The Girl with the Pearl Earring??

Well, I wish I was THAT girl (she hooked up with Colin Firth), but I'm not even close. Ever have such a hectic morning that you ended up wearing two different earrings (unintentionally) to work? Yah, me neither...until today. Yep, at about 3:07pm in the middle of a very important work discussion, my boss stops mid-thought and asks "are you wearing two different earrings?" Sure enough. I am a douche...or just maybe a trendsetter.

My Uncle & The New LDS Rexburg Temple

Some may be aware that my uncle temple president for the new Rexburg Temple. Well, I just got an email from him about his new calling. It offered a little insight into the huge undertaking of opening a new temple...so I thought I'd share. Additionally, I would've freaked out if I was a scheduled bride at this temple the first week it was opening...wonder how that panned out for many of them. What a small world we live in though. While my uncle (a state away) was just mingling with the new prophet at the temple...that same prophet lives within walking distance of my house!! We've very blessed here!

"Dear Christensen Family,

We are sorry for the delay in sending a Family Update. We have decided that opening a new temple offers just as many challenges as operating a mission. It took many hours to call the 1200 temple workers . Then were involved in training them in a variety of positions. We were involved with the open house where we invited over 200,000 friends and members through the temple. The dedication services were complicated when President Hinckley passed away just a few days before the scheduled date. The dedication was placed back a week, which required us to reschedule many of the patrons. The marriages where the most effected. It was an honor to have President Monson come for the dedication. It was his first official activity after being set apart as our new Prophet. The patrons have come to the temple in large numbers. Located next to BYU-I gives us the chance to welcome many students to the temple, especially in the baptistery. We open the baptistery at 6:00 a.m. and close it at 10:00 p.m., with the youth occupying the area for those many hours. We may have the busiest baptistery in the entire Church. We have been pleased with the many marriages scheduled for the temple. Last weekend we performed nearly 40 of them. Everything went well. One mother fainted. We think she finally realized that she had a new son-in-law. We hope that many of you will plan a trip to Rexburg in the next two years. Please call ahead to let us know that you will be in the area so that we can host you. It would be a blessing to see you again.....

Love, Val & RuthAnn"

What in the WORLD is going on??

Abounding are stories of grief and signs of bad things to come...and this from an annoying optimist! Lets just say its been a really bad and heavy week. (Caution: the following my cause depression, slitting of wrist, spontaneous combustion into prayer, or possibly just rolling of the eyes. Either way, I'm hoping for rapture.)

- Saturday afternoon, while driving around town with Fletcher...I witnessed something I thought I'd NEVER see...a car jacking!! Fletcher started yelling "lock your doors" and I looked over my left shoulder to see some guy try to get into a car with a single female...but he was not welcomed. She pushed him out and locked her doors. Unfortunately, it was a beautiful day so her windows were down. The male assailant reached through the window and unlocked the car door and helped himself inside. SHE FREAKED! She reached over and cold cocked him like I'd never EVER seen before! She hit him so hard, he sat stunned for a second. She continued to fight him, hitting and pushing him for the door while trying to open it at the same time and even honking the horn. This all happened in a matter of seconds just before the light turned green. She started to drive off and while we were forced to turn right instead of following her, we nearly saw her succeed at pushing him out of the car while it was moving! We tried to turn around and follow her...to obtain license info but we lost her. Luckily when we called 911, there were other people who had called in as well. I've thought about this poor girl every day since then. I hope she is okay! I hope that dirt bag is in jail. I also think about what would've happened if I was a single driver as well. Would he have tried to get into my car instead of hers since I was closer to the side walk where he would've come from? I shudder to think!

- Monday morning I learned that my baby sister's uncle-in-law was murdered in his Portland home! What the heck? He was attacked and stabbed by his girlfriends ex-boyfriend. Oh my heart just breaks the uncle and his surviving family. What a senseless death! The good news is that they cops found the ex-boyfriend/murderer on the scene of the crime thanks to a neighbor who heard something and called police. So sad and senseless!

- Never would I have thought I'd be cheerful to hear that Hilary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary. Though I've been very anti-Hilary in the past as she stands for zero of the things I stand for, the one thing that she IS that I agree with is the anti-Obama. I am so very against that man being President for several reasons but the biggest is that he insists on playing the race card! People use the race card to perpetuate their own victim mentality AND shut down discussion on anything else important. This country is divided enough between left and right/gay and straight/Jesus or no Jesus...that we do NOT need to inflame the issue of race to continue to destroy and divide our nation! I am not oppose to a black man OR woman being President...I'm opposed to any man or woman (no matter their race) making everything they say about racism. We are ALL Americans and that is the only label we should be putting on anyone. I shudder to think we what America will be like under that kind of leader Obama would be.

- My heart just goes out to the polygamist families of TX who have had their families torn apart. How does this affect us personally? If they have had their 2nd and 4th amendment rights taken away (for what I believe is due to religious bigotry) then we all stand to loose the same! Yes, polygamy is illegal...bring charges of that but that hasn't happened. I fear GREATLY for what this means to the sovereignty of this nation and the rights of all Americans. There is due process but aparently not in this situation. WHAT? We should be outraged and we should do something about it!

- There is a professor of ethics at Princeton University (Peter Singer) that says its okay to abort a child up until 2 years of age!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELLLLL!!!!??? His argument is that children under the age of 2 years old do not grasp the understanding of tomorrow or the future. Oh, and we should use them as organ donors. Riiiiiiiight, I get it now...WHAT? Seriously, the current state of this world makes Sodom and Gomorrah look like Saturday morning cartoons!

- Some church in DC held a prayer service yesterday morning at a local gas station asking for the Lord to help us with fuel costs. I think they got this right! Gotta turn to the Lord. Between fuel at record highs, inflation abounding, shortages on wheat in the US because we're growing corn for ethanol, weak dollar and panic runs on rice and flour...I can't take it. CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!

Can you see how things are lining up? Why does the final 'end of the world' scene of Ghostbusters run through my mind (music and all)? I've even stopped listening to Glenn Beck and still I'm a wreck! What's an optimist to do?

Roof Tops & Views

ROOF #1: Yesterday was sweet Fletcher's birthday. And for his birthday he took ME to The Roof!! Mind you...I said that it was HIS birthday...that was so very sweet of him! Neither one of us had been there but wow is that a great place. Atmosphere, view, a piano man and great food....it was a perfect night. (I recommend the crème brulee').

ROOF #2: Before hand, we decided to take a mini tour of the gardens on top of the Conference Center. If you've never done it, I HIGHLY recommend it! The view is spectacular as well and the little triva that they share on conferencer and particular points around the city is very interesting.

ROOF #3: Our little tour guide did share with us a very interesting story. His cute wife use to work in the skyscraper just across from the temple. When the very unexpected tornado rolled into town in the summer of 1999, like every other downtown Utahan who'd never seen a tornado before, she stood unsafely at the window to watch the tornado come over the top of the Delta Center, across Temple Square and over the Conference Center which was under construction. That tornado caused the giant construction crane to tumble to the ground! I can't imagine what that looked like or even sounded like! Well, it seems that the sound penetrated the thick granite walls of the temple because soon enough this same lady saw 12 men, dressed in white....STANDING ON TOP OF THE TEMPLE!!!! I guess they had come out to see what all the noise was about. LOL. Her confused co-workers wondered aloud who those men were and what they were doing up there. I think those of the LDS faith know just who they were...and I just get a good laugh out of what a sight that must've been. It was only a few people in those taller buildings around the temple who saw the 12 "angels" standing on top of the temple....most likely never to be seen again. That story alone was worth the tour!

Priceless Perspective

You know, I was chatting with a friend today who is pregnant with her 2nd child. She is also watching her mother die slowly from lung cancer and they don't give her much longer to live. Her perspective if that of someone who has new life growing inside her while she deals with her mother's life leaving her. That's perspective that I hope to never experience first hand yet what priceless perspective she can provide. Yet today, she did say "May I give you some unsolicited advice?" She told me that I should listen carefully and value any suggestions or desires my own mother might have about my pending wedding preparations. She said that she didn't listen to her mother as much as she wished she had. She let one particular request from a proud mother go ungranted though it was of no consequence to her as the bride. Yet the request would've meant THE WORLD to her mom. I can only guess that my dear friend is haunted by the "should've, could've, and would'ves" when it comes to her experiences and interchanges with her dear dying mother. Tragic.

I can't help but think of my other friend who's father is currently trying to rid himself of stage four prostate cancer. I'm sure her perspective is keen, painful yet priceless as well. I hope and pray her time with her father won't be cut short.

I also had the opportunity (on Saturday) to meet a beautiful 25 year old mother of 5 who is slowly dying from a severe case of MS. I can only imagine what perspective she might have especially with regards to her darling young children and her wonderful and serving husband. I pray that she lives to see her children get their driver's license and even marry and have children of their own.

You know, the world would have us believe that stuff and status are the most important things in life. Really its not about fame, money, popularity or even own selves....what is important is our relationships with the ones we love and that most specifically including God. Why waste more time and effort in the wrong stuff for even a second longer?? Life is so extremely precious and short and some people earn that priceless perspective the most difficult and painful way possible! I hope to learn from their experiences and make the most of my time with my loved ones instead of squandering it a day longer.

I'm Taking A Ride With My Best Friend!

Oh, whoa is me!!! In the last 8 years, I have never EVER been away from my little Michelvis this long!!! Its been a week today as she is out of the country stalking Greek kabobs and won't even be returning for 3 more days!!! How pathetic am I? I mean, I know I have found another...and long to marry him (he's so adorable and squeezable) but really...I'm in withdrawals. Someone give me a donut stat! But in all honesty, this is a very weird thing for she and I (aka by dummies, "the twins" and I don't mean Patti & Darla) have NEVER had to be apart for this long. Normally I'm the one tripping with her to Ireland, NYC, Scotland, DC, London, Florida, Mexico, Phoenix, Vegas, Ross, etc. Alas, I cannot blame her for leaving me behind...she did want me so badly to go. Damn, I hate being so responsible sometimes. Living in Moshipotamia has provided me with some of THE MOST AMAZING EXPERIANCES OF MY LIFE!!!! And though I'm getting married I still hope to Moshipotamia often...husband and babies in tow. The desinations will most likely change (as Michelle is doomed to shack up as well) to things like Toys R Us, Baby Gap, Lacation Station, but we'll always have the memories...and man do they make me laugh...hard enough to pee just a little. I miss my Michelvis!!

I guess I must admit to missing Looori too. :)