Tea for Two

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!

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.

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. source 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. source 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.) source This is what it looks like today. source These ceremonies are very special. It is only after a temple is dedicated that ...

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....

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.

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...

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. via 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 tim...

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. via 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.

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 ...