Happy Birthday America, the Beautiful!

I love America! I never realized how much until I spent a week in Honduras during a time of political unrest for the country. While the country was beautiful and the people we met were amazing and kind, the events of the week made me realize how protected and blessed we are in this country. You really don't realize it until you see how people in other countries live. The timing couldn't have been more appropriate either, as I returned to the states on the evening of July 2nd. I will blog more about my trip to Honduras in the days to come. For now, I'll just say God Bless the U.S.A.!

I flew from Honduras to Atlanta and then straight to Vegas to spend the holiday weekend with my favorite niece and nephew....and favorite brother and sister-in-law (What? I only have one brother and sister-in-law? And only one niece and nephew? Oh well........they're my favorites anyway! :) My sister-in-law, Kam, had a family reunion scheduled for Saturday, July 4th in Dana Point, CA (on the beach!) so we loaded up the van on Friday and drove to California. This is me and Samantha in the van. She took the photo. She likes the angled photos, and I have to agree......it looks pretty cool.

We spent Saturday on the beach in Dana Point. It was beautiful! The water was freezing, but the weather was perfect and the sand was soft.

Mason wouldn't go near the water, but he sure had fun digging in the sand.



Me and Kam, getting a tan (actually we were getting sunburns.....I'm still waiting for mine to turn into a tan!)

We let Sissy put sunblock on Mason's face......maybe next time we should double check it? Luckily he said it didn't hurt. I think he looks like a little super-hero with a mask on (that face is too sweet to be that of a villain).

Going to do fireworks. Samantha's obsessed with anything to do with peace and love. I told her it's ironic because she'll be lucky if she doesn't get herself shot throwing gang signs like that.

Sunday I had planned on driving back to Vegas with the fam and then flying home from there. Unfortunately, the van started acting up on the way to church in the morning. So my brother and his wife sat in the parking lot during church, in their church clothes, working on the engine. I wish I'd gotten a picture but I didn't (dangit!) Good thing we said our prayers that day because a wonderfully kind member of the ward who happened to be a mechanic saw them and came to the rescue. Turns out their water pump was shot and they needed a new one. He was able to get it fixed for them that day so they could get home. It wasn't going to be in time to make my flight though, so I ended up flying out of California. I had a two hour layover in Vegas, but it worked out for the best and got me home two hours earlier than originally scheduled, which was good because by Sunday I was beat and ready for my own bed!! I have to give a shout out to Southwest here too......they changed my ticket to fly out of the Ontario, CA airport instead of Vegas the same day as my flight and didn't charge me a dime! They are so easy to work with all the time - I love it!

It was a great weekend, but after a long week far away, I'm glad to be home!

Slacking

I am such a slacker at updating my blog! I have so much to blog about from this year, and last, and the last, but I never seem to have enough time! I spend all day on the computer at work, so when I get home the last thing I want to do is get back on the computer. I promise to be better though. It is my mid-years resolution.

Pay It Forward

My friend Tracie had this on her blog. I'm still fairly new to blogging and have not seen it before, but it looks like fun and I'm excited to try. Lucky for me I made it in time!!!

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise!There's a small catch though.... Post this same thing on your blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in.Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift. *Don't forget to post this on your blog first, then come back and leave a comment on this post!*

My Gift to Him

This makes me cry every time I watch it. Sometimes I feel like I'm all alone in this big 'ole world and it's hard to remember (for me, at least) that the Savior suffered ALL.....everything I've been through, everything I'm going through, everything I will go through, and more. I will never be able to repay Him for what he's done for me......not in this life. But in this life, I can give Him my all. I need to give Him my all. I owe it to Him. I owe it to myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc

Being single has it's advantages

I'm 34 and still single. And I hate it. Well....sort of. Ever since I was a little girl, all I've ever wanted to do is be a mom. I never could decide what to major in in college, because all I wanted to do was stay home and raise kids. For some reason unknown to me, my Father in Heaven has had other plans for me thus far. I don't know I'll ever get the chance to raise children in this life or not. Only time will tell. In the meantime.......I try to make the most out of life and enjoy the freedom I have, and I have to admit that being single does have it's advantages. For one thing, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and I don't have to ask anyone. If I want to do it, I do it! One of the things I love to do more than anything is travel. I have been very blessed to have a good job that not only sends me all over the country, but also affords me the luxury of being able to afford to travel for fun as well. I have been a less than stellar blogger to date, missing lots of opportunities to share some of the fun trips I've had. So over the weeks and months to come, I will be back-tracking and reliving some of the fun I've had so you can all be jealous that you're not still single and childless :)

Another really great advantage to being single is all the attention we get in the church. I recently started attending a singles ward. It's not quite the dreaded "31 to dead" age group but it's close. Did you know there is a whole stake in the Salt Lake Valley dedicated to single adults ages 31-45? A WHOLE STAKE!! 3 separate wards. That's a lot of single people! Since our church is one that is very much focused on families, there has been special care given to see to the needs of the single people in the church. One of the perks of attending a singles ward is the "special visitors" we sometimes get. Last Sunday was such a day. I almost didn't go to church because it was cold and snowy and my jammies were so comfortable and I didn't want to get up and get ready. But alas, I miss so much of my own ward because of all my travels that I thought it best to get up and go. And I'm so glad I did! It was the 5th Sunday of the month which means a combined Priesthood and Relief Society class. I missed the first few minutes of sacrament when they were doing the announcements (our sacrament meeting is first) so I didn't find out until later that we would be meeting back in the chapel for the last hour. They didn't open up the partition to the cultural hall so we were packed liked sardines in the chapel and boy was it warm! We had an opening hymn and then a member of the bishopric started "introducing" our guest teacher and what a surprise! It was none other than Virginia Hinckley Pearce, daugher of the beloved President Gordon B. Hinckley. What a treat!! And since this was a class, there was a lot of interaction which was different and fun.

Sister Pearce talked about Truths. Truths with a capital 'T', truths with a little 't', and non-truths. We talked about how our actions and behaviors are largely determined by our thoughts, which are influenced by that which we know to be true, that which we believe to be true, and that which we are told by others is true but we have not studied out for ourselves.

She related a story of a time when she was up on a ladder dusting shelves. She said she must have really gotten into it because before she knew it the ladder was swaying and she eventually lost her balance as the ladder went into the wall and down she slid to the floor. She said as she was falling, she noticed there was no "grab" from her "core." The core muscles in her body did not respond to help her in her time of need. They are muscles she has not had to use for some time, and they had become weak. This made her think about how the time to prepare our "core" is before we need it. Whether that be our core muscles, or our core beliefs. Just like we work out to strenghten and train our muscles, we need to work out and train our spirits. We need to constantly be filling our reservoir and strenghtening our core 'Truths' so that in our time of temptation, we will have the strength we need to keep us steady. What a great thought!

Another One Bites the Dust

My cousin Amy got married this month, on the 14th. She's 3 years younger than me, which means she's 26. OK......OK......maybe she's a little older than that (like 31) :) She and I are really good friends. Last October we went to Hawaii together and decided our to make vacationing together our new yearly ritual. We talked about all the places we want to go.....the Caribbean, Boston, New York, New Zealand, Canada, etc. etc. etc. We figured if we can't be married and have kids like we really want, then we might as well have fun being single, right? WRONG! Hawaii was only 6 short months ago, but dangit all if Amy didn't go fall in love and get married!!! Or as I like to say.......another one bites the dust (congratulations Amy!!)

Amy and me at Pearl Harbor on Oahu.

Her wedding was beautiful and so much fun. Amy lives in Mesa, AZ, and Grandma and I got to go down for the wedding. I was one of the lucky bridesmaids. It was a special trip for Grandma because she had 3 new great-grandbabies she'd never met (that makes a total of 9 now). We stayed for almost a week and had a great time hanging out with family. Grandma especially enjoyed playing with all the babies.

These are the 6 who live in Mesa. Dwayne (who didn't want to sit on the couch), Autumn, Henry (only two weeks old in this photo), Brynn Joyce (named after grandma), Mattox and Aiden.

The good-looking bride and groom, Nate and Amy West.

Amy and the bridesmaids (Crystal, me, Esther & Liz)

Aiden and Mason getting to know each other and becoming buds (their dad's are cousins).

Aunt Nellie with her FAVORITE nephew :)

My beautiful niece Samantha (on the right) with her best friend Tristyn (also beautiful), who's mom, Rebekah, also happens to be one of my best friends.

The day after the wedding was my brother's birthday. Though he wasn't thrilled at the fact that they had a 6 hour drive home on his birthday, it was fun for us to get to celebrate with him. We decorated the house while he was still sleeping, and my sister-in-law made 3 different birthday cakes for him! Not to mention all the left-over wedding cake!

Me and my buddy David (one of Amy's younger brothers...there's 8 kids all together). Dave came to live in Salt Lake for a summer when he was about 14. We spent a lot of time together and bonded. We're buds now. He's like my little brother, but one of my best friends at the same time. I love this kid!!

Lessons

I watched two people die. A murder-suicide in the parking lot at work. It happened in the blink of an eye. There was nothing anyone could have done to stop it, though everyone wonders. What could possibly lead someone to act in this way? To take not only his own life, but also the life of someone he claims to love? I cannot wrap my mind around it. It’s inconceivable to me.

The images in my head are hard to deal with. I wish they weren’t there. I wish I could make them go away. I wish the world weren’t such an evil place. I wish Kim were still here.

I didn’t look out the window before the shooting starting. I didn’t see them talking. The sound of the first gunshot is what caught my attention. Then I watched as 3 more rang out. I couldn’t see the faces of the two people lying on the ground. Only the torso of a woman. I recognized the shirt right away. It was Kim’s shirt. I knew it immediately because I had just been talking to her a couple of hours before and the shirt was unmistakable. I didn’t want it to be true though.

It’s one thing to watch someone getting shot. For your brain to process what is actually happening that quickly is quite another. Difficult. I’ve seen this on TV before. Lots of times. But that’s TV. They aren’t real bullets. No one really dies. But then to realize it’s someone you know. Someone you care about it. Someone so beautiful and sweet. Words can’t explain what went through my head.

It took less than 5 minutes to find someone who knew CPR, rush down to the parking lot, and find out she was already gone. How fragile life is! One minute you’re there- working, laughing, worrying, planning, going to lunch, talking to a friend. The next minute it’s gone.....

A counselor asked me what I’ve learned from this. After all, there’s always a lesson to be learned, right? The hard part is finding the lesson in such a senseless tragedy. Though I can’t make any sense of the events of that day, there is much to learn from a life lived as beautifully as Kim’s.

Be kind to people. Kinder than is necessary. Don’t ever miss an opportunity to say I Love You. Cherish your family. Live life to the fullest. Love everyone. Smile. LAUGH! Help others. Be happy.

Kim had a beautiful soul. The most beautiful soul of anyone I’ve ever met. Though I was only blessed to know her for a short time, her impact on my life will be forever. I want to be more like Kim. She lit up a room just by walking into it. She radiated love and happiness. Her smile was contagious. You could tell, just by looking at her, that she loved you, that she cared about you, that she wanted you to feel good and to be happy. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. I never heard her say a bad word about anybody. She was always smiling. Always joking. Always laughing. Always helping. She was a perfect example of Christ-like love.

I thank God that she didn’t suffer. They say she was gone before she hit the ground. That there’s no way she knew what was happening. That’s a blessing. It’s those left behind who will suffer.

I’m so grateful for my knowledge of the gospel. For my knowledge of eternal families. It makes the suffering bearable. I know God has a special place in Heaven for Kim. I know that she will have the chance to see her family again someday. Her beautiful kids. I’m grateful to know that she is in a better place. My heart aches for those she left behind, but I know this is not the end for her.

I’m grateful for the priesthood. Grateful for worthy men who honor their priesthood and are willing and able to bless the lives of others with this wonderful gift when called upon.

I’m grateful for prayer. Grateful to know that any time, day or night, in my hour of need, I can turn to the Lord and he will be there to listen. To comfort. No matter what.

The gospel gives me so much peace in my life. Every day. But especially at times like this. It’s a peace that ONLY HE can give.

I pray for Kim’s family. She leaves behind two beautiful kids. I also pray for Jeremy’s family. He’s the one who took her life, but his family is suffering too, more so than Kim’s, I’m sure. He left behind a 13 year old daughter who is just as much a victim as Kim’s kids.

There are two hymns that have been strong in my mind since that fateful Friday. The messages are beautiful and help calm my troubled heart.

Where Can I Turn for Peace?
Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace when other sources cease to make me whole?
When with a wounded heart, anger or malice, I draw myself apart, Searching my soul?

Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know,
Where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.

He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching
In my Gethsemane
Savior and Friend.
Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind,
Love without end.


Be Still My Soul
Be still, my soul: The Lord is on they side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: The hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Smile. Laugh. Love. Live. That’s what Kim would do. And that’s what Kim would want us to do.