Bitter-sweet moments.

Kent and I have been praying hard for months that Kent will be able to find steady work. He had tried a couple of times to get into the Marine JAG, but had not yet been accepted. We have been very fortunate that Pepperdine hired me back to do some temp work from home, and Kent has had a few good legal clients. This has helped us to squeeze by. We have felt so blessed to just have our needs taken care of.

Kent prepared to take the PFT (the physical test for the Marines) for the third time. He took it a couple weeks ago and increased his score from 242 to 280 out of 300. This means he ran 3 miles in under 18 minutes, did 100 Marine crunches in under 2 minutes and did 16 dead hang pull ups in a row without dropping. This is phenomenal considering the Marines selected last time had scores around 260. We waited with anticipation... then, last night he received a call from Captain Davis. Kent was selected! He starts Officer Candidate School on January 7th. The amazing thing is that Kent was the only JAG candidate selected from Utah west.

We are sad to be leaving Utah, but are relieved to finally have a plan that includes a stable income and medical benefits. Now we just need to cross our fingers for Kent. He still has to make it through 10 weeks of intense training similar, but harder than basic training before he is officially commissioned as an officer. I will be staying here to do one more semester of school. That means four months apart. We will get a two week visit after the first 10 weeks. Then we can fly back and forth a few times to see each other. The first 10 weeks will be the hardest. No phone calls, only letters are allowed for the first four weeks or so. Then limited phone calls about once or twice a week. I am not looking forward to that. Luckily I will be very busy with school and hopefully Oklahoma.

Another fun thing that is happening, I am in "The 10 Virgins". It is a musical based around the bible parable. We will be performing two shows on November 30th in our stake. It has been so fun and has really helped me to re-evaluate my life. I was thinking, this parable is not written to discourage those of us who are struggling, which I think is all of us to some extent, but it is to remind us that we have all the tools we need to make it to the Celestial Kingdom. We just need to take advantage of them. The foolish virgins were not evil murderers, prostitutes, or careless sinners. They were righteous women who had high standards, but had forgotten to do the obvious, small tasks, like buying oil, that would ensure their admittance to the wedding.

I feel this is often my shortcoming as well. It is the small, simple things that I often let slip. Reading my scriptures, saying my prayers, attending all my church meetings, and being kind and loving to those around me. Those are relatively easy things to do, but am I diligent in doing them. That is all He asks of us. To be diligently obedient. He does not ask us to move mountains, just to be diligent. I came home and read my scriptures (for the first time in a while) and came across this scripture, "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he had strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefor, all things must be done in order" (Mosiah 4:27). This hit me like a brick to the head. whenever I heard "man should not run faster than he is able" before, I always thought, well that means I just do what I can do; but in this scripture it is a little more specific. You still do what you can do, what you have strength for, BUT we must make sure our tasks are in the correct order first! So we can still be diligent. This way, even if we don't complete all the tasks set before us, the most important ones will not be forgotten.

If the five foolish virgins had bought extra oil first thing, before anything else, they might not had looked as nice, or their dishes might have been left unwashed, BUT they would have been admitted to the wedding to spend their time in the presence of the Lord. I am sure none of those virgins said, well I didn't make it into the wedding, but at least my dishes are done. What an eye opener! Where do our priorities lie? Are we putting good before better and best? I began at this realization to try to put my life in its proper order. Prayer, scriptures and family come first. That is where my priorities need to lie. It has been amazing. My studies had been much easier since I have been doing this and have been able to get better grades with less studying than before. The Lord is truly blessing me for my efforts, even though they are far from perfect, and my testimony is being strengthened. I am so grateful that the Lord inspires us, and chastens us - with a loving hand. How else would we grow? Well, sorry to babble so long, I will post again soon.

Flush, Swish, Splash, OOPS!

Well, this semester is half over and I can hardly believe it. It has gone by very fast. I can't believe how much work it has been, but I think I have got the hang of it. I am working on a project for my health class where I have to volunteer at a non-profit for a few hours. I spent my volunteer time at the SL Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I was scrubbing stoves and ovens for resale. Another volunteer and I put the oven knobs in a bucket of water to soak. As the water got dirty, the other volunteer offered to go dump the water. I assumed she remembered the knobs in the bucket, but I guess not. She dumped the knobs for two stoves - that's eight knobs into the toilet which automatically flushed once it got too full. She frantically tried to reach into the toilet and catch them, but only caught one and down the rest went. The best part is that flushing seven knobs down the toilet is not the worst of it. When she told our supervisors they looked at us and said, "AGAIN?" I couldn't believe it! This has happened before? They then said, "at least you didn't flush the sponge too". HA! That did it for me. I was laughing for the next three hours. Incredible. At least it was an entertaining experience.

I have also been helping a friend out with some work at a local community theatre. We went to their Gala last Saturday and Kent actually performed in the program! He sang Surrey with the Fringe on Top from Oklahoma. He did the whole scene. He was really good and got a few directors requesting that he audition for the show next spring. It might end up being a conflict of interest though since it is looking like I will be directing the music. I guess we will see. Here are some fun pictures.





The stage was too dark to get a picture of Kent "in the act". too bad. Well. I've got to get some sleep before my 8 am class tomorrow. Night all.

Doughnut Falls

Last Saturday we went to Doughnut Falls with my brother Nathan, sister Sammy, and good friend Shawna. It was lots of fun, but I was a little dissapointed that the large doughnut has colapsed and is now filled with rocks. Of course I hadn't been there for about 9 years. I guess it has been like that for a while. Now it is quite dangerous. A teenage boy broke his leg or hyperextended his knee or something while were were there and the medics had to come in and carry him out. I also slipped and fell - but I can't claim any cool battle wounds. I just have a big bruise on my tricept and one on my knee. Here are a few pictures...

Sammy, Nathan and I at the top of the waterfall.

Shawna and I in the cave under the waterfall.

Kent on the "balance beam". He really didn't want to get his feet wet.

I am back in school now and I am thinking that I have over extended myself. I am taking 18 credit hours (because it is the same price as 12) and it is killing me. I think I would be just fine if I didn't have to take math. I hate math! My brain just doesn't function that way. Give me music or a paint brush and I am good - anything creative will do, but graphing, functions, substitution and elimination - forget it. I havn't even got into the hard stuff yet. Blah! I love my other classes though. It is fun, just very time consuming. Kent is still looking for work and finding all kinds of local classes and seminars to go to. He has also been spending a lot of time helping our friends Tom and Jesse landscape their yard - AKA - play HALO. Actually they have gotten a lot done on the yard so I supose the deserve the gaming time. Well, better go to bed - I have an 8am class.

Living the carnie life

I just got to spend the weekend with my good friend Shawna English. Yea! It was so fun. I have missed her tonz! I am leaving for KY for the next month this Tuesday to sell jewelry cleaner and earn some extra cash. I am not looking forward to eating fair food for an entire month. Yuck! and I will miss Kent, but thus is life.

I got a new calling as Visiting Teaching Coordinator. Wow! What a time consuming calling - for the first and last week of each month anyway.

We find out if Kent gets into the Marines in a couple of weeks as well as if I am prego OR NOT. I know it will happen when it is supposed to but boy, waiting every month to find out if we are successful AGAIN sucks! Last week I was 7 days late which is VERY unusual for me, but no such luck. I usually am not so negative, but I woke up with a migraine at 3 am this morning and was throwing up and very sick feeling and my head was throbbing. I had to go to church and made it there barely functioning in time for Sunday School. My head is still a bit painful and I am hungry but not able to eat. I am also trying to register for classes and the school student system is down. Come on! I am on a deadline. I leave Tuesday morning at 6:30 am. I just kept thinking "I don't have time for this". I guess everything is annoying when you don't feel well.

I just needed to rant a little bit. Sorry to dampen the mood. I will try to get a happier post in here soon with an update on Kent's Marine status. We sure hope he gets in. It will be nice to know what we are doing in life. Adios!

Camping Trip to Escalante

Kent and I just got back from Escalante where we got to do some awesome hikes with our friends Tom and Jessy. We stopped at the visitors center first where there is this giant lizard. We later found out why - there were lizards everywhere we turned the whole trip. It was fun.

The first hike we went on was to Lower Calf Creek Falls. It was five miles round trip and so beautiful.

We then drove about 26 miles down Hole in the Rock Road to the slot canyons trail head. We did a couple of slot canyons, but Peek-a-boo slot canyon was by far the most amazing. Here is Jesse and I at the entrance to the canyon. You had to climb up about 12 feet to get into the canyon then weave back and forth, up and down to get through the canyon. It was amazing. I only wish the pictures showed how beautiful it really was.



Here is a picture looking into the canyon from the top of the entrance.

Here is a view from the top back end. We climbed up the sides to get this shot.

What a great trip. Very, very hot, but very fun. We had a blast. I would highly recommend these hikes. I do want to go back sometime and go all the way down Hole in the Rock road to see Devil's Dance Hall and the actual Hole in the Rock where it meets what is now part of Lake Powell. I read a book about the San Juan mission and the company that traveled through Escalante, the Hole in the Rock, Slick Rock and on to San Juan. What an amazing story. I am even more impressed now seeing the terrain. There is a lot of sand. I can't even count how many times I had to empty my shoes and just can't imagine having to pull wagons through it. Not to mention the heat and lack of shade and water. What amazing examples of faith those saints were. The ones who conquered "impassible country" literally. Well, that's the latest excitement. I will make a more general update post soon.

Kent's official now in two states

Kent just got sworn in to the Utah state bar and is now officially licenced to practice in California and Utah. Here we are after the ceremony.

Other recent things:

I just applied for school, took the placement test, and went to register for class and found out that I am not considered a resident of Utah even though I have lived here 23 out of the 26 years of my life. I have to wait another semester to qualify for residency. I would love to just go to at least one class this semester, but the tuition is three times more for non-residents!!!! Arg! So I guess i get the summer off.

Kent has gotten various legal work for individuals here and there, but is still looking for full time work - as am I. I started teaching piano lessons again, I am also taking piano and violin lessons once again, and just got a gig playing piano at a christening party the end of this month.

I am also helping a friend plan the 3rd Annual Gala for the Empress Theatre. What do you know, all the event planning and sponsor finding at Pepperdine is still paying off.

Pepperdine has hired me once more for a temporary position which I can do remotely. It is interesting I can still get jobs in California, but not here in Utah - where I live. CRAZY!

Well, that is about all that has happened. Pretty boring for now. Maybe something fun or unexpected will happen this week for me to blog about - maybe an airplane will fall out of the sky right outside our apartment window and create a huge fire which everyone will miraculously survive. Or, maybe everything at MACEY's will be discounted to .50 and I will be able to purchase my one year supply of food storage all in one swoop. Of course if that happened, I would have to store it in the bath tub, the dryer, the washer and the oven since this one bedroom apartment isn't getting any bigger. ;)

Moved and Settled

Well, we have left Cedar City already and moved up to Salt Lake in hopes that Kent will be able to find a law firm to associate himself with. We are living on about 7400 South and 900 East by Fort Union in Midvale. We miss our big three bedroom for sure. We are in a one bedroom apartment - again! I am starting to teach piano again and will begin taking lessons from Kent's mom next month to polish up my skills.

We had a wonderful time over Easter weekend. We went to St. George and played air soft, had a late night Easter egg hunt/competition in the dark, and played around on the red rocks. It was a blast.

Us before our air soft battle:

Sammy and my cousin Jake posed as victums of a devistating rock slide - what goofs!

7 Years and Funny Family Moments

We have now made it past the seven year itch. Our anniversary was March 15th. Kent took me to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner then to the Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake and we got to stay in the Anniversary Inn Suite. It was a wonderful time. We watched foot loose - my first time seeing it if you can believe it. I gave him a bunch of "little things" meaning a bunch of little items (toys and candy) that were attached to typed notes that listed all the little things I loved about Kent. For example, the other morning, Kent got up really early to go hiking. He left while I was still in bed and while he thought I was still asleep, he touched my face, gave me a kiss and said, "You're beautiful". These are the little things I love. All right, I'll stop being mushy now.

Kent went on a 10 hour hike/bob cat tracking expedition last week including a fall off a 15 foot cliff. Him and his friend Kenny left at about 7:30 am from Fiddlers Canyon and while fully intending to end where they started, Kenny's wife and I ended up picking them up at about 5:30 or 6 pm in Cedar Canyon at the other end of town. They had crossed a few mountain ranges, many cliffs, much snow, and who knows what else. They weren't sure exactly where they would come out in the canyon, so they had us driving up and down for a while searching for them. I guess no matter the age, boys will be boys. Kent had quite the sun burn and some really muddy clothes, but he had a great time. I used to be that adventurous, what happened?

Funny Moment #1:
So I went to my dads house for the weekend and got to spend some time with my brother, sisters, niece and nephew. Some of the funniest things (well funny to me) happened. I was sitting at the table eating lunch with my niece and she looked at me and said, "Your hair is brown", after I confirmed her comment she then said, "my hair is stylish". Hmmm! I wonder what she meant by that?

Funny Moment #2
Later I was doing my hair and she came into the bathroom and asked me to ask her how I looked. I asked her, then she promptly replied, "You look Distinguished, Very Distinguished". She is only three years old! Where does she get this stuff?

Funny Moment #3
But the one that tops them all... We were over at my aunt and uncles house for an early Easter celebration and my nephew (2 years) and my cousins daughter (3 years) disappeared. When we found them, they had been in the bathroom each with a bottle of baby powder squirting it at each other. I didn't have my camera, but my sister did, so I will get some photos. The whole bathroom was dusted, the kids looked like ghosts, the carpet "poofed" as you walked across it and the heater vents carried the white dust throughout every room in the house. What can you do at that point but take a picture? It was so hilarious!

Other things we did:
We went shooting. It's been a really long time since I've done that and I realized that I can't shoot right eyed. So I switched to left handed shooting and hit all my targets after that. Maybe that is why I also shoot pool left handed. I can't wait to get my own 22 and join the gun owner world. We of course need to get jobs first so we can afford it. I colored in coloring books a lot, played some cards, went on a Pez scavenger hunt which was the adult version of an Easter eggs hunt. We were on teams and had to read the clues in the Pez and guess the word before the other teams. The Pez were so hard to find we didn't even find them all.

Here are some of the clues - see if you can guess the word....
- Oder less
- Colorless
- Inflate
- Firmament
- Public Utterance
- Particulate Matter

What do you think? Any luck? We guessed helium, hot air balloon, and balloon but to no avail. The answer was, drum roll please, air. Quite anti-climactic. It was too obvious for us to figure out. Finally another team guessed right and won the treasure chest full of treats. Fun stuff.

Well, I think that about does it for my update. I can't really think of anything else interesting to write so I'll sign off now.

Humbled

It seems like the very second I think I know best about any topic the Lord feels the need to let me know how far I am from right. I suppose that is how we grow. I was missing my old ward and feeling sorry for myself that while I have met so many great people here in Cedar City that I just love, I wasn't feeling that "sisterhood" that I treasure so much. I had all these speculations for why that might be and of course none of them had anything to do with ME. HA! Maybe if I took another look I would see that it is me who's the problem. Anyways, my point is that I just met my new visiting teachers this week and they are wonderful. More wonderful than I could hope for. They made me feel like I had known them for years - like we were "sisters" and that's that. Sweet women.

I was also convinced that spring should be here and that the continued snow was just unfair. Then the Lord saw fit to dump a little more just to prove me wrong. So sorry everyone.... It's my fault. ;) We have had so many lessons, talks, and articles that involve adversity lately. I think that includes the adversity we bring upon ourselves through negative thinking. I guess it is all just hitting me and I am gaining a stronger testimony that the Lord knows best. He has shown me that he knows me, he loves me, and he wants me to grow - even if that means I have to experience difficult circumstances in life(of course we all do). I guess what I am struggling with now is wondering if I can accept the trials that He knows I need through out my life.

For FHE this week we read an Ensign article about enduring to the end. It defined the word endure in a way that I never thought of before. "Endure to the end: To remain true to the commandments of God despite temptation, opposition, and adversity throughout life." The article then goes on to teach that enduring is not just to "hang on" through unpleasant times, but to live happily despite them. Hmmm.... Food for thought.

By the way, Kent and I will have been married seven years next Monday. Boy! Where does the time go? Just as I was telling Kent's parents that it went by so fast, Kent said, "It feels like forever". I don't know how I'm supposed to take that! I think he just likes to be the center of attention. :) We all had a good laugh.

Valentine "Treet"

I made this Valentine candy tree for Kent. I can't wait to give it to him on Sunday with a nice candle lit dinner. Luckily he rarely reads our blog and I am pretty sure if I don't want him to see it this is a safe place. We'll see. I never was very good at keeping presents a surprise.
I finally got all my dishes done after taking my niece and nephew back to their mommy. I miss them already. They called me today to say hello. It was SO cute.

I suppose I should give an update on our lives as of late. I just finished my work at Pepperdine and and getting ready to look for part-time work. I am also working hard on finishing everything up for the Miss Southern Utah Pageant. It is in less than two weeks and I have a tone to do.Wish me luck. I am going to need it.

Kent is studying for the Utah bar exam that he will take at the end of this month and he just finished taking the written and physical tests for the Marine JAG Corp. He did pretty good. Got 99% on the written exam. The Marines is not the only option we are looking at, but it is looking like a good one. We will find out if he gets in at the end of March. There are only about six open spots on the West Coast, so we will see. He is still working out for about 1 - 2 hours a day.

Just found out one of my good friends, Jennifer is pregnant, and so is my cousin Stephanie, and my neighbor two doors down, and two other women in my ward. It must be the season. I am so excited for them all! I love babies. Hopefully I will soon be joining them in the morning sickness fest. Well not if I'm lucky eh?

Well Kent is home. Got to go.

New Church Calling

I forgot to mention that I have a new calling as a Relief Society teacher. I am so excited. It has been a long time since I have been in Relief Society. I guess I am starting to grow up.

Fun in the Snow!

I finally got the Christmas off my blog. Sorry about that. It has been a hectic month. KD and Talon, my niece and nephew are staying with us for a couple of weeks. They are so fun. We made snow angels on Monday, learned the Hokey Pokey on Saturday, Made cookies yesterday, and learned how to help our neighbors for Family Home Evening. They are so cute.


Today we are drawing pictures for their mom. I decided to take some pictures of them, but they just thought it was fun to run away from me while I chased them with the camera. IT'S A NEW GAME! They loved it. Luckily we have gone digital so I can take as many pictures as I want. They love Uncle Kent and I had to go buy a pre school work book so they could study "just like Uncle Kent". The best is when they come get you to show you what is in the toilet and want you to clap! I love it, just not the smell ;)


So after spending almost every weekend sense Thanksgiving up in Salt Lake, it is nice to have a break from the long drive. Kent is studying hard for the Utah bar and working out like mad to meet the requirements for the Marine JAG Corp. He has really bulked up. It is kind of funny - none of his shirts fit. They are all stretched around his biceps and across his chest, but hey... I'm not complaining.

I will be done working for Pepperdine this week. It is hard to believe. I got another job offer for contracted marketing work last week from someone I met at Pepperdine. Just part-time and month-to-month, but what great timing. I think I'm going to go look for a part-time job stocking shelves or something just to bring in some extra cash. Everyone keeps asking me why I want to do something like stock shelves after the work experience I have gotten. Are you kidding? No really, I just want something I don't have to put so much mental effort into and that I don't have to think about after I come home. I am not looking for a permanent or full-time career so why deal with the stress? While I have thoroughly enjoyed working for Pepperdine, and Seagull Book before that and wouldn't trade the experience for anything, it will be so nice to have a less complicated job. Manual labor would feel so great about right now. I know, I sound crazy.

Well, time for me to go wipe noses and think about dinner and more laundry while I enjoy the Berenstain Bears on TV. Hopefully my next update won't take me so long to get around to.