Light the World - day three

I've been a mentor to three or four college age young women at UVU now for about three years.  It's a pleasure to meet with them monthly and encourage them in their educational pursuits.  We talk about things they want to talk about and share experiences together, eat (of course) and have a good time.  It is a joy in my life to serve with them.  I've met and interacted with some wonderful women over those years. I've also served on the board of the Women's Success Center at UVU for about four years now.  Some wonderful things are happening at UVU, especially in the WSC.  We are trying to raise the bar and emphasize the importance of women gaining an education or some sort of training so they can support themselves if needed and to just expand their minds.  In my way of thinking, this quest helps to bring light into the world of young women who need to prepare themselves for any eventuality that may come their way and also so that they can be better wives, mothers, community members, and contribute to society.

As a side note ~ because I have been involved at the WSC, we were invited to a special pre-game meal at UVU before we watched their basketball team play ball last week.  Since their team recently beat up on the BYU Cougars, 114-101, we were interested to see what is going on there since they are playing some good BB.  It was an interesting experience and kind of sad to see that the Wolverines don't have much of a fan base in attendance at their games.  They deserve better!

Also at UVU recently was the unveiling of the new fabulous stain glass exhibit called Roots of Knowledge.  It was 12 years in the making.  12 YEARS! Can I just say that if you go to Orem, you need to go to their library to see this exquisite display in person.  Call me, I'd love to take you! It tracks the "roots of knowledge" starting at the beginning of time and going until the present day.  And all of this story telling is done with 80 panels of stained glass.  It is just another way that artists (Tom Holdman and crew) have brought light into the world through knowledge and this stunning display.

Take a sneak peek at a few of the many handcrafted panes of stained glass at Roots of Knowledge.  Altogether, Roots of Knowledge incorporates 60,000 pieces of glass, as well as actual rock, fossils, coins, meteorite, petrified wood, and coral; materials were carefully selected to authentically illustrate the narrative to each historic event.

Light the World - day two

Claire and I had the opportunity to attend the Christmas concert of Nathan Pacheco and David Archuleta in the de Jong concert hall at BYU.  It was wonderful!  It helped that we were on the fourth row and could see and hear everything. They had a small six person group of musicians who accompanied them and they sang many Christmas songs along with some of their own.  Their voices blend so well together.  They each have their own style, but the were great together.  They are genuinely good guys and it was interesting to hear them talk more about their lives.  I loved it! It was a great way to start the season and to light the world!

Rehearsals for the upcoming Christmas shows with @NathanPacheco starting tonight in Provo! Who is coming? Video credit: Megan Horn Owen pic.twitter.com/VYtmC3SFZ3

— David Archuleta (@DavidArchie) November 25, 2016

Light the World - day one

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Because of Jesus, there is light in the world. He dispels darkness and brings light to our wounded souls and gives us strength to go forward.  At this wonderful time of year, I pay tribute to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

A year of travel

Dear handful of people who still follow my blog:
Hello again!  I've missed you.  I'm making a concerted effort to get back to blogging and catching up some with ALL that has been going on around here this last year.  Our hearts still ache every day since we lost Jake in April.  It's been six months now and we just miss him and we always will.  We think of him so often, speak of him every day and remember him with such great fondness.  I visited the cemetery where he is buried this week and just contemplated his example and how our lives have all changed since he has been gone.   Tears just well up often and at unexpected times thinking of him and knowing how much he is missed by Jordan and their children and all of us who love and miss him. It's just hard, hard, hard.
And yet, life does go on.  It has to. We get up, do our routine and live life as best we can.  The dynamics have changed so dramatically in all our lives since his passing and we are still adjusting to the new normal (if there is such a thing.)  We turn to our sources of strength and renewal and we support and love one another.
Jordan and her family moved near us at the end of June and so did Claire and her family.  Most of you already know the details of these moves.  Having our daughters and their families live near us has been a complete game changer.  Rick and I love it.  It's hard to temper our enthusiasm sometimes because we also recognize that these moves have been very hard for both families as they have left their comfortable lives, homes they loved and people they knew and loved and started into new circumstances. Starting over again is not an easy process and we have tried to be helpful, be patient and just love them as they struggle through the transition.
Having six of our eight (almost nine!) grandchildren live in town is heaven on earth.  We love our frequent interaction and our ability to participate with them in their sports, birthdays, primary programs, Sunday dinners and just family gatherings and activities.  We feel Jake's absence but we also feel of his presence.

I have kept a paper daily planner for 100 years and this year is no exception.  I'm lost without my little planner because it keeps me on track and I can look and see what I need to do and where I need to go.  I knew that this year had been a year of unprecedented travel, so I thumbed through the pages and wrote down all the times I didn't sleep in my own bed this year.

So far, it looks like this:

January 15-19 – Los Angeles, Temecula, CA

January 26 - February 5 – Phoenix

February 11-15 – Albuquerque
February 27-27 - Logan

March 14-22 – St. George, Phoenix

April 1 – 8 – Albuquerque

April 15 – 22, 23-May 1 – Phoenix

May 19-21 – Homestead, Midway

May 28-30 – Logan

June 25-30 – Midway, UT then to Phoenix

July 8-10 – Logan, Bear Lake

July 15-17 – Rupert, ID

July 22-29 – Park City

August 3-5 – Cedar City

August 9-11 - Los Angeles

August 20-27 – Alaska cruise

September 1-5 – Las Vegas & Phoenix

September 6-8 – Logan

September 18-26 – Charlotte NC, Washington DC

October 1 – 3 – Los Angeles

October 5-7 – Park City

October 16-18 - Logan

October 20-22 – Boise & Rupert, ID

November 2-11 – Charlotte, NC

It adds up to 120 nights away from home, give or take a few.  Rick was with me for about half of those visits since he is still employed and I am retired.  That's about 4 months of travel time this year. Yikes!  Some days I really feel it, but I have been blessed to keep up the pace and to be able to go and do what needed to be done and I have had a lot of enjoyable experiences along the way.  Some of those visits were work visits, tending grandchildren and such, but others were just for fun. Now that our girls and their families live near us, my long distance travel to them is gone.  I will truly miss visiting the cities in which they lived, but I will enjoy sleeping in my own bed and not having to travel so much next year.

Plus, I also got a new Acura car that holds seven!  It's my new grandma car and I love it (thanks Rick!).  Mostly I love having car seats attached so that I am at the ready when needed.  I love my little grandkids so much and love being a part of their lives.

AND...
I get to see these guys next week as they welcome a new baby brother into their family!  Good times ahead! (This picture if from our visit last year at Halloween time.)

Adele in LA

It was a perfect day!  August 10th finally came and Jordan, Claire, Chelsea and I finally got to head out on our long awaited adventure and redeem the tickets we received in December for a Christmas gift from our husbands.  The day of the ADELE concert in Los Angeles had finally arrived!!!
We flew in on the 9th on good ole Allegiant airline and arrived in LA that evening. Andy and Chelsea picked us up and we headed to LACMA to see the lamp posts and go to dinner at a Korean BBQ.
After getting some rest at our hotel, we headed out the next day and stopped at Randy's doughnuts on our way to Hermosa beach.  I was in heaven spending the day with three of my four children (just missing Dave) and just laughing, chatting and visiting at the beach.  Claire even bought her house while sitting at the beach that day. After some boogie boarding, lunch eating and kite flying, we headed back to get ready for the concert.
ADELE was AMAZING!  Seriously, she exceeded our expectations and we had the best time.  Claire was especially excited to see her in person and we have her to thank for getting us all the tickets last Christmas.  My memories of that day together with my three girls will be long remembered.  We only wish that Courtney could have been with us.  We're all fans for life, and we love the things she does.