Tender Mercies

Disclaimer: I have nothing against Facebook or other social media sites. I have enjoyed them for many years and see their benefits, especially in keeping in contact with the many friends and family I have around the world.  Last week I did something crazy: I went without Facebook and Instagram for an entire 7 days. It had just become too much of a trigger for me and I needed a way to reset my brain and emotions. For years I would go online and catch up on what my friends and family were doing, feeling the excitement over their good news of marriage, baby, graduation, new home decor, or an amazing meal they ate.  I would also cry as I saw my loved ones go through trials and hardships. Because I lived so far from everyone for a few years, I was so grateful for an easy way to keep in contact. In this way, Facebook and Instagram has been a big blessing for me.  Summer morning in Kansas while I was reading and pondering early last week. However, lately I have...

Earlier this month I was trying to read the recipe I was creating for dinner, only to find myself struggling with the book itself. I wanted the book to stand up on the counter so that I could glance at the instructions while I was cooking instead of having to walk across the room to the dining room table where it often lays (so as to prevent it from getting dirty from food). In a side comment to my husband, I said, "I need a book stand for my cookbook." A few minutes later I realized I didn't hear him in the living room anymore, and I wondered where he had run off to. The house had gotten really quiet. Ten minutes later he reappeared in the kitchen, holding a cookbook stand he had created out of an Erector set. Wow!  The based of the stand could use to be a couple inches wider, but it sure worked a million times better than none at all. I guess it's true that I really did marry an engineer.  

For me, picking blueberries is the quintessential summertime activity. It is one of my most cherished activities when the sun is hot and the days are long. This pastime of mine was first discovered while living in Alaska where there were many wild blueberry patches. It was there that residents would secretly head out to their coveted patch each August and pick to their heart's content, hoping that their prized spot would not become a crowd favorite next year, thus allowing them to bask in the glory of their wild berries year after year.  I made a bucket list of the summertime activities that I wanted to do with Marshall this year, and berry picking was on the list. I had heard that blueberries were in season during June in Kansas, so my inner-berry-picking-clock had already started going off. I knew I needed to go soon! Be it a coincidence or not, the day after I made my bucket list, my dear friend Kristie invited me to go blueberry picking with her the next day. I totally...

Here's a fun twist on date night:                Pool "party" and movie in the middle of the day. Let me explain.  Changing schedules have never been my thing. One may think I would be good at it since I was a military wife, but it still takes a week or so for me to adjust and figure out my new routine. When my husband began his summer job this year, he would leave the house in the early afternoon and return home past midnight, long after I was asleep. When I was working in the mornings or if he was working his second job, we would only briefly see each other in the mornings and that was it. This was so hard for me in the beginning because I was used to him being home much of the time during the school year. * So as our first Saturday that we were home in a long while, I decided to have a little date before he headed off to work this afternoon.  The heat index was projected to be between 105 ° -110 °F today.  At 10 ...

During a family reunion that involves a wedding, stillness and solitude is not something that is easy to find, except for maybe during the wedding ceremony. Although I was with my husband during the trip, I felt like I hadn't spent any time with him. He had been spending time with his brothers shooting, rappelling, and staying up till the early hours of the morning (5 am to be exact) talking with his brothers and cousins. I had been going to bed by 11:30 or midnight (which is super late for me) and was taking a nap when they left to go rappelling so I missed out on some bonding time with him and everyone. Which was okay because I value sleep a whole lot, but by Thursday afternoon, I was sure itching to get outside with just my best friend. You could even call it a mini-date.  Down the road from the house in Sterling, Utah was Palisade Lake . It was here that I did yoga each morning out on the dock before anyone was awake. What a beautiful thing it was! The lake also h...

15 hour car drive to central Utah, 3 days with the Adams family as we celebrated the wedding of two love-birds, a 7 hour reunion with the Whipple family, and then a 15 hour trip back to Kansas.  Phew, I am tired!   Family is worth everything though, and these pictures capture some great memories. Wednesday morning session at the Manti temple with the family.   It's official! Joseph and Bailee together forever. June 11, 2015 Manti, Utah LDS Temple  Hopefully someday we will be close enough to hang out.  My cute little nephew said that "his favorite cousin is Aunt Jenessa." My heart just melted.  He needs one of these A Mini Whipple Family Reunion: My mom, dad, and brother drove out from Arizona JUST so that we could all be together as a family for one day! I love them all. Ice cream stop at the BYU Creamery. It was my first time. I guess that's proof that I didn't go to BYU! Awe, Sisters!! Family minus ...