Happy Birthday James!

Today is James' 25th birthday.  I miss him so much and I can't believe he passed away almost 2 years ago now.  Since our birthdays are just a week apart, I especially miss being excited for our birthdays together.  But, more than anything else, today is a great day to remember just how much I love my brother.  So, here's a couple of my favorite pictures of my brother and a little memory attached to them:

1) Half-dome.  James and I loved echoing about half-dome.  I would tease him and call it "three-quarters dome" or "five-eighths dome".  He would then teasingly correct me.  He was so excited when he finally got to see it in person!

 2) Mapman! James loved maps so much!  He memorized maps and could tell you how to get anywhere in California or Utah and highways for the rest of the country.  You never got lost with James around.

3) National Parks lover.  Along with loving maps, he loved looking at nature.  He wasn't a hiker or a camper or much of an outdoors person, but he loved seeing natural beauty.  So, the national parks were great because he could see the natural beauty without having to hike or camp.  He especially loved seeing the continental divide!

4) Marching band buddy.  Of the 10 years that Elisabeth, John, and I were in marching band,  I think James only missed 1 competition because he had just had surgery.  James loved supporting us and I loved having him there with me.  It was the best to know I'd always have a huge hug waiting for me when I was done performing.

5) Uncle James. James loved being an uncle and would always find a reason to hold or play with Miles.  He especially loved playing peek-a-boo.

6) Disney adventurer. One of James' favorite vacation places was Disneyland.  This is my absolute favorite picture of the two of us.  It was a trip to Disneyland my senior year in high school and since it was just me, James, and our parents, he went on more rides than usual so I didn't have to go on rides by myself.  We had a blast!

7) Going to the temple James often went up to the temple with our youth group.  It was always so amazing to be serving with my brother and feel his sweet spirit there.

8) Pro bowler.  Okay, well, he wasn't quite pro, but he was quite good.  Always using the good old granny style and somehow still beating me, he had a blast bowling!  It was one of his favorite activities!

9) Family time James more than anything else loved spending time with his family.  Board games, movies, mini golf, bowling, you name it!  James loved doing it if it was with his family.

 10) Birthday buddy.  As I mentioned earlier, my birthday is just one week after James', so we're birthday buddies.  Every year, James would ask me if I was excited to turn, let's say, 16.  I would say, "Of course!  Are you excited to turn 21?"  He would always answer, "YEAH".  It was always so much fun to have a birthday buddy.

So, today is definitely a day to remember my amazing brother even more.  I love him so much and can't wait to see him again.  Happy Birthday James!

10 Inanimate Objects

So, in celebration of the 10 days left until Joel and I get married, I thought I'd make a list of 10 inanimate objects that remind me of him, in no particular order. (note, not all of these pictures are mine, google is one of my great friends)

10. A glass of water

     

Joel almost always gets a drink of water when he comes over

9. A knight (chess piece)

We love playing chess together and both of us favor using our knights

8. A Sponge

Joel is always so sweet and will help clean my apartment's dirty dishes.  

7. Vacuum cleaner

This is actually the first picture I have of Joel.  He came over and tried to fix our broken vacuum cleaner.  Unfortunately, it was doomed to never work again, but now whenever I see a vacuum, I think of him.

6. Snowman

With my roommates Ashley and Kensey, Joel and I had a lot of fun making Sasha the Sassy Snow woman

5. White chocolate chips

I love baking with Joel and recently we made Oreo truffles with my roommate Kiu.  I found out he loves white chocolate.  Now whenever I see it, I think of him

4. The color orange

It's Joel's favorite color and every time I see it, I think of him

3. Chopsticks

Between going to India and Singapore and loving Asian food, I definitely think of Joel

2. Peanut butter and chocolate

We both love peanut butter and chocolate and we bake a lot with it.

1. S'mores granola bars

Of course, I always think of Joel when I see s'mores granola bars because that's part of how he proposed.

I can't wait to marry my best friend in 10 days!

Family time

I feel like I haven't written a blog in forever!  In the period of my negligence, so much has been happening and a lot of it has been focused on family.  Honestly, this entire Summer Term has felt much more family-cenetered than ever before.  It's great!  In order to make sure this blog post isn't 50 miles long, I unfortunately won't be able to go into details about all of the fantastic family events that have been going on, but I hope to give a brief glimpse of all of it.

In the car with the best niece and nephew ever!

Babysitting Miles and Molly:

The one time that Molly stopped crying (otherwise, she was crying the whole time)

But, Miles and I were having lots of fun!

The Olympic Opening Party

It was all masterminded by this beautiful woman and best sister in the world: Elisabeth

Miles thought it was hilarious to put Teddy on my head

Joel was able to make Molly smile all the time!

Gerrit really enjoyed the food (it was absolutely delicious!)

John was quite proud of his lemon curd

A Bridal Shower

Elisabeth is simply amazing and threw me a really fun bridal shower.  Thanks Lis!

Meeting Joel's family

On Friday, I got to meet Joel's mom and one of his younger brothers, Peter.  They're so nice!

Playing ninja at a family reunion

Chris and his boys

Joel's older brother Jameson and his lovely wife Kristen

Char and Chris

.....and of course, Olive! (Jameson and Kristen's dog)

 And of course, time with my fiance

We've been having so much fun watching the Olympics, spending time with other family, and watching outdoor movies.  We get married in 11 days!  I can't wait!

A Proclamation

This Summer Term, I've been taking a Strengthening Marriage and Family class.  One of the projects we have to do is to find ways to study the Proclamation and incorporate it into our lives.  Since I love photography so much, I decided to do a photographic interpretation of the Proclamation.  Unfortunately, I can't show the formatting it ended up in, but I can show the photos and text I put with it.  Here's my project:

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God.

Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.

Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternity identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.

The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.   

Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

 The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare that means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed.  We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and Wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.

Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God.  Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.

Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of

Faith,

Prayer,

Repentance,

Forgiveness,

Respect,

Love,

Compassion,

Work,

And Wholesome Recreational Activities.

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.

Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.

In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.

Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.

Extended families should lend support as needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.  Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities,and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.