Favorite Place

Over the weekend all the Colorado family plus a cousin visiting from California got together for a garden excursion to the Denver Botanic Garden. The weather was perfect and after several weeks of on-again/off-again rain the plants were looking fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as did Dallin, but then of course we would, we were in a garden! I love that my sweetheart loves a garden almost as much as I do. I am one lucky girl.
Just for fun we took another picture at the moon gate in the Japanese Garden. The first picture was taken in late August of last year when we were very newly-weds; in the second picture I am a 6-month + pregnant mommy-to-be with my ever-handsome husband (wow--pregnancy changes you alot!) Our one-year anniversary is fast approaching and it is amazing to think of all the adventuring we have had in that amount of time. Life is very good!

Seamless Transition

The bishop of our ward was released today and a new bishopric was called. The previous bishop is moving out of state, hence the change. Sacrament meeting was especially meaningful for me, as a member of the congregation, to see this transition take place. During the meeting, one of the members of the stake presidency related a conversation he had with a friend of another faith. This friend was quite shocked to learn that during such a leadership change, there is neither jockeying for position nor resistance by the congregation to adapt to new leadership.
I consider it one of the great miracles in the gospel of Jesus Christ that each member may, individually and personally, receive a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost that such a change is inspired.
Personal revelation is one of my favorite principles of the gospel, and I testify that in our meeting today, I felt and knew for myself that the new bishop had indeed been called of God. I know very little about this new bishop; in fact, we have never once had a conversation, but by the Spirit I felt a personal ratification of his call, and could, in all sincerity sustain him as the man the Lord had chosen. What a miracle! What a blessing! And so the work of the Lord goes forward in a similar manner all over the world.
As the stake president gave his closing remarks on the meeting, he taught a beautiful principle. He taught that only as we sustained this new bishopric could his time of service be truly meaningful. He needs our prayers just as much as we need his inspired leadership. The two work in tangent with one another, and neither our success as a ward, nor his success as bishop can be separated.

Conspicuous Motherhood

24 has always been one of my favorite numbers, and it seems that in this pregnancy 24 is also my magic number. As of week 24 I finally developed a baby bump. I am now in week 25 and decided it was time for another picture update.
In other updates, I realize that I have been very short-sighted in all of this motherhood stuff. Case in point: Two of my sister-in-laws and a few friends send cards or well wishes for my first Mother's Day and I was shocked. Wait...me? Really? I guess I am still processing the fact that after 30+ years of being single, I am no longer in that stage of anticipating motherhood, or desiring motherhood, but officially in the thick of it.
And now with a baby bump I am also in the realm of conspicuous motherhood, where people, sometimes strangers, ask me when I am due and what I am having. I am still processing that too.
I am loving this stage of pregnancy though, the "magic window" of feeling good and having energy has been true for me lately. I have started doing some yoga safe for pregnancy, with great energizing results. I also finished the baby quilt. The best news though, is that my taste for sweets is coming back! This is most exciting because summer just wouldn't be summer without enjoying ice cream, frozen yogurt, or gelato. Boulder has a good collection of local fare frozen treat establishments that I can now patronize! And, Blue Bell ice cream recently made its debut in grocery stores in Colorado, which for a girl who grew up in Blue Bell country is very good news.

Book Nook

When Dallin received assurance of a new work rotation that would keep us local for another year, and would not require a move, we decided that we could start getting baby things. When the crib arrived I got a wild hair and in one day rearranged all but four pieces of furniture in the entire apartment to 1) make a place for the baby and 2) make some needed improvements. One of my favorite spaces now is this little book nook in the family room. Previously, the armchair was in our bedroom, and the end table and bookcases were in the dining room. There is something very comforting to me in a cozy armchair, a table holding a good lamp and a pile of books. When I was younger, books were some of my best friends. I was often found up a tree with a book in hand, perfectly content to have a bit of sky, a leafy view and reassuring words. One of my earliest memories of my second year of preschool was the "reading pit", a sunken area in one of the corners of the classroom filled with pillows and books. My mom was a collector of picture books and I was favored as a youth by her convenient hobby. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Braun, read aloud to our class every Friday and the sound of her voice recounting the exciting adventure of Brian in Hatchet remains a strong memory. Much to my parent's dismay, I would sometimes find a book so captivating that sleep was postponed in order the finish the next chapter (or three). Falling asleep with the light on at 2:00 am, book in hand, was a frequent occurrence.
I look forward to sharing that love for a good book with my children. Perhaps without realizing it, I created this space in anticipation of cuddle time and story time with them.