The Healing Field & 8 years...

Following church today, Spencer and I took the boys to visit The Healing Field in Sandy (click here to find out about The Healing Field); if you live in Salt Lake or Utah County and have the time before Tuesday, I highly recommend you go and visit it...  the experience was sobering.  There were 3,000+ flags, one for each victim of 9/11--- it was literally a sea of red and white stripes.  The display of flags went on and on for probably at least a quarter mile.  It was humbling to think that each flag represented a man or woman who lost their life during the 9/11 attack.

All my pictures were taken from inside the car. 

We didn't dare get out of the car with all 5 boys for fear that they might have disrupted the reverence there... 
that and along with the fact that we forgot to bring along the double stroller.

Above is the new "Hope Rising" monument they dedicated at the field yesterday,

depicting the 3 firemen who raised the American Flag at Ground Zero after the attacks.

On another note...  it's been 8 years exactly since I finished my mission for the church (I'm a Mormon) in Porto, Portugal and returned home to the good 'ol U.S.of A.  I remember the day as if it was yesterday...  I wore an American flag on the side of my book bag...  a tiny part of me was terrified some one might hate on me--- at the time the war in Afghanistan and Iraq had just begun and citizens in Portugal and other parts of Europe weren't exaclty happy with Americans and it was 9/11--- the lady @ the church headquarters back in Salt Lake City, who booked my flight home, warned me I could encounter some possible problems traveling alone back to the U.S. since it marked the 2ND anniversary since the 9/11 terrorist attacks...  but ultimately, I didn't really let it trouble me, I was so THRILLED to be returning home to the United States--- Before I had the chance to live overseas, I'd taken the freedoms I'd been given as a U.S. citizen for granted--- it wasn't until after living and serving the people in Portugal that I realized just how fortunate I was as a United States born citizen.  I kissed the ground at the airport when I first stepped outside--- it felt so good to be home on American turf.

  My nieces and nephews have grown so much since my homecoming...

Look at the twins, Luke and Jake, they were just babies!

8 years have passed so quickly.  8 years later and I've met and married my best friend/love of my life, Spencer.  8 years later and we've settled down in a home of our own with 5 boys!  Who would have EVER imagined?!  Certainly not I! I look forward to the day I can return to Portugal. Hopefully it will be sooner than later...  I still manage to roam the streets there in my mind. Sometimes I can't believe I used to have to heat my water for showers with tanks of propane we would purchase from a store a mile or two down the street and carry home all on our own.  I'd be curious to know exactly how many miles I walked during my mission?! In a dress/skirt and usually heels, and sometimes sandals, no less!  I don't have any idea how I picked up the language there so quickly... I was truly blessed. I love to talk and I imagine I would have gone cRaZy if I never would have learned how to speak Portuguese. Matter of fact though, I've begun to forget the language some, along with people's names, but the faces of those people I encountered while serving there are all still fresh images in my mind, along with the smells, sights and sounds.  Portugal was really a true gem!