Joy

I feel like such a slacker!! I haven't blogged in so long...it's been a tad hectic here! We have been in Texas for about 4 weeks and I have to say that I'm not a fan of the humidity here...it's hot!! We are living with Josh's sister and her family (her hubby and 3 great kids). It has been fun to spend time with all of them, they are a hoot! I have loved seeing Josh playing with the kids (even though half the time he acts like the 4th child!) but there is something so sweet about watching him interact with his nieces and nephew. I know he will be a great dad when we finally do have a child.

We have had many learning experiences in the past 4 weeks and I have had it reaffirmed to me many times that we are where the Lord wants us to be. My Grandma Eleanor was a very faithful woman and after her death, we found some quotes in her purse that she always had with her. I now have them in my wallet and I treasure them because they are things that she wrote out and lived by. One of these quotes says, "I believe that I am always divinely guided; I believe I will always be led to take the right road; I believe that God will always make a way when there is no way." I love it!!

Josh and I went to the Dallas Temple on Friday and it was so fantastic! As we sat in the Celestial Room and absorbed the spirit that was there, Josh asked me what I felt. The only word that I could use to describe what I felt was joy. I felt the pure love that our Heavenly Father has for us and my joy was full because of it. I love the temple and the amazing way in which our Father communicates with us there in His house.

Help Amanda

I received this email yesterday and am encouraging all to help out in whatever way they can...Amanda is a former client of mine, she's a great person. Thanks!


Dear Friends,
Recently a friend and a great single Mother of 2 has suffered a serious tragedy in a scary and unexpected accident. Most of you know Amanda Bodak and her two children Max & Ethan. Less than 2 weeks ago she was up in the middle of the night getting a drink of water, began to feel weak and light headed, fainted and fell to the floor. Sadly for her she did not fall strait to the floor, but instead in a freak accident took a harsh detour hitting her face on several sharp surfaces including a blunt cabinet handle where Amanda impaled the right side of her face, severely and traumatically lacerating her face. This horrible accident caused multiple facial lacerations, including the most concerning - a prominent 8 inch long “C” shaped laceration which leaves potentially permanent muscle and nerve damage to the right side of Amanda's face. More than 100 stitches later, she is now facing the sad reality that she may never look the same and can only hope that with proper medical treatment and great care, together with skilled plastic surgery that she will achieve a 90% or better recovery. This blow comes at a very hard time when Amanda does not have full time employment, and does not have the savings nor the insurance to properly cover and pay for the treatment an accident like this requires. This is truly a time for compassion and I hope that you will join me in supporting Amanda, she needs our love, our prayers and especially at this moment our financial support. Please give as much as you can to help Amanda back to a successful and full recovery.
The goal is to raise at least $20,000 to achieve the surgery and other medical treatment necessary. Every amount helps so please be compassionate and generous in your donation. We live in a world of $5 Starbucks coffees, in the end that is not what matters, what matters is people, and in helping each other when in need, especially a single mother who has forgone many "nice-to-haves" to provide for her family and give graciously to those in need around her. I humbly and graciously ask for your support of Amanda. Give up a year’s worth of Star Bucks, or only a month, but please do whatever you can. We all know what a great person Amanda is and I know that she would do anything she could do to help if the roles were reversed.
Also if you would please pass this information and this website onto our sphere of influence and ask for their support that would help tremendously, if we can go just a few layers deep and reach out for help to a couple of levels of our sphere of influence and friends, family and contacts to help, we are confident that we can reach our goal and help Amanda’s heart, mind, soul and face heal as she deserves. Thank you for your generosity and God bless you. Please visit the website for donations that has been set up for Amanda by her friends www.helpamanda.org
Please cut and paste this information and send it in an email to those in your contact list that you believe might be generous enough to help a deserving person in this very difficult time.
Very sincerely,
Mike Jensen

Our 1st Anniversary

Josh and I were married on May 30th last year. We celebrated our first anniversary by packin' up and moving to Texas...such a romantic time!

May 30, 2008

May 30, 2009

What a difference a year makes, eh?!

The Exodus

Yep, we look like we belong in the ghetto lookin' like this!

So, this is leaving Grand Junction...and the beginning of my 2 day scenic view of the back of a pretty Uhaul!
We drove...

...and drove and drove!! Going through Colorado does provide some beautiful scenery,but somehow the Uhaul doesn't add to it!

We were driving so slow that I really was able to capture the Welcome to Texas sign as we drove past!!

This was somewhere in west Texas...I loved the sky!

Ok, we were stopped at a stoplight somewhere in Amarillo and I happened to see this billboard. Dumas (which is a funny name itself!) and then it says it's the home of the Ding Dong Daddy...uh, what the heck?! I was cracking up!!

So, somewhere in the middle of no-where, we stopped at a Dairy Queen for lunch. Now, west Texas is full of teeny-tiny towns that are virtual ghost towns...but they all have a nice big DQ! We were eating lunch in a deluxe DQ and I noticed that my food was wrapped in the Texas state flag...wow, that's pride!

So, as we're driving along, the sun eventually set and it was amazingly beautiful!! It was mainly behind me, so I did what any gal on the road would do and took a picture of my side mirror!

The Cave

Ghetto fabulous...nope, just plain ghetto!! Here is my disclaimer: these pictures are not for the weak, so beware!! Josh and I lived in the College Place Apartments for exactly 1 year (we moved out on our 1st anniversary) and it was about 11.5 months too long! So, sit back and enjoy the visit to our nasty old apartment! :)

This was us, #14...pretty, eh?!


Our beautiful front door

This is in our living room, the nice mantle with wood paneling is my favorite. I also love the barbeque tongs in the fireplace that were leftover from Josh's old roommate. Classy.

Now, this is one of my favorite features of the apartment...the pretty mold spot! A few roommates ago, there was a water accident and this is the result. Oddly enough, when Josh and I were at home we always felt sick; since moving, we have felt great...go figure!

The living, dining, and kitchen area. Don't you just love that poop brown carpet?!

The kitchen...pretty.

And, my favorite kitchen feature: the stove. You can't tell from the picture, but only the 2 left burners worked (which is a bit challenging when trying to cook a nice meal) and the oven only worked some of the time...not to mention the handle which is seen here on the floor. It kept falling off, so Josh tried to fix it and found that the whole thing was just plain falling apart.

The local landscaping...I think the beer can is what makes the flowers grow so well!

And last, but not least, our backyard...beautiful!!

Well, that's the tour! LOL!! We are so happy to be gone from that wonderful little apartment that we so lovingly referred to as "The Cave". Try not to let it's images haunt you! :)

The Move...

Phew!! So, I feel like it's been forever since I posted on the blog...it's been a hectic time!! We finally made it out of Grand Junction and arrived in Texas last week (yay!). We had a super long drive and a few adventures getting here, but it was good. And, although the above pic is not us, it's pretty much what my car looked like! As soon as I can find the camera cord to upload my pics, I will blog all about it! :)