Deja Vu

Baby Jacen Edward Villa

Big Sisters Madison & Jacquelynn

Talk about deja vu from the moment we arrived here in Orem, Utah to help my daughter take care of her family while she and Eddie brought a new baby boy, Jacen Edward Villa, into the world. Jacen was a week late, is gorgeous (as are all of Angela and Eddie's children), weighing in at 8 lbs 11 ounces and 21 1/2" long, with a full head of beautiful black hair. The girls absolutely adore him, and are so excited to finally have a baby brother. With five sisters, Jacen will get lots of motherly attention for sure. Holding Jacen brought back so many memories to me of holding my own six children at birth; each with their own distinct personality that could be seen and felt immediately. And each brought me such joy and love that has grown even stronger with the passing years. Newborn babies bring a little heaven with them that touches your heart the second you look upon their face. There's just nothing that compares, nothing better than children and family, and I have been blessed beyond measure with six fantastic children and now nineteen (19) incredible grandchildren.

Madison standing in front of our old Orem home.

More about the deja vu part of the story. Madison and I have been taking walks everyday while I'm here helping out, and decided today to hike over to our old home we moved from 32 years ago here in Orem. It looked exactly the same. As I gazed upon our old home, I could still see myself sitting on the front porch French-braiding Angela's hair when she was only 3-4 years old. Here she is now, living a few blocks away, with five (5) beautiful children of her own. This vivid memory of my little girls brought tears to my eyes. Other memories quickly surfaced, like sitting on the front lawn reading the Old Testament in preparation for a Sunday School class, having a New Years Eve party at the home across the street, and watching my children ride their big wheels up and down that driveway and into the cul-de-sac. It is amazing how things forgotten are suddenly remembered visiting places from our past. 

Attending Sacrament meeting Sunday gave me another huge wave of deja vu when I recognized an old, dear friend - now the Stake President of my daughter's stake, with a large family of his own. He was someone I dated when I was 18 years old while working at Grand Canyon's North Rim. I was pulling out my iPad in Sunday School and glanced up and saw him sitting a few seats to the left of me. We both immediately recognized each other after all of these forty+ years, and again ... memories of past events, people and places made me smile. How quickly these precious years on earth pass. How very important it is to keep a journal, take a ton of pictures and document what is happening around us. Cherish the moments is something we always say to someone as we see our own life so quickly passing before our eyes. Blogging and journaling helps me remember the beautiful life I have lived. And, I have loved being here these past couple of weeks with my daughter and her family, sharing the special moments in the present, fondly remembering memories from the past, and creating more memories that tomorrow will all too quickly have us smiling and saying, "remember when..."

Madison, Jacquelynn, Grandma, Jacen, Sutton and Brooklyn Easter Sunday, 2013