very fun week.
Jordan was reunited with Lyndon and I was able to get pictures of my favorite men - my daddy and my sweet husband. It was nice to have such wonderful priesthood ordinances performed before the fun of the reunion started.
To top it all off, it was Father's Day and I was there with the most important men in my life. I felt truly blessed and made mental note to make sure those wonderful men knew, by the end of the day, how much I truly loved and admired them all.

When the Family Get's Together....

So I was the first to arriving, flying into Utah on Friday. Originally, I was going to be the only one attending family reunion from our family cuz everyone else couldn't get off of work. But then, gradually, I convinced the rest of my family that I really wanted them there and that I felt it was important that we all see grandpa and grandma before it became too late. I needed them there for moral support also, as this was the time, after ten years, that I was planning to have a gentle reconciliation with one of my brothers. But my flight plans had already been made - so Del and the girls drove up together on Friday through the night and arrived Saturday just shortly after Jordan did.
Jordan and Kylie's reunion was humorous - they hadn't seen each other since December. Of course, he has missed her pregnancy, so seeing her pregnant for the first time left him speechless. He stared at her while stammering 'you're, you're you're PREGNANT' was funny. He reached out to touch her belly but backed away until she welcomed him to feel where his new nephew was kicking away. After THAT point, he couldn't quit touching her tummy confirming to himself that she wasn't just fat, but was truly harboring another life in that tight little space. He was amazed and I observed over the following hours how they reconnected and were back to their chit chatting and funny relationship of best friends/siblings. If they hadn't of been siblings, I'm pretty sure they would have ended up married.
Those who had driven were tired, so after a night of homemade pizza at my sister's house and a few games, we went over to Lon's home (Del's brother) who lives just down the street and we got ourselves checked in for the night.
It was great to be back together as a family. Jordan was getting caught up on all that we had been doing for the past 6 months since he had been gone - Kathryn's school and graduation, Kylie's work and pregnancy and mine and Del's work life and family life. It was exciting to think that he would be coming home in a little over a month to stay for a year. Yep, he's out of money and not making him enough to get back into school in the fall. So, he'll be coming home at the end of July to work for a year before going back in the fall of 2011. So we all talked about some fun plans for when he gets here and our giggles went long into the night.
Reunion would start the next day.

The Beginning of Better Times

Tomorrow is the last day of June. The past month has been sooooo...everything. Like the post title says, it's been the beginning of better times. We've had family get together's, playing around, lot's of food and fun and a lot of better times.
Yes, Kathryn is back home; after a much needed deep cleansing and life searching change in attitude and performance on both her part and mine, she is back home. And things are definitely different yet good. This time, we have a new and better understanding of what the Lord wants to happen. We were trying too hard to do things OUR way before, but now, we understand the Lord has different thoughts than we did about the whole situation. No more details.
The pictures are just a few of some fun one's we took on several fun occasions. I realized that this is the first time I have posted a picture of Kylie pregnant...This picture was taken when Kylie was almost 5 months pregnant. Now, she is just over 6 months.
I just wanted to post something before I go into my next BIG post of my family reunion and our family vacation. I just don't have the time to do it all tonight.
So, until the next post...which will most likely be done in phases...