My Sunday Six this 11/16/08

1. I am thankful for friends that set good example for me.

This is Fran and Dee standing beside John and me. We have been friends for many years. They live in Utah now (tear) but they came to visit friends and family in CA. last week before they leave on their second mission which will be to Australia. They will give service however it is needed just like they did on their first mission which was to Rhode Island, USA. They will be gone 1 1/2 years. They do this completely at their own expense with no compensation of any kind.... not even for housing. They do it because they want to serve our Heavenly Father by serving His children. I am thankful for friends that love the Lord and serve Him.

I had a little open house for them so they could visit with CA folks while they were here. Friends dropped by throughout the evening to say goodbye and wish them well.

Kris gives Fran a hug.

Kris is another sweet friend of mine that always sets a good example for me to follow. Having nice friends to associate with makes me a better person and makes me smile.
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2. I am thankful that my home is large enough to entertain guests in... and...

3. I am glad I can set pretty tables.

This was not always the case. After my father deserted our family when I was 7, my mom struggled to support us. We lived in many tiny places. We lived in a garage apt. different basement apts., and rented rooms before my mom saved enough to buy us a little home of our own. My dear mother did the best that she could to make our rented room or little apt. seem homey but until I was a teenager and we moved into our house, we never had room to entertain or have company. Mother was a very social person and during those years she regretted not being able to entertain others. I think of that each time we invite friends over. I never take having a house with plenty of room for granted. Having a home that I can entertain in makes me smile....and I bet my mom is smiling down on me too.

For special occasions I turn our game room into a buffet room.
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Our home is not new or fancy but it is plenty large enough and laid out well to accommodate entertaining. In the 28 years we have lived here our kids threw endless parties. Almost every weekend we had something going on. With all my kids grown and gone my old house is quiet most of the time now....but I really do love it when I have the opportunity to dress her up and invite friends to come over.

I turn the shuffle board and air hockey tables into serving tables.

It works out quite well.(Except we can't play shuffle board or air hockey.)

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Each time I set a table I think of how my mom saved pennies and sacrificed in order to buy a few dishes at a time.She used to go to garage sales picking up a pretty bowls and plates here and there. How she loved setting a pretty table. We never had nice china or matching place settings but she always did the best she could and our table was set with love. I remember her telling me that it was "tacky" to put a milk carton on the table. To this day, I would not do so.....she might look down from heaven and be displeased. My mother was such a "fine lady" in spite of being a dirt poor minimum wage earner.

Sometimes if I need more space in the front room I move the dinning table into the game room.

Then I can fill up the dinning room with chairs.
That is what I did this week when we had the Young Women in Excellence program at our house. I needed to seat 30 people in my living room. By putting 16 chairs in the dinning room area I was able to get everyone into the front room. We were cozy but we all fit. That made me smile.

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4. I love working in the Young Women's program in our church.Since most of our girls graduated last June and went off to college we only have a small group of young women left....but they are the best little gals ever!

As I mentioned, we held our Young Women in Excellent program here at our home this week. I am the Personal Progress leader. I help the girls set goals in different value areas and work to accomplish them. During this Excellence program the girls gave talks about their projects and what they had learned from the service given. How I love these girls.

After the spiritual part of the meeting (in the front room), we adjourned to the buffet room (the game room) to look at the girl's project displays and chowed down on goodies.

I am still smiling as I think of the nice evening we shared together.
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5. We got all three of Mindy's kids for a sleep over on Veteran's day.
v Since EJ and Claire were off from school Tues. they asked if they could come and stay with us. Of course we were delighted. Before going to sleep we always watch a Disney movie and have hot chocolate and popcorn.. fun...fun...fun....smile...smile..smile
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6. I am thankful for our brave fire fighters.

Perhaps you have heard about the terrible fires that we have raging around us again. We have had those awful, hot, dry Santa Ana winds blowing for several days now. Sometimes the winds are up to 70 mph. The hot, dry winds and parched earth invite fires to flare up all over....then the winds make them spread quickly over large areas.

Unfortunately we have fires all around us today. Thousands of acres and hundreds of homes have burned. My heart goes out to those who are now homeless. The church is rallying to help them. I can not even imagine what they are going through. I am so thankful that the winds have not brought the fires closer to us.

This is the view from behind our home. This fire is about 4 or 5 miles from us. It is sad and scary.

I am in awe of the firefighters that put their lives in danger fighting these raging fires in 90 degree weather. I can not even imagine how hot and difficult it is for them.

I pray for them to be safe. Their willingness to serve others brings a tear to my eyes as I am smiling in thankfulness for them. Please pray with me that the wind and fires will end soon.

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That is my list for this week. Please take a minute to let me know about your week. I have missed hearing from several of you. I hope that all is well. Hugs to all, Lura