Tea for Two

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!

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.

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 tha...

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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 . source source 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. source 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 script...

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 bro...

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 sinc...

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...

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!