Yesterday at church our Stake President announced boundary changes to our ward. I know for some stakes in newer communities this happens all of the time, but we are in an older, very established community, and some of these folks have been in this ward with the same people for 20+ years. It's a big change for everyone. Those who are being moved into another ward had advanced notice by way of a meeting with the Stake Presidency earlier in the week. On Sunday, after the announcement, the Bishop opened up the meeting for testimonies, and some of those who are moving got up to share their feelings - mostly they just said thank you.

Hearing them talk about the relationships they've built with each other got me to thinking about the people who've moved through my life. I've been very fortunate to have rubbed elbows with some of the best - including those of you who are reading this now. There's my family, of course, and close friends. And then there are all of those who have come and gone: kids from high school, my young womens leaders, college roommates, my favorite professors, mission companions, my mission president and his wife, people we taught, coming home and back to Utah and having countless more roommates, and then all of the people I've worked with. Especially the people I've worked with. They've become some of the best friends I've ever had. There are so many who've played a significant role in different stages of my life, and even though we've all moved on don't see each other any more (or at least not like we used to), they are a part of me, and I think of them with real gratitude.

I'm grateful, too, for those who I haven't had relationships with, but who still have influenced me. I've had teachers and leaders who inspired me to be better every time they spoke. I look at some of the women in my ward now and think, "That's what I want to be when I grow up." They've shown me what it means to be a strong woman and a strong church member, and I love being there with them every week.

So today I feel lucky to have always been surrounded by good people. You've made my life a happier place, and I love you all.

Hello All

I've decided to join the blogging world. I'm a little nervous, and hope that this world accepts me and treats me well. Or, if it doesn't accept me, will simply ignore me. I'll cry if it treats me with open criticism.

Picking a blog name was so much harder then I expected it to be. I wanted to be witty or deep or quirky funny with the randomness of it. But nothing smart came to mind. So, I went with some old nicknames. I have been called many things during my lifetime. My dad called me Dolly when I was a toddler because he thought I looked like a baby doll. When my brother Shane was a toddler, he couldn't say Angie - it came out Nanny. My older brothers turned that into Nanny Goat, and then just Goat, which stuck for years. Then my youngest brother started calling me Wubb - don't ask. When my nieces and nephews came along, they each had their own version of Angie. Little Mariah called me Addy. It was so cute. When she got older, "Addy" went away, and I was sad to let it go.

As good as of these nicknames are, my nephew Jonah came up with the best. He just said "G". I'm guessing it was the last syllable of Angie, and all of Angie that he could get out. I loved it. I told everyone I knew that Jonah called me G, and they loved it. Funnest nickname ever. Like Addy, G eventually went away. I think they both thought that they were saying Angie all along, and so when their little mouths could do it, Angie became the norm.

So, for my blog title, I decided to go with my two favorite nicknames, Addy G. Mariah and Jonah can consider it an immortalizing of their absolutely adorable baby years, and of my absolute love for them.

I hope someone, somewhere will read this and will enjoy the posts.