first you take the raspberries and you smash them...

then you take jalapenos and mix them in too.  add some sugar and what do you get?

the best jam you ever tasted!

gordon picked up a couple of bottles of bear lake's raspberry jalapeno jam while at youth conference last week.  he felt silly spending $13 on jam, but once he had his first bite all the delicious memories came flooding back and it was all worth it.

my father's day weekend

kicked off with dinner with my mom and step-dad on friday night.  when gordon is gone i usually crash their dates nights.  hope they don't mind me being the third wheel a lot this summer.

then on saturday it was off to the swap meet, where my sister and i scored our first 'the doors' albums!  we have a few people looking out for us now at the swap meet.  i have a feeling we're going to continue to receive gold from our 'ins' at the swap meet.

then my friends from work, teresa and megan, ventured up to ogden to have tea at high noon with my sister and me.  it was all in the name of my birthday (which is this saturday).

after that gordon was home (hur-ray!) and we went to my mom's to celebrate father's day with my step-dad and his kids.  i'm pretty sure our gift was probably his favorite (like usual).  we found some beatles records on our first swap meet trip that we knew he would love to have for his collection.  he was over the moon about them and couldn't wait to listen to them.

on sunday we celebrated father's day with our dads.  my dad had us over for a bbq.  he's the grill master so dinner was fantastic, like it always is when he's grilling.  we then headed over to visit with gordon's dad and family.  while we were there we also celebrated my birthday.  so kind of kim to share his day with me.

i have been thinking a lot about the father figures in my life.  all of them are so different, but are so special to me.  i am very blessed to have 3 outstanding men i call dad.  i love each of them very much.

lately i've been getting notes that say things like...

i can't wait for all these scouting trips and youth conferences to be over with!  i don't remember what a weekend hanging out with my husband is like.

the people i go with to get tasty things like cupshakes

my work friends.  megan, chris, and teresa.  without them i wouldn't know what a coconut mango cupcake mixed with ice cream tastes like.

sunday

i belong to the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. i recently accepted (and as of sunday have been set apart) a church calling that i am having a hard time believing is meant for me or that i can do it. so i looked to my church's website to get some information about church callings. here are some of the things i read:



"In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is no professional clergy, as is common in the other churches. … All members of the Church are subject to call to render service and carry on the activities of the Church" (Boyd K. Packer, in Conference Report, Apr. 1966).


Our Church leaders have the responsibility to call members to fill positions in the Church. They know the requirements of each position and the desirable qualifications that members must have to fill them. With these thoughts in mind, Church leaders prayerfully consider the list of eligible people, seeking for and obtaining inspiration and guidance from the Lord in making each call.

Once we have been selected to fill a calling, we are called by our priesthood leader for a private interview. At this time he reviews the responsibilities of our new calling and inquires about our personal and family circumstances to help us assess whether we can meet the requirements of time, preparation, meeting attendance, travel, and so on, involved in our calling. We should understand to whom we report and from which leaders we may request assistance. Sometimes the family is asked to pledge their support to the person receiving the call.
Even though we may realize that the call to serve has come through inspiration, sometimes we still feel inadequate, unqualified, or afraid.

We can gain confidence as we realize that the Lord knows our abilities, talents, and potential, and that, in light of His knowledge, He has selected us to serve in our callings.
The bishop or the branch, district, or stake president usually gives us a blessing to help us perform our new calling. This is referred to as being set apart. When we are called to serve in the Church, we are not expected to do it alone. We can receive power, strength, and assistance from the Lord.

When we accept responsibility in the Lord’s Church, we become His stewards. This simply means that He has entrusted us to carry out particular responsibilities and that we are His agents to accomplish them. It also means that we are accountable to the Lord for the trust He has given us. Each of us is given a stewardship over that which we have been called to do.

Sister Belle S. Spafford, a former general president of the Relief Society, said: "The Lord’s call, ‘Follow me,’ comes to us in this day as truly as it came to his early disciples. … His work must go on. Its progress depends upon the strength we lend it. Needing our strengths, he is tolerant of our weaknesses. Each of us is called to a particular work because of some strength we possess. It is our responsibility to accept his calls, to grow in his service" (Women in Today’s World [1971], 67).

 Remember that serving the Lord is a privilege. Remember also that the Lord inspires His leaders to call us to Church service. In fulfilling our callings we should seek for help from the Lord, our leaders, the scriptures, and authorized manuals. We should also be willing to accept full responsibility for our stewardships.


and with that i say "here i go."


and "please pray for me."

tuesday was rough for me.

baptism by fire my bishop kept telling me.

and that he was sorry.

i was up until 10:35pm doing church things.

i'm usually asleep by this time...and have been for at least 35 minutes.

all i could think about was how tired i was going to be the next morning (yes i know my attitude needs to change...i'm working on it).

well guess what? i wasn't tired at all.

a blessing.

reoccurring weekend

it seems that i do the same things every weekend.

shop. eat.

two of my most favorite things.

it might even appear that i spend a lot of money every weekend. i do not.

this weekend wasn't any different.

except the money part. i bought myself an early birthday present.

i love it! perfect for the room i am currently decorating, our bedroom.

it was the ogden arts festival this weekend. local music, local artists, local food. i couldn't walk away empty handed.

and as part two of my mom's mother day celebration we went to a boutique called purple pogo. we had the entire boutique to ourselves, which i'm sure isn't good for business, but we had a lot of fun with it just being us three. the upstairs is where the fitting room is and the way the owner has it set up you feel like you are a famous person. you try your stuff on, come out into the loft area equipped with leather sofas, a coffee table, and mirrors set up so you can see how great you look in all your stuff. we were having so much fun that the owner asked if we wanted to order lunch and continue trying on clothes.

fun times.

and then sunday happened.

simply the best

i have not exactly been pleasant to live with this week.  i've been an emotional roller-coaster trying to wrap my brain and soul around something new i have never done before.  but gordon has been simply the best husband this gal could ask for.  he's definitely the better of us two.  he has done so much for me this week.  on top of being super supportive, i came home after the gym one evening to a surprise dinner.

"just a little something i whipped up" he kept telling me.  when actually it was something he had sampled at costco earlier that evening.  he's a sucker for samples at costco.

i am full of gratitude for gordon.  and seriously have no idea how i would have gotten through this week without him.

hard to describe, but i don't want to forget

overwhelmed.

humbled.


stressed.


crying. a. lot.


second guessing myself.


drawn to tears easily by the mentioning of it.


inadequate.


never thought it would be me.


and then i went to the temple...i didn't have an 'aw ha' moment like everyone else i talked to had in my situation. i had a moment that was meant just for me and how i receive inspiration. nothing popped out at me. i didn't see faces. i held a list in my hand and felt love for everyone on it. and as i looked over the list my heart began to swell and my chest was burning as i crossed over certain people's names. and i knew.


and then i questioned it. every last detail of it. and cried in the shower that night. so confused and scared that i would make a wrong decision.


but today i feel peace.  peace with the decision i made in my heart.  and that is my answer.

thank you all for your prayers.

i have felt them so strongly.

something i have never felt before.

yes, i did have a good weekend.

i went to a swap meet. again.

had tea time with my sister and mom in celebration of mother's day. our mom was in hawaii over mother's day so we celebrated late.

shopped along 25th street. again.

went to my cousin's surprise 40th birthday party at my dad's.  he turned his man cave into a beach.  equipped with sand and all.

and had a meeting sunday that has change my life.

his first vacation without us

boy he's tall...i'm standing on my tippy toes and everything!

that's right.  my nephew, who's more like a little brother to me, is gone for a whole week to the big state of california.  he'll be visiting some of my favorite places too: san francisco and sacramento, just to name a couple.  he worked pretty hard earning money to go on this trip, helping everyone from family to my sister's friends.  he's growing up much too quickly.  i can't believe it...high school already?!

i'm telling myself i'm not to old to love him

because my sister and i watched never say never, the justin bieber movie, last night and this kid is the most adorable thing ever!  he is overly talented.  what is this kid not good at, seriously.  not just music either.  there's a shot of him playing with a yo-yo...he's doing tricks i've never seen before!  i've already talked with my twelve year old niece and she's going let me borrow her cds to put on my ipod.  i just can't get enough him.  let me on this band wagon cause i've got bieber fever!