Remember September ?

MY SPECIAL MOMENTS: I had two really great moments this month. The first was when I was driving into town one day, stopped at the corner of Maricopa/Casa Grande Hwy and John Wayne Parkway, while a "30-something" Hispanic man was crossing my path. He noticed my waiting truck and did the cutest little hop-skip to get across the street faster so I could be on my way. As he jumped onto the curb he turned and smiled as our eyes met for a fraction of a moment...and I was so glad that I had a huge smile on my face to greet his! In a matter of seconds I was a block away and he was gone. But in that instant of "connecting" with this young man - my heart swelled up to the point of pain and the tears spilled over. I realized that I was recognizing him as my "brother" - and this was one of the sweetest feelings I've had in a LONG time. We are ALL brothers and sisters, and this experience brought that fact to the front of my mind and heart - where I want to keep it! The second special moment was one Thursday morning while on my way to work for Sam. I was turning from Cowpath onto Maricopa Groves - just behind our house - around 8am. I noticed highschool kids standing on opposite sides of the street - facing each other. It looked like two gangs lining up to challenge each other. I knew the bus would arrive soon and they would have to ride together to school - and wondered how that trip would play out. Then...to my surprise, a wonderful thing happened. I saw their stradegy for division. As I rounded the corner I looked over one last time and saw the football arc high over the asphalt and into the capable hands of who's turn it was to be the receiver...then again it flew high over the street to the next young person in line...who would have thought! I choked up again as I drove on my way, thinking of the unwitting example of these beautiful young people! Okay...now my attempt at organizing and recording highlights of our month! A very special day was September 5th - Sam's 30th Birthday!...we all surprised him by hiding in the IMAX theater when he and Ruth arrived to see "Dark Knight". Halfway through the movie we had a fire drill - Yahoo! FREE TICKETS! Unfortunately, my snapshots of our party were lost when our hard drive took a dive later in the month. Hope you love your group gift, Sammy - your new ladder! You're a son like no other and I'm proud to be your mother! The next favorite day was the 2nd Saturday - which is Family Temple Day for the Smith-Hallows Gang! Great turn out and lots of Barros pizza afterward. Taught "The Great Plan of Salvation" in RS and survived - again! Mel and I teach the same lessons so it's a lot more fun now having someone to study & learn with!

Fading photos of tomatoes-past! What a crop we had! The bulging bags of frozen red orbs come in handy for salsa and soup making - I have a winter's supply and I'm so thankful for Mike's hard work in the heat of the summer - he will reap the benefits for months to come! Let's back up a bit...Labor Day brought the Swimming Parkinsons! We had a great time bobbing in the pool with the cutest Little Mermaids around! Thanks Grandma Smith for taking such good snapshots!

Welcome Home Julie and John aka Elder and Sister Thompson of Selma, Alabama fame! Steele drove down with a load of cabinets for Justin and made time to enjoy their early morning mission report! Kim and Beth hosted a full day of food and fun - Becca & kids Mat & Macey - along with Kevin - made our celebration so much fun - Jackson & Allison and the Parkinson's completed our day!! Thanks guys, for taking time to party with the old people! Tad & Kimmy (grandpa & grandma) took a break to visit baby Aiden (congratulations Tristen & Richard!!) but came back to eat beef stew (Beth)homemade rolls (Julie) and Strawberry ice cream (Yeah for me!) Macey entertained us to tears! What a cute couple of grandkids Kim! - good job Becca! Kevin & sister kayaked down the river with Kim the next day...and survived the drive home! My favoritest thing about September was finally getting my arch support orthotics from Dr. Hallows - thanks Sam...they are wonderful and I recommend them to EVERYONE! Our MOST favorite night was when we went to "Wait Until Dark" with J&A at the Hale Centre Theatre - what a show! We sat on the front row and that picture of J&A shows the refrigerator where the final scene gets real scary!! We hope you'll all get a chance to go see something there - it's amazing and so fun!

Okay, so the funnest trip EVER was our road trip with J&A to Arivcaca to celebrate Lukey's 33rd birthday (and Rennie's VERY late Aug. 17th Birthday)! The Round-up was an education for ALL of us - Rocky Mountain Oysters didn't mean anything but a name till we saw Ron fryin' 'em up at the ranch house! The kids and horses and haystacks were such a wonderful break from our city life! Thanks Luke and Rennie for a fabulous weekend! Keep up the good work with the boys at Arivaca Boys Ranch! Now it's YOUR turn to come see us! Bye everybody! See you next month! I wish I could break this pattern, but not much hope for me. And with our hard drive gone - I have no pictures to update the past posts...you can all cry for me...my tears are gone!