Just feeling good!

Do you ever have those days when you feel like you could walk down the street, whistling, that a cartoon bird would fly above you and whistle a tune as well? Maybe I just watched 500 days of Summer (edited) the other day, but I feel like that could happen this week. Family is good. Work has been good this week, busy but good, I'm moving forward with some projects I get to start after going to training for them. BYU beat SDSU in the Mountain West Conference showdown of the century (we're only 11 years into this century, so really, how momentous can it be, but up till now, it's was the most awesome!!), my niece was born on the same day as the blessed athletic event, making the day quadruple better. My 2 nephews celebrate their birthdays this week as well and I get to attend a birthday party for one of them Saturday. I get to speak in church (if anything could keep the cartoon bird out of the picture, this would be it), but give it 10 minutes and that will be done!! And I have some of the best friends ever. Some of us are headed to Nashville in April, so we had a planning party for it and we are so excited to stay at Grandma C.'s house. She's got to be out of her mind to let 7 girls stay there:) Pretty much, life can't get better. And I live in San Diego. I'm sorry to any east coasters out there, but it has been a beautiful, dry week with temps in the 70s. Yes, last week I got my first sunburn of the year. It's kind of ridiculous!

Beautiful new niece Erica

I am aunt for the 6th time. Brigitte, Tyler and Logan (sister,  brother in law and newphew) welcomed their second child, a baby girl, Wednesday. She was 7lbs, 14oz and 19 inches long. She's pretty:)

I'm super happy for Brigitte, Tyler and Logan. She looks like a cutie and I can't wait to meet her. She of course was born on what became a perfect day. She was born and BYU beat SDSU in basketball, the perfect day.

2010 holiday's

I'm finally posting the long awaited photos from the 2010 year end festivities. You'd think I could get a handle on this part of my life, just post the pics Lisa!!! So here they are, and pretty much they're so cool cause they're of my family:) I one day will do a post dedicated solely to my family members, outlining each one. Maybe each week, one post should just be about a family member, and through that, I can get to know them better.

 don't worry, jack's pants never fit:)

Thanksgiving this year was at my sister Shelley's house. She lives about 2 hours northeast of San Diego, so not a hard drive at all for me. I got up there early on Thanksgiving morning and hung out till Friday night. I had to be back to work in the temple on Saturday morning. All my family members, sadly except Tyler, Brigitte's husband who had to work, came down. All under one roof. Super fun!! And the nieces and nephews were super fun too! Mariah is a talker and lets us all know what to do, she's the little mom over all of them. Logan, just younger than Mariah, seemed to take her pretty well. He likes to play and had a good time with Jack. Jack is the little cheese for the camera. He would smile and not shy away from it when it was pulled out. He and Logan liked to laugh with eachother. Sydney was cute, rolling everywhere and being vocal about what she wanted:) Bruce took everyone in and seemed to watch to see what everyone was going to do. He and Sydney are cute together. Logan and Jack seemed to like him too. Baby Bruce and Baby Sydney were very patient in allowing the older kids to play with them and with their stuff.

The adults got all the food they wanted, needed and more. I got to put my hand inside the turkey this year and between the meet and skin, so not my favorite part but someone had to do it I guess. There were all the wonderful thanksgiving goodness and then more, including a delectable chocolate dessert that Melissa brought and rolls from Brittany. It was all so good.
And the family photo. We went up to Oak Glen, a town past Shelley and Steve's, to take a family photo with Britt's camera. Sometimes I sit back and can't believe my family that used to be just 2 parents and 6 kids now include 4 spouses and 5 (soon to be 6 tomorrow!!) grandkids. With the 7th coming this summer, yay Mel and Kiel! Crazy!

Relief Society Non Sunday Meeting:)

One of my new callings in my new ward is the Relief Society Non Sunday Meeting Coordinator (mouthful isn't it, and I can't figure out a good acronym). We had our first one of the year last night. This year in Relief Society, the presidency decided on the theme "Following in His Footsteps." We are going to focus on becoming like and following the Savior. So our first activity focused on missionary work. We had the sister missionaries do a presentation on Preach My Gospel and how it can be used by every day member missionaries and their families. It was a good discussion. We then hooked up a computer to a projector and did a presentation on the new mormon.org and lds.org. We went through how to set up a profile, so others who are interested in the church and want to read testimonies by real members, can read what you have to say. It's a very less intimidating way of sharing your testimony then face to face. We then had refreshments of fruit with a whipped topping. All in all, a good start to the year, with hopefully more non sunday meetings being attended by more of the sisters in the ward.

It's different being back in a family ward. I've now been in this ward, out of the singles ward, for 3 months. I have to admit, it hasn't been the easiest transition for me. I loved my time in the La Jolla YSA ward. I'd been there 5 1/2 years and have a lot of great friends there. While we're still friends, your social life shrinks some when you don't see everyone each Sunday to hear what is going on. I think it's strange for ME to say this, because I did not enjoy my singles ward experience in Walnut Creek. I very reluctantly moved from the family ward I grew up in and was in after college, to a ward with all these young single adults who were younger than my 24 years (really, i had a complex about that. Kind of dumb in hindsight). But my ward in San Diego, was big, had a lot of other singles that were students or working professionals. The average age is probably 26, so it was perfect for me for the whole time I was there. And then you turn 31 and out you go. Back into a family ward where you have to make new Sunday friends and try to relate with folks with families. Home teaching is a totally different thing, the high priests home teach the singles! It's just a little different. My roommates are in the family ward with me too, so that's good and it's not like the ward is devoid of other singles. It's just not quite the same as a really great singles ward. Ok, enough pity party about that.

Check out the new mormon.org site. It's a great tool to use with friends who are investigating or for yourself to share the gospel.

2010 Christmas letter

The close of 2010, a time to reflect and wonder where the year went. It’s been an amazing year, full of family, friends, trips, church,work and change.  There were visits to many family members and friends, a consistent increasing workload at the federal court, and many opportunities to meet new people as time was spent in church callings.  A highlight of the year was my first European trip. Three great friends and I traveled to the Italian city of canals, the singing hills of Austria, Germany, Hungary and Czech Republic, making stops in 8 cities in 16 days. So Great!! A stop in Klagenfurt, Austria allowed us time to visit Aunt Kelly and Uncle Martin, and a stop in Vienna meant time with Marie and an introduction to Egbert, Marie’s husband. After a year of planning, it was amazing to actually see such old historical buildings, sites and the richness of culture and food and experience being yelled at in German by the train conductor, everybody’s wish right?! It was the best trip with great friends and so many memories. More memories of mine can be found and browsed on lisasruminations.blogspot.com.

As the year brought a new niece and a new nephew, and the passing of family and friends, my thoughts turned often to our Savior and his atonement. The many changes and trials that occur in our lives, while hard, do bring times of growth and hopefully a turn of our hearts to the One who knows how to succor us. I am grateful for the lessons learned over the past year and wish all of you a Merry Christmas and wish you a wonderful 2011!

Wien

I apparently can't blog fast enough! It's December and I'm still trying to get my trip written about. Sorry for those of you who read this and either wanted it or don't, but it's become a way for me to document my trip and not have to rejournal entry it.

We arrived in Vienna in the afternoon on September 10th(I remember this because we left the same day of my brother's birthday and Marie and I did a video for him, which I just remembered I haven't ever posted:) Marie and Egbert met us at the train station and helped us figure out where our hotel was. Once we dropped off our luggage, we went back out on the town. Marie and Egbert showed us around, where we saw Stephansdom (which was under construction, but according to Marie and Egbert, it always is).

The church has beautiful gargoyles and the tiles were colorful. I can't say it enough.  I loved walking around the cities, where streets for walking were the norm in the center of the city.

We found a few shops near Stephansdom (which means some people found nativity sets!) and then we were on our way to the Vienna Opera, where we saw Mozart's the Magic Flute!! We got really cheap tickets, which get you standing room. Marie taught us that you take your scarf and wrap it around the banister to save your place and then you walk all around the operahouse and see the sights!

Tasha and I stayed for the whole opera, but across the house was the hotel where you can get the world famous Sacher tort.

They enjoyed that and were so kind to bring Tasha and I back a slice. It was pretty good! And helped us have wonderful dreams as we slept after our full day in Vienna.

Great Site

I found this site on my cousins blog and after browsing decided I LOVE IT!! I've been trying my hand at baking delicious things so this was right up my alley. Check it out!

http://www.bakerella.com/

Pretty much I want to be her!!