This and That

It has been a week since I posted to my blog. I thought I should update it about the goings on here at our house.

Dani and Kelly are moving forward with the wedding plans. The Logan Temple is scheduled, the dress and flowers are purchased, the reception spot is booked, the engagement photos were taken this week, Kelly gave Dani a ring last Friday night and she bought a band for him this week. We decided on refreshments for the reception and have rented some cast iron accessories for decoration, Dani and Kelly picked out a cake, Dani's bridal photos are scheduled for May 5th and a wedding shower is planned for May 30th (thank you Margie!). Soooo...what should we be working on next? I feel so unprepared to be helping my daughter plan a wedding. I'm sure we have left out some major project that should have been done by this point, so any suggestions anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated.

It has been a little tough thinking about the wedding when we are doing the missionary report tomorrow. Kelly is speaking twice: in the 2nd Ward at 1:00 p.m.(the ward which sent him off) and in the 8th Ward at 9:00 a.m. (the ward he came home to). We are having a brunch at our house between the two meetings so I've been making sweet rolls today and purchased a strawberries, melons, pineapple, bananas, yogurt, muffins, bagels, juice, etc. It will be a great day, but I think we will be able to focus better on other things when this is over.

This past week we addressed and mailed the graduation announcements for our college graduates, Kevin and Dani. Next Saturday they both will be 'walking' at their respective convocation and commencement exercises.

Another complication to the wedding plans is my new job. I've been employed for the past week and a half. Being at work all day does make planning a little more difficult. Luckily Dani has been here and is doing most of the leg work. I do like my new position and think it will only get better as I learn the radiology CPT codes and understand the computer scheduling system better. Everyone I work with has been very patient and kind.

Finally, Dani took her Praxis test this morning. She has been studying long hours for it this week. When she came home this morning, she was tired but pretty confident that she passed. She hasn't heard how long before she hears about her results, but she will receive an email her when the tests are scored. So now its just wait-and-see time. Teach for America and the Master's Program at Johns Hopkins hinge on passing the Praxis.

Its been a long and busy week full of this and that.

Family

Last Saturday our friend, neighbor and talented photographer, Marjean Jolley took our family photos. The main reason for this is we have three (yes that is 3) graduates in May 2009 and we need senior photos. So we had her take family shots and individuals of the four kids (even though Cami isn't graduating she didn't want to be left out.) Today we picked from the proofs for the announcements (watch your mailboxes!). I'm going to borrow from Marjean's blog and post one of my favorites of the whole group.

I love these people and feel so blessed that they are my family. Isn't amazing you can have your favorite people in the world as your husband and children? I can't believe how lucky I am!

Employment

I've been looking for a job for a few months. Well, perhaps I shouldn't use the word 'looking' as much as hoping; but today I got a job! Back in November, December and January I was actively looking for work, but recently that had fallen off. I kept having the feeling if I was supposed to be working, a position would present itself to me and I shouldn't keep hitting the pavement (and my head against a wall) over a job.

Anyway, tomorrow I start as the front desk receptionist for The Ogden Imaging and Vein Center. It is the medical center next to Ogden Regional Hospital where they do MRI, CT Scans, Bone Density Tests, Mamograms, Ultrasounds, X-Rays, correct varicose veins, etc. I'm pretty excited about it today, hopefully I will still be excited after tomorrow.

He's Home!

Yep, its true. Elder Kelly Ahern is officially a return missionary. He is sunburned from the long, hot Uruguan summer he just left behind; but he is happy and healthy and he hugged Dani before he hugged his mom. Rob and I were a little worried about that, but he assured us that his Mission President told him he needed to hug Dani first because she had been such a great support to him while he was in Uruguay.

I took photos and will add them to this post tomorrow. Dani and Kelly are eating pizza now and she has the camera the pictures are on, so it will have to wait. But the long wait to have him home is over and we're so happy he's back!

Shortest Calling Ever

Two weeks ago Rob and I were called in to meet with our bishop. We were asked to serve as Ward Missionaries in our new Pleasant View 8th Ward. We happily accepted the calling and started studying the "Teach My Gospel" manual in anticipation of our responsibilities to teach ward members.

Last night when Rob and I returned home (Rob from work and I from a day of Utah State PTA Arts Panel Meetings) there was a message to return a call to our stake executive secretary. Rob phoned him and we were asked to meet with President Keller at 9:00 p.m. Both Rob and I assumed it would be regarding Kelly's return from Uruguay (DAY AFTER TOMORROW!) so we went to the stake offices and waited for our turn to meet with the president. When he had us in his office, he completely surprised us by extending a new stake calling to us and releasing us from our very recent ward calling. Stake Conference is this weekend and he said we would be sustained at the Sunday meeting. So our term as ward missionaries started and ended in two weeks with us failing to have a single experience in that calling. Hopefully, we will have more time and success in our new positions.

Left To Tell

If you've looked at my 'favorite book' listing you may have noticed a book entitled "Left to Tell" by Immaculee Ilibagiza. It is a most amazing story of a college-age young woman who survived the horrifying events that occurred during the Rwandan Holocaust in which the Hutu nearly decimated the entire Tutsis tribe. Nearly a million men, women and children were murdered in cold blood by their fellow countrymen, but what makes it so unbelievable is that this happened in 1994. The chilling events chronicled in this story are made beautiful by the fact that Immaculee found the sweetness of forgiveness, faith, and the love of God. I will forever be inspired by this book and I highly recommend it. (I own a copy if you'd like to borrow it.)