Paul's Baptism

Our friend Paul got baptized on Sunday Oct 24th. What a wonderful experience to have shared with him. I'm so happy that he has chosen to follow the right path and I know that Heavenly Father has a very special plan for him on this earth. I love to see fellow converts make that transformation in their lives, it reminds me of my conversion story and makes my testimony of the gospel become stronger. I am grateful for Jordan and his example not only to me but to those around us.

One of the missionaries, during the service, said "there is no other miracle in the world, greater than what we just witnessed." He gave an example that if he saw a missionary bring a dead man back to life through the power of God- it would not exceed the amazingness of baptism. For the man who was brought back to life will die again, but baptism is eternal. I'm not sure if I wrote it exactly as he said it, but I hope you get the picture!

2 more weeks and counting every second

Ahhh. In 2 weeks we get to go home! I can't wait. Although I loooved being near the beach and I really enjoyed the weather here, enough is enough. I'm counting down the days, hours and minutes until we get to go home. If we get lucky, we might even be home for Halloween night so I can pass out candy to the little vampires, princesses, rock stars, or crime fighting action heroes that visit our home on their way through the neighborhood :)

I've already thought of what I need to do when we get back. AFTER we get to see all of our dearly missed friends!!! :) :)

1st: tackle the garage. it's a disaster. I'd like to actually be able to park a car in there, or maybe turn it into a fun game room, food storage or possibly a room for pup?

2nd: steam clean our carpets. we neglected to get them cleaned before we moved in (it's a little disturbing when I think of it now and how many people probably walked through that house while on the market or when the previous owners were there... yucky)... the living room has a huge stain in the center of the room and there are a few other spots here and there.

3rd: landscape the backyard. we've got weeds and dirt back there right now. I would love to plant some grass, get a nice patio set and a bbq grill. maybe built a little fire pit and plant some trees and flowers. nothing too elaborate, just enough to make it a little more like home.

4th: window treatments. my windows are all curtain less... I got a bunch for my birthday, but I haven't hung them up yet.

5th: fix the bathtub. I'm not sure about you but I love taking baths! the water comes out cold and when I turn the knob to hot the water shuts off... so sad. anyone know a plumber that could walk me through fixing something like that?!

6th: organize and replenish our food storage. Robyn and I have been trying to go canning forever ;) maybe we'll get the chance to!

7th: plan a trip to new york.

8th: have game nights :)

9th: take Jordan to Brio... his absolute favorite restaurant.

10th: get ready for the company cruise to Mexico in November!

Jackson

We got a puppy a few days ago! He's super cute and very smart! He learned how to sit, shake and stay... in just a day or two! :) His favorite toy is a red and yellow fish Jordan picked up at Walgreens. The kitties haven't warmed up to him yet, but I'm sure they'll be best buds in no time.

Six Flags

About a month ago, our office went to Six Flags. It started off fun for me, and then I got really sick on the 3rd ride. That one had a lot of jerky turns and my head kept hitting the shoulder pads and on the last turn I hit my head so hard that everything turned black and I literally saw stars! And felt sooo sick after that. I had to sit out on a lot of the rides, and I only got 1 good picture.

The boys coming off of the Goliath :)

Towards the end of the night I finally started feeling better. I think our last ride of the night was Terminator! It was really fun! Soooo fast... and being in the dark made it even better. BUT, I'd have to say, the BEST part of the ride was when it stopped and I looked over at Jordan and his hair was standing straight UP!!! If you've ever seen Tommy Boy, you know the part when they're in the factory and Tommy turns on that engine? Ha and the guy's toupee flies up--- well, that's what J's hair looked like. Hilarious :)

Our last stop while walking towards the gate to leave, was at one of those "Guess your Age/Weight" booths. I told J "can I give it a try, I know he'll never guess my age right!"... J said of course, and I walked up onto the booth to have the man guess my age. He said confidently, "well, lets see... you look just barely legal... I'm going to say 18." "Nope, I'm 24!" People standing around the booth all laughed and I got a free prize :) I look very young for my age, I always get questioned whenever they see that I'm married. I guess that's a good thing... when I get to my 40's!

charrrlieee

Found him sleeping here one day... silly!

He jumps in the fridge, everytime I open the door... crazy!

He loves water soooo much, he sleeps by the sink!!!

I thought cats hate water!? He sure doesn't!!

a bittersweet goodbye

This is Beth...
I used to help take care of her and I spent a lot of time simply enjoying her company...
We loved to sit outside in the sun and count the airplanes that flew by, watch the neighbor's palm tree sway in the wind, write letters to old friends, go out to lunch at Sweet Cakes and sometimes Arbys, watch shows like Golden Girls or Little House on the Prairie, fold laundry together, go on walks, pick flowers, and just have a fun conversation.
She enjoyed getting her nails painted, having her hair curled, using the word 'Marvelous' and she would laugh so hard every time I would help her into my car... She thought it was hysterical, such a little person as me, trying to lift her into my suv... It was too cute and I'm going to miss all the laughter and her company, most of all. I am grateful to have had her in my life this past year. I'm sad she is gone but more feelings of joy come when I think that she is with her loved ones again and not suffering or in any pain anymore.
What a Marvelous lady!!

A weekend in Arizona

Jordan and I drove to AZ a few weekends ago for our friend's wedding. It was sooooo nice to be HOME and to sleep in our own bed! I could have slept all weekend! I miss our house and our ward and our friends in AZ. But less than 2 months and we'll be back :) I'm looking forward to that!

Well, we got into Gilbert around 3pm... just in time to walk around the SanTan Mall a little bit before Jordan had to leave for his rehearsal in Mesa. He was a groomsman in the wedding, a very handsome one, if I might add :) I stayed around the Mall and then went home and put away the tubs of stuff I brought home from CA... And just sat on the couch for a while, in the silence. It was really nice actually. Then I reallyyy had to go to the bathroom and realized -Oh No! I had the water turned off before we left for the summer.... So I had to drive down to the store and use theirs! Also, my car's air conditioning went out just before we left for the summer, which is why we left it in AZ until we got back from CA to fix it, but I forgot about that and I had to drive all weekend without AC!! And back to my no water situation from earlier... well Jordan and I had to shower at the LA Fitness down the road. It was kind of a hassle but I'm glad we still had our gym memberships or else we would have been a stinky couple, spoiling a wedding with our stench!

The wedding was on Friday, and it was great! I'm sooo happy for them :) I've got a few pictures below. But my day did not start off too well! First, had to lug all my stuff over and shower at LA Fitness... then I decided I'd bring home lunch for Jordan and I before he had to leave to get ready for the wedding. Burger King is right down the road so I stopped quick to grab some food... while in the drive thru, I noticed something fall on the floorboard and realized it was one of my earrings. The particular earrings I'm talking about are the pair that Jordan bought be right before we got married. They're my favorite pair of earrings and I wear them everyday. They have my birthstone too. Anywho, I find the earring, but the back of it is nowhere to be found. I'm looking down, trying to find it and BAM!!!!!!! My heart stopped. I looked up... and I had hit the car in front of me in the drive thru while he was ordering his food!!!! I totally thought I had my foot on the break the whole time I was looking for my earring... but I guess it wasn't and my car kept creeping up, closer and closer to the car in front of me. OH MAN! I felt horrible. Then I saw the owner of the car look at me through his side mirror like he wanted to kill me. He looked like one of those guys who baby his car. It was a clean, shiny, and new looking Honda Civic. Immediately I apologized and told him I wasn't paying attention and just so so sorry. I think I freaked him out how apologetic I was being... He checked out the damage, or lack there of (thank goodness), and looked at me and said, "It's good! We're good... Nothing happened, don't even worry about it." I was very grateful that no damage occurred and he was so nice about it. I still can't believe I did that.

The Happy Couple! Israel and Vanessa :)

And by the way... I found the back of my earring in the shower at the gym Sunday!!! I was sooo relieved! :) :)