the end of an era

 ** April 26, 2015 **

About 10 years ago, I vividly remember walking through the Chandler mall with one of my roommates, shopping on a saturday afternoon, when my dad called and asked me to hop on the first flight out of Phoenix that evening.  

So I did.

And the next morning, I sat there in the Stake Center on Temple Hill at the Oakland Temple as he was called and set apart as the new Stake President of the Walnut Creek Stake.

I was there for the beginning of this chapter, and so it was important to me to be there for the close of this chapter.

I can hardly believe my dad has served as Stake President for nearly 10 years!

Before that, he was a counselor to the Stake President and before that a Bishop and before that a counselor to the Bishop.

So basically, I can't really remember a time when he wasn't putting in endless hours of service.  

He's always been such a great example to me and I'm so proud of him and proud to be his daughter.

Thanks to my supportive husband who stayed home with our two kiddos while I flew out to be with my family for the weekend.

After a quick weekend away, it sure was good to come home to these smiling faces...

But they weren't smiling for too long...

Because a few days after I got home, our entire family came down with a horrible flu virus...

And as I scrubbed throw-up out of the carpet numerous times, I just prayed and prayed that everyone would be healthy by the time we left on our (SURPRISE!) trip to Disneyland the following weekend...

stay tuned...