Merritt Memories

The number of who dresses up in our home is dwindling. The thought makes me sad. I'm glad Rebecca still finds excitement in it. She took a long while trying to decide what she wanted to be. She settled on a "creepy doll."  Britten on the other hand, knew he wanted to be a pirate 2 months before! He was so excited. It has been fun watching him understand the excitement of holidays.  We spent a night going to the pirates ship in a neighborhood. It's one of our favorites during October. We also carved our pumpkins. Becca's pretty much a pro and used to the guts. Britten was new to the concept. It's not his favorite.

My birthday isn't until November, but Dustin was going to San Diego for work and asked if I wanted to come along. Sometimes, it's really hard to justify spending extra money. But, we haven't been anywhere by ourselves since our cruises in 2010 and 2012. If I told myself it was for my birthday, I could feel ok with it. It's funny how we won't take the time to do extra things for ourselves. Me anyway. But I'm so glad I let Dustin talk me into it! During the day i spent my time at the pool while he was at a convention. When he got home, we'd go to dinner and find something to do. We spent time in Old Town and at the beach. He took me to Tijuana. I was amazed at the border. Knowing a little flimsy, broken wall separated us from another entire country was intriguing.  This trip was a reset for me. The last two years have brought lots of change, struggle, and learning for me. It was needed. I enjoyed just relaxing, exercising, and walking the beach. The s...

Satuday, October 6th was the General Women's Conference for my church. This year we decided to hold our semi-annual birthday celebration in conjunction with the meeting. We had soup, rolls, salad, and dessert. We opened and offered gifts. Then we sat down to listen to the talks of our church  leaders for about an hour and a half. It was an evening spent with women and young women who mean so much to me. It was an evening of hearing words that I needed, and challenges that I needed to be a part of.  I took away 3 messages: 1)With the Savior's grace, I am enough. Our church believes in working out our own salvation. Among the Christian community, this sets us apart. We are often accused of not believing in Grace. It's an outright lie. While I believe that my choices will dictate the the reward I am given in the after life, I am ever aware of the loving gift that Jesus Christ gave me when he bled in Gethsemane and died on the cross. Because of Him, and only through Him,...