Chastity

On Sunday I taught about the Law of Chastity in Relief Society a couple days ago. It went well. But these cookies were definitely the star of the show.

Psst! I used these cookie cutters.

Kirtland

I'm blogging on a Saturday night... I feel pretty lame. But, to redeem myself, I am waiting for a friend to pick me up, so I decided to post a couple pictures from last weekend's trip to Kirtland, Ohio*.

Lisa's old friend is serving her mission in Kirtland, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visitors center and will be going home next month. We wanted to go before she goes home and have her give us a tour of the Historic Kirtland visitors center, and since it was a long weekend we decided it was the perfect opportunity. (The weather was surprisingly nice, no snow until the drive home day.)

Here are a couple of the highlights. Pictures by Rebecca Reed, my awesome and talented, photographing roommate.

In front of the Whitney store. The Smiths lived here in the upper floor. The store was a meeting place for people in town and a place to do all their shopping. 80% of the house was original I guess technically Rebecca didn't take this picture since she's in it. But we'll still give credit since the picture was from her. And, I have HUGE hair! Wow. I should move south...

School of the Prophets. We sat and listened to the sister missionaries tell us how they begin their missions in this room, dedicating their service to God. It was really neat to be in there and think of the great things experienced there by early church leaders.

The Temple. I was so impressed by the dedication of the people and their hard work. It's a lot bigger than it looks. The second story is just as big as the first and the ceilings were high. Unfortunately pictures weren't allowed inside, it's still a sacred place, but the wood carvings and attention to detail were beautiful and humble.

The visitor's plaque by the temple read: "Kirtland Temple symbolizes the empowerment that comes from spiritual preparation and dedicated stewardship while inspiring continuing efforts to build up the communities in which we live."

We all liked the quote and liked how the early saints lived their beliefs every day and sacrificed so much for God. We came back wanting to continue in that vein and have that same empowerment, knowing who we are and what we stand for and following what we believe.

Needless to explain, the weekend was fabulous. We also hit up Pittsburgh, ate tasty food, visited the Andy Warhol museum, perused the local mall and an awesome gigantic grocery store, saw True Grit, slept for 13 hours in one night, and made a synchronized car dance to Justin Bieber. It was a great and a most needed road trip.

* If you aren't Mormon, Kirtland is a small town in Northern Ohio, close to Lake Erie, where many church members gathered before moving west to Missouri, Illinois and eventually Utah. Moves were necessary since the Mormons were forced out of town by angry and antagonistic members of the community. Kirtland is one place they had expected to stay for a long time, and because of that they built a temple for worship, instruction and for their community.

Remember when you're asked to do something

My roommates and I left for church kind of late today. We walked into Sacrament Meeting during the second verse of the opening song. We sang, it was a song I liked, Redeemer of Israel, I was glad. 

The song ended and we waited for the opening prayer. No one moved towards the podium. I looked up on the stand and recognized both of the co-chairs from the committee I was on. That's when I thought, "I think I'm the opening prayer giver!" I practically leaped from my chair and booked it to the front--all the way from the back, the overflow section. As I walked up there, the bishopric member conducting was looking off to the other side and gestured to someone in the front row to come up and give a prayer. But then he saw me. There was hesitation on my part as I tried to decide whether or not to stash myself in a row or keep walking to the stand. They gestured to me to keep going to the stand. And the substitute prayer giver gracefully returned to his seat in the front row. When I got to the microphone I tried to steady my voice and calm my breathing-- especially since I wanted to avoid making one of those loud breathing noises into the mic at all costs! The prayer was short because I was still rattled from forgetting and running out of breath from practically running in heels, and also feeling embarrassed. (Besides, its not like I could give an apology before the prayer!) But, I made it. I gave the prayer. I had lots of comments, teasing and chuckles from people about forgetting the prayer, but I'm mostly just glad my roommates talked me into wearing a cute outfit, because if my first real public debut in front of the ward was to be an embarrassing moment, I'm just glad I could look somewhat cute doing it!

Happy Easter!

(Mandi, Kristen and me at the Garden Tomb, August 2008--and yes, that's the Sweaty Dress)

I've been thinking a lot today about my time in Jerusalem and how grateful I am to have been there.
I'm a little "homesick" for it actually.
But I loved General Conference yesterday and today
and I loved the messages of Christ and His Atonement and Resurrection.
And because He has risen, so will we.

Fondue and a snow day

(View from my bathroom window. I have a bathroom with a view.
"Don't you agree that in someone's first house in Arlington they should have a bathroom with a view?"
--taken liberally from E.M. Forster's masterpiece.)

Last weekend was supposed to be our roommate Steph's last weekend at our house before moving. So to celebrate we had fondue!

Here we are making cheese and chocolate fondue and cooking steak to be dipped in the cheese fondue. Mmmm!

And then, today was a no-church-snow-day. My second snow day of the year. So, Katie made cookies and Holly and Ian made french toast and it was a fantastic brunch. (Although, it's now 9:00 and Katie is still working on those cookies...)

Rebecca (who is taking Steph's place) and Katie

(Stuart getting more bacon) Holly, Amber, and Ian

Stuart (eating bacon) and Steph

And I thought I wasn't going to have anymore snow days once I graduated from public school. Hooray for the East Coast and an area that doesn't know how to deal with it!

Thankgiving Week! (4)

I'm thankful for God and my Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for His gospel.
I'm thankful for the Book of Mormon.
I'm thankful for the Plan of Salvation.
I'm thankful for prophets.

I'm thankful for a loving God who has provided a way for me to find joy and happiness.

(I forgot to post this yesterday. Pictures from my 10k and Thanksgiving dinner to come!)

Mardi Gras

was last night and most people spend it in a variety of ways, all of which a google image search resulted in retina burn and some scarring. But, if you do want to see something slightly disturbing but also hilarious, click here. BUT remember, I did warn you! We spent our Fat Tuesday here:

Yes it's the Draper Temple, and we went to the Open House. Unfortunately we all forgot our cameras so I have no personal photographic proof, but it was beautiful. The ordinance rooms inside are painted with Utah type scenes. I liked the room with the trees the best. They were beautiful and reminded me a little of a Monet series of Poplar trees.

Poplars along the River Epte, 1891

Unfortunately there are no pictures from the inside of the temple. But I promise, it was beautiful and worth it. I had fun with Cami and two of her former roommates and I'll probably go again next week with my ward! It was wonderful to be in a spiritual place apart from the rest of the world. In retrospect, it was even better to be there on a night that is known for it's hedonism, sin and self gratification. What an interesting juxtaposition.