Breathe deep....relax

I am trying to get better at not being in such a rush. Sami and I were in Walmart tonight, and we both said - this is fun! The reason it was fun is because I was being patient with her shopping, and we weren't in a hurry to get somewhere else. How often does that happen? It seems to me that most of life is "hurry hurry - we need to get to the next place, activity, whatever". I'm trying to make it my goal to slow down - do the important things and then relax. Hard to do!

We returned from Utah...and Lived!

We just returned home from flying to Utah to pick up Sami and her stuff for the summer.....stuff. Wow. Here are a few travel tips I gathered that I thought I would share:
1. Smarte Cartes at the airport (to put all of your luggage on) are not only for the aged and business traveler. Won't ever traipse across a crowded airport without one of these again.
2. When you receive a prompting, please pay attention. 2 coins for the above mentioned Smarte Cartes had been sitting in my car for years - some other traveler must have left them there. I kept thinking "I should take those with us". Didn't. So instead paid full fee for the carts..which was worth it, but still.
3. Spend the extra money on a decent room. It's worth it to be in a clean place where the staff bend over backwards to help you. Doesn't have to be the Ritz, either.
4. Be thankful when your college returning child has 5 bags and not 10. Saw several with the larger amount. Made me want to cry for the parents. They needed 2 or 3 Smarte Cartes.
5. Take a little time out to visit. We had the best time with our friends, the Hansens, who so graciously let us come and spend the day with them before we came home. We love you!

Glad to be home and glad to have Sami home for the summer. Now does anyone have a job for her???

It's February!

I can't believe it is February already...and that my last post was in October! I keep putting off posting because I think that I have to put a picture in each post..that is dumb! I'll try to do better about not waiting so long to post - and post even when I don't have pictures.

Thursday (February 11, 2010) was my last day at my job that I do away from home. It was a very hard decision to quit...and many factors played into my reasons. I thought I would be there forever! Slowly it became apparent to me that it wasn't in my future. My billing business here at home has grown and I was feeling like I wasn't doing a good job at either job...so I chose to be here. I know God has a plan for me - and that was the major decider in which way to go - I just have to be patient now until the plan is revealed! In the meantime I am going to try to do some things for myself - like exercise - and get caught up on things that I have had to let slide. Nah, I'm not going to dust..that can slide forever.

On another note, Sami is home visiting us for the long weekend. It is so great to have her here. She is has a sunny personality and just shines whereever she is. David is getting ready to try out for baseball at school, and is now playing basketball for the church league. He is having a blast - he loves sports. Dan is getting over a bad cold,and is frantically studying all of the time for the college math course he is taking. He is so smart...maybe someday I'll take a course or two and see what I can learn.

Families can Be Together Forever

This picture is of the Seattle LDS temple. I wanted to share it's beauty with all of my readers, but especially those of you who are not of my faith. I want each of you to know that the thing I treasure most in this world is my temple marriage to Dan. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that by attending the temple and being sealed together there for time and all eternity that we will be able to remain together not only in this life but in the next. Our children also...and their children and so on. I am extending an invitation to anyone who wants to learn more about how you can be with your family together forever to contact me. No pressure involved, I just want to share what I know. I love you!

Leavenworth Autumn Leaf Festival

Our weekend trip to Leavenworth was great! Every year our high school band participates in the Autumn Leaf Festival parade in Leavenworth. Last year we went and watched both Sami and David play in the parade and stayed for the year. This year we decided to stay over the weekend. The number of people that came was amazing...the shops were very full. We've decided that we will go back for the day again this summer to enjoy the shopping without so many people! The band won first place for AAA schools. YEA River Ridge High School!

Finally, our Utah Trip!

We weren't sure we would have time to go to Temple Square - I am SO glad we managed to get there! We had a whirlwind tour of the temple grounds, the church office building, and the visitors center and we pretty much ran through most of it. It was so beautiful!
It took us a few trips to various stores, but we finally were successful in getting Sami's room put together. We did buy some things ahead of time and had them shipped to our friend's house...but it was amazing the number of times we still had to go to the store. And I would not have believed this if you had sworn on a stack of bibles, but most things WERE cheaper at the bookstore!

David spent most of the trip "trying to have patience!" The one thing he wanted was to buy a special CTR ring...and they didn't have the one he wanted in his size. We did order it when we got home - so not all was lost. It was very hard to leave her there - but we all knew it was the right thing. We are so excited that she is coming home for Thanksgiving!

Only in Utah

I will definitely post pictures soon, but since SOME of you think I am stingy in my posting, I will do this for now until I can unbury work desk!

We just got back from taking Sami to BYU. For those of you who don't know, it is in Provo, Utah. We noted a few things there that you would only find in a heavily populated Mormon place....
1. A store devoted entirely to TIES. Millions of them. I had to drag David away..
2. A store just for missionary preparation...anything and everything you may NEED on a mission.
3. Beggars with signs that said "Jesus loves you" and "Love your neighbor, please give".
4. A chapel on nearly every street corner.
5. A ward for every three streets, and a stake almost as often!
6. Someone sitting behind us on the plane to Utah testifying of his knowledge of the savior and the gospel.
7. Food storage - huge food storage - for sale in Walmart!