my little sister is a married woman

These two people are so ridiculously happy together. We were glad to share in their special day. It was a quick weekend for us - fly in, fly out. We got to my parents home in time to taste the first fruits of dad's new pizza oven. Dad and my brother, Jared, worked for hours in the outdoor kitchen making pizza after pizza for a house full of friends and family. Cori jumped into the action and was part of the pizzeria madness too. (Can't wait for some Christmas Eve pizza Dad, hint, hint...) 

The original W* crew plus the newbie!

Their wedding day was rainy, sleety, and then snowy. These are all unofficial photos from the day, most of which were taken by Sara's new brother-in-law and which I then happily snagged from Sara's FB page. I'm sure the official pictures are even more beautiful.

In between the temple ceremony and the reception, we chilled back at home. Kevin's mom laid out an excellent lunch for the crowd.

Then it was up to Tahoe. The reception venue was cozy and intimate. It was perfect for the weather outside and for Sara and Kevin. We took some more pictures and then enjoyed the rest of the evening. Well, I finally started enjoying the evening once I was done giving one of the few toasts of the evening. Curse you public speaking! But part of my plan was having Gracie sing. She did so well and it took a lot of the pressure off of me. The food was fantastic. It was heartwarming hearing from the people who spoke, especially Kevin and Sara. And then once the DJ/MC was let loose, it was a partay! Eden cried every time we tried to pry her from the dance floor. 

Grace worked hard to protect the cake. Eden only stuck her finger in it once. That we saw.

We hit the donut bar before the guests showed up. Yes, I said the donut bar. Best reception ever? Maybe, though I'm a little partial to ours as well. :)

 We love Uncle Jared.

Kevin wasn't the only one getting a little love on the old honeymoon. Congrats Sara and Kevin! Your happiness is so well deserved.

we love to see the temple

Our ward had a work assignment down at the Mesa temple. We made a midweek family night of it. Along side other families in our stake, we planted over 1,000 little succulent seedlings. The beds were being prepped for the armies of workers that would follow in the next month with Christmas lights. There is a special feeling at the Temple that is amplified when in the company of one's children. Cori and I love being there with the kids.

fighting cancer for tisa

 {Shelly, Me, Tisa, Hailey, Polly}

Polly and I have been visiting teaching companions for over two years now. And all that time, we have had the pleasure of visiting Tisa. Tisa was the primary president of our ward for most of that stretch. She is indescribably kind and unsinkably optimistic - always calm, always smiling. Her faith is rock solid. A few months ago she got sick, and the sick wouldn't shake. This coupled with abdominal and back pains gave real cause for concern. Preliminary tests found lesions on her liver. Further testing (and days and days of siting on a cliff's edge) confirmed a diagnosis of stage four breast cancer that had metastasized to multiple places. 

Understandably, life was flipped upside down for Tisa and her young family- she is the mother of two boys, 13 and 10, and one girl, 6, and the wife of a very wonderful FBI agent. The news sent a shock wave through our ward family as well. Efforts were immediately organized for dinners, rides, house keeping, and special fasts - all still ongoing. Tisa and her family have been so gracious. She has been open with me and Polly about what they need and what they don't need which makes it easier to do the most good. But we all want to do more. It feels like we can't do enough.

Tisa's treatments started immediately after her diagnosis. She's getting the full gambit- radiation and aggressive chemo. Our compassionate service leader passed along a great idea to me and Polly, an idea that had been done for another friend of hers. Around her third week of treatment, Tisa lost almost all of her beautiful long black hair. We rallied a few helping hands and organized a hats and scarves party for our girl. It was a really lovely evening. I don't think we have ever had so many people in our home at one time. The party didn't improve her odds, nor did it make her day to day reality any easier. But it made us all so happy to spend an evening doing something special and fun for her. And she went home with some cute stuff! 

 Polly is a super talented artist and made this for Tisa. I love it.

This is a well-wishing tree that we filled up as the evening went along.

Tisa has been a hero to me from day one, years before her diagnosis. I am even more grateful for our friendship with her and her family now. We are all hoping and praying for miracles to happen for her. Her statistical chances are heartbreaking. Tisa will be the first to tell you that those chances are just statistics and that she has a lot of fight. At the same time, she has gracefully accepted what her doctors have told her: she isn't fighting for remission, but for time with her family. Grace, acceptance, fight, and faith. I can't imagine the conversations she has had with her husband, nor the talks they have had with their children. I've never heard either of them complain, nor have they spoken of their trial with the slightest hint of bitterness. They speak of their blessings, the love of their family, and the kindness of others. It is a great blessing to serve them. And it has strengthened my heart to see the many, many acts of service and the little miracles that have been showered on their family. I am more convinced than ever that our Heavenly Father knows and loves us intensely and individually. Though He doesn't wish these heartbreaking situations upon His children, He provides a way for us to take any trial and turn it into a triumph through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tisa knows that if she remains faithful, she has already won the fight regardless of what the cancer does. I know it too. 

we love the gal in our ward who can nanny on the weekend

Back in mid October, Cori and I took a little weekend away, only not together. I travelled to California to be with my mom and sisters. Sara invited us along for her final bridal gown fitting. We also got to attend a bridal shower her singles' ward hosted for her and hang out with the fabulous women that are part of the family she has married into. 

The dress fitting was at a vintage clothing designer's studio in the old garment district in downtown L.A. Sara had taken in photos of Grace Kelly and the designer created the perfect wedding gown for her. Ivory silk taffeta, a flattering silhouette, and simple, elegant details. 

I loved all the girl time, as well as getting to see so much of Sara's California life. We stayed in the apartment she now shares with her new husband. We toured the law office where she works. She has a super great office. We ate out at fun little places along the way. It was a great weekend.

Meanwhile, Cori flew out to Chicago to spend the weekend with a group of friends from his MBA days. Well, I say from his MBA days, but the truth is that these guys have stayed in touch and have continued to develop their friendship in the years since. They have maintained a conference call schedule since the day they graduated, and have made great effort to meet face to face as the years have ticked by. The group has whittled down to a core handful, and up to this point, their reunions have been centered around conferences at the business school. This year, they decided to plan a weekend that was all play. 

The main event was the BYU vs. Notre Dame football game. They spent a day and a few evenings taking in the sites of the windy city and the rest of their time in South Bend. If Cori looks like he is laughing in half of the pictures it is because he probably was. Reportedly, he laughed to the point of tears daily. They had so much fun.

Chicago was stormy and rainy, but they took a river tour, wandered Michigan Avenue and ate out at some great places. Then they were off to Indiana.

The Notre Dame campus is so beautiful. Fall splendor everywhere. And they have a lot of fun game day traditions - Mass, candle lighting, parades, tail gating... the guys did it all.

"Touchdown Jesus." He looks down on the stadium. 

The game didn't end favorably for the cougars, but nothing could rain on this parade. They are already talking about next year's trip.

catching up

As a few have guessed, my blogging hiatus has been due to a happy development in our family. Baby L* no. 4 is due to join our family next June. We are so excited and very, very grateful.

Truth be told, after Eden I was content to be done having babies. The postpartum road can be so long and tricky. But we couldn't shake the feeling that our family wasn't complete. I remember shortly after bringing Eden home, I was loading the children in the car and physically looked over my shoulder to find who was missing. We started talking about pregnancy last year. First, we were going to wait until I ran the half marathon with my Sister in January. Then, I got to run the Phoenix Ragnar in February. THEN, we got invited to run the Wasatch Back Ragnar in June. Then, well, there weren't any more reasons to wait ( I stopped signing up for races ) and I just wanted to get the show on the road. Our pregnancies have all been preceded by a miscarriage, so it was with some trepidation that we awaited any changes.

At the beginning of October, Cori and I made our monthly visit to the Temple (pictured above, actually). I had the sweetest experience that night. A very strong and peaceful feeling came that we were doing the right thing at the right time and that everything would work out. I didn't need to be afraid - neither of becoming pregnant, nor of being a crazy person after the baby is born. Shortly after this Temple trip, the symptoms set in. Even after a positive test, we were cautiously optimistic. Finally, my doctor's appointment arrived. At the ultra sound, there were no strange, sad, or unexplainable discoveries - just a perfect little baby with a strong heart beat. So grateful.

So we are surviving the first trimester. I don't remember the other first trimesters being so debilitating. But I'm sure I don't have it any worse than anyone else. Cori has been a regular hero. Things have been super busy for him at work and he comes home every night and picks up my slack without complaint. I haven't been good for much outside of getting through the day's necessities. But I'm getting to the end of the worst of it (all my fingers and toes are crossed) and I'm slowly getting the rest of life back up to speed. The last six weeks have been full of other fun things too, a couple trips, a wedding, Thanksgiving in UT... I'm hoping to get caught up before Christmas. :)

halloween 2012

Oh, Halloween. We got to celebrate it in all the usual ways. Grant got to be Captain America at school for a day. We had a great time at our ward's trunk or treat.

Cori made a pretty fantastic Napolean Dynomite. And I fancied myself a bouquet of flowers so I could be best buddies with our little bumble bee.

Everyone looked forward to trick-or-treating. But for the second year in a row, Grace and Grant were happier handing out candy than going house to house to collect it. We ate pizza and ghoulish jello jigglers. The whole neighborhood was out, it was so much fun.

tuesdays and thursdays

It is Thursday again.

When Grant gets up in the morning, he is usually pretty quiet for a while (like until after breakfast). If he does say anything it is usually to ask what day it is. All days around here are spoken of with reference to that day's activity. Soccer practice day. Piano day. Family night day. Pizza movie night day. Gymnastics day. Family day (Saturday). Church day. School day. Grant loves school days.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, or stay at home days, not so much. About every 15 minutes he is at my side with his big brown eyes asking the same question: "What can I do Mom?" I give him the usual list of options - work book, art cabinet, playing outside, playing with toys, play dough, riding his scooter... he is happy to do any of it as long as I'm doing it with him. Grace would work solo on her little projects for hours at this age. Grant wants a buddy.

I'm working on being a better buddy. Look at that smile.