Garner Girls

This Weekend we got together for a Garner Girls night. Every year and a half or so we try to get together, all of us girl cousins, aunts, wives of the Grant Garner Family. Lynne started this a few years ago. I am so grateful for her and this new tradition. We met at Lynne's house in Utah. Mom, Denise and I left Thursday night after we were all off of work. All last week at work I was nervous about taking time off and when Thursday came around I was so busy. I just kept thinking at work all day..... you can't leave, you have to much to do, you need to work this weekend. Sometimes in life I let myself get distracted from what I need to do or where I need to be. I am so grateful that I didn't listen, that I went to Utah with my family. I had I wonderful time with everyone. For all of the Garner Girls who couldn't be there, I want you to know that we all love you and we missed you. Hopefully you can come next time.

This is all of us that were there, minus Uncle Rick who took the picture. I am so glad that he came by too! Mom put together some little bags with treats in them. She told us about how she feels that traits and characteristics are passed down through family lines. She then told us about the items in the bags and the traits they represent. How these traits are given to the Garner women, whether you are born a Garner or marry into the family, these are some of your traits. We each got some lotion, to represent hands, hands that help and hands that serve, that lift others. How Garner women like to serve, they aren't resentful of the callings they are given or the opportunities they have to help others. How Grandma Doris Garner was such a wonderful example to each of us. She gave us some chapstick to represent lips. She talked about Grandma Doris Garner, Natalia, Aunt Doris and Aunt Nancy and how they don't speak about others. They say kind things and see the good in other people. She gave us some chocolate (because NO Garner gathering would be complete without chocolate) to represent sweetness. There is a sweetness about Garner women, they are kind.

I am so grateful for the words mom shared and the conversations we got to have because of them. I know that each of us have some of these characteristics, some of the women in our family have all of them, and we each can obtain the ones we desire by asking our Heavenly Father and by working on them.

I am so grateful for the family I have. I truly love my sisters, cousins, aunts, all of the Garner women. I am grateful that we can be friends as well as family. I know that eternal families are real, I am glad that you all are mine!