Reaching out

I loved seeing this video this morning. I am grateful for my membership in a church with leaders that inspire me to be a better person. I am especially grateful for the message of President Monson, who said the best gift he could receive for his birthday was for church members to

"Find someone who is having a hard time and do something for them."

On this memorial weekend, I am thinking of those who taught this message to me through their actions. Many of them have already passed on, but I am still inspired by their legacy. I feel so blessed to have known heroes who thought of others even in the moment of personal affliction and pain.

I pay tribute to those who sacrifice for the benefit of others. I am especially grateful for those who have given their lives in the service of this country. This "last measure of devotion" is greatly appreciated, and I hope to always respect that which they so nobly fought and died for.

Thanks, and happy Memorial Day tomorrow!

A busy week

This has been a crazy week. I started working at the BYU grounds crew. It is lots of fun because I work with two of my cousins and 3 of my roommates. The work itself isn't exactly fun and stimulating this week, but that is totally OK. We are dumping mulch on a steep hill that is behind the Richards Building. The hill is very steep, so the only way to get the mulch on it is to pack it in buckets and then dump it. It is a very arduous process and I will be glad when we move on to more exciting landscaping work. But as one of my co-workers says at least three times a day, "We're not just building a hillside, we're building a Wendy's." The sad part is that at the end of the task there won't be a Wendy's.

The amazing part of my job is that I start at 6 a.m. This allows me to intern at the Springville Museum of Art and also to help out at the Bradley PR agency.

At the Museum, we are holding the 43rd annual Art Ball tonight. It will be an amazing event. The museum is spectacular and features amazing artwork and architecture. A sculpture garden has recently been completed that is beautiful.

Here's a video about the event:



If you are free tonight and in the area, come check out the ball! Tickets are available at SmithTix and at at the museum's Web site: http://smofa.org/events_programs/art_ball.html.

I will give you a full report after the event! I had better head over there to start setting up.

A Holiday for Moms

Instead of exercising this fine morning, I decided I should blog.

There's also a holiday that is coming up tomorrow that gives me inspiration: Mother's Day. But it's not just the holiday that drives me to write; my mother is amazing and I want the whole world to know.

Mom is more than my mother, she is my friend.

(this is a photo of us on a road trip to a Cake concert in Colorado)

Now I know people say that's a bad thing. "You shouldn't be a friend to your kids. You should be a parent," they say. I think my mom has been a better parent because she's my friend. Although I look up to her and respect her in so many ways, I feel she views our relationship as that of peers who are equal.


When I began to talk, I called my mom Ida. Why not mommy or some other pet name? Because no one else did! They called her Ida and so did I.

As I grew up I guess I learned from my peers and started calling her mom sometimes. But she still responds well to Ida. :)

I love many things about Ida, my mom.
I love that she has been completely devoted to her family over the years.
I love that she courageously took care of my father in his illness.
I love that she serves the Lord and follows His example of putting others first.
I love that she has been a friend to my friends. I think some of my friends like her more than they like me. I totally understand why.
I love that she has never lost touch with me or my interests and goals.
I love that she takes pride in what she has; she is a woman of class in many areas.
I love that she respects and serves her own mother, who I love dearly.
I love that she is optimistic for the future. I congratulate her on her recent re-marriage.
I love that she is amazingly talented. She cares for others.

I love that at the end of the day, we can chat like friends because we are friends. My best friend is Ida.

Happy Mother's Day to all women!

(Today's project is to get all these flowers plus a truckload more planted in Mom's soon-to-be beautiful yard)


p.s. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the grandmothers in my life.

Grandma Harper (my mom's mom) is amazing. I am so blessed to have her! I count the time we spend together (such as last night when we both got stomach aches from scarfing down a bag of popcorn) as precious. She is the most genuine person I know and I respect her immensely.

Grandma Bertha (my dad's mom) is pretty dang cool too. Her red-lipstick kisses are the best. When I'm with her I know she really cares. She's sick in the hospital right now so I am praying for her quick return to health.

Deb (my dad's step mom), is amazingly talented. I went to a play she directed last night and was blown away. She is always willing to sacrifice HOURS of her time to help others express themselves creatively. Most recently, she directed the Youth Cultural Celebration for the dedication of the Twin Falls LDS Temple. Her efforts with thousands of young people paid off; the show was amazing! In addition to all this she provided the cheese, bread, Miracle Whip and Lays for the "lazy man sandwich" that was the lunch staple for me and my friends in 10th grade. Thanks!

Wow. That was so much better than exercising. I think I left my running shoes in Provo anyway.

It's been a long time, sunshine

It is SO BEAUTIFUL here in Provo. As I was outside enjoying the sun with some friends, I mentioned how much I love Spring. I said, "Everything is like a baby." And they laughed.

OK. Maybe this is a funny way to look at it, but it works for me. All the flowers are new (and baby-like), the trees have new leaves and the birds sing in the morning again.

I love fresh starts. It's a miracle to see how the earth starts anew after a long season of dreariness and dormancy. The good news is that we have opportunities for new starts quite often.

At this time of transitions, I hope everyone I love ends up doing the things that make them happiest; I wish you all a great new beginning.

Working weekend

It felt so good to finish finals. This semester was very good for me; I learned many new things and expanded my skills greatly. After weeks of studying and working on projects it was good to get my hands dirty this weekend.

First project: unloading 3 Layers of Heaven

The house we've lived in for the last year has been really good to us. One benefit it provided was plenty of storage space. But ample storage space isn't good when it's time to move out. WHAT A MESS! I didn't realize how large the house was until it was time to clean it. It was especially hard because Mattheu from England, our property manager, is very particular in his cleaning inspection.

On my way home to Idaho I was able to help my friend conduct some focus groups. It was a good experience once we got "un-lost." Sometimes Google maps are wrong, I guess.

Second project: renovating Aubry and Trevor's new house

My sister Aubry and her husband Trevor just bought a house in Heyburn, ID. I'm so proud of them for their growedupness. The house was quite "fixer-upper" when they began, but with a week or so of hard work and lots of help, it looks AMAZING now. It was good to spend a few days helping them out. Here's a bead board wainscot I put up in the kitchen.



I didn't, however, touch the wiring.



It is good to be at home, but now it's time to head back to Provo and real life. I look forward to a fun summer there!

In Loving Memory

Today I’m thinking about my amazing father. This day marks the fourth anniversary of his death. Dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was twelve years old and fought a courageous battle with the disease for ten years until he eventually could fight no more.


Although I admit I occasionally felt sorry for my situation when I was young, I am truly grateful now for the experience of watching my father face his trial with faith and determination. The positive attitude he maintained, in spite of his tremendous struggle, taught me more than I could have learned from him had he been a “normal” dad in good health.

When someone we love dearly passes on, they are not completely removed from us; there’s a part of them that remains as part of who we are. Although our faith teaches our hearts they are spiritually alive in a place superior to the earth, we still long to be with them again. The miracle in all of this is that as we emulate the qualities we admired in our loved one we help their legacy continue. We can help do the things they desire to have done on the earth--the things they would do if they were permitted to stay here longer.

The other day this song randomly popped up as I was listening to Pandora Internet Radio (this is just a version I found on YouTube):



I think it’s important for us to remember that those who have died aren’t gone to us. They live on in the world of spirits, waiting anxiously (as are we) for our joyous reunion. They are doing important work.

I know we can have special moments that help us feel connected to them. I love the quote from Scottish Poet James Barrie that President Monson always says:

“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”

During the hard times—the “December”—days I hope we can all remember our blessed memories that we hold sacred. I am so grateful for the memories God graciously allowed me to create with my inspirational father. I hope to use those memories of his strong character to pattern my life after.

To do: blog

I've been a bad blogger lately.

With final exams and projects, it's hard to find time to post. I guess I should put my blog on my to-do list.



I know that some people are huge fans of making lists. I'm usually not one of them. But lately I have had to to keep track of everything I'm supposed to be doing. Hint: Gmail has an amazing to-do list; look in labs.

The downside to making lists is that at the end of the day, sometimes you are dissatisfied with the number of items you checked out that day. Some days, however are super-productive. Yesterday was one of those days.

Because hardly anyone was on campus, I was able to focus really well. I love my newsroom friends and buddies from the Brimhall building a lot, but sometimes I spend more time chatting than working. Whatever.

It feels great to tie up loose ends. It feels great to reach the culmination of a semester of learning and growth. I feel blessed to have learned from amazing professors this semester. I also am so privileged to have made some wicked sweet new friends.

I guess I can check another great semester off my list of things to do. (If I survive finals, that is)