Remind Us To Remember

I'm starting to feel some sense of urgency to be a more regular blogger. My little brother has sent us just as many emails as I have posts... He's only allowed to email once a week, and I can do this whenever I want to. Time to step up my game, blog world. In my own defence though, I have started sending him weekly letters thanks to dearelder.com. Its basically the most amazing thing ever. I totally miss the kid so it's nice to be able to write to him and know that he understands me and the way I am. Our relationship has definitely been strengthened in the last few years. We actually became friends. Thank goodness. Being friends with your family is what we all need. As we regularly remind each other, we're stuck together... and we're okay with it. haha..

Recently, I've been called as the Young Women's secretary in our ward. Ray and I have fallen in love with the ward. It's been an amazing experience to make our mark there. We feel so at home and so welcome and involved there. The Church is seriously amazing. I was telling my mom about that the other day, and she said something along the lines of how we're proving that no matter where we end up, we'll always be a big part of the ward we're in. That was actually quite comforting to me. I look back in my life and realized that in all the wards I've lived in, it may have taken a little while, but I always did find my place. My involvement in the Church has a lot to do with my own happiness, so I'll always be able to contribute as much as I can for the benefit of those I serve, and my own self.

Going back to my point about serving in the Young Women's. I feel like they actually like me... hahaha. I feel cool!! haha! I've always been on the opposite side until now. I've always been the one looking up to people and now I'm the one showing them what they need to strive for. It's kind of super awesome... Ray is the Sunday School teacher for the 14 to 17 year olds, and he decided that he wanted to have a Sunday School Party at our house to reward the kids for keeping up with their reading assignments he's given them each week. That party ended up being a total blast! I made pizza for them from scratch, we watched a movie, and we had boxing tournaments with the Wii. haha! They looked at our wedding pictures, we laughed a lot, and when it was all over, Ray and I looked at each other with total satisfaction, knowing that we'd done something amazing. So now at Wednesday night activities, I feel like its less awkward, and more enjoyable for everyone because we're all at ease and comfortable with one another.

I'm in charge of planning the next activity. I decided we should do some sort of scavenger hunt, but it has to have some sort of spiritual base... So Ray suggested I do a trail type thing, using the pictures that are up in the church building. So they'd have a scripture reference for a clue, and have to find the matching picture hanging up in the building, where the next clue would be put. I think it would be sweet. But just to throw them off I'd stick some totally random clues in there as well, referencing some places outside or something. I dunno.. I have a week to come up with something. No matter what, I'll make it awesome.

Today is also Remembrance Day. We get to remember those who fought for our freedom. My Grandpa was one of them. He's not with us anymore, but I still have many memories of him. He told me about how he served in the Canadian Army and his job was to repair the radios that were damaged at the front lines. He would follow behind them in his work truck, a safe distance and pick up the radios on the ground, fix them, and deliver them back up to the front lines again. The most dangerous part about his job were the snipers... They waited for people like my grandpa. So to protect himself, he would sleep under his truck. It worked pretty good, because he died when he was in his 80's. I'm thankful for what he did. I know my dad is thankful for grandpa too. Dad wears grandpa's dog tags where ever he goes. I've always admired that in my Dad. He is always showing his respect for his father by doing that. I remember when my grandpa was still alive that he would always dress up in his army uniform on Remembrance day, put on his medals, and walk proudly that day. My Dad now has grandpa's war medals, and they are proudly displayed in their home, along with a couple old pictures and some poppies that Mom arranged. The day she gave that to Dad, there were a lot of tears all around. It's a wonderful thing to have a day to remind us to remember. Thank you Grandpa...

In the middle is my Grandma and Grandpa Dyer with my Dad and Uncle when they were little and cute.

The Joy's and Stresses of Life

Joy: Today I'm having an amazing hair day.
Joy: ... and I did it in less than 10 minutes

Stresses: Ray not being in Canada with me for TEN DAYS because his visitor visa was going to expire soon... So he had to go back to the States so that when he came back to Canada again, he would get brand new 6 month visitor visa... hopefully...

Joy: Talking to him every night because of the awesomeness of technology. Thank you Skype.

Joy: Spending the night with my Grandma Olive last night and being able to enlarge her wedding pictures and frame them.
Joy: Seeing her more excited for those pictures than I've ever seen her get excited over anything.
Joy: Hearing her tell me stories of how she got her education and what it was like for her after she got married and had young kids
- subjoy: I didn't ask her any questions. She just started telling me stories. AWESOME!

Stress: Wondering whether or not Ray is going to actually be able to get on the plane on Friday to come back to me.
- substress A: Is he going to be able to get on the plane with his standby ticket, or will the plane be too full...
- substress B: Will he be able to make it though border patrol with another 6 month visitor visa...

Joy: Naps... because they shut off the stresses in my head temporarily

Stress: Immigration
Stress: Not being able to plan a timeline for our future because of the unknown timeline with immigration. I want to be settled!! When will it happen?!

Joy: Full House episodes available online

Joy: Hearing about people I taught on my mission who I thought would never progress getting baptized.

Joy: Finding hidden pictures on the computer from Ray's mission

Stress: Figuring out a way to prove to the US government that Ray is financially stable enough to provide for me, which is the ultimate deciding factor of whether or not I can actually get a green card
- substress: Is that even possible to prove when he's not in the USA?

Stress: Wondering if i should be preparing myself for several months of Ray and I being apart so that he can set things up in the USA for me to come join him. Can't we just do it together at the same time???

Joy: Remembering that I taught Relief Society on Sunday with no notice and it was awesome

Joy: Gas pumps with a sign on it that says: "These is a PRE-PAY pump"

Joy: Finding tons of coins on the ground as you get out of your car in the parking lot... 62 cents worth of pennies, dimes and nickels!

Joy: Figuring out after the fact that we could have moved the seats back...

Joy: Looking forward to when I actually do get to see Ray again. Then we'll be able to work out my stresses together and come up with solutions and plans. Then I won't feel so overwhelmed with everything.

Joy: Remembering that I'm not alone.

Joy: Realizing that all will be well as long as I am faithful and patient.

Family Photos... Gong Show...

So mom decided that she wanted to take family pictures considering that Ian is leaving on his mission to St George in a couple of weeks. Our family just doesn't take these kinds of things seriously... Observe...

My Dads favourite thing...

hehehe.....

This one perfectly describes our relationship as siblings.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!! My little brother looks so adorably alone. Haha!!!!!


Best. Family. Ever.

So Many Adventures!!!

This has easily been one of the best summers of my life. The following events are reasons why.

A) Ray bought me flowers for absolutely no reason. This has never actually happened to me before with anyone so this was a momentous occasion!! Aren't they pretty?!??

I thought he did an amazing job picking them out. Bright and awesome. Totally perfect. Best husband ever. :D

B) First husband/wife vacation just because we can. We went to Cardston and Waterton and had an amazing time.

We stayed at this amazing little bed and breakfast, which was right in Cardston, and ran by this older couple who were originally from Holland. The place was called the Shalom B&B and had tons of character. There was all sorts of stuff from Holland used as decorations, so there was always something interesting to look at. Regrettably, we didn't take ANY pictures of that place.. I was kinda bummed when I realized that after we got home.. But such is life I guess... We loved our stay there though. The people that ran it were so kind and welcoming, and the breakfasts were awesome. I was slightly confused though. I was kind of expecting them to be Jewish, considering the name of the place, so I wasn't surprised to see a star of David on their front door. When we went inside, however, there were crosses and references to the Bible and Christ. haha! I didn't ever ask them about it though... and neither did Ray. When I think about it though, I'm surprised we never asked... Well... More surprised that Ray never asked. haha! What's more puzzling is how they ended up in Cardston since it's 98% populated by LDS people. The Alberta Temple is in the centre of the town. It was the 6th temple ever built! So there's this random Dutch couple that live there that are both Christian and Jewish???... Sure... I guess it will just remain a mystery. ... Unless we go back one day. We totally would. It was a great experience.

We went to the temple together, which ended up being an adventure in itself! Ray forgot to bring his Church clothes, so we went on a quest to find him some preferably cheap clothes. We went to the Distribution Centre, and thankfully, the nice lady there directed us to this little thrift store in town, where Ray lucked out and found the only pair of dress pants that were smaller than a 42" waist. hahahaha.... They were $2.00. Then he bought a 50 cent tie and a 50 cent belt, and we were good to go. Despite forgetting his Church clothes, Ray remembered his dress shoes, so we didn't need to worry about that. haha. I love my husband. This is an old picture of the Cardston temple around Christmas time last year. It still looks the same though. :D haha.

Ray and I went for a walk around the temple, and thought we saw a couple owls sitting in between those pillar looking things, but we didn't really believe that that's what we were seeing. So we asked a couple of girls that were chatting together on the grass if those were actually owls we were seeing. Apparently they were real, and there were actually 4 of them, and they all live on the temple. I guess a few year ago, there was a major bird problem at the temple. Tons of birds were just crowding onto the temple pooping on it and causing some significant outer damage. Members prayed for guidance on how to fix this problem, and then one day these 4 owls show up, scaring away all the birds, totally fixing the problem! The owls now stay there there, like it's their home. haha!! Such a cool story! So every time we went past the temple that weekend we looked for the owls, and they were always there, night and day!

I took Ray to Waterton for the first time too. We saw lots of awesome things.

bears...

Momma and baby bears...

Cool looking deer...errr... Those are deer right??.. :S

awesome rushing waters!!!

... which were actually pretty scary. There was quite the drop from where I was standing. I was being brave.

and pretty flowers/mountains/nature.

We also decided to venture into the town of Waterton, and found a place that rented out super sweet cruiser bikes for only $6.00 and hour! We capitalized on this opportunity.

It's pretty clear we had some fun. The picture of Ray in front of the waterfall pointing the other way from it is hilarious to me. Seriously! I crack up every time I see it! And with signs telling you to watch out for angry, kicking deer... Well that's just a moment screaming to be documented. haha!

okay... moving on...

C) Revisiting my teenage years... The Backstreet Boys concert!

I'd known about the concert coming for a long time, but I never planned on going because tickets were stupid expensive. Then one fateful night, I was on facebook and someone had posted that they got $25 tickets!! She explained how to do it, and I was immediately filled with a need to partake in the awesomeness thereof. It was obvious that Ray wasn't gonna go, so I sent out a mass text asking for people interested in going with me, and got 4 other girls! WOOT!!!! So I bought 5 tickets, two days before the show and we were off! The teeny bopper screams came back to me like it was 10 years ago. I was surprised, but well pleased. haha.. It was just like the old days.. Except that there were only 4 of them, not 5. I guess the oldest one, Kevin, decided that being 40 years old meant that he no longer qualified to be a Backstreet "Boy" anymore. Fine by me. I didn't let that damper my night of awesomeness. haha...

I had so much fun. I almost lost my voice... It was totally worth it. And as cheesy as it sounds... it made me so much more grateful to be able to come home to Ray. He's so much hotter than Nick Carter. haha!!! I'm also way more in love with Ray than I ever was with Nick Carter. hahahahahaha.

D) Calgary Zoo with Ray and my little brother Ian.

This adventure actually has two parts. Half way to Calgary, we stopped to get donuts because Ian wanted to stock up. He got the donuts, we went back to the car, and somehow the subject of Ian's ear blackheads came up. haha!! Don't judge me!! Ian gets these incredibly huge blackheads inside his ear, and since he can't see them, he has to get someone else to get rid of them. Yes it's gross, but its so fascinating!! They're huge!!! See???

So in this picture, we had already gotten one, which is why there's the bleeding, but there was still this other one that we could NOT get out! It was so frustrating and it was hurting him so bad. haha.. We took a picture of it to show him how awesome those things are. haha. Yes.. We're sick.. But seriously!!! Aren't zits fascinating?? Secretly inside I'm sure we all get a sick sense of satisfaction when you pop good ones right?? haha... Okay... Anyways.. This is me trying to get these blackheads out.

It was Ian's idea to get the pen. You squeeze the blackhead out with the hole in the end of the clicky pen and it gets all the stuff out. It's amazing.

Part 2. The Zoo!

They renovated the dinosaur part and now it's incredible. The dinosaurs move and roar and breathe. Woot!!! So exciting!

E) Longboarding Downhill Race

This was mostly for Ray's amusement, but I thought it was pretty exciting too. These kids were in full leather suits with helmets and everything! We watched most of it at a corner where there was a lot of crashing and falling. I was entertained. But there was also some pretty wicked skill too!

Summary...

BEST SUMMER EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday Thoughts

This Sunday was pretty awesome and I had a lot of thoughts when we were in Church.

Thoughts during Sacrament Meeting... I really really really love Ray. We laughed a lot and while it might have been borderline irreverent, it was awesome. Ray was taking some notes for his Sunday School lesson, and just to be playful I hit his arm totally made him mess up. So he retaliated by writing on my hand, but he wrote "I love Ray" which surprised me because I was totally expecting something opposite. haha. I bumped his arm again, with the same awesome result, so he again wrote on my hand, this time drawing an arrow from his previous message up to my ring. haha. It was great to laugh with him so much.

Sunday School was pretty eye opening. Ray's calling in the ward is the Sunday School teacher for the 14-17 year olds. Today he taught for the first time today, and I wanted to check it out, so I went with him. The lesson Ray taught was really good, but the kids weren't necessarily responding the way Ray or I were expecting. So that got me to thinking about why they weren't terribly interested in it. I thought back to when I was a 16 year old, and I realized that when I was that age, I didn't really care to much either. The only way I did get really excited was when I had a fun teacher. That's not to say Ray's not a fun teacher, because he totally is. But he's also got the fact that he's replacing a teacher those kids already loved, so that's hard for them. The challenge will be building a relationship of trust both ways. Those kids are still finding their testimonies. They probably haven't really had any significant spiritually impacting moments in their lives yet. I know when I was 16, I'd hear people tell these intense stories of when they knew that Heavenly Father was aware of them, but I hadn't had any yet, so I couldn't relate because I felt they were preaching to me and not helping me experience that because they were too set on finishing the lesson, therefore the personal touch and motivation to find what they had was almost lost. 14-17 is an interesting age... You want so bad to be your own individual, but you are so influenced by those around you, and they're polar opposites. Do you follow your family's example and risk being a total outcast, or do you fall into the temptations of those their age and risk losing yourself, but not understanding that that's the result of that path... What a terrible decision to have to make...

After Church, Ray and I talked about it, and I told him all these thoughts I was having during his class, and I emphasized that in the end, all they need him to be is their friend. That way, they'll take something home from his lessons, and not go because they have to, but because they really want to. It's just a matter of building that friendship, and that's really up to him to figure out how to do because he's the teacher and definitely has the discernment to be able to know the best way to do that. Ray has the potential to help those kids really discover their testimony, and start making pivotal decisions that will shape who they will be for the rest of their lives. The responsibility and potential that he has with those kids is huge. I know that he will be able to work it out with them. It may take a while for them to like him enough that they enjoy going to class, but Ray is the type of person that makes an impact in the lives of those around him. He figures it out. I'm excited to see the progression of both Ray in his teaching, and the students in their spiritual desires. It will be a challenge, because Ray is used to teaching adults, who don't necessarily need to be befriended or even really entertained by the teacher. Ray has a way of teaching that draws people in, which is incredible. But when you change the audience, the need to adjust the teaching method becomes apparent. He's gonna grow so much from this calling. He already loves teaching, and I think this is gonna get him even more pumped to keep teaching as his life progresses. I wonder what this calling is preparing him to be in the future...

So the experience from Sacrament meeting to Sunday School was night and day. Playful to thoughtful. The transition to Relief Society was no less shocking.

One of the young married women in the ward was asked last minute to teach this lesson from a Conference talk, and before RS started I was talking to her and she expressed that she was nervous about it. The usual pre-teaching jitters I guess. She did a great job though, but the lesson took a spin that she was just not expecting and I had never really experienced before. The lesson was about pain and not becoming bitter towards God for things going wrong in our lives. I guess that it was a super sensitive subject because there were 20 minutes straight of comments and the teacher just stood there listening... haha... But it appeared as if there was a lot of pain that each of those women had experienced, and they had all had really strong experiences that kept them facing in the right direction despite how terribly their life had fallen apart. I know for me, those types of experiences are some of the strongest I have to look back on. They're truly defining spiritual moments. So there were the women in the RS that have had those experiences, and so passionately shared what they learned first hand what they knew to be true. They had to go through the terrible bitterness of the trial, but the came out of it as stronger women. The natural result of that is to share those experiences to help others find motivation to make it through their trials too. So of course there were the few women that haven't necessarily had the testimony building experiences therefore lacking the ability to understand truly what those women were so passionate about, and how they could possibly be forgiving of people that have hurt them so badly, or have lived through trials that came about by means that were out of their control. The passion was clearly there, and I think that it really was positive, but slightly out of control. It was kind of comforting to know how strong the majority of these woman have become because of their trials, but it was strange to recognize how much collective pain the women in our Relief Society have gone through. I guess it also made me realize how much life I still have to live. Just like in Sunday School, how I was wondering the potential that Ray has in his life, my experience in RS made me think of my own potential about who I will become in my life.

Such a reflective day. I really appreciated it. My life has barely even started, but I'm excited to see where my experiences take me and my family.

My Husband and His Art

As previously mentioned, my husband is quite talented when it comes to artsy stuff. It's been his dream to make a living off of it, and this is where I shamelessly promote what he does. haha...

His whole goal is to put his art up online, and have business cards not only to give people his contact info, but also directing them to a site where they can see what he's done. So his site is http://maxemis.blogspot.com.

And also I must state that I'm way excited for him to get this going. I've never seen him so excited to draw and come up with designs he's never done before. He's got the people skills to make the necessary connections and the drive to make it work. Here's to Ray for getting this started!

By the way... I saw this particular piece of art for the first time while I was on my mission. Ray drew this for one of my companions and when I saw it, my thought was "oh the hot Elder!". Fast forward two years later, when I was talking to him for the first time since my first transfer, THIS is what I remembered that brought all the puzzle pieces together and I remembered who this Elder Whitcomb was that started talking to me randomly via text message. Thank you graffiti. You brought us together again. Anywho... Continuing on with the husband bragging.