Day one of My Incredible Journey . . .

May my friendships always be
The most important thing to me;
With special friends I feel I'm blessed,
So let me give my very best.
I want to do much more than share
The hopes and plans of friends who care;
I'll try all that a friend can do
To make their secret dreams come true.
Let me use my heart to see,
To realise what friends can be,
And make no judgements from afar,
But love my friends the way they are.
~Jill Wolf

It's hard to believe that only two weeks ago I was getting ready to go on the journey of a lifetime. It's hard to believe that I took that journey and am now home again and back to work! I was so blessed to recently have been gifted with a trip to the US to watch my daughter compete in the World Winter Games in Idaho, and I can't begin to tell you how much this wonderful experience blessed my life.

Being able to go watch Eileen was something that I had been praying for, for over a year. I had just gotten to the point where I thought I was not going to be able to go, when . . . voila! The answer to my prayers came and I was gobsmacked to say the very least. At first I thought about all the reasons I couldn't go . . . too short a notice, wouldn't be able to get time off work, too fat and didn't want my daughter to see me this big . . . and many more reasons. One by one Heavenly Father brought down the barriers in my mind and before I knew it I was on a plane to America. The only one He couldn't do something with was the fat excuse . . . and we all know who it is that has to take care of that one . . .

I was quite nervous about having to change planes in Atlanta. I have never been to Atlanta before and the thought of having to make my way through a strange airport all by myself was really quite frightening to me. Heavenly Father was with me all the way though. I got through with no problems whatsoever, and even though the underground train to my gate wasn't working, I managed to walk a bazillion miles and make it to the right place! Up in the air I went again and before I knew it I was landing in Salt Lake City. Although it was dark, I could see the ghostly skeleton of snow covered mountains out of the window of the aircraft surrounding the airport . . . breathtakingly beautiful, even in the darkness . . .

This is what met me.




Aren't they just the sweetest people! This is Jen from Tater Tots and Jello and her lovely mom Jean from Quincy Cottage . I just loved that beautiful sign they had made! Can you believe that they are in their 40's and 60's respectively??? Neither can I!!! Whatever it is they are eating, I want me some of that!! You have never seen two more beautiful or younger looking ladies! Not to mention nice. They were so sweet and I was thrilled to finally get to meet them in person. It was so very kind of them to pick me up at the airport. Jen even took me on a scenic tour through Salt Lake City so that I could see the Salt Lake Temple all lit up at night. This was something that I had always wanted to see and my dream came true.




I was so excited to be finally meeting my good friend Lura from Grammy's News . She was waiting for me at her daughter Erin's, another friend of mine from The McGibbon Family . Erin's house was to be my first destination. You could never have asked for a warmer reception and tears flowed as Lura and I met for the first time. What a beautiful reunion, and I say that because, right from the first time we made contact on the internet, I have always felt that Lura and I have always known each other, that our friendship was an eternal friendship that started long before we came to this earth . . . a friendship rare and precious. It has been a miracle to me that we were able to find each other again, and totally amazing, and I know that Lura feels the same way.



Erin had a lovely supper waiting for me, a totally delicious curry. How did she know I loved curry? I don't know, but it was just wonderful. And as late as it was and as tired as I was it was so good to get to spend the time together, laughing and chatting and getting to know each other. Day one of my journey was almost done, and that night as I lay in my comfortable bed, totally exhausted and more than ready to sleep, I gave thanks to my Heavenly Father for having gotten me there safe and sound, for making my dreams come true, and for friendships . . . sweet and pure and eternal . . .

Tommorrow . . . day two!




I had this wonderful idea for a new painting when I was away and I couldn't wait to get home and make her a reality. I managed to get it done last night while Todd was at meetings and I just adore her. I called it "A Heart Like His." This is something that I strive for in my life . . . to have the heart of the Saviour . . to make my actions, words and deeds follow His as closely as I can. To be His hands here on earth. Sometimes I fail abysmally, but then . . . sometimes I get it right . . .




Yesterday, I baked these lovely cookies yesterday to take to a friend in hospital. These are the best oatmeal cookies ever and I just know that you will love them. We do!!




*Crispy Oatmeal Cookies*
Makes about 4 dozen

Crisp, buttery and full of oaty goodness, these cookies are probably the best oatmeal cookies I have ever tasted. These are my absolute favourite. (I know . . . I say that about everything!)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup of raisins or toasted pecans, chopped


Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets and set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until well combined, along with the vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir this in and mix in well, then stir in the oats and the raisins or nuts. Mix well together.

Scoop out walnut sized pieces of dough and shape into balls and place at least two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.


Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottoms and set. Remove from the oven and allow to cook for a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing to wire racks to finish cooling. Repeat with remaining dough until all used up. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

PS - If you want to see a recap of my adventure hop on over to Lura's page. She's done a beautiful job over there!