my temple visit

This month has been a very uplifting month! We were able to attend the celebration of the Fort Collins temple! It was such an amazing experience! All I could feel is so much gratitude for our youth in our temple district. The amount of work, dedication and faith that they have put into the history of the temple made me feel so appreciative. All those youth could have been doing something different that weekend but they all choose to be there and perform. Its also neat to have President Utchdorf  and his wife there too! Anyways the temple dedication was such a neat experience. I have learned so much from the dedication. There was a talk that was shared and it has changed me forever. He said, " Now that you live closer to the temple, I will share a piece of warning. I warn you to not let the little things get in the way of letting you get to the temple. Sometimes its easy to plan a day to go to the temple when its a little far because you have to plan time to get yourself to the temple. But now that you live closer its so easy to let things get in the way and tell yourself that you will go tomorrow or you'll go next week. And that if you continue to do that, you are only pushing yourself further and further away from the temple." And because he said that, I feel embarrass to even say that I can't go to the temple because I have a mountain of laundry to do. Or Who is going to watch Laneah? So, after that talk I have committed to not let that get in the way of me planning on going to the temple the day I want to go. Anyways, this weekend my mom had saturday off. She wants me to drop her off at the temple so she could spend the whole day there.So I tried to do all my laundry on friday night but that didn't work out.

 So, I dropped my mom at the temple in the morning. It's my first time to drive there since it was dedicated. I have driven to the temple ground many times, but never did I had an overwhelming feeling of love as I drove up to temple ground  this weekend. I knew in my heart that this is the Lord's house! What an amazing feeling to have that be testified to me this weekend!  And I felt prompted that I should try to go to the last session and meet my mom there too.  So, i did all i can the next day. I told myself if i can get all of this laundry done by noon, I can go. So I texted mama Jenni and asked her if she could be willing to watch Laneah. So happy she said yes! I happily went to the temple.

It was such a sweet experience. I remembered even more that I am a daughter of God. And what I was doing in that exact moment was exactly what I needed to do. I urge everyone to get to the temple as often as you can. There is peace and joy when we do enter into the house of the Lord. :)

she's my monkey little dandy

(she was trying really hard to not smile) 

My sweet little girl! She is starting to repeat the things we say now. Yesterday, we went on an adventure and saw a group of deers! I was the one driving, and I guess I couldn't figure out why people were slowing down all of a sudden! Then someone pointed out and said Vanessa, look there are deers! And I, said oh, deer! Laneah would say deer, deer, deer! Im more aware of what I have to say with her around... She catches on pretty quick! She still loves to read her scriptures! She gets so excited to read them. And some times when I forget she would cry and cry and cry and I wouldnt know why! Then I would ask whats the matter... she would find her scriptures and bring them to me. She is already fulfilling my patriarchal blessing. The little reminders we need each day is right in front of our  faces, whether we want to see it or not.  She makes me want to be a better mom everyday. She fills my glass with an over flowing love of motherhood. She makes being a mom so fun! She enjoys going on a bike ride, and going to the park. She loves to read. She loves her favorite stuff animals. Right now, she has an elephant, seal, cow, and a prayer bunny from Grandmother. She snuggles with them every night. My favorite part of her bedtime routine is after we say her prayers, I would lay her down with all of her animals, and As i walk out her room we would blow kisses and blow kisses till its time to really say good night. She really is such a sweet little baby.  

She also loves to sit down in a pile of rocks and plays with them. She gets really upset when you take that away. Every time I turn my head away from her, she tends to find one and sneak one into her mouth. I guess she has to build her immune system somehow.  :) She is at her best when she gets to just play with the rocks, dirt, or (and) water. She really loves the outdoors and adventures. I tried to take pictures of her just playing in the rocks but this is the best I can do with her happy. 

   She loves her aunty Tina. If you ask her who her favorite is... she would happily say in a! Even when I want her to say mommy, she will always say INA!! They pretty much do everything together. whether its going to the store together, doing make up together, or going on walks. Its almost like she has a second mom. The best thing about being an aunt is being able to return the child when she's cranky or poopy. lol yup being an aunt is so fun but still being a mom is just as fun! especially when you're the only one who can soothe their tears. 

Nathan has been so busy with work. Lately he has been coming home around 8 or 9pm and he goes to work at 730 in the morning! So, pretty much he has been working 12 hours or more every day Including Sunday! And dang its not even the holidays yet!. Remember when I said he might become a regular! BOO! They just told him last week that they might take that route and disperse them to other routes. So the route that just open could be gone! I know! We are really upset that they would do that to him. We're hoping whatever the Post masters in Denver decide, it would be to keep that route open. They set his heart up for something that might not even happen. We have been praying and begging for this to happened. Its really sad. And now, we are just waiting & wondering when they will let us know what they have decided to do. And if they do decide to keep it open (cross fingers),  I would like to hope it would be before the holiday craziness begins. But, thats just me being optimistic! If anyone is reading this, we sincerely hope they could say a quick prayer for Nathan to become a regular soon. I would really want my hubby back and to spend more time with him. 

Sometimes life just takes the best of us and makes us feel our worst. And that we need to not let it be.. Sometimes we just need to pull the bull by its  horn and let it lead you to where you need to fall to get back up to become better. :) Hope you all are having a wonderful day! 

Oh, sweet Melody

 Lets see, September was a very uneventful month. Well, atleast the beginning of September.. Anyways. We began the week celebrating my birthday. As I get older the age becomes a number. And you just start to accept that you are getting older and hopefully wiser. For some reason this birthday wasn't exciting as I hoped or planned it to be. Maybe it's because mom had to suddenly go to Texas because grandmothers health was declining rapidly. And all I could hope for is...  please grandmother hold it a little longer.. if you have to pass away please not on my birthday. I know that sounds a little selfish but it would make me feel really sad knowing that we shared a birth and death celebration. And that wasn't something i wanted to share, I know... but can you blame me for feeling this way.. I started to feel really sad and letting that feeling damper my day.and So I had to put that feeling aside and try really hard to celebrate my birthday. And overall, I did pretty good. I had some delicious cake and got a bike for my bday. It was really a well spent bday. And the best part of that day is hearing the voice of my favorite people calling to wish me a happy birthday. It truly made my day. Especially knowing that grandmother wasn't feeling the best she was there and that was all I needed to smile. I truly am so lucky to have such amazing grandparents. 

     Three days later I got the phone call from mom. As I saw her name on my caller ID and knowing that it was 7 in the morning. My heart just froze. I knew this was the phone call I've been waiting for. The call that I didn't want to hear.. so I bravely answered the phone call and let the words sink in to my already broken heart.  It was heart breaking. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to say goodbye just yet. My heart kept repeating the words ‘it is not a goodbye and that it's I'll see you later’. I needed my testimony to remind me that there is life after this earth. I needed to remember that there is a plan for all of us. And that it was Grandmothers turn to be reunited with her mom and dad and all her sisters. Can you imagine being away from your parents that long? How sweet is the reunion to be with your family again? And for her to no longer be in pain. Boy I am truly grateful that there is no end to love. 

 After hearing the news Nathan, Laneah and I flew to Texas to attend her Texas funeral. I had a nice conversation with Aunt Camielle on our way to Grandmother & Grandpa Call’s house. I remember from many conversations that we had together. My favorite part is when she said, “Although she may be not be physically there but her spirit is there. And you can feel her presence. And she also said you'll know what I am talking about when you go in.”  After I said hi to everyone I decided to walk around and see her beautiful home. It was my first time being there and it was a very beautiful home. Her home feels like a match made in heaven. And after I felt her presence I now understand what my aunt was telling me. She was there and all I could remember as i was walking around her home is that you can feel her love and a sweet hug. That you always get when you see grandmother. And my eyes were filled with so much love for my sweet sweet grandmother. As we were all together and about to say family prayer, you see Grandpa in his chair filled with tears. He shared with us that he could feel grandmother’s presences and that he could feel her love with all of us being together again.

As we attend the funeral there was a story that caught my attention the most. It’s the story of grandmothers love for the scriptures. She has mentioned many time "do you understand? " "do you get it?" As uncle Darren ponder on that question he found the scripture that grandmother was talking about. It is in Romans 8: 16-18. And to share my own understanding of that scripture it is; that our spirits desperately communicate with each that we are His children even when we sinned and are not perfect. He wants us to come home to Him. And that we need to turn to Him in repentance and know that he is there for us. He wants us to come home to Him. And that we need to turn to Him in repentance and know that he is there for us. It was a really neat funeral. The weather was perfect. And it made for it a great day. After the funeral we all went back to g&g Call's house. It was so fun. We gather together and played some fun games, and went to the park with the kiddos. Christopher, Geoffrey, Carolina, Jonathon, and John went to the park. The boys including the little ones all played at the playground where no one was allowed to touch the ground.. so everyone was on top of the slide or bars.. seeing stevie and scottie trying to climb the bars was alittle bit terrifying. All I could say to the boys, what example are you guys setting? Theyre like we are setting an example of fun! Lol Anyways. Later in the evening the girls went out for an ice cream! It was fun being able to hang out with our aunties. It was nice being able to share lots of laughs and memories. It was a great weekend. So, we all went home safely sound. It was nice being able to sit behind the sheafors. Laneah enjoyed seeing her cousins on this trip. I love this stage of her life. She is so fun!

Anyways the weekend after General Conference, I took another trip to Utah! This trip was surprisingly fun! Okay, let me tell you! Wednesday afternoon, we rented a 16’ truck. Thursday afternoon, we drove the big truck & haul all of Christina’s stuff to Utah. That truck was so huge that driving it passed 70 mph creeped me out!  And every time I would pass 75 mph the top part of truck would come in and bounce out. You know what I mean? Like if you sit on the car hood and then you get off it makes that popping sound, the sound of it going back to place. And that is what that was like. The weather was CRAZY in Wyoming! It started with sunshine, and ten mins later it was rain, and then hail, and then snow, and then rain. It finally cleared when we reach Rock Springs. Driving a truck was fun! I think my favorite part of that trip was knowing that I drove that big truck and I don’t know if I want to do it again.. But knowing that I did it felt like a HUGE accomplishment that week. Lol no pun intended. So we left at 1230pm and arrived to Salt Lake around 830pm. And by the time we were done with unloading and dropping the BIG truck off it was around 10pm. I think you can say it was pretty good timing. I seriously did not want to be responsible for the truck anymore, I droped the truck of that night instead of waiting the next morning. So, We drove home the next day! And that was hard for some reason; we didn’t have the popping sound to keep us up anymore. We were anxious to get home! The rental car did not have cruise control and so did the Budget truck! That was a hard drive especially knowing that you have to control your foot and keep an eye out for cops. There was a TON that day. So it made that trip even longer isn’t it crazy how much we rely on such alittle button for road trips. But I am so glad that trip is over. It was a very busy weekend. And the best part of the weekend is that Monday was a holiday. So, we spent the last two days (Sunday &Monday) Playing games! We pretty much started a scrabble game at midnight. I know! It was so late. But hey the baby slept in till 8am. She went to bed before 7 and didn’t wake up till 8! wohoO! That was that folks! Busy two weeks! We are truly excited for the Fort Collins temple to be dedicated this up coming week!