Michelle Day

Saturday was deemed "Michelle Day." We spent the day doing things I've really been wanting to do. We slept in Saturday morning, but not too late. We quickly got ready and went to the local Farmers' Market where we spent a few dollars on a bottle of fresh squeezed orange juice, some super sweet strawberries, and a couple summer vegetables. Next we went home and scrubbed everything from top to bottom. We scoured the bathroom, mopped and vacuumed the floors, and finished the laundry. Oh boy, I love a clean home! Then, after spending the afternoon cleaning away, we went on a bedroom-set shopping trip. Miles and I have been seriously contemplating purchasing a bedroom set. Whoa, this was a big deal for us. We don't do big purchases very well, we're almost too careful. For example, I think we went to about nine different jewelers before we bought my wedding ring. We tend to think about it, talk about it, budget it, go shopping, talk about it some more, then go back, see how we feel, talk about it, etc. It's a very long process. So, we went shopping a couple weeks ago to get an idea of what we were getting into, but we really didn't find a bedroom set that we liked. Then on Saturday, we ventured out again. This time, we found a set we both loved. Not too traditional, not too modern--perfect for us. After finding the set we wanted, we just sat in a couple la-z-boy chairs and crunched some numbers. After all, this is a BIG investment for us. We deliberated for quite awhile, reasoning that we'd have this furniture in our home for likely the rest of our lives. We've been told that couples usually only have two bedrooms sets throughout their marriage. Also, right now we probably have the most money we'll have in the next ten years! Because I'm working full time we are just a bit more comfortable than we will be when we have a family and when I'm not working. So this was our decision: A queen bed, one nightstand, and a chest of drawers. We put half the money down, and thankfully didn't need to finance anything. The other half will be paid upon delivery in about 4-5 weeks! Waiting 4-5 weeks seems like forever, so for now, we just sit in our empty room and imagine what it will look like. We are very excited!

Home

What is it about routine that makes life so much more comfortable? Our life is finally settling down. Irvine is starting to feel like home. The last couple weeks have been really good just because I've found my pace. Call me boring but I love the fact that I know everyday I will wake up at the same time, go to work, meet Miles for lunch, walk home, go to the gym, shower, make dinner and enjoy the rest evening with my husband. Ah, it's just peaceful you know? It doesn't give me much to blog about, but I feel very content.

Our life isn't without it's thrills though. Miles and I were just given a new calling in our ward--we're now Nursery Leaders in one of the FOUR nurseries. This calling is going to be a real stretch for both of us. Neither one of us has served in this capacity before, we're a bit nervous. Our last married ward didn't even have a Nursery. But I know we'll learn so much by interacting with these children together, and hopefully learn to be less judgmental and better parents. Last week was our first week with the little ones, and we had a blast! You can't beat eating goldfish and blowing bubbles during church! In the lesson we learned all about the importance of the home. We discovered that birds live in trees, turtles live in the water, and giraffes live on land. It's amazing how much you can learn from such a simple lesson. Being comfortable in my own home is more essential to me now more than ever. Our apartment is nothing fancy, but it is our sanctuary. The picture included in this post is one of my favorites entitled "Walking with God" by Morgan Weistling. A print of it hangs in our home. It shows Joseph teaching his young son, our Savior, to walk. I love how it illustrates the importance of rearing children.

Bakersfield

Michelle came up with the fun idea to take a quick trip to Bakersfield this last weekend. Now I know what some of you must be thinking, "Why in the world would they want to leave the beautiful weather and coast of Irvine to visit the hot, barrenness of Bakersfield?" Well for those who don't know, and are probably the ones asking the question, my family and I lived there for six years (while I was in junior high and high school). Since my family now lives in Arizona, I haven't had any reason to visit Bakersfield since I left for BYU seven years ago.

It was Michelle's first visit and she wasn't too impressed. Sure she thought it was fun to put places to all the stories that I have told her about, but she thought overall the city was pretty ugly. Now, it doesn't fair too well with air quality but that's not its fault (Bakersfield lies at the bottom of the San Joaquin valley and accumulates all the smog from Sacramento and San Francisco), but all the oil rigs don't help either.

We visited my old house. While there we caught up with the Hemingway's, a neighbor family in our ward.

Next, we went to my high school. West High Viking pride, yeah!

CSUB swimming pool. This is where I swam throughout high school. All of our swim practices and almost all of our swim meets took place in this pool.

The LDS ward building we attended. It doubled as the Stake Center. Here we had church, seminary, dances, even performances.

Western Warehouse. This is were my dad worked and was the reason we moved to Bakersfield.

Those were the major attractions. Besides that, pretty much all we did was eat.

Dewar's is a well known ice cream and candy shop in Bakersfield. We had a black and white, bought some chews, and even a t-shirt for me.

Michelle has a bad habit lately of leaving her door open when we walk away from the car. I was able to catch it on film.

On the way home we made a stop at the Los Angeles Temple, another first for Michelle. By the way, this is Michelle's accidental "artistic" shot.

A Tribute to President James E. Faust

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that President James E. Faust, 2nd counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, passed away last night of "causes incident to age".

The news had a bigger impact on me than I expected. Though I have never met President Faust in person he has always touched my heart through his many addresses and by his great example. He was such a sweet man of God. I'd like to share a couple of my personal favorite stories about President Faust.

While attending the Seminar for New Mission Presidents held annually at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, President Faust was being wheeled down a hallway being cleared by security. President Faust told the young man pushing him to stop so he could "say hello to his fellow servants." He was such a humble servant of the Lord.

Another story about Pres. Faust was shared by Elder Eyring, again at the New Mission President Seminar. Elder Eyring told of the time when he and his wife found out that his mother-in-law had passed away. Before mentioning it to anyone, Elder and Sister Eyring received a phone call from President Faust offering his condolences. He had been prompted to call and offer his support. What a remarkable example of spiritual sensitivity!

* Pomeroy Hotel

Since moving to California, we've become a 1 star hotel for our family--not the most luxurious but it's cheap and in a great location. Of the 5 weeks we've been living here, we've had company staying with us for a total 2 1/2- 3 weeks, including my sister's family when we moved in, my Uncle Bill and his crew (7 people) and then some more family this past week. Don't get me wrong, we've enjoyed having them. It gives Miles and I an excuse to vacation ourselves. Last week, my mom, sister, and 3 nieces took a spontaneous trip to visit us. They all had a blast. My mom fell in love with it here. She kept saying things like "I love the air here" and "Why do people live in the desert again?" She didn't want to go home to the 110 degree weather waiting for them in St. George. While they were here my family did a ton of fun activities including: had a BBQ, roasted marshmallows at a bonfire on the beach (a new experience for everyone), visited an aquarium, went whale watching, and spent the day at Knotts Berry Farm. When Miles and I weren't working, we got to go along with them.