WHILE I WAS OUT...

INSTAGRAM
I have become drawn in by this fun, free app. I think it is the culprit behind my long absence from blogging. It fills a void that blogging usually satisfies by capturing moments and documenting a visual journal of sorts...but in an instantaneous, effortless way. This was too enticing to resist during the holidays especially. 

Just in case life gets crazy again, my blogging slacks off, and you'd like to stay updated on our daily happenings (which are fascinating, I'm sure), my Instagram username is rachelashmore. My account is private to those who I have not approved to be my followers, but that is to keep away creepos from knowing where I am and what I'm doing at any given moment. Just find my profile and request to follow my account. As long as you're not a creepo...it's cool.

SUGAR UPDATE.
I planned to include a little update on how my sugar-less diet is going. But as I typed, it became clear I need to save it for its own post. There was too much to say. Until then, suffice it to say,  I am still avoiding the stuff, I feel great, and I have learned more about the reasons behind my issues which in turn has shown me another favorite food that should also, sadly enough, be cut out of my diet.

PRAYER
A recent difficult experience taught me some interesting aspects of prayer. First of all, if I don't tell anyone that I need help, I am actually hindering God's ability to answer my prayers for strength or comfort or whatever. Isn't it through other people that God usually answers our prayers? Being a private, independent person in general, I think this was an important lesson for me to learn.

It was only hours after I was forced to tell coworkers, neighbors, or church members about what we were going through that I was keenly aware not only of my sudden increased strength but of the fact that it was a result of prayers on my behalf. This knowledge came clearly and distinctly, and glowed brightly in my heart making me--to my great annoyance--emotional for days. I suddenly had a different perspective on how faith and prayers can be applied to help others--and myself--in a very real way. Prayer is powerful. It works. And our Father in Heaven wants us to use it to serve and help our brothers and sisters.

DOTERRA ESSENTIAL OILS.
Has anyone else out there discovered the magic of these babies? I'm obsessed. They are amazing, and it boggles my mind that more people/medical professionals aren't aware of all they are capable of. Andrew and I use them daily for ailments such as infections, headaches, warts, sore throats, restless leg syndrome, insomnia, snoring (you better believe that's Andrew...not me), congestion, digestive issues, acne, allergies, mood swings, or pain of any kind.

Anytime someone around me complains of an ailment, I can immediately come up with in my mind, an oil that would help. But the few times I've actually opened my mouth to share the idea, I only come across as a silly-naturalist-hippie-nut. I'm sharing on the blog, because I can't see your frozen phony smiles and skeptical expressions from here. Expect more to come in the future. You've been warned.

CC
After an absence of several months, our kitty sauntered into the house like no big deal. He hung around long enough to get scratched behind the ears and show off his doubled-in-size mid section before slinking out the back door not to be seen again. It seems CC has abandoned us for a new family. This arrangement seems to suit us all just fine. And at least I can take comfort in the knowledge that he's getting fed reeeally well.

OMEN
So we've all heard about the bad luck to follow a black cat crossing our path, right? But does it mean anything special if a WHITE cat crosses your path? How about an entire herd of white cats?

Well actually a group of cats isn't called a herd. It's a clowder. I looked it up just now because herd sounded weird.

Driving down the highway to work, I suddenly had to brake hard for a clowder of kitties. A mom and six kittens. All pure white and running to an empty field across the street. The last little kitten was a feisty one. Stopping in the middle of the road, it stood fiercely facing me in the cutest, little battle stance I've ever seen. After all if its siblings were safely across it disappeared behind them into the long grasses.

There you have it. My pointless story...except to inform you that it's going to be an awesome-filled, lucky year. It's all very logical. White is an antonyms for black. Black is unlucky. So obviously, I'm going to have the opposite of horrible misfortune. Bring on 2013!

ANOTHER POINTLESS STORY
Each year, my family plays a Turkey Day football game. I participate to feel involved...however, I use the word "participate" very loosely. Participating for me usually entails running back and forth pointlessly and receiving maybe three pitty passes. I still have fun though. My sister on the other hand, has rebelled against the tradition entirely, and refuses to play. She prefers not to be pitied.

This year, my cousin got a helmet camera for the quarter back to wear, which allowed for some sweet playback footage. When the video was posted on social media, I anxiously pulled it up. At the end, I sat in shame at one awful, glaringly obvious fact: 

I am very, very, very sissy. 

Not having really considered myself to be a cream puff before, all that twinkle-toed running and hand flapping was hard to watch. Maybe my sister's onto something.

BE-YOU-TIFUL

At church, I work with the teenage girls. For Christmas, the adult leaders made these signs for the girls as gifts. 

I volunteered to get the wood. Andrew and I happen to have a lot of it hanging around these days. We cut scrap wood and routered the edges to look pretty. 

Understand that I use the term "we" loosely. I have a great fear of tools with the ability to permanently remove appendages from my body. 

Then, I distressed the edges with sandpaper. 

Next, the leaders all met to modge podge the letters on. The YW President had cut them out using her Cricut. 
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(in case you're interested, she used the fonts Rage Italic for the cursive letters and Andalus for the rest.)  

I love the emphasis on the fact that being uniquely you is what makes you beautiful...not by how you compare to others. I don't think young woman hear that enough. 

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Each sign was made using different colors and designs...as if to further illustrate this point. 

Then I took tags with this quote...

(also made by our super creative YW President) 

And tied them to each sign with ribbon.

All ready to go!

I think the girls really liked picking out their own. I thought I'd pass this idea along to others in the Young Women organization for Christmas or birthday gift ideas...or just anyone with a young lady in their life. 

Our inspiration came from here. I'm sure you can find similar ones all over the Internet for ideas.

IT IS BETTER TO LOOK UP

"At the end of a particularly tiring day toward the end of my first week as a General Authority, my briefcase was overloaded and my mind was preoccupied with the question “How can I possibly do this?” I left the office of the Seventy and entered the elevator of the Church Administration Building. As the elevator descended, my head was down and I stared blankly at the floor.

The door opened and someone entered, but I didn’t look up. As the door closed, I heard someone ask, “What are you looking at down there?” I recognized that voice—it was President Thomas S. Monson.

I quickly looked up and responded, “Oh, nothing.” (I’m sure that clever response inspired confidence in my abilities!)

But he had seen my subdued countenance and my heavy briefcase. He smiled and lovingly suggested, while pointing heavenward, “It is better to look up!” As we traveled down one more level, he cheerfully explained that he was on his way to the temple. When he bid me farewell, his parting glance spoke again to my heart, “Now, remember, it is better to look up.”

As we parted, the words of a scripture came to mind: “Believe in God; believe that he is … ; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth.” As I thought of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s power, my heart found the comfort I had sought in vain from the floor of that descending elevator..."

--Carl B. Cook

A woman from church dropped by last week with THIS printed talk and a helium balloon (you have to read the whole talk to entirely understand the balloon idea ). 

She is not my visiting teacher and I never considered us especially close friends...but she was there, I am convinced, as an answer to prayer. My heart needed the message, and it provided strength to do hard things.


My favorite passage:

"President Monson’s encouragement to look up is a metaphor for remembering Christ. As we remember Him and trust in His power, we receive strength through His Atonement. It is the means whereby we can be relieved of our anxieties, our burdens, and our suffering. It is the means whereby we can receive the faith and strength to endure all things."

And I love my happy, yellow balloon. :) Isn't that a cute idea?

MY CRAZY WEEK

I woke up this morning at NOON. When I finally rolled over and looked at the clock, I was shocked. I had to go check the other clocks in the house to make sure. I guess my body needed it:

1.) Parent Teacher Conferences.
They require hours of preparation between the grading, progress reports, projects in class to finish and display, IRI graphs to print, thoughts to organize, classroom to clean, and appointments to arrange. And then there are the late nights actually conducting the interviews. And then there is usually that one parent who is angry at you for suggesting their child has any room for improvement or could have possibly ever broken a school rule. sigh.

But other than that, I really, truly, enjoy parent teacher conferences. I always leave with a clearer understand of why my kiddos are the way they are. Also, seeing how much the parents love their kids, for some reason, makes me love the squirts even more than ever.

2.) Sick.
Our house has had bad luck in the health department. Last week, Andrew came home miserable with the stomach flu. Luckily, with some distance and a bottle of Pepto, I was able to escape with only a day of mild nausea. But this week, I came home with a burning throat and a sinus headache. Teaching twenty-four, active eight-year olds while sick is never fun. 

3.) New Calling.
I learned to love my sunbeam calling much faster than expected. My bad attitude at the beginning only shames me now. And, as usual, the moment I get comfortable, I am issued a new call.

Laurel Advisor.

Relief Society presidency didn't terrify me near as much...and I was shakin' in my high heels back then, let me tell you. A few bad experiences must have traumatized me forever, because I have been out of high school for nearly ten years now, yet adolescent girls still make my palms sweat. It's as if I revert back to awkward teenager the moment I'm around them (though if we're being honest here, when have I NOT been socially awkward?). At mutual, I'm suddenly very conscious of my lack of witty things to say. Is my face turning red when I speak? And where am supposed to rest my hands while I hold a conversation?

The above quote has been helping me keep the proper perspective. This isn't about me. It's about those sixteen and seventeen year-old girls. Serve accordingly, Rachel.

4.) The House. 
Andrew's gone until 9 or 10 every night working to finish it by the new year. Although we knew it would be like this, and we agreed the sacrifice was worth making to build this house...it totally sucks. 
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I spend a lot of time digitally painting houses online these days. After angst-filled deliberation, I think the exterior house colors have been selected. Almost. I think.

On the Bright Side.
*I have the very best class this year. I just love them. Last year was so hard...and this year has been a breath of fresh air.

*Andrew is so wonderful. I was so miserably sick last night, and Andrew got a bath ready for me, brought me food, and rubbed my aching head until I fell asleep. I am spoiled rotten.

*After two late nights of parent-teacher conferences, teachers have Friday off. I love today.

*My Laurels are so good-hearted, talented, and well-versed in the Gospel. I don't know why I'm worried.

*We are totally building our own house. And that is freakin' awesome.

MANHATTAN TEMPLE

Our first day in New York, Andrew, Mom and I decided to attend a session in the Manhattan temple. It was at the top of our list of things to do, and Becca would be at work anyway.

After taking a subway, we walked over thirty blocks to get there. 

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We figured it was worth the trek. 

It was surreal to see an LDS temple in the midst of the taxis, skyscrapers, and general chaos. And we were so excited to go inside to rest from the heat, humidity, and loud, busy city!

This is us pouting after the front-desk security guard informed us it would be closed until next week. 

We were sorely disappointed. 

The plan was to wear our church clothes that day because of the temple  in the morning and the Broadway play in the afternoon. But with no temple session to attend, we were pointlessly dressed fancy for NYC sightseeing instead. Ugh.

I though we might stand out a little bit...but I didn't realized how much until a group of guys stopped us in Central Park.

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They wanted to know if we were Jehovah's Witness missionaries. 

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Ha! 

But apparently, the Jehovah's Witnesses' worldwide church headquarters is in Brooklyn. 

I guess you could say that Watchtower is to Jehovah's Witnesses as Temple Square is to the Mormons. 

Anyway, has anyone out there actually made it inside the Manhattan Temple? Was it quiet, or could you hear the honking traffic and construction from in there? I was curious about that. 

*If you are curious about Mormon temples, you can read more about them HERE.

WEEK OF SUMMER

Summer already seems to be flying by too fast. But are we ever staying busy!

It's been nothing short of glorious.

The epitome of manliness: Andrew off to build stuff.

He marched out of the house singing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" at the top if his lungs.

I babysat my cousin's kid.

We sat in my living room, and stared awkwardly at each other for several minutes. Then, because I couldn't think of anything else to do, I grabbed my camera and took a picture.

Apparently, she thought that was pretty funny. Thanks to the icebreaker, we got along just fine afterward.

I've been all sorts of crafty this week.

For example, I bought this thrift store table with a vision. The transformation turned out BEAUTIFULLY...but you'll have to stay tuned for the reveal in another post.

We bought thirteen trees on Saturday at 5 dollars a piece. Not a bad deal, I'd say...even at itty-bitty heights of 3-6 feet tall. Poplar, red maple, spruce, and chokecherry.

We'll get them into our new piece of ground this fall.

I consider myself a pretty good teacher. I get those third graders whipped into shape in no time! But handling three-year-olds is a whole different ball game. This sunbeam calling has been really, really hard for me.

It's my experience that you have a calling as long as it takes for you to love it. Then you get released.

I plan to learn to love this calling real fast.

And of course, this week's progress on the house.

Footings have been poured.

Framing should start up in the next couple days!

GOT IT.

I had a dream last night. {Just let me preface it by saying that this is NOT an announcement.} Now that I have that out of the way:

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I had a dream that I was on a makeshift bed in my doctor's living room...his entire family milling around...while I was in labor with my first baby. Even worse, nobody knew where Andrew was!
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Despite this ridiculous, terrifying setting, all I could think about was the fact that I was about to lose my last opportunity to get a picture of myself with a pregnant belly. Nothing stressed me out more than the fact that I COULD NOT FIND MY CAMERA! This MUST be documented!
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Apparently, my subconscious priorities are a little out of whack.

Yesterday, I submitted an eighty-something page paper...for my master's program. It took two months, and I can't tell you the relief that followed after finishing it. It had lots of graphs and tables and scanned documents...but STILL...that is an insane amount of typing.
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I feel a strong sense of pride and accomplishment in the idea that I compiled such a project myself...which is probably why I'm bragging about it to all of you. I like the sound of it. Here. Let me say it again:

I just finished writing an eighty-something page paper.

No big deal.

And only 2 classes left to go before I get this darn degree!!!

Um, yes actually. I got time. I gots lots of it. Not only was my big paper just turned in, but are both currently church calling-less. All within a few weeks, Andrew was released from a bishopric, and I was released from a Relief Society Presidency.

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{Bishopric and ward member at ward social}

I can hardly comprehend the amount of extra time we've got floating around in our lives right now. No meetings, no phone calls, no e-mails, no home visits, no lesson prep...
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Andrew now wanders aimlessly through the house, while I spend entirely too much time watching YouTube tutorials about designing your own blog header. {Which reminds me...you like? See Above.}

Anyway, we'll see how long it lasts...

MORMON.ORG

Check out my profile now found on Mormon.org!
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After reading mine {click on the orange dot below}, go create your own and help spread the good news! 
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Then, go HERE and pick out a blog button that links directly to your newly created Mormon.org profile. What a great way to spend your sabbath afternoon...

"We cannot stand on the sidelines while others...attempt to define what the Church teaches...May I ask that you join in the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration."

--Elder M. Russell Ballard

Happy Sunday!

A LESSON LEARNED

Andrew learned an important lesson today.

The success of our marriage and family is based on *principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, wholesome recreational activities, and...NOT EATING RACHEL'S ONLY LITTLE DEBBIE CHRISTMAS CUPCAKE.

It's good that he learned this early in our marriage, I guess. But he still has to learn not to laugh when I get angry. 
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I don't care how cute he thinks I am. 

*Refer to THIS.

JONAH AND THE WHALE

The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.


OH. MY. GOODNESS. You MUST watch this video! My Grandpa Brown e-mailed it to me, and I can't stop watching it. It is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. NO JOKE! Her expression...her lisp...her confidence...and her big white bow... 


I DARE any of you to disagree. 

SUNDAY--Prophets

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My church recently had it's semiannual General Conference. This is where the entire world membership gathers via Internet, radio, tv, and satellite broadcasts to listen to addresses from prophets and apostles. Did you know that there is a living prophet alive today? Prophets aren't all about biblical times, you know.

During Conference, I was interested to hear many of them refer to the 14 Fundamentals in Following the Prophet, an address given by Ezra Taft Benson about thirty years ago. I was curious, so I looked it up.





President Thomas S. Monson

1.)The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.

• We are to "give heed unto all his words"--as if from the Lord's "own mouth."

2.)The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works (scriptures).

• "...those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation (Brigham Young)."

3.)The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.

• "God's revelations to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the ark. Noah needed his own revelation. Therefore, the most important prophet, so far as you and I are concerned, is the one living in our day and age to whom the Lord is currently revealing His will for us."

4.) The prophet will never lead the Church astray.

• "I say to Israel, The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of the Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God (Wilford Woodruff)."

5.) The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.

• We encourage earthly knowledge in many areas, but remember, if there is ever a conflict between earthly knowledge and the words of the prophet, you stand with the prophet, and you'll be blessed and time will vindicate you.

6.)The prophet does not have to say "Thus saith the Lord" to give us scripture.

• "Thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you" (D&C 21:4)

7.) The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.

• "...many are prone to garnish the sepulchres of yesterday's prophets and mentally stone the living ones. Why? Because the living prophet gets at what we need to know now, and the world prefers that prophets either be dead or mind their own business."

8.)The prophet is not limited by men's reasoning. There will be times when you will have to choose between the revelations of God and the reasoning of men--between the prophet and the politician or professor.

• "Would it seem reasonable to an eye doctor to be told to heal a blind man by spitting in the dirt, making clay, and applying it to the man's eyes and then telling him to wash in a contaminated pool? Yet this is precisely the course that Jesus took with one man, and he was healed. (See John 9:6-7.) Does it seem reasonable to cure leprosy by telling a man to wash seven times in a particular river? Yet this is precisely what the prophet Elisha told a leper to do, and he was healed. (See 2 Kings 5.)"

9.)The prophet can receive revelation on any matter--temporal or spiritual.

• "Temporal and spiritual things are inseparably connected, and ever will be." [Journal of Discourses, 10:363-364]

10.)The prophet may be involved in civic matters.

• Isaiah was deeply involved in giving counsel on political matters and of his words the Lord Himself said, "Great are the words of Isaiah" (3 Nephi 23:1).

11.)The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.

• "The learned may feel the prophet is only inspired when he agrees with them; otherwise, the prophet is just giving his opinion--speaking as a man. The rich may feel they have no need to take counsel of a lowly prophet."

12.) The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.

• "Popularity is never a test of truth. Many a prophet has been killed or cast out."

13.)The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency--the highest quorum in the Church.

• Doctrine and Covenants (107:80)

14.) The prophet and the presidency--the living prophet and the First Presidency--follow them and be blessed; reject them and suffer.

• "You cannot destroy the appointment of a prophet of God, but you can cut the thread that binds you to the prophet of God and sink yourselves to hell. (Brigham Young)"

MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU

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One of National Geographic's Best 100 photos. I love the srength and steadiness with which the lion walks into the wind.

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I've noticed a trend lately. My friends, family, and acquaintances are teeming with big, scary changes in their lives...looming unknowns that have to be taken on in faith. I sympathize, and I have to be honest: I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one! It gives me hope somehow.
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We are currently working on some changes that could possibly alter our life in every possible way. I'm trying not to freak out completely. And whether or not it works out the way we planned, it is going to take a toll on our finances. We are not in a place to share much about it just yet (aren't I cruel?), but I wanted to to record my feelings in this blog journal. (No offense my friends, but I keep this Internet record more for my sanity than for your entertainment.)
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In times such as these, when I am overwhelmed by worry, doubt and fear about making ends meet and everything turning out (I think way too much)...I turn to this scripture. It's my balm in Gilead. It puts this mortal life back into perspective. I mean, the Lord has guided and cared for me in miraculous ways in the past! Why would He stop now?
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...Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

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Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

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And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;

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And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

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Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.

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Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

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For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

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But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

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Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.

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3 Nephi 13: 25-34

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THERAPY

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By the end of each school year, I am exhausted to the max in every possible way. I mean, the stress of teaching elementary school does stuff to a person. As in, after the last day, all I want to do in the world is sit on my bed, stare at the wall, and remain motionless for an entire week straight.
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And it's not all emotional exhaustion either. My body feels like I've tied myself to an electric fence. Things stop working properly (in some ways I care not to divulge), and I always get sick within a couple of days of the end...as if my body is finally being allowed the time to break down completely.
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But this year, besides the exhaustion...and the normal stresses and projects and performances that accompany the end of the school year...and the fact that I just started a master's program...I got thrown a curve ball I wasn't prepared for.
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I signed up for a BYU-Student to come help in my classroom as part of her Methods Practicum. I needed help. As already mentioned, I was tired. And a lot of drama at work was making me feel unhappy. The day before I was to meet her, I distinctly remember pausing and saying a silent prayer that I would be assigned a student helper who could make a difference for me. Someone to help work feel more positive.
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When I first met Jennifer Ames, I was disappointed. She wasn't extroverted and bubbly like I pictured I needed. Instead, she was serious, quiet, and observant. But I soon found that she was a hard worker, took great initiative, and was a quick learner. And I was impressed with the lessons she taught the kids. I remember thinking that she was a lot like me, and was annoyed with myself for not expecting much from her--just because she was reserved. As I got to know her better, I took note of her ever-kind ways and sincere smile--the way it would unexpectedly appear as we talked, or she interacted with the kids. I liked her.
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On the last weekend before school got out, I was informed that Jennifer Ames was killed in an accident, as she drove down to Utah for her brother's seminary graduation. A tire blew just outside of Pocatello, her car rolled, and she passed away at a nearby medical center.
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She and I, just a few hours before the accident, had been working together on projects in my classroom, talking after the students had gone for the day. We had spent a good while talking about her plans for the future, the mission she served in Washington D.C., each member of her family, and how excited she was to see them over the weekend. She had been so alive! I couldn't imagine her gone...and in such a traumatic way.
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I've had family members pass away before. But usually, they were over the age of 60, and it was not entirely unexpected. Maybe that is why this news rocked my world like it did. I was a mess! I will be eternally grateful that I found out over the weekend, and not at school Monday morning. What if I hadn't had an evening to prepare myself for kids, immediately upon arrival asking, "Where's Miss Ames?" or for the heart-wrenching duty of informing them of what had happened?
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The students had a lot of hard questions. The hardest one being: "Why would Heavenly Father let her die?" At this point, I threw all political correctness out the window. Screw it. Where else were we supposed to turn for peace and comfort, but to the Gospel? Every last one of them attends primary anyway. So, there in a public education classroom, we held a discussion about God having a plan for everyone, and His always knowing best....even if we don't understand. He sees more than we do. The accident was not the result of a stupid mistake on her part. God simply needed her home. One young man even suggested that she was probably being a real teacher now. To which I answered that was probably true.
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That next week, we held many impromptu discussions like this. We dedicated the class play performances to our Miss Ames, and I was touched beyond words to see the way even my insanely ADHD student sat for almost an hour, carefully creating the most beautifully sincere sympathy card for the Ames family you ever saw. (If you knew this kid, and you saw his card, you would understand my shock.)
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When I found a grocery bag with a dinner plate, dish soap, food coloring, and baggie of cotton swabs in her desk, I did some research to find out what lesson she had been planning. Through Google, I found THIS video, showing the combination of these ingredients to be quite magical. So, on the last day of school, we went ahead and did the experiment. It was a nice last tribute to Miss Ames and all the work she had put in to her fun activities.
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I took off on Thursday night for Utah . I wanted to be to Spanish Fork in time for the funeral the next morning. Becca called to say she would come with me and offer support (how sweet is she?). I was touched, thanked her, but said I just needed to go alone. After this week from h-e-double-hockey-sticks, I needed some quiet time to regroup.
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I stayed the night with--get this--my Grandma Jolley--who lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Doesn't that just sound like the happiest of places?
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This is her house. .
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At the funeral the next morning, I was emotional the moment I walked through the doors of the building. Introducing myself to her father, a sizable man with kind eyes, I shook his hand and explained that Jenny had been working in my 3rd grade classroom. Unexpectedly, he grabbed me in a hug, sobbing: "Oh, she loved those kids!" My face buried in his stomach, I cried too.
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The service was lovely. Sitting next to her BYU-Idaho bishop, I met the little nephew she had talked about, sang hymns, recognized Jenny's smile in her mother's, recognized her eyes and nose in her father's, learned more about her goodness, cried, and was comforted.
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(picture from LDS.org)

I spent the rest of the day all by myself. After treating me to a Whopper, I took myself to the Provo temple to attend a session. I took everything slow and easy. I took my time admire the flowers. I stopped to enjoy the view and the warm weather. It was perfect.

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On the way back down from the temple, I then treated myself to dessert. I rarely can justify such a purchase, but maybe I should do so more often. Donuts are the happiest foods (next to black olives and Pop Rocks of course).
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Then after dinner at Grandma's, I went on a walk. She lives nestled near the top of this mountain. Not really sure why it's not a "P" instead of a "G". Maybe it stands for "Grandma" rather than "Pleasant Grove". That would make more sense.
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The mountain affords views of Utah Lake and the valley below. And it afforded me more time to think.
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I sat on a fire hydrant for at least half an hour, staring at this view. Too bad the camera couldn't capture the sun rays streaming through the clouds--the way it does in all the scripture movies just before God speaks. But in a way, God did speak to my soul that day. And part of me feels that the sunset, and the entire day for that matter, was part of God's prescribed therapy for the stress of the last couple of months.
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On my walk back to Grandma's house, I passed an empty lot and was pleased to find a family of quail darting through the grasses. Aren't quail the coolest? Check out that headdress!
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I stood watching them so long, that an old man in slippers called at me from his driveway, asking if I planned to buy the piece of property I was staring at. I figured it was time to move on at that point.
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Besides, Andrew, Becca, and Lane would be arriving in Pleasant Grove soon. As much as I needed a day alone, I had sure missed 'em. I love those guys.
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