Wonderful Weekend

I'd been looking forward to this past weekend for a long time because I knew that my whole family (except my brother-in-law, Griffin, who is right in the middle of finals) would be in town. I love spending time with my family SO much! We got together for a yummy dinner at Mom & Dad's house on Friday night. It was fun having Griffin's mom, Anita, there to help represent Griffin.;) Then we stopped by Craig and Suzanne Wuehler's wedding reception. Our families have known each other since Craig and I were in kindergarten together back in the day. It was awesome to see Craig so very happy.:) Then we went back to Mom & Dad's house to play games. GayLynn and Ryan introduced us to a game called "Blurt". It was super fun, even though GayLynn and Ryan totally trounced us. Stacy and I did come in second though.:)

On Saturday, my mom and sisters threw me a delightful Baby Shower at our dear friend, Mardith Spindler's home. I was so touched that so many of my family and friends sacrificed and took time out of their busy schedules to be there. My best friend, Irene, drove all the way from Santa Barbara to be there. My Aunt Kim raced back from her son's Jazz Competition up in Reno to be there! Everyone brought such perfect gifts -- handmade blankets, adorable baby outfits and much needed baby items. I was particularly thrilled with the Group Gift that included the Car Seat I'd registered for! Now I'll actually be able to bring Ashilene home from the hospital.:) Thank you SO much to everyone who made this such a memorable shower for me.

Of course, the main reason most of my family was in town this weekend was for the baby blessing of GayLynn and Ryan's new baby, Jonah Ryan Ribeira. We all went up to Sacramento to attend their ward on Sunday, so we could hear Ryan give the most beautiful baby blessing to his precious son, Jonah. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood in my life and the way so many of my male family members honor and respect their priesthood and use it to bless our family.

I really couldn't have asked for a more wonderful weekend. I got to spend such quality time with so many in my family. I am especially grateful to Christi and Stacy who insisted on coming to my condo on Saturday night to help me get a bunch of stuff cleaned and organized. They helped me SO much! I also LOVED getting to see so much of my precious niece, Annabelle, and my adorable nephew, Jonah. They are so dang cute! I can't wait until Ashilene gets to meet them both in person!:)