President Bush and the Bee's

So what does President Bush and the Salt Lake Bee's have in common?.... Absolutely nothing. :p But I did get to see them yesterday. :) It was a fun filled day. Early yesterday morning my friend Dawn told me to come outside with her to watch the motorcade. I wasn't going to but then she asked how often I got to see the President of the United States. I thought this was true. :) Thanks you Dawn for being the voice of reason. if it wasn't for her I wouldn't have gone out there to watch. It was really neat though you had to look quick cause they were going so fast. It almost looked like the car was going to come up on it's two wheels. :) The president was on his phone but he was waving at us. He seems really nice. The funniest part though was when our fellow employee's got so excited to see him that they were screaming and jumping up and down and clapping. The loudest scream came from my good friend Adrian. He's so funny it was great to see his reaction.later on Dawn had some tickets to the Bee's but couldn't go. So I guess i was just in the right place ant the right time cause she let me have them. :) Since this is James' last week working for the Bee's we were able to get a third ticket from him. we went and sat on the grass down the third base line and James was able to join us when he got off work...which wasn't to bad he got to join us in the bottom of the 5th. It was a great game. We saw a home run hit a few yards from us and a little boy was able to get the ball. He was so excited. We got to eat peanuts, nachos, cotton candy, pretzel and James had a HUGE hot dog. We also got to see two of the ball players hit the ball so hard it broke their bats and sent pieces flying everywhere. Then of course we got to see the crazy stuff... like people dressed up as a hot dog, piece of pizza and an ice cream cone and then race each other down the first base line. It was a fun night the Bee's won 7 to 4 in the top of the 9th and it was great to spend time with Craig and Erika.

Remodeling

Well we finally started to remodel our condo. Sometimes I think we are very happy that we have started and sometimes I think we're not :p It's so nice thought to have some color in the house. The general response has been that the color is to dark...But James and I love it. We think that once the floors are done and we get better lighting that it will brighten it up even more. The color we chose for the living room is called pottery red. I really love it. Here are some before and after pictures...This is Before :o) I took this picture around Christmas time...hence the tree :p And this is after. :) James and I really like it. It's starting to feel like ours.

Sunday Thoughts

This past Sunday James and I had the chance to watch testaments before we went to church. He is almost done with The Book of Mormon and wanted to watch it after he finished 3 Nephi. Both of us hasn't seen it in a while so it was a really treat to watch it again. It's amazing the spirit you feel when watching this movie. Well later on in church we had a member of the high council speak to us about Charity. He was a funny man and made us laugh often. But he also had a strong testimony that felt like it pulled you in. The picture above is one of my favorite pictures. I have been searching for this picture for a long time to hang in our house but haven't been able to find it yet. I think it portrays Charity and helping others in a great way. When Christ was on the earth he taught about charity and how the second greatest commandment is to love one another. This weekend I have been thinking a lot about the world we live in and this recession we are going through. I thought about the goal James and I have to start our family after this summer. I started to wonder if we really wanted to do this seeing how evil the world is right now and how hard life can be. But on Saturday my friend Arlene came over with her 2 kids. They were playing fooseball and running around with the dogs and usually chaos like that makes me kinda claustrophobic and I need to take a "timeout". But this time it just really got me excited about having kids of my own. The high council man talked about how as members of the church we need to show charity in our own houses as well as outside. He talked about how important it is to show our less active members how much we really do care about them and to help anyone who is in need. Charity is the pure love of Christ and when we have that pure love it's easier to see people around us as our brothers and sisters. The primary also sang "I am a child of god" and as I listened to them sing I remembered a time on my mission when my companion and I were walking back from district meeting. We saw a man that was wearing nothing but some ragged short shorts. He was so dirt his skin looked black and his hair was all matted and tangled. This was a common sight in the Philippines and usually these were the people the deemed crazy. But as we kept walking and he got closer we heard him singing "I am a child of god" my companion and I stopped and could believe what we were hearing. He walked right past us and acted like we weren't even there. my companion turned to me with a smile and a few tear in her eyes and said "yes, he really is a child of god." My goal for this week is to seek out the pure love of Christ and to see everyone around me as the Savior sees them... as Children of our Heavenly Father.

Congratulations to the Sanders!

I wanted to do this as a separate post. This past Sunday James and I were able to go to West Valley to see Greg and Brie have Aleisha blessed. She looked so cute in her blessing dress. Greg's mom made the dress for her and it's so cute. Here are some pictures... I'm sorry if they are a little fuzzy we forgot the camera so I took these on our phone.
She is such a happy baby. She laughs and smiles all the time it seems like. It's weird to think I'm a great aunt. James was teasing me about it till I reminded him that he's a great uncle. :p She's so fun and she's growing up so quick. Congratulations Aleisha on your big day!!! :)

Sunday Thoughts

I have to admit that it was hard for me to follow what the speaker was saying in sacrament. But one thing that caught my attention was when he talked about the eternal perspective. He told about this girl who had two people hold a string to the wall on either side of the pulpit and then she held up her pen to the string and said that the tip of that pen represents our time here on earth and the rest of the string is our life before and after our earth life. It really got me thinking about all the things we worry about in our lives, but when you take those same worries and put them together with the eternal perspective it makes them seem so little and unimportant. But yet the things that are important like families you see people tossing it aside like it's not. The Saviour told us "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30)
For me this helps to remind me that we shouldn't worry about the things of this world. The eternal perspective is something I don't quite have a grasp on quite yet and I don't think I will ever have a full grasp on it cause I believe it's something we wont fully understand in this life. But I am trying to look at things in an eternal way. I want to keep relationships with family members close. I want to treat my husband the way I would want to be treated if I were him and the way I believe the Lord would want me to treat him. My husband means the world to me and one of my fears is that he wouldn't feel the love I have for him. It's amazing to think that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he has blessed us with the chance to live with our families forever. The saying that we often hear about how we need to be in the world but not of the world. I had a hard time grasping what this meant. But as I have learned about the eternal perspective, it's starting to make sense. Also I'm finding it to be more and more true. To be in the world but not of the world means to me that it's good to be aware of whats going on but we should always be more aware of the Lord in our lives, and more importantly keep him as our first and foremost priority. I love the chance we have to learn and grow...especially in the gospel.

School Dayz

Well it's almost 3 weeks till school starts and I am nervous. I'm only taking 1 class in the evening, but still, it's a "new" college with different methods then the last college I attended. I work with all these people as thier co-worker so it'll be a little different to be a student here as well. For the summer semester I'm only going to take 3 credits but for fall I would really like to try and take more. I am also still taking that correspondence course through the institute of childrens literature. I have really enjoyed the assignments and I have grown to love writing even more. At the LDS Business College I am working towards my associates in general studies with two certificates in medical coding and medical transcription. Well as of right now thats what I'll be working towards. :) It may change as life often does. So here I go only 3 weeks till it's time to hit the books again. Wish me luck.

Sunday Thoughts

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!!! :) Ever since I was a little girl I always loved mothers day. I would always get so excited to give my mom her gift. I am so thankful that we have this great day to honor all our mothers. Both of my mothers are so wonderful. My mom has always been there for me. As soon as I got home from school she was there with a snack and got me to get on my homework right away. She was always there when I got hurt and she was also the one that I could get a good laugh from. I have many great memories with my mom that I know I will cherish always. My mother-in-law is another great woman who I have a deep respect for and that I look up to. I was very nervous to meet her when James brought me over to family dinner. But she welcomed me with a warm hug and instantly I felt like part of the family. :) I am so thankful for a wonderful Heavenly Father who blessed me with such great mothers. I hope both my mothers had a great mothers day. I wish everyone who reads this a Happy Mothers Day.

joys of commuting

With the completion of the Frontrunner and it now being almost two weeks since the grand opening, there have been bad responses and good ones...so for the record. I really enjoy the Frontrunner. Sure we get home a little bit later but compared to what we were spending in gas...its VERY worth it. James and I catch the Frontrunner in the morning and then we take TRAX over to the college where we have our car waiting. So James takes the car the short distance to work and then after we meet back up at the college and go home on Frontrunner. It's a very smooth ride and there is a lot more space ten on the bus. Plus they have these tables that you can put your laptop on or do homework on. I really enjoy taking the Frontrunner...more then the bus. On weekends of course we'll take our car home so we can have it on the weekends but on weekdays (at night) it stays at the parking garage under the college. I think it's going to help us save a lot of money. Hooray for UTA!! :)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE JENSENS!!!!!

So now that the family knows I can write this blog. :p My niece and her husband have been trying to have kids for awhile (over a year I think) and have been struggling with it. It has been a roller coaster for them. Well yesterday my niece went in for her first ultra sound. (She is 3 months along.) She said they could see little arms and legs and the umbilical cord and it's head. The doctor said that they had a healthy baby and everything is going well. :) They are so excited. :)I am so excited that all is going well for them.
Here is a pictures from this past Sunday of Erika holding Rebecca and Craig sitting nearby.

CONGRATULATIONS ERIKA AND CRAIG!!!!!!

Pictures of the Twins

Here are some pictures of the twins on their blessing day.

This is Elizabeth Shelly Riggs

And this is Rebecca Rae Riggs

I hope I got their middle names right. :) It was so fun to see these two little girls. Rebecca has quite the little personality and Elizabeth just seemed very tired through the whole ordeal. :) Congratulations again to Shelly and Nathan on your beautiful family.

Sunday Thoughts

This weekend James and I had the chance to go to Monticello and see my sisters twin girls get blessed. They blessed Rebecca first and then Elizabeth. (I have pictures of them but not with me so I'll either post them later today or tomorrow) As I was listening to Nathan give Elizabeth her blessing I thought about how wonderful and blessed we are to have the priesthood in our lives. It's amazing to witness these wonderful priesthood holders use that priesthood. I was so thankful and happy that James was able to participate in those blessings. A lot of times in my life I have either not fully understood the priesthood or taken it for granted. I still don't understand it fully but I do know what a blessing it is to have in the home. The difference it makes to have the priesthood in the home is very noticeable. Sometimes on my mission my companion and I would joke about how we wished we had the priesthood so we could give blessings. But I think if it was ever offered to me I wouldn't want it. It's such a responsibility and the power of the priesthood is so great I don't think I would ever feel worthy to have it. I am so thankful to James and for his determination in the gospel. Sometimes I do feel that he's to hard on himself. He's such a great person. Yesterday was also fast Sunday and since I'm a scared-e-cat I didn't get up and bare my testimony. But whoever is reading this I want you to know that I do know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know it has power, I have witnessed that power first hand. I can testify that I know the Savior lives and that he loves each one of us and knows not only our name by our desires and our needs. I know we have a loving Heavenly Father and Mother. I know we have living prophets today who lead and guide our church. This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

A way to help

Recently in my life I have learned about multiple different diseases that children can have. The first was my sweet nephew Konner and his battle with epilepsy.Then when I met and married James I met another sweet spirit. My niece Abby who has a congenital heart defect. Then my good friend Katie moved up to Brigham City and I got to know her and her family better. Her little boy Ethan, has Autism.

This weekend there is a fundraiser for autism to help raise awareness and raise money. This weekend they are having a walk a thon it's called "walk now for autism" James and I are going to try and make it. My sister graduates that day so I'm not sure if we'll get a chance. but please if you can spare a Saturday please go and walk for a good cause. It's at Cottonwood High School. To learn more about it please visit...

http://www.walknowforautism.org/c.inKHILNqEmG/b.3615133/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=inKHILNqEmG&b=3615133&sid=7eIFLUMyGdLIJRPtHnF

Anything we can do to help voice awareness for these kids and to help their cause to find a cure or just help in anyway we can. These kids are such sweet and loving people. if you can help by walking or making a donation please do so.

To find out more about epilepsy here's a website...

http://www.epilepsy.com/

To find out more about congenital heart conditions defects please visit this website...

http://www.tchin.org/

http://www.savinglittlehearts.com/

http://www.thechdquilt.homestead.com/