Saturday, March 27, 2010
Update on My Nephews
Melissa posted some really cute photos of Aiden and Austin in their new Easter ties that Melissa made for them as well as some photos of Jack and Aiden playing in the weeds at The Place. Rather than reposting them, I will use my new-found love of links to send you to her blog.
New/Old Post
How time flies...it's been almost a month since I wrote a post about my friend Janell's visit to LA. However, I didn't want to post it until I got the photos attached. I finally did that this morning. You can read the post here.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Anybody out there????
Or am I just writing my blog to thin air??? Let me know if you are a reader. Thanks!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Edward Alma Lee Goodwin
I hope that my cousin doesn't mind me sharing the following...somehow, sharing it makes me feel like my heart isn't quite so heavy...and, it's so much better than crying (which, I've done, too).
My cousin Diane (and her twin sister Denise) is just 6 months older than me. She and I have been inseparable at times in our lives and have (usually) been great friends! Our friendship was really solidified while I was in law school at BYU. Diane was living in Orem. We had season football tickets together each year; and, we were both single, so we would frequently get together to hang out--watch movies, go to dinner, BYU volleyball games, etc.
Shortly after I graduated from law school, Diane married Chad Goodwin. She and Chad are a great couple--their personalities and strengths compliment each other well. After a miscarriage and thinking they would never have children, Diane found out that she was expecting...a little boy. I found out right after Christmas; and, I was so excited for Diane! Unfortunately, however, these things do not always turn out the way we want them to.
Edward Alma Lee Goodwin was born yesterday, March 16, 2010, at 3:30 a.m. Despite a typical number of weeks of development in utero and a healthy birthweight, he had multiple other health problems, including under-developed lungs. He lived only until 4:45 a.m.
Medical explanations aside, I will never understand why Edward lived such a short time. Diane (and Chad) deserved the chance to have and to raise this little boy in this lifetime. I do know that, at times like these, I am grateful for a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, which assures us that Edward's short life served a purpose. We know that he was able to come to Earth to receive a body. We also know that his mom and dad will have the opportunity to raise him in the next life. In the meantime, he is well-looked-after by his Grandpa Keith Durfey who preceded him in death shortly before Christmas this past year and his Great Grandma Carpenter who passed away just over a year ago.
This afternoon, Chad sent out a few photos of Edward. The photographer did a fantastic job! (The hospital has a photographer that families can use in these types of situations.) He's darling!
My cousin Diane (and her twin sister Denise) is just 6 months older than me. She and I have been inseparable at times in our lives and have (usually) been great friends! Our friendship was really solidified while I was in law school at BYU. Diane was living in Orem. We had season football tickets together each year; and, we were both single, so we would frequently get together to hang out--watch movies, go to dinner, BYU volleyball games, etc.
Shortly after I graduated from law school, Diane married Chad Goodwin. She and Chad are a great couple--their personalities and strengths compliment each other well. After a miscarriage and thinking they would never have children, Diane found out that she was expecting...a little boy. I found out right after Christmas; and, I was so excited for Diane! Unfortunately, however, these things do not always turn out the way we want them to.
Edward Alma Lee Goodwin was born yesterday, March 16, 2010, at 3:30 a.m. Despite a typical number of weeks of development in utero and a healthy birthweight, he had multiple other health problems, including under-developed lungs. He lived only until 4:45 a.m.
Medical explanations aside, I will never understand why Edward lived such a short time. Diane (and Chad) deserved the chance to have and to raise this little boy in this lifetime. I do know that, at times like these, I am grateful for a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, which assures us that Edward's short life served a purpose. We know that he was able to come to Earth to receive a body. We also know that his mom and dad will have the opportunity to raise him in the next life. In the meantime, he is well-looked-after by his Grandpa Keith Durfey who preceded him in death shortly before Christmas this past year and his Great Grandma Carpenter who passed away just over a year ago.
This afternoon, Chad sent out a few photos of Edward. The photographer did a fantastic job! (The hospital has a photographer that families can use in these types of situations.) He's darling!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
I Get By With Alot of Help from My Friends
This post is about my friend Janell. You can read her blog here. Her journey is by no means over, but what a journey it has been thus far.
Janell and I met on day one of law school orientation in 2000. Orientation was grouped according to legal writing sections; and, Janell and I were in the same section. And, somehow we ended up being friends. I think we were drawn together, in part, because we were single (as were the others we ended up in a group of friends with from that section...Collette, Taeya, Aleea, Jay, and Jason).
After a frustrating 1 1/2 years of law school, Janell registered for a semester abroad in Australia the 2nd semester of our 2nd year. Shortly after arriving in Australia, she met the man of her dreams and was married a few short months later.
About 2 1/2 years ago, Janell went back to law school, finishing 2 years worth of courses online. And, about 1 1/2 years ago, shortly after having her 3rd child, she moved with her family from Australia to Indiana where her husband had been accepted to graduate school in psychology.
If you read Janell's blog, you will see that in the last year and a half, her life has been anything but easy. Her husband, who suffers from an intense and debilitating depression, has decided that he is agnostic. So, he no longer attends church with his family. But, Janell, who is the early morning seminary teacher for the youth, attends church each week with her kids and ensures that they participate in family home evening and are taught the basic principals of the gospel. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which was removed, and resulted in the loss of hearing in her right ear. Her oldest son has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. And, her daughter has yet to be diagnosed with anything related to an intense leg pain that they thought could be leukemia or something of that nature (so far the doctors have only ruled a very long list of things out). Of course, in the middle of all of this, Janell graduated from law school, which meant studying for the Bar.
Because of the way Janell went back to school, she has to pass the California Bar before she can take any other state's Bar. So, late last Spring, Janell began studying full time. She took the Bar in July. Unfortunately, the result received in November (only about 15 points away from passing) meant that she had to turn around and do it all again to take the Bar in February, which she did this past week.
Janell has an amazing outlook on life. Instead of allowing her trials to make her angry and bitter, she has turned to the Lord and found a humility and solace that few individuals would be able to find in her same situation. And, she has remained optistic, hopeful, and above all, positive. She is an inspiration to me. If we talk when I am feeling down about things, I let her talk first because after I hear about the events of a typical week for Janell, my problems seem so small and insigificant and I feel badly for not being able to dig in and have the same positive outlook for my life/situation.
After both July and February's Bars, I have been fortunate to spend about 36 hours with Janell. It is sooo much fun! I LOVE talking with Janell and spending time with her. This time, my goal was to see how pampered Janell could be by the end our time together. I picked her up from her hotel on Thursday night and took her Tito's Tacos...then it was home to my house for Survivor and little R&R. Friday morning, we headed out to Santee Alley for a little shopping (yes, I did come home with 4 new purses...what can I say?!?!?!); lunch at Potato Chips with dessert from Yogurtland (I LOVE the new red velvet cupcake flavor); home to change clothes for the afternoon/evening; manicures and pedicures (a FIRST for Janell--can you believe that?!!?!? It's criminal really...BUT, she understands now that it is possible to wear sandals and like your feet ;); Dear John at the AMC in Century City; dinner at Gaucho Grill in Brentwood with Billy...and, last, but certainly not least...massages (I LOVE that you can get a massage a reputable establishment at 10 p.m. in LA)! Saturday morning, we headed out to breakfast with Billy at Quality and then it was time to take Janell to the airport.
I truly hope that Janell passes the Bar this time...she deserves it! Her kids deserve it! While I would love to have her come back to visit, I'd rather have it be just for fun.
Love you Janell!
Janell and I met on day one of law school orientation in 2000. Orientation was grouped according to legal writing sections; and, Janell and I were in the same section. And, somehow we ended up being friends. I think we were drawn together, in part, because we were single (as were the others we ended up in a group of friends with from that section...Collette, Taeya, Aleea, Jay, and Jason).
After a frustrating 1 1/2 years of law school, Janell registered for a semester abroad in Australia the 2nd semester of our 2nd year. Shortly after arriving in Australia, she met the man of her dreams and was married a few short months later.
About 2 1/2 years ago, Janell went back to law school, finishing 2 years worth of courses online. And, about 1 1/2 years ago, shortly after having her 3rd child, she moved with her family from Australia to Indiana where her husband had been accepted to graduate school in psychology.
If you read Janell's blog, you will see that in the last year and a half, her life has been anything but easy. Her husband, who suffers from an intense and debilitating depression, has decided that he is agnostic. So, he no longer attends church with his family. But, Janell, who is the early morning seminary teacher for the youth, attends church each week with her kids and ensures that they participate in family home evening and are taught the basic principals of the gospel. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which was removed, and resulted in the loss of hearing in her right ear. Her oldest son has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. And, her daughter has yet to be diagnosed with anything related to an intense leg pain that they thought could be leukemia or something of that nature (so far the doctors have only ruled a very long list of things out). Of course, in the middle of all of this, Janell graduated from law school, which meant studying for the Bar.
Because of the way Janell went back to school, she has to pass the California Bar before she can take any other state's Bar. So, late last Spring, Janell began studying full time. She took the Bar in July. Unfortunately, the result received in November (only about 15 points away from passing) meant that she had to turn around and do it all again to take the Bar in February, which she did this past week.
Janell has an amazing outlook on life. Instead of allowing her trials to make her angry and bitter, she has turned to the Lord and found a humility and solace that few individuals would be able to find in her same situation. And, she has remained optistic, hopeful, and above all, positive. She is an inspiration to me. If we talk when I am feeling down about things, I let her talk first because after I hear about the events of a typical week for Janell, my problems seem so small and insigificant and I feel badly for not being able to dig in and have the same positive outlook for my life/situation.
After both July and February's Bars, I have been fortunate to spend about 36 hours with Janell. It is sooo much fun! I LOVE talking with Janell and spending time with her. This time, my goal was to see how pampered Janell could be by the end our time together. I picked her up from her hotel on Thursday night and took her Tito's Tacos...then it was home to my house for Survivor and little R&R. Friday morning, we headed out to Santee Alley for a little shopping (yes, I did come home with 4 new purses...what can I say?!?!?!); lunch at Potato Chips with dessert from Yogurtland (I LOVE the new red velvet cupcake flavor); home to change clothes for the afternoon/evening; manicures and pedicures (a FIRST for Janell--can you believe that?!!?!? It's criminal really...BUT, she understands now that it is possible to wear sandals and like your feet ;); Dear John at the AMC in Century City; dinner at Gaucho Grill in Brentwood with Billy...and, last, but certainly not least...massages (I LOVE that you can get a massage a reputable establishment at 10 p.m. in LA)! Saturday morning, we headed out to breakfast with Billy at Quality and then it was time to take Janell to the airport.
I truly hope that Janell passes the Bar this time...she deserves it! Her kids deserve it! While I would love to have her come back to visit, I'd rather have it be just for fun.
Love you Janell!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Murphy's Law
So, yesterday was ugly, gray, and cold (for LA) with rain in the forecast for last night and today. So, about noon yesterday, I spoke with the other YW leaders and we cancelled our trip to Disneyland--to be postponed until later this Spring. It rained cats and dogs last night; but, of course, the sun shone all day today. My girls were NOT happy! But, had we not postponed, it would have rained today...
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