Tea for Two

I'm finally going through all of our pictures from our Idaho trip. We packed a lot in during those eight days and so I'm breaking it down into smaller pieces or I might never finish it! Since we knew were going to spend the week with family, we added some family history stops on our way to Idaho Falls. We drove through Mantua, Utah. I don't blame you if you don't know where it is because it is a tiny town east of Brigham City. That's where Hans Lars Nielsen and his family first settled when they arrived in Utah from Denmark. His wife Karen died while they were there and he married Ane, Jonathan's great-great grandma. Back then, there wasn't much water and so he moved the family up to Mink Creek, Idaho. Today there is a reservoir there and it is still a little town. We drove up to Idaho on highway 91 and through Preston to get to Mink Creek. We ended up behind a tractor along our way to the cemetery. To get to the dirt road to the c...

Things are changing fast for us and I have to say it's exciting! We are quickly wrapping things up here in Utah. It's been a good experience to live here. We had a lot of good times and are happy to close this chapter in our lives. We still don't know where we will end up long term, but I look forward to seeing where our next chapter takes us.

A few years ago, I was scraping by. I felt like an empty shell of a person. Two unexpected miscarriages have a way of knocking you down and out for awhile. It was incredibly hard hearing about other people's miracles because I still fully believe that could have been our story and it wasn't. Instead of building up my faith and hope, those stories made me question God more. I've often felt like I can see the ultimate goal, but the path is hazy. I still had an everlasting hope in Christ that I will be resurrected and if I do all that I can I will live with Him and our Heavenly Parents. I couldn't hope that all of my righteous desires would be met in this life though and obviously not in the way expected them. I needed something more than the faith I already had or more hope. I needed something that could handle anything and everything, not just the life I wanted and planned for. I searched various subjects on lds.org to find anything that could help me. Last ...

Here are some highlights from June. Jonathan's diploma is here! I need to frame it and hang it with our other diplomas. Amy R. sent a Mother's day package with all sorts of cute gifts! In it she sent little magnetic frames. Apparently, Garrett is the only person I have small pictures of and so his school pictures are now finally framed! Jonathan and I went up to the airport in Heber to see some cool old planes and swing dance in one of the hangers. It was a great night! Jonathan had his first interview with a company we would love for him to work with. The night before we went to the temple to get some extra blessings for Jonathan to be able to do his best in the interview. It did end up going really well! So, we went out to the Old Spaghetti Factory to celebrate and for him to tell me all about it. My parents and Amy R's family came into town before our trip up to Idaho. I decided to go to work while they played the days away. I...

The "parent" holidays can be rough for us. This year, I decided to own Father's Day (instead of being a crying mess) and spend the weekend doing things Jonathan would like to do. One of our favorite activities is driving around neighborhoods looking at homes. We try to visit model homes, but that's a purely Saturday activity since they close by the time I'm done at work. We got tickets for the Utah Valley Parade of homes and spent the day going from house to house seeing what we liked and a lot of what we didn't like. (It was mostly awkward floor plans that we couldn't stand.) I love the grey and the ceiling. I don't think laundry would be as terrible in this room! I am now sold on smart thermostats. A free standing soaking tub is in my future! This is a fantastic idea for a door stop! I also see a large creative space for me in the future. Even though we had a great Saturday, Sunday morning was still tough....

I heard about a place in Alpine that had poppies and that it was magical. Jonathan and I had to wait until they bloomed, but it was worth it! There weren't tons of poppies, but it was still magical! There were a lot of big, happy bees buzzing from flower to flower. Of course, we took more pictures together! I guess you could say things are still pretty serious! I'm so grateful for people who find and share beautiful places to visit! I got the directions to this place from  here. Spiritual Enlightenment:  Consider the Lilies

Jonathan and I went up to Idaho for the rededication of the Idaho Falls Temple. This is a very special temple for my family because my grandpa Machen helped build it after he came home from his mission in Tahiti. It was a wonderful weekend. It started with Ruby not going to sleep on Friday night. We played for most of Saturday while Chris and Annie did yard work. Ruby fell asleep before dinner. We were able to watch the youth cultural celebration about the area and the temple. One of the songs they sang was about potatoes. It was very Idaho! Afterwards, we roasted marshmallows in the backyard. Sunday morning, we went to the second session of the dedication. It was wonderful. I kept thinking about my grandparents and their example of temple service. My life would be bleak without the blessings of the temple. It gives me real hope for the future both for the coming years and after I die. I can't wait to go inside the temple again! My Elder Machen ...

I've been wanting to go on more adventures with Jonathan for a while. Now that he's out of school and we don't expect to live in Utah much longer, we are really working on getting in as many adventures as we can! Last month we went to Antelope Island. It's been awhile since we took family photos and so we got dressed up. I'm very blessed to walk through life with Jonathan at my side. Naturally, after we finished taking pictures I walked out into the water. It was surprisingly clear and a very comfortable temperature. I did make Jonathan touch the water so he can now say that he has touched the Great Salt Lake. Spiritual Enlightenment:  I Will Stay True  - I wholeheartedly agree!