A Grandpa and Grandma Date with Stella

Last night Sterling and I were heading out on a date when we got a text from Sara asking, “What are you doing?”

I texted back (I’m quite the texter, you know!), “We’re going out on a date. Why?”

We waited a few minutes, then I texted again, “Hello? What’s going on?”

Sara finally replied, “It’s Stella’s dance recital, and I forgot to tell you. Oops.”

“When and where?” we sent back.

Well, the recital happened to be just a few blocks away from where we were originally heading, so we made a last-minute change in our date plans and went to a dance recital instead. We arrived just as the performance began . . . perfect timing.

The recital was only an hour long, and at the end, Stella received a little plastic trophy with her name engraved on it. Her first trophy EVER! She was jumping up and down with excitement. We were so glad we’d been a part of it.

Afterwards, her very thoughtful Grandpa asked Stella if she’d like to join us on our date. Of course! She even got to choose where she wanted to eat. So we had a tasty little dinner at Wendy’s (Stella wanted a Frosty), and we made some wonderful memories that I know we’ll treasure—and I hope Stella will too!

A Hectic Week

Lots going on this week but not a lot worth mentioning.

Of course, the most exciting thing I do is spend time with our new babies. I tell each girl when they have a baby that I’m completely theirs for a week; because Shanna had twins, I told her she could have me for two!

So the Bridegan family has been a priority for me. I haven’t spent as much time there as I had expected, because Jared is between quarters at school, so he’s home quite a bit. But when they call, I go!

The problem is that I’m so excited to get my cuddles and change diapers and hold babies that I forget to take pictures; I know you’re probably all anxious to see pictures of these cuties! I’ll try to remember to take a picture of a proud grandma holding her newest grandchildren, but in the meantime, Shanna has posted some photos on her blog, so check them out!

Shalae also had her monthly stamping class, which was a huge hit! People loved the project, a patriotic banner that was just complicated enough to take a little time but just easy enough that everybody could do it. I’m proud of Shalae and her commitment to this class, and I’m enjoying the experience we’re sharing of having regular events. I do love to visit with our friends, stamp together, and have a great excuse for a night out with the neighborhood (and beyond!) girls.

And there are lots of meetings, lots of decisions, lots of other small important but not very interesting things going on. What matters most, I guess, is that I’m enjoying almost all of it!

I hope you’re enjoying what you’re doing too!

A New Tradition

We started a new tradition today—a few weeks ago Megan suggested that we (the Gardner girls) get together every week for lunch. We all thought the idea was brilliant, so we had our first Gardner Girls Lunch today.

Megan hosted it (we’ll take turns each week), so she got to choose the place and the menu. She invited us to her house, and she treated us to some delicious homemade Mexican food. We all told her she’d set the bar way too high, and we made sure everyone knew not to expect such delicious food every week!

The company, however, will be wonderful every week! It was fun to get together, and I’m already looking forward to next week. We know that not everyone will make it every week, but we’re going to plan it every week and have fun with whoever shows up.

Many of the grandchildren came this week, which meant that the lunch wasn’t quite as long and leisurely as it might have been otherwise. But that’s OK. Some weeks it will just be the girls, other weeks children will be welcome. Regardless, every week we’ll enjoy good food and great company!

And the good food and great company didn’t end there! Today Sterling finished his last class, and we had to celebrate tonight! While he still has his final clinic on Saturday and the state exams on Monday, this was certainly a milestone. So we ate at Tsunami tonight, a great little Japanese restaurant. It was the perfect ending to a fun day—I’m looking forward to celebrating the rest of his school milestones in the coming days!

Happy Mother's Day!

I woke up this morning, thinking that this was a perfect day to blog. I know there are a lot of women who dread Mother’s Day because they focus on the mothers they aren’t. Either they haven’t ever married and don’t have children, or they married and weren’t able to have children, or they aren’t a good enough mother. . . whatever the reason, today is a day that is sometimes hard for us women.

Throughout today, as I listened to inspirational radio stations and talks, and went to church, and visited with all our girls and their families, I came away with one overriding feeling—If we’re doing our best, we’re good enough.

I know that our children, our husbands, our loved ones, our Father in Heaven. . all they need from us is our determination to do our best. And our best doesn’t mean we’re perfect, or that we don’t make mistakes. It just means we keep on trying and don’t give up.

My hope for each of you today is that you just love yourselves for who you are!

Exciting News in the Gardner Family

You probably noticed my new blog header—love it! I had planned to blog about it tonight, but something has come up that is much more exciting, so while I hope you notice (and like) the new header, I also hope you check out Shanna’s blog.

We’ve had new additions to the Gardner family! They actually arrived almost three weeks ago, but Shanna and Jared wanted to wait to make the announcement until they were all home together as a family. That happened today, so for the next several days, you know where my focus will be—on little Liam and Abigail!