BEST DAY EVER!!!

So many great things happened today. Where shall I start?

First and probably most important is that we signed all the paperwork on the sale of the Stonebridge house! That is the miracle I mentioned quite some time back. Let me explain. We lived at Stonebridge for ten years. During that 10 years we tried to sell the house 6 times. SIX! Every time we had it listed it never sold. There were two times when it was really close, but then fell through. At one point I was praying and fasting that it would sell and received the impression that when it was right it would sell quickly. That was the 3rd time we had it listed. It's interesting that God's timeline is never ours. I think the problem with all the times of trying to sell it before was that we were leaving Alaska once it did. This time we were staying in Alaska and the house sold even before we could get it listed on the market! That is NO coincidence to me. Miracles STILL happen. Now we sit here in our very comfortable farmhouse at Harvest Point with no mortgage. Only a small land payment. That feeling is something that I just can't describe. I am so optimistic about our financial future.

Second, I got to go and snuggle with Jamie and Jake. It really does my heart so good to see that she is okay. She is not so angry anymore. She loves me still. The transition from Mommy Ginny to Aunt Ginny is almost complete and that is really okay. I just love those two and will always hold a special place in my mother heart for them.

Lastly, we had a blast in seminary! We needed to get through three chapters in Genesis and I decided that we would do it with hashtags. So as each student read 5 verses the others would call out a hashtag. It was great to see each of them glued to the scriptures trying to figure out a clever hashtag. I really love teaching seminary and they are such great kids!

Just being an Aunt!

 This morning I needed to go to Costco. On my way there I talked on the phone with Rissa D. She's funny. I actually really like her and even if we weren't sisters I would be her friend. She was on a rampage about how dirty her house was and how her kids were jerks. While at Costco, we were still on the phone, I got her some berries and pumpkin spiced chocolate covered almonds, per her request. I'm not that insightful... Anyway, after Costco I took her her items. I walked in her house and it was not dirty at all. I really need to take some time to explain the definition of dirty to her. Well, my definition. ;) Ruby and Ryker were so cute and as I was trying to leave they blocked the door so I couldn't. I had them give me a group hug and then Ruby wanted a picture. I seriously, really love being an aunt and having these kiddos like me. Especially these two because, as Marissa says, they are nazis. Good times!

Then upon my arrival home I was greeted by two different eagles. I love living out here!

Crazy, Wonderful Life

Friday, during the day time, someone ran into a major electric pole and snapped it. So that meant that all of Point Mackenzie was out of power for many hours. We learned several important lesson. I will put them in bullet form-

• Corndogs are NOT good cooked over the burn barrel.
• We REALLY like electricity.
• Bedtime comes super early when there is no electricity. 
• We are SADLY unprepared for the end of life with electricity. If there was an EMP..Oh boy! 
• This house holds heat really well! 

So yay! Adventure on the farm.

I got a SUPER cool pumpkin this week. I am in pumpkin love!

I am STILL loving living out in the middle of no where and wish I was here more often and not in town so much. Bri is working on getting her drivers license because we refuse to take her anywhere because we like to stay here when we are home. I love the drive with the kids because I feel like I am connecting with them in ways I didn't have the chance to before. We are in the car for at least 30-40 minutes each way. It's actually pretty awesome.

AND some morning I get amazing views like this one!

What I see

As I was leaving the farm last night for a Seminary training meeting I was really quite overcome with the beauty that surrounded me. There are cows next door that were grazing in the field, the sun was shining, and it was really breathtaking. I stopped and took this picture at the end of the road and then posted it on social media with the caption, "such a hard life"- tongue in cheek. Some days I find myself overcome with gratitude for what is around me.

I got down the road a little and the sun was starting to go down (it was about 640) and the pinks and blues in the sky with the mountain backdrops were incredible. I stopped again and took this picture.

I live in one of the most beautiful and incredible places on the planet and I love that!

Last Day

Today I surprised my nephew, Quayde. He is on his mission in Gilbert Arizona. So I did some detective work and showed up at the first ward he covers. He saw me and was so confused that he was like, "What are you doing here?" It was great. We sat together during sacrament. I loved to just rub shoulders with him. I pray that he will have a successful and happy mission.

After that I head home. First class seats on both planes. Man, I think I am ruined. It was amazing!
Glad to be home!

Saturday Party Day!

Once upon a time, in 1992-1994, there were a group of people that converged upon a little town called Thatcher. Amazing and incredible things happened there. Bonds of eternal friendships happened. Some believe they were just a continuation of friendships forged before this life. Testimonies were born and solidified there. And more than 20 years later those friendships are still thriving, like a living, breathing thing. What happened so long ago has never been duplicated again in any of our lives. It was my "waters of Mormon" experience and it continues to bless my life.

Today we all picked up where we left off. When people arrived it was hugs all around and "you look exactly the same" being spoken. Even though we all know that many of us have a few extra pounds, less hair, and more wrinkles. We laughed- hard- like so hard I almost peed my pants. There was talk of mighty gila monsters and slo mo raspberries. We cried. We talked about serious things. We reminisced. It was most comforting that we were all still us. Everyone was still the person I loved so many years ago. It did my heart an incredible amount of good to see, that even though life had kicked all of us in the teeth one way or another, we were all still fighting the good fight.

I truly, truly LOVE these people. How grateful I am for those moments so long ago that made these friendships what they are. God is good!

Phoenix Day Two

The highlight of my day was taking this girl to lunch at Sassy's bakery. The 10 gourmet cupcakes came in a close second! We have not seen each other since she was twelve. We visited with her and her companion and had great food. It was so good to see her. She is doing incredibly great. It was so good to see her.

Janell and I also got to visit with Carrie. She went to college with us. It was great to sit on the Mesa temple grounds and catch up. It amazes me that it has been over 20 years since we've been together. We seem to just pick up where we left off and that is a true measure of friendships I believe.

After visiting with Carrie and lunch with Jess we did a small tour of the Gilbert Temple.

I LOVE the temple. We walked around in the rain as the thunder and lightening surrounded us. It was a beautiful thing for me. I was so glad to share this experience with Janell. She is such a great friend to me. We sat for a while so I could just smell the rain on the desert floor. It really is true how they say you can take the girl out of Arizona but you can't take Arizona out of the girl. I never want to live there again but it does have a feeling of home.

Phoenix Day one

Today I got to have lunch at Cracker Barrel with my aunt Pat and cousins, Kristin and Connie. I do not ever remember meeting them although we probably did as young children. It was great to sit and talk and get to know each other. They shared with me some photos that I have never seen before that I will add to my family history. It was a really good visit and I am glad I got to meet them.

After lunch I drove over to the Phoenix temple. It was so incredible there. No one, but a gardener, was on the grounds. The weather was beautiful and the area so peaceful.

Has it really been a week?

The week seemed to fly by. There was stuff that happened. I teach seminary 4 days a week which means a lot of my day is driving into town and back out. Sometimes several times. Matt was in Kenai most of the week but Friday night we went out to see The Martian. It was mediocre. Today we had family dinner at the farm. I loved how our big downstairs did not feel like it was too many people at all. I loved sitting with my dad on the porch and talking about education. I loved the littles making a bear cave and playing on the floor. I loved the pumpkin pecan lava cake I made. Mostly I loved Jamie sitting on my lap on the porch snuggled in a blanket sleeping.

Today Kasen was blessed in Big Lake Ward. I love to see all the Hayes boys gather in their priesthood circle to bless these babies that keep coming to our family. It's incredible to part of something so much bigger than us.

Family is THE most important thing to me!

Oh and Dave forced me to be part of the oriental drink tasting experiment. DO NOT DRINK GRASS JELLY DRINK!

General Conference

Basically, one of my favorite things, in all the world of favorite things, is General Conference weekend. We turn on the TV, grab pillows, blankets, notebooks, pens, and camp out in the living room for two days. We eat yummy food like nachos and peanut butter popcorn. We are fed spiritually by living prophets and apostles. It's like Christmas. I might even like it better than Christmas.

This weekend I sat and cried as Elder Holland compared mothers to Christ and recognized our sacrifice. I prayed for Pres. Monson, as he faltered at the podium, that he would be able to finish his talk. I laughed as Sis. Stephens told of her 3 yr old granddaughter getting out of her carseat and Elder Haynie referenced boys digging holes. I remembered an experience I had about the great and spacious building as Elder Schwitzer talked of some being in that building and not realizing it. I set my sights on being a woman who speaks with the power and authority of God that Elder Nelson described. My thoughts raced a mile an hour as Pres Monson spoke and the Spirit whispered. And I rejoiced as Elder Cook explained that the rewards of righteousness are available now.

Ya. Better than Christmas!

First Snow

The first snow this season is WAY earlier than last year. October 25th was last year. We didn't even get through September this year. However, the sun came out and it is all gone now so maybe the next snowfall will wait until the end of October. maybe...

I really love being out here. The drive is much longer into town but I have found some great benefits to that. I have more time to spend with Makenna and Corban and as we drive to and from school, I get to talk to people on the phone when I am driving that I didn't feel like I had enough time to connect with previously, and I listen to some pretty great music for longer periods of time. It's so quiet out here and it just feels like home. That is a feeling that I didn't have for a really, really long time. I just feel overcome with gratitude. Life is wonderful!