Crazy pictures

New Legs

Sisters Mary Catherine, Maria Theresa, Katherine Marie, Rose Frances, & Mary Kathleen left the Convent on a trip to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and were sight-seeing on a Tuesday in July. It was hot and humid in town and their traditional garb was making them so uncomfortable, they decided to stop in at Patty McGuire's Pub for a cold soft drink.

Patty had recently added special legs to his barstools, which were the talk of the fashionable eastside neighborhood. All 5 Nuns sat up at the bar and were enjoying their Cokes when Monsignor Riley and Father McGinty entered the bar through the front door. They, too, came for a cold drink when they were shocked and almost fainted at what they saw.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!!!! It's time to bring out the journal and read old resolutions and figure out some new ones. I laughed when I looked at mine. My first resolution was to write in my journal weekly. The very next entry was a month later! I will definitely be better about that this year. :)

On New Year's Eve, Nathaniel, Caitie, Ted and I went to Kirtland after church and toured the sites there. What a way to start the year! We went to the upper room of the Whitney story where the school of the prophets was. Because there were not many people there, we could stay as long as we wanted. There was a powerful spirit there. Caitie sang hymns while the rest of us thought separate thoughts. Then we came home and had a wonderful dinner. We watched a couple movies and then watched the ball drop on TV. We drank martinelli's and Ted and I kissed in the new year. :)

For family home evening last night, we wrote down what we were grateful for. I think the theme of this trip home for me was to be grateful and to not be afraid to talk to the Lord and ask Him for what I need. It's amazing how much the Lord wants to bless us.

Happy New Year! May your year be filled with incredible experiences, love and success!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas was wonderful this year. Mom decided to stuff us instead of the turkey. :) All of our favorite meals were carefully planned and shopped for before we came home. We made new traditions which included eating fondue instead of clam chowder on Christmas Eve. I love fondue! We had cheese fondue, heated peanut oil where we fried shrimp, scallops, steak, and chicken, and chocolate fondue. When the chocolate came out it was almost as if we had not eaten in weeks! Everyone rushed to the chocolate. We had sword fights with our fondue forks in the chocolate trying to knock everyone else's fruit and cake off their forks. It was great fun! The best part was when Nathaniel "accidentally" dropped a piece of pepper-jack cheese into the fondue for some lucky person to find and eat while it was covered in chocolate. When that lucky person finally did pick it up (thinking it was an apple!), Nathaniel started laughing and the person ran and spit it out. Pretty hilarious.. I'll tell you what! Also different this year was instead of acting out the nativity while Dad read it, the little kids put the nativity pieces in place while the story was read. On Christmas Eve we also went around the room saying what we were grateful for from the year before and also what gift we want to give Jesus this year. It was a really powerful night! I decided I like Christmas Eve even more than Christmas day. I love what we focus on on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning I was greeted by my excited 5-year-old nephew. "It's time for Christmas!" he exclaimed. We groggily walked down the stairs and found our stockings. The boys all got ping pong ball guns that didn't really work (we ended chucking them at each other with our hands instead!). The girls got bath stuff. Everyone got their favorite kind of cereal from Santa. Then the present fest began! The Manheim Steamroller Christmas CD was put on while we took turns opening presents. I think everyone got spoiled this year--especially the grandkids! Steve called from China and met Ted over the phone. We sang carols to him and laughed and talked. Mom put his picture at the top of the tree this year. :) I'm so glad we could talk to him. We called everyone in the family and wished them a merry Christmas.

Breakfast was the usual cold cereal with a swedish tea ring. Yum!!!!! And then we were back to the presents! :) My favorite gifts were gifts from the heart. I think everyone gave those. I really feel so blessed! As that little boy said, "love is the feeling you get at Christmas when you stop opening presents and just listen."

Change

Before I moved to college, I did not think I struggled with change. When my family moved, I was all right with it. I cried a little bit, but my heart didn't break. A few nights ago, my old roommate, Cassidy, got engaged. She is so happy and I am so happy for her. My other old roommate, Audrey is moving to Texas. I'm trying to make decisions about where I want my life to go. There is a lot of change happening all at the same time, it seems. Anyway, after Cassidy got engaged, she came with her fiance to my apartment and we had a small party. I was all right until my sister began to cry. When I saw her cry, all the memories I have of living with these girls flooded through my mind and heart. I remembered our quote wall. I remembered crying over Gilmore Girls' episodes with them. I remembered skipping classes, just because I loved being home so much. I remembered working out to "Sweatin' to the Oldies". I remembered going to the library with Audrey at Christmas and checking out children's Christmas stories and reading them from the light of the Christmas tree in our apartment. I remembered break-ups. I remembered hugs. I remembered prayers and reading scriptures together. I remembered the ice cream and M&M's. I remembered Sunday afternoon naps on Caitie's and my bed. All six of the girls came in and we cuddled until we all fell asleep. I remembered porch movies. I remembered Tarythe singing and playing on her guitar. I remembered Julie making maceroni and cheese for breakfast. I remembered watching chick flicks while we all held hands and cried. I remembered Cassidy and Caitie laughing and being silly together. I remembered jamming with Ted in the front room while we all sang fun songs. I remembered making our favorite meals together so we could share our family favorites with the ones we love. I remembered Audrey's writing. I remembered coming home to our apartment and really feeling like I was home. I remembered the love. I remembered Caitie's first experience with 'religion'. I remembered coming home and we all wore our goucho pants on Sundays. Peanut butter and Chocolate chips. Practicing kissing on ice creams cones at Dairy Queen. I remembered boating with Debi-lynn.

Change is a good thing. It's so hard to say goodbye... or rather, see ya later. I feel like I'm ready to move on, but I still have a hard time letting go of these memories. I want everything to change while it all stays the same. Heavenly Father knows what is best in our lives. He knows our pains and struggles. He knows how much my heart hurts when I have to say goodbye. Because He knows that, I need to give it to Him so that He can help me figure out how to heal.

Thank you. Thank you for the memories. I love you.

An Answer to Prayer

This was posted on my friends' blog. I know I needed to read it. Maybe it will help someone else too!

"Now, my dear sisters, that is the way with you. You are doing the best you can, and that best results in good to yourself and to others. Do not nag yourself with a sense of failure. Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do. Then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord. You will discover that you have accomplished something beyond price."

~President Hinckley

Friday Nights

What is the new cool thing to do on a Friday night? Apparently, it's taking a test at the testing center at BYU. Last night, I took a test and the testing center was completely full! Everyone had their heads down, sweating over their tests. I wondered how many people actually know what the ceiling in the testing center looks like. Good times... good times at the testing center.

Exciting News!!

I know you all have been wondering for a long time what is going on in my life. I am happy to announce that I am....

officially....

going home for Christmas!


I have not been home for almost two years now. Life is so great! Yay!!! I just thought I would share my great news! :)

A Token of Gratitude

This morning I had a very interesting breakfast. Caitie and I woke up early, cleaned the apartment and then she made the mush. I felt like I was at home again. Dad used to make these incredibly healthy breakfasts that didn't taste so great. We always ended up making fun of the food. Dad's feelings weren't hurt. He always laughed with us as he grated his apple peel into his cereal-instead of sugar. Caitie's wonderful surprise this morning consisted of rolled oats, wheat, cranberries, raisins, brown rice, almonds, flax seed, oats groats, barley, spices, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, corn, garbonzo beans, millet, bananas, and oat bran. I call it... BIRD FOOD! I felt like I needed to peck at my meal this morning. The food was so mushy, when I tried to whistle like a bird, I couldn't make a sound out of my mouth. As I watched Caitie take her first bite, I asked her if it tasted awful. She said, "Plain... gross plain." "Oh!" I said, "For YOU to say that... it really means it's disgusting." I then thought we should invite our friends over for the special 'tweet'. As we continued to eat our meal, Caitie made the comment, "I think the reason I am eating this is a token of gratitude for my body. There really is no other reason to eat it."

What is love?

What does Love mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8
year-olds, "What does love mean?"

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca- age 8


"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4


"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5


"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6


"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4


"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7


"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"
Emily - age 8


"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)


"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)


"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
Noelle - age 7


"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6


"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8


"My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6


"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5


"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7


"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4


"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen - age 7


"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Halloween

Does anyone have any ideas of what I could be for Halloween???

Power to Overcome ALL things

In my Mission Prep class on Monday, our teacher, Brother Bott, talked about how we as children of God have the power to overcome all things that are not ordained of God. The catch is that we need to be humble enough to receive His guidance. D&C 50: 35 says, "And by giving heed and doing these things which ye have received, and which ye shall hereafter receive—and the kingdom is given you of the Father, and power to overcome all things which are not ordained of him—"

What is it that we need to overcome? Each of us needs to look inside and discover our faults and then ask the lord to help us overcome them. Much of the time, it won't be discovering our faults, but it will be taking an honest look and then truly becoming humble enough that the Lord will help us. He is there. He is waiting. Just let Him take care of all the things He has already taken care of through the Atonement.

Like an incredible friend of mine said the other night, "I'm stronger than Satan. He has no power over me." And then the reply, "You're a hell of a lot stronger than he is."

Nightmares on Sesame Street

"That's it! You're going to live on Sesame Street!"

My heart was filled with dread at that thought when Audrey suggested my fake street name in her novel. "I cannot live on Sesame Street! I've had way too many nightmares about Sesame Street!" The bedroom erupted into laughter as Audrey heard what I said. "What do you mean you've had nightmares about Sesame Street?" I told her the awful tales:

When I was a young girl I had a nightmare about the Cookie Monster. My whole family was on a giant cookie. We were running frantically from something and I wasn't sure what it was. All of a sudden, I heard the terrible laughter, "Me want cookie!!" The Cookie Monster was chasing my family! Before I knew what had happened, my whole family had fallen into one of the chocolate chips which then turned into a big black hole. After we fell to the bottom, I looked up from where we had fallen. The Cookie Monster's awful blue face was staring down into the hole. "Me want cookies!!!" continued, as well as the diabolical laughter. I woke up panicking. I never want to eat another cookie again! I resolved. Good thing we grow out of such silly resolves. :)

The second nightmare came I think, only a year or two ago. I was living on a nice quiet, street when all of a sudden it turned into Sesame Street. The problem was that the characters were not the nice characters we know from our childhood. They were evil! Can you imagine living on the same street as an evil Big Bird? Ugh!! It was awful. The scariest voice I think I've ever heard was Ted imitating Elmo... "Elmo knows where you live... he he he"

No, Audrey. I will never live on Sesame Street.

Examples

Tonight I went to Salt Lake to have a birthday dinner with two of my brothers, their wives, and my little sister. We went to Red Lobster... yum! I had alotta colada, and the ultimate feast!! Not to mention those incredible biscuits. Wow... I felt like I needed to be rolled out to the car. It was so good.

While I was there, I watched my brothers a lot. Josh made sure his wife and kids were taken care of the whole time. Matt took the kids when it seemed they needed to wander. Josh paid for everyone's meal. Total generosity.

When we got back, Caitie and I told our little brother, Nathaniel, about the night and Josh's generosity. Nathaniel made the perfect comment, "I have so many role models in my brothers." It's so true! We talked about the different qualities they have and after each one, Nathaniel promptly said, "I want to be just like him!" How many younger siblings can say that about every one of their older siblings? What a blessing.

Life is good. Happy Birthday, Matt!

BYU Blast!

Hey!

I'm part of the upcoming BYU Blast! This is the first time BYU's School ofMusic has ever produced a concert this big.

Friday, October 6, 7:30 p.m.
de Jong Concert Hall

Women's Chorus
Cougar Marching Band Drumline
Men's Chorus
Orpheus Winds
BYU Singers
\Panoramic SteelTuba Ensemble
Trombone Choir
Wind Symphony,
Vocal Point
Philharmonic Orchestra
Jazz Ensemble
Deseret Piano Trio
Scene from the upcoming opera Die Fledermaus
and more!

Watch for me, I am in the Women's Chorus.
Tickets are on sale now at the Fine Arts Ticket Office or online atartstix.byu.edu for only $9 ($3 off with BYU or student ID).or you can get a two-for-one coupon and a discount on ice cream at the Creameryon Ninth, click here. HIGH SCHOOL students get an even better discount! They can buy tickets for $2! What a deal! This is a great opportunity to experience all the great performers at BYU in onefull night. Hurry, tickets are going fast..I hope to see you after the concert.

Weird

That last post didn't exactly turn out how I wanted it to. I published it and then the computer deleted it. Ahh well. I went to the dance assembly at the Marriott center this morning. The clogging team performed as well as the swing dance team. It's time. I need to dance again. I miss it a lot. Other than that, school is going well. Life is great!

Gratitude

I'm learning more about myself every day. Something I've really learned this week is to be grateful. When I am having a difficult time with life or myself or something that is going on, and I take time to help myself feel grateful for the blessings in my life, it takes less time to heal. I am happy again. I am so incredibly grateful. Last night I went to a beautiful concert given by the Utah Chamber Artists in St. Madeline's Cathedral in Salt Lake. I was moved to tears by the beauty of the music and the exquisite way it was performed. I am grateful for beautiful music. I am grateful for good books. I am grateful for life.

I See

For one single, breathless moment,
As you looked into my eyes,
I thought this could be for real
And I let down my disguise

Then, for many timeless moments,
I evaluated; dreamed,
Our brief time of joy had faded
And love was not what it seemed.

When the moment came for parting,
My now-hidden Self was gone.
There was “Us;” now there was nothing
And I struggled to go on.

But in moments of awareness
I can see that I have grown.
Where was sorrow, now is joy
With new perspectives clearly shown.

Should I thank you? Or be angry?
Neither: my moments with you
Lead my steps a new direction;
Give my sight a clearer view.

Each experience, each moment,
Each now cherished memory
Is a gift, unfolding wisdom.
For, where love was blind, I see.

A Musical Universe

I think of this life and tue universe as a grand musical composition. Our first estate was the first movement. Our second estate is the second movement. How did we keep our first estate? We subjected our spiritual body to God's will. This is much like when we begin learning a new piece of music, we take whatever interpretation we have of the piece and we subject our will to be in line with the director's will concerning the piece.

To keep our second estate, we are subjecting our physical bodies to our spiritual bodies which are already in line with God's will. This is comparable to when we are playing the piece, we take our talents and we align them with the will our minds have of being in line with the directors will. The third movement will then be when we become gods and godesses. However, this incredible composition is "one eternal round". It does not have a beginning and it does not have an end. There are many parts and sections and phrases of the piece that we do not understand and parts we cannot comprehend because our ears are not yet in tune enough to understand the will of the composer.

"Gaze at the stars, such brilliant bright light
A billion stars which fill the night
Space surrounds us, dark satin sky
A musical unverse yet few wonder why
That music exists, we all agree
And matter is waves, though few yet see.
Naive illusion that 'particles' are real
Because we touch them, and solid they feel
Einstein knew matter and universe were whole
True knowledge of reality, the ultimate goal
Matter exists as spherical waves in space
Perhaps this wisdom will end the arms race!
The harmony of the spheres, all is One
Intimately interconnected, like Father and Son."

~Geoff Haselhurst

Women's Chorus Schedule

Hello again!! Here are all the concerts for Women's Chorus this year. They are going to be awesome!!!!

Sunday, Sept 24, 7:00 Combined Choir Fireside

Sept. 26, 27, Choral Showcase

Oct. 19, 20, Homecoming Spectacular (We're singing 3 Wicked songs for this!)

Nov. 10, 11, Womens Chorus and Mens Chorus fall concert

Dec. 8, 9, Celebration of Christmas concert


Yay!!! So fun!!! We're singing at a whole bunch of BYU devotionals and other such things. It's going to be a great year!! Everyone should come to these concerts... they will be fantastic!

Chosen Generation

In my mission prep class this morning, we talked about how we are a chosen generation. It was wicked awesome!!! Here are some of the quotes we got.

"For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord... While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of His strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God.

"All through the ages the prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it--you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized. Now is the great day of the devil's power, Lord's power, with the greatest number ever of priesthood holders on the earth. And the showdown is fast approaching."
~Ezra Taft Benson ("In His Steps," in Speeches of the Year, 1979 Provo: BYU Press, 1980, p. 59)

"Never before in history has there lived a more valiant generation of youth. I am convinced the spirits of this generation were held to come forth at this important time in history. Their potential is unlimited."
~Victor L. Brown ("Is there not a cause?" Ensign, Nov. 1974, p.104)

"My dear friends, you are a royal generation. you were preserved to come to the earth in this time for a special purpose. Not just a few of you, but all of you. There are things for each of you to do that no one else can do as well as you. If you do not prepare to do them, they will not be done. Your mission is unique and distinctive for you. Please don't make another have to take your place. He or she can't do it as well as you can. If you will let Him, I testify that our Father in Heaven will walk with you through the journey of life and inspire you to know your special purpose here."
~H. Burke Peterson ("Your Life Has Purpose." New Era, May 1979, p.5)

Pretty awesome huh? I loved it!

The Tithing of My Life

This semester has been extremely busy. I'm taking 17 credits and I have felt completely overwhelmed. As I talked to my Mom about how overwhelmed I was the other day, I gave her a list of everything I had to do. She gave me a wonderful suggestion, "Why don't you give a tithing of your time to the Lord?" I'm awake for 16 hours of the day. If I give 10% of that to the Lord in service and in becoming closer to Him, that makes 120 minutes of time. As she told me that, it rang true, but at the same time it also was overwhelming because it seemed like just another time-consuming activity to clutter up my day. Nevertheless, this week I have made that my focus. So far today, I have completed everything on my list in the time that I had and I've even had time left over to help some friends. I truly feel like the Lord is blessing me with the ability to make the time that I have more effective and efficient. I don't have an overwhelmed feeling. Instead, I am filled with deep gratitude for all the Lord has blessed me with.

3Nephi 24:8,10

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings."

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

Some Thoughts on Music

Tonight we had our first meeting of the year for vocal majors. I went to the same meeting last year and was just as bored... :) At the end of this one however, I was very touched. They shared some beautiful thoughts about music that I really appreciated.

Isaiah 12:2

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation."

2 Nephi 32:9

"But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

Joseph Young Sr. History of the Organization of the Seventies

"This subject came under the especial notice of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, who organized the first choir in the church, and who was a constant attendant at their singing schools. He recommended the Saints to cultivate as high a state of perfection in their musical harmonies as the standard of faith which he had brought was superior to sectarian religion. To obtain this, he gave them to understand that the refinement of singing would depend on the attainment of the Holy Spirit. That the combined talent of the sainted compositors, when united with those inspirations, will bring the compositions of tunes, that have their origin with the sacred choirs that sing the new song, in the presence of God and the Lamb, who join their symphonies with the compositors, that dwell with the Saints on earth; and when the music performed here, is acceptable to their spirits, they then cooperate with the choirs, in our earthly courts.

"When this subject is studied and sought after by the singsers of the Saints, with their whole hearts, their songs and anthems, and their ministrelsy, will soften into celestial melody, melt the hearts of the Saints and draw them together, as the magnet needle is drawn to the loadstone. When these graces and refinements and all the kindred attractions are obtained that characterized the ancient Zion of Enoch, then the Zion of the last days will become beautiful, she will be hailed by the Saints from the four winds, who 'will gather to Zion with songs of everlasting joy.' Then Zion will be free; and to God and the Lamb will be the glory, to Saints the boundless joy"

King Lear, by Shakespeare

"I cannot heave my heart into my mouth, my love is much richer than my tongue. And so God gave us music. And when the angels of heaven are bursting with joy, words are not enough--they sing!"

The Blessing

Right now I'm kicking myself because it's the third day of classes and I've already slept through my 7:30 am class. Our teacher gave us a lecture on the first day of class about how to make sure we are there and to make sure we are punctual. I woke up this morning amazed at how refreshed I felt before the alarm went off and then I looked at the clock 7:45.... dangit! I hurried around and got ready and then Caitie took me to school. I was awake until 10:30 doing homework last night and then 11:30 before I finally fell asleep because of the hip hop party going on upstairs. (Next week it's at my apartment...) I had one more paper to write that I was going to wake up at 5 to do. Didn't happen. This is just the first week!

As I walked to the library, I realized why this happened. On Monday night, I received a blessing to start the semester in school. In the blessing, I was told that the mood of my day would depend on my reading of the scriptures. It did not matter how much I read, but that the Lord would bless me depending on whether I read or not. I thought about my night. Nope... I didn't read my scriptures. The Lord also told me that I would be able to handle my schoolwork as I fulfilled my calling. It's definitely time to work on my calling. You can also be sure that I will never go without reading my scriptures again.

Funny story

Last year, I met a boy at a dance. He asked for my number. I gave it to him. He asked me on a date and, after talking with him for a little while, I said no. I told him I would be busy all year. (It was toward the end of the year... so it wasn't such a harsh rejection...) I thought he would get the hint. :)

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, my phone rang. "Emilie, do you remember me?" He said in broken English. I told him I did not. "We went dancing last year and I got your number." My memory was jogged. "Ooooh... I remember now." He then talked to me for about ten minutes until I said I needed to get to bed.

Ya know, most of the time, when you tell a boy you will be busy ALL year, that's a pretty good indication that you're not interested. That's persistence for you...

Instruments in the Lord's Hands

I was recalling a conversation the other day that my little brother had with a friend of his during a seminary class. The teacher was talking about being instruments in the hands of the Lord. My brother turned to his friend and told him that he would be a tuba. My brother also informed him that he (my brother) would be a guitar. Sounds like him, doesn't it? :)

Yesterday, I had a neat experience with being an instrument in the Lord's hands. I was walking on campus when I ran into a friend of my sisters'. David had written to her all during his mission and when he returned home, Caitie and I went on a double date with David and his brother. His brother was not a member of the church at the time. We went to cedar point and had a very enjoyable time. There were a lot of long lines and plenty of time to talk. The brother asked me a lot of questions about why I believed what I did about the church. I bore my testimony all day long. I bore my testimony of eternal families, scriptures, living prophets and apostles, the Savior and Joseph Smith. It was a neat experience, but I wasn't sure that what I had said had touched his heart.

As I spoke with David yesterday, David told me that his younger brother had joined the church. He was now married and he and his wife were planning on being sealed next year. My heart was full of gratitude when I heard that. But, I felt extremely humbled a couple minutes later when David told me that a large part of it was because of my example on the date. I had no idea. What a blessing to be a part of that. I am so grateful for those experiences. I am grateful that I can be a light to others. I am especially grateful for my Savior.

As a side note, when I asked Audrey what instrument she thought I would be, she said a violin. I think it fits. I'm a violin in the Lord's hands. :)

Metaphors and Analogies

The Wonders of Language:

Metaphors and Analogies Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. Here are last year's winners.....

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 PM. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 PM at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for awhile.

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

Fermata

Hold.
The fermata means to hold.
I stand here waiting,
holding, for the symphony to begin.

The beautiful chords right now
are only in a minor key.

What if the director never brings
me in to play my full part in the
symphony?

I hold, I hold on.
I do not want to sing a solo
My song is a duet.

Was this silence I feel written in
the music on purpose?
Or have I missed my cue?

Fermata.

No more childish tunes.

I stand in suspense,
arms outstretched,
waiting.

I do not like these callous chords
and poignant pauses.

The fantasy eludes me.

Where is the crescendo?

The weight of the song is heavy.

The song and my arms are empty.

~Emilie

Hmm...

I don't know what to write about. I decided to write and see if I could think of something. Nothing has come. Hmm.. Finals are coming. Moving out of my apartment needs to happen soon. A little bit o' stress going on at the moment. Life will work out. It always does. :)

What's in a name?

Stanley Morris: From the Rocky Meadow, dark skinned

Cristie Beth: Christ-bearer, pure

David Stanley: Beloved One, From the Rocky Meadow

Joel Daniel: God is willing, My judge is the Lord

Joshua Adam: Jehovah saves, earth, created by God

Stephen Michael: crown, who is like God

Matthew Aaron: God's gift, shining light

Emilie Anne: Ambitious or industrious, gracious

Caitlin Beth: Pure, house of God

Nathaniel Joseph: Gift of God, God will increase

Mine, Yours, or God's?

"I can find only three kinds of business in the universe: mine, yours, and God's. (anything that is out of my control, your control and everyone else's control, I call that God's business) Much of our stress comes from mentally living out of our own business. When I think, "You need to get a job, you need to take better care of yourself," I am in your business. When I am worried about earthquakes, floods, war, or when I will die, I am in God's business. If I am mentally in your business or in God's business, the effect is separation. When I mentally went into my mother's business, for example, with a thought like "My mother should understand me" I immediately experienced a feeling of loneliness. And I realized that every time in my life that I had felt hurt or lonely, I had been in someone else's business. If you are living your life, and I am mentally living your life, who is here living mine? Being mentally in your business keeps me from being present in my own. To think that I know what's best for anyone else is to be out of my business. Even in the name of love, it is pure arrogance, and the result is tension, anxiety, and fear. Do I know what's right for ME? That is my only business. Let me work through that before I try to solve your problems for you."

~"Loving What Is"

I'll say a little prayer

After the tire fiasco of the week, I went to Salt Lake on Friday to take my dear sister to the airport for her three-week trip home. My brother Josh went with me to the tire store to look at the damage. Not too bad... only a couple hundred. Luckily, my Dad was only too happy to help me with the expense. Josh beat me to the gas pump before I could put my card in. He paid for my gas. I drove the "green car" back to Provo with the promise I would be back on Sunday for family dinner to exchange Max (the truck) for the green car. Ted and I arrived around 2:15 Sunday afternoon. The day was spent making cookies, eating dinner, playing with children, jamming on the guitar and violin, and singing. It was great fun! Around 8:30, it was time to go back to Provo. Ted needed to go home teaching and my visiting teachers were coming as well. Only 1 problem: Max wouldn't start. The battery was completely dead. We pulled the green car up next to it and tried jumping it for about 1/2 hour. No luck! Finally, I asked if we could say a prayer. We prayed that whatever needed to happen would happen and if it was God's will, could I take Max back to Provo with me. My little nephew Adam watched the whole thing. About 1/2 later, Ted had a different idea of where to put the jumper cable. Immediately, the Max started. We said our goodbyes and prayed in gratitude for the answer to our prayer.

Later that night, my sister in-law called, "Emilie, thank you for that. If for nothing else, that experience helped me teach my son, Adam, about prayers and how God answers our prayers."

He truly does answer our prayers-no matter how small and insignificant they may be. I am grateful for that experience. I'm grateful Heavenly Father is there for me and for all His children.

Feeling a bit tired?

This morning Caitie's plans were a little deflated. She was going to go see a massage client and had several errands to run. As she 'round'ed the corner, I heard the truck go onto the curb and then heard a nice psssssssssssssssssss sound. I turned to look at the car. The back right tire was completely out of air. It had been punctured. We tried to figure out how to use our jack, but decided it was broken. Then we called Ted and had him come out. Then a guy from our ward, named Matt, came and asked if we needed some help. We were set. We had the muscle of Ted and the tools of Matt. And so the journey began at 7:50 am...

Ted came out and got his jack, Matt also got his jack. We used Matt's to jack up the car. We then got our tools out to unscrew the lugnuts around the rim of the tire. I couldn't do it. I was getting completely wound up. Ted began using his brute strength to wind up the wrench. Not a single lugnut would budge. Now, you have to understand that Ted is not a small guy. He is extremely strong. He could not even get those lugnuts to move. Matt started working on getting the spare tire from underneath the truck. The nut holding the tire in was so rusty, Matt couldn't get it to budge either. We tried WD-40. It would not move!

Our AAA wouldn't work in Utah because we didn't have a cardmember in Utah. Matt went to his work and got his work card and let us use that. We spent about 2 hours on the phone with AAA interspersingly throughout the ordeal.

Another young man came and practically jumped on the wrench while jerking the other side to make it turn. He was able to loosen 4 of the 5 lugnuts. That was a great feet! We were thinking we wouldn't have to have a toe-truck. He almost nailed the last one. He was really on the ball! AAA finally came around 11:00. The tow-truck man came with his tools and bent his wrench trying to get the lugnuts off. We were going nuts! Finally, they came off after he hammered on his wrench and pulled with all his strength. Not only did they come off, but one of the lugnuts got stuck in his wrench! We got the tire off. Somehow he got the spare from out of the back. So, not all our plans were en'tire'ly 'wrenched'. The w'hole' time, Matt stayed there and made sure everything was all right. It was really kind of him. Cookies are definitely in order for him and Ted!! At the end, Caitie and I realized that our wrench was stuck. Matt went to un-stick it and as soon as he did, it got stuck in a different way. It was like everything that could go wrong, did.
By the end, we were all exhausted... but we kept truckin' through! The en'tire' event came to a close around 12:00. Our truck is no longer jacked up and now we can keep rolling!

The complete works of William Shakespeare, abridged!

My brother Steve has an amazing skit of the complete works of William Shakespeare, abridged. Check it out!! Go to "My bro Dave!" blog and click on the video. It's hilarious!

The 4th of July!

The 4th/1st of July was great! Provo apparently celebrates the 4th of July on the 1st. It's kinda weird. Anyway, Mom, Dad, Nathaniel and Jarom all came to Provo to celebrate!! A lot of our friends decided to watch the fireworks from the roof. Mom, Dad and I decided it probably wouldn't be good to go up there because we would have to climb and we had a baby... it just was not a great idea. We all sat on the lawn outside watching the fireworks when all of the sudden, you could hear something shooting up that was not a firework. Sprinklers. The sprinklers came on!!! I held the baby above my head as we ran through. It was time to wake up, I guess! Good times. Good times.

An interview with my oldest nephew

I interviewed my nephew, Joseph David Gardner. Here is how the interview went.

"Your full name?"

"Jacob Loreen Gardner"

"That's silly! Where did you get that name?"

"It's a mix between my brother and sister."

"How do you get an elephant into a refrigerator?"

"You freeze it, then chop it up into pieces as big as the freezer, and then you roast it in the oven, and then you throw it out the window."

"And that's how you get it into the fridge?"

"Yup!"

"How do you get a giraffe and and elephant into the fridge?"

"First you put the giraffe on the TV, and then you put it on the roof. And then bring the elephant inside and chop it to bits."

"Interesting."

"If you could be any animal what would you be and why?"

"Umm... an ant. Cause then I would be crawling around and scaring people."

"Have you ever eaten a leaf or a flower?"

"No, but I like butter. Mostly on pancakes."

"What do you call a man with no arms and no legs on the floor?"

"A ball with a head."

"Have you ever seen the tooth fairy?"

"No, but I've seen a tooth. I got $1,000 from the tooth fairy."

"Do you have friends at school?"

"Umm, I have 19."

"What's your favorite action figure?"

"The movie Oz."

"Huh? What wizard of Oz?"

"Yeah, the Oz part. Cause he sounds scary."

"What did you do at your baptism?"

"Umm.. eat cookies."

"Did you do anything else?"

"Umm... I ran around the building."

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"A doctor."

"Why?"

"Because I want to make money. Plus, a soccer player in the World Cup."

"Who is your favorite player?"

"KK"

"Who is that?"

"Kayce Keller."

How many children do you want?

"One, because then I only have to handle one person. You keep going there, going there and helping everybody."

"Who are you going to marry?"

"No one."

"How are you going to get a kid?"

"I don't know. Just wait for a long time."

"Do you have a crush on any girls?"

"NOOO!!!"

"Do girls have cooties?"

"I dunno."

Have you ever kissed a girl?"

"No!"

"What do you think of married people?"

"Dunno."

"Do you like it when girls play with you in the sandbox with trucks and stuff?"

(thumbs down) "Boo.. unless my sister does."

"You like your sister?"

"Sisterrrssssss... What's next?"

"Who is your hero?"

"My Daddy"

"Why?"

"Because I love him"

"You want to grow up to be like your dad?"

"Maybe... yeah! I just don't want to do computer work.... just soccer."

"Who's your coach?"

"My Daddy!"

"What do you want to say to people who read this?"

"Umm.. Read it!"

"Thanks for the interview Joseph."

"Thank you for enjoying my time!"

"You have a wonderful day!"

My Brother Dave

My brother Dave is the coolest brother in the whole wile world. Nathaniel is a close second.

Brian Reganism

It's official. My family has been indoctrinated with Brian Regan. They have not just been indoctrinated, they have been inculcated. We have watched the Brian Regan video twice already and my Dad wants to watch it again tonight or tomorrow. I love it! The first time we showed it, we showed it to just our immediate cousins and some aunts and uncles. The second time, we showed it to our second, and third cousins. The best part about that showing was that we had all these adults who were in their eighties coming in to watch because the laughter was so loud. We started watching it with about 15 people and ended with 35. It was wonderful. During our big family show, my Uncle used a Brian Regan quote. Yes, ladies and gentleman, it has begun. Brian Regan is the man.

What a week!

I have had an incredible week! I left on Monday for three family reunions. The first was my grandparents and their children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren. We went horseback riding through the mountains the first day. The second day we went four-wheeling through the mountains. It was so gorgeous. The mountains are amazing. We are staying at a lodge in the mountains. The river is right by the lodge. We have a swimming pool that is fed by a stream. The water isn't too cold. :) We have a volleyball court and wheeping willows in the front yard. It's just beautiful. The second night there we had a campfire, roasted smores, told stories and wrote songs together. The next night Caitie and I decided to sleep outside. It wasn't too cold. The stars were the prettiest I've ever seen. I think we saw ten shooting stars.

Something I've really come to appreciate is how amazing my family is. We had an 80th birthday party for my Grandpa one night. Every family came up with their own tribute to him. We talked about memories and lessons they have learned from Grandpa. One of the coolest stories I've ever heard about him was when my Aunt Denice was moving from her Orem apartment and Uncle Scott had the U-haul out on the yard in front. This old lady came up to Grandpa and yelled, "You old oaf! Didn't you teach your children manners? Get this U-haul off my property or I'll call the police!" My Uncle Scott didn't like her talking to Grandpa like that so he began trying to reason with her. She again threatened to call the police and Uncle Scott gave her permission to do so. She went inside and started dialing the cops. What she didn't realize though, was that Grandpa was in the same room and had unplugged the phone so she couldn't make any calls. She couldn't figure out why the phone wouldn't work. She ended up going to a neighbors house and calling. The police told her to cool down and not worry about it. Oh man! Such an awesome story.

My Grandpa went to BYU and played basketball and football for them. He was the Sophomore class president. He was in the marines. He went on a mission to France-which is where he met my Grandma. President Benson was interviewing Grandma and called her to the France mission. She was too young to go... but he called her anyway. Such a miracle. The Gardner family is a family of miracles, I've decided. We are so blessed.

Tonight we begin the Stokes family reunion. That is the reunion with my Grandma and her siblings/their children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren/great-great-grandchildren. This one is pretty huge! We'll probably have a family history night. We'll play with our second,third, and fourth cousins.

Monday and Tuesday we will have a reunion with just my immediate family. That's the one I get really excited about. I really do have an amazing family. We're going wave-running at bear lake. We'll have a campfire at night. We'll sing songs, play games, tell jokes, play with children and, as is tradition at any family reunion, have a ton of food. :)

My twin - the panda

I have been the recipient of two black eyes in about as many months. Both of them happened while playing basketball. The first was when I was going up for a rebound while playing with some pretty big guys. I jumped up as one of those 'pretty big guys' was coming down. His elbow hit me square in the eye. Ouch! yes... I cried. But, he didn't know that. He also didn't see the eye. I only got sympathy from my wonderful roommates. :) They're very good at giving sympathy. :)

The second black eye happened on Monday. I was playing water basketball with two boys and my roommate Debi. I had the ball. I saw my hometeachers' hand coming and moved the ball out of the way. Karate chop to the eye! Ouch!!!!! Even more Ouch!!! than the last one. I didn't cry for this one. And my hometeacher definitely noticed. He felt so bad! He has given me more hugs in the last two days than the last 9 months combined.

We went out for dinner at IHOP last night. My hometeacher came. When you leave the restaurant, there are stuffed animals on a shelf. My hometeacher grabbed a panda bear off the shelf and said he was really a polar bear that had been playing a little too rough in the water. "How true that is!"

It's in my jeans!

I have inherited many traits from both sides of my family. From my father, I got my brown eyes and thick brown hair. I got my Dad's nose... just on a smaller scale. I got my Dad's smile-dimple included. From my Mom, I got my legs and arms. I got my Mom's feet. I got my Mom's talent for singing. I got my Mom's talent for typing really quickly. I think I'm a pretty good mixture of both.

Something I didn't anticipate was something else that's in my jeans (there's a reason I'm spelling it that way!). I think I inherited this one from my sister.

A couple weeks ago, we went to FHE and played football. Caitie was trying to describe a jump kick to someone and ended up showing them exactly what it was. I'm not sure what happened, but all of a sudden, I saw Caitie crouched down yelling, "Sweatshirt! I need a sweatshirt!" There was laughter all around. There was one boy blushing completely on the sidelines. Caitie had ripped her pants all the way from the zipper down to just above her knee. We ran to give her a sweatshirt and she went home to change her clothes. Funny story huh? Wait... it gets funnier.

So last week, I went camping with a bunch of my friends. All of whom knew the incident with Caitie. I was wearing jeans that were pretty worn out. We were playing volleyball and the ball came to my side. I knew it was for me! I dove... as I hit the ground, there was a splitting sound. I quickly looked down to find my jeans matched my sister's from the week before. It wasn't quite as large a tear, but definitely too big to walk around. "Sweatshirt! I need a sweatshirt!" I yelled. My friends busted up.

So when I tell people what I've inherited from my family as far as physical traits go... It's not just genetics... it's in my jeans.

My two left feet

I am currently taking a country western social dance class with four of my five roomates-Caitie being the only one excluded. Caitie is on the ballroom dance team and UVSC and has class during the time of our class. We miss her a lot.

There is a rule in the class that you are not allowed to wear flip-flops or be bare-foot. If you do either of those, you are counted as absent. On Monday, I decided to wear flip-flops to school. I was prepared for dance class though; I brought a different pair of shoes for dance to put on before class started.

After my roomates came and we gave hugs and kisses all around (among the roomates, of course!), it was time for me to put on my shoes. I pulled them out of my bag. Yep... they're both there. They're both brown. Umm... uh oh. One shoe has laces and the other doesn't. That will look funny, I thought. Then, I realized I brought two left shoes. I burst into laughter-as did my roomates. I put them on. It looked like my right foot was severely disjointed.

At first, I thought I would be clever and tell the boys if I danced funny, it's because I had two left feet that day. I proceeded to tell them the story of what happened that day. However, after about two dance partners, the boys started asking me how my two left feet were. So I asked the boys how they knew! Was it really that obvious? Or was it a joke? Apparently, my roomate Cassidy just in front of me in line told them all the embarrassing truth.. I really did have two left feet. Oh the joys of dancing!

A phenomenal up and down day

Yesterday I woke up groggy and sunburned. Granted-I'm not nearly as sunburned as Caitie or Ted-but it's still a bit painful (especially my scalp). I went to church and the floodgates opened. We had fast and testimony meeting first. I really think 75% of those testimonies were testimonies I needed to hear. It was a powerful meeting. The main focus was the Savior. That's where the power came. Whenever anyone testifies of our Savior, the spirit is there in abundance. It's amazing.

The next meeting was Relief Society. Caitie taught. She taught about missionary work. When the scripture came up about how much joy we'll have in the kingdom if we bring but one soul unto Christ, one girl talked about her dad being the only member in his family, but because he is a member, generations into the future will be blessed with the gospel. I thought of my Mom. What a powerful example. I am so grateful for the missionaries who brought the gospel to my Mom's family. That one missionary has brought literally hundreds maybe thousands of missionaries all over the world into the Church.

The next meeting was Sunday school. Brandon taught Sunday School. He's a great teacher. We learned about Samson and how the people kept turning their back on the Lord and then they would repent and have the spirit and the cycle continued on. Great lesson. :)

I walked home and checked my email. There was a letter from Rob. "Exciting News" was the subject. I knew what it was before I opened it. Her name is Emily, she's 20, she's a ball of fun and energy and his family adores her. My initial response was genuine excitement and happiness for them. About ten minutes later it really hit me. I cried for about an hour. I wrote part of a song. I wrote a poem. I cried some more. I prayed. I am again genuinely happy for them. They will be a wonderful couple. It just wasn't right for Rob and me to be together. The Lord helped me with that. I'm so grateful.

I took a much-needed nap and then ate ice cream with my roomates. They made me laugh-like they always do. I prepared a spiritual thought for ward prayer. I talked to my parents on the phone. They always inspire me. Ted came over and we went to the UPC to have a meeting and get ready for ward choir practice. We talked about the pioneer fireside. We jammed on the piano. We sang. Ward chior practice started. We had at least 25 people there. I smiled the entire time. Ted is an incredible director. The fun and excitement of music is there and people are attracted to that. Enthusiasm is a powerful draw and Ted has that in abundance.

After choir, Ted, Rachel and her boyfriend Rob all wanted to jam. We all played and sang for a little while and then Rachel and I wanted to talk. Ted and Rob gave us great background music while we talked about life and relationships and spiritual experiences we've had. I cried. She cried. The Lord is so good to us. She challenged me to not be afraid to take risks. I'm going to take a risk. I need to be ready to open myself up to relationships again. I think I'm ready. My friend Scott challenged me to go on a date this week. I'm going to do it. I'm ready. What a day. What a wonderful, up and down day. Those are needed sometimes. :) Life is great!

See the Light

This weekend has been fantastic! It started off with a really great experience. On Friday night Audrey, Debi, Ted, Caitie and I went hiking up to Squaw peak. We began around 8:30 pm and ended at around 12:30 am. The whole way up we all talked and told stories. We sang silly songs and wondered if we would survive. 'Feel the burn!' I kept telling myself. And somehow, one footstep at a time, we made it to the top. When we got there, and I saw our surroundings, it took my breath away. On one side, were the extraordinary city lights of beautiful Provo (Caitie said they look like fireworks upside-down). :) On the other side, were incredible mountain peaks that seemed surreal in their beauty. As we got nearer the top, I became more and more peaceful. I didn't talk myself into that feeling, it just came. At the top of the mountain, with the wind whipping all around me, I felt like I was in the temple. My heart was so full, I felt tears come to my eyes. Caitie started singing, "See the Light" from our musical in Kirtland. We sang that song during the temple dedication in the show. How fitting to sing it at the tops of the mountains. I joined in, drinking in the spirit of the song and the energy of the mountains. I really felt closer to heaven. It's hard to explain. It was beautiful.

On the way down, Caitie and I talked about some thoughts we both had while on the hike. I told her that while I was going up the mountain, I had the thought that if it were anyone else leading the group on the hike other than Ted, I would feel very uncomfortable. But, because I trusted him in the mountains and I knew he would lead us where we needed to be, I was all right. There were a few times when my imagination ran away with me and I kept seeing things in the woods that weren't there. Ted told me to relax and I would be fine. As I thought about that, I realized that's what I need to be more like with my Savior. I need to trust Him implicitly. I do not need to be afraid of the steps I need to take for my growth because I know He will only lead to do those things that are good for me and will lead me to my eternal goals. It was powerful for me.

Caitie's insight was that when she first started the hike, she looked way ahead at where we were going and began to get overwhelmed and tired. When she only looked ahead at the next step, she realized she could handle it. We talked about how the Savior only shows us one step of our life at a time. And sometimes when we get more than that, we become overwhelmed and discouraged-thinking we're not strong enough to handle all that's ahead of us.

The Lord is over all. He guides us and leads us every step of the way. He also finds those little moments to teach us the little insights that we need to make it to the next step. And every step of the way, He shows us even more beautiful scenery. I'm so grateful for Him.

I have a new niece!

Meet Rachel Lovina Gardner!!! She is the newest member of our family. :) She was born May 22, 2006 at 4:46 am. She was 8 lbs. 7 oz. and 21 inches long. Isn't she beautiful? I'm convinced she came out singing!

She's already smiling!!! Rachel with Mommy.

Rachel with her big bros! They love her!

What a beautiful family!

Rachel with Daddy. :)

ASL

Today in my American Sign Language class we had a story-telling test. I'm not incredibly confident of my signing abilities, but I understand others fairly well. Because of that, I was very nervous for this test. As I walked into the room, our teacher had a video camera set up to record us. One by one, the students voluntarily came up to the front of the room and signed their funny stories. I wanted to be the last one up - in hopes that everyone else would leave the room before I got up to sign. No such luck. I was 5th to last because there were people even more nervous than I!

As soon as I started signing, I realized my hands don't work when I sign. When I signed "fall" (which is having two fingers falling on your other hand as if they were legs), I used 5 fingers instead of two. I know the person falling did not have 5 limbs. I also kept using man as mom. My hands shook while I finger-spelled. I told the story out of order... ugh... it did not turn out as pretty as I was hoping. However, it was a funny story, and the teacher did laugh. That's a plus. :)

I love sign language. I love Deaf culture. Helen Keller once said something to the effect of: "Blindness separates people from things. Deafness separates people from people." I am so grateful to be learning sign language. I love being able to communicate with these incredible people.

I also love Deaf jokes. Here are a couple I have seen recently that I thought were amusing. Enjoy!

1) There was a logger. He went to cut down a tree. He used his ax a few times, yelled "timber," and the tree fell. Then chopped for a while on a second tree, yelled "timber," and that tree fell as well. He went through the same process with a third tree, but the third tree wouldn't fall over. So he tried a chain saw, and then explosives, finally he called in a "Tree Doctor." The doctor checked out the tree, thought about what to do for a minute then fingerspelled "T-I-M-B-E-R." The third tree finally fell down. The doctor explained to the lumberjack that this particular tree was Deaf.


2) "A huge giant is stalking through a small village of wee people, who are scattering through the streets, trying to escape the ugly creature. The giant notices one particularly beautiful blonde woman scampering down the cobble-stoned street. He stretches out his clumsy arm and sweeps her up, then stares in wonder at the slight, shivering figure in his palm. "You are so beautiful," he exclaims. The young woman looks up in fear. "I would never hurt you, he signs, "I love you! We should get MARRIED." Producing the sign MARRY, he crushes her. The giant then laments, "See, oralism is better."

Weather or not... :)

I love weather. It affects me more than it should. But, I love it.

I love wind. I love the smell of wind before rain. I love dancing by myself in the wind. I love wearing long skirts in the wind. I love playing basketball in the wind. I love the feeling of wind through my hair. I love running in the wind. I love the leaves that fly everywhere when it is windy. I love flying kites. I love singing in the wind.

I love rain. I love having the raindrops fall on my face while I look up at the sky in wonder. I love swimming in my lawn at home when it floods. I also love seeing the ducks swim in my lawn at home when it floods. My front yard really becomes a small pond. I love running in the rain. Even though it's a big dangerous, I love swimming in the rain.

I love snow. My first kiss was in the snow. I love going sledding. I love building snow forts and having snowball fights with my brothers and sister. I love the way the snow sparkles when it is new. I used to pretend the ground was full of diamonds and crystals when I was a little girl. I love drinking hot cocoa while watching snow fall from my window. I love reading books when it is snowy outside.

I love sunshine. I love playing tennis, basketball, volleyball-basically any sport. I'll even add I love watching softball games. :) I love swimming. I love picnics. I love parks. I love playing with my nieces and nephews in the sandbox. I love the feeling of the sun on my face. I love the cheerfulness of the world when it is sunny. I love the beach. I love lying on the grass in the sun. I love the flowers. I love the trees.

I feel almost like I should be singing, "I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills. I love the flowers. I love the daffodils. I love the firesides when all the lights are low... boomdiyada, etc...."

Life is beautiful. I'm grateful for weather.

Happy Mother's Day

This is a tribute to my Mother

I grew up in a home of 6 boys and two girls. I have two parents who love their children and are still in love with each other. My Father is a doctor. He's a good doctor at that. My Mother is a homemaker-and a good one at that. :)

When I was a little girl, there was always something going on at my house. Either the boys had a soccer, basketball, baseball, wrestling, tennis, or football game/meet/match, or Mom had relief society meetings or Dad had scouts. It was always busy. It was loud. The boys wrestled with each other. They played sports in the house (which they weren't really supposed to do :) ). We had two pianos. One was upstairs and one was downstairs. They were always being used. I remember we used to fight over whose turn it was to play piano. Our fighting wasn't actually fighting. It was more like teasing and tickling until the person playing gave up. We could then play till the next sibling decided it was their turn and then the cycle began again. My home was busy. My home was loud. My home was fun.

Mealtime was always a favorite time of the day. It's not easy feeding 8 growing children - 6 of whom were boys. We used to go through 17 gallons of milk a week. That's not an exaggeration! We ate a lot of food. I loved waking up in the morning to the smell of poached eggs on toast or rice pudding or custard. Mom cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were always fed well. Mom taught my sister and I how to cook. She would give us the assignment of making cream of wheat for breakfast. We read the instructions together. She taught us what certain terms meant. She taught me how to pour the cream of wheat in carefully so as not to make the cereal lumpy. I learned what she meant by lumpy after I finished the cereal. I was so proud of my lumpy cream of wheat.

That instilled the love of cooking. Not just cooking, but cooking for other people. We always had company over to eat dinner with us. Sunday dinners usually brought about 40 people to feed. If there was someone in the ward that Mom and Dad felt like we should get to know, they invited them over for dinner. They also went through the missionary dinner list and always invited the missionaries over for the days they didn't have a meal. I don't think we ever really had the money to do that. But, we did it anyway. Mom told me a story once about her Mom. Gammy and my Mom and her siblings had just gotten baptized. They moved from California to Provo, Utah where they had no money. One Sunday, they put a teeny tiny roast in the oven with a couple potatoes because that was all they had for dinner. When they came home from church though, Gammy told Mom to find some bread and see if they had any more food to put on the table. When my Mom asked why, Gammy said they had invited a new, young family over for dinner. Mom was perplexed. She said, "Mom, we don't even have enough for our own family - let alone this new family." Gammy told my Mom that the Lord would provide because He was the one that suggested inviting the family over. It was true. They had plenty of food for both families. The Lord truly does watch over my Mom. I have seen that my entire life.

My Mom has incredible faith. I really have never met a woman with more faith than my own Mother. She wrote a musical that changed people's lives even though she doesn't know how to write music. The Lord gave her that musical because she is a pure vessel with enough faith to see it through. When our family needed a new van for the ten of us, Mom decided what kind of van she wanted. She prayed for an 11 passenger van with a lot of room in the back for luggage and tents. She specified the price and asked if the van could be gray on the outside and Burgundy on the inside. The next day, she looked in the paper. It said there was a 15-passenger van for sale. The back seat had been lost so it was now an 11-passenger van and there was a ton of room in the back for luggage. It was gray on the outside with a Burgundy interior. The price was exactly the price-range my Mom had asked for. This is not an uncommon occurrence. If you knew my Mom, you would know this to be true. My sister in-law Brittany calls it "Gardner faith". You go for something relying completely on the Lord for it to happen. It's scary, but there's an inner peace knowing the Lord will take care of it. We learned it from our Mom.

My Mom is a friend. She is a friend to all of her children. She and Dad always waited up for us kids whenever we went out with friends or on dates. When we came home, she always asked us how it went. We felt safe talking to her because we knew she loved us no matter what happened. The same goes for my Dad. There were a lot of late nights. Especially with so many kids doing different things all the time.

Mom taught me through example to love the Lord completely. He is always there for you. He will always answer your prayers. He loves everyone and so should we. He understands you. I loved driving in the car with Mom when we could talk about gospel principles. I loved reading scriptures at 5:30 in the morning with my family before the boys had seminary and Dad had work. I loved having family council. I loved having family home evening. I loved singing songs with my family. We did that sometimes on Sundays and when we did dishes as a family. I love hearing my Mother pray. I can feel her connection with Heavenly Father. I love her testimony. I love hearing her teach. She and my Dad are the best teachers I have ever had. They truly are incredible.

I love my Mom's silly sense of humor. She loves puns. She loves to be silly. Her side of the family is a blast to be around because their humor is not sarcastic and it doesn't hurt anyone. They tell funny jokes and puns. They love silly word games. I think silly is a very good word to describe them. My Mom's mom writes children's books. They rhyme and are funny and "Suessish". :)

My Mom instilled a love of reading in me. I used to see her reading all the time and I decided I wanted to understand why she loved it so much. We went to the library together and checked out Nancy Drew books, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Austin, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens. I LOVE reading. Thank you for that, Mom.

My Mom has lived in the Philippines, Mexico, all throughout the United States. She supported my Dad through medical school. She taught her children to love music. She taught her children to love each other. She taught her children to love other people - no matter what had happened to them or how they were. She taught her children to love the Lord and the gospel of Jesus Christ. My Mom is the most incredible woman I know. I feel honored to be known as Cristie Gardner's daughter.

"Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. "
"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her... she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life."
"She girdeth her loins with strength, and it strengtheneth her arms."
"She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy."
"Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come."
"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness."
"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."
"Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."
"Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

My Mother is truly an "elect lady". I love her. Happy Mother's Day Mom.