Tragedy in the Holladay 29th Ward

I don't know if I've ever said how much I love my single's ward. But I love it. Alot. I have seen the 29th ward go through some pretty significant changes over the past 10 years that I've been in it. While it is always changing, the one thing that hasn't changed is how I feel when I'm there. The ward is not just a ward to me, but a family. I love everyone there, even if I don't know them that well.

Such is the case with Kim and Joe. Kim Evans and Joe Clark are in our ward family and our hearts go out to them, and especially Kim's family. For those of you who may not know, yesterday (Saturday June 26th) Joe and Kim were hiking when they fell into a river and Kim was swept away over a waterfall (Bell's Canyon). Joe was rescued and lifeflighted to Intermountain Medical Center. He's not as injured as news reports indicated, but I can't imagine what he's feeling. He remembers everything that happened. Kim has yet to be found. They called off the search yesterday, when it became too dark, but they are resuming again this morning. I haven't heard anything yet, but I do know that late afternoon yesterday rescuers told the family that they were not hopeful they could find her alive. It is a recovery effort, not a rescue effort, at this point.

I still pray for a miracle. I know that my Heavenly Father is a God of Miracles, but I also know that he holds all life in his hands. When all else fails to help us understand his will, it is essential that we accept it. Isaiah 55:8-9 says that his ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts higher than our thoughts. That gives me hope that he knows what he's doing and I trust him. It's hard to lose a member of my ward family and it brings back a lot of painful memories of when my own father passed away. But along with the pain, there is peace. I also remember the things I have learned as a result of losing a loved one and going through such a difficult experience.

I know that God lives. I know that He loves all of His children. I know that in His desire to have us come home to Him, He provided a Savior, who is Jesus Christ. I know that the Savior suffered the bitterest agonies of our pains, our losses, and our sins, so that we might not have to suffer. It's okay to feel pain, to feel loss and sorrow, but suffering is not necessary. I know that because He died and was resurrected that all of God's children born to this earth will be resurrected. These gifts, of which I can only barely begin to comprehend, allow us to return to the presence of our Father. Only because of the Savior are we allowed the opportunity to return to His presence, and our choices in this life determine whether or not we stay in His presence. If Kim has not survived this fall, I know that she will definitely be going home to stay.

Modem fail

My modem was dropping my internet connection, like, literally, every 5 minutes. I finally called and they said they would send me a new one in two business days. I got it and set it up and it seems to be working great.

It was only two business days and I thought I was going to die. I can't believe that I need the internet SO MUCH that it would elicit such a strong feeling of desperation and anxiety. The thing is, I really enjoy non-electronic forms of diversion, such as walking, hiking, writing, painting, cooking, reading, etc. that I really shouldn't feel DEPENDENT on having the internet.

But I do - the internet is my source of information. If I have a question, I don't think about going to the library, or looking in the phone book (I can't even believe they still make them...), or whatever. My information trifecta is Google, Wikipedia, and IMDb (pretty much in that order). And I do place a lot of value on electronic entertainment, movies and music mostly, which I need the internet for. I guess I'm a sucker. I want to have a simpler life that is NOT dependent on electronics, but I get sucked in by it's accessability and reliability (when my modem is working) and that fact that it's available 24/7.

I think we're pretty spoiled, actually, to have this much technology and while it promotes connecting people over long-distances, it can also alienate close-distance relationships as well. Double-edged sword, I guess.

Anyway, my point is, I'm glad to have a working modem again!

Some pics

I finally got around to sorting through some photos I've taken recently. Here are a few.

My sister likes Orange flowers and I don't know how often she runs across them in China, so I bought some and took some pictures of them for her.











This is the elusive K. This is how she looks about 82.5% of the times I've seen her. I made her put "cami" away for Hometeaching: Dancing Edition...


My friend Kat and I went to Donut Falls up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was still pretty, in spite of the sleet coming down.



These were on the trail. I love Aspens!






From far away it looks like she's anxious to leave (something to do with the freak hale storm, maybe?)



But if you look closely, you can see she's smiling...



There are a few things that never seem to turn out in photos the way they look in real life. I tried anyway.



I loved that you could see the whole moon sort of "backlit." It's much more striking in real life!



I love storms! I was at my mom's house in Lehi as this storm was going by. I went outside, like I usually do in severe weather and was rewarded with this view of a rainbow:




A week or so ago there was a sunset that made the sky look like it was on fire. Unfortunately, I was driving and not able to take any pictures until it had almost faded completely. When I was finally able to park and get out my camera, this is what I got. Not as intense as it was a few minutes before, but still pretty I think.




I'm still working on sorting through the 400+ photos I took on my Memorial Day trip to Manila, so stay tuned - more to come...

The status is totally quo

Wow, time flies. I didn't realize I hadn't posted for so long. Sorry peeps. I've been pretty good lately. I am looking forward more and more to school starting in the Fall. Still not really sure what's gonna happen with my school/work schedule, but I'm sure the Lord will help me work it out.

I am excited for our ward's art show tomorrow. I've got a few pieces I'm going to show and I'm really excited to see what other people have done, as well as get ideas for new projects. I've been working on one for a co-worker (that's 2 now! soon I may have to start charging!), and I love how it's turning out. It's really hard to let it go, but I just hope she likes it! I'll find out Thursday!! If I remember I'll try to take a picture of it and post it here.

Changing gears: I've been sore for the last month - from exercise. I'm not complaining; it's a weird kind of soreness that also feels good. I don't know that I've ever experienced that before. Having SelectHealth's gym nearby has been a huge blessing for me. For one, it's not THAT busy, so I don't feel self-conscious and two, because it's been convenient, it's been easier for me to work out more consistently. I'm definitely feeling the difference and I love it!

I still have to be pretty careful on my diet. "Beware the Carb Monster!" That's what I need to say to people when I eat carbs... they makes me turn into a jerk. Somedays its not that much of a stretch, other days it's like Jekyll and Hyde-ish. Sugar makes me crazy - I think I've said this before. Starchy carbs make me depressed. The problem is they taste so freaking good!!

Losing weight feels good and is gratifying, but it's not nearly as immediate as donut gratification, my difficulty is to maintain perspective and I have to keep asking myself, "is eating that (fill in the blank) going to help me achieve my goal?" and that helps.

Anyway, life is good. There is a lot of happiness to be had and good people to share fun times with, so all in all, I'm pretty happy at the moment.