Mini Backpacking Trip

Now that Terral's whole family lives in Cedar again, we've had a lot of fun hanging out with his two sisters and their husbands. For Labor Day Weekend, we took a little trip to a place we like to call Raspberry Canyon. That is of course not its real name, but it was rechristened by Chris (ha ha! rechristened by Chris!) while I was on my mission. Anyway, it's really close to home, and it is GORGEOUS. I was filled with wonder by my Heavenly Father's creations.

We saw lots of interesting things, but the arch and the two waterfalls are what bring most people to the canyon.

This is us en route to finding a campsite. We were standing below the arch, but my puny camera couldn't get us and the arch.

We were sure hungry by the time we set up camp and got dinner going! BTW, if you ever need any ideas for backpacking food, Terral has some good ones.

We had a lot of fun that evening just talking, laughing, and playing games. The next day we did some more hiking. This was when we reached the falls. And the canyon's namesake: yummy, little, bitter-sweet, wild RASPBERRIES!

Here are a few more of my favorite points of interest.

And a few more shots of us.

M & M Visit

My side of the family gets together for a big FHE every other month. This month it just didn't work with schedules to find a time when everyone would be able to go. Terral and I ended up being among the non-attendees because of a previous commitment, but Mom and Matt took pity on us and came to visit us in Cedar! I was really glad because Matt will be going back into the mission field soon, and I wanted to spend some more time with him. Plus, he got to see our new-to-him apartment.

We didn't do anything particularly exciting, and to be honest, I was still feeling quite a bit of anxiety from school starting, etc. But we did enjoy each other's company! Here are some pictures of Matt being goofy.

Mom made some dinner for us the first night, since Terral and I didn't get home till after 7pm. She was also helpful with some little things around the house. I kept telling her I could do it later. I don't want her to feel like she has to work every time she comes to visit, but she said that she enjoys helping out, so we were grateful. She had some good relaxing time too. Isn't she cute?

This is her on our formerly teal leather couch. She helped me to basically re-upholster it last spring break.

Yay for family!

(Normally you can't see that foam under the couch, but we didn't put it back very well after Matt slept on the hide-a-bed.)

Thanks Mom and Matt! We're so glad you came!

Finally Fence

We finally got a fence put up around our garden! Chris's dad got some free chain link from someone at the beginning of the summer, but we didn't get posts until a few days ago. The boys did a lot of work putting the posts in. We girls helped too, of course.

The plan is to put some barbed wire between the chain link and the top poles--then it will be finished. Oh, and the gate still needs to be attached. In the mean time our garden feels so much safer! No Deer Allowed!

Toddler Mix-up

So as we were leaving our friends' house last night, they told their two-year old daughter to "Say bye bye Foxies!" Obediently, she repeated, "Bye bye Fawkies!"

Tribute

Terral and I just got back from a viewing. The funeral is tomorrow, but we both have class. I'm so glad we were able to go and remember our friend and neighbor.

When we were first married, we had an apartment on 500 W. Pretty soon we started noticing an old lady that walked frequently down our street. She looked a little ornery, and I didn't want to intrude, so I just minded my own business at first. Then we started to get settled in, and I felt a need to get to know my neighbors and fellow ward members. So one day I said hi to her as I passed, and we fell into a short conversation. Bit by bit I got to know Irene better. At church, she played the organ in Sacrament meeting and the piano in Relief Society.

When winter came, Terral would often shovel her driveway. Sometimes I helped. We had a hard time avoiding the money she kept trying to give us in return! We also had a hard time convincing her to go back inside when she had already started shovelling. Once, Terral noticed some footprints in the snow by the mailbox. They were made by bare feet. We caught her walking in the snow barefoot a couple of times, but she always said she was fine. We couldn't do much but shake our heads and smile. :)

She was such a people person. Talking to her always brightened my day. I had a few conversations with her about my schooling. She had been a music major once, but she stopped going to school when she got married. She said it was about the only thing in her life she regretted, and she made me promise I would finish. She was a very motivating person. And she was so talented! She accompanied me a few times. She played beautifully, and we were always in sync. She got frustrated sometimes when she was sight reading a piece and she missed a couple notes or a repeat sign. Her fingers, ears, and eyes hindered her from using her full talent, but most people wouldn't notice anything amiss in her playing.

She had several heart attacks in the past year, but she wouldn't go to a nursing home. She had some long stays at the hospital, but she always insisted on going back to the home she and her husband had built. And she couldn't sit still and rest. She was always out walking as much as her body would allow her to--around the block was good. She said that as long as she was alive she wanted to live.

Thank you Irene, for sharing yourself with me. I want to be like you. I want to be generous with my talents and friendship. I want to take advantage of the time given me. I want to make a difference in peoples' lives. I only knew you for two short years, but I don't think I'll ever forget you. Your body was failing, but your bright spirit always shone through.

The viewing wasn't depressing. There were smiles and memories being shared all around. I think Terral said it best: "She lived in the right way, and she died the right way."

Blessings

There a so many things I could write under that title, but right now I'm thinking specifically about financial blessings.

Last year, Terral was working for Decorworks. They do design for grocery stores, etc. It seemed like a pretty steady job, but with the economic downturn, they started losing clients and money. Terral got laid off in November. He did freelance for a while, and then started working part time in January for a friend of ours. Washing windows wasn't exactly his favorite thing to do, but we needed something to supplement our income, so we were grateful for the job. By May, Terral was getting really busy with freelance work, so we decided it was time to move on from the window washing. In June, he started working for himself full time, and I started working at the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery. (I previously worked in the CPVA Dean's office.)

We've invested in the business as we are able. We are constantly making improvements and working toward our goals. Slowly but surely, Terral is making a good name for himself. In the meantime, our income has been pretty tight.

Now come the blessings. My switch to the gallery has been a big blessing. I get more hours, which is an obvious plus in the monetary area. On the other hand, school is starting on Monday, and more hours at work could mean more stress. My job last year was uber stressful all by itself, not to mention the compounding school stresses. But this job is pretty low-key, and I will likely have some time to do homework at work: Double Plus!

This is my fifth year of college, which means that my four-year full-tuition scholarship has run out. I admit that I was a little worried about that. But between grants and new scholarships, we now have all of my school expenses covered. Even my fees and books! (Including that darn $200 French book.) We can even put some of it toward Terral's school expenses.

Which leads to another blessing. Terral is going back to school to get a second degree in photography. We really feel like it's the right thing to do at the right time. When we made the decision, it was already past the deadline for scholarship applications. Then we found out he can't qualify for a grant because it's a second degree. Then Terral was offered the teaching position at SUU. It's only for one semester, but we think they may ask him again for the next. He is only teaching one class, but one of the perks of being an adjunct professor is that he gets to take 3 credits tuition-free. Also, he feels like preparing to teach his class has already made him a better graphic designer, and he will continue to learn as he teaches. He is making some advantageous connections, and will likely get some new clients through this position. His "boss" is in our ward, and he really likes getting to know him because they have so many interests in common.

We love our ward, and we are so grateful for our apartment! Last year we moved about a block away. We are in the same ward, but we have an awesome landlord (big difference), we are no longer in a dungeon. . . I mean basement. . ., we don't have to take care of the yard, the neighbors don't hear our every move, we're still within walking distance of the school (especially the music building), and our rent is lower!

This post has turned out a lot longer than I intended, but can you see why I felt the need to express my gratitude? It's so easy to focus on the things that we don't have, but Heavenly Father has given us so much.

Yes. I am blessed.

Matt

My brother Matthew has been serving in the Sacramento California Mission. We (and he) found out on Monday the 10th that he would be coming home to get surgery on his knee. He'd been walking around on that injured knee for about a month, so it wasn't a complete surprise. We were just surprised that he was to fly in on the 11th! The amazing thing was that Mom was able to get everything scheduled so fast, and with a doctor that came highly recommended. Matt flew in Tuesday morning, went to a doctor's appointment that day, and had surgery on Wednesday. He stayed in the hospital for a few hours, but then he went home that night! We're really sorry that he's had so much pain, but we are really grateful for the miracles Heavenly Father has provided.

We were already planning on going to Delta that weekend for a family reunion (more on that later), so we got to see Matt pretty soon. I was a little unsure of what it would be like. For some reason I've had a hard time writing him because I just feel like our mission experiences have been different in a lot of ways and I just didn't know what to say to him. I know I liked hearing all the "newsy" stuff from back home, but I didn't feel interesting. Anyway, I wasn't sure how changed he would be when we finally got to see him, but a big part of me felt that it would be weirdly normal--meaning we would be just like always even though it's been more than a year since we last saw each other.

And that part of me was right! It just felt good to see him, and we talked just as we always had. Well, at least since I moved out of the house and we started to get along. ; ) He even beat me up the same despite his hurt knee. : ) No, he didn't really beat me up. He just gives VERY strong hugs. The nice thing was that we got to talk about our missions and I realized that a lot of our experiences have been very similar. I made a new commitment to write him better when he returns to the field, and ignore my inhibitions of uniteresting self-views.

I took my camera specifically so I could take pictures of Matt. Much to my shame, I realized when I got home I had none. I just wasn't thinking about pictures while I spent time with him.

But even without the pictures, I'll have some very good memories of this weekend. It was wonderful to be reunited with family and to sense the care of a loving Heavenly Father who watches out for us.