and i've never been to boston in the fawl........

Hello everyone out there in the internet (i think that's a good name for a cafe... the internet). well we just went on a very fun drive through the Alpine loop, which is the other side of Mt. Timpanogos. The fall colors were out in full swing and it was BEAUTIFUL! here are some of our pictures :) Enjoy

September 11th

Hello all!

As you probably gathered from the title, I wanted to share a little bit about September 11th. It doesn't seem possible that 10 years have gone by since the towers fell and America realized for the first time in a long time that we are vulnerable. Since then an awful lot has changed, but one thing remains the same; we should be grateful for the freedoms we have and remember that it is bought with a price. It should not be taken for granted. We have been so blessed to be born in the country or to have found our way here. The freedoms that we have are NOT FOUND EVERYWHERE. So on this little blog I would like to say that I am so grateful to be born in the United States of America and to have the many many freedoms that I do. God bless America, land that I love.

Has it really been that long???

So i was talking to a friend yesterday about having a blog but not writing in it. well, what's the point of a blog if you don't write in it??? so here i am, repentant and determined to mend my ways.

so a lot has happened since we last posted. we are all moved into our new place (and we LOVE it!) check it out!









i have changed jobs and i LOVE that too :) the Lord has been really good to us. . .

there have also been some not happy things. . . as some of you know, we have been trying to have a baby pretty much since we got married. since we last posted we have had yet another miscarriage. it has taught us a lot and has brought us closer to each other and to the Lord. so even through the not so happy things, good things have come.

but on a happier note, this summer has been great! i've been calling it the summer of concerts. we've seen:
Sondre Lerche
Blue's Travelers
Josh Groban
Sara Bareilles

They were all great. Matt has totally got me converted to concerts :)

Let's see, what else has been going on in our lives..... OH! we went tubing down the Provo river for the first (and last) time last week. THAT THING IS EVIL! it not only ate my (pretty) new glasses, but also ate Matt's wedding ring! suffice it to say, we and the river are not on speaking terms at the moment.

what else? my sister got her mission call to Slovenia (i know. awesome, right?) and my other sister got home from her mission to Mesa, AZ and is as awesome an RM as could be (if i do say so myself). there have been 3 new additions to our family (two nephews and a niece) and we love them so much! we even got to have a family reunion a few weeks ago with just my immediate family. it was the BEST!

so that is our last year or so rolled up into a post. going forward i will be better about posting more frequently. matt and i are going to be training for a half marathon so i will let you know how that goes :S i've never been much of a runner so this should be interesting ;)

Hello world!

Hello everyone who may be reading this! I have come to a realization that people may actually be interested in what I have to write even when nothing particularly earth-shaking has happened (I mean, i like reading other people's blogs). And in writing this I realized that there is something going on in our lives :) not earth-shaking mind you, but fun none the less :) we are MOVING!! (again? yes again!) This will be our 4th apartment as a married couple and hopefully the last (until Matt graduates that is ;). It is an ADORABLE little apartment and I couldn't be more excited about it if I tried :) We'll post pictures of it when we're moved in. However, now comes the un-fun part: packing. I never realize how much I hate it until I start. We've managed to get the pictures off the walls and a few boxes of books filled, but there's still LOTS more to go. I think i know what I'm doing tonight :)

Our Heavenly Father

I absolutely love this talk, and especially this passage

How grateful we are for all the scriptures, especially the scriptures of the Restoration, that teach us the majesty of each member of the Godhead. How we would thrill, for example, if all the world would receive and embrace the view of the Father so movingly described in the Pearl of Great Price.

There, in the midst of a grand vision of humankind which heaven opened to his view, Enoch, observing both the blessings and challenges of mortality, turns his gaze toward the Father and is stunned to see Him weeping. He says in wonder and amazement to this most powerful Being in the universe: “How is it that thou canst weep? … Thou art just [and] merciful and kind forever; … Peace … is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?”

Looking out on the events of almost any day, God replies: “Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands. … I gave unto them … [a] commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood. … Wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” 10

That single, riveting scene does more to teach the true nature of God than any theological treatise could ever convey. It also helps us understand much more emphatically that vivid moment in the Book of Mormon allegory of the olive tree, when after digging and dunging, watering and weeding, trimming, pruning, transplanting, and grafting, the great Lord of the vineyard throws down his spade and his pruning shears and weeps, crying out to any who would listen, “What could I have done more for my vineyard?” 11

What an indelible image of God’s engagement in our lives! What anguish in a parent when His children do not choose Him nor “the gospel of God” He sent! 12 How easy to love someone who so singularly loves us!

The Grandeur of God - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

The church is TRUE

i just wanted to say that the church is true.