Finding Joy

 I was listening to a Come Follow Me broadcast this week like I do each week called "Sunday on Monday." The host, Tammy Uzelac Hall, spoke of keeping a joy journal and she encouraged all of her listeners to do the same. I decided to take her advice and I started a joy journal of my own about 5 days ago. My goal is to write in this journal at the end of each day to report on the things that brought me joy that day.

There are many journals out there like this one

but I had a notebook on hand and have started using that instead. I do like this journal and like the idea of having a separate book just for that.

I can say that writing in my journal has been an eye opening experience for me so far. Since I'm keeping focus on and looking for joy in my life, I am finding it everywhere.

The funny thing about joy is that it is there for the taking, we just need to want it. The only person who can keep joy from us is ourselves. It is available to every individual. It is a mind-set.

Elder Patrick Kearon, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, gave a great talk in General Conference 3 weeks ago about joy.  He says "because of the loving plan of our Heavenly father for each of His children, and because of the redeeming life and mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can -- and should -- be the most joyful people on the earth!" He also said: "Even as the storms of life in an often-troubled world pound upon us, we can cultivate a growing and abiding sense of joy and inner peace because of our hope in Christ and our understanding of our own place in the beautiful plan of happiness."

Life is difficult and we will all be tried and tested. However, because of our knowledge of God's plan for us, we can find joy in those trials. As an example, I will share an experience I had yesterday.

Alan and I recently got a new calling in our ward. We are the Building Representatives. It is our job every 4th month to make sure that the church is cleaned every Saturday that month by members of the ward. I usually have not participated in cleaning the building. Alan has always told me that I didn't need to help because of my physical limitations. However, since it is my calling, I  help have  helped with the work each week this month. Yesterday, I discovered that the cultural hall still needed sweeping. I knew it would be hard on my back, but decided to give it a try anyway. Mid way through the task, my back started hurting quite badly. My left hip started hurting also, but I didn't quit. I was able to find joy in that service. I just kept going and didn't give up. I pushed through the pain. I soon realized how happy it was making me to be able to contribute to the cleaning project. I was happy to be able to do my part in keeping the Lord's house clean. 

I'm so grateful for my joy journal. I look forward to writing in it every night before I fall asleep. Maybe one day I will get tired of writing in it, but until then, I plan to keep paying attention to the joyous moments I experience each day. They are there. I just have to open my eyes to them.

Gender Reveal

At the end of Jared and Catherine's wedding celebration, we had a surprise gender reveal. Neither Jared nor Catherine knew what the gender was. A couple of weeks before the event, Jared let Alan and I see what was inside the envelope they had been given by the ultrasound attendant. It was confusing to us because there was a pink sticky note over the card. We thought that they were having a girl, but then Jared, who was closing his eyes the whole time, felt the sticky note and decided to lift it up. I'm so glad that he did because then we knew for certain that it was a boy that they were expecting.

I was in charge of putting the gender reveal together. After batting around a few ideas with Cheryl, Alan and I decided to get a big box, wrap it, and fill it with helium balloons. Once they cut the ribbon and opened the flaps, the balloons would rise to announce the gender. We felt that this would be a big enough reveal that no matter where you were sitting in the event, you would be able to see it well. This is the card we had them read before opening the box.

The whole room erupted in cheers as it was announced that we would all soon know what sex the baby growing within Catherine's body is. Jared said he had never been so nervous in his life.

The ribbon was cut and the mystery was over!

Very few people knew that we would be having a gender reveal that day. We kept it pretty quiet.

Both Jared and Catherine felt that they were having a son, but now they knew for sure. By the way, I always felt like they would have a boy. After two granddaughters in a row, I'm ready to welcome another grandson into the family. So exciting! Only a few more months to wait (March) until we can see his sweet face and welcome this adorable little baby boy into our family. I can't wait!

Colombian BBQ

 Besides Jared and Catherine staying with us for the wedding celebration, we had 4 Colombians here as well. We had Catherine's brother Daniel, his girlfriend Lorena, and two friends of Daniel's - Diego and Sebastian. These guests were very friendly, polite,  and helpful. These four guests decided to treat us with a Colombian BBQ.

Here they are working their magic in our kitchen.

(Diego is in the green shirt, Sebastian is in the middle, and Daniel is wearing pink.)

We ate outside under our pavilion.  We had steak, Polish sausage, corn, plantains, and potatoes. They made a Colombian drink similar to our lemonade. Everything tasted very good, but I particularly enjoyed the fresh salsa and guacamole.

Wedding Celebration!

 On October 5th, 2024 we held a wedding celebration for Jared & Catherine. It turned out to be all we had hoped for and more. The planning snowballed from a simple get-together in our back yard to a full-blown ceremony and celebration at an event center called Cottage Charm in Sandy, Utah. We had over 70 people in attendance. We all  certainly felt the love.

Alan was the officiator at the celebration. Since Jared & Catherine had previously been legally married in Arizona in August, Alan didn't need to get ordained to perform a wedding ceremony. He simply officiated a ceremony where Jared & Catherine exchanged wedding vows and rings. Alan did this in both English and Spanish for Catherine's sake and for her mother's sake and others watching via FaceTime from Colombia.

The ceremony was great. The vows they shared with each other were meaningful. It truly captured the love they have for each other.

Catherine's mother surprised her with a video of her growing up on Colombia as a child. 

We all watched the video just prior to being seated at our tables for a meal of smothered chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, strawberry salad, and roll.

After eating and mingling with their guests, it was time to cut the cake. There were two flavors to choose from: Carrot cake, and Red Velvet cake. Both were delicious.

Here's a close-up of the cake. Our caterer made the cakes, and our florist provided the beautiful cake toppers and flower meadow.

After the cake cutting, it was time for Jared & Catherine to have their first dance. I love the song they chose to dance to - "How Long Will I Love You" by Ellie Goulding. 

Toasts to the couple were given by me, Daniel Bustos (Catherine's brother), Erica McEntire (The maid of honor and a fellow Spanish teacher of Jared's), and last but not least, Mark Pulsipher (the Best man and best friend of Jared's). 

A highlight of the day was when Ryan, Eric, Cheryl, and Kyle performed a rap-type song for Jared & Catherine. The song featured many of Jared's idiosyncrasies and sayings growing up. It was funny and so much fun to watch. They did a terrific job and everyone got to know Jared a lot better.

Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye to our guests, take family and wedding party photos, and then clear out because another wedding party was soon to take over the venue.

This picture of the bride and her bridesmaids was taken before the ceremony in the bride's dressing room.

Beautiful couple!

This picture showcases Catherine's beautiful veil and dress. She was a very beautiful bride.

It was a ton of work putting the celebration together. I've decided that I never want to become a wedding planner. Although it was a lot of work, it turned out to be well worth it. It turned out better than we had dreamed it would. Jared and Catherine both expressed their gratitude to us for making their dream celebration become a reality.

We especially wanted this to be a "perfect" day for Catherine. Every girl wants to walk down the aisle carrying a bridal bouquet, wearing a wedding dress, and having her hair and make-up done perfectly. She looked beautiful! She glowed! Jared was very touched when he saw her walk down those stairs and up the aisle. I was weeping a little, myself. 

For such a long time, I had longed for Jared to be able to find the right woman who he could marry and have a family with. I'm glad he found Catherine. It's not easy to find someone living in another country, but somehow Jared was able to pull it off. Their love for each other was very apparent throughout the whole event.

I want to wish them well throughout their marriage. My hope is that they will always treat each other well and that they will have a very happy and fruitful life together. I hope that they will invite God into their relationship. I believe that marriage is ordained of God and is a commandment. I believe that if you let him in, He can enrich a marriage like no one else can. He can strengthen the bond between a man and woman and can open communication, soothe hurt feelings, and help couples commit to full fidelity to each other. 

Congratulations, Jared & Catherine. Here's to many happy, fulfilling years together!

Little Lainey Turns One

 On September 22, Lainey had her first birthday. Cheryl threw a party for her at her house where the Stott's and Stronk's came together to help celebrate Lainey's wonderful first year on Earth.

The food was delicious. The main dish was soup in a bread bowl. I made some cheesy chicken chowder and Cheryl got some broccoli cheddar soup from Costco (I think). She had fruit, and appetizers to go with it.

Every month for the first twelve months of Lainey's life, Cheryl took pics of Lainey with cookies - one added each month until there were one dozen in her final picture. 

With Kessler, Cheryl did the pictures with pizza slices. With Wesley, she used donuts, and now cookies for Lainey. So creative!

Of course being a cookie themed birthday party meant there were so many cookies to choose from. How does one choose?

Even the cake was made with cookies as decoration. It was delicious.

It was soon time to sing "Happy Birthday" to Lainey and she got to taste cake for the first time. She loved it!

Of course, Wesley and Kessler were happy to help Lainey celebrate turning one year old. She is surrounded by so much love!

What a cute little family! I can't wait to see how Lainey will change and grow during her second year of life. Children change so quickly and I know that Lainey's personality will shine and we will get glimpses of who this little girl really is. I love her and grew very close to her this year since she and her family spent 7 months living in our home. I LOVE being a grandmother!