Menopausal Moments

Okay, so I was blessed with a great generation of ladies (my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother) who go through menopause at an early age. Yes, I am only 40 going through the early stages of menopause. Night sweats (we have clean sheets almost every morning due to me), hot flashes which are now starting during the day not to mention that I can go from the "fairy godmother" to the "wicked witch" in about 2 min or less. On those days I just pray continually for patience and good thoughts. It is amazing what prayer can do.

Recently, I was in an interview with my bishop talking about primary things and then all of the sudden, here they come. HOT FLASHES. I started fanning myself and told him to not worry, it was just hot flashes. He didn't skip a beat and continued on. I think I will keep a fan close by for those times. Yes, I am taking estroven and calcium and magnesium. It does help but let me just tell you what happened recently. I received a letter from the preschool that Ainsley will be attending in the fall and it was addressed to: The Parents of Ashlynn Waters. I signed my 5th grader up for PRESCHOOL. When I told Ashlynn what I had done, Ainsley said "Hey that is not fair, preschool is for me not her!!!" We all had a good laugh and I called the preschool office and explained to them what had happened. They laughed as well.

The other day we couldn't find my cell phone anywhere. We tried calling it and going all over the house trying to listen for it. Doug came home and opened the refrigerator. He said, "is this the new way of charging your cell phone?" Okay, but the next one tops the list.

I went grocery shopping by myself. What a treat. I went to two grocery stores (loving this new program where you save tons of money by cutting coupons and seeing who has the best deals -- check it out: http://www.southernsavers.com/ .) Anyway, as I was putting the groceries away at the last store I was so interested in getting my grocery cart back to the proper place that I left my purse in the smaller section in the cart. I drove home (only abt. 2 min. away) and then discovered that my purse was not in the van. I panicked. I drove back to the store as fast as I could and saw one of the grocery guys collecting the carts. I quickly got out and explained what I had done. We looked but there was no purse. My heart dropped. All I could think about was how much money I had saved that day but how much money I was going to spend or lose by leaving my purse in that cart. I prayed as fervently as I could and as fast as I could. He went inside and came back out without my purse. I decided to go inside the store to call home and hoping that someone had taken it home with them and was calling my home number to let me know they had it. I know, but that was all I could hope for at the moment. I went inside and the same grocery guy came out of the manager's office with my purse. Wallet, credit cards and cell phone still where they were 10 min. ago. (I never carry cash so that wasn't even a consideration.) I can't tell you how grateful I was and am for honest people. I went home and got down on my knees and thanked my Heavenly Father for once again watching over me. Now I will have a pattern of putting my purse in the car and locking it (with keys in hand) before taking the cart back to the cart area. I just saw a cute quote: "Yes, I am hot . . . it just comes in flashes." Here's to all of you who are "flashing." Thank you again Heavenly Father and please bless me with a better memory . . . soon!!!

Happy 17th Anniversary and Happy 40th Birthday

For our 17th wedding anniversary and for Doug's 40th birthday we decided to go to Savannah, GA. I was planning to have a surprise birthday party for him but he insisted several times that he just wanted to "get out of town" and have some time together. Well, that is just what we did. Mom and Dad took the girls and we headed for Savannah. It was a great long (but still too short) weekend. We stayed at the Westin Resort which was truly beautiful right on the river.

Doug was pretty good most of the time and promised not to do business while there but I happened to go into a shop and noticed he wasn't behind me. I went outside and found this picture.

This is what we saw every day from our window in our room. Someone had docked their yacht at the hotel during their stay. It was a beautiful site to say the least (at least for Doug). To the right is the water ferry we used each time to go across the river to the shops and restaurants.

We decided to take a carrage ride to see the sites of "old Savannah." (You can tell by my hair the wind had been blowing all day.)

Among the other things we decided to eat at "The Lady and Sons" (Paula Deen's restaurant) the afternoon before we left. We were told that we needed to get in line the morning of for lunch reservations. We were in line a little before 9:00 a.m. and the line was already around the building. Some of the people were there as early as 7:00 a.m. We waited in line a little over an hour for reservations at 1:15 p.m. I have a very patient husband.

The food was worth waiting for. It truly was mouth watering. We now can say that we have eaten at "The Lady and Sons." It was a great weekend and one that we will remember for a long time. It just seems like yesterday we were married in the Washington, DC temple. It has been a wonderful 17 years and we look forward to the future with lots of excitement.

4th of July

This year we went to Charleston for the 4th of July. We had a great time. We let the girls go shopping at the "Market" and they purchased one special item each. We also made our trip to the Omni at Charleston Place which is one of our favorites. The girls love looking at the beautiful chandelier and spiral staircase. There is always someone playing the grand piano and Ashlynn gets a little dream of herself playing like that one day. We walked around the battery and several other South Carolina history sites. It is so much fun for Ashlynn to actually see things that she has studied in school.

(Don't you just love the drink in the picture -- oops)

We were told that there were going to be fireworks at the battery. We decided (like many, many others) to take our chairs and wait. We waited, and waited and waited. During our wait we saw the fireworks at the other islands (Mt. Pleasant, Sullivans Isle, James Island, etc.)

Around 10:15 they finally began on the Battery. This is not one of the better pictures but I forgot my camera and cell phones only do the fireworks so much justice. All in all it was a great day.

Ainsley and Captain Moroni

So here is the story some of you have heard about Ainsley and Captain Moroni. As many of you know my nephew Spencer went on his mission to Denver, Colorado (Spanish Speaking). We were able to listen in on the conversation Spencer was having with his parents and grandparents as he was leaving the MTC and was waiting to board his plane at the SLC airport. When it came time for my Dad to wish Spencer "Elder Shaw" well, Dad simply reminded Spencer of the story about Captain Moroni and told him to share his "Title of Liberty" with all of those good people in the State of Colorado waiting to hear about the gospel. That night for Family Home Evening I decided to share with the girls what their grandfather had told Spencer and also tell them about the story of Captain Moroni. During the story I showed the girls the gospel art picture of Captain Moroni and about how he took of his coat and made a banner which became "his Title of Liberty." As I was sharing the story Ashlynn was listening and "soaking it in." She thought it was so neat how her grandfather had compared Captain Moroni to their cousin as he was getting ready to share the gospel with the good people of Colordo. I looked on the other side of where I was sitting and Ainsley was not interested in the story at all, just looking through one of her books (or at least, so I thought). That night Ashlynn asked if she could call her grandfather and share with him what she had learned and talk with him about the two comparisions. Ainsley also asked if she could talk with him after Ashlynn. Ainsley got on the phone and said (and just like this . . .) "Grampy (that is what my children call their grandfather) Spencer is going to tear off his coat and make a banner just like Captain Moroni and teach the people in Colorado. It is his title of liberty." I was stunned. I just knew that she was not listening to one word I was saying. It just goes to show you that they do listen . . . even when you don't think they are.

Ashlynn Joins the CCL Swim Team

This year Ashlynn decided to join the Country Club of Lexington Swim Team. It was a major commitment because swim team practice started two weeks before school ended every afternoon for an hour and in the summer every morning in the water by 8:45 a.m. It was amazing to see how well she did even after only two weeks. At first she was a little worried about competing in the swim meets but thankfully for good friends encouraging her she decided that she could do it.


We were not as concerned about her winning ribbons . . . only that she didn't give up and kept going, even when the going got tough. She did exactly that and came in Second Place during one of her meets. She met some wonderful friends and is excited about being on the team again next year. We are hopeful that her little sister will be joining her on the team next year as well. Ainsley has already been diving into the pool and practicing her "streamlining." She will be taking swim lessons from one of Ashlynn's coaches at the end of this month. We will keep our fingers crossed.

Time Out for Women

Me with DeAnne Flynn, Emily Freeman and Kim Garner

Me with Kenneth Cope

Me with Michael McLean

I had the great opportunity of being on the Time Out for Women team this year in Columbia. It started with me going to pick up Michael McLean, Mark Mabry, DeAnne Flynn and Emily Freeman from the Columbia Airport. I went the day ahead just to make sure I knew the best way from the Airport to the Hilton Hotel and then to the Convention Center where the event would take place. I didn't want to use my GPS since I was suppose to be familiar with the Columbia area. My sweet husband detailed my van so that it would be presentable for my important passengers. It looked like a new van. So the day came and I left my house in plenty time just in case I ran into traffic or thunderstorms which were predicted for the afternoon. (As I took my children and cousins (Whetstone children) home from school I told the kids to pray that the rain would not come this afternoon. One of them (Hunter) told me that Heavenly Father lets it rain so that the flowers and trees can have water and live. I told Hunter then to please pray that Heavenly Father would delay the rain just for a couple of hours while I drive to the airport. They all agreed.) Anyway, I arrived to the airport in plenty of time and introduced myself to everyone. We began loading the luggage into the van and I noticed that someone had already jumped into the front seat. It was Michael McLean. The rest of us pilled in and then found out that Mark Mabry's (the wonderful photographer of "The Reflections of Christ") plane had been delayed. We waited but this delayed us getting Michael McLean to his sound check. We almost made it there with only one turn left (no traffic, no rain and no wrong turns) when up ahead I noticed the some baracades . . . yes I forgot about USC's graduation. I quickly made a couple of turns and even did a three-point turn in the middle of the street but we finally made it.

The whole conference was wonderful. Two new books that I would definitely recommend is "The Time-Starved Family" by DeAnne Flynn and "21 Days Closer to Christ" by Emily Freeman. These ladies became true friends and spiritual heroes during those two days. As I was driving them to the airport the thought came to me that I could easily take these great people hostage and keep them all to myself to answer all of the questions I had for each of them but then I could just see the newspapers "LDS lady takes Time Out for Women presenters hostage." I was also able to reunite with Kenneth Cope after first meeting him 20 years ago at a young adult fireside in Charlotte. A good friend of mine was one of his mission companions and invited him to come out. He was another highlight of the conference. I left Saturday afternoon with a renewed vision to be a better wife, better mom and daughter of god. Well, it only took 24 hours for that vision to have some "commercials" in it but I am still trying.