Yellowstone 2010

For vacation this year we went with Chantry's family to Yellowstone. It was so pretty and so much fun. We were supposed to go for five days but my Aunt passed away right before so we could only go for three. It was still a nice trip. There is just something about the beauty of nature that brings me peace. We stayed in a cute little cabin in Island Park.








Our Cute Niece Ellie

Halloween 2010

For Halloween this year my mother-in-law had a family party. She asked that Chantry be Capatin Jack and I be his wench. We decided to change our costumes a little so I was a blond. It was so much fun! We had a great time with the cousins and their cute kids!

Grandpa, Rest in Peace

For those who haven't heard my Grandpa Mitchell passed away. It was about two weeks after my Aunt passed away so again the Mitchell family is mourning. My grandfather was a great man. He was 94. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a gentle spirit. Even though it was a blessing for him to pass I will miss him dearly. I will miss his smile and laugh. I will miss how sweet a couple my grandparents were. It was wierd seeing my grandmother by herself. I don't know if I have ever seen her without my Grandpa. They were married for 65 years and still held hands. We even have kissing pictures from last Christmas of them. He served in WWII for four years. He had a military funeral with the gun salute and taps playing. It was really nice but hard at the same time.As I reflect on these last couple of months and all of the loved ones I have lost I keep coming back to the gospel and it's meaning in my life. The thing I keep getting asked all of the time is, "Are you okay? You have had a lot of losses in your family and that can be hard". Am I okay? I can look at myself and say, "Yes I am". I have my good days and my bad days. Some days I am both good and bad. I have learned alot about death and the life after in the last couple of months. It has been hard but I have had alot of peace and comfort given to me and my family. Our family has a closeness that we did not have before. I know that the only reason I am doing so well is the knowledge I have in my life of the gospel. I also have the love and support of a good husband. He has been with me at every viewing and funeral. He has held me as I have cried many, many times in mourning. I feel as if the rug keeps getting pulled out from under my feet but he is always there to set me back up. This year has really sucked. Hopefully next year will be better.

Plan of Salvation

It has not been an easy time for the Mitchell family. Two months ago my Uncle Rick passed away. He had cancer and had been sick for years. Even though it was expected it wasn't easy when he passed. We gathered together as a family and hoped that we would not have to go through that again for a long time. Two months later something so totally and heartbreakingly unexpected happened.
My sweet Aunt Arlette passed away. She had double pnuemonia but the hospital sent her home with antibiotics. She went to sleep that night and never woke up. I had a special place in my heart for this Aunt. Every time I saw her I got such a warm hug and smile. She was honestly one of the sweetest women that I knew. She worked with mentally and physically disabled children. She raised seven children and had a deep testimony of the Savior. I will miss her dearly. Especially during the holidays. She made the best cinnamon rolls.
It is during times like these where I reflect on this life and the Plan of Salvation. My Uncle Craig (her husband) spoke at her funeral. He reminded everyone how we chose to come to earth. We did not know all that we would go through in life but that it would be hard at times. He reminded us that life has a distinct beginning and end here on earth. We agreed to that before we came here. He also reminded us that once we leave here we still live on. We cannot see Arlette anymore but she is here and one day we will see her again.
It was a wonderful talk and I loved it. It definitely had the potential to be a very sad funeral ( she was only 56) but it wasn't. I am so grateful for the knowledge and truth of the gospel. I can't even imagine how hard it would be to deal with death and not know that we will see our loved ones again someday.

This Time of Year...

I love this time of year. I love that it is so pretty with all of the changing leaves. I love looking forward to the holidays.The only thing I don't like is that it gets dark out earlier. Other than that it is really perfect. I love this time of year so much I have had my halloween decorations up for about two weeks now. I also put up a few fall decorations just because I like all of the colors. There is just something about this time of year that gets me excited.

Blogging Break

I'm back! I took a short break from blogging. It seemed like things were just piling up and I was having a hard time dealing with everything. I just needed to take a little break. So let me tell you what we have been up to.

There was a fire at our apartment complex last month. It wasn't in our building. It was a new lady in our ward. No one was home or hurt but much was lost. While watching this situation unfold I was talking to another sweet lady in our ward. We were discussing how traumatic things like this are and yet how blessed they were that the children or the mother were not hurt. The only things that cannot be replace are people. It put things into perspective about what really matters in our lives. What I could lose and what I couldn't stand to lose.

My uncle passed away at the start of August. It was very hard because he was just 51. I really hate funerals. I always end up bawling and have a huge headache and it just seems so hard for everyone. This one was no different. I am so thankful for the gospel! It really does take the sting out of death. Even though it is hard to say goodbye for now I know that we will see him again and that he is whole and well now.

My calling has still been crazy but I am learning how to balance it better. We had alot of illness in our ward. Several people have been in and out of the hospital. We also had a young father have a bad motorcylce accident. At first they thought he wasn't going to make it. Thankfully he will recover and be fine. I find that one of the hardest part of my calling is dealing with the emotions. I was honestly scared to death for these wonderful people in our ward. Even though it can be hard I do love my new calling and have really enjoyed getting to know and love the sweet ladies of our ward. It is a very demanding but rewarding calling.

We had our 4th anniversary this August 16th! Time sure does fly by fast! I love my sweet husband so much. He is really truly my rock. I do not know what I would do without him. We decided to just stay around here and do a few things that we like but don't usually have time. We went to Rainbow Gardens and had lunch at the greenery. Went to dinosaur park, Dave Matthews Concert,Red Butte Gardens and Lagoon. It was so much fun!






Even though things sometimes seem crazy and that alot of bad things happen in this world (just watch the news) I love my life. I love my husband and family. I am thankful for my good friends. I am so glad to have the gospel! The Spirit has strengthened me and comforted me many times this month. I have seen miracles and felt inspiration. Even when life seems so dark, the gospel is the light to lead me out. Life is good!

Bound, Bound, Bound, and Rebound. Sometimes Your Up...Sometimes Your Down.

Sometimes you are both up and down. That is the only way to put what is going on with us right now. I feel like lately every time I write on here it has a sad undertone. Today will be both sad and yet really happy at the same time. I know it seems a little weird but that is how it is right now.

My mother-in-law had surgery on her thyroid a couple of weeks ago. They found cancer. Luckily, it is a very treatable kind of cancer with a very high survival rate. She might have to do radiation and that is all that we will know for a couple of weeks. We feel good about her and her treatment. Hopefully all goes well.

We got some other bad news this week. My Uncle Rick's cancer has spread and there is nothing else they can do for him. He was sent home to be made comfortable. We pray for him and his family at this time because that is all that there is to do. It is truly heartbreaking.

Now for some of the really happy things in our lives. We went to the temple groundbreaking yesterday. Since it would be so hot and really crowded around the site (there were 7,000 people there) we decided to go to the stake center and watch the broadcast so we could hear and see better. It was amazing! The spirit was so strong there. It is so exciting to see a temple here in Brigham!

I can't help but think of how blessed we are to have the Gospel in our lives. That is why we are really happy , even when things in our lives are stressful and not going the way that we would like. In Relief Society today the lesson from our presidency was Relief Society: A Sacred Work. It was a great lesson on the purpose of Relief Society. She also read a book about filling our buckets. Everyone has a bucket that needs to be filled. To fill our buckets we need to take care of each other and lift each other up. Smile, say hi,and stop by to give cookies are just some examples. As I was pondering this book we sang our closing song, As Sisters in Zion. This is where the spirit testified to me the great work of Relief Society. We need to love each other and take care of each other.

Our lives may not be perfect but we can still be happy. We can have peace when we are faced with heartbreak. We can be blessed with courage and strength when we feel we cannot even lift ourselves off our knees. We can know that even when we lose our loved ones we will see them again. I love the Gospel and the truths it has taught me. It truly is a calm in the center of a storm. That is what I learned this week.

Chantry'S 3 cents:
The question "Why did this have to happen?" or "Why dose it have to be this way?" can be a haunting one. I think it's better to live life with the understanding that part of life is that stuff happens, even tough, hard, frustrating stuff. I prefer to not constantly ask 'why did this have to happen?', but to just move forward with the knowledge that no matter what happens, through the Lord, everything that happens to us, will be consecrated for our good, if we put ourselves in His hands.