La La Land

This posted is long overdue.  Nevertheless, I wanted to record it, even though it happened in May. We loved our visit to see Andy and Chelsea in LA.  They are getting to know that huge vibrant city very well. They know where to go, how to get there, what to see, what to do, where to eat and where to have fun.  They have made a great life for themselves and they are doing well in schooling and work at UCLA.  We're so proud of the good lives they lead and the people they are influencing for good. They are a power couple and we love them both so very much.  This visit we enjoyed the following activities:

Rick and Andy attended two Dodger games and Chelsea and I went to one.
The Los Angelenos have become great Dodger fans.
 It was so fun to go with them!

Rom and his wife Bron met us at the game.
These cousins are great friends and fellow Dodger fans.

A visit to the LA LDS temple is always a highlight.
 It is a HUGE temple with very few patrons.
We were happy to participate.

The grounds were beautiful in the springtime.

The Jacaranda trees were in full bloom EVERYWHERE.
 Since purple is my favorite color, I has in heaven!

Chelsea and I attended the LA Symphony production of the move
 La La Land at the Hollywood bowl.  Wow, what a place!
 Parts of the movie were filmed nearby in Griffiths park.
 The singing parts of the movie where shown on
 huge screens with Ryan and Emma singing and live musicians
 playing the instrumental accompaniment.  We loved it!!

No visit to LA is complete without a
visit to get ice-cream at Salt and Straw.

This year we visited the LACMA museum and
broaden our cultural exposure while seeing great works of art.
 It was another great experience and another gem to explore.  

This box car race track was amazing!
Our grandkids would have loved seeing this.
100s of cars going around and around.

Andy is the first counselor in his ward bishopric and
 I snuck this picture of him conducting the meeting.
He did a great job and is a real asset to his ward, as is Chelsea.

This visit we discovered a new area.  The canals of Venice.
 Again, another interesting and beautiful place.

No trip to LA would be complete without a visit to the ocean.
 Rick absolutely LOVES the ocean and he and Andy had
 a great time boogie boarding and riding the waves.
 It was way too cold for me.

My hair goes crazy around the ocean.
The humidity, salty air and wind wreck havoc and it turns so curly.
  Oh well, it was such a fun day.

Working Mormon women

I've been involved in the Women's Success Center at UVU for about four years now.  It's been a privilege to serve with an organization that I really feel strongly about.  It's my time now to step down after serving on the board with some amazing women over the years.  Our last fund raising effort was another huge success, thanks in large part to my cousin Janis, who along with her husband Corey and his associated business, were sponsors of the event. Over $300,000 was raised at one luncheon for the educational pursuits of women attending UVU.  Through my tenure, I got to serve with two of my cousins - Rebecca from my dad's side of the family and Janis from my mom's side of the family.  Serving together with them was a lot of fun and I will remember many wonderful shared experiences in mentoring other women and learning and growing together as we worked to advance the achievement and success of women.

Helping women succeed in whatever they want to do is very important to me.  I have seen so many women struggling along in life without the preparation they needed to be successful in supporting themselves and their families and in finding fulfillment and joy in their journeys. Women should have options and plans to succeed in whatever field of study or combination of jobs outside or inside of their homes that they choose to do to contribute to society, their families and their neighborhoods. I'm a believer in preparation, knowing that it leads to success and choice.  Freedom to choose instead of having limited options and low paying jobs.

The Deseret News has been running a series or article about the gender wage gape in Utah.  The articles are fascinating to me. They are well researched and present some interesting statistics and information.

The truth about Utah and the nation's gender pay gap.
Mormon women navigate cultural pressures around work, family and faith.

I have lots of thoughts on this topic and maybe I'll share them later.  What do you think?

Passing the one year mark

April 23, 2016.

It is a day that will forever be engraved in our hearts and minds.  It's the day Jacob Clyde Robertson passed from this mortal existence into the next.  It's been a year of ups and downs for Jordan and their children having to experience holidays, birthdays and just life without him physically with them. That is to be expected.  I'm so proud of Jordan for how she has fought through this last year. There just aren't enough words to adequately express what it is like as a mother watching your daughter go through this excruciating experience over the last three plus years.  It's heartbreaking, but at the same time I've marveled in her strength and courage. I've never been more proud and strengthened at the same time as being overcome with grief. I think any mother hates to see her children suffer, regardless of the circumstances.

Going through a loss like this helps to really see what a person is made of when everything else is stripped away.  When just the raw emotion and core make up of a person remains.  Do they dissolved into the ashes or do they rise again?  Do they become consumed with grief (yes, at times) or do they fight back and hold on to their faith and their trust in God?  Do they become bitter or better?  Jordan has and is becoming better in every way possible.  We pray for her continued healing and for that of the children. We take great comfort in their temple covenants and the sealing power of the temple that transcends the grave.

I know there are worse things in life than Jake's death.  I've watched friends and family go through deep pain and suffering from other major challenges.  Their losses and pain are just as real and I wish them all the healing and comfort that can only come through the Savior's atonement.  Peace in knowing that everything is going to be alright.  Different.  Not the way we wanted.  But alright.

We mourn his loss as well.  Our pain can never come close to their pain, but we feel it and we suffer as well.  Rick and I miss him.  We miss his voice, his laugh, his wink, his good humor, his intelligence, his steadiness, his smile, his thoughts on things, his love for and involvement in BYU football, his goodness, his perspective, his presence in a room, his spiritual knowledge and confidence, what he adds to our family and well, we just miss him.  From head to toe, including heart, soul, personality and mind.  We were all better people by just being around him. That is really true, not some cliche.  He raised the bar in our family associations.
Sometimes I visit the cemetery where he is buried and I think of him.  I thank him.  I pray for him. Oh, how we miss this good man. Tears rolls down my cheeks as I see these pictures and remember the MANY good times we've shared together.

Self-reliance iniatives

I have been involved recently in our stake church group on a committee to help people become more self-reliant. There are so many great community resources and LDS church resources available to people who need help. This program was recently rolled out in our church to help train people HOW to help themselves and their families.  I'm so happy that many people in our neighborhood are enrolled in the 12 week courses and on their way to gaining the skills and know how they need to better care for themselves and their families in the areas of:

Starting and Growing My Business

Personal Finances

Find a Better Job

Education for Better Work

There are Pdf downloads of all of these materials for the courses on the web site and anyone who is interested can access the information and get the help they need.  Ingenious!  I love how proactive our church is in helping people help themselves and become more self-reliant.

Also available is a booklet and information called "My Foundation."  These lessons focus on helping each individual strengthen their own foundation in spiritual and temporal ways.  I bought the booklet for each of the families in our family group and invited them to go over the short lessons and corresponding videos, scriptures and quotes in their own weekly Family Home Evening.  I'm hopeful that these lessons will help ALL of us as a family strengthen our own foundation as we strive together to become stronger in all aspects of our lives.  With all the bombardments and strife around us, strengthening our spiritual and temporal foundations is greatly needed now and in the future.

I also made a presentation a few months ago in our stake priesthood meeting, sharing information about resources in our community that help women, especially single women, get ahead in life.  I'm so grateful to serve in these areas and share information that I am passionate about.  I firmly believe that if people have resources and caring people to help them get ahead in life, that they can improve their circumstances and be happier, healthier and better able to assist others.

 "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" 


Community resources for women:

Women’s success center, UVU

Our mission:  Graduating women and transforming lives.

Scholarships available based on need.  Mentors/counselors are available to assist.

Womensuccesscenter@uvu.edu

www.Uvu.edu/wsc

801-863-3010 or 801-863-5586

Wee Care Center, UVU

Our mission: The Wee Care Center is a licensed childcare facility dedicated to UVU student-parents. The staff serves children from six weeks to twelve years, so students can  attend their classes and study sessions. 

Single parent registration begins July 5th. 

Married parent registration begins July 10th. 

Enrollment is first come, first serve. Priority enrollment is given to single parents, low-income families, and students close to finishing their degree.

www.Uvu.edu/weecare

801-863-7266

People Helping People

Our mission:  People Helping People is dedicated to reducing the number of children living in poverty by teaching low-income women, primarily single mothers, how to earn an adequate income through stable employment that pays a living wage.

www.phputah.org

801-583-5300 or ask for Heidi  Wynn at 801-437-4415

Located on the third floor of the Boy Scouts building in Orem