Our First White Christmas

We literally had a white Christmas this year. It had been weeks since the previous storm rolled through Utah and after I went to bed on Christmas Eve it snowed. After we opened our gifts, we ventured out into the fresh snow. We found a shopping cart in our parking lot and I could resist climbing in it!

As we made our way to the park, I decided it would be a good idea to knock the snow off of the balls that most car dealerships have in Utah.

The park looked beautiful with all of the snow.

After awhile, the snow was really coming down so we made our way back home.

Even though we weren't with our families, it was still a magical Christmas!

Temple Square at Christmas

The Monday before Christmas, we headed up to Salt Lake to see the lights in Temple Square. It was pretty crazy, but it was gorgeous!

After awhile, we went inside the Joseph Smith Memorial building to thaw out along with a lot of other people. We wandered around and took some pictures from the toasty rooms.

We made our way back out to see the nativity.

Temple Square is truly magical with all of the lights and Christmas spirit.

Surprise Weekend

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Jonathan and I surprised my parent's by showing up at my brother's house. They were in town for Thanksgiving and baby Ruby's blessing and were not expecting us at all!

The roads were only slippery in a couple of places which I was very grateful for!

The real highlight of the trip was meeting sweet baby Ruby! She is such a mellow and calm baby. We were able to take a couple of naps together.

Clara took a break from playing to snuggle with Grandpa.

Though to be honest, Clara's favorite part of the weekend was opening up their Christmas present from Aunt Amy and Uncle Andy. It's a cross between a waffle and a cookie maker. As you can tell by Clara's sweet face, they are delicious with a little Nutella!

On Sunday, sweet baby Ruby was blessed. This little girl is named after 2 of her great-grandmas.

Before we left, Chris had Jonathan and I try on a couple of his Giants baseball caps that don't fit him. The one that was just a little too small for him was too big for me. The one that was too big for him was given to him by our Uncle Jerry. Every time Uncle Jerry sees Chris, he gives him his Giants baseball cap. Even now that Chris is an adult, they are still too big for him. We figured that it should definitely fit Jonathan because he has a very large head. It didn't fit. Jonathan needs a BIGGER hat! Seriously, though. Jonathan's head looks normal, but in reality it is huge!

My dad had a bunch of mission buddies that were getting together in Utah, so my parents came back down to Utah with us. We stopped off in Salt Lake and found where my great-great-great grandpa James Davis was buried. It took awhile, but we were able to find him! He served in the Mormon Battalion after his father died in Winter Quarters. 

We Really Aren't In California

At the beginning of October, we thought it would be a great idea to go to a BYU football game. Jonathan had never been to a game and I have never been to a home game. I found a really good deal on tickets for last weeks game against UNLV. Finally the night of the game was here! There was a bitter, Arctic wind that night. Even though we thought we were prepared, we were not.

Between quarters, I had Jonathan sit on me to warm up my legs.

It was a really good game, but honestly I was giddy to see the marching band. I still occasionally have dreams about being in band. 

We stayed long enough to see BYU's final touchdown for the game.

I'm still impressed that we were able to survive three hours in below freezing weather. I am so grateful that the weather has been so mild this January and so far in February!

Adventures

I am grateful for the variety of adventures Jonathan and I go on together.

Since my promotion, we haven't done as much but I truly enjoy our lazy mornings together just as much.

Support

Today I am grateful for the support and love Jonathan is always showing me. It amazes me each time I come up with a new dream or goal for myself  how quickly he is to support me. There is no mistake, I definitely got a keeper!

Snow

Today I am grateful for snow. Now don't think that I'm excited for it to be snowing here in the valley, because I am still in denial that it will. I am grateful for how the snow makes the mountains look so pretty. We were spoiled with green mountain sides through spring and summer and then the gorgeous fall colors. Lately though, they have just been looking brown and dead. The snow is able to cover all of that up.

Two For One

I don't think it's a good sign that I'm already doing a two for one day... Oh well!

Yesterday I was grateful for lazy Sunday evenings. I enjoy just sitting on the couch with Jonathan doing nothing in particular.

Today I am grateful for all the pictures that are sent to me of my nieces and nephews that are far away from me. It's difficult to be away from them, but the pictures certainly help!

Clara loves sweet baby Ruby!

Tyler is the newest Patterson to be baptized!

Iron man and Spiderman/Optimus Prime are ready to fight the bad guys!

Seth is one tired soccer player!

Today

Life has gotten really crazy lately, but now that it is officially November I am going to start up my daily gratitude posts. I love how each year it helps change my perspective on what's happening in my life.

Today I am grateful for eternal families. Tonight, Jonathan and I went to the temple and did some family sealings. It was such a powerful and emotional experience for me. I am so grateful that we have temples here on the earth that can bind our families forever. I feel so close to my ancestors as I take the time to do their temple work, so they can enjoy the same blessings that I have in my life.

My New Favorite Book

Last month, Jonathan and I went up to Salt Lake for an evening adventure. We toured the General Conference Center and saw some amazing art work. We learned that a group of paintings was actually the illustrations to a children's book. After we finished our tour, we headed over to Deseret Book to find the book. It's called Girls Who Choose God.

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I would argue that this isn't a children's book. This book shares stories about women in the Bible who chose for themselves to follow God. There were some stories that I don't remember learning, but I felt strengthened by these wonderful women.

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When my mom was in town, we actually met one of the authors and the illustrator. It was such a neat experience to meet them and hear a little about why they made this book. If there is enough positive response from this book, they plan on making more. Their publisher just isn't sure that there is a market for books about women in the scriptures. I invite you to take the time to check out their Facebook page. I am so grateful for this wonderful book sharing some well known and lesser known women who willing followed God.

Eleven Years

11 years and a day ago, my very pregnant sister and brother went to the hospital. It was three weeks before her due date, so we all went on with our normal Monday schedule. My mom warned me though, that if the baby was coming she would switch pickup days with our carpool. (This is before I had a cellphone. So embarrassing!) Naturally, I had a hard time focusing on school that day. Finally, the final bell of the day rang. I dashed out of the band room to see whose car was there. It was Kim's and not my mom's. I ran with my saxophone in tow. Wondering how I was going to get the hospital. We pulled up in front of my house just in time for my dad to take me down to the hospital. I could not believe it. I was officially an aunt and only 13 years old. Ryan was so little and looked so fragile. He was under a heat lamp, so I didn't get to hold him that day.

3 years later, after my mom finished sewing my homecoming dress late in the night, we got a phone call from the same brother and sister on their way to the hospital. It was just after midnight when we got into the car. With only a few minutes to spare, my mom was there for the newest addition to our family. I was in the waiting room for less than a half hour, while another family had been there for over a day still waiting for their new baby. My sister's brother couldn't wait to see his hair because we were all hoping for another redhead. Ty did not disappoint us! He was the loudest baby when he slept. He constantly growled and squeaked the nights away.

It's crazy to think that they have been part of our lives for such a long time already. It still feels like they should be little kids. Since we weren't able to celebrate with them this year, we had our own little party last night.

We hope each of you have another wonderful year ahead!

When It Rains, It Pours

I have been so busy lately that I haven't really had much time to keep up with the blog. I feel like in the past week it's been pouring with blessings. 

Towards the end of August, my manager at work interviewed me for a supervisor position. I didn't hear anything back and was feeling discouraged at work after that. I did my best to keep a positive attitude, but I felt like I had missed out on a great opportunity. Then last Tuesday, my manager pulled me into her office and asked if I was still interested in the position. I was stunned that it was on the table once more. Right after I met with her, my training began. It has been overwhelming, but I am getting the hang out it. Though out of all of the new supervisors, I have the most titles/trainings.

Jonathan has started looking at internship opportunities that are part-time positions. He fit absolutely everything on the description, except for the GPA requirement. He's off by only 0.01. He has amazed me since we've moved here to Utah. His study habits are so much better than they have ever been. Before we moved, he wanted to get a new tablet for school since his current tablet was getting a little slow. As I thought about it more, I wanted to give him the best tools to enable him to really succeed in school. I suggested that he get a new laptop. He was stunned. If you know me, I am my father's daughter when it comes to money. I am a tightwad and I know it! Jonathan thought he was going to work to convince me to get a new tablet. He started doing research on what would be best for him. Jonathan decided to go with a MacBook, he just wasn't sure which one. On his birthday, Apple announced the new MacBook Pro with retina display. He was excited about it, but was still trying to convince himself that a MacBook air would be good enough. I finally told him that we should just go ahead and get the new MacBook Pro. Yet again, he was stunned. I really felt that at the time I wasn't just getting him an expensive computer, but really investing in him. Jonathan's GPA has shot up very quickly. It's nice to see that I made such a wise investment.

As I am typing this, my mom is somewhere in the middle of Nevada on her way to visit us before heading up to Idaho to take care of her newest granddaughter. (That's right, Jonathan and I now have 10 nieces and nephews!) I am so happy she is able to come out because I need her incredible organizing skills. She was even able to get tickets for the three of us to go to General Conference on Saturday. I feel really blessed that I've been able to see my mom every month since June. It was really hard going from January to June not seeing her, so I'm counting this as a big blessing!

Sweet baby Ruby decided to join our family this past Sunday. I still can't believe that after having so many boys in the family, that I have just as many nieces. She is already well loved, even if Clara still thinks her name should be Alice.

For me, one of the biggest blessings of the week is that our swamp cooler will be turned off tomorrow. I was grateful for it when it would get hot, but I am so cold all the time right now. We even turned on the heater to fight of the cold air. I am so happy that I won't have to bundle up to be in our apartment until it is turned on next spring.

Usually people us the phrase when it rains, it pours for negative things. I know I have used it that way many times, but we can also have the exact same thing happen with blessings as well. I had already thought of this title last week before General Women's Conference for church. In it President Uchtdorf said: 

"Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. In reality, Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us." 

Now, I'm not saying that I am perfect at this by any means. I'm just saying that this past week I have felt like many blessings have been pouring down and I am grateful to know the source of these blessings. Things, especially good things, don't happen by coincidence. They truly are blessings from heaven.

Roosevelt, UT

If you had asked me this spring where Roosevelt, Utah is, I would have had absolutely no clue. That's where Hannah is currently living. A big change from Vegas, but a good change. Now she's only 2 hours away and the drive is gorgeous! Driving north through the canyon and then heading east.

Fall is on it's way.

We met up with her at her home away from home, the school she works at. Growing up in California, I'm still not used to schools that consist of one large building where all the classrooms and hallways are indoors. Jonathan was able to help with some of her audio/visual problems. That's one of the reasons why he's a keeper. After we finished up at the school, we headed off to Vernal to go to the temple.

It is such a sweet little temple. 

There is an interesting story that goes along with this stain glass window. It originally comes from a church building in California that was purchased by my church. It didn't fit in with how our normal meeting houses are styled, so it went in to the church's storage. When they were working on changing this tabernacle into a temple, someone remembered this gorgeous window and suggested that they see if it would fit. The shape of it was perfect and so they just added around the edges of it so it would fit.

Our trip was really brief, but it did include going to church with Hannah at a singles ward. I forgot how reverent church was when there aren't dozens and dozens of babies and toddlers!

It was so great to visit Hannah and see just how different life is in Roosevelt especially compared to when we visited her in Vegas. I'm also grateful that we were able to visit before the winter storms come because I'm just not confident our cute little car would be able to handle going through that much snow!

Jordan River Temple

We went to the Jordan River temple on a very sunny day. Something extra unique about this temple is that the Angel Moroni is holding the gold plates. Only a few temples have this version of the statue.

I love how colorful the stain glass is at night.

It's been so neat visiting all of these different temples!