What's in a word?

So, while Tuesday was a great day, Wednesday was not. In fact, I can honestly say it will probably be remembered as one of the absolute worst days in my existance. Without getting into the drama of it all, let's just say it was a day for a tremendous amount of reflection on my part. Getting through what could perhaps be described as a truly heartwrenching experience was not the easiest of tasks to accomplish, but in time, while remembering that the day was not about me, all that pain will be put in its own little box, never to be re-opened. I'll remember that for someone else, the person who really mattered on that day, it was a day of joy.

But for Wednesday itself, the prevailing thoughts revolved around making sense of the situation. Thoughts which revolved around a single word. So, I just want to say thank you soooooo much to the women who took time out of their day to show me the true meaning of sisterhood. All they knew was I was hurt. They didn't know why and they probably never will. But by doing a simple act of kindness (dropping chocolates off outside my door), they let me know I was important, and I had sisters who loved me for me---sisters I didn't even know two months ago, much less a lifetime--- sisters that will forever hold a place in my heart just for including me in their hearts and lives. Thanks ladies. You'll never know how much it meant!

Springtime

So, Tuesday was an excellent day! Mom, Dad, and I had the opportunity to go down to Seattle for the day. The original plan: catch a Mariners game at 7:10 P.M. The modified plan: leave early, pick up Veronica, catch a temple session, meet friends at the ballpark and watch the M's gain a fabulous victory over reigning AL champs-the Tampa Bay Rays.

Well, despite a late start that meant missing the session, we still went to the temple. We enjoyed this absolutely amazing season called Spring and had a fabulous time enjoying the spirit of such a holy place. It was truly magnificent. I hope you can enjoy it through the wonderful world of photography almost as much as we enjoyed our experience.

And P.S., there will be a separate ball game post (waiting on pictures), but this one is dedicated to our treasured temple trip. So, sit back, imagine the most heavenly fragrance possible, and escape to our little Paradise.

Happy Easter

Well, it's only taken me three weeks to get this one posted, but at least it is now up on the blog, so that has to account for something right? Well, if not, than you can skip on over this post. But I wanted to share it with you forgiving souls, so here it is.

This year we went about the holiday a little differently. Normally, we just do baskets on the couch with pictures of Christ's life spread above them. We read scriptures at home and then get ready to go to church. Well, that is now a tradition of the past.

On the Saturday night before Easter, Mom and Dad's ward (which by extension is my home ward since I attend Singles) presented a fantastic fireside that was given by one of the Institute gurus, who also happens to be an insatiably avid scriptorian of a bishop in the stake. The subject matter: The Last Week of Christ's Mortal Ministry...but more specifically, the last 24 hours. Let me just say WOWSERS! It was fantastic and I proceeded to take copious notes.

As a result of that uplifting oration, I decided that I didn't want Easter to be about baskets and candy and bunny rabbits on Sunday. So, baskets were done on Saturday night. Now I won't say we didn't enjoy the candy bunny rabbits and various other confections, because we still are, but the treats, complete with brand new kites, were handed out on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, before the sun had risen fully, we all awoke and prepared to go about setting our new Easter morning ritual. We left the house, scriptures in tow, and headed down to our newly discovered beach.


While the sun should have risen (it turned out to be a pretty dreary, drizzly, and downright cold, gray morning) we sat in the warm car, looking out over the beach and reading the Easter scriptures associated with our favorite Saviour pictures. It was a fantastic experience, and we look forward to repeating it for many more years to come. It has been fun to re-live that experience and once again "Stand All Amazed at the love Jesus offers me"-and every single one of us ALL the time.

Taking Time to Smell the Roses-Part 2

Okay---last post for the night. Three in one shot is a lot for me these days. But at least I can now say that I now am, or you are, all caught up!



This past week has been really hard for me. As much as I love our new state of residence, it lacks a few decidedly important elements. Most of those elements are familial in nature, but one that has been particularly hard for me this week is my dear guy. We've kept in touch since leaving, and while it was always a little hard, I was too busy to realize it was a lot of heartache. Until this week, I'd managed to ignore how much I truly missed everyone-but especially him. For some reason, the delayed reaction kicked in, and I found myself craving the connection that he and I have. Talk about withdrawal!

Anyways, in our various communications this week, this topic came up...initiated by him (hence the delayed reaction kicking in). I started crying, which for the record, I HATE! And each day that passed just seemed to make the distance a little more heart shattering. But this morning, whilst in the kitchen, that began to change. There was a perfunctory knock at the door, which Mom answered. I didn't see who it was, but she then called me out. And voila...I once again had flowers.

When I opened them up, I immediately noticed that my FAVORITE roses ever...thornless lavender ones-12 of them...were waiting to be freed from their restrictive rubber bands. There was the sweetest note EVER, and a cute balloon. Thanks to the sweetest man on earth, my melancholy evaporated. And now, I can smell my roses when I walk in the kitchen, and see them from my chair in the living room.



Ah...love is indeed a many splendored thing. Thanks Baby for knowing just how to make me feel better. It was the greatest thing you could have done.

Clamming it up!

So, in what was a first for all of us, we got a chance to go clamming with some friends from Mom and Dad's ward last Saturday. (I know, I'm behind...but once again...better late than never!) I only got one picture because it was cold and WET, however, it's a winner. You have to look closely to see that Mom is in FIVE layers, one of which is a pair of waders. She was so cute that I couldn't help but snap the pic.




But, despite that cold and wet, when we saw the size of the clams we dug up (yes, quite literally), it was so worth it. It will be even more worth it when we cook these babies up and feast! Thanks to the Dickeys for teaching us the finer art of playing in the sand! We had a blast.

Tennant Lake

So, I've been a slacker. One of the many mini adventures we went on ***last week*** was to this little lake. Combined with this beautiful site, there is a fragrance garden, which was not completely in bloom yet, but we enjoyed a taste of what late spring and early summer will have to offer.


We truly had a great time just wandering around the garden. I'll post more pictures once Spring decides to make an appearance. But, above the beautiful water and fun plants, the best experience of all was watching my formerly wheelchair bound mother tackle this succor! Just to give you an idea...this tower is fifty feet high, and in order to get to the top, you have to climb fifty rather steep stairs. And just to prove that Momma did it, here's the view from the top!!!!!


The smile on her face says it ALL. Soooo proud of you Mom. We are extremely happy to have you beat us up those stairs anytime! I'm glad you got to see this, along with Dad and me.

The First of Many Firsts for ME!!!!

So, a last minute change of plans occurred yesterday, saving from the odious chore of doing a TON of laundry. So, that was fun. Since going back to school I have learned not to procrastinate, but this time, I made an exception. After all, missionaries were involved so it was for a righteous cause (and yes, that is MAJOR justification). It's the honest truth!

While Dad was out walking the dog, he came across a couple young men that we've become very familiar with over the past week. The Elders approached Dad, asking if we were available to assist them in a transportation need. Now, under normal circumstances, this is a no brainer. Our response is "Sure, we'd love to!!!" However, being in a completely unfamiliar area, we were a little more reticent, though still excited to help them. The answer of "Sure, where to?" soon followed.

When the time came for us to leave, these fabulous young men enlightened us as to a fun place to visit. And, it is a place that would give me an opportunity for a first ever adventure---to leave the country! Okay, so it was only Canada, but still...that's a different country-so it totally counts! Even if i did only go about 100 yeards into Canada, it still totally counts!

So, we had fun at Peace Arch State Park, which is literally smack dab on the international border. Here, in an extremely limited range, Americans and Canadians can cross the border without any type of passport, Enhanced Driver's License, Birth Certificate, etc. Soooo stinkin' awesome. We loved it. So, hope you are able to enjoy another first of mine-an attempt at a slide show! We had so much fun, but in the end, I ran back across the border, glad to return to my native land!