I delight in the spontaneous.

Did a weekend just happen because I think I missed it. This week was work x5 days then a packed day of play! Craig and I headed south after LEND on Friday and landed in happy valley. Seeing my sweet grandpa is my favorite! Friday night I ate delicious food (thank goodness someone cancelled their reservation at the black sheep cafe) with my favorite aussie and mission companion. It was delightful to catch up on life and hear about the love of her life. We topped off the night at the creamery. I get so nostalgic on that campus. It seems like my BYU experience was a whole other life ago.

Saturday morning I woke up on my favorite couch in the world. The special of the morning was waffles which I only ever have at Grandpa's because he is the only one who has a belgian waffle maker. They were delicious as always. Then the three of us set out on an adventure. First to the barber, then around BYU, the cemetery, springville, salem and finally payson. The temple is looking SO much more like a temple now! It was fantastic! On the way back, we drove past the "provo city temple" (I think that's what they're calling it). So crazy as the entire structure is jacked up while they dig two stories below. I know right? 

The afternoon brought a drive to Eagle Mountain visiting my best friend from my undergrad days and lifesaver time and time again. She has the sweetest children (which is to be anticipated considering she is so sweet and constantly Christ-like herself) and we had a delightful time decorating sugar cookies. My only regrets are that I couldn't stay longer and that I didn't take any pictures. The most precious memory I walked away with is the one of her sweetest little one falling asleep with his head snuggled on my chest. Precious and so so delightful!

Then the whirlwind began...Draper and visiting a dear old roommate and friend and meeting her adorable baby! My friends have the cutest children! Anyway, it was so wonderful to catch up and go to another roommates bridal shower. It is so fantastic to get to hang out with people who you just love and who you just have a history with that makes you go...wow...being friends with you has been awesome! I love love love it. The night ended with a drive back to Provo, seeing my cousins, grandpa, picking up Craig and heading north with a diet coke in hand. 

I'm sad the weekend is over and I've only really recounted Saturday, mostly because I never want to forget it and because I really delighted in all of it. On the drive home, I enjoyed listening to general conference addresses from October 2010 from President Monson, President Eyring and President Uctodorf. The line that stuck me the most was this, "...diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the World..." (President Uctodorf). One of the things that matters the most to me is my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It shapes my life and I pray it continues to define and refine my life. 

-----

joseph smith: the prophet of the restoration

of things that matter most, president uctdorf, october 2010 general conference

trust in god, then go and do, president eyring, october 2010 general conference

the divine gift of gratitude, president monson, october 2010 general conference

acts 2:17

because i love hammocks

and because i love to win
and because i especially LOVE treklight hammocks...i'm blogging about their amazing contest that is going on right now in honor of national hammock day!

the sibs and i up the in the mountains july 24, 2012, loving our hammock time!

i won something in the contest last year--3 of their tote bags and they're amazing!!! i use them all the time!  my dad and i ran across these guys at the salt lake city outdoors show oh 5 or 6 years back, we bought a hammock then, then later bought 4 more so we all have one.  i always keep two of them in the back of my trunk and pull them out on a moments notice.  i've used them by the lake, in the mountains, i've even slept in them in the middle of nowhere, and i do mean nowhere.  best nights sleep i've ever had in the backcountry.

and so...everyone should enter the contest!

click link below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I delight in my pioneer ancestry.

Typically my post's on the 24th of July are about my Mom's birthday since, afterall it is today.  However, I've decided to save that for later (as I have documented the day quite well--but have yet to upload it all to my computer) and to instead share what the 24th of July, also known as Pioneer Day in Utah, means to me this year. 

At the beginning of the year, I felt some urgency in figuring out my family history--in pictures.  As a part of that project, I have scanned a lot of pictures and documents, this tribute is one of them.  

Joseph Strong (my great-great grandpa, i think) is someone I have come to learn a lot more about this year.  Craig came in touch with some relative (yeah, see why I need help with the whole family history thing?) who sent some documents regarding Joseph and his family's journey to America.  It is incredible.  

I am grateful to have this as just a part of my heritage.  There are so many other lines of my family and details I am coming to put together, slowly but surely.

Faith in every footstep.

i delight in family and history.

pearls of history 

(grandpa on the left, grandparents engagement photo in the middle and grandma on her tricycle on the right)

taken in the 1920s and 1940s

scanned by erin

Today was a really great day.  I put life together again in my room so I can stand living in it for however long I'm going to be here.  :)  I live so much better in clean, tidy and organized space.  Now to keep it that way...again :)  I spent time with my Mom.  Revision: I spent a lot of time laughing with my Mom.  We laughed a lot today at my house: this morning at breakfast, this afternoon about "Mary Problems" and tonight about the funny things people say when they're in denial about their life and circumstance (thank you dad, for sharing your experiences and for not making us share it firsthand with you).  I got to go bowling with my friends for the last time for a while (hello work starting next week!)  It's always entertaining.  And it always reminds me that one day I will learn why people with down syndrome stutter so much more frequently than the general population. I voted. I went to institute with katie, who always makes me smile and who i am so grateful we served in the same mission, even though we were both there together at the same time for a day but it has bonded us for life.  Talking with her always seems to make life manageable and happy, and of course, full of laughter.  Institute however was not a laughing matter but it was beautiful. We talked about the atonement of Jesus Christ and watched this video.  It is the first depiction of Christ's suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane that does not have any music or commentary or anything going on simultaneously, except the sound of crickets.  I realized how much background influences my emotions.  The gravity of the 'aloneness' set in, and my heart was and still is so full. It was so personal.  Please take 8:30 minutes to watch it.  The conversation that ensued afterwards was uplifting and powerful.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to gather with hundreds of other young single members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on a weekly basis, to feel of their strength and hear their experiences and testimonies.  I am always uplifted.  Finally, I got to spend time scanning pictures of my family.  I am always intimidated by family history.  My brother Craig knows it all and he is the family history guru.  He has our history memorized--dates, names, cities, relations, EVERYTHING.  He informs us of birth dates and death dates of loved ones who have passed on.  He notifies family members when he learns of the passing of a family member that was related to them.  He puts information on our family and other families on the church's family history site.  He gets phone calls and emails with questions, and thank you's regarding information he has provided.  Craig searches hundreds of newspapers everyday to see if in the obituaries, there is a relative that has passed away.  If there is he prints it out and keeps a record of it.  See where my intimidation comes in?  I know nothing. He knows everything.  At the beginning of the year though, I was determined to do something more than indexing so, I decided I was going to learn what my ancestors looked like.  Now that may sound strange so let me explain.  It is so much more powerful to me when I am hearing a story about a person to have a face pictured in my mind to whom I can attach the story to.  I am blessed to have known all 4 of my grandparents very well (and still have 3 living) and to have known 3 of 8 great grandparents.  But I have no visual image of any other family members.  So, I am collecting pictures of relatives.  The goal is 4 generations but really, there is no limit.  My goal is to organize them into a visual family tree (but really, I'm up for gathering as many pictures as possible and the stories to go with) so I can understand and know what they looked like so I can think of their picture in my mind when I hear something about them or about their posterity.  A visit to my Grandpa this weekend made at least he and my grandma's portion of that rather easy.   It has been a special experience to look at each picture one at a time and think about how it must have been.  There are stories I know, stories I want to know and stories to be recorded.  But starting with pictures, is my first step.  The day is now over, and this is probably as recorded as it is going to get.  It has been a delightful day that is ending right where it started, in my bed.  Good night. 

I delight in Grad School Graduation.

I posted this same collection (close) on facebook but I had to post it here because well...this blog will outlive my facebook and this is the space I can give a little more commentary.

This graduation was a really big deal to me.  It doesn't even seem quite real yet.  You see while education has always been so important to me, I never dreamed of going to grad school.  It wasn't in my plans.  But when I chose the major of Speech-Language Pathology I knew grad school was a must so...I didn't question because I was determined I had chosen the very best profession ever.  So many miracles have come into play to get me to this point--from acceptance to graduate school, surviving each semester and finally graduation.  

My biggest cheerleader--literally!

The most supportive parents in the world.

Mary and I--leading out the grad students in the College of Health--yay CSD!

All the CSD grads!

That's me...with my pretend diploma.  The real one has yet to arrive.  But its on its way!

The graduating class plus Dr. Wambaugh and Dr. Chapman.

So happy!  Those are all genuine happy faces--can't you tell!

Mary said it best: "From undergrad to missions to grad school...WE DID IT"

We could probably say I owe my degree to her because without her study assistance, best friend-ed-ness, listening ear, gym buddy-ness, temple buddy-ness, etc. etc...my degree would not be possible.

Thank you!

Great friends Shaun, me, Mary, Dani and Meredith

Dad and I--both U Masters Graduates

So happy together.  I look at this picture and think..wow I look like my mother.  Good thing that is a good thing!  :)  And of course, Christin would hope I would say that she and I look like twins!

The family sans Craig

Can we just appreciate/love Christin for the look she's giving me.  Honestly, for all the love she gives me...I just feel so blessed to have her as my sister. 

Mary's Dad and my Grandpa discussing their old times out at ATK/Mary's Dad reminding my Grandpa of how he gave him his first engineering job out at ATK.  What are the chances.

Mary and her sweet sister Sarah.  We are both blessed in terms of awesome sisters!

The Sister's picture!

Oh cheese.

A great candid shot of my Dad by Christin.  She's an awesome photographer...no really!

Me and the Thomas Family--they adopted me in as part of their family and took such good care of me.  They shared Mary with me for oh 2 years and I'm so grateful!  Grateful for their welcomingness (not a real word but go with the idea), the feeling in the home, the never-ending love in their hearts and the study snacks and meals.

So glad my Grandparents could come celebrate.  I appreciate their support and love.

Somehow, the only picture I have of me wearing my hood...well properly.

Mary's idea to do it old-school.  

This one is probably my favorite!

Dreaming of the rest of our lives...what comes next...

Who knows...we'll just enjoy where we're at!

"Biggest Fan EF-FER"

"My sweet sis"

Let the party begin...

Because I love any reason to celebrate

And because my graduation was a pretty good reason to celebrate

We had a party!

Check out the amazing signs Christin's art teacher and her daughter made.  Aren't they amazing!  I love love love love love them!  They stayed up 3 days?!?  I hated to take them down!

Entrance to the backyard--it looks way more enchanting than it actually is...  ha ha ha!

Check out the variegated plates!

Hamburgers, hotdogs, and elk brats...surprisingly most of the brats got eaten--not by me.  That part's not surprising.

In for another day of celebrating...

Dear friend Heather who is embarking on becoming a Master too.  You can do it!

Christin and cute cousin Cooper.  So happy he and Heather could stop by!

My fantastic neighbors the Anderson's and my sweet Aunt Bonnie

Donna, Mom and Heather checking out the food spread.

The "Houdad's" and the Hortons and my Dad

She's too cute.

My second family--the Allen's and subsequently the Kropfs.  So grateful for the "Clifford's" for being friends all these years!

My dearest and probably longest time best friend Carly

Too cute right?  Cooper was about to leave and he said...uhm...do you think I could actually eat one of those cupcakes?  

Dad prepping the 'roasting' portion of the evening.

Craig and Christin helping to calm Pen and Scoobs aka the laughing hyena 

This is what happens when you tease Clifford...he gets you back!

New favorite family picture--thank you Natalie (who is also to credit for all the BBQ photography)

Speaking of which--Natalie--the one who inspired this little shin-dig in the first place as she reminded me a few months ago that I should have a party and invite her when I graduate.  Done and done.  We're both master's you see and have really done this whole school thing together.  Although we never attended the same university, we made plenty of ways to keep in touch through it all--sunday night phone calls which eventually turned into random night/afternoon/or morning chats, g-chat (not pink) and email chains.  We did it!!!  

JD (Nat's husband and my good friend since high school) and Christin--I must say I love this picture of both of them, such natural happy smiles!

Cousins!  This part was extra special--Breanne, me, Sarah, Christin and Rachel.  We're hardly ever all together--okay it happens next to never.  So it made it extra special that we were all in the same place at the same time, even if it was just for a few minutes!  I'm afraid the only one who came and didn't get a picture was Mark, Breanne's fiance, sorry!  I'm so grateful that Sarah and Rachel stopped by on their way back north--I wish you lived closer!  

Graduation would not have been possible without all the people in these pictures and so many more.  I feel so abundantly blessed to have the best friends and family in the world.

I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father in whom I can always trust.  He keeps his promises and always provides a way.  He reminds me I can do hard things.  He gave me the best family in the world--the best family for me!  They are my motivation, my perspective and my support.  I am grateful for parents who believe in education and who let me live my dreams.  I'm grateful for the trust my parents have always had in me to make the right choices and to do good.  I am grateful for the best siblings who know exactly when I need hugs!

I am grateful for good friends who put up with all the excuses of reasons I couldn't play or get together. I'm grateful to have friends who believe in the value of education and didn't give up on me or get offended when I didn't return their phone calls in a timely manner or when I couldn't get together.  Let's please get together soon!

I am grateful for fantastic supervisors who knew I had it in me and gave me wings to fly.  In whom I have found not just amazing mentors but amazing friendship.  Thank you will never do my gratitude to you justice.

I am grateful for all the patients and clients I have been able to meet and work with in so many places--from the clinic at the U to the Children's Center, to McKay-Dee Hospital, Stewart Rehab and North Ogden Elementary.  I honestly treasure the lessons you've taught me and always will.  I wish I could tell you all the stories that mean the most to me, but most of those experiences will be documented on ly in my heart.  I find that experiences in life are no coincidence and our meeting was such a blessing.  Thank you for letting me learn along with you and your continued patience and kindness along the way.

truly blessed and truly grateful.
thanks again!