Sisters in Zion

I just got done listening to the General Relief Society Meeting. Because we got to go see my niece baptized in Rexburg this morning, I didn't make it to the meeting live. I am by myself, sobbing in front of my computer at 11:44 Saturday night. I must say it's a bit lonely. As it finished, I sat and thought about the different churches I've sat in over the years and participated in this meeting. It's always been one of my favorite, not just because it usually ended with friends and ice cream, but because of the spirit that women united in faith can bring. I could feel it even in front of my computer screen by myself. Thank you, my dear sisters who I've met along the road of life. Thank you for doing as President Uchtdorf suggested and making life beautiful. It would be a long, lonely journey without you. I am grateful to know such amazing women who are making a difference in this world and to me! You totally rock!!

Fabulous Fall

The rain made it a bit nippy this morning and I was almost giddy. I LOVE fall. I love the crisp clean air. I love the changing leaves (though I crave for New England every year - the above picture is from Walden Pond). I love the cheesy decorations I pull out from when we were first married and extremely poor - as opposed to our wealth now- when we had to really think before we bought anything. I love the smell of sweet spicy candles, cinnamon and cobblers.

Which brings me to my point. I smelled pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in the store this morning and it made me so excited about eating fall foods. When we lived in Texas I used to turn up the AC so we could have chili. I love carmel apples and cider and yummy pumpkin treats and stew and all the great flavors that come with fall. So, what do you love about fall and love to eat in fall? I'd love to try something new!

Life's a Marathon

So after I ran the Ogden Marathon in the Spring, I was pumped and ready to do another one. I didn't take much time off and started training for Top of Utah. I love the long summer days, when it's light at 5:30 and I'm out getting my tempo and quality runs in. I started to get weary towards the end, but knew the hard work would be worth it.

Well, if you read my last entry, you can probably guess I got a bit distracted. Mind you, it was a GREAT distraction, but frankly I wasn't prepared for how tired my body would be. I was supposed to taper the last 2 weeks anyway. I got up and ran 13 tough miles before my flight to England and figured I'd take it easy on our trip and be refreshed and ready to go. Phil ran with me in the mornings in England, and I walked all day. I was so tired!!! I felt completely out of shape from traveling, the time changes and being a tourist.

So as I ran the marathon yesterday, I realized that running a marathon is like life. You can think you're prepared, and try your hardest, then you bonk at mile 8 and finishing is the best you can possibly do (to experience the meaning of bonk, run a marathon! I was hoping to bonk later this time - like mile 25 - but I just didn't have it in me!!) However, finishing is a pretty great accomplishment, even if the road to the finish is long and torturous. We are told to endure to the end and at times "enduring" is the hardest part.

I also had to notice how dependent I am on the Lord. I woke up at 4:00 am on Saturday to hear the rain coming down. So of course I started to pray (probably with a lot of fellow runners) that it wouldn't rain too hard, that the roads wouldn't be slippery and that I would make it through. Well, it turned out, the sky was quite clear, the sun started pounding down and before mile 14, I actually started to pray for rain!!! The Lord must have been laughing, in fact, I know He was because He sent a rainbow! I'm glad He knows the end from the beginning and knows how to answer our prayers with what is best for us!

So...the moral of the story is: In life we have to be flexible, roll with the punches and take it as it comes. It's not always going to turn out exactly how we plan, but all we can do is give it our best and enjoy the ride, or run in this case. (Can you tell I'm still trying to talk myself into it!!!) Here's a picture of one me and one of my biggest fans heading for the finish line!

By the way, the top photo is from the TOU last year. It was in the Logan paper and I'm that red dot above the "F" in Life. Yep, I'm famous.

Bonjour!

We've just returned from our expedition to England and France! It seems as if we've been gone forever, yet now just a dream. We had a wonderful, exciting trip! Here are some of the highlights:

• Shakespeare in the park, in Oxford, while eating chocolate bavarian cream crepes
• Tour of Warwick Castle and Shakespeare's birthplace
• Walking tour of Oxford, strolling down Logic Lane
• Singing along with the Salvation Army band on a Sunday night to welcome the St. Giles City Fair (they sat on the Carosel and sang hymns...)
• The beautiful flowers all over the old buildings
  
• Big Ben and Westminster Abbey
• "Wicked" (the show) in London - it was fantastic!!
• Shooting the breeze with some Scottish folk - they are so funny!
• Hauling our luggage through metros, trains, ferries and streets trying to make it to Paris (we were supposed to take the chunnel across but there was a fire so we had to make our own way there - very exciting and exhausting!)
• The great couple that we met from Colorado that helped us cross the pond all day long! We would have broken down much sooner without them (yes, I did have a break down after walking a mile with our luggage to a train station in France, everything in a different language, not sure if we were going to be able to get to Paris and unable to reach my parents. I bawled...but eventually regained composure!)
  
• Seeing my mom and dad!!!!!! It was wonderful to see where they live in Cherbourg, France. Quite a lovely little place they've got there.
• Normandy
• Sitting in church with a bunch of people that spoke a different language and feeling their testimonies and the universal truths of the gospel.
  
• Gazing up at the Eiffel Tower on Sunday night - it seemed like a dream or perhaps a backdrop that someone had put in front of us to stare at!! I loved it!
• Notre Dame
• Coming home and rocking with Micah at 2:00 in the morning. After a week away, it's good to be a mom again!

Here are some of my favorite shots!