I Heart Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day all!

Things I love:
God
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
My family - everyone and especially Aidan and Chloe
My friends - everyone and just kidding! Everyone!
Seattle
The Temple
My hollyhock picture
My 30th Birthday Scrapbook - see #3 and 4 although they're not numbered...
My job
Convertible Mini Coopers
The Book of Mormon - is it bad this came so late on the list?
Well - all the scriptures...
General Conference - So much. Come on. Love it.
General Relief Society Conference. Even more.
Of course -- Julie B. Beck!
BYU Women's Conference - I love conferences apparently.
Music
Flowers
My photos
Blogs - see the huge list on the side of this page.
My books and my Winnie the Pooh bookends
Disneyland
byubroadcasting.com find a talk database feature
Speaking in scripture :)
My mom's egg rolls and chicken dumplings
My visiting teachers
Homemade oreos
Singing at the piano with ELJ or talking in the kitchen or sitting in the comfy seats by the fire or watching tv with JEJ too or...
Talking on the phone to EJR or watching Golden Girls together or just reminiscing about old episodes together or talking about the Gospel together or...
Ok so I do have favorite friends...
The Golden Girls
The Trying Harder Girls
The Book Club Girls
The Second Saturday Girls
Dancing
My polka-dot umbrella
Walking around Green Lake
Dolly
Lots of dead people - well it's true... I'm just saying.
Traveling
Trader Joe's
ANTM
The Sound of Music
Parties to watch either of the last two items
The Turkeys and all the emailing
Miracles
Pickles -- and snickers pie and lemonade but I don't think Mrs. C reads this....
Pizza
Memories
Future Plans
Promises
Visiting Teaching
Mail - you know, good mail - not just junk
Argentina
Driving
Sledding with my family even though I almost died walking so far in the snow...
Good jokes - got any?
Lists
Being So Happy.
(Hope your day of love was filled with it! Think about what you love and it will be!)

The New Ensign's Here! The New Ensign's Here!

It's the next best thing since Conference!!!

And to be able to read all the words of a living Prophet and other Servants of the Lord

Makes me SO Happy!

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

I love that we got to listen to the Prophet of the Lord speak this last weekend.
What a miracle!
So much of it felt absolutely directed to me and I am still grateful.

The first weekends of April and October make me very very happy.
In fact, I can always hardly wait!
I was so happy that Seth and Katie came to share the last session with me and they were perfectly obedient to my no talking rules! Love them!
Then we headed to Temple Square to document the loveliness that is that block.
I can't believe it's going to be all lit up so soon for Christmastime!


So, wasn't General Conference thrilling?

And A NEW TEMPLE IN ARGENTINA!!!!!!!!!!!
I was so thrilled. I cried and cried in my car.

And Rome! How fun was it to hear everyone's reaction to that!?!

My favorite talk was Elder Cook, President Uchtdorf, Elder Wirthlin, Elder Holland, Elder Bednar, Sister Dalton, President Monson, President Packer, Elder Andersen,
and President Eyring.

I'll have to look at my notes to see if I had other favorites too.
Ok - Elder Ballard, Elder Nelson, Elder Hales, and Elder Oaks.

I love that for 8 hours (really 10 counting RS Conference) we get to listen to wonderfully inspired leaders tell us what Heavenly Father wants us to hear.
And what beautiful, beautiful messages He sent us.

Some of my favorite quotes...
"Hope you know, we had a hard time." Elder Cook

"Faith is not a feeling, it's a decision." Elder Andersen

"No room in the inn was not a singular expression of rejection,
just the first." President Monson

"If only we could glimpse what our Heavenly Father has in store for us in the next life and in this life as well, our hope would become unshakable." Elder Uchtdorf

"I leave you the Lord's promise that you will have the righteous desires of your heart." President Eyring

"Those who refuse to read the Book of Mormon are like spoiled children who refuse to eat a meal lovingly prepared for them." Elder Aidukaitis

"Prelude is not a time for conversation." Elder Oaks

"Hope is one leg of a three legged stool which stabilizes our life regardless of rough or unstable circumstances." Elder Uchtdorf

"We have enormous spiritual reservoirs available to us. Be not afraid -- only believe." Elder Andersen

"The scriptures are written to bring us hope!" Elder Uchtdorf

"Come what may and love it!" Elder Wirthlin

"Darkness, afraid, river, alone." Elder Holland

"The brighter our hope, the greater our faith. The stronger our hope, the purer our charity." Elder Uchtdorf

"Almighty God being my Helper they cannot come here!"
President Packer (quoting Brigham Young)


"Remember the Lord has said He would fight our battles."
Elder Holland

"Meaningful morning prayer proceeds the temporal creation of every day." Elder Bednar

"The next time you're tempted to groan you might laugh instead." Elder Wirthlin

"Let us once and for all establish our residence in Zion and give up our summer residence in Babylon." Elder Christofferson (quoting Elder Maxwell)

"Heavenly Father hears and answers every sincere prayer."
Lots of People

"We would all do well not to speak of [the Savior] as though He were the friend next door. He is the Firstborn of the Father." Bishop McMullin

"Jesus will make everything alright. When Jesus comes I will be able to hear and you will get your legs." Elder Andersen

"Angels are sent as emissaries to convey love. The scriptures are filled with accounts of angels. Seen or unseen they are always near." Elder Holland

"The Holy Ghost is the witness of and the messenger for the Father and the Son." Elder Bednar

"Don't be consumers of vice but guardians of virtue." Sister Dalton

"The Lord will let you feel His appreciation from stepping away from the possibility of sowing the seeds of disunity."
President Eyring

"You be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone." Sister Dalton (quoting President Monson)

"We may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will be grander than we could have imagined." Elder Uchtdorf

"The dial on the wheel of sorrow eventually points to all of us. Learning to endure is part of our on the job training." Elder Wirthlin

"God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges we face, Nor Will He Ever." Elder Holland

"In the midst of winter we find within us an invincible summer." Elder Uchtdorf

"There must be opposition in all things." Almost Everyone.

"The will to win means almost nothing without the will to prepare." Sister Dalton

"Understand the principle of compensation. While it may not come at a time we desire, the faithful today know that every tear will be returned a hundredfold." Elder Wirthlin

"We must carry on the devoted, committed tradition of the people who built this church." Elder Ballard

"You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find you've got a lot of empty yesterdays." President Monson

"Each marriage starts with two built in handicaps - two imperfect mortals." Elder Nelson

(Seth was not going over to tell that couple that it was a little inappropriate to snuggle on Temple Square. Although, come on. Inappropriate? He actually had found some edible plants on Temple Square! Don't tell anyone he tested to make sure they were really edible! They were! So many fun plants on Temple Square!)

"In troubled times the Lord has always prepared a safe way ahead." President Packer

"Heavenly Father's great Plan of Happiness allows family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave." Elder Nelson

(Aren't Seth and Katie so cute?!?)

"Let us relish life as we live it... Do human beings ever realize life as they live it -- every, every minute?" President Monson

"Make pleasant memories for the future." President Monson

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." President Monson

"Harmony in marriage only comes when one esteems the welfare of the spouse as the highest priority." Elder Nelson

"Then, with emotions in my heart, I closed the door and faced an unknown future." Elder Cook (quoting Bathsheba Smith)

"Sometimes the things that are best for us which bring eternal rewards are most bitter."
Elder Cook (quoting President Harold B. Lee)

"Heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that fits appropriately." Elder Holland

"The Savior, resurrected and glorious, lives and reaches out to us." President Eyring

My take home messages?
Heavenly Father loves His children. He does know we're having a hard time. He wants us to be happy. We must invite Him into our lives so He can be involved in all the details. He has already provided the way for us to have hope. Let's be united, kind and courageous and find our training programs from the scriptures. Let's be reverent when we should be and never forget how much Heavenly Father loves us - especially when things are hard.

I really love Him.

General Conference, New Temples, The Gospel and being with family make me SO HAPPY!

Just Because I'm a Woman

Last Saturday was filled with my favorite women!
And at least one miracle occurred!

My dear, dear friend, Linda Johnson, came to Salt Lake City!

She and 4 of her friends from Seattle came down to Wendover and then took a little roadtrip so they could visit Temple Square!
So So Happy!!! All-Week-Long-Waiting-For-Them-To-Come-Happy!

Linda has been my dear friend since I moved up to Seattle.
She is one of the kindest, sweetest, most faithful and thoughtful people I have ever known.

I miss walking around Green Lake with her!

(Isn't that a phenomenal picture? I took that! It's so watercolory! I love it!!!)

I have lots of angels in my home that remind me of her.


Last Saturday we got together on Temple Square and unfortunately, because of Relief Society Conference, the Conference Center and the RS building were closed. But we spent time looking at the Temple, walking around the gorgeous grounds, touring the Joseph Smith Building where we ate Fried Pickles! (they are so good!),

peeking in the Tabernacle and hearing a pin drop, finding Linda's friend's lost eyeglasses (what an answer to prayer and thank you sister missionaries!), and touring the North Visitor's Center where we walked up into heaven and heard the Christus statue talk to us.


It was absolutely blissful.

I love talking about the Church.
I love thinking about the Gospel and explaining how perfect it is.
I love talking to other people about their beliefs and connecting on common ground.
I love the Gospel.
I love the Church!
I love looking at the statues of Joseph and Hyrum and thinking of all they sacrificed for us.
I love thinking about the blessings that I have in my life because of their lives.

(This pic and the Christus are not ones I took...)

I love looking at the statues of John the Baptist and Peter, James and John and knowing that they really did return to the earth and restore the Priesthood.
I love looking at the Temple.
I loved talking about the Angel Moroni and explaining that Moroni was a man who had a father named Mormon. Mormon reviewed the records kept by all the ancient prophets and gave us the "Readers Digest version" known as the Book of Mormon.
How fantastic!
How perfect!

My happiness didn't end there last Saturday!
It was the Relief Society Meeting!

(Hahaha!
This is my best effort at a pic of Sister Beck, Sister Allred and Sister Dalton!)

Oh that day is so happy for me
(as previously noted in the Sister Beck post).
But this time it was happy too because of all the
friends that came with me!
I think Baley deserves her own post because
she is so incredibly happy!

I mean, how happy is that face?

My friends Katesta, Karen and Charlene also came to
Relief Society Conference.

Karen always "keep[s] it real smooth!" Love her!!!

We had the best seats in the World!
We were like 4 rows from the front!
(Well, from the front section that's all cordoned off for the VIP's.)


So, it was a miracle that Linda Johnson came to Temple Square.
And it was a miracle that we got to be so close at the RS Meeting.
So close that I got to talk to Sister Beck before the meeting and give her her birthday card. :)

Don't you just love favorite people?

Then... I learned a good lesson.
When you go to the parking garage and you're on the BYU Women's Conference Committee maybe don't act like Marilyn Monroe in front of the GINORMOUS fan.


(So fierce.)

Because someone else on the committee is sure to see you.

But Baley is adorable!

(Darn that we're not better in focus!)
Oh well -
everyone got a good laugh at committee meeting last Friday.

Linda Johnson, Temple Square, Baley and Relief Society Conference make me OH SO Happy!

Lady in Red

So this was the scene of our happiness last week.

Aren't the girls great? (Amy, Andrea, Joselyne, Carolyn, Jessi, Natalie, Julianne)
(admittedly not a great "bangs" day for me)

Little did we know what happiness awaited us outside!

And there we are with her! Sister Beck! Her husband sang "Lady in Red" while he took our pictures. This picture was moments before the skipping phenomenon.

To get the girls to watch General Conference, I told them that they'd get a prize if they could tell me what color Sister Beck wore on Saturday and Sunday. She wasn't so easy to see - but I found her! We'll see if they know tonight when we play guitar hero! Last week - the Testaments and Sister Beck. This week -- Guitar Hero. But we'll never forget last week - I mean what could compare?

Still, So happy.

High On the Mountaintop!

I love General Conference!
Could Temple Square be any more beautiful?

I got to go to Conference on Saturday morning and I was so happy to stand and sustain President Monson as our new Prophet.
(If you click his name you can hear his talk from Sunday Morning.)

I love that there are 8 hours of talks that we get to listen to and I'm always a little sad when we hear them say, "And then the Conference will be adjourned for six months..."

I am thrilled that the new Apostle is Elder D. Todd Christofferson. Not one of my guesses, but (you'll be surprised to know) they didn't consult me before making the call. :)

I'm also excited about the new Young Women General Presidency! Sister Tanner's talk was delightful and we will miss her.

Sister Dalton is a wonderful woman.
We have loved her for years now.
So many exciting changes!


The Temple is so beautiful. There is so much beauty all around it's almost impossible to take it all in.

Aren't we blessed to have such memorable days and experiences?

The Church is So True!
Click on the link and hear for yourself!

Wonderful Wonderful General Conference!

So happy.