My parents (Ethan says blablam for grandma as well as grandpa now) came down yesterday evening to help us some more on the house. Today, Dad finished installing and trimming the garage door, and he and Terral poured cement so that our sun room no longer has a risk of termites. Mom fixed some loose stones in the entryway, and helped me to take care of the old windows we still had sitting out. We threw away the glass and saved the aluminum for recycling. She also did some dishes and weeding and various other little projects. I'm so happy her health is improving! We all spent some time scraping and brushing paint off the house too, and we even got started painting on one side! That was very exciting for me. Now that the cement is done, all we need to do on the required repairs list is finish painting the exterior, find out if our temporary railing will fit the bill, and install outlet covers. We're so close! And so far it has cost much less than we estimated, and that includes some extras! We're feeling very blessed. :)
We listened to Conference while we worked, which is not my favorite way of doing it, but we were very grateful that Mom and Dad could come help. In spite of the distractions, tears came to my eyes a number of times. We missed President Monson's talk because the time got away from us, so we were wondering what the announcement was that the other speakers kept referring to. Finally, Elder Nelson recapped the announcement, and Mom and I just looked at each other sharing the moment. It was one of those electrifying times. Young men will now be able to serve a mission at the tender age of 18, and young women at 19. I couldn't help but wonder a bit how differently my life would have played out if I had been able to serve at 19 instead of 21. But I know that Heavenly Father has guided my life and that things happened when they were supposed to for me.
Being able to turn to Him and rely on the Holy Ghost is one of the biggest blessings in my life.
Showing posts with label blessings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blessings. Show all posts
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Beautiful Day
Today was fifty times better than yesterday. At least. For one thing, I got a little more sleep last night. For another, I had a much better breakfast and was able to feel full. That didn't happen yesterday and the result was I was queasy all day. I've been wanting hot cereal lately, but all we had was Cream of Wheat and I felt like I needed more variety and nutrition than that. Terral found a new cereal made from whole wheat called Cream of the West, and we tried that this morning. Two thumbs way up!
After breakfast I did dishes (so nice to have that done!) and turned on some fun music and Ethan and I danced while I worked. It was a great start to the day! I think all three of us were feeling much better than we have been. Terral's foot is healing very nicely, which we are extremely grateful for.
I wanted to introduce you to that book I mentioned. The design and beautiful pictures are half of why I like it so much, so I really ought to have some nice photographs to introduce it properly, but I haven't taken any and I'm too impatient. I wanted to share with you some of the gems in it, and I'll start with this one.
Into the woman's keeping is committed the destiny of the generations to come after us. In bringing up your children you mothers must remember that while it is essential to be loving and tender it is no less essential to be wise and firm. Foolishness and affection must not be treated as interchangeable terms; and besides training your sons and daughters in the softer and milder virtues, you must seek to give them those stern and hardy qualities which in after life they will surely need.
Some children will go wrong in spite of the best training; and some will go right even when their surroundings are most unfortunate. . . . Teach boys and girls alike that they are not to look forward to lives spent in avoiding difficulties; teach them that work, for themselves and also for others, is not a curse but a blessing; seek to make them happy, to make them enjoy life, but seek also to make them face life with steadfast resolution, and to do their whole duty before God and to man. Surely she who can thus train her sons and daughters is thrice fortunate among women.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Sunday, July 29, 2012
exCHANGE
Today was our last Sunday in this ward. I started crying when I got up to do Singing Time. It's hard to say goodbye, even when you aren't technically going that far. It's still an ending. And tonight is our last night in this apartment. Everything will work out swimmingly, I know. But even good change can be difficult.
I know that I'm leaving the primary in good hands, though. The presidency is awesome, and I was privileged enough to be a part of finding my replacement. I was lying in bed one night thinking of all the changes that were taking place and I started wondering about who they would get to be the new chorister. I knew they'd been having a difficult time, so I tried thinking of people with knowledge of music. A name popped into my head, and it seemed so perfect. She studied music at SUU (something the presidency probably wouldn't know), and she already knew the program songs because she was a teacher in the primary. I felt like I should tell the president, so I wrote her an email telling her my experience and thoughts. I told her I had full confidence that she would receive the inspiration she needed, but I felt compelled to share. Maybe it would spark a needed train of thought. Or maybe it would just let her know that I didn't want to leave them in a lurch. She emailed me back saying that she loved the idea and that sometimes inspiration comes through other people.
This week I was able to meet with the new chorister and pass along acquired knowledge. She's nervous about it (she's an instrumentalist), but she's excited too. I know she'll do great. I think it was one of Heavenly Father's tender mercies to include me in this process. It has made it easier to let go.
I know that I'm leaving the primary in good hands, though. The presidency is awesome, and I was privileged enough to be a part of finding my replacement. I was lying in bed one night thinking of all the changes that were taking place and I started wondering about who they would get to be the new chorister. I knew they'd been having a difficult time, so I tried thinking of people with knowledge of music. A name popped into my head, and it seemed so perfect. She studied music at SUU (something the presidency probably wouldn't know), and she already knew the program songs because she was a teacher in the primary. I felt like I should tell the president, so I wrote her an email telling her my experience and thoughts. I told her I had full confidence that she would receive the inspiration she needed, but I felt compelled to share. Maybe it would spark a needed train of thought. Or maybe it would just let her know that I didn't want to leave them in a lurch. She emailed me back saying that she loved the idea and that sometimes inspiration comes through other people.
This week I was able to meet with the new chorister and pass along acquired knowledge. She's nervous about it (she's an instrumentalist), but she's excited too. I know she'll do great. I think it was one of Heavenly Father's tender mercies to include me in this process. It has made it easier to let go.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Other Wedding Events
Well, I wish I could share pictures of the wedding with you, but I can't. While we were in SLC, our diaper bag, which contained my camera, was stolen.
As I said yesterday, the wedding was wonderful. We had a very good time. But getting ready for the trip and on the trip itself we had several stressful things happen, which were amplified by lack of sleep.
After the luncheon, we met up with my sisters and their families at Wheeler Farm. Ethan fell asleep in the car on the way there, so we just hung out in the car for the first while and sort of napped with him, but then we went and looked at all the animals. We had a lot of fun. He loved getting up on one of the tractors and we got some really cute pictures. There was also a fun two level treehouse that the kids liked playing in. After that, we laid out on some blankets that my sister Sarah brought so we could visit and snack, and then we played a game of 9 Lives at my sister Diane's suggestion. I had completely forgotten about that game. It's been too longs since I've played that sort of run around game. It was really fun!
But after all that goodness, Terral and I took off to check out the Habitat for Humanity store to see if we could find a kitchen sink or faucet. Terral had seen it before and thought he knew where it was, and we hadn't had time to really map it out, so of course we ended up lost. By the time we found it, there was not even 10 minutes left until closing. Ethan sorely needed a diaper change, so Terral offered to take care of him while I went inside. We didn't find what we were looking for, so we left for the reception.
At the reception, Ethan had a major blowout. Very unusual with our cloth diapers, but he had been eating a lot of blueberries. Well, we went to get the diaper bag. . . and we couldn't find it anywhere. We realized the last we'd seen it was at the ReStore and thought that in his hurry, Terral must have left it on the car and someone had taken it. But then we noticed that he had laid out Ethan's wet shorts in the car to dry out, and it would be kind of strange for him to remember to do that but leave the bag out, so we think someone may have broken into the car through the windows we left cracked. There were a number of useful things that I will miss, but the biggest losses are of course the camera (all those pictures!) and about six cloth diapers, which are not cheap. I hope the thief enjoyed the dirty one.
As you can imagine, we were quite upset when we realized all this. But after a little time and perspective, we are grateful it wasn't any worse. For example, I managed to unload about 250 pictures from the camera just before we left. At least I didn't lose all of our July pictures. And at least lots of other people were taking pictures at the wedding. Thank goodness I hadn't left my wallet in the diaper bag! And so on.
We really have so many blessings, and we are very grateful for them. We have a wonderful family, a good business, and a new home. God is good.
As I said yesterday, the wedding was wonderful. We had a very good time. But getting ready for the trip and on the trip itself we had several stressful things happen, which were amplified by lack of sleep.
After the luncheon, we met up with my sisters and their families at Wheeler Farm. Ethan fell asleep in the car on the way there, so we just hung out in the car for the first while and sort of napped with him, but then we went and looked at all the animals. We had a lot of fun. He loved getting up on one of the tractors and we got some really cute pictures. There was also a fun two level treehouse that the kids liked playing in. After that, we laid out on some blankets that my sister Sarah brought so we could visit and snack, and then we played a game of 9 Lives at my sister Diane's suggestion. I had completely forgotten about that game. It's been too longs since I've played that sort of run around game. It was really fun!
But after all that goodness, Terral and I took off to check out the Habitat for Humanity store to see if we could find a kitchen sink or faucet. Terral had seen it before and thought he knew where it was, and we hadn't had time to really map it out, so of course we ended up lost. By the time we found it, there was not even 10 minutes left until closing. Ethan sorely needed a diaper change, so Terral offered to take care of him while I went inside. We didn't find what we were looking for, so we left for the reception.
At the reception, Ethan had a major blowout. Very unusual with our cloth diapers, but he had been eating a lot of blueberries. Well, we went to get the diaper bag. . . and we couldn't find it anywhere. We realized the last we'd seen it was at the ReStore and thought that in his hurry, Terral must have left it on the car and someone had taken it. But then we noticed that he had laid out Ethan's wet shorts in the car to dry out, and it would be kind of strange for him to remember to do that but leave the bag out, so we think someone may have broken into the car through the windows we left cracked. There were a number of useful things that I will miss, but the biggest losses are of course the camera (all those pictures!) and about six cloth diapers, which are not cheap. I hope the thief enjoyed the dirty one.
As you can imagine, we were quite upset when we realized all this. But after a little time and perspective, we are grateful it wasn't any worse. For example, I managed to unload about 250 pictures from the camera just before we left. At least I didn't lose all of our July pictures. And at least lots of other people were taking pictures at the wedding. Thank goodness I hadn't left my wallet in the diaper bag! And so on.
We really have so many blessings, and we are very grateful for them. We have a wonderful family, a good business, and a new home. God is good.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
He knows me
It's one thing to know in your mind that you are God's child and He knows who you are. It is quite another to really feel it.
Yesterday God gave me a tender mercy that I don't want to forget. I was troubled about something and prayed to know whether I was making the right choice. I was amazed at how quickly the feeling came.
First, "Be still."
And then after a time, "Yes. I love you. I know you. I know your path. Keep going."
Yesterday God gave me a tender mercy that I don't want to forget. I was troubled about something and prayed to know whether I was making the right choice. I was amazed at how quickly the feeling came.
First, "Be still."
And then after a time, "Yes. I love you. I know you. I know your path. Keep going."
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Building Change
Well, we had a very different church meeting today. Thursday the word went out that all our regular meetings were cancelled and we were to meet combined with the 2nd Ward in the old 7th Ward building at 2:30.
(I just realized that I may not have mentioned on her that last August our Stake realigned some ward boundaries and made two wards out of three. Our previous ward, the 7th, no longer exists.)
I had songs planned for this Sunday, but I was glad I had not yet planned the details for singing time. It was kind of nice to have a break from that. And after our trip yesterday, it was nice to sleep in and not worry about rushing to 9:00 church. We had plenty of time to walk and enjoy the (finally!) pleasant weather. It was also nice to sit with some of our friends in the 2nd ward, and see more friends from the 7th Ward. If you can't tell, I rather enjoyed this Sunday. :)
Well, to get to the point of it all, the building we have been meeting in is deemed unsafe. It is currently the oldest church building in Cedar City, and they didn't put reinforcements in the foundation back then. They haven't had time to figure out what they are going to do about it, but it sounded like they would try to save historical aspects of it, like the stained glass window and organ, even if they do have to tear it down. In the indefinite meantime (at the very least a 1 to 1 1/2 years) they have reassigned buildings to the 2nd and 8th Wards. The 2nd Ward will be going to the building we met in today, and we will be going to the other Cedar Stake Center. I'm rather happy to have a building that will better accommodate our needs (and not fall down on us!), but I am just a smidge disappointed that our ward got assigned to the building we did because now we won't be able to walk to church. Just when the weather is getting better, too. Oh well.
It is sad for some people to hear the state of the building because it does have so much history, and they have a lot of memories there. I, of course, don't have that big of an attachment to it, but it was the site of one of our wedding receptions and also Jaymon's funeral. Terral attended church there from the time his family moved into their current house until we got married. Before that, he actually went to the building we are now assigned to, but he doesn't really remember it.
So it will be interesting to see how things play out. Next week it's back to worship as usual, only we'll have to figure out our new situation. They left everything in the 2nd & 8th Ward building, and I'm not sure when they will transfer things from closets, etc. So now I'm glad I don't really use the closet resources and have all my own stuff at home. :)
(I just realized that I may not have mentioned on her that last August our Stake realigned some ward boundaries and made two wards out of three. Our previous ward, the 7th, no longer exists.)
I had songs planned for this Sunday, but I was glad I had not yet planned the details for singing time. It was kind of nice to have a break from that. And after our trip yesterday, it was nice to sleep in and not worry about rushing to 9:00 church. We had plenty of time to walk and enjoy the (finally!) pleasant weather. It was also nice to sit with some of our friends in the 2nd ward, and see more friends from the 7th Ward. If you can't tell, I rather enjoyed this Sunday. :)
Well, to get to the point of it all, the building we have been meeting in is deemed unsafe. It is currently the oldest church building in Cedar City, and they didn't put reinforcements in the foundation back then. They haven't had time to figure out what they are going to do about it, but it sounded like they would try to save historical aspects of it, like the stained glass window and organ, even if they do have to tear it down. In the indefinite meantime (at the very least a 1 to 1 1/2 years) they have reassigned buildings to the 2nd and 8th Wards. The 2nd Ward will be going to the building we met in today, and we will be going to the other Cedar Stake Center. I'm rather happy to have a building that will better accommodate our needs (and not fall down on us!), but I am just a smidge disappointed that our ward got assigned to the building we did because now we won't be able to walk to church. Just when the weather is getting better, too. Oh well.
It is sad for some people to hear the state of the building because it does have so much history, and they have a lot of memories there. I, of course, don't have that big of an attachment to it, but it was the site of one of our wedding receptions and also Jaymon's funeral. Terral attended church there from the time his family moved into their current house until we got married. Before that, he actually went to the building we are now assigned to, but he doesn't really remember it.
So it will be interesting to see how things play out. Next week it's back to worship as usual, only we'll have to figure out our new situation. They left everything in the 2nd & 8th Ward building, and I'm not sure when they will transfer things from closets, etc. So now I'm glad I don't really use the closet resources and have all my own stuff at home. :)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Possibly Pox
For the past couple days Ethan has been inexplicably whiny, which is a pretty good bet that he's not feeling well. Then yesterday evening he started getting a runny nose which got much worse as the night wore on. He also seemed to be running a slight fever last night, but no temp today. Tonight I noticed two little spots on one of his arms. They don't exactly look like blisters, but it certainly raises the possibility of chicken pox.
I can't tell you how happy that makes me!
And no, I'm not being sarcastic.
My personal view on vaccines is that we should treat them with much more caution than most of us do. The vaccine issue is a complicated one that requires a lot of digging before you can even begin to feel confident in forming opinions. After doing some digging of my own, I would much prefer that in the case of chicken pox my children get the actual disease instead of the vaccine. For one thing, there is a much higher rate of lifetime immunity for those who experience the disease versus those who are vaccinated. Unfortunately (in my opinion), it is rather difficult to get the actual disease these days. Incredibly, Ethan had a possible double exposure last weekend. We went to Kanab for Easter (post on that coming soon), and out of all of my family, the two sisters that were there had kids just recovered from chicken pox. Amazing.
I do have doubts that Ethan has really contracted it, though. For one thing, none of the kids had spots left when we were with them. For another, the incubation period is usually longer than just the few days we've been home. Even so, I am very hopeful. I know that is so weird to say. I'm hopeful my kid is sick. But honestly, even though I had logical reasons to hope he would get chicken pox, I was surprised at how light-hearted I felt thinking he might actually have it. I think it just boils down to the fact that for me, it would be an answer to prayer.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Fever Fight
Not sure anyone noticed, but I didn't blog yesterday. The day started out pretty well. The morning was nice, and then Ethan and I took a nap together. When we woke up, I realized that he was feeling quite warm. Sure enough, a thermometer confirmed a high fever. As afternoon turned into evening, he got worse and required all my attention. Our normally full-of-personality boy just lay there, like it was all he could do to look at us. Terral's dad came over to help give him a priesthood blessing. The blessing was very comforting, but we still worried about our miserable-looking son and what we could do to help him. We had given him some essential oils, but wondered if there was something else we should do. We debated taking him to the emergency room since everything else was closed. In the end, we decided to wait until morning.
In the morning, Terral called our doctor (a naturopath), and although he had a full schedule, they fit us in at 1:30. Ethan seemed marginally better, but still needed to be held all the time and wouldn't eat or drink anything besides breastmilk. I was so glad that we are still nursing and I could know he was getting some nutrition and antibodies to help his little body fight. I gave him some baths, lots of snuggles, and some more essential oils. I cancelled my violin lessons, and Terral went to work for a little while to fix the sewing machine. Ethan was so sad when he left! He wasn't gone long, though, because he had decided to take time off to help at home. What a blessing that he can do that, and do it so willingly!
A couple hours passed and Ethan seemed a little better. We went outside for a walk in the stroller, and he actually jabbered a bit because he enjoyed it, but you could tell he was still struggling.
When we went to our appointment, the doctor talked with us about what we had tried already and gave some suggestions for other things we could do at home. Then he recommended hydrotherapy, which we did, and also suggested an herbal throat spray. He was really nice and helpful. And even though they had to squeeze us in, he didn't charge us for the office visit. So nice!
When we got home, we tried the method he told us to help the fever do it's job, applied some more oils, and continued with the cuddles. This evening Ethan was doing so much better! It started with a little more animation, and by the end of the night he was jabbering, walking around (albeit a little wobbly still), and playing! He even ate and asked to go to the potty! What a relief to have our little man back! His fever has gone down, and he's sleeping now. We are so grateful for everything (and everyone!) that is helping him to get better.
In the morning, Terral called our doctor (a naturopath), and although he had a full schedule, they fit us in at 1:30. Ethan seemed marginally better, but still needed to be held all the time and wouldn't eat or drink anything besides breastmilk. I was so glad that we are still nursing and I could know he was getting some nutrition and antibodies to help his little body fight. I gave him some baths, lots of snuggles, and some more essential oils. I cancelled my violin lessons, and Terral went to work for a little while to fix the sewing machine. Ethan was so sad when he left! He wasn't gone long, though, because he had decided to take time off to help at home. What a blessing that he can do that, and do it so willingly!
A couple hours passed and Ethan seemed a little better. We went outside for a walk in the stroller, and he actually jabbered a bit because he enjoyed it, but you could tell he was still struggling.
When we went to our appointment, the doctor talked with us about what we had tried already and gave some suggestions for other things we could do at home. Then he recommended hydrotherapy, which we did, and also suggested an herbal throat spray. He was really nice and helpful. And even though they had to squeeze us in, he didn't charge us for the office visit. So nice!
When we got home, we tried the method he told us to help the fever do it's job, applied some more oils, and continued with the cuddles. This evening Ethan was doing so much better! It started with a little more animation, and by the end of the night he was jabbering, walking around (albeit a little wobbly still), and playing! He even ate and asked to go to the potty! What a relief to have our little man back! His fever has gone down, and he's sleeping now. We are so grateful for everything (and everyone!) that is helping him to get better.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Delta before Florida
As I mentioned yesterday, we took a quick trip to Delta. My parents are going to Florida for a month. A month. It was really hard to wrap my brain around that when my mom first told me, because it's so uncharacteristic. But my dad has a mission buddy who bought a home out there who's apparently been planning this thing for a year, and things worked out for my parents to be able to go. It's kind of funny because we often go a few months without seeing my parents, and we'll still be able to call them, but I just really felt like I'd miss them quite a bit. A girl just doesn't grow out of needing her mommy and daddy. Anywho, I really wanted to see them before they went, so we left after church yesterday and came home this morning. As a bonus, Matt and his girlfriend were also there and we all got to play games and spend some quality time.
Ethan got this red fuzzy monkey from Grandma and Grandpa for Valentines Day. He was really cute with it, giving it hugs and jabbering to it. After we played with it a bit and made some monkey noises, he really seemed to be using his imagination with it. Fun. :) (Thanks again for not giving him candy, mum!)
Dad had made a nice roast beef dinner, and mom asked me to bring a dessert. We don't do dessert much, so I was kind of excited to try something new. We made this recipe, but substituted a few ingredients with what we had on hand, not the least of which was strawberries for cranberries. Everyone seemed to like it, but Terral and I really enjoyed it. We I decided it was definitely a repeat recipe. It was yummy, and I loved how I didn't feel weighed down or overloaded with sugar even after a couple pieces. Now I want a tart pan. ;)
Anyway. . . we spent the evening playing games, talking, and laughing. One of my favorite combinations. :) I made sure to get in several hugs from mom and dad. I'm a huggy kinda girl.
Then this morning, mom cooked us some fried eggs. It was surprisingly yummy. I haven't had fried eggs for quite a while because they were a "trigger" when I was pregnant, and that throw-up feeling just lingered with the thought of them. After breakfast, we had a little time before we had to take off, so we spent a bit of it outside. Ethan was enthralled when he saw this contraption.
Oh, my sweet boys! They make life fun.
When we finally loaded everything up in the car and said farewell, we found out pretty quick that we weren't going anywhere. The car wouldn't start. We said a prayer, and then Terral got to tinkering. Ethan and I wandered around outside in the meantime. We went and looked at the neighbors colorful roosters, and I was again grateful for Ethan's new shoes that let him explore. I also got to help mom a bit by doing some vacuuming. She gets pretty out of breath when she does that, so I was glad to save her the task. She always does so much to help me—to help so many people—and I feel like I do so little for her.
While I was still vacuuming, Terral came in and announced that the car was working again. Hurrah! He wasn't quite sure what he did to make it work, but we were sure happy with the result!
Thanks again for letting us come to visit, Mom and Dad! We love you lots!
Ethan got this red fuzzy monkey from Grandma and Grandpa for Valentines Day. He was really cute with it, giving it hugs and jabbering to it. After we played with it a bit and made some monkey noises, he really seemed to be using his imagination with it. Fun. :) (Thanks again for not giving him candy, mum!)
Dad had made a nice roast beef dinner, and mom asked me to bring a dessert. We don't do dessert much, so I was kind of excited to try something new. We made this recipe, but substituted a few ingredients with what we had on hand, not the least of which was strawberries for cranberries. Everyone seemed to like it, but Terral and I really enjoyed it. We I decided it was definitely a repeat recipe. It was yummy, and I loved how I didn't feel weighed down or overloaded with sugar even after a couple pieces. Now I want a tart pan. ;)
Anyway. . . we spent the evening playing games, talking, and laughing. One of my favorite combinations. :) I made sure to get in several hugs from mom and dad. I'm a huggy kinda girl.
Then this morning, mom cooked us some fried eggs. It was surprisingly yummy. I haven't had fried eggs for quite a while because they were a "trigger" when I was pregnant, and that throw-up feeling just lingered with the thought of them. After breakfast, we had a little time before we had to take off, so we spent a bit of it outside. Ethan was enthralled when he saw this contraption.
When we finally loaded everything up in the car and said farewell, we found out pretty quick that we weren't going anywhere. The car wouldn't start. We said a prayer, and then Terral got to tinkering. Ethan and I wandered around outside in the meantime. We went and looked at the neighbors colorful roosters, and I was again grateful for Ethan's new shoes that let him explore. I also got to help mom a bit by doing some vacuuming. She gets pretty out of breath when she does that, so I was glad to save her the task. She always does so much to help me—to help so many people—and I feel like I do so little for her.
While I was still vacuuming, Terral came in and announced that the car was working again. Hurrah! He wasn't quite sure what he did to make it work, but we were sure happy with the result!
Thanks again for letting us come to visit, Mom and Dad! We love you lots!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Bike
A couple weeks ago I got a call from one of my friends that recently graduated. I was surprised because she had moved up north, but she was passing through Cedar on her way back from California. She told me she had an old bike that she used maybe twice while she was here, and she had just decided it wasn't worth it to her to try to get it up north and fix it.
Terral knows a thing or two about bikes, so we went over there to check it out. I do have an old bike, but Terral has said it would cost too much to fix it up and we'd be better off just getting a new one. That hasn't happened for several reasons, one of which is of course money. Our temporary solution was for me to borrow Terral's bike whenever it worked out.
Anyway, we went over, and even though the bike had sat out under the car port for years, it was still in way better condition than my old one, so we took it home. Terral put some air in the tires and tightened up a few things, and now it's rideable! There is still some fine tuning to be done, but I've enjoyed riding it to work in the mean time. Terral's bike is huge, and this one just fits me better. Plus we can actually ride together now. Don't you love it when serendipitous stuff like that happens?
Thanks so much Charity! I will definitely put it to good use.
Terral knows a thing or two about bikes, so we went over there to check it out. I do have an old bike, but Terral has said it would cost too much to fix it up and we'd be better off just getting a new one. That hasn't happened for several reasons, one of which is of course money. Our temporary solution was for me to borrow Terral's bike whenever it worked out.
Anyway, we went over, and even though the bike had sat out under the car port for years, it was still in way better condition than my old one, so we took it home. Terral put some air in the tires and tightened up a few things, and now it's rideable! There is still some fine tuning to be done, but I've enjoyed riding it to work in the mean time. Terral's bike is huge, and this one just fits me better. Plus we can actually ride together now. Don't you love it when serendipitous stuff like that happens?
Thanks so much Charity! I will definitely put it to good use.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, August 17, 2009
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.
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.
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