My Sweet Life

Halloween + A Birthday Hike

2009-11-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

I just want to post pictures for Dan to see, of the past few months. I wanted to show you better pictures, but I didn't take any good ones of Ibis and Keith in their Halloween costumes. It was pretty funny because they kept joking about how it was a MIRACLE that Ibis could be a pregnant Nun. They had fun with it. It was pretty cool. I also included pictures of the family hike we went on for my birthday.Including, Joel trying out his new camera. Your always in my heart! I love you Dan!

OUR ANNIVERSARY! 2 YRS

2009-10-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2009-10-12T22:53:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dan Playing Army

2009-07-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

Dan is doing well. He's currently in Texas working hard at firing off guns and learning the ropes. He tells me stories about the other army boys trying to get along without girls. The latest story includes him watching a bunch of younger army soldiers calling restaurants for food. They can't leave the base, which means that their food is delivered, and if the restaurant isn't aware they send their girls out to deliver. The girls come in short shorts, and tank tops to flirt with army boys trying to get phone numbers and show off their muscles.

I can't imagine Dan doing that, he says no one orders from Pizza Hut because that restaurant knows that if they send out the girls the deliveries will take forever. So they send out a big hairy fat man to deliver pizzas. Dan called me the other night, "Hey I'm waiting for my pizza from Pizza Hut", I laughed. Here's some pictures of Daniel playing army.

Another Creation ( I didn't realise that both my posts are the same color)

2009-04-13T14:01:00.001-07:00

This is one I've been working on since last month. I bought a Vogue pattern, I've heard they are difficult but I wanted to try it out. I bought fabric, and wah- la! It was hard work, a lot of cutting, stitching, unstitching, recutting and then adding the finishing touches. What do you think? Dan was

nice enough to take pictures of us and he even critiqued by dress so that I could make it look right, hence the unstitching... I was glad that he was willing to do that, because it made the dress a whole lot better.

Made by Lis

2009-04-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

I have a few goals while Dan is gone:

I want to learn how to sew exceptionally well
I want to find a new job, maybe even upgrade (work at becoming an LPN; still unsure about it)
I want to get to know knew people, and make friends in my new ward
I want to learn to knit sweaters. (I think that hobbie rocks)

I don't really know what I'll be doing until I get into the swing of things. I just hope to stay busy enough that the year goes quickly. I've been spending time with Dan's cousin and his wife. Carmen and I want to do sewing projects once a week. Last week we made totes, reversable, and tons of fun. Mine has a spot for my personalized cell phone and for my keys so I don't have to search my bag for them. That was a lot of fun to make.

Dan goes to Kuwait JULY 6

2009-03-27T21:37:00.001-07:00

Questions and Answers:

Asked by Becca: How long will Dan be gone?

Dan will be gone for 1 year, and with our fingers crossed we think he will be able to come home half way through for a visit (hopefully that's not just wishful thinking). I keep wanting time to slow down (until he goes) but inevitably it speeds up, and well, I'm sure when he's gone it will slow again. I hope its not the longest year in my life.

Asked by Thomas (Aunt Cathy's son): What branch of the Army is Dan in?

Ok, I am a new army wife, not quite sure what is meant by branch, but I'll send out the information that I do know, maybe that will answer the question... Dan is a sergeant in the reserves. He is a mechanic and works on the big trucks and hummers as his main course of work. He loves cars. He does other army stuff, guns, tracking, driving trucks, etc.

Aunt Cathy: "Thomas thinks it safe in Kuwait.." I hope he is right. Dan convinces me of that as well. Kuwait is the last part of the official U.S. holdings of Desert Storm. It looks like it's a couple of bases where U.S. soldiers are making sure the land is kept safe and free. (They are a very rich country because of the oil production and everyone wants to own Kuwait; the US has tried to help protect them and fight for their right to remain their own country). I hope Dan stays safe there.

Anne and Becca: Still don't know how to use facebook and I'm afraid of those High School stalkers that may be lurking. (Anne knows who I'm talking about). I'll think about it. I've heard stories about face book, not so sure yet, but I'll try to check it out. Sorry I haven't done it yet. You'll have to show me the ropes. Maybe when Dan leaves I'll get us both to sign up so we can also communicate that way. I hope he has access to the internet there?

Trip to New Mexico and Texas

2009-03-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

I've been back for a week or more and I'm finally getting back into the hang of thing, jobs, house cleaning, laundry. I finally have a few minutes to share about my trip to New Mexico and Texas.

We started out in Logan and traveled to Spanish Fork to see Anne and Nate. We put together a gift for Kirsten's girls (flower hair clips that Anne has been selling). Then we drove to Price, UT to pick up Dan's brother Joel and his girl friend Barbara. So if you see pics of them, you will know who we are talking about. The trip was alot of driving and alot of fun. After a 12 hour drive we reached Las Cruces to see Kirsten, who was pretty sick when we got there, and the girls were just getting over a pretty back cold. (none of us got sick..) We didn't have much of a chance to stay at her house on the way down, we pretty much slept the night and left the next day. I wanted to stay but we all knew that we would have some time on the way back through... we continued our drive and another 8 hours later and a sleepless night we were in San Antonio Texas. We arrived at 6 in the morning, and found 3 little boys playing in the living room on their wii. We all looked at eachother wondering why the kids were up, then realised that the time was actually 7 am there. We slept on the floor for 2 hours, and I heard the boys saying to eachother, "Man it sucks they can't go to Six Flags with us, wish they would wake up." I prodded the others awake, and our day was already starting with just 2 hours of sleep! It's a good thing we were not a bunch of little whiny kids, cuz they would really have not wanted us to come on that much sleep! I think Dan had the worst of it, he did all the driving. I wanted to drive, but we had just traded in his other car for a new Subaru STI the sports edition and he really wanted to "get to know her". I don't blame him for not wanting me to drive, I'm not really that good at manual and I wouldn't want to ruin something right after we got it.

Six Flags was a blast, we all got in with special passes for the day for just $10 thanks to Dan's uncle Joe. We rode the new ride Galiath and other crazy rides, it was really just like Lagoon, but bigger. 3 little boys running all over the park like it was their own back yard was pretty crazy, I don't know how their parents handled it mentally, emotionally.. but they didn't lose any of them.

The part of the trip that Dan was most excited about was getting to see his dad. His dad owns a club called atomix. We drove to downtown San Antonio after Six Flags and walked inside of his club. The bouncers were not excited about letting us in until we told him that we were Jame's kids. He smiled really big and gave us all passes right away. We sat at the bar and waited to talk to James. He came over after serving a few drinks and we talked, I could tell Dan was very excited to be there. We watched people sing Karoke, (none of us had the guts to sing). That night, worn out we slept pretty soundly until the boys woke us up again, "You guys coming to the beach with us?" It was about 10 in the morning this time, but even with more sleep we all felt more tired than the night before!

We drove to Corpus Christi and went to Mustang Island... there we tride out boogie boards and Joe's Surf board. We played in the sand and burried a couple of the boys. It was about the only really sunny day we got, but it was windy. We had fun anyway. Our San Antonio trip ended with the afternoon spent walking around downtown with Dan's dad and eating at the Hard Rock Cafe there. (pretty expensive, good food though). It was good to see Dan's dad in his own atmosphere. No dress up clothes, just a regular guy in a regular restaurant.

Well, the trip had to come to an end sometime, so we drove again, all day and slept again at Kirsten's. This time we got to stay for another day. The kids went to school, we picked them up early and went to White sands. It was pretty windy (again) but we got some neat pictures. I was worried it was going to be a bust at first because of the wind, but Dan said, "We're here so lets have some fun" and he ran right out into the dunes, everyone followed. I was glad for his initiative. The girls really took to Dan and Joel, Macy even took alot of time playing with Barbara and trying to get her to sit by her and play with her. It was really cute. Dan took some videos of his car in the sand, that was a little scarey for me and fun for Dan. I guess this trip was ready to end a week later, all of us crabby and tired. I'm glad we got to go though.

Dan texted his dad just this last week, "Glad we got to come see you... I won't have the chance in the next year to see you." His dad texted that he enjoyed seeing us and wondered why Dan would be able to see him in the next year. Dan has gotten his orders to go to Kuwait. He gets deployed this coming July. He's leaving on July 6th 2009. It seems so fast coming, and even though we have been trying to plan for this, I never expected it to come so soon. I'm hoping I can get through this time by staying busy. I know Kirsten is doing now what I'll be doing in a couple of months, getting along without the one you love most is going to be hard. We are going to be moving in with Dan's grandparents in Brigham City so that I don't have to pay rent while he is gone. (I will also have emotional support as well). Here comes another big change in our lives, but I can't help feeling a little helpless and lonely at the thought of Dan leaving.

2009-03-06T14:04:00.000-08:00

We're going on vacation! One full week of driving and stopping at several different locations on the way to San Antonio Texas. I know it sounds like a strange location, but Dan and I talked about going to visit his dad. Dan called his dad mentioning that he might go. We still were unsure of our trip until talking with his grandparents, we found out that even though his dad didn't sound all that stoked about us coming, he was actually very excited and hoped we chose to drive his way. So we are taking Joel (Dan's Brother) and Barbara, (a good family friend, currently dating Joel) with us. We will drive down through new mexico, stopping at Kirstens, then take our trip to San Antonio, and visit his dad's club (that will be interesting for me) and go to the beach just 2 hours south of san antonio. I'm just excited to get a break from my job. It's been stressful lately, the economic problems in our country is affecting everyone around us. My work has been making budget cuts, laying people off right and left. They just cut a shift from the wing I work on, which gives us another whole list of work to do. I guess I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, I keep thinking that I'm really glad I still have my job, but I'm having a hard time taking on all the extra responsibilities we get because no one else is there to do it. A week break sounds like heaven to me, and I know it will go way to fast for all of us.

Is the world just going nuts? I worry everyday about the future and what it holds. My fears stand tall in the area of the war, and my hopes are irrational, wishing that Dan will not have to leave, that things will change before he is chosen to go. I want so much for us but it's all put on hold as we wait for the future to take hold of us. I'm glad for those already going through the hard times so that I have examples to help me know that I can do it. But that just helps the tears stop their flow for a time.

I like Old Things

2009-02-16T22:17:00.000-08:00

I've decided I like old things. I work at an old folks home. I like old people. I love it when they wear clothes from the 50's. I love when old ladies have to put on lipstick and where fancy pins or necklaces.

I like old cars, old houses, old loves, old memories, and anything that has to do with the past. I guess that's why I put on this old hat we found at an antique store and posed like an old fashioned model.

New and Old Jobs

2009-02-03T08:31:00.001-08:00

Hey I haven't written in a while... been really busy. I guess when I had all of that time on my hands, I started to get lazy so as life works I was sent more to do. I started a new job in addition to the one I already have. Dan's mom mentioned my name to someone who needed some help with their parents. They called and offered me a job on the spot. I visited with them the next day, and met Ruth and Harold. They live togeth in a one bedroom apartment in a retirement home for seniors who are independent. Ruth is becoming dependent on others. She has dementia and is on medication to calm her. She has been very sweet to me since we've met, and her husband is just as charming. I feel like they could be my grandparents. A typical day is helping Ruth eat breakfast, making sure she stays awake and remembers that her food is food. Then she naps and I talk or read a book until she decides she can get up. About then it's lunch time and we go down to lunch. My shift starts at 7:45am until 12pm. Then I go home, eat and head to Sunshine Terrace at 4pm - 11pm. It's a hard week to do it everyday, but with some new staff, I will only have to work at the morning job 3 days a week. That should be good, then I will be able to see Dan again. :)

Dan and I went on a date to celebrate our very first date together Jan 31 2006. We went to our favorite restaurant, Calloways in Smithfeild. Then we watched a movie together and played the new lego Indiana Jones xbox game. It was a blast. After we stopped by Best Buy, we've been waiting for... dun dun da dun.. our video camera we ordered. It's the Sony Handycam with full HD 1080p (HDR-SR12). It has the touch screen, a veiw finder and a nob on the front that can be used for multiple things like focus where you want, and lighting (according to what you want it to be used for). We love it, can't wait to use it.

Well, I sure miss my family and pray for you alot. I pray that Kirsten and the girls are doing ok, and I wish I could there to help. I keep hearing about everyone getting laid off and it's worrying me. I guess Dan's cousin got laid off and he just got married and has a baby girl. I don't know what to do to prepare for the future, but I feel a need to do so. I want to keep our family safe and supplied with funds and food. Hope you are all doing good. I love you!

Daniel’s Story

2009-01-18T00:01:00.001-08:00

This is Daniel. My family has the tradition of writing and sharing stories every year around Christmas time. Each year we choose a subject, usually concerning relationships, hardships, memories, or life in general. It has come to be a way of describing life, a way to get a grasp on reality, a time to step back and comprehend, a time to share lessons learned, and most of all, a time to get together and have an excuse to eat! My family is very into eating large meals without restraint sometimes one after another. This year's theme was "Sixteen". Enjoy, and I dare you to write your own. If enough respond I might even get hooked into this blogging addiction everyone has.

One last note, they are read out loud so I write them in a way where I must use voice inflection. So read it out loud in the most manly voice you can muster. Love you all.

Life With Realization Yet

to Come

The man in the black suit Ran around the corner of the bleak surrounding void of details. I pursued after him at breakneck speed. My nimble feet and powerful stride were still not able to bring me any closer to the man in black. He turned left around another corner, coat tails waving in nasty, mocking tone. "You can't catch us," they teased, "we are the ginger-black man." I bounded after him now descending two escalators side by side. I was on the left and finally catching up to him on the right. He stopped and turned to confront me and I did not give pause to hesitate. I bounded across sending feet first into his chest, my hands ready to brace for the graceful maneuver with the ungraceful ending. I stood in a gratifyingly powerful pose looking down the escalator at the man in a crumpled heap at the bottom as the stair gently glided down the stark landscape of an unknown city. I heard on the city's intercom system a faintly familiar, "beep…beep…beep…BEEP…BEEP…."

I am caught by a wind of maddeningly strange texture. I accelerate, twisting incomprehensibly in all directions towards the end. My mind stretches and consciousness, a consciousness like a liquid of great cohesive abilities, slimes and sucks through that tiny hole in the film separating the world from that of my own world. My alarm is there to greet me. How lovely. I grope with hands, blind without the response of my eyes. I move with great precision and "snooze mode" is activated. The best nine minutes of my day.

Nine minutes. NINE minutes. Who comes up with these things? Nine, nine, why not ten. Couldn't make it an even ten? And like nine is a snooze. I rather doubt that after these nine minutes that I will spring out of bed, do 20 pushups, run upstairs and hug my mother singing, "Oh, what a wonderful morning." More like 90 minutes. That's my kind of snooze. My hand, liberated from controlled conscious thought, reaches up using that same muscle memory. Unbeknownst to me, I ready myself for a "proper" snooze.

I desperately try to grasp the image of the man in the black suit in a heap on the floor. I wish to finish him. I retrace my steps in the void city. Stark, similar buildings navigate past me as I search out the man. I descend the escalators expecting to hear a cry for mercy.

I find a rather beautiful young lady in a very noticeable red dress walking very elegantly towards me. After a great deal of noticing, I stop to get a bearing on my situation. What should I say? "Hello, miss, have you seen a man in a black suit around here lately?" No, forget about him. What about her? "Hello, miss, all alone on this cold evening?" No, you sound like a murderer. Wait! Did you do your hair? Did you even brush your teeth? Are you even dressed? …well…

Dressed?!! What time is it!?! I rush out that pin prick in the hole in the veil and sit bolt upright in my bed. It's nearly 2^nd hour! I rush into my clothes, careful not to choose what I wore yesterday. That's a disaster. I calculate whether or not mom would be home at this time. Yes, she is probably home. Oh well, can't use the water. That would give my laziness away. I sneak out the downstairs backdoor praying that she isn't eating breakfast at the kitchen table just overhead. The door is impossibly loud as it groans across the floor giving my escape away for sure. I slowly close the door behind me and leap onto the cement ledge onto the ground level underneath the deck in the backyard. I low-crawl across the ground until out of sight from the glass slider door then, back against the wall, I shuffle swiftly around the corner. Taking an obviously natural poise, I walk nonchalantly across the street to the school. Living so close can be a blessing and a curse.

I enter halls of zits, buck teeth, skate shoes, CD players, BO, pretty girls that are clueless who I am and how I drop kicked the black suited man, football uniforms, hair scrunches, backpacks, cheerleaders, no running, late homework, very seldom and fascinating "cat fights", nerds, jocks, fashion, slime, primped and prepped, grungy punk, teacher's pet, class clown, and teachers to attempt at governing it all, to try in vain to direct the multitude. It is society at its peak. Not at its best, nor worst. That's up for debate. Just at its peak.

I walk down the immense wasteland of a corridor, soft, howling wind in the distance flowing over the cold walls. I travel alone, fending for myself, trying to stay afloat as I swim through the mass of crowds. Through the cacophony of voiceless wind, a distant "Hey Garv" catches my ear. I turn to search for the source but I am caught in the flow of that cold society, swept away to never know of the other entity in my realm. Someone to notice, to talk to, to know their name. I trudge onward, walking, drifting. Again, a different voice, this time more distinct against the giant, cold, soulless wind. "Hey Garv." Who are these people? Where did they come from and how do they know me? What is this madness? This is definitely not how the Society has been built or is ran or whatever the Society's function is. Hey Garvs are not included. Never. Just the wind. Just the natural, constant, never changing flow of the Society. "Hey Garv." What? "Hey Garv." "Hey Garvin" "What's up Garv."

I remember the time in my life where the world realized I existed, realized my name. Garv was from the band room, where I had an identity. It leaked out, rising exponentially introducing itself to the Society. I was then known and now had the struggle to know others ahead of me. All of that thanks to beautiful percussive voices. A set of Drums.

2008-12-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

This last week I had a party at my house to make those flowers for your hair that Anne has been doing. They turned out awesome! They are much bigger than Anne's creations, because they are for adults, but I had so much fun, and so did the girls! The dumb thing about the whole event was the invitations I gave out to people at work and to a couple others... I wrote the wrong address on them!! So only 3 people from work came because they called me to find out where it was. The others either had plans or couldn't find the place. So I may have to do it again. Here's some pics of what I created. (thanks Anne for the idea! I won't sell them, I like them too much!)

Dan leaves on Friday for two weeks. He'll be in SLC, for training. I went to a ceremony with all his army guys. They all stood in the middle of a large gym and stood attention to the commander of their group. He called Specialist Garvin to the front of the group and told him that he was a good soldier and that he was an example to all the other soldiers. He described Dan's good skills and I was surprised to see Dan smiling proudly. The commander then asked me to come forward and he named Dan a sergeant. He gave me a pin to pin on Dan and some velcro pieces representing a sergeant to replace his specialist pieces. Then Dan's sergeant told us to kiss. That was a little awkward, in front of all of the soldiers... but I guess he had to listen.

So, now he goes for training, and this week he takes all of his finals early so he can leave by the 5th.
I'm really going to miss him. I'm glad I'll be able to call him this time. Last summer he was gone for 2 weeks to Honduras and I couldn't even call him!

2008-11-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a week off from work, taking an overhaul on my house searching for warm clothes... and driving down to Moab for the annual Thanksgiving camping trip with Dan's family. I can't wait, but I'm also very bord because Dan is at work and I'm tryng to pack for both of us. I keep thinking about Kirsten and Brian and how hard it is to live apart from the one you love the most..

Dan says he thinks he will have to go to Iraq next year... and wants me to start getting used to the idea. I wonder what I will do when he is gone? Will I stay strong and remain close to him? Will he be ok? I hope that I can soak up all the time I get with him so I will not regret anything. I may have to move closer to family while he is gone, or be closer to his parents, I will go crazy!!!

We'll see what happens..

2008-11-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

I woke this morning with sadness then, I was gladdened because it was only a dream. The dreamt that I called Anne and asked her what her plans were for the weekend (I wanted to visit Springville). Anne said she was going to Dad's funeral, as she told me about his death, I could feel the echo in my mind, the confusion and rejection... I just kept saying No.. No. No. How could it be? The dream moved forward, the family gathered in a room, I remember searching for anyone that was there when Dad died. Someone said that Aunt Chris was there.. helping to calm him. I searched for her, but then the family began to talk quietly together, someone mentioned singing his favorite song. (In real life, I don't know what that song is...) but we sang one that sounded sad but the sadness didn't match the words at all. It was about a puppy dog that wouldn't use a newspaper for the same things as a human would. It had many verses, such as peeing on the paper or rolling it around for a home. It was supposed to be funny, but when we sang it together, all of the siblings and extended family, my memories of dad flooded into my mind. I realized I would never be able to see my dad again here on earth. I pictured myself cupping my hands over his warm whiskery cheeks and looking at his soft brown eyes, then I began to miss him oh so much. I began to feel the pain that comes when someone close to you passes away. The tears were hot on my cheeks as I wandered around the room looking for a memento of the day that my dad passed. I just had to remember the date... Then I woke up. I know it's just a dream but it makes me want to call my mom and dad and ask them how they are doing. I makes me want to tell them that I love them one last time. Just once a day, or week, or month one last time.. I LOVE YOU. I guess we never know when those we love won't be there anymore. I think about all the bad feelings that flow between loved ones, then I want to try harder to apologize and soak up the good times, because before we know it, we've taken for granted having them there whenever we need them.

TO BRIAN

2008-11-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures I found of Qatar that I thought were neat.

BRIAN! I know your not going on vacation and your going to miss your family a lot;, but since your getting your man meter up and everything, you should try to remember the feminine side and take pictures while you are on your trip. We all hope you are safe while your in Qatar. We love you so much, and think of you often. I know it sounds crazy but I really feel a deep love for you and all that you've done for me. You have shown me what it is to have a happy home life and what family is all about. I hope you always remember how much we care about you. Please be safe. And have a good time. We love you lots.

Never used a pattern on my own before...

2008-10-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

I got a sewing machine for my birthday! It's a PFAFF. I did my first project...I made a scrub top to wear to work. It took two days of hard work, and challenging instructions, but I finally completed it! I wore it to work, and I was surprised at how many people loved it. I got a lot of comments about its style, girls were suggesting that I sell it... That would be cool, but it's not my pattern.. I just had a blast and can't wait to do another project.

Funeral Day

2008-10-16T22:30:00.001-07:00

Today was Mandy's funeral. Jerimiah wes dickey was as composed as he could be. The funeral was sad, lots of people were trying hard to except that Mandy did all she wanted to do in life. She was 21 years old, and had a little boy of about 3 years. She let her uncle adopt her child, and got him used to his new family quite a while before she passed away. She was able to graduate highschool, raise a child and get married, accomplishing what life goals she felt important in the time limit that she had. In memory of mandy and in hopes for a good life for her son, and a good future for her husband Jeri.

Ties Too Many

2008-10-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

I found the most helpful device on the planet, well it's helpful for one who likes to collect ties. It holds 76 ties and has hooks for belts. It rotates either direction, and lights up. It's so much more useful then trying to use hangers, the ties fall off and it's a continual battle. I got one for Daniel and too bad for him, he filled it completely with ties left over; but he still loves it.

A Day of Memory

2008-10-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Jerimiah, Dan's cousin just has his wedding last saturday, One week to the day, Mandy his new wife passed away... 9 am this morning.

Another Wedding Day

2008-10-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Its strange to think that my first anniversary is coming up here on October 13! WEIRD. I feel like I've been married forever and for only a few months all at once. I can't imagine trying to live without Daniel.

This past Saturday Dan's family met at Logan Regional Hospital to celebrate the wedding of a dear family friend and cousin. Dan's cousin married a girl who is now very sick and fighting for her life. The hospital couldn't let her come out of her medical room, but she was dressed in princess style pink gown with little diamonds all over it. She looked so beautiful. Dan's cousin looked happy and was full of thoughts for the family, often he said to the group, "Don't be scared, why are you all so solemn, this is a day to be happy."

I heard the nurses talking about the bride, "I'm surprised she has lasted this long.." was a comment that stuck in my mind. I know all things happen for a reason, I just hope that the couple will be comforted.

Dan and I left the wedding after congratulating the couple and drove to farmington. Five out of the nine siblings were at the Farmington Cemetery. We sang songs mom loved before she died, and prayed there in the rain on the grass. Becca prayed for everyone, asking heavenly father to watch over all of us. There wasn't a dry eye when we were through, and lots of hugs going around. After, we drove to Applebees and ate dinner together. Thank you everyone, It was the first time that I really got to feel the love that everyone felt for mom. I felt united as we sang on the grass, though some of the songs were ones I didn't know. I felt full of love and hope for our family as Becca prayed. Thankyou..

Dan's thoughts on Katrina. (I mean the kitchen.)

2008-09-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

IDEAS FOR ANNE'S PAPER: "A complete reconstruction of the paper is essential for the convincing of these testosteronical beasts of building (Dan language for construction workers) " --Dan Garvin

Describe the scene: This is the seller right here. You need the most eloquent placement of adjectives to make the scene of the old pipe odor drench the readers senses as he feels the stress that seems to wash over everything along with the dim, yellow, half burned out light. But we must keep it on a 6 grade reeding level. They are men. They build stuff. It is good. Dick and Jane reed the newspaper though, so you can use some higher reeding techniques into the mix. That's the hard part about it. But the key point is, ENTERTAIN THE READER! After the second sentence he has already decided if this is the house. He just needs to work out the details. So make the first paragraph gripping and enveloping.
Picking five specific points of the scene (ex: the sink) and describe them in a manner that is entertaining and unique. (the sink: An imported high quality particle board counter top supported by water rotted two by fours embrace a vintage pee yellow rust stained single basin sink.) Go with this as your first paragraph. Other points of interest are, the lighthouses (not very good interior design theme( no offense)), smoke stained walls and ceilings
Tell the Story: My mom went on a trip to London and Dad decided it was an opportune time to tear the kitchen apart and "fix the place"
Make the House Seem Like it can be Fixed: Yes, this is a key point. This part needs to be written in a more "to the point" mode. The testosterone based life forms are trying to make money. They need a house that has potential. The house needs to be a gem that can be showed off. If the house is just not worth fixing up, they really will not choose that one. They are looking for an old Victorian house that needs fixing up so that they can show it off to people and get more sales. You need to make your house sell to them. Make it sound like it could be beautiful!! Not just some rectangular, mediocre, lame, room that is torn apart. Yes it might be the ugliest one. I have no doubt about that. But can it be the best looking room after they are done? Or just a bit less mediocre?

New TV

2008-09-17T10:47:00.001-07:00

I don't know if you've ever seen a guy try to play nentendo on a tiny tv, but if you do, the comment each time is, "It's so small, I can't even see what I'm doing..." Well, I didn't really believe it was too small until you see the difference. Anne do you remember how big the INSIGNIA we bought was when we had our apartment? Check out the photos. DAN was so excited! It was funny to see him rearranging our living room to make it all fit. It will be nice when we actually have some movies to watch on it. For now I just get to see alot of xbox games. I would like to try rockband on it tho. It's really a Epson Projector, it gets really clear picture when we've got the room in theater mode, it's 1080p. We'll have to bring it to watch family videos at our next family reunion. Does anyone know when that is?

Dan's 26th Birthday!!!

2008-09-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Dan's 26th Birthday was this last friday. Birthdays are hard. What do you plan to have fun? What fun things can we do? I thought it over and we decided to have a picnic and go hiking. Well, the morning went by, Dan woke up and while eating breakfast opened a few of the presents I got him, I laptop board to put his laptop on, pringles, and a sculpture of a man drumming. He thought that was pretty cool. He rushed to school, and I went to visit his mom. She bought him some new shoes.. (I'll post a picture..) So the day went quickly, i made some special baked beans, (Dan's Grandmother's recipe) and we all went to Logan canyon to hike the wind caves and eat. It was dark by the time we got there so we decided to stay and picnic instead of hike. Dan's mom brought other salads she had made, two peach pies and cake... and sandwich stuff. She looked at me and said, "Did you bring the bread?" I shook my head, and told her I talked to Dan's little sis on the phone and she told me not to bring any... Without bread, no sunlight left everyone felt kinda bummed, we didn't really know whether to change our plans and go home to get the rest of our food or just to stay there and only eat salads without sandwiches (the main course). We stayed. we ate all the salads, and the baked beans. To my surprise everyone commented on the beans atleast twice, saying how good they were. It is such an easy recipe, I was glad they loved them.

We ate and had pie, then went to Dan's parents house and had cake and ice cream just an hour later. I felt so stuffed, I could hardly walk. I don't know if I've ever had peach pie before, but it tasted really fresh, and sweet. Dan wanted to work on his car all day, but without the right parts, he couldn't. I got lucky, I had work off and got to hang out with him the whole time. I have to post all the neat pictures, the staircase we found in the canyon was really neat... I wish I could have gotten a better shot of those, Becca you would love them! They are so old, covered in moss and cracked, but still beautiful. Check it out! Now Dan is 26! I wonder what I'll feel like at 26... I'll be 22 soon, and I still feel like I'm 18.

Ps. What are some good anniversary Ideas... Anyone?

CARS, and BOY

2008-08-29T21:32:00.001-07:00

I called Anne last night, she told me I had to post a new blog! I'm behind the times I guess. Well Lately my life is just work and home. I took the semester off to decide on my major and figure out how to finish all of the requirements to continue with school. So I put all of my time into my job. It's hard, and challenging. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells with the nurse in charge of my shift... she's definitely an insecure rotten egg... the sad thing is I'm not afraid to stand up to her, but she doesn't really allow me to talk with her about any issues we have with her.. ug.

A few ladies have passed away since I've started, I miss having them around, but they better be happier where they are now then where they were!

Ok, So I've realised I don't really talk about Dan much. I thought I would make a blog describing his likes, and so forth so you guys that live far can get to know him better (considering the fact that I live with him, and will become more like him someday).

Dan works at Paragon Medical, as a machinist. He helps makes medical devices for all of the hospitals in the world. LOL; He likes the outdoors alot; I remember when I first started dating him, his mom asked me if I liked camping. She said "good" when I said yes because Dan's family goes camping every year for thanksgiving. Dan's favorite part about that event is the pie. Everyone in the family makes and brings tons of pies, atleast 3 pies for each person. Dan will eat as much pie as he can get his hands on! Pie for dinner, breakfast, lunch, you name it.

Dan loves cars. He thinks about them, dreams about them, drives them, washes them, talks to them, names them... now i'm even dreaming about them. He takes any chance he can to explain parts in the car and how they work whenever we are together for long car rides or eating a meal. I laugh when he says, "do you hear that sound that car making? what do you think is wrong with it?" What's even weirder is that I'm actually learning enough to answer him. I like learning about it, but I don't like spending all day working on cars. Dan just got rid of his yellow charger and bought a much cheaper Subaru wrx. It's bright blue and he's doing everything he can to up it's performance. So far he's gotten on ebay about every night for the passed 3 months for parts, and has gotten : A new turbo, intercooler, breaks, up pipe, down pipe system, catback exhaust, shocks (two way adjustable coil overs), fuel pump (250cc), fuel injectors (750cc), boost control solenoid, cold air intake and tons of other gadgets to get the car to run faster and better and faster and better. For his birthday this Sept I bought him new wheels, (no kids, I guess we can spend money on hobbies :) he wants to paint little tiny parts of the car pink... that's funny, he painted his break calipers pink... (check it online if you wonder what I mean.. I posted a picture of ones that are blue, picture in your mind HOT PINK.)

Dan also is a major tease, but only when he knows you pretty well. He likes to observe situations before becoming apart of it. He loves joking with his younger brother Joel, and takes pride in the relationship he has with him. He calls his mom "UHH" and she answers to it. (I guess that's mom in Guarani.. a language from his mission to Paraguay...or it's just his way of ) He doesn't really ever want a dog (they chew his things up including his $120 calculator last semester..just 2 days before his calculus final), but he wouldn't mind having a friendly cat to cuddle with. He likes audiobooks, and we have taken to renting every one we can find at the Library. We have almost the whole Wheel of Time Series, (except for Path of Daggers) if anyone knows where I can find it, let me know!

well...Maybe if you have questions you want to ask, I can post more. I don't really know what you would want to know.

PS. I've got a lot of time on my hands, and I'm wondering if any of you have some advice on hobbies I could do, or projects that are fun. If you have anything that you do that is exciting to you, or things you see on the internet, let me know! thanks!

2008-07-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

Daniel has 2 younger sisters and 2 younger brothers. His youngest brother is 18 years old, and had some trouble with the law this last couple of years. He never really got along with his family, and for an escape ran off with friends that he thought he fit in with. His friends got him into a lot of trouble and he started doing things that were making him more and more unhappy. I met Daniel and his family when things were the worst for Kyle. I tried to talk with him, and be his friend. He was nice to me, and tried to talk to me everytime I would go to Dan's house. I felt like I could connect with him, and his family tried harder to get him involved in family time. He started to see that his friends were not good for him, and started to do a little better.. for a while. Most of his family had given up on him, and couldn't really talk with him without getting frustrated. His outlook on life was dark, and depressing. It made it hard.
Last year around May the police came over to Dan's house and searched kyle's room. Kyle's brother Joel shared rooms with him, he came home to his room torn apart and the place ripped up. Later he learned that the police had taken Kyle out of school and into custody. The few weeks were scary for kyle. He got home, and had to go to court with his parents. Kyle had gotten into some bad sites of the internet, along with getting caught with drugs by school property. He was sentenced to over a year in a juvenile detention center. Kyle missed our wedding, His friend Barbara came from Germany to visit, he was still in the center... He has been in since last May, and Now on July 2nd he gets to come home.
His parents are excited, and They allowed a few of us to go visit him last week. He has grown up alot, he seems more mature, less centered on his own well-being. he cares about others more. I'm excited to see how he will change the dynamics in Dan's parents house. I hope he does well, and changes his life around. WELCOME HOME KYLE.
This July 4th is a big event for Daniel's family. Everyone gets together and goes to the parades and watches fireworks... the last event Dan and I went together, I loved being with him and his family. I was pretty bummed all week because I didn't ask to have the 4th off. I got a phone call last night, a girl asked if she could work my July 4th! I was so excited. I remember asking heavenly father if I could find a way to let it work out, if I had to work, then I would try to make it to Brigham City and see the family at about 11pm... after everything was over. I'm just excited that I can go!
I called Laura today, she told me she was going to be in town of the 6th of July. I'm excited, I get to see her new baby and Damian! I love her family... I wish I could take more time to go to SLC and visit her! Sounds like things are going good though. Glad she's doing well.

2008-06-16T22:53:00.001-07:00

Laura, you kicked me off! I can't view your blog now... Not invited I guess. Can you fix that?

2008-06-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

This week has been a long one. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little like I want to be a kid again. I want to play all day and go home and ask my mom whats for dinner instead of going home trying to make dinner. I guess I've been thinking about past times with family and friends and really being reminded of life and the joys that I had.

I get these thoughts, random shadows of memories.. today I remembered that I had my hair cut short when I was a Junior in highschool because I wanted to donate it to locks of love, and I haven't really had it long until now. It's getting passed my shoulders and that's a biggie for me.

I remembered that Anne and I stayed at Kirsten's house in Bozeman one summer, before we met Saba and Emily, and we didn't really know anyone. We met this one girl, she was naughty. Anne and I played with her for about a week, I remember we hid another girls shoe up in the house rafters, and the little girl's dad came out looking for it. I remember sticking around so I could tell him where we hid it because I wasn't able to stick up for the girl when we stole the shoe in the first place. (Hazy memory... do you remember that Anne?)

I think about highschool memories and wonder where life has gone. What is happening with the time we are given? I know it doesn't seem like much to you, but I've been married for 9 months tomorrow. Kirsten, over 10 years! Becca, over 7 right? Even Anne, you've been married for 2 years right? I just can't believe how time flies, how I want it to slow down because at times I enjoy it too much, and even when I don't enjoy it, I just want to to stop so I can rest and take a few breaths.

I love all of you, I love looking at your blogs and wondering how your lives are going. I think about everyone often... I have dreams about you, (my family) my mind continues to think of Ben and Nathaniel, because I don't hear much of them. Hope your all doing well.

2008-06-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

I am now officially a member of the "Certified Nursing Assistants" at Sunshine Terrace. I was in their housekeeping department for over a year and decided I wanted to move on to a different department with more pay and more responsibility. I'm finishing my final testing this week, and do the state test at the end of the month. Then my pay goes up about $2 or so. That will be good. I'm excited to start this new job.

For those of you that want to know what it's like:

2pm I go to work, make rounds (visit each of the residents rooms and see if they need to use the restroom or have to have a diaper changed).

3pm Answer call lights and little favors needed done

4pm Get people up for dinner until 5:30

6pm Help feed dinner to those who can't feed themselves. make conversation with those that need a distraction from a boring life. :)

7pm dinner is still going... takes a while

8pm get everyone ready for bed, brush teeth and tuck them in.

9-11pm answer final call lights before going home and getting to sit down for a few minutes.

It's interesting being able to see so many that that can't do things for themselves. Those things we take for granted like brushing our teeth, getting out of bed, or going to the bathroom. it's surprising the smiles that you can put on someone's face when you encourage them to take 20 small steps through the hall before them have sit and rest. I think of getting old and what I can do to keep my mind in the present instead of the past. Often it's someone's birthday, and you ask, "How old are you Mildred?" and she says 10 years old, and you have to smile and say, "wow, your growing up." then you ask the other nurses how old she is and laugh when she's 105 years old. I hope that I can be a friendly person to be around, one who says thankyou and keeps a smile on even when life is going down hill. So many show me a good example and I want to learn from them that I serve. I really am glad to experience this kind of job. I enjoy it so far, Even those stinky diapers and giving showers is not so bad when you get to experience so many other good things. Lis

Trip To New Mexico

2008-05-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Dan is In Honduras! So I decided to go somewhere for distraction... and a little bit of fun! Anne and I went to NEW MEXICO to see Kirsten, Brian, MaKenzie, Madison, and Macy. We brought sunny clothes in hopes to soak up the sun, and found it rainy when we arrived. Nice. Rainy and gray. But we had a party and played anyway. We went to the El Paso zoo on our first day. We saw lots of animals, at one part of the part we saw a monkey with a new baby monkey hanging on to it, and another part was the bird observatory, and the bird in the picture kept standing so close to us, we took pictures and as we started to walk away, it chased MaKenzie and Madison! They didn't want to go back after that. It took us a while to calm them down. We saw the elephants and played at the gift shop. I'm sure the other girls will want to blog about the party we had... It was an 80's Nepolian Dynamite party! They'll probably post pictures soon. I didn't bring a camera... so they may have to give me the shots they get. Hope everyone is having a sun filled summer so far. Love you all!

Finals!

2008-04-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Wow. I haven't changed my blog in forever. It's finals...and I barely have time to do anything! It's still Snowing here in Logan. Wish the summer would finally decide to come! Snow and tests. Man life is good. I get a new car this weekend. Dan is downsizing and I'm upgrading. My red car's brakes are not doing well. They've gone out twice in the last 2 months. Dan wants me to get a more reliable car... and well it's easy for me to agree. His yellow charger is going back to the store and we are both getting more affordable vehicles. I found a 2000 BMW for only 9,400! I'm excited. I may get it this weekend. Keeping our finger crossed! I better get to class!

Poor Daniel!

2008-04-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

I had an awful night about a week ago. I was asleep.. Daniel got home from work and was probably just getting ready for bed. I woke up to the sound of him dressing, or undressing and all I could hear was this awful tearing, ripping, shreading sound. I felt miserable, my head was pounding and the sound was so LOUD. I don't remember what I said, but Dan told me to get up and go to the bathroom (I always have to go, seriously!) I crawled on my hands and knees over the blankets on the bed, glaring angrily through the darkness at him and his shreading sounds.

In my night time stupor: I pictured him wearing a shirt of duck tape and imagined him tearing it apart! I then lunged forward and tried to hit him! I drunkily missed him by a long shot... I don't know why or where it came from! Oh.. In the next few minutes Dan's good mood had deflated. I still didn't know what was going on. My mind was clogged and muddled. Finally I was awake enough to ask him what was wrong. I had the adacity to ask him what was wrong with him!! It was then that I realized that I was being a total jerk and didn't even realize it. I wanted to laugh when he told me the ripping sound was actually his old tshirt that was growing way too old to wear and he was ripping it off to be funny.

Poor Dan! I couldn't believe I acted like i did. (Like another person) Kinda reminds me of the time Anne punched me in the face in the middle of Sacrament meeting. (a whole other story). Well, I told him everytime I remembered the incident how sorry I was, that I didn't know what came over me. Lucky for me, he's quick to forgive. Weird story I know.. I can understand if you don't have any comments!

LIfe is GOOD

2008-03-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

Spring Break ended with a bang! We drove to Boise, Daniel, Jeri (cousin), Joel (Dan's Brother) and I. We met up with Ibis and Keith (cousin's of Dan) and played all weekend. On our last day, we planned to leave in the afternoon. We woke up to Ibis telling everyone to get dressed quick, and then to our surprise she blindfolded us and drove us to the grocery store. I found Dan after we got out of the car and grabbed his hand (lucky me!)

We trailed into the grocery store (4 of us blindfolded and holding hands) while 4 others led us. Ibis convinced Dan's little brother Joel to put on a crockadile suit! He must have gotten alot of laughs from people doing their early morning errands.

Later we were driven to another location and led for about ten minutes into the middle of a park. There we took off our blindfolds and ate breakfast with the stuff we purchased at the grocery store. then tied our blindfolds on our legs connected to a partner... We raced around with 3 legs searching desperately for eggs and candy. It was alot of fun! People were laughing and stumbling all over the place!

In Boise we shopped until we dropped! I found an old vintage coat for $14 and Another one for just $3! Jeri bought about 7 pairs of pants and 12 shirts for $3 each! Crazy. The town is full of memorials, and cool art work. They have neat walk way that had what looked like lamps lined up... but as you walk passed them they are motioned sensored and make clinking and beats to form music to your footsteps! It was cool! They have a library there that makes me laugh... I guess they orded lettering for the library.. but the place sent them an extra exclamation point. The library decided to use it anyway.. We like to scream LIBRARY! everytime we pass it.

Life is Good.

IN MY DREAMS...

2008-02-27T13:07:00.001-08:00

Last night I had a terrible dream that Daniel told me he had to marry someone while he was married to me! He had a big wedding (again) but with this new blond girl... I was invited.. but ignored and wasn't allowed to sit with Daniel or his new wife. I felt like I was put on the back burner... the weird thing was that I knew Daniel still loved me... but he was now having to spend time with his new wife. He even had a parade for her and her family. I had to find something to wear to get his attention... but all I could find was a short skirt school girl outfit with no shoes to match!!! I woke up, and hugged him tight this morning. It's just me; I get to be his ONLY wife. How nice is that? I don't know how it would have been to live in times when men had many wives. I don't think I could do it!! Dan told me his dream... much better than mine. I was flirting with him in our parking lot. I guess he said he was really attracted to me (I must have looked stunning) "in his dreams!" Nice.

Daniel's humor again...

2008-02-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

Just the other day I was talking to Anne on the phone about husbands... sometimes they don't offer to help much around the house. Both Anne and I are trying hard to "Help" our sweet husbands want to help us. Well... I carried on this same conversation with Dan's mom. She told me it's impossible to try to get men to do what you want. I told her that I've been able to get Dan to make the bed by encouraging him... well, I guess by telling him how glad I am after he DOES it. So... I talked to Daniel about this. He said that he was busy alot.. with work and school 24/7, it's hard to do anything else but homework or relax when he can. Well... when we got home from school, walking through 12 inches of snow... we had a couple hours before we both needed to go back to work. Dan put on a classic smile, and trudged through the house with his soaked shoes... then went straight to the bathroom, (I followed bugging him the whole way) he started going while I was standing there... then, he didn't flush while leaving the toilet seat up. To my surprise he started to leave the bathroom without washing his hands. Dan never does any of this... He is very ordered and clean... I finally understood what he was doing. Daniel... so cunning, was trying to show me that he is good, and does alot of things that I don't already notice. He does try to keep the house looking nice, and keeps the toilet flushed with lid down... he made me laugh when he was finished with his act. The crazy things he does sometimes.. This doesn't mean I won't keep trying! I have to remind him that he has magic drawers, maybe he'll do the laundry next week.. who knows?

P.s. my project at school changed to Cochlear implants. If you want to comment on this as well... Here's the background information on this:
Children are tested in the first few weeks after birth for hearing disabilities. If they are deaf, or hard of hearing they have the option of a hearing aid, or cochlear implant. The battling question is whether or not to place hearing aids on the child. Much of the deaf world feels that being deaf is a part of who they are. They take great pride in being deaf. The choice to put hearing aids must be done early, within the first month of life... when the branching of neurons in the brain takes place. (This also helps the child to learn with the aids rather than without them early, then trying to implement them later). SO the question is: Put hearing aids on, or leave them behind and allow the child to be Deaf, and join the deaf culture?

I Need HELP!

2008-01-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a school project. The topic is simple. What do you do if you have a deaf child, and your a hearing parent? What would you do when it came time for them to go to school? Would you send them to a deaf school or a public school? What if you were deaf and you had hearing kids? How would you teach them to speak? Where would you send them for school? I need to know your opinions please! If you have children in your kids classes at school that are deaf, or you know anyone who is deaf or has a deaf child, let me know of their story. I need to figure out how to present information without slaughtering the topic! Thanks!!

I Never Knew...

2008-01-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

Daniel is an army man. I didn't know much about the army except that it was a really scary thing, that young men join for lots of reasons... Dan went to boot camp right after high school.. well all I can say is that I see the effects of what they did to him. Just a few nights ago, I woke up to hear Dan coughing next to me. I wondered if he was ok, without thinking, I reached out putting my hand gently on his back. To my great surprise, the blankets flew back, Dan seemed to roll off the bed with so much speed, he almost hit the wall. I blinked. He was crouched at the bottom of the bed, staring at me. I stared back, I'm sure my 'stare' showed much more shock than his. When Dan started to breath, he was laughing. My tense muscles melted, and Dan crawled back into bed chuckling to himself. "What?" I asked him. He continued to chuckle as he told me his dream. Spiders everywhere, giant taranchulas climbing toward him and his brother Joel. Joel tried to spray one with insect Zapper, hoping to kill it. The spider started to fume, and die, but more came. Lots of them, then all of the sudden Dan felt one on his back! Woah... Thanks to me, I made his dream more real, and thus he leaped out of bed. I was beginning to think it was because of all of that boot camp training! Good times.

Family night out..

2008-01-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

I spent a night over at Daniel's family party in Brigham City. The family party is focused on writing a story for the year.. then reading your story to the family. This year Dan's family secretly told everyone to write about Dan's Aunt De Ann. De Ann had just gone through cancer and chemotherapy over the past year and is finally growing her hair back, and has energy enough to enjoy life. I don't know you guys remember her, but she was the fantastic cook at our wedding breakfast and reception.

The party was a blast! Full of laughter (as always) and to my surprise, tears. Everyone told about De Ann when she was little and how she was a huge influence... then some spoke of how they were proud of her for her optimism through the cancer. As the stories unfolded.. I had a harder time sitting there, listening. I kept thinking about when I found out about De Ann's cancer. I cried. I cried and prayed that her family wouldn't lose her. I was selfish that day... I didn't want anything to do with the family and the pain they would go through. I didn't want to see them, or talk to them. I didn't want to see De Ann lose her hair, or feel loss at the life she was missing while lying in bed. I selfishly wanted to stop dating Dan so I didn't have to see it.

You can imagine how hard it was for me to sit and listen to her daughters stories, how they got through the nightmare of their mother's cancer.. how they all stuck it out hoping for the best. I hated that I had to stop myself from thinking, "how is it that I can't have my mom, but you get to keep yours?" But then I knew inside, that De Ann has blessed all of us, even me.. the newest member of their family. I knew that I would have hated losing her too... even if I couldn't have my mom. I cried along with everyone else as they read. I cried because they cried.. I felt out of place. I wanted to tell everyone about my family and how lucky they were... but I think they knew it. They knew they were blessed. They knew it deeper that I knew it.

It was a hard night, and wonderful night. I don't know if it's possible for me to mourn for someone I don't remember, but I think I'm still going through the stages. Sure makes me feel strong to be able to get through it.

Eternity seems forever away... but it's Almost here

2008-01-06T18:51:00.001-08:00

I've been reading my emails, and read one or two missionary emails... yes. I still have missionaries. Weird. One was from Elder Chun. He wrote about how much the Lord is working... how it's not HIS work, but the LORDS work. I thought about that. I thought about how the missionaries work so hard to get new members involved in the ward. I thought about when I was a ward missionary (when I started dating Daniel) and how hard it was to get people to come to church.. and when they did come, how much we focused on sitting with them, making meaningful conversation and introducing them to people. I have forgotten how hard it is to help people feel involved until it was my time to move into a new ward. I've been in this ward for 2 months, and have never been so welcomed in my life. Though everyone seems to notice you and introduce themselves, I have a hard time feeling like a fit in. If this is the case, I don't know how anyone "NEW" can do it. Then I thought of it... It's not the members that cause people to stay... it's the gospel. The Love of God when you listen to the hymns, or sing. It's the spirit that dwells in the sacrament room as we search our scriptures for what the Lord wants us to learn, or do.

I'm not a convert... I was born into the gospel. I know some of our family members aren't quite converts either. Daniel's family is half and half as well. I see families, beautiful little boys, girls, with their parents and I think about the love that seems to bind them with thick invisible threads... then my heart fills with warmth.. until I remember that some of those threads will be easily broken, no bindings to go on after this life. I think of my own family.. so small just the two of us. Looking at Daniel, I feel immense hope and joy. I love that I'm sealed to him forever. I love that I will have children with him that we will always be able to keep.

I know that you may be reading this, and think that it may be false, that if God loves us he will keep us together. I know without a doubt... I can feel the truth behind God's promises. He promises that we can be together, if we follow the road to get there. He gives us these commandments for our good. I wish I had the power (motivation) whatever it must be called to follow the rules that I must so I can return home. Home, that sweet place, someday.

Thanks for listening to my soap box. They say a story (thought in my case) isn't a good one unless it gets wet in the writing.

Reunion Fun!

2008-01-01T17:10:00.001-08:00

This last reunion that we attended was wild.

It was the first one that hit us hard with a windy rain storm. All of our tents got out of control and started to blow away. I'm sure most of you remember it! (not easy to forget.) I thought it would be fun to post some pictures from the event! I caught some cute ones of the family... and well.. Of my sweet husband playing hide and seek with the kids. Enjoy!!

Letter from the past

2007-11-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

It's strange how the past can hit you. Sometimes hard. Other times it's just a sweet memory one savors when reminded.

I was cleaning out some boxes and found a letter addressed to Anne and I.

Anne and Lisba,
I guess it's coming time for the "leaving-home-rebellion-stage" talk. I think I'm mostly out of the stage now. But when you leave, you find yourself wanting to try a lot of things you've always been told not to do, like going to a frat party... always and interesting experience, and as USU is a non-alcohol tolerant school, I don't want to know what would happen at other schools. I guess the thing most people most often (because it's not too risky) is staying out too late and not getting up for classes the next day. (you'll end up sluffing to sleep). A good thing to remember is that most professors don't particularly care if your there, because you already paid tuition. They get paid whether your there or not, show up or not. It truly is an interesting phenomenon to see new freshmen. At first they are so timid, then it's life they all dare each other to go out and do crazy things. (buy a tub of ice cream and start a war.) Those events don't take very long to clean up; a 1/2 hour at the most. One drink, one morality slip can take weeks, months and years to clean up. Also a warning that life comes pretty fast. Remember to take time out to go over the new events and to accept them, acclimatise to them, understand them.
You see so much and hear so much. Practice what you learned at a child, SELECTIVE HEARING. The hard part about this is to be careful that you're not TOO selective. Most people are out there to help you. Some are there to hurt you. Learn to rely on and obey the spirit. You'll still have heartache and pain, but it will be easier to bare, and will pass much more quickly if you do so. So listen, learn to read people and their actions (intentions) and you'll be able to avoid so much it will drive you nuts!! (oh wait you already are nuts, your a Genther!!) And if you need to talk you have all the family who's moved out to talk to. WE love you and want the best for you, don't hesitate to call or write. Laura Moore

Thanks Laura... It was a letter I don't remember reading... but the advice was good now all the same. I don't think I'll be visiting any frat houses though. Thanks for the warning. I love you and hope everyone that reads this letter can really enjoy who Laura is and how caring she is. Such a good little-big sister!! Thanks! LIS

If only you were there...

2007-11-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

It was beautiful. Well, according to Dan, it wouldn't have been a wedding, "HIS WEDDING" without the rain. And so that's what it did. It rained on our wedding day... only for a short while. It warmed up, and everything went so smooth, that before I knew it, the day had ended.

I love being married. Dan treats me like an angel. Even on those days that when I'm down, he's there to make sure I get back up. Just the other day... Dan made spaghetti while I finished up an online test. I was feeling stressed so he wanted to jump in and help. I set the table after finishing my test, and clumsily knocked over a glass. It fell, smashed, splintered pieces all over the floor and table. Our plates had been served with spaghetti, and Dan's was near the crash sight. I cleaned up the mess... Hoping that none of it got into our food.

Dan bravely ate, hoping that his food was safe from glass shards too. A minute our two later, Dan had eaten half of his dish when we both heard a loud "CRUNCH". Oh no! I guess we can now say that Dan has had his fair share of glass for the year. Luckily we had more spaghetti to go around.. not that he felt like eating anymore.

HAND SCREAMin good times!

2007-11-05T11:28:00.001-08:00

This one is a picture of Chad, Anne and I. I wondered if you guys wanted to hear a great story, that most of you remember as HAND SCREAM.

Remember, when we would all have sleepovers at the old Josephson apartments?
Chad came over one time, Kirsten told him Becca wouldn't be home from work for a few minutes and he could wait around if he wanted to.

Well, when becca pulled up, Chad had this crazy idea to hide. He wanted to surprise becca by jumping out of the linen closet. Well, his only problem was "How could he get becca to open the linen closet door?" easy fix. he asked me to ask becca for hand cream.

Before I could make sure of my assignment, he quickly hid himself in the closet right as becca walked in the apartment. I hurried over to her, and in my hurry, tripped over the words, "Becca, I really need some hand scream" she looked at me pretty weird, and said , "Do you mean HAND CREAM?" I nodded, hoping I didn't give myself away. She opened the closet, and Chad jumped out at her! I guess I didn't give much away, but everyone sure had a laugh about that one.

Aftermath...

2007-10-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my last posts were pretty cheesy. According to Jon, it's because when you're in love, anything you say seems alright.

The wedding was spectacular. I loved all the decor at the reception, everything came together so well. The best part was having everyone there! It was so much fun to see everyone. I have only one regret; (I don't think it could have been avoided tho) that is... not being able to spend more time with everyone. Too much all at once, and I think I would have loved to hang out with people more. I did end up taking a nap in the middle of the day (Dan wanted me to..) it was a good thing too, I would have been one crabby bride.

The Honeymoon rocked!!! I loved it! We spent our first night in Logan, loved it. It was at the famous Anniversary Inn. Dan picked out a beautiful room, jetted tub, sitting area, dimming lights, candles, king size bed. It was pretty cool. The trip then went towards California... we were hoping for sunny skies. We got our wish throughout Nevada, and part of San Francisco. I loved the city, all the huge buildings and so many people. We crossed the golden gate bridge, Dan let me stick my head out the top of his car as we drove down, so I could get some good pictures. (Ha ha; so the pictures weren't all that great.) We rode the trolley around town to China town, and down to the fishermans Wharf. There we ate at a famous Neptune's restaurant.

It was really cool to stop at the bay, late at night, you can hear the barking of seals, and to our surprise, we found that over 50 seals had beached themselves on all of the docks in the harbor. They were laying down for the night. Boy were they loud! It was amazing. We watched them for a while, joking and enjoying. Then we found that right across the waters from where we were standing was ALCATRAZ!! The lighthouse was lit, flashing across the water at us! It was amazing! The next morning, we drove to the beach, walked along the water, getting soaked... and poking at Jelly Fish. Dan was amazed by them, we didn't dare touch them for fear of getting stung.

Does anyone know if Jellies sting when they're dead?

Our trip continued South to Santa Cruz. it was rainy the whole day... The wharf there was supposed to be pretty cool, but the rain didn't help...everything except for restaurants was closed. We watched a movie that evening at the hotel...

I thought Santa Cruz might be a bust, but we talked with Dan's dad, James... he told us to stop at the Mystery Spot just outside of Santa Cruz before we left.

The Mystery Spot is pretty famous. Look it up online, you will be amazed at what you learn. No one know's why things are the way they are on the mystery spot. It's been a mystery for years. Time magizine, and researchers, tourists all over the world can't figure this place out. Dan and I found it pretty cool. I'll have to post pictures!!!

Our next stop was on my Birthday! (thanks anne, mom and Dad, and Kirsten for calling!! Sorry I missed chatting!!) We went to Monteray Aquarium. It rocked! My favorite was being able to pet a Manteray, and seeing the Jelly fish. the Sea Otters were really neat too.
Dan took me to a beach, we watched the sunset. I stubbed my toe on a rock, now I guess you could say I was more of beach bum, then a sunset watching romantic.
Later that evening he took me to a restaurant, we ate and talked by writing on the paper butcher paper under our food trays. It was fun to whisper things to eachother, and write notes, (the restaurant for full of loud people). We shared a chocolate mouse cake after Dan sang "happy birthday" to me. (he's so sweet)
Later that night, we snuck into the pool after hours and played until we tired ourselves out.

Our trip ended with a quick drive back! Very quick, Dan drove it all in one day. Did I ever tell you he loves to drive? Or maybe he's just crazy! Lis

Engagement?

2007-06-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

He took her to the temple, they talked and watched the sun set lower behind the mountains. It was a beautiful sight. The evening was beautiful. He spoke for a while, then he knelt and said, "Elisabeth, WILL YOU... help me tie my shoe?"

AHH.. the nerve!!

Then, a month later he felt inclined to take her to the same spot behind the temple. Again, the sun began to set, and conversation simplified... relaxed between them. Those once asked questions lingered in the air,

"Have you ever loved?"
"Have you ever been loved?"
"You're beautiful."

She answered with honesty, sincerely thinking out her feelings. He smiled at the answers while listening quietly. There, in the grass he slowly knelt, looking into her eyes, he said, "Elisabeth, will you marry me?" She could feel him reaching for her hand. "Are you serious?! Words of shock, and surprise rolled in one. Was he actually proposing that 'She, a plain girl... marry him?!' He smiled nodding, "Yes, I'm serious!"

"Yes!" escaped her lips her lips quickly, automatically. This is what she had wanted; this gift from him... to be his wife. She finally got her wish.

The MAN

2007-06-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

Great news, I have a man! Not just any man, but THE MAN of my dreams. Want to see him? Want to know him...that would take some time. Funny story, I brought my man home to meet the parents... my niece came. She decided that she wanted a man too... so she inconspicuously sat next to Dan, held his had and smiled sweetly at him. She stole him! She's only four! I was crushed. But Dan, well, he seemed to feel pretty proud of himself that day.