Company

People fill my cup.  I find that I love having company and our past week has been full of it.  My Oakland Temple friend, Nikki, was here for a week with her daughter, Heather, who attended a horseback riding camp.  Nikki is a special person who has had many difficulties in her life yet is lovely and happy.  I so enjoy her company and loved having her with us.  I tried to make her stay especially comfortable and relaxing.  Below is Nikki and me, followed by her daughter, Heather, with Audrey and me.

While Nikki was here, Audrey drove over for a few days, bringing grandson James along.  James is 17, and the tall, silent type.  But he is so pleasant and helpful.  He just feels good.  We spent many of our evenings outside, watching the sunset and taking in the warm breeze as it cooled us and lifted the neighbor's flag into the evening air, adding to the magic of the sunset.  It has been very warm here the last two weeks.  I'm not too fond of that and spend the middle of the day inside.  But the evenings are glorious; the sun doesn't set until 9:30 or so.  I talked Layne into leaving our blinds open at night when we go to bed.  Sometimes I can see the last of the night light and the stars emerge.  Sunshine floods our room in the mornings, which I love.

Here's James, scratching the cat, Cherry's, belly.  She is brazen in her demands for belly scratches!  James is working on making a path to our compost with flagstone.  He did a nice job.

I bought pillows for the new front porch bench and I find that sitting there is quite pleasant.  It is a good place to study the New Testament, which I'm trying to do daily.  I'm quite taken up with the life of Christ and realize, more than before, how difficult His whole life must have been.  He was so alone in His mortal errand.  I imagine Him anticipating His upcoming Atonement and how He must have dreaded what He knew would be unbelievably difficult.  Yet He did it.  Surely if He can finish the most difficult task in all Eternity, I can finish my challenging tasks.  I find the thought of it inspiring.

Here's a picture of one of our sunsets.