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!

Finding Home

The hardest part about going back to California was having to leave Jonathan. This was the farthest we've been apart since June of 2010. I really didn't like that at all. It was really weird being back in Roseville for the first time in almost 8 months.

Too much distance!

Jonathan was worried that I would get homesick and never want to leave again. I realized though that Roseville isn't my home any more. I still like it, but I feel like it isn't where we need to be. Some people thought that must mean Utah feels like home. That's not the case either though. I am enjoying our time here in Utah, but it doesn't feel like home. When I first realized this, I felt a little lost not having a home. It took a little too long for me to realize it, but Jonathan is where home is. For now, that is more than good enough for me. In the coming years, we will find the location that feels like home. Until then, I am more than happy to have him be my home.

Saturday Is A Special Day

Today I am preparing for tomorrow. Tomorrow is a special day. Instead of having our normal church meetings, we are participating in the rededication of the Ogden Temple. My preparation for today is making white handkerchiefs to use during the ceremony. Jonathan and I were thinking back on all of the dedications we have seen. 

The first one was Palmyra New York. This one was built on the Smith family farm and is close to where Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ.

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Then next one was Nauvoo, Illinois. This was the second temple built by the pioneers, but was burned to the ground by a mob. It was then rebuilt and rededicated in 2002.

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Of course the Sacramento Temple.

And now Ogden. It has undergone a major renovation. This is what it originally looked like. (Very similar to the Provo Temple.)

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This is what it looks like today.

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These ceremonies are very special. It is only after a temple is dedicated that the work can start happening in the temple. We didn't make it to Ogden up for the open house, but we will certainly make it to the temple in the coming months.

Remembering Rosella Machen

Our last day in California was the day of Grandma's funeral. It was wonderful hearing so many different stories about her throughout her life.

When she was only 11 years old, she was the ward organist. Then when she was 14, she was the Stake organist. It's clear that it's through her that I get my musical talent.

In 1984, my grandma and grandpa served a mission together in Tahiti. That's why there are so many shell necklaces on the table. This is her journal during their mission. The first entry was on the day my sister Amy was born. A mission is the only thing that would have kept them from being at the hospital on the day their first granddaughter was born.

Back in the 1950s, my grandpa was having serious health problems to the point where he couldn't work. It turned out one of his kidneys was dead and the other was days away from the same fate. During that time, my grandma cared for their 3 young children, take care of the house, and work. No one's really sure how she was able to take on so many responsibilities all at once, but she did it all without complaint.

My grandma's favorite color was blue. When my mom and Aunt Andrea were having to go through and make all of the decisions, my aunt insisted that they go with the blue coffin because that's what Grandma would have chosen.

It was so nice to be all gathered together as a family.

Tyler and Garrett were very curious. Tyler was concerned with how it would work when grandma and grandpa are resurrected since they are under the ground. We did our best to tell answer his question, but fully admitted that we really don't know how it will work, but that we do know that it will work. It took some time, but he was satisfied.

When Garrett first heard that Grandma Machen had died, he really wanted to see her bones. He was a little confused to find out that she would still have her skin and hair.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was busy collecting all of the tissues she could find. She would hand them to my cousin Megan and then take them all back.

It was a good day. Though, I think Grandma would have been embarrassed to have so many stories about her being shared. She wasn't one to stand in the spotlight if she could help it. I love her so much and am so grateful that I was able to have such a righteous example in my life. A scripture that keeps coming to mind when I think about my grandma is Matthew 25:21 "...Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." She most certainly has been a pillar of faith to many people and she is still continuing to help her family from the other side of the veil.

Because Of Him

Last week, I went to the temple for the first time since my grandma died. It hit me really hard that she really is gone. My heart ached for her even though I know she is happy and with so much family. I prayed that she would stay with me while I was in the temple and after that a peaceful feeling washed over me. My grandma spent many, many years as a temple worker, so it's not surprising to me that I would feel her there. This experience reaffirmed my faith that death is not the end. I will be reunited with her once more. This video helps explain where that faith that I have comes from.

Christ lived and suffered that we may all be worthy to come back to the presence of God. He broke the bands of death so that every single person who has ever lived may live again. I know that His love for us is what carried Him through His hardest times and we can turn to His love to carry us through our darkest times. We are never truly alone.

California

I headed back to California over Labor Day weekend for my grandma's funeral. This trip was very different from what I thought my first trip back to California would be like. However it, was still great and, most importantly, filled with a lot of family time. Chris and I flew out together and made it to California so much faster than if we had driven!

On our first flight, we had internet so of course I watched some US Open!

The farms are look pretty good considering the drought situation.

We headed over to Andy and Amy's house for dinner. There was an outrageous amount of good food! We were also celebrating my dad's birthday (a day late) all together.

The kids were ready to pounce for the cake!

After Andy's, my mom and I headed over to Amy and Mike's so Garrett could show off his archery skills. When we first got there, both Garrett and Charlotte were in the bathtub. Garrett was being a bit of a punk to Charlotte, so I kept telling him to stop it and he just laughed at me. Charlotte could not figure out what was going on at all. She wasn't too sure about both Chris and me during this trip. As soon as Garrett got some clothes on, he pulled out his bow and arrow. There's a  suction cup at the end of the arrows and he shoots at the sliding glass. It was impressive seeing his skills of hitting the door and not Charlotte!

Charlotte the Super Girl and Garrett Hood

Then we drove to Target and I could not figure out how to get there at all. I even started to get a headache from trying to remember how to get there. Apparently, I'm acclimating to Utah more than I realized!

On Sunday and Monday, we just spent a lot of time together as a family. I was able to pop in to the Nelson's and see all of the changes that have been happening around the house. On Monday, we spent most of the day with my mom's sister's family. It was so wonderful to spend so much time with family. That was one of grandma's most prized possessions and it was wonderful that we could all be together talking and laughing.

Growing

A few weeks ago at work someone said, "Bad days are the worst." And that got me thinking. For me days are tough but they help me grow much faster than an entire year of good days would. Not saying that I seek out bad days, but there is good that can come out of bad days or just bad experiences if we are open to it.

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After I started writing this, there was a post on one of my new favorite blogs that fit so perfectly with this that I wanted to share some of it with you.

[To quote C.S. Lewis,] “The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach trivial meaning to the word ‘love.” Too often we confuse God’s love with human kindness. We want, in fact, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven—a senile benevolence who, as they say, ‘liked to see young people enjoying themselves’ and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of the day, ‘a good time was had by all.’”

But that is not God’s plan for us. He wants us to become like Him. He wants us to experience the fullness of joy He enjoys—eternal joy, not merely temporary contentedness. And He loves us enough that He will do whatever it takes for us to reach that goal, including allowing us to experience things that are difficult and soul-stretching. And He does it not because He doesn’t love us, but precisely because He does.

But even when we have to learn things from our extremities in order to fulfill God’s plan for us, His love will be there to sustain us… especially when we need His love the most. …So let us not sell God’s love short by confusing it with mere human kindness. His love is much deeper than that. (Kevin J. Worthen, “It Was as If a Blanket of Love Was Flowing Over Me”, May 2, 2013, BYU Women’s Conference)

This so perfectly conveys my feelings on the subject and helps me realize the depth of Heavenly Father's love for us. He doesn't give us challenges, trials, or bad days just to see if we will do what He wants us to do. He wants us to grow and He fully realizes that in order to become like Him we have to be challenged or we'll just stay the same.

More Plans

Jonathan and I are really good at coming up with plans for our future. We've learned, the hard way, to not get too specific or set on our ideas. Right now though, we're in the part where we just have to wait and see what exactly is going to happen. This is the part where I start going a little crazy, but this time I am working to focus on what little I can control. I may or may not have to give myself a little pep talk a few times a day when my patience is waning.

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What helps is that I know that I am on the right path, even though I don't know the details just yet. I have this quote hanging up by my desk and it helps remind me that I need to work to get to where I know I am supposed to be.

Tuesday Afternoon

Since I'm currently in California with my family, I figure that I should share some of the fun Jonathan and I had with Seth and Clara last month! (By the way, is it seriously September already?!) During Jonathan's brief brake in between semesters, Annie's mom decided to have a girl's trip in Salt Lake which included seeing Wicked. We were lucky enough to spend a few hours with Seth and Clara!

Since we weren't needed until the evening, we decided to head up a few hours early to Salt Lake to wander around. As soon as we left our apartment though, the amazing clouds beckoned us to Provo first.

We finally made our way up to Salt Lake. We explored the City Creek shopping center and then we found ourselves in Temple Square.  As we were wandering, I realized that we had never actually gone and seen the Christus statue. We quickly entered the visitor's center and as we were walking into the room, the spirit was palpable.

We then took to the streets of Salt Lake as we made our way down to the Gateway Mall to meet up with the kids. There are so many unique, old buildings still in Salt Lake.

We had dessert with Annie, her mom, sister-in-law, and the kids and then the girls headed off to get ready for the show! The kids took us to the splash pad that they had played at earlier. At first they would just run around it, but slowly each would get more brave and run through it. Seth got sprayed right in the face at one point, but he was tough. Clara was not very happy when she got hit by the water, but it was okay.

As we wandered around, we stumbled across the old Union Pacific Depot. The kids loved running all around and jumping to make loud echos. Seth every so often would get a serious look on his face and say that the building must be old. He was right, it's over 100 years old and it still looks great!

The most exciting discovery though was finding a rainbow!

Here's a better picture of the room from their website.

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We did some more exploring around and unfortunately found out that the planetarium was closed. Instead we wandered around a sports store. Clara wanted the pink golf club, the pink tennis racket, the pink soccer ball, basically anything pink. 

Seth was disappointed that there wasn't a blue club for him.

All in all, we had a great time with these two. It is so great to live so much closer to them!