Life has pretty much been full of preparations for the move to Oregon. Our entire life is revolving around my upcoming internship. It is pretty overwhelming, but the excitement of a new adventure is keeping me going.
It is COLD in Utah. I think the highs have been in the 20s for the past week, and lows around 16 at night. I can see my breath in the Jeep the whole way to school, because the car doesn't warm up enough during the 10 minute drive. Matilda and I are kindred spirits when it comes to Utah winter. The engine is difficult to start in the morning; it takes a lot of coaxing and revving. When she finally gets going, there is a small, constant whine until the engine finally warms up, and the gears are a little stubborn--you have to be pretty precise with the clutch. (Sound like anyone else you know, Scott?) Luckily, we only have to endure 4 more weeks of the Utah winter before we can migrate northward and westward. It is cold there, but at least 20 degrees is always considered too cold. Sometimes in Utah we rejoice when the forecasted high is above the teens.
Matilda "bellywhopping" in the first snowfall of the Winter
On a more serious note, our stake was privileged to host a special stake conference last week, at which Elder David A Bednar of the quorum of the twelve apostles of our church was the keynote speaker. We knew ahead of time, so Scott and I arrived almost 3 hours early and secured a seat only 4 rows back from the front. It was amazing to be so close. It was also wonderful to see Elder Bednar outside of his usual General Conference "persona". His career was in education, and it was apparent in his speaking style. He was not preaching to us. He taught us. I won't go into all of my notes here, but it was one of the most powerful and spiritually uplifting experiences of my life. Throughout the talk, he quoted and re-quoted the scripture "doubt not, fear not," and at the closing of his remarks declared "Our anthem is: doubt not, fear not...These are OUR days. We. Need. Not. Fear." On the drive home, Scott and I were mostly silent. Not because we had nothing to say, but because I think we both needed time and quiet to think about the experience.
I am so glad to belong to a religion that brings me such peace and happiness.
That is all I have for you this week, dear reader. I hope this gets you by until I have stories of the upcoming holidays: Anniversary and Thanksgiving--all in one week!
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