ysa dinnertime!

Oh my!  Yesterday, my physical therapist killed me!  He did some "kneading" on my arm, trying to literally manipulate the prosthetic ball in my shoulder and I'm not kidding... this morning, when I woke up, I pulled the blanket over my shoulder and I could feel each every finger print on my arm still.  It hurt!  He's always so gentle!  Tomorrow, he will hear about it!  ha!

One huge happy thing in my life right now is that Doug has been called to serve back in the 35th Ward of the Young Single Adults.  He's been with the 34th Ward, which he absolutely loved working with, but I never really had an opportunity to get to know any of the kids because most of them lived at home, so we didn't have the FHE dinners in our home or have opportunities to host them here.  The 35th Ward kids, mostly live in two sets of apartment buildings and they love the chance to come to a home and have a home cooked meal, and the feelings of being "home".  Plus, we know many of the kids who moved back into the same apartments this year, so we have a connections with them already.

Last night, we hosted our first FHE dinner with Group D.  It's USU Spring Break, so we knew that we'd be lucky to see half of the kids here since most go home for the week.  I set the table for 20, thinking it would be a miracle if 15 showed.  We had eight arrive.  And I hate to say it, but as much as I love "filling the house", it's always so awesome when it's a smaller group because we can all sit at one table and have a more intimate evening really getting to know them.

I was so thankful for the help. Carol had taken me to Hobby Lobby for plates and napkins and favors, Denise and Ann helped me with the food shopping last week.  Denise helped get things started.  Ann came on Sunday and helped bake the cupcakes.  Zeej came home from school and made the breadsticks and salad.  The soup was in the roasting oven.  Ann came by after work to help with the last minute stuff, so I literally set the tables, which Layne and Kendall set up for me on Sunday evening before Doug got home from St. George.  This was a group effort, for sure!  My shoulder and I appreciated all the effort of such great friends!

Doug asked me to give the lesson, since he'd been out of town with the girls.  So, I talked about March being the month where "Luck" is the focus.  However, I shared the Thomas Jefferson quote that the harder he worked, the more "luck" he had.  I then talked about how important it is that we put our own effort into all that we do.  No one becomes a scholar or a scriptorian without study and time and energy.  No one becomes successful in business and life without concentrated effort and focus!  It's not about luck at all!  It's about effort!

Dinner was fun.  Cheddar broccoli soup, garlic breadsticks, spinach salad with strawberries and mandarin oranges and St. Patricks Day cupcakes.  I can not believe that I didn't even snap a picture.  I had a few other things on my mind, I guess.  Here are the leftover cupcakes though.  It was really cute!

We had tabletalk after dinner and oh my word, we laughed so hard.  There were five girls and three boys.  They didn't know each other that well.  I asked them to each share three things that not everyone at the table would know.  Oh, the things we learned!  We laughed so hard!  We found out that one of the girls had served her mission in only one area for three months and came home for health reasons.  She served in, of all places, Elyria Ohio, where we lived and still know many of the people living there.  That was fun.  We learned about unique talents and hobbies and interests.  It was just a great evening!  We were still sitting around the dinner table at 9:15!  As they left, we got hugs and lots of "It feels so good to be in a home!  We love the Spirit in your home!"  My favorite comment of the evening, overheard from the kitchen, came from Hailey, who walked into the den and said, "See!  I told you!" to the oohs and aahs about the fun tablescapes!  "Sister C always does this!  It's beautiful and fancy!"  I was glad that I didn't disappoint!

After everyone left, and Doug and I knelt to pray, and we both expressed how wonderful it is to have the kids back in our home again!  I love Doug's calling in the church!  I love that I get to serve along beside him!  Life is good!