When I was listening to conference a few weeks ago during the Sunday afternoon session I was reflecting over my life and thought of a few moments that have helped shape me into who I am. I could have come up with many, many more, but these are the few I thought of without having to try hard. I’ve placed them in chronological order where possible.
1. When I first got my contacts (I got contacts before I got glasses) I remember looking out the window and looking at the mountains and thinking to myself how beautiful this world is that we live in.
2. Walking off the field at the last soccer game I played in High School and not having Dad there to greet me. This was the only game he missed because I told him not to come since it was so far away.
3. The kindness of friends who really want to hear the answer to the question “How are you?”
4. The phone call received at 6:00am one February morning.
5. Playing tennis with my brothers and brother-in-law.
6. Ryan and I played doubles in intramural tennis in Logan. There was one day when Ryan and I were walking to the courts and Ryan said, “Jules, it doesn’t matter whether we win or not, I’m just happy to be playing with you!”
7. The notes I received from Ryan as he stopped by the bookstore to say hi (that was the only place he knew he could find me!) I think I still have some of those notes.
8. Attending a retirement ceremony or a funeral where the flag is folded, saluted, and handed to the mother of the retiree or to the widow. The reverence and respect shown makes for a very powerful moment.
9. The night I received my endowment in the Salt Lake Temple. My entire family was there with me and I was so happy that Mom was my escort!
10. Being in the Nauvoo temple and feeling the incredible spirit there and having the knowledge that the Lord loves each of us! When I walked out of the temple it was a gorgeous sunset, my thoughts turned to my Dad and I knew he was close.
11. Walking into my bedroom to find Jared had built me a beautiful bookshelf.
12. The trust friends have in me as they tell me things in confidence.
13. A phone call from Jessica just to tell me that my nieces started crying when they learned that I would not be with them over Christmas to go sledding with them.
14. Sunday phone calls with Momasita!
15. The confidence others place in me as I am told of new leadership opportunities that are given to me: Youth City Council Mayor, PBL Executive Vice President, SABER Lead, Acting Team Lead, PWS Team Lead, etc, etc, etc.
16. Phrases people have said to me: (And yes, I still remember the specific people who said these!)
a. “You are like the sister I never had.”
b. "You are awful at dancing.”
c. “You were a great soccer player.”
d. “You are a peon who picks up my gravel.”
e. “Just be a sponge.”
f. “Your paper was wonderful from beginning to end. Why do you let others overshadow
you?”
g. “You must be important now, you have a blackberry!”
h. “You made her day.”
Some are seemingly small things, but typically it is the small things that impact me the most.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Moments That Have Shaped My Life
When I was listening to conference a few weeks ago during the Sunday afternoon session I was reflecting over my life and thought of a few moments that have helped shape me into who I am. I could have come up with many, many more, but these are the few I thought of without having to try hard. I’ve placed them in chronological order where possible.
1. When I first got my contacts (I got contacts before I got glasses) I remember looking out the window and looking at the mountains and thinking to myself how beautiful this world is that we live in.
2. Walking off the field at the last soccer game I played in High School and not having Dad there to greet me. This was the only game he missed because I told him not to come since it was so far away.
3. The kindness of friends who really want to hear the answer to the question “How are you?”
4. The phone call received at 6:00am one February morning.
5. Playing tennis with my brothers and brother-in-law.
6. Ryan and I played doubles in intramural tennis in Logan. There was one day when Ryan and I were walking to the courts and Ryan said, “Jules, it doesn’t matter whether we win or not, I’m just happy to be playing with you!”
7. The notes I received from Ryan as he stopped by the bookstore to say hi (that was the only place he knew he could find me!) I think I still have some of those notes.
8. Attending a retirement ceremony or a funeral where the flag is folded, saluted, and handed to the mother of the retiree or to the widow. The reverence and respect shown makes for a very powerful moment.
9. The night I received my endowment in the Salt Lake Temple. My entire family was there with me and I was so happy that Mom was my escort!
10. Being in the Nauvoo temple and feeling the incredible spirit there and having the knowledge that the Lord loves each of us! When I walked out of the temple it was a gorgeous sunset, my thoughts turned to my Dad and I knew he was close.
11. Walking into my bedroom to find Jared had built me a beautiful bookshelf.
12. The trust friends have in me as they tell me things in confidence.
13. A phone call from Jessica just to tell me that my nieces started crying when they learned that I would not be with them over Christmas to go sledding with them.
14. Sunday phone calls with Momasita!
15. The confidence others place in me as I am told of new leadership opportunities that are given to me: Youth City Council Mayor, PBL Executive Vice President, SABER Lead, Acting Team Lead, PWS Team Lead, etc, etc, etc.
16. Phrases people have said to me: (And yes, I still remember the specific people who said these!)
a. “You are like the sister I never had.”
b. "You are awful at dancing.”
c. “You were a great soccer player.”
d. “You are a peon who picks up my gravel.”
e. “Just be a sponge.”
f. “Your paper was wonderful from beginning to end. Why do you let others overshadow
you?”
g. “You must be important now, you have a blackberry!”
h. “You made her day.”
Some are seemingly small things, but typically it is the small things that impact me the most.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Fabulous Week
Well, I just spent a fabulous week in Utah. It seriously was so nice to be home and chill with Momasita, Jessica and her kids. I love being home and being somewhat lazy… well, as lazy as I will let myself be anyway!
I got in at 12:30pm on Saturday, Oct 11th. Jessica picked me up from the airport and we headed out to Mom’s house. Our first order of business was to hook up the computer and internet. Mom begrudgingly agreed to have Qwest add the internet to her monthly service. So, when I arrived on Saturday the modem and service was just waiting for me to hook it all up with the laptop I brought. It is so nice to finally have the internet when I go home! I feel lost without it. Now Mom has the capability to skype and I will be able to talk to her when I’m in Kuwait(23 Nov is the big day by the way)!
That evening was a Stake Fall Festival Celebration. So, we all headed to the church for dinner and then for dancing afterwards. It was a lot of fun to dance with the little ones… Tay is a natural and Rylee and Jayson are just plain cute, so it was a good time. Not very often do you have an opportunity to dance when there are kids around.
One Pumpkin for Each Grandkid!
(there really are 6 orange for the girls and 3 green for the boys)
Mom and I got to enjoy a lazy Sunday morning watching the round table discussion, tabernacle choir, and the Joseph Smith Letters before getting ready and heading to church. It was a good three hour meeting block. That evening there was a special meeting regarding the splitting/combining of two wards to make three. Since Mom is in the Stake Relief Society Presidency, she wanted to be there to learn who the new bishopric was. After that we got to go home and play our traditional Sunday Scrabble game! Good times!
Monday through Wednesday Mom had to work. So while she went to work I pretty much took care of things like paying my bills, fighting with my dental insurance, washed dishes, and worked. Yeah, I know, I’m on vacation and shouldn’t be working! However, when you’re the one in charge you kind of feel all responsible and stuff and I have a lot that really should get done by Tuesday! So, it actually was kind of nice to have the peace and quiet I got at home.
Monday afternoon I got my haircut- it’s about time! Then Mom and I went shopping and picked up a movie, “Made of Honor” for that evening.
Tuesday evening was a combined enrichment meeting. Marie Ricks is a popular educational speaker who came out and did a presentation on “Organize Your Life”. She did an excellent job! I enjoy things like that and I’m amazed that there is always something new to learn even when you hear the same topic over and over. One of her tips was to get rid of ½ of your stuff… a good example is shoes. Do you really need 50 pairs of shoes? A good rule of thumb to go by is if an item is useful and needed you keep it, if it is useful but not needed you share it (give to D.I.), if it is not useful and not needed you discard it.
Wednesday Mom made it home by 2:30pm so we made a Wal-Mart run before heading into Kohl’s to meet up with Jessica. I was on a mission to find a cute jacket, an undershirt, and shoes to wear with my dress for Saturday’s wedding. Piece by piece the outfit slowly came together. Over the next few days we spent a lot of time shopping! Anyway, Wednesday evening Sean had the kids, so Mom, Jessica, and I had a good time shopping and then we went to Chili’s for dinner. It was a fun evening just hanging with my Mom and sis.
Thursday and Friday Mom didn’t have to work since it was UEA. Mom had her last dentist appointment Thursday morning up in Clearfield, so while she was getting that taken care of I took the car and went on a search for a wedding gift. I tell you I did a lot of shopping throughout the week! Anyway, Mom’s teeth look great and she is so darn little- she is a Hot Momma! After the dentist we spent the day with Jess and her kidlets. I jumped on the tramp, played soccer, danced, listened to Tayler read stories, played games while we were in the car, and enjoyed just being there. Jayson is a cutie, but he was not real sure about me. Oh well, Tayler and Rylee love me, so that made me feel good! Thursday, we made a trip over to the house that Jess and Sean might move into. It is a gorgeous house which will be fun to choose all the decor as it is getting finished. We then did even more shopping- shocker! Mom and I spent the night at Jess’ house so we visited with Jess well into the evening before calling it a day.
Friday morning Mom and I headed out to run a few errands before breakfast (in other words, more shopping.) After breakfast we headed out to do even more shopping. The good news is I was able to find everything I needed, which is a good thing because I was running out of time. Once we got back to Jess’ from shopping we had to round up our stuff and head out. It was sad to say goodbye.
We went straight from Jessica’s to spend a couple hours with Grandma. We bought her some new clothes and held a fashion show to see if we guessed correctly on sizes. We then sat out in the courtyard to enjoy the beautiful day and sing songs (okay, Mom and Grandma sang… they were all the oldie goldies that I didn’t know!)
When we got home Friday night we finished getting my outfit ready (had to alter the dress and the shirt so it fit correctly). Then we played one last scrabble game while munching on turtle check mix…. Got to love it!
Oh, it was so nice to be home. Jess is a great sister and I love spending time with her. Thanks Jess for always putting on an amazing meal (whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner) and for letting us stay at your house and play with your cute kids! I expect Rylee to be the next American Idol since she is always singing- so cute! Keep dancing and playing soccer Tay, you are very talented little girl who is a cutie and has a big heart! Jayson is a happy little guy, who will hopefully stay that way! Thanks Mom for the fun time hanging with you this week. I love our scrabble games, the lounging and being lazy, the gospel discussions, the fun meals, and good times we share. Thanks for helping me with all my projects. I really am spoiled, you are the best, love ya tons!
So, Mom dropped me off at the airport on Saturday (Oct 18th) at 10:30am and that ends my very fun week at home, but not the end of my fabulous week. My flight landed at 1:30pm- right on schedule. A big thanks to Jared and Katie who didn’t really pick me up at the airport, but brought me my car so I could get to this wedding. Thanks guys! I headed straight from the airport to Brighton where the wedding was held. Congrats to my good friends Lisa and David on their marriage! It was a beautiful day and everything was perfect. Thanks for letting me share the day with you- it was a good end to a fabulous week!
Thursday and Friday Mom didn’t have to work since it was UEA. Mom had her last dentist appointment Thursday morning up in Clearfield, so while she was getting that taken care of I took the car and went on a search for a wedding gift. I tell you I did a lot of shopping throughout the week! Anyway, Mom’s teeth look great and she is so darn little- she is a Hot Momma! After the dentist we spent the day with Jess and her kidlets. I jumped on the tramp, played soccer, danced, listened to Tayler read stories, played games while we were in the car, and enjoyed just being there. Jayson is a cutie, but he was not real sure about me. Oh well, Tayler and Rylee love me, so that made me feel good! Thursday, we made a trip over to the house that Jess and Sean might move into. It is a gorgeous house which will be fun to choose all the decor as it is getting finished. We then did even more shopping- shocker! Mom and I spent the night at Jess’ house so we visited with Jess well into the evening before calling it a day.
Friday morning Mom and I headed out to run a few errands before breakfast (in other words, more shopping.) After breakfast we headed out to do even more shopping. The good news is I was able to find everything I needed, which is a good thing because I was running out of time. Once we got back to Jess’ from shopping we had to round up our stuff and head out. It was sad to say goodbye.
We went straight from Jessica’s to spend a couple hours with Grandma. We bought her some new clothes and held a fashion show to see if we guessed correctly on sizes. We then sat out in the courtyard to enjoy the beautiful day and sing songs (okay, Mom and Grandma sang… they were all the oldie goldies that I didn’t know!)
When we got home Friday night we finished getting my outfit ready (had to alter the dress and the shirt so it fit correctly). Then we played one last scrabble game while munching on turtle check mix…. Got to love it!
Oh, it was so nice to be home. Jess is a great sister and I love spending time with her. Thanks Jess for always putting on an amazing meal (whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner) and for letting us stay at your house and play with your cute kids! I expect Rylee to be the next American Idol since she is always singing- so cute! Keep dancing and playing soccer Tay, you are very talented little girl who is a cutie and has a big heart! Jayson is a happy little guy, who will hopefully stay that way! Thanks Mom for the fun time hanging with you this week. I love our scrabble games, the lounging and being lazy, the gospel discussions, the fun meals, and good times we share. Thanks for helping me with all my projects. I really am spoiled, you are the best, love ya tons!
So, Mom dropped me off at the airport on Saturday (Oct 18th) at 10:30am and that ends my very fun week at home, but not the end of my fabulous week. My flight landed at 1:30pm- right on schedule. A big thanks to Jared and Katie who didn’t really pick me up at the airport, but brought me my car so I could get to this wedding. Thanks guys! I headed straight from the airport to Brighton where the wedding was held. Congrats to my good friends Lisa and David on their marriage! It was a beautiful day and everything was perfect. Thanks for letting me share the day with you- it was a good end to a fabulous week! 
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